The Adventures of Peaches and Mandyby marmaladoChaptersS1E2: The Edge of the RainbowS1E4: Peaches Goes Under The RingS1E5: Agent Pinkie Pie, Odd Squad Party PlannerS1E6: An Odd Squad GalaS1E7: The Art of Animalistic DeceptionS1E8: On a Tail and a WishS1E9: A Fool and His AssistantS1E10: Cutie Mark Crusader Odd Squad Agents, Yay!S1E11: Under A RestS1E12: Fickle LoveS1E13: Oh, Dream WeaverS1E14: RarimenaS1E15: Season's SneezingsS1E17: Peaches and CreamS1E18: Working Hard and Hardly WorkingS1E19: Fake CharmerS1E20: Taking A Walk in the Odd SideS1E21: Let Sleeping Odd Squad Directors LieS1E22: A Dog-Girl's Best FriendS1E23: When All You Have is A Snail (Or Several)S1E24: Revenge is a Dish Best Served DrowsilyS1E25: Mandy's Friend FeudS1E26: A Glimmering DebutS1E27: Mandy's The WordS1E28: Field DayS1E30: A Class ActS1E31: A Catty Sibling RivalryS1E32: Mother's Little HybridS1E1: The Familial SurpriseS1E3: My Dream is Your DreamS1E16: The "Die" in "Diet"S1E29: Is There a Doctor in the House?S1E2: The Edge of the RainbowA tiny human made her way across the bullpen, trying her hardest to avoid the flurry of footsteps and hoofsteps and wingbeats that attacked her from every angle. When she reached what appeared to be a red pedestal, she stopped and leaned on it to catch her breath. However, not even that provided her any respite, as she found herself standing in a puddle of some kind of clear liquid -- never mind the fact that some had fallen on her head from somewhere. The low rumbling she heard every few seconds didn't help to ease her worries either. Shaking herself free of as much of the liquid as she could, she backed up and looked upwards, only to find that the liquid, and the supposed owner of the red pedestal, belonged to a rather...odd-looking human, who appeared to be fast asleep and drooling. She quickly caught sight of an agent waving from afar and decided to sprint for him, hoping he could help this client break free from her predicament. On the other side of the bullpen, the automatic doors opened, and Olive and Otto walked in. "So where did Oprah say to bring that book again?" "Up to her office. I like to take the scenic route, though." "Ah, I see. Understandable." Both of them ceased their conversation when they spotted Mandy, completely passed out on a mess of papers that cluttered almost every inch of her desk. "Washington State'zz th' capital 'f Russia..." was all she said in her sleep before she went right back to snoring. A confused look crossed Otto's face. "No, it's not." "Well, she never was very good at history." Olive sighed and walked over to Mandy, placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently. "Mandy? Hey, wake up, sleepyhead." As usual, there was no response from the pony-human hybrid -- Olive's attempt was about as useless as a pebble that was thrown at a house in an attempt to knock it down. The snoring continued and didn't falter for even a second. Otto opened his mouth to speak, but Olive raised a finger. "Give her a few seconds." That seemed to be the cue. Mandy snorted and jabbed a finger towards nothing in particular. "If you're buyin' then I'm not zzellin', Bianca Zzoto!" The look of confusion that crossed Olive's face as she tried to figure out who "Bianca Zzoto" was could kill a man or two if it were weaponized. She took a step back, in the event Mandy decided to choose violence when she woke up as well. Lucky for her, Mandy didn't feel like choosing violence today. She blinked and yawned. "Wait, you're not..." "What are you selling?" Olive asked, a playful smirk forming on her face. "For your sake, let's hope it's sleep aids." "Fall asleep at your desk or something?" "Tired enough to be drooling, apparently." Olive winced as she followed the drool trail up from the floor to where Mandy once had her head and was now cleaning her face with a tissue. "S-sorry, guys...I pulled an all-nighter last night tryna get some gadgets fixed..." A loud yawn interrupted her. "...n' then I was doin' some paperwork n' I guess I fell asleep..." She looked around the room. "What time 's it?" "About...11:00 in the morning. Usually you sleep until noon." Otto looked at the watch Olive had on her wrist, which prompted an eyeroll from her, not understanding why her partner wouldn't buck up and get his own watch like she had been telling him to do for months now. "Mm...just gimme a sec." A flash of magic brought a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink into existence, and after a couple sniffs to make sure it didn't smell funny, the pony-human hybrid happily and gratefully drank it within a few seconds. After a satisfied "aah" and another yawn, she pointed at the book that Otto was holding. "So whazz' th' book for?" "It details the legend of the Toronto Rainbow." "The Toronto what?" "The Toronto Rainbow." Olive explained. "It stretches across the entire town of Toronto once a year. Legend says that there's a secret surprise hidden at its edge." "Like a pot of gold?" "Maybe. No one's ever discovered the surprise before." "Can I see the book?" "Sure." The book became caught in Mandy's magical rainbow-colored aura as she quickly flipped the pages. Her eyes moved just as fast, to the point where both Otto and Olive were wondering if she was even absorbing any of the information in the book. Her unintelligible murmurs, however, seemed to answer that question for them. "I can't believe it!" "What'd you find, Mandy?" Otto asked. Giddy laughter was given to him in response. "This is it. I'm gonna get into the history books! I gotta take notes!" A notebook and notepad were suddenly conjured up into existence. Once that step was completed, she pulled sharply down on her forelock, causing a pencil to be propelled up into the air and caught by her magical aura as well. She then got to scribbling. "I hope that tail doesn't fly off the way she's wagging it." Otto said, noticing her tail wagging back and forth furiously in a similar vein as that of a happy dog's. "It won't. She's just really excited. Maybe she found something in the book." "No duh. She did say she was gonna get into the history books...whatever that means." Otto tilted his head. "But how did she get the pencil from inside of her hair?" Olive pinched the bridge of her nose with her two fingers -- her variation on the facepalm. "Have you not learned never to question stuff like that yet? Especially around here?" "And finito!" Mandy got up from her seat and placed the book in Olive's hands. "You can have the book back" was the last thing she said before she walked away with her notepad in tow, humming a simple but happy ditty. "O...kay. Let's, uh...get this up to Oprah." Olive, still confused about what exactly had just transpired, began making her way towards the set of stairs leading up to her fellow Director's office, Otto quickly following suit. Peaches walked down the hallway, attempting to familiarize herself with all the doors. It was a rather jarring experience, going from the simplistic townhouses of Vallea to the high-tech, weirdly-shaped doors of Precinct 13579, and even after a tour of the place, she was still attempting to find her way through Headquarters. Still, she couldn't ignore the sound of Mandy's cries of effort, and she quickly raced towards the Bedroom, where she found Mandy digging deep into one of the drawers of her nightstand. "Hey. What's going on?" After a few moments of attempting to grab the item the hybrid was looking for, she yanked it out. Peaches easily identified it as a compass, although it was rusted in some places. "Oh hey! I thought you were sleeping?" Peaches shook her head. "I may be nocturnal on instinct, but I've been trying to adjust my schedule so I can hang out with you guys more. I'm not all cat, after all." "Glad to hear it!" Mandy giggled. "I'm gonna make history today!" "How's that?" "Momma and Otto told me of the Toronto Rainbow. It's an old Odd Squad legend! The rainbow stretches across Toronto once a year, and it has a special surprise waiting at its edge!" She hopped up and down. "I'm so excited. I'm gonna try and find it!" "I don't know..." Peaches scratched the back of her neck. "What if there's really no surprise at all? And how do you know today's even the day the rainbow will appear?" "There's a specific day of the year detailed in the book. I know for a fact it's today. I took notes and everything." Mandy nodded. "And if there's no surprise, well..." She giggled. "I'll have the adventure! You wanna come with?" "Thanks, but I think I'll go and try to search for the culprit who burned Vallea down. Tell me all about it when you come back, though, okay?" "I will! See ya!" With a flash of teleportation magic, the hybrid was gone. I just hope she doesn't become too heartbroken if there isn't a surprise at the end of the Rainbow, Peaches thought, leaving the room and continuing her walk around the hallways. Mandy teleported onto the sidewalk of Park Street. "Hmm...now the question is, where to start..." she mused, looking around at her surroundings to try and get a feel for where she was. She then snapped her fingers. "Ah, I know! I can ask some of the townsfolk! Maybe there are some long-time Torontonians here who can help me!" Her first stop was at the home of one Mrs. Mac, a kindly fruit vendor who often set up shop in the park. She knocked on her door, her usual cat smile settling onto her face as she waited for the door to open. "Oh, Agent Mandy! How wonderful to see you!" Mrs. Mac smiled. "How are you doing, dearie?" "I'm great!" Mandy chirped. "But, um, I'm wondering if you could help me with something." "Anything." "Do you know about the Toronto Rainbow?" "The Toronto Rainbow..." Mrs. Mac tapped her index finger on her chin as she thought. Just as quickly as she began to think, however, she shook her head. "I've never heard of it." "Aww..." Mandy's ears folded down. "Well, thanks anyway, I suppose." "Oh, it's no problem at all. Might I trouble you for some fruit? I know how much you love to gobble up my stand." Mrs. Mac giggled. "I have all kinds of fruit. Business wasn't great today." The hybrid's eyes shimmered, like a predator that had found its prey. And that was how Mandy wound up with one of each fruit in Mrs. Mac's current inventory. Which, of course, she didn't mind so much. As she popped a whole banana (minus the peel, of course) in her mouth and swallowed it, she landed on the doorstep of her next stop, putting the rest of the fruit away in her hammerspace spine for later snacking. She knocked on the door, and waited. A man wearing a gray uniform opened the door, his expression one of annoyance as he realized who was standing in front of him. "Agent Mandy..." "Thaaaaat's me!" Mandy punctuated her appearance with jazz hands. "Hiya, Janitor Jerry." "Hello." Jerry grumbled. "You've come to mess up my house, now?" "Nope! I've come to ask you about the Toronto Rainbow!" "The Toronto Rainbow...let me think...I haven't heard of it." And just like that, he slammed the door in Mandy's face, marking another Torontonian who hadn't heard of the Toronto Rainbow. With a sigh and an eye roll, Mandy took to the air once more and mentally scrolled through her list. It didn't take her long to choose and locate another Torontonian who had been in the city for a long time...mostly because she was hungry, and this particular Torontonian happened to own a restaurant. The tinkling of a small bell indicated that a customer had walked inside. "I'll be with you in a minute!" she called. "Okay-dokay!" Debbie instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Mandy, and a small smile came across her face as she laid the final bag of flour she had onto a stack of four flour bags. Giving a huff, she stood up. "Well, look who it is. Are you looking for another free pizza?" "Hiya, Delivery Debbie! And I'll take a free pizza, if you're offerin'!" Debbie couldn't help but laugh as she turned towards her stack of deliveries. After thumbing through them for a few seconds, she pulled out a pizza box with the last name "Jefferson" on it. "Here. This guy canceled his order, unfortunately. He said he wanted Indian food instead." Mandy could feel her mouth watering as Debbie opened the box. Sitting right there, right in front of her, was a large pepperoni pizza, just beckoning her to take a bite. Or two. Or as many as it took until there was nothing edible left to eat. The hybrid couldn't resist. She immediately dove for the pizza, downing numerous bites at once. Her stomach growled in happiness as the food went into it, and she wagged her tail in happiness as well. "I'm glad you like it so much. Couldn't let such a great pizza go to waste!" Debbie winked, but her smile quickly turned into a frown when she saw that Mandy was paying little to no attention to her at all. Giving a shrug, she watched the hybrid finish up the final slice. "Thank you, Debbie! Ah, you don't know how much I needed that...I was so hungry!" "When are you not?" Debbie laughed. "Anything else I can help you with today?" "Hm? Oh, yeah!" Mandy nodded. "Do you know anything about the Toronto Rainbow?" "The Toronto Rainbow?" Debbie tilted her head. "Mm...it does sound familiar, but I can't recall." Mandy sighed. "Guess that's another one down..." A small burp made its way forth. "Pardon." "You're excused. Sorry I couldn't be of much help. But I do wish you the best of luck in finding it!" Debbie smiled. "It sounds interesting." "Thanks." Mandy's ears folded down. "And thanks for the pizza, too." "It's no problem. I'll be sure to call you if any more customers happen to cancel their deliveries today, okay?" "Sure." Giving a small, unsatisfied "mm" noise, Mandy turned and left the shop, the little tinkling of the bell above the door doing nothing to lift her spirits. About an hour passed as she went to the houses and businesses of Torontonians she knew had lived in Toronto for a long time, asking about the Rainbow. Each and every time, she got an answer along the lines of "never heard of it", and with each and every time, she began to lose more and more hope. Maybe I should just retire for now. Go back, take a nap. She had to admit, she was starting to feel a little sleepy, and she wasn't getting much accomplished on her mission. Just as she contemplated finding the nearest tube entrance, however, an idea struck her like a bolt of lightning. There was one Torontonian she seemed to have forgotten about. "Aha! Maybe the Mayor has something! He's the head of the town, after all!" As Mandy opened the double-doors and entered Town Hall, she spotted a white pegasus with a white mane and blue streaks sitting at a large desk. "Oh, Mandy! It's wonderful to see you!" the pegasus said, waving a hoof at the newest visitor to Town Hall. "Icy Song! Lovely to see you too!" Mandy bounced over to the desk. "How's life been for ya?" "Pretty great! Reunited with my cousin recently!" "Oh, that's wonderful to hear!" Mandy opened a mouth to speak. No wait, what am I doing? I'm here on a mission, not to chat! She shook her head vigorously. "I, uh, wanted to ask you something! Do you know anything about the Toronto Rainbow?" "Unfortunately I don't." Icy Song shook her head. "Would Mayor Mackelmore know?" "Hmm...he might, now that I'm thinking about it. Anything specific you wish to learn?" "Um, well, specifically, I wanted to know about where its edge is, but any information would help!" "Sure thing! If you want to have a seat on that bench, darling..." Icy Song pointed to a long bench that was situated to Mandy's left. "I'll be right back." "Thank you!" With graceful wingbeats, Icy Song took off, and Mandy made her way to the bench and took a seat. This shouldn't take super long. The Mayor's gotta be in, he never leaves this place! the hybrid thought, a sigh leaving her body as she tried to situate herself on the bench, wincing every time it gave a loud creak. As it turned out, retrieving the information wasn't as simple as she would have liked it to be. It felt like hours had passed, and she had grown so tired of waiting that she had shifted into a laying-down position and contemplated taking a nap. But even though drowsiness was beginning to set in, she resorted to continuing her reading of the newest Wolves of the Wilderness book that had come out last month. "Mandy?" "Hm?" She perked up and blinked a couple times, trying to locate the source of the voice that had called out her name. Glancing into the air, she spotted the descending form of Icy Song, and a smile spread across her maw. "Oh goodness...were you waiting long?" "No, no, not at all!" Mandy tucked away her book, giving a bout of nervous laughter. "Um, what's up? Did you find anything?" "Yes I did! The Mayor has an entire book on the Rainbow, as a matter of fact." Icy Song explained. "It seems that the Rainbow is a big event for the town. The day after it appears, a festival is held to celebrate the Rainbow's symbolism of peace and equality among Torontonians." Stars formed in Mandy's eyes, and her tail began to wag. Now this is what I signed up for! she thought, feeling more excited by the second. "Anything else?" The pegasus nodded. "According to ancient legends, there is a rumor that if one sees the Rainbow, it will grant them good luck for all eternity, and even immortality if they spot it more than once." Immortality? Well I don't need that...but good luck? That I could soooooo use! Mandy nodded excitedly, but her smile briefly turned into a frown as a question formed in her head. "Wait. How does Mayor Mackelmore have a book on the Toronto Rainbow? Last I heard, it was an Odd Squad legend!" "It is. But Odd Squad just so happened to share their findings on the rainbow with the Mayor of Toronto a long time ago...er, not Mackelmore, but, um...what was his name...Megginson, I believe?" Icy Song tapped a hoof to her chin. "Yes, I believe it was Mayor Megginson. Odd Squad shared their findings on the rainbow with him, and he recorded it in this book!" "Ohhh..." I didn't even know there were other Mayors. But then...do they have immortality? And if they do, how do they have it? How old is the longest-living Mayor? Her thoughts were interrupted by Icy Song mouthing something to her that she couldn't hear. In response, she simply tilted her head. "I said, why are you so intrigued about the rainbow, Mandy?" "Oh! Uh, well, I hoped to find it myself! It's supposed to show up today." Icy Song gasped. "Oh sweet Celestia, I had forgotten. The Mayor did mention something about it showing up today." She shook her head and chuckled at her blunder. "Well, I wish you good luck in finding it!" "Thank you, Icy Song! See you later!" "You'll be seeing me at the festival!" the pegasus called after the hybrid as the latter left the building in a hurry. Mandy took to the sky and began looking around. "Hmm...if it's supposed to stretch across Toronto...now where would I find a nice open field?" she mused. As if on cue, an open field came into view. "Aha! High Park!" Her excitement growing by the minute, she quickly sped down and began to glide along the ground to find a good spot to watch the Rainbow that would let her leave her mark on history. After quite a few minutes of searching (and lots of confused stares), she finally found an open spot in the park, a hill near some cherry blossom trees that didn't obscure her view of the sky too much. She landed and folded in her wings, lying down on the soft grass. "Now this is an open space! Now I can see the Rainbow from here!" she chirped aloud, keeping her eyes on the sky. She waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited... And...waited. "But it may be a while, I suppose..." A yawn forced its way out of her. "Guess I can catch a nap in the meantime. Mmm..." Her eyes involuntarily closed, and her ears picked up on the sound of birdsong as she drifted into dreamland once again. The sound of hoofsteps brought Oprah to attention as she spotted her six equine agents making her way up to her, worry written in all of their expressions. "It's no use, Ms. O. Mandy isn't anywhere in Headquarters." Twilight said. "It's not like her to stay out of Headquarters all day and not tell anyone where she's going or what she's doing." Oprah glanced at the steel double-doors behind her. "Where could she have gone...?" "Who was she with last?" "I'm not sure, Fluttershy. Olive and Otto came here and delivered the book on the Toronto Rainbow to me, and..." She trailed off as a realization hit her dead-on. As Otto powered a now-repaired gadget down, Olive handed a book to Oprah. "Here you are." "Thank you, Olive. It's good to know that this book will be in safe hands in my Trophy Room." "Well, it's a good thing it's going to the Trophy Room then, huh?" Otto said, almost absentmindedly as he examined the gadget in his hands. "'Cause Mandy was certainly interested in it." "Huh?" "She was writing a bunch of notes and looking through the book. She said something about 'making history', but who knows what that's about." Oprah sighed. "If I know Mandy -- and I know I do -- she's gonna try and find the Rainbow." "That's a near-impossible feat to do." Olive explained. "She may have perseverance, but if she doesn't find that Rainbow, it's gonna be a huge letdown for her." "Doesn't the Rainbow appear once a year, anyway? Today probably isn't even the day." Otto shrugged. Of course, it was Otto's comment that did Oprah in. "Well, I'll let her go either way. It'll build her character and teach her a life lesson or two." "A life lesson? What life lesson?" "How not to set your bar too high for things. How you should take your time and do your research before going on a grand adventure. How to look before you leap. Pick one, Otto, any one." "Well, it's all fine by me. She's your agent." Olive said. "We'll see you later. If she happens to come back, wish her good luck for us, will you?" And with that, the two Directors turned and walked out of Oprah's office. "She's trying to find the Toronto Rainbow!" "What?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "But that's impossible! No one's ever seen it!" "That may be true...but it doesn't stop her from trying." Oprah sighed. "Agent Rainbow Dash, Agent Applejack, Agent Rarity, go find Mandy." "We're on it, darling!" Rarity nodded, waving her hoof to Rainbow and Applejack in a "come here" motion before the trio exited the bullpen through the steel double-doors. "What about us? Can't we help?" Pinkie asked. Oprah shook her head. "Three ponies is enough for now. Go back to your regular duties. The others will find her." "Are you sure?" "Positive." Fluttershy blinked. Pinkie opened her mouth to protest, but Twilight touched a hoof to her chest. "Pinkie. Have faith in our friends. They'll find her and bring her back. Don't worry." The pink party pony looked longingly at the steel doors for what seemed like hours, but she nodded in resignation. "Okay." The word danced on her lips, and she gave a sad smile to Twilight and Fluttershy before heading off down the hallway, head hanging low. Both alicorn and pegasus exchanged worried reactions before galloping off after their friend, hoping they could cheer her up and continue to ease her worries. Oprah, meanwhile, marched to Mandy's desk and took a seat in her chair, a sigh leaving her body as she looked at the steel doors the same way Pinkie had, sending a silent prayer that Mandy would come back safe and sound, and with good news about the Rainbow to boot. Odd forbid she doesn't find it... Mandy had completely sacked out in the park, eliciting her usual loud snores. This time around, however, she had a crowd. Not a crowd that was watching her, mind -- a crowd that was watching the Toronto Rainbow in all its glory as it appeared in the sky like a welcoming beacon. Its colors shimmered with the help of the sunlight, creating a beautiful sight that caused many people to whip out their phones and cameras and start taking pictures. It seemed like most everyone in the area was watching the Rainbow...all except the one person who had big dreams of seeing it to begin with. Said "most everyone" included Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who made their way into the park. "Look! The Rainbow!" Rarity remarked, causing the other two mares' gazes to swivel in the direction of the sky. "Whoa..." Dash's jaw dropped. "It looks amazin'!" Applejack remarked, her eyes shimmering just as bright as the seven-colored spectacle itself. "C'mon! Maybe if we follow the Rainbow, we'll find Mandy!" Dash suggested, sounding quite confident as she took flight in the path that laid straight ahead. Rarity and Applejack, likewise, followed suit, keeping their hooves on the ground and following their rainbow-maned friend. In the area of the park with the cherry blossom trees, a young brown-furred colt was making his way up to Mandy. He glanced up at the Rainbow, then back at Mandy, and began to shake her shoulder. "Umm, miss? Can you wake up?" Of course, not even the request of a strange colt was enough to rouse the hybrid, and she continued to snore. "Please wake up!' Her snoring was immediately cut short, her eyes slowly opening to take in the figure that was in her line of vision. With a sleepy "mmm" and a loud yawn, she rubbed her eyes. "Who's buggin' me..." she murmured. And then her eyes drifted to the sky. And they shimmered with every single color of the Rainbow. The only reaction Mandy could elicit was a shocked gasp as she stared at the airborne spectacle with awe. "It's so beautiful!" the colt said, sitting down next to Mandy and watching the sky. "It truly is..." The words danced on her tongue. "I've finally found it..." Another gasp. "I should take pictures!" Luckily for her, an Odd Squad-branded camera was conveniently stowed away in her hammerspace spine. She quickly whipped it out and snapped three pictures, making sure to steady her aim so they wouldn't come out blurry. "This is one for the history books indeed!" she exclaimed, but the excitement began to fizzle out. "And I nearly missed it 'cuz I was asleep..." "Glad I woke you, huh, miss?" Mandy's gaze swiveled to the colt sitting beside her. "That was you?" "I didn't want you to miss this!" Before he could say anything more, he was scooped up into a hug, and gave a small surprised "Oh!" "Thank you. You don't know how grateful I am!" She set him down. "Imagine if I had missed this. I went on this adventure with the intention of making history. And now...I've made it." "If we hurry, maybe we can see what's on the other side!" he suggested. "Sure!" She nodded. "C'mon, hop on my back. I'll give ya a ride!" "A-are you sure?" "Positive! Ya just gotta hold on tight!" The colt hesitated for a few moments, but ultimately climbed onto Mandy's back, wrapping his legs around her neck to keep himself secure. "And away..." She extended her wings and began ascending. "...we go!" "Whoa!" With a loud whoosh, the hybrid and the colt both sped off down the pathway that was lined with cherry blossom trees, on a search to find the treasure that supposedly laid at the very tail-end of the Rainbow. "Y-you fly fast, miss!" the colt said, his voice wavering with both surprise and anxiety as he felt the wind blow on his face and ruffle his brown mane. "Oh, I can go much faster than this! Hold on!" Flapping her wings harder and faster, Mandy accelerated, skillfully dodging the people and ponies walking down the pathway. After a few minutes, the pair emerged into another open section of the park. "You're not afraid of heights, are ya?" "Nope!" "Good, 'cuz I'm gonna go even higher!" The hybrid angled her body upwards as she began ascending until part of the park looked much smaller than it appeared to be. Likewise, the colt held on for his dear life, attempting to make sure he didn't plummet to the ground while also making sure he didn't choke her. She then hovered in midair as they looked around in the sky for any sign of the surprise, now that they were at the end. "I don't see any surprise..." the colt said. "Me neither. Let me get closer." Mandy slowly descended, aiming towards a patch of grass with bushes laying about all over. She landed and folded in her wings, allowing the colt to hop off of her back as well and spot the end of the Rainbow where it touched the grass. "This seems to be the end, but...there's no surprise." "I can't see anything either." The colt felt tempted to touch the Rainbow, but decided to hold back and resort to looking in the bushes instead, not wanting to be a willing test subject in regards to the question of whether it was dangerous to touch or not. "Lemme check underground." Mandy took her forelock and used her index fingers to style it into a corkscrew shape. Sure enough, it magically turned into a drill, and with a mighty leap, she began to dig a hole and search where the colt couldn't. "Whoa! Cool!" he remarked, his amazement quickly broken upon hearing the sound of approaching hoofsteps. "Hmm?" "Over there! The end of the Rainbow!" As Rarity pointed towards the patch of bushes, she, Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly raced over to where the colt was standing. "Howdy there!" "Oh, hello, miss!" "We're looking for someone around here." Dash gestured with her hooves. "Tall, has poofy brown hair in kinda a ponytail with a red bow, wearing a suit like ours?" "Hmm..." The colt eyed Dash's suit. "Oh! She's right there!" The trio looked towards where he was pointing. "In the ground?" Applejack asked incredulously. "She's helping me look for the surprise." "The surprise?" Rarity tilted her head. "Well, I don't see any surprise 'round here, but we need t' find her. She's been missin' for a long while now, and our boss wants her back." The sound of distant whirring caught the trio's attention. "What's that sound?" Dash asked, beginning to hover just to play it safe. The whirring noise grew closer. Rarity and Applejack, identifying the sound's source as being in the ground, stumbled about, trying to find a safe place to stand so they wouldn't get thrown airborne themselves. "Hup!" Another hole marked the exit of a dirt-covered Mandy, holding a rather large box in her hands and making a rather graceful landing. "I think this might be it. Or maybe it's just normal treasure. Who knows." Her gaze drifted to where Rarity and Applejack were both exhaling sighs of relief, and she gasped. "Rarity! Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Hi!" Immediately rushing over to them, she dropped the box and scooped them all in a tight hug, leaving all of them fighting for air. "We're...happy to see you too, darling..." Rarity managed to wheeze out, feeling her consciousness begin to leave her body. Luckily, Mandy set her down before she could commit murder with the white unicorn mare as an unwitting victim. "What're you all doing here? Are you looking for the Rainbow too?" the hybrid asked. "We came t' bring ya back to Odd Squad, Mandy. Ms. O's been worried sick about ya!" Mandy's eyes widened, and a gasp left her. "Oh no. I didn't tell her where I was going!" She smacked her forehead with the lower part of her palm. Knew I shoulda called her, but I didn't think about it...me and my stupid brain! She sighed. "I'm sorry. I just got so wrapped up in finding the Rainbow and making history, and..." "Don't worry about it." Rarity rested a hoof on her arm. "Yeah, as long as you're safe!" Dash said, attempting to resist performing an annoyed eyeroll. Mandy kneeled down and opened the treasure chest. To her surprise, the treasure didn't shimmer brightly like all the other treasures she had seen on TV, but what she found in the box was interesting either way. "Ooh!" she remarked, her horn becoming wrapped in a rainbow-colored magic aura as she pulled out a small note. "What's it say?" Dash asked. "'If you have found this treasure chest, you have found the surprise at the end of the Toronto Rainbow. Long ago, a few thieves robbed a local bank numerous times, each time getting away and remaining unidentified. Rumor had it that they were going to profit off of the money and buy the town for themselves. But one day, before going to the bank to rob it yet again, an angry mob formed in front of it, blocking entry. They chased the thieves out of town and barred them from ever coming again. But, not wanting to lose their profits, one of the thieves returned in disguise and buried the money in a treasure chest, which they then buried at the very edge of town. Since then, no one has ever found the treasure chest nor the bank’s money...until now. If you find this, please return to Town Hall so it can be returned to its rightful owners.'" The ponies all looked inside the treasure chest. Sure enough, there lay several sacks full of money, each one of them tied up carefully. "So this money was stolen?" Dash dug her hooves through the sacks, attempting to find any other treasure that might have been buried inside. "Pretty much. At least according to this note." "If'n I were you, I'd return it, Mandy. It's only right. That money's been missin' for years!" Mandy snorted. "Pff, what'd you think I was gonna do, AJ, keep it? C'mon, that's immoral!" She chuckled. "Besides, I don't need money to be happy. I have you guys, and Odd Squad!" Rarity, Applejack and Dash all smiled warmly. "Let's head to the Mayor's office!" "Can I come with you?" the colt asked politely. "Sure! You know the deal, right? Just climb on my back and hold on!" Once again, he made his way onto Mandy's back, gripping her neck with his front legs. Dash couldn't help but let her smile grow bigger. She looked she wanted to make a snarky remark, but held back. Grabbing the chest with her magic, the hybrid took flight, heading past the end of the Rainbow to the newest tube entrance with the three mares following suit. Icy Song looked at the treasure chest and the contents that were inside it, her eyes widening as she simultaneously listened to Mandy's tale of how the chest and the money was found to begin with. "Oh goodness...the Mayor will be very happy to hear that!" the pegasus said. "Thank you." "Aww, it's no problem!" Mandy giggled. "But that means a new surprise will probably have to be planted there." "Something more...meaningful." Dash pointed out. "And somethin' not stolen." Applejack added. "Well, you did find the treasure, Mandy. So you are welcome to bury anything you like there as a surprise!" This time, it was Mandy's turn to widen her eyes, and in addition, she went completely slack-jawed. M-me? Bury a surprise? But... She struggled to find the words to respond to Icy Song. I-I don't even know what to bury! How am I- "She says 'thank you', darling." The hybrid blinked a couple times as she was snapped out of her thoughts. "U-um, yeah! Thank you!" "It's nothing. See you all at the festival tomorrow!" "We'll be there!" Applejack called, waving to Icy Song as the pegasus took off towards the second floor of the building. The colt began to head for the doors. "I should be going home now. My mom and dad are probably waiting for me." "All right! Thanks again for alerting me to the Rainbow. I dunno what I would've done if I missed it." "It's no problem, miss. Goodbye!" The group all said their collective goodbyes as they watched him leave the building. "Now that this is all over, let's go back to Odd Squad before Ms. O worries even more, shall we, darling?" Rarity asked, beginning to trot towards a nearby potted plant before taking a graceful dive into it and disappearing in a flash of blue light. Dash and AJ followed suit, as did Mandy, once she was done staring at the treasure chest. Back at Precinct 13579's Headquarters, Olive was nervously pacing back and forth in the bullpen. "Olive, it's okay. We'll find her." "It's not like her to run off like this, Otto! I'm her adoptive mother. I have to keep her safe!" Not this again, Otto thought, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands. "Mandy can hold her own out there, you know. Don't think she's-" "What? Been killed?!" Olive whirled around to face her partner. "Otto, Mandy may be powerful, but she can't 'hold her own' forever! For all we know, she could be in the hospital, or-" "Right behind you!" "Or right behind me, or dead, or-" Olive stiffened. She blinked. And then she turned around to find a very familiar and welcoming face. "Mandy!" Immediately, Olive lunged for a hug, wrapping her arms around her adopted daughter's torso and squeezing her to the point where she was the "chokee" instead of the choker. "Choking...choking...nearly...out...of aaair..." Only a few seconds later, the hybrid was put down and allowed to breathe. "Where have you been?! Oprah's been turning her Headquarters upside down looking for you! Literally, at one point!" "I'm sorry! It's just that I was looking for the Toronto Rainbow, and you guys won't believe what I found!" "Agent Mandy!" The hybrid's hair and tail stuck straight up in shock as she heard the all-too-familiar and all-too-angry voice of her boss, and the all-too-many stomps that indicated she was descending the stairs. "You ran off without telling me?!" "O-Oprah! Look, i-it was an honest mistake, really, j-just hear me out!" "All right, then. Fire away, bigshot." Oprah squinted, her eyes full of nothing but hatred and malice. Next to "I give indirect death threats to people I hate" Oprah, "my eyes will cut you like a knife and certainly not literally" Oprah was one of the scariest versions of Oprah. "Well...I essentially stopped a robbery." Oprah's eyes widened. Her mouth went full scrunch. And she belly-laughed. "Stopped a robbery, oh, that's rich! Oh wow, that's- that's not even Odd Squad's job!" Oprah collapsed to the ground, her body racking with heaves of laughter as she pounded the floor with her fist. "How'd you go and stop a robbery?!" "If you must know..." Mandy rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Then sit down and I'll tell you all the story." Everyone did as they were told, barring Oprah, who was still in her fit of laughter. "...so I returned the chest to the Mayor!" "Mandy, that's really sweet." Olive smiled warmly. "And completely selfless!" Otto said. "Aww, it was nothing! Keeping money that isn't yours is wrong, no matter how much it is. And whoo...it was...a lot of money..." Oprah, who had ceased her laughter sometime in the midst of her agent's story, tilted her head. "So the surprise at the end of the Rainbow was really a treasure chest full of money?" "Yup! But the Mayor's secretary said that I can bury anything else there I like as a reward! A replacement surprise!" "Did you have something in mind, darling?" "I may have a little something...berightback!" Quick as a flash, Mandy teleported away. An uncomfortable pause settled in the bullpen. "Ah, she'll be back in five." Olive waved her hand in a dismissive motion. "Minutes, or seconds?" Otto asked. "Well, either way, I am quite glad Mandy was able to find the treasure." Rarity smiled. "With a little help from a friend, of course." "I guess that's what she meant when she said she was going to 'get in the history books'." Otto mused. The sound of footsteps alerted the group to someone's arrival. However, it didn't take long before the sound was traced not to Mandy, but to the human form of Peaches, who let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes. "Hey, everyone. We having a meeting?" "No. Mandy came back." "Oh!" Peaches straightened up. "Did she find the Toronto Rainbow?" "Sure did!" Dash nodded. "And, she found this super-cool treasure!" The catgirl's eyes widened before she breathed a sigh of relief. "That's a relief. Before she left, I tried to warn her about not feeling too upset if there was no surprise, but she told me she was in it for the adventure. Seems like she didn't have much to worry about." "You got that right!" The sudden appearance of someone behind her made Peaches whirl around and give an aggressive yowl before unsheathing her claws and attempting to bring them down on her supposed attacker. Luckily, her attacker was much more agile. "Whoa! Hey, hey, no touchie of the forelock!" she complained, holding it against her head. "Well maybe don't scare me like that?!" Peaches yelled. "Sorry! It just brings me such glee to pop up behind people and spook 'em." Mandy giggled. "So what was the surprise you buried?" Oprah asked. Mandy walked over to the group, and with her horn alight, she conjured up a framed photo. "This photo." "A photo?" Otto asked incredulously. "Not something like gold, or anything valuable?" This question caused Mandy to crack up in her usual giggly, snorting way. "Aww, Otto, you don't get it, do ya? This is valuable! Look at it!" She levitated the photo towards him. "It's a photo of all of us! Me, you, Momma, Oprah, the ponies. It's from that time we all took a day off and went to the beach!" Otto glanced at the photo. He had remembered that day -- the day where Mandy showed off her ability to ski on water with nothing but her bare feet, Fluttershy made her own pony-sized sandcastle, and Oprah fought a shark that got a little too close for comfort and lived to tell the tale. To him, it had just been a day off, but looking at the smiling faces of him and all his friends, something stirred deep in his heart, and he couldn't help but smile. "Why'd you bury it in the ground, though?" he asked. "Friendship's the greatest treasure of all! Twi taught me that." The alicorn gave a small chuckle, feeling proud that Mandy had taken a friendship lesson of hers to heart. "See, if someone else finds, it, then maybe they'll be inspired by friendship too! And they'll go and make friends, just like how I'm friends with all of you!" Olive gave a satisfied sigh. "That's my Mandy." "Now how's about we get some work done, huh? I wanna go to the festival tomorrow with everyone! Whaddya say, boss?" "Well..." Oprah thought for a moment. "It is a momentous occasion for the town. It'd be weird if Odd Squad didn't attend." She cleared her throat. "I hereby declare a day off for Precinct 13579 to attend the festival!" This resulted in the eruption of cheers from the group, and the eruption of cheers from agents who had been walking by and overheard the news even though they had no idea what their boss was referring to. "Will you two be coming?" Mandy asked Olive and Otto. "Sure. Our assistants handle a lot of our work when we're gone, anyway." Otto grinned. "Plus, I never turn down a good party." "Great! 'Cuz I might be speaking there!" "How do you know that?" "Ah, call it a hunch." Mandy patted Olive's shoulder. "See ya later!" With a few happy bounces, she headed for the right hallway, happiness settling in her heart as she began to grow excited for the festival. "Agent Mandy of Odd Squad Precinct 13579 has returned a valuable gift to our fair town -- a treasure chest containing hundreds of thousands of dollars, all stolen from the Toronto Elite Credit Union. It was stolen by a group of thieves over 100 years ago, and it has not been found since. Until today." As Mayor Mackelmore spoke to the large crowd of people that had gathered for the festival, happy and excited murmurs rippled through, with some people spotting Agent Mandy herself making her way up to the stage. "While searching for the Toronto Rainbow, Mandy stumbled upon the treasure chest. Instead of keeping the money all for herself, she performed a selfless deed and returned it to the town where it belongs. In exchange, she has buried a special surprise that will re-emerge at the next showing of the Rainbow." People and ponies alike began to grow excited, with chatter ensuing over what the treasure Mandy had left was and where it was buried. "As thanks for returning what was rightfully ours, this Rainbow Festival will be held in honor of her, and in honor of what good she has done for Toronto over the years!" The crowd erupted in applause, both in clapping hands and happy hoof-stomps. Mandy made her way to the podium and took over. "Thank you, Mayor Mackelmore. Please, have fun at the festival and party it up!" With excited cheers and murmurs, the crowd separated, and everyone went their own separate ways. Mandy, meanwhile, took flight and soared through the area until she located Olive and Otto. "Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you'd be speaking." Olive remarked as she flagged her down. "I expected a whole big speech, though, not two small sentences." "Hey, less talkin' and more partyin' for me! It's one of Pinkie Pie's greatest lessons." Mandy shrugged. "But anyway, I gotta thank Icy Song for letting me speak at the festival to begin with. She recommended me to the Mayor as a guest speaker as soon as the money was returned." A hesitant look crossed her face. "Also she, uh...tried to get me a job at the credit union...much to my refusal." "Miss! Miss!" The trio's heads all swiveled to the left, where they saw the colt running up to them and waving his hoof in the air. "Oh, it's you!" Mandy smiled. "Hiya!" "Hi! I-I just wanted to, um...thank you for the adventure we had. It was fun." "D'aww, no problem!" Mandy waved her hand dismissively. "If anything, I should be thanking you! If you hadn't woken me up when you did, I never would've seen the rainbow to begin with! Heh, guess my love of sleeping kinda became a detriment..." "Well, can we...maybe, um..." The shy colt rubbed his right leg on his left one, shifting his gaze to the ground. "Be friends?" The mere mention of the word "friends" caused Mandy's face to transform into an expression that would indicate to most anyone that she was about to rocket into the sky in excitement. Luckily, Mandy wasn't that type of hybrid. "Friends?! Yes yes yes, absolutely!" "Oh thank you, miss!" "But if you wanna be friends, my first rule is: don't be so stinkin' formal!" "Huh?" "Agent 57, at your service!" Mandy cleared her throat. "Or you can call me by my actual name, Mandy. No need to refer to me as 'miss', silly!" The colt chuckled. "I'm Rocky Road. But, um...most ponies call me Rocky." "Rocky...I like it!" Mandy giggled. "Nice to meetcha! Oh yeah, and this is Olive and Otto. They're co-Directors of the Mississauga Precinct." Both Rocky and the two Directors exchanged waves. "Oh, um, one other thing, mi- um, Mandy. That thing we did, where I rode on your back...that was really cool. See, I-I've always wanted to fly, but I can't, because I'm a unicorn." Rocky put a hoof to his horn. "Well, self-levitation's not an easy feat. I haven't mastered it yet. But I can lift these two boogers up" She gestured to Olive and Otto, then leaned in close to Rocky's face. "Only for so long, though. They're, uh...really heavy." "Hey!" came a unisonant protest. Rocky gave a small smile. "Would it be too much to ask if we, um...if you gave me more rides like that? It's super-fun! Um, i-if it doesn't bother you." "Pff, nonsense, you kiddin' me?" Mandy playfully rolled her eyes. "I carry both humans and ponies on my back all the time! Watch!" She bent down, reached an arm backwards, and patted her back twice. "Climb on my back, Momma!" Giving a knowing smile to Otto, Olive did as she was told, situating herself on Mandy's back the same way one would ride a regular horse. Once she was situated, the hybrid took flight, spreading her wings and flapping them until she was airborne. "Aww, but I thought we were too heavy?" the co-Director teased. "Can it, Maestro." Olive snickered as Mandy descended, allowing her to hop off. "I'd love to give you rides, Rocky! And of course, you're welcome at Odd Squad whenever you wanna stop by, too." "Really?" "Really really! I'm sure Oprah wouldn't mind you comin' for visits every once in a while." "That sounds great! Thank you so much!" "Rocky, honey, could you come here, please?" came the distant call of someone who was no doubt Rocky Road's mother. "Oh! My mom's calling me. I should go." "All righty! Have fun at the Festival, okay?" "I will! Bye!" As Rocky ran off towards the direction of the call, the trio gave their goodbyes and watched him go. Mandy gave a sigh. "Sweet colt. I like him." "He'd make a good Odd Squad agent." Otto mused. "Now...whaddya say we go and enjoy the rest of the festival?! Who's with me?!" "Sure!" "Like I said, I never turn down a good party like this!" The rest of the festival went along smoothly. Songs were sung, new friendships were made, games were played, and of course, Rainbow Dash couldn't miss a chance to try her own hoof at recreating the whimsy and the wonder of the Toronto Rainbow, although it didn't go as well as she had liked. By the time the agents returned to Odd Squad, they were wiped out from all the fun and games. "Oh hey, you're back!" Peaches swiveled around in Mandy's desk chair. "How was the festival?" "Awesome!" Mandy's tail began to wag. "It was soooo much fun!" Murmurs of agreement rippled among the group and echoed her sentiment. "Well, I'm glad you all had a good time. Sorry I had to leave early. I had this gut feeling that the culprit who burned down my town was in Toronto, and I turned over every rock in the city just to look for them." "That's okay! As long as you had fun while you were there!" A yawn suddenly let loose from Mandy's throat. "But just so you know, I'm claiming the shower first. I'd eat, but I really just want to melt away in a bathtub right now." "Yeah, you look like a wreck." Peaches snickered. "Go ahead." With a sigh, Mandy began to trudge her way down the right hallway, her posture more slumped than usual. "We should head home too. Mandy started yawning, so we decided to escort her here to make sure she didn't suddenly collapse in the middle of a crosswalk." A horrified look crossed Olive's face for a moment, making Peaches wonder if her cousin actually did fall asleep while crossing the street. "And we're going to go back to Equestria, through the portal. Unless you need us for something, Ms. O?" "You're fine, Agent Twilight. You all have had a long day of fun. Go home and rest up for tomorrow." With a nod, Twilight and the other ponies exited through the steel double-doors. "We'll still see you tomorrow for lunch, Oprah?" Olive asked. "Wouldn't miss it. Enjoy the rest of the night, you two." Olive and Otto then left, bringing the number of the group down to a measly two. "Peaches, mind bringing me a juice box?" "Hm? Uh, oh! S-sure. Any kind of flavor? And where do you keep your juice boxes, anyway?" "Breakroom. And fruit punch. I'm in a fruit punch mood." It didn't take the catgirl long to find a whole spherical bin full of juice boxes located exactly where Oprah had described, and she quickly ran over and grabbed the first fruit punch one she saw. As she walked to Oprah's office, though, one question still weighed on her mind...a question that had been bothering her all day. "Whuh-huh? What're you askin' me?" Peaches groaned. "For the tenth time now: exactly what did you mean when you said you were going to 'make history' in finding the Toronto Rainbow?" Mandy blinked once, and then twice, as though not understanding the question. And then, her eyes widened as it finally sunk into her tired, burned-out brain. "Oh! Well, I kinda wanted t' be th' first Odd Squad agent to find th' Rainbow...but then that didn't pan out, so I decided t' become th' first pony-human hybrid t' find th' Rainbow!" She grinned. "Plus, I did find th' treasure. That too!" Peaches could only stare incredulously as a loud yawn parted from Mandy's jaws. "Now, it's sleep time for me...see y' tomorrow, mkay?" Her head hit the pillow, and the daily parade of earth-shattering snores and unintelligible sleep-talking immediately got off to its grandiose start. "But I-" Peaches shook her head. "The first pony-human hybr- what?!" She didn't get much in the way of a response. Sighing, the catgirl turned and left the Bedroom, making sure to close the door behind her before making her way to her own room. Yeah, she made history all right...for being the Most Confusing Person. She flopped onto her bed. But I guess I can't fault her. She had the adventure, and she found the treasure at the end of the Rainbow. That sounded pretty cool. An unsettling thought then wormed its way into her head. Am I really just going to be looking for the culprit throughout all the time I spend here? Everyone's been so nice to me...and how do I repay them? By leaving a festival early to chase after an elusive criminal. A festival that my own cousin spoke at, no less! Maybe it would be for the best if I stopped... Her ears folded downwards. No. King Ashero is going to like me when I find this culprit. I'll be known as a hero. I'll finally get the respect that I want, that I need, that I deserve. He'll have to apologize for exiling me, too. Bring me back into the town. Ha...wouldn't it be funny if he made me his successor? A small smile crept onto her face, and she closed her eyes. After all...a catgirl can dream. S1E4: Peaches Goes Under The RingThe early thralls of the afternoon meant different things to different agents. For some, it meant more work that needed to get done, more cases that needed to be solved, more oddness to beat. For Agent Mandy, it meant more work that needed to get done, more cases that needed to be solved, more oddness to beat, and more sleeping time as a reward. With her suit hung up on the row of coat hooks that sat on the other side of the room, the hybrid was busy with her afternoon nap, letting out her usual loud snores and nonsensical gibberish. The door opened, and Twilight hobbled her way in. Bloody wounds covered nearly every inch of her body, and her leg appeared to be broken. She was an absolute wreck from head to hoof, and felt like it, too. A series of "ow's" came out with every step she took. "Mandy...nngh...I need help. Wake up." Although the alicorn knew her attempts would fail, she was so desperate for her help that she tried anyway, to no avail. She sighed. "Come on, plea- OWW!" Her body rippled as she gave a ragged exhale, gritting her teeth from the pain that skyrocketed through her splayed wings. Her legs began to wobble. "Mandy, please...my wings..." It was right then that the hybrid ceased her sleep, waking up and giving a mighty yawn. "Can't n' agent nap n' peaces...? Mmm..." she said, before her blue eyes could see Twilight a lot clearer. "Wah! Is that blood?!" Mandy immediately scrambled away from her, falling off the bed in the process and landing with a hard thump on the floor. "Am I bleeding?! Wh-" She felt her entire body. "No, no, no cut there, no cut here, I'm intact, I feel fine..." As she heaved herself back onto the bed with a relieved sigh, her gaze moved across Twilight once again, allowing her to get a better look. "Twilight! What happened to you?" "P-Peaches happened..." Peaches?! Whatever trace of fatigue Mandy had was immediately dissipated by the alicorn's answer. There's no way she did this. Why would she attack Twi like that? Her mind whirling with questions, she grabbed Twilight in her magic aura. "We hafta get you to Dr. O's immediately! C'mon!" Before Twilight could tell her that she already tried that and that he wasn't in, she was out of bed and speeding towards his office like an agent running away from a Skunkbat. It only took a few seconds for Mandy to race to the Medical Bay and start pounding on the door. "Come in!" The bang of a sliding door made Dr. O jump, and the view of an out-of-breath pony-human hybrid met his vision. "Oh, Mandy. How can I..." He trailed off when Twilight was brought into view. "Oh no." "Hi, Doctor...can you..." Mandy shook her head. "Can you fix Twilight up?" "Of course. Set her down here." She did as she was told, setting the princess down on the slide that led to the bullpen and functioned as a makeshift medical exam table. "These cuts look exceptionally deep." Dr. O observed, gently touching them and feeling Twilight wince in pain as he did so. "I have to go and find Peaches, but please, help her as best you can!" "I'll do my best." Mandy quickly dashed out of the room and headed down the stairs as fast as her feet would carry her. "Peaches! Peeeeeeeacheeeeeees!" she called, panic being the emotion that settled in her heart as she tried to find her cousin to get the details on what exactly happened to Agent Twilight Sparkle. "Agent, watch out!" A quick stumble and a flap of her wings sent Mandy careening not into Oprah, but directly over her head. Not that that did anything -- it only allowed her to collide with the ground face-first. "Are you okay? What's going on?" "It's-it's Peaches! Twi came to me all wounded n' stuff and she told me how Peaches attacked her! I need to find her, now!" "I've been getting reports all day about her attacking people and animals and destroying various objects. Some described her as..." A horrified look settled on Oprah's face. "...going feral." "But for her to be this aggressive...she was hardly like this when we first met!" Mandy grit her teeth together. I'm a pony-human hybrid and I haven't once exhibited the aggressive behaviors of a pony! If they even have aggressive behaviors, that is...but all Peaches did was attack me like a cat usually would, and I was able to speak to her and stuff! Now she's... It pained her to think about, and she mentally slapped herself to try and regain focus. "Agent Ocean and Agent Fluttershy might be able to do something about her if she's captured and taken to the Creature Room. I'm entrusting you with that task, Mandy." "Of course! I'll put myself in the path of any danger if it means saving my cousin and my friend! Do you have any leads?" "The last report I received came from the park. She may be somewhe-" Mandy lit up her horn and was gone in a flash before Oprah could even finish her sentence. And likewise, she arrived at the park in a flash. The sound of screaming immediately filled her ears. Ponies and people alike dashed back and forth, the area in an obvious state of chaos. An Earth pony from far away managed to spot Mandy, ceasing her running and waving her over. "Agent Mandy! You have to-" She was cut off by the sight of her savior being slammed to the ground, and then brutally attacked. "Agent Mandy!" All the hybrid could feel for the next few seconds was pain. Raw, sheer, excruciating pain. Fabric was being torn to shreds by claws and teeth, two layers of clothes being torn off just to dig into human flesh and open up the floodgates for blood to gush out like a dam holding water back. A scream ripped from the agent's throat. Loud, desperate, and agonizing, it caught the attention of every human and every pony in the immediate vicinity. The scream activated something in her brain -- something that told her she needed to take action now, or she was going to die. Her attacker was promptly levitated and secured in a magic bubble, where she had nothing to attack but the empty air around her. Mandy shivered in pain. Blood stained her suit, weaving its way through the threads of the fabric to create a color most fittingly reminiscent of a bruise. "Mandy!" The mare that had called her earlier raced over to her. "Please, get up." "I'm...fine." The contrary was quite obvious, but the mare didn't dare argue, instead stepping back and allowing her to get on her feet. A shake of her head, and she was (mostly) back to normal again. "Everyone! Rest assured, I have captured the attacker and will promptly be taking her to Odd Squad!" Cheers erupted throughout the area, cries of gratefulness and thanks ringing out amongst them. "If you're injured, please get an ambulance and go to Toronto General Hospital! They'll treat you there!" The cheers turned into chants, all of them shouting her name in unisonant rhythm. But as much as she was grateful for them, it was when she turned around that the cheers became echoing and hollow. Her face fell, her eyes widened, and shock was the next emotion to overtake her beating heart. Peaches, in her human form, was the attacker in question. Her eyes, once blue and full of good and innocence, were now a deep crimson red and full of nothing but unstoppable rage and hatred. Her claws, sharp like knives, were out in full force. Screams, hisses, and yowls parted from her jaws that were muffled due to the bubble's material. Tears welled up in Mandy's eyes. Whether they were tears of sorrow or tears of rage, no one knew for sure. All she could do was stand there and stare at the bubble she was holding in her magical grasp, the pain from her wounds becoming nonexistent, like an injection of anesthesia rocketing through her bloodstream. Before the tears could fall, she vigorously shook her head. No. I can't cry. Not now. I have to help my cousin. With her horn shining brighter, she used a portion of what magic she had left to teleport back to Headquarters. What had been a relatively peaceful day in the Creature Room for Fluttershy was quickly interrupted when the sound of a door being thrown open made them jump. "Ocean! Fluttershy! I have a dire emergency!" Her eyes drifted to what their fellow agent was holding with her magic. "G-goodness! Is that Peaches?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes. She's gone entirely feral. Oprah instructed me to bring her here to you. Please, you have to help her!" "We'll do all we can." Fluttershy flew up and examined the trapped Peaches at a distance, immediately noting her red eyes and her aggressive behavior. "If you're gonna help her, get some protective wear. Look at what she did to me!" Mandy turned, exposing the wounds on her back, many wide open and bleeding profusely. The Creature Room Director gasped at this sight, both at how bad the wounds are and how Mandy seemed to be just fine despite the wounds needing dire treatment. "We should have something. What has she done?" "Better question is, what hasn't she done?! Biting, clawing, scratching, she's probably killed someone along the way!" Fluttershy went into a hidden passageway. The sound of a beep was heard as a tall cage slowly moved its way forward. As she emerged from the passageway, she punched a few numbers into the keypad beside the lock, which allowed it to open. "Levitate her inside here." "You better be quick." Mandy did as she was told, moving the bubble inside of the cage. "Three, two, one." Her magic released. Just as Fluttershy locked the cage, Peaches rammed into it with all of her body weight, causing it to shake slightly. "Okay." The Pegasus exhaled. "Let me call Ocean and inform him of the situation." As she removed her badge phone and placed a speed-dial call to her fellow Creature Room Director, Mandy contemplated going over to the cage -- maintaining a safe distance, of course, but just enough so that she could talk to Peaches. Before she could make a decision, however, her friend was done with her call. "Just leave everything to us. You should go and get your injuries patched up." I'm fine. Forget about me. My cousin is first and foremost. No. If these wounds get infected with some odd virus, then I'll have a bigger problem on my hands. If I'm struck with an odd disease, I won't be able to help Peaches. Sighing, Mandy gave a nod and a "good luck" before making her way to Dr. O's office once again. Her hair and tail were both in various states of disarray. She hadn't bothered to get a new undershirt nor a new jacket. She had a one-track mind, and no one was going to sway her from it. Her fingers went to work on her keyboard as she typed all sorts of searches into Oddle, from the reasonable ("how to take care of an angry and upset family member") to the outrageous ("is my cousin possessed and if so how can I help her"). Her eyes bored into her screen, absorbing every bit of helpful information she could find. She was so focused that she didn't even register the steel doors opening, nor register the sound of familiar voices. "Watch." Otto smirked. "We'll get Mandy to settle this, then we'll just see who's right in this argument, partner." "Oh, you know I'm right." The gazes of Olive and Otto drifted to the agent in question, muttering something unintelligible as her face was pressed up against her computer screen. Her tapping foot, twitching tail, and flapping ear were all causes for alarm for the duo. "Otto, don't you dare even make so much as a slight breeze. She's gonna explode." Olive said. "Mandy?" No response. "Mandy." Still no response. "Food's on the table? We cooked you a feast? Uhh, go take a nap!" Otto's suggestions got no response, either. Without another word, Olive marched over to Mandy and slammed her hand on top of her head, yanking it away from the computer and pivoting it towards her and Otto. It took the hybrid a moment to register what was going on, but once she did, she screamed. "M-M-Momma! A-and Otto! What are you doing?! Don't interrupt me, I'm on important family business!" "Dear odd, you really are high-strung!" Olive's gaze drifted to the bandages that wrapped around Mandy's upper torso, and her eyes widened. "And what happened to you?" "Peaches happened!" Mandy inhaled. "She’s gone completely feral and I don’t know what happened but all of a sudden she’s attacking people and ponies-" A deep inhale. "-so Ms. O sent me out to find her and once I did she attacked me and tore into my back so I left her in the care of Ocean and Fluttershy and now I’m trying to find out why she’s gone feral!" As much as the duo tried to hang onto every word Mandy said, they got lost right near the end, and only exchanged confused glances with each other. "Um, well, if it helps any..." Olive scratched the back of her neck. "To my knowledge, Odd Squad has nothing on the history of catpeople. Assuming that's what you're looking for, of course." Mandy took another deep inhale. "Nothing on Vallea, either." She exhaled, which turned into a groan of defeat. "She's in the care of Ocean and Fluttershy, you said?" Otto tilted his head. "They're the best of the best when it comes to caring for creatures! I'm sure they can set her straight. Don't worry." "I guess..." Mandy exhaled. "But I'm still worried. She wasn't like this last night..." "What happened last night?" "Well, she decided to take me to the lake so she could teach me how to fish like a cat...unfortunately, I was pretty bad at it, for obvious reasons." "And then you hook it like this!" With a simple yank, a fish squirmed on Peaches's claw, desperate to get free. "Hmm." Mandy looked down at her hands. "But I don't have claws. Maybe I could do it with my hands?" Her gaze was focused on the water, still and blue but certainly not without traces of life. It took a while before the unmistakable shadow of a fish came close, but when it did, she lunged, using both her hands to try and grab it. Unfortunately, when she pulled her hands out, it slipped right out of her grasp and fell back into the water unharmed. She let out a groan. "Sorry. I probably should have seen the obvious." Peaches gave a sheepish smile. "Once we caught some fish and had dinner, we decided to take a fly through the park. It was Peaches's second time riding on my back, but she wasn't used to it yet, so I had to be super-careful. The poor thing was hugging me the entire time!" Feeling the cool air on her face, Mandy smiled as she flew through the dark night sky. "This is quite strange!" Peaches shouted at the top of her lungs. In response, Mandy only did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "Ya don't hafta yell, silly!" She used her pinky finger to clean out her right ear. "I can hear ya juuust fine." "O...kay." Peaches said, her voice back down to its normal volume level. "How long have you been doing this?" "Mm. It's been a while. Like I said, my spine got stronger after I transformed and stuff!" "Yeah, about that...how did you transform, anyway?" "Well, once the ponies and I beat a Hydraclops out at sea with the help of Oscar and a few other agents, we came back to land. All of a sudden I started glowing. It was weird, ‘cuz it felt all warm and cozy like a nice hug!" Mandy wrapped her arms around herself to illustrate the gesture. "And then I felt this weird sensation, like something was on my forehead and back, but I couldn’t tell what it was! And then all of a sudden I floated on down to the ground, looked in the water, and lo and behold!" She chuckled. "I had a horn, and wings, and my hair was different too! It was the strangest thing!" She sighed. "It did take me a while to get used to my new...appearance, and abilities, but I’m better now." A simple "huh" was all she got as a reaction from Peaches, not quite understanding the story even after being told of it the second time. She supposed that if she got to hear it in full, she would understand the course of events a lot better. But before she could ask her cousin for the whole story, a loud yawn escaped her. "We're gonna hafta head back soon. I'm getting sleepy...and I don't wanna sleep-fly again!" Mandy scoffed. "That happened to me once, it was so weird. I found myself two cities over the next day!" Oh, great. So she sleepwalks too, Peaches thought. And with her sleep being as unpredictable as it is...ugh, no, I'm not going to even bother thinking it. The catgirl cleared her throat. "Why don't we, uh...head back now, actually? I'm starting to get pretty tired myself." "Okey-dokey-lokey! Hold on tight!" "Whooooooaaaaa!" Mandy quickly descended towards the nearest tube entrance, not paying any attention to the fear that was written all over Peaches's face. "I haven't seen her since then. Or, well, I did...just today. I haven't seen her be normal since then." Olive nodded, but didn't spend any time thinking about Mandy's story -- the answer was clear as day to her. "Look, it's like Otto said. Have faith in Ocean and Fluttershy. They can tame any creature..." "And any animal." "No matter how feral." For a moment, the hybrid looked betrayed, as though expecting the Directors to give more useful advice. But deep down inside, she knew that they were right, and also knew that they could help very little with the current situation. "Yeah...but I don't know if they're familiar with catgirls. I-I mean you said it yourself, Momma, Odd Squad doesn't have any history on them!" Tears began to well up in her eyes again. "I just don't know what happened...to the sweet and kind and outcasted cousin I once knew." "I wish we could help more." Olive murmured, the words slipping out subconsciously. "Hey, Peaches is part cat, right? And she has cat-like behaviors. Maybe something aggravated her!" "Domestic housecats don't go around attempting to destroy every little thing, partner. Not...usually." The trio simply stood in silence, not saying anything, but instead, thinking about what to do next. And then, another idea settled in Otto's brain, this time more helpful than his previous ones. "Maybe it was the work of a villain!" Mandy perked up. "You think so?" "It's the only reason I can think of as to why Peaches is suddenly acting like this." Otto shrugged. "Worth a shot!" the hybrid chirped, already sounding more confident. "I don't wanna sit around doing nothing! I wanna help my cousin, even if it kills me! And I think I'll start by looking for a viable villain!" "Wordplay!" Otto grinned. "Nice!" "If I may give you another piece of advice...don't get worked up over this?" A growl from Mandy made Olive quickly backpedal. "B-bad choice of words, um...I-I mean it's nice that you're concerned for your cousin and all, but what I meant to say was...don't let the stress get to you!" Mandy blinked, then smiled. "D'aww, don't worry! Positive outlook, am I right or am I right?" Normally, this would have put Olive and Otto at ease...if it weren't for the sad, grief-stricken chuckle the hybrid gave before she walked away. "I'm concerned for her." "She's going to overwork herself, isn't she?" "Oh definitely." Olive nodded. "Have you seen Mandy when she gets really upset?" "Yesterday, she scorched my taco with the flames she gave off from her hair and tail..." Otto sighed. "It was a good taco, too. From that new taco place downtown." "We should help with the search. After all, who knows what Peaches is capable of?" Olive shuddered, briefly thinking of a scenario where Peaches broke free and mauled both Ocean and Fluttershy to complete shreds. "But there's no villain that specifically targets catgirls. Most of Odd Squad's villains have a pattern in who or what they attack." "Very true." Olive snapped her fingers. "I have an idea. Let's go to Ocean and Fluttershy and ask them. Maybe they have some information!" Otto eagerly nodded, and the duo took off for the Creature Room. Ocean gave an exhausted sigh, running a hand through his curly black hair. He had to admit, Peaches wasn't one of his easier creatures. He felt like taking a nap, but knew that he still had work to do. A few knocks at the door caught his attention, but before he could answer, the door slid open to reveal Olive and Otto. "Hey, dudes!" He waved. "'Sup, Ocean?" Otto winked. "How's Peaches doing?" "Ohh, kitty girl?" Ocean pointed at the cage, still and silent. "She's doin' fine. Took a loooot of ukulele-playin' just to get her to settle down, but she's asleep now." "May we see her?" Olive asked. "We're trying to help Mandy figure out why she turned feral." "Sure, dudes, c'mon in and make yourselves comfy! Oh, and close the door behind you." Facepalming at his mistake, Otto moved and quickly slid the door closed. "Over here!" Ocean motioned with his hand as Olive and Otto followed him to the cage. As the two Directors peered in, they saw Peaches softly snoring away. "She looks uninjured." Otto remarked. "How has taming her gone so far?" Olive asked. "Shy horse has been a huge help in keeping her calm, but sometimes her ideas don't work. Which is weird, 'cuz she's always been able to tame creatures and animals and stuff. Even her...uh...'Stare' didn't work out!" "Stare?" "Mandy told me about that." Otto explained. "It's an ability Fluttershy has that, according to her, she rarely uses. It helps to control creatures and animals and make them follow her command." "Ah, yes, how could I forget?" Olive shook her head and chuckled. "Good reason why Oprah put her in charge of the Creature Room." She didn't even get to finish her second sentence before Otto had turned his attention away from her and looked at Peaches. "Otto, what are you looking at?" "There's something attached to Peaches's waist! It looks like some sort of..." Otto squinted. "...golden ring?" "Oh yeah! Shy horse and I can't get that thing off no matter how hard we try! It's on super-tight." Olive moved over to the cage and examined the object for herself. Indeed, it was a golden ring that gleamed every once in a while and was gripped tightly around Peaches's waist to such an extent that the Director had to wonder how the catgirl didn't seem to show any signs of internal damage. "You two may be on to something. Maybe that ring is the reason why Peaches is acting feral!" "If that's true, then who put it on her? Enough to be that tight?" Otto wondered. "I'm not sure, but whoever did...it might seem to support my hunch that a villain is behind this." Olive ran to the door. "We have to inform Mandy!" Just before she could open it, however, a low growl came from behind her. Her entire body stiffened with fear, and she became too terrified to look back and see what was happening. "P-p-partner..." Otto and Ocean could only watch in horror as a dark shadow slowly rose behind their fellow co-worker, the shape of it easily recognizable. "Run, dudes!" Olive, suddenly being released from her paralysis of fear, flung the door open and sprinted out. But it came at the cost of the feral catgirl knocking her down by sinking her claws into her legs first. "Partner!" Otto immediately snapped out of his own horror hypnosis and rushed to help his partner. "Otto, help! HELP ME!!" Olive cried, wincing from the pain as she felt the claws of her attacker completely penetrate her arteries and veins. As Otto stood in front of Olive and bent down to grab her arms, Peaches let out a loud yowl that was much deeper than her usual yowls. It almost would have chilled Otto to the bone, if he weren't running on the fuel of adrenaline. He pulled on Olive's arms, hoping that Peaches would release her grasp on her legs, but while his goal was achieved, it only served to cause more injury. The force of Peaches letting go caused him to yank Olive upwards, the claws running deep inside and deep down her legs before they were released, then caused him to take a tumble over the guardrail that lined the second floor. On a last-minute whim, he stretched out his legs to secure himself on the lower part of the guardrail, leaving both him and Olive dangling upside down. Olive was on the verge of hyperventilation by this point, and all she could give was a weak and feeble cry of her partner's name. Tears streamed down her face, but were carried upwards and plummeting towards the ground due to gravity. "I-I'll handle things here!" Ocean said, a hurt look on his face as he knew that he had to get Peaches back under control, and doing so wouldn't leave him free to save neither Olive nor Otto. The Creature Room door closed. Otto knew he was going to lose his grip soon -- he didn't have the same athletic strength Olive did, and it was his height that had put them in such a lucky situation. His partner cried out his name again, and he had to resist crying himself. A squeaking sound as his legs began to lose their grip further. And then he couldn't hold himself up any longer. "No!" He closed his eyes, expecting the worst and hearing nothing but the sound of Olive's scream piercing his eardrums. Only five seconds later, he felt a warm sensation. "Huh?" Opening his eyes, he saw himself surrounded by a rainbow-colored magic aura and lowered to the ground, along with Olive. However, she quickly careened into him, being unable to stand on her own two feet. The pair glanced over at their savior -- one Agent Mandy, looking rather exhausted as her horn shot out a few sparks of magic. "Mandy...saved us." The words danced on Otto's lips, the adrenaline in him dying down as it was replaced with awe. "W-what? How?" "She stopped us from falling. With her magic!" "But..." Olive winced. "She can't lift us up with her magic...she's been trying for years!" "It took what magic she had, and some incredible willpower...but she saved our lives, Olive." A pool of blood began to form around Olive's feet. Her Converse sneakers, already a shade of light red, were now darkened. LIkewise, the ankles of her navy-blue pants were darkening with blood as it seeped through the fabric. "My legs..." Olive choked out a sob of pain. "Let's get you to Dr. O. Quickly!" Mandy watched as Otto scooped up Olive in his arms and bridal-carried her up the stairs. She had watched and listened to the entire conversation, in spite of her exhaustion. Did Peaches...did she hurt Momma?! She vigorously shook her head. No, no. It's like Momma said. It's the work of a villain. I'll find out who did this and make them pay dearly. She made her way to the Lab. "Oona!" "Wah!" Gadgets clattered to the floor, some breaking into a myriad of pieces, others remaining perfectly intact. "Sorry." "No, no, it's fine!" Oona waved. "What can I do ya for?" "Would you happen to have any info on villains that might have moved to Toronto recently?" Oona smirked. "As it just so happens, my dear agent, there's a villain database that we keep here. I have my own one right here in the Lab! It's, uh...more broken often than not, though." A villain database?! Wha- how even- when- is she- A flurry of questions rocketed through Mandy's brain, but she set them aside for now and nodded. "Anyone you're looking for in particular?" "I need a villain that targets felines. Or, uh, any creature and any animal. Or any creature or any animal. Really, anyone who has the ability to turn anyone aggressive with the snap of a finger." Mandy blinked, realizing the literacy of her statement. "Literally or metaphorically." "All righty, let's see here..." Digging under the countertop, Oona pulled out a keyboard (and not the one with all threes for the keys) and got to typing. As was expected of someone who did a hyper-specific search in a search engine, only a few results came up. "There's not many villains when you narrow it down to that much, but there is one. Cherry...Moriarty?" Mandy eyed the images that came with the result. They showed a woman with red hair adorned with cherry decorations and a sparkling red dress with a black belt attached to her waist. What shimmered in the center of it and served as the buckle was a gold-colored cherry, surrounded by a golden ring. Her teeth were a near-blinding white, and her expression in the mugshot taken of her held no traces of regret. "She's a fashion designer situated in Toronto whose overall goal is to create a line of servants to help her with her work. She does this by hypnotizing various people to do her bidding using golden rings that she attaches to their bodies." "Do the rings make them aggressive?" "There's a report from a hypnotized agent's partner who was able to save him." As she typed, a rather lengthy report came up, and Mandy read it aloud. "Agent Orin was hypnotized by Cherry Moriarty, who managed to attach a ring on his arm while fighting her. As a result, he was ordered to attack his own partner, Agent Ordell, and affix a ring to him as well. But Ordell refused to be “ringed”, as he calls it. He tried to convince Orin of the fun times they had together, and their friendship and partnership. The two had very positive chemistry, and all it took was a few reminders for Orin to break free of the hypnosis. Together, the two beat Cherry Moriarty, and set her in her place. Once Ms. O found out about it, she ordered Security agents to destroy Cherry’s lair and all of the golden rings she produced." Mandy blinked. "But...she's back." "She's back?!" "Yes, and she's targeted Peaches. She must have hypnotized her somehow. But...if that ring made Orin aggressive, maybe..." The hybrid thought back to when she was attacked, and what she saw when she was able to get up on her feet again. Although she could feel the shock that ricocheted through her at the time, there was one detail that she happened to notice. "There was a ring around Peaches! I remember seeing one when I trapped her!" She nodded vigorously. "There must be a connection. Cherry Moriarty somehow targeted Peaches, put a ring around her waist, and made her aggressive. But since she's a catgirl and not fully human, the ring must have some adverse effect that made her more aggressive than usual...that made her go completely feral!" "Mandy!" Fluttershy flew into the Lab as fast as her wings would carry her. "I saw Olive with blood dripping down her legs! Is she all right?" "I don't know." Mandy shook her head. "Dr. O should be treating her. But I think I found out who put that golden ring on Peaches. The reason why she attacked Momma in the first place!" "The ring...you mean the one that Ocean and I can't get off?" "Yes!" Mandy grabbed hold of the hovering Fluttershy and pulled her closer. "I want you to find the other ponies and meet up in the bullpen." "Why?" "I want Cherry Moriarty dead." Fluttershy broke free and backed off as she saw Mandy combust into flames that wrapped every inch of her body. As she spoke, the hybrid's voice only served to get more deeper and become more reverberating. "I want her to cower for mercy at the behest of Odd Squad. And I want her GONE FROM THIS WORLD!" The cry of the hybrid's desire echoed throughout the bullpen, and several agents took notice, some looking alarmed by their coworker's sudden change in both attitude and appearance. "R-r-right away!" Fluttershy quickly flapped her wings and took off towards the hallway at about the same speed she came into the Lab. The flames sizzled down, and Mandy returned to normal. "Thank you, Oona. I can't express enough of my gratitude. Remind me what your favorite sweet treat is?" "U-um...R-Rocky Road ice cream?" Oona's voice was higher-pitched than it normally was. For someone who wielded a mallet and certainly wasn't afraid to use it, she drew the line at making Mandy burst into flames, and didn't say anything more at the risk of angering her again. "Perfect. I'll make that for you later. Right now, I have a catgirl to save and a villain to kill!" With a flap of her wings, Mandy soared out of the Lab, Oona watching her go and exhaling a very long and very pent-up sigh of relief. The door to the Creature Room slid open once again. "Ocean!" The room appeared empty. "Ocean?" "Sorry, dude! I was updating the creature database and I got distracted. Be out in a minute or two!" Hearing his laid-back voice, albeit from far away, allowed a wave of relief to wash over Mandy. "Oh, thank odd. I thought you were dead! Can I see Peaches?" "Why?" "The golden ring around her waist is a result of Cherry Moriarty's heinous misdeeds. She's trying to turn Peaches into one of her servants, and the only way to turn her back to normal is if she's able to recognize me." Mandy sighed. "It's a risk, but one I'm willing to take." "Sure! She should be in the cage. I had it secured super-extra this time, so don't worry." It was then that the question of "how did she escape in the first place" re-formed in Mandy's head, and as she went over and examined the cage, she saw that the bars were just wide enough for Peaches to slip through...in her cat form. Of course. I didn't think she would be sane enough to do that, but I guess I was wrong. Peaches snarled and hissed at her, although she made no effort to throw her body against the bars again. Mandy kneeled down. "Peaches." A hiss. "Where did you go? Where's my friend?" A growl, and then a low threatening yowl. "Remember when we first met? It wasn't that long ago...but you were so passionate in finding out who destroyed your hometown. You thought it was me. But it wasn't me. And you were so hardheaded. You didn't open up to me until I left you a note detailing just how far I was gonna go to befriend you." Peaches gave another yowl, although Mandy noted it seemed less fierce and less threatening than the previous one. "I don't really remember anything about Aunt Kimi and Uncle Derek. Really. After all, the only family I know is Odd Squad. They raised me after I found myself in one of their Headquarters." The yowl downgraded to a growl. "Peach? Can...can I call you that? Can I call you Peach?" And then, to a softer growl. "Peach...I'm gonna find who did this to you. I’ll make them suffer dearly by my hammer’s will." Mandy clenched her fists. "But first...I wanna make sure you’re okay. I wanna know more about you, and I wanna help you find the person who burnt your town down. I wanna go up to your King, and tell him how great you are!" Her throat began to close as she began to choke up. "I want you to see the wonders of Odd Squad with me, to help the agents here thrive!" A sniffle. "We have so many more adventures we hafta go on!" It was then that the hybrid began to sob, tears dripping on the ground as she shut her eyes tight, remembering the fun times she had with Peaches that, while few and far between, were still cherished memories to her. "P-please...if there's one thing I wanna do, right now..." She choked out another sob. "It's to get that ring off of you! I-it must be hurting you, it looks so tight..." She collapsed, going from kneeling to laying on her side a quivering and shaking and tear-soaked mess. She felt like letting out a scream, in that instant -- a scream of rage, of misery, of pain, a scream that would be in memoriam of all the adventures that would never come to pass. But instead, she resigned herself to pounding her fist on the floor with as much strength as she could muster, breaking her hand be completely damned. "Why...why couldn't have it been me. Why couldn't it have been me who had gotten attacked by that vile...that vile...degenerate. Why not me. WHY NOT ME?!" The shaking she was doing soon had the emotion of rage greeting sadness and blending together to make a rather destructive harmony all throughout her body. She grit her teeth as she went to war with it, trying to keep it at bay for now, for the sake of Ocean and the creatures he took care of. "I love you, cuz." The shaking stopped. The rage was immediately placed on the back burner. Mandy sat up and stared at the caged catgirl, who had just told her something extraordinary. Her eyes, full of fear and confusion, turned from red to blue. "I love you. As a family member, and as a friend. And I always will, forever and ever." Peaches grunted. "This ring...I feel like my organs are being crushed..." "Don't move, okay? D-don't move!" Mandy got up and attempted to punch in the same four numbers that she had seen Fluttershy punch in earlier. The code allowed the cage to be unlocked, and the hybrid walked right in, not caring about if Peaches would suddenly switch back or even if she was still in a trance. "I'm gonna try and get it off of you with all of my magical ability. It'll hurt, but stay strong." Peaches nodded, and watched as Mandy's horn lit up and attached to the ring. The two girls struggled greatly with the magical object, Peaches moving back to make it easier on Mandy and Mandy channeling every single ounce of strength and energy she had into removing it from Peaches's waist. The ring developed a small crack. Mandy could hear a cry of pain from Peaches. An even louder crack sounded, and the next thing the hybrid knew, she was lying flat on her back, completely exhausted and heaving out massive puffs of air. Her horn sparked once more, and the ring clattered on the floor behind her head. Peaches shook her head vigorously and rubbed it, as though she had a headache. "Mandy? Wh-where am I? Are you okay?" "I'm fine...my magic just shorted out." The hybrid waved a finger nonchalantly. "You're in the Creature Room." "The Creature Room?" Knowing that she had to get rid of the ring -- who knew what it was capable of? -- Mandy quickly rolled over onto her stomach and stood up. From her hammerspace spine, she pulled out her hammer. "Stand back, this could get messy!" she called, letting loose a battlecry as she swung the hammer high above her head then brought it back down directly onto the ring, which disintegrated a few seconds upon impact. "That...should take care of that." "I feel so...woozy..." Peaches stumbled out of the cage that had once housed her, only to start losing her balance. "Whoa!" "Let's get you to Dr. O. You shouldn't be doing anything in your state." The catgirl nodded as she leaned on Mandy's shoulder, the hybrid giving her goodbyes to the still-absent Ocean before leaving. Only a minute later, the pair left the Medical Bay. "Hey, Dr. O gives very strict orders!" Mandy shrugged in response to Peaches's groan. "If he says you should rest, then you need to rest." "But...what are you gonna do...?" At this question, Mandy gave a raucous noblewoman's laugh. "Moi? Why, I'm going to find who did this to you and make them suffer, of course!" She smiled. "For you...cuz." Peaches gave a tired chuckle. "I like that nickname." "Glad you do!" As Mandy helped Peaches into bed, a mischievous smile formed on her face, and she patted her shoulder. "Get some sleep. Lil' ol' Mandy's got things covered." Peaches noticed her cousin's tone of voice went from reassuring to taunting near the end, but said nothing about it, instead closing her eyes as she heard the door to her room close. "Mandy! What took ya so long?" The hybrid was surprised to find the ponies (save Twilight, who was absent) all gathered in the center of the bullpen, apparently having waited quite a while for her. "Sorry, Applejack! I had to help Peaches break free of her hypnosis." She gave an exhale. "And I'm proud to say that I've managed to do it!" "She's not aggressive anymore?" Fluttershy asked. "Nope!" "That is wonderful news, darling!" Rarity smiled. "According to my research, the ring was placed around her waist by Cherry Moriarty, a local fashion designer who wants to hypnotize people into becoming her servants." Just as quickly as it formed, the smile faded. "How dare she!" "To break someone out of the hypnosis, you have to share a deep bond with them and have positive chemistry with each other. If you can remind them of the good times you've shared with them, it helps them to break free. And that's what I did with Peaches." "But doesn't that mean Cherry Moriarty is still on the loose?" Pinkie asked. "Yes. And I'm enlisting you six to help me find her. Are ya in, agents?" All of the mares gave various murmurs of agreement, determined looks settling on their faces. "Perfect. Let's roll out, ponies!" As the group raced for the steel double-doors, Mandy made a quick pit stop at the North Control Room to ask Owen where Cherry actually was. Lucky for her, he was keen on giving her an answer this time around, which she was grateful for. She followed the ponies to the Tube Lobby. Time to twist Cherry's world upside down. As soon as Rainbow Dash arrived at the park to round out the group, Mandy barked out an order. "All right, spread out, all of you. I want Cherry Moriarty destroyed, whether it's by your hooves or my hammer." "Right!" came the unisonant cry of the Mane Six before they darted off in different directions. This, of course, left Mandy free to explore the area of where she was now by going airborne. To her surprise, it didn't take very long to find Cherry, as the hybrid found her within minutes, tormenting poor Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus whimpered, her wings locked up tight enough to prevent her from flying away and her anxiety too high to become nothing but a sitting duck at the mere sight of the woman in front of her. "Now stay still, horsie, and let me-" A blur passed by her vision so fast that the villainess wasn't sure whether her eyes were playing tricks on her or not. "Huh?!" As Fluttershy was set down onto the ground, she opened up her mouth to give Mandy thanks, but closed it when she saw that Mandy had other priorities at the moment than exchanging words of gratitude. "You're not taking my friend. Not if I have any say in it!" "And just who are you?" Her gaze drifted to the golden badge her opponent wore -- just like that of the Pegasus she was about to attack. She gasped. "Odd Squad?!" "That's right! I'm an Odd Squad agent just like the 'horsie' you tried to hypnotize!" Mandy's body became consumed by flames once again, her voice growing deeper and more reverberating. "And I'm here to kill you." Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she quickly made her escape while she still had the chance, not caring whether Cherry spotted her or not. "Ooh, such tough talk from such a pint-sized agent!" Cherry taunted. "You'd be perfect for my newest fall line. I can use that tail of yours as viable fabric! Imagine...everyone lined up to grab the first exclusive clothing made from the skin and fur of Agent Mandy, the most popular agent of the whole organization!" "You touch my tail, and complete darkness is the last thing you'll ever see." Cherry didn't waver, and only chuckled at what she thought was an empty threat. "Well, if you think you're so brave, come on and take me on! I'll hypnotize you, just like I did with that silly little catgirl!" "Gonna hafta catch me first!" With a flash of rainbow light, Mandy was gone. And in another flash of rainbow light, she appeared right behind Cherry, hammer in hand. It was a direct hit to the back, one that sent the woman stumbling forward as she gave out a grunt. "How dare-" "Oh, I can inflict more damage! Much more!" The flames around the hybrid grew more intense, as did the echo in her voice. "You hurt my cousin, and for that, you'll spend the rest of your life...in hell!!" "Never!" With ease and dexterity, Cherry fired two sewing needles that, as stupid as such a weapon was, looked a lot thicker than regular sewing needles. Because they were so easy to spot, Mandy was able to dodge them with just a few simple steps. "Ha! Ya missed! Now it's my turn! I'm gonna leave you nothing but a husk of your old self!" Forgoing the hammer entirely for this round, Mandy spread her wings and took to the sky, letting her horn be encapsulated by her magic. Once she stored up enough power, she fired a laser blast that would be a spectacle to the naked eye, but absolute torture for whomever was hit by it. And torture it was -- Cherry let loose cries of agonizing pain, feeling tears prick at her eyes from how piercing it felt. Far away from the makeshift battlefield, the five ponies sat, quickly joined by a terrified Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! You all right?" Applejack asked. "I-I'm fine...C-Cherry was about to hypnotize me before Mandy saved me!" "Oh no. She's crazy upset again, ain't she?" "I don't blame her." Fluttershy sat down next to her farmpony friend. "Cherry did hurt her cousin. We should probably let them battle it out." "I do agree, darling." Rarity remarked, watching the battle rage on in both awe and fear. "Even I know not to mess with Mandy when she's all fired up like that." Rainbow had to bite back laughter from the unintentional pun she made. "Still, shouldn't we rush in and help if she needs it?" "Definitely. But I think ol' Mandy's got this one covered, Pinkie Pie." AJ patted her friend on the shoulder. The battle between Mandy and Cherry waged on for what seemed like hours. It was steel versus steel, neither adult nor child willing to back down and be defeated so easily by their sorely-underestimated opponent. Finally, one of the deciding blows was made. Using her magic, Mandy effortlessly swung her hammer directly into Cherry's face with enough force to send her careening quite a ways across the park. The only thing that stopped her impromptu flight backwards was a tree that she collided into, causing her to slump to the ground. It was quite a miracle, at least to Mandy, how the villainess's spine didn't seem to suffer any sort of injury from the incident -- but this was Odd Squad, where human anatomy played by a completely different set of rules that defied all conceived notions of biology. Ever so slowly, the hybrid made her way over to her fallen opponent, her footsteps ominous and looming. She spun her hammer in her hand as though it were a yo-yo, her teeth bared, blood splattered all over her body. One would easily mistake her as having just stepped out of a horror movie -- at least, that's how it appeared to Cherry. After a minute or two, she stopped in front of the woman that had defied her. "P-p-please..." the villainess begged, not getting another word out before a wave of violent coughing overtook her. "When you can't stand on your own two feet, that is when I will concede." Mandy pivoted her head and spit in the grass, the saliva tainted with blood -- whether it was her own blood or Cherry's, she didn't care. "Now you know what the punishment is for hurting my cousin. And if you don't have the brain of a rock from the 1900s, you will not try this stunt of stupidity again. Understand?" Cherry continued to cough. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" "Y-y-yes! Yes!" Mandy exhaled. "Then let's get this over with, shall we?" Tears spilled from the villainess's eyes as she watched her opponent do the worst. "No..." The word was nothing more but a mere whisper on her bloodied lips, her body seizing up with fear as she knew this entire battle was a one-way ticket to death. "Aww, don't cry, little servant of odd." For a brief second, a sympathetic look crossed Mandy's face, but it quickly faded away and was replaced with unbridled rage once more. "It makes the pain worse." A distant but loud bang pierced the sky, making the ponies jump up in surprise and start looking around for the source of the sound. "Did she just do what I think she just did?!" Applejack asked. "I think so!" Pinkie responded, her voice cracking, although no one called her out on it. Fluttershy took to the sky to get a birds-eye view of what was going on. And what she saw made her nearly drop out of the sky in shock. "Wait. She missed!" "You're right, Fluttershy." Rainbow descended from the sky, where she had also gotten an aerial view of the situation. "Did she do that on purpose?" "Knowing Mandy, most likely!" Rarity nodded. The hybrid wiped blood off of her face, again not caring whether it was hers or Cherry's. "You are very lucky I am granting you mercy, Cherry Moriarty." She gripped the handle of her hammer tight, holding it steady. The head of it was wedged all the way into her opponent's mouth to the point where she was fiercely choking and struggling to breathe. "But the next time you dare lay a finger on my cousin, or on anyone from Odd Squad, you have already signed your own death wish, and I will be your sole executioner. Do you understand?" Understandably, all the hybrid got in response to her threat was a series of choking noises, Cherry's face beginning to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. "ANSWER ME!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Cherry nodded, but that didn't help her current situation any -- on the contrary, it made it worse, as the pain in her jaws only got more intense. Finally, with a mighty yank, Mandy freed the head of her hammer from Cherry's mouth, pulling out a few teeth in the process. The scream of pain the woman gave in reaction to her pulled teeth didn't concern Mandy any, and she merely watched as the teeth landed in the grass. "M-my teef..." It was at this point that Cherry's tears of fear turned into tears of both fear and pain. Her mouth now looked akin to that of a smoker who had missing teeth from one too many cigarettes, and since she was an adult and not a child, those teeth were now gone permanently -- a rather fitting price to pay, Mandy thought, for what she had done. The hybrid's flames died down, and she returned to normal once again. "Get that checked out by your dentist. And don't put it on my tab." As a final victorious act of showmanship, she took her hammer in her hand, spun it around like a yo-yo, and threw it up into the air. From there, she grabbed its handle with ease and made a pose reminiscent of a magical girl about ready to kick some serious villain butt. "She's coming!" Rainbow Dash remarked, landing and sitting right next to her friends, all of them lined up neatly in a row like soldiers awaiting their next command. "Follow her orders and do what she says, y'all. She's our higher-up, after all." Sure enough, Mandy approached the group, her gaze holding no positive emotions within it but no negative emotions either. "Go back to HQ. I'm heading to Momma and Otto's precinct to check up on them. Agent Applejack, can you check up on Peaches for me, please?" The farmpony nodded. "Of course, sugarcube." "Thank you." "Let's go, darlings." Taking charge in the absence of Twilight, Rarity led her friends to the nearest tube entrance. "There's gotta be some magic left..." Mandy muttered to herself, allowing her horn to light up so she could teleport away, leaving Cherry to be someone else's problem -- Odd Squad villain she may be, but as far as the hybrid was concerned, she couldn't care less about her fate. Inside of their office, Otto was helping a wheelchair-bound Olive patch her wounds up. "Oww!" she cried, gripping the handles of the wheelchair as she winced at the pain. "S-sorry! I'm being as gentle as I can, but these bandages are already soaked with blood." Just as he was removing the last of the bandages, a bright flash emanated from behind him, and Mandy appeared. "Mandy!" Olive's voice was full of relief and delight, and she had to fight the urge to run up and hug her adoptive daughter. "What happened to you?" Otto asked, his voice full of concern as he eyed the hybrid and the blood she had still on her. "Long fight with Cherry Moriarty. Long story short, she won't be making any golden rings or hypnotizing anyone anytime soon." Reaching behind her back, she yanked out a clean washcloth, which she used to clean the blood off of her face. "How're your legs, Momma?" "It's the worst pain I've felt in a long time." Olive sighed. "Since the pienado attack, even." "I'm changing her dressings now." "Lemme help you!" As she grabbed the roll of gauze that sat on the coffee table beside Otto, she asked, "She was put in a wheelchair?" "Just for a few days, so I can be off my legs and let them heal." For a brief moment, Mandy wanted to ask how the duo got up to their office, but then she remembered they had elevators like her own precinct. She stretched the gauze out. "Otto, grab onto her hand." "Why?" "If it hurts, she can squeeze it." Nodding, Otto did as he was told, taking his hand in Olive's. She gave him a grateful smile, a silent "thank you" for letting it be an impromptu stress ball. A minute later, Mandy had taped the last of the gauze around Olive's legs, even going so far as to design it in bow shapes to give it a little touch of class. "Okay, she should be all set!" Otto gave an awkward smile, feeling pain of his own from Olive gripping his hand tight enough to break a bone -- which it would have, if she were doing it at her full strength. "Make sure you help her with whatever she needs, okay?" "Of course...ah, Olive, let go, she's done!" Like a blood pressure cuff, the Director slowly released her tight grip on Otto's hand, allowing him to break free of the hand-holding and make sure it was all right. "Are you gonna be okay?" she asked Mandy. "Yeah. I hate when villains get in the way of my afternoon nap...such a bother..." The hybrid sighed. "And the adrenaline's wearing off too." "Why don't you head back to Headquarters?" Otto suggested. "Was just gonna do that." Mandy said. "Rest up, okay, Momma?" "You got it, Dr. Mandy." A tired chuckle left Mandy's mouth before she left through the Directors' personal tube entrance. The sound of her tube delivering an arrival made Oprah perk up and shift her attention from the work. "Oh! Welcome back, Agent Mandy." she greeted the arrival. "Thank you." Mandy sighed. "You will be happy to know that I've defeated Cherry Moriarty, the villainess behind Peaches's going feral. I, uh...m-may have gone overboard..." She scratched the back of her neck. "But she won't be hypnotizing anyone else anytime soon." "And is Peaches un-hypnotized?" "Yep! She's asleep in her room right now as per Dr. O's orders." "All right." Oprah nodded. "Hopefully she makes a full recovery soon." "The ring Cherry put around her waist has also been destroyed. I made sure of it." Mandy said. "Would it be possible to have Security agents pinpoint if she's made a new lair?" "From what I've heard from other agents, she has no lair. Not since I sent Security to destroy it." Mandy blinked. She almost wanted to bust out laughing. No lair?! Then how did she expect to build a fashion empire?! Even Rarity had the wits to build a boutique to operate out of! She managed to keep her mockery inside her head, however. "Oh, yeah, um...Olive was hurt by Peaches. She got attacked and got huge bloody gashes in her legs. The Dr. O here told her to stay off of her legs for a couple days." Oprah's eyes widened. Such an event happened...and she hadn't heard it. Regret washed over her as she thought how she could have saved Olive from Peaches had she been there. She made a mental note to check up on her fellow Director later. "I will admit, it's quite terrifying to think of Cherry being capable of doing that. Or, well...not directly, but...y-you get it, I'm sure." She waved a hand. "If you want the full report, I can have it in by 5." "No need. Take the rest of the day off, Mandy." "From what I've been hearing, you've been through a lot. And you look like you're gonna fall asleep standing up, which, let's be honest...your loud snores aren't conducive to my work." Like a trigger that was just pushed, Mandy yawned. "Y' just had to say it, didn't ya?" "Go ahead. You can file the report tomorrow." "Thanks!" Another yawn left Mandy's body as she turned and walked out of the Director's office. After a few seconds passed, Oprah's eyes widened in realization. She leaped out of her chair. "And make sure you clean yourself free of the blood! That's hard to get out of an Odd Squad suit, you know!" "Uh-huh, got it!" On her way to the Bedroom after a well-deserved shower, Mandy peered into Peaches's room, only to find the catgirl snoring away. "Yeah, she's not gonna wake up for a while." she said, closing the door just as quickly as she had opened it. Letting out another yawn, she entered the Bedroom and quickly got changed into some comfy pajamas, then leaped into bed as though returning its welcoming hug. "And neither...will I..." As soon as her head hit the pillow, she began to snore, her first words of sleep-talk being "G'night, Peach" before it devolved into her usual random gibberish. S1E5: Agent Pinkie Pie, Odd Squad Party Planner"Everything but the bagel?" The sly, high-pitched remark was a direct hit towards Peaches, who blushed red with embarrassment and looked about ready to chop her cousin's head off. Eventually she conceded, letting out the air she was holding in and bowing her head down. "Everything but the bagel..." "Peeeeeeeach..." Mandy rolled her eyes. "How are ya gonna help us out if you can't even catch a bagel with legs?" "Hey, it had teeth too! It tried to bite me!" Mandy merely scoffed. "Yeah, okay, sure. Shouldn't you be-" A loud slam and the sound of rustling papers snapped both girls' attention over to the source: Pinkie Pie, looking completely ragged and with a large stack of papers on her back. Her legs wobbled a little under the weight, which didn't go well with her unkempt mane and tail and the bags under her eyes. Peaches gave a loud yowl at the sudden noise, her tail completely bushed up. "What the..." Mandy, utterly confused, levitated the papers off of Pinkie's back on near-instinct. "Pinkie? Are you okay?" The ultra-happy party pony gave a tired sigh. "I'm fine!" "You sure? Ya look exhausted!" "Nah, don't worry about me, partner! Thanks for helping me with the papers! You can take 'em down the File Room." Mandy set the papers down on her desk -- a bad idea, but one she didn't pay much mind to. "Uh...o-okay! No prob! Uh...have fun, I guess?" "Thanks!" With her relieved of her load, Pinkie trotted like she was walking on air, humming a tune as she went down the left hallway. "That was...weird." Peaches tilted her head. "Tell me about it!" The steel double-doors opened, and in walked Rarity and Fluttershy. While Fluttershy didn't show any signs of emoting outside of her usual expression, Rarity had a smile on her face that, to Mandy, at least, almost looked relieved. "Hiya, Rare!" Mandy gave a friendly wave, her warm cat smile forming on her face. Instead of giving a "hello, darling" back or even striking up a conversation, however, Rarity's expression turned rigid, and she gave her a look that was a mix of pity, upset, and regret. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, shot Mandy a similar expression, but more on the pity and regret side. The hybrid felt a chill run up her spine. Her hair and tail stuck straight up. "What? What's wrong? Why are you so scared?" Peaches asked, not understanding the look that both mares had given her cousin. "I-I...Rarity's...and Fluttershy's...they..." Mandy swiveled back around in her chair, facing her computer screen and clicking rapidly on the computer mouse. "I don't wanna talk about it..." Peaches, while not convinced, didn't say anything further. A couple hours later, Mandy, having set Rarity's and Fluttershy's weird looks to the side, was called to Olive and Otto's precinct for help interrogating a rather nasty villain. Her name was Underwater Ulanda, a master of the deep seas who was known for stealing valuable items and putting them at the bottom of various bodies of water. How she survived the crushing pressure was anyone's guess -- all she wore was a typical blue scuba-diver suit, complete with red-and-white life jacket and blue snorkel set. But she was caught by Odd Squad and was about to bear witness to one of the worst punishments she had ever been given. "You will tell them what they want to know." "Never!" Flames encapsulated Mandy's body once more, causing the flanking Olive and Otto to back up. Not that the flames could hurt them, of course, but they certainly didn't expect Mandy to go full "flame mode" that quickly. "You will tell them what they want to know." "Hah! Like your flames scare me?" Ulanda scoffed. "I'm Underwater Ulanda! I can douse those flames in a snap!" "Aww, and what're you gonna do, drag me to the bottom of the ocean?" The hybrid slowly but surely pulled out her hammer from her hammerspace spine, twirling it like a yo-yo a couple times. Ulanda's face immediately fell. "A-a hammer?!" "What'd ya think it was?" Mandy then slammed her hands on the table, causing Olive and Otto to give a unisonant yelp of surprise. "NOW TELL THEM WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW!!" "Or else what?" Ulanda fired back, trying to keep the quaver in her voice steady. Mandy levitated the hammer and placed the head of it against Ulanda's chest. "Or let's just say...there will be a skeleton at the bottom of the ocean. And it will not be mine." Between the flames, the threat of Mandy bashing her brains in, and talk among villains of Mandy having actually bashed brains in before, Ulanda didn't want to take a chance. Her gaze flicked to Olive and Otto, still surprised by Mandy's sudden outburst but giving the villainess stern expressions nonetheless. A guttural growl from Mandy did her in. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you! I-it's hidden on the bottom of the town's outdoor pool!" "Which one?" "A-Alex Duff!" Mandy blinked twice, her face contorting into one of disgust as though remembering a horrific incident at the pool. But she shook her head and cleared the thought. "Thank you. Momma, Otto, is she free to go?" "Yes." "Definitely." Ulanda gave a growl of defeat and slunk further into her chair. "And hopefully, you've learned your lesson!" Just as Mandy was about to continue her scolding, her badge phone rang, and she got up and left the interrogation room to take it. "'Scuse me, gotta take this!" She opened up the phone and pressed the green button. "Mandy speakin', how can I help ya?!" "Umm, Mandy, darling? It's Rarity. Um...you wouldn't happen to be available now, would you?" The hybrid's face brightened. Rarity? Great, I can ask her about that nasty look she gave me earlier! "Well, I'm at Momma and Otto's HQ. Just finished up an interrogation! I'll be right over!" "That's...lovely, darling..." Rarity said on the other end of the line, her voice sounding tired. "Is something wrong?" "Oh! Nonononono, nothing's wrong! I-I just happened to, er, stay up all night last night sewing a sort of, mm, new Odd Squad Investigation suit for O'Que and I want you to be the first to try it!" Ditz she may be, but that didn't mean Mandy couldn't be suspicious of Rarity stumbling over her words. "Uh-huh." she said. In response, the unicorn mare only gave a bout of nervous laughter. "All right, look, I'll be there shortly." With that, Mandy snapped the phone shut and clipped it back onto her suit. "What's going on with Agent Rarity?" "Beats me, Otto." Mandy sighed as she stepped back inside and tucked her hammer away in her hammerspace spine. "She gave me a really chilling look this morning when she arrived back at my HQ with Fluttershy. Like...it's the kind of look she gives when she sees you and knows you've committed a fashion crime! A-and Pinkie came in with a huge stack of papers on her back..." Ulanda bit her tongue, suppressing the urge to snap at her interrogators and tell them to take their personal conversation elsewhere. Olive, meanwhile, ran her hand through her hair, looking rather distressed. "Momma? What's wrong?" "Hmm?" "You seemed kind of, uh...lost in thought." Mandy gasped. "M-my interrogation techniques didn't scare you, did they?!" She groaned. "Honestly, I'm sorry, I just get so caught up in the moment and-" "No! It's not that." Olive shook her head. "I-I'm fine, Mandy, honestly." Mandy blinked twice, but unlike with Rarity's front, she believed Olive in only a few heartbeats. "Okie-dokie! I'll head back to HQ now. Have fun, and feel free to call me back if ya want another villain in the hot seat!" With her usual laugh-and-snort, she was quite literally gone in a flash. She quickly arrived at the doorstep of Rarity's personal boutique in Precinct 13579, giving three knocks at the door. Muffled crashing and banging sounds ensued, and then a muffled "Come in!" from the fashion designer. Slightly growing more suspicious, Mandy opened the door and peered in. "Rarity?" "Oh! Hello, darling! I-I didn't expect you s-so early!" Rarity replied, nervous sweat beads forming on her otherwise-flawless face as she gave the hybrid a grin she thought was convincing. Unfortunately, her prospective model didn't see it that way. "I said I'd be here shortly." she said, a suspicious tone to her voice as she tilted her head. "D-did you?" Rarity launched into another bout of nervous laughter. Mandy squinted. "Yes. I did." "O-oh! Yes, um, if you want to take a seat right over there, I-I'll be right back." Rarity gestured to where a cyan-colored three-seater couch sat. Mandy blinked, knowing that cyan as a color didn't exactly mesh well with the dim colors of her friend's boutique -- although not a fashion designer herself (at least not full-time), she knew that much. Why does she even have that couch? she thought. Maybe she had an off day and went to some junkyard? Or maybe this is part of the ruse... She opened her mouth to ask Rarity about the furniture item, but the mare was already speed-trotting away towards the back rooms, leaving her to simply sigh and flop down on the couch. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it felt like she was sitting on a slab of rock -- hard, uncomfortable, and something that one would reasonably find at a junkyard. But the hybrid would cope with it. She had bigger issues at hand. At least a half-hour had passed. At least. Mandy didn't know exactly how long it had been. Mainly because she had waited for so long that she had taken to falling asleep, her head resting against the bottom of the arm of the couch while her right arm and right leg were slung over its front. Her usual loud snores and loud sleep-talk echoed through the boutique, which would usually alarm Rarity and then leave her in a state of embarrassment that she had left her model waiting for so long. However, she had a good reason for leaving the hybrid waiting. Deep in the back of the boutique, the elegant unicorn mare was in talks with her shy Pegasus friend, letting her know of Mandy's suspicions and discussing a future course of action. "Fluttershy, I don't know what to do, we can't just tell her!" "Mandy has always been one to, um...overreact to news..." Fluttershy's eyes widened as she recalled her version of three separate events to back up her claim. Typical day at Odd Squad. Nothing out of the norm. Just a big group of friends having a rainy-day picnic inside the Sunny-Day Picnic Room. Chatter and laughter was abound. The air was lively and festive. Mandy in particular was right in the middle of sipping her apple juice when the craziest news she had ever heard in her entire life hit her like a square punch to the face. "I'm having babies!" A not-so-discreet disposal of the contents of her mouth, directly in Fluttershy's face. The chatter and laughter died down in an instant, like someone had invoked the "record scratch in response to a murder" cliche. Apple juice dripped down Fluttershy's face, partially soaking her mane and leaving her in a state of surprise. Half of the party's guests looked at the pink equine bearer of the news, standing in the doorway with just about the biggest grin one had ever seen on her. The other half stared at Mandy as she lowered her head, folded her ears down, and blushed in shame. With her wings bandaged, Mandy struggled to hang a decorative piece of ribbon in Oprah's office. Her toes were the only thing gripping the ladder -- that, and Otto holding it as firm as he could as he watched his co-worker attempt to hang the piece. Enter Rainbow Dash, making her usual showy entrance with a grin splitting her face. "I just got into the Wonderbolts reserves!" That was the trigger for gravity to take over. Mandy lost her grip, sending her body careening over the top cap and plummeting face-first downwards. She couldn't help but scream, knowing she couldn't do a thing to stop herself. The sound that occurred when her face slammed into the desk was indescribable, but one thing both Otto and Dash knew for sure was that it was painful. As in "share the pain and wince accordingly" painful. The hybrid's body, in its usual cartoonish way, stuck straight up for a few seconds before it flopped to the floor as limp as a ragdoll, her face staying right where it was. She stayed like that for well over 10 seconds. "Are you okay?" Rainbow finally broke the silence. "I fink I broke a few teef...my nofe...and my fin." Her teeth, her nose, and her chin, Otto and Rainbow deduced. Neither one of them went to get Dr. O, instead doing internal cringes at the sight of such an uncomfortable and embarrassing landing position and the wonder of the pain the hybrid must be in. And of course, to add more insult to injury... "Hey, are you two done ye-" Oprah stopped dead in her tracks, blinked, and tried to survey the situation. "Never send a broken-winged hybrid to do a winged hybrid's work, huh?" All Mandy could do was let out a long, painful, and suffering groan. The final incident Fluttershy remembered happened in the thralls of summer just this year. Being hit with slow workflow left Mandy plenty of time to work on gadgets that neither Olive nor Otto had the heart nor the patience to bring to Odie and pay the low, low price of hearing him talk incessantly about whatever topic he had on his mind. Repairing a gadget, of course, was exactly what she was doing, taking a welding gun to one that she had been given. The steel doors opened, and in rushed Olive, basketball in one hand and paper in the other. A big smile sat on her face, perhaps one of the biggest she had ever given. "Mandy, Mandy!" she called, rushing over to the hybrid. "Guess who just got into basketball camp?!" Instead of responding, however, the sparks from the welding gun she held grew more intense, in both sound and appearance. Her grip on the tool appeared tighter than usual. "...Mandy? S-slow down, don't-" The gun was turned off. A few moments of silence. And then the gadget erupted into flames. Through the shocked gasps and screams, Olive immediately sprung into action, reaching behind her back and pulling out a Fire-Extinguish-inator that looked like a regular fire extinguisher, but was more white-and-blue in appearance and not red. With a bright flash, the fire was dissipated, only a billow of smoke left in its wake. "Mandy, what were you thinking?! This is why adults always say kids should never play with matches and lighters. It's the one piece of advice they've given that's actually helpful." All Mandy could do was let her whole body shake in response. A removal of her helmet showed that she was crying, her eyes bloodshot as she gazed at Olive. "What's wrong?" "DON'T GO-O-OOOOO!" Mandy cried, flinging herself at Olive and clutching her like her life depended on it. She began to cry even harder now, her usual waterfalls of tears staining the floor as she let out a pitiful, heartbroken wail that shifted agents' attention from the remains of the fire to her. "It's only for the summer! L-look, I love Odd Squad, but I need time off for myself too, you know?!" This statement only served to make the wail increase in volume. The steel doors opened again. "Hey, partner, did you get that gadge-" "What is that awful sound?!" A pause. "Oh, jeez...Mandy?" Oprah slid down the slide that adorned the second set of stairs leading down from the second floor, shaking her head as she observed the situation. The second her shoes hit the floor, Mandy broke away from Olive and clutched onto her instead. "Oprah, i-i-it's awful! Horrible! I-I don't...I-" "What's-" "Momma's leaving Odd Squad for basketball caaaaaaamp!" came another pitiful wail, as the Director's chest was the next closest thing that Mandy could cry and scream into. "You? Leaving Odd Squad?" Olive sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm going to a basketball camp for the summer. I'm not staying at the campsite, but this one seems to think I'm dropping my livelihood for it." An even louder and more pitiful wail sounded. "I've got this." Oprah held a hand up, and then pulled Mandy closer to her before rubbing her back. "It's okay, Mandy. Olive's not leaving Odd Squad. She's going to basketball camp. That just means she'll be leaving for part of the day, and then coming back. It's only for the summer..." Olive and Otto could only watch as Oprah put on the sickeningly-sweet facade that only her opposite in the mirror could pull off well, soothing Mandy with words of relief and assurance. As they watched, they noticed Mandy go from trying to flood the bullpen, to sniffles and a runny nose, to eyes slowly drooping as she struggled to stay awake. "You poor thing...you haven't had your afternoon nap, have you?" Oprah tilted her head. "Go to sleep. I'll take you to bed. And if you want, I'll get the address of Olive's basketball camp so you can go and see her, okay?" The position Oprah took when attempting to pick up Mandy was spine-breaking. Her legs wobbled as she leaned back in an arch, and it took her a couple minutes to pivot herself towards the Bedroom (or what she thought was the Bedroom, anyway) and begin making her way there, Mandy beginning to loudly snore as she gave up the fight. When the Director came back, she was still in the same position. "Well, I've done it. Mandy's asleep. Hopefully when she wakes up...nngh...she'll come to her senseeeeeeees..." Whatever air she had in her lungs wheezed out of her on the very last word. "You need help?" "No, I need two horses and a golden winged chariot." Oprah attempted to snap, although the delivery fell flat since her voice sounded like she was having an asthma attack. This was Otto's cue to help Oprah straighten up, wincing when he heard a loud popping sound. The Director took a few gulps of air. "Thank you. I needed that." "I didn't know your back got all crooked like that. Isn't that for the elde-" "Shut it, Olive." Oprah glared. "It's your turn to give thanks." "Thank you." Olive sighed. "That's the last time I interrupt Mandy when she's in the middle of work." Her gaze drifted over to the gadget that had been set on fire, now partially melted. "I'll have to take that to Oona, I guess." The trio gave heavy sighs over what had transpired, all thinking the same thing: Golden rule of telling Mandy news: make sure her hands are empty, she has free time, and she's in just the right mood. "Yes. That is why I'm so concerned!" Rarity said. "If she finds out what Pinkie Pie is doing and where she is now, who knows how she'll react?!" Fluttershy decided to divert the subject just a tad. "We promised to help Pinkie, Rarity." "Ohh...I do know that we can't go against his orders, but...it feels so wrong to keep this a secret from Mandy! The two are partners, for Celestia's sake!" The snoring suddenly stopped, and the two mares could hear a few snorts. "Vanquizzh the bizzcuitzz and file the landzz!" A pause, and then the snoring continued. Both Rarity and Fluttershy let out sighs of relief. "Oh thanks Celestia, it's just her sleep-talking again." Fluttershy tapped a hoof to her chin. "Ms. O may know something. Didn't he tell her?" "Why of course he told her, darling. She's an Odd Squad Director. She was at the meeting, remember?" Fluttershy nodded. "Perhaps we should see her advice? She is Mandy's higher-up." "Hmm..." Rarity took a few moments to think. "That's not a bad idea. Let's go to her office!" The two mares began to head for the front room, and subsequently, for the door leading to the hallway. "Wait!" Fluttershy called. "What'll we do about Mandy?" The hybrid hadn't shifted position for the entire conversation, loudly snoring away with a trail of drool falling from her mouth and puddling onto the cushion in front of her face. Rarity couldn't help but instinctively cringe in disgust, before realizing that the couch was one she was planning to give away soon, anyhow. "Oh, she'll be sleeping for quite a while, don't worry. You know how she loves to sleep." the unicorn mare said, confidence bolstering her voice as she walked out of her boutique with Fluttershy in suit. "So. Mandy's catching on, hmm?" "I'm afraid so, darling." "I don't know if the Big O will appreciate you two helping Pinkie. He did say that anyone who helps her will only slow her down, and they may face consequences, too." "But we're her friends!" Fluttershy protested. "It's only right that we help her out." "Very true..." "Erm, Ms. O, I must ask...has there really been an increase in party-related cases in Toronto?" "No. That's what confuses me." Oprah responded to Rarity's inquiry. "As you two probably know, we do have cases involving birthday parties, which I send Pinkie and Mandy on, if possible...but they are few and far between." She sighed. "Still, I can't go against the Big O's word whatsoever. It's viewed as immoral. If he says that there has been an influx of party-related cases in Toronto, then we have to take his word for it." Fluttershy looked particularly hurt by this reminder, folding her ears down and shifting her gaze towards the floor. "Still, my-" Rarity cleared her throat. "Our concern is with Mandy." "We all know that Mandy is very unpredictable. It's hard to tell how she'll take the news. She could be enraged and snap at the Big O, or worse..." Oprah shuddered. "Or she could simply be fine with it and decide for herself whether to go against the Big O's word or not." "I think she might be more upset that we've been lying to her...so the former seems very likely." Rarity said, although she knew her predictions meant nothing. "Tell you what. Why don't I have a talk with Olive and Otto? We can discuss how to handle the news and handle her." "Olive and Otto?" Fluttershy tilted her head, then her eyes widened in realization. "Ohh. Your usual methods don't work on her." "Unfortunately not. But they know how to handle her better than anyone else here. If anyone can stop her from going out of control, it's them." "That sounds like a wonderful plan, darling!" Rarity smiled. "Where is she now?" "She's asleep in my boutique." Now it was Oprah's turn to smile. Her smile, however, held more confidence and assurance within it than Rarity's. "Good. Feel free to return to your regular duties for now." "Thank you." Fluttershy nodded. She and Rarity hopped off of the chairs they were sitting on, heading out of the office. However, she couldn't stop thinking of Mandy, and her heart became wrapped in anxiety as she briefly contemplated telling Mandy the news, for the sake of their friendship and for the sake of her emotions. However, the weight of the Big O's words pushed on her mind, and she decided that she didn't want to run the risk of being fired from Odd Squad. Both mares entered the boutique once more, finding Mandy still fast asleep on the couch. That is, until she stopped snoring suddenly and her eyes began to open. A yawn and an "mmm" escaped her, and Rarity and Fluttershy took the chance to scuttle to the back as fast as their hooves would carry them. "Rarity...? Zz'that you?" Mandy sleepily groaned. "How long did I zzleep for...?" It was only a few seconds before her brain snapped back to reality and she realized what she had come there for. She gasped. "The suit! Rarity!" No answer. "Rarity?" Still no answer. "Agent Rarityyyyy?" Mandy called, in singsong this time. "Hmm? O-oh! Yes, darling, so sorry, I was lost in thought." Rarity made her way to the front room. "What can I help you with?" "The suit?" "The suit?" "That you made for O'Que? That you wanted me to model?" "Oh!" Rarity nodded. "Yesyesyes, just putting on some...final adjustments! One second, darling." She gave a nervous smile and zipped to the back. Crashing and banging noises ensued, causing Mandy to give a long, irritated sigh before magically conjuring up a Shmumber Geographic magazine and flipping through it. "Thank you two so much for coming over." "Oh, it's no problem! Our assistants usually have everything covered." Olive waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, our precinct is mostly self-sufficient." Otto added. "What's going on?" Oprah sighed. "I really didn't want to tell Mandy the news, but she's starting to get suspicious." "Of the Big O and his announcement?" "No!" Oprah blinked. "Well, actually, yes. But it's moreso about Agent Rarity. She's been lying to Mandy about making and modeling a suit for her to try on in order to cover up the fact that she's been helping Agent Pinkie Pie with her duties. The Big O did mention that anyone who helps Pinkie would only slow her down and possibly receive personal consequences handed to them by him." Both Olive and Otto exchanged concerned looks with each other. Oprah sighed before continuing. "As you know, we Odd Squad Directors have a moral code to uphold, and that means following the Big O's rulings no matter what. He knows what's best for the organization, after all." Olive didn't make eye contact with Oprah after that, instead staring at the back wall that sat ahead of her. After what seemed like months of waiting, she got up. "Um...pardon me, Oprah. I'm just going to...run and use the bathroom real quick. If that's okay." "Oh, no problem." As soon as Olive exited the office, she booked it downstairs and ran towards her destination. I have to find- A collision with another human being stopped her thoughts in their tracks, and her eyes laid upon Mandy, who was rubbing her head in pain. "Mandy!" "Momma!" Mandy's eyes sparkled. "Oh thank the jackalopes, ya hafta help me!" "Whooooaaa!" Without warning, the hybrid grabbed ahold of her adoptive mother's arm and began soaring down the hall with her in tow. Olive struggled to keep up, her feet trying to find some semblance of grip on the floor so she could walk normally. "I've just about had it with Rarity's stalling! Maybe you can help her finish her stupid suit!" Mandy ranted. "I've been waiting for hours! I don't even wait in line this long at the supermarket!" As the pair reached the boutique, Mandy opened it, much to Olive's horror. "Mandy, wait-" "Rarity! Show yourself and your creation!" Mandy extended a finger towards the back area. "Your time is up! I'm done waiting!" Fluttershy's eyes were reduced to pinpricks. All she could do was stare at Rarity, her jaw completely dropped. "Oh dear." was all the unicorn mare could say, her ears folding down and her body going rigid. She could hear a frantic cry of "Mandy, wait!!" from Olive, but she knew that the Director's attempts were completely futile and braced for the worst. "Here, have a seat. We need to talk." "But Rarity-" "Now." Immediately, Mandy marched over to the couch and took a seat. "You mentioned that Pinkie had a stack of papers on her back, right?" "Yes, I did!" Mandy nodded. "The stack was ginormous! A-And Fluttershy and Rarity gave me the dirtiest looks, I-" Before she could say anything further, she was silenced by Olive putting a finger to her lips as she sighed. "Mandy...we've been hiding something we shouldn't have from you, and I'm sorry." The hybrid blinked. "You- y- what?" Rarity shamefully stayed in the back room, her cheeks a bright rosy red as she peeked at the duo on the couch. "I...I lied. I never did have a dress ready for you, darling. I was hiding something bigger." "What 'something'?" "Well..." Rarity bit her lip, not wanting to say it. She looked at Olive with nothing but worry in her eyes, hoping the girl would have more confidence than her. Olive gripped her pants tightly and squeezed her eyes shut as she took a breath. "Pinkie...she was promoted by the Big O!" Mandy was rendered in a state of shock. Her eyes scanned Olive up and down, up and down, over and over again. She blinked twice. The news didn't seem to click with her at first. Until it did. And both Rarity and Olive braced themselves for impact. "She WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" The scream could be heard all the way into the hallways and out to the bullpen, where numerous agents took notice. "She was named the official Odd Squad party planner because the Big O has seen a surge of party-related cases!" Olive blurted out further, before she sighed and attempted to recollect her bearings. "Only us Directors were aware of it, but given how Pinkie is Rarity's and Fluttershy's friend, it was only a matter of time before they found out too." "You were asleep when the Big O came here for a meeting and made the announcement, darling." Rarity explained. "Of course, we couldn't wake you, so we figured he would pass you by. I suppose not, if his forbiddance of anyone helping Pinkie Pie is any indication..." Mandy ran a head through her hair. "W-why didn't anyone tell me this before?! Pinkie Pie is my partner! I think I have a right to know if she was promoted, even if I was asleep when it happened!" "It's because you've never been able to take news well." Olive said. "We didn't want you to go after the Big O or anything, and-" "Take news well?" Rage flashed in Mandy's eyes. "You think I've never been able to take news well?! I've taken news plenty well! Are you insane?!" Typical day at Odd Squad. Nothing out of the norm. Just a big group of friends having a rainy-day picnic inside the Sunny-Day Picnic Room. Chatter and laughter was abound. The air was lively and festive. Mandy in particular was right in the middle of sipping her apple juice when the craziest news she had ever heard in her entire life hit her like a square punch to the face. "I'm having babies!" Mandy stopped drinking, swallowed what was in her mouth, and gasped. "Wowee, babies?" She got up and broke away from the hustle and bustle as she bounced her way over to the pink news delivery pony. "Congratulations, partner! Is it a boy or a girl?" "They're both twins! A boy and a girl!" Pinkie responded. "Ooh, Mr. and Mrs. Cake are gonna be soooo happy with their new foals!" The smile immediately faded from Mandy's face as she did a double-take. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her two fingers. "What?" Mandy sighed. "Phrasing, Pinkie." "Huh?" The hybrid chuckled. "You made it sound like you were having babies, not the Cakes you're working for." Finally, it all came together for the pink pony. Her eyes widened in realization. "Whoops! Hehe...sorry!" "But hey, give them my congrats!" "I will!" Pinkie slipped past Mandy in order to share the news with other partygoers, making sure she specified that she wasn't the one who was going to be a new mother. To Mandy's relief, they were all very receptive of the news and gave their extended congrats accordingly. A rattle of the ladder Mandy was standing on made her perk up in alarm. "Otto, stop shaking the ladder, wouldja?" "Shorry!" he said, through a mouthful of sandwich. Mandy was about half-tempted to tell him to put down his culinary delight -- or at the very least, use her prehensile tongue to snatch it out of his hands -- but bit back her tongue. She needed to get this star decoration hung up, after all, and without the ability to use her wings, plus its anti-magic properties preventing her from levitating it at close range, she needed all the focus and luck she could get. Before she could channel her focus and luck, however, Rainbow Dash hovered her way into Oprah's office. "I just got into the Wonderbolts reserves!" "Wah!" Mandy held on for dear life as the ladder rocked back and forth, Otto attempting to stabilize it. She let out a nervous laugh. "D-Dashie, that's wonderful! But, uh, we're kinda...busy right now." "Oh." Dash blinked upon surveying the situation. "My bad! You guys need help?" "Please. With these wings bandaged up and someone not being able to hold a ladder firmly..." "I'm trying!" "...I could use some help!" Dash nodded and made her way over to the top of the ladder. She effortlessly grabbed the decoration and began putting it up. "So, the Wonderbolts reserves, huh?" Mandy asked. "Yeah! It's the next step after the Wonderbolts Academy!" Dash gave a wistful sigh. "One step closer to me becoming the best Wonderbolt Equestria's ever seen!" "Good for you! I'm sure you'll do great!" Mandy giggled. "Y'know, you really hafta convince them to do a show here sometime. Mayor Mackelmore would love it!" "Sure! Spitfire might be able to arrange something." "Yay!" Once the decoration was applied, Dash and Otto helped Mandy get off of the ladder. "All set. Looks kinda nice up there." "Yeah. If only she didn't get a decoration that blocks magic..." "Huh?" "Nothing, nothing!" Mandy gave a bout of unconvincing laughter. "Thanks soooooo much, Dashie!" "Aww, no prob! Anything for a couple friends!" Mandy took the opportunity to snatch the rest of Otto's sandwich with her tongue and pull it into her mouth. "Hey! I wasn't done eating that!" "That'sh for not holding the ladder shteady! When I feel like climbing a ladder and have magical shafety meashuresh, then you can eat all the food you want and not hold it." Otto simply rolled his eyes in response. The bullpen was full of agents running around with odd problems and getting work done. This, of course, included Mandy, who was hard at work on fixing a spherical gadget, using a welding gun to mesh two parts together. She was so focused on her work, in fact, that she barely heard Olive enter the bullpen, clad in the basketball gear of the local Burly Bears multi-sport team and with a basketball and a paper in her hands. "Mandy, Mandy! Hey, guess who just got into basketball camp?!" The welding stopped, and Mandy lifted up her helmet, turning off the gun and setting it down before blinking at Olive in confusion. "Oh, hi, Momma! What're you doin' here?" "I...I just got into basketball camp, Mandy." The hybrid gasped. "Really?!" She flew out of her chair and enveloped Olive in a tight hug. "That's amazing! Now you can really show Coach Roberts your schtuff!" "Yeah..." Olive coughed. "B-but..." Another cough. "Not so hard?" Mandy set Olive down and let out one of her usual giggle-and-snort laughs. "How long is it gonna be?" "The entire summer. I'm lucky it's during the afternoon hours. Things can get pretty crazy at my precinct in the daytime, and I don't think the Big O will let me take a vacation from Odd Squad for an entire season." "D'aww, I'm sure Otto can run it on his own!" "Yeah, he can, but he tends to, uh...go a little bit crazy...with the food-related stuff, at least." "Well, I can keep him in line for ya, if ya want!" "Would you?" "You would!" Mandy paused for a moment. "Er..." She shook her head vigorously. "I would!" "Oh, thank you, Mandy." Olive smiled. "You don't know how much going to this basketball camp means to me, even if work does kind of mess with the schedule..." "Don't mention it!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "Go and be the bestest basketball player ever!" With that matter resolved, the hybrid could resume her work. She sat down and finished what she was doing with the welding gun, completing the repairs on the gadget in only a minute. "And voila, your gadget!" Mandy levitated the finished product. "Be careful, though, it's, uh, kinda hot near the middle." "Oh, thanks!" "No prob!" As Olive left Headquarters, Mandy sent her off with a wave before beginning to hum a tune as she got to work on her next gadget that needed repairs. "You're an idiot if you think I can't handle news well. You've seen me before, I'm perfectly fine!" "Okay, okay, y-you've made your point!" Olive was seated as far away from Mandy as she could, throwing her hands up in defense. "RARITY! GET YOUR FLANK IN HERE, NOW!!" The unicorn suddenly found herself being lifted in a magical aura that certainly didn't look like her own, or like Twilight's. Her heart began beating ever faster now, dreading what hell the hybrid was going to rain down upon her as she was dragged to the front. "What is it with those looks you and Fluttershy gave to me? How dare you unnerve me like that?! I thought something was wrong with me and yet here you are-" Mandy took a moment to pause, letting Rarity's hindquarters go in the process. It was only just a moment, and the second she stopped shaking her head, she resumed. "N-never mind about that, you're gonna tell me exactly what is going on with Pinkie and what in the name of odd is happening! NOW!!" "W-well, I, well..." Rarity, quickly turning around, attempted to find a reasonable explanation. She knew Mandy was far from dumb, and wouldn't accept a lie handed to her on a platter -- another lie on top of an entire hamburger of lies. And so, she forced herself to tell the truth. "Pinkie has been feeling rather stressed about her new duties, and-" "Hold on, Rarity." Olive said. "Let me start from the beginning. I'll recount every detail, here and now. The entire truth." Rarity nodded, and allowed the Director to speak. "So the Big O decided to visit our precinct and hold a meeting..." Everyone in the precinct, lined up in two perfectly equal rows, got down on one knee and held a fist gently to their foreheads, the ponies making do as best as they could with their legs and hooves. Most any Odd Squad agent knew exactly what the pose meant, and to most any Odd Squad agent, it was a time to hone their actions and make sure everything they did was meticulously perfect. The Big O was arriving. A boy of about eleven, he stood tall and proud, wearing a white button-up jacket embellished with two silver epaulets and silver accents and white pants with raised white lines running down the front of each leg. His white shoes, streaked with blood-red lines just above the soles, completed the powerful uniform he wore. "Please rise." he called. The agents stood up accordingly and turned their attention towards him and the two assistants he had flanking both sides of him. "Recently, I have been alerted to a rise of cases in Canada relating to the topic of planning parties. It seems not many agents of Canadian precincts know a lot about such a topic...but there is one." His gaze bore down on Pinkie. "Agent Pinkie Pie, beside me." Pinkie glanced at her friends, who gave her nods and urged her to go ahead. She swallowed her nervousness and took tentative hoofsteps towards the Big O until he and her were standing side by side. "Agent 94, also known as Agent 'Pinkamena Diane Pie', or Agent Pinkie Pie for short..." He glanced down at her. "I am hereby promoting you to the position of Odd Squad's official Party Planner Agent." Pinkie's eyes widened. She could barely register the claps and hoofstomps other agents were giving her. "You are to travel across the entire country of Canada, solving party-related cases when and where they arise. You will work directly under me, reporting to me daily and receiving missions and assignments as necessary." the Big O explained. "From here on in, you will no longer be an Investigation agent at Precinct 13579, and you will no longer be working under Oprah. From here on in...you will be working for the head of the entirety of Odd Squad." Even louder applause erupted from the agents. Pinkie's reaction didn't change, and she barely noticed the smile the Big O had which, if one looked close, did not appear to be genuine. "Would you like to say a few words?" "Huh? O-oh!" The question snapped Pinkie out of her shock. "Um, yes! Uh, t-thank you, Mr. Big O, sir! It's an honor, really!" She smiled. "I hope to help Canada with all of its party cases! Just leave it to ol' Agent Pinkie Pie! I'll work as hard as I can and make Odd Squad proud!" "And me." "And you, Mr. Big O, of course!" "Just 'Big O' is fine." he corrected, before turning his attention back to the crowd. "This promotion will go into effect immediately. I would also like to advise that this position is strictly solo. Absolutely no help from anyone..." His gaze swept through the agents, as though he was looking for someone, then his expression soured. "...will be permitted. Helping Pinkie with her new job may result in personal punishment from me." He bowed. "Thank you." As he turned and walked out the doors, his two assistants also bowed before following him without a single word spoken. "Well, you heard him, Pinkie Pie. You start tomorrow." Oprah patted her on the back. "Good luck." "Uh...t-thanks!" Pinkie grinned, although she knew it was a fake smile. She just couldn't bring herself to give a real one -- not after what the Big O said. "Come on up to my office." Oprah began making her way up the second floor as the crowd dispersed. "I have some casework you can handle..." "Pinkie seemed fine with it at first, but it became clear that she was overloaded. Working for the Big O is an honor that a lot of agents hope to earn, but it comes at a deep price." All Mandy could do was stare, completely slack-jawed as she wasn't sure what to feel. Her thoughts were a sticky conglomerate of nonsensicality. Pinkie Pie...she took on this promotion...what would have happened if she had said no...why didn't she at least come to me? ... I know why. That last question's rhetorical. I shouldn't ask that. She buried her face into her hands, trying hard not to cry. "Mandy, can I confide in you?" Only the hybrid's eyes poked out from the spaces between her fingers. "C-confide in me?" "I..." Olive grit her teeth. "I don't think what the Big O's doing is right!" Rarity's eyes widened, and she held a hoof to her mouth, as though Olive had just spoken of sin. Although she didn't know it, the Director might as well have. "Our precinct rarely gets any party-related cases. And Oprah told me that you and Pinkie usually handle what few party-related cases Precinct 13579 gets. Is that right?" Mandy nodded. "It's just that...going against the Big O...it goes against everything they teach you at the Academy. Everything that you learn upon being promoted to the Management department and becoming an Odd Squad Director. It's like a moral code." And yet he decided to let Pinkie handle her new position on her own without help from her friends?! What kind of messed-up ruling is that?! her brain screamed. He's got these Directors tied up in string, controlling them like puppets, making them live by some baseless ideals and making them think he's soooooo smart and knows all the answers. She scoffed. Well he doesn't. I can't believe the Big O is grossly incompetent, but to this degree? If you ask me, he should be fired. Blasted out of Pinkie's party cannon and gone from the entire Milky Way! When she came to, she saw Olive and Rarity both staring at her, concern written on their faces. She blinked. "What?" "Well, Mandy...you've got spirit." Olive gave an awkward smile. Her eyes widened as she realized that her stream of thoughts went all the way down to her throat and clear out of her mouth. She immediately clapped her hands to her mouth. "I-I meant it in a good way!" Olive corrected. "It's in a good way." "Okay, then I have an addminus...add...addid..." "Addendum?" "Yes." Mandy nodded at Rarity. "Momma, why do you have to follow what the Big O says? Just because he's your higher-up, that's it?" "Well..." "Sometimes, leaders aren't always right. They make mistakes just like any human being or pony does! And sometimes, they do things that are immoral. But that doesn't mean ya hafta go through with it!" Mandy jabbed a finger in the center of Olive's chest. "It's up to you to figure out what's immoral, and what's right. Like for example, I know that you know you don't think what the Big O is doing is right. And you're right!" She let out a forced exhale through her nose. "And I don't think what he's doing is right, either! Somethin' fishy's goin' on, and it's not 'cuz I'm cookin' fish for Peaches again!" Both Olive and Rarity gave warm smiles, but the smile soon faded from Olive's face as she asked, "You're not going to attack the Big O, are you?" This question caused Mandy to erupt in a fit of laughter, laced with just a twinge of rage and insanity that neither mare nor human child picked up on. "Attack him...Momma, you're funny!" She sighed. "No, no! The Big O may be incompetent, but I'm sure he had good intentions!" Her expression then darkened. "But if he didn't, I'll make him pay. Dearly. With lots and lots of interest." Olive attempted to swallow the lump in her throat, but it didn't work. The same nervous grin remained plastered onto her face. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about Mandy, Olive." Rarity said, resting a hoof on Olive's shoulder as Mandy picked up her ringing badge phone. "She'll sort all of this out, and without any awful bloodshed." "I hope so..." The mare shifted her gaze to Mandy as she clipped the badge phone back onto her suit. "So exactly what are you going to do, darling?" "I'm gonna take my partner and we're gonna resolve this situation together! And after that...Oprah and I need to have a little talk." Mandy sighed. "I really really wish you guys would just tell me these things, though! Just 'cuz I'm hyperactive and silly and maaaaaaybe a little dimwitted, that doesn't mean ya hafta keep things from me!" She folded her ears down. "It hurts my feelings, y'know?" "We do apologize for not telling you sooner." Rarity said. "I promise that if I ever have a problem on my hooves involving you, or a secret that you should know, I shall confide in you about it!" "Me too." Olive nodded. "No more secrets between us. Unless they're surprise birthday party secrets." "Of course! The bestest kind of secrets!" The door to the boutique opened, and the trio glanced at their latest guest. "Hi..." came the tired voice of the scraggly pink pony. She appeared more ragged than before, her straight mane, straight tail and messy coat all a darker shade of pink and her white outfit in various states of disarray. Her blue eyes, once full of life, were now bloodshot and glassy. "Heya! You, uh, look tired. More tired. Very more tired than usual." Mandy pointed out, getting off of the couch and making her way to her partner. "What did you want to see me for...?" "Well, Pinkie, I've found out your secret. You've been named Odd Squad's official Party Planner Agent, huh?" Pinkie's eyes widened. She glanced at Olive and Rarity, who only gave her apologetic shrugs. Her eyes began to water, and she began to quiver as she became reduced to a broken mess of tears and emotion. "Ye-e-eeees! And it's exhausting! I, I don't know why I bothered to take this job! I-it's so much paperwork and, and I barely have time for ANYTHING E-E-EEEELSE!!" It was then that the once-exuberant party pony was reduced to wails that one would think Mandy would give when she was sad. The hybrid kneeled down and ruffled her mane. "Shh. Say no more! Hop on my back!" Pinkie sniffled. "W-where are we going?" "To the Big O's office, silly!" Mandy chirped. "We're gonna get this all fixed, you and I." Pinkie wordlessly climbed onto Mandy's back, her forelegs wrapping around her partner's neck. "Hang on tight!" And with that said, both partners were gone in a flash of bright rainbow-colored light. The pair appeared high in the sky, overlooking the Odd Squad Academy. Six buildings each correlated to the six main symbols of the organization, all surrounding the Management building in the center. From a little ways off, the Big O's building was seen. It was tall and circular, and the roof appeared just like the decagonal logo of the Big Office department he was in. Mandy quickly soared towards the building, making sure to go at a steady pace for her passenger. "Okay-dokay, and we are here!" Pinkie opened her eyes, and took in the view of the office that she had been to before, but still looked marvelous no matter how many times she looked at it. "Are you sure you can get this resolved?" "Positively-rutely!" Mandy chirped. "C'mon!" The hybrid landed and allowed Pinkie to hop off of her back before heading inside the building. As was expected from someone of the highest rank within Odd Squad, the office looked as though it was just built. From the walls, to the uniforms agents wore, to the floors, everything was plastered in white, grey and silver finishes. Even the windows were sparkling clean. It was quite a contrast from the rustic and dirty appearance most Odd Squad Headquarters had. Mandy had been to the Big Office before, but she couldn't help but marvel at its beauty every time. "Halt!" The loud cry made Mandy and Pinkie both jump a little as they spotted an assistant walking towards them. With blonde hair and green eyes, he looked to be around the Big O's age, but lacked the silver epaulets and grey belt around his stomach that Mandy's and Pinkie's glorious leader had. "Identify yourselves." Mandy twirled. "Tough as rock and sweet as candy, I am known as Agent Mandy! Agent 57, at your service!" Pinkie's eyes widened. She shook her head and moved a hoof under her chin as though telling her partner to cut it out, but she either wasn't paying attention to the equine or she refused to listen. "I'm second-in-command of Precinct 13579, yessireedoo! Oprah's agent!" The assistant looked Mandy up and down, noting that her ears and her tail were rather unbecoming of a human, let alone a human who was an Odd Squad agent. At first glance, it looked more like the Shapeshifter attempting to be slick, or a shapeshifting creature assuming a form. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I have the badge, don't I?" Mandy said, a smug air to her voice as she unclipped her badge and showed it to him. For a split second, he wanted to tell her off. Tell her that she's a freak of nature who doesn't belong here. Use the Reveal-inator on her and- ...Wait. The Reveal-inator. Yes, that was it. He reached behind his back and fired a cyan-colored ring at Mandy, which turned white before pivoting on its side and moving down her body, scanning her for any impurities in her form. While for most this process tended to slightly hurt, Mandy simply giggled. "It tickles!" she cried out, giggling as she did a small jump. The Reveal-inator revealed absolutely nothing. The assistant grit his teeth and stifled his rage before continuing. "Very well. What is your business, Agent Mandy?" The hybrid stopped giggling and cleared her throat. "I wish to see the Big O about a rather urgent manner concerning Agent Pinkie Pie, here." As Pinkie gave a sheepish wave, the assistant looked her over with disdain...or...well, whatever emotion he was displaying. It wasn't nice, she knew that much. "Ah, yes, the 'party planner pony'." The assistant turned. "Right this way, then." The pair followed him eagerly, eyeing the many assistants that worked at the Big Office, as well as the decals and fliers strewn on the walls for various events and reminders. Only a few minutes later, the assistant was knocking on the double doors of the Big O's office. "Big O, sir? Agent Mandy and Agent Pinkie Pie from Precinct 13579 are here to see you." came the muffled voice as the Big O ruffled through some paperwork. A devious smile formed. "Send them in." "Thank ye thank ye!" Mandy called as she and Pinkie stepped inside, the assistant merely rolling his eyes as the door closed behind them. "Ah, Agent Mandy. Greetings. I've been meaning to talk with you." "Likewise!" "Have a seat, if you will." The Big O gestured to two chairs that sat in front of his desk. It was then that Mandy realized the setup was almost the same as in Oprah's or Olive's and Otto's offices. How it took her this long to realize that, she had no idea -- but nonetheless, she and Pinkie each sat down, with the former helping the latter up onto the chair. "Now, first things first." The Big O's eyes became steely. "I understand you were not at the meeting I had held at, and for, Precinct 13579. Would you care to explain?" Mandy smiled. "Yes! I was asleep." The Big O blinked. "Asleep?" he asked, his tone a mix of incredulity and disbelief. "Yep! Nothing gets in the way of me and my afternoon nap. Common knowledge and all that. My deepest apologies, sir." An eye twitch. A grinding of teeth. It was clear that the Big O wasn't too keen on accepting "well, I was tired" as an answer, not to mention her breezy attitude towards him...it made him want to hurl. But no matter. He had one more agent to address. "And Agent Pinkie Pie. How are you holding up in your new position?" "Well, that's kiiiinda what we came here to talk about. You see..." The Earth pony ran a hoof over the engravings in the chair. Silence fell across the room, and both children stayed quiet as she tried to work up the nerve to finish her sentence. "I can't do the job!" The Big O blinked once. Twice. And then his eyes widened. The realization hit him like a slap to the cheek. He dug his freshly-trimmed fingernails into the desk as best he could. "What?" "It's been very stressful a-and I've been having Agent Fluttershy and Agent Rarity help me and I can't do my regular agent work and my party-planning work in Equestria at the same time and...and..." Pinkie broke out into quivering sobs, burying her face in her hooves. The Big O had to fight to keep his quivers of rage at a minimum. He wanted to snap at Pinkie. He wanted to let her know exactly what value she had to him. But he stifled all his negative emotions. As the leader of Odd Squad, he had gotten good at doing that, and he certainly wasn't planning on faltering now. Instead, he merely raised an eyebrow. "You've been receiving help? I thought I said no one was to help you, did I not?" Pinkie sniffled. "Y-you did, but s-sir...no one pony...no one anyone can handle that much work on her own! It's impossible even for me, and that's saying a lot!" Another sniffle. "So I'm sorry...but I'm gonna have to quit!" "Quit?!" The Big O stood up, his chair nearly colliding with the back wall as it was pushed back. "No no no. There are far too many party-related cases in Canada for you to just quit. And aside from that, you did not object to the job." "But that was before I knew what I was going to get into-o-oooo!" The wails from the pink party pony only served to increase. "Big O, sir, please. Take it easy on my partner." Mandy said, pulling Pinkie into a tight hug. "Agent Mandy, I don't think you realize just how dire this situation is. Every case is important to solve in order to combat oddness. Even the ones related to parties." "But there's no way you can put a single agent in charge of every single party-related case in Canada! You heard what Pinkie just said, no one can do all of that!" Whatever facade Mandy had been putting on for the Big O, if any, was slowly crumbling away. In its place stood a hurt, confused, and angry Odd Squad agent who dared to question her higher-up's actions and decisions. "Are you defying me, Agent Mandy?" the Big O said, his expression and tone relatively calm and cool as a contrast to the hybrid's flaming-hot rage. "Because if you are, then I will be more than happy to grant the rank to you." "M-me?!" Mandy shook her head. "Nuh-uh, I'm sorry, but I will have to refuse, thank you very much!" Pinkie turned up the volume on her crying, to the point where the usual waterfalls of tears gushed out of her eyes and made large puddles on the floor. The Big O sighed. "Assistant, please get a mop and bucket." "Right away, sir." The assistant flanking the Big O's left immediately scurried out of the room in search of the items. "If you are going to be nothing but a nuisance, Agent Mandy, then I am going to have to ask you to leave." the Big O said, his tone of voice on the tipping point of sheer rage. Too bad for him that Mandy was still persistent. "No! I'm not leaving until this is resolved! Even if your assistants have to drag me out!" The Big O opened his mouth to speak again, but he was interrupted by Mandy combusting into flames. "You're pushing my buttons, sir. And trust me when I say that you don't want to see me mad." The door opened, and a third assistant peered in, holding a few sheets of paper in his hands. "Sir! Reports just came in. The party-related cases in Zambia are growing faster by the minute. You need to assign someone to handle them, ASAP!" Mandy's flames died down, and the Big O paused his rage to stare at his assistant. The only one who didn't cease what they were doing was Pinkie, still wailing away. "Am I interrupting something?" Mandy cleared her throat. "May I see that report, please?" Without waiting for an answer, she levitated the papers over to her and skimmed through the first page. Which was all she needed. "WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" The scream was so loud that a flock of startled birds took to flying away from their resting spot in the surrounding trees. "Sir, you've been making a critical mistake this entire time?!" Confusion was the only emotion written on the head honcho's face. "There are hardly any party-related cases in Canada. They're all in Zambia!" By this point, Pinkie had calmed down and was reduced to sniffles once more, only barely hearing the news. She glanced from Mandy to the Big O and back again. "Let me see." The Big O took the papers from Mandy's telekinetic grasp, and skimmed through them. Six papers, all detailing various party-related cases happening in the Republic of Zambia -- a small country that was nowhere near Canada. He wasn't sure what to feel. His expression went from rage, to disappointment, to calm. Half of him wanted to be stuck-up and petty and refuse he was wrong. The other half, however, wanted to keep up the facade. "Oh. Oh my goodness, you're right." he said, feigning surprise. "You've put my partner through strife for nothing?!" Mandy screamed at him, her face beginning to turn red. He simply cleared his throat. "Agent Mandy. Agent Pinkie Pie. My deepest apologies go to you both." Mandy growled, but gave a small huff of defeat, buying the apology at face value. "That's all right. All I ask is that you demote Pinkie back to her Investigation department position at Precinct 13579." "Very well." He glanced around the room. "I hereby demote Agent Pinkie Pie of the Big Office back to her rank and role as an agent in the Investigation department at Precinct 13579. Effective immediately, she will no longer be the designated agent for party-related cases in Canada, and is to resume working under Oprah for all cases in the Toronto area, and surrounding areas if the need arises." "And may I make a suggestion?" Mandy asked. "You elect multiple agents in Zambia to handle the party-related cases there. Not just one." "I will take that into consideration." The Big O wiped off some dust that had collected onto his sleeve. "Thank you both for stopping by." "Thank you for demoting me!" Pinkie gave a happy sigh and wiped away the rest of her tears, a wave of relief washing over her. "Yes, thank you, sir. We'll be on our way." "Have a good day!" Pinkie chirped. "You as well." As the pair left the office, the second assistant came running in with a mop and broom, meticulously tidying up every last drop that Pinkie had left behind. The Big O let out a sigh, took a seat, and sank back into his chair. "She's not good enough." he mused aloud. "That pink horse isn't a good workhorse. Too...jittery. It would be like riding a bike with unsecured training wheels. I'll have to secure another pony..." All his assistants could do was listen, neither one of them daring to say anything. "Assistant!" came the familiar bellow, and the second assistant turned just as he was about to exit. "Get me Osend. I need to send a letter to King Ashero, and I want it out by day's end." The assistant nodded and made his way to the hallway, mop and broom in hand. The Big O grabbed a piece of scrap paper and a pencil, and got to writing. Dear King Ashero, It has been quite a while since we have last spoken. But, I do write this letter with good news attached, so do keep reading. Just a few minutes prior to writing, Agent Mandy came into my office with her Odd Squad partner in tow, inquiring about demoting said partner from a position I had created. From my interactions with her, it seems that she is very quick to anger, and will assume a new kindled form -- that is, her body will become wrapped in flames that do not seem harmful on close contact, but cause her to receive an increase in power. It has been known that rage can consume people's minds and cause them to behave irrationally, sometimes putting them at grave disadvantages in a variety of situations. I believe this may work to your advantage if you wish to secure her and kill her along with her catgirl friend, so please take it to heart. In addition, Mandy seemed rather protective of her partner and did not wish to see her hurt by my actions. I do seem to recall several stories where an Odd Squad agent was driven to the brink of insanity upon seeing their partner seriously injured or killed in front of them, so perhaps hurting the ones she loves is the key to making sure you deliver proper retribution. For both her and Peaches, of course. I am finalizing my own plans at this time, and my wish is that you are doing the same, if you have not done so already. I will keep you updated on any further research and developments. Yours truly, The Big O, Head of Odd Squad Letting out a victorious exhale, he resumed his paperwork, and soon allowed the letter to be taken by his traveling assistant to where it needed to go. I have been unopposed ever since I became the Big O. One horribly-mutated freak of nature will not be enough to bring me down, no matter how hard she tries to threaten me. The poor little thing. I suppose I will have to try and tame another pony in her little friend group to be my workhorse...but who? The question sat in his mind as he set his main focus on his paperwork. Whatever finalization he had of his plans could wait until later. Mandy and Pinkie decided to take the long way to Headquarters, with the latter riding on the former's back once more. Pinkie gave a long tired sigh. "I'm so, sooooo happy we got that resolved!" she said, trying to fight the fatigue that crept into her voice. "I'm happy you're happy, partner!" Mandy chuckled. "Now we can go back to being partners again! I knew that the Big O was stupid, but I didn't think he'd be so stupid that he'd actually mix up countries!" She laughed in her usual giggle-snort way. "Well, now we can go home and-" The sound of loud snoring startled her, and she couldn't help but stop flying. As she swiveled her head back, she found Pinkie completely sacked out and drooling up a storm. "Huh. Weird that I'm not the one falling asleep this time." Mandy remarked, before giving a sigh. "Just hang tight, Pinka-Ponka. We'll be back in no time!" She decided to perform a softer flight this time around, soaring towards the nearest tube entrance as quickly and as quietly as she could. Only five minutes later, Pinkie was resting in her bed, still snoring away, covered by a pink blanket decorated with balloons and party streamers. The headboard had an engraving of her cutie mark on it, as did the other beds with their respective owners' cutie marks and fitting bedding. "You relax. Lil' ol' Mandy's got everything covered!" Mandy said. "I wonder if that should be my catchphrase...anyway, sweet dreams!" As she left the room and gave a happy sigh, she came nearly nose-to-nose with Olive, who only said one word of greeting. "Boo." Mandy yelped, and her hair and tail stuck straight up into the air. "M-Momma! N-not so loud, you'll wake Pinkie!" "Oh! Is she sleeping?" "Yup! Fell asleep on my back on the way home, the poor thing." Mandy gasped. "Ooh, ooh, I hafta tell ya about our visit to the Big Office, c'mon!" "So it turns out that..." Mandy laughed and snorted. "The entire thing was a mix-up! The Big O mixed up countries!" She collapsed into a fit of laughter. "Ah, I knew it." Olive rolled her eyes. "As I said, our precinct rarely gets party-related cases, and so does yours. I figured something got mixed up somewhere along the line." "Aww, well, at least everything's fine now! He demoted Pinkie as soon as he got wind of the news!" Mandy let her tongue out to play as it wrapped around the large burger that sat on one of her many plates and retracted into her mouth, taking the entire thing with it. The hybrid chewed and swallowed the burger, her tail wagging happily. "Well, it's nice that you two are able to return to being partners again. You should probably tell Oprah." "Oh, I heard everything." Once again, Mandy yelped, and her hair and tail stuck straight up as she swiveled her head around to see the Director herself. "You dared to do what was right, Mandy, and I'm proud of you for that." "D-d'aww, stop, you're making me blush!" the hybrid said, straightening out her hair and tail by respectively running her wings across it and using her magic to re-style it. "As a reward, I'll give you and Pinkie the day off. I'm sure you two could use it." Mandy gasped, clearly delighted by the offer, but it was only a second later that her face fell as she squinted at Oprah. "Boss...shouldn't the lesson I taught Momma and Rarity be sticking with you, too?" "Huh?" "Sometimes, leader figures aren't always right, and they can make mistakes like regular human beings do! You shouldn't put your bonafide trust in 'em, 'cause sometimes those mistakes can be fatal." she explained. "You and I both know the Big O is terribly idiotic and-" "He is not!" "Then how do you explain the mix-up? With two countries that aren't even near each other?" Oprah clenched her fist. Son of a bitch, she's got a point...as much as I hate to admit it. "He can't be relied on all the time. He is a child, after all." Oprah growled, nearly getting into an attacking stance before giving a defeated sigh. "I suppose that's true..." "Look, why don'tcha sleep on it?" Mandy grabbed the other burger on her plate with her tongue and ate it, shunting the plate next to the large stack of other dirty plates that she had cleaned off. "I'm gonna go for a walk in the park to work off all this food!" She got up and patted Oprah on the shoulder twice. "Think about iiiiiit..." Before the Director could fire off another rebuttal, the hybrid was already leaving through the steel doors, leaving her to think on her words. "She's not kidding around." Olive chimed in, but Oprah chose to ignore her and left for the Bedroom. Inside, she watched Pinkie as she slept, giving a sigh. Was Mandy right? Is the Big O really that incompetent? And if he is...should he even really be in charge? After a few moments, she shook her head. No, no, don't think such thoughts, Oprah. Going against the Big O goes against your moral code as a Director. Disobey him and you could lose your position...for the second time! Memories began to flood her mind. Painful memories that she didn't want to dig up again. She tore her gaze away from Pinkie and clenched her fist, fighting the urge to punch the wall. But I wonder... The final thought wormed its way into her head. She couldn't bring herself to finish it. It was the final straw for her, as she left the Bedroom and closed the door. She needed some juice. S1E6: An Odd Squad GalaMandy was an agent of very little fashion sense. Aside from her Odd Squad uniform, she didn't really pay too much attention to what looked good on her. In essence, she could wear shorts and Ugg boots, together, out in public and not bat a single eye at someone telling her how hideous she looked. So perhaps it was rather ironic that she had some knowledge of sewing and making clothes. She had Rarity to thank for offering to teach her -- after all, she had nagged her often enough and had been the mare's model so many times that she might as well start getting paid for it. On her off time, when she wasn't napping or eating, she was trimming hems, drawing up designs as legible as she could make them, and grabbing unwitting agents to use as impromptu models. Rarity had to admit that Mandy's approach to entering the fashion industry was rather...unusual. It wasn't like she was actively trying to make it in the industry, of course, but if she were serious about designing, she would be laughed at by most any of the elite. Still, she let Mandy do her thing, guiding her as needed and critiquing her on her works. During an hour of free time the hybrid had obtained, she had set up in Rarity's Odd Squad boutique, sewing a rather complicated hem together on an Investigation suit and humming the theme song to, what else, the Odd Squad TV show. She was so deep into her work that she didn't hear Applejack enter the boutique and call out her name. She did, however, feel her chair being tilted back, so that she was upside down and nose-to-nose with the farm pony. "Oh, hey, Applejack! Didja need something?" "Yes, I did." Applejack let go of the chair and allowed Mandy to return to her upright position. "As ya know, Ms. O's puttin' together a gala to celebrate her leadership, and she, uh...wants t' see ya. Says it's mighty urgent." "Urgent..." Mandy scoffed. "I'm sure it's not that bad. She thinks having no fruity ice cubes at her juice bar is an urgent issue! But...I'll go and see her now." "Wait! Before ya go, how's my suit comin' along?" "Fine! I'm waiting for Rarity to get back, though...could you tell her I'm busy with Ms. O if you run into her?" "Sure thing, sugarcube. Good luck." "Won't need it!" Mandy called, bouncing out of the boutique and clearly not worried by anything her boss would happen to throw at her. Which, thankfully, was nothing of major concern. "Wow, I can't believe you're throwing another party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, a big grin on her face as she placed her front hooves on her boss's desk. "I know, Pinkie. I don't know what I was thinking, making that announcement. There's this sort of..." Oprah waved her hand, trying to find the right word. "Air. Tension. It's rubbing me the wrong way." "Aww, don't worry! That's why you made the right choice hiring me for the party planning committee!" "I didn't hire you. You came up to me and demanded you help me." Oprah deadpanned. "Eh, same thing!" "Hiya!" Mandy strode in. "You called me?" "Oh, Mandy, thank odd. You remember that announcement I made about me putting together a gala, in honor of my leadership?" "Um, yes? What about it?" Mandy gasped. "You're not cancelling it, are you?! Ohh, I had a nice dress picked out and I still need to put sequins on it, and, and the other dresses-" "Agent!" Oprah bellowed. "I'm not cancelling the gala. I want you to help me set it up." She glanced past Mandy, to the bullpen area that her office overlooked. "See...ever since I made the announcement, there's been tension in the air. I can feel it. It's not good." "Well, to be fair, boss, the last time we had a celebration in honor of your leadership, Otis, Olympia and Oona almost wrecked the future by going back in time, remember? Of course people are gonna panic!" She did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "They don't want that to happen again! As Twilight Sparkle says, 'Time travel is not something to be messed with.'" "Rest assured, I've asked them to not do any time-travel-related stuff this time. And I'm locking up all of the time gadgets we have as a safety precaution. But I don't know if that's why everyone's so tense." Oprah sighed. "I know the announcement itself got mixed reactions too...like a lot of agents were concerned about something." "Hmm." was all Mandy could say in response. "Well, I'm sure everything can be fixed, easy-peasy!" Pinkie chimed in. "We just gotta loosen up some nerves around here!" "I really want this gala to go off without a hitch. It's in three days, but that's not a whole lot of time to prepare..." Oprah shook her head, regretting not making the date a week ahead at the least. "Aww, c'mon! With Pinka-Ponka and I, we can get this place ready for showtime by tonight!" Mandy boasted. "That's nice, but I set it three days ahead to gauge agent reactions. As I said, a lot of them are tense." The Director glanced at Mandy. "It wouldn't be too much if you and Rarity helped to make a dress for me, would you?" "Of course not, boss!" Mandy conjured up a pencil and a small notebook, opening it to a random blank page. "Any specific design?" "I'm thinking purple..." Oprah began, listening to Mandy as she scribbled. "Maybe some medium-sized sequins...sparkly, not twinkly. There's a difference. Maybe a flower crown would be nice...oh, and short sleeves, nothing poofy...a couple purple necklaces, and a flower brooch. In purple." "Ah!" Mandy nodded. "Something like this pique your interest?" She flipped the notebook around. Oprah squinted at the messy drawing of her that her agent had made, with none of the features she had asked for even depicted. There was a reason why she wasn't the best artist in the precinct -- her drawing of a human girl looked less anatomically correct than the figures on women's restroom signs. "That's barely legible, Mandy." "Eh, I tried." The hybrid shrugged. "Don't stick strictly to it. I'll be flexible. Just give me a dress with those features. That's all I ask." "Okay!" A pause, and then Mandy blinked twice. "Wait, what were they again?" A long sigh escaped from Oprah as she rolled her eyes and leaned back into her chair. As Mandy roamed the bullpen, she muttered to herself in a way that was incomprehensible to anyone that just so happened to listen. She was gazing at the list of features Oprah had given her, sketching all sorts of ideas to try out. A thump made her give a cry of "oof!" in pain, and her mouth scrunched up. "Oh!" Olive blinked. "Sorry, Mandy, I didn't see you there." "Aww, c'mon, who-" The hybrid shook her head and got a better look at who had bumped into her. "Oh hi, Momma!" Olive found herself being lifted and crushed in yet another one of Mandy's tight hugs, the air from her lungs wheezing out. "H-hi!" She coughed. "D-don't...don't...air...air...air...!" Finally, she was put down, and allowed to refill her lungs. "Hey, have you noticed the air's kinda tense around here?" "How would I know..." Olive gave another cough. "You squeezed almost all of it out of me!" "I'm sorry! But you know how I looooove hugs!" "Yeah, well...to answer your question seriously, kind of. Everyone's avoiding Rarity the most, it seems." Mandy's face fell. "Oh no. If Rarity's having a fashion crisis, no one tell her! It won't be a pretty sight! I can attest as a witness!" "She looked fine, but everyone kept shooting her wary looks. Like she was the worst Odd Squad villain to ever hit the streets!" The comparison made Mandy laugh and snort a little. "Rarity, a villain? Ha! Aah, that's a laugh, Momma!" "Anyway, I stopped by here with Otto -- he had other business to attend to -- to ask if you wouldn't mind sewing a dress for me? I could do it myself, of course, but I need a bit more expertise beyond sewing Burly Bears uniforms." Ah, yes, Mandy had completely forgotten that Olive herself was quite the seamstress, even if only in one kind of clothing. It always seemed to escape her -- mainly because Olive never really brought it up. She gave a sigh. "All righty, guess I'm playin' Rarity! And if I'm playin' Fashion Mare, I gotta look the part!" With her horn alight, her brown curly tail changed from the style of Pinkie Pie to that of Rarity. Her wings took care of her Pinkie Pie-styled hair, as she spread them out and used its feathers to make one swiping pass through her hair, instantly changing her hairstyle. This change was rather common for Mandy, as she had gotten good at styling her hair and tail and making slick impersonations of all five of her equine friends that would make a killing at any comedy night. Of course, this wasn't just limited to the Mane Six -- she could imitate Olive, Otto and Oprah as well, with just a little touch of magic to style her hair and change her clothes. The hybrid cleared her throat. "Now, darling, I simply must ask you..." she said, putting on her best Rarity accent that, if one hadn't met Rarity, would fool them into believing that accent and that voice were part of the real deal. "What kind of dress do you prefer?" Olive could only stare wordlessly for a few moments. She was well-familiar with this stunt of her adopted daughter's, but that didn't mean she liked it. Mainly because she thought it was rude and inconsiderate...and because Mandy could never seem to nail the impersonation of her accent. Finally, words spilled out. "Mandy, what in the name of odd are you doing?" "Ah-ah-ah." Mandy shook her head. "I am not 'Mandy', darling, I am Rarity, and you shall" -- she tapped herself on her head with each following word -- "address me as such!" A full-body feeling of cringe settled in Olive's body. "Now, what kind of dress do you wish to have at this wondrous gala, darling?" The feeling only got worse on the "darling". Olive hated being addressed by cutesy words like that. It made her sick. It made her want to hole herself up in the bathroom and puke all of her organs out but her heart and brain. Still, she forced herself to stay steady. Mandy never did keep up impersonations for very long, anyway. And adults were far more frequent offenders. "Okay, well, nothing too fancy." She watched as Mandy conjured up her notebook and pencil again and got to scribbling. "A simple gray dress, maybe with a waist bow, waist ribbon, whatever you call it. A flower as a hair decoration, doesn't matter which one." "Yes?" "That's it." Mandy blinked once, and then twice. "That's it?" "That's all I want." "Hm. Rather simplistic. Although you aren't one for high-end fashion." Mandy shrugged. "All right then, I shall get started on your dress and have it done by the gala!" "Thank you Ma- er, Rarity." Olive glanced behind her. "Where is Rarity, anyway?" "Oh, she's off doing...well, actually, I'm not quite sure where she went." Mandy unclipped her badge phone. "Let me call her and see, darling." The hybrid opened her phone and pressed 9-1 for Rarity, and it only took six rings before voicemail kicked in. "Hello, darling! You've reached the one, the only, Rarity! I am not available to come to the phone right now, but you are more than welcome to leave a message after the beep! Hmm-hmm, thank you!" A beep sounded before Mandy closed her phone and put it back onto her suit. She sighed. "It seems like she is not answering her phone. Quite a shame, really." "I wonder where she is. As far as I know, it's not like her to miss work..." Olive mused. "Maybe she had a big order to fill at the Carousel Boutique?" This only earned her a laugh. "Oh, darling, Rarity can handle both her boutiques and work. She's such an efficient pony!" Mandy glanced behind Olive. "But I do agree. It certainly isn't like her to be absent, on today of all days..." It was then that Olive had had enough of the Rarity charade her daughter was putting on. In her eyes, it had been going on for far too long, and she much preferred the real Rarity's voice over whatever pale imitation this agent was trying to do. So she decided to fight fire with fire. "Darling, I do appreciate your...efforts to find Rarity, but I simply must tell you something!" she declared, in the best imitation of Rarity's voice she could muster. "Oh, anything, my dearest mother!" Olive smiled warmly at Mandy, in that way the hybrid loved and cherished. And then her expression soured. "CUT THE RARITY ACT!" Mandy's eyes widened. She blinked twice. She wasn't sure how to react. Finally, a scoff danced on her lips, just before she took a deep breath, held it, and returned her tail and hair back to their normal curly states with a loud "pop" sound. "Jeez, Momma, you're no fun!" "And don't call me 'darling'". Mandy's mouth scrunched up, and she muttered something under her breath that Olive could barely recognize except for the term "fun-ruiner". Just before the Director could respond, however, she heard the steel double-doors open and the sound of her partner. "Hey, Olive, I just spoke to Twilight. She's concerned for Rarity, said she left in a hurry as soon as Oprah made her announcement but hasn't been able to get in touch with her all day!" "Neither have I!" Mandy remarked, before her ears picked up on the sound of two agents having a conversation. "This gala's going to be horrible!" one agent exclaimed, a blond twin-tailed girl with black rimmed glasses. "Why's that?" her partner remarked, a dark-skinned boy with curly black hair. "Remember the last time Ms. O held a party?" The first agent groaned. "Agent Rarity simply had to ruin it with her showy outfit!" The mention of Rarity's name made Olive's attention and Otto's attention snap to the duo. "Wasn't the outfit 'casual wear required', anyway?" "Sure was! But nooooo, Rarity simply had to outshine everyone!" the first agent lamented. "She does it at every single party. Like she thinks every time, it's a competition for Best Costume! This isn't Halloween, man!" "And now there's a gala..." The second agent looked away distantly, his expression one that Mandy couldn't recognize. "The last time Ms. O held a gala like this, Olympia, Oona and Otis went back in time and caused a horrible butterfly effect! Tons of agents here have talked about it." The first agent sighed. "Granted, Rarity wasn't involved, but it was still pretty disastrous! Time travel's tricky stuff..." "I agree." The second agent nodded. "At least Ms. O's gonna lock up all the dangerous gadgets during this gala..." "Which leaves us with one more issue: Agent Rarity." the first agent said matter-of-factly. "So what do we do?" "I don't know. Maybe Ms. O will realize how dangerous Rarity is at parties and...exclude her from the gala?" "Well, maybe we can try and convince her. Let's go!" The second agent bolted for the stairs, his partner quickly following suit. Mandy watched them go, a flicker of concern darting across her face. "Well, that answers all my questions!" was all she had to say in response to the conversation she had unwittingly eavesdropped on. "I do remember Rarity having very showy outfits, but I didn't realize it was such a problem for people. Oprah never said anything about it to us." Olive mused. "She hasn't said a thing to me, either! All she did was ask me to make her dress and put me on the planning committeeeeee..." All Olive and Otto could do was stare as Mandy looked like her brain had blue-screened and needed a reboot. "Pickleferries, the dresses!" she finally cried out. A quick "gottagoseeyoulaterbye" marked her swift exit, as her wings took her down the right hallway towards Rarity's boutique. "Mandy wait- and she's gone and why do I even bother." Olive groaned and sighed. "So what are we gonna do about Rarity?" "Rarity has common sense, Otto. Maybe she realizes that her outfits are causing issues at parties." "Clearly she doesn't, if she's continuing to do it!" Otto said. "Maybe we should tell her." "But we don't know where she is!" Olive racked her brain, trying to figure out where she would be if she were a white-furred unicorn mare who lived a double life as an Odd Squad agent and as a fashion designer with four boutiques. But she didn't get very far before an idea formed. "Ah! Why don't I look around town for her? You can ask the other ponies about her whereabouts." "Sounds like a plan! Catch up with ya later!" Otto nodded, before heading for the hallway on the right that flanked the steel double-doors of the bullpen. Olive, likewise, headed for the double-doors themselves, coming up with a plan on how to cover the most ground in Toronto in the search for one little pony. Before Mandy could even attempt to start working on Oprah's or Olive's dress, fatigue had gotten the better of her, and she had slipped into an impromptu slumber right at the (thankfully nonfunctional) sewing machine. The door to the boutique opened, and its potential customer glanced up at the tinkling bell that marked her arrival. "Oh, Rarity installed a bell for this thing. Hm." Peaches remarked, fighting the urge to bat it a couple times, send it careening downwards to the floor, and play with it for several hours. Instead, she closed the door and glanced around. "Mandy? Hey, cuz, you in here?" Loud snoring flooded her ears, and she made her way to the back area. Sure enough, a quick swivel of her head to the right, and there was Mandy, sleeping without a single care in the world. Under her wrist were two pieces of paper with drawings on it. "What are these?" Peaches grabbed the papers and scanned them. "Dress orders?" She glanced at Mandy. "Oprah and Olive...for such a prestigious event like this...is she taking over for Rarity?" Something in her mind asked the questions of "how does Mandy know how to sew" and "how often does she sew" and "is she even any good at making clothes in the first goshdarn place", but she pushed them to the side. She had known the hybrid long enough to know that making clothes was probably something she did for kicks more than anything else, regardless of skill. "Well, the least I can do is finish these dresses for her. Sure, the gala's in three days, but she's a busy hybrid." Peaches mused aloud, before scanning the area. "Come to think of it, where's Rarity?" Sure enough, out of pure convenience, the entrance door opened again, the sound of the bell echoing throughout the place as not a human, but a pony made her way in. "Hey, Rarity? You in here?" Rainbow Dash called, before her gaze settled on the only other awake being in the entire room. "Oh. Hey, Peaches." "Hey, Agent Rainbow Dash." Peaches waved. "What's going on? You're looking for Rarity too?" "Yeah. I wanted to know if she could make me a dress for the gala, but I haven't seen her all day. Thought she was in here. Or I guess I could just ask Mandy." As Dash flew in, a look crossed her face, her eyes boring into the sleeping Mandy. "Ooooor not." "Oh! I was, uh, gonna take over sewing duties for her, actually." Peaches rubbed Mandy's back. "The poor thing's gonna wipe herself out before the gala even starts, and she already has dresses for Oprah and Olive on backlog!" Dash blinked. She certainly didn't pin Peaches as the type to make her own clothes, and she had to sit on that piece of information for a few moments before responding. "Well, would you mind, then? Rarity's usually our go-to mare when it comes to stuff like this." "No, I don't mind! I've got a lot of time on my hands. And some amazing sewing experience." Peaches lifted up part of her yellow dress, pointing to the red V-shaped band that wrapped around her waist. "Did you know I hand-stitched this dress myself?" "Really?" "Yep! But, uh, no one really cared for my designs. Catpeople aren't really about looking fancy, you see." She cleared her throat. "Um, but I digress. Would you mind showing me around this place, in exchange for making you and the others dresses? I haven't really been in here too much to know what it looks like." "Sure. Follow me and I'll point ya to what ya need." "Great!" Peaches began to follow Dash, but then stopped. "Wait. Rarity won't mind if I use her supplies, will she?" "She does get a liiiiittle touchy, but she isn't in here right now, so, uh...I guess not?" Peaches shrugged. "Works for me. Lead the way." A few hours later, the bell rang again, and two more potential customers walked in. "Rarity has a bell here?" "Would that make it...a doorbell?" Otto snickered at his own joke. "Okay, okay, you can have that one." Olive rolled her eyes. "Mandy? You in here?" "In here!" came the distant voice of Peaches. Both Directors couldn't help but exchange looks of confusion. "Is that Peaches?" Otto asked, before he and Olive headed for the source of the sound. What both their visions met was a workspace that perhaps even Rarity herself would let her jaw drop to the floor at. Supplies littered almost every single inch of the table that bordered the room, and a bunch of papers with all sorts of designs that branched off from Mandy's own drawings were hung up like they were food orders in the kitchen of a bar. On the right, Peaches was hard at work, the sewing machine whirring away as she was applying a hem. "You can sew?!" Otto asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth without any thought. "Yep!" Peaches turned off the machine and smiled at Otto. "Sewed this dress of mine, and I can certainly sew yours, Olive. In fact...I'm already done! It's over there." Olive followed the fingerpoint over to a white hanger that was attached to the knob of a cabinet. Situated on the hanger was a stunning and vibrant gray dress, with everything Olive had asked for. The only thing missing was the flower hair dec, but she figured either Peaches didn't know how to make those, or she wanted to leave something for Mandy to do. Maybe both. "I can't necessarily fit it on a mannequin because there are no human mannequins around here, but you're welcome to try it on! I made it according to Mandy's notes." Olive gave a simple "thank you" before taking the dress and rushing towards the fitting room, one of two rooms that lied just ahead of Peaches. "Where's Mandy?" "Sleeping, over there." Peaches directed Otto towards the snoozing hybrid further back in the other room. "I'm guessing she was overdue for naptime." As if summoned, Mandy exited the room and came towards the duo, giving a loud yawn. "Hey, any 'f ya seen th' zzewin' machine? I need it t' sew Momma's drezz..." "Oh! Hi, cuz." Peaches smiled. "I'm helping you with making the dresses, so I borrowed the sewing machine. Rainbow Dash came and asked me to make her dress, and since I knew you were going to wear yourself thin with eight dresses, I decided to help you out!" "Eight?!" Otto glanced at the slips of paper. Sure enough, some of the slips had depictions of his fellow equine friends in various dresses -- no doubt drawn by Mandy, given the hornwriting. The hybrid gave a loud yawn, conjured up a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, and guzzled it down. A satisfied "aah" left her lips, and her usual cat smile returned to her face. And then the whammy hit her. "Wait, you can sew?!" "Yes! Hand-stitched this dress myself!" Mandy, completely bug-eyed, looked at the dress. Precisely hemmed and trimmed, clean, with a smooth color and a nice design...and it came from her cousin. Maybe learning all this stuff from Rarity wasn't a bad thing after all, she thought. But maybe I should have learned from Peach instead! "D'aww, cuz, you didn't have to do that! I-it was my naptime, anyway." she said. "I did finish Oprah's dress, though! And one for Rarity, as a treat." "Perfect!" Peaches clapped her hands together. "Maybe it can serve as an apology for me using all of her items." "Oh wow!" The exclamation caused the trio to turn their heads towards the direction of the fitting room, where the door opened and Olive stepped out. Otto's eyes widened, shocked by the sight of his partner wearing perhaps the fanciest clothing he had ever seen her wear. His mouth ran dry, and he found himself unable to say anything in response. "It's exactly what I asked for, waist ribbon and everything!" Olive smiled. "Thanks so much, Peaches!" "No problem! I do have to advise you not to wear it until the gala, though. Preserve its beauty and integrity a bit, you know?" "Oh, of course!" Olive's smile slowly faded when she spotted Mandy, who went completely slack-jawed. For a minute or two, she struggled to find the words to say, and struggled even harder with the urge to not try her hand at putting makeup, lipstick, and other such cosmetics on her. "Momma, it's...beautiful!" she cried out, stars forming in her eyes. "Nice to see you too, Mandy." Olive said. "I know you didn't make this, but thank you for taking my desires into considera- ohhh no. Nonononono-" And before the Director knew it, she was being drawn into another one of Mandy's tight hugs, the threat of death by asphyxiation rearing its ugly head yet again. "It's so beautiful and you look sooooo stunning and you're gonna be the belle of the ball and that giant waist ribbon is such a plus and-" Mandy's gums quickly stopped flapping when Olive held up her entire hand to her lips. "Don't wrinkle the dress. Or you're going to have to make me a new one." "Sorry! Sorry." Mandy set Olive down, then her face lit up and she snapped her fingers. "Ooh, the flower dec!" She moved towards the countertop on the other side, her eyes scanning the area for where she put the decoration she had spent a good fifteen minutes making. Finally, she found it buried in a mess of papers and thread spools, and she levitated it towards Olive, fastening it to one side of her hair. "Voila! And a mirror." She conjured up a mirror next, for Olive to see her reflection. Olive's chocolate-brown eyes shimmered. She delicately touched the decoration, wondering how the gardenia on top of her head looked so...good on her. It was like a pop of color amidst the drab, and it brought back memories -- memories that made her want to cry. Memories of... Of... ...She couldn't remember. Maybe it was because she didn't want to remember. But she had dressed up like this only a sparse few times before. She felt the memories swirling around in her brain. But it didn't matter now. She could reminisce on her past later if she wanted to. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Mandy." "No prob!" A sad smile danced on her face, just for a moment, before she made her way back into the fitting room to change out of the dress. "Hey, Mandy." Otto interrupted. "Haven't you decided what you'll be wearing?" "Ahh, don't worry about that, Otto. I have it all planned out! Just gotta add sequins." Mandy smiled. "It's hanging in the Bedroom. Protected." She narrowed her eyes. "By invisible lasers." Peaches shot her an incredulous look. "For a dress." "I take no chances!" All the catgirl could give in response was a mighty sigh before she resumed her work. "In the meantime, I better go get started on the other ponies' dresses!" "Aha...here's an idea." Peaches stopped her work again. "How about you and I split the other five dresses? I'll finish Rainbow's, and I can take...hmm..." She stopped and glanced at the design concepts. "Pinkie's. I'll welcome the challenge." "Then I'll do Twi's, Fluttershy's and AJ's!" Mandy chirped. "I just gotta finish Oprah's dress first!" And with that, the hybrid bounced away, just as Olive stepped out of the fitting room, dress in hand. "All right, I have the dress here. Is there anywhere you want me to put it?" "Hmm..." Peaches scanned the room again, looking for something high up where not a lot of dust would get on the clothing. It didn't take her long to find a coat rack near a clustered stack of mannequins. "Aha! Over there, on that hook. Otto, can you create a label for it, so Rarity will know it's Olive's?" Otto nodded and quickly left the area, hoping to find some labels, or at least a label maker of some kind. He had been in Rarity's boutique before, and so he knew his way around the area for the most part -- good luck for him. Peaches, meanwhile, resumed her work once again. "Oh hey, Momma! I forgot to ask ya, how'd the search for Rarity go?" "Huh? Oh!" Olive chuckled. "I got so sidetracked by Peaches, I forgot that's what I came in here for. Unfortunately I couldn't find her. Otto couldn't find her, either. He said that none of the other ponies had seen her, not since this morning." The sewing machine stopped. Mandy heaved a sigh and was about to retreat into her thoughts when the sound of the bell tinkled through the shop again. "Yeeeeee-eeeeeees?" she called in singsong. "Oh good, you're here." Oprah closed the door and made her way over to Mandy. "Hiya, boss! What can I help ya with?" "Two agents just came up to my office and educated me on the 'dangers' of bringing Rarity to the gala. They want me to exclude her from it. That's what I want help from you for!" You goose-laden dum-dum. Of course Oprah would seek you out the second those two agents communicated with her about Rarity. Mandy took an inhale. "In hindsight, boss, not inviting Rarity to the gala might be a wise choice. I overheard a conversation from those exact agents about the last party Precinct 13579 held. How Rarity ruined them with her unique fashion choices." "I will admit, I didn't notice the chaos of the last party. I was away at the time. Did she do anything like that at previous events?" "Looking back on it, she has always stood out with her outfits, but...I didn't know it bothered people!" "You and me both. But barring her seems like a stretch." Oprah sighed. "You know I love Agent Rarity, Mandy. She's one of the best agents of the precinct, always bringing her all to cases and assignments and adding her own little twists of flair. But she's an agent who often can't miss a chance to show off." Her eyes became reduced to pinpricks as she whispered, "I still see that horrifically bedazzled uniform in my nightmares..." "Must be showing off for a really long time if no one can find her." Mandy said. "Momma and Otto went searching, but they couldn't find her no matter who they asked or what they tried." "That's not good. I'm worried she may have gone missing or something." "Maybe she went back to Equestria?" Olive shook her head. "Rainbow Dash already went across Equestria. Or so she claimed. No dice." Rarityyyy...I know you're a fashion designer, but ya gotta have self-restraint! Mandy's brain screamed. She wanted to badly to put it into words. She wanted so badly to teleport Rarity to her and say it straight to her face. But it was a thought that had to stay in her mind, unfortunately. "That aside, how's my dress coming along?" Oprah asked. "Well, I'm almost done with yours. I, uh...kinda fell asleep in the process. Lucky I shut the machine off! Would've been a disaster otherwise..." Mandy gave a nervous chuckle as she clutched her scalp. "Keep it up, and let me know when you're done. I'm going back to my office. I need a juice box." "Okay! And, um, boss?" "Hm?" "You might want to consider letting me help you out at this gala. I made a dress and everything!" Mandy nodded. "I can help keep Rarity under control." Oprah's expression went dour, and she raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're not gonna go crazy too?" This question, however, was dismissed with a breezy laugh. "Oprah. This is a gala. I know better!" "Mhm." The Director gave a sly smile, then turned and headed for the door. "See you later." "Bye!" The sound of the bell tinkling marked Oprah's exit, although it didn't cheer Mandy up like it did all the other times it rang. She swiveled around in her chair and restarted the sewing machine, Olive looking on in worry as four words danced simultaneously on their lips. "Rarity...please come back." Over the course of three days, Precinct 13579 had given up. Not the fight, of course. Odd forbid. The world would end then. They had given up their search for Rarity. In spite of Odd Squad's modus operandi of perseverance, there are only so many tries you can pursue before you become on the brink of collapsing and giving up. Agents had hit that point, believing that Rarity had got AWOL without telling anyone. Still, when the gala went underway, the air was somewhat lively, with just a twinge of anxiety and upset lingering. Lights emitted from a large disco ball that melodically spun around the room, making the bullpen look more like an easy trap for a mare with a keen eye for design -- which wasn't its intent, but would be great if it did trap a mare with a keen eye for design. "I wonder when Mandy's going to get here." Olive mused, sitting at a nearby table with Otto, who happily finished sipping his drink of sparkling apple juice. "She did say she wouldn't be late, but the gala's already starting!" "At least the other ponies are here. And they look so regal!" Indeed, the Mane Five were willing attendees at the gala, all sporting the dresses that Peaches and Mandy had teamed up to make them. They hadn't gone for overly fancy -- not like Rarity's designs for the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot -- but they were enough to turn heads. The ponies were all huddled together, conversing about something that neither Olive nor Otto could hear. "No Rarity, though." "No..." Olive sighed. "I just hope this gala goes off seamlessly." Lucky for her, fate was out to try and prove her wrong, just this once. The double-doors opened, and in walked someone that made almost every single guest do a double take. "Is that Mandy?" "She looks so..." "Refined!" "Beautiful!" "Like a...princess!" Clad in a golden emerald-studded tiara, with her brown curly hair styled into a tight bun reminiscent of Oprah's, with makeup and lipstick adorning her face, was none other than Agent Mandy. Her rainbow-colored dress, plastered with silver sequins that shone when the light hit them in just the right spot, brought some color to an otherwise normally-dull aesthetic. Her curly tail was straightened and swooped down into a small curve at the end, and of course, it was adorned with a big, red, butterfly-shaped bow in the middle, with her bun sporting the same bow to secure it to her head. On her feet were a pair of high heels, silver in color, that clicked when she walked in a way that she adored. She certainly looked like a princess, and intended to make her entrance with that in mind. As Olive and Otto stared, they snapped back to their senses enough to realize that she was approaching them and quickly arose from their seats, respectively curtseying and bowing. "Your Majesty." Mandy giggle-n-snorted. "Hey now, no formalities! Not for this princess." Olive straightened up and looked behind Mandy. "Peaches isn't with you?" "She's coming. Aaaaany second now." Olive and Otto immediately exchanged glances with each other, as if to say, "Who's gonna top this?" The answer, of course, was walking through the door and turning heads at that moment. Gasps rippled through the area as agents became entranced by Peaches's stunning cyan-colored dress, which wasn't as flashy as Mandy's, but it was enough to pin her as an easy standout for more than just being a catperson with unique ears, claws, and a tail. "Whoa." Otto blinked. "Glitter?" "Peaches, you look amazing!" Olive exclaimed as the catgirl made her way over to the trio. "Oh, it's nothing, really..." "When you showed me your dress, I didn't think you had a whole ensemble planned!" "Mandy and I had a sort of...fashion challenge when making the dresses for everyone." Peaches glanced at Mandy's attire. "And I think she won." "Darn right I did!" "Rarity's not here, though..." Olive mused aloud. "Maybe she stayed away from the gala this time." Peaches responded. "Doubtful." Mandy said. "Rarity wouldn't miss an event like this for the world!" "Attention, everyone!" A loud cry from the second floor made everyone's heads swivel towards its source. Oprah was dressed at nowhere near the level that Peaches or Mandy had achieved, but with her gold clothing and accessories, it made her look stunning nonetheless. "Welcome to the Jackalope Gala!" she began. "I am hosting this gala in honor of my many years of serving as the Director of Precinct 13579. I am proud to have seen this precinct make strides in defeating oddness wherever it may be, with agents never giving up the fight. "I will admit, my past stint as a Director was very disastrous. I wish not to go into details, for those uninitiated, but regardless, those days are well over now. Since I became Director again in 1983, I have led this precinct through thick and thin, and I have remained loyal to Odd Squad since I first became an agent here even in spite of the events that unfolded. It is thanks to all of you that I have been able to continue leading, and I wish for many more years of leadership -- for all of you, and for future agents!" Applause erupted through the crowd. "However, despite my strong leadership, there has been one person who has always been by my side. One of my best agents, who has been the heart of this precinct, always bringing her best to every single case and every single fight, and managing to lift the spirit of Odd Squad as a whole when all hope is lost." Oprah smiled. "I would like to call up my second-in-command. The one, the only...Agent Mandy!" This time, cheers accompanied the applause as the hybrid stood up and took a bow before making her way towards the left staircase. The clinking noises her heels made were radiant and sounded almost like the impact of a hoof on the floor, but they were barely heard above the roar of the crowd. After she hugged Oprah, Mandy cleared her throat. "Thank you, everyone! I am proud to have served as Ms. O's second-in-command for many years, and I hope I can continue to serve as such throughout many more years! I hope you'll all have fun at this Jackalope Gala tonight! Be kind, 'kay?" The crowd applauded once more, and then dispersed. Mandy walked down the stairs with grace and headed back to the trio. "Wow, Mandy...that was an amazing speech!" "Eh, it was kinda impromptu! I didn't wanna go into a whole spiel or anythi-" Mandy's words were interrupted by the sound of the double-doors opening, indicating another guest. The reactions of agents, however, quickly turned from joyful to sour. "Oh great, it's her." "Who's that with her?" "Looks like...a bunch of ponies?" Trailing behind the guest were four ponies, dressed in fancy clothing that could certainly place them on equal footing (or hoofing, perhaps) as Mandy and Peaches. The head of this group was a strikingly-brilliant stallion, with a white coat and an azure mane. Befitting of his name, he also wore pants to go along with his dashing tuxedo. Three other ponies followed suit, one a unicorn with a gavel for a cutie mark, one with spectacles resting on the bridge of her nose, and the other wearing a rather extravagant hat with a design of a swan adorning its top. "I don't recognize those ponies..." Olive tilted her head, listening as the crowd had their eyes pinned on the new arrivals. "Whoever they are, they sure look fancy!" Otto remarked, his tone having just the slightest twinge of jealousy. "Rarity!" "Hm? Oh, Mandy, darling!" The unicorn mare made her way over to the group, her plus-ones all following suit. "How lovely to see you! Do you like my dress?" She turned, exposing a shining, near-blinding dress studded with layers of blue and diamonds at its ends that Mandy could have sworn were real...or at least as real as Equestrian diamonds were. The hybrid took in the rest of her friend's appearance -- her neat bun, her diamond-studded golden tiara, and the blue bow that sat atop her dress that looked akin to a small pair of butterfly wings. But why was she obsessing over her appearance when there was a bigger issue at hand? "I had it sewed just for this momentous occa-" "Rarity, where were you these past few days?! Everyone's been asking about you, a-and I had to pose as you, and I even made some of the others' dresses for you!" Mandy could feel the stares of the crowd boring into her as she practically shouted, but didn't bother to address them. "I even made one for you, and you didn't even bother to pick it up! Instead you're wearing..." A series of scoffs bubbled up from her throat. "What, one from an Equestrian boutique?" "Yes." Rarity nodded. "But you see, I wanted this gala to be one of the most historical in all of Odd Squad! After all, Ms. O has been a Director for many, many years, and it would be wrong for this gala to be one of those plain old boring events like in the past." "Is...is that why you...the flashy outfi-" "So I invited some close friends from Canterlot to attend!" Rarity giggled. "Oh, they do so enjoy fancy galas like this." "Did you even get Ms. O's permission?" Peaches asked, although she was nearly dead-sure she knew the answer. "Mm, well...Ms. O doesn't necessarily doesn't have a set guest list, you see. But she does seem to be a very open-minded person, especially when it comes to events like this." Olive and Otto both stifled a giggle. "Open-minded"? Try explaining why she's refused to hire ponies into her precinct! "Rarity...this event is for Odd Squad agents, not your stuck-up Canterlot friends!" Mandy could spot Fancy Pants and the others looking rather offended, and she shot them apologetic looks before continuing. "Do they even know Ms. O?! Do they even work for Odd Squad?!" "Ooooh, well, no!" Rarity blinked. "But when I told them of the event, they absolutely begged me to come! And I simply cannot say no to them. It would leave such a mark on Odd Squad." "Pardon us, Rarity." Fancy Pants and the others made their way forward. "Are these some of your human friends you've told us about?" "Oh, yes, yes! This is Mandy." "Nice to meet you." "That's Olive and Otto." "Hi!" "Hey." "And this is Peaches." "Greetings." The Canterlot denizens looked each person over, muttering various words of praise -- no doubt about the outfits. "It's simply wonderful to meet all of you." Fancy Pants nodded. "My name is Fancy Pants. This is Swan Song..." He pointed to the mare with the swan hat. "Silver Frames..." He pointed to the mare with the spectacles. "And Golden Gavel." He pointed to the only other stallion of the group. Everyone exchanged friendly hellos. "I must say..." Silver Frames remarked. "This seems like quite the gala." "Oh, yes!" Mandy said, setting aside her beef with Rarity for now. "Um, it's our boss's...uh...w-well, she's led Odd Squad -- that's the organization we work for -- for a long time, and this gala is in honor of her!" "I see. May we meet her?" the mare asked. "Um...see, she's very busy right now. Talking." Sweat beads began to form on Mandy's face, and Peaches could swear she saw her cousin visibly shaking. "P-perhaps I can introduce you to her later?" "That would be wonderful." Fancy Pants nodded, apparently oblivious to Mandy's anxiety as he turned to the other guests. "Now, let us go and get acquainted with some of the other humans here, hmm? I, for one, would simply love to meet them all!" "Yes, of course, of course!" Golden Gavel said. "Let us go!" Swan Song cheered, before the group departed with Rarity in tow as she waved at an on-the-verge-of-an-anxiety-attack Mandy. Howcouldthisgetanyworseonoddhowcoulditgetanyworse- Just as Peaches, Olive and Otto were about to ask Mandy if she was okay, it got worse. "Oh, there you four are!" Oprah waved. "Mandy, that was an amazing speech you gave. Even if it wasn't much of a speech." All the hybrid could do was let her mouth open itself and let out a series of ungodly noises from her throat that no one would ever think someone of her species could make. "Are you all right?" The noises continued, then coalesced into something that could best be described as either an inarticulate yell, or a long gasp being sucked in with harsh force. "She's- mmph!" Any comfort Olive was willing to give was quickly silenced by Mandy holding a hand to her mouth. In an effort to save face, the hybrid conjured up a glass of water and quickly chugged it, giving a satisfied "aah" and a big grin as a way to say "all righty, pipes are cleared". "You're not getting sick, are you?" Oprah asked, a worried expression settling on her face. "I know you looked fine when you gave the speech, but many odd illnesses can progress quickly. The last thing I need is another odd outbreak, let alone one during the gala!" Mandy didn't say anything, just let the grin turn lopsided out of nervousness. Go and tell her, you moron! If you don't, she's gonna find out eventually, and then she'll punish you and she'll probably kick Rarity out and she'll- "Oprah...Rarity arrived at the gala a few minutes ago." She snapped out of her thoughts. It took every single inch of willpower she had not to strangle the source of the voice with her tail. "Agent Rarity arrived?" Oprah looked behind her. "Where? Where?!" "Um...about that." The noise Mandy made was somewhere in between a long slow wheeze and a soft squeal. She didn't know if it was happening to her physically, but she could mentally feel her body beginning to deflate, and any semblance of rationality or thinking had gone out her ear and was flying off to another needy person. "Over there." Peaches pointed to where Rarity and her guests were chatting with two agents, both of whom looked visibly uncomfortable. "Rarity...wha..." Oprah blinked. "Wh-who are those ponies?!" "We don't know, but she says she brought them from Canterlot to attend this gala. Apparently, word got around." Olive explained. "So that's where she's been these past few days?!" Oprah's voice was a shout, although it attracted the attention of hardly anyone. "Out gallivanting in Equestria, telling everyone about the Jackalope Gala, instead of working?!" If Mandy wasn't shaking before, she certainly was now. Sweat cascaded down her face, threatening to ruin the makeup she had spent hours just putting on. Villains, break in here and take me away from here. Abduct me! Capture me! I don't care, she's gonna punish me and it's gonna sting like a gajillion Staticbees! "I will admit, I didn't prevent anyone from coming, pony or human. But I thought Rarity would have enough common sense not to bring guests!" Oprah scoffed. "No one has ever brought guests to past events unless they're parties!" She got a good look at Rarity's outfit. "And what is she wearing?! She looks like she's trying to outshine me in fashion!" "You're pretty much right on the mark with that last bit." Otto gave an eye roll. "Those ponies can't be here. As...refined as they may seem..." Oprah sighed. "I am limiting this gala to Odd Squad agents only!" And with that declaration, she marched off to deal with the gala crashers. A pause lingered in the air, and then Mandy completely snapped. Next thing she knew, Peaches was getting a nice hearty smack to the cheek. "Ow!" "You IDIOT! You absolute IDIOT! Now everyone's gonna blame me! They're gonna think I made Rarity bring in guests, but I didn't! I didn't bring guests in and- mmph!" Now it was Mandy's turn to have her mouth plugged by a hand. By Olive's hand as payback, in fact. "Mandy, stop! You're ridden with anxiety. You're not thinking straight!" "Momma, don't you get it?!" Mandy snapped, throwing Olive's arm down. "These agents come to both me and Oprah for support. If she suffers, I suffer along with her. If agents hate her, then they will most certainly hate me as well." Peaches could only blink for a few moments before words came tumbling out. "Cuz, that's the stupidest logic I've ever heard! You and Oprah aren't one in the same. You're different people in different positions!" "If I don't take action then I will be seen as a failure! Agents will hate me! My position at Odd Squad will be no more!" It was now Mandy's turn to receive a "you're acting stupid" slap, one given by Peaches herself. "Mandy, calm down! Just...calm down." Olive said. "Look, Oprah will handle the situation. It's her gala." The slap was what made the hybrid snap out of it. She took a deep breath. "Y-you're right!" A bout of nervous laughter slipped its way forth either way, though, as she rubbed her cheek. "You're right. I-I'm fine! I'm fine." Otto had to bite his tongue so the words "no, you're definitely not fine" weren't said. "Well, I say! If we are not welcome at this gala, then I do suppose we should take our leave!" The sound of Fancy Pants's voice caused the group to turn their attention towards the stallion, looking rather offended as he began to make his way towards the steel double-doors. Upset murmurs from the crowd lingered overhead. "Fine! Take Rarity with you!" The upset murmurs quickly turned into angry shouts with just those five words, spoken by an agent that no one could see. "M-me?!" "Rarity, don't go with them. That's an order!" Oprah bellowed, following the Canterlot elite through the bullpen while keeping her piercing brown gaze on her agent. "Rarity? If you do not wish to come with us, dare I say, it would hurt your social standing in Canterlot." Fancy Pants remarked. "Considering you own Canterlot Carousel, ponies might stop buying your clothing." The unicorn mare's eyes widened. For all the time she had once spent with Fancy Pants, she certainly hadn't thought of how her boutique and her business would be affected. She glanced at Oprah, then at Fancy Pants and the others, and back and forth again. "Rarity..." came Oprah's voice, through gritted teeth. "Is Oprah really making Rarity choose?" Olive asked, although the repeated chants of other Odd Squad agents to "get her out, get her out" made her question rather rhetorical. "Oh cattails." "Those agents aren't looking too happy!" Otto tacked on. "They're gonna riot, they're gonna riot!" Mandy panicked. "I hafta get out there!" "Mandy, don't!" The hybrid ignored Olive's cry, instead running as fast as her high heels would allow her to go...which only ended in disaster when one of her heels snapped off, sending her tumbling to the ground. A pain began to rocket through her leg, and it didn't take her long to deduce what had happened. "Oww, my ankle!" she cried out, pulling herself up as she gazed backwards at her wings. At least I can still move... "EVERYONE STOP!!" The echoing cry made everyone, even Rarity and her guests, stop and look at Mandy, hovering in midair with her right foot hanging completely limp. "Ms. O, are you really making Rarity choose between going back to Equestria or staying here?" "These agents don't want her here, Mandy. Rarity's only intent was to show off and that's it!" "Wh- now, that is simply not true!" "Then how come you were missing for three days straight? I've been worried sick about you, and so have Peaches, Mandy and the other ponies! Not one of them could find you! All because you were gathering up some other ponies from Equestria to attend the gala when I thought I had implied this was strictly for Odd Squad agents!" "But it was all in good intention! I-I wanted this gala to be special for you, Ms. O!" Rarity cried out. "After all... Odd Squad and Equestria are connected, no? It would do you some good to connect with some Equestrian natives." That was the boiling point for the Director. Her face began to turn red, and her expression twisted into one of rage that most every agent was familiar with. Mandy landed on her feet, the pain seeming nonexistent to her as she watched her boss let it all loose. "I don't want Equestrian natives in my Odd Squad! I am happy with my precinct the way it is, and I don't need some...some..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "...prissy ponies to change it!" This earned her a collective gasp from Rarity and her guests. The other Mane Five, likewise, looked hurt as well. "Well!" Fancy Pants slammed a hoof down. "I think it is safe to say that we will not be returning here again! We are leaving!" His other guests agreed, giving disgruntled murmurs as they shot Oprah killing glares and followed the stallion out the doors. Rarity's eyes began to fill up with tears. "M-Ms. O-" "Go." A pause. "But-" "What are you waiting for? GO!!" Rarity sniffled. She looked at all of the guests, most of whom nodded in agreement with their boss. She looked at Mandy and her group, all giving sympathetic looks. And then she looked at her friends, who were wearing looks of disapproval. The looks she hated the most. With that, the mare took off running, sobbing loudly and dramatically as she went through the double-doors. "Rarity, wa- aah!" As Mandy began to take off after her, she promptly fell on the floor again, forgetting that she had an injury. The pain came back, and she grit her teeth. Olive was quick to race over to her. "Mandy, are you okay?" "My ankle's sprained..." "Keep your weight off of it for now." Olive urged, helping Mandy to her one good foot. "Fly instead." "This gala is over." came Oprah's voice, sending a ripple of concerned murmurs through the crowd. "But at least Rarity's gone!" one agent called out. "Oh, we were so worried she was going to outshine you again, boss!" The murmurs turned into sounds of agreement. "Really?" Mandy said, her expression turning into one of disgust as she hovered above the group. "Maybe it's true outshining Ms. O was Rarity's intent, or maybe it's not. I don't know. It still doesn't give you a right to go against her!" She scoffed. "Has anyone even tried just talking to her and addressing their concerns with her?" As expected, a lot of the answers were something along the lines of "no" or "I never thought of it". A growl burst its way forth from the hybrid's throat. "Ms. O-" "Don't." The Director gazed towards the stairs. "I'm going to be alone." Wordlessly, the crowd watched as their gala star ascended the left staircase, her heels clinking on the metal with a sound that everyone could hear now. When she reached her office, she opened the door, then slammed it closed as hard as one could get with a glass door without it breaking into a million pieces. A concerned collective gasp then followed. "I'm disappointed in you. All of you!" Mandy said, watching as the agents turned their attention from their boss's office to her. "Odd Squad is supposed to be about teamwork. Working together to achieve a common goal. Well here's some logic for you: teamwork doesn't work when all of you gang up on someone else!" She narrowed her eyes. "The least you could've done was talk to Rarity and tell her that her outfits are too flashy. She probably would've listened if you did that!" A scoff. "But noooo. You had to shoo her out when the time was right. Some pathetic lot you all are." To accentuate her point, she flew down to a table filled with assorted cups and a punch bowl, and slammed her fist on it. "Fashion designers know where to draw the line between being fashionable and being a show-off! I should know, I AM ONE!!" Her angry gaze swept the room. She didn't take in the others' concerned and startled reactions, instead hyperfocusing on one particular agent. "You." "M-m-me?" "You're one of the agents I saw the other day, talking about Rarity and how she acted at previous events." The girl's eyes widened. "You listened?!" "Well, we were standing right there and you happened to walk by with your partner. These pony ears aren't just for show, ya know!" The girl looked like she was on the verge of crying. "I-I'm sorry." "Don't tell it to me, tell it to the pony you hurt!" After her gaze swept the room for any sign of her partner, it stopped on Olive. "Momma!" "Yes?" "Take this agent, find her partner and Rarity, and have both of them apologize to her. Now. Make sure they settle their differences." "Right!" Olive obeyed, if not on instinct, then because she knew Authoritarian Mandy was not a Mandy you wanted to mess with on any given day. "As for the rest of you..." Mandy's gaze softened. "You heard our boss. Go home. The gala is over." "Sugarcube..." Applejack's disheartened voice briefly broke the hybrid out of her sad stupor. "We'd like to help with cleanup, if we can. I think Rarity just needs some time to herself. To talk with these agents about their concerns n' such." "I have no problem with that." Mandy said. "Rainbow Dash, can you get some gauze from the Medical Bay for my ankle, please? It's sprained and it's gonna get infected if I don't stay off of it." "Yeah, sure." The Pegasus quickly soared up to Dr. O's workplace, finding it still lit and making her way inside. "Let's move!" Two claps were given -- a signal, albeit a rare one from Directors, for agents to begin moving on their assigned tasks. Whatever they were doing after that, however, Mandy didn't care about. Her entire body began to ache with sadness. All the work I did...all the work everyone did...and for nothing. Three days were spent planning this gala...and for nothing. And it's all because of that stupid,[i/] arrogant...mare-ogant...ha... She took a deep breath. Pun aside. I shouldn't get mad. I'm not gonna stoop to these agents' level. Let them work it out amongst themselves. Maybe then, Rarity will see the error of her ways, and things will be fine again. Be that as it may, though, there's one thing that's undeniable. "This gala was a disaster." "Don't beat yourself up over it, cuz." Peaches said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault." "Yeah, it was just a misunderstanding." Otto said. "I know, but...I really wanted this to go off without a hitch for Oprah. She's done so much for this precinct, and for Odd Squad. To have this gala ruined, it's...a disgrace to her!" No one gave a rebuttal to that. The group stayed silent for a while, until Mandy snapped her fingers. "Ah! I have an idea!" "What is it?" Peaches tilted her head. Mandy smiled. "What kind of cake flavor does Oprah like?" Otto caught on immediately, and nodded. "Now that we can do!" Long after having cried her eyes out, Rarity sat in the back of her Odd Squad boutique. Mascara streaked down her face in an artistically gloomy way. Her dress had been taken off and thrown on the cyan couch that she still had to get rid of. She looked to be a mess all around -- surely a prospective villain who just needed to jump off the slippery slope. Three knocks at the door. "Rarity, can we come in?" It was Olive's voice. A pause, and then the door opened, the little bell tinkling its familiar tune. "Rarity? It's Olive. I've brought someone who has something to say to you." The mare summoned up what anger she had left to give a "hmph" of protest. She didn't know whom Olive had brought, but that didn't mean she was so keen on turning herself around and scaring them with her horrid appearance, allowing them to mock her further. "Rarity? We, um..." The sound of a boy's voice. "We've said some really awful things about you that we shouldn't have." "See, me and a bunch of other agents...we all think that the outfits you wear to parties and stuff are too...well...they make you seem like a showoff." Rarity lifted her head, her expression contorting into one of upset. The girl continued. "And we know you're a fashion designer, and you take pride in your work, but we'd appreciate it if you perhaps, um...maybe toned it down with your outfits?" A pause lingered in the room. Rarity's expression turned into one of a softer upset. She stood up and gave a soft inhale. "All I wanted was to make this gala special for Ms. O. I never meant to steal the show for myself with my outfit, but..." She bit her lip. "Part of what I love in being a fashion designer is having creative freedom. Perhaps I...do go overboard with my outfits, but when I do, it is only out of love and passion for what I do for a living." Olive could see the two agents gritting their teeth, no doubt feeling massive regret now that they were aware of just how much Rarity loved her job. "I'm terribly sorry for what I've done, but please...do try to understand." The boy opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word in, Olive spoke in his stead. "You know, Rarity, part of the reason why you and Mandy work so well together on making clothing is because Mandy doesn't usually go overboard with creating outfits like you sometimes tend to do. Key word being 'sometimes', of course..." She rolled her eyes. "But why don't you consult her if you ever feel like something you make might not be fitting for an event? Or just in general? After all, she is a fashion designer as well. She just doesn't do it for a living like you do. But it's a fun hobby for her." Her face brightened. "Peaches as well. And me. I can only sew up Burly Bears uniforms...but Peaches? She sewed that yellow dress she wears herself. One of the reasons she was a pariah of Vallea was because of her love of fashion. I'm sure she would love to help you out if you would just extend a hoof to her." Rarity wanted to snap at her right then and there. Tell her that she didn't need her worldly Odd Squad Director advice. Why was she even apologizing anyway, when she wasn't telling Rarity to haul flank? But deep down inside, she knew she was right. Why did she have to drag Peaches and Mandy into this, tho- "Believe in your friends, Rarity." ...Oh. Maybe that was why. She thought back to all the fun times she had with her friends. I grew up with Mandy, the little doll. Ever since she was a baby...she's never had a mean bone in her body for anyone but nasty villainous ruffians. A pain stabbed her heart as she thought back to the gala. She wanted this gala to be perfect, too, perhaps. She even made outfits together with Peaches. And I just ended up ruining it...for what? Just to bring a couple guests from Canterlot who didn't even know Ms. O? I didn't just let Ms. O down. I let Mandy down, too. She's my friend. Why did I do this? And Peaches...I admittedly have not known her for very long, but she's so nice. Would it be too much of a stretch to say that this was her very first party she ever attended? Perhaps. Any way you slice it, all I did was mess things up for her. And Olive...the dress she's wearing is so stunning I simply must wonder if she's lying to me and she made that herself. It is the perfect dress for her. But I only ended up ruining the gala for her too. Thoughts swirled around in her head like a slop stew of every food imaginable. She began to cry again, feeling her nose clog up and something wet streaming down her face. But before she sent herself into another crying fit, she uttered out, "I...suppose I could do that." "Wonderful!" The girl stepped forward. "I'm really sorry for saying all those things, Rarity. Mandy was right. I should have come straight to you instead of talking behind your back." "I'm sorry too." The boy nodded. "From now on, I'll talk to you if there's an issue between me or my partner." Rarity stood up. The agony of a meltdown was coming, and she couldn't stop it. She needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. "I just...think I need to be alone for the night." "We'll respect that." Olive nodded. "The other ponies are helping with cleanup in the bullpen, so feel free to contact them if you need anything, okay?" She received only a soft "mmm" in response. "And don't go near Ms. O right now. She's..." Olive winced. "Not happy. To put it mildly." That tidbit didn't matter to Rarity. She wasn't going to see Ms. O anyway. That would be a fool's errand. Besides, she had some crying to do. She quickly speed-trotted past Olive and past the agent pair, opening the door and closing it. The sound of running hoofsteps were heard going to the right -- no doubt the mare was heading for the Bedroom for some alone time. "Is she gonna be okay?" the boy asked. Olive nodded, although it wasn't one of her usual confident nods. "You two did the right thing. Once she reflects on our words, I'm sure she'll be fine. Now come on." She made her way towards the door. "You can help clean up in the bullpen." The two partners exchanged glances with each other, as if telling each other that they weren't sure if their senior's words rung true, but followed her out the door nonetheless. Oprah set the flower crown she had made herself and worn to the gala down on her office desk. She contemplated taking off her dress as well, but realized that she wasn't wearing anything under it. Odd forbid some agent wandered in and found her naked...she needed to spare herself the embarrassment. A knock at the glass door nearly made her jump, and she swiveled her head to find Peaches and Otto entering the room. "Hey, Oprah!" Peaches waved. "Otto and I brought you a cake! You know, as a present of sorts." The three-layer chocolate cake was set down on the table. Oprah had to resist gawking. And how do you think I'm going to eat all of that? Not to mention, chocolate isn't even my favorite flavor! Still, her mouth watering spoke words of the contrary. She shook her head. "I'm not hungry right now, Peaches. But thank you." "You still upset over the gala?" Oprah sighed, her tired brown eyes fixating on Otto. "I'm not upset over the gala so much as I'm upset with...Rarity." The dryness in her mouth was only made worse by the name dancing on the edge of her tongue, like a poison. "She brought her haughty little pony friends to the gala and didn't even tell me!" "I'm sure she didn't have malicious intent behind it." Peaches said. "I will admit, I don't know Rarity as well as the two of you do, but from what I do see, she's very loyal to Odd Squad." "Then how do you explain all the other times she supposedly outshone me?" Oprah snapped. "Now I see those two agents weren't lying to me when they talked about barring her from the gala." "I guess you could say she got a little carried away." Otto scratched the back of his neck. Peaches nodded in agreement. "It's just...this Jackalope Gala was meant to be a celebration for me. For my leadership. I didn't want it to turn disastrous like this." The Director heaved a sigh and made her way over to the couch, taking off her bracelets and necklaces next. "I should have clarified." "Hm?" "The blame's on Rarity, and on me. I didn't clarify that only Odd Squad agents were allowed to attend. And as a result...this is what happened." "Not that that would have stopped her..." Otto remarked. "But as a suggestion, do you feel like...talking to Rarity? First thing tomorrow? You can sleep on it tonight." "Good idea!" Peaches nodded. "If you two talk it out and take the time to listen to each other, you can both apologize and this whole problem can be fixed." "It's-" She stopped herself from instinctively saying "a bad idea", instead exhaling slowly. "Not a bad idea, I suppose. But I don't know if Rarity will even want to see me again." "Tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start!" Peaches chirped. "Just trust us, Oprah." The Director had to resist the urge to remark on when Peaches turned into Mandy -- the wisdom she gave sounded awfully familiar. She glanced from her to Otto and back again, finally giving a resigned sigh. "You're right. Both of you. I can't brood over this." She stood up. "It's like...this has left a hole in my heart. And if talking to Rarity is what'll fill it back up again...then it's what I have to do." Peaches and Otto exchanged smiles. "Now, why don't you have some cake? I know you said you weren't hungry, but why not have some to cheer you up?" Peaches said, turning around and walking towards the doors. "We're gonna go downstairs and finish cleaning up in the meantime." "Have a good night!" Otto waved as he turned on his heel and made his way out the door, Peaches following suit and leaving Oprah alone in her office once more. She looked at the cake. She felt hungry now, even though she had a lot of juice at the gala. "Talking to Rarity...perhaps that will fix everything." She huffed. "Perhaps. Maybe." She closed her eyes. "Hopefully..." Cleanup hadn't taken terribly long, but between it and the events of the gala, it still left Mandy wiped clean of energy. After using the bathroom, she limped back to the Bedroom in her pajamas, her legs feeling like they were made not out of blood and bones and whatever else legs were made out of, but pure lead. She entered the room and glanced at the clock, which read 9:00 AM. A yawn wracked her body. "I could go for two more hourzz..." she muttered, slipping back into bed and allowing her eyes to close as her head rested on the pillow. "Mandy!" Her eyes snapped awake and she perked up. "Huh?!" Her head swiveled back and forth. "Where's the fire?! I didn't do it, I'm innocent!" Her gaze then landed on Rarity, who was nothing more than a blurry white-and-purple shape in her line of vision. "Oh...Rarity, look, lazzt night wazz a dizzazzter n' I just need zzleep..." "No no, you simply must come now! Come, come!" If Mandy had enough energy, she would let out a muffled scream straight into her pillow. Instead, she simply buried her face in it. Rarity squinted, then gave a resigned sigh and lit up her horn. Next thing Mandy knew, she was on the floor, the ankles of her pants being dragged by this disturbance of her peace who just so happened to be a friend of hers. She let out a faint cry of protest, being the only way she could actually protest since fatigue left her bogged down enough for physical protesting to be off the board. The duo entered Rarity's boutique, where Oprah was standing and talking to both Peaches and Olive about a conversation that Mandy didn't care to understand. "See, Ms. O and I, we...we had a little talk about last night. Ms. O believed that the best course of action was to make up with me." Rarity explained a few minutes later. "And..." "We want to apologize." For a few moments, Mandy didn't respond. Her mind had almost completely shut down. But she knew that she couldn't leave without answering -- and even if she did, these four would just hunt her down and disturb her again, anyway. So she used only a small bit of her energy to give out short responses. "For what?" "You're my second-in-command, Mandy, and you have been for a long time. Even if you haven't been around since the second time I became a Director, this gala was supposed to be special for you. And...I'm sorry it had to get ruined like this." "Mm. Z' okay." "Oprah and Rarity already apologized to us." Olive explained. "They've made up. To Peaches and I, that's all that matters." A suggestion popped into Mandy's head. "Hozzt 'nother gala..." Rarity's eyes widened. She glanced at the other three girls. "Host another gala, you say...that wouldn't be a bad idea." "I agree." Oprah nodded, and once she saw Olive and Peaches nod in agreement, she declared, "Then it's settled. Next week, we'll host another Jackalope Gala! No conflict, no interruptions, and a fun time for all of Odd Squad!" Rarity, Olive and Peaches all let out various cheers. Mandy, on the other hand, was too tired to cheer, and could only settle for a pumped fist. "Oh, while I have you here, why don't I look at your ankle?" "I don't think her sprained ankle is on the list of Mandy's priorities right now, Olive." A sad and pitiful moan left the hybrid as her face rested on the floor. "Cuz, go to bed." Immediately, the hybrid perked up. Her eyes shimmered. Her horn lit up, and she teleported away without another sound uttered or another word spoken. "Wh- wha- I'm- what did you do that for?!" Olive cried out. "She's hurt!" "Did you see the way Rarity dragged her in?" "Well, she wouldn't come in any other way, darling. She's much too heavy to carry on my back. I can't practice feats of self-levitation like Twilight can. And none of you were willing to get her." The other three remained silent. "Anyway, the point of the matter is, me and Ms. O are good again. And now, if you will be so inclined to please leave my boutique so I may work on my dress for the next Jackalope Gala, that would be wonderful." "Can I help?" Peaches asked. "Oh, of course, darling. Olive, you as well. I'd like to teach you the more finer points of sewing than just running needles through fabrics of maroon and white." Olive shrugged. "By all means. It would help with Otto's ripped suits that he somehow manages to complain about at least once every month." "Wonderful! Please, do grab another sewing machine from the back room, if you will." Olive nodded and headed to where Rarity pointed. "A juice box for your efforts?" Rarity swiveled her head to find an apple-flavored juice box being held in front of her face by a smiling Oprah. "Ms. O, darling, you've...never offered me one of these before!" "I know. But this time is special." "What's the occasion?" Her smile grew wider. "Friendship reunion." Rarity, Olive, Peaches and Mandy all worked overtime on making dresses for the other ponies and for themselves. It was hard work, considering Olive's many messes and many mistakes, but the group got the work done, and were proud of what they had created. The second Jackalope Gala, unlike the first one, went smoothly. Everyone had fun, and Rarity even got a chance to debut her new plain-and-simple-but-still-very-fashionable dress to the surprise and delight of everyone. After many hours of dancing, socializing, and eating, agents began to clean up. Mandy had been tasked with cleaning up the Breakroom, and was scrubbing the table in an attempt to get one particular sticky juice stain out. "Hey, Mandy?" "Hmm?" "You know the cake Otto and Peaches brought to me a couple days ago?" "Yeah. What about it?" Mandy asked, not bothering to turn around. "They said it was your idea, and I just wanted to say...thanks. But I'm not really a big cake person." Oprah made her way over to the fridge and took the cake out, which had a slice missing but was otherwise intact. "You can have it." Any focus that Mandy had on her task was completely lost, dropped into the abyss of the Volcano Room and being incinerated by the lava below. Scrubbing the table be darned, there was a huge cake just waiting for her! A gift, from the best boss in the world! "You're going to eat it in one bite, aren't you?" Oprah deadpanned, noticing the wide grin on her agent's face. "Don't mind if I do!" With her tongue quickly wrapping around the foodstuff and pulling all three layers into her mouth at once, Mandy chewed thrice, and then swallowed. Oprah, in spite of having seen this feat before, stared, completely dumbstruck. "You didn't even taste it!" "Aww, I know! But I can always make another one. You know that." The two stood in silence for a long time. Mandy blinked. "Actually, I'm gonna go make another one." Oprah simply rolled her eyes and chuckled, walking away as Mandy began to take out supplies to whip up another cake with. S1E7: The Art of Animalistic DeceptionThe sound of a bell rung nearby. Citizens went about their daily lives, the sound signaling that it had hit noontime. However, the bell had no impact on Mandy, who was in the midst of a fight with Astral Thunder, a Pegasus stallion that, surprisingly, hadn't put up much of a fight. Receiving his due punishment for dropping fillies and colts into a polka-dotted pool of his own creation because "polka dots look cool on ponies", and having physically harmed the sole adult mare exception, he had a hammer resting on the fronts of his teeth. "You're fun. But let's make this quick, shall we?" Astral coughed. "Please..." "Lemme guess, you got a wife and kids?" Mandy opened her mouth wide as she shoved the hammer ever so slowly into his teeth until he was forced to open his mouth. "Yawn. Heard that way too many times before." He began to hack. Mandy took a unique twist and bent the handle of her hammer downwards, hearing something crack but not having the heart to investigate what it was. "You're an idiot. Thinking you could harm my partner, have you no shame?" He was choking now, his eyes reduced to pinpricks but still full of fear. Mandy wasn't sure exactly what spurred her to give up in that moment. Maybe it was her stomach growling something fierce, or maybe it was her moral judgment winning over. But she dropped the ball anyway. "Go, you pathetic equine." She slid the hammer out of the stallion's mouth, and he took a few moments to engage in some heavy breathing. "Go!" With a round of coughs, he staggered away, his wings drooping downwards and nearly touching the ground. "AND GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" came the final warning, although she knew he really couldn't go any faster than the speed of a juice-withdrawal-addled Oprah. She held up her hammer and examined it. "You poor thing, you're in need of a sharpening! I'll have to see what I can do back at HQ." With that said, she took to the skies, hoping to spot a nearby open tube entrance so she could return home. With her belly full, Mandy could return to work. Or she could, if there weren't banging noises from nearby disallowing her from getting into the groove as she filled out O-136 form after O-136 form. The sound of a screech didn't help either. "Oww! Geez, Pinkie, can you stop?!" Mandy snapped, folding down her ears and glancing at the source. "Huh?!" Said source was certainly not Pinkie -- it was a rather small and spherical creature, with big oval eyes, a small mouth with razor-sharp teeth, and something on the bottom of the sphere that Mandy could only describe as being a pair of shoes. It chirped at her eagerly. "Wh...what are you? Haven't seen a creature like you around here before..." It gave a curious chirp. "Oh, there you are, little guy!" Fluttershy entered the bullpen, hovering over to the creature and picking it up in her hooves. "Thank you for finding him, Mandy." "Oh, hiya, Fluttershy!" Mandy greeted. "I didn't really find him...I mean I kinda did, but he probably just came here." "That means he must like you!" Fluttershy giggled. "What is this thing, anyway?" "His species doesn't have an official name yet, but agents tend to call them Toddle-bees." Toddle-bees? Mandy blinked. Weird name, but it certainly isn't the weirdest... "They're not native to this town. Ocean is doing more research on it." The creature gave a happy chirp. "Would you mind watching over this sweetie for a little while?" "Why's that?" "A Toddle-bee doesn't get along well with other creatures. It can be mischievous. You have enough energy to handle babysitting it." Mandy narrowed her eyes. "What am I, a chopped-liver energy machine to you?" she deadpanned. "I just got back shredding a villainous pony who harmed Pinka-Ponka." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Either way, whatever. I'm happy to watch over it for ya." "Great! Thank you. I'll come back for it later, okay?" Mandy nodded, and the creature gave a happy "goodbye" chirp as it watched Fluttershy soar off towards the Creature Room. She glanced it over and smiled. "You really are an adorable little thing!" she cooed. "Can't be any more adorable than me, though!" The creature tilted its head. "C'mon, I gotta go over to Momma's and Otto's precinct to make a delivery!" Chirping happily, the creature found itself placed on Mandy's shoulder as the hybrid got up and bounced through the steel double-doors. Olive was hard at work, scribbling on papers and muttering incomprehensible words to herself. She even had a pair of glasses on, just for the professionally aesthetic purposes. Otto, meanwhile, was sitting on the couch, letting out a loud yawn as he scrolled through the week's edition of The New Shmumber Times. Luckily for the latter, there was someone arriving who would cure his boredom. "Hello-oooooo!" Mandy called in glorious singsong, pushing a cart full of suits from almost every single department into the office. "I brought those suits you wanted, Momma!" "That's nice." the girl murmured, not even bothering to look up or properly acknowledge Mandy. "She's been busy all day." Otto exclaimed, seeing Mandy's confused expression. "I'll take them off your hands. Thanks for bringing them here." "Ah, no problem!" Mandy waved a hand dismissively, before a sudden chill ran up her spine. She glanced at her right shoulder, and sure enough, the creature that had been perched on it was gone. "Wah! Wh-where's the Toddle-bee?!" "The what-bee?" Mandy ignored Otto. Her gaze swept the room, and something green and stumbling caught her eye as it made its way towards Olive's desk. A gasp left her lips. "No!" She quickly used her magic to levitate the creature and gently move it back towards her. "No no, don't go near Momma!" she scolded. "She's...she's not a pretty sight to behold when she gets taken away from important business." Its face contorted into one of anger, before it let out the same screeching noise that had annoyed her earlier. Olive perked up, and Mandy marked her swift exit in one bright rainbow-colored flash. The Director's gaze moved from the spot where the flash was located, to Otto, and back and forth again. Her brow furrowed, then with a sigh, she wordlessly returned to her work. Internally, Otto breathed a sigh of relief, going back to reading his newspaper. By the time Mandy had arrived at the Bedroom, the creature had resigned to simply growling at her. "All right, look, you can't run off like that! I know you're a troublemaker, but when I'm babysittin' ya, there's no trouble that's gonna be caused. Not on my watch!" Its mood quickly went from anger to sadness on the flip of a coin, and she soon found herself staring at puppy-dog eyes, brimmed with tears and sparkles. She grit her teeth, and then shook her head vigorously. "No! I'm not gonna be fooled by cute puppy eyes! Only I can make cute puppy eyes!" she declared, before a feeling of whimsy overtook her and her voice softened. "It's the only way I can get Momma to make her delicious strawberry pie..." The Toddle-bee watched with a knowing smile, mentally taking notes -- the way to distract her was with strawberry pie made by her mother. Whoever that was. Whatever that was. Either way, it would make a good tip to have on reserve for when it did its thing. A yawn interrupted the hybrid's fantasy before she capped it off with a tired sigh. "All this work's made me kinda sleepy. You wanna join me for my daily nap?" It chirped happily as if to say "yes". "Weird. You don't look tired." A look of realization settled on her face. "Ohhh...you love to sleep, don't you?" A nod. "All righty, then! Lemme go and get my hammer first, okay? Stay there, I won't be long!" With a mighty flap of her wings, she soared out of the room, and the creature cooed in thought. It wasn't quite sure of its surroundings, or really, who this girl was that had adored it so. All it knew was that it was someone else to cause trouble for. And it would relish in the chance for as long as it could. A few minutes later, the door closed as Mandy returned with hammer in hand. "AndI'mback!" She sighed. "This head still feels rubbery. Gonna hafta ask Odenbacker to check that out later...again." The creature tilted its head. "All right, to bed with you!" Mandy ordered, extending her arms upwards in a stretch before telekinetically taking off her shoes, and then her navy jacket. She then made her way into bed, the creature climbing the nightstand next to it in order to get a better view. After examining the bed further, it decided that the best place to sleep would be with the only heat source within it, and so, it snuggled under her arm. She gave a satisfied sigh. "You know, I kinda like you. Why don't I give you a name?" It gave a tired chirp, the heat from her body already getting to it and ruffling its fur. "Hmm...how about Coco? That's simple enough!" A pause. "But I don't know if you're a boy or a girl...mm..." She closed her eyes to think, and then they flew open only a mere few seconds later. "Hey, how about Natsu? Do you like that?" Another chirp was her response as the creature, now dubbed Natsu, waved the small stubs it had for arms and hands in a happy motion. "Good!" Mandy yawned again. "Now why don't we get some sleep, mkay?" She closed her eyes once more, using her magic to flick the light switch downwards. "G'night, my little Natsu..." In the darkness, Natsu smiled a rather mischievous smile as it closed its eyes. Oprah and Twilight were booking it down the hallway, nearly slamming into each other every time they sharply turned a corner. "I can't believe someone made the volcano in the Volcano Room erupt!" "I hope the damage won't be serious!" "It will be if the lava seeps out of that room, agent!" Peaches opened the door to her room, only to find human child and full-grown mare barreling towards her at near-top speed. "What's going on?!" Oprah slowed to a speed-walk. "The volcano in the Volcano Room erupted. It wasn't supposed to do that for four more months!" "What?!" "We have to get Mandy and inform her of the situation. Her and Agent Twilight's magic can stop it!" Peaches wanted to question how that plan would work, exactly, but her brain made her head nod and her legs go along with the duo to the Bedroom without the question being asked. Only a minute later and the door flung open like the FBI was fitting to raid. "Mandy. Mandy, wake up, it's an emergency!" Oprah said, marching over to the hybrid's bed and shaking her vigorously. "I already told y' I don't wanna go t' th' fezztivul..." came a sleepy murmur in response before the earth-splitting snores continued. Oprah growled, gripping Mandy's arms tight enough that she couldn't care less about whether she was going to break bones or not. "C'mon, just this o-" Her gaze drifted to Natsu, who was wide awake and giving curious chirps as it wondered who these three new creatures were. "What is this thing?" Twilight stepped towards Mandy's bed and examined the creature. "I have no idea." "Peaches, did this come from Vallea?" the Director asked, her tone cautiously optimistic as she tried not to give in to the creature's cuteness that it was so very obviously displaying. "N-no! We don't have any creatures like that!" "Oh, I remember!" Twilight perked up. "That's a Toddle-bee. Fluttershy told me she and Ocean are doing research on it. She left it in Mandy's care in the meantime." Oprah's head slowly turned towards Twilight, an incredulous look on her face as she pondered how and when her second-in-command became a certified creature-sitter. "It seems to have an attachment to her..." she said, watching the creature purring as it hopped on Mandy's shoulder and rubbed her neck. A few moments passed before she perked up, suddenly remembering why she had come into the Bedroom in the first place. "But never mind that!" she declared, shaking her head. "If Mandy won't wake up, then we'll have to handle this ourselves. Come on!" As she set Mandy back onto her bed, she and Twilight both made their way out the door. Peaches began to follow them, but stopped and turned to look at the sleeping hybrid, who readjusted herself, yawned, and turned over onto her other side so she faced away from the door. "You sleep too much, cuz..." Peaches sighed, reaching for the doorknob and closing the door behind her. Natsu was then left with a lonesome feeling. Its "creature-sitter" or whatever the dark-skinned one had called it was asleep, and all it could do was go through the knowledge it had recently obtained. Sleeps too much... Human-cat and 'Mandy' cousins... Wise horse... Sleeps... Sleeeeeps... Alien 'creature-sitter' sleeps very much a lot... Must plan. A rather sinister-sounding chuckle emanated from the creature as it bore another mischievous smile. A few hours later, Olive roamed the halls, her arm clutching her stomach as she winced in discomfort. "I can't believe I missed dinner!" She stifled a growl. "And it isn't like Omi would make anything edible to eat..." A loud grumble of her stomach caused her to clutch it harder, feeling even more nauseous than before. She opened the door to the Bedroom. "Mandy? You in here?" Her gaze fell on the hybrid, still snoring away with one arm draped over the side of the bed. She sighed. "Sleeping again. Of course." Just as she was about to exit the room, a chirping sound caught her eye, and she glanced at Natsu, waving its stubby little hands at her in glee. "Oh? Who are you?" Natsu didn't give an answer to her question -- just gave a worried chirp as it poked Mandy. "Oh, you're worried about Mandy, aren't you?" Olive chuckled. "She sleeps all the time. She could sleep for her entire life if she could. And it's not really easy to wake her up, either." She blinked. "What an understatement." "I'll take the entire zztock 'f banananana-applezz!" Olive widened her eyes, clearly not expecting this latest awakening non-sequitur. "Aww, no banananana-applezz...?" A tired scoff left Mandy's body, before she blinked and allowed her vision to adjust to the dark figure standing in her room. "Momma!" "Hi, Mandy." Olive waved as the hybrid gave a mighty yawn. "Who's this little guy?" "Oh, that's Natsu. He's a Toddle-bee!" "A Toddle-bee?" "It's a new species that Fluttershy and Ocean are doing research on..." Another yawn interrupted Mandy. "Geez, what time is it..." Her vision settled on the digital clock she had beside her bed. "It's 7:00?!" "Yeah-" Olive's stomach rumbled, and she clutched it again. "You, uh...you feelin' okay?" "Well, in the midst of my..." Olive cleared her throat. "...important paperwork, I missed dinner. Haven't eaten much all day. It wouldn't be too much to ask if you could whip me up something, would it? If you have the time." "Sure! Whaddya want? Anything you prefer?" "A simple salad would be nice." "Great! C'mon!" Mandy slid out of bed, Natsu taking its usual position on her shoulder as she bounced out of the room, with Olive following suit. A few minutes later, bowls surrounded the Breakroom table, and leafy greens sat in a big maroon-colored mixing bowl along with a large fork. "So how long do you have to take care of Natsu for?" "I'm not sure, actually." Mandy responded. "Reach for the mixing spoon in my tail?" Olive glanced at her tail and found a large brown mixing spoon with its handle sticking upwards. Not bothering to question why such an item was positioned that way to begin with, she dug into the tail and pulled it out like it was an easy pull of a sword from a stone, handing it to her with a simple "Here." "Thankies!" Mandy chirped, levitating the spoon and dipping it into the mixing bowl. With both utensils, she got to work mixing the variety of leafy greens and veggies together. "It's a rather...small creature." Olive mused, eyeing Natsu as it sat on the table, seemingly trying to preen itself with no luck. "MANDY!" "Huh?!" The hybrid jumped a little as she looked up from her work and saw a rather pissed-off Oprah marching towards her, her dark skin aflush with red in more than just the lava smeared on it. The Director sighed. "Finally, it took you long enough." "Hiya, Oprah!" Mandy smiled, and then paused as she blinked twice before cheerfully asking, "What took long enough?" "The volcano in the Volcano Room erupted today. It wasn't supposed to do so for another four months." Oprah spit to the side and coughed. "I wanted you to be informed and, oh I don't know, help us?" This only earned her a chuckle and a snort from Mandy. "You don't need to rely on me for every little thing, boss." she said, grabbing another head of lettuce and a knife before using her telekinesis to begin chopping it. "It took forever just to stop the lava from flowing out of the room, Mandy." Oprah said, her tone clearly exasperated and filled with fatigue. She sighed again. "Look, I know how much you like your naps, and believe me, I know how angry you get when you don't have at least one a day..." Her voice dropped to a mutter. "I still have a burn mark or two from the last time." And then it went back up to normal volume. "But this time around was some of the worst timing!" "S-sorry! I...well, it's just..." Mandy scrambled to come up with a wordy excuse, even though her reasons for not helping her boss were completely justified. "I've been caring for lil' Natsu here, and" -- she chuckled throughout her speech -- "you know how lil' tiny creatures are." "No, I don't." Oprah rolled her eyes. "Do enlighten me. Who's 'Natsu'? What is 'Natsu'?" "A Toddle-bee! Fluttershy and Ocean asked me to look after it for a while so it doesn't disturb the other creatures." Mandy sighed. "But it's quite the troublemaker." Natsu's expression contorted into offense, and it gave a short growl. "In a good way, silly!" Mandy assured, as the creature's expression returned to normal. "Hmm. Odd. I haven't seen a Toddle-bee around here." "This town isn't their home." "Oh." Oprah blinked. "Well, that aside-" "I'm sorry!" Mandy blurted out, before clearing her throat. "Er...I'm sorry." "No, no, you're right." Oprah waved a dismissive hand. "We do tend to rely on you for major disasters, but in truth...Agent Twilight had it mostly covered. I was hoping you two could combine your alicorn magic to resolve the issue, but Twilight's magic is stronger than yours." For a split-second, Mandy seemed to take offense to that. Her eye twitched, and she looked like she wanted to say something. But she just shook her head and focused on dumping the chopped lettuce into the mixing bowl, then stirring everything together once again. When everything was mixed, she poured some salad into one of the bowls on the table and offered it to Olive. "Here ya go! One salad!" "Thank you." Olive said. "You don't know how grateful I am." "D'aww, no problem! I might just make something myself! I am getting a little hungry." Leaning down, Mandy opened a cabinet situated close to the floor and began to rummage for more cooking supplies. "Shouldn't you feed the Toddle-bee too?" A bang as Mandy's head collided with the top of the cabinet. Her tail bushed out like a cat's. "Oww! Pickleferries!" the hybrid cursed. "You okay?" Olive asked, her tone having just a tinge of worry. Mandy groaned. "Aside from a headache, yes..." She pulled herself out, levitating a plate and setting it on the table. Her eyes widened in realization, and she gasped. "Oh no. I don't even know what Toddle-bees eat!" Olive and Oprah both exchanged knowing glances and eye rolls. "Oh no oh no oh no...where's Fluttershy?! I have to find Fluttershy!" And in a flash, the hybrid sped off. Out came the unisonant "Off she goes again." For the next few minutes, Mandy sped back and forth through the bullpen, calling out Fluttershy's name in the hopes that she would answer. It was entertaining to the two girls for a while, but sooner rather than later, it became only entertaining for one, as Olive went back to heartily eating her salad while Oprah had a juice box and watched the chaos go down. The double-doors opened, and Fluttershy made her way over to the two girls, missing Mandy by a far margin. "Hi, Olive! Hi, Ms. O!" "Agent Fluttershy. Welcome back." Oprah greeted. "Thank you!" Fluttershy exhaled. "Feeding all of those creatures was a lot of work." A loud whoosh stopped her from saying anything further. Her mane and tail billowed towards the breeze, and she straightened up in shock. "Goodness! What was that?" Olive sighed. "It's Mandy. She's looking for you." "For me?" Natsu gave a curious chirp and made its way to the edge of the table to look at its primary caretaker. "Oh, hello, little guy!" The Pegasus giggled, grabbing it and allowing it to rub on her cheek as it purred happily. Finally, Mandy seemed to notice what the yellow-and-pink blur was that she kept passing. Her eyes widened. "Fluttershy!" "Mandy, I- oh!" "Fluttershy you have to help me I don't know what to feed Natsu and if I don't feed it it'll die and I can't let a creature die 'cuz I did it to some plants once and it wasn't a good thing but I need you to tell me what to feed him and- urk!" Although initially surprised by the hybrid throwing herself onto the floor in a begging position, Fluttershy was able to stop her before she went too far by way of a hoof to her lips. "Mandy, you look so stressed! Calm down and I'll tell you how to feed-" A pause. She blinked twice, remembering that Mandy hadn't called the creature by its species name. "Wait, what did you call it?" "Natsu! I, uh, gave it a name." The Pegasus smiled. "Ohh, you're so attached to it already!" She giggled. "The Toddle-bee likes to feed on strawberries. That's its favorite. A majority of its diet consists of strawberries." Mandy tilted her head. "Strawberries?" "Yes. But they also eat other foods that humans and ponies can eat. They tend to eat very little, though..." "Ooooh, great!" The hybrid took the creature from her Pegasus friend. "Whaddya say, Natsu? I'll give ya a bite of my dinner!" A happy chirp was her response. Only a few minutes later, and a pot of mac and cheese with chicken was ready for the hybrid and her new pet to consume. "Aah. Mac and cheese with chicken coated in Italian seasoning and paprika. My favorite!" Mandy took a big bite, chewing and relishing the taste. Natsu gave a curious chirp that raised in pitch at the end, as though it were asking a question. "Oh, sure! Here." Mandy placed the rest of her culinary delicacy into another bowl, moving it towards the creature and telekinetically sticking a fork in it. "Half-and-half!" Natsu eyed the dish with suspicion, then with curiosity, before it took the fork and ate a piece of chicken. Its face began to light up with joy, having never tasted such a delicious food before. It almost ranked it above strawberries...almost. "You wouldn't mind keeping Natsu for a little while longer, would you, Mandy?" Fluttershy asked. "Ocean's still doing some research on Toddle-bees." "Shure!" Mandy swallowed her bite. "I'd love to!" "Wonderful! Thank you!" Fluttershy sighed. "You don't know how grateful I am to have a friend like you." A blush crept into Mandy's cheeks before she continued eating her dinner. "I'm going to go take a shower, so if you need me, just knock." Fluttershy hovered towards the right hallway. "See you all later!" A chorus of goodbyes from the three girls marked her departure. "Oh! How's your salad, Momma?" Mandy asked, noticing that Olive was nearly done with her own meal. "It's good." The Director sighed. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't made this for me. I already told you about Omi, but my fridge is bare and I have no energy to go for a supermarket run tonight." "Aww, it's no prob!" Mandy took another bite. "But really, you should go shopping tomorrow." "I would, but I've been working on a difficult case all week. It's becoming a bit taxing." "Why not have Otto help you with the cashe?" "Not his expertise." "Hmm" was the only thing Mandy said in response before swallowing her bite and eating another. Natsu's cheeks bulged, and it let out a small belch. "Pardon you, you shmall shilly!" Mandy swallowed and giggled, before going full hypocrite and scarfing down the rest of her meal. "You're really becoming attached to that thing." "I know! It's kinda like having my own pet!" Mandy said in response to Oprah, before her expression faltered. "Only, uh...it's an odder pet." "Well, I trust Agent Fluttershy to know what she's doing," Oprah shrugged. "If she trusts you to watch it, then I don't have a problem with it." Plus, maybe it'll teach you a little more about responsibility, she wanted to add, but decided to leave that addendum out. "Thanks, boss! Natsu's really a sweetie!" In response to this compliment, the creature gave a few happy chirps, and Mandy couldn't help but giggle. "C'mon, whaddya say we wait for Flutterbutter to get outta the shower? In the meantime, I can read you one of my Wolves of the Wilderness books!" Natsu seemed rather thrilled at this idea. It nodded and flapped its stubby arms in anticipation, sparkles beginning to form in its eyes. "All righty, let's go!" Mandy scooped up the creature and placed it on her shoulder before standing up and heading for the right hallway. "See you gals later!" "Bye!" "Don't be late for work tomorrow!" "I won't!" And with a couple bounces, the hybrid was off to her next destination. However, it became clear that something was on Olive's mind going by the worried look on her face, and Oprah couldn't help but notice. "Something wrong, Olive?" "I don't know...I just feel like something bad is going to happen with that creature." "Like what?" "Like maybe it'll turn on Mandy or something. It can't be completely cute and innocent." "Hmm." Oprah had to admit, she knew little about creatures, but she was no stranger to those that put on a show of adorableness and then tried to kill someone in some way or another -- heck, that was the whole schtick of the Centigurp species, only minus the direct harm to others. Still, this creature wouldn't sway her. After all, she had allies on her side. "Well, if it does turn sour, I'm sure Mandy has it covered." "I wouldn't be so sure." Olive wore a concerned look. "You and I know her best, Oprah, but she still continues to surprise us. Remember that party we threw her last year where she refused to eat the cake and we didn't know why?" "You turned banana bread into a cake and somehow put ketchup on it thinking it was meatloaf." "What..." Olive stared at her, completely confused. "That's an entirely different situation. And Otto who did that, not me." "If that's what you have to keep telling yourself to fall asleep at night." Olive rolled her eyes. "Anyway. We didn't know it, but she said that she was weaning off of cake because the sugar was bad for her." Oprah snickered. "That didn't last!" "Nope. But who knows how Mandy will react if Natsu turns on her?" "Let's just ride this out, Olive. It'll be nice to teach Mandy some responsibility in creature-sitting." Oprah sighed. "Feels so good to get that out of my brain." Olive chewed and swallowed another bite of lettuce, this time more absentmindedly. "You mind if I take this to go? I can return the bowl tomorrow." "Sure thing." "Thanks." Olive got up and began making her way towards the double-doors. "Good night." "Good night!" The smile stayed on Oprah's face for just a little while longer, then it collapsed into a soft sigh as she rubbed her temples. Yeah...perhaps her words have some merit, now that I think about it. Nighttime fell on Toronto, and by extension, it fell on Precinct 13579 as well. Headquarters was dark, nary a single soul roaming the rusty and archaic place that many creatures and agents called home. As all of the ponies were in Equestria, Mandy had the Bedroom all to herself. She was loudly snoring and sleep-talking away, Natsu by her side. However, it wasn't asleep at all. Why would it sleep when it had bigger things on its mind? A knowing smile settling on its face, the small creature jumped from Mandy's bed and began flapping its tiny, stubby hands, allowing it to gain lift and fly over to the Bedroom door to open it and let itself out. From there, it took on another form vastly different from its own -- a form resembling that of the very "creature-sitter" who had practically adopted it as her own, right down to every single hair on the top of her head. In this new form, it could move far easier and allow it to perform its deed of destruction. Not once did it stop to question the morality of what it was about to do. Not once did it stop to question why it was doing this when the alien "creature-sitter" had been so nice to it and treated it like...ah, what had she called it? A "pet"? Yes, a "pet". It merely ran on instinct, and nothing more. This was what its species was meant to do. Morality and justification be damned. It arrived at the bullpen. Such a nice and empty space, nary any noise. No one around to spot it or call it out. Perfect for what it was about to do. With a mischievous grin and a sinister chuckle, it raised its foot. The muffled sounds of banging, crashing, crumbling, and creaking went completely unnoticed by Mandy, who simply yawned and turned over in bed. Peaches threw the Bedroom door open with her entire might and quickly rushed over to her cousin's bedside. "Mandy! Mandy wake up!" Surprisingly -- although the catgirl had no room for that emotion at the moment -- Mandy stopped snoring, gave a snort, and let her eyes slowly open as she lifted her head up. "Mmmwha..." "The entirety of the bullpen is wrecked!" "Mmm'zzz nizze..." Mandy yawned and let her head rest on the pillow. "But izz way t' early in the mrrn..." "It's ten in the morning!" "Noon..." Peaches squinted and repressed a growl. "Don't make me prod you with a claw. Or several." "But I'm zzo tired..." With a loud shing noise, Peaches readied her claws. However, Mandy didn't notice and gave a loud yawn. "Look, if izz not important, can I go back t' zzleep?" The catgirl could only give her cousin a look of sheer and utter confusion, tinged with disgust and anger for good measure. "What are you?" she asked, the question dancing on her lips in a near-whisper. "Mkay, Imma go back to zzleep..." "No, don't go back to sleep, take a look at the bullpen!" Her words were lost on Mandy, who was right back to earth-shattering snores and sleep-talk that was in a whole 'nother language that Peaches didn't even understand. If I strangled her, would anyone notice, I wonder. Leo help me. A twitch developed in Peaches's eye, and as much as she did want to strangle Mandy right then and there, she settled for a frustrated cry and a slammed door to mark her departure from the room. "Let me guess, it wasn't a success?" Oprah smirked. "No rhyme intended." "No. But do I have permission to throw her off a cliff? For scientific purposes?" "No." "Darn." Peaches scoffed, watching as agents gathered around toppled steel beams, desks chopped in half, and all sorts of technological devices destroyed, giving cries of concern as they cleaned up the mess. "Who could have done this?" "The only ones who stay at Headquarters overnight are you, Mandy, and the ponies. But it's unlikely any of the latter would cause any damage..." "If I may make a suggestion?" Peaches said. "Why not...um...what did you call it? 'Interrogate' them?" "Interrogate them?" "They may not have done anything, but it's better to be safe than sorry." Oprah sat on the idea for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. You go and find Agent Twilight. I want to interrogate her first. She's usually found in the Odd Squad Library. If she's not there, she's probably in Equestria." "Got it." Peaches made her way through the crowd of agents and eventually made it out of the bullpen to seek out the Princess of Friendship. Just as Oprah gave a heavy sigh and was about to give further directions to her agents, two familiar faces made their way through. "Oprah, we-" Olive's gaze drifted towards the bullpen as she made her way towards Oprah, and she gasped. "Holy macaroni..." "What happened?" "I'm not sure." Oprah shook her head. "I came into work not too long ago and found the bullpen like this." "So this is what you were talking about on the phone earlier..." Olive murmured. "It's worse than I thought it was!" "Do you want us to help you clean up?" Otto asked, completely taken aback by the mess. "Please. I need to interrogate Mandy and the ponies." "Why them?" "They're the only ones that stay overnight in Headquarters. I know they're good agents and they would probably never do anything like this, but they're the only leads we have right now." Olive tore her vision away from the mess, the gears turning in her head as she mentally ran down a list of possible suspects. She didn't have to get very far before an idea began to form in her head. "What about that creature Mandy's caring for? That Toddle-bee? Could it have done something like this?" "Doubtful. It's way too small." "But Fluttershy and Ocean don't know much about it!" Olive fired back. "Maybe it has some sort of power that can destroy everything around it or something?" Oprah met it with a scoff. "Again, doubtful. I wouldn't let Mandy have a creature like that if it had that power." Olive gave an exasperated sigh, her options having been completely exhausted. "Don't worry about it, partner. Let's just go and help clean up." "Right." Olive nodded, before her face lit up in realization. She reached into her hammerspace spine and pulled out the bowl she had eaten out of last night, now empty and completely washed. "And, uh, here's your bowl, Oprah." "Thanks." The Director took the bowl and waved her two former agents off as they began to strike up conversations with various agents and get to work. Just as they left, however, Peaches arrived with Twilight in tow. The alicorn now had the chance to witness the damage for herself, and just like the others, she was shocked. "Sweet Celestia!" was all she could say, her eyes the size of saucers. "Agent Twilight Sparkle." Oprah greeted. "I'm going to need you to follow me to the Interrogation Room." "O-of course! Right away, Ms. O!" "Peaches, can you help the others with cleanup?" "Sure thing." With a nod of thanks, Oprah led her agent up the left stairwell and into the first interrogation room that sat at the right of her office, while Peaches followed the lead of Olive and Otto and asked around. A couple hours later, as cleanup had progressed steadily, Olive decided to take matters into her own hands. Oprah may think it's innocent, but she forgets that I speak more than a language of snark. I speak a language of sniffing out deception. Depending on the writer of the episode, of course. She marched straight to the Bedroom and didn't bother knocking, instead opening the door and laying her eyes on Mandy. The hybrid was, of course, still asleep, and cuddled up against her was Natsu, back in its original form and sleeping away with soft snores of its own. Squinting, Olive made her way over as quietly as possible -- not to avoid waking up Mandy, of course, but to avoid waking up Natsu so she could take it by surprise. "We muzzt populate th' Brer cheeze coloniezz...!" Thank you, Mandy, for putting a dent in my otherwise near-flawless plan. The Director grit her teeth together as the hybrid's head flopped back onto the pillow, and she went back to snoring and mumbling. The non-sequitur had disturbed Natsu, who slowly opened its eyes and blinked at the newcomer to the room. It gave curious coos before a small yawn interrupted it. "Natsu." The name was said with as much intensity as a can of flat soda, but with far more suspicion. Olive watched it for a moment, then decided to make her move, picking up the creature with her bare hands. Much to her surprise, it squirmed about, giving soft whines as it tried to free itself from her grasp. "Huh? H-hey!" she cried out, instinctively gripping onto the creature like it was a slippery fish that was simply dying to get back into the sea. The fight didn't last for long, though, and she resigned to placing it back on the bed, where it promptly rubbed up against Mandy and purred. "So you don't like to be held..." She squinted her eyes, examining the creature up and down, scrutinizing its every single action, waiting for it to expose itself as the culprit behind the wreckage. After a minute or two, though, she sighed. I feel silly, interrogating an odd creature like this. Maybe it's not native to Toronto, and maybe it's not recorded in Odd Squad history as an odd creature, but why would it destroy Odd Squad when it doesn't hold a vendetta against it? Still, that doesn't mean it's off the hook. I've learned my lesson already. The creature turned and tilted its head at her. "Maybe Oprah's right. There's no way you would do such a thing. You're too tiny. Even your feet are too tiny." Olive said. "And even if you did have the power to destroy the bullpen, you would have used it to destroy Mandy first. A long, long time ago." Natsu gave a happy chirp as it watched Olive turn on her heel and head for the door. "Look, I'm only leaving you because we're still cleaning up the bullpen. Okay?" Olive let her voice drop to a rather terrifying baritone. "But don't you dare hurt Mandy, or it'll be your life on the line. Got it?" A curious chirp, this time. "Yeah, okay. Have fun." The second the door closed, and the second Natsu thought it was safe, it gave another sinister chuckle and glanced back at Mandy, whose sleep-talk reflected the situation at hand in a rather eerie but foreshadowing manner. "Don't let 'em get away...mmm..." With everyone's efforts, the bullpen was cleaned up in no time, although it was made abundantly clear that Olo, the head of the Glue department, would need to work overtime on repairs. Oprah had gotten through interrogations of the entire Mane Six, with no results. Not one of them confessed to doing it. In fact, all of them claimed they didn't do it. It was a similar story with Peaches. "None of the ponies did it. Neither than you. I don't understand." Oprah said, taking a mighty sip from her juice box as she made her way through the hall. "Could it have been a villain?" Peaches inquired. "No. This Odd Squad HQ has security measures to prevent villain break-ins, and Security agents improve it regularly." Peaches wasn't quite sure about that. She remembered Owen and how difficult he had been in the few times she had conversed with him. Still, she set the thought aside. "The only agent we haven't asked is...Mandy." Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. "N-no! There's no way my cousin did it!" Oprah shot her an incredulous look. "Unless...she did it in her sleep?" "Mandy doesn't sleepwalk. N-not usually." Oprah said, hastily throwing in an addendum as she recalled a few times where Mandy did sleepwalk in some manner. "But...she did used to fire magic lasers in her sleep when she first transformed. It was disastrous." "She doesn't do it anymore?" Oprah shook her head. "We trained her to limit her magic to the waking hours. Since then, she hasn't caused any magic-related disasters in her sleep, apart from the rare few 'struck by an odd disease' moments." "But could the problem crop up again?" Peaches asked. "I admit, I don't know much about Mandy's sleep, but maybe all the stuff you described could occur when she's in a deep sleep." Immediately realizing how contradictory that was, she sighed. "It's such a confusing thing..." "A shocker to hear that from you, since you're part-cat." "A majority of catpeople have very simple sleeping habits. At most, we'll mimic running in our sleep and then fall on the floor if we're on an elevated surface." Oprah couldn't really attest to how Peaches slept, so she kept her mouth shut. It didn't stay shut for long, however. As the duo arrived at their destination, they opened the door and found the entire room in almost as bad of a state as the bullpen once was. Beds were broken and turned over, the large clothes cabinet laid face-open on the floor, and debris covered every inch of every object. Most striking of all, however, was the floor itself, which had a similar dent and similar cracks to the bullpen's floor. Both Peaches and Oprah stood, jaws agape. "Wh...what...what happened?" "The entire Bedroom is wrecked!" Oprah's voice was practically a scream. "Hiya, boss!" They shifted their gazes towards the person approaching them. By all means, it appeared to be Mandy, awake and alert and covered in debris. They noticed that Mandy's bed, much like the others, was bent and broken, although whether that startled her awake or not was unknown. "Mandy, what happened here?!" were the words that greeted the hybrid in response. "Oh! Hehe...um...that's my bad. My bad entirely." Mandy scratched the back of her neck. "I was tryna practice a new magic spell Twilight taught me, but I guess here wasn't the best place to do it." "Gee, ya think?!" Peaches sarcastically snapped, giving an eye roll. "We're not the richest organization, agent. The cleanup here is going to be costly!" "I know!" Mandy's voice pitched into a whine, then dropped back down. "I'm really sorry. Whatever punishment you think is right is what I deserve." Peaches tilted her head slightly, an uneasy feeling beginning to form in her stomach as she tried to recall if the Mandy she knew was so quick to ask for punishments when she did something bad. Oprah, in the meantime, gave a heavy sigh and made her decision. "I'll resign you to my office for a week so I can keep an eye on you. You'll also have to sleep there while the Bedroom is fixed." She winced as Mandy's bed finally reached its breaking point and collapsed. "I'm not sure if there's even a gadget in the entirety of Odd Squad's existence that can reverse the damage done here..." "Okie-dokie!" "In the meantime, you can come with me to be interrogated." "Why? What's going on?" "The bullpen was struck by some disaster last night and was nearly demolished. None of the ponies nor Peaches are guilty. The only one we haven't asked is you." Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "D'aww, I can already tell ya I didn't do it!" "Regardless, you need to be interrogated anyway. Come on." "Okay!" "Peaches, can you assist with cleanup of the Bedroom?" The catgirl snapped out of her thoughts with a "Huh?", glancing behind her to find Oprah and Mandy about to leave. Only having barely heard the question, she gave a half-hearted nod, which seemed to please the Director as she exited the room with Mandy. She poked her head out of the Bedroom and watched the duo round the corner. Another crash sounded from behind her, but she didn't bother to check out its source, instead burying her face in her hands as she struggled to make sense of the situation. Cleanup on both rooms had lasted well into the sunset hours. Everyone was exhausted and sat around the Breakroom table, knowing there was still a lot of work to be done but feeling too tired to continue at the moment. A yawn sounded from nearby, but most everyone was convinced it was one of their own. A cheerful and high-pitched "Hiya, everyone!" proved them wrong. Olive, one of the few who actually had some energy to spare, sat up and turned to greet the voice. "Hi, Mandy." she said, noticing Natsu perched on the hybrid's shoulder and giving a happy "hello" chirp of its own. "Oooooooh, I sense some negative emotiooooooons!" Mandy called in singsong, making her way to the side of the table. "C'mon, c'mon, don't be shy, confide! What's goin' on?" She immediately regretted asking that question the moment she felt the hostile air lingering above the table like a dark cloud. "You should know what's going on. You were there." Peaches remarked. "Don't play innocent, Mandy." "What?" "Remember? The Bedroom and the bullpen were wrecked today?" Mandy gasped. "They were?!" Her head swiveled towards the bullpen, which looked mostly clean save for a few spots that still needed cleaning. "It looks mostly...fine." A crash of a steel beam, the sound of which resounded through the space. "Key word being 'mostly'." "What, do you have amnesia or something?" "No?" Mandy tilted her head in response to her cousin's question. "I remember all of you! How could I have amnesia if I remember all of you?" No one had the heart to tell her that wasn't how amnesia worked. Pinkie, however, did have the heart to speak next. "Are you sure you don't have some odd disease that warps your brain or something?" she asked, her tone grating. "Last I checked with Dr. O he said I was healthy!" "She's tricking us." "Huh?" "Mandy, didn't Peaches and Ms. O come and get you earlier for interrogation, only to find the Bedroom destroyed?" Twilight asked, her tone just as irritated as Pinkie's. The hybrid blinked twice. "I don't think so. I was asleep!" The haze of hostility grew thicker and thicker. No expression of happiness, pleasure, or any positive emotion of the sort was among the faces she saw. She felt like running a little bit, just a little bit, but her feet remained rooted to the ground. "W-why are you all looking at me like that? T-t-turn those off, guys!" A bout of nervous laughter left her lips. "Y-you're scaring me!" "Are ya denyin' that ya wrecked the Bedroom?" Applejack said, squinting her eyes. "'Cuz as far as I'm aware, you admitted to doin' it! Least that's what Ms. O said." "Quit lying to us, Mandy." Oprah's tone of voice was a rather haunting mix of fatigue and chilled anger. Her piercing brown eyes cut through Mandy like the sharpest knife in existence. "You were there when the Bedroom was wrecked. Peaches and I both saw you. Denial isn't the way to go about this." "B-but I'm not denying anything! I-I didn't know the Bedroom was wrecked 'til you just told me, just now!" "I also gave you a punishment for you to stay in my office for a week. Do you want me to extend it?" "W-what?" Mandy's brain became more and more confused with each and every single sentence her friends uttered, so much so that she was reduced to stuttering, not being able to come up with a proper rebuttal. "Just accept the punishment, Mandy." Even Fluttershy?! Not even she's... She almost felt like crying in that instant. Why's everyone turning on me? What'd I do? Normally everyone would be happy to see me, but they're so angry! I'm...what do I do?! Natsu gave a worried chirp and glanced at her, as though sensing her worried thoughts. Finally, she gave a shaky sigh. Her voice quivered. "F-fine. Whatever. I'll accept responsibility for all of it. I-I don't know why you guys won't believe me..." Still the same angry faces. "I didn't do any of this. I have no knowledge of any of this." She could swear she felt a tear roll down her face right then and there. An idea began to take form -- a desperate one, but one she was willing to try no matter what. "Twi, do you have the ability to search memories?" "I do. But I refuse to help someone who can't own up to her actions in proper." Twilight sighed. "I thought you were better than this, Mandy. You always take responsibility for your actions. So why aren't you doing it now?" Mandy opened her mouth to speak, but Olive butted in before she could say a word. "Both the Bedroom and the bullpen have similar damages. Like they were caused by the same people." A look of sheer disappointment settled on her face. "I didn't raise you to destroy Odd Squad. Why would you do this?" "B-but I didn't..." The hybrid clenched her fists together in an effort to stop "do it" from following the words she already said. Stop trying. No matter what you say, nothing is convincing them. This has to be a bad dream. A vivid dream...but a bad one. Or maybe this is just some silly prank? Super-Duper Early April Fool's Day is around the corner after all. But regardless...if Twilight won't stick to my plan, then I'll do it myself. She left the group, and they all watched as she walked over to the Lab with a purpose, a drive, a need for one gadget in particular. "Where's she going?" Rainbow asked. "I'm not sure, darling..." "To think Mandy destroyed the bullpen..." Otto said, his tone not laced with iron-clad hostility but laced with shock instead. "She was fine when we saw her yesterday. So what happened?" Whatever responses were laid on the table in response to Oprah's question went unnoticed by Mandy, who levitated a gadget off of one of the racks that had a circular upside-down bowl for a head and numerous wires sticking out of it. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Oona. I know you're still improving on this gadget, but I have no other choice. Please forgive me." As she made her way back, gadget in hand, Natsu gave a curious chirp. "Oh, Natsu. Don't worry. I'll fix this. You'll see." she assured, giving an uneasy smile. The chatter at the Breakroom table died down as Mandy approached the group once more. "This is a gadget Oona is currently working on. The Memory Reflector. It has the power to project a person's or pony's memories to anyone and everyone that just so happens to see them." She put on the helmet. "So I'm gonna show you mine. My legitimate memories." Taking the remote in her hand, she pressed the green Play button, and with a whirring noise, a screen was projected into the air, in full view of the entire group. All Mandy could do was close her eyes and hope this would work. The group was treated to a first-person view from Mandy herself, fast asleep in bed. One detail they were quick to notice was that the room was dark, indicating it was nighttime -- perhaps the night before, they theorized. As Mandy snored and sleep-talked away, Natsu, barely in view of the camera, gave a worried chirp. In a twist of the plot, it then transformed into a being that everyone in the group was well familiar with. The voice, high-pitched and full of good emotions, was undeniable. "Don't worry! Just let me take care of everything for you, silly!" Everyone, including the real deal herself, watched in rather disturbing fascination as Natsu extended its arms and grabbed ahold of Mandy. The camera angle shifted, with the right half of the lens obscured by Natsu's body while the left half showed the view behind it. With its target in tow, the disguised creature moved towards the door, and exited the room with ease. The real Mandy's eyes quivered with a flurry of mixed emotions as she watched the next events unfold. With the hybrid still fast asleep, Natsu made its way to a room with a gray and rusty door, and an equally gray and rusty handle to go along with it. With a mighty creak, the door opened, and the creature set its caretaker down in a sitting position on the floor -- why that exact position versus just carelessly throwing her in there as though she were a toy being left to rot for decades, who was to say. "Now, stay in here, okay?" Natsu giggled. "Ah, who am I kiddin'. You won't wake up for hours! It's perfect!" It perfectly emulated Mandy's giggle-and-snort laugh, right before it closed the door to the room and the camera view met total darkness. Any hostility that might have hung over the group had been dissipated, instead being replaced with shock and horror. Fluttershy, in particular, looked like she was about to go as pale as Rarity's fur, her expression twisted into one of betrayal and fear. Silence hung over the group for what seemed like hours, as the only sound was Mandy's snoring and sleep-talking. But the sounds of muffled destruction, met with surprised gasps, quickly drowned it all out. The real deal's entire body was quaking now. Part of her had half a mind to rip off the helmet and throw it to the floor, but another part of her told her that the plan was working and she should keep going, no matter how deep the revelations got. Wordlessly, she fast-forwarded the video until light began to peek from the crack separating the bottom of the door and the cement floor. She pressed Play when her brain had found a good spot. "But could the problem crop up again? I admit, I don't know much about Mandy's sleep, but maybe all the stuff you described could occur when she's in a deep sleep. It's such a confusing thing..." "A shocker to hear that from you, since you're part-cat." "A majority of catpeople have very simple sleeping habits. At most, we'll mimic running in our sleep and then fall on the floor, if we're on an elevated surface." Silence, and then the sound of a door opening. "Wh...what...what happened?" "The entire Bedroom is wrecked!" "Hiya, boss!" Almost everyone in the group went pale. Likewise, the body of the real deal began to quiver. "Mandy, what happened here?!" "Oh! Hehe...um...that's my bad. My bad entirely. I was tryna practice a new magic spell Twilight taught me, but I guess here wasn't the best place to do it." "Gee, ya think?!" "We're not the richest organization, agent. The cleanup here is going to be costly!" "I know! I'm really sorry. Whatever punishment you think is right is what I deserve." "I'll resign you to my office for a week so I can keep an eye on you. You'll also have to sleep there while the Bedroom is fixed." The sound of something collapsing, which no one could make out. "I'm not sure if there's even a gadget in the entirety of Odd Squad's existence that can reverse the damage done here..." "Okie-dokie!" "In the meantime, you can come with me to be interrogated." "Why? What's going on?" "The bullpen was struck by some disaster last night and was nearly demolished. None of the ponies nor Peaches are guilty. The only one we haven't asked is you." Another authentic-sounding giggle-and-snort laugh. "D'aww, I can already tell ya I didn't do it!" "Regardless, you need to be interrogated anyway. Come on." "Okay!" "Peaches, can you assist with cleanup of the Bedroom?" "Huh?" That was all in the way of dialogue. Mandy's discomforted "mmm" was the last thing anyone in the group heard, along with footsteps that punctuated the exits of Oprah and Mandy. Or...Natsu, now. An odd creature with unknown roots in Odd Squad's history, known for acting sweet and innocent, but hiding a nasty and manipulative trait under the mask. And indeed, it had watched the video with all the whimsy of a child watching a Saturday morning cartoon -- all smiles, eyes glued to the screen as the events of its own doing unfolded in sickening glee. Mandy pressed the Play button once more to pause the video. She glanced from the pale-stricken group, to Natsu, and back and forth again. A chill ran throughout her entire body, right down to the tip of her tail. "N-N-Natsu...you..." Her mouth suddenly felt dry. "So that's why I woke up in the Storage Room..." Natsu, attempting to prey on the stupidity it sensed from her, gave a sad chirp. Unfortunately, it was a horrible judge of character -- she wasn't going to go down without a fight. "Don't play innocent with me!" Mandy's body became wreathed in flames, her voice gaining its usual reverberating echo. "I thought we were friends and this is what you do to me?!" The creature squinted, and then screeched. "Don't screech at me! These agents think I'm the one who wrecked the bullpen and the Bedroom, but it was you, wasn't it?! It was all you!" A downgrade, this time to angry chirping. Mandy's voice, however, upgraded to a piercing yell. "No! Your reign is over! You'll become nothing but a pancake when I'm done with you!" "Mandy, don't hurt him!" Fluttershy got up and quickly grabbed Natsu, not wanting to get involved in the spat but still feeling an instinctual need to protect the creature even in spite of what it had done. "Fluttershy..." Mandy said through gritted teeth and tranquil anger. "I'm gonna give you five seconds to put it down..." She reached behind her back and slowly pulled out her hammer. "...so I can kill it!!" "W-wait, don't!" Fluttershy said. "I-I'm sure Natsu had a good reason-" "And what good reason's that, instinct? Yeah, I'm not buyin' it!" "Mandy, calm down!" Not even a second after Otto had uttered those three words, he had begun to regret them when the hybrid slowly turned to face him in a way that would make any prospective psychopathic murderer openly weep. "Ohh no" was all the Director could say in response as he internally prayed for his life to be spared. "And you. All of you." Whatever color failure the rest of the group had gone through was less prominent now, color slowly returning to their faces. Oprah narrowed her eyes and got ready to shield the others should her agent go on the attack. Mandy slammed her hand on the table. "You think you can just frame me and get away with what you want, huh?! Is that how you choose to treat me?!" She tore her badge off of her suit, taking part of the fabric with it and creating a small hole that showed her white button-up undershirt. "Then in that case, I quit!" This elicited a gasp from everyone at the table. "Mandy, don't-" A hand grasped firmly around Olive's neck before she could get another word in edgewise. She could feel herself losing air, but luckily for her, the hand moved down her chest and grabbed ahold of her jacket instead. She was then pulled towards Mandy so the two were nearly nose-to-nose. "Don't try anything funny, you pathetic excuse of an agent. You're my own mother, and you dare think I'm the one who destroyed the bullpen and the Bedroom?" The hybrid growled. "You saw it yourself. It's that stupid Toddle-bee. It was the one that did it. Do you see, or will you have to pay the price in your own flesh and blood?" Olive's face went pale again. Immortal she was, but Odd Squad's weird anatomical rules didn't stop her from dying at her own daughter's hands. And with Mandy's skill and intelligence in combat, how she died could go any number of ways. Would her heart get torn out? Would she be de-boned and flayed, put on display like a nice piece of fish at the grocery store? Or would she die by more conventional means, like a knife through her neck or a slam on her head from a hammer? In the midst of her contemplation, she decided to try and save face. "M-M-Mandy, w-we're sorry! All of us, we're sorry!" she cried out, her vision becoming blurry with tears as she could feel her heart beating rapidly and her brain began playing a movie of her entire life over twelve-or-something years. Mandy didn't kill her, of course. She never killed. Not even in her most rage-fueled moments. But what she did was just as bad. Her hand clasped the hammer, tighter and tighter until her knuckles began to turn white. She raised it above her head. Olive felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack, she was breathing so fast. "Sorry...ISN'T GONNA CUT IT!!" The hammer made impact with the table, Olive scrambling out of the way and diving to the floor before it made impact with her as well. The table completely buckled, sending the Mane Six, Oprah, Otto and Peaches all tumbling down with it as their chairs wobbled and fell. Amidst the sounds of fear, Twilight decided to take charge. "Mandy, please calm down!" "I don't think any of us are gonna get her t' calm down, Twilight!" Applejack said. "She's gone insane!" The sound of sizzling, like fresh meat on the grill of a barbecue, resounded as the flames died down and Mandy returned to her usual form. A long pause as the sounds of fear went away, downgrading to simple fearful looks as everyone tried their damnedest to distance themselves from the hybrid. "Mandy? Are you-" Oprah narrowly avoided ducking and dodging the attack of her agent's hammer as it swung her way and collided with the wall before clattering onto the floor, smoke rising from its handle. Instinctively, she placed a hand on her head, wondering if any of her strands of hair were out of place. One thought echoed through the group like a hivemind: Is it over? Are we spared? No one said anything, or did anything, for a good long while. And then, Mandy's face went from sheer raw anger to pure sadness. The kind of sadness pulled from a person when a beloved relative or pet of theirs passes away. The kind of sadness pulled from a person when they're told they have an incurable disease and have only a mere few months to live. The kind of sadness pulled from a person when they realize they have become the victim of betrayal by an entire group of people -- people they once viewed as friends, but were now no more, all because of the blame game. The hybrid sniffled. She shut her eyes. A pause. And then she broke into a loud and anguished wail, tears streaming from her eyes and staining the floor in cascading waterfalls of confusion, fear, and hurt, before running down the hallway from whence she came and turning the corner. "Is everyone okay?" Oprah asked, the shock wearing itself down with the assistance of instinctual authority that took over the Director. "We're fine, for the most part." Twilight stood up. "I-I'm fine...just a little shaken." Olive murmured. "Natsu is fine, too." Fluttershy said, scooping up the creature in her hooves once more. It looked visibly surprised and even just a tiny bit fearful, no doubt from the entire ordeal. The Pegasus sighed. "I shouldn't have kept it with Mandy at all." "Get a cage for now and leave it in my office." Oprah ordered. "I'll have Security agents take it back to its rightful home first thing tomorrow morning." "Oh! Yes, that's right. I didn't share the research that Ocean and I found, either..." "Do it tomorrow. I'm more concerned about Mandy right now." As Oprah bent down to pick up the hybrid's hammer, she winced and waved her hand, realizing it was still very hot to the touch. "So she didn't destroy the Bedroom and the bullpen after all." Olive remarked, embracing Otto in a hug as he rubbed her back. "It was Natsu. My suspicions were right." "Yes." Fluttershy sadly nodded. "Toddle-bees love to cause mischief, but some have a particularly mean streak to them, like Natsu. It shapeshifted into Mandy and posed as her in order to cause trouble." "And we've paid the price for it." Twilight buried her face in her hooves. "I feel awful!" Pinkie chimed in. Like Olive, she too was being comforted by a friend -- Rarity, as a matter of fact. The two mares were hugging each other and coming to terms with what they had done with tears in their eyes. "You and me both, darling." the unicorn mare said, fighting to keep her voice steady. "We should have listened to Mandy from the start instead of jumping to conclusions and blaming her for the messes!" "Well..." Otto broke free of Olive just for a moment to help lift up a chair. "It cost us a table. Or, uh, it cost you guys a table, anyway." "We have a lot of apologizing to do." Murmurs of agreement met Oprah's unfortunate realization. "We should wait until Mandy calms down a little bit." Peaches advised. "The last thing I want is a broken bone. Or fifteen." "Very good idea. In the meantime..." Rarity broke free of Pinkie's embrace and rose to all four hooves. "I shall go and get a broom and dustpan to clean up this debris." "And I can help agents build a new table!" Applejack nodded. "Er, if that's all right with you, Ms. O?" "Of course, Agent Applejack. Thank you. You too, Agent Rarity." Olive bent down and touched the handle of Mandy's hammer, picking the item up with her hands and noting just how lightweight it seemed to be. "Mandy's hammer handle seems to have cooled. The least I can do is bring it back to her." "Uhh, did you not hear what Peaches just said?" Rainbow Dash lifted up another chair and put it back to its usual upright position. "Yes. But by giving it back to her, it gives me an excuse to talk to her." "Why? It's not like she wants to see anyone right now. Besides, she tried to attack you!" "I made a mistake by telling her to stop, and she nearly tried to kill me for it. As scary as it is, that's all there is to it. Mandy has absolutely no kill count to her name, and she never will." Olive scoffed. "I'm not afraid of her, Rainbow Dash. I'm her adoptive mother. I know her best. And a talk from her mother is just what she needs." "Well, at least you know where she is." Otto piped up, pointing down at the floor. Sure enough, a trail of liquid led from where Mandy was standing to where she had fled. "Works for me." Olive gave a nonchalant shrug. "If anyone needs me, just, uh...follow the trail of tears." She walked down the hallway, hammer in hand. She didn't even get to round the corner before her ears picked up on the sound of muffled sobbing. Face buried deep into the pillow and body covered under blankets, Mandy cried. Every ounce of her energy was taken and placed towards her grief and sorrow. She didn't care that she was laying on a bed that had been broken in half, nor did she care that she was laying on a bed that had been broken in half and was located in a room full of dust and other debris. All she wanted was to be alone with her thoughts. "How could they...? Everyone...everyone...betraying me! They all think I'm some great villain...like I wanna ruin Headquarters!" For a brief moment, the visual of agents drawing gadgets in battle stuck in her mind. The barrels of the machines all pointed at her, the faces of angry children filled with pent-up rage and ruthlessness, as she, in all of her fashionably odd attire, wore a look of fear. From out of her peripheral vision, a beam shot- She couldn't think of it anymore. She violently shook her head, and let her sadness be replaced by anger. "And Natsu...how dare..." A choked sob forced its way out of her, which delved into a loud wail as the teary waterfalls came forth once again. Outside of the room, Olive mentally ran through her options of what she could say to Mandy that wouldn't hurt her further. "Olive, wait!" She turned, only to find "Peaches?" "I know you're closer to Mandy than I am, but...I want to help comfort her, too. And, uh...maybe you can cover me if she attacks you?" The Director couldn't help but chuckle at the last part. "All right. Let's go." As the duo reached the Bedroom, Olive took initiative and knocked on the door. "Mandy? It's Olive. Can we come in?" "No! Go away! I don't wanna see you, or anyone else!" "C'mon, just let us in. Please?" "Why would I let in someone who thinks I'm a villain? Who frames me..." Mandy's voice broke again. "...for something I didn't dooooo!" And the wailing continued. Both girls exchanged guilty looks with each other, before Olive opened the door. They had to admit, seeing Mandy laying askew on a broken bed and sobbing into a pillow that looked pretty clean was rather surprising. But they had bigger issues on their mind. "Mandy...we never meant to frame you." Olive said, as she approached the hybrid. "We jumped to conclusions and we shouldn't have done that. It was Natsu's fault. It shapeshifted into you and tried to get you into trouble. And it fooled us good." Mandy stopped her wailing to respond. "You guys think that just 'cuz I'm a lil' dimwitted that I'm the one who ruined the rooms. Do you really think I would do anything like that?!" "Well- hey!" Olive began to utter out a response, but the next thing she knew, she was trapped in a magic aura and hovering just inches from Mandy's face. "Look me in the eyes and tell me honestly! Tell me the truth!" "N-no!" Olive sighed, choosing to set aside how Mandy was able to easily lift her when it took almost every ounce of her magic to do so previously -- high emotions, she figured. Or the writer screwing around with continuity again. "No. You would never wreck the bullpen or the Bedroom. Not on purpose, anyway." Mandy set her down, feeling her throat close up again. "If you're tryna get me to come back, forget it. I don't wanna work for people who think that I'm a culprit of something I obviously didn't do." She sniffled and let her voice rise into high-pitched anger. "You've lived with me for years. You raised me, Momma! And yet you think I destroyed the bullpen and the Bedroom on purpose, without even checking for evidence?! A real Odd Squad agent would think things through and not make assumptions!" "Look. We made a mistake. A grave mistake. We're all sharing the blame. Me, Otto, Peaches, Oprah, the ponies. We all take responsibility for what we did. And we're all sorry." Peaches stepped forward when her name was called, having allowed mother and daughter to work the issue out without a "newbie" family member like her interfering and possibly making things worse. Olive sighed. "But we know you're not just upset about that." "Natsu was...it was like a pet to me! A close companion! T-to think it just wanted to cause trouble, it..." Mandy couldn't finish that sentence. The face of that wretched being was etched into her wired mind in a way she didn't like, and she desperately wished that she could perform brain surgery on herself, that she could use some pliers to severe the connections between her and the creature so she wouldn't even know it was an actual being that existed in her world. "You cared for it well." was all Olive could say in response. "And now, it's...it's gone!" "Well, it's not 'gone' gone, but it can't stay here. You told me yourself -- it's not native to Toronto. I'm sorry." That sent the hybrid into another crying fit. Olive, however, not wanting to see her stain her bed further, pulled her into her chest. "Just let it out." she soothed, as the hybrid's cries turned muffled. Peaches' eyes widened. "I can't believe how much she has in her." "Oh, Mandy can cry for a long while. We've set records." "Really? What's the top record?" "An hour." The catgirl's jaw dropped. This girl...she drinks that much water...in that body... how even?! ...Wait. Maybe I shouldn't question it. It's Mandy. And this is Odd Squad. Jeez, you'd think I'd know by now! Mandy's sobs had downgraded to mere sniffles, and she pulled her head away from Olive's chest. "You okay now?" the Director asked, patting her head. Her only response was an "mmm" and the loud growl of the hybrid's stomach. "Here, why don't I make you something?" Olive arose from the bed. "It can be thanks for the salad you made me yesterday. And it's close to dinnertime anyway." She smiled. "What do you want?" "Anything..." Mandy murmured. "Okay then, I'll surprise you. Oh!" Olive pulled something out of her hammerspace spine. "And I brought back your hammer. You, uh...left it in the Breakroom." Mandy didn't respond to that comment. All she did was listen to the hammer clattering on the floor as Olive set it down. "Hang tight, okay?" Peaches watched Olive go, then turned to face Mandy. "Sorry I didn't say much, cuz. I didn't really want to interfere too much...changed my mind and all that. But just know that I'm sorry, too. I'm rooting for you to pull through!" No response. With a sigh, the catgirl made her way out and down the same path that Olive walked. "You think she's done, or just getting a third wind?" she asked once she caught up with the Director. "I think she's done for the most part. But she's still very resentful." Olive ran a hand through her hair. "You might not know this, Peaches, but if someone hurts her, it's not something she takes lightly. And this is no exception." "So she holds really long grudges?" "Pretty much." Peaches' brow furrowed, then her expression relaxed. "Oh. Actually, that makes sense." she remarked. "Maybe some food will cheer her up this time? She does like to eat." "Maybe. You good at cooking?" "Mmm...I'm mediocre. Not really the best, but I'm not one to make edible things that can kill a row of catpeople." "Ah, no worries, I'll teach you. Follow me." Wondering what idea Olive had in mind, Peaches followed her as the duo rounded the corner and headed for the Breakroom. After informing those that had been cleaning up in the Breakroom of Mandy's current state, Olive and Peaches got to work making a dish that Mandy was sure to eat. As much as others wanted to check on Mandy and comfort her, Olive advised against it, saying that Mandy just wanted to be alone. Finally, the meal was done. Olive took the honor of delivering it to the downcast agent, and instructed Peaches to help clean up the rest of the Breakroom. A knock on the Bedroom door three times would have fazed Mandy in any other circumstances, but didn't even make her so much as move a muscle this time. "Mandy? It's Olive again. I brought your dinner." came the muffled voice that she knew all too well. "Some nice fried chicken. I know how much you love chicken." Her stomach rumbled again, and all she did was give a sigh as her adoptive mother came inside. "I figured you weren't in the mood to come out, so I'll just set it on the nightstand. Just make sure to return the plate and the silverware, okay? You know how Olly can get when a plate and silverware have gone missing." Olive couldn't resist giving an exasperated eye roll. Slowly, Mandy shifted herself and moved closer to the plate. Taking a few tentative sniffs, she took a bite of the chicken, no silverware needed, like she was a wild animal sniffing to see if her prey was poisoned. Her tail began thumping on the bed, although the smile didn't return to her face nor did her usual energy return to her entire body. "Oh good, you like it." Olive breathed a sigh of relief. "Peaches helped me with it. She's a surprisingly apt cook. I don't know why she told me she was mediocre." A crunch as Mandy took another bite made her wince slightly. "Maybe we made it too crispy, though." An awkward silence hung in the air. The only sounds were from Mandy chewing away at her chicken. "W-well, um..." Olive scratched the back of her neck. "Look, I talked to Oprah. She said that you can sleep up in her office while repairs are being made to the Bedroom. Is that okay with you?" In any normal circumstance, Mandy would probably snark "you said that already" or innocently ask "okay, but am I still punished?" But this was no normal circumstance, of course. Mandy only gave a simple, monotonic "mmm" in response. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then." Olive sighed again, this time growing tired and exasperated of being in the same room as whatever depressing air this hybrid was emitting. "Segueing into the main point...try and cheer up, okay, Mandy? No one likes seeing you like this, and we know you're hurt. We just want you to be back to your happy and energetic self. And if I'm being honest, I feel like a dark cloud is looming over my hea-" A rumble of thunder startled her. Sure enough, there was a nice fluffy dark cloud, hanging over her head. "Oh. Beautiful. Just what I need. Odd Squad's metaphorical take on depression. All I need is an agent to play the role of therapist and I'm all set." she snarked, immediately regretting doing so even though snarking didn't make her depressed. She frantically waved her hands in an attempt to shoo the cloud away, but a laser blast stopped her attempts right quick. She glanced at Mandy, with the last of the chicken breast in her mouth, the light on the rings on her horn quickly dying away. As soon as she saw Olive looking at her, she avoided eye contact. "Thank you, Mandy. Much better." The hybrid, having finished her meal, slowly got off of the bed and began rummaging through the cabinet that had fallen on the floor. From there, she found her pajamas and her rainbow-colored bath towel that had pictures of cats weaved into it. "Oh, going to take a shower, huh?" Mandy finally made eye contact with her. Her expression was one that Olive couldn't identify, but one that chilled her to the bone nonetheless. She left the Director with a soft huff, taking her clothing and towel with her. "Jeez...she's taking all of this harder than I thought." Olive remarked. "And giving us all the silent treatment." Slowly, ever so slowly, an idea began to form in her head as she glanced at the empty plate. "Aha! I have an idea! It'll be perfect." She picked up the plate and the silverware. "And I'm sure it'll get Mandy back to her old self!" A grin split her face as she strode out of the Bedroom once more, taking a left. "Now, just add the cherry on top!" Stretching her arm as far as it would reach, Olive did as she was told, nearly stumbling and falling into the foodstuff itself. The girl sighed. "Ah, Pinkamena Diane Pie. You've done it again." "I know." "One of the best and largest cakes you've ever made." "I know." "There's a reason why you're the best baker in Ponyville." "Darn straight." Both mare and child admired the masterpiece. A complete seven-layer cake, with seven different flavors, sitting on Oprah's coffee table while the Director in question could only gaze at it. "Did you forget the note?" Olive scoffed and laughed. "Noooo, of course I didn't. Oprah, you talk silly things sometimes, why would I forget a crucial part of my own plan? I have the note right here." She reached behind her back and produced a small paper, opening it and reading its contents aloud. "Shmumbeez-its, milk, bleach, and frozen macaroni and cheese." Oprah had to really fight to not laugh. The same went for Pinkie. Olive groaned, rolled her eyes, and went fishing in her hammerspace spine again, finally pulling out what she had wanted. "Ah, here we go." she remarked, once she scanned the inside of the folded-up paper. "This is it." Pinkie scanned through the note and nodded. "Perfect!" "Now, when Mandy wakes up, she'll see the cake and the note, and she'll come to us and we'll make up and everyone will be happy again!" Olive said matter-of-factly. "But how is she going to get into the office and not see either thing?" Olive's eyes widened. "I, um...w-well...s-see, maybe she'll be so tired, she, uh...misses it?" she tried, giving a nervous grin and a half-hearted shrug. "Don't even bother." Oprah snickered. "I think I know how this plan is gonna work out. Just leave the rest to me." Olive simply buried her face in her hands, Pinkie leaping up and patting her back in support. As Mandy was wordlessly guided into the office, Olive watched in disappointment but also intrigue. The hybrid was blindfolded, unable to see even an inch ahead of her. She sat down on the couch at Oprah's insistence. "Now, here we go..." Oprah undid the knot on the blindfold. Mandy's eyes opened. She looked at the cake, in all its delicious chocolate, seven-layered glory. Her mouth began to water, although she tried her damnedest not to make it obvious. One sniff, two sniffs, and then a cautious bite. Olive couldn't help but feel offended. Does she think we're trying to poison her? Mandy's eyes began to shimmer, and then she began to eat the rest of the cake in her usual speedy fashion. "She likes it!" Pinkie cheered. "Although, how could she not? She eats almost everything." During her last bite, the hybrid caught wind of Olive, Oprah and Pinkie, gazing at her with happiness but concern flickering in their eyes. She swallowed, and gave them a look that Olive couldn't identify before sharply turning and settling into a laying-down position on the couch. "Uh..." Olive gulped, trying to pick her words carefully. "We're glad you like the cake. We made it just for you." "Mmm..." "W-why don't you, uh, s-sleep on what I've said, hmm? I really do mean every single word. We want you back to normal." Olive walked over, took the note, and slid it in front of Mandy. "Here, read this." The hybrid, giving a mighty sigh of annoyance, opened the small paper and read the text inside. All three girls could swear they saw Mandy perk up slightly, but she quickly slumped back down and set her head on the couch. "I was expecting her to say something like, 'Oh, you would do this for me? Thank you soooooo much!'" Pinkie said. "But I guess she's still mad at us..." Oprah sighed. "Just let her sleep. There's nothing we can do now." Olive felt like crying right then and there, but she forced herself to stay steady. "Right. We tried." "And trying and failing is better than not trying at all." Oprah finished. "Go home, you two. Make sure you rest up for tomorrow. I have to stay here and finish up." Pinkie nodded and made her way out the double doors, her mane deflating slightly as she did so. Olive, likewise, did the same. "Have a good night, Mandy" were the last words she said to the hybrid for the day before she trudged down the staircase on the right. The loud snores emanating from Mandy were proof enough that this act of treachery and betrayal didn't cause her any trouble sleeping. Still, Oprah sought it fit to drape her purple blanket over her and leave her be once she cleaned up her office and shut things down in Headquarters, not bothering to hide the sadness buried deep inside her any longer as a few tears streamed down her face. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as she closed the glass double-doors and walked away from her second-in-command. Somehow, the dish that held the cake had made its way to its new destination under Mandy's cheek. As the hybrid snored, cake crumbs either littered her face or littered the floor. Although Oprah passed by her more than once, the pan stayed where it was, Oprah not daring to move it lest she trigger Mandy into waking up and risk her getting even angrier at her. Around noontime -- or at least what her circadian clock thought was noontime -- Mandy woke up. Her eyes slowly opened, and her jaws parted as her body shivered with a loud yawn forcing its way out of her body. "That's niiiiice..." she murmured, as she looked around for her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. Seeing a glass-shaped object filled with a brown something in her line of vision, she snatched it and drank it all without a second thought. An unsettling feeling came over her. Her face suddenly felt itchy. Her nails quickly got to scratching, and she noticed cake pieces falling on the pan below her. "When did that get there..." she murmured, before her face lit up in realization. "Oh. Yeah. They gave me a cake and a note...what did that note even say?" Dear Mandy, On behalf of Pinkie, Oprah and everyone else, we're really sorry we accused you of destroying the Bedroom and the bullpen. I hope you know that we love you no matter what, and that we realize now it was Natsu who is the true culprit. (If you're wondering where it is, Security agents took it back to its natural habitat this morning.) Pinkie Pie and I made you this cake as a way of stacking on to our apology, so to speak. Hopefully you enjoyed it. Or will enjoy it. I dunno, it came with the cake. Anyway, please accept our apologies. I really don't know what more I can say to make it up to you. ...Oh. Wait. I probably can. I love you, Mandy. And I always will. Forever and ever. Keep continuing to surprise us. Like you just did. Love (disclaimer: I would never end a letter like this but I didn't puke so that's something), Olive Mandy's eyes began to water. Her throat began to close up. These words barely fazed me yesterday...because I skimmed over the note. I was too upset to keep reading, and all I could register was the cake. But now... Is this what they really...? And Natsu really is gone... "No!" Mandy sat up. "I shouldn't cry over Natsu anymore. Why would I, when it betrayed me? It's nothing more than a pile of filth!!" With a mighty swat, the pan flew off of the couch and collided with the back seats of the other couch in the room. She gave a shaky sigh. "Killing an odd creature is cruel, Mandy. You're not gonna feel satisfied if you kill it. Just...let go of it!" She tried to smile. "Remind yourself of the happy things. Like Momma, and Otto, and Oprah, and Peaches, and the ponies, and Odd Squad!" The smile, however, quickly faded. "All Momma wants is to see me be happy...she doesn't want me to hate her forever like this. And neither does anyone else. And...they all apologized for framing me, at least." Mandy closed her eyes to think. And then, a few seconds later, she sat up with a determined huff. "Okay! Gotta cheer up, starting now!" She blinked. "Wait, where's Oprah? Why's she not here? She's always he-" Three knocks on one of the glass doors made her hair and tail bush up as she gave a yowl. "Don't scare me like that, you-" She stopped and blinked as she saw exactly who it was at the door. "Cuz!" Peaches opened the door... -- "Wait, wait- ulp!" -- and soon found herself a victim of near-death by asphyxiation. "Oh, am I happy to see you!" "C-can you..." Peaches coughed and sputtered. "Put me down...?!" "Sorry!" Mandy set her cousin down as instructed, allowing her to get a few gulps of air in. "What're you doing here?" Peaches gave a relieved exhale. "I came by to check on you. Oprah's busy with some affairs involving Olive and Otto right now-" "Where are they?" "W-well, they're in the Odd Squad Warehouse-" "Greatseeyoulater!" And that was that, as Mandy whizzed right past Peaches without another word spoken. "Mandy, wait!" Peaches called, although she knew that it was hopeless. All she could do was give a mighty sigh of exasperation and leave the scene, her deed already having been done. Dinosaurs of all kinds, from T-rexes to pterodactyls, used every inch of their strength to ram into the double-doors leading into the Dinosaur Room. As Olive and Otto fought to keep the doors shut, Oprah was busy punching numbers into a keyboard that laid on the right door. "It's no use! We've tried every possible combination!" Oprah shouted. Otto opened his mouth to remark about how out-of-character that was for his former boss, for her to give up instead of putting every ounce of her strength into securing some of Odd Squad's most prominent and most dangerous creatures, but Olive spoke up before he could get a word in. "Don't say that! We have to keep trying! If we don't lock these doors, all the dinosaurs are gonna escape!" In a cartoonish fashion, the steel doors bent outwards as though ready to break. And then they burst open. The trio stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the floor. Almost immediately, they bundled together, taking out their shields upon seeing the dinosaurs advance towards them. All of them braced for impact, feeling their lives pass through their brain like a movie stuck on fast-forward as they squeezed their eyes shut. "Whooooo's hungry?! I know I am!" Olive's eyes snapped open. The first thing she saw was a blur of something rainbow-colored zip by her and head into the dinosaur room. "I'll be riiiight back!" came a familiar voice, as the rainbow-colored figure closed the door with some kind of magical force and sealed it with the sound of screeching metal. "I know that voice..." Oprah breathed, opening her eyes and lowering her shield. "Is that..." "Mandy?!" Otto finished her sentence, opening his eyes and staring at the closed doors completely bug-eyed. His dazed stupor didn't last for long, however, as he quickly shook his head and got up, tucking his own shield away behind his back. "Where'd she come from?" "I don't know." Olive did the same. "But we should tru-" A series of banging sounds and shouting ensued. The shouting was in a language that no one, not even Oprah, could understand -- it was all equal to the same gibberish as the sleep-talk Mandy uttered. After a few minutes of tension, a bright flash indicated the return of Mandy, completely dazed, confused, and missing a tooth or two. All she could let out was a long, quivering "aaa" sound, like she was trying to say something but was too stunned to do so. "Mandy, are you okay?!" Olive immediately rushed right over, catching the hybrid in her arms as she toppled forwards. "What happened to you?" No response, except for the stretched-out sound. "Her pajamas are ripped." Otto noted, eyeing some slash marks on her clothing. "Whatever those dinosaurs did to her in there, they roughed her up pretty good." "No injuries, though..." Olive breathed a sigh of relief. "Pretty miraculous." Oprah chuckled and gave a lighthearted shrug. "But would you expect anything less from Precinct 13579's second-in-command?" Mandy shook her head and closed her mouth, blinking a few times. She grit her teeth and rubbed her head. Feels like my magic backfired into my brain... ...Wait, is that a thing? I thought Twi mentioned it was a thing, oh on odd it's definitely a thing isn't i- "Mandy?" "Hm? I'm okay..." The hybrid attempted to stand up, but began falling backwards before regaining her usual stance. "That was close." "You saved us." "I did?" "And the door's sealed too!" "Is it?" Mandy turned to look. "Oh." "How did you even find us all the way down here?" Otto asked. "Talk about a deus ex machina." Mandy slowly waved her hand. "No it's not. Peach told me where you guys were. I came down here for another reason, but when I saw you guys in trouble, I couldn't not save you." The trio exchanged glances, and then exchanged happy sighs. "So why are you here, then?" Olive asked, before her face lit up in realization. "Wait. You're speaking to us! Does that mean you forgive us?" "Yeah...I skimmed through your note last night, but I read it for realsies this morning and it hit me." Mandy chuckled. "It's nice that you all care so much for me. And I'm glad you apologized. Thank you." "How are you feeling about Natsu?" Oprah asked, treading lightly in case Mandy felt like taking a spin of the Wheel of Violence Upon Others. "Oh, that lowlife? It can go rot away for all I care. I'm not gonna be worried about it anymore." Oprah placed a hand on her rapidly-beating heart and gave a small relieved huff. "Do I still hafta sleep in your office for a week, though, Oprah?" "Well, yes, until the Bedroom's repaired. But it's not going to be a punishment." The Director shrugged. "Really, I keep forgetting that all the traditional punishments don't work on you. Keeping you in my office is a reward." "Yup!" Mandy cracked her knuckles. "Now, I believe Peach said you guys had some affairs you needed to handle. Why don't I help ya?" "Sure." Olive nodded. "We could use the help." "First thing you should do is invest in a better lock for those doors." Mandy made her way over to the doors and knocked thrice. "My magic will hold for a while, but not forever!" "We were trying to use the combination on the keypad to lock it, but we forgot what the combination was." Otto explained. Curiously, the hybrid took a look at the keypad, which only displayed the row of dots lit up in red. She squinted and pressed the 7 key, then the 4 key, which caused the row of dots to flash green. "Doors locked." came an automated voice. Oprah felt an emotion bubbling forth that she couldn't even begin to describe. "How did you even-" "After we ditched the six-keyed keypad for the more universal one with all the numbers and every basic mathematical symbol, I had a feeling you didn't bother changing the code, Oprah." Mandy rolled her eyes. "Really, I don't know how you struggled with this for so long. There are only so many combinations that add up to 11 one can think of!" As she gave a hearty laugh, Olive and Otto bit back a groan, as did Oprah. "Aaaaanyway, I'm really really hungry. Whaddya say we all go and get breakfast together?" On everyone's agreement, the agents began heading upstairs to clean themselves up and grab some food, not noticing a small dark figure emerging from the shadows and perching on the boxes. It tilted its head, then ran away. S1E8: On a Tail and a WishAt Cedarvale Park, people and ponies alike were carrying on with life, talking and laughing, some having picnics while others had playtime. Peaches was also carrying on with life. Only she was on a mission. Her tail spun like the rotor of a helicopter as she flew through the park at a steady pace, looking to and fro and down at her map of the town for any sign of the monster, the ugly being that burned her town down to a near-crisp. Where could they be? There has to be someone here...but what if they aren't in this town at all? A rustling sound came from afar, but she was too lost in her thoughts to notice it -- and perhaps that was a good thing to the cat that came sliding from the bush, who eyed her intently while trying to stay hidden. "What if..." Peaches said aloud, continuing her flight across the park and retreating into her thoughts. So that's her. That's the catgirl King Ashero is looking for. The cat smirked. Oh, she looks so ripe for picking right now...but the King told me to just observe. A real pity, too. But I can't disobey him. Otherwise it'll be my life on the line. Sighing, the cat -- or more specifically, the catperson in cat form -- made her way across the park, hiding in various bushes while also keeping an eye on the one who was now branded a Vallean criminal. Nearby, Mandy met with a client, who told her about her odd problem of parts of her body looking like that of a lobster's. "Hmm...seems like the problem is that you're turning into a lobster. But don't worry!" the hybrid said, noting the panicked look on the woman's face and immediately taking out a gadget from behind her back. "I have a Un-Lobster-inator for ya!" Firing off the gadget made it emit a multicolored beam that surrounded the woman and turned her mutated body parts back to normal. "Oh...oh! I'm back to normal!" The woman sighed in relief. "Thank you, Odd Squad!" "No prob!" Mandy chirped. "And, uh, might I suggest you eat less lobster? 'You are what you eat' has a more..." She cleared her throat. "...literal meaning in this world." "I will keep that in mind! Thank you again!" "Have a great day!" Mandy saw her latest client off with a wave, before she turned and began heading back the way she came. As she looked off to the side, however, she managed to bump into someone head-on, giving an "oof" in response. "Hey, watch whe-" Mandy gasped, her upset dissipating as she saw just who she had bumped into. Or rather, as she saw just what the person she had bumped into was doing. Peaches landed on her own two feet with all the poise and grace of someone of her kind, her tail ceasing its rotation. "S-sorry, Mandy!" she said, holding up the map in her hand. "I've been trying to find who destroyed Vallea and I was reading this map I marked, but...I guess I wasn't watching where I was going. My bad." She had expected Mandy to give some kind of response. Instead, the hybrid stared at her intently, big stupid grin on her face and tail wagging like an excited puppy who'd just been gifted a tennis ball for its birthday. "Wow. That tail's, uh...really going, huh?" Peaches tilted her head. "What's got you so excited?" "You can fly?!" Mandy practically screamed, as more than a few people and ponies looked towards the duo. "Omigoshomigoshomigosh you can fly!" She capped off this realization with a bout of giddy giggling. "Oh. You noticed, huh?" "And you can do it using your tail?! I've never been able to do it using my tail, I mean believe you me I have tried, but sometimes I just can't get my big ol' body off the ground, y'know what I'm sayin'?" Mandy chirped. "This is so great, I can't believe you can actually fly using your tail, I mean-" It was at this point that Peaches had tuned Mandy out as best she could. All she could do was watch as her cousin's gums did enough flapping to break away from her mouth and extend past the ionosphere and go all the way up into space where the Moon was. Exactly how long can she go without taking a breath? She internally groaned. If I let her have her way she's gonna be jabbering on about my tail and my flying for- "Can you teach me?!" The question jerked the catgirl completely out of her thoughts. She blinked once, twice, and then a third time as she tried to comprehend what she was just asked. She looked Mandy up and down repeatedly. "Teach." "Yes!" "You." "Yes!" "How to fly with your tail?" "Ye-e-eeees!" Mandy's tone at this point was practically begging, which didn't help the weird looks Peaches could feel herself receiving. "You're going to keep asking until I say yes, aren't you?" A nod, and more giddy giggling. She knew she was going to regret it, and yet, she gave a heavy sigh of resignation anyway. "All right, fine. But you'd best know what you're going to get into. Flying with your tail is no easy feat. And I will not go easy on you just because we're cousins, got it?!" "Yes, ma'am! Ready when you are!" "All right then, follow me." Peaches turned on her heel. "We're going to need to find some empty space, away from people." As she walked away, Mandy eagerly followed, bouncing along behind her. It took quite a long while to find an empty space, much to Peaches's chagrin (or perhaps, relief). The park was packed, and whatever space there was certainly wouldn't work for someone like Mandy, who was bound to accrue lawsuits galore just from severely injuring someone with the stunts she was about to pull. Luckily, the duo managed to find a nice clear space, more on sheer luck than anything else. "Now." Peaches snapped her fingers twice. "Produce a hula hoop." Mandy's expression twisted into confusion... "Produce a-" ...and then into realization. "Ohhh!" She giggled before reaching behind her back and taking out a hula hoop, complete with a "ding" sound. "Like this one?" "Perfect. Now use it like you would use a normal hula hoop." Cue the hybrid shaking it like it was a maraca. "Cha-cha-chaaaaaaa!" she cried out, having fun with the swishing sound the beads inside the hoop made. Peaches stared. She stared with perhaps one of the most confused expressions ever recorded on a catperson, let alone any person. Somehow, she wasn't surprised, but "shake it like a maraca" wasn't the first thing she thought of when it came to "okay, I see your order and raise you disobedience". A sigh forced its way out of her. "Around your waist, cuz." Now the hybrid got the idea. She lowered the hoop until it was waist level, then got to spinning. "Wheee!" She let out a giggle. "This is fun!" "See how the hoop is spinning around your waist? It acts sort of like a propeller." Peaches explained. "Now take the hoop off." "But why?" Mandy tilted her head. "This is so much fun! I could do this forever! Help trim the ol' waist, y'know?" Her expression lit up. "Hey, you think this could help me shed a few pounds? I know I've been exercising as much as I can, but you know what they say, all the cake you eat goes to your hips and-" "MANDY!!" "Yes?" Peaches did Olive's version of the facepalm, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Look. I know you're excited. But could you at least try and listen to me?" "Oh! Right!" Mandy giggled, stopped spinning, and picked up the hoop. "Talk away, sensei!" "All right. As I was saying." A smile returned to Peaches's face. "Balance the hoop around your tail, and spin." Mandy became confused again, tilting her head as the gears inside of it tried to visualize what Peaches wanted her to do. Good thing (for the both of them) she managed to get it only a few minutes later. The whirring sound of a helicopter accompanied her spinning tail as it allowed her to gain lift, albeit in a pretty awkward position. Still, it didn't stop her from giving an elated "wheeeeee" and a giggle the same way a kid thrown into the air by Mom or Dad would. "Mandy, don't go up too high!" Peaches warned, although by the time she finished her warning it was beginning to be too late. "Look, I'm going up into space!" Mandy cried. "Lucky I got my space helmet on me!" A simple reach behind her back, and a space helmet decked in gold with an interior lit blue materialized. Mandy happily placed it on her head as it made a "pop" noise from the action. "To space I go!" "Mandy, no, don't..." Peaches stifled a growl as her hand, reaching behind her back, came up empty. "Why can I not get gadgets from behind my back like she can?!" she shouted to the heavens, mentally kicking herself for not asking Oprah about that ability the first time she saw an agent do it. "Mandyyyyyyy!" Her cry went unanswered as all she could do was watch her cousin become a speck in the sky. Thanks to gravity -- the one rule Odd Squad couldn't get rid of or modify -- Peaches didn't need to do much when over 150 pounds of weight came crashing down on several minutes later. "Okay. Seems you've mastered tail-flying with assistance..." Peaches gave a shaky sigh, rubbing her still-sore arm. "Now, how about doing it without the hoop?" "Okay..." "Just spin your tail like you did with the hoop." "Mmm..." The slightly-scruffed Mandy eyed her tail, nice and brown and curly and messy and probably completely incapable of providing her any sort of lift. Still, it didn't stop her from trying. And miraculously, it worked. "Oh, I'm doing it! I-" A loud crack sound put an end to that, as she came plummeting down to the ground once again, her tail in the shape of a lightning bolt. Perhaps Peaches's first thought should have been "she has bones in that thing?" But far be it from her to question how pony-human hybrids' tails worked -- or question Mandy in general. "I guess I forgot to add 'iron out the kinks in your tail' to the list..." A groan of many mixed emotions was the catgirl's only response, along with an outstretched hand. Mandy's third attempt came shortly after, and this time, she showed that her skill had improved slightly as she got into an easier position and was steadily gaining lift. "I did it!" "Great! Now try to go to the same height as..." Peaches looked above her, and pointed. "...that branch, there." Mandy glanced at her target -- which wasn't too high up -- and got to work. She kept her tail moving at the same speed, although she could feel it beginning to ache. She couldn't bear to look down, not wanting to falter and descend towards what was surely a situation that would make her look even messier, even though she had her wings still. "Keep going!" Peaches called. "The propeller will lift you up as you go." "But how do I go faster?" "You don't!" Mandy's eyes widened. "What?!" "It's gradual!" Unbeknownst to her, Mandy's tail had started spinning faster, which didn't end well when it finally collided with the branch that had been her target. Peaches could only wince as Mandy's body, like a yo-yo, spun at rapid speed around the branch itself as she gave a panicked cry. The disastrous feat only lasted a few seconds, but what Peaches saw was equally as unpleasant and lasted much longer. Mandy's tail was now fully wrapped around the branch to the point where her rump was nearly touching it. Her eyes spun around in their sockets, and a couple birds perched on her head as though mocking her and her even dirtier appearance. Somehow, she had performed the human equivalent of shoes tied to electric lines. "Nngh...Imma be sick..." Perhaps what was more painful than Peaches having to witness the sight was the thought of how she was going to get Mandy down -- especially since she wasn't exactly the most skilled catperson at climbing trees. Still, she tried. And luckily, they say fourth time's the charm. ...Wait, or was it the third time's the charm? "Let's try moving forward and backward. Try to move forward." Peaches instructed. "Just place pressure on the front of your tail as you spin." Both girls found this to be far more pleasant than simply moving upwards. Mandy made her way across the sidewalk, her tail spinning at a steady pace as her face lit up. "Hey, I'm doin' it!" she called, waving to her cousin. "Nonono, keep the tail straight!" Peaches responded, noting that Mandy's tail was bending all sorts of different ways, like light breezes from many different directions touching a single flower. "It's all about the force!" "How do I move faster?" "You don't!" Mandy's eyes widened. A weird and uncomfortable feeling of deja vu settled inside of her. "Huh?!" "It's graduaaaaaaal!" Peaches called in singsong, but by then it was too late. Mandy's backside collided with a brick building, an old and long-abandoned fort that parkgoers loved to explore. A pair of unicorn ponies eyed her curiously, watching as she slid down to the ground. By this point, Peaches had exhausted all of her options. She was about ready to throw in the towel, and if she had a towel to throw, she probably would. But she didn't, so instead, she resorted to sighing and burying her face in her hands, feeling like having a long cry with tears full of exhaustion and frustration. Back at Headquarters, things were relatively quiet, meaning Olive, Otto and Oprah could take ample opportunity to have dinner together. In the midst of their gathering, however, a knock on the door came forth and Twilight poked her head in, her magic securing a broken and worn-down gadget in midair. "Oh! My apologies. Am I interrupting?" "No, no!" Olive waved her hand dismissively. "Come on in, agent." The alicorn took the opportunity to make her way in, making sure the door closed behind her so no one else would come interrupting. "What's going on?" Otto asked. "I wanted to give this gadget to Mandy for her to repair, but I haven't seen her since this afternoon. Have any of you seen her?" "I sent her on a case a while ago." Oprah explained. "If that's the case then shouldn't she-" A round of coughing interrupted Olive's question. The group turned their gazes toward the glass doors, knowing that none of them was the source of the sound. Slowly, ever so slowly, a battered, bruised, and completely-worn-down Mandy limped up the stairs. Her one good leg wobbled when it stood still like someone had poked a thing of Jello. Her hair and tail were matted and had hairs sticking out of them in a way that reminded Olive in particular all too well of her own messy appearance after beating a vortex she and Otto had accidentally caused. Her suit was torn in a few places, exposing her white button-down undershirt -- and some tears exposed straight skin. She looked like she had just survived an animal attack after being on the losing end. "Mandy! Are you okay?" Olive's tone was panicked. Instinct made her jump up and rush to her side, aiding her the rest of the way up the stairs. "C'mon, you can do it." "Oww!" This long painful drawl was interrupted by a round of coughing. "Are you sick?" Oprah asked. "I don't think she's sick." Otto responded. Twilight helped Olive guide Mandy to the couch, letting her lay down before she let out another round of coughing. "Oh my odd, your tail is bent!" Olive carefully examined her adopted daughter's tail, which was bent like a lightning bolt in a more severe way than before. "Here, have some juice." Oprah hastily grabbed a full juice box from the table, stuck the attached straw into it, and gave it to Mandy to drink. Eagerly, the hybrid took a few sips, feeling the tickle in her lungs start to go away. A cough kicked off her explanation. "I...I wanted to try and fly the way Peaches does..." "Peaches doesn't fly." Twilight tilted her head. "Yeah she does...with her tail." Everyone's eyes widened. They weren't sure what to ask about first -- why Mandy's voice was so gravelly, or how Peaches could fly with her tail. Ultimately, though, Oprah decided to go with "Peaches can fly with her tail?" "Yeah...and I wanted to learn too, but..." Mandy sniffled. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I CA-A-AAAAAAN'T!" Using her own wing to shield herself, Twilight quickly shoved Olive out of the way so she could avoid being splashed by the waterfalls of tears that gushed from Mandy's eyes. They arched higher up than usual, to the point where the waterfalls looked like really tall candy canes. The alicorn mare then conjured up a rather large umbrella from her hammerspace spine, wide enough to handle four. "Good idea getting an umbrella, Twi!" "I take no chances." Twi responded to Otto's praise. "The last time Mandy cried like this, it flooded an entire Interrogation room!" Oprah's eyes widened, knowing that Mandy wasn't so keen on letting up anytime soon. "Okay, everyone out! Out! Let's move!" she ordered, shooing everyone out of her office with swift motions of her hands. As soon as everyone was out, she closed the door and watched her agent continued to go at it. "This is crazy. We're never gonna find out what happened to her if she doesn't stop crying!" Otto's voice was nearly a whine as he ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever happened must have been horrible if she's like this." Olive peered inside, then her head swiveled to the Medical Bay as she contemplated getting Dr. O. "Mandy's quite unpredictable, though. This sob-fest could last for the rest of the day, or it could end in a minute!" Just as Oprah was about to throw in an addendum to her words, Peaches came bounding up the stairs. "Guys!" "Peaches!" Otto greeted. The catgirl's gaze caught her distraught cousin. "Oof...Mandy's taking it rougher than I thought. Did she tell any of you what happened?" "Part of it. She said that she wanted to try and fly the way you do, but she can't for some reason." Olive shrugged, setting her question of how she could fly with her tail aside once more. Peaches gave a heavy and tired sigh. "Mandy saw me flying with my tail earlier today and became enamored. Like, I haven't seen her be that obsessed over anything since she made the world's biggest cherry pie." "To try and get into the Odd Squad Book of World Records?" "That's the one." Peaches nodded at Twilight. "Anyway, she wanted me to teach her how to fly with her own tail, and I did, but...she just can't get the hang of it. She just kept falling and hurting herself over and over...until..." Her eyes widened as she remembered what had gone down. By the time the sun began to dip down into the horizon, the catgirl couldn't count on a single hand the number of attempts Mandy had made to fly in spite of Peaches's lessons. Nor could she count them on a single hand and the claws on said hand. Whatever made her keep going, she wondered. Was it the trait of perseverance that every Odd Squad agent seemed to have? Was it for the goal at the end of finally being able to fly in a unique way? Or did she have a death wish? Who knew. "Cuz, you're a wreck. There's no way you're gonna fly in this state. Not with your tail the way it is!" Peaches pointed at it. "Look at it! It's completely crooked!" Mandy's spinning tail slowed to a soft whir, and then it completely blew out on her, allowing her to land straight into a bush. A groan of fatigue and defeat followed suit. "Give it up!" "N-never!" Mandy emerged from the bush, clawing her way out of it and getting farther and farther with every word spoken. "I...wanna...fly...with my...tail!" "We are of two different species." Peaches explained, her tone growing irritated and grating. "I can fly with ease because my tail is lighter, and fits my body. Your tail is big and poofy. It's like Pinkie Pie's tail." Mandy slowly got to her feet. "Pinkie...she can...fly..." "She's...ehh, how do I put it..." Peaches made a circling motion with her hand as she thought of a good word to call her friend. "...a unique anomaly. And that's being generous." "I'm...not...giving...up..." "Mandy, stop. You're being foolish." "Tomorrow...tomorrow...I'll try again." As Mandy walked, she didn't get very far, walking about as slow as a heavy drunkard before collapsing onto the ground. Peaches opened her mouth to try and protest again, but she didn't get a chance to. "I'm not giving up!" And just like that, Mandy was gone in a flash thanks to teleportation, leaving Peaches to only give a sigh as the soft breeze ruffled her hair. "She really wants to fly with her tail, huh?" "Weird. She never expressed interest in flying with her tail before." Olive glanced at Oprah. "Although we did teach her how to fly with her wings when she first transformed." "Has the reality hit her?" Olive and Otto exchanged glances with each other as the latter asked, "What reality?" "She's never going to be able to fly with her tail. Never, ever, not in a million years. Not in the way I do. Look at it." Peaches gestured towards Oprah's office as the partner duo took a look at Mandy's tail. "Her tail is far too big. She wasn't born with one like Pinkie and I were." "It was one day. Rome wasn't built in a day." Oprah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yeah. Just try again with Mandy tomorrow." Twilight added, tilting her head in confusion. "No, no, neither of you are getting it." Peaches buried her face in her hands and sighed. "Look. You don't have tails. W-well, I mean, Twilight has a tail, but she doesn't use it to fly." "That's true..." "Mandy wasn't born with a tail either, and now she wants to fly like I do." Peaches scoffed. "I can't even go into the air that much! At most, I hover a short distance off the ground! That one wants to go up into...into space with it!" "Then why don't you try adapting?" Peaches wasn't sure what she was more flustered by -- Oprah's suggestion, or her calm tone of voice. "Huh?" "If Mandy can't fly your way, maybe you need to find a style of flight that'll work for her." "What? No!" Peaches blinked. "It's already been established. Pony-human hybrids can't fly! It's the basic law of nature!" Olive and Otto tore their gazes away from Mandy to glance at Peaches, hoping that Mandy wasn't picking up on any of the conversation. Both of them knew the doors were almost soundproof, but both of them also knew that Mandy had a rather heightened sense of hearing for someone with two pairs of ears from two different species. "Besides, she's a terrible student. She keeps going off-track and fooling around when she's supposed to be learning!" This bit was met with collective sighs. Olive, Oprah, Otto and Twilight all knew that described Mandy as a student down to a T -- multiple testaments from multiple teachers and students at the Academy could prove that easily. "I'm..." Peaches huffed. "I'm going to go and clean myself." She turned and began heading back the way she came. Digesting the information they'd been given, Oprah, Twilight and Otto's first collective action was to fix their gazes on Olive, who adopted a concerned expression. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" "You're Mandy's mother." "Adoptive mother." "Surely you can help calm her down!" "Plus, you're her friend. As the Princess of Friendship, it's only right that you calm her down and help her out." Olive gave a long defeated groan. "Fine...if I must." Gripping the door handle tight, she walked in, straight from the middle of nowhere into a raging fire, and closed the door behind her. Mandy was still going at it, although the teary waterfalls had dissipated and she was now sobbing much quieter than before. Making sure not to step in any puddles, Olive made her way over. "Mandy? Peaches told us all about what's going on. Do you really want to fly with your tail that much?" The hybrid sniffled. "It j-just looked like a cool trick, and..." She sniffled again. "I wanted t' impress you guys!" Olive blinked. That's it? She doesn't want to use it to stop villains? Or to solve a really hard case? Huh. Didn't see that coming. Still, she pressed forward. "You don't have to impress us. You carrying us on your back while you use your wings to fly is a cool feat in and of itself!" She chuckled. "Rainbow Dash can't do that. Neither can Fluttershy, or Peaches." Mandy opened her mouth to respond, but a hiccup came out of her instead, and she shifted position on the couch. "You're not gonna give up, are you?" "No! I-I wanna fly! I wanna fly using my tail!" Damn it. Should have known she wouldn't go down so easily. Olive grit her teeth, realizing that no amount of pep talk would be able to sway Mandy. But then, she got an idea. "I remember seeing Pinkie Pie fly with her tail at one point. Why don't you ask her?" Mandy lifted her head up. "P-Pinkie?" "Sure! If Pinkie can fly, maybe you can too! She can help you find a different way to fly. After all, you two have similar tails!" Another hiccup, and a sniffle. "I guess...whatever I'm gonna do to fly with my tail!" Satisfied that she had come to a happy solution for her daughter, Olive's smile grew a bit bigger. "For now, why don't you stay off of it? It looks like it got fused with a bolt of lightning." "Mmm..." "It's almost 7." the Director remarked, glancing at her watch. "Want me to make you something? I can't imagine you'd be up for making something in your condition." Mandy, growing tired from both her crying session and her lack of energy, yawned. "Some...mmm...stir-fry?" "Daring today, aren't we?" Olive chuckled and began to head for the door. "All right, stir-fry it is. I'll surprise you." "Sounds good...thanks..." Olive's gaze moved away from Mandy and met three surprised faces, up against the glass and expressions filled with surprise. Giving a sigh and a shrug, she exited through the other door. "Whoa, you're good, partner!" Otto was the first to pry his face away from the door first, his eyes shimmering with just a twinge of jealousy. "Mother's intuition, what can I say?" Olive shrugged. "Now, do you know how to make stir-fry?" "Like heck I do!" "Good, you can teach me." "Great! Let's go get started!" Arms wrapped around each other in a show of friendship, the partner duo descended the stairs. "Mandy's really dedicated to this whole flying thing, huh?" Twilight said, glancing at Oprah. "You and I both know she gets fixated on certain things. Sometimes to an...obsessive point." Oprah responded. "She won't stop until she learns how to fly with her tail." "But what if she can't?" "I would have to drag the Big O in to set her right." Twilight's eyes widened at this response. Bringing in the Big O seemed like a rather big jump just for a person who refused to accept "no" for an answer to the question of "can I do such a seemingly impossible thing?" She had to wonder why Oprah couldn't stop her -- she was the next governing authority of Precinct 13579 after Mandy, after all. But the alicorn was interrupted before she could get another word in. "Come on. Why don't we go for a walk? You seem tense." The alicorn snapped out of her shocked stupor and nodded. "But don't you have to stay here and run this place?" "As I always say, it's important we do good things for ourselves. HQ will be fine for a bit." "All right. Let's go." The duo left the same way Olive and Otto did, going down the stairs and chatting away about where they would like to go on their walk. There was no more energy that Mandy could gain. There was no more energy left over that could be salvaged by her, either. So, as a result, she crashed only a few minutes after everyone had left. Olive and Otto made their way up the stairs, each of them struggling to balance a somewhat large pot full of the meal they hoped would at least fill their friend's stomach up. Not halfway up the stairs and they started to think about taking the elevator instead, but going back down was just as dangerous as going up, and so they resolved to keep going. Olive freed her hand and opened the door, the raucous sound of Mandy's snores filling the room. Her arm and leg were draped over the front, her head cradled in the nook of her other arm, her body rising and falling with each noisy breath. "She's asleep!" Otto's eyes widened. "I figured she would fall asleep. She couldn't even stand properly." The duo set the pot down and watched Mandy sleep for a little bit before Otto broke the silence. "She doesn't sleep-eat, does she?" Olive's eyes reduced to pinpricks. Like a movie on fast-forward, she went through several instances where Mandy did, indeed, eat in her sleep. At one point she even tried to eat the entire Earth before Odd Squad managed to stop her...although the details were a little fuzzy on that one. "If you jinx it, Otto, then odd help me..." she uttered through gritted teeth, keeping an eye on Mandy to make sure she wouldn't suddenly lunge for the pot or anything. Luckily, the hybrid seemed to be in too deep to do anything like that. "Tail-fly...spin, spin, spin..." she mumbled, before she went right back to snoring. "Is she dreaming about flying with her tail?" "Nah, she's probably dreaming about sending a villain far far away by spinning their tail and flinging 'em." Olive snarked, coupling it with an eyeroll for good measure. "Okay, well, I'll pretend I didn't hear that snark, thank you." Olive grabbed ahold of Mandy's shoulder and shook her gently. "Mandy? Wake up, we have dinner for you!" A couple snorts followed. "Mmm...five more minutezz..." "Come on, now. It's your veggie stir-fry!" Defeated, Mandy extended her arms in a stretch and gave a loud yawn, wincing when a loud pop sound emanated from her back and a shot of pain went ricocheting through her body. "Nngh...really, zzpine? I'm eleven, not 89..." "We made it just for you!" Otto encouraged. In response, Mandy's stomach rumbled. "Heh..." The hybrid shook her head rapidly to clear the fogginess from her brain, then rubbed her eyes. "That's nice..." "Were you dreaming of flying with your tail?" Olive asked, as Mandy conjured up a bowl and telekinetically scooped some stir-fry into it. "Oh, I was!" The hybrid took a big bite and relished the taste as she chewed, giving a big smile before swallowing. "Hopefully Pinkie has some tricks up her sleeve. She can fly with her tail, so I believe I can too!" "Well, I believe in you, if that helps." "Thanks, Otto!" Olive glanced at her partner, her expression filled with worry for only a second. As Mandy continued to eat, both Directors were equally surprised and nonplussed at how fast she was chewing and swallowing the food. One could argue it was like she wasn't even tasting it -- but in reality, she was savoring every single bite. "Jeez, you're pretty hungry." Olive reached behind her back. "I guess it's lucky we made you a cake for dessert." A "ding" sound accompanied a nice, fluffy, delicious three-layer chocolate cake that she set down onto the table. Mandy's eyes widened. She had to resist the urge to let her jaw drop and let the large mushy chewed-up piece of veggie stir-fry she was eating fall out of her mouth. She swallowed, let out a gasp, and then stretched an arm out towards the cake before shaking her head. "Nono! Nono. Lemme finish my stir-fry first. Chocolate and stir-fry...they, uh...don't go well together." She clutched her stomach, as though remembering a rather painful time she did, indeed, eat chocolate and stir-fry together. It didn't last long though, and Olive and Otto watched as Mandy forwent the bowl and went straight for eating out of the pot, her tail wagging happily as she ate the last few bites. "Aah, that's better!" she chirped, after swallowing her final bite. She opened her mouth to speak again, but instead of words, a belch forced its way out instead. "Pardon!" Olive playfully rolled her eyes. "Now lemme at that cake!" Otto's eyes, meanwhile, held a twinge of jealousy as Mandy lunged for the cake, pulling a big bite into her mouth. "D-don't choke!" "Choke?" Mandy glanced at Olive with her mouth full and her face smeared with chocolate. "I don't choke, what're you talkin' about?" A few chews, and then a swallow. "Mmm...chocolate, my favorite!" Both Olive and Otto shot each other a knowing smile -- of course they'd made it a chocolate cake. Chocolate was Mandy's favorite kind of cake. No surprise there. What also wasn't a surprise was the way she used her tongue to scoop up the rest of the cake and eat it in one big bite, chewing for a little bit before swallowing. "Aah...thanks, guys! I mean, I dunno how you had time to bake a three-layer cake, but I'm gonna need all the energy I can get for tomorrow!" "Ah, it's nothing, really." Otto waved his hand dismissively. "We figured you'd be hungry enough to eat both dinner and dessert in one go. Though I wish you ate the cake first..." Olive gave him a playful nudge. "Anyway, we should be heading back now. Gotta handle our nightly duties. Stay safe and get better, okay?" "'Kay! Have fun!" "We'll try." As the trio exchanged goodbyes, they both went out the same direction -- only Mandy was making a beeline for the kitchen, dishes held in her telekinetic grasp. Olive and Otto, meanwhile, watched her from the balcony outside Oprah's office before making their way downstairs. "All right, dish." Olive glanced at him. "Huh?" "Something about Mandy is bothering you, isn't it?" "N-no!" Olive gave a disbelieving scoff. "What makes you think that?" "I know my partner well enough." he responded. "It's about her flying, isn't it?" Knowing better than to argue with Otto, Olive gave a defeated and weary sigh. "Yeah. It's just...I don't understand her fixation on flying with her tail. She can fly with her wings perfectly fine. Why does she need to do it with her tail?" Her gaze became distant as she stared at the back wall of the bullpen. "I know she told me she wanted to impress us, but why? She already impresses us. Every day, she impresses us. Just yesterday, she managed to get the highest score in Fantastic Light Revolution on 'Prominence' just by using her hands. Her hands! Not even her feet, her own two hands!" "Well, it's like you always say. Mandy continues to surprise us. I'm sure she has her reasons for wanting to impress us by flying with her tail." "But what if she can't, Otto?" Olive asked as they walked through the Trophy Room connecting the bullpen to the Tube Lobby, a desperate tone to her voice. "If she can't fly with her tail no matter how much training she gets, then it's going to break her heart!" Otto sighed. "You have a point there, I guess." The duo spotted O'Donnell, the cheerful red-headed tube operator on duty, waving at them. It took quite a bit of willpower to try and give a genuine wave back. "Hey Olive, hey Otto! Heading back to your office?" "Hi, O'Donnell." Olive greeted. "And yes, back to our office." O'Donnell nodded in understanding. "Preparing to squishinate!" she called, as Olive and Otto each entered a tube. She began pressing a few buttons on her computer, followed by the two buttons denoting the first and second tubes that they were in. "Squishinating!" And just like that, with a bang and a boing, they were off, making their way through the tubes without a single word spoken. While Otto felt calm wash over him despite being squished and tossed around, Olive couldn't help but feel worried about Mandy. She felt unable to relax in the ball like she normally was, and shut her eyes tight as she let the ball guide her through the tubes and around all sorts of obstacles. Finally, the duo landed inside their own Headquarters -- a perfect landing on both feet, without any stumbles. "Hello, Mr. and Ms. O." the tube operator on duty, O'Chance, greeted. "Welcome back." Giving him their thanks, they made their way towards the bullpen, the tube lobby doors opening to reveal a similar Trophy Room to Precinct 13579's own. "I just hope Pinkie really does have something up her sleeve..." Olive muttered to herself. "I'm sure she does. Just give it time." Otto responded, overhearing the assurance. He pat his partner on the back twice. "C'mon. Why don't we grab a bite to eat ourselves? I'm starving!" As he made a beeline for the bullpen and then the Breakroom, Olive could only stand at the entrance to the bullpen and watch him go, the emotion of worry still having a vicegrip on her brain. A heavy sigh left her before her stomach let out a grumble, as though ordering her to get some food. She complied, making her way over to the Breakroom herself. When next Mandy opened her eyes, air swept over her. Although it was far more than a breeze. "Oh, I'm falling, heh." She closed her eyes and let the freeing sensation of falling take her over...but then the reality set in. "I'm falling!" She waved her arms up and down frantically, her heart beginning to race before she realized that she could fly. "Wait, my wings!" As she tried to open them, one thing became hauntingly apparent. Fear formed as a ball in her stomach. "I-I have no wings! W-where'd my wings go?!" The ball grew bigger. "I can't fly-y-yyyyy!" she screamed, making her voice as loud as she could on the off chance someone -- human, pony, even a passing villain -- heard her and would try to save her. As she began to allow her brain to play a movie of her life, her eyes widened in realization. "Wait...I have my tail! Maybe it can save me!" And then her expression fell. "B-but...I couldn't fly with it..." A quick glance downwards at the fast-approaching ground affirmed that "Nngh...I don't have a choice!" As she stretched out her tail as best she could to make sure it didn't crack again, she gave a sigh. "Here goes nothing!" Quickly, she angled her tail the same way Peaches taught her, and spun it as fast as she possibly could. All the while, a scream left her lungs as panic began to settle in, her body fully ready to accept its fate at the hands of a very premature death. Even when the air stopped beating against her, she continued to scream. It wasn't until a few seconds later that her scream died down, and she opened her eyes, letting out a small gasp at what she saw. "M-m-my tail! It saved me!" Sure enough, she was hovering only a few inches from the ground -- only one more second and she would have likely had performed the anatomically-astounding feat of her head recoiling into her body in what was sure to have been a bloody and gory mess. Her tail, instead of being angled upwards, was now below her, providing her much needed lift as it whirred away. She flipped her body right side up and landed on the ground, expecting someone to rush up to her and ask if she was okay, maybe get some details about what had happened. But no one came. It was her, all alone. She took a few heavy breaths to try and recollect herself. "That was... It was what? Intense? Death-defying? A horrifying reality check? "...real. Really real." No it wasn't. You're too important to die by just falling and going splat. If you're going to die, then you're going to die creatively, with honor, and with no regrets. The inner voice came on suddenly. And it got deep, in a way that made her uncomfortable. She furiously rubbed her hair in a futile effort to put it to rest. For odd's sake, this nightmare turned into a good dream. How often did that happen in her lifetime? "Okay, I'm 99% sure this is a dream." she said, her tone becoming melancholy. "I can't do this in real life. Not in the way Peach can..." She stood there, in the cold, empty park, feeling like crying. But she wasn't about to go down yet. "No! You just have to work with Pinkie! She can help you!" "Are you kidding? That was some of the worst tail-flying I've ever seen!" She looked up. She knew that squeaky, high-pitched voice. After all, it was the only voice that sounded identical to hers. "Pinkie!" she cried out, feeling like crying just at the fact there was another living soul here, even though her expression was less than welcoming. "Oh, thank odd! Wish you could've come earlier, but I'm sure you had something to do back in Equestria or here in Toronto or whatever, and maybe your 'Princess Luna' helped you dreamwalk or something so it's perfectly understandable that-" A loud, guttural growl shut the hybrid up quickly. "No! You're not understanding me! Your posture was off, your spin was off, everything was off!" A scoff before her partner continued. "And how in the wide wide world of Equestria do you expect to listen to me when you couldn't even listen to Peaches?!" Mandy could swear she heard her heart shatter -- and in this dream, it certainly was anatomically possible. "Pinkie! I need you!" she called, her tone desperate and pleading. "There's no way I can fly with my tail without your help!" "Forget it! I don't wanna teach someone who's a lost cause!" Pinkie snapped. "You're better off using your wings, can't you be happy you have those to use?!" "Pinkie-" Before Mandy could respond, the sound of crumbling earth filled her ears, and she glanced down to find the ground cracking and falling underneath her. The ball of panic returned and grew in size substantially and quickly as she began falling once again, Pinkie's expression of anger being the last face of a living being she saw. Unlike the first time, she was now falling in darkness. She couldn't see anything or feel anything aside from the air pushing up against her. She felt just as lonely as she did before, only the loneliness was amplified by what she was sure was a dark recess of her mind, which contained nothing but sheer silence. "Maybe...could I..." She glanced back, her eyes shimmering with hope. Maybe, if she could save herself with her tail, she could save herself. Except her tail wasn't there. And neither were her wings. "Wh...where's my tail?! And my wings! I can't flyyyyyyy!" The final word in her haunting realization merged into a high-pitched scream full of despair, anxiety... And defeat. Of course. She didn't know self-levitation yet, and at this point, she wasn't sure she wanted to try. She let her body go limp, knowing that there was nothing she could do to save herself, nor was there anyone around who was willing to save her. She was a lifeless being, plummeting through the air at breakneck speeds, awaiting the release of death to set her free. But that didn't stop the tears from spilling and curving upwards all the same. "Nyaah!" As she immediately woke up and shot straight up, Mandy's lungs rapidly took in and pushed out air as she glanced at her surroundings. The feeling of falling caught up with her, and her brain began to realize that she was in a sitting position in bed. She sighed. "Oh good, my suspicions were right. It was a dream." Silence was the only thing that met her ears. Lots of light flooded the room, indicating that it definitely wasn't sunrise. "Weird. What time is it?" she muttered, glancing at the clock beside her. "1:00?" She groaned. "I overslept by a whole hour..." Throwing off her sheets and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she grabbed ahold of her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink and began taking eager sips, her mouth feeling rather dry. "I just hope Pinkie's up for teaching me how to fly with my tail..." she spoke aloud, before hopping off and setting down her drink before heading for the bathroom to get ready. By the time she got her suit on, Headquarters was bustling with activity. Not that it wasn't bustling before -- it was after noontime already -- but to her, it seemed more active than usual. It didn't take long for her eyes to spot Pinkie, sitting happily at her desk. Her expression didn't have a trace of anger within it, and in fact, she looked rather happy as she did paperwork. Still, that didn't make Mandy any less wary as she approached the pink mare nervously. "Hey, partner!" Pinkie called, spitting out the pencil she was clutching in her mouth. "You're a bit off the ball today! I tried to wake you at noon so we could go and kick odd butt, but you just refused to wake up!" She didn't see me tossing and turning? Mandy tilted her head. Was I even tossing and turning? Saying "help me" or something in my sleep, even? Or did I, and she just ignored me? "Hey, Pinkie." came the melancholic reply, as Mandy walked past her with her posture completely slumped. Just try! The least she could do is say no! "Pinkie!" "That's my name, don't wear it out!" It's now or never! "I have a favor to ask you, and I'm really really reeeeeeeally hoping you'll say yes!" "Sure, what is it?" Pinkie tilted her head. "You can fly with your tail, right?" "Sure can!" "Can you maybe teach me?" Mandy fiddled with her thumbs. "I...tried with Peach, but...it didn't go over so well." She inhaled, and waited, shutting her eyes tight so she wouldn't be met with the same angry reactio- wait, was that a gasp she heard? "Are you kidding?! I'd love to! Anything to help out a partner, amirite?" Her eyes slowly opened. There, right in front of her, was a pink Earth pony mare, blue eyes sparkling, pearly white teeth showing in a big grin. She almost couldn't believe what she saw. Well, whaddya know. Before she knew it, she was tackling Pinkie, sending both of them careening to the floor. "Thank you thank you thank you! You're the best!" "Don't mention it!" Pinkie squirmed free of the hybrid and stood up. "C'mon, we can start right now!" "Yes, please!" Only a few minutes later, the duo were at the park. Mandy didn't recognize the part of the park they were in as any part she had visited with Peaches before, which was, perhaps, a good thing. She spilled everything to Pinkie about her first lesson with the catgirl, and about her failures. "All right, so from what you told me, Peaches has taught you the basics." Pinkie sat down. "Spinning with a hoop, learning how to fly without the hoop, all that jazz." Mandy nodded. "So why don't we start with direction stuff? Spin your tail." She did as she was told, letting her tail whirl about like a propeller as she angled it upwards and began drifting along the sidewalk. "Okay...so how do I steer? And if you say 'it's gradual'..." Pinkie giggled. "No, silly! You have to give your tail repeated pushes in the direction you want to go! And stick your hands out!" Mandy had to admit, she wasn't sure about that last part. But she stuck her hands out anyway, making sure to apply pressure to the front of her tail so she could move. "Ha, I'm moving!" she exclaimed, before she blinked twice in confusion. "But how do I stop?" "Put your hands down!" came the simple response. Something inside Mandy thought it took a lot more than that, and so in addition to putting her hands down and letting them droop towards the ground, she moved pressure off the front of her tail and tried to stabilize it so she was still. "Huh. This is...easier. Far easier than I thought." "Okay, now land!" Mandy flipped her body right side up again, like an hourglass being turned over, and placed her feet on the ground. "Ha, it worked!" She began bouncing up and down. "It worked, it worked, it worked!" "Hold on a second! We're not done yet!" Pinkie announced, trotting over to Mandy's side. Mandy blinked twice. "Say what now?" "It seems you aren't really skilled at flying upwards with your tail...so we'll try flying downwards instead!" Flying downwards? How would one fly do- ohh. Mandy rolled her eyes, if not for her own lapse in thinking, than for Pinkie's weird wording of what she wanted her partner to do. "Y'know, I actually had a dream about that, so this might work out in my favor!" she said. "Angle your tail down." Mandy glanced behind her. "My tail is down." "Mm...a little more than that!" The tail went down. "More..." Further down. "More..." Even further down, to the point where it looked like Mandy had it between her legs. "Perfect! Now spin it, and jump!" As her tail spun like a propeller, Mandy jumped into the air and fell back on it, watching as dirt and bugs and flowers blew every which way. Man, it feels so weird in real life versus in a dream, she thought. But it's also kinda cool! If I could do this in real life...then maybe I have a chance! "Spin it faster! It needs to be able to support your weight!" Pinkie explained. Mandy did as she was told to, and upped the speed. Unfortunately, doing that didn't quite go as planned. "That's it!" "This feels a little too faaaaaaaaast!" Soon, Mandy's body was spinning just as fast as the propeller, until she collapsed on the ground with an "Oof!" As Pinkie approached her, she noticed that some of the hairs on her partner's tail were horribly bent out of place, and her eyes spun around in their sockets as she could swear she saw dancing jackalopes around her head. Eventually, she had to bring up a white flag -- "TOO DIZZIFIED, PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER" -- and that was enough convincing for Pinkie to not ask the rhetorical question of "are you okay?" Once Mandy snapped to her senses, she and Pinkie tried again. And again. And again. But no matter how hard the hybrid tried to follow Pinkie's directions and advice, she just couldn't. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in what Pinkie had to teach her -- that would be silly, of course she was. It wasn't that she was terrible at following directions -- sure, she got distracted a lot, but she understood even the vaguest of orders and followed them as best she could. She made every effort in trying, and still failed. Which happens sometimes. That's just how life goes. Still, that didn't mean she was just going to accept that reality at face value. Not for this. "It's weird! You can't fly with your tail up or down!" Pinkie observed, a couple hours later as the duo sat on a park bench. Mandy sighed. "There's just too much of a weight tisrarity between us!" Pinkie didn't even try to make a joke about how Mandy uttered a nonexistent word that just so happened to coincide with her friend's name. To her, this was serious business. "I'm really sorry, partner." she murmured. "I wanted to help, but..." "No, no. It's fine." Mandy's voice slightly cracked, and she sniffled as she felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "Are you okay?" "It's just...I wanted to fly with my tail 'cause...I wanted to impress everyone!" Mandy was on the verge of tears now. "But if I can't fly with my tail..." She began to sob. "...then what can I do-o-oooooo?!" "Aww, there are tons of things you can do!" Pinkie said, trying her best to reassure her partner. "You can fly with your wings, and I can't, 'cause I don't have wings! And, you're supermazing at fighting oddness!" "Anyone can fly with their wings and fight oddness!" Mandy snapped, tears beginning to pool down her face and spill onto the ground at her feet. Her throat began to close, and she desperately tried to reach for air as she spoke. "I wanted something unique to me! A way to fly that only I had!" Pinkie witnessed her partner break down, burying her face in her hands and crying her eyes out. She wasn't quite sure what to do. On the one hoof, she wasn't sure if anyone else could use their tail to fly like she could -- Fluttershy seemed capable with that long tail of hers, but who was to say. And that wasn't getting to the commonality of flying with your tail to begin with that Mandy didn't seem to realize. On the other hoof, her comfort tactics weren't working, and she needed to try a different approach. "Mandy-" "And I thought if Peaches could teach me..." Mandy sniffled again, noisier and definitely sounding more snot-filled than the last time. "...then maybe I could have a skill all my own! Instead I'm as commonplace as anyone else! My tail's nothin' but a big mass of fur hanging down!" A big mass of fur, just hanging down... Pinkie knew for sure that wasn't true. Not only had she dug into Mandy's tail for objects she needed on more than one occasion, but her own tail was the same way as Mandy's -- an alternate dimension full of odd things that, if they were converted to money, would make Odd Squad the wealthiest organization in the galaxy. It was more than just fur that hung down from the rump. She knew that. It was just a shame her partner didn't. "Tails can do great things! And yours is amazing, partner!" she said. "I-I mean, you got yours battling a Hydraclops, and-" "J-just forget it! Go home, Pinkie!" The mare took a few stumbles backwards, falling off of the bench in the process. "I'm never gonna be able to fly with my tail, and that's it!" Mandy's words, a desperate plea buried underneath sadness and pain, was practically a scream. She stood up, extended her wings, and was gone with a mighty flap. "Mandy, wait!" Pinkie called, but even she knew that the hybrid couldn't hear her -- nor did she want to hear her. She gave a soft whine of sadness, watching until Mandy was a mere speck in the sky before lowering her head and trudging back to the nearest tube entrance, knowing that there was nothing more she could do that would really help in the long run. As she flew, Mandy buried her head in her hands. "I can't believe it. I really can't fly with my tail! Peaches was right...she was right! I, I can only fly with my wings!" In that moment, she felt like screaming. She felt like wanting to punch or strangle something with her tail as a weapon. As almighty as her tail was, to such a point where it could do both of those things, it just wasn't strong enough to do the one thing she wanted it to do. She could scoop up objects and ponies with it, but she couldn't fly with it. She could get anything she wanted from inside of it, but she couldn't fly with it. She could use it effectively in combat, swinging it to deflect attacks or using it to dodge...but she couldn't fly with it. And she hated it. "I thought flying with your tail was supposed to run in the family..." Her hands were balled up into fists. "INSTEAD I'M JUST A BIG FAT FAILURE!!" A loud crack put a hold on her upset venting. A "Wah!" came out of her as her left wing began working overtime to keep her afloat, flapping even harder but still keeping the speed of a hummingbird's wings. "W-what happened? Did I break a bone in my wing?" Mandy said, glancing back behind her and finding her wing limp. That answers that, I gueeeeeeeee- ohhhhhhhh. As anyone airborne would tell you, glancing downwards is a rookie mistake. One that Mandy, an experienced flier, just made. "T-that looks...really high up!" she squeaked, shutting her eyes so she didn't have to keep looking at the ground below. Her wing began losing speed, moving slower and slower, as her heart began to race. She waved her arms frantically, hoping cartoon physics (or really, even no physics) would work its magic and she could speed-run in the air towards solid ground. "No! M-must...must keep...my wing!" She tried to flap her one good wing, to no avail -- it was tired and needed a rest, even if it put her at a disadvantage. She began falling, the harsh mistress of gravity delivering some retribution to the one who had opposed it many times over. On odd, it's just like my dream...only worse! she thought, seeing no people nor ponies nearby who could catch her fall. She couldn't even see any Pegasi, which was rather weird for a cloudless day like this. As she kept plummeting towards the ground, she made a horrid realization. "This is it. This is where I die!" she screamed, before her eyes widened. "In that case, better start writing my last will and testament!" Her horn lit up, and in popped a piece of paper and a fancy quill pen. She immediately grabbed it and got to writing as fast as her hands would go. Meanwhile, down on the ground, Olive and Otto were taking a leisurely stroll, with Olive doing some bird-watching in the process. "Do you see it?" "The bird-rat, or the rat-bird?" Olive said. "Because I don't see either." "It has to be around here somewhere!" Otto sighed. "Agent Oarno said she saw it but couldn't catch it. And she said it was in this area!" "Relax, partner. We'll find it." As she swung the binoculars up towards the sky, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "No way." "No way what?" All she could do was hand the binoculars to him. His jaw dropped, too. "OH ODD!" The two kids took off running like they had just finished a sugar binge. They sprinted across the park with all the grace and speed of Usain Bolt, artfully dodging people and ponies alike who were all confused as to why two Odd Squad Directors were running and looking up at the sky. Otto reached behind his back and yanked out a gadget. "Tarp-inator!" he called, right before aiming it into the air ahead of him and flipping the switch on the small device. Sure enough, a folded tarp appeared, and he quickly jumped to grab it before using every ounce of his dexterity to unfold it. "Nice going, partner!" Olive called without turning around, beginning to put on some more speed. Otto followed suit, and since he had longer legs, he was able to match Olive stride for stride. Whether they would get there in time, though...he didn't know the answer to that. "Y'know, there was a reason I was afraid of super-tall heights when I was a littler kid...and this might be the thing that spooks the fear back into me!" Mandy uttered, to no one in particular but herself. "If I live!" As she teleported her last will and testament out of existence, she gasped. "Wait...my tail! My dream! I...I saved myself using my tail, but...could it actually work in real life?" A few blinks, and then a furious shake of her head. "No, don't be stupid, Mandy! Of course it wouldn't!" She looked down again and immediately did a 180. "But I don't have a choice! It's use my tail, or die trying!" The second option scared her more than she would have liked to admit, but she set her fear aside for now. She angled her tail downwards and spun it, just like Pinkie and Peaches had taught her. She spun it with all her might and all her speed, all while squeezing her eyes tight. She could feel something wet on her face, but she was too scared to identify whether it was tears or a few stray drops of rain. "Momma...and everyone else..." "Mandy! We're coming!" "I'm so sorry...but this is goodbye." Her mind began retreating into itself, as though sensing death. All she saw was black. She didn't know much about death, except that she should be seeing nice heavenly skies right about now. Maybe a golden gate, with an angel there to test her and see if she was worthy of getting in or worthy of descending to "the dark fiery place". But no matter what, it was just darkness. For some reason, the sound of her whirring tail still filled her eardrums. And then, the sound of a gasp. Was that my gasp? she thought. I can't really recognize screams and gasps and hiccups and all that like Owen can... ...Wait, how am I thinking right now? Why aren't there any golden gates or clouds or angels? Did they lie to me about the afterlife? "Open your eyes!" ...Momma...you're here too...here in the darkness with me. But how? Did you die as well as me? Has age finally caught up with you? Or was it some nasty villain? Ohh, I hope not. My life isn't a life worth living if a villain hurts you and I can't get revenge on them! "What are you doing, playing peekaboo?" Ha, ha, Otto. Dead people don't play peekaboo. You should know, because you're dead too. Aren't you? "Look at her tail! It saved her!" ...Saved me...? So...I'm not... Slowly, her eyes opened. Her head swiveled around, taking in the faces of Olive and Otto, who were looking at something below her in awe. "You're flying with your tail!" Otto's eyes shimmered. "That's so cool!" "I am?" Mandy tried to glance below her, but only succeeded in doing a flip before falling face-first onto the grass. Her tail sputtered out before laying flat on the ground. "Can you do it again?" Otto asked, his grin about as world-splitting as Pinkie's grins usually were. "I..." Mandy spat out a chunk of dirt and wiped her mouth. "I dunno. Can you drop me from the sky again?" Before anyone could move, she added, "Don't! Don't. I thought for sure I was gonna die! I thought I was already dead! Don't make me relive it!" "What happened?" Olive asked. "Why's your wing bent?" Those words were like a trigger. A trigger for pain to course through Mandy's wing again. She winced slightly. "I'm not sure. I heard a crack, and then it became completely non-functional." Olive knelt down on the ground and tenderly touched the feathery wing. "Doesn't seem like any bones are broken." she observed. "I'd say it could be a pulled muscle, but I doubt it. Then again..." She chuckled. "I'm no Doctor." "We should still get her to one, though." Otto helped Mandy to her feet. "Let's head back to her HQ and have Dr. O fix her up." As the pair walked to the nearest tube entrance, Olive followed suit, tilting her head as she tried to make sense of exactly what had happened. "Ah. Just as I suspected." "Am I dying?!" Dr. O shot Mandy a rather disturbed look, one that was more unsettling than her own. "No, you're not dying." he said. "Simple case of bone-popping. In this particular case, it was your wing. But the pop was strong enough to disable your wing temporarily." "Sooooo like when I crack my spine, then? Just without the whole 'temporary disabling' thing?" Another disturbed look. "You...could say that, yes." he muttered, as though he was dealing with a patient who had broken her spine before and just didn't seem to care. "Anyway, just give them a rest for a day or two and you should be good to go." Mandy sighed. "Oh thank odd. I thought it was broken!" "And we thought you were dead, but that didn't happen, did it?" Olive said, her tone teetering on the verge of panic. She gripped Mandy's arm tight enough so that the hybrid had to try and wrench her arm free the second she felt pain. "The only thing is...I had a last will and testament written out and everything!" Back came a written piece of paper, detailing Mandy's possessions and who would get them and whatever stuff was on there that adults typed or wrote on. Olive could only blink as she read the paper. "This just says 'I want to avoid death, because death isn't cheap, and I also want to fly with my tail'." she observed. "This isn't a last will and testament. You're eleven. Why would you even need one?" "Have you seen where we work?" Mandy deadpanned. "She's got a point." Otto shrugged. Mandy took the paper from Olive's hands and teleported it out of existence again. "Anyway, if I'm good to go, then I'm gonna eat. And I'm gonna eat a whoooole bunch! Gotta get set for training tomorrow!" "You can already fly with your tail." Otto pointed out. "Don't pass it off as some 'survival instinct' thing. You can do it. The only reason you failed was 'cause we pointed it out to you and you looked." Mandy looked unsure. "C'mon, just try!" She gave a few wags of her tail. I guess...if it were really survival instinct, I would have done it faster when I was falling. Not carefully angled my tail and carefully spun it at just the right speed. Slowly, her tail began to whir. Her mind ran through a checklist of both the helpful Pinkie's lessons and the not-so-helpful Peaches' lessons. She bent her knees, and then jumped. Perfect landing. The whir of her tail still going was proof-positive that it worked. "You did it!" Otto cheered. "Looks just as cool as the first time!" Mandy sat up, her body feeling scrunched, like she was doing an intense sit-up. But that didn't matter. She was used to the feeling. And right now, she felt like crying. "I can really fly with my tail!" Her blue eyes got stars in them. "Aren't you guys impressed?!" "Very!" Olive nodded. "I knew your tail was a hammerspace magnet, but I didn't think it was capable of flight like that!" She smiled. "Those lessons from Pinkie paid off, huh?" Pinkie? Oh odd, Pinkie! Mandy leapt to her feet, her tail winding down. "I have to find Pinkie!" she shouted, before bolting out of the Medical Bay without any sort of goodbye given to Olive, Otto, or Dr. O. She tore down the hallway like she was escaping the grasp of a villain, her eyes darting every which way, just looking for pink -- the one color any agent used to identify her partner. Unfortunately for her, there was no pink to be found. Aw, pickleferries. Don't tell me Oprah sent her on a case... Talks with passing agents proved to be fruitless as well -- almost none of them knew where Pinkie went. The ones who did only told her that they had seen her hours, days, even weeks ago. "Partner!" she called. "Please! Don't avoid me! I wanna talk!" It was only seconds after her public plea was given that she realized one of the best people to ask. "PEACH!" "Nyah!" The cat form of Peaches skittered off the bed, a thump marking her impact with the floor. "I need your help finding someone!" "Take a number." Peaches muttered, a shimmering light emanating as she turned back into her more humanoid form. "It's important! Where's Pinkie?!" "Pinkie? Like I know?" "You hafta know! You lurk everywhere!" "No I don't." Peaches pulled herself up and sat on the bed, glaring at her cousin. "Why do you want to see her?" "'Cuz I hurt her feelings and I hafta apologize!" "Oh, so typical friend fare?" "Yes, typical friend fare! She's prolly all hurt and never wants to see me again!" Mandy got on her knees to beg. "Please please pleeeeeease tell me where she is!" "I just told you, I don't know." Peaches rolled her eyes. "And stop begging. You're hierarchically superior to me. It makes you look pathetic." "Hierarchy, schmierarchy! What matters is that I find my partner and make up!" Mandy countered. "Do you at least have an idea of where she is?" Peaches' eyes slowly drifted to Mandy's chest. She gave a nonchalant shrug. "I dunno. Isn't there some way to reach her?" "How? I can't even find the mare, what makes you thi-" "Your badge phone, genius." Mandy felt the right side of her chest, and sure enough, there was her badge phone, sitting pretty. "Oh. I, uh..." Her brain scrambled for an excuse, but couldn't come up with one. "Never mind!" was all she could spit out before she unclipped the phone and punched in 9-4. A ringback tone. And then another. And then another. And then ano- "Hiya! Pinkie Pie speaking!" "PINKIE!" The scream was loud enough to make Peaches fold her ears down in response. "Partner?" "Please, please come back! I need you! I, I need to talk with you! I'm so sorry! I just learned I can fly with my tail! It's, I'm-" "Slow down! I'll be there in a minute!" And then she hung up. The phone slid from Mandy's hands and collided with the floor. All she could do was bury her face in her hands. Peaches, meanwhile, had her eyes widened. She can fly with her tail? Really? ...No, there's no way. I trained her with everything I had and her attempts failed. Surely she's just delusional. Surely she's just imagining a scenario where she did fly with her tail to compensate for her lack of such an ability. Still, she couldn't help but get the feeling that Mandy was being legitimate. After all, not even she was so willing to keep up an illusion over something as trivial as this. Right? Mandy picked up her phone, clipped it back onto her suit, and wordlessly turned to leave. "Cuz, wait!" She turned around. "Is...is it true? Is it really true? You can fly with your tail now?" A look settled on Mandy's face -- one that was dark, one that was slightly hurt, and certainly not one displaying a positive emotion. All she did was turn back around and leave the room. Peaches bit her lip, and then heaved a sigh, flopping backwards onto her bed. Maybe the others might have had a point... Only a few minutes later, Pinkie met with Mandy, who told her of the entire situation and then promptly began crying. "Really? That's awesome!" Pinkie said. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! Now we can be flying buddies!" She began using her own tail to stay afloat alongside her partner, although unlike Mandy, hers allowed her to sit vertically instead of laying down horizontally. Mandy sniffled. "Yeah...b-but I'm really really sorry! I didn't mean to run away like that, but I just grew so mad and frustrated and I...I just..." "D'aww, don't worry about it!" Pinkie waved a hoof. "I understand. I probably would've been the same way if I were in your shoes. It's great that you're so passionate about this!" "Passionate?" "Yeah! You stopped at nothing to fly with your tail, and when the chips were down, you went for it!" Pinkie's smile grew bigger. "Kinda like when I wanna bake something really really hard, but I just can't do it, but I keep at it and then I do it!" Mandy couldn't help but start to smile herself. "Like the mega-cookie you baked last week?" "Uh-huh!" "Or the seventy-layer cake that spilled all over Toronto that took forever to clean up?" "Yup!" Mandy sighed. "Y'know, sometimes I wonder if we were just twins separated at birth." "Maybe!" Pinkie shrugged. "Or maybe it's just the Odd Squad way of perseverance that spreads across every agent." A pause as Pinkie rubbed her forehoof. "But, um, since I helped you...you think you could help me?" "Sure! What's the dealio?" "Just a couple cases Ms. O assigned me to. They're really difficult, though." "Say no more! I'm in!" Mandy cracked her knuckles. "With me by your side, there's nothing we can't handle." "...cliche." "What?" "Nothing!" Mandy playfully rolled her eyes before she hopped back to her feet and made her way over to Pinkie's desk, the Earth pony following suit. "And that's the last of the dust!" Mandy declared. Her declaration was met with an eager round of applause from Olive, Otto and Oprah. "For all the things your tail does, never once have I thought to use it as a duster." Oprah remarked. "But it works surprisingly well." "How'd you even get the idea to use your tail as a duster anyway?" Otto asked. "When Pinkie gave me her lessons, I saw dust and dirt fly up and all sorts of stuff go everywhere! Plus she's used it as a duster herself before." A mischievous grin spread over Olive's face. "Think you can do my house this weekend? It badly needs a dusting...unfortunately, I haven't found a duster that actually picks up dust." "Sure! But I'll warn ya: exploitation of my ability is not in the parental contract." "What parental contract?" "The parental contract that says I'll move out of Canada and to the United States if you exploit my ability, silly!" Olive blinked, but then sighed, knowing better than to question Mandy's crazy statements. From the corner of her eye, Mandy spotted a familiar pair of blue eyes staring at her. Part of her happiness died down as a frown formed on her face. "What? What is it?" Otto swiveled his head around. "Oh, Peaches! Hi!" "Hey." came the soft greeting as the catgirl carefully made her way over. "What's going on?" "Mandy was showing off her tail. Again." Oprah rolled her eyes and smiled. "She can dust stuff with it now." "Can she?" Peaches blinked. "That's...nice." The air in the Trophy Room fell silent, in an awkward way that neither Olive nor Otto nor Oprah liked. All the two cousins could do was stare at each other, one with an icy glint in her eyes and another with a regretful one. Finally, Peaches broke the tension with a sigh. "Look, I know you're upset at me. And you have every right to be. I shouldn't have been so hard on you." she said, avoiding eye contact. "Oprah was right. I needed to adapt to your tail and find a different method of flight for you to perform. Instead, I pushed you too hard and then gave up on you without even granting you any kind of a second chance. A second chance of which went to Agent Pinkie Pie, who taught you well." Mandy raised an eyebrow. "Peaches?" Oprah piped up. "You are aware that Mandy nearly died today?" "Huh?" "Her wingbone popped, and she nearly fell to her death. What saved her was her own tail." Peaches could only stare at Olive. Her jaw dropped slightly as she tried to process this new piece of information that almost didn't feel real to her. Questions swirled around in her head -- how exactly Mandy saved herself with her tail, was she okay, how did Olive and Oprah know of the situation -- but nothing came forth. "And you said I couldn't. Imagine if that were true. I would've died!" "Look, I'm sorry, okay?!" Mandy's eyes widened, not expecting this sudden outburst from her cousin. "You don't need to...you know...keep rubbing it in." Peaches nonchalantly kicked the air. "I'm sorry. I was a terrible teacher. This lesson would have been a great chance for us to bond even more, and I blew it. Guess I'm just not as tolerant of you as I should be, huh?" Mandy shook her head. "I'll shoulder part of the blame. I should have listened to you better. But you know me and my scattery skittery scuttery brain." "No, no, this was my entire fault. You don't need to shoulder any blame." "But why can't I shoulder some blame?" "Because you didn't do anything wrong!" "Yes I did!" And back and forth, the girls bickered, butting heads and shoving each other back and forth while Olive and Otto merely rolled their eyes and looked on. Oprah, on the other hand, got tired of the "outhumbling each other" competition rather quickly, and reached behind her back to pull an airhorn from her hammerspace spine. Immediately, the room went silent at the loud, annoying and grating sound of the tool. "Would you two knock it off?!" Oprah snapped. "Just make up and move on already! We came here to see Mandy's tail clean a room, not to see her and her cousin arguing about something you're going to laugh about in a decade's time!" Mandy exchanged a look with Peaches, then snorted. "Okay, okay, fine. I forgive ya, cuz." "Good. Now, let's go get some dinner." "I'm in!" Mandy waved to the trio. "I'll see you guys later!" Olive and Otto grew tense as they watched them leave, then when the doors were closed, they let out a unisonant sigh. "Truly a dynamic duo." Olive remarked. "Yeah, tell me about it. But at least there's no more hard feelings!" "And we can all move on with our lives. As the forces up above intended." Oprah moved towards the doors. "Now, if you two will be so inclined...we have a juice-drinking party on our hands." Otto tilted his head. "Since when?" "Since right now." Oprah smirked. "Let's go." Not usually ones to pass down such a rare opportunity when neither of their signature drinks were juice, Olive and Otto smiled and followed her lead. Peaches couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because she was a crepuscular creature by instinct, and it was the dead of night. 10 PM, to be specific, but that didn't really matter to her. Although, now that she thought about it, there was one thing lingering on her mind that she had to get off her chest. Maybe that was it. Letting out a sigh that slowly morphed into an irritated groan, she got out of bed and walked over to the door, swinging it open. Sure enough, there was no activity in the halls, and the only sounds she could hear were the ones of various idle tech in the bullpen, faint but most definitely there. She made a right and stopped in front of a room whose door resembled a bed, with a patterned white sheet covering most of it and a couple pillows at the top. Swiveling her ears, she tried to listen for the sound of snoring, and heard some that wasn't coming from her intended target. She couldn't identify whose it was, but she assumed it was one of the ponies. Three knocks on the door. "Mandy? It's Peaches. You awake?" "Aw, c'mon! I was just-" A muffled growl came forth, and Peaches suddenly felt like turning around and heading back. But the resignation that she wouldn't be able to sleep until this got resolved won over, and her feet stayed rooted in place. The door opened with Mandy on the other side of it, clad in her rainbow-colored PJs with cats on them and her blue nightcap with a white fuzzy ball on the end of it that looked tattered. She had bags under her eyes, and a yawn escaped her as she sleepily stared at Peaches. "Whaddo you want?" Peaches peered into the room and found the source of the snoring -- one Twilight Sparkle. Why she was staying in Odd Squad and not Equestria, who knew. She didn't care too much to ask why, instead fixing her gaze on Mandy. "I forgot to tell you earlier, um..." She scratched the back of her neck. "No 'um's'." Mandy murmured. "Make it quick. I need sleep." Oh, did Peaches have to bite back a witty comment for that one. Something along the lines of "when do you not?" or "do you really need to, though?" But she refrained, and instead, she gave a small smile. "I'm really happy you came out of the whole 'wingbone-popping' incident alive. Really, I-I don't know what I would've done if I lost one of my first real friends. You and your tail are both really something special." Mandy blinked once, and then twice, like a sleep-deprived college student struggling to understand their professor's complicated lecture. She yawned again, this time pulling tears from her eyes that she wiped away. "S' that all?" she said, trying to smile but lacking the physical capability to. "Y' got any more obvious pieces 'f wisdom or can I finally sleep?" Peaches chuckled. "Just something I needed to get off my chest. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I should get this load off of my shoulders." "Mm. Have y' tried milk?" "I'm lactose-intolerant, remember?" Mandy's eyes suddenly opened all the way and then her irises and pupils both shrunk to pinpricks, as though having flashbacks to the time where she found out that exact fact in the messiest way possible. Peaches had bad memories of it too -- her digestive system waged war against her that day, and she didn't want to relive it. "A-anyway, I'll get to sleep, don't worry about me." Peaches gave a nervous laugh and waved her hand. "You should sleep too. H-have a good night, okay?" Feeling her appetite for breakfast the next day suddenly killed, Mandy slowly closed the door as Peaches hastily made her way back to her room. She shook her head violently, trying to get rid of the memory her cousin had implanted into her head and replace it with good memories instead. The feat worked as she flashed back to Rarity's birthday party, where she and Pinkie Pie were chosen to be co-party planners. Having a potential dream lined up now, she returned to bed and immediately conked out, snoring and incomprehensibly sleep-talking away. Peaches, meanwhile, got back into bed herself. Much better. Now, I'll be able to sleep with no worries. And sleep she did -- like Mandy, she too fell asleep in an instant, the quiet air in the room lulling her into deeper and deeper slumber, all while she wore a smile on her face. S1E9: A Fool and His Assistant"Big O, sir?" "Yes? What is it?" "It's almost time for you to leave for Precinct 13579." "All right. Just give me ten minutes." "Of course, sir." An exhausted sigh escaped the Big O's lips. It had been a long and busy day, full of paperwork to do, agents to meet, and plans to make. As much as he wanted to take a vacation, however, he had something more important to take care of first. He looked over the letter on his desk one more time, with its sloppy penmanship but show of importance by stationary alone. Dear Big O, I am pleased to hear you are doing well. Likewise, I am very much the same. Much like you, I have been furthering my own plans in the capture and subsequent punishment of Peaches, sending out catpeople to spy on her and gather information that will be useful for others in concocting and acting on plans to deliver justice to the one who should never have been brought to Vallea to begin with. I must say, I am quite surprised that she has managed to make a friend, let alone discover that said friend is also a family member. Unfortunately, I do not have any answers as to whether Peaches had any sort of family -- she was left alone at the border of Vallea with no family to speak of. Still, when one is an outcast with no value to their village, I suppose any friend they make would be considered family. Now, I suppose I should get on to 'the meat of the matter', as they say. After much consideration, I have decided that Agent Mandy should also be taken into custody for her role as an accomplice in helping Peaches. Capturing her should be rather easy on your end, I imagine, but -- and I do hope that I am not stating the obvious here -- please do exercise caution. For everything you have told me about that wretched rabid dog, neither you nor I have likely seen what she is truly capable of. Peaches is useless in combat, but Mandy is not a catperson like the rest of us Valleans, and thus, she does not fight in the same way we do. Since you both are of the same organization, however, I have full confidence in your abilities to capture her and bring her back to Vallea. When you do capture her, one of my subjects will be more than happy to take her back to Vallea for you, if you do not wish to make the journey yourself. I will be taking your advice to heart and working diligently to capture her on my end. As for your own plan, I am afraid I cannot provide much useful advice. No equine has walked into Vallea during my long reign, and I do not know enough about the six ponies who have so boldly asserted themselves as Mandy's friends to assist you in their seizing. However, like Mandy, they may be more powerful than they let on, so please exercise caution with them as well. I am confident you will succeed, just like how I am confident that I will succeed. Do not stop, do not falter, and do not collapse at the hands, the paws, and the hooves of the weak. Best of luck to you. Yours truly, King Ashero of Vallea It was a rather lengthy letter, he had to admit. But his own letter had been somewhat lengthy as well, so perhaps he couldn't blame the King for standing toe-to-toe with him. He ended his reading with a smile on his face, giving a satisfied sigh as he knew the King had his own matters taken into his own hands with care, tactic, and smarts. The same went for the Big O himself, of course. He would be nothing but a fool otherwise. He grabbed another piece of paper off to his side and finished writing what was on it. Only a minute later, his response letter was complete, and he read it over. Dear King Ashero, I had figured you would not know anything about the equines who roam about here. Thank you for responding honestly; it is much appreciated. I am happy to say that I have enough research gathered on Mandy's friends in particular to finalize my own plan and set it in motion at the time of this writing. As for your determination that Mandy should be taken into custody, I am more than happy to capture her for you and deliver her to you personally -- with Peaches in tow as well, of course. I have gathered enough information on her to capture her handily and will aim to do so by end of day, although I will most certainly heed your warnings. Thank you for taking the time to respond to each and every one of my letters. It is wonderful getting in touch with you. Best of luck to you as well. Yours truly, The Big O, Head of Odd Squad "Big O, sir!" "R-right, right, coming!" he called, a huff escaping his lips as he walked to the door and eyed one of his other assistants seeing him off. "You. Get Osend to deliver the letter that is on my desk. Left-hand side. I want it out by today's end." "Yes, sir." The assistant nodded and went in the direction opposite from her boss to fetch his traveling assistant once again. "Now, if you would be so kind as to lead the way." With that matter settled, the Big O could begin his journey towards Precinct 13579, his two bodyguard agents flanking him as he mentally ran down the plan to capture Mandy and take her on her own journey. Her journey to her ever-so-sweet demise. Oprah sprinted down the hallway, nearly colliding with a couple agents who were walking by. Unfortunately for her, none of those agents was the agent she was looking for. "Where is she, where is she?!" she muttered, skidding to a halt besides the Bedroom door and flinging it open as she gazed around. A growl rolled in her throat as she slammed the door before making a complete beeline for the other room that was the most occupied in the hallway. Peaches jumped a little ways into the air as she swiveled her head towards Oprah to the sound of a slamming door, blinking a couple times. "Oprah, what's wrong?" "Have you seen Mandy? The Big O is coming here today and I need everyone to be ready for his arrival!" Her tone was nothing but pure panic -- something rather out-of-character for the normally-collected Director. "On that note, Mandy should definitely be ready...I don't think he liked it when she missed his last arrival." "Last I saw her, she said she was going to take her daily nap." Peaches said, realizing that Oprah didn't have any sort of juice box in her hand. It had to be a weird sensation for someone so addicted to them like adults addicted to those "IAP" things or whatever they were called, but she supposed Oprah was too panicked to notice. Oprah groaned. "Of course she was. Did she say where?" Peaches blinked again, a confused look settling onto her face. "Mandy sleeps in more than one place?" "Uh, yeah, did you forget?" Oprah rolled her eyes. "Mandy can sleep practically anywhere. Standing up, laying down, on another human being or in a factory." "Those seem like two very big differences." Note to self: get Mandy checked out for...ah, what was that illness called? 'Narcolepsy'? Yeah, that. I know her brain's wired differently, but really... "Okay, well, the point of the matter is, I want her by my side so she can greet the Big O when he comes. Do you know where she's napping?" "She said it was some place called the Not-Princess Room?" Peaches shrugged. "Whatever that is." "Oh! Like the Princess Room, but without the robot princesses." Oprah shook her head. "Ha. I should've known. Thanks." Before Peaches could even ask her what the Princess Room was, or even what robot princesses were, Oprah was gone, leaving the catgirl nothing short of confused as she just stared at the doorway, hoping the Director would magically pop up again and give her a couple explanations. When Oprah flung open the door to the Not-Princess Room, the hybrid wasn't found anywhere. "MANDY!" No response, something that Oprah realized would happen only mere seconds after she called out her second-in-command's name. "Ugh, who am I kidding, she's not gonna be able to hear me. She's asleep!" Rubbing her forehead in a futile effort to ward off the beginnings of a headache, she marched forward and began looking around for any signs of Mandy. As she got closer, she could hear her drowsy voice as she talked in her sleep, intersected by repeated raucous snores in a weaving pattern of slumber. Oprah didn't bother to listen too intently to Mandy's sleep-talk -- really, it was all just silly non-sequiturs and incoherent gibberish that came about as the result of whatever weird dreams her brain decided to concoct. All the Director used it for, at least in this situation, was for location purposes. After what seemed like hours of searching, she spotted her, off in the distance and situated comfortably in a hammock secured between two trees. Her body was just slightly bigger than the hammock, but of course, she didn't mind. "Yes! There you are!" Oprah sprinted over as fast as her legs would carry her, a relieved sigh escaping her body. "Finally...why are you all the way here?" Her answer came in the form of another snore, followed by a "The zzcrewdriver hazz three notchezz..." "Screwdriv-" Oprah shook her head rapidly, her brain scolding her for letting Mandy's sleep-talk get to her when she already was well-accustomed to the contrary. "I don't care about your sleep-talk or whatever weird and odd dreams you're having! Wake up, there's an emergency!" Helping her out was a cowbell and a drumstick, which she banged together as many times as she could until her arms got tired. No matter how much she did it, though, Mandy refused to stir, her snoring and sleep-talking continuing forth. Another growl came forth. "WAKE UP!!" she cried out, before throwing the cowbell and drumstick with all her might. Perhaps, had Mandy been awake, it wouldn't have come as a surprise to her that Oprah had a throw that would have made Major League Baseball pitchers weep in jealousy and regret -- the items flew some distance away, and then a rumbling sound came forth that she didn't care enough to identify. "Just..." She sighed. "Forget it. I'm not gonna drag you out to see the Big O while you're asleep. But you're probably gonna miss out on something big, and I'm not gonna tell you what! So don't go complaining about secret-keeping like the last time!" She knew Mandy probably couldn't hear her, and yet she still said what she said anyway. It didn't matter now -- she could always turn her attention to everyone else in her precinct who wasn't aware of his arrival. Besides, she still had to make the announcement anyway. She turned on her heel, walked towards the door, and slammed it closed. "Cheese bread!" Mandy snapped awake and pushed herself upwards, blinking as her vision tried to adjust to the real world. "Mm...could've sworn someone was here..." She stretched. "Mmm, ah well!" A yawn came forth. "Nothin' like catchin' up on a few more Z's..." And with that, she was knocked out again, going back to her usual loud snores as a soft breeze blew like a lullaby easing her into dreamland. The announcement was made. The red carpet was rolled out. Everyone was preparing for the Big O's arrival, fists on foreheads and elbows on knees and bowing as best they could. The double-doors opened, and in he walked, flanked by his two bodyguards. His gaze looked around expectantly, and then it soured. It didn't last long, however, as the cool expression returned to his face. "Please rise." Everyone did as they were told. "I would like to start by saying that my reasons for coming here do not involve the entirety of the precinct. As such," He cleared his throat. "All of you, barring Oprah and Agent Twilight Sparkle, are free to depart and resume your current activities." This was met with murmurs, some confused, others surprised. Still, it didn't stop everyone from moving away and going back to what they were doing, especially when the Big O's gaze turned steely and demanding. "Oprah. My greetings to you." "Greetings, Big O. It's nice to see you again." Oprah stepped forth with a polite smile on her face. "And you as well. How has Precinct 13579 been faring?" "Just fine, thank you." The Big O nodded. "I might as well cut to the chase." He cleared his throat. "Recently, I have received reports from clients about one of your agents. Agent Twilight Sparkle, to be specific." He glanced at the alicorn mare, who blinked a couple times in surprise. "From what I can tell, she is a terrific agent, am I correct?" "Oh, yes. Twilight is one of my best agents. Always punctual with paperwork and getting things done efficiently. Very organized and certainly very capable of fighting oddness." Oprah praised, causing Twilight to blush slightly. "Hmm. So it seems these reports live up to the hype. Absolutely nothing has been said by you that hasn't already been said on any report I have received." The Big O nodded. "Oprah, I would like to promote Agent Twilight Sparkle to the role of Big O's Head Assistant. Meaning that she will be one of my top assistants, working alongside me at the Big Office. She will no longer be an Investigation agent of Precinct 13579, and as such, she will no longer work under you." Oprah's eyes widened. Of all the news she was hoping to receive today, "your agent's been promoted" certainly wasn't one of the headlines on the list. Even though she knew she couldn't say no, her brain short-circuited and she began to stammer. "Oh! Um...I see. I...w-well, it's a weighty offer, and-" "I'll go." Both Oprah and the Big O glanced at Twilight, who held a look of confidence as she took a few steps forward. "I'm more than happy to take the promotion, Big O, sir." "Oh, wonderful! Thank you." "Um, Ms. O...just a question I have. Could I still stay here? In the Bedroom?" "Stay here?" The words danced on the Director's lips as her brain continued to short-circuit, not fully grasping exactly what was happening. Still, that didn't mean it was completely dead, and she was able to answer her now-ex-agent's question. "Oh! Y-yes, of course, Twilight." The Big O's eyes narrowed. "Oh, thank you. It's much appreciated." "We leave now." Twilight's head swiveled towards her new boss. "N-now?" "Yes. We have a lot of training to go over. Unless you wish to...decline the promotion?" "No, no! Of course not. I'll..." Twilight turned around and gazed out at the bullpen. She saw no sign of her friends, but her heart was filled with sadness either way, knowing that she would have to leave them for good without telling them of the promotion -- or without them being there to witness it for themselves. She grit her teeth, and then gave a resigned sigh. "We can leave right now." "Good. Come along." The Big O turned and began heading out, his bodyguards following suit. "It was good to see you, Oprah." "Y-you as well, Big O. Best of luck to you and to Twilight." As the alicorn mare followed, she stopped in the doorway to take one last glance at her old boss, in all of her juice-addled, ridiculously strong, steel-plated-but-gold-hearted glory. Something in her felt like crying right then and there, but she used her willpower to keep moving forward, only leaving her with a soft sigh before she walked away and the doors closed. Somehow, deep within her brain, Oprah had retained only a faint knowledge of what had happened. She couldn't grasp it before, but that was because it was just so unbelievable. It was the equivalent to a wife telling her husband that she was pregnant, and then running away to South America with absolutely no warning, no preparation, and no straight reasoning whatsoever. She slumped to the floor, on her knees in what would have been a show of patheticness at any other point in time. "What have I done?" she whispered, the noise of the bullpen drowning her question out. A familiar high-pitched humming noise brought her back to reality, and she blinked as she saw Pinkie Pie trot towards her. Shaking her head, she waved. "Pinkie!" "Hmm? Oh, hi, Ms. O!" Pinkie greeted. "What's up?" "Have you, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy meet up in my office, now." "Sure thing! I'll go find them!" Pinkie re-routed and went from going through the double-doors to going down the left hallway that flanked it instead, resuming her humming. Oprah watched her go, slowly getting to her feet and letting her hand curl into a tight fist. I can't believe...I can't believe I just let Twilight out of my grip like that. I haven't just lost a friend -- I've lost a valuable agent. And there's no getting her back. Not unless I want to be fired. Again. Sighing, she began ascending the left staircase towards her office, pulling a much-needed juice box from hammerspace and beginning to sip it eagerly before slipping inside and closing the door. A few minutes later, the Mane Six minus one were gathered, each in their own chairs and facing their boss at her desk. "Thank you all for coming." "No prob!" Dash said. "What did ya need, sugarcube?" "Agent Twilight was recently promoted by the Big O to the position of 'Big O's Head Assistant'. Which means that..." Oprah swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat. "...she will no longer be working in this precinct." All five ponies gasped, their eyes widening in shock and surprise. "T-T-Twilight? N-no longer w-working with us?!" "But we're her friends, darling!" "Didn't the Big O say anything like, I dunno, all of us being his assistants?" "No. He specifically said Twilight." Oprah said, in response to Rainbow's query. "And you just let her go?" Applejack asked, with a slight accusatory edge to her voice. "I didn't have a choice!" Oprah buried her head in her hands. "It's in a Director's moral code to follow whatever orders the Big O gives, no matter how moral or immoral they may seem. If we disobey those orders, we risk getting fired." She sighed and lifted her head up. "I've led this precinct for decades. I don't want to risk losing my job!" Pinkie frowned. "Sometimes we need to make sacrifices to save our friends, boss! And-" "I'm not finished!" The pause that hung in the room was deafening. It was deafening in a way Oprah hated. She wished she could veer off-topic, but she didn't want to leave her equine agents out of the loop about any part of the situation. "Twilight...she..." She tried to swallow another lump that had formed in her throat, but it only grew bigger in response. "She wanted to go. She took the position willingly." Everypony exchanged glances with each other. "And...she didn't even say goodbye?" Fluttershy asked. "No, but I'm sure she's open to phone calls. You're welcome to call her anytime you wish. And...I'm sure you all will convene in Equestria from time to time." Oprah had to fight hard to prevent her voice from cracking. "I can't believe it. Twilight, gone, from the precinct!" Applejack blinked. "Wait! Who will I have as a partner if Twi's gone?" Dash asked. "I'll have you work solo for the time being, Rainbow Dash, until I can find you another agent to work with." "Me and her, we worked so well together...I didn't think I'd ever experience the feeling of an agent losing her partner..." Dash folded her ears down. "And it feels awful!" "Your friends are here if you ever need support. And I'm always here if you have concerns." Dash sighed. "I guess...we can only hope that Twilight's doing well at her new job..." "Could we maybe...visit Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her next question. Oprah shook her head. "I'm not sure how the Big O would feel about that. To play it safe, I'm going to deny visitors." She felt tears forming on the edges of her eyes, and didn't bother to blink them back. "I'm really sorry." "Does Mandy know about this?" "She's taking her daily nap." Oprah responded to Applejack. "She doesn't know about any of this." "We should tell her!" "No!" Oprah stood up and reached over to plug Pinkie's mouth. "If Mandy found out, she could go after the Big O. And that would mean me and her would both lose our jobs. I'm sure none of you want to lose Mandy, nor me." Murmurs of agreement rippled across the office. "If there are no further questions, then you may all return to work. At the very least, try to adapt without Twilight here. A suggestion from me to you." By this point, the ponies were on the verge of tears. Oprah herself had already crossed that threshold, although she didn't dare admit it even in spite of the obvious evidence. After the ponies gave her halfhearted thanks, they slunk out of her office, heads down and expressions full of sadness and hurt. "It's so hard to believe...Twilight, just gone from the precinct...taken by the Big O." Rarity mused, once she and the others were outside. "How could Ms. O just let her go like that?!" Dash cried out, feeling like punching or kicking something but finding no object where she could perform either action safely. "I don't know, sugarcube. But at least we can still meet up with her in Equestria." Applejack nodded. "It ain't the end of the world that she's gone from here!" "Yeah! We can have weekly meetings and stuff, and chat about life, and ooh, ooh, throw awesome 'Hi-Twilight-Welcome-Back-For-The-Week' parties!" Pinkie bounced up and down and giggled, in spite of her dour mood just a minute beforehand -- not too surprising, given her Element. "Yes! Just because Twilight is gone from this Odd Squad precinct certainly does not mean she's gone from Odd Squad!" Everyone looked at Rainbow Dash, who was the only one that still had an upset look on her face. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess..." "We understand if'n ya need time to mourn, Rainbow Dash." Applejack said. "Losin' a partner's a mighty big deal." "It is." Dash glanced at the first floor of the bullpen below. "I'll be...around, if anyone needs me." She sped off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her in her wake. "Y'all should leave her be for now." Applejack stated, to murmurs of agreement from the others. "Still not sure why Ms. O doesn't want us t' tell Mandy, though..." "Mandy can be a little...hot-headed." Rarity gave a small sigh. "Yeah! Don't you ever notice how she bursts into flames whenever she gets super-duper angry? Every agent knows not to make her super-duper angry, even me! And she's pretty strong, too..." Applejack sighed. "I s'pose you two are right. If Ms. O wants us to keep Twilight's promotion a secret, then we should honor that." She made her way towards the staircase on the right. "C'mon, y'all, let's get back t' work." Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy all followed her, their moods lifted a little by her encouraging words. Still, sadness floated about in their hearts as they struggled to understand the reasoning of the situation, and the reasoning of their friend in why she took the promotion to begin with. Having awoken from her nap, Mandy roamed the halls, rubbing her head in a futile attempt to clear the sleepiness from it. Unfortunately, she wasn't seeing where she was going, and ended up colliding with a body that made an "oof" noise, just like she did in unison. "Cuz!" Mandy looked up and smiled. "Heya! Glad I found ya, have you seen Twilight? I wanted to return a book to her that I borrowed, but she hasn't been around." "No. Have you checked the library?" "I tried every place I could think of. I even tried Olive and Otto's precinct!" "Maybe she's in Equestria?" Mandy's expression brightened, and she snapped her fingers. "Ah! Ahh, I really do have the brain of a raisin." She shook her head, not noticing Peaches's knowing smirk that showed she agreed with her statement. The hybrid unclipped her badge phone from her suit and opened it. "I'll just call her!" After pressing the numbers 1-9-0 and receiving a few ringback tones, a familiar voice picked up. "Hello?" "Hi, Twi!" Mandy giggled and snorted. "Hey, that rhymed! Anyway, I have a book here that I wanted to give back to you. Are you at Precinct 13579 right now?" "Oh! N-no, I'm...in Equestria! Yeah, in Equestria. At the Castle of Friendship. Just...cleaning it." Twilight's nervous tone was completely lost on Mandy. "Ohhh!" She laughed. "Thank odd! I thought you were, I dunno, on some perilous quest without me or something." "No, no, I'm-" "Twilight Sparkle, get off the phone and get back to work! Now!" "Oh! That's Spike, I gotta go, bye!" Before Mandy could get another word in, a dial tone met her ears. She slowly closed the phone and put it back on her chest. "What did she say?" Peaches asked. "She's at her Castle of Friendship in Equestria! That's her home there." Mandy explained. "She's cleaning it along with Spike." "Spike?" "Her dragon assistant!" Peaches blinked. She didn't even know Twilight had an assistant, let alone one who was a dragon. It sounded kind of cool, now that she knew about it. She made a mental note to ask the mare if she could meet Spike someday -- surely, since dragons were a prominent creature in Odd Squad, he would fit right in with little to no issue. "Well, at least you know where she is." she said. "Maybe you could just...leave the book on her desk?" "Eh, not a bad idea. I did want to apologize to her for eating her lunch the other day, too, but...I guess that can wait. Thanksies!" She bounced away, and Peaches waved her off. "No problem. Bye, cuz!" she called, before her hand slowly lowered as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Thinking she was just hungry, she began to make her way to that Fish-in-the-Pond Room she had heard so many rumors about. Olive glanced over Mandy's shoulder at the gadget that laid in front of her, just as the hybrid raised her hand up into the air. In her hand was a hammer -- not one she used to go into combat with, but a typical nail-in-a-wooden-plank hammer that she intended to use to destroy a rather pesky gadget once and for all. She lowered the hammer with as much speed as she could, and her eyes widened when the head flew clean off and landed on the floor with a thud. She blinked. So did Olive. The two girls just stared at the head in complete silence, like someone had walked in and announced they murdered at least 19 men and had their 20th on backlog. "That's..." Mandy leaned back and flopped in her chair. "That's the third hammer I've broken! How durable are these things?!" "They have to be durable. They go through a lot of wear and tear." "That was a rhetorical question, Olive." Mandy deadpanned, throwing in a glare at her mother for good measure. She snatched the Hammer-inator from the desk and conjured up another copy of the tool. "Okay, attempt number 4! Outta probably a million!" Just as she was about to try and hammer the gadget again, the steel double-doors opened, and in walked Twilight, who caught Olive's eye just from the blinding-white jacket she was now wearing. "Hey, Agent Twilight's back!" the Director remarked, although Mandy didn't bother to look up. That is, until another bang of her next hammer sent the head of the tool curving upwards upon hitting the gadget. Mandy's face went pale. She grit her teeth and clutched the handle of the hammer as hard as she could. "YOU STUPID FLIMSY HAMMER!!" she cried to the sky, throwing the tool as hard as she could and listening as it collided with the wall that framed the right hallway. While normally Olive would have scolded Mandy for nearly giving some poor agent a concussion, she had other things on her mind. "You look really ragged. Are you okay?" she asked Twilight. The mare gave a shaky sigh. "I-I'm fine!" she tried to reassure. It was then that Mandy spotted the latest arrival to the bullpen, and gasped. "Twilight!" She hopped back into her chair and rolled her way over to her friend, examining her up and down. "Jeez, you look like a wreck!" "I'm fine!" Twilight waved a dismissive hoof. "Really, I am, it's just...been a long day." "Well, why don'tcha rest up a lil', have some dinner, and we can talk about it!" "No, no, that's okay. I...think I just need some time to myself." Twilight gave a small smile. "But thank you for the offer, Mandy." "Okay!" Mandy waved Twilight off as she headed past her and Olive and went down the right hallway. "And nice Big O cosplay, too!" "Weird. Twilight isn't usually this exhausted after work." Olive observed. "And what's up with the Big Office outfit?" "I know, right?!" Mandy turned. "That cleaning she did must've taken a lot outta her, especially for that big of a castle!" "Huh?" Olive tilted her head in confusion. "Oh!" Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "Twilight spent all day in Equestria cleaning the Castle of Friendship. It's a biiiig castle, I hear. Bigger than this place, even!" "I doubt that." Olive smirked. "But that's understandable. It's hard to balance Odd Squad and princesshood, I'm sure. But...does she normally have a Big Office outfit stashed away for cleaning purposes?" "Maybe! Rarity could've made one on the fly for her. For an authority boost!" "Yeah, I don't think that's it." Mandy only shrugged in response. "Do...you want a new hammer?" Whatever happy mood Mandy had was squashed upon hearing this question. She heaved a heavy sigh. "No, but if you wanna use that super-strength of yours to repair one, that'd be a huge help!" Olive glanced at the hammers on the floor, and then at the gadget, which didn't even have so much as a dent in it. "Yeah no, you know what, ask Oona to handle this one." "Done!" In just a few swift movements, Mandy grabbed the gadget and blindly tossed it over her shoulder as hard as she could. Unfortunately, she bopped Oona on the head with it as evidenced by her irritated "Ow!" coming from the lab. "S-sorry!" Olive called, more out of instinct than anything else. "Okay, anyway, I'm starved!" Mandy chirped, making it clear that whatever order Olive was going to give her to apologize would be lost on her. "You wanna go get dinner? My treat!" "Sure." "You have any place in mind?" "There's a new one that opened up recently...Seaside Oriental, I think?" Mandy gasped, her eyes sparkling at this news of a new restaurant in town. "Ooh, I'm in! Meetcha there at 7?" "You got it." "Yay!" Mandy watched Olive head for the double-doors. "See ya then!" "Bye!" As the Director walked away, the hybrid gave a satisfied sigh before grabbing some paperwork, not feeling the urge to repair or destroy any more gadgets today no matter how much Oona pestered her about it. "Mandy..." Her hair and tail stuck straight up. She slowly turned around, a creaking sound like that coming from a door making its way forth. There was Oona, gadget in hand and a very angry look on her face. "I-I-I can explain!" "It better be a good one." Over in the Breakroom, Twilight sat down with her own meal, a small cheese pizza with some apple juice. She nibbled on a slice absentmindedly as she glanced around the bullpen. Aside from Oona aggressively talking to Mandy about something, collar grabbed and all, nothing seemed to be all that out of place. Sighing, she thought back to earlier in the day, when the Big O had delivered her yet another blow -- as if promoting her and taking her away from her friends without giving her a chance to say goodbye to them first wasn't enough. She was situated in his office when she received the order. "Starting today, Twilight Sparkle, I am banning any use of flight or magic on the premises. All of these... ponies around here are extremely detrimental to Odd Squad as an organization. But, they would fare fine as domesticated horses. After all, they were domesticated thousands of years ago for a multitude of things." The Big O side-eyed Twilight. "Besides...I'm sure you're well-aware that unicorns are an edible delicacy among many?" Her mouth had run dry, and something in her prevented her from speaking out against such a ludicrous law and such a preposterous plan. "U-um...y-yes, sir. I'm well-aware." she simply responded, feeling like she had somehow regressed back to the pony she was before she met all of her friends. "Very good." The Big O smiled. "In addition, I am banning you from returning to...ahh, what's that other world you call? 'Eh-quess-tree-uhh'? Yeah." He cleared his throat. "You will not be allowed to return there as long as you are working under me. Understand?" Her brain screamed at her. Say something, you foal! Equestria is your home! You have friends there! You're royalty there! He can't just do this to you. He can't just strip you of everything and everyone you hold dear! But a part of her, the part that feared what the Big O would do to her if she refused him, won over. There was no using her smarts or her common sense to outwit him -- something had told her he would just match her action for action. There was nothing she could do but practice blind obedience. "Yes, sir." "Very good. So you will do as I say and follow my orders, unless you want to face punishment, understand?" Twilight gulped. "Yes, sir." "Very good. Now, I shall give you a tour of the premises. Tomorrow, you start working as my assistant." The Big O stood up and walked towards the automated double-doors that lined his office. "Come!" Like a dog, Twilight immediately hopped off of her chair and followed him, but couldn't resist the soft sigh that forced its way out of her body. "Twilight?" Her head lifted at the sound of Fluttershy's voice, but for some reason, she couldn't find her friend. "Twilight?" Still no sign of her. "Twilight!" That was the cue for the alicorn to come back to reality. She blinked, giving a small hum as she did so, and found Fluttershy staring at her with concern. "Oh! Hi, Fluttershy. What's up?" "Um, I just...wanted to say, welcome back. We didn't think you'd be coming back..." Fluttershy pawed at the ground with her hoof. "We all miss you." The last sentence was like an arrow through Twilight's heart. "Ms. O told me I could stay here even while working at the Big Office." she responded, trying her damnedest not to cry. "How was your first day?" "I'd..." She could feel her throat closing. "I'd rather not talk about it right now." "Oh...okay. I understand." Fluttershy smiled. "We were talking earlier about meeting in Equestria once a week...just to catch up. If you want to, that is. And Rainbow Dash is really heartbroken about losing you as a partner." she explained. "I hope you're happy at your new job." Sweet Celestia, Fluttershy, please don't make me start crying...not here! She swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in her throat, but it came back with a vengeance. All she could do was nod. "I-I have to get going and do some paperwork, but it was good to see you!" Fluttershy waved her goodbyes as she took to the air towards her desk. "Y-you as well..." The words were nothing more than a whisper as she watched the yellow Pegasus go, and she tried to take another bite of her food to no avail -- the pizza didn't taste appetizing anymore. Not with her clogged nose blocking her sense of taste. Knowing there was no way to stop it, she let the tears fall, burying her hooves in her hands as she cried and cried, hoping no one would spot her and try to comfort her. Mandy and the Big O met weapon-to-weapon, the former's hammer and the latter's sword-like gadget clanging together before they separated. "You won't get away with this!" came the reverberating voice of a Mandy aflame. "Get away with what?!" the Big O snapped back. "I strive to make Odd Squad a place for kids and ponies alike!" Leaving her hammer for the time being, Mandy took to the air and charged magic in her horn. "That's a lie!" she called, before firing off a series of laser beams that made impact with something that produced a banging sound. She gave a "ha" of triumph as the smoke cleared and she took in the sight of the bruised and battered child who had once been her boss. "It appears...we are at an impasse, Agent Mandy." he rasped, holding his singed weapon tight even in his current state. "You don't even have a developed brain yet." Mandy rolled her eyes and swooped back down to the ground to pick up her hammer, choosing to remain airborne. "After what you did...you..." She grit her teeth, unable to complete the sentence for a time. Far off to the side, everyone -- Olive, Oprah, Otto, Peaches, and the Mane Six -- were all watching the fight with concerned looks on their faces. "You conspired with Vallea's king to get rid of me, get rid of Peaches, and get rid of our friends!" "Equine friends." the Big O corrected. "And so what if I did? It furthered both his goals and mine. Catgirls like Peaches do not belong in this world, anyway." "You're wrong!" Mandy's voice was practically a scream. "This world is home to many different creatures! From Ginormice, to Centigurps, to Daves, and even to ponies! There's no reason why a catgirl can't fit here!" A foul taste began to form in her mouth, and she turned her head and spit off to the side in an effort to alleviate it. "You're just biased." "Biased?" The Big O let out a hearty laugh at this bold claim. "Against whom?" "Anyone who isn't human. LIKE MYSELF!!" The last two words of Mandy's sentence echoed throughout the expansive room. Peaches' eyes widened, as did Twilight's. "Mandy, stop this!" The hybrid's head swiveled towards the one who had so boldly spoken and so boldly stepped forward. "Don't tell me you're staying by his side?!" A glare formed in her eyes. "Are you biased as well...Oprah?" "That's Ms. O to y-" Oprah's words were immediately cut off by her neck being held in the weight of magic, first being gently caressed by what felt like a pair of hands before turning into a thick beam that held it in a vice grip. She felt herself be levitated into the air, and futilely kicked her feet as though that would bring her back down to the ground. "I refuse to work under someone who has any sort of prejudice!" Mandy asserted, her magical grip on Oprah loosening. This caused her to fall on her butt with a pained grunt, Olive and Otto tending to her and making sure she was all right. Her neck was red, almost to the point of a rash, but Mandy couldn't care less. Instead, she had her sights set on her opponent. In one swift move, she teleported him to the wall on the other side of the room, took her hammer, and rushed over to him just in time to ram the head of the weapon into his mouth before he even had a chance to lift up his weapon. As was expected of someone who fell victim to such a cruel finishing move, he began to choke, feeling like his jaw was about to snap clean in two. "'All are equal. All belong.'" Mandy recited. "This has been the modus operandi of Odd Squad as far back as I can remember. And as long as I live, it will hold true!" The Big O had no witty response to her assertion. Mostly because the choking noises he was making grew fiercer as the head went deeper into his mouth. "Scum like you doesn't deserve to walk the earth. There is no punishment..." She took a deep inhale. "...THAT IS WORTHY OF ALL YOU'VE DONE!" She didn't need to ram the head down further. The Big O's body succumbed to his injuries, both from the hammer and from the fight overall, as he stopped choking and slumped to the ground like a ragdoll. The hammer slid free from his mouth, covered in spit in a few places. "Big O!" Oprah called out, purely on instinct if nothing else. A move that proved to be a very bad idea...and one that sealed her fate. The flames around Mandy grew more intense. "AND YOU'RE NEXT, AGENT 58!!" she called, her voice gaining even more of an echo as she pointed the hammer directly at the one who had also been her boss once upon a time. Her feet took her across the ground. "No...please, no-" A bloodcurdling scream was the last thing anyone heard before the view went completely dark. Twilight woke up and flung herself upright in bed with a gasp, her eyes reduced to pinpricks as she glanced around the room to try and reorient herself. She was in the Bedroom, and around her were the rest of the Mane Six, sleeping peacefully in their respective beds. The alicorn mare, breathing heavily, spotted Mandy, who was also fast asleep in a world of her own. Whatever reaction she might have had to Twilight's sudden awakening was null and void -- she kept snoring and sleep-talking away without so much as a single movement. Twilight kept her gaze on her co-worker and friend for a long time as her mind's gears began to turn. She's going to fight the Big O. I just know it. And she's going to kill him. The sigh she had pent up made its way forth. But should I tell him? Or should I stay silent? she thought. Whatever I do...I run the risk of me getting fired from Odd Squad! Her head swiveled back and forth, and then her gaze landed on the Bedroom door. She grit her teeth together and magically pulled the sheets off of her. I can't...I have to tell someone! And I know just who to tell. Five minutes later, she had reiterated her dream, as well as her findings on the first day on the job -- plus the news of her new job to begin with -- to the one person who would reasonably be up at this hour of the night. "Wh...you mean, King Ashero..." "Yes." Twilight nodded. "It's a vivid dream, but I fear that it may come true if Mandy finds out about me." She put on the best begging expression she could muster. "Please don't tell her. If she ends up killing the Big O then it could spell disaster for Odd Squad as an organization, and I don't want that to happen!" Peaches only barely heard her friend's request, her eyes glazed over in both shock and deep thought. "I can't believe that the king of my home village is conspiring with the Big O..." she murmured, before letting out a hum of thought. It only lasted a few seconds before she piped up with a request of her own, her eyes returning to normal. "Do you think you could ask the Big O about it tomorrow?" "The conspiracy with King Ashero? Or my dream?" Twilight asked. "Because I could do both, if I manage to reach him again. Which I probably will." "In the meantime, I'll have to find out why they're teaming up...maybe it's to get to me somehow, but why? If the King already exiled me... Twilight tilted her head in response, causing Peaches to blink and then vigorously shake her head. "S-sorry, Twilight. I don't mean to make this all about me, but this is something that affects both of us, and-" "Oh! No, it's fine, Peaches." The mare smiled. "I know how stressful this revelation must be for you." Peaches nodded. "I'll have to sleep on it. Devise a plan." she mused. "But your secret is safe with me. No telling Mandy. But can I at least tell Oprah?" Twilight gave a relieved sigh. "Yes, you can. And thank you. I'm going to head back to bed and try to get some more sleep." As she moved towards the door and exchanged goodnight wishes with Peaches, she let her gaze linger on the catgirl for longer than usual before she left the room. Something told her that Peaches would now be the unlucky soul who wouldn't have a restful night, and she felt a pang of guilt for venting to her when she didn't ask for it. Still, she was a friend...and friends were usually open for venting, weren't they? She was the Princess of Friendship; this was supposed to be a rhetorical question. So why didn't she have an answer? She entered the Bedroom once more and climbed into bed as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake up any of the other ponies. Her body felt heavy, but her brain refused to shut off, and she slipped under the blankets with a heavy sigh, closing her eyes and trying to think of memories she could string together for tonight's feature film. The next day came rather quickly, although the air was noticeably different. The steel double-doors opened, and in walked Peaches, who Mandy spotted as she sipped some juice. "Oh, hey, Peaches! How's it..." She didn't get to finish her sentence, as the catgirl outright ignored her and trudged up the left staircase to the second floor instead. "Huh. Whatever she's up to, it seems like it's urgent!" Mandy gave a nonchalant shrug and sipped more of her juice before turning back to her paperwork. Oprah didn't even have to look up from her own activity of coloring in a picture of a robin to know that someone was entering her room, punctuated by the sound of one of her office's glass doors forcefully being pushed open. "Slamming doors open doesn't work with mine." she remarked. Her guest didn't care. "Oprah, we need to talk. Now." Not five minutes later, and Oprah was given the news about Twilight's dream and the talk she had with Peaches last night. "What?!" She blinked. "You think the Big O is conspiring with your village's king? And Mandy's gonna kill him?!" "Twilight saw evidence of the conspiracy when she was at the Big Office. And Mandy killing the Big O came to her in a dream. She said it was very vivid. And considering King Ashero isn't exactly what you'd call a good king, I think what she said may hold some truth." "Ha! The day Mandy bests me in battle is the day I might as well retire." Peaches slammed her fist on Oprah's desk. "That's not my point!" she yelled. "My point is that Twilight working with the Big O will only spell disaster." "If Mandy is told." Oprah held a finger up. "But she doesn't know about any of this, does she?" "Well, no, but-" "So she doesn't have to know." Peaches' expression contorted into one of confusion and disgust. "Hold on. Have you not said in the past that you must obey the Big O's orders lest you get fired? Don't tell me you're taking his side?" "Nooo, no!" Oprah quickly asserted. "Just because I follow his orders doesn't mean I agree with what he's doing. But why would King Ashero be working with him to get to you, instead of just coming here and attacking you directly?" "The King has always been a coward. He sends catpeople out to fight for him and do his bidding rather than do anything himself. It's probably why he didn't take the helm in finding out who burned Vallea to the ground -- that, and he wanted to get rid of me." Peaches rolled her eyes. "If I had to venture a guess, I'd say he's working with the Big O so he can carry out his plans for him." She blinked twice. "Er, assuming the Big O is someone who actually does things himself?" "Depends on the situation, mostly, but he is very competent. And he isn't afraid to do things himself." "He's probably going to have the Big O relay his actions either directly to me...which is silly...or through Twilight first. Much more plausible." Oprah could only give a thoughtful "hmm" in response as she struggled to comprehend the entire situation. "I did ask Twilight to get more details, so maybe we'll find out more stuff later on. But that's all I got." "I can't believe it. For the Big O to do something this wild..." Oprah shook her head. "I'd like to be alone for now, Peaches. Just to clear my head and get my mind off of this for a little bit." "Perfectly understandable." Peaches nodded and turned on her heel. "I'll leave you be." With a weight off her shoulders, she left the office in higher spirits than before. "King Ashero...working together with the Big O." Oprah made her way over to the juice bar and grabbed a box, sticking a straw into it and sipping it as fast as she could possibly go. "What an unlikely pairing." The sound of squeaking interrupted Otto's snacktime. He watched as a tomato slid out of his BLT and fall straight onto his plate before he picked it up and ate it whole. He didn't need to look to identify what the sound was -- the sounds of effort were a dead giveaway. "Whoa, hey!" Otto swallowed his tomato. "You want help bringing those in?" "Issat a rhetorical question?" came the tired response, intersected with panting as the pusher of the rack tried to regain her breath. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." With a sigh, Otto got to his feet and grabbed the other end of the rack, pulling it across the shared Director's office with ease. "Geez, you don't know how long it took me to sew all these!" the visitor remarked, flopping onto the couch with a tired groan, her face dripping with sweat. "I think you're just out of shape, Mandy." "Shut up and get me some water! Please!" Otto happily obliged, heading over to the "water bar" and grabbing a bottle of fresh water. Smirking, he pulled his arm back and threw the bottle, where it hit his intended target square in the face. "Oww! Not at my face, you numbnut!" she snapped, grabbing the bottle and taking a few generous sips of water. "Hey, Otto!" Olive greeted, making her way into the office with a small stack of papers. "I got that paperwork from Odie. Apparently there's a gadget missing here?" "Oh. Yeah, it's probably the Paper-inator. Some agent borrowed it, hasn't returned it." Mandy narrowed her eyes. "Uhh, helloooo-oooooo? What am I to ya, chopped liver?!" Olive glanced at the girl who had wound up on her couch, and gave a laugh. "Hi, Mandy." "Hiiii!" came the happy chirp in response. "Brought those suits you wanted. Took me a loooong while to sew 'em, but Rarity was willing to help me out!" "Oh! I meant to ask last night," Olive said. "How is Rainbow Dash handling the...um...loss of Twilight? I know she hasn't been around as much, and the two are good partners..." "When I saw her, she looked pretty down in the dumps, but wouldn't give me any details. Although...I did hear her muttering 'Big O' over and over again..." "The Big O?" Otto made his way over to the other couch. "What's he got to do with this?" "Beats me. Maybe Twi was lying and that's where she came from yesterday! But it wouldn't explain why she looked ragged..." She blinked. "And why lie about going to the Big O's office?" "Have you seen her today?" Olive asked. Mandy shook her head. "Uh-uh. It isn't just Dash that's acting weird, though, it's all the ponies! Like, I asked Pinkie today if she wanted to join me for lunch. Suuuuper-common activity, right, just a partner-to-partner thing! But she declined!" She folded her ears down. "She never declines lunches with me! Kinda tore my heart a little..." "Something's going on." Olive declared. "If everyone's acting shifty, it should be a cause for alarm." "Yeah..." Mandy took another swig of her water bottle, a happy sigh escaping her as her thirst was quenched once more. "Can't anything be normal in my life-" -- she spotted Olive and Otto opening their mouths -- "and don't answer that, that is a rhetorical question!!" The two Directors gave a unisonant disappointed "aww". Mandy gave a groan. "That's it, that's it! I've made up my mind!" She stood up. "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this faster than I can do an imitation of a pony!" Olive immediately narrowed her eyes. "If you do one, Mandy, I will see to it myself that you are thrown off the second floor and onto the seal. Face-first." she growled, her tone becoming grating. Whatever hostility she brought towards her daughter was, of course, brushed off as she simply laughed. "Aww Momma, you're such a jokester!" A snort came forth. "I wasn't planning on doing one, silly, it's an expression!" "Thank the odds above." came a mutter. "Aaaaaanyway, the suits are sorted by department. And don't tear them. Toodle-oo!" With that, the hybrid bounced out of the office, taking the water bottle with her. "I wanted to see an imitation of a pony!" Otto complained, much to Olive's protest as she shut him up with a low growl. When Mandy got back, she was stuck in between watching the Mane Six whenever they walked by, and doing her paperwork. She had to admit, though -- doing the former was a nice break from the monotonous activity of the latter. As she filled in another Form O-135, her ears caught the sound of the steel double-doors opening, and her eyes caught a flash of yellow. She turned her head to the right, and who else did she see but Peaches. "Cuz!" she cried out, getting up from her seat and giving a relieved sigh. "Jeez, I've been pony-watching so much that it's refreshing to see a human face!" She bounced over to Peaches, her cat smile growing wider and wider. "How's my faaaaaaavorite catgirl, huh huh huh?!" "I'm...fine." Mandy's smile faded as she took in Peaches' behavior -- her avoidance of eye contact, her folded ears, and her tired posture. Something was up with her, but what, exactly, was something that Mandy couldn't place. "Cuz, what's up with you?" the hybrid asked. "You're acting aloof! I-I mean you've always been a lil' aloof, but now you're more aloof than usual! It's like..." She gave a whine, like a dog begging for treats. "I'm being avoided!" "Avoided?" Peaches blinked, and then shook her head. "N-no, no, of course not! I-I, it..." This is why you really can't hide stuff from this girl. She's persistent. If I lie to her, it'll be like thrusting a piece of clear glass into her face. She tried to think fast. I have to come up with some excuse, some kind of diversion that will change the track of her mind. Her expression brightened as an idea began to take shape. "T-tell you what? Why don't we go out, right now? We can...go for a fly, maybe. I still need to get used to riding on your back." This seemed to be a step in the right direction. Mandy gasped and nodded. "You're on! And I know exactly where we can go!" "Oh?" "Yeah!" With her horn alight, Mandy teleported her and Peaches to a city sidewalk. Peaches stumbled around a little bit, not expecting Mandy to teleport at all. Before she could say anything, however, the hybrid chirped, "C'mon, let's fly!" "Okay..." the catgirl said, still a little woozy as she climbed onto Mandy's back. "Let's fly..." She didn't get a chance to reorient herself, as Mandy was already flapping her wings and taking off, a loud and high-pitched "wheeeeeee" sound splitting the air. Soon, the intended destination came into view. "Are your eyes closed?" "Yup!" Swooping down, Mandy made a perfect landing on her own two feet, not noticing the harsh looks others around her were giving her. "And we're here!" As Peaches hopped off, she slowly opened her eyes to find a sleek and circular white building. "Huh? What's this place?" she asked. "C'mon, follow me!" Mandy chirped, marching forward and not bothering to answer Peaches's question. The catgirl had to admit that she had never seen this building at all, but the air alone was enough to make this a "I'm going to visit this once, and only once" kind of place. She felt unnerved, but her feet allowed her to follow her cousin towards what she could assume were the front doors. "Halt!" came a booming voice, just a mere second after Mandy had pushed open one of the doors. Her gaze swiveled towards a girl with black hair in twintails, dressed in the same white outfit she had seen other agents in the building wear. She narrowed her piercing hazel eyes. "Who are you?" "Agent Mandy, of Precinct 13579." the hybrid introduced, as Peaches came up beside her. "This is Peaches, my cousin. We're hoping to see a fellow assistant of yours. Twilight Sparkle?" Immediately, the girl's expression softened. She gave a surprised gasp. "Oh, Agent Mandy, what an honor! My name's Oriella." Looking around for anyone who might be overhearing the conversation, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't take you to Twilight, but I'd like to discuss something private with you, outside. Follow me." Both Peaches and Mandy exchanged surprised glances, but did as they were told, following Oriella out of the building and towards a large fountain that sat smack-dab in the middle of the walkway. "Is this part of our flight?" Peaches asked Mandy, her voice low. "Uh-uh." Mandy shook her head. "I dunno what's goin' on!" "Where even are we right now?" Mandy giggled and snorted, taking care to make it quieter than usual. "You don't know? This is the Big Office!" Peaches' entire body went rigid. It was a miracle her legs were still moving, but her brain had otherwise completely shut down. "Wh...the B-B-Big Office?!" "Yeah! See, all the ponies have been acting super-duper strange lately, and Twilight's been gone from work soooooo much recently! It's not like her!" Mandy exhaled. "So I intend to find out why!" "No..." She's gonna find out, dear Leo, she's gonna find out and then what? Then what?! "No, Mandy, you can't!" Her raised voice was enough for Oriella to stop and face the two girls, watching as they conversed with a confused expression on her face. "Huh? Why not?" "It's..." Peaches clenched her fist. I can't tell her! If I do...it's gonna spell disaster for the Big O! But it's not like I can lie...not with her... She flashed back to a time when Mandy had told a crowd of eager agents how her cousin often flicks an ear when she lies, much to their amazement as she boasted that -- and Peaches could quote this accurately from memory -- "no lie gets by me", followed by a noblewoman's laugh that haunted her for weeks afterwards. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't have a choice. Mandy killing the Big O be damned -- it was inevitable, and no one could stop it. "Twilight is working for the Big O!" The shout was more than enough for a few assistants to look towards the duo, although they didn't say anything, presumably because Oriella was with them. Oriella herself, in fact, only served to get even more confused as to why Peaches was stating the obvious to Mandy, but decided to let them iron out whatever kinks they had. Mandy's blue eyes reduced to complete pinpricks. You might as well have told her Otto took the joke from when he and Olive were promoted completely seriously and marrying Olive, she was so floored. "T-T-T-Twilight...Twilight got promoted?!" she cried out, glancing at Peaches' face for any sign of her expression turning more lighthearted. Maybe she would burst into laughter and explain how she was just kidding. Or maybe she would say sure, Twilight got promoted, but not to the Big Office...really, what were the chances that Pinkie Pie would get promoted by the Big O himself, then Twilight? They had to be slim. Slim as a sheet of paper from the Shmumbermart. Her face fell slowly, ever so slowly, after a few moments. The realization slowly dawned on her. "You're dead serious!" Peaches could only respond by burying her head in her hands. "Why did no one tell me?! I feel like I have a right to know these things as second-in-command, y'know! And what did I say about keeping secrets from me?!" Peaches began to tremble, now. Quiet sobs wracked her body as she collapsed to the ground on her knees. "Cuz?" It was at this point that Oriella figured she should intervene, even though she knew this was likely more of a personal issue she had no business butting her way into. "Are you two all right?" she asked, making her way over to them. "I'm fi- whoa!" Mandy didn't get to finish her sentence before she felt herself being pulled into the grasp of her cousin, who hugged her tightly. Only three words danced on her lips in a quiet whisper. "Don't kill him..." "Kill who?" Mandy rubbed her head. "Nngh...my head's spinnin' more than a top! Just tell me what's goin' on! You've gone this far!" "I'll tell you what's happening, Mandy." Oriella piped up. "It's true. Twilight Sparkle was promoted to the role of Big O's Head Assistant a couple days ago. But...the Big O doesn't treat his assistants well. I speak from experience as one of them." "What do you mean?" "I've been his assistant for years. I've served by his side and carried out his orders both big and small. But he..." Oriella stared at the ground. "He isn't the nicest boss I've had. And he isn't a nice boss to Twilight, either." "What did he do?" Mandy tilted her head. "Well, for one, he...banned magic and flying from here." Oriella glanced at Mandy's folded-up wings. "And he also banned Twilight from returning to Equestria." "What?!" Mandy's cry was nearly a scream. "Why?!" "He's always had a hatred towards ponies. When ponies first arrived in Toronto, he took an immediate dislike to them. He said that the world of Equestria and its inhabitants were freak shows of nature, that they don't belong in sharing a world with Toronto. He allowed ponies to enroll in the Odd Squad Academy, but he would 'block out' any precinct that hired them and wouldn't provide any supplies or services for those precincts. He would...disown them, in a sense." Mandy was so taken aback by this explanation that she was forced to repeat both of her questions. "What...why?! Ponies and humans live in harmony here! They can be great Odd Squad agents! Twilight and her friends are living proof of that!" Oriella continued. "When the Big O found out about Twilight and her friends staying at Precinct 13579, he planned on blocking out the precinct, but saw something in Twilight particularly during her time at the Academy. He did still hate ponies, of course, but realized that they were still horses deep down -- after all, ponies are just small horses. So he decided to tame the ones he deemed fit." "Tame them?" Mandy blinked. "Like use them for horseback riding and stuff?" "In a sense, yes. To replace the little cars that we have." It didn't matter what Oriella threw at her. Mandy wasn't making any heads or tails of this situation. She knew the concept of riding horses -- she'd be lying if she didn't say she used to try and ride the Mane Six when she was little -- but taming Equestrian ponies for this purpose seemed...weird. After all, Toronto had regular-looking horses too, and what was wrong with using those horses for the things humans had domesticated them to do for centuries? Why the ponies of Equestria? Unless there was something more to this. Something that she was missing. She glanced towards Peaches, still distraught, and decided to hold off on her questions to her, instead turning her attention back to Oriella. "But why? Seems a lil' contradictory, to hate ponies and yet want to use them for such a mundane task." "Well, it's only the ponies that weren't unicorns. Any pony that was one...would be eaten." Mandy suddenly felt sick, in a way that only matched that time when she drank a whole bottle of Shmumbotussin and was vomiting in the bathroom for hours, because she almost never got that sick. Her mind flashed to Rarity, on a silver platter, being gazed at by the Big O and all of his assistants, forks and knives in their hands as they made jabs about how she looked like a tasty marshmallow...it was terrifying to think about. "H-h-he's gonna...eat Twi...?" "No. Twilight's an alicorn. So he wants to tame her into being a regular horse." "That's..." Mandy shook her head vigorously to cleanse the horrible imagery of Rarity about to be eaten from her mind. "That's awful! That's not the kind of regime that Odd Squad should have!" "Cuz, wait!" Mandy glanced at Peaches, who stared at her with bloodshot eyes. "The Big O...he's been conspiring with the king of my village. King Ashero." Ohhhh, well, this day just couldn't get any stinkin' worse, could it?! You got any more wild n' crazy info you wanna throw at me, world?! Mandy's brain screamed at her in a fit of frustration. The emotion she was actually feeling, however, was entirely different. "The same king that kicked you out...he's working with the Big O?! Why?!" "I have no idea. Oprah and I talked about it, and...we think that he wants to use the Big O to further his own plans." Peaches explained. "See, the king is a coward. A pathetic coward, at that. He sends those he leads to do his dirty work for him, without getting his own butt off of the throne. It's partly why he sent me away instead of finding who burned down Vallea himself. So he wants the Big O to carry out his own ambitions." If it weren't for her innate curiosity keeping her afloat right now, Mandy's brain would have completely and utterly shut down. Absolutely nothing Peaches said made sense. What plans? To find out who destroyed Vallea? I don't think the Big O really has the time to be goin' on some crazy search party for some random culprit...and I don't think he'd send his assistants to find the culprit for him. ...No wait, maybe he would. He's a busy kid. There has to be a gajillion assistants in there. He can spare a few. Her mind was swimming with questions, but she chose to focus on a simple one. "How did the King even get in contact with the Big O?" "Th-that's not really important." Peaches responded. "Furthermore...Twilight had a dream last night, about the Big O and you fighting. It was really vivid, she said. And in it, you..." Her voice began to crack. "You killed him!" "I what?" "Y-you took your hammer, and rammed it so far down his throat...and you killed him. And then..." Tears began to spill. "You turned on Oprah, for calling out his name..." The breath was taken clear out of the hybrid. She wasn't sure what to say. She thought back to her battle with Cherry Moriarty, and how she had spared her life. Am I so violent that people think I'll kill villains without hesitation? Her own tears began to come forth, and spilled onto the ground. She knew she had to say something, but only one thing came out. "C-cuz-" "You wouldn't really do that...would you?" The question came from Oriella, who gazed at the hybrid with concern. "The Big O is more powerful than he might appear to be. If he really wanted to, he could kill someone." Mandy began to choke up. Like Peaches, she too collapsed to the ground, her eyes becoming glazed over. "I wouldn't..." She glanced up at the sky, cloudy and depressing -- fitting for someone who now felt like she was just a mindless killing machine when it came to those she opposed. If she had a kill count, she would be chastised and outcast. But she was the most beloved agent of the organization. And no person would love an agent of Odd Squad with a kill count. The words came out before she could stop herself. "Cuz, I don't kill! Ever!" She sniffled. "At most, I...I seriously hurt those who have hurt my friends. I make them suffer. I teach them a lesson about what happens to those who dare cross the path of those I care for most. But I never kill!" Her final four words echoed into the air, with some assistants turning their heads to look. Once again, none of them bothered to intervene. The echo lingered for what seemed like a long time, as Mandy now began to sob, every inch of her body quivering. Peaches and Oriella could only watch, their hearts aching as they wanted to help her, but didn't really know how. Luckily, they didn't need to -- Mandy stopped herself after just a few minutes. She stood up and gave a mighty sniffle. "ENOUGH!" she called out, before taking a few footsteps towards the building once more. "I'm..." "What are you gonna do?" Oriella asked, her eyes widening. Mandy's gaze turned rigid, steely, and hard. "I'm gonna go confront him myself." was all she said before she began marching the rest of the way without a second glance. "Cuz, no!" "Peaches, stay behind. It's an order!" Mandy barked, although her sharp and serious facade started to crumble when she choked up and added, "FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!" Her walk turned into a run, and both girls knew there was no way to persuade her to turn around. "Oriella..." Peaches stayed on the ground, gazing at the Big O's assistant with her bloodshot eyes. "Call Precinct 13579." Oriella nodded, and hastily unclipped her badge phone to make the call. Assistants were startled by the sound and the sight of Mandy thrusting open the doors and sprinting down the hall. Some of them even stumbled and fell. "Halt!" one of them called. "There's no time!" Mandy called back, not bothering to see who had tried to stop her. No, she was a hybrid on a mission, now. Her wings spread, and she went from her feet being on the ground to her feet dangling in the air as she soared down hallway after hallway. Finally, she reached his door. And she slammed that sucker wide open as loud and as commanding as she could possibly make it. The Big O didn't even flinch, instead looking up from his paperwork with a small "hm?" Mandy landed and folded her wings in. "Big O." Her venomous greeting was either completely lost on him, or he just didn't care. "Oh, Agent Mandy. Fancy seeing you here. To what do I owe the..." His mouth curved into a smile. "...pleasure?" "You promoted Agent Twilight Sparkle to the role and rank of 'Big O's Head Assistant'. Do I have that right?" "Yes. I must say, it was quite a shame you weren't there." "Mm. Yes. Quite a shame indeed." This smug socksucker's gonna play hard-to-get-under-the-skin, huh? Mkay. Two can play at that game. "Now, I must ask you. Is it true..." She straightened her posture and pointed at her leader. "...that you are working with King Ashero of Vallea?" The Big O's eyes widened, certainly not expecting Mandy to figure that out. Still, his shock wore off after only a mere couple seconds. "King Ashero? Vallea?" He scoffed. "I must say, for a dimwitted equine abomination like you, you have smarts. I might as well come clean, then." A long while ago, Mandy would have been insulted at being called dimwitted. Nowadays, she had been called that so much that the insult -- whether used in a lighthearted manner, like with her friends, or used in a mocking manner, like the Big O just did -- barely fazed her. She blinked, and waited. "See, I took in Twilight Sparkle as my assistant so that I could eventually tame her to be my workhorse." The Big O sighed. "Getting around as a child in an adult's world is just so incredibly hard to do these days, and those little toy cars simply won't do. So, it has been my personal goal to transform those tiny equines that litter Toronto into workhorses that can ultimately help Odd Squad become a better place to work." "So what about King Ashero?" "He had goals, and so did I. He wants to capture and bring one of his own back to his village for their failure in finding who razed it, and I want to help Odd Squad which just so happens to house one of his own...and something more." Now it was Mandy's turn to widen her eyes. It was one thing for King Ashero to kick her cousin out, but it was another thing entirely to want to force her to come back just for not having found who destroyed Vallea. She's in danger. Peaches is in danger. And that means...Precinct 13579 is in danger! Momma and Otto's precinct, too! I have to do something! No. Not right now. If I can defeat the Big O and take him down, then I can do something. Peaches is fine, she's out there with Oriella. She's fine. "He wants to bring Peaches back to Vallea?" was the question she settled on asking. "Hmm?" The Big O tilted his head. "Seems like you really do know who he's looking for. This will be wonderful news for him! I'm sure Odd Squad will benefit well from losing a mutated equine agent -- surprise surprise, he wants you back as well!" He wants Peaches...and me? Why me? Did he figure out that we're family? So many questions swirled about in Mandy's mind, but she was forced to shunt them off to the side. In the event that she needed to battle the Big O, she needed her mind clear. Oriella's warning wasn't one she was going to take lightly. Still, there was one question she wanted to pose. "Then why didn't you fire me when you had the chance? You have the power to control all of Odd Squad, and yet, you let me stay. Why?" "Because you were a human." Mandy took a deep breath. "Let me...rephrase." She cleared her throat. "When I became a pony-human hybrid, why did you let me stay?" "You are an alicorn, are you not? The same race that Twilight is?" "Yes..." "I had initially planned to tame you as well. But, unlike with Twilight, I needed to do more research on you first." The Big O's gaze bore into her. "Because you, Mandy, are an abomination, a mutated human being. It's unlikely you could ever be tamed into a full-bred workhorse." He smiled. "But I had hope. Hope that perhaps, one day, you would reveal your true equine form to the masses and stay in that form as a more comfortable option. Then...you could be tamed." "You're never going to tame me. I'm human just like you!" The Big O merely laughed at this. "Not anymore you're not! That transformation you went through proves otherwise. You have pony blood in you now." By this point, Mandy wasn't fazed by what her boss's boss was saying. Words tumbled out of her without her even thinking. "Don't you understand what 'hybrid' means? It's a mix of two things. I am a mix of a pony, and a human being. And I was born a human!" She scoffed. "I'm more human than pony, anyway. Even if I have pony blood in me, I can't transform into one. And even if I have pony blood in me, that doesn't mean I'm just a pony, or just a human! It's possible to be both! And Peaches...she's a catgirl. A mix of a cat, and a human. And she's human just like me!" She didn't bother to bring the fact that Peaches shapeshifted often into the discussion. "You have such a black-and-white viewpoint that it clouds your thinking. You refuse to have any sort of moral standards! You want a regime where humans thrive, and ponies are their meek and weak subordinates." She pulled her hammer from her back and slammed the head of it onto the ground. "Well I refuse to let that happen! As long as I'm alive, I'll never let you go through with your stupid plan." "Hmm. Quite a disappointment. Even in spite of your monologue." The Big O shrugged. "No matter!" He pulled out his own weapon from his back, a medium-sized gadget that looked similar to a laser gun. "It's lucky I had my assistants make this all-purpose gadget in order to protect myself. Absolutely no mutated being in existence can survive this baby." Whether it was from being referred to as a "mutated being" again or it was from the Big O just casually shrugging off her words, Mandy was fed up with him. Her body became engulfed in flames -- the form that most of her enemies feared, but that her newest enemy was completely indifferent to. And then, she snapped. With a mighty, almost primal roar, she dashed towards him, but teleported before she got more than halfway to him. "Aww, now isn't that sweet. All bark and completely no bi-" He heard a chomping sound, and then felt a searing pain in his left shoulder. A yell left him as he swung his body around, trying to get her to release her grip on him. However, Mandy was persistent, and each swing only allowed her to sink her teeth deeper and deeper into him. "Let go of my shoulder!" he cried out, feeling like he was being mauled by a rabid dog. A couple of assistants who had heard the chaos came rushing into the room, and gasped when they took in the sight of what was happening, immediately backing up and resigning to just peeking inside. "Harder!" Mandy could feel blood begin to tickle her taste buds. The quivers of the Big O's body delighted her in a rather twisted and sadistic way, and she began to apply more pressure, hoping she would reach bone, or better yet, some kind of nerve that would disable his entire arm. Who knows -- she didn't really know much about the logistics of the human body. Finally, she decided to let go when she had failed in hitting a nerve, leaping backwards and levitating her hammer towards her so she could grasp it. "Ha, I should equip my hammer with a bite feature!" she said, turning her head to the left and spitting out some metallic-tasting blood. The Big O clutched his shoulder in pain, his body still trembling. Unfortunately, that left him open to Mandy's attacks, as he found his gut suddenly being slammed with the blunt force of a hammer, sending his body careening towards the other side and colliding with a wall to the extent that it became slightly dented. He slumped down to the floor, one eye closed despite it not having been injured and giving small pained grunts. "C'mon." Mandy taunted. "Oriella said you were powerful. She said you could kill someone if you wanted to. I guess those were bold-faced lies!" A laugh escaped her as she twirled her hammer around in her hand like a yo-yo once again before making a complete beeline for the Big O like it was a Black Friday sale and she really wanted that 48'' TV. "Your reign of terror ends today, kiddo." And with that, she performed her finishing move. Unfortunately, the Big O wasn't down for the count, and despite his choking, he managed to grab ahold of his gadget and fire it. It was a direct hit, one that let Mandy have a taste of her own medicine as she went soaring across the room. Her body hit the floor once, twice, and then rolled a little bit before coming to a dead stop. She could hear her hammer clatter on the floor as well, although where it was, she didn't know. Heaving a sigh, the Big O slowly stood up, shaking his body vigorously as if all of his wounds were just ones of flesh. "Nothing more than a dent!" he said. "Can't say the same for you, though. Quite typical of a mutated being. They always end up weaker than their healthier counterparts." "Stop spittin' up fertilizer..." Mandy, with a tremendous amount of effort, began to stand up. "'Cause I'm not done yet, either!" Once she was on her feet, she ran. She grabbed her hammer and ran at the Big O, with no set attack in mind. All that was flashing through her brain was: Bash his face. Make him suffer. Walk away a winner. Fifteen minutes later, Oprah and the ponies arrived at the Big Office. The same went for Olive and Otto, who received Oprah's message in turn. "I can't believe you cracked and told her!" Oprah said to Peaches as the group (plus Oriella) ran through the halls. "I'm sorry, I didn't have a choice! I'll explain later!" Peaches responded, beginning to book it so that she was ahead of the group, like it was a track-and-field race and she was going to be the winner. As a couple assistants were leaving a nearby room, they were startled by a sudden cry of "It's over this way!" from Otto, causing them to give their own cries of surprise in response. The sound of a laser blast caused Oprah to dig her heels into the floor, coming to a stop directly in the doorway of the Big O's office. She made her way in, as did the others, but everyone decided to remain pressed up against the wall, noting that, based on the small dots and splatters of blood and their locations, it was a generally small battlefield. Still, that didn't mean a lot hadn't supposedly happened within those fifteen minutes. Both Mandy and the Big O were bloodied and badly beaten. In those fifteen minutes, they had exchanged blow after blow with their weapons, each one delivering more wounds than the last. Neither one of them had expected their battle to go on for hours -- or at least, that's how long they thought they were battling for -- but one thing was made abundantly clear: it was all going to end soon. Mandy charged up her horn for another mega-blast of magic. She reared her head upwards and then fired, sending the Big O stumbling backwards a few steps before collapsing on his knees. "Down on your knees. Like a subordinate." Mandy chuckled, either not caring or not noticing that the tip of her horn was starting to blacken. "Funny twist of irony, hmm?" "You're dead, Mandy." "It's been a long battle, Big O. I'd like to see you try and kill me!" She grabbed her hammer and twirled it around in her hand again. "Nothing gets past my hammer. Nothing at a-" Her boast was immediately cut off by a blast of magic aimed right at her hand, sending her hammer flying backwards and colliding with the floor. She clutched her hand in pain, her eardrums picking up on the sound of her weapon clattering to the floor once again. "Her hammer!" The words were only but a whisper on Peaches' lips as her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. "Mandy likely doesn't have much magic in her as it is. She's in a weakened state. If she's going to keep fighting, it has to be with her hammer." Oprah mused. "But the Big O's weakened too, right?" Rainbow asked. "Right, but..." "The Big O may be powerful, but he's still just a kid. The fact that he's withstanding all of this is...honestly incredible." Oriella remarked. "I had no idea Mandy was such a competent fighter." "Trust me, my partner's taken down tougher foes than this one!" Pinkie boasted. "The big chiefaroni is nothin'!" The group watched as Mandy extended her tail until she was able to pick up the hammer with it. It was a power that was certainly common, with Pinkie possessing similar prehensility in her own tail, and it was a power that was very well-known by agents, especially with Mandy's frequent comedic antics. The Big O could only watch as the hybrid's tail delivered her own weapon back to her. "What..." "Oh, this?" Mandy let fly a mighty noblewoman's laugh as she showed her enemy her gift. "It's my prehensile tail! Agent Pinkie Pie taught me how to use that skill. You know, one of the ponies you so badly wanna tame?" She threw her hammer up into the air, the Big O watching it spin and spin before gravity took over and she caught it in her hand again. "So anyway, we'll make this quick. There's one thing I ask of you." "No...she's gonna kill him..." Peaches took a step forward. "Resign." Peaches blinked. A guttural growl rumbled about in the Big O's throat, easily heard by Mandy. "And why...would I do that?" She pointed her hammer towards him. "Because I can send you flying to the next galaxy." She winced as a metallic taste stung her tongue again, and she spit off to her left before continuing. "You underestimate me, boss. I'm not just your average rinky-dink agent. I have done far worse to villains and particularly nasty agents alike, so you'd best take this opportunity to heed my words." The Big O grunted in pain, squeezing his eyes tight. Although he wouldn't admit it, the rush of adrenaline was slowly wearing off, and all he could feel was some of the worst pain imaginable. "Face it. You can't fight anymore." Mandy, by contrast, still had adrenaline flowing through her veins, her brain refusing to let her quit until her enemy had rightfully conceded. For one final attack, the Big O aimed his gadget at Mandy and fired. A miss, although it grazed her hair bow. She rushed over to him as fast as her wings would carry her, grabbed his arm, and twisted it with enough force to break at least one bone inside it. In response, he gave a cry of pain. "Don't try anything funny!" the hybrid warned, baring her teeth and becoming almost nose-to-nose with him. "Oprah...she's gonna kill him." Peaches murmured, feeling her legs begin to shake. "Hold on." the Director advised. "The place is a wreck. Both fighters are on their last legs. Let Mandy and the Big O work this out." "But why, darling?" Rarity asked. "This is their fight. We shouldn't get involved until the timing is right." All Peaches had in response to that was a soft whine. She felt utterly helpless, and wanted to help...but at the same time, she placed enough faith in Oprah's judgment to follow her lead. Swallowing the small lump in her throat, she looked on as a bystander, not noticing that a hefty crowd of assistants had gathered outside the door. Another blast of alicorn magic sent the Big O's way caused his body to once again start flying towards the other side of the room in what was a case of near-deja vu. A scream left him that was immediately cut off when his back collided with the dented wall, as he remained in a standing position for a few moments before landing on his feet, stumbling about like a drunkard, and collapsing onto the floor. Mandy's horn began to sizzle, like someone had put a fresh steak on a hot grill. "I'm giving you an out and yet you still try to fight? Pathetic." she spat, not noticing that she too was stumbling. The Big O's eyes slowly opened, although his vision was hazy, and Mandy was nothing more than a blurred figure. "Stop this. I don't want to fight anymore." the hybrid rasped. "Your regime is nothing but harmful and will bring Odd Squad down to its knees. I'm not going to allow that to happe- aah!" The adrenaline was now starting to wear off for Mandy. She was only faintly aware of her bloody wounds and her broken bones -- although which bones were broken, she wasn't too sure. Her legs began to wobble whenever she stood still, which wasn't for longer than two seconds as she continued to stumble around the room. "Please. We're both injured. If we keep going like this...one of us is going to die." More pain rocketed through the Big O as he gave a low growl in response, his eyes only showing defiance. "All I want is for you to resign. And while you're at it, tell me what King Ashero is planning to do." Oriella blinked. "She's...sparing his life?" "Mandy's always been a pacifist like that." Otto explained. "She never kills." "F-fine!" The Big O grunted. "Fine. He's...he wants to take...Peaches and you...back...for failing...to find who...burned Vallea down." "And what will he do with us?" "Don't...know..." A pained huff left Mandy's lungs. "Of course-" She was interrupted again by another bolt of pain, to which she let out a hearty cry, gripping her arm tight. Her horn began to shoot out loose sparks of magic. "My magic's completely drained..." She sighed. "Just resign. Odd Squad will go easy on you if you resign from your position as the Big O." "N-neve- aah!" A gushing sound filled Mandy's ears, although she wasn't sure whether she was imagining things or not. Her vision started to grow hazy, but she could see that her enemy's left arm was spewing out blood at a rather fantastical rate. "Blood..." she whispered. With a wobble, down went the second contender on her knees. "J-just resign...we can't fight anymore...we're both badly injured..." she wheezed, feeling her eyes slowly starting to close but some unknown equal force fighting to keep them open. "She's going to die!" Olive's voice was practically a scream, although she didn't care who heard her or what happened. Oprah went to restrain her before she could rush over to Mandy and ruin the chance for the fight to conclude in a proper manner. "Pinkie, Fluttershy, find Twilight. Free her if you have to, and bring her back to Headquarters." The two mares nodded and quickly dashed off, dodging the large crowd of assistants (who were giving confused murmurs) as best they could. "I can't believe it...this is where Mandy's life is gonna end!" Otto remarked, feeling tears start to prick at the corner of his eyes. "Rainbow Dash, fly over to the Academy and get the Odd Squad Doctors. Now!" Rainbow nodded at Oprah's next command, speeding off and leaving a rainbow trail behind. "What about us, darling?" Rarity asked, gesturing to her and Applejack. "Stay here." "Fine!" came the final cry from the Big O, followed by a grunt. "I'll...I'll..." "Resign...!" Mandy coughed. "Oh good..." A few more pained breaths, a mighty exhale, and with another collapse, she went from kneeling to lying down, her hammer loosening from her grip. Her eyes began to close, for good, now. The force that was making them stay open had mysteriously vanished. She gambled with the pain that throbbed all over her body to give a few parting words, her mouth forming into a smile. "Thank you...for making the right decision." She could have sworn she heard Olive cry out her name before she lost consciousness. Mandy's eyes slowly opened. Her view was that of a white rectangular-tiled ceiling, a bright light illuminating the room. "Oh thank Leo, she's waking up!" ...Peach...? She tried to sit up, but a bout of pain stopped that in an instant. She grit her teeth together, but it didn't stop a small, high-pitched cry of pain from eking out. "Don't sit up just yet." urged a voice that she could identify as belonging to Oprah. "You must be in a lot of pain." "Where's...the Big O..." she wheezed, her lungs still feeling constricted. "The Big O is resting up in the Medical building of the Academy." Olive spoke, now. "He's in pretty bad shape, but he's expected to make a full recovery." Dr. O, hunched over a jar of cotton balls, turned around. "Mandy took some bad hits during her fight with the Big O." he explained to the group. "It will take her a few days to reach a functioning point in her recovery." "Just as long as she's not dead!" Olive said, holding a hand to her heart. "According to my analysis, she experienced a 'power-strain blackout'. Once her magic went, she began to gradually lose energy until she eventually collapsed and fainted. Adrenaline was a major factor in keeping her going, but once it wore off, that was it." "Will her magic ever be restored? Fully?" Oprah asked. "Not for a few more days, which is why I'll be keeping her here for today and monitoring her magic levels as she rests in the Bedroom beginning tomorrow." That's right...I'm in a hospital bed. Dr. O's office. I'm back home. Mandy could see now that Olive, Otto, Peaches and Oprah had all come to see her, but there were no signs of the ponies anywhere. "T-Twilight..." she rasped. "Twilight is fine, Mandy." Olive smiled. "Rest assured, we'll tell you all the details when you get better, all right? For now, I'm just glad you're okay." Mandy tried to smile, but she couldn't. Instead, her eyes began to involuntarily close again as a soft hum left her. "Thank you, Dr. O." "You should be thanking Agent Rainbow Dash." Dr. O explained to Olive. "If she hadn't alerted the Odd Squad Doctors, we never would have been able to get Mandy any treatment, and she likely wouldn't have even survived the fight." Oprah couldn't resist giving a smug smile for being the one with the quick commanding skills. "Come on. Let's give Mandy and Dr. O some breathing room." She beckoned Olive, Peaches and Otto to follow her out of the Medical Bay. As Olive closed the door, Otto asked, "So who's gonna be the new Big O?" "I'm not sure. Many of the assistants I spoke to tell me they want Mandy to be the new Big O, but..." She glanced down at the ground and awkwardly rubbed her forearm, falling silent. "You don't want to let her go." Olive murmured, an understanding smile settling on her face. Oprah's eyes widened, and she gazed at Olive for a few moments before shaking her head and giving a bout of nervous laughter. "No, no, I-I don't mind, really, I mean she's free to do what she wants, and..." Olive and Otto both gave her skeptical looks. "All right, fine, I don't want her to go." Oprah conceded. "It's just that...Mandy's been the heart of this precinct for as long as she's been an agent. When times were tough, Mandy helped pull us back up. She's helped us so much, and she's one of my best agents in part because of that. And if I lose her...I don't know who will be a more worthy second-in-command." Peaches flicked an ear. "Why don't we let Mandy herself make a choice when she recovers? Odd Squad can still mostly function without a Big O." Her eyes widened slightly, and she absentmindedly scratched her cheek. "Uh, I-I'm sure." "I guess..." "Hey, look on the bright side. The Big O is defeated, and his plans are effectively squashed into the ground too." Otto said, before his expression brightened and he snapped his fingers, an idea forming in his head. "Why don't you take advantage of these days of Mandy's recovery to alert other precincts of what went down?" "Yeah! Otto and I plan on doing just that when we get back to our own precinct." Olive nodded. "It'll be nice to spread the word." "That's not a bad idea. It would be weird for only us to be in the loop on what happened. I'll go do that now." Oprah began making her way towards her office just a couple doors down, but not before snatching a fruit punch juice box from hammerspace and beginning to guzzle it like mad. "I hope she'll be all right." Peaches mused. "Ah, she'll be fine." Otto waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, Oprah always tends to bounce back from most situations eventually. Everything will be fine in no time!" In spite of Olive's encouragement, however, no one could deny the fear that was clawing at their insides and securing a vicegrip on their hearts. The fear that Mandy might leave them, to ascend to a higher position for the sake of the organization that was the only family she ever knew. Surprisingly -- or perhaps unsurprisingly, given who this was -- Mandy made a relatively quick recovery. Just like Dr. O said, she got better in only a week, although it was clear her broken bones and her wounds needed more time to heal than that. She gave a soft moan as her eyes opened once again, this time her vision meeting a different white ceiling with star and moon stickers plastered on it. Her moan turned into a soft hum as she began to regain consciousness, recognizing exactly where she was. The Bedroom, after all, was one of her most frequented places. "Ugh, my head...what even happened..." she murmured, her gaze sweeping the room as she ran a hand through her hair. Her bow was gone -- a sensation that felt weird to her since she wore it every day and every night, from the time she woke up to the time she went to bed. The door opened, and Dr. O walked in. "Hmm? Oh, you're awake!" A relieved sigh escaped his lips. "With your sleeping habits, I assumed you'd be knocked out for a month, at least." Mandy started to say something, but the second she opened her mouth, a yawn interrupted her. "How are you feeling, Mandy?" "Well, I have a headache..." "Here, take these." Dr. O reached behind his back and pulled out a small cup with two round white pills inside of it, "and here's a glass of water." Mandy took the pills without hesitation, tossing them into her mouth and drinking the entire cup of water. She gave a satisfied sigh when she was finished. "Other than that, are you feeling okay?" "For the most part..." "According to diagnostic reports, your magic is now completely restored. In the future, try not to strain yourself so hard." Dr. O smiled. "Well, in all fairness, the battle did last a long time. Like, really long!" "I'm sure." Dr. O gestured towards the door. "Now, I believe there are some agents who wish to see you." Mandy gasped, feeling 99% correct in knowing who the "some agents" were. "Take me to 'em!" she chirped, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and wincing when a bolt of pain shot through them. Much to her surprise, they weren't broken during the battle -- a result of the Big O aiming well above her legs for all of his attacks. Her gut area and chest area, on the other hand, as well as her left arm, didn't fare off so well. Her arm was in a well-wrapped cast with a support brace, while gauze was wrapped tightly around her stomach. She looked like she completely half-assed making a mummy costume. Grunting, she followed Dr. O out of the Bedroom, excitement flowing through her. "Dr. O's taking a while..." Olive heaved a sigh. "Aww, don't worry." Otto reassured, his mouth stuffed full of pancakes. "He'll be out shoon, I'm shure!" Sure enough, as soon as he swallowed his bite, Dr. O emerged from the hallway and met the group of nine in the Breakroom. "Hi, guys! Sorry for the long wait." Trailing behind him was none other than Mandy herself, who gave a meek wave. "Mandy!" came the joyous unisonant cry, as everyone quickly gathered around her like paparazzi gathering around an out-and-about celebrity. Of course, unlike most paparazzi, the group took extra care not to aggravate her wounds. "C'mere, you!" Olive scooped up her daughter in a ferocious hug. Oh odd, is this what it feels like when I hug people?! It was a question she had asked before, but for some reason, it only existed as a brief thought before flying out of an ear. Olive's hugs, however, could easily rival hers. She began to choke, pain rocketing through her body again. "Ow, M-Momma, not so hard...choking, choking, no air, much pain!" "Oh! Sorry!" Olive gave a sheepish smile as she set Mandy down. "I'm just so happy you've gotten better!" "We all are." Mandy's head swiveled towards Oprah and Twilight, the latter of whom approached the hybrid in a surprisingly stable state and gave a smile. "Twilight! Oh, you're okay!" Mandy smiled. "Thank goodness. I was kinda slipping into unconsciousness, but I coulda sworn I heard somethin' about chains and cages..." It had been a faint memory at best, but both words were etched into her mind. Her eyes widened, the smile faded from her face, and she gasped as she came to a realization. "You weren't..." "I was." Twilight sadly nodded. "The Big O had me chained up in a magic-proof cage until he could 'domesticate' me. Luckily, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy came and rescued me, and they told me about your fight with the Big O." She sighed and took a seat on the floor, burying her face in her hooves. "It was awful being his assistant. He banned magic and flying, and he didn't let me go back to Equestria at all!" "Well, I gave him the what-for, so he won't be messing you anymore! It's a Pinkie Promise!" Mandy eagerly went through the motions. "I don't know what I would have done if I had stayed as his assistant, or what would've happened to me, but...it was like I couldn't speak up, unless I wanted to lose my job." Twilight gazed at her friend with hope shimmering in her violet eyes. "Thank you, Mandy. You saved me." "Aww, no prob! What're friends for?" Mandy smiled and knelt down as the pair exchanged a long hug, Twilight making sure to avoid touching her bandaged arm in the process. "Mandy?" Oprah piped up. "After the battle, I spoke to the Big O's assistants about finding a replacement for him, and...a lot of them want you to step up." "Me?" The hybrid broke free and stood back up, wincing slightly at the strange sensation that briefly rocketed through her legs. "I'll admit, I really don't want you to leave. You've worked in this precinct for a long time, and I know it's practically like a home to you. But after thinking it over, I've realized that it's ultimately your decision. And I won't stop you if you do decide to become the new head of Odd Squad." Mandy blinked. She looked from Twilight to the rest of the group, all giving her looks of pity and sadness. They might as well have just flexed their archery skills and shot arrows at her heart, the looks were so piercing. It almost made her want to cry. But leaving Precinct 13579...it was a laughable prospect. Becoming the leader of every single Odd Squad precinct on the entire planet Earth...that was even more of a laughable prospect. And so, she laughed. Her lungs ached after a few seconds, no thanks to her still-broken ribs, but she let her body ride her through the motions of laughter as she tried to imagine herself as the Big O, dealing with agents and oddness and sending the organization into complete and utter chaos on the first day. Whatever sadness came with the thought of leaving behind the agents who were essentially her family was easily trumped. "Huh? What's so funny?" Oprah tilted her head. Finally, with a snort, Mandy pointed. "Ahh, Oprah, you're funny!" She downgraded to snickering. "What makes you think this tail's headin' out that door for good? I don't wanna be the Big O!" Straightening up, she wiped her tears away. "All that responsibility of every single precinct in the world on my shoulders...it's terrifying to think about!" Oprah's eyes widened. "So you're...staying here?" "Yup! Bein' an Investigation agent's what I love to do the most, and Precinct 13579's where I love to do it, so that's where I'm stayin'!" Sighs of relief rippled through the group. Oprah, however, looked about ready to cry. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that." Her voice was a near-whisper, and it was only on the last word that tears began falling down her face. "Oprah, you're...you're crying!" "I know." She stepped forward and enveloped Mandy in a hug, which surprised her but still left her open to accept it and hug her back. "Wait. Who's gonna replace the Big O if you're not gonna step up?" Otto asked, just before Olive nudged him in an effort to get him to stop ruining the mood. Luckily, Mandy didn't care too much. A knowing smile formed on her face. "I may have a likely candidate in mind!" "With all that being said, it is with pleasure and joy that I pronounce Oriella as the new Big O of Odd Squad!" Cheers and claps erupted from the audience to such an extent they were almost deafening. Still, once she was zapped with the Big-O-inator gadget and her assistant uniform was transformed into that of an agent in the position of Big O, Oriella marched forward, taking her spot at the podium as Mandy moved off to the side. She looked out over the audience, at the view of the walkway that lined the Big Office's entrance, and smiled. "Thank you!" She cleared her throat. "I-I've served as the Big O's assistant for a long time, and like other assistants, I always followed his lead because it would mean that I would lose my job otherwise. When I told Mandy the truth about him and saw her fighting him to protect Odd Squad, I knew exactly how bad my...no, our boss had become. His goals would not benefit our fair organization, and it certainly didn’t fit our modus operandi of 'all are equal, and all belong'." Her head swiveled towards Mandy. "I want to thank Mandy for that. And I promise, as long as I am the Big O, I will work to make Odd Squad a rightful organization, a fair organization, one that treats humans and ponies of equal measure! Now let me hear you say it!" "All are equal, and all belong!" the crowd roared, before going into another round of eardrum-shattering cheers and applause. Oriella stepped off of the podium and rushed over to hug Mandy -- perhaps her ten-millionth hug today. The hybrid didn't know; she stopped counting. "Thank you, Mandy. For not only saving all of us assistants, but the entirety of Odd Squad. You are always welcome at the Big Office anytime as long as I rule." "I'll take you up on that whenever it's needed!" Mandy chirped. "And as long as I live and breathe, we can be bestest friends forever!" "It's a deal!" The two girls shared a hearty laugh, although it was easily drowned out by the roar of the crowd below them. Later in the evening, Mandy had resolved to get some paperwork done instead of staying in bed, relying on painkillers to ward off any pain, either from walking or otherwise. It was quite unfortunate for her that she was left-handed, but her having a horn she could use telekinesis with was something fortunate to counteract it. "Hey, Mandy?" Peaches approached her from where she had entered the bullpen through the steel double-doors. "I...need to apologize. For thinking that you were going to kill the Big O." She sighed. "I understand now that you never kill anyone. You're just not that kind of person." A wink. "You're a mean one with the hammer, though. Now that I can admire." "Mmm..." Mandy stretched her arm upwards, wincing but not flinching upon hearing her spine pop. "Uh-huh, sure, but do you have a massager for my back?" Peaches rolled her eyes, not bothering to ask if her cousin had heard anything she just said. "I'll get you one later as a gift." "Make sure you get one from the bath shop store, pwease? The good one where the nice lady lets me smell all the stuff inside!" Mandy chirped. "They have the best massagers! And some goooooood massage chairs..." "Duly noted." Peaches felt a warm sensation in her chest, although whether it was Mandy's good mood rubbing off on her or her happy fantasy of using a massage chair was anyone's guess. "Oh, and there's something I need to ask you. About King Ashero." That snapped Mandy back to reality. She blinked and then took a swig of juice. "Fire away! My four ears are open!" "What was the Big O conspiring with him about?" Mandy's face fell. "Oh, that. He..." She didn't say anything for a few seconds, instead fidgeting with her fingers and looking down at her lap. Those few seconds were painstaking for Peaches, and she was about to snap at Mandy for her to get on with it before she spoke again. "He wants to...take us back to Vallea. For not finding who burnt it down." The catgirl's heart stopped. Her pupils and irises both shrunk to the size of thumbtacks. "W-what? But...I haven't even been searching for that long! Toronto's only one of the first locales I've visited! Does he expect me to find the suspect in a matter of months?!" "The King also knows about me, too...I guess the Big O wanted to capture me when he defeated me, but that didn't happen." Mandy vaguely remembered something Olive said...something about the Big O having come out of the entire scuffle alive and being treated. It scared her slightly. Even with how powerful she was, she had to keep a watchful eye out for her surroundings -- who knew what the Big O was going to do when he fully recovered? Would he continue trying to capture her? Would he give up the fight? She didn't know. It was that unpredictability that scared her. Her eyes began to well up with tears as she made eye contact with Peaches. "Cuz..." "Yeah?" "I'm gonna protect you. No nasty king's gonna take my cousin away!" Mandy declared. "You deserve to find out who destroyed your town. So I wanna help you, as best I can!" As she blinked, tears began to roll down her face, but she paid no mind to them. "I feel like I've already reiterated this, but I'm doin' it again, baby! Whoo!" "You don't have to do that." Peaches shook her head. "It was my town that was burned down, after all." "Hey, the more people and ponies the better! Besides, I can fly higher than you, and it's always best to search from really really high in the air." Mandy gasped. "And we can travel! Traveling buddies!" "Okay, 'traveling buddies' may be a bit much." Peaches waved her hand. "I still have to get used to your back!" "No time like the present!" Mandy hopped off of her chair and spread her wings, leaning downwards. "Hop on! Besides, this chapter's long overstayed its welcome. We gotta do somethin' cool to end it, the thing's gonna be nearly 20,000 words!" "What?" "Just hop on!" "Okay..." Hesitantly, Peaches did as she was told, hoisting herself up onto Mandy's back. "Now clutch onto my neck! I go really really fast!" Mandy chirped. "That's how Momma fell off the first few times. Didn't bode so well for her..." Peaches was hesitant about this, too -- she didn't want to aggravate any of Mandy's wounds, and so, she tried to grab her shoulder blades. "Is this good? Does it hurt?" "Yes, and not any more than a pinchy-winchy!" Mandy's wings began to flap. "Oh cattails." "And away we gooooooo!" A yowl echoed through the bullpen and carried throughout the Trophy Room and the Tube Lobby. "I told you, I go fast!" Mandy called, laughing as she made her way towards the emergency stairs. The kitsune heaved a sigh as she laid her head down onto the grass. What a strong fighter. One who is willing to go to whatever lengths are needed to protect her friends and her family, even if it kills her. I must get into contact with her soon. Vallea's attacks will only grow stronger and stronger. Now more than ever, she needs me to guide her. Her gaze drifted towards the sky, with its white rolling clouds. But I must be careful. If Vallea spots me, too, then it will all be over. I cannot allow that to happen. Mandy...please, stay strong and stay safe. I am coming for you. I promise. S1E10: Cutie Mark Crusader Odd Squad Agents, Yay!Pinkie laughed and snorted as her eyes fell upon what was placed on Mandy's desk. Mandy, on the other hand, was not so receptive. There, sitting on a plate, was some weird and disgusting brown conglomerate of food that she had only seen once when she went to some New York precinct and met the Director there who was a master of making food that looked just like that. It was shaped like gelatin, and didn't have much of a smell to it -- at least, nothing she could sense. She wasn't surprised it didn't erode the plate on contact. "This thing?" "Yes!" Mandy looked towards Otto and then back again. Wincing, she slowly extended a finger towards the gelatinous edible object and poked it, her stomach doing flips as it wobbled. I have to tell him, don't I... She buried her face in her hands, only letting her eyes peek out. It was lucky that she hardly had anything in her, and rarely anything made her overly nauseous -- she would have been voted "The Agent Least Likely to Get Carsick, Ferris-Wheel-Sick, or Airplane-in-Space-Sick" by Odd Squad Magazine if such a category existed. Otto's cooking, however, was on another level. It was the stuff of nightmares. Finally, wanting to relieve the tension in the air, she sighed. "Er, Otto...if I hafta be honest with you..." She couldn't stand to look at the food anymore, and made eye contact with him. "I think you should stick to eating food, and not...making it?" Otto's eyes widened. "What?" "Momma wasn't kidding when she said meatballs were your strong suit. This looks like it can kill me the moment it enters my tummy!" "Just try it!" he urged. "You'll like it. You eat everything else!" Mandy's mind was screaming "no" at her, but her body was telling her that yes, she needed food. And there was food right in front of her. One bite wouldn't kill her. ...No wait, it probably would. Immortality only goes so far. She groaned. "Okay, fine. But if I get sick...I'm coming to yooooour hoooouse!" she called in singsong. "Fine, whatever, just eat it!" Pinkie excitedly clapped her hooves together, a grin settled on her face. Taking a deep breath, she quickly snatched the spoon, scooped up a piece, and shoved into her mouth in only a few swift movements. Some people had tiny bands in their mouths that would be killed by this food -- if not by large bites of it, then by its contents. She had taste buds that were far sturdier and began to scream when the piece slid across them in a most unnatural manner. Her hair and tail bushed out and stuck straight upwards. Somehow, she managed to swallow her piece, feeling it slide down her esophagus and head towards her stomach, with acids inside of it that would hopefully disintegrate most of the bite for good. She coughed...no, that wasn't an accurate description. She hacked. She hacked like what every pet owner's nightmare was right before their pet started to throw up. Her body heaved and heaved, either trying to force the bite down or force it back up and out. "Partner!" Pinkie put her hooves up on the desk, looking for something Mandy could swallow. When nothing presented itself, she resorted to reaching into her mane and pulling out a two-quart bottle of apple juice, using her forelock to screw open the cap and pop it off. "Here, Otto, give this to her!" Otto, still shocked by what he was seeing, hastily grabbed the bottle and shoved it right into Mandy's mouth. Immediately, the taste of the juice began to wash away the horrid taste of whatever he had just made, and she eagerly grabbed the bottle in her shaking hands and drank it all. Pinkie and Otto could only stare, the latter with a look of utmost disbelief and the former with a look of surprise that her partner was pretty much chugging the thing. "B-but I baked the recipe to a T! I don't get it!" Otto exclaimed when Mandy was nearly done with the bottle. A few more swigs, and she set it down, giving a mighty sigh. "Yeah?" She side-eyed him. "Momma said the same thing about your chocolate creme pie!" "It was good!" "You idiot, it dented her pie server! Pies aren't supposed to be hard!" The two agents faced each other with growls rumbling about in their throats. Mandy, however, had something else rumbling about, and she covered her mouth as a mighty belch came forth. "Pardon." she said, although she didn't take her eyes off of Otto. The sound of the automatic doors opening put a brief halt on the duo's hostility, and they, along with Pinkie, turned to see Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash walk into the bullpen, along with three fillies standing next to them. "Hey y'all, gather 'round! We got some ponies we'd like y'all t' meet!" Agents in the bullpen began to approach the group, noticing the new arrivals and murmuring amongst themselves. Mandy, Pinkie and Otto made their way forth as well. "This is Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash introduced, as an orange Pegasus filly with a feather-shaped purple mane and tail stepped forward. "She kinda looks up to me as an older sister." "And this is my sister, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity went next, pushing a unicorn filly forward who had white fur and a mane and tail that was half violet and half pink. "And this is my sister Apple Bloom." Applejack glanced at her younger sister, who made her way forward. She had yellow fur and a red mane and tail, complete with a pink bow that was larger than Mandy's own. Mandy glanced at the flanks of each of their fillies -- they all had their cutie marks. Yeah, I remember Dash, AJ and Rarity telling me that their sisters had gotten their cutie marks a while ago...and they're all similar to each other, too. As the three fillies gave their greetings, the crowd's murmurs grew excited. Agents introduced themselves eagerly and began shaking hooves and hands. "Agent Applejack and Agent Rarity have sisters?" Otto asked. "Yeah, they've brought them up before, but I've never actually met them." Mandy explained, before she turned to the crowd and made a sweeping motion with her hands. "Part the way, please!" she called. Agents did as they were told and gave the group some breathing room. "So you three fillies are these mares' sisters, huh?" she asked, turning around to face them. "Yeah!" Scootaloo said. "Well, not an actual sister, but Rainbow Dash and I have a bond that's totally like sisters!" "You're Mandy, right?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head. "Yup! Agent 57 at your service! Nice to meetcha!" Mandy chirped, gesturing to Otto. "And this is Otto. He works at the Odd Squad precinct in the next town over from here." "Odd Squad precinct?" Apple Bloom's expression brightened. "Our sisters told us all about Odd Squad!" Sweetie Belle's did, as well. "Yeah, and we'd really really like to join!" Rounding out the enlightened expressions was Scootaloo, ending her sentence as she gave a big toothy grin. Mandy responded with a nervous chuckle. "Um, w-well, I can't help you with that, unfortunately. But I know someone who can! Be right back, okay?" Spreading her wings, she quickly soared up to the second floor and poked her head into Oprah's office, wondering how the Director hadn't heard the commotion before realizing she had an earbud in. "Oprah?" "Hm?" Oprah took her earbud out. "Oh, Mandy, hi. What's going on?" "Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are here with their sisters, who want to join Odd Squad." "They do?" "They seem like very nice fillies. I'm on board with sending 'em to the Academy!" On the word "fillies", something in Oprah's brain clicked. Her face lit up like that of a kid who was told they just won a lifetime's supply of candy. "Let me see!" Her voice was practically a squeak, a rather drastic change from the steely voice she usually had. She quickly scrambled out of her seat, forgetting all about her music player, and followed Mandy downstairs. "You three brought your sisters?" she asked as she descended the staircase. "We sure did, Ms. O!" Applejack nodded. "This here's my sister Apple Bloom, and that there's Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They're the Cutie Mark Crusaders." "Who are you?" "My name is Ms. O. I'm the head of this Odd Squad precinct, 13579. I heard you'd like to join Odd Squad." Oprah smiled. "In that case, I'd love to have you join!" "Yes!" Scootaloo cheered. "However, you need to go through training at the Odd Squad Academy first. You'll learn about our organization and how to combat oddness. Are you up for it?" The fillies each gave excited cheers of agreement. "Wonderful!" Oprah could feel the excitement growing within her. "Agent Rarity, Agent Applejack, Agent Rainbow Dash, please take them there posthaste and have them enrolled." "Of course, darling." Rarity nodded. The trio ushered the three fillies out of the bullpen, all of them talking excitedly amongst themselves. When the automatic doors closed, Oprah giggled. "This is so great! I can't thank you enough, Mandy!" "Huh? What did I do?" "You let me meet these three wonderful fillies, of course! They're going to be amazing additions to Precinct 13579, I just know it!" Mandy gazed at Otto and Pinkie, who both gave her confused shrugs in response. Neither one of them knew what was going on with Oprah. "Ooookaaaaay, who died and gave you their happy pills?" was the only question the hybrid could ask right now, feeling utterly confused herself as to why her boss was acting so out-of-character. All said boss did, though, was giddily laugh again, and then turn on her heel as she went back up to her office. Mandy took an inhale. "What?" The sound of a yawn cut into her dazed stupor, and she turned her head towards the right hallway entrance to see Peaches emerge, rubbing her eyes. "Jeez, it is still daytime...?" she murmured, before her eyes caught the sight of her cousin. "Oh, hi, Mandy. You look a little...lost in thought." "Hm?" Mandy blinked and vigorously shook her head. "Ahahaha, no, no, I'm not lost in thought! See, the sisters of Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity came by and wanted to join Odd Squad. So Oprah accepted. They're on their way to the Academy now." "That's good. It'll help boost the numbers a little bit. Why so concerned?" "'Cuz Oprah was a little too...giddy for my taste." Mandy twiddled her fingers about. "Like real talk, I haven't seen her that happy since Shmumbers came out with the limited-edition Jumbo Jivin' Juiceboxes!" She shuddered. "It's so unnerving...she never smiles like that." "Well, if it makes you feel any better..." Pinkie trotted up to her partner, Otto following behind her. "I can do a certified Pinkie Pie Smile Analysis, Brief Edition!" "S-sure, I guess." "Hmmm..." Pinkie stared at Oprah's office and squinted, the gears in her anomaly of a mind clicking and turning. Finally, she came to a conclusion. "Ah! Okay, so her smile was totally legitimate. Waaaaay outta character for her, but legitimate! She's super-duper happy about this!" "Why?" Otto asked. "Agents being picked to join her precinct are pretty routine. What's so special about Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in particular?" "I dunno." Pinkie shrugged. "Maybe she just had one too many juice boxes?" "She doesn't really get like that when she's had one too many." Mandy shook her head. "Maybe she's just excited about having new agents?" Peaches offered. "I'm sure the excitement will wear off after a while." "Maybe. Hopefully." Mandy continued to gaze up at Oprah's office, a hefty sigh escaping her as she hoped her cousin was right on the money. At around 9:00 in the morning the next day, Mandy's sleep was disturbed by the Bedroom door slamming open so hard that one would be surprised it didn't come off of its hinges. Well, there was an attempt at disturbing her sleep, anyway. One that failed spectacularly. "GUESS WHAT TODAY IS?!" came the cacophonic cry of one charged and crazy Director, splitting grin a mile wide and brown eyes sparkling with glee. Instead of her usual Director uniform, she had on a grey shirt with the Odd Squad seal on it and grey sweatpants, complete with purple hoodie (the Management department symbol sewed on her left, of course) and a whistle hanging from a sparkly purple necklace -- the perfect outfit for training. A snore was her only response. "It's time for you to watch me train the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" She rushed over, yanked the sheets off of Mandy, and grabbed ahold of her ankles. "Come, come!" Mandy could feel something on her body being grabbed, but it wasn't like she had any energy to spare in trying to instinctively attack whoever was grabbing it. She gave a soft moan as her body hit the floor and was promptly dragged across it, out of the room and at the complete mercy of Oprah. A few minutes later, the hybrid was positioned upright in a chair, still asleep and still giving raucous snores. The room that Oprah had taken her to was a gym of some kind, complete with weights, punching bags, and a boxing ring, where the Crusaders were located. "Now, the first thing you'll learn is how to use gadgets." Oprah reached behind her back and pulled out one, coated in a particular substance that made it have a frozen appearance. Littering the gadget were designs of various snowflakes. "See this one?" The fillies nodded. "This gadget is called the Freeze-inator. Can anyone guess what it does?" "Uhh, it freezes stuff?" Apple Bloom guessed. The other two fillies had to resist rolling their eyes at how obvious the question was. "Right! I should have taken out a harder gadget, huh?" Oprah chuckled. "Now, each of you try and use it on those three statues." The Crusaders looked at the statues. They were small, only about as tall as them, but they all depicted Oprah in various poses. Eagerly, Apple Bloom took the gadget from Oprah's grasp and began fumbling with it, not used to holding such a bulky object in her hooves. Still, she did her best, and successfully froze one statue. "Whoa." Sweetie Belle breathed, touching a hoof to her own horn as she began to feel rather jealous that she couldn't do crazy magic like that. She and Scootaloo each had their turns, with Scootaloo finding it no less easier than Apple Bloom to grip and use the gadget due to her small wings (meaning she couldn't use them as an extra set of fingers) while Sweetie Belle had an easier time due to being a unicorn who could wield the power of telekinesis. "Gadgets are how Odd Squad agents solve cases." Oprah explained. "There are 10,000 of them currently in existence, but Scientists are always building more." "Huh. So Scientists are the ones who build gadgets?" Apple Bloom asked. "Yep, and they often build other useful devices too. If ever you have a gadget issue, go to them." "That's so awesome!" Scootaloo got stars in her eyes. "It is, isn't it?" Oprah pretended that the Pegasus filly's comment also referred to her joining Odd Squad, and that made her smile more. "Now, let me show you a few of the more frequently-used gadgets. Once I give you a tour of Headquarters, we'll head out onto the field to try them out!" The Crusaders were so busy cheering that they didn't notice Mandy topple backwards in her chair upon giving a mighty snore, scratching her tummy as her slumber continued on. About an hour-and-a-half later, the group returned, feeling exhilarated. The fillies each looked a little worse for wear, but that didn't stop their enthusiasm any. "Okay, now that you're familiar with some gadgets..." Oprah wiped off some stray grass that was caked onto her knee. "Let's give you three a personalized tour of Headquarters!" "Yeah!" came the unisonant cry as the trio rushed for the door. Apple Bloom, however, was hesitant when she reached it, and turned around. "Wait, what about Mandy?" she asked. "Ah, forget about her. She'll be fine." Oprah waved a dismissive hand, glancing at the hybrid and giving a bemused roll of her eyes before following the fillies out the door. Before she did, however, she made sure to turn the lights off. "Zzquare's fittin' n' round cracker..." Mandy sleepily murmured, the sound of her own snores and sleep-talking being the only noise in the room. The darkness aided well in letting her slip deeper into sleep, and from then on in, not even the sounds of a nuclear explosion could wake her up. Peaches, Otto and Olive walked through the hallways, calling out Mandy's name for any sign of her. Peaches' heightened sense of hearing and smell also lent themselves well to the search, although neither one of them was particularly helpful. "Ugh, where could she have gotten off to?" Olive asked, opening her mouth to call out her daughter's name again before she was promptly shushed by Peaches. "Wait, I hear something!" the catgirl said, straining her ears and picking up on a faint rumbling sound. "This way!" She ran, and both Directors eagerly followed her as they snaked through a couple more hallways. Finally, they reached their destination -- a room with a painting of a weight and a pair of boxing gloves on its red door. Peaches hadn't seen this room before, but Olive and Otto both recognized it well as the aptly-named Gym Room. The door was opened, and what met their visions was absolute darkness. Or, well, what met Olive's and Otto's visions were absolute darkness. Peaches had another ability on her side, and she could easily pinpoint Mandy even without it. "I hear her." she said. "It's so pitch-black in here!" Otto remarked, flicking the light switch up and down repeatedly only to find that nothing was happening. Whatever had happened to the lights after Oprah and the fillies had left was a mystery. "And the lights don't work." "No problem! I can see in the dark. Stay there." Peaches reassured. She stepped inside, easily spotting the shape of Mandy lying on the floor amidst everything else in the room. At one point, she heard bugs skittering, and found that some of them had made their way onto Mandy's body -- no doubt mistaking her for a corpse that was ready to be consumed. But the rise and fall of the hybrid's stomach, plus the strident snores and silly sleep-talking she was giving off, warded a lot of them away. Peaches gave a soft moan as she picked Mandy up in her hands, nearly collapsing from just how heavy she was. Which was saying quite a lot, given how generally lightweight she actually was. "Cuz, why are you here? It's so dark...were you sleepwalking or something?" All that answered her was, of course, more snoring and more gibberish. "C'mon, let's get you back to bed." Something tickled the catgirl's nose, causing her to sneeze. "Mm, all this dust..." she murmured, shaking it off of her hand and making a mental note to have someone sweep the room. Olive and Otto made way for the duo, closing the door behind them as they walked out. "Why is she covered in dust?" Olive asked, surprised that no dust bunnies (literally or figuratively) had called Mandy's suit home yet. As if on cue, Mandy snorted, and she gave a mighty sneeze of her own. Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment. "Look, she's waking up!" Otto's comment was met with a loud yawn as Mandy stretched her body out. Peaches had to fight to not to let her slip out of her grasp. "Hi there!" Olive gave a friendly wave. "Where 'm I...?" Mandy lifted her head up and narrowed her eyes. "Peach...?" "Hi." Peaches smiled. "We found you in some dark room-" "The Gym Room." Olive pointed out. "Right...the Gym Room." Peaches' brow furrowed in confusion, not understanding what this precinct needed a Gym Room for. "Anyway, we found you there and we were going to take you back to the Bedroom..." "Really?" Another loud yawn escaped Mandy. "Didn't even noti-i-i-" Her nose wrinkled and she sneezed again, sniffling as she raised her arm. "N' I'm covered with dust..." "Why don't I go see if the washer's open? I'll stick your suit in the wash for you!" Otto offered, moving to help Mandy take her jacket off. "Otto, maybe it would be best if we got her a pair of shorts, too...and if we did this in the privacy of the Bedroom?" Olive said, hoping her partner would pick up what she was implying. "Oh." He blinked. "Ohhh...right. Sorry." Taking a couple steps back, his face began to flush and he gave a nervous chuckle. "Moving on...do you want me to make you breakfast, Mandy?" To Olive's surprise, Mandy shook her head. "Mm-mm. Today's a sleepin' day for me..." "Mandy? Denying food?" Otto chuckled. "Wow, I never thought I'd see the day that happened! Talk about odd!" "She rejected your abomination from yesterday. Which was food, right?" "I-" Otto stammered. "S-shut up, partner." "Mandy, you're not really planning on sleeping all day, are you?" "Will Oprah even let you do that?" Peaches tilted her head. "Go ask her..." Mandy yawned again. "Talked m' four ears off all last night m'bout the Cutie Mark Cruzzaderzz..." "The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" "That's the collective name of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They're Applejack's, Rarity's, and Rainbow Dash's respective sisters." Otto explained to Olive. "Uh, well, Rainbow Dash isn't really Scootaloo's sister, but...y-you know what, it's complicated." He waved his hands. "Anyway, they want to be Odd Squad agents, so they're attending the Academy." "Not anymore...they're trainin' under Oprah now..." Yet another yawn left Mandy's body as her eyes began to droop. "Why? Were they kicked out?" Olive asked. "Who knows. Oprah was acting really happy, though. Like, she was gushing over the fillies. Or so Mandy tells me." Peaches remarked, absentmindedly scratching her cheek. "Hmm...maybe she had second thoughts about sending them to the Academy and wanted to train them herself?" Olive offered, although she couldn't really make heads or tails of her old boss's new mentality on this whole issue. "Wait, if Oprah trains the fillies on her own, will they still be accepted as agents?" Otto asked. "I...don't know." Olive had to admit, for all her knowledge on Odd Squad, Otto's question stumped her. Both of them had attended the Academy, and she knew of no loopholes otherwise. "Agents are picked at the Academy by Directors themselves, and are promoted that way. But if a Director takes it upon themselves to train agents..." She trailed off, her mind beginning to swirl with so many questions that she felt like she was on the verge of a headache. "Why don't you go and ask the Big O?" Peaches asked. "You can do it while Mandy's sleeping." Sure enough, Mandy had fallen back asleep, no doubt from a combination of all the talking and her already-existing fatigue. "Hey, that's a good idea!" Otto nodded. "C'mon, partner, you can go ask! I can watch over the precinct for you while you go to the Big Office. How about it?" Relieved that they had come to a solution, Olive nodded. "Sure. The last thing I want is for Oprah to get in trouble." The trio began walking towards the Bedroom to put Mandy to bed. Upon arriving there, however, they found Fluttershy, who was rummaging about in a toy chest that sat against the wall on the other side of the room. "Oh? Hello, everyone!" Her greeting was eagerly returned. "I'm trying to find a small bell. Do any of you have one?" "What do you need a bell for?" Peaches tilted her head, trying to fight the urge to drop Mandy and go crazy looking for one herself. "Just to calm a creature. It loves the sound of ringing and tinkling bells." "I think I remember seeing one in the bottom of that toy chest you're looking in." Peaches said. "Let me help you find it. Just...keep it away from me. You know the deal with cats and bells, I'm sure." Fluttershy gave a soft giggle as the catgirl set Mandy down on her bed. She then made her way over and bent down, pushing all sorts of items out of the way in the search for a bell. Olive took initiative in getting Mandy's suit off, making sure to use her body as a makeshift privacy screen. Otto, likewise, decided to help Fluttershy and Peaches with their search. Only a minute later, Olive had put the sleeping hybrid's outfit in the shared wardrobe closet and had dressed her up in a grey shirt and navy shorts, both emblazoned with the Odd Squad seal. "All right, let's get you to bed." With ease, she carried Mandy over to the bed and laid her down in it, but not before removing the blankets and sheets first. Once that was done, she pulled them over Mandy, and couldn't help but smile as the hybrid gave a loud yawn that concluded with an adorable squeak, indicating she was quite happier in bed than sitting upright in a chair or laying down on a dirty floor -- as most anyone would. "Sweet dreams, okay? Rest up." Olive soothed. "You know, that little squeak when she yawned was pretty adorable." "Can it, or I'll smack you into yesteryear." she playfully said to her partner, who gave a bout of sheepish laughter in response. "Here, I found one!" Peaches pulled up a medium-sized jingle bell. Almost immediately, her pupils widened to be the size of saucers, and her mouth slightly hung open as she became entranced by one of the most wondrous sounds she had ever heard. Somewhere deep inside, she was beginning to feel thankful that Mandy had never thought of putting bells in her hair or tail, even at Christmastime, because otherwise she would have been following her cousin around like an excited puppy waiting for their owner to throw the stick already. "Oh, that's perfect! Thank you." Fluttershy took the bell and tucked it under her wing, quickly trotting away with it so it was out of Peaches's sight. The catgirl watched her head towards the Bedroom door with the same hypnotized expression on her face, her focus completely on the bell that her friend had so willingly made disappear. "How are the fillies doing?" the Pegasus asked Olive and Otto. "Wait, how do you know about them?" Olive asked. "Oh, I know them very well. I foal-sat them once, as a matter of fact." Fluttershy smiled. "They're such sweethearts!" "No, don't, go n' train 'em yourzzelf...!" Any response either Olive or Otto were going to give was interrupted by Mandy's sleep-talking as she raised her head off of the pillow. Just as quickly as she did that, though, the head went right back down, and the cacophonic snoring continued. "Mandy's still asleep?" Fluttershy tilted her head. "Oprah kept her up late last night talking about the fillies. I'm going to the Big O's office to get answers on if Oprah can train them herself so they can become agents." "That's a possibility?" "Apparently. I don't know the details or the logistics behind it, though." Olive shrugged. Fluttershy gave a soft hum as she tried to make sense of the situation. Ultimately, though, she chose not to ponder about it too much -- she trusted Oprah enough to know what she was doing. "Well, I suppose I'll take this bell back, then. Thanks for helping me find it, Peaches!" "Whuh-huhzz?" Like the snap of a finger, Peaches broke out of her trance. Her pupils returned to normal size, and she brought her hand up to her mouth to wipe away some drool that had begun its descent down her chin. She shook her head and blinked a couple times. "Oh, uh, w-where's the bell?" "I have it. Don't worry." "Oh. Well, good! Have fun with it! I, uh..." Peaches moved towards the door. "If you're leaving, Fluttershy, I'll just, uh, follow you out." Otto, not understanding why Peaches was being so dodgy about something that was natural instinct for her, wore a look of confusion. Olive, on the other hand, rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face as she bit her tongue in order to hold back a witty comment. Still, Peaches acting suspicious didn't stop them from moving towards the door as well. "Let's give Mandy some room, partner." Olive urged, keeping an eye on Peaches as she made a right down the hallway. "Sweet dreams!" Otto gave one last wave and a smile before he closed the door, following his partner as she took a left. Olive didn't really know what to expect when she arrived at the Big Office. It hadn't really been too too long since Oriella was made the new Big O, and a little seed of doubt about her experience weaved its way through Olive's brain. Still, she held optimism, and made her way inside. To her surprise, she got rather far -- normally, the second she opened the door, an assistant would be telling her to stop and would then ask her for identification. However, this time around, the door closed behind her and she took a few footsteps before she was spotted. "Hello!" an assistant greeted, a pleasant smile on his face as he made his way towards her. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She blinked. Oh, wow. These assistants are much nicer than the previous Big O's. Must have come with Oriella becoming the new Big O. Naturally, she took this as a good sign that Odd Squad was in much better and much safer hands. She cleared her throat. "My name is Olive, I'm an Odd Squad Director at Precinct 73955. I'm wondering if I can ask the Big O a question regarding agents-in-training?" "Sure thing!" The assistant nodded. "Her office is right this way, if you'll just follow me." As the duo walked, Olive took note of how shiny everything looked -- not that it wasn't already shiny to begin with, but now, everything, from the walls to the windows, were even shinier. Other assistants even gave her polite looks and friendly smiles as she walked by, which she was all to happy to return. Everything looks so clean and inviting. Quite a massive change from the old Big O for sure. A haunting feeling suddenly began to loom over her. But what Mandy said in her sleep..."go and train them yourself"... She blinked, and shook her head. No, no, don't be silly. It was just another one of her weird dreams. Don't think anything of it, Olive. It doesn't mean anything in the long run. "We're here!" She was jolted out of her thoughts suddenly by the assistant, who was facing the door that she felt like she was at only yesterday. "Huh? Oh!" The assistant opened the door. "Big O? There's an Odd Squad Director by the name of Olive here to see you." "Bring her in." Olive made her way inside. "Ah, she's available. Go right on in!" "Thank you." "It's no problem! Have a nice day." "You as well." As Olive waved the assistant off, she made her way inside. Almost immediately, her gaze drifted to the spot where Mandy and the previous Big O had battled. The walls had since been fully repaired, and the ugly scene had overall been cleaned up. There were no major changes to the room aside from that, and similarly, there were no major changes with Oriella's appearance -- she still wore her black hair in twintails, with two hairbands marked with transparent cubes securing them in place on her head. "Oh, Olive! Good to see you." Oriella greeted as Olive closed the door. "How's your precinct faring?" "Just fine. Everything's in working order." Olive gave a friendly smile, approaching the desk and allowing her body to relax in a way that it just couldn't do when she was speaking to the former Big O. "Wonderful!" Oriella clapped her hands together. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?" "Well, you see, it's not my precinct that needs help. It's 13579." "Oprah's precinct?" Oriella blinked. "Is it in danger?" "No, no, it's not in danger." Olive gave a lighthearted chuckle at her slightly-panicked expression. "See, Oprah recently got introduced to three fillies, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She allowed them to become agents at the precinct if they went through the Academy, but something happened and they're not attending the Academy now." She scratched the back of her head. "I think...she's training them herself." "Training them herself? In the ways of fighting oddness?" Olive was relieved that she wasn't the only one confused by whatever loophole Oprah had either found or created out of thin air. If it were the latter, it would certainly explain things. "Mhm. I don't really know what happened that they weren't admitted to the Academy, but she's becoming their teacher and plans to make them agents herself. I'm just wondering if...that's allowed? The last thing I want is for her to get in trouble with you because she broke some hidden Odd Squad rule or something." In spite of her confusion, Oriella laughed. "Olive, please. Don't be so high-strung. Oprah won't get in trouble, I promise." She sighed. "Although, it's funny you mention that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo weren't accepted into the Academy. Assistant?" She flagged down a passerby carrying a small stack of papers. "Bring me yesterday's Odd Squad Academy reports, if you will?" "Of course." The assistant made her way inside, placing the papers on her boss's desk and heaving a small sigh. "Thank you. Now, let me see here..." For the next minute or so, Olive watched as Oriella muttered to herself, all of it completely unintelligible. A few times, her expression turned into one of disappointment as she thumbed through and scanned every single paper, but then turned into an expression that could best be described as "ah, well, I figured as such". Finally, she flipped through the stack until she got to a specific page. "Ah, yes, right here. It says that all three fillies were denied admittance due to the Academy reaching its full capacity of students." "What?" Olive stepped forward. "I'm sorry, may I see that?" Oriella pushed the paper forward and allowed Olive to read it. Sure enough, right next to Apple Bloom's, Sweetie Belle's and Scootaloo's names, one "DENIED" each was written in big black letters. "As it goes." Oriella shrugged. "There's always that one time of year where it gets a large influx of students." "Huh. So that's what happened." Olive internally breathed a sigh of relief -- if not for the fillies not causing so much trouble that they'd get kicked out on the same day they were admitted, then for Oprah not causing the fillies to get kicked out on the same day they were admitted. "So can Oprah still train them herself and have them become real agents, then?" "Mhm!" Oriella nodded. "However, I will need Oprah to come to the Big Office first thing tomorrow for an anti-oddness proficiency evaluation before she can begin training. Otherwise, she won't be qualified to train the fillies." "Makes sense. I'll let her know as soon as I get back." Olive bowed. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me." "Olive. Straighten up. With me, you don't need to go through any formalities." Olive did as she was told. "I...s-sorry. I'm so used to doing this with the old Big O...guess I'm still getting used to you." "You're not the only one. Would you like a cupcake before you go?" Oriella offered, pushing a plate of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes that Olive had somehow missed. "No thank you. I had a big breakfast." "All right. Have a good day, okay? Do no odd!" "Likewise." For the first time since she became Director, a wave of friendliness, peace and welcome washed over Olive. She left the Big O's office with a smile rather than a frown. It was a refreshing change of pace for sure -- although she couldn't imagine if she'd feel quite the same way had Mandy become the new Big O instead. She closed the door and made her way out, feeling reassured that Odd Squad was in good, strong and capable hands. Oriella's got some leader experience for sure. Even if she was just one of the Big O's assistants. Mandy, you did a good thing, picking her. I'm so proud of you. On her way back, Olive got to thinking about something else Oriella had told her. So Oprah has to do an anti-oddness proficiency evaluation, huh? Ahh, she'll ace that easy. But...will she actually go? Or will she be too busy training the fil- The sound of a groan cut into her thoughts. A groan that sounded very familiar...too familiar. She upped her gait to a speed-walk, kicking herself in the butt for not being completely fine-tuned to what each groan meant -- one of her many failures as a foster parent, she supposed. As she got closer to the source of the groan, she could hear an equally-familiar voice. "And we're gonna have so much fun together! I mean, have you ever seen more adorable ponies?!" A laugh followed, something completely unusual for the voice's origin. I haven't heard that kind of a laugh since the one she gave when she wanted to win a Jackie...and that was an "I may need professional help and a trip to a psych ward" kind of laugh. Olive shuddered. What is happening? "Such childlike innocence, I rarely ever see it anymore! I mean, you're old, and Olive and Otto are practically, like, centuries old now, and a majority of my agents are old too. Even Twilight Sparkle and her friends are full-grown mares! I just wanted some good old childhood antics, the whimsy and the wonder and the nostalgia that comes with it...and I've finally found the ones who can make it happen! Can you believe it?!" Another bout of that unhinged laughter nearly made Olive forget about the gushing preceding it. Her mind only had one question. Did...did Mandy and Oprah have a personality switch? Mandy, sitting at a desk inside of a large spacious office decked with two couches and a coffee table, took a sip of her juice box. Her brown hair was tied up into a bun, with her bow gone completely. She wore the Odd Squad Director's uniform for girls, down to the skirt. "Aah, juice! Nothing I love more than relaxing with a good juice box and no anarchy going on outside." She stretched in her chair and closed her eyes, putting in some earbuds and picking "Love in a Million Ways" by Brittany Gomez from the playlist stored on her ShmumberPod. This, however, allowed her to drown out the screams and shouts going on just outside. Desks were overturned, support beams were falling, and agents were running for their lives like the apocalypse was coming. In the midst of it all was Oprah, boasting Mandy's hairstyle (and her tail and ears, for some reason), bow included. Her brown eyes shimmered, and she took off like a rocket, bouncing off the walls again with a bout of maniacal laughter. "It's no use! We can't stop her!" Twilight cried out, using her magic to shield her friends as best she could, but soon finding the effort fruitless. "Ruuuuuun!" The crazed laughter continued as the ponies ran for their lives, going where every other agent was going -- out the steel doors and fighting for tube rights. Anything to escape to the outside world and avoid the wrath of the monster within their ranks. Nngh...yeah no, I don't want to think about it. Olive's eyes widened as the realization of what Oprah said hit her. "Wait, did she just..." With a twitch of her eye and her fists balled up, her speed-walking grew more intense. "Ohh, it's going to be so nice having those fillies around, working to fight oddness with the same innocence that Odd Squad was made fo-" Oprah felt a few taps on her shoulder, and turned around with a smile on her face. Unfortunately, she didn't get a single word in edgewise, especially when her opponent was a very furious Olive. "You dare call Otto and I 'centuries old'? We're both far younger than you by a landslide, how dare you call us old!" "Olive?!" Oprah scrambled backwards, to the point where her chair nearly fell over. "I-I'm so sorry, I-I-I didn't mean super-old. I meant...uh...old as in twelve years old compared to the Crusaders' young age! Yeah! Y-you're...you're...you, and..." Olive squinted. "For one, we're nearly 100. I look twelve, I'm not actually twelve. For another, your sad attempt to save face doesn't help the fact that I'm still hurt." Before Oprah could respond, Mandy gave a moan. She had her head down on the table, clearly in some kind of distress. Strands from both her hair and tail were sticking out and skewed in every single conceivable direction, and there was a strange smell emanating from her that Olive knew all too well as the "bathtime neglect" smell. "Mandy? Are you okay? You look exhausted! And...incredibly filthy. You smell like it, too." Olive had to fight hard not to gag and puke. With a grunt, the hybrid pulled herself up and got off of the chair, grabbing Olive by the wrist. "Just come with me..." "You'd better join us for our training this evening, Mandy! The Crusaders really wanna see you in action!" "Uh-huh..." Olive could have sworn she saw Mandy deflate a little right then and there, but it was rather hard to tell since she was in motion. As the Bedroom door closed, Olive took in Mandy's face. It looked sunken. Bags under her eyes, said eyes nearly soulless, and bow turned vertically...somehow. It was like Olive was looking at something she didn't want to be -- an adult living the repetitive monotonous life of going to work and going home, every single day. It was far worse than what she looked like when she had been turned into an adult. (Granted, she was turned into a 21-year-old, but that didn't mean being an adult sucked any less.) "Soooo...what's going on?" "Please." Mandy grabbed Olive by the shoulders. "Please tell me you have earplugs." "Earplugs? What for?" "Oprah has been talking my four ears off all day. I remember I was last in someone's arms, and then I fell asleep, and then I woke up in some dark room. It was so dark that even with my horn lighting the way, it was hard to see. So I went to the Breakroom to get something to eat, but then Oprah came, sat down, and started talking about the fillies. All three of them. Endlessly." "Again?" Olive rolled her eyes. "For Pete's sake, doesn't Oprah have assistants she can flap her gums to for hours on end?" "Yeah, she does...but I guess I'm a good listener." Mandy shrugged. "You remember when Otto made us sit through a two-hour nutrition lecture of irony because he thought Odd Squad wasn't 'feeding him properly'?" Olive blinked twice. "I still have nightmares. Terrible nightmares. Soul-sucking nightmares." "Now change the subject to the Crusaders." "Well, I guess that crushes my theory as to you switching bodies...I don't think Oprah would be dedicated to a 'I'm so tired, give me release' bit this intense." All of a sudden, Mandy flew down onto her knees and clasped her hands together, like she was praying to an oracle (which, really, was the highest religious power in Odd Squad). "Please, Momma, I can't take any more! If I hear anything, anything, about those three fillies one more time, I'm gonna..." Olive tilted her head, deciding to entertain the idea. "What are you going to do?" "I..." Mandy thought for a moment. If one looked close, maybe they could see smoke coming out of her ears. Maybe. "I'm gonna throw myself into the ocean and drift away to one of those cool islands in the distance that you see all the time but you wonder 'hmm, can I really get to it and live there?' but then you realize you can't so you come back home!" Olive really didn't have the heart to tell Mandy that for one thing, she already did that, and for another, it was her dream to do that with every single island in existence. She sighed, trying to figure out how to remedy this situation, and then settled on an idea. "Didn't Twilight teach you how to cast a force field? It was one of the first things she ever taught you after your transformation...the memories." A smile spread across her face briefly before she got back to the task at hand. "Why don't you just use that?" "I could, but noise still gets in and out." "So find a way to make it soundproof. I'm sure there's some modification Twilight could teach you." Olive could tell that Mandy wanted to fire a witty retort, but knew that she would do so and miss in spectacular fashion, so she refrained. "Look, I'll take anything at this point." "I'll see what I can do to help you. In the meantime, though..." Olive's nose wrinkled. "You should go and take a shower. Because-" "I stink? Yeah, I know. I didn't wanna take one this morning because..." Mandy waved her hand. "You know what would've happened." "Yeah. Yeah, I do." Olive sighed. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on Oprah so she won't bother you." "Thank you." Mandy moved over to the wardrobe closet and opened it, taking out a fresh Odd Squad Investigation department uniform. "And if you don't hear from me after a half-hour or so, I've drowned." Olive watched as Mandy moved about as slow as molasses -- certainly not with the same speed she usually had. Poor Mandy...Oprah really has to consider her thoughts and feelings in all of this. I'm sure she's happy that she has three potential new agents, but- Wait. Hold on, did she just say she was going to drown?! Immediately, she decided to stick around and stay outside of the Bathroom door, just to be safe. Or at the very least, get one of the ponies to do it. Her badge phone sounded the familiar Odd Squad theme tune, and she unclipped and opened it promptly. "Go for Olive." "Olive? It's Otto. There are two agents here who are having an argument and I can't stop them no matter how hard I try!" She would have jumped on her partner for making some silly excuse to make her come back to Headquarters because he needed help with a menial task. She really would have. But the sound of arguing in the background was enough to convince her that he was being truthful. "I'll be right there!" she assured, before promptly hanging up. Well, it looks like I'll have to find someone else to watch Mandy. There's no doubt she's going to fall asleep in that tub. Sighing, Olive pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil from behind her back, and got to writing a note. "Mandy, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can to check up on you, okay?" "Mm..." came the sleepy murmur. Olive shouldn't have taken this as a sign that she was okay, but she did anyway for the sake of Otto, her precinct, and whatever two agents were arguing about who-knows-what. After all, he wasn't necessarily the best at stopping arguments, and he could use someone unbiased. She hastily left the note on the nightstand and rushed out without another word. Sure enough, Mandy had fallen asleep in the tub. Luckily, Olive was able to find someone -- or somepony, rather -- to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't die by way of drowning. After about an hour, Mandy emerged from the bathroom, a yawn escaping her as she glanced over at her friend. "Thanks f' helpin' me there, Dash..." "Don't mention it." Rainbow smiled. "Though if you want my advice: bathe in cold water. It'll help keep you awake." "Cold water isn't so conducive to relaxin', y' know." "Maybe not to you. But I love a cold bath or shower every now and then." Rainbow stretched her legs. "Just call me if you need me, okay? Good luck with Oprah and the Crusaders. I hear they're becoming a handful." Before Mandy could even utter out a goodbye, the Pegasus had already taken off, and all she could do was trudge on back to the Bed Room. Her body became weighed down, as though it knew exactly where she was and it knew exactly what she wanted it to do. Before she could actually do it, though, her gaze drifted to a white piece of paper on her nightstand. "A note...?" she murmured, picking it up and reading it aloud. Sorry I had to leave abruptly like this, but there was a problem back at my office. Hope you have (or had) a good shower. I promise to stop by later with earplugs for extra protection. Four of them, not two, of course. - Olive She sighed. "Typical Momma." Setting the note down, she stuck her head out the door and called out Twilight's name, in the hopes the mare was wandering the hallway. "You called?" Mandy immediately fell to the floor, using one hand to secure the towel wrapped around her body and the other to move backwards towards the wall on the adjacent side of the hallway. Standing in front of her was the mare herself, eyeing her with confusion. "Wh- I- who- she-" "Sorry. I'm still getting used to the whole 'pop up suddenly out of nowhere' thing. Though being an alicorn with teleportation powers certainly helps!" Twilight took Mandy in for a moment, and her eyes widened. "Are...are you..." "NAKED UNDER THIS TOWEL?! YEEEES IIIII AAAAAAM, WHAT MADE YA GUESS THAT, WISEMARE?!" Twilight's face began to turn a color that Shmumbola factory workers would have spent a good six months trying to find a name for. "Oh gosh, I-I'm so sorry, I had no idea!" She moved out of the way. "Please, by all means...don't let me stop you. I won't peek." "For odd's sake, Twi..." Mandy got up. "We grew up together all the way from babyhood, sure. But that doesn't mean you hafta sneak up on me when my only article of clothing is a towel!" "Look, I had no idea-" Twilight stopped herself, and resigned to giving a sigh. "Just get dressed. I'll wait outside." Both pony-human hybrid and mare switched positions, with Mandy heading straight for the wardrobe closet while Twilight made her way outside and sat outside the door, trying to make her face turn back to the color it was supposed to be. After a couple minutes, Mandy was dressed in her usual cat-adorned PJs, throwing the towel onto her bed. "Okay, you can come in now." Twilight hesitantly peeked inside. When she saw the coast was clear, she breathed a sigh of relief and made her way in. "Um, so anyway...sorry about that." she apologized again. "What did you need me for?" "I'm not sure if you know about the whole dealio with Oprah and the Cutie Mark Crusaders..." "The CMC? They came to Odd Squad?" "Yeah. They wanted to join, so Oprah decided to have them go to the Academy. Something happened, though, and they're training under her now." "Huh. I guess they got wind of all the talk of Odd Squad back in Equestria." Mandy blinked. She had to wonder exactly what talk Twilight was referring to -- what were ponies there saying about her, she wondered -- but she set that aside. "The problem is, she adores them. Way, way too much. I dunno the whole dealio with that, either...something about 'childlike innocence' and 'nostalgic whimsy'...but it's driving me up the wall. Not literally." "How so?" "She keeps talking to me about them!" Mandy threw her hands into the air. "At least Momma has the decency to talk about other subjects besides the Burly Bears whenever they get a win. Oprah, on the other hand, sees the three fillies once and that's it. That's all she can talk about." Twilight slowly nodded in understanding. "So you want me to get her to stop talking about them?" "Well, no...I mean if you could, that would be nice, but no." Mandy said. "See, I had this dream where she kept begging me to train them for her. I kept refusing her, but she wouldn't listen. Finally we decided to fist-fight...and I lost." She rubbed the back of her neck. "She got me good in just a couple blows." Twilight had to resist the urge to comment on how Mandy had the weirdest dreams of anyone she knew, inside of Odd Squad and outside of it. "So I had to train the fillies all by myself." Mandy sighed. "Nightmares are still such foreign territory to me...I hardly ever get them. And I think this one was caused by Oprah dragging me to who-knows-where. So I want you to teach me how to create soundproof force fields." "But you already know how to create force fields." "Soundproof. Force. Fields." Mandy slowly repeated. "Please. If I can learn how to do that, then maybe I can stop having nightmares so much...and I can stop waking up in weird places." "Well, you already know the basics." Twilight explained. "What sort of force field were you hoping to create?" Mandy let out a slow hum as she thought, then perked up. "One that can fit over my bed, of course. But if you touch it, you get electrocuted!" Twilight opened her mouth. "But! There's a lil' secret door you can go through, that shows up when the shield shimmers every once in a while. That will take you inside the shield, see? And you won't get electrocuted!" How...how much thought did she put into this? Twilight wondered. She understood Mandy's request, but she had never been approached with a request by a unicorn (or another alicorn, in this case) to help them make a specific force field before. Still, Mandy had quite a ways to go with her alicorn magic, and Twilight supposed this was just another step towards progress. "Um...well, it's quite simple, really. You remember what I taught you about teleportation? To just visualize where you want to go and let your magic do the rest?" "Yeah?" "It's the same thing with force fields." Mandy's jaw dropped. "Force fields come in all shapes, sizes, and power levels, Mandy. All you need to do is imagine a force field in your head-" "A-a-a-" "And let your magic do the rest." Mandy slumped to her knees, her arm raised and her finger pointed straight at Twilight as her brain had to do a hard reset. She stuttered, she stammered, but no matter how hard she tried, she was absolutely incapable of speaking the English language. Twilight's smile remained on her face as she sat on the floor, knowing it would be a fair bit before she would snap to her senses. "I...y-y-you mean...all this time...all these people, all these ponies, barging into the Bedroom, trying to wake me up...and all I had to do was use magic for five seconds?!" she screeched. "W-why didn't you tell me this sooner?! Do you know how many times I could've used somethin' like that?!" "Yeeeeah, that's my fault. I'm sorry. But I wanted to take things slow with you. Force fields aren't something to be trifled with, especially in battle." "Okay, fine, but still...when were you planning on telling me this?" Twilight's expression became shifty, and she suddenly avoided eye contact with Mandy. "Answer the question, Sparkle." "E-eventually!" Mandy groaned and hung her towel up on the coat rack next to the wardrobe closet. "Fine. Let's try it out, then." Laying on her bed, she lit up her horn and tried to visualize the force field she wanted to have. Something strong, to keep Oprah out...a simple, static-electricity-that-makes-the-hair-go-up shock wouldn't do. No, she needed something bigger, something powerful. Something that, if Oprah touched it, it would be a one-hit KO. Five seconds later, a force field materialized. Pink-purple in color, and crackling with lightning. "Can you hear me?!" Mandy called from inside the magic field. When all she got in response was a mouthed word from Twilight. A satisfied smile settled on her face, not noticing Twilight's shocked and concerned expression. "That's great, Mandy..." the alicorn said, when the force field disappeared. "But maybe something that isn't so infused with lightning would work better." "But I wanna keep Oprah out! That's the whole point!" "Do you really think she's so dumb that she'll come back for more after getting shocked once?" "No, but she's persistent. She'll try again and again and again and again and aga-" The sound of Mandy's badge phone ringing cut into her words. It took her a few moments to remember where she had put it, but she eventually found it on the nightstand. "Mandy speakin', how can I help ya?!" "Mandy? It's Olive. I forgot to tell Oprah that the Big O wants her to stop by the Big Office tomorrow for an anti-oddness proficiency evaluation, to see if she's eligible to teach the Crusaders in the Academy's place. Could you tell her for me?" Mandy groaned. "Do I have to? Being around Oprah is..." She blinked as an idea came to her. "Wait, never mind, I'll do that!" "Thank you. See you later!" "Bye!" Twilight watched as Mandy closed her phone and set it back on the nightstand, then conjured up a small slip of paper and a pencil. "I can just write her a note!" "And how do you know she won't come to you asking you about it?" Mandy scoffed. "Twi. It'll be so straight and to the point that she won't need to come askin' about it." She got to scribbling on the slip of paper, then a minute later, she sighed. "And done! This way, I won't have to face her and play the game of 'When Will the Gums Fly Outta the Mouth?'" Twilight just tilted her head. "Aaaaanyway..." Mandy turned around. "Thank you so so sooooo much, Twi! Oh, you're the best! Finally, I can get a good night's sleep without being bothered by my brinnocently brinsensitive boss!" "Those aren't wo-" "Thank youuuuu!" Mandy was already shoving her out the door by magical means. "Now to do some book-readin'!" Before Twilight could get another word in edgewise, the Bedroom door closed. Huffing in confusion and disappointment, she decided to head on back to the bullpen to finish up her work and get back to the Castle. Absentmindedly chewing on a nacho from a small paper basket, Mandy used her horn to turn the page of her latest book, Old Rabbit's Book of Practical and Particular Pussycats. She began to feel sleepy by the 30th-or-so page, although she still had quite a bit of energy left. The Bedroom door opened, and she immediately flew off of the bed, drawing her hammer from her back and giving a low growl. "Whoa, whoa, relax, it's just me!" Mandy blinked, and then gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank odd. I was gonna whack Oprah if she even thought of barging in here. Hiya, Momma!" "Hi!" Olive waved. "Didn't she mention that she wanted you to attend some sort of training tonight?" "Yeah, but as you can see, I'm kinda underdressed for the occasion." "Even if you're underdressed, you certainly look a lot better than you did when I last saw you." Olive smiled and pulled something small out of her back, which was wrapped up in a tiny box. "Anyway, I bought some earplugs at a nearby everything-you-could-possibly-and-conceivably-sell store I passed by when I went out for a walk. It's really a shame the Scientists haven't thought of inventing an Earplug-inator yet...gotta ask Odie about that. Or Oscar, the next time I visit him." Mandy took the box eagerly and opened it, eyeing the earplugs inside. "Thank you!" she chirped, applying one to each ear. "Say somethin'!" "Uh...strange, weird, and especially odd!" Olive screamed, as loud as she could make it. Mandy didn't even flinch, instead continuing to wear her big silly smile. Olive moved to take the earplugs out of Mandy's ears. "Wow, they work perfectly." she said. "How'd it go with Twilight?" "Great! She, uh...w-well..." Mandy twiddled her thumbs. "She taught me how to make more powerful force fields...which was simple...and something I coulda used A LONG TIME AGO!" She raised her voice at the end so it would echo out the door, just in case the mare in question happened to be trotting by. "Aaaaanyway...yeah. So I'll have a double layer of protection!" "That's exactly what I bought the earplugs for." Olive winked. "Now you can get a good sl-" The door suddenly slammed all the way open, and a familiar face bust in. "GUESS WHO'S READY FOR SOME TRAININ'?!" "Well, I can assure you that none of us are." Mandy rolled her eyes, a pit of dread beginning to form in her stomach. "Too bad so sad, 'cause you're coming with me!" Olive watched as Oprah moved towards Mandy and aggressively dragged her wrist. Something clicked in her brain right then and there as she witnessed her former boss go completely off the rails, and she decided to speak up. "Okay, I've had enough. Oprah, stop this. You're being irrational." Oprah stopped and turned. "Irrational?!" "Yes. Haven't you ever once, just once, thought about how Mandy feels about...whatever it is you're doing? I'm sure she doesn't appreciate you dragging her out of bed and forcing you to watch the Crusaders' training." "But Oliiiiive..." Oprah whined. "These fillies have to learn from the best of the best, and no one is the best of the best like her! It's not my fault if all she does is sleep and eat all day." "Hey! I do actual work too, y'know! Why do you think I'm employed here?!" "Because you were raised here. But also, to train these adorable fillies, of course! Ohh, they're gonna make their sisters so proud!" "Oprah. Look. I know how passionate you are about making the Crusaders into agents. But you're bringing down Mandy's health to do it. Can't you have some empathy just this once?" "But I do have empathy! For these fillies!" Oprah began to sway back and forth, her brown eyes shimmering. "Oh, how I long to be a child just like them, even if just for a few hours! It would make my heart soar more than swimming in the vast blue waters of the ocean!" If Oprah's blatant misuse of the concept of empathy didn't get Olive, the giddy laughter she heard certainly did. All she could give was a look of sheer confusion as her mind tried to make sense of the situation. Childhood innocence...is that why she's acting like this? Because she wants to be a kid again? She is millennia old...I don't think she's been a 'kid' kid since...last century, I'd bet. When she was running that fruit stand with Yucks. "Look, fine! Fine." Mandy sighed. "I'll attend the training tonight. On one condition." She held her finger up. "You let me sleep in my own bed for once!" "Mandy, you always sleep in your own bed!" The hybrid groaned as she realized her boss was right. "Let me rephrase that. You let me wake up in my own bed." "Why? You can sleep anywhere! And you always get a good night's sleep, don't you?" Oh, how Mandy was absolutely tempted to whip out the list of every time she didn't get a good night's sleep. She was only eleven, but the list was pretty expansive, and it was growing all the time. Still, that didn't mean Oprah's comment wasn't offensive to her. "W- does that even matter?!" She was set aflame, her voice gaining that reverberating echo once again. "For odd's sake, Oprah, have some respect! I shouldn't have to work under someone that refuses to have even a little bit of empathy for her other agents! I bet you're so stinkin' enamored by those three fillies that you refuse to even help your own agents! If we were all falling to our deaths and could only save one of us, you'd save all those fillies single-smeggin'-handily, wouldn't you?!" "Mandy, calm down!" Olive said, trying to diffuse the situation before Mandy decided to upgrade from verbal spats to physical punches. Luckily for her, the hybrid complied. The flames fizzled out and she returned to normal, breathing heavily and glaring at Oprah with icy blue eyes. The room fell silent for a brief moment. Oprah was surprised at Mandy's sudden outburst, her eyes growing wide. Olive had thought that maybe, just maybe, she would reconsider her words, apologize, and the rest of the night would go smoothly. Unfortunately, her fate of the day had dealt her a bad hand of cards. Oprah smiled. "You know, I never noticed how terrible you look when you're angry." That was it. That was the trigger. Mandy's eye twitched. And then she whipped out her hammer. "All right, that's it, you're goin' down!" "Mandy, Oprah, both of you stop this!" Olive clutched Mandy, wrapping her arms around her chest and lifting her with minimal effort. "Mandy, go to Oprah's training. And Oprah, have some empathy for Mandy. You're being a terrible role model for the fillies!" "Nonsense!" Oprah giggled. "Conflict is a natural part of Odd Squad, and it happens all the time!" She gasped. "In fact, I should get them to witness this! Stay here, I'll be right back!" The Director quickly dashed off before another word could be spoken. Mandy gripped the handle of her hammer tighter as Olive set her down. "She's starting to get on my nerves...and my nerves can only take so much..." she muttered through grit teeth. Olive's gaze drifted to a purple book that sat on the floor. "What's this?" she asked, picking it up. "Was this here before?" "No. It's not mine. Maybe Oprah dropped it on her way out?" Olive hesitated. "Go on, open it!" "Mandy, it's wrong to read other people's diaries. You, of all people, should know that from the last ten times I caught you reading mine!" "No one's watching!" Mandy shrugged. "Oprah's too infused with happiness about the Crusaders to get angry over a silly thing like an invasion of privacy. Read what's inside!" Damn it. She has a point. Olive shut her eyes, then tore open the book to a random page. By some crazy happenstance, it just so happened to be one of the most insulting entries in the book -- and one of the most recent ones. "Today I had the honor of meeting three wonderful fillies: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They arrived at Precinct 13579 with their sisters looking to become agents, and they’re just the sweetest little things! I will admit, my precinct has lots of agents, but a lot of them are old and no longer have the whimsical child-like innocence that these fillies have. They’re so small and cute, it makes me wonder why I didn’t just promote one as my second-in-command sooner! I’m working on training them myself, and I’m employing Mandy to help me. Thing is, she’s incredibly lazy, and she sleeps so much that it’s hard to get her to do anything. If she keeps this up, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I want her to help me train the fillies, but it’s kind of hard to do that if she’s sleeping all the time! Maybe I should promote the fillies as my second-in-commands instead, when they become agents. They seem to be a lot more efficient for sure, and with my office usually in a state of being busy, I could use the extra help! They truly appear to bring such joy to the precinct, and to Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash too. I’ll have to think about it! "Anyway, I'm mostly writing this by the seat of my skirt. But if Mandy's not around, then who do I have to talk to? She's so tolerant, letting me talk about the fillies all the time. I appreciate her for that! I just wish she had more drive and motivation, you know? The fillies have it, for sure. They may have their cutie marks, but they help out other ponies like nobody's business! "Hmm. Perhaps Mandy's growing old too...it wouldn't surprise me. Who knows what that transformation did to her? She's probably 80 or something by now. Well, with all that being said, it's bedtime for me. See you tomorrow, diary!" The room fell dead-silent. Olive lifted her head up and blinked, re-reading the entry twice, thrice, frice (yes, it was a word in Odd Squad's dictionary) to make sure she was reading it correctly. Mandy slumped to her knees. Her hammer fell out of her hand. Tears began to pool at the corners of her eyes, and her ears folded down as the gravity of Oprah's words hit her. "She...she..." Her eye twitched again. "HOW DARE SHE!" Olive backed up as Mandy let out a loud and anguished roar before she was set aflame again, her eyes holding the same spark of hurt and malice they did before. Sweetie Belle was the first to enter the Bedroom, her hooves rushing there the second she heard the roar. "What's going on?" "Agent Mandy?" Apple Bloom flanked her. "Ms. O, what's happening?" Scootaloo was the final arrival, her eyes wide with shock as her vision met an enraged Mandy. Finally, the Director herself arrived. She looked rather indifferent to the Mandy in flames...until she saw exactly what was sitting next to her. "My diary!" she cried out. "M-M-Mandy's on fire!" Sweetie Belle squeaked out, with all of the bravery she had sapped out of her. "D-don't worry!" Olive tried to reassure. "This is just something Mandy does when she's very, very upset. I-I think you three should leave and-" "No! They need to stay and see what happens when you make Mandy very, very upset." Oprah entered the room -- a bad move, given how Mandy's flames seemed to intensify with every step she took, but a move she didn't care about. That is, until Mandy charged. As soon as she made contact with Oprah, the pair began fist-fighting each other, exchanging blows and cries as they tangled and moved around the room in a two-man ball. Mandy was going all-out, treating Oprah like she treated any villain that made her mad enough, making sure she had no opening. Oprah, for all her skills in combat, wasn't able to hold off Mandy for long. She relied on the hybrid's predictability in magic, to which there was none in existence now -- it was a completely physical battle. "Break it up!" Olive shouted, moving about to try and find an opening where she could nab Mandy once again. The Crusaders looked on fearfully. "Should we help 'em?" Apple Bloom asked. "Uh, h-help 'em stop fightin', I mean." Before any of the fillies could respond, Rarity came rushing in. "Darlings, what's going on?" Her head swiveled to the fight, and she gasped. Oprah managed to stop Mandy by holding a hand against her face, using her strength to hold her back. "Mandy, why are you doing this?" she yelled, any semblance of her overly-sweet personality gone as she felt bruises begin to form. "You know why! Just look in your diary!" "My diary?" "You wrote some really hurtful things." Olive explained. "Like how you wanted the fillies to be your second-in-commands instead of Mandy, how you called her lazy...you even said that all the agents of your precinct are old! Just like you called me and Otto old!" "What?!" Rarity exclaimed. "Ms. O, we are certainly not old!" "Now hold on, what's all the fuss in here?" Applejack asked, making her way into the room next. "I'm here!" Rainbow followed a second later, her eyes widening when she took in the scene. "Whoa, what's going on?" Olive turned to her. "Take a look at Oprah's journal entry." Rainbow snatched the book from Olive's hands and had herself a read. Slowly, as she read its contents, she lowered herself down to the ground and held it up for Rarity and Applejack to read, too. Even the Crusaders wanted in on the action, trying to lean over their sisters' bodies to read the entry. "What?!" was all the blue Pegasus could exclaim when she was finished. "Sugarcube, how could ya say such hurtful things about us?! Not only about all of us, but about Mandy!" Applejack's nostrils flared. "I thought ya knew better!" "I'm gonna make you PAAAAAAAY!!" Mandy screamed, finally employing her magic to grab Oprah and send her careening towards the Bedroom wall. Once her body made contact with it, bands of magic wrapped around her wrists and legs, securing her in place. However much she struggled, and however much strength she put into it, she couldn't break free. Mandy twirled her hammer in her hand and pointed it at her. "Explain yourself, or the skull goes boom." "L-look, I-I'm sorry!" Oprah stammered. "It's true. I did write all of those things. But don't deny that it isn't true! You do sleep a lot, and you do eat a lot. But...maaaaaybe you aren't lazy all the time." "All the time?!" Oprah sighed. "All I wanted was for you to help me train the fillies, Mandy. You can be a great role model for them. Plus, you grew up with Twilight and the others. They cared for you. You can bring such joy to Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but...not if you sleep for most of the day." Mandy grit her teeth, not wanting to delve into the topic of her sleep right now. It was rather complicated, given that there was a lot left unexplored about how she slept, and she had thought Oprah knew that. Apparently not. She's received how many lessons on it, and she still hasn't learned? Is her brain a sponge or did all the effects of that juice she drinks finally go to her brain? She shook her head vigorously, setting that issue aside. "Okay, fine, but what about calling all of us old? Even if we're under the age of twelve, we're still children. Excluding the mares!" she snapped, upon seeing Oprah open her mouth to interject. "Children under twelve are the defining base of Odd Squad. What, do you want all of us to be young as Orson so we can still have that 'whimsical childlike innocence' you so desire?" She huffed. "From what I understand, the fillies are just as old as Olympia and Otis. So what're you gonna do with 'em, ignore 'em?" Oprah blinked. "W-well, no, but-" "And one more thing we should address." Mandy slammed her hammer down onto the ground, producing a loud banging sound that frightened the Crusaders and sent all of them cowering behind their sisters. "You trying to get rid of me as your second-in-command. Do you know how long I've served under you, Oprah? Do you know how deep my loyalty runs for you?" Rainbow blinked. Oprah's eyes shimmered, although with what emotion, no one could say. "I'll always be loyal to Odd Squad. And I've always been loyal to you ever since I became an agent." Mandy turned. "But you're losing me." "Mandy..." "If you don't want me as your second-in-command, then maybe I should take the firing." She narrowed her eyes and looked at Oprah. "At face value." "Mandy, don't! We need you." Oprah tried to fight off tears. "I need you." "Clearly you don't." "But I do!" Oprah sighed, her voice shaky in a way that Olive had only rarely seen when she was an agent. "Look. What I wrote in my journal, and how I've been acting...I've made a grave mistake. I just got so swept up in how adorable the fillies are and having three new agents that I got carried away. And...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have written those things about you, or about anyone else." She shut her eyes. "Olive was right. I should have had more empathy for you, especially since you've done the same thing to me before...especially when you got Fluffy." A small smile flickered on her face for only a moment before it dropped like a clear hot potato. "I should have taken your feelings into consideration, and I didn't." Mandy listened to each and every single word her boss said. She wanted to take it all into consideration and respond, but a realization ticking in Olive's brain interrupted that first and foremost. "Oprah, riddle me this. However rhetorical it sounds." she said, her voice soft. "If you don't want to hire more ponies into your precinct, then why did you take on Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle so willingly?" Oprah blinked. Mandy slowly turned towards her adoptive mother, like she had just been told she had a deadly incurable disease, but didn't say anything, instead allowing her boss to answer. "Aside from the fact that they were children, and that they were fresh blood...I felt I had an obligation. To Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack." Oprah made eye contact with them. "I didn't want them to get upset with me for not hiring any of their sisters. So I took them all on when they asked." Now that that question was answered, Mandy could go ahead with hers. "You...don't want more ponies in Headquarters? Why?" "I don't want to talk about it." Oprah turned her head away. Mandy looked at Olive. "Sorry. I'm not telling you either." was all she said, giving an apologetic shrug. The hybrid sighed. If she doesn't wanna talk about it, then I guess I can't force her...but man, is it gonna be itching at my brain until it gets answered! "I-if it's any consolation, Mandy..." Sweetie Belle cautiously stepped forward, wrapping her front legs around one of her sister's front legs, now, instead of her back leg. "I think you're pretty cool. And...I wanna get to know you more." "Same here!" Scootaloo stepped forward confidently. "Our sisters have told us a lot about you, and we'd love it if you could train us!" Apple Bloom smiled, stepping forward to stand beside her friends. Mandy's flames died out. She wasn't quite sure why -- she still felt a little angry and hurt -- but she supposed the Crusaders' words had touched her more than she knew. "That's kind of you to offer. For your sakes...I'll take you up on that. However." Her gaze moved back to Oprah. "I'm not gonna tiptoe around this issue. Your boss really did make a grave mistake. A whole slew of 'em." Oprah grit her teeth. "So let this be a lesson for you three." Mandy said, without making eye contact with the Crusaders. "One, don't push me over the edge. And two, if either one of you ever gets promoted and becomes an Odd Squad Director, never, and I mean never, backstab your own agents. Got it?" The fillies all gave nods and murmurs of agreement. "Good. Now, Oprah..." Mandy gave a exhale. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to skip out on tonight's training. If you really want me to help you train them that badly, then we're going to have to spend some time apart. Mainly for my sake, so I can get some sleep." Fatigue slowly, ever so slowly, began to creep up on her now, and she had to bite back a yawn. "Y-you're not resigning?" Mandy didn't answer that. Instead, she levitated the diary over to her, flipped to the page she had read, and tore it out before throwing the book onto the floor. "Tear out every last page of your trash-talking diary, and stop talking smack about your agents, unless you want an empty precinct." she said, her voice icy in a way that sent a chill running down Oprah's spine. "I'll be training the fillies tomorrow, all by myself." The magic bands around the Director's wrists and legs went away, and she landed on the floor, stumbling about a little bit but managing to find her footing. A yawn managed to escape Mandy, and her eyes widened briefly before she continued. "Now, if you'll pardon me, I'd like to sleep. And don't even think about waking me up." She narrowed her eyes as she made eye contact with Oprah. "Twilight just taught me how to make stronger force fields. One touch of mine will send ten thousand volts running through every single inch of your body. Ten thousand volts that not even you can handle." Oprah could only watch as Mandy moved towards her bed and began fluffing her pillow. "Mandy..." "Oprah, leave her be." Olive urged. "It's clear that she's hurt. She doesn't want to talk to you right now." However much she wanted to butt heads with Olive over what was plainly and simply the truth, she refrained. Her head swiveled towards the fillies as she rubbed her wrist. "Agent Rarity, Agent Applejack, Agent Rainbow Dash, teach your sisters everything you know about Odd Squad. That'll cover their training tonight." "Oh, and one other thing, Oprah." Mandy turned. "The Big O wishes to see you at the Big Office tomorrow for a mandatory anti-oddness proficiency evaluation, to see if you're eligible to train the fillies and have them become agents that way." I'll probably have to take one too, now that I think about it... she thought. "I know. I got your note." Oprah nodded. "Thank you for letting me know. It'll be my first stop in the morning." She started to walk out the door, and then paused. "Good night, Mandy." And then she left. Rarity was the first one to break the silence. "I simply cannot believe our own boss would say such horrid things!" "Now, now, Rarity. She realized what she did and apologized. And it certainly seems like she feels just awful about it." Applejack reassured, rubbing her partner's back. "That doesn't make what she said any better!" Rainbow scoffed. "How could any boss do that to their own employees? I mean, calling us 'old' just because we don't have any childlike innocence? That's so..." She grit her teeth, struggling to find the right word, but nothing came out. "And just look at how she treated Mandy!" Rarity said. "Wanting to promote Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo as her second-in-commands instead. Doesn't she realize that Mandy has done a fine job serving the precinct by her side?" "All right, y'all, calm down now. Believe you me, I'm mighty upset about what Ms. O said, too. But let's give her a chance to sleep on it. She already apologized." "But Applejack, darling-" "Mandy took the words right outta our mouths, Rarity." Applejack nodded. "There's nothin' more that needs t' be said. C'mon." She urged Apple Bloom out the Bedroom door, following her younger sister's lead. "See ya tomorrow, Mandy." Apple Bloom waved before she left with Applejack. Rarity and Rainbow Dash exchanged worried glances, but figured that their friend's advice held merit, and decided to leave the Bedroom with their own sisters in tow. "Have a good night, everyone!" Sweetie Belle said, leaving with Rarity by her side. "See ya." Scootaloo was the last to go with Rainbow Dash, climbing onto the mare's back and hitching a free ride home. As Mandy teleported her nachos into a random trash can, Olive sighed. "This spiraled way out of control. Are you okay, Mandy?" "I'm fine." Mandy brushed off some dust from her PJs, which had become dirty as a result of the scuffle between her and Oprah. "I just need some sleep." "All right. Well, if you need anything, I'm just a call away, okay?" Olive began to leave. "Have a good night." "You too." As soon as the Bedroom door closed, a pent-up sigh finally came out. Mandy buried her face in her hands. Immortality really is a blurse. On the one hand, as long as nothing kills us physically, then we're fine. We can never die of old age. But on the other hand...when you're millennia old like Oprah, you long to be a child again. And the Cutie Mark Crusaders were shining examples of who she was, who she wanted to be, and who she never could be, not ever again. Her mind drifted to another topic as she snuggled under the sheets. Am I really that expendable? To think she could just replace me in the snap of a finger...even if she says she needs me, she could always just toss me away and replaced with someone she deems more worthy. How much does she really 'need' me, anyway? She felt tears prick at her eyes. With her horn alight, she set up her new force field, just as Twilight had instructed her. I guess...I can only hope she apologizes and makes up for her actions. Somehow. There's no use dwelling on silly-millie "what-ifs". I should get some sleep. Her eyes closed, and she let the fatigue she had kept at bay for so long overtake her. Mandy opened her eyes and yawned as a new day dawned upon her. Her eyes flicked to the clock, which read 12:19. Only nineteen minutes late, which wasn't too bad -- and she was still in her own bed, too. She lit up her horn and lowered the shield, leaving her bed free to access again without the fear of electrocution. A sigh left her body, and she levitated her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink over to her, sipping it. A knock at the door interrupted her. "Come in." The door opened, and to her surprise, it was none other than Oprah. She poked her head in briefly, then decided to walk in when she figured the coast was clear. Mandy set her empty glass to the side, another yawn escaping her. "Hi. Um, about last night..." Oprah began. "I tossed out my diary, just like you wanted me to. And I thought about what I did all last night." She sighed. "It was wrong of me to have such a lack of empathy for my own second-in-command. Not only that, but it was unprofessional as well." Mandy tilted her head and listened further. "I respect you, Mandy. You, and all that you do for this Squad. I never want to replace you, ever, and I don't have any intention of doing so, whether it's with the Crusaders or someone else. I just...wanted you to help me train them..." Oprah's voice began to crack. "...so they can become great agents, like their sisters. That's really all I wanted." Mandy's eyes widened as she saw a tear roll down her boss's face, then another, and then another. "Are you...crying?" "I'm sorry!" the Director cried out, burying her face in her hands. "For everything I did, for everything I wrote...I'm sorry for it all!" Mandy blinked. She watched Oprah sob, and with each sob she did, the feeling of hurt slowly washed away. "I-I know you must hate me still, for what I did." Oprah looked up. "And...I wouldn't blame you if you wouldn't be up for co-training with me at all. Not as a team...and not as friends." Is she guilt-tripping me? What a lowball move. But then again, those are real tears...and it's not like her to guilt-trip with malicious intent. The room fell silent for what seemed like hours. Mandy gripped the fabric of her pants as she thought. Finally, she sighed. "Well, you do seem remorseful. And as long as you promise to have a little more respect for me and your agents..." "Pinkie Promise!" Oprah went through the motions earnestly. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" "Then I suppose I can accept your apology." Wordlessly, Oprah scooped her into a tight bear-hug. "Okay, okay, we get it!" Mandy laughed. "Ya don't hafta hug me so hard!" "Thank you." Oprah released her grip and gave a sniffle before wiping away her tears. "So what do you say? Once I get back from my anti-oddness proficiency evaluation, you want to get started on training the fillies?" "Oh, I'm one step ahead of ya!" Mandy chirped, her mood instantly brightened. She hopped off of the bed. "I can go ahead and train 'em while you're doing that. And maybe I can come with you to your evaluation and take one of my own, too!" "Good idea. You can catch up with their sisters on what they learned last night." "Sounds good!" The sound of a rumble put a brief damper on the mood -- a sound that Oprah and Mandy knew all too well. The former's gaze drifted to the latter's stomach as she laughed. "Just, uh...lemme have lunch first." "You got it. See you in a bit." Mandy eagerly waved Oprah off as she left the Bed Room. Giving a satisfied sigh, she moved towards the wardrobe closet and took out a fresh suit, feeling livelier and full of energy again, much better than before. Before leaving for the Big Office, Oprah had taken the time to catch up with Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, as well as the Crusaders, gathering them in her office to apologize. "Again, I'm really sorry. I don't know what came over me when I met you three fillies for the first time." Oprah blinked. "But I see a lot of potential in you. You're gonna be good agents." All the ponies exchanged smiles with each other. "I'll be putting out a mass apology to everyone else, as well, in an announcement later on. It's the least I can do." Oprah took a sip of juice. "Now, I'd like you all to meet in the Gym Room. I'm off to the Big Office for my anti-oddness proficiency evaluation." "What's that?" Apple Bloom asked. "It's a test to see if I, as an Odd Squad Director, am eligible to train you so you can be promoted to the Investigation department when the time comes. Mandy will be taking the same test, as well." Oprah explained. "Don't worry, it shouldn't take long." "Oh, yes. We haven't met the new Big O personally yet, have we..." Rarity mused. "I'm sure you will. Any human -- and any pony -- is welcome at the Big Office now, after all." Oprah took a deep breath and moved towards her personal tube, where the wooden automatic doors opened to reveal it. "Agent Rarity, Agent Rainbow Dash, Agent Applejack, if you'd like to train the Cutie Mark Crusaders further while you're waiting, please feel free." The three mares nodded. "Squishinating!" Oprah called, and with a crump, a boing, and a whoosh, she was off towards her destination. "Looks like everythin' is just fine n' dandy again." Applejack said. "This place has a Gym Room?!" Rainbow's eyes shimmered. "Oh man, if they ever get an Open Sky Room...now there's something I could visit the new Big O for!" "Rainbow Dash, darling. Surely you know the rooms here change every so often, with some exceptions, of course. I say, if you want an Open Sky Room, then you must make an Open Sky Room!" "There you go again with your crazy wisdom." Sweetie Belle chuckled. The six ponies walked away, the fillies chatting excitedly about their training while their sisters chatted away about what kind of training they were going to receive next. "Now, Agent 57. State your name." "Mandy! Agent Mandy!" "Good." The assistant wrote her name down on the clipboard he held. "And you, Agent 58?" "Oprah." "Good." The assistant then wrote Oprah's name down. "You will begin the test by stating Odd Squad's operations statement." "We are an organization run by kids that investigates anything strange, weird, and especially odd!" Mandy chirped in unison with Oprah. "Very good." The assistant let out a soft hum as he wrote the results down. "It says here that you both wish to go through Odd Squad's Director-to-AIT Training, is that correct?" "Yes. Mandy and I wish to be co-trainers for the Cutie Mark Crusaders." "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?" Mandy and Oprah nodded. "All right. Now." The assistant set the clipboard down on the table next to him. "I will be bringing a host of oddities into the room, one by one. Your job is to defeat them using the gadgets you have on you, as well as teamwork. You cannot defeat them by physically attacking them, nor can you defeat them by..." He glanced at Mandy and struggled to find a good word. "Erm, your...otherworldly magic." "Alicorn magic. It's alicorn magic." Mandy said. "Right, yes. Um..." He turned to the other assistant standing in the room. "Oleisa, if you would be so inclined as to bring the first thing in?" "Yes, right away." A minute later, Oleisa returned with a large white albino mouse. Oprah and Mandy were both quick to notice that this was a Ginormouse, but slightly shrunken so it could reasonably accommodate the size of the testing room. Oprah gave a knowing smirk. Mandy's pupils enlarged to the size of saucers, and she gave an unnerving, face-splitting grin. "Let's do this!" "All right. Now, let's move on to gadget usage." Rainbow took charge, guiding the Crusaders in the boxing ring in a way that certainly wasn't unlike that of Spitfire. "Apple Bloom, you're an Earth pony. That means using gadgets might be a bit harder for you, compared to a Pegasus or a unicorn. Try using this Sweater-inator." Apple Bloom took the gadget in her hooves as she was offered it. She looked it over, finding that it was shaped funny -- certainly not for her hooves. Or any hooves, really. She nearly dropped it as she tried to position it in a way that felt comfortable to her. "Press that tiny red button on the top." Hesitantly, the filly did as she was told. A bright blue beam of light shot out of the gadget's front, producing a gray human-adult-sized sweater. "There ya go!" Rainbow cheered. "That might be hard to do in battle, though..." Applejack, sitting off to the side with Rarity, bit her tongue in an attempt to avoid snarking a witty retort at her friend. Both of them were taking turns teaching the Crusaders about different gadgets, and now, it was Rainbow's turn once again. "Run to that door and back, and then fire the gadget as fast as you can!" Apple Bloom wanted to protest, but seeing her sister gave her a little boost of confidence, and so, she did as she was told once again. Sliding through the elastic borders of the ring, she took a deep breath, hopped off, and rushed to the door as fast as her hooves would carry her. She struggled to hold the gadget firm in her hooves as she was running, but decided to try something unique, using her teeth to grip a small arch that stuck out from the gadget's top. It was much easier for her this way -- less risk of tripping and falling, and less risk of taking a swing and a miss at an enemy. When she got to the door, she spun around as fast as she could, took the gadget in her hooves, and fired it into the air. Another sweater materialized, this time one in a color that Rarity could not even begin to describe, and it fell to the ground. "Whoa...did you just use your mouth to carry the gadget?" "Uh, w-well, I just-" "That's so awesome!" Rainbow's eyes shimmered. "You got the hang of that quick, kid!" Apple Bloom blushed as her gaze drifted to Rainbow, and then to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who were also watching her with admiration sparkling in their eyes. Rainbow cleared her throat to direct attention to her. "When you all become agents, you may get a unicorn or Pegasus as your partner, someone that can help you use gadgets. In the meantime, you can consider that a test run. An awesome test run!" She flew over to Apple Bloom. "How'd you figure out to use your teeth like that?" "When ya work on the farm long enough, ya pick up a few skills." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Thank Applejack for that one!" "Eatin' apples require strong teeth!" the farmpony called. "I raised her right!" Rarity giggled at her partner's enthusiasm. The door opened, nearly sending Apple Bloom careening as she hastily moved out of the way. "Hi, everyone." "Hiya!" "Oh! Mandy, Ms. O, darlings!" Rarity greeted. "How did the test go?" "Oh, I passed, of course." Oprah gave a nonchalant shrug. Mandy's eyes shimmered, tears pooling in them. "Aw shucks. Ya didn't pass?" The hybrid sniffled. "N-n-no...they said, they said I got too distracted...I failed one...I..." Her speech delved into unintelligible blubbering as she collapsed to the ground in a fit of sobbing. "How could you not pass?!" Rainbow cried out. "You were raised in Odd Squad! You know every oddity in the book! Who do I have to yell at to make sure-" "Now now, Dash. I'm sure the Big O had her reasons." Applejack said. "Mandy tried her best. That's what matters." Oprah, instead of comforting Mandy, looked rather confused at her sudden outburst. Even moreso when she went from sobbing to gut-busting laughter. "Darling?" "Oh, I got you all good!" Mandy rolled onto her back, her legs flailing back and forth as she gave out laugh after laugh. All six ponies just stared at Oprah. "She passed. With flying colors." she explained. "But I didn't know she had this trick up her sleeve." "Come on, Mandy! Don't scare us like that!" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Mandy stopped laughing after a few minutes, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "Ahh...I'm really sorry. Guess I'm just in a funny mood today!" "When are ya not?" Applejack muttered. "Aaaaaanyway...whatcha been learnin'?" "I was just teaching Apple Bloom how to use gadgets." Rainbow proudly explained. "She figured out to use her teeth instead of her hooves if she's in battle!" "It's really not that special, Rainbow Dash..." Apple Bloom absentmindedly kicked the ground with her front hoof. "Yeah it is!" Mandy spoke up before Oprah could. "I figured your hooves would make it hard to hold gadgets that are specifically designed for human hands. I'll hafta ask Oona to make some adjustments!" "Changing the subject..." Oprah interjected. "I was planning on making you, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo partners." The three fillies' eyes widened. "Really?" Sweetie Belle asked. Oprah nodded. "From your sisters' accounts, it seems you three work very well together. Even your cutie marks are the same. And far be it from me to speak professionally on the topic of cutie marks, but I don't think that's something you see every day." "You mean..." "Yes. A three-way partnership is completely unprecedented for Odd Squad, but I couldn't just split two of you off and send the other one to be with another agent. Once you're promoted and officially partnered up, you'll be the first trio in Odd Squad history." A moment of silence hung over the room. Then, the room echoed. It echoed with the sound of excited squeals and cheers as the fillies hugged each other and hopped up and down excitedly. Likewise, the three mares also gave excited cheers as they hugged and laughed. Oprah let them get their excitement out before she continued. "But that isn't to say you don't have a long way to go. You'd better be ready..." She nudged Mandy. "Because we're both going to bring our A games. And we expect you to do the same." "Darn straight!" Mandy chirped. "Just work together as a team and never give up, and you'll be fine!" "Of course we will!" Scootaloo jumped up into the air, her tiny wings briefly providing her lift before she landed on the ground again. "You can count on us!" "We'll be the best agents Odd Squad's ever seen!" Apple Bloom said. "We won't let you down!" Sweetie grinned and began trotting in place, unable to contain her excitement and eagerness. A few minutes later, Oprah urged the fillies to take a short break. They were now conversing amongst themselves, while Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack did the same. Oprah herself, along with Mandy, took a seat on the edge of the boxing ring. "You know, they're well on their way to becoming good agents. And...I'm really glad that we're training them together." Oprah said, taking a sip of her juice. An "aah" sound came out of Mandy as she finished chugging some water from her water bottle. "Yeah! We make a gooder than good team, you and I. Let's-" She was cut off by the sensation of a body being wrapped around her. Sure enough, it was Oprah, her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection in "A hug? Another one? Usually you save those for super-duper emotional occasions!" The hybrid sighed. "But all right, if that's what ya want..." She hugged Oprah back. It was a rather touching moment...that is, it would have been if Mandy didn't feel like her body was slowly getting crushed in a meat grinder. "Okay...maybe not so tight...need air...need air..." she squeaked, trying to wriggle out of the hug. Luckily, Oprah set her down the second she heard her agent's protests. "Now, after this...why don't we go for a bite to eat? My treat." "Oprah, you don't have to-" "I insist." Mandy blinked, and then shrugged. "Well, okay. There is a diner that just opened that I wanna try..." "It's a done deal." The two girls shared a laugh before sighing and hopping off of the boxing ring, approaching the fillies. "All right, let's get back to work!" "Who wants to learn about agility?" "I do, I do!" S1E11: Under A RestIn the world of Odd Squad, the concept of sleep is a very fickle thing. It can vary between people and ponies who have all sorts of different sleeping habits, and especially among those who were afflicted with oddness, both chronic and temporary. Odd creatures -- ponies excluded -- are even more susceptible to this, although the topic of their sleep patterns is left for those in the Creature Care department to follow. As for the agents whose job it was to eradicate oddness? Adults had their theories. "They dream of oddness!" some said. "Surely they have dreams just like my little Bobby." others said. No one really knew for sure. One of the more modern depictions of an agent's dream was a hastily-edited Shmumotoshop job done by Olive, of a dream she had one night where she was a centaur on an island, surrounded by numerous oddities. Some thought of it as a deep and introspective look into the mind of an Odd Squad veteran who had risked her life to save the world and had thrown herself into the fire for years, especially since an uninhabited island with clownfish playing guitar, lemons with monarch butterfly wings, and sundaes with baby legs was completely unheard of within the organization's history. Others, namely the more skeptical ones, chalked it up to her being Mandy's adoptive mother. But really, who was to say. Olive's mind could be an anomaly all its own, and no one would ever know but her. Not even Otto. But for all of the inner workings of Olive's mind, there was one agent who had such a confusing form of operations that not even Olive herself could comprehend it. She had gotten the phrase "you continue to surprise us" thrown at her so much that it was like a mandated catchphrase she got paid by the syllable to receive. Mandy had relatively normal sleep habits. Like most any other human child, she went to bed at the same time each night and woke up at the same time every day. Her brain wouldn't have even made the least experienced neurologist bat an eye. Of course, that wasn't to say she didn't have sleep issues from time to time -- sometimes the occasional nightmare woke her up and left her unable to get back to sleep, or falling ill put a damper on her dreams. But as far as obstructive sleep apnea or somnambulism went, that, along with other sleep disorders present in children, was nonexistent. The key word here, of course, is "had relatively normal sleep habits". The Mandy of the present was an entirely new being when it came to sleep. Although she still went to bed at around the same time every night -- outside circumstances pending, of course -- she began to sleep more often. Loud snoring and sleep-talking became a commonly-heard sound. And she could attest to more than one case of somnambulism, in both flight and on foot. At the insistence of many, Odd Squad Doctors ran tests on her to try and figure out what was wrong with her. The results were, for a lack of better word, puzzling. By all accounts, Mandy was a happy and healthy 11-year-old girl who, prior to her transformation into a pony-human hybrid, had good sleep habits and no chronic sleep issues. She had all the excitability and energy of a 25-pack of rechargeable batteries, even with her sleep issues. But no one could pin anything down. It got to such a point where there was debate about taking her to Toronto General Hospital and having them run tests on her. But there was also debate from the other side regarding concerns of the hospital refusing care to her, which won in the end. This was an Odd Squad problem, and it would stay an Odd Squad problem. As such, Doctors couldn't get a handle on Mandy's sleeping habits. To this day, they still can't. Instead, they resigned to using her as a willing test subject for Doctors-in-training, and left the topic of her sleep alone. It was almost like a taboo subject, with it being allowed to be brought up but with no one able to give any one clear answer. Mandy herself, on the other hand, knew very well about her current sleep habits. She knew what she needed for a good night's sleep, and she expressed her needs well. There were only two problems -- not everyone was so keen on listening to her, and sometimes, she set her sleep needs aside for higher priorities, like work or helping a friend out with an issue. Which brings us to this story. The story of a time when Mandy's sleep habits proved to be dangerous and detrimental to not just Odd Squad, but to nearly the entire town -- and how one pony brought relief to both her and everyone else, with one simple solution. ...Okay, two simple solutions. 2:00 in the afternoon. Agents were milling about, some with clients, others carrying large stacks of paperwork. But curiously, one agent was absent...one agent that Oprah was easily able to pinpoint. She marched through the hallways, her stance rigid but firm. She sipped an apple-flavored juice box, something that kept her anger in check and her sanity along with it. Finally, she arrived at her destination. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Right there in her line of vision, sleeping peacefully in her own bed, was none other than Agent Mandy. Snoring and sleep-talking away, with an invisible, but active and soundproof and very much electrified, force field that had a sheen running down it every few seconds. "Oh, good. Figures I'd find you asleep in here." Oprah resisted the urge to snark, instead using the sheen to identify the one spot in the force field where she could enter without getting severely electrocuted. A sigh left her as she gazed down at her sleeping second-in-command. "Now, how to get you to wake up...after all, work's gotta be done around here." Her being lost in thought left her blissfully unaware of Mandy's face contorting into one of unease and the soft moan she gave in tandem. She laughed. "Who am I kidding? You don't wake up for anything." She turned around. Mandy's horn lit up. The next thing Oprah knew, she was sent careening out the door and colliding front-first with the adjacent wall. Her heart was beating fast, and she wasn't sure what to focus on first. The fact that she somehow didn't get electrocuted? The fact that her bones were somehow intact and she wasn't seriously injured? Or the fact that Mandy had used magic in her sleep? Who knew. All she cared about was getting out of her predicament. With a groan, she pushed against the wall with as much force as she could muster, and it wasn't until that much effort that her body was released from the wall with a popping sound. She stumbled around for a few moments before she found her footing, giving another sigh. "What...happened?" she mumbled, rubbing the front of her aching head and making a mental note to pop two of that special brand of aspirin she kept in her desk when she got back to her office. "There're zzo many zzquid juice boxezz n' this computer, I'll take 'em..." was her only response, as Mandy went right back to snoring. Her horn's magic had died down, something that brought relief to Oprah. Relief that was squashed by her struggle to understand exactly what had just transpired. Was...was that Mandy's doing? But why? She doesn't attack people in her sleep...much less use magic! Oprah vigorously shook her head, wincing as the ache returned with a vengeance. And something about squid juice boxes...? She eyed Mandy, still asleep with a smile on her face, even though her shield was no longer active. Exactly how Oprah had survived getting electrocuted was just one question out of many that could fill a list expanding the distance of the entire world, and then some. Gah, I can't think! Clearly. She sighed. Forget her sleep-talk. I need a new juice box. One without squid. Eyeing her spilled juice box, she gave a scoff and made her way back to her office. Her entire body ached something fierce along with her head, now, and she just wanted to make the pain go away by any means necessary while also thanking those higher-ups in the sky that she didn't die or get seriously injured from the attack. As she rounded the corner, she made out the sound of a familiar voice. "So all of a sudden I hear, 'People love eating peanut butter toothpaste strips!' I go upstairs to find that it's Mandy, in my bed, fast asleep!" A pause. "But that's not the worst of it." Another familiar voice resounded as Oprah approached its source. "What was the worst of it?" "She drooled on one of my pillows." "Oh." Oprah made her presence known, clutching her arm as it began to throb and gritting her teeth. "Whoa, Oprah, what happened?" Olive's eyes widened. "Assistant! Get me a juice box!" Oprah called, as loud as her voice could make it. She didn't care who heard her, really -- the juice would numb the pain she was feeling, easy. Her head swiveled back to the Director duo, as she uttered the name of the culprit. "Mandy." "Mandy?!" came the unisonant cry. "I was trying to wake her up because, you know, it's 2:00 in the afternoon and she overslept, but when I turned my back on her, she laser-blasted me out of the room like I was some sort of villain! For odd's sake, I collided with the wall! You should see the dent in it now!" Oprah's voice was nearly a scream, and she thrust her index finger towards the direction of the right hallway. "And then she said something about squid juice boxes..." "Normally I'd chalk that 'squid juice box' thing up to whatever weird thing Mandy said in her sleep, but that sounds...oddly specific." Otto snickered at the unintentional pun, which earned him a harsh "Otto..." from his partner. "Now look at me! I'm a mess, I feel achy...this is horrible!" Olive chose to ignore the whining for the most part. "Well, we all know it's impossible to wake Mandy up. Believe me, I've tried." The screams and cries of agents could be heard as everyone in the precinct ran around and about, like a group of bumbling idiots. If one listened closely enough, some could be heard screaming words like "fire" and "we have to get out of here" and "we're gonna be taken to burn". One agent, however, was not running. With megaphone in hand, she loomed over another agent who was fast asleep in her bed, drool descending down her chin as she snored away. Taking a deep breath, the agent with the megaphone raised the item to her mouth and threw every inch of lung power into her voice. "MANDY, THERE'S A FIRE! EVERYONE NEEDS TO EVACUATE, NOW!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!! WAKE UP!!" She might as well have told Mandy the sky was blue, because all she did was stretch and roll over before she resumed her slumber. The agent's eye twitched. Her brain had a moment of utter failure. "Oh, for the love of-" "In hindsight, that was a bad idea." Olive blushed. "'Bad' is an understatement." Oprah growled, an icy-cold edge to her voice. "All right, well, if you're done remembering stuff..." Otto cracked his knuckles. "I don't want to call myself a hero, but I got this." Olive's eyes widened as she remembered the last time Otto said that, and how disastrous it was. However, this time, he seemed to have a sturdier plan in motion as he made his way over to the Lab. "What's he doing?" "Beats me." Oprah gave a shrug. The assistant arrived with the juice box Oprah had requested, and she happily took it in her hands and gave it a sip, making sure to throw in a "thank you" as the assistant walked away. The trio met up in the Bedroom only a minute later, feeling grateful that Mandy's snoring wouldn't cut into anything they tried to say now that she had put up a new shield. Otto held up a helmet that was illuminated green on the top in certain areas, with white wires similar to that of a landline phone attached to it and spreading in all four directions. Surrounding the helmet were blue dots arranged in a pattern. "This is a Dream-inator helmet. It allows anyone to see the dreams of whoever is wearing the helmet." "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Olive nodded. "If we see what Mandy's dreams are, maybe it'll provide us with some answers as to why she attacked Oprah." "And why she keeps saying nonsensical stuff in her sleep." Oprah blinked as two pairs of eyes turned on her. "What? Just because I don't care about what she says doesn't mean I'm not curious about it." Sighing, Otto went inside of the shield, immediately noticing that Mandy's snores seemed louder than usual. Not by much, and he couldn't tell for sure, but to him, they were definitely louder. He held his breath and attached the helmet to her head as carefully as he could, keeping a close eye on her horn so he could book it at the first sign of its illumination. Luckily, Mandy didn't feel like attacking him for this latest nuisance in her slumber. Unluckily, she did feel like putting a halt on the nuisance in another way. Her head raised off of the pillow and slightly leaned to the right, and as she did so, the helmet fell to the floor with sparks shooting out of it, Otto quickly moving out of the way. "I can uzze th' zzcrewdriver t' clean the dizzhezz..." she mumbled, before her head hit the pillow and she resumed snoring. Otto buried his hands in his face, but not before sneaking a peek at the girls outside of the shield. Olive simply rolled her eyes, while Oprah looked about ready to fire off some ever-so-witty snark. And snark she did, the very second Otto stepped foot outside with broken Dream-inator in hand. "Got any more smart ideas, Einstein?" All Otto did was sigh in response. "Guess that idea was a bust." "Hey, Mandy, I need to-" Peaches' sudden entry was hampered by her gaze sweeping the room. Almost immediately, it landed on Olive, Oprah and Otto, who blinked. "Am...I interrupting something important or what?" "Peaches!" Olive said, amping her voice to show off her oft-used nice facade. "We need a favor." "Oh? Uh, sure, I'm happy to help with whatever! What do you need?" "Dig your claws into Mandy, would you please?" Peaches glanced at Mandy, and then at Olive, and back and forth again. "You want me to what?" Before Olive could reiterate, Otto waved his hand at her and took the reins. "We tried to look into Mandy's dreams to see why she isn't waking up, but..." He held up the destroyed helmet. "Ouch." Peaches said, looking the gadget over. "Anyway, to answer your question, I tried that a week ago. See, Mandy decided to eat my bucket of fish before she fell asleep, and I got so upset that my cat instincts took over and I attacked her." A brief flicker of anger made its way through Olive's eyes, but it didn't last for very long. She figured she could get mad at Peaches for attacking her daughter later. Right now, she was in a state of shock. "And she didn't even stir?" "No! She just kept on snoring, without a care in the world!" "At this point, I could sic a villain on her, and she'd still be fast asleep. Heck," Oprah snorted. "She could probably beat them singlehandedly in her sleep." Peaches opened her mouth to speak again, but something bright from inside the shield caught her eye. She barely had time to shout the word "Duck!" before sending all three agents tumbling to the ground, just as another blast of magic soared over their heads and collided with the still-dented wall. "What is happening?" Olive asked in disbelief, gazing at Mandy with confusion written on her face. "I hope it's not sleep-itis..." Oprah muttered. Otto, getting another idea, rose to his feet and dashed out the door, calling, "I'll be right back!" "Where's he heading off to in such a hurry?" Olive could only give a puzzled grunt and a shrug in response to her former boss's inquiry. The group got their answer a couple minutes later, when Otto returned with Dr. O in tow. "Okay, I'm back! I got Dr. O to do a medical analysis on Mandy!" Olive blinked. "We've really got to get our brains in check." she remarked to Oprah, who nodded her head in agreement. "No, no. Both of your brains are in check. His is not." Dr. O jabbed a thumb at Otto. "Mandy's sleep has been an unresolved mystery for a long time. That isn't to say I won't try my best with her current predicament, but please, don't be surprised if not much comes out of it." "Just try your best." "I always do, Ms. O." Dr. O cleared his throat. "So, from what Otto tells me, Mandy has been using magic in her sleep again, correct?" "Yes. She can't seem to wake up for anything. We're worried she might have sleep-itis, or some other odd illness." Oprah explained. Dr. O gave a hum of thought. "Well, to rule out odd illnesses in a patient, an analysis must be done. You don't mind, surely?" The group shook their heads. Dr. O pulled out electrodes, his tablet, and some wires out from his hammerspace spine. He tucked the wires and electrodes under his arm before beginning to tap on his tablet. "I will say, though...we haven't had a sleep-itis outbreak in years. Do you know of anyone else who is like this?" Oprah shook her head. "No, it's just Mandy." Another hum of thought came forth. With the sound of whirring and soft beeping, a holographic image was projected into the air, showing nothing but static. As Dr. O set the tablet down, he got to work on connecting the wires and the electrodes to it. He plugged one end of a wire into an electrode, and then the other end into a headphone jack in the tablet, repeating the process once more for the other set. Once that was complete, he confidently strode into the shield Mandy had produced and attached the electrodes to her head, all while she was blissfully unaware and continuing to snore away with her mouth curved upward in her usual cat smile. Once preparations were complete, he got to performing the analysis, tapping a button on his tablet conveniently marked as such. Instead of static, now, there was coding -- lines and lines of it, running down the screen as though someone were typing random letters and numbers at a rapid-fire pace. He couldn't help but bite his lip in both anticipation and worry, and he held his breath as he waited for the results to show. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they showed. "Sleep-itis test results on AGENT MANDY: negative." an automatic voice resounded, as the words appeared on the screen. He exhaled, a soft breathy laugh escaping his lungs in tandem. He walked back out of the shield, but not before removing the electrodes, unplugging the wires, and shoving both sets of items behind his back again. "Well, it doesn't look like she has sleep-itis. But as I'm sure you know, I can't exactly pinpoint the cause, either." "How's that?" Olive slightly narrowed her eyes. "Mandy is a very complicated patient. Her brain is wired differently than ours, thanks to the transformation she went through after battling the Hydraclops. Of course, that affected her sleep." he explained. "Her brain has a central...mm, how do I describe this...a central hub, of sorts, which controls her magic and flight usage while she is asleep as well as her sleep cycle. The transformation altered her brain in several ways regarding the realm of sleep. Unfortunately, us Odd Squad Doctors can't figure out exactly what those alterations are. All we've been able to figure out is that her brain has that central hub that has control over her sleep cycle -- which, mind you, is mostly similar to that of regular human beings -- and prevents her from using both magic and flight in her sleep." "So is the hub just not doing its job, then?" Oprah asked. "I don't think it would just slack off on accident. Mandy meant to attack me. There's no doubt about it." "Who's to say." Dr. O shrugged. "Not even I have the answer to that. But I doubt she has an odd illness, let alone one that would either change the hub or corrupt it in some way so it couldn't do its job or functioned incorrectly. So we can rule that out." "Hold on. Mandy's a human being. She's the same species as-" "Was. She was the same species. Now she's been given a new classification in addition to that same species." Dr. O held a finger up to interrupt Olive. "She has pony blood in her now, as well, not just human blood. And we don't know too much about ponies' sleep habits to come to any solid consensuses yet." As Oprah opened her mouth to speak again, her badge phone rang. Growling, she picked it up. "Go for O." A flurry of screams and one flustered voice met her on the other end of the line. "Oprah, I've got kids here who are waiting to see Mandy- hey!" "Oh?" Oprah blinked. Mandy didn't tell me she was meeting up with Professor O and a bunch of kids. What's this about, now? "I-I'm sorry, Professor, but Mandy isn't, uh...feeling well." She held the phone away from her ear as crashing and banging sounds began to come through as clear as day. "Oh! Oh my, oh, hey, don't do tha- oww!" Ragged breathing. "They're getting a little upset!" And then the sound of the zap from a gadget, followed by a scream. The looks on the rest of the group's faces spelled absolute confusion, even moreso when "We want Mandy" became a chanting request from the kids. "I'm sorry! Mandy can't make it!" Oprah shouted. "Tell her to work through her sickness and I'll see her in a bit!" A dial tone quickly put an end to that conversation, and Oprah snapped the badge phone shut without another word, putting it back on her chest where it belonged and scratching her neck. "Um...that's my bad. Please don't ask. I don't know a thing about this-" "And we don't either!" Olive and Otto simultaneously interjected. "Moving back to the topic at hand..." Peaches turned to Dr. O. "Is there any way you can wake Mandy up?" "Speaking from experience, I don't think that's a wise idea. Have you ever heard the phrase 'don't wake up a sleeping giant'?" Dr. O explained. "It means that something isn't dangerous unless it's provoked. Waking up Mandy would cause her to get mad, and we all know how angry she can get when something or someone disturbs her sleep." Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the room, followed by an "I can attest to that" from Oprah. "So what can we do, then?" Peaches tilted her head. "All we can do is let her sleep, and hope she wakes up soon. I'm really sorry." "It's...fine! Totally fine!" Oprah gave an awkward smile. "I-I'm sure this precinct can manage without her for a little while." The nervous laughter she gave didn't seem to attract any potential customers to her ruse, as Olive, Otto, Peaches and Dr. O all shot her incredulous looks. "I'll be on my way, then." Dr. O exhaled. "What's next?" And with that, he left the room to the tune of a chorus of goodbyes. Inside the shield, Mandy was oblivious to the entire conversation. She continued to sleep without a care in the world, turning over onto her left side and moving her hand up and down as she went through the motions of a dream. What also went through the motions of a dream was her tail. Relatively short but easily extended for comedic purposes whenever the need arose, it snaked across the floor slowly, like a monster in a horror movie ready to grab its next unwilling victim. As it turned out, said unwilling victim just so happened to be Olive. The wind got knocked out of her as her body collided with the floor. Before she could even ask what was going on, her body was dragged back to the shield. A flurry of "no's" shot out from the girl's mouth as she helplessly scrabbled with her fingers. Otto tried to lunge for her, but by the time his body hit the floor, it was too late. "Help m-" In she disappeared. Into the shield, or more specifically, the shield's door. "Olive!" Oprah cried out, mentally firing a string of curses as she moved to rescue her fellow Director. She didn't get very far before she figured out what was going on. The tail wrapped around Olive's body, and gripped it with all the force of a crab's pincer on the bridge of a nose. "Wait, I'm not a stuffed animaaaaaaa..." She coughed, feeling the air being sucked out of her. The sight of Otto's mouth moving caught her attention, but she couldn't make out a thing he was saying. Her eyes began rolling up into her head, and she screamed in the hopes that someone, anyone, would hear her. She didn't care if it was Otto, or Oprah, or Peaches, or someone else entirely -- as long as she was heard. Her scream was cut off by the tail wrapping its way up her chest and then up her face, obscuring her mouth in the process. Fear was the only emotion that settled in now. She began thrashing about in an attempt to free herself, not caring about the electrocuted shield. Mandy, of course, was still oblivious, continuing to snore away without so much as an ear twitch. All the trio could do outside of the shield was watch in horror, reacting appropriately even though they know Olive nor Mandy could hear them. "Mandy, stop!" "It's no use, Otto! Whatever Mandy's doing in her dreams, she's doing in real life!" Peaches said. Olive managed to maneuver her body enough so that Mandy's tail obscured the bridge of her nose and the bottom half of her vision, making sure to take in as much fresh air as her lungs could handle. "Mandy, would you stop?!" The snoring stopped, and what resounded in its place was a low and angry growl. "Oh, well, don't get mad at me!" The trio watched as Olive began screaming something at Mandy while still struggling to free herself. Any worry and anger they had dissipated slightly. "Is...is she fighting with a sleeping Mandy?" Peaches asked, blinking and rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Yeah. Yeah she is." Oprah deadpanned in response. "Get...back here!" came the sleepy cry of Mandy, as she rolled off of the bed and collided with Olive. As one might expect from a somnambulist, her fighting skills certainly weren't as good as when she was awake, and every punch she tried to make missed by several hairs. Still, that didn't mean Olive didn't try to defend herself. Peaches made her way inside the shield. "Break it up, you two!" she called, going for Mandy's tail and prying it apart so Olive could get free. "You hound-dog cur! I'll zzhred you to bitzz...!" Mandy said, swinging her fists randomly as though she believed luck would allow her to land a hit. Oh, how the Mandy of the waking world would have laughed at her pathetic attempts...but that would cause something far worse than Mandy's destruction in the midst of slumber. A timetastrophe. Which no one wanted to bring on. Oscar was still attending therapy from the last one. "Can't you just switch to a good dream or something?!" Peaches snapped, half out of confusion and half out of frustration. Her request was long forgotten now, and she began to regret even asking Mandy for it in the first place. Wings opened. Peaches and Olive scrambled backwards. Wings gave mighty flaps. The shield disintegrated and faded away. Which left Mandy with an easy means of escape as she went right back to her usual snoring-and-gibberish routine. No one said anything. All they did was silently watch Mandy go out the door, arms and legs drooping towards the ground like wilted flowers. They weren't sure what was going on with her at that point, but there was one priority that stuck in their minds. "Olive, are you okay?" Oprah asked, rushing over to tend to the girl. "Yeah, for the most part..." Olive gave a small cough. "Makes me wish we still had the Dream-inator helmet." "We have to follow Mandy. If she keeps acting out her dreams like this, it can spell destruction. Not just for Odd Squad, but for the entire town!" "Then let's go!" With that, the group rushed out the door as fast as their legs would carry them, all in the pursuit of one troublesome somnambulist who, really, only had one reasonable request. Peaches was hot on the trail of Mandy, faster than any of the agents. The chase took them through Headquarters and into the aboveground world, emerging somewhere in Cedarvale Park. "Mandy, get back here right now!" Peaches cried out, debating using her tail to provide her with a little more speed but realizing that her tail was built for casual flying and not high-speed chases. "Mandy, if you come back then I'll ma-" A bright burst of magic blinded her vision. And then Mandy disappeared. Peaches stopped in her tracks, catching her breath before growling. "CUZ!!" she called to the sky, even though she knew Mandy was gone and couldn't hear her. Huffing, she rushed back to the group. "Guys, we have bad news!" she called. "Mandy teleported!" The other three agents stopped in their tracks right then, giving a unisonant "What?!" "I don't know where, but we have to find her, and fast. If she's outside of Headquarters..." Peaches didn't feel like finishing the sentence. Oprah got into authority mode. "Olive, Otto, spread out across the town. Peaches, you as well. If you can, make sure to get a good aerial view. If Mandy's flying, we might be able to catch her in the sky." "What about the ponies?" Olive asked. "I'd contact them if they all weren't away in Equestria right now." Oprah shook her head and muttered, "Terrible timing..." "C'mon, partner. Let's go find Mandy." Otto said, gesturing to his left. "I go that way, you go that way?" "Sure. As much ground as we can cover." Olive smiled. "Let's go." The two Directors ran off in their respective directions, keeping their eyes on the sky but making sure to look on the ground as well. Peaches ran off as well, going straight ahead without another word spoken. This left Oprah free to go in the direction she came from, so everyone was scattered. For what seemed like hours, everyone searched. Whether it was with gadgets, calling out Mandy's name, or asking around, very few leads were given -- and those leads went stale quickly, either due to Mandy changing directions or her simply being too fast for anyone to catch up to her. Who knew, really. Olive took a seat on a nearby bench, regretting not bringing a water bottle. She had never been too keen on using the water fountains littered around the park, but she was starting to feel thirsty enough that she might just consider using them. "It's no use...I've looked everywhere." she said, giving a sigh. "At this point I wouldn't be sur-" A nasal snore cut into her thoughts. Her eyes widened as she looked left to right, finding no one sleeping nearby. Another snore. This time, it sounded from behind her, and she got up to look, her heart beating quickly out of fright and shock. Slowly, ever so slowly, her eyes drifted up the tree. There, on a branch that shouldn't even hold her weight under the most realistic of circumstances, was Agent Mandy, looking like she had somehow landed on it with her four limbs drooping downwards and decided to take a nap. "Oh...my odd!" Mandy stopped snoring, her expression contorting into one of discomfort before her horn became illuminated once more. Before Olive knew it, a laser blast was fired in her direction, and she barely had time to dodge it as bits and pieces of dirt flew upwards from the ground at the point of impact. The Director surveyed the damage, then glanced at Mandy. "Mandy, please, don't! You never do this!" She blinked in realization. "W-well, I mean, you do sleep in random places..." She shook her head. "Ugh, whatever, that's besides the point!" She didn't notice a small crowd of people and ponies gathering below her as she declared "I'm climbing up this tree!" and gripped the trunk, using her hands and feet to guide her way upwards as fast as she possibly could. "Oh thank Celestia, it's Odd Squad!" one Earth pony mare remarked. "Maybe they'll stop Agent Mandy's rampage!" another unicorn stallion said. "I sure hope so!" came a rather distant voice from a man in the back of the crowd. Olive's hands began to chafe. She could have sworn a splinter or two was stuck somewhere in them. "Jeez, how'd you get so high up?!" she muttered. Although she knew that was a rhetorical question, it didn't stifle her frustration any less, and she continued to climb. Finally, she arrived at the branch Mandy was sleeping on. The thing was, she had no idea how she was going to get her down from the tree. She grit her teeth, the gears in her mind turning until she settled on an idea. She wrapped her legs around the tree further, making sure that they had a good grip on the trunk so her hands could be free. "Okay...now, if I scoop you up like this..." She extended her arms out until she grabbed ahold of Mandy's torso. "Nice and gentle..." she urged, beginning to lift the hybrid upwards while listening to the cheers of the crowd below her, like she was rescuing a cat from a tree. Mandy stopped snoring. A groan rumbled about in her throat. Her horn lit up again. Olive immediately set her back down on the branch, an "oh no" leaving her lips as she knew exactly what was about to happen. Magic was fired into the air every which way from Sunday. The crowd went from cheering to giving startled screams as everyone began running for their lives, not wanting to get hit with any stray lasers. Olive, trying hard to keep her grip on the tree, moved every which way in an attempt to dodge the lasers. "Mandy, stop, it's me! Your adoptive mother!" she called out, trying to figure out her next course of action. "Please, wake up!" With the rapid flapping of her wings, Mandy began to take off again, going back to snoring as she did so. Olive let out a scream of frustration as she pounded the trunk with her fist. She felt like crying in that moment, the frustration, fatigue, and upset slowly getting to her with every attack Mandy made and every escape she made after it. Why is this so hard?! It was easier to get Mandy to come back home when she wandered off as a toddler! That's it. No more messing around. If I can't get her through physical means, then I'll have to resort to gadgetry. Before she could even whip out a gadget from behind her back, however, Mandy teleported. The bright rainbow-colored flash was equal to the flash of a camera for Olive as her pupils contracted. Giving another scream, she covered her eyes with both hands and rubbed them furiously, not noticing the grip her legs had on the trunk was loosening as they attempted to flail about. The next thing the Director knew, she was falling. She couldn't see it, but she could certainly feel it, going by the air pushing against her backside. Yet another scream left her, this time one of fear rather than one of frustration or shock. Within the snap of a finger, her body suddenly felt cradled in the arms of someone. "Gotcha!" Olive shook her head furiously, her vision coming back as she saw who had caught her before she could hit the ground and suffer from more injuries than she would have liked to suffer from today. "Otto...?" "You okay?" "I'm...fine." She put both feet on the ground. "Can't say the same for my hands, though." "Let me see." Oprah took one of Olive's hands and examined it. "They look red, but I don't see any splinters..." A pause as Olive waited for her former boss to complete her sentence. But said boss was looking at something off into the distance. "What? What is it?" Olive asked, before swiveling her head in the same direction and letting herself go slack-jawed. "Is that..." "A force field?" Peaches completed Otto's sentence, striding up to the trio in her cat form and shapeshifting back into her regular form as she nodded. "Yes it is. And it's huge." Sure enough, ponies and people were screaming and running, whether it was due to how huge the force field was or it was due to the crackles of lightning that came off from it. As the group ran towards the force field's source, one thing became apparent. "Mandy put up a force field...to claim the entire park for herself?" Olive asked. "Seems like it." Peaches responded. "She's sleeping on a cloud! How is she even resting on it?" "Mandy is an alicorn, which means she has the powers of all three pony types, including the abilities of the Pegasi to walk on clouds." Oprah explained. "And lay on them, too." Peaches nodded in understanding, although she couldn't deny she was confused as to why Mandy was doing what she was doing in laying on a cloud and not someplace else, or just continuing to fly. "Guys, if Mandy keeps this up, she's gonna kill someone eventually. And I'm sure your precinct doesn't want that, Oprah." Otto said, an edge of urgency to his voice. Oprah shook her head. "I don't get it. Mandy's never done something as extreme as this. Not even when she sleepwalked, or...uh, 'sleep-flew'. Why is she doing it now?" Her head turned towards the direction of the portal, which she knew was nearby, and she growled. "If only those ponies could get here sooner rather than later..." Olive perked up as she realized something. "The portal. The portal to Equestria! It's in the park!" "So?" "So." Olive grabbed Peaches by the shoulders. "That means the ponies might not be able to get through!" "Oh no." Oprah had to bite her tongue to make sure a swear didn't slip out instead of the word "no". "We have to get to the portal. Follow me!" On the outskirts of the park, the group ran, each one of them keeping an eye out for the elongated portal that separated Equestria from Toronto. Luckily, due to how big it was, it wasn't too hard to find within the confines of the force field -- the problem was its current position within said confines. "Wait." Olive came to a stop. "The portal...the force field...the portal wasn't affected!" "But it goes straight through." Peaches pointed out. "Which means-" "If the ponies come back, they'll be trapped inside!" Oprah let out an exhale and began massaging her forehead as she tried to think of a solution. "Can't we break the force field ourselves?" Otto offered, giving a nonchalant shrug as though his solution was a perfectly easy one and he wasn't sure why everyone was making a big stink of the whole problem. "We can try, but Mandy's force fields are pretty sturdy -- perhaps moreso if she's asleep." A steely look formed in Oprah's eyes. "We'll all need to work together. Whether it's by physical force or magical force." She, Olive and Otto all tapped the middle button on their jackets, which coated them in a brief white shimmer. Peaches, on the other hand, was at a complete loss, lacking such a feature on her own dress that had no buttons or any magical properties to speak of. Still, this didn't discourage her, and she figured that she could help another way that wasn't using brute force. "Electricity protectors." Oprah explained when she caught Peaches' confused expression. "This way, we won't get shocked if we touch the force field." "Uh...huh..." "All right, ready?" "Ready!" came the unisonant cry, before the agents rushed into the force field head-on. Peaches didn't move. All she did was stare at the force field. Now how in the name of Leo am I going to be able to get inside that thing witho- Her thoughts were cut off by her suddenly disappearing in a flash and re-emerging inside of the force field. "Sorry about that. Good thing we had this Teleport-inator handy!" Otto smiled, helping Peaches to her feet. The noise inside the force field was almost pure deafening silence. It was so silent that one could hear the sounds of their breathing if they listened closely enough. It would have greatly unnerved everyone if Mandy's loud snoring wasn't a constant that, for the first time since the chase began, they had come to appreciate. "N-no, zztop...zz-zo tired...zzo noizzy...mm..." muttered Mandy, as she rolled over on the cloud she was laying on with her pony ears folded downwards. One could note that her distress was quite clear throughout the entire ordeal, with her frequent movement and her displeased face expressions. Unfortunately for her, the four children who were trying to get her to come back to Headquarters weren't too eager to listen... The Mane Six met up in another area of the park, none of them noticing the giant force field nor the silence that accompanied it. In a way, the silence seemed to be a sort of unintentional "welcome back" gift that everyone could appreciate. "Well, I'm glad we've all gotten the things done in Equestria that we need to." Twilight sighed. "Now let's head back to Odd Squad!" "Hold on." Rainbow stopped the group, pointing a hoof up towards something in the sky. "Is that Mandy sleeping on a cloud?" The other ponies glanced up, but before either one of them could say anything, a loud bang echoed from somewhere, causing Fluttershy to give a shocked squeak as the fur on her back bristled. "Hey, it's Olive and Otto!" Pinkie pointed to where the two co-Directors were throwing every inch of their combined body weight at the force field, stumbling backwards when their attempt failed and shaking their heads furiously before gearing up to try again. "And Ms. O! Peaches too!" Applejack extended her own hoof outwards, gesturing towards her boss and the catgirl herself, who were using gadgets in futile attempts to destroy it. The electricity generated by the field shot back towards the gadget Peaches was holding, and she dropped it with a loud yowl as she scrambled back to avoid getting electrocuted. Everyone watched them go at it for a few moments, wondering exactly what was going on. "Erm, darlings..." Rarity swiveled her head from side to side as her eye caught exactly where she and the others were located. "I believe that is a force field they are trying to break." Twilight gave a soft hum in response, her gaze flicking from Mandy to the other group, watching them go at it. It wasn't until a few seconds later that her current location clicked in her brain. "Wait, what?!" she screamed, her head whipping back and forth as she came to the horrid realization that she, too, was trapped in the force field. Electrifying but eerily silent, save for the sound of snoring which just now made itself apparent to her. "Twilight, can ya deactivate it somehow?" Applejack asked, moving to touch it before Rainbow silently pulled her hoof away as she shook her head furiously. "I don't know, but we have to try. They can't keep this up for much longer." Twilight watched as Olive and Otto stumbled on their feet and then promptly collapsed to the ground, jackalopes hopping in circles around both of their heads as Oprah shook her head in exasperation. "Let me give it a try, y'all!" Applejack stepped forward. "I got some mighty kickin' power in these here legs." "What did I just say?!" Rainbow brought a hoof to her face. "Me too! We Earth ponies are super-duper strong, after all!" "Pinkie!" "Doesn't hurt to try, Dashie!" "All right, then. Just one moment." With her horn alight in raspberry, Twilight let her magic wash over her and her friends as they shimmered the color of raspberry briefly. "Now that we're protected against the electricity...give it a shot! All you got!" Twilight shouted, rhyme completely unintended even though it got a snicker out of Pinkie all the same. From afar, Peaches' eye caught the ponies bucking the shield with all of their might. In the case of Twilight and Rarity, they had resorted to using magic, although their attempts were completely ineffective. "They're kicking it!" "'Bucking' is the correct term, but yes." Oprah watched the ponies for a little bit before making eye contact with Peaches. "It looks like they're trying to get free." "It's a good thing, too." Olive said, her voice wobbling as she slowly sat up and shook her head. "I think even my bones are tired." "Same here..." Otto raised a hand into the air from where he was laying flat on his back, the jackalopes still hopping about above his head. The combined efforts of ten were just what was needed to bring the force field down. It cracked and then disintegrated in a huge poof of magic, much to the relief of everyone. Cheering sounded off somewhere in the distance that no one recognized. With the force field gone, the two groups could meet at last. "Are you all okay?" Twilight asked. "We're fine." Oprah sounded rather confident in that statement, even though Olive was busy tending to Otto and helping him to snap out of his dizzified state. "Just what is going on, anyway? Why was there a force field surrounding the park?" Rarity tilted her head. "It's Mandy." Olive stood up as Otto returned to consciousness. "She's been sleepwalking all day. We've been chasing her around Headquarters and around town trying to stop her!" Fluttershy looked at the cloud, where Mandy was still snoring away. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her snoring was still the most prominent noise of the scene -- not that it entranced the yellow Pegasus, but it did get her thinking about something. "You mean she still hasn't woken up?" Rainbow asked. "Not since this morning." Olive sighed. "Neither one of us knows a thing about what's happening or why she's doing this. She's sleepwalked before, but not to these extremes. We thought it had something to do with her dreams, but...who knows?" "The Dream-inator helmet broke when we tried using it on her." Otto added. "She's been attacking us in her sleep, too. Otto even got Dr. O to run an analysis on her and he can't even figure out a cause!" Oprah threw her hands up in exasperation. Fluttershy's attention was elsewhere, but her eardrums fully absorbed every single word of the combined explanation. She continued to look at Mandy as though she was the oddest thing in the world, a memory surfacing in her brain. "You don't have to stay up, really!" Fluttershy said, her tone on the edge of pleading as she gazed at her partner. "I have to." Mandy responded, bags under her blue and rather bloodshot eyes. Her jacket was off, and her hair was completely messed up. She looked like she was on the verge of collapsing, right in the middle of the darkened precinct that only had two agents in it. "I took this off of that precinct's hands, and it's myyyyy..." A yawn interrupted her. "...moral duty t' finish it." "But you've barely slept at all this week!" Fluttershy's voice was a cry amidst mostly silence, and she went from standing on the ground to hovering in the air. "You have to get some sleep! We've all seen what happens when you're sleep-deprived!" "Nonsense..." Mandy's eyes drooped. "I'll knock myself out doing this if I have to. But I can't let Mr. O down." Down came the yellow Pegasus towards the ground, and in came her wings, folded tightly against her body as she fixed her partner with a look of sympathy. "Mandy..." she said, as she tried once more to make her partner see reason. An attempt that ended in failure. "No ifs, ands, or buts! Not even coconuts! I'll be pullin' an all-nighter, and no one can stop me!" Having exhausted all the reasonable options she could think of, Fluttershy turned around and trotted down the left hallway, stopping just once to swivel her head towards Mandy. Her mouth opened, but no words came out, and she resigned to leaving her partner in her state of decrepitude as she made her way down the hallway, trying to fight back tears. Another memory surfaced, this time one of talking to Nurse Rainbowheart, a kindly Earth pony mare who worked as an Odd Squad Doctor at the Academy. "Many studies still have to be done, Fluttershy, but one thing is clear: if Mandy goes without sleep for too long, bad things can happen." "Like what?" "She could start to sleepwalk, and act out her dreams." "Any sort of dream?" Fluttershy tilted her head. "Yes. You, and the other agents, need to keep her under control. With how much magical power she has, she could threaten the entire town!" Before Fluttershy could respond, the memory warped. She found herself sitting upright in her own bed, her head turned to her left as she spied Mandy resting her head on her pillow. However, it wasn't so much what the hybrid was doing that dug under her fur. No...it was what she said. "I'm fine." She yawned. "Now...Imma just sleep...no noise, just sleep..." And she was out like a light, snoring away and completely immune to the movement of the outside world and its inhabitants. Except she wasn't immune. Not to Fluttershy, she wasn't. Just like the hybrid herself, the Pegasus, too, knew about her friend's sleep needs, and she was more than accommodating. After all, her Element was Kindness. It would go against her Element to cruelly deny Mandy the sleep she so desperately craved and needed. She would let Mandy bunk at her cottage every night if the risks and the consequences didn't outweigh the benefits -- the least of which was how she would appear to the creatures of Equestria, and more specifically, how she would appear to the ponies of Ponyville. Fluttershy certainly hadn't thought she would need to remind others of what should have been so painfully obvious, though. But perhaps she sorely overestimated them. Maybe... Maybe they just needed a good old lesson in kindness. Before she could ponder on the situation further, the memory faded away, and was replaced by a new one. One from just a few hours ago, as a matter of fact. "All I want is some peace and quiet! That's it! And no one's willing to give up that quiet so I can sleep!" Mandy cried out, sitting on her bed with Fluttershy hovering in front of her. "I-I mean really, Fluttershy, I can sleep anywhere. And it's nigh impossible to wake me up when I am asleep. But Odd Squad's such a noisy place that it's impossible for me to have any sort of impactful rest!" She sighed and gently touched one of the pony ears that sat on her head. "I swear, these ears have made my hearing a little more sensitive than before...can't test that, though." "I thought you could sleep through loud things, though." Fluttershy commented. "You can't?" "I can only do that when I'm super-duper tired. It's weird, but it's like..." Mandy scratched her head. "Even though I'm asleep and dreaming, I can hear distant noises and voices too. It's kinda hard to explain, but I really don't like it." Fluttershy took a moment to think. "All right. Um...how do you feel about white noise?" Mandy's eyes widened. If one of those huge light bulbs she had seen on that guy that worked at a place that made the things had appeared over her head, it would complete the entire "eureka moment" ensemble. "Yes...yes!" She nodded. "Yesyesyes, white noise! That's it! Things like ocean waves crashing, or fans running, or rain falling, or jungle sounds! That's what I need! If I had something like that, touched with just a liiiiittle pinchy-winchy of magic, I could drown out all the noise!" This got Fluttershy thinking, and soon, she too came up with an idea. "Then how about I find a room just for you, where you can have some peace and quiet if things get too noisy for you? I can put white noise in there, to help you sleep better." "You'd do that?" Mandy's voice was a squeak, and she lunged towards Fluttershy to hug her. "Oh, Fluttershy, thank you! It'd mean so much!" She pulled away. "A room all my own...I never got to experience it like all the other kids my age. But now it can become a reality!" Fluttershy smiled. "I'll go get started. Do you have anything specific in mind?" She had both expected and not expected Mandy to whip out an entire paper list of things she wanted in her new room. But she did, and Fluttershy read it all. Most of the things were pretty reasonable -- thank Celestia, because she wasn't sure if "a giant slide made of chocolate" could fit in the room she was about to create. Just as she left the room, she was brought back to reality. She knew what needed to be done. All she could hope for was that the others would be more understanding than they were now. Fluttershy's wings spread, and she took to the skies. "Hey, Fluttershy, where ya goin?" Pinkie asked. The Pegasus didn't respond, instead continuing her ascent without so much as acknowledging Pinkie. "Is she going to see Mandy?" Olive watched Fluttershy head up, up, up, all the way to the cloud where Mandy was sleeping. "I don't think Fluttershy's gonna be able to wake her up." Peaches said. The group of nine all watched their friend do her thing, feeling completely confused as to what "thing" she was doing. "Hi, Mandy." Fluttershy said, making her voice as soft as she could muster -- which, for her, wasn't too hard of a feat. "Um...the room you wanted...it isn't finished yet, I'm afraid. I'm still working on adding a few more things. But in the meantime, I have a fix for you." She rustled around behind her back and pulled out two pairs of nice fluffy pink earmuffs, with hearts embedded on the outsides of the cushions. "Earmuffs. Rarity made me these, but I don't use them very much since I have a pair of my own." She smiled. "So I had Oona tweak them just a little bit, to make them fully magical and soundproof. They'll stay nice and snug on your ears. Both pairs of them!" Mandy's snoring ceased for just a moment as she felt a warm sensation on the top of her head. It ran through her entire body, and whatever cold she had been feeling before when she was in the air dissipated. "Thankzz..." she murmured sleepily. Fluttershy giggled. "It's no problem. Now, don't tell the others, okay? I'd like for them to learn a lesson in respecting your sleeping habits, even though you brought this on yourself..." Her smile faded away, and she sighed. "Please don't overwork yourself, Mandy. I appreciate you doing a favor for the Mr. O in Colorado, but know your limits, hm?" She swooped back down to the group, who were all eagerly awaiting what she had to say. "You didn't get Mandy to wake up." Twilight stated matter-of-factly. "No." Fluttershy shook her head. "But I think she deserves to have a good rest." "But she's gonna attack people and destroy things just to do it?!" "Not if I stay with her." Fluttershy raised a hoof to silence her boss. "I'll make sure she doesn't destroy the town. Besides, I'm a little weary from taking care of the animals back at my cottage, and I could use some rest myself. Just leave Mandy to me." Everyone exchanged concerned glances. Still, their trust in Fluttershy trumped any other emotions they were feeling. Oprah sighed. "All right, then. You're her friend, Agent Fluttershy. Do what you need to." "Of course." She turned and began flying back up to Mandy again. "I'll see you all back at Headquarters, okay?" "Uh, Fluttershy?" Rainbow blocked her path by hovering in front of her. "Are you sure you wanna do this?" "Yeah, Mandy's mighty strong." Applejack added. "What if she blasts you and hurts you with her magic too?" "I'm sure she won't. And even if she does, I'll stop her." Twilight had flown up to her, now. "All right. We believe in you." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the rest of the group. "Thank you! I'll do my best." With Rainbow Dash moving out of the way, Fluttershy once again continued her flight, everyone watching her go. "Let's head back." Oprah said. "The least we can do is hope for the best." "I sure hope Fluttershy will be okay." Peaches remarked. "She and Mandy are friends. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Otto waved a dismissive hand. "Come on. Let's go relax and unwind back at HQ." Olive's suggestion was a good one, and everyone followed her to the nearest tube entrance, tired from the day's events thus far. "Quasi-des!" cried Mandy, who lifted her head off of the cloud and jabbed a pointer finger into the air before she flopped back downwards and continued her raucous snoring. "It's lucky Oona was able to make a third pair of these." Fluttershy remarked, reaching behind her back and pulling out another set of magically-modified earmuffs that looked quite similar to her own. She placed them on. "Now, there will be peace and quiet." She hummed softly to herself as she found a spot on the cloud for her to relax next to Mandy. "Have a good sleep, okay?" With that, she rested her head on the cloud and closed her eyes, letting herself drift off into her own personal dreamland. It was sunset by the time Fluttershy woke up. She was grateful that she hadn't somehow slept into nighttime, but rather, just on the cusp of it. Still, she was surprised that she had slept for this long. She parted her jaws to let out a yawn just before the sound of snoring that wasn't her own reached her ears. "Goodness, you really are wiped out!" she exclaimed, before glancing at the ground below her. "Maybe I can move this cloud back to Headquarters by using the emergency staircase." Her eyes widened as she realized just where said staircase was. "I just hope I can make it across town." Conjuring up a rope from her hammerspace spine, she tied it around the cloud, and around Mandy's body as well. She gripped the end of the rope in her teeth and began to flap furiously, surprised that the cloud was actually moving at a decent speed that wasn't either slow as a snail or a complete dead stop. "My...goodnesh...you're heavy!" she said, before a sigh escaped her. "All right, Fluttershy. You just have to put shpirit into it. Here...we...go...!" And with that, she began flapping her wings furiously once again towards the direction of the other side of town, making sure to put everything she had into it. By the time she made it back only fifteen minutes later, she was exhausted. She probably would have been able to go for another nap if she weren't thirsty and hungry. "We're...back!" She panted as she pulled the cloud and Mandy into the bullpen, her gaze sweeping the area. "And it looksh like we're not the last agentsh here." she observed, noting that a couple agents were still at their desks. "Now come on, let'sh get you all washed up." Before the Pegasus could move, however, Twilight came walking into the bullpen from one of the hallways that flanked the room's steel doors. "Oh, Fluttershy, you're back!" the alicorn said. Fluttershy dropped the rope in her mouth briefly. "Oh, Twilight, thank goodness! Can you please help me out? Mandy needs a bath and she's much too heavy for me to lift on my own." "Sure thing." Twilight responded, letting her horn glow alight and her magic aura wrap around Mandy's body to untie her and lift her off of the cloud. "If you can get her in the tub, that would be great! I'm going to stop by, um..." Fluttershy tried to think of a good excuse to form that would be able to fool her friend. "...the Bedroom first, and, um, put this cloud in there." Twilight tilted her head. "Why are you keeping it?" "In case Mandy wants to sleep on it again." Fluttershy was surprised at how easy that answer came out. And she made a good point with it, too. Twilight nodded. "Okay, sounds good. Meet you in the Bathroom, okay?" "Mhm!" Fluttershy watched as Twilight took Mandy with her until the two were out of sight, then she let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding in. That was a close one, she thought. If I can gain enough distance between Twilight and I, then I can put this cloud in Mandy's new room without her knowing. She picked up the rope in her teeth again and began moving, although she moved far slower than usual. She felt grateful that Rainbow Dash was the speedier one in the group, because if she were flying slowly like this, it would be an immediate cause for alarm for everyone that just so happened to notice her. But no, it was the shy one instead, the one that liked to take things easy. There would be no suspicion here. Still, she couldn't help but let a little seed of doubt roll about in her brain. Are Twilight and the others really going to learn the lesson I want them to learn? Maybe I should tell her... She blinked and shook her head. No! This is something my friends need to learn on their own. A little dose of kindness, empathy, and common sense, that's all. With a determined expression on her face, she headed towards the new room with the cloud in tow, a question beginning to form of "just how bad could washing a sleeping Mandy and getting her clean be?" The answer to that was "harder than one would think". Both Twilight and Fluttershy found out that Mandy had some kind of weird aversion to being bathed in her sleep, which didn't give either of them much luck in washing her. Eventually, Twilight had to resort to good old-fashioned alicorn magic just to keep her still long enough so she could be cleaned. After a half-hour of fighting, complaining, and inadvertently making the Bathroom into one big water park, the two mares emerged with Mandy in tow, their fur ruffled from drying themselves off with towels that they had resorted to wrapping around the hybrid. Dressing her in pajamas was a far easier feat, and took only a minute or two. "All right. It was a struggle..." Twilight shook some water from her hoof. "But Mandy is all clean and dressed now." As she took out the earmuffs from behind her back and placed them on Mandy's ears, the hybrid sniffed the air around her, and then sniffed the bed. Immediately recognizing it as a familiar place, she laid down on it, continuing to snore away. "Thank you." Fluttershy smiled. "Um, would you also mind keeping an eye on her? I, um..." She scratched her cheek. "I should probably go and check on the creatures before I wash up myself." "Of course! Take your time. I've got the whole night." Those words brought comfort to Fluttershy, and she left the Bedroom with a happier and more upbeat gait than her usual one. She was so relieved that she nearly managed to bump into an agent's leg because she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. "Twilight?" Olive poked her head in. "Oh, Olive! Otto!" "Hi!" Otto waved. "We figured we should check up on Mandy before we returned to our precinct." He looked around the room. "Where's Fluttershy going?" "To the Creature Room, to check up on the creatures. We got Mandy all washed up and dressed." Twilight sighed. "I really don't know how you do it, Olive." "Huh?" "We spent longer than we should have in the Bathroom just getting her clean. Mandy really doesn't like being bathed-" "She doesn't?" Olive blinked. "That's absurd! I caught her taking a two-hour-long bath in the Pool Room's Jacuzzi once because she felt the bathtub in the Bathroom wasn't big enough!" "No, she-" "She wanted to work in a bath products store because she loved the smell of the soaps." Otto pointed out. "Guys-" "And lest we forget Duckzilla? That giant rubber ducky she loved taking into the Bathroom with her when she was little?" Olive smiled. "I should see if she still wants it. It's at my house, for...some reason..." "GUYS!" Twilight exclaimed. "Mandy doesn't hate being bathed in general. She hates being bathed in her sleep." Olive and Otto exchanged a glance. "Ohhhh. That makes more sense." they said in unison. They examined Mandy up and down, and it was only then that one thing became apparent. "How'd she get two pairs of earmuffs?" Otto asked. Twilight turned around. "I'm not really sure. I thought it was something that Fluttershy did, or it was just something Mandy did herself, so I didn't really question it." She squinted, realizing that the earmuffs looked rather familiar, but she couldn't place how they were familiar. "If it were Mandy, she probably would have gotten a pair of her own by stealing it. And then Oprah would be called." Otto mused. "True." Olive nodded. "She does look more peaceful with them on, though." Lying on her back, Mandy kicked the air with her legs in the midst of a dream, as though she were responding to Olive -- perhaps in the dream itself, or perhaps she had heard her in the real world. Who knew? "Well, who doesn't like a nice cozy pair of earmuffs?" "It's springtime, Otto." Olive deadpanned. "So? If there's one thing I've learned from Agent Rarity, it's that any fashion can be the new hottest style if you deem it so, no matter what the season is!" "That just goes to show how little you know about Rarity. From me to you..." Olive patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Never become a fashion designer." "Olive? Otto?" The two Directors turned their heads towards the newcomer to the Bedroom, giving warm smiles when they saw it was someone familiar. "Hi, Fluttershy." Olive greeted. "How was your nap with Mandy? She didn't cause any explosions or anything, did she?" Fluttershy giggled. "No explosions. Mandy was fine. I think by tomorrow, she'll be well-rested." Otto's expression brightened. "You mean she's gonna wake up tomorrow?" "Well, I can't say for sure." Fluttershy shook her head. "But just in case she does, I'd like to sleep with Mandy for tonight. I think she likes having a friend to sleep with." Her tone almost rose to one that would give implications the trio was doing something wrong, but even she knew that none of them would be so keen on sleeping as much as Mandy did just because she wanted someone with her when she slept. After all, that was what Fluffy was for -- or at least, that was one of the things it was for. "Now, I'm going to go wash up." Twilight's eyes widened at this statement, but Fluttershy ignored it. "Don't you two have your nightly duties?" Otto blinked. So did Olive. "Crumpets." was the first word out of the girl's mouth, as she grabbed Otto by the wrist and headed for the door. "Thanks for the reminder Fluttershy gotta go see you later and all that jazz." "Hey, hey, not so tight!" Otto tried to protest, to no avail. He resorted to giving a "Bye, Fluttershy and Twilight!" as he was dragged out the door. Twilight waved as she watched them go, then fixed her gaze on her equine friend. "I was going to call dibs on the Bathroom, you know." "Sorry." Fluttershy shrugged. "But there's a lot of hard work and exercise that goes into taking care of both creatures and animals." "I know. But I thought your Element was Kindness." Twilight ran a hoof along the floor, fixing Fluttershy with a look of mock pity before she laughed and waved her hoof at her friend. "Go on and relax." Fluttershy couldn't help but give a chuckle herself before she began heading for the Bathroom, eager to take a bath and unwind after her rather eventful day. As she left, Twilight looked around the room. "Huh. I wonder where that cloud she said she was going to leave in here is...?" "Now, it's just down this hall..." With legs wobbling and a pony-human hybrid slung over her back, Fluttershy walked. She didn't even try to fly, knowing that she would just plummet back down to the ground within seconds. Carrying ponies on her back was more Rainbow Dash's thing, anyway. She rounded a corner and came to another hallway lined with rooms of all kinds. She didn't really pay attention to too many of them, though -- there was one she was eyeing in particular. As the sound of creaking filled the air, she stopped. Her body stiffened as her cyan eyes shifted to the left, just in time to see a door marked with an array of numbers next to her move along the wall. The other doors quickly followed suit, breezing past her like someone had put a quarter in a slot machine. Her mane and tail billowed in the breeze the movement created, and it was then she realized that she had only ever gotten to witness the changing of rooms in Precinct 13579 only a few times in her life. Each time had been more magical and whimsical than the last, and this was no exception. Her gaze became fixated on one door in particular that didn't seem to move at all, yet doors moved behind it with ease. This was her destination, and a smile formed on her face. My plan worked. The gadget I used is making it stay in place. After about a minute or so, the hallway fell still again. New doors, and new rooms, had completely replaced the old ones. Fluttershy exhaled and gave a breathy chuckle as she continued to walk once more, eyeing the rooms with a glimmer of curiosity. Once she arrived at the door she wanted to go through, she stopped. It was a plain white door with a raised inner border, completely unpainted. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the handle that she had perfectly installed at the height of an average pony (with another one just above it, for humans), and made her way inside. The room, big enough to accommodate a party of fifty, was very nearly full with everything Mandy had asked for. The bed that had once sat in the Bedroom was now in the far-right corner of the new room, although it had been repurposed so it was now a bigger, queen-sized bed made out of a cloud, similar to the bed Rainbow Dash had in her Cloudominium back in Equestria. Everything that was in Mandy's nightstand had been moved to clear storage boxes that were tucked in open spaces in a horizontal cabinet and labeled accordingly, although her old nightstand had been moved to the new room and placed beside her bed as a makeshift table. A new wardrobe closet sat next to the cabinets, with every article of her clothing moved from the old closet to the new one. A large oval-shaped rug sat on the floor. Fluttershy had put blood, sweat and tears into crafting the room, and excitement bubbled within her as she began to grow excited for her friend to see it when it was fully complete. "It's very nice, and it's soundproof!" the mare pointed out, making her way over to the bed. "Plus, I made you a cloud bed. I know how much you like soft things." She used every ounce of her strength to shift Mandy to the floor and lift her into bed, then promptly landed beside her, tucking her wings in and smiling at the sleeping hybrid. "Mm..." Fluttershy yawned. "Good night, Mandy. Hopefully, I'll see you in the morning, fully awake and rested." Planting a kiss on the hybrid's forehead, the Pegasus snuggled up to her friend and drifted off to sleep once more, the sound of said friend's snores lulling her deeper and deeper into her own personal dreamland. Although the room was dark, Mandy's internal clock knew when it was time for her to get up. Similarly, it also knew when she had gotten enough sleep to where she could reasonably function. She gave a snort as her eyes slowly opened, her jaws doing the same to let a yawn through. "Wow, how long did I zzleep for? Feelzz like a week..." she muttered, before she felt the air in the room change. "And where 'm I...?" After she conjured up a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise and drank it, her horn slowly lit up, a small sphere of magic resting on its tip to provide much-needed light. It was then that she answered her own question. Shock completely overrode her exhaustion. She looked from left to right, at everything in the room. It felt so familiar, and yet, so strange at the same time. A grin slowly, ever so slowly, made its way across her face. As Olive, Otto and Oprah were walking through the bullpen, an elated and muffled scream reached their ears, which made Olive choke on the sip of water in her mouth. "What was that?!" Otto's head immediately swiveled towards the sound. "I know that scream from anywhere." Oprah's voice was a mix of relief and concern, and she immediately began booking it towards the source of the sound. Luckily, she didn't need to go far, as Mandy quickly got in her way and made her dig her heels into the floor before she could crash into her. "Guys! You hafta come see this, quickquickquickquickquickquickquick!" The hybrid grabbed her by the wrist and began dragging her along. Olive and Otto followed, and absolutely none of them protested, if not out of confusion, then out of the usual "just Mandy being Mandy" resignation. The door opened, and Mandy used her illumination magic to find the light switch, ignoring Fluttershy's protests of "Mandy, don't!" What Oprah, Olive and Otto were greeted with was, perhaps, one of the most splendorous bedrooms they had ever seen. All of them couldn't help but feel jealous as their gazes swept the area. "Ohhhh..." Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves. "Mandy, I didn't want-" "Fluttershy? What're you doing here?" Mandy blinked, only now just realizing her friend was in the room. She gasped. "Did you make this?!" "Um...w-well, it's...I need to do some explaini-" "This is my room?!" Mandy's voice was practically a squeal. "Oh my gosh, it looks amazing! You got everything I asked for!" She paused. "Except for the desk and the computer. Oh, and the buffet bar. And one of those exercise balls to roll and roll on!" "Mandy, if you would just-" "So, you guys like it? Huh huh huh?!" Mandy bounced up and down, completely oblivious to the trio's shocked expressions and dropped jaws. "It's my new room! Fluttershy made it for me!" Oprah blinked once, and then twice. Her eye twitched. And then she walked over to the bed. "I'm...this is...you...you decided to turn one of my rooms, in my Headquarters..." She put her face close to Fluttershy's. "INTO THIS?! WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!" Normally, Fluttershy would have crouched in fear against her boss's wrath. But confidence was flowing within her, and it came forth in a huge burst. "I'm sorry, Ms. O. But you didn't think Mandy not being like every other child in town and not getting a room all her own would go unnoticed forever, did you?" she asked. "She wanted this. I didn't do this on my own." Oprah swiveled her head towards Mandy. "But why?!" she screamed in disbelief. "Because she wants many, many nights of sleep. Specifically, a good night's sleep where she isn't bothered by anyone who barges into her room and tries to wake her up. Why do you think she uses force fields now? Because she needs quiet in order to be able to sleep properly. I did all of this so you, along with the girls, could learn a lesson in kindness and empathy." Olive slumped to her knees as a memory throbbed in her brain. Not one that was painful, mind, but one that was very, very vivid. "Mama?" Olive looked up from her magazine. "What is it, Mandy?" The five-year-old girl, clad in brunette pigtails, hopped up and down slightly while tugging at Olive's jacket. "Why can't I get my own room like all the other kids?" "We talked about this. Oprah doesn't particularly like when agents claim one of the rooms in her Headquarters and use it as their own. If I asked her about getting you your own room, she would shoot me down. No matter how many times I asked, and no matter what I did to try and make her change her mind." "But I want my own room!" the girl whined. "I know. And maybe one day, you'll get it. But you're happy bunking with the ponies, aren't you?" Mandy dragged the tip of her shoe along the floor. "I guess..." Olive ruffled her adopted daughter's hair. "Here. If it'll make you feel better, why don't you write down a list of what you would want in your room? And someday, maybe we can make it all a reality." This pleased Mandy, who immediately rushed off and came back with a piece of paper and a pencil in tow. "Okay!" She began writing down all sorts of things -- anything and everything that came to mind. Olive watched curiously, her eyes widening at some of the more... fantastical stuff Mandy wrote. Finally, she handed her completed list to her Mama. "Here you go!" Olive read it over. Every single word became stuck in her brain. As much as the sourpuss in her wanted to break the news to Mandy about some of her stuff not being feasible, she restrained herself. After all, the girl was only five. "This is a wonderful list. I'll hang it on the fridge at home, okay? That way, I'll always remember it." "Yay!" Mandy reached over and wrapped her arms around Olive. "Thank you so much, Mama! You're the best!" The hug startled the Director, but it also broke her heart a little -- to deny such a young girl what was an essential part of childhood felt downright criminal, even if the circumstances couldn't be helped. Still, she had a long life ahead of her, and she knew that someday, Mandy's wish would come true. No matter whose hands -- or hooves -- it was by. "Olive?" Otto calling her name barely fazed her. Her eyes slowly, ever so slowly, began to water. She glanced at everything in the room, her heart twisting as though someone was squeezing every last drop of blood out of it. Finally, she couldn't stop herself anymore. She cried. "If you want to deny Mandy what should be her right to have as your second-in-command, then I hate to say it, Ms. O, but you're selfi-" Fluttershy paused her words to glance at Olive, her eyes widening. Otto instinctively bent down and rubbed her back in a comforting manner. "Olive, what's wrong?" A mighty sniffle became his answer, followed by actual words. "How could I not have given Mandy her own room? Why couldn't I just go against Oprah's wishes? It's been eleven years...eleven years of a childhood keystone she didn't have!" she said. "Instead, we put her in with the ponies. And she hated it. She hated it!" As her body racked with each heavy sob, Oprah looked on with an expression of regret and pity. She bit her lower lip and glanced at the floor, immediately recalling a time when she had chewed out Otto for making a Soundcheck Room without her permission but had gone ahead with it because she, too, was a Soundcheck fan. Minutes went by in agonizing near-silence. Fluttershy and Mandy both watched as one agent cried, another one comforted his partner, and another one looked incredibly guilty. Both mare and child exchanged looks, until the child spoke up. "Momma...I never hated bunking with the ponies." Olive's eyes widened. She looked at Mandy, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wipe away the tears. "What?" "As much as I reeeeeeally would've loved having my own room, sleeping with them was like having a sleepover with friends every single day! Only if the friends were...you know, people you grew up with...y-you get it." Mandy waved her hand. "Why don't you all sit down and let's discuss this?" Oprah lifted her head, blinking at Mandy as though she had somehow been forced out of a daydream. She slowly moved towards the bed, where Fluttershy hopped off to allow her to sit. Olive and Otto soon followed, the latter guiding the former to the bed as they took a seat next to Oprah. All of them felt how softer the bed was compared to Mandy's old one, but chose not to comment on it for the time being. Mandy opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Oprah took the floor. "Can I start? There's something I'd like to address first." she asked, raising her hand. "Mandy, you're on the hook." "What hook? I don't see a hook! I'd think there was one through me if I could see it!" Mandy exclaimed, whirling around and around in circles and attempting to feel her backside. "It's an expression. It means you're responsible for something." Otto explained. Oprah grit her teeth, figuring out the best way to break the news to Mandy before she decided to go with blunt honesty. "You sleepwalked again. Or sleep-flew, I should say." Mandy's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything in response. "You blasted me out of the Bedroom and sent me colliding with a wall. We tried putting the Dream-inator helmet on you to see if you were having some weird dream that was causing you to act out, but you destroyed that too. Dr. O ran an analysis on you and pinpointed that you weren't sick, but not even he could help you." Oprah's tone became more and more accusatory with every word. "We followed you to Cedarvale Park, where you nearly killed Olive..." "I-" "I'm not done!" Oprah snapped. "Then you erected a force field around the entirety of the park, which took the combined effort of us and the ponies just to break. And after that..." She glanced at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy was able to calm you down, somehow. If it weren't for her, you would have killed someone." She squinted. "But you got pretty damn close." Mandy only glanced at Fluttershy, who was all too eager to share the story of her role in the adventure. "Twilight and I worked together to bathe you and dress you...bathing you was the hardest part." She rubbed her leg. "And then you were peaceful for the rest of the night." Before Mandy could say anything in response, Fluttershy gripped her by the shoulders. "This is why I told you not to overwork yourself, Mandy. Your sleep suffers because of it, and then things like this happen. You hurt innocent people and innocent ponies without even knowing it." "But I do! I do know it!" Fluttershy hovered backwards slightly as Mandy pushed her away. "Didn't I tell you? All I wanted was peace and quiet so I could sleep well! But no one is willing to give me peace and quiet! It's all 'we gotta wake Mandy up for this' and 'we gotta wake Mandy up for that'..." "What are you talking about?" Otto tilted his head. "We try to wake you up sometimes, but generally we leave you alone." "You don't understand. So let me help you understand." Mandy's gaze bore into Otto. "All of you know that I'm impossible to wake up during sleep. My dreams can be odd and complex, or they can be very simple. And this isn't the first time I've sleep-walked or sleep-flown anywhere." Oprah opened her mouth, and it was Mandy's turn to interrupt. "But!" she exclaimed. "In the distant back of my mind, I hear voices. Noises. Of agents, and of ponies, and of people in general. It's like that really bad itch on your back you can't reach unless you wanna become a bear for five seconds." She touched her ears. "I believe it has something to do with these pony ears. Double the ears, double the hearing." "I thought you could sleep through loud things." Oprah tilted her head. "Do our voices bother you that much?" "That's what I said!" Fluttershy nodded. "I can only sleep through the noises and voices when I'm super-exhausted, which doesn't happen much." Mandy shrugged. "I really don't remember attacking you guys or heading into town. All I wanted was to get away from the noise and find somewhere quiet to sleep. I guess my brain treated you as disturbances." "But why do you stay asleep, then?" Oprah asked. "If you hear noises, shouldn't that wake you up?" "Yes. If I was a normal person." Mandy scoffed. "But I'm not a normal person. Not anymore. I'm a pony-human hybrid now!" "What?" "My brain knows I still need sleep, so it keeps me asleep while also trying its best to get rid of the disturbances that try to wake me up. Of course, that doesn't really happen every night...sometimes I wake up when you guys shake me or whatever. It just takes me a while!" Oprah glanced at Otto, who stared at Mandy with a rather confused look on his face. Fluttershy digested this information, and took a moment to think. "So is that why you gave us a hard time when Twilight and I tried to bathe you?" "I...can't really say." Mandy scratched her head. "If you guys were making a lot of noise, though, my brain probably reacted to it." "Hold on." Oprah stood up. "This all came about because you overworked yourself too much? How'd that happen?" "Funny story..." Mandy twiddled her fingers together. "I was working on this super-difficult case for the Colorado precinct, 'cuz they were stacked to the brim with work and I happened to pass by Mr. O on the streets of Denver, do not even ask why I was in Denver, it's a long story, but I decided to take the case off of his hands. I've been living off limited sleep for a week, and it kiiiiiinda bit me in the tail. I overestimated the difficulty of the case." Oprah had about a million questions about her agent's story -- really, she had a million questions about how her agent's body and mind worked in general -- but figured that getting them all answered would take months. She sighed. "Ahh, abusing your body by denying its needs. Been there, done that...felt that..." A shudder overtook her body. "But certainly not for someone like you. I admire your work ethic, Mandy, but if you think there's a case you can't handle, don't be afraid to say no, okay?" "Yeah, I've learned my lesson! I think I'll just stick to Canadian cases from now on." Mandy smiled. "But I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone, not maliciously! I just wanted peace and quiet when I sleep." "Is that why this room exists?" Otto asked. Mandy nodded. "Fluttershy offered to make me a room with white noise in it. That noise is the only noise I can tolerate when I'm asleep. It influences my dreams sometimes, too!" "That makes sense." Otto mused. "I use white noise to help myself sleep, and I'm human. You were originally human, and now you're half-human. So white noise would help you in the same way it helps me, maybe." "Well, Mandy...if you want peace and quiet when you sleep," Oprah smiled. "I'll be more than happy to accommodate it. Starting with this room." Mandy's eyes shimmered. "You mean..." "You can have it. It's all yours, to do whatever you want with. Right down to the door." Oprah nodded. "One of the cons of being immortal is forgetting bits and pieces of childhood. Having your own room is one of the best parts of it. I don't want you to miss out on that while you're still young." Her expression darkened for only a brief moment before she returned to smiling. "And on behalf of Otto, Fluttershy, Olive, and the others, we're sorry for trying to wake you up. If we knew you just wanted silence, we wouldn't have bothered you at all." She shook her head. "I'm sorry for even trying to wake you up to begin with. I started this whole mess." She took Mandy's hands and cupped them in her own. "So let me make it up to you. Fluttershy, I'd like to help you with decorating the rest of Mandy's room. Let's make it one she'll never forget." "Me too!" Otto raised his hand and frantically waved it. "This bedroom's gonna be the coolest one in the world once I work my magic on it!" Everyone glanced towards Olive, who had turned around and was facing the wall, holding her knees close to her chest. The smile disappeared from Otto's face. "Olive?" "I didn't even know all of that about you, Mandy." Olive's voice was a near-whisper. "All this time, when I tried to wake you up...I didn't know how bad that was for you. I treated you like I would treat any other human being...when you're not just a human being. What kind of mother am I if I can't even figure out the wants and needs of my own child?" Mandy tilted her head, a concerned expression settling on her face before she rolled onto her bed. "Momma, I'm a weirdo!" "Don't say that!" Olive instinctively cried out, a worried edge to her voice. "You're not a weirdo." "But I am a weirdo!" Mandy kicked her feet into the air. "My brain works really funny when I sleep, and it works funny in general. I eat more than humans could ever eat. And hammerspace covers more than just my back, it covers my hair and tail too!" she chirped. "But I like being a weirdo. We're all a weirdo in some way or another! And..." She lowered her feet and glanced at Olive. "Parents can't know everything about their kids. It's like you always say: I continue to surprise you. And that's a good thing, right?" Olive blinked, pondering Mandy's words for a moment before a small smile began to form. "Yeah. Yeah, it is a good thing." "The transformation changed me in soooooo many ways that not even I know about yet!" Mandy rolled onto her stomach. "But maybe, while we discover those ways...maybe I'm just a cute lil' unpredictable surprise! And that's the super-fun part!" She drew a finger across her bedsheet. "All you need to do is love me, care for me, and support me, just like a mother would. That's all I want." Olive's eyes widened. She pulled her knees away from her chest and extended them, to the point where Mandy could see every speck of dirt on the shoes she was still wearing (not that she minded them on her bedsheet, of course). Tears began to pool in her eyes, and she reached out to pull Mandy close to her next. "I do. I do love you. I do care for you. And I'll always support you, no matter what." Olive hugged her tighter, the tears streaming down her face. "You have my complete and utter word." "Do it!" Olive chuckled and went through the movements. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." The two girls embraced each other in a long hug as Oprah, Otto and Fluttershy looked on with smiles across their faces. "Now," Olive got off of the bed. "I'll help Fluttershy decorate your room, too. Just say the word, and I'll spoil you rotten." Mandy shook her head to get the water out of her hair, then her smile turned into a full-fledged grin. "Flutterbutter, give 'em the list!" The rest of the day was completely devoted to letting Oprah's other agents handle cases while she began to put the finishing touches on Mandy's room. The day after, she called a day off, and construction continued. Mandy herself had taken to painting the doors in a variety of colors that, while they didn't clash together well, she personally enjoyed. The others -- including the ponies, once they had gotten wind of the news and gotten a stern lecture from Fluttershy -- had taken to putting in and adjusting items that Mandy had on her list. "I must say, darling, as much as I would critique on the horrible design of this room..." Rarity remarked, looking around the room. "It's so Mandy." "I agree." Twilight nodded. "It's going to be weird not having Mandy sleep with us, though." "Mm. Perhaps not for me." Rarity said. "If I'm being quite honest with you, I never was a fan of Mandy's inharmonious snoring." "Didn't you say you got used to it?" "Yes. I had to. I couldn't just tell Mandy to stop snoring." Twilight playfully rolled her eyes. "Hey, girls!" came Pinkie's greeting as she rolled in on a blue exercise ball. "Look what I found!" "An exercise ball?" Twilight tilted her head. "What does Mandy want that for?" "To roll around on, silly!" Pinkie hopped off of the ball, watching as it rolled and struck Otto in the back of the legs. "They're really fun! You should try one sometime!" "Yeah, no thanks. I think I've seen enough horrors from when Ms. O replaced all the chairs in the bullpen with them..." Twilight ruffled her wings furiously. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash examined Mandy's new bed. "You said this was inspired by my bed, Fluttershy?" "Oh yes. Clouds are known to be very soft, so I added another layer above the mattress, so it would feel like Mandy is sleeping on a cloud." Fluttershy explained. "And I also made sure she wouldn't eat this one." "Still can't believe she's the only one I know who eats clouds." Rainbow said. "Though she does love cotton candy..." "It's nice and roomy, too. Instead of a twin-sized bed, now she has a queen-sized one." Fluttershy winked. "Gadgetry is wonderful, don't you think?" Rainbow had to wonder what gadgets her friend used to turn a twin bed into a queen one, but chose not to ask about it. "Yeah. It looks pretty neat." "Daaaaaaaash! Sister! Help me!" "Long live the queen." Mandy gave a cry of distress. Rainbow sighed. "Gotta go." With slow wing flaps, she made her way over to Mandy, who was grasping the top of the door like it was a cliff face she was about to lose her grip on. Over in the left corner, Applejack was staring at a list. "Now what's all this, again?" "Toys." Olive explained. "I never really bought Mandy all that many because I myself was never interested in that kind of stuff. But I tried to make a list of every toy she would like." "And just how am I s'posed t' pay for it?" "You earn bits from Sweet Apple Acres. Most places here take bits, don't they?" Applejack scanned the list again, and sighed. "Look, I'll try, sugarcube, but I ain't the richest pony in the world. I dunno if I'm gonna be able t' get her all these toys..." "That's fine. Just buy what you can, and we'll save the rest for her birthday." The farmpony stared at Olive, not sure why she was so nonchalant about her bits -- maybe because the bits weren't Olive's to spend. Regardless, Applejack nodded and left the room with the list in tow. "So it says here that if you clap a bunch of times, it turns the white noise on?" Otto blinked. "Why 'a bunch of times' instead of...I dunno, twice?" "'Cuz doing it twice is trademarked! I'd get sued!" Mandy threw her hands into the air. "Now, watch and learn!" Looking upwards, she began to clap like she had just seen her friend put out a wonderful performance on stage. The sound of ocean waves crashing on the shore began filling the room, and when the sound reached her ears, she stopped. "Uh..." Otto looked at the ceiling. "How about we compromise and say...clapping three times turns it on and off?" Mandy made a scrunchy-face. "But then it's not fun!" She scoffed. "Fine. Make it three. Take away its whimsy. Be a stinky old fun-ruiner." Otto smiled as she stuck her tongue out at him. He fiddled around with the dials on the remote he had in his hand for a few moments, then looked back at Mandy. "Try it now." Clapping three times turned the ocean sounds off. "Look..." Otto smirked. "The only reason I suggested you clap three times and not a million is because..." He leaned in close to Mandy's ear and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Doctors say that if you clap too many times, your hands fall off." Mandy gasped and backed away. "No! Not my hands! I love my hands! I need them! They're organs! They're limbs! They're important! I'm never gonna clap aga-" She caught Otto's sly teasing expression before he took off running. "Awwww, c'mon! Get back here!" With how big the room was, the duo running didn't deter construction all too much. For the most part, everyone ignored the chase and kept on working as though nothing was happening. It was the endgame, and they were going to put as much effort as they could into making the room look neat. By nighttime, the work was complete. The room was decorated with stickers and almost every item on Mandy's list, with the approval by Mandy herself for everything. She couldn't wait to sleep in it -- the past couple days had her bunking on Oprah's couch, because "the first time in a new room is special!" There was just one more thing she had to do. "Keep your eyes closed, Peach!" "All right, all right, they're closed. You're lucky I'm a catgirl." As the two cousins walked through the hallway leading to Mandy's new room, Mandy assisted a blindfolded Peaches in where to go, with the latter feeling the air with her hands to make sure the former didn't try to ram her into a wall or anything. "Okay, stop!" Mandy ordered, before she opened the rainbow-colored door that led into her new paradise. "Now gimme a sec to undo the knot here..." She magically grabbed ahold of the knot that kept the blindfold in place, squinting as she attempted to undo it. "You want help?" "No, I...think...I got it!" Mandy's expression brightened as the blindfold was successfully untangled. "Thank goodness, too, 'cuz I was gonna start yankin' on your head! Now open your eyes!" Peaches did as she was told. A gasp forced its way out of her without her even knowing. In addition to the stickers, a whole host of items had been added. Next to the wardrobe closet, there was now a large desk and a sewing machine, in case Mandy wanted to sew but Rarity's boutique was closed. An exercise ball sat up against that, large and blue, and perfect for rolling on. In the corner that sat to Peaches' left, there was a large bookshelf with a myriad of books, including all ten books in the Wolves of the Wilderness series. As she walked further into the room, she took a look at the wall that was on her left, where a bunch of posters of meadows were hung. "This...I'm..." Peaches shook her head vigorously. "That's funny, I thought it was going to be more...extravagant. You said you had a whole list full of stuff." "I did!" Mandy said. "But didja think there would be all kinds of crazy stuff on it?" "To be honest? Yes." Peaches deadpanned. "What kind of crazy stuff did you have in mind?" "Oh, you know...an all-you-can-eat buffet. A slide made of chocolate that builds itself back up every day. A trap door for villains. Huuuuuuuge bass speakers. A DJ portal." "What's a 'DJ portal'?" "A portal for DJs, silly!" Mandy nudged Peaches. "Aaaaaanyway, how do ya like it?" "It looks nice. Definitely fits you." Peaches peered past Mandy to gaze at her bed. "Did you get a new bed, too?" "Not really. It's my old one, but I expanded it to be a queen size so I can roll around on it!" "Uh-huh." Peaches gave a bemused smile. "Well, if you're happy with it, that's what matters. I...can't really speak much on the matter. I never had my own room." Mandy took in so much air in one big long gasp that Peaches half-expected her body to inflate like a balloon. "Whaaaaaaat? The bestest cousin ever, not have her own room?! Blastphilly! That can't stand! It can't even sit down! I forbid it!" "You mean blasphemy?" "That's what I said!" "You said 'blastphilly'." "Yeah! Blastphilly!" Peaches groaned. "Do they not teach English at the Odd Squad Academy? And if not, can we write to someone about that?" "Anyway!" Mandy ignored her cousin's question and jabbed a finger into her chest. "We're gonna rectify that, you and I." She conjured up a piece of paper and a pen before leaning back on her spinning tail. "Start writin', sister." "I'm...sorry, what am I writing?" "What you want in your new room, of course!" Mandy pulled out a can of Dr. Shmumber's from behind her back, opened it, and took a swig. "Go on. I got alllll night." Peaches had to bite back another groan as she looked at the paper that was handed to her. All it said at the top was "PEACHES' ROOM TO-DO LIST". Silence filled the room. "You're not going to let me leave here until I fill out this list, are you?" Another swig of soda. "Right on the money, kiddo." Sighing, Peaches took the pen in her hand and got to writing. She couldn't deny that having her own room that was extravagant as Mandy's seemed interesting...maybe she could make it just as big as hers. Maybe. S1E12: Fickle LoveOlive and Otto made their way into the bullpen of Precinct 13579's Headquarters, chatting away. "Look, all I'm saying is that Lady Bread really shouldn't be going to the park if she doesn't want to get eaten." "Yeah, but ducks shouldn't eat bread, Otto. It's bad for them. Besides, knowing her, she'd just turn them all into loaves of bread out of revenge." Otto shrugged. "Eh, fair point, I guess." As they broke eye contact with each other, their gazes both landed on an agent sitting at her desk, staring up at the sky with her fists on her cheeks, completely oblivious to any and all happenings surrounding her. A rather goofy smile sat on her face, and her eyes were half-lidded. "Okay, I've seen Mandy staring off into space before, but this is new." Otto said, utterly confused. Olive squinted. "Don't tell me those are..." Sure enough, "those" were a slew of small pink hearts, floating up into the air a little ways before popping like balloons. "Yep, they are." A mischievous smile formed on her face as she strode over to the hybrid. "Maaaandyyyyy!" She nudged her as a sly tone crept into her voice. "Who's the lucky person, huh?" "Only the greatest pop star in history..." came the wistful response, Mandy not even bothering to make eye contact with either Olive or Otto. Otto gasped, stars in his eyes as he exclaimed, "Soundcheck?!" "Bradley Beli." Mandy stretched out her body and broke her concentration, and as she stared at the two Directors, they both noted she had hearts in her eyes. "I've got a ticket to his concert, and you couldn't pay me enough money to miss it." Olive's eyes widened. "Ohh, now I know who you're talking about. That's the guy that travels all around the world and performs concerts and helps out charities and stuff. I've heard of him." "How does that make him any different from Soundcheck? Or literally any pop star ever?" "Because he's so dreamy..." Otto just rolled his eyes. "Wait. You have a crush? On Bradley Beli?" Olive asked incredulously. "Yes!" Mandy nodded. "Can't you just imagine the wedding? It'll be so grandiose, so magical...I'll be striding down the aisle, clad in the most gorgeous wedding dress I've ever created...and you guys'll be my guests of honor!" "In Odd Squad, 'magical' is a grandiose understatement of an adjective." Olive snarked. "We'll live together in a biiiiig, spacious house!" Mandy gasped. "And maybe even have children!" Olive's body stiffened. Mandy sighed. "It's my biggest dream of all to be his girlfriend, and eventually, his wife. He's super-sweet too!" She stood up and pulled Otto closer to her. "Did you know that he's donated to over a hundred charities worldwide? That's a lotta charities! And a lotta money!" She waved a hand. "And his music, oh, it's far superior to Soundcheck by a mile!" "Hey, you take that back!" Otto exclaimed, pushing her away. "Soundcheck is awesome!" "But it's true! Bradley writes a lot of personal songs. Y'know, stuff about his life? Has Soundcheck ever written any songs about their lives? Or do they just write silly little cookie-cutter love songs?" Otto opened his mouth to object, but closed it and settled for a growl when he realized that Mandy was right -- a majority of the boy band's discography was love songs that followed the same cut-and-print formula. That didn't mean he didn't enjoy every last one of them, though. "One day, I wanna perform a song with him. It'll be the best thing ever!" She closed her eyes, took an inhale, and began to sing a song from Bradley's rather extensive discography. "If I was to express my love to you, my dear How would it be projected in- mmph!" "You are not having children! Ever! Don't even think about it!" Olive snapped as she held a finger to Mandy's lips. "Aww, but Momma..." Mandy lowered Olive's arm. "The greatest feeling to any mother is to have their child announce you're a grandma!" "No, because it makes me sound old, and I'm not old!" Olive scoffed. "For Pete's sake, I still look like I'm 12! When my body ages 30 or so years, and when your body ages 30 or so years...then maybe I will reconsider." "And when's that gonna happen, hmm? When the author decides to stop updating this fanfic?" Mandy rolled her eyes. "Anyway...you guys wanna attend the concert? It's gonna be great!" "It'll be a hard pass for me." "Nah." Otto shook his head. "Consider it payback for you saying that Bradley Beli is superior to Soundcheck!" "As I said, I speak the truth." Mandy shrugged. "Ah well, if you guys don't wanna, that's on you!" She did her usual snort-and-giggle laugh. "Guess I'll go by myself!" "As long as you two don't end up married by the end of the night." "Love is a process, Momma." Mandy waved her hand. "Ya can't just fall in love and get married and live happily ever after in one night! Not in real life!" She giggled and snorted again. "That's silly-willy talk!" "In storybooks, though, not so much." "Well yeah, that's the basis of 68% of fairy tales." Mandy nodded at Otto. "Who knows about the other 32%, though. Tried and true!" She stretched her body out again and let out a satisfied sigh. "Anyway, did you two come here for anything?" Otto nodded. "I have a lot of broken gadgets and Odie's off today. Think you can fix 'em?" "Sure! And maybe I'll install some extra precautions, too. If Odie won't do it, then I will! Gimme gimme!" It took a few minutes for Otto to give her every single gadget he had broken. There were more than she was expecting, and it got to the point where the pile of gadgets towered over her desktop computer. "Ehe...thank you!" Mandy scratched the back of her head. "Didn't expect ya to have this many, though..." "You should see what he breaks at his house." "Hey!" Otto whirled around and turned on Olive, who only snickered in response. Giving a defeated sigh, he faced Mandy again. "Olive and I are gonna head back to our precinct, but if you wanna stop by and deliver those when you're done with 'em, that would be great." "Consider it finito!" Mandy waved the duo off, then turned back to the pile of gadgets. She would have normally felt utter dread at how much work she had to do, but a bigger priority was weighing on her mind at the moment. "Bradley Beli...I will make you mine! Somehow! I don't know how yet, but somehow!" Over in Grange Park, Bradley Beli's stage was being set up. Hammers pounded nails into wood, metal was being put into place, and everyone was working hard. However, unbeknownst to them, someone was watching in the bushes from afar. Striking against the shrubbery with her red-clad clothing and her tall hairdo marked with a heart-shaped hair deco was Laura Lovebloom, a dangerous villainess who aimed to have the market cornered when it came to the concept of love. Unfortunately, not everyone was so open and so receptive to her advances. A growl rolled about in her throat. "Three months without finding anyone who wants to play Matchmaker. It's too much! If I want to keep my status as a villain, I need to find someone to work my magic on, and soon!" As her eyes scanned the area, it didn't take her long to spot one particular girl dressed in Odd Squad attire and decked with funky-looking hair and a tail, hopping along the grass and humming a little ditty to herself. "That girl..." Laura whispered, filing through the memories in her brain as a familiar feeling overtook her. She knew the girl from somewhere, but from where, exactly, she wasn't sure. Until a minute later, it hit her like a truck. Her memories took her to a scene she hardly recognized. It looked to be the top of the CN Tower, though. Or maybe some other such tower. She didn't know. What she did know was that she had a hammer pointed straight at her face, and it was only then that the puzzle pieces began clicking into place. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder! And I think your absence won't make our hearts go yonder!" She would have cringed at the terrible rhyme if it weren't for the crippling fear ricocheting through her body. "N-no, please! You don't understand, I-I have-" "A wife and kids?" The girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, it's the same story from every villain." "P-please." Laura's voice was shaky. "I've heard stories of you leaving villains on the brink of death, a-and I don't want that!" "Then maybe you should've sat your butt down somewhere and re-evaluated your life by asking if villainy was really the career choice ya wanted to go with." The girl's tone was dead serious, lacking any of its usual cheerfulness. "And besides, forcing others to fall in love against their will is more of a crime than anything! Love is a process. You can't be married in a single night! That's not how love works!" Laura bit back a growl, as well as the urge to insinuate otherwise. The girl huffed. "If you promise not to commit any more odd felonies, then I suppose I can let you go. But!" "Hm?" "Try this stunt again, and your face will actually meet my hammer." The girl narrowed her eyes. "Got it?" "G-got it!" Laura vigorously nodded. "Then leave, before I change my mind." No one needed to tell Laura twice. She quickly stood up and hobbled away on her one good leg as fast as she could. The pain was the least of her worries -- all she needed to do was to get away from that monster. That monster who, while giving her an inadvertent time-out, had given her a wonderful opening once the time-out wore off. "She spared me..." Laura chuckled and pulled her heart-shaped wand out seemingly from inside the bush. "And that was her mistake." Her gaze drifted to the stage next. "But does she even have a crush on anyone?" Her eyes immediately fell on a group of three, who were walking towards the back of the stage. A blonde man and a brunette woman were flanking someone who certainly looked important, as he struck up a conversation with them that Laura couldn't hear. A sinister smile crossed her face. Her wand began charging up with magic. "Bingo. Looks like someone needs a little love from good old Laura Lovebloom." "Hi!" Mandy chirped as she approached the stage. "Can I help you guys get ready?" A dark-haired boy of about 14, who was assisting in assembling the floor of the stage, looked up. "Hm? And who might you be?" "My name's Agent Mandy, and I work at this town's Odd Squad!" the hybrid greeted. "I'm a big, big fan of Bradley Beli, but I also love to meet new people, too!" The boy chuckled. "That's nice. My name's Lewis Webb. I'm Bradley Beli's friend." Mandy's eyes shimmered. "Nice to meetcha!" she chirped. "Do you travel with him?" "Oh, all the time. We've been all over the world." Lewis stood up, his expression brightening. "And you know what? I bet he'd love to meet you. Bradley just can't go without meeting at least one Odd Squad agent in every place he visits. He loves Toronto especially. It's where he grew up, you know." Mandy's heartbeat began to quicken. The shimmer in her eyes grew more intense. "Wow, really? That's so cool!" she said, struggling to stifle the squeak that was beginning to rise in her voice. "If he wouldn't mind, I'd love to meet him too!" "All right! I'll see if he has some free time on his hands right now. Why don't you help with the lights in the meantime?" Lewis pointed to a small cluster of stage lights that sat in the corner of the stage's platform. "Sure!" came the enthusiastic response, as Mandy flew over to the lights and began studying the metal structure that surrounded the stage so she could learn how to put them up properly. Her tongue stuck out as she realized that she didn't really know how to put up stage lights, but before she could ask Lewis for help, he was already gone. She gave a big huff and took a light fixture in her hands before swooping up into the air with it and searching around for something to attach it to. She didn't get very far in only a few minutes, as every attempt she made to hang the fixture ended in failure. "Hello?" That voice. That silky, swooning voice that could only come from a human who was made to attract love. Mandy knew it all too well. A big grin formed on her face almost immediately. Her heart was beating so fast that it was a miracle how she wasn't dead (or, perhaps, one would think that it was just her average heartbeat given her hyperactivity). She slowly hovered down to the ground with the fixture in hand, setting it down and turning to face the one who had addressed her. Black hair. Quite the tall stature, for being a teen of 15. Clad in a simple white T-shirt and blue jeans, with sneakers to complete the entire ensemble. Emerald-green eyes that had just two small warm flecks of that unknown color no one could identify. It was like someone got crayons and colored Mandy in love. She could feel sweat beginning to drip down her face. Keep your composure, Mandy. Keep your composure! Yes, your crush is speaking to you for the very first time ever in existence, but don't lose it around him! Just...act casual. Totally casual! "Hi!" she forced out, like an actress that had just been handed a script and was told to read it in the most stilted way possible. "Y-you must be Bradley Beli!" "I am. And you're Agent Mandy, of Odd Squad?" "You got that right! It's such an honor to meet you!" It took a heck of a lot of willpower just for Mandy to make her hand stick out so Bradley could shake it -- which he did, eagerly, while also giving a slightly puzzled expression at her stiff dialogue and reactions. "Likewise." Bradley nodded. "I've heard of your feats from others in neighboring towns. They sure love to talk about you!" "Aww, well, it's nothing really..." Oh my odd, stop blushing. Stop it right now. "I'm super-duper popular, but really, I just wanna kick odd butt for as long as I can! And, um..." She dragged the toe of her foot along the ground. "I really love your music. It's so cool how you sing about your personal life in addition to love songs!" Bradley responded to this with a laugh that Mandy could best describe as "like fresh warm honey on a piece of toast that's made just right". He's laughing, he's laughing! Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out, your efforts are gonna be wasted if you freak out, don't freak out... Her brain simply kept repeating the three words over and over again, like the mantra of an insane person. "Thank you!" Bradley said. "I appreciate Odd Squad being such a fan of my music." Mandy opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could even say a word, a bright red beam hit her. Another bright red beam then hit Bradley in rapid succession, leaving both of them staring off into space for a few seconds. The sound of approaching footsteps did nothing to deter their attention, as a young woman donning a casual business dress and a young man donning a business suit made their way up to them. "What was that?" the woman asked. "Mr. Beli, sir, are you all right?" the man asked, waving his hand in front of Bradley to try and make him come to. And he came to, all right. The sound of romantic music swelled from somewhere no one could identify. "You know...I've always had a crush on you, Mandy." Bradley said, his voice almost a whisper as he looked into Mandy's eyes. Mandy gasped. "You have?!" From her little hiding spot, Laura quietly cheered. "Yes! Yes yes yes, it worked!" She pumped her fist into the air and giggled. "Now, they'll fall in love, and stay in love...forever!" A malicious chuckle left her before she shook her wand, her smile falling. "Ugh, but my wand's magic is all spent. Better go recharge it." Giving a huff, she left her shrubbery spot of hiding and meandered off, not noticing Lewis's fixed gaze on her. "So..." Bradley got down on one knee, pulled a small box out from behind his back, opened it, and posed one of the most exciting questions Mandy could have ever gotten in her life. "Will you marry me?" That seemed to snap Lewis's attention back to the situation at hand. "Brad, no! What are you doing?!" "Who is that girl?" Naomi tilted her head. "Agent Mandy. She works for Odd Squad. She offered to help us set up for Brad's concert tonight." Naomi felt a little uneasy all of a sudden, now that she knew who the girl in the impromptu relationship was. "Lewis, we heard two zaps coming from over there, but I don't see anyone." "I saw someone. I couldn't make them out too well, though." "Yes!" An elated cry from Mandy put a halt on the conversation. "Oh yes, Bradley, I will marry you!" She squealed and promptly trotted in place. "This is the happiest day of my life!" All Lewis and Naomi could do was exchange odd glances, with Mark's own confused expression being added to the fray. "Finally, my dream will come true...I'll finally get to spend some time with the man I love!" And just when the trio didn't think things couldn't get any worse...things got worse. Bradley and Mandy became engaged in a long and passionate kiss, absolutely full of genuinely romantic intent. Their eyes slowly closed, and the PDA went on for a lot longer than anyone would have liked to. Even some of those who were working on the construction of the stage had to avert their eyes out of discomfort. "I can't believe it..." Lewis shook his head. "Bradley wasn't like this just a couple minutes before!" Mandy pulled away from Bradley and sheepishly laughed before she gasped. "But wait! What about your concert tonight?" "I'll postpone it." Collective horrified and shocked gasps rung throughout the area. "Mr. Beli, sir, you can't!" Mark stepped forward. "It's far too soon to just postpone!" "I've made up my mind, Mark. The concert will be postponed." Bradley gazed at his assistant with green eyes that had become icy, and certainly lacked the warmth they had just seconds prior. His gazed flicked to- "Naomi, please set up the RV to accommodate a special guest." "A...special guest?" "Yes. I'd like Mandy to move in with me, as we will travel around the world together. We will get married here in Toronto, and then be on our way shortly after." Naomi went slack-jawed. She wasn't sure how to respond to this query -- whether it was with a "yes, sir" or with active pushback. Luckily, Mark was there to take up the latter option. "Mr. Beli, sir, I don't think this is beneficial for you or Mandy. You're a traveling musician, and Mandy has her own job here, working for Odd Squad. Are you really planning on making her travel around the world with you, at the cost of her employment?" "She can work remotely, I'm sure." Now it was Mark's turn to go slack-jawed -- only this time, it was for just how smooth the answer flowed out of the boy. He wasn't even sure if Odd Squad had a remote aspect to it, but he knew now wasn't the time to dwell on that. "Mark, Lewis, let's respect his wishes." Naomi placed one hand on each of their shoulders. "If this is what Mr. Beli wants, then we should honor it." Lewis bit his lip and went silent, but let out a sigh just seconds later. "All right." "We'll get the RV ready for you, sir." "Thank you. And as for you," He pointed to the construction crew. "Please disassemble everything on the stage." "When would you like to postpone the concert to, sir?" Naomi asked. "Hmm..." Bradley tapped his chin in thought. "Make it about a week from now. Mandy can take the time to pack her things and move into the RV." A heavy sigh forced its way out of the assistant. "As you wish, sir." Bradley nodded, watching the trio leave before he turned back to Mandy. "Now...what do you say I treat you to dinner? Your choice." Mandy let out a whimsical giggle. "I'd like that a lot. And I have just the place in mind." Arm in arm, the newly-engaged couple walked away, looking every bit like two people in love. Both of them had been shot through the heart by the bullet of love, but instead of the bullet going through the hearts, it split apart and extended a red string that tied both hearts together. It was made quite evident that no one could pry one person away from the other even with the strongest power tool in existence, and both Mandy and Bradley liked it that way. For the next couple hours, Mandy felt like she wasn't just walking on Cloud 9 -- she was living on it in an entire ShumMansion. While on the other hand, Lewis, Naomi and Mark were all coming up with a plan, deciding on one thing they knew had to be done. "We have to call Odd Squad." Mandy soon returned to Headquarters, belly full and in much higher spirits than usual. A yawn racked her body. "Jeez, it's been such a hectic day...better tell Momma and Otto where I'm going, too." she murmured, already formulating a plan in her head for how she was going to break the news to them. "Hey, cuz." Peaches greeted as she walked up to the hybrid. "How was the concert?" "Hmm?" Mandy tilted her head. "What concert?" "I heard some pop star named Bradley Beli was having a concert, and you were going. Did you go?" "Oh!" Mandy giggle-and-snorted. "The concert was postponed." Peaches' gaze drifted to Mandy's right hand. There, on her fourth finger, sat an engagement ring, with a translucent diamond sitting atop a sterling-silver circle. Unaccustomed she was to weddings and the like, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had went down. "I-is that...is that...w-w-what I..." "He proposed to me..." came the dreamy response. Peaches took a step back, going completely bug-eyed. It was a wonder how the eyes didn't fall clear from her head, she was so shocked. Still, she knew she had to say something in response, and say something in response she did. "HE WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Hoofsteps quickly came thundering into the bullpen, and six ponies all gathered around the duo in alarm. "What's goin' on?!" Applejack asked. "Look at what's on Mandy's finger!" Peaches practically screamed, taking Mandy's hand and thrusting it towards the farmpony. Rarity burst forward, lightly flank-checking Applejack as her azure eyes got stars in them. "Is that...a wedding ring?!" she squealed. "Wow, you got married?" Pinkie smiled. "Congrats, partner!" Twilight wasn't as receptive of the news, taking a step or two backwards. "I...I can't believe it." she uttered. "H-how...how did you...how even..." "Aww, well, I'm not married yet!" Mandy chirped. "The wedding's soon. In the meantime, I'm moving into his RV and I'm gonna travel with him aaaaaaall over the world!" "B-b-but that means you'll be leaving Odd Squad!" cried Fluttershy, feeling tears beginning to form in her eyes. At this, Mandy simply scoffed. "Nah, I'll still be working here! I'll be remotely working!" "I can't believe I'm saying this, but..." Rainbow Dash gripped Mandy's shoulders. "I really don't want you to go!" "Dash, I'll still come back. Now c'mon, you guys can help me pack!" With that, Mandy turned on her heel and began walking down the hallway towards her room. Peaches slumped to the floor. She wasn't sure what to be more shocked by -- the fact that an 11-year-old girl somehow went from "I have a crush" to "heck yeah, marriage" in the span of a day, or the fact that her cousin was actually getting married to some rich celebrity. It was almost too much to bear for her, and the realization that kicked in didn't help matters. "Oh no." "I know! I feel the same way!" Twilight threw her hooves into the air. "W-well, yeah, but...how's Olive's gonna take the news?" The reactions of Pinkie and Rarity went sour right then and there, their expressions darkening as they realized that Peaches raised a good point. "If I know Olive, she definitely won't be happy." Rarity mused. "Yeah, I overheard her talking to Mandy about the concert today." Rainbow piped up. "She didn't want her to get married." Peaches sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Well, Mandy's our second-in-command. If she really wants to get married to this 'Bradley Beli' guy...then we should honor it." "What's Ms. O gonna do when she finds out?" asked Pinkie Pie, a worried edge to her voice. "I don't know. She may just pry them apart by force. Which would end tragically." Applejack took off her hat and held it to her chest. "Then I s'pose all we can do is hope for the best." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group, sharing her sentiment. As nighttime fell, Olive and Otto had gathered at the latter's house for a sleepover, talking about a wide variety of subjects, from what was on the news at the moment to strange happenings they had seen. "Thish chicken parmeshan is delish!" Otto said through a mouthful of the stuff, sitting on the couch and using old sitcom reruns as background noise. "Glad you like it!" Olive called from the kitchen, setting the last of the plates from the sink into the dishwasher and closing it for the time being. The tinkling sound of a doorbell rung through the house. Olive tilted her head as she made her way to the door. "Who could that be at this hour?" "Olive, it's only 10 o' clock." Otto said, before he took another bite of his meal. Olive opened the door, stepped a little ways outside, and was met with a Mandy that was surprisingly calm...perhaps a little too calm for her liking. "Mandy?" "Hi!" "Why are you here?" Olive asked, before she perked up in realization. "Oh! How was the concert?" "The concert got postponed." Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway...I thought I should let you know that I've decided to move in with Bradley Beli." "Move in with him?" Olive blinked in utter confusion, before the sight of something shimmering caught her eye. Slowly, her gaze drifted to Mandy's hand. And her body very nearly met the ground. "Uh-oh." muttered Otto to himself. "Olive?" "Otto." Olive said, her voice and body both about as stiff as boards. "Come here and look at what's on Mandy's finger." Otto quickly shoved another bite of chicken Parmesan into his mouth and made his way over to Mandy. His eyes widened as he immediately spotted the engagement ring sitting pretty on her hand. "Hooooolyyyyy jackalopes." was all he could say initially, feeling thankful that he had swallowed his bite before he looked at the ring. He took Mandy's hand in his own and began thoroughly examining the ring. "Is that what I think it is?" "Bradley proposed to me. And...I said yes!" Mandy gave an excited squeal as her pony ears began to flap with as much intensity as the ears of Dumbo. Otto's head began to hurt. "How...what?" "He asked me to move into his RV until the wedding. And then, and then, we're gonna travel across the world together!" Mandy began bouncing up and down, now, a bout of giddy laughter leaving her. Otto would have responded aptly if not for his keen eyes spotting the violently shaking body of his partner, still slumped in the same position she was when she first laid eyes on the ring. Immediately, he backed away, knowing full well what was about to happen. And sure enough, Olive rose to her full, albeit short, height, her brown eyes burning with intense fire. "I TOLD YOU NEVER TO GET MARRIED!! I SAID THAT, DIDN'T I?!" she screamed. "AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA RUN OFF WITH SOME FAMOUS POP STAR WHO PROPOSED TO YOU AND-" "Okay, okay, l-let's take this inside, the neighbors are gonna get upset!" Try as he might to diffuse the situation, Otto's interference did absolutely nothing except put a damper on the conversation as he dragged Olive inside, Mandy following suit as she closed the door behind her. A beat, and then the screaming continued. "I REFUSE your marriage! I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN, YOU HEAR ME?!" "Olive, calm down!" "No, Otto." Olive whirled on him, her tone dropping and turning from fiery to eerily icy. "I told Mandy not to get married by the end of the night, and now she has a ring on her finger!" A strangled, choked sob forced its way out of her as her voice began to crack. "How else can you explain it?! How?!" Mandy and Otto, both rendered in a state of shock, could only watch as Olive slumped to the floor again and began sobbing. Normally, Mandy would be by her mother's side, hugging her and comforting her. But as she was still under the effects of a villain's magic, her response was a little more skewed than that. "Momma...I love Bradley. You know that." She blinked. "I'm not a little kid anymore. You have to respect my life decisions." "She makes a good point, Olive." Otto said, kneeling down and placing a hand on Olive's shoulder. "Mandy is eleven. She's old enough to make her own decisions now. If she wants to get married and travel the world with Bradley Beli, then we shouldn't stop her." If Olive wasn't so distraught, she probably would have snarked at Otto something along the lines of, "Says the one who inquired about us getting married when he first became a Director." But instead, all she could do was lean closer to the floor and begin slamming her fist on it, over and over and over again, until she was sure the bones in her hand would break. Mandy bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She twiddled with her thumbs for a little bit, before deciding to go with the universal fix of "I'm sorry." Olive stopped banging her fist on the floor. Her body was still shaking, but it was less with rage and more with distress and sadness. Still, that didn't mean rage still festered inside of her. She gave a big sniffle before she uttered her next words, holding the same icy tone as before. "Get out." "What?" "If you're going to marry Bradley..." Olive slowly rose to her feet, her hands balled up into fists. "Then I won't call you my adopted daughter anymore." Mandy blinked. "Wh- are you-" "Disowning you." Otto got to his feet and took a step backwards. Far be it from him to know what the word meant, but it sounded bad, and that was all he needed. "Olive, stop. You're not thinking rationally." "I'm her mother, Otto, not you. And I refuse to let her be married." Olive's bloodshot brown eyes bore into her partner as she gave a heavy sigh. "But if she wants to disobey me, then that's her choice. Let her suffer the consequences of it." "You're taking a leap that isn't needed." This backtalk earned Otto a hearty slap on the cheek, causing him to take another step backwards. "Ow, hey!" "Both of you. OUT!!" The reverberation of the word "out" very nearly shook the entire house. It was like Olive had somehow employed the Royal Canterlot Voice despite not being an alicorn nor someone from Canterlot. It shocked Otto and Mandy to the core, and they began shuffling their way out the door, Mandy close to tears while Otto looked forlornly at his half-eaten chicken parmesan. "AND STAY OUT!!" came the final warning, before the door closed with a hearty slam. Otto and Mandy stood and stared at the door for a long time -- completely solid, with the only windows being at the top that would have gotten Otto's butt kicked further if he so much as looked through it for a second. The tears finally threatened to come forth for Mandy. "Momma..." she whispered, before she quickly wiped away the liquid in her eyes. "No. I shouldn't be sad. I'm with the one I love!" "That you are." Otto soothed, placing his hands on Mandy's shoulders. "You're your own person, Mandy. I know you have a crush on Bradley Beli, and if you wanna marry him and travel with him...that's your choice." Sadness began worming its way into his heart, and his grip on her shoulders tightened as the heftiness of the situation plowed into him. Still, he felt compelled to ask the question that had been weighing on his mind. "But you're not leaving Odd Squad, are you?" "No, I'm not. I'm staying with Odd Squad. I'll be working remotely." Mandy explained. "But after the wedding..." "I really hope you don't move. What's Oprah gonna say?" Mandy's eyes widened. She had forgotten all about Oprah entirely. "I don't know. I...I don't know how she'll take the news. Prolly not well." "I'll tell her for you, then." "You will?" "Mhm." Otto nodded. "First thing tomorrow." "Oh, thank you, Otto!" Mandy cried as she lunged for Otto and embraced him in a hug. "You're the best." "No problem." Otto smiled. "Have fun with Bradley, okay?" "I will!" she chirped. "Thank you again." Breaking free from the hug, she turned and spread her wings before taking to the skies. Otto could have sworn her wings were glowing in a brilliant white, like they had been kissed by the moon, but he figured he was just seeing things. As soon as Mandy became nothing more than a speck in the sky, though, his own tears came forth. He collapsed to the ground in a fit of sobs, with nothing but the sounds of the night accompanying him as he buried his head in his hands and became filled with anxiety as to just how he was going to face Olive tomorrow. An hour later, Mandy had gathered up her things from HQ and placed them in three large suitcases, meeting Bradley at his RV, parked just outside the entrance to the park. "Huh?" Bradley poked his head out from the kitchen as he heard the sound of someone entering. "Oh! Hi there, Mandy. I didn't think you'd come." "Hi. S-sorry I scared you." Mandy scratched the back of her neck, the suitcases levitating alongside her. "Turns out I don't need a week to pack my things. I got most of it right here." "Great!" Bradley smiled as he approached the hybrid. "I've already set a location for the wedding. It'll be in a few days. I just need to set it up." "A few days? But Bradley, that's barely enough time for me to pick out a wedding dress!" Mandy said. "And I don't think a wedding is something you can set up on your own..." "Nonsense. Just leave it to me." Bradley said. "First thing tomorrow, after you're done with work, that is. We'll go shopping for a dress then." The effects of the spell overwrote any other rationality Mandy had about the timespan of the wedding. "Sounds wonderful." she murmured. "Let me show you to your bedroom." As Mandy walked through the RV, she noted how shiny everything seemed to be. She supposed Bradley was one of those people who liked to keep his place clean -- good for her. Still, it was her first time in an RV, and it felt vastly different from a house. It was smaller, although this particular RV could accommodate two bedrooms with ease, it seemed. The door that sat next to the small kitchen opened to reveal a pretty decent-sized room, complete with a queen-size bed. Part of her wondered how such a room was even possible, but then she remembered what world she was in -- a world that was home to vehicles that contained a lot more stuff on the inside than it did on the outside, because screw physics. "And I call the shower first." Bradley chuckled before heading to the bathroom that sat directly across from Mandy's new room. "Okie-dokie!" she chirped, before throwing her suitcases down onto the bed. Instead of unpacking, though, she resorted to laying on the bed instead, using the remote on the nightstand to turn on the TV and allowing herself to float away in the meaningless noise. It's a new time in my life. I have a fiance, and I'm getting married. It's a dream come true! She sighed. But Momma...she...she disowned me! She rolled over onto her front, the sound of water running in the distance doing nothing to break her concentrated thoughts. She could feel tears well up in her eyes again, but forced them to go away as best she could. The near-silence in the room lasted for a good long while. Fatigue washed over her, and she turned around to face the TV, now, instead of the headboard. "I'm sorry, Mo- Olive." Mandy bit her tongue, the name sounding foreign as it danced and twirled about in her mouth. "But Otto is right. I'm my own person, a big girl who can make her own decisions. It's time you understood that...no matter what consequences you wanna throw at me." With that, she went back to mindlessly watching TV, forcing herself to stay awake until she had access to the bathroom. The next day, Mandy dragged her feet into Headquarters. She hadn't slept very well -- aside from the pain of Olive disowning her, she didn't want Bradley to be weirded out by her strange sleep habits -- and so she felt more drained of energy than usual, her hair and tail deflated slightly in a manner akin to her partner's whenever she got upset. Due to the effects of the spell, however, this lack of energy did nothing to deter Mandy. She didn't end up sleepwalking, and she certainly wasn't about to develop temporary narcolepsy just out of one bad night of sleep. Clearly, it had somehow altered her brain regarding sleep, but it wasn't like she knew that nor did she care. "Hiya, partner!" Pinkie greeted, making her way up to the hybrid. "Why do ya have such a frowny-face?" "Olive disowned me last night." The fact that Mandy had called Olive by her actual name and not by "Momma" flew right over Pinkie's head. She gasped. "She did?" A couple confused blinks followed. "Wait, what's 'disowned' mean?" "She told me that I wasn't her adopted daughter anymore." Mandy murmured, her voice cracking slightly. "Well that's not true! You'll always be her adopted daughter!" "Try telling her that." Mandy gave a soft sigh. "Have you seen Oprah?" "Yeah, she's upstairs in her office!" "Thanks." Her feet took her past Pinkie Pie and up the stairs to Oprah's office. The staircase felt like an insurmountable mountain, and she felt like collapsing on just the third step. Still, something in her knew that Oprah would be more upset if she were told of the news later instead of now, and Mandy figured she might as well get it over with. When she reached the top, she gave three small knocks, causing Oprah to look up from her painting and give a "come in" hand gesture. Mandy obeyed, and walked into the office. "I heard Bradley Beli proposed to you last night. And...you accepted." Mandy's eyes widened, and she took a step back. Oh my odd, how...how did she... No, wait. Otto said he was gonna tell her for me. Why am I surprised? With that realization in mind, she nodded. "Y-yeah. I love him so, soooooo much! He's such a sweetheart. The wedding's supposed to be soon!" "Well, I'd love to go, if you'll have me." Oprah gave a small smile. "And if you plan on having it on a boat, I can even be the officiant." Mandy blinked. "Really?' "Yes." Oprah said. "I didn't know it was a duty Directors had until a few years back." "Uh-huh...well, it's something to consider." Mandy gave a nonchalant shrug. "But, um...you're not mad?" "Why would I be?" "Well, when I get married, I'll have to leave Headquarters and work at Odd Squad remotely. Bradley wants me to travel with him around the world!" "I'll cherish what time I do have with you, then." Oprah said, her tone completely cool and her emotions being completely unwavering. "Honestly, it's not worth freaking out over. Not until you actually do move away." Mandy squinted, trying to find some kind of sweat bead on Oprah's forehead that would be an easy tip-off of her words not being truthful. But whatever gambit Oprah was playing, she wasn't about to let her guard down and reveal it so easily. "You sure about that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Oprah calmly took a sip of juice from a grape-flavored juicebox. "Did you expect me to have a meltdown like Olive did last night?" She chuckled. "Please, Mandy. I'm more civilized than that. Adults tell stories of little girls growing up and getting married to the person of their dreams all the time. It's such a dumb and cliched stereotype in this day and age -- boys can have aspirations like that too, of course -- but that doesn't mean we girls can't have wishes of finding our lovers and getting married and waiting for death to pull us apart." Mandy's nose wrinkled. "Are you just describing your own dreams?" "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not." ...Yeah okay, I'm not getting into a fight with her about romance logistics today. She huffed. "Well, I didn't think you'd be this calm, but...okie-dokie! Thanks for being so understanding. I'll, uh...be downstairs if you need me, I guess." It was only when she turned and began leaving the office did sweat begin dripping down Oprah's forehead. She waited until Mandy had descended the stairs enough so she was out of sight before she breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, you can come out." Two relieved sighs filled the office as Naomi and Mark poked their heads out from under both couches. It was a wonder how they even got in there, and an even bigger wonder how they were able to get out. "So sorry about that. I wasn't expecting her to come." "It's quite all right." Naomi brushed off some dust from her skirt. "So you are Naomi and Mark, correct?" "Yes. We're Bradley Beli's assistants." Oprah nodded as the woman continued. "Bradley certainly wasn't as...love-stricken as he was yesterday, but it was like he changed, somehow. It's a little hard to describe." "Before he began to fall in love with Mandy, we heard two zaps coming from somewhere nearby when we were setting up for the concert. But we couldn't find anyone." Mark explained. "Bradley's friend, Lewis, said he saw someone, but he couldn't make them out well enough for us to provide an accurate description." Oprah's eyes widened. "Two zaps? Has to be the work of a villain." Naomi exchanged a glance with Mark. "You figured it out that quickly?" "I will admit, I'm not a love guru. I am, however, an expert in knowing when something odd is a villain's doing." Oprah stood up from her chair and began heading for the doors. "Follow me." Mark and Naomi were hesitant, but still followed the Director regardless, sending silent prayers to whomever-up-above that she knew what she was doing. Once the trio arrived, Oprah cleared her throat. "This is Ozlyn, one of Precinct 13579's Security agents." A girl sitting in the chair beside them swiveled around, her kinked brunette twintails bobbing along with her movements. Her dark hazel eyes laid eyes on the duo, and she smiled. "Hi! Nice to meet you!" Mark and Naomi introduced themselves, and Oprah got right to explaining. "This precinct just so happens to store a villain database with every known villain, their skills, and their powers. Ozlyn, can you search for a villain with love-based powers?" "Sure thing! Just give me one sec..." Ozlyn spun back around and quickly tapped on the small screen that sat next to a large white lever. She then grabbed ahold of the lever and moved it about, scouring through a list of options based on the qualifications she was given. "Oh. There are quite a few of them." she mused, beginning to read one villain's entry. Oprah scrunched her mouth for a moment before she turned back to the two assistants. "Mark, Naomi, do either of you know anything else about what happened besides the zaps?" "Not that I can recall..." Naomi shook her head. "Ms. O, darling?" Rarity interjected, approaching the group with a guest by her side. "I've brought someone who says he wishes to see you." "Hi, my name's Lewis. I'm a friend of Bradley Beli's." Lewis waved. "You're Ms. O?" "Yes. But please, call me Oprah. 'Ms. O' is a title reserved for agents, not clients." Oprah smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Lewis." "Likewise." Lewis's gaze flicked to Naomi and Mark, who both looked elated to see him. "I wanted to come with Naomi and Mark, but Bradley had me busy setting up for the wedding." "You were there when Mandy and Bradley got zapped?" "Yes. I remember seeing a faint figure in the bushes." Lewis tapped his chin as he took a moment to think. "Please don't take my words at face value, but...the figure was tall, thin...she definitely had a tall hairdo with something that looked like a heart in it. And she was dressed in red." Ozlyn moved through the database, and gasped. "That narrows down the search! The only villain I could find who fits that description is one by the name of Laura Lovebloom." The group took their time reading the entry. NAME: Laura Lovebloom THEME: Romance FREQUENTED AREAS: Toronto, Ontario, Canada DESCRIBED AS: Tall, beehive hairdo, always clad in red WEAKNESSES: Magic wand is one-time-use only; needs frequent recharging Laura Lovebloom is known as one of the most dangerous villains in Odd Squad history. Wielding a magic heart-shaped wand, she casts a powerful love spell on two people to make them fall in love with each other, with the effects being amplified if either one person has a crush on the other, and/or both people are in love with each other. The spell can lead to disaster very quickly, especially in regards to how it is broken, which can cause heartstrings to tear to the point of hospitalization. This has led to the deaths of approximately thirty (30) people and counting, and it doesn't seem like Laura has any intent of slowing down. + Read more "Laura Lovebloom?" Oprah tilted her head. "Odd Squad hasn't heard from her in months. Why is she resurfacing now?" "If this 'Laura Lovebloom' did this, shouldn't we confront her?" Naomi asked, a twinge of rage and desperation to her voice. "Even if we did, she can't reverse the effects of her magic." "So how do we get Mandy and Bradley to break up?" Lewis asked, keeping an eye on the screen. His eyes widened as an answer came to him within seconds. "It says here that for them to break up, they must have an argument and one of them must shout..." Ozlyn wrinkled her nose. "'I want a divorce'"? "It seems fitting enough." Rarity gave a shrug. "In Bradley's and Mandy's case, even moreso." Oprah added, before she sighed. "We have to break them up soon. If they get married, Odd Squad will never see Mandy again. And it's likely that you three will never see Bradley again, either." "How's that?" Mark asked. "Think about it." Oprah said. "Bradley Beli may love his music, but Laura Lovebloom has him on a one-track mind. He could potentially drop his music career and retire. And you two..." She pointed at Mark and Naomi. "...would be out of a job." Naomi's eyes widened to be the size of saucers. "I-I hadn't thought of that!" "Me neither." Mark shook his head. "We've been working for Bradley for so long, and have been to so many places on his tours...I don't know what I would do if that was all taken away from me." Lewis, despite not having his employment at stake in this ordeal, took in the information, and was just as surprised as Bradley's two assistants. "Please, Oprah, is there any way we could..." He paused to think. "...maybe cause an argument to form between Bradley and Mandy?" "It's the only choice we have." "The effects are strengthened by how much love the victims have for each other. Even if it's just one-sided." Ozlyn reminded. "If you're going to cause a rift in Bradley's and Mandy's relationship, it has to be good." Naomi barely heard Ozlyn's other words. The only thing that stuck in her mind was the first half. "Bradley...has a crush on Mandy?" "Other way around." Oprah made a twirling gesture with her index finger. "Mandy loves Bradley very much, as well as his music. Even mentioning his name will make her swoon. I don't really know how it all started myself..." She scratched the back of her neck. "But either way, that means whatever Laura Lovebloom did to her and Bradley will be hard to stop." "We have to do something!" Lewis cried out. "Bradley's been my friend ever since we were babies. I know Mandy loves him, but I can't watch his music career that he's built up be destroyed because of some rogue villain. Even if she does crush on him..." He clenched his fist, feeling utterly conflicted and confused even though the explanations were relatively simple. "Um, if I may, darling...I think I might have an idea." Rarity moved to stand next to Oprah, tapping her arm a couple times to get her attention and clearing her throat. "If there's one thing I have learned in the time I have spent in Canterlot, it's that relationships can go sour very quickly, especially if it's due to a misunderstanding. If we stir up some conflict between Mandy and Bradley, it might be just enough to get them to break up!" Oprah sat on this for a few moments, her brow furrowing before she nodded. "That's not a bad idea, Agent Rarity. But how exactly do we do that?" Rarity gave a sinister chuckle. "By dipping into the old boring cliche barrel, of course. Are any of you fans of romantic movies?" Once Mandy had some free time on her hands, she and Bradley agreed to meet at Bridal Cultural to start looking at wedding dresses. To their surprise, the store had quite the selection, and finding a dress that suited Mandy wasn't necessarily an easy task, even though she wasn't too picky. Bradley held a small dress up that had a belt with a rose attached to its center, with the top half being lace. "How about this one?" Mandy examined it closely, looking at every inch of lace on it. Her mouth scrunched up before she shook her head. "Too plain. I'm not looking for anything chic and magnonfiquique..." She slipped into her Rarity accent on the last few words. "...but I do want something that'll turn heads." "Right. I'll keep looking. Why don't you have a look over there?" Bradley pointed to his left. "There's more stuff for girls down that way." Mandy nodded and began weaving her way through display after display of dresses, looking through them to see which one she liked. The sound of the doorbell above the shop briefly caught Bradley's attention, but he soon turned back to the display, only faintly hearing the conversation. "I'll be right there, okay, Cam-cam?" called a girl of about 14, wearing blond curls and nothing more than a lacy T-shirt and jeans. "Got it, hon." a boy, himself the same age, said, making his way to the right of the store. "Excuse me, but are you Bradley Beli?" That snapped Bradley out of it. His head swiveled to the left to find the girl staring at him, light admiration in her eyes but surprisingly not as much as a large majority of other girls. "Oh, y-yes, I am. Who are you?" The girl giggled. "My name's Kayla. I'm here with my fiance, Cameron. We're getting married in a couple months!" "Congratulations." "Thank you!" Kayla said, beginning to blush. "Um, but see, Cameron is a professional DJ. He loves to make music, and he would simply love to play something romantic at the wedding! But we're not sure what he should play, exactly, and I was hoping that maybe you would have some tips." Bradley listened, and then nodded, giving a soft chuckle. "Sure, I'm more than happy to give you tips. Come on over here and have a seat." He motioned with his hand for Kayla to follow her to where a bench sat in front of some displays, subconsciously flopping down into the seat as he just now realized how tired he was. He didn't have time to dwell on how long he had been here, however, as Kayla quickly made her move. She leaned in close to him, pulled his face towards hers, and puckered up without a single word spoken. It didn't take long for Mandy to find a wedding dress she had liked, and she immediately rushed back to where she had last seen Bradley. "Hey Brad, I found..." Her eyes widened. The hanger in her hand that held the dress slipped and fell onto the floor, making a clattering noise that made more than a couple people and ponies in the store turn their heads. She felt a rush of emotions course through her, and as much as she wanted to look away, her innate sense of curiosity forced her to keep looking. Deep in the thralls of a passionate kiss were none other than Bradley and some other girl the hybrid didn't recognize. Clearly, neither one of them had heard what she said, and went on to ignore her as they continued on their rather disgustingly enthralling, but perfectly fitting, PDA. Tears clogging up her vision was finally enough for Mandy to tear her gaze away from the awful sight. She felt a pain in her heart that she couldn't identify. "Just forget it." she muttered, leaving the dropped dress where it was and storming out of the shop. You knew what you were doing, and you knew it would hurt me, but somehow that still didn't stop you. Mandy slammed her fist on her desk and gave a heavy sigh as tears began dripping from her eyes onto the desk. "I can't believe it. Bradley Beli, cheating on me! And before our wedding!" She grit her teeth. "If I had known the boy I loved was so despicably inexplicably awful, I never would've said yes to his stupid proposal!" "What's this I hear about cheating on someone, darling?" The familiar and smooth voice made Mandy's head lift, and her eyes met Rarity's azure ones of curiosity. "Brad...the one I love more than anyone else in the world...he's cheating on me with some stupid girl he met at the bridal shop we went to!" "Oh, my, that sounds serious." Rarity said, trying her best to sound genuinely concerned. A devious look settled on her face as she trotted closer to Mandy and spoke quietly. "You know, I did happen to hear that he's not just cheating on you." "He's not?" "Oh no. He's been cheating with five other girls!" Rarity tutted and shook her head. "My, it's such an awful thing to do. But it's true. Bradley Beli is nothing but a filthy liar." Mandy became paralyzed. Her mouth hung open and quivered slightly as she tried to form words, but only ended up pathetically whimpering instead, her eyes shrinking to the size of mere thumbtacks. "It'll be all right, darling." Rarity soothed, laying a hoof on Mandy's knee. "Let me give you some advice on how to go forward, hm? All you have to do is talk things out with Bradley and-" "MURDER HIIIIIIM!!" The sudden 180 in mood, accompanied by Mandy combusting into flames, made Rarity stumble back and fall onto her haunches with a series of yelps. The flames seemed far more intense, and if Rarity were actually a marshmallow, she'd be completely charred and burnt within only a second or two. Heavy breaths followed the cry of rage, before Mandy's gaze swiveled towards the steel double-doors. "I'M GONNA MURDER HIM!!" she declared, before marching towards the doors and exiting through them, agents making sure to quickly get out of the way as they passed by. Rarity slowly got to her hooves and turned around, watching a couple shaken agents enter the bullpen and discuss amongst themselves what was happening with their coworker. The mare's reaction was rather similar, her heart still beating quickly as she could only utter two words in reaction to her friend's outburst. "Oh my." Bradley had eventually gone back to his RV after giving Kayla some advice, deciding to take the time to wind down and scroll through some news on his phone out of sheer boredom more than anything else. He felt a throbbing pain in his heart that he opted to ignore, thinking it was nothing serious. "Same old, same old." he muttered, reading a story about another robbery at a local convenience store that, surprisingly, wasn't done by an Odd Squad villain. The door slammed open suddenly, causing him to fumble with his phone until it collided with the floor and went sliding a little ways. He glanced at the sudden visitor. "Mandy! You're...uh..." "Bradley Beli." Mandy called, her echoing voice rumbling throughout the vehicle. "So you think it's okay to cheat in a relationship, don't you? Weeeeeell, lemme tell you: I don't know what's worse, people who lie, or people who think I'm stupid enough to believe lies!" "What? N-no, I didn't do that!" "Rarity told me all about it!" Mandy jabbed her pointer finger at him. "You filthy disgusting cheater!" "Mandy, please, if you'll just give me a chance to explain-" "Explain what, that our love isn't as pure as the blue sky?!" Mandy sniffled as she felt her throat beginning to close. "Bradley, I loved you! I, I wanted to get married to you! To sing with you! You said we were gonna sing together at the concert when we went on our date yesterday!" A small anguished cry eked out through gritted teeth. "But now that I know you're cheating on me..." Bradley glanced at his phone briefly, worried about what would happen if Mandy smashed it. But his love for Mandy was the main driving force of his life, after all. And grabbing his phone now would have bad intentions. "I would never cheat on you. Honest." "Then how do you explain that girl you were with at Bridal Cultural earlier?" "I was giving her tips on music for her wedding." "And then you kissed her?!" Mandy scoffed. "If you were just 'giving her tips', that doesn't lead into a kiss!" As much as he wanted to argue back, Bradley couldn't deny that Mandy had a point. Still, he was adamant about his version of events, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make Mandy understand it, and make her fall in love with him again. "The kiss was..." He hesitated as he gazed into Mandy's fiery brown eyes. He didn't know she could get so upset, and honestly, it normally would have terrified him. Normally, he was terrified to commit to a relationship with someone who had anger issues, and it seemed Mandy was one of them. Under the effects of the love spell, however, her anger didn't deter him all too much. He shook his head. "Never mind. It was wrong of me, and I'm sorry." Mandy gave a bitter laugh laced with poison akin to that of a Gila monster's. "Tell it to my tail." "Y-you're not going to call off the wedding, are you?" The question slipped out of Bradley before he even had a chance to react. Normally, Mandy would have said that yes, she was going to call off the wedding, why was she even getting married, all that jazz. Under the effects of the love spell, however, her anger just slightly dissipated. She gave a huff. "I'll...at the very least think it over. But I'm not staying here anymore. I'll be going back to Odd Squad." "Mandy-" "No ifs, ands, or buts, Bradley." Bradley blinked. "But what about the concert? And our music? I was going to have you sing at the concert with me!" "Yeah no. Not gonna happen. Cancel the concert." Mandy began marching towards her room. "You might as well pack up and abandon ship, budster." "'Budster'?!" He didn't get a response to his flabbergasted question of clarification, as Mandy ducked into her own room and began packing. All he could do was stare at where she once was and listen to the sounds of her stuffing her belongings into her suitcases. It didn't take her long before she was leaving the RV just as quickly as when she entered, suitcases in tow and levitating besides her. "Goodbye, Bradley." A crunch. Mandy's eyes widened as she backed up to see what she had stepped on. It sounded like glass, and so she became panicked, wondering if any had penetrated the sole of her shoe. She was close -- it was Bradley's phone screen, now with a huge spider-web crack in it. Her gaze moved from a shocked Bradley struggling to say something, to the phone, and back again. Her expression contorted into one of disgust before she huffed and left the RV without another word. "Mandy, wait, I-" The door slammed closed. A few minutes went by in complete silence. Bradley picked his phone up from the floor and gingerly placed it on the table, eyeing the huge crack in it. Getting it fixed, however, was the least of his worries right now. He sighed and laid his head on the table, his eyes closing as his heart throbbed with more pain. "Ohh...what have I done?" "Disowned her?!" "Yes." Oprah looked at Otto. "You didn't tell me this!" "So I butchered some details..." Otto rolled his hands in a rather odd gesture. "The bit about Olive disowning Mandy is what I knew would get you riled up, so I played it safe." Oprah groaned, and her attention turned back to Olive. "Olive, why? You are aware Mandy was attacked by a villain? She's under the effects of Laura Lovebloom's spell, she's not thinking straight!" "I'm aware." Olive simply remarked, ignoring Oprah's and Otto's raised eyebrows of doubt. "But as long as she has that engagement ring on her finger, and as long as she's still in love with Bradley Beli, I'm not going to call her my adopted daughter. It's as simple as that." Otto sighed. "I told you already, but let me tell you again in case you didn't understand me. You're not thinking rationally." "Yes I am." Olive blinked. "The answer's quite simple: we stop Laura Lovebloom before she can do this to other people and to other ponies. I'll at least help your agents out with that, Oprah. But my verdict stays." Oprah squinted as the gears in her mind began turning. Not a few seconds later and she came to a realization, blinking a couple times. "You've raised Mandy from the time she was a baby. You love her and cherish her just as much as you do Otto. Are you...are you forbidding her from falling in love?" Olive's eyes widened. All she could do was stare at her old boss for a few moments, jaw hanging open but no sound coming out. Finally, a single word was uttered on a wisp of air: "Forbidding..." "You heard her, partner. Mandy is a grown child." Otto blinked, and then shook her head. "However weird that sounds. But anyway. She is old enough to make her own decisions, including romance-based ones. If she wants to love Bradley Beli -- when she's not under some crazy weird love spell, mind you -- what's wrong with that?" He gazed into Olive's eyes. "Tell me honestly. What is so wrong with her wanting to love someone, and then wanting to marry the one she loves?" Olive wasn't going to lie. Otto's fierce expression, and his even fiercer gaze, terrified her. She took a step back, her mind briefly contemplating running away but the rest of her body refusing to obey. I'm a terrible mother. That one thought swam around in her head like a fish, and it haunted her. Try as she did to become a good parent from the ground up with no experience in raising children -- younger siblings, kids needing babysitting, or otherwise -- one of her worst fears was undeniably being a terrible parent. She knew Mandy loved her, but who was she to know whether the hybrid was telling the truth or not? For all she knew, she slapped on a mask when she woke up every morning and ripped it clean off before hopping into bed at night, because odd forbid her adoptive mother got mad. It was that very possibility that shook Olive to the core. As terrifying as pie was, in the grand scheme of things, it paled in comparison to being an inadequate parent. She had come to realize that over time. Suddenly, she felt a wave of terror. Terror that Mandy was in the thralls of some villain who had picked her as one of the game pieces for the latest round of Matchmaker. She wanted to get her back. She had to get her back. But she had to amend things with Oprah and Otto first. "You're right, Otto. I've been nothing but foolish, this entire time." She sighed. "It's just...Mandy's around my age. I haven't fallen in love, and neither have you. Or you, Oprah." Oprah tilted her head, trying to search through her memories and see if Olive was right. "I don't want her to grow up and leave me behind just because of some famous pop idol singer, that's all!" Otto laid a hand on her shoulder. "Olive, Mandy won't leave you behind. You're her mother. She'll never forget you. Even if she does fall in love with someone and eventually marry them, she won't forget all of the fun times she's had with you. And she'll make many more memories with you, too. With all of us, actually." "I suppose, but-" "She's not gonna be thinking of you now. Not after you disowned her. That cut into her deep." Otto sighed. "After you kicked us out of your house, she got upset and burst into tears, but stopped herself after remembering that she was with someone she loved." "That's understandable." Olive rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry for doing that, by the way. Even if I kicked Mandy out, I shouldn't have kicked you out too." "Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Mandy." Otto blinked twice and began looking around the area. "Where is she, by the way?" As if on cue, the steel double doors opened to reveal a Mandy that looked like someone that was fresh out of a house fire. All three agents couldn't resist giving collective gasps of shock. "Oh no." "Crumpets!" "T-that's not a happy look!" Otto said. The trio watched as Mandy whipped off the engagement ring she was wearing, and then threw it to the ground. With a loud bang from the head of her hammer, the ring shattered into pieces. Even the diamond adorning it broke. It all happened in just a few quick seconds. Silence ensued after that. No one dared say a word, at least not for a few moments. "You...did say you had a plan, right?" Olive whispered to Oprah. "Well, Agent Rarity had one, and she was gonna put it into place, she said..." "Whatever it was..." Otto gulped. "Looks like it worked!" Mandy began approaching them, even though her eyes were somewhere else. Olive and Otto tensed up, while Oprah's innate strength forced her to keep herself calm. "Olive, don't speak to her." the Director uttered to Olive through gritted teeth. "R-right." As soon as Mandy rounded the corner, everyone gave sighs of relief. "I can still feel my heart racing..." Otto said, clutching his chest as he went to go sit down on the platform that encompassed the end of the slide on the right staircase. Olive glanced at the object that was shattered. She knelt down to inspect it, letting out a gasp. "Hold on. Is this..." She eyed a few pieces of the diamond still shimmering. "This is! It's the engagement ring!" "It is?" Oprah sounded elated. "That means Rarity's plan worked!" She clicked her tongue. "Ha, and I thought it was gonna be overly complicated like all the romance dramas adults watch. My fault for putting her drama queen status so high on a pedestal..." "What was Rarity's plan?" Otto asked. "Well, if push came to shove, it was going to involve some complicated love triangle thing. But basically, she worked with two teenagers to fabricate a relationship where they were getting married. The girl wanted Bradley's advice for her wedding on behalf of her fiance, and then she kissed him so Mandy would think Bradley was cheating on her when she came across them." Olive scratched her head. "Is it just me, or does that plan sound like it has a lot of holes?" She didn't get an answer to her question, as the doors opened once again and three familiar faces entered. "Mark! Naomi! Lewis!" Oprah greeted. "Nice to see you back." "You too." Lewis looked at Olive, then at Otto. "Oh, you have guests?" "More or less. This is Olive and Otto, who co-lead another Odd Squad precinct nearby. Olive is Mandy's adoptive mother, while Otto is a friend of Mandy's." As Olive and Otto greeted the three newcomers to the precinct, Naomi, Lewis and Mark each introduced themselves. "You three will be happy to know that Rarity's plan worked." "Is Mandy free from Laura Lovebloom's spell?" Mark asked. "We went to check on Bradley earlier and he was feeling rather distraught, but I don't think his side of the spell broke." "Mandy's didn't, either." Oprah shook her head. "But I have a feeling she's on her way there. In the meantime, I've sent out a few agents to track down and take down Laura, so she shouldn't be a threat anymore." "Oh good." Naomi smiled. "This shouldn't happen to anyone else." "So all we have to hope for is that Mandy breaks free of the effects?" Olive asked. "Yep. But the only way she can do that is if she declares a divorce. And it has to be true from the heart." "Then maybe we should let things run their course." "Yes, exactly." Oprah nodded at Otto's suggestion. "Give it a day or two and let's see what happens. No one interfere with the natural order of events." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group. Oprah, Olive and Otto, however, couldn't resist staring at the hallway that Mandy had went down, not bothering to hide their concern in their gazes. Sure, they were confident in waiting, but with Mandy's unpredictability, it was hard to see how things would go, even if she was under a love spell from a villain. A yawn marked the return of Mandy to the waking world. Even though she relied on sleep to cure a lot of her ailments, the pain in her heart refused to go away. "Not even sleep can take my mind off of him." she complained, flopping back down into bed just as soon as she sat up. "What's wrong with me? It's almost like we're...magnetic." She shuddered and violently shook her head. "But I don't want to be! I don't even want to be affiliated with him!" Her body was already waging a war against itself. Here is where it upped the ante. Her attitude towards betrayal fought with the effects of the love spell, like healthy blood cells going after cancer cells. That, combined with her literal aching heart, only served to make her feel absolutely miserable. "But I love him..." He's so gorgeous...no wonder all the girls want him. "But I don't..." He hurt you. That should be reason enough. "But I love him..." You two were absolutely made for each other. Even your names sync up well. "Nngh, but I don't!" He cheated on you with someone else. No...he cheated on you with five other people. That's mega-levels of egregious! Mandy ruffled her hair. "Why is this so hard?! I love him, but yet, he cheated on me!" She could feel tears springing to her eyes as she rolled over onto her front, letting her chin rest on the pillow as she allowed them to fall and land on it, like drops of rain falling into the ocean. It was only after a few minutes that she realized something. Her brain began to formulate a plan on what to do next. "This is turning into a nightmare. An absolute nightmare! Olive disowned me, and now the love of my life decided to cheat on me with...with five girls I don't even know!" She gave a huff and sat up, giving an affirmative nod. "That's it. If I cut him out of the picture, it'll be one less problem. One less troublesome thing in my life. Let him have his stupid music career. Let him make all the rounds in the tabloids so they can turn a drama into a crisis. I'm not gonna be involved in it anymore." She threw the sheets off of her and made her way to the door, flinging it open. I know what I have to do. She took a deep breath, and then exhaled it as though she were trying to blow Bradley away in hurricane-force winds. "Bradley...you sick, despicable, and utterly vile being..." Mandy clenched her fists and lifted her head up high. "I WANT A DIVORCE!! AND I WANT IT NOW!!" The words bounced off of the walls. Her eyes slowly closed. She didn't care who heard, or who came running. She didn't even care whether Bradley heard or not. Since their hearts were still connected, he had to hear her words even if he was halfway across the world. Silence. No one came. No one responded, positively or negatively. She felt three snaps in her chest, each in rapid succession. Her eyes flew open as she gagged. And then she started stumbling. She didn't get very far before she fell to her knees, loudly and violently choking and gagging through gritted teeth while clutching her chest. With every gag, her eyes bulged out of her head, and the more she did it, the more the coils of pain wrapped tighter and tighter inside of her. Nearby, the door to Peaches' room opened. "Huh?" she remarked, before her head swiveled to her right. And her eyes widened. "Sweet cattails, Mandy! Mandy!!" Peaches rushed to her side, calling out to anyone who could hear it, "Someone call Dr. O, now! Medical emergency!" A cough forced its way out of Mandy, not made of mucus as much as it was made of pure blood. Somehow, she found it in her to give an agonizing and echoing scream of pain before she flopped down onto the floor. The next few minutes were a complete blur for her. I can't understand what they're saying...I just see a blue and a purple shape, and I feel a human hand shaking me... Wait...Rainbow Dash? Medical Bay? Did they find me? One sound that was prominent, however, was her heartbeat. It had gone from a normal RHR to about as slowed as one of a tortoise that had entered hibernation. I have something coming down my mouth...drool, most likely. ...Fluttershy. I'm not dying. I don't wanna die. Please don't let me die. Alicorns are supposed to be immortal, after all, right? Her eyes slowly closed. Wait...I'm being picked up...carried... Her heartbeat grew slower. This is it. This is where my life ends. Death not by descent from the sky, but by heart failure. With my last words being something about a divorce... She slipped into unconsciousness, into the never-ending black that marked her expiry from the world. "Mandy." Who's calling me? "I have been waiting for you." You have? Are you part of the afterlife? "Not necessarily." Then who are you? "Follow me and you will see." ...What's this warm sensation? It feels so familiar. This has to be the afterlife. If I stretch my hands out, maybe I can get closer... ...Sunlight! "Open your eyes." Mandy's eyes opened. It took her a little while to adjust to her surroundings, as well as adjust to how her body was currently positioned. As of now, she sat on the ground, legs splayed out in a V shape. What laid before her was, surprisingly, a meadow that she had seen often in her dreams. In the far-off distance, a red barn sat on the left, lined with white fence. Beyond that sat a curve in a road that looked freshly paved and painted, like no vehicle had ever touched it. Behind her was a large hill that rolled, dotted with white and yellow flowers galore, just like the rest of the meadow. Her body felt completely weightless, like she was in space with no gravity, but she couldn't float. Some mysterious force kept her body pinned to the ground -- whether it was gravity or something else, she couldn't tell. "Is this...beyond the gates of heaven?" she breathed, her words being swept away by a light breeze than ran through the area. "No. You are mistaken." Mandy's head whirled back and forth. "W-who's there? Who are you? I'm not in the fiery place, am I?!" A chuckle was her only response. Materializing from a mysterious haze was a gorgeous and regal-looking kitsune. Her seven tails seemed to be crafted out of the elements -- one out of fire, one out of earth, one out of lightning, one out of grass, and one out of water. The other two were trickier to pinpoint, as one looked like it was made out of the purple-and-white flames of magic, while one looked like a pink rotating drill that had gotten stuck in that position, with wisps of magic swirling around it steadily. Her green eyes were warm, friendly and inviting, and the same held true for the smile on her maw. "It has been far too long." came the voice, as soft as a cloud. "It is unfortunate that it took you almost dying for me to contact y-" "I'm dead?!" Mandy got to her feet and shook her head. "N-no, no, I-I can't be dead! I, I'm too young! I'm only eleven! I haven't even knocked out halfa my bucket list!" "Almost dying." the kitsune calmly corrected. "Rest assured, you are not dead." "Then how do you explain this place?" "Come and sit by me, and I will tell you." The kitsune took a seat on the grass, waiting for Mandy to sit down beside her. The hybrid reluctantly obeyed, only just now noticing that the feeling of fear didn't settle inside of her when she was panicking before. "This is a place known as the Magical Grasslands. It is a place of tranquility, of wonder, of peace." the kitsune explained. "Long ago, many mythical creatures lived in these Grasslands as a clan. But they are long gone now." She closed her eyes. "Including myself. I am nothing more than a spirit now, roaming the Grasslands." Mandy looked at her hands. "So am I a spirit now, too?" "It is hard to say." The kitsune gazed at her, a frown dancing on her maw. Mandy waited for her to elaborate further, but all she got was silence. She had a million questions laying on her mind, but she held out and instead shifted her gaze to the creature's tails. "So, um...you're a kitsune?" "Yes." The kitsune nodded. "My name is Haruko. I am part of a special breed of kitsune known as the Elementals. We have tails that represent one of the seven main elements." "But your tail has all seven." "Yes. It is very rare for an Elemental kitsune to have all seven elements in their tails, as when we reach a certain age, we must head off to join groups separated by each element. Those who have all seven elements are often outcast." Haruko gave a soft sigh. "Which...was unfortunately the case with me." "Oh..." Mandy blinked. "I'm sorry to hear that." Haruko smiled before she continued. "I eventually found my home with other mythical creatures who called themselves the Arcanes, and I lived there for the rest of my life before I passed away and became a spirit." "Wow." Mandy stared at the grass. "I...I didn't even know creatures like you existed. And I've seen a looooootta weird creatures!" A pause, before she asked another question. "Can you wield the elements and stuff?" "Elemental kitsunes who have an element in their tails can use that element as a power, yes." Haruko nodded. "As such, those with one element in each tail can also use all elemental powers. But I do not prefer to use mine." Mandy's mouth scrunched up. She was confused as to how Haruko protected herself, then, if using the elements was not an option. Still, one question weighed on her mind more than any other. "So why are you coming to me?" "You will find out in time." Haruko responded. "But for now, you and I shall be allies. If that is all right with you." "That's fine. But...why am I here?" Mandy gestured to the entire meadow. "If I'm not dead, why do I feel like a spirit? Even though my body's still skin and flesh and bone..." "You may consider this limbo between the stars and the waking world. Your spirit remains here while your body is healed." "Limbo..." Mandy gazed at the barn in the distance, and the fence, and the road. If this was actually limbo between life and death, it was a rather oddly-specific one. "Is this made just for me or something?" Instead of answering, Haruko changed the subject. "Mandy, are you aware of what happened to you?" "Um...I..." Mandy scratched her cheek, trying to remember. "I don't...really know. Last I remember, I was talking to Bradley Beli." "Who?" "Only the most handsome pop star in the world..." Mandy swooned. "I was gonna help set up for his concert, and then I actually got to meet him! It was the bestest thing!" She frowned. "But the next thing I knew..." A pause. Haruko tilted her head as she waited for Mandy to finish her sentence. "...I don't remember." Mandy stared at the grass below her. "It felt like I was doing something, but I wasn't in control of my body. Like I handed the reins to someone else entirely." Her breathing quickened, second by second. "Oh odd, what if I killed someone and I don't know it? What if I killed Bradley and I don't know it?!" Haruko placed a gentle paw on Mandy's arm. "Do not panic." she soothed. "Rest assured, Bradley Beli is fine. He suffered from the same affliction you did, but he will come out of this alive." "But how do you know for sure?" "Throughout these past two days, I watched as you prepared to marry Bradley Beli, and then subsequently suffered through an act of deceit and betrayal that led to your untimely breakup...and eventually, your harrowing medical crisis." Haruko explained. "So...you can travel from this place to the real world?" Haruko tried not to hesitate. "You can say that, yes." "And how long have you been doing it?" "A long time." Mandy made a scrunchy face. One thing was for sure -- Haruko, as much as she had a way with words, was also very cryptic in how she spoke and was careful in how she chose her words. Prying answers from her wouldn't be an easy feat. "And you didn't intervene?" "It is not my job to interfere with the course your life is taking. Not in that way." Haruko said. "You are not my puppet. As such, I have no control over what you do, where you go, or who you choose to be with. My only purpose is to give you advice, and to be a shoulder to lean on in times of dire need." "Advice?" Haruko nodded. "Even when you are attacked by a villain." "You're gonna say 'I have my reasons', aren't you?" "No. But it certainly is not a false assumption to make." Mandy sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples as she tried to fully absorb the information she was given. It was only when she opened her eyes again that she noticed Haruko had stiffened, her eyes wide for just a moment. "Haruko? What's wrong?" "I can sense your friends. Your family. It is time you went back home to them." "S-so soon?" Mandy said. "But I have a kajillion more questions for you! I'm-" It took her longer than it should have to realize that she was being air-lifted by a mysterious force, floating up into the air. Luckily, it was a slow process, and it left her with just enough time to silently hug Haruko. "W-will I see you again?" Mandy croaked out, through transparent tears without feeling. "Perhaps, in a dream. Or perhaps, in the real world. Only time will tell." Haruko held Mandy's hand as she floated higher. A gentle touch of her face and an examination of what was on her finger made her realize that she was crying, and that only made her cry harder. Who knew if Haruko's words held merit or not? For all Mandy knew, this was just some weird hallucination or dream she was having. Her brain was quite the weird bodily organ, after all, and in a world like Odd Squad, anything was possible. She looked upwards, at the blue sky that was beckoning her with its purity and elegance. Voices began to push forth, although they were hard for her to make out. By the time she looked back down at the ground again, Haruko wasn't even a speck anymore. Her spirit was lifted into the darkness, the Magical Grasslands gradually shrinking, more and more and more until it no longer became visible. A feeling of warmth overtook her, and she felt like closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. She curled up into the fetal position, and let the mysterious force take her spirit to where she could hear the voices more clearly. Something about her being alive, how she was going to be okay... I'm going to be okay? Mandy slowly opened her squished eyes. Light seared into them, and she immediately yelped in pain before rushing to cover them. "Oh, thank odd you're okay!" came the tearful voice of Olive, who immediately yanked her body closer to her for a hug. "We weren't sure you were going to make it." came the soft voice of Fluttershy, her expression full of concern as she saw Olive squeezing Mandy as tight as a prized stuffed animal. Slowly, the hybrid's eyes opened. The harsh light didn't attack them now, which meant she had ample opportunity to regain her vision and look at her surroundings. Sure enough, she was in her room, with pretty much everyone at her bedside -- the ponies, Olive, Otto, Oprah, and Peaches had all come to see her. And Dr. O was there too. She allowed Olive to let go of her, and a sigh left her lungs as she placed a hand on her chest. It was then she noticed her heartbeat, definitely not as resounding as it usually was. No...it was the opposite. It was...faint. Almost deathly so. I'm not healthy. I'm sick. I feel sick. Miserable. Depressed. Her gaze moved to what she was wearing. A full-length hospital gown encompassed her entire body. No wonder I feel so light. Curiosity got the better of her, and put a halt on everything but her current state of feeling and emotion. "What happened?" she asked, her voice dry and raspy as she stared at Dr. O. "You were under the control of a villain known as Laura Lovebloom." he explained. "To cut to the chase: when you shouted out that you wanted a divorce from Bradley Beli, it tore a few of your heartstrings, leaving your heart weak." Mandy stared at him with a pure look of confusion. It was a wonder how she didn't start drooling from how her jaw was only slightly unhinged. "Well, ya finally did it, Doc. You broke Mandy." Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together. "Awesome work, I gotta say. Takes a lot to break her. I thought Pinkie would be the first one!" "She's sick, Rainbow." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Of course Dr. O broke her. If you're being serious, then his attempt -- not that you could even call it that -- doesn't count." Rainbow only gave a nicker in response. Dr. O sighed and continued with his explanation, with no regard to Mandy's reaction. "The good news is, we were able to perform surgery on you to repair the heartstrings. The bad news is, you'll have to rest up. Don't put strain on your heart for the time being." It was then that Mandy became faintly aware of a rather foreign sensation. Touching her chest again revealed that she had stitches in her, woven intricately like it was by the magic of Rarity herself. "You'll be bedridden for a little while. Unfortunately, that means you also won't be able to solve cases." "All the more reason to despite Laura Lovebloom's guts." Oprah chimed in. "Can't let her get away with putting my second-in-command out of commission." A smell hit Mandy's nose right then and there. It was...pleasantly good. Her eyes fell upon a bowl of what looked like fruit salad, sitting right on her nightstand along with a nice tall glass of water. Using her magic to levitate the items proved to be fruitless, as no magic came forth, so she settled on grabbing the bowl with her own hands and pulling it closer to her, doing the same with the glass. Something told her to drink the water first, and so, that's what she did, chugging the thing until it was completely empty. She marked her completion of the drink with a satisfied sigh, before setting the glass down on the nightstand and getting to work on the fruit salad. These are all heart-healthy fruits, aren't they? she thought. Not that it matters...I'll take anything at this point. Eagerly, she grabbed a slice of apple from the salad and ate it, relishing in its taste and giving a happy smile as she chewed the food. "In case you're wondering, that's a fruit salad chock-full of stuff that'll help your heart." Dr. O explained, watching as Mandy began scarfing down more and more of the salad the more her appetite returned. "Try to avoid any fatty foods, as, on the flip side, they can put a strain on your heart. I've put a list of foods you can eat on your desk." Mandy lifted her head from the bowl and stared at him, her mouth stuffed with fruit like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter. She swallowed her bite, gave a single nod, and then went back to eating, Dr. O's words being nothing more than noise to her. "I don't think she heard a lick of what ya just said, sugarcube." Applejack pointed out. A minute passed, and Mandy was done with the fruit salad. She still felt ill with her heartbeat still being rather slow, and part of her still felt miserable, but her belly being filled had clicked on quite a few buttons in her brain. "Was it good?" Olive asked gingerly. "It feels like I haven't eaten in years!" Mandy squealed. "Man, who made that, 'cuz my full compliments go to the chef!" "That'd be me." Otto said, a smug air to his voice as he made his way forward. "I decided to expand my horizons past making meatballs." "And it surprisingly turned out good." Olive gently nudged him, which only earned her a scowl in response. "Seems like you're feeling better." Peaches, in her cat form, hopped onto the bed and settled on Mandy's legs. "At least in the mood sense." "Yeah...my head's still achy, though..." "Hey, Dr. O?" Another Odd Squad Doctor poked her head into the room. "There's a patient with Cabbage Head who needs to be seen." Dr. O gave a mighty sigh. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Just keep in mind what I told you. Doctor's orders." The crowd parted for him as he left the room and closed the door behind him. "Well, I guess now's a good of a time as ever to tell you about what happened, huh?" Peaches said. "You want the details, don't you?" "Everything. Starting from when I left after work." One by one, everyone contributed to the story. Even those who weren't there had gotten wind of the full story from someone else who was. Mandy went from joyous, to horrified, to relieved, and back again, all within the span of a couple minutes. "Jeez, I know I have a crush on Bradley...but I don't wanna get married to him yet! It was sooooo weird. I wasn't even in control of myself or what I was doing!" She blinked. "Is Laura Lovebloom caught?" "Yes." Oprah breathed a sigh of relief. "I sent agents out to capture her and bring her back here so she could receive proper comeuppance. Safe to say, they did so successfully." Mandy smiled, but the smile went away quickly when she saw Olive's expression darken. "Momma? What's wrong?" Olive grit her teeth, then a sigh left her before she spoke. "When Bradley proposed to you, and you said yes...you showed up at my house because you wanted to tell me you were going to move in with him. I saw the engagement ring on your finger, and...I overreacted." "Huh? How?" "I refused to let you marry him. And..." Otto put a supportive hand on his partner's shoulder as her body quivered slightly. It took a lot of willpower to say the next three words. "I disowned you." "Disowned?" Mandy blinked twice. "Wait, what's disowning?" "Put simply, I refused to call you my adopted daughter anymore." Olive said, her voice beginning to develop cracks as she continued. "Even when I learned the truth about what happened, I stuck to my word. Otto helped me see that I was being foolish, and that...the truth was..." Mandy tilted her head, concern settling on her face. "I didn't want you to fall in love and move on and forget all about me!" Olive blurted. "Mandy, I'm so, so sorry. Disowning you is something I'll never do again." If there was one thing Mandy wasn't prepared for, it was for Olive to come on up to her and suddenly declare that she was no longer her mother. The coils of pain re-emerged once again and slowly began snaking around her heart as the weight of the Director's words weighed on her. Silence befell the room for a minute or two. Mandy's eyes shimmered. "Do you Pinkie Promise?" "C-cross my heart...hope to fly...s-s-stick a cupcake in my eye." Olive moved her hand accordingly, not noticing that there was snot rolling down her face. "Here." Otto conjured up a tissue for her, and she took it eagerly, blowing in it with as much force as she could muster. Mandy smiled. "I'm glad you opened up your eyes a little." she said. "It doesn't matter who I love or who I marry. I'll never forget all of you. If you want otherwise, sign me up for a lobotomy." Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief at the fact her partner was now at a point where she could crack earnest jokes. "Wait." Mandy's eyes went wide. "W-where's Bradley? He...he has to be okay! Haruko said he was!" "He's in the hospital recovering. As it turned out, his heartstrings also got torn. But EMTs and paramedics rushed him to the hospital just in time." Oprah explained. "Who's Haruko?" "She's..." Mandy hesitated. A kitsune with seven tails that were all lovingly crafted from the elements that defined the universe...even in such a place as Odd Squad, she found it hard to believe. She probably wouldn't believe it if someone else had told her they saw the creature. And she was sure no one else would believe it if she told them, even with the organization's vast database of mythical and odd creatures. Still, she had to provide an answer. She had to segue out of this topic and into a new one. Lucky for her that her social skills stats were pretty good. "A friend." she concluded. "A nice friend that I met in a dream." A pause. About half the group leaned in, a silent request for elaboration. Silence. Clearly, Mandy wasn't about to give out any more details, proven by the confused look on her face. "Well," Twilight broke the silence. "She sounds...nice. Maybe we'll meet her someday. Right?" Her question was addressed to the group, who all gave non-committal grunts. Mandy fiddled with her bedsheet. "I guess Bradley's concert is off now. A hundred Jackalope Dollars wasted on a ticket for nothing. Hope I can get a refund, at least." "I'm sure you will. And if he decides to hold a concert, we'll all go." Oprah said. Mandy's eyes shimmered. "Really? I-I mean, you guys don't hafta come if you don't wanna..." "No, no, we insist." Oprah turned to the rest of the group. "Right?" Another round of non-committal grunts was her answer. It was only by the slightest narrowing of her eyes that the grunts turned into murmurs of agreement instead. "Aww..." Mandy felt her face become flushed with red, blissfully unaware of the fact that it didn't seem like anyone really wanted to go at first. "You guys really are the bestest friends in the whole wo-" Only a second after she extended her arms out in an I-want-a-hug gesture, she stiffened. Without another word, she funneled some power into her horn, feeling relieved that her magic was working again when she saw it light up. A simple "berightback!" marked her swift exit from the room in a bright rainbow-colored flash of light. As Peaches fell flat on her back from the light temporarily blinding her, everyone else exchanged looks of confusion, not knowing where Mandy went. A minute later, and Mandy returned to her original position in bed the same way she went out. "Sorry about that! Y'know what they say about nature and how it calls and stuff..." She gave a bout of nervous laughter. It was unanimous. Yeah, there's no doubt about it. Mandy's back to her old self. At least for the most part. "Ummm, so anyway..." Mandy scratched the back of her head. "Any 'f ya got any painkillers? I feel like I got pushed through a meat grinder and then packaged and then shopped through one of those lil' factories that make laptops ya see all the time in the commercials." "I can spare you some of my extra-extra-strength aspirin." Oprah said, raising a finger to accentuate her next point. "It's just as good as intravenous injection. Minus the needle." "I see your deal, and I raise you the answer of 'yes, please'." Mandy smiled. "And then I'll raise the question of if I can have a glass of wateeeeeeeerrr..." It was like someone had taken the batteries out of Mandy's back, in all of its cartoonish glory. The top half of her body slumped forward, and she suddenly fell silent. This was enough for almost everyone to start panicking. At this point, it was like all ten of them were a hivemind that moved about and thought things and felt emotions in complete and utter sync. It was uncanny, especially given how none of them were familial with each other by blood. "Whoa." Rainbow flew over and prodded Mandy with her hoof a couple times, more impressed than horrified. "Did she just die mid-sentence?" There was no response but deafening silence. "...Oh Celestia, she died mid-sentence." "Ooh, ooh, if we revive her, will you all finally admit that death is cheap in Odd Squad like I've been saying for years?" Pinkie asked with a sly look on her face. "Since when have you ever cheated death?" "Have ya met me?" Pinkie nudged Olive's leg. "Better question, have you seen where we work? Every day we come here and we cheat death. It's so crazy..." She grinned. "But it's fun!" Peaches was the only one who tuned out all the talk of Mandy suddenly dying. Rolling her eyes, she hopped off of the bed and turned back to her usual humanoid form, placing her hands gently onto Mandy's chest and slowly lowering her back into bed. Not a second later, a low but loud rumbling cut through the chatter. And then another, and then another. "Aww..." Dash moped. "She didn't die." "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight scolded. The group peered past Peaches to find Mandy asleep, the rumbling sounds coming forth as a result of her snoring through her nose instead of through her mouth. A smile forming on her face, Peaches tucked the bedsheets over her, allowing her to snuggle and get comfy before she continued with her slumber. With nothing left to see, the group left the room, taking the empty bowl and glass with them and making sure to close the door behind them. Two months later, Mandy received the good news from Dr. O. Her heartstrings had been fully repaired and she was no longer confined to her bed. It felt like an agonizingly long time, sitting in her room with nothing but a TV on a cart and the dream realm as her only company. If she had a bedpan and a personal maid then she could complete the whole sick-person-in-hospital trifecta. With a renewed spring in her step and a nice clean suit on her instead of that sickening hospital gown, she bounced into the bullpen, feeling as light as a feather. She made sure to wave at every agent that stopped to look at her, feeling relieved to see more unfamiliar faces every day as opposed to once a week (whoo boy, did she have to compromise for that privilege). "Mandy?" Her head swiveled towards the stairs where Oprah was approaching her. "Hiya, Oprah!" the hybrid chirped. "Seems you're back to your usual self." "Yep! Dr. O said I can finally go back to work!" Mandy breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing too, 'cuz I was getting kiiiiinda bored just being cooped up in my room all the time." "I'm surprised you aren't used to it, given how many medical crises you go through." The line was half snark and half surprise, and Oprah had to resist dipping it fully into the snark jar. "Anyway, Naomi just called me. She's stopping by with Bradley Beli in a few minutes. He recovered a couple weeks ago and he wants to speak with you." Mandy's eyes darted to and fro as she racked her memories. "Naomi is Bradley's assistant." "Ah!" Mandy snapped her fingers. "Thank you. I guess my brain went..." She blew a long raspberry. "...for a moment." The automatic doors opened, snapping both girls' attention away from the conversation and towards the new arrivals. "Oh, there they are now." Oprah approached them with a wave, and exchanged greetings with them. Mandy hesitantly followed suit, stopping every few steps when her eyes laid on Bradley Beli. Her heartbeat didn't quicken like it usually did. She didn't get that same ecstatic feeling she did when she first met Bradley in person. She still felt a romantic attraction to him, of course, but now she felt...awkwardness? Upset? Nervousness? She wasn't sure if there was even a word for it that she knew. "Oh, Mandy!" Naomi greeted. "It's so wonderful to hear you're doing better." "Hi, Naomi!" Mandy chirped, trying to sound as cheerful as she could. "I certainly feel better!" Her gaze shifted to Bradley. "And Bradley, you're looking adooooooor..." She pinched her mouth in, stopping herself from voicing her inner thoughts and instead giving a bout of nervous laughter. "Healthy! As always! Healthy!" Bradley laughed, in that soft and silky way that would have made Mandy melt if she were an ice cube. "Thank you, Mandy. I came here to speak in private with you." He looked around. "Is there anywhere around here we can, uhh...?" "Sure!" Mandy said. "There's a room that's super-duper quiet, perfect for private chats! Follow me!" While Naomi got to chatting with Oprah, Mandy led Bradley down the right hallway, bouncing all the way without even thinking of what he thought of her unusual manner of walking. It was just so instinctual to her, and by this point she had learned to block out any and all criticism of it, no matter who it came from. After turning a few corners, the duo arrived at a door that was lined with all sorts of toys. "C'mon in!" Mandy chirped, opening the door and finding it dark save for some white Christmas lights strung up on the walls. Toys littered the floor, although it certainly wasn't as much as what she was expecting. Once they grabbed a few chairs from nearby, they got to talking. "I...I'm not entirely sure what happened, exactly." Bradley began. "My brain...I wasn't thinking straight. It was like I handed control of myself over to someone else." "That's exactly what I said!" Bradley frowned and ducked his head down. "I'm really sorry about what took place. I didn't mean to do any of it." Silence. Mandy would have answered him off the bat, but for the sake of tension, she stayed quiet for a few moments until she spoke again. "Whaddya hafta be sorry for?" Bradley lifted up his head again and stared at her. "Huh?" "I'll admit, I wasn't in the right state of mind either." Mandy sighed. "Laura Lovebloom's magic is powerful schtuff. I wasn't even aware of what went on until someone else told me." Bradley nodded. "The proposal..." "The moving experience..." "Postponing the concert..." "Offering for me to travel with you across the world..." "Me kissing some other girl who wasn't even married..." "Me getting jealous that you kissed some other girl who wasn't even married..." "Us arguing..." "Me going back and destroying the wedding ring and declaring a divorce..." "Me having my heartstrings broken..." "Me having my heartstrings broken..." More silence. This time, it was broken by hearty chuckling. "Y'know, all that wasn't even our fault. It was Laura's. And she's off the streets now." Mandy said. Noticing Bradley looking away with a downtrodden expression, she continued. "Hey, don't feel so bad! We're okay now, right? And that's what matters!" Bradley couldn't help but smile. "True." he said. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to play in Toronto now. Or a host of other cities on my tour, for that matter." "That's okay!" Mandy chirped. "Just make sure to come back someday. I really, really wanna see you sing and play!" "I'll be sure of it!" Bradley chuckled. "Toronto is my home. It's where I belong. I can't not go without playing here on any tour." The goosebumps began popping up on Mandy's skin. Her heart swelled with joy. She was slipping into that lovesick feeling again, and she accepted it with full force. However, she no longer felt nervous in front of Bradley, and she certainly didn't become an anxious wreck whenever she interacted with him in person. No...she viewed him as a friend, now. A near and dear friend that she just so happened to have a crush on. And she didn't get nervous when she interacted with friends. "Thank you, Mandy." Bradley said, giving a small warm smile. "I hope that someday, we can get to know each other a little better. As our own true selves, and not under the influence of a villain." Without warning, he stood up and embraced Mandy in a hug. She was only one single command away from blue-screening. Her eyes went as wide as saucers, and she froze in place for a moment, her thoughts being the only thing still going as they had a conversation all their own. Ohmygoshhe'shuggingmethisisthebestdayever!! No, no...j-just keep your composure...don't lose it... Wait, wait, I have an idea! Why don't you confess to him?! Confess what? Your love, silly! Tell him how much you love him! Are you freakin' insane?! He's gonna be so weirded out! Nonsense! Doesn't hurt to try! You two have grown closer, now, after all. It wouldn't hurt! "Mandy?" Do it now! You may never get a chance like this ever again! Seize it! Capre la diez! Mandy blinked, and she shook her head, breaking away from the hug. "Whuzuh?" she muttered, before she took a step back. "What's wrong?" She could feel her throat close in a way that only asthmatics feared. Worse thing was, she was no asthmatic, but that didn't mean her breath didn't get caught in her chest anyway. "Are you feeling okay?" Sweat began dripping down her face. Her legs shook. She became a pure living embodiment of stage fright for a one-man show. She didn't have to look into a mirror to know that she looked like a blubbering, unintelligent, I-am-in-no-way-self-sufficient mess. Finally, after a couple more seconds had passed, she summoned up the will to take a deep breath. And in that deep breath, she gathered up the words she wanted to say and expelled them with all her might. "Bradley Beli, I love you!!" Bradley's eyes widened in surprise. Before he could speak, however, Mandy continued, knowing what he was going to say. "I've loved your music for a long time, a-and I've had a crush on you for a long long time, and I've wanted to sing with you for a long long long time! But then this whole skidoo with Laura Lovebloom got in the way and now it just feels kinda awkward 'cuz you proposed to me and stuff and I really don't want this feeling to go away just for something as silly as that and I really hope we can get together someday although I don't know if you're dating anyone or not so hopefully y-" A finger placed to her lips stopped her blurting. She looked into those eyes...oh, those eyes. She missed those eyes. They still held surprise at her outburst, but also held just a couple tints of warmth and understanding. Bradley slowly, ever so slowly, reached behind his back and produced a flower. Its five pink petals arranged ever so neatly, looking like construction paper but feeling ever real. Its filaments and anthers reaching towards the sky, up towards the sunlight so they could grow bigger and bigger. Its yellow stigma sitting perfectly in the center to wrap the entire ensemble of nature's gift together in one mesmerizing package. "I want to give you this." he murmured. "It's a flower I found. A cherry blossom." He gingerly placed it in Mandy's hair, making sure to align it so it didn't clash with her hair bow too much. Once he was done, he produced a mirror from his hammerspace spine so she could see his work. She gasped. Tears began to pool in her eyes, and the surprise only added to the excitement that rocketed all about inside her. He...he gave me a flower! Omigoshomigoshomigosh he gave me a gift! Is...does this mean he's falling in love with me, too? The tears cascaded down her face, now. "It's beautiful..." she breathed, gently touching it as she continued to be enchanted by her own reflection. "T-thank you so much!" "It's no problem." Bradley started for the door. "And by the way..." Mandy broke her concentration to look at him. "The next concert you and your friends attend is on the house." She very nearly dropped the mirror. She probably would have if she didn't have a death grip on the item. More tears fell, although she became numb to them. He opened the door and placed one foot in the doorway. "I have to leave now. But I'll see you sometime in the future. Sooner, hopefully, rather than later." He gave a wink. "Be strong, okay?" The door closed. Silence followed for a few minutes afterwards. And then Mandy took this opportunity to grab the nearest stuffed animal and scream in it. She excitedly trotted in place, her tail wagging hard with excitement. As much as she tried to stifle herself, though, it didn't last for long -- she began ricocheting off the walls like a pinball, knocking all sorts of toys and shelves down. Once she was done with that, she resorted to running in circles around the room, giddily laughing and feeling as light as air. After 15 minutes of nonstop excitement, she burst out of the room soaring, wings flapping as they took her through Headquarters and past all sorts of agents who got swept up in the good vibes she was giving off. Her brain re-formed itself from its liquid state it had been in when Bradley left, allowing her to have coherent thoughts and speak coherent words again. She squealed. "Oh my gosh, does he actually have a crush on me?!" And then she huffed. "Nonono, that's silly, how could he have a crush on me?" And then, a moment of pause. "But it's always possible that he could have a crush on me and not view me as some silly-willy fangirl and then we'd have to date and then fall in love and then marry and then buy a house and then have kids but wait a minute, I don't know the first thing about love but I kinda do 'cuz I was affected by Laura Lovebloom's spell but how would I even know if he's falling in love with me if he's going away, I mean it isn't like I can contact him or anything because he probably has a million other fans and I'm prolly just one of 'em, I dunno, this whole thing's crazy complicated but that's just how love is, right?" Unaware of her surroundings as she was, she had inadvertently wandered into a park, where all of her friends were sitting on a picnic blanket, enjoying lunch. They watched as Mandy continued to jabber on and on, pacing circles around them in some weird attempt to make a hole in the ground while they casually continued eating lunch. "Uhh...she's been going like that for several minutes now." Rainbow pointed out after a short while. "Maybe we should stop her?" "No, no. Let her go." Olive waved her hand before she took another bite of salad. "She'll tire herself out eventually." "-but I think he actually loves me 'cuz why else would he give me the flower, I mean does he really go around giving flowers to all of the girls in the crowds of all of his shows 'cuz I should research if he does..." "Well, there's Olive giving silly play-by-plays of every Burly Bears game..." "Hey!" "...and then there's Mandy going on about love." Rarity finished, a giggle rolling about in her throat as she ate another potato chip and continued to work on her crocheting. Olive merely scoffed and rolled her eyes at the subtle dig to her fandom of the best sports team in existence. It took an awfully long time for Mandy to realize where she was -- so long, in fact, that everyone had finished eating and were all busy digesting their food while making casual conversation. "Whuh-huh?" The hybrid tilted her head. "Why'm I out here?" "Snap back to reality, whoops, here comes gravity!" Pinkie rapped, waving her hoof. "Hiya, partner!" "You're in Cedarvale Park." Twilight explained. "We had lunch together." "And you didn't even invite me?" Mandy pouted. "Well, that's okay. I don't need you guys anyway." She turned her back on the group and flicked her tail. "I'm not even gonna play 'What's Different About Mandy' with you." "You have a flower in your hair." Mandy whirled around at the unisonant response. She didn't think the sounds of her friends' voices together was scary, but here? Yeah, it was a little creepy, she had to admit. Especially since they spotted what was up with her right away. Did the cherry blossom stick out that much? "H-how'd you know?!" she whined. "It's a pink flower in a brunette head of hair. I think the answer's pretty obvious." Olive said, giving a roll of her eyes. "Who gave it to you?" "Only the dreamiest person in the world, duh!" "My goodness." Rarity stood up and made her way over to Mandy. "Bradley Beli gave you that flower?" "He sure did!" Mandy hopped up and down. "He told me he'll see me sometime in the future, and he told me that the next concert of his that we attend is free! Free!" She grinned. "Now you all hafta go with me!" Silence. A majority of the group shared uncomfortable looks. Some looked like they were devising plans to get out of the event. "You know what?" Twilight stood up and exhaled. "I'll go. If anything, it'll be more research into what this world's music is like. I've never heard Bradley Beli's work." "So will I." Otto's jaw became unhinged as he watched Olive brush the crumbs off of her and stand up. "I'll admit, I'm not really a diehard fan of his music or anything...but I'll be open-minded and give him a chance instead of basing my opinion on first appearances." Otto stammered. Olive knelt down to close his jaw before she stood back up. "If Mandy's words are to be believed, he's not just another Soundcheck expy." A smug look settled on her face. "He's better." Two down, eight to go. Mandy looked at each of them eagerly, a big planet-splitting grin on her face. "Well, if I go...it'll be good to get away from work for a while." Oprah sighed. "Assuming the concert's at night?" "I dunno. There's no date or time yet." "Then if I can clear my schedule, I'll go." Seven, now. "I'd like to go." Fluttershy offered, standing up as well. "Maybe he can do a charity concert to help out the animals!" "Concerts really aren't my thing..." Rarity shrugged. "But what's the harm? It would be nice to enjoy some good live music." "Of course I'm gonna go with the bestest partner in the world!" Pinkie chirped. "If'n I get all my work done on the farm, then I'll go too." Applejack nodded. "The answer's obvious." Peaches smiled. "It'll be a good way to bond with my favorite cousin." "I'm your only cousin." "You don't know that." Mandy made a scrunchy face as she realized the catgirl had a point. Everyone looked at Dash and Otto. The former looked uncomfortable, the latter frustrated. Finally, the Pegasus broke the silence with a groan. "Fine...I guess I can give him a shot." she said. Mandy turned her back to the group and rubbed her face, then threw herself in front of Otto and put on the saddest and biggest puppy-dog eyes she could muster, giving a soft whine for the icing on the cake. Otto, in turn, grit his teeth, but not even he could be immune to this ploy of Mandy's for long, and his face lit up. "Awww...all right, all right, you win. I'll go. Just to prove Olive wrong." "You won't." "I will." Mandy squealed. "All right! The whole gang's comin' to the best concert they'll ever see! Soon! Hopefully!" She wrapped everyone into a tight hug, with the ponies on the inner layer, where they got crushed by the more heavyset humans (and catgirl). Coughing ensued, as well as sounds of protest for Mandy to set them down until she complied. With that matter settled, Mandy's attention shifted to another topic. It was lunch, everyone had eaten, but where was her food, she wondered. By the time everyone had snapped to their senses again, she had her body halfway buried in the picnic basket and seemed to be munching on something. "You'd better not be snacking on the tablecloth in the basket again." Olive said. "Nope, even better! A sammich!" Mandy replied, her tail wagging as she continued to eat. Everyone looked at Twilight, who simply responded with, "Cardinal rule of meals: always pack extra food in case Mandy swings by. Lots and lots of it." This was received with murmurs of agreement and some laughter as the group continued to watch Mandy go at it, knowing that free food was just one of the things that had made her day infinitely better. The other thing was, of course, Bradley's gift. She would cherish it for the rest of her life, no matter what it took. From afar, the spirit of Haruko looked on with a warm smile at what came forth as a result of Mandy's antics. Oh, Annabelle...you would be so proud. S1E13: Oh, Dream WeaverAnyone who's worked in an office will tell you that paperwork is one of the most torturing and tedious things you can do during your shift. Mandy was absolutely no exception. She didn't mind paperwork. Really, it was all part of the job. That's what she was here for. And Oprah wouldn't really take a story about a huge squirrel being turned back to normal if she were told of it verbally. Odd Squad was an organization, and a lot of organization had paperwork in some form or another. But there came a point where she just became so bored with it. Paperwork was more fun with a friend, but Pinkie Pie was back in Equestria working a shift at Sugarcube Corner, and no one was around for her to make idle chitchat with. As she blankly stared at another O-135 form, one question stuck out to her. Is there anything else Odd Squad should know about this case?: Her gaze drifted to another section. Odd Problem: Star Flight was unable to fly because her wings felt like lead. After talking over the issue with her, we came to the conclusion that she was not confident in her flight abilities and needed to believe in the power of flight in order to fly. She Yeah, needless to say, Mandy couldn't finish that part. Professional author she was not, but she often liked the writing in her forms to be meticulous. She often held her writing in high standards as the second-in-command of the precinct. It was good to see everyone marvel over her use of the English language sometimes, to hear everyone remark on how someone who looked so dim-witted on the outside wield her best subject to her advantage. It was that ego she lived on. That sweet, sweet ego nectar. Her eyes became half-lidded, but it didn't stay that way for long, as something in the computer screen caught her eye. Half of a dark-skinned face, including a pair of eyes, peeked over the bottom and stared at her. "Oh fun. Another virus." Mandy said, a sarcastic edge to her voice while she reached for her keyboard that was stashed under her computer. "Last one tried to eat me alive. Maybe this'll be the one that'll get Oprah to finally mass-install antivirus software..." "They stole our plans." Sure enough, Oprah lifted herself up until her upper body was the most prominent thing on the screen. Mandy's eyes widened. She tapped the screen once, and then twice. Nothing happened. "Since...when can you go inside computers like that?" "Since forever." Mandy probably would have asked how she could go inside of computers like that, but something else caught her attention instead. "Okay, I'll bite the bait and go with my next question. What plans?" Instead of responding, Oprah ducked back down below the computer screen. Mandy waited with her breath held, seeing if she was going to come back up, but nothing happened. The hybrid bit back a groan and continued working on her paperwork. A few seconds later, the sound of slurping caught her attention. "Mm." She whirled around in her chair. "Are you going to elaborate?" Oprah swallowed her sip. "The Thrimes. They stole plans for the Dream-Thief-inator." "The Thrimes?" Mandy tilted her head. "You mean that villainous pantomime trio?" "Yes. But they're not alone. They've brought the Sandman with them too." "Okay, but he's the idiotic one, isn't he?" Mandy rolled her eyes. "All bark and no bite." "He can create deadly sandstorms, Mandy." Oprah slowly said, punctuating each word. "He isn't just an expert in the realm of sleep." "Hmm." Mandy tapped a finger to her chin. "So what does the Dream-Thief-inator do?" "It steals others' dreams and replaces them with nightmares." "So like the Dream Weaver's Bad Dream Machine." "Will you stop interrupting me?!" Oprah snapped, before she sighed and continued. "The Dream-Thief-inator, at its 'ultimate' power level, can strip victims of their emotions and feelings. The Bad Dream Machine doesn't have that capability." Mandy buried her face in her hands. "Oona, you just had to install a 'high' setting for the thing, didn't ya..." she muttered to herself. She shook her head as a realization came forth. "But how are they going to build it? I doubt they'll make it anything like what's outlined in Oona's plans." "No, but we're talking about villains who managed to build a silence ray and got..." Oprah pinched her fingers close together. "...thisclose to shutting up the entire planet Earth." "Ah, fair point." "I'm calling a meeting first thing tomorrow. Just to tell everyone to be on their guard." "Why not today?" "There's no way they can get anything like the Dream-Thief-inator built in a day." "The Thrimes had the silence ray up and ready in a day. Who's to say they won't have this gadget built in the same timeframe?" "The silence ray is their own creation. Oona's gadget plans are a bit complicated to follow, so they're bound to run into some trouble." Mandy felt conflicted. On the one hand, she doubted her boss's ruling and opinions on the matter and thought she was wrong, even with hardly any evidence to prove it. On the other hand, she wanted to place her trust in her judgment, as she had done so many times before for years on end now. Still, if the villains did come after her with the Dream-Thief-inator, she could fight them off. She did it before, albeit individually. She could do it again, this time with them as a group. "All right...if you say so." she responded, a hesitant tone to her voice. "I have to get back to work, so wouldja mind, uh..." Oprah looked at where her co-worker was gesturing. "Not even a goodbye?" She chuckled. "Fine, fine. I see you're busy. I'll leave you alone." She began walking away, and Mandy was free to go back to the utterly boring form she had to fill out. "Oh, and Mandy?" The hybrid looked up. "Antivirus software will be installed next month." "Oh, thank the odds." Deep in the thralls of a dark lair, four villains gathered together around one gadget that looked nearly complete. All it needed was a few final touches, which the villainous trio clad in black and white were furiously working on. "Duhhh, is it almost ready?" a large creature asked. He towered over the trio, though not by much, and his entire body was made of sand that looked almost wet in appearance. His eyes were crooked, as were his teeth. He looked to be the epitome of idiocy. In response to the creature's query, the trio nodded and then got back to work. "Ugh. This plan is doomed to fail." "Who said dat?!" Another figure stepped out of the shadows. The ring of thick arches she had around her waist, which were secured by a girdle striped with an array of colors, bobbed as she walked. One could mistake her as being an interstellar traveler just from the onesie she sported, which was dipped and covered in all sorts of astral designs and colors along with the arches. Half of the arches had silver rims while the other half had gold ones, and the swirl patterns embedded in them matched each color. The clothing she wore under the girdle overlapped, gold over silver, and were topped with respective beaded gold and silver epaulets as well. She looked to be half silver on the, half gold on the right -- and to complete the ensemble, her gloves matched each side, as well. The trio and the creature took in the appearance of this rather otherworldly person, completely stunned by her fashion choices. "I did, you lumbering idiot." the woman snapped, her eyes narrowing as she adjusted her poofy white cloud-like hair that illuminated with a soft off-white light. "You two aren't a perfect match for each other at all. When villains team up, they need to mesh together, work well together." She then muttered, "Believe me, I learned that the hard way..." The trio squinted in unison as they sat on her words. "You three, the Thrimes..." She pointed at the mime trio. "...can't speak. And you, the Sandman..." She pointed at the sandy creature. "...you're an idiot." "Am I not an idiot?!" The woman rolled her eyes. "Congratulations. You just made a coherent sentence by acting like a fool. Have a cookie." "Ooooh, thanks!" "I'm being sarcastic!" The woman took a deep breath, and continued. "Anyways. Have you even decided what your next course of action will be? Odd Squad is a very populated place, as you know. Are you planning to attack any precinct or any agent in particular?" The Thrimes moved over to a small desk, where they shuffled some papers around until they held up one in particular with the beaming, cute, and very recognizable face of an agent. "Agent Mandy. Known for beating villains within inches of their lives." She smiled. "Such a doll. Her love of sleep is almost unrivaled. I would be lying if I didn't say I didn't enjoy victimizing her the most." Her gaze flicked to the group. "That's who you're planning to use this ray on?" "Yeah!" the Sandman piped up. "She, uh, duh, she's done troubley-nothin'!" "You three are underestimating her." The Thrimes made shocked face expressions. The woman couldn't tell whether they were faking it as part of a mime act or not. "Haven't any of you ever interacted with Mandy? Or at least gotten into combat with her?" A lot of head-shakes. "Well, uhh, duh, there was one time, uhh, and she threw water on me, and, and, uhhh, she made me a sandilycastile!" "Uh-huh. I knew you four weren't good fits for each other." The woman sighed. "Well, since I'm such a nice villainess, why don't I give you some advice." She winced. "Ehh...and maybe some of my assistance." "We don't want your stinky assistance!" "Would you rather your plan fall to shambles, then? Or would you rather have it go off without a hitch? Your choice." The Thrimes didn't need to be asked twice. They all mimed the act of begging on their knees. "Well, uh, duhhh..." "Ah! Just as I thought." The woman giggled. "Now, I happen to know a lot about Agent Mandy. If you want to use this ray on her...you'll need to do it during the nighttime." The Thrimes, rising to their feet again, looked confused -- as did the Sandman, even through his derpy features. "Mandy may be a fierce battler, but she also sleeps for a majority of the day. At night is when she lets her guard down, when she'll be in too tired of a state to fight back. And, see, while she is a heavy sleeper regardless of the time of day, nighttime is her weak spot." "But, uh, ummm, dummm, what about those colorful mishmashows?" the Sandman asked, the Thrimes nodding in agreement as though asking the same question. "Colorful marshmallows...?" the woman uttered, only just slightly surprised she could understand the creature's broken way of speaking. Still, that didn't mean she felt frustrated by it, as she quickly snapped, "They're called 'ponies', you nitwit." The Sandman took a step back. She forced herself to take a deep breath. "Anyway. Yes, they are friends of Mandy's, but I don't think they'll be much of a threat. In spite of my...horrible lack of experience in dealing with them..." A bite of the lip as a wave of regret washed over her. "...I can deal with them easily. Regardless of them, I believe I can help you execute this plan live." Confused looks crossed the Thrimes' faces. "I mean while we're actually setting the plan into motion." That was better. They all nodded in realization. "So, what time are you planning to use this ray?" The Thrimes mimed out the number 10. "10 PM. All right, that's perfect." The woman clapped her hands together. "Meet me at Precinct 13579 then, and we can discuss what to do going forward. Believe me, you'll all be in my debt when this plan goes well." An evil chuckle rolled about in her throat. "Oh, Mandy...don't you worry your pretty little head. The Dream Weaver will help get you through the night." The chuckle turned into a hearty reverberating laugh that sounded for what seemed like hours upon hours. This time...this time, I'll get you. I'll leave you incapable of dealing with oddness for the rest of your life! As nighttime fell on Precinct 13579, five villains crept their way through the hallways, making sure to stay out of the prying eyes of any rogue agents and out of the prying lens of the security cameras stashed into seemingly every corner of Headquarters. They pushed the now-completed Dream-Thief-inator ray, which was rather huge and needed to be transported on wheels instead of being held in hammerspace. "Now, to my understanding, Mandy no longer sleeps with the ponies." the Dream Weaver explained. "She has her own room now, isolated from everyone else." "And, uhhhh, is that good news?" "What do you think, of course it's good news!" the Dream Weaver snapped, her voice at a whisper so she didn't wake anyone up. A heavy sigh left her. "But I digress. We only have one shot, so it must be executed well. Got it?" Nods all across the board. The group stopped in front of the multi-colored door, and slowly opened it. It made a light creaking noise, which didn't surprise them, and they decided to time the creaks with Mandy's snores just to play it safe. Once it was fully open, the ray was wheeled inside, its bulb pointed straight at her. The Dream Weaver, ignoring the sounds of the ocean that resounded in the room as white noise, poked her head out of the room, looking around and using her sense of hearing to see if anyone was nearby. Still dead-silence. "Okay, there's no one around. Charge it up." A few buttons were shifted upwards, and the ray began to charge up. It was rather noisy, moreso than the Dream Weaver expected, and she grit her teeth. "You had to make it noisy..." she uttered, before she noticed one of the Thrimes was giving her a thumbs-up. In spite of the noise, Mandy hadn't stirred so much as an inch. The Dream Weaver returned the thumbs-up and made her way to Mandy's bedside, a malicious smirk on her face. "Nighty-night, you dreamless, thoughtless, emotionless abomination." she said. "See you on the other side." The ray was fired, a bright blue illuminating the room as the beam was aimed right for Mandy's exposed ankles. From there, her whole body became bathed in a blue light. The whole ordeal was over within 15 seconds. The ray was powered off, and Mandy's eyes slowly opened until they got stuck at the halfway point, the innocence held within them entirely gone and becoming glassy. "Hurry, you villains, we need to make a break for it!" the Dream Weaver said, wheeling the ray out of the room as fast as she could while the Thrimes and the Sandman followed suit. Once she felt the group was, more or less, at a safe distance, the Dream Weaver let out the sigh she had been holding in. "Yes! I told you this plan would go off without a hitch." she said, her voice returning to its normal volume. The Thrimes mimed a sentence that would be near-unintelligible to anyone who didn't understand the art of pantomime. "It doesn't matter if I did all the heavy lifting! What matters is that we got Mandy!" she said. "Now let's get out of here, before someone catches us!" The sound of a foot hitting the ground that wasn't any of the villains' own caught their attention right quick. Slowly, ever so slowly, their heads turned towards the source -- and what an unexpected source it was. "Going somewhere?" "You!" came the angry shout, before the Dream Weaver stopped and blinked. "Wait, who are you?" "Peaches. Catgirl from Vallea." Peaches crossed her arms. "Now just what do you think you're doing?" A shrill cry from afar cut into the conversation. Everyone turned to look as Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Rarity rushed up, Twilight holding the emotionless Mandy in her magical grasp. Whatever smug confidence Peaches had in regards to taking the villains down was evaporated within the snap of a finger. Her ears and tail both drooped. Her body slumped. Her eyes shrunk so they were more sclera than iris and pupil. Mandy had about the blankest expression on her she had ever seen. She looked dead, even though she was very much alive. Any identity she had was sucked out of her, leaving her a complete and utter blank slate. "No..." Peaches whispered, a soft cry of despair dancing on a soft puff of air. She stayed like that for a good long time. Until she snapped. With a mighty yowl, she plowed past the villains and threw herself at the ponies, nabbing Mandy from Twilight as the alicorn released her grip on the hybrid. "Mandy. Mandy! Snap out of it! Please, snap out of it!!" Mandy's eyes moved towards Peaches. "Why are you holding me? Who are you?" she asked, her voice completely monotonic in a way that would put Pinkie's sister Maud to shame. "No!!" Peaches screamed, shaking her cousin. "Mandy, please!! This isn't you! Snap out of it!" "I do not know you. Set me down." "Darling." Rarity stepped forward and placed a hoof on Peaches' leg. "It's hopeless. Mandy has been robbed of all of her feelings and emotions. She's..." She shut her eyes tight. "...an empty shell!" An empty shell. Peaches looked into Mandy's eyes again. Those glassy, glazed eyes that once held life, innocence, and a sense of being. It was painful just to even make eye contact with her anymore. Still, Peaches hugged her close, her body shaking as she became on the verge of a breakdown. Before sadness overtook her, however, rage hip-checked it and sent it flying out of the room. "You." Her icy voice cracked as she slowly stood up and turned to face the villain group, holding Mandy close to her body. She extended an index finger towards the ringleader. "Who are you, and what have you done to my cousin?" The Dream Weaver didn't answer right away, instead scanning Peaches' face for any sign of familiarity. Yes...she remembered tormenting her once. She had been a rather unusual victim. But talk of her around the villain community got her curiosity piqued, and so, she had done her thing to the result of failure. But she and Mandy were related? That answered a lot of her questions. She giggled. "What a feisty kitty!" she taunted. "I can see how you two are related now. Both of you have the same spunk." "ANSWER ME!!" came the angry roar, claws unsheathing as the Dream Weaver became one step away from being the victim of an attack. "Ohh all right, fine. Since you really want to know." The villainess smirked. "My name is the Dream Weaver, and my area of expertise is the dream realm. I am one of the most respected villains in Toronto, just for my sheer abilities to twist dreams and nightmares to my liking." The ponies' eyes all widened. All of their minds immediately flashed to Princess Luna, who also ruled over the dream realm, but was firmly on the side of good now instead of evil. "So who are they?" Peaches pointed to the Thrimes. "And who's he?" And then to the Sandman. "Duhh, I'm the Saaaaaandmaaaaaan." came the dopey response from the latter. The Dream Weaver sighed and pointed to the trio. "And those are the Thrimes. We are ever so pleased to make your acquaintances, Peaches!" "I don't want to engage in casual conversation with filth like you." the catgirl snapped. "Return my cousin to normal." "Aww, now why would we do that?" the Dream Weaver taunted. "We villains have long since come to the realization that Mandy is the biggest threat, not just to our evil plans, but to our very existences! If she is left devoid of emotion, then she can't attack us! The cosmic forces can decide when it's our time to go, not her!" Peaches could only stare as the villainess delved into a bout of evil laughter. "Peaches, be careful!" Twilight called. "The Dream Weaver is a very dangerous villainess. Don't do anything hasty!" Twilight has a point. The Dream Weaver can shape dreams and nightmares as she wishes, and it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume she can put her enemies to sleep, as well. I don't have control over my sleep and dreams like Mandy does...which would put me at a serious disadvantage if I'm not careful. Peaches bit her lip as her mind ran through a list of options. It didn't take her long to settle on one she deemed fit. Wait, what if I...yes...yes! I know exactly what I have to do! She took a deep breath to expel her anger before she spoke. "Okay, then. Perhaps a deal would change your mind." "A deal?" "Yes." Peaches nodded. "See, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but us catgirls are a very rare find in Toronto. We don't come around here very often, I'm afraid. If you caught me, then you would have something that would truly leave a mark on the other villains' legacies." She stopped and backtracked. "No, no...your legacies." All five villains looked very intrigued. If one looked close enough, they could see their eyes shimmering just a little. "C'mon now. Surely I look tempting to you?" "Well duhhhh I dunno..." The Sandman squinted. "You don't look appephepatizing." The Dream Weaver slowly turned to face him with a disgusted look. "You're grossing me out, you disgusting twit." She turned back to Peaches. "All right. So what's the catch?" "You turn my cousin back to normal. And in exchange, you can have a more powerful capture of only the highest rarity." She smirked. "How about it?" The Dream Weaver took a moment to think, then looked at both the Thrimes and the Sandman. Both of them gave nods of approval, knowing that respect was one of the highest things a villain could achieve -- and they didn't have much, whether combined or individually. "You've got yourself a deal, pretty kitty." the Dream Weaver said. "But I must warn you." "Hm?" "Where I'm taking you is purely hybrid-proof. If it just so happens that your pathetic little cousin tries to rescue you...she won't be leaving alive." Oh, I love those odds. Peaches almost wanted to laugh, but settled for a smirk instead. Mandy will rescue me, no doubt about it. Besides, with her zany ways, she could probably cheat death singlehandedly. "I understand." "Heh. You've got gusto!" The Dream Weaver smirked in return, turning to the ray. "Thrimes, undo the effects on Mandy, if you please." While the pantomime trio got to work on activating the reversal setting of the gadget, the Dream Weaver rubbed her hands together. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to put you to sleep..." she murmured, before she pulled her hands apart and sent a cloud floating Peaches' way. In one swift movement, it swept her off of her feet, allowing Mandy to make impact with the ground. Slowly, Peaches' eyes closed. Mandy...please, save me. I know you will. Good luck. Once the Dream Weaver was sure Peaches was asleep, the cloud floated back to her and remained by her side, the soft snoring from her tickling the villainess's eardrums and making her smile. On the flip side of the coin, the Thrimes had the ray all set up, and with a few clicked switches, a bright red beam shot out of it and swirled around Mandy's entire body. Slowly, like liquid being poured into a glass, her eyes filled with the color blue, and the shine in them returned. "Duhh, shouldn't we get outta here before Mandy wakes uuuup?" the Sandman asked, tilting his head. The Dream Weaver rolled her eyes. "Lo and behold, it can think." she muttered to herself, before she turned to him and put on a great big smile. "Yes, yes, let's go. Chop chop!" Quickly, the group made their hasty retreat, Peaches floating by the Dream Weaver's side before they completely disappeared from view. "Mm..." The ponies backed up a step or two, eyeing Mandy as she squeezed her eyes shut, then slowly opened them. "What happened...?" "Oh, thank Celestia!" Rarity cried out. "Mandy, Peaches was taken by a group of villains. She offered herself up willingly as a capture to save you." "Y' don't say..." came the sleepy murmur as Mandy slowly rose to her feet. "We gotta get her back!" "Hold on, partner." Twilight said, using her magic to grab Rainbow by the very end of her tail before the Pegasus could go far. "We need to formulate a plan. The Dream Weaver said that wherever she's taking Peaches is hybrid-proof. That means it'll be full of traps." As Mandy tried to fully come to, she furiously shook her body out like a dog trying to get rid of as much water as it could. "Wha-huh?! I-I'm awake, I'm not late!" she cried out, before a blink brought her back to her senses. "Why do I feel like I'm missing something important?" "Your cousin was taken, Mandy." That woke her up. "Taken?!" she said, whirling on Rarity. "By who?!" "The Dream Weaver, along with the Thrimes and the Sandman." the unicorn explained. "If I had to make a guess, they tried to attack you while you were sleeping. Peaches made them take her instead of you as a sacrifice." "WHAT?!" came the scream, her eyes widening. "T-that's impossible! How do they...I-I mean, they can't...wha?!" "There's no time to worry!" Rainbow said, still fighting against Twilight's magic but failing. "We gotta save Peaches!" "The Dream Weaver said that wherever she's taking Peaches is hybrid-proof." Twilight added. Mandy thought for a moment. "If I know the Dream Weaver well -- and I'm confident I do -- she's probably taking Peaches to her lair." "And where's that?" Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh in response to Twilight's question, waving a dismissive hand. "Her basement, silly! Where else?" Everypony exchanged confused looks. "Wait!" Rarity perked up in realization. "What about the rest of the girls?" Twilight sighed. Of course -- leave it to Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack to be in Equestria for the night and not in Odd Squad. Terrible timing, if one asked her, but it couldn't be helped. "We don't have time to get them. This is something that we'll have to do on our own!" "Then let's go!" Mandy led the way down the hall, Rarity, Twilight, and the now-released Rainbow Dash quickly following suit. By the time Peaches arrived at the Dream Weaver's lair, she was awake, much to the villainess's chagrin. She had gotten a personal tour of her rather luxurious two-bedroom apartment, which planted a ton of questions into her head she was forced to put aside for now. Eventually, she was taken downstairs into a dingy, dark, low-hanging room with a washer and dryer set up on the right, a large wood table with a chair on the back wall, and insulation everywhere. Eugh...basements in Vallea definitely don't look like that. She keeps her house clean, except for her basement, apparently. Peaches wrinkled her nose. But on the plus side, maybe there are some mice in here I can eat if they decide to starve me. "Have a seat." the Dream Weaver said, dragging the table out a little ways while the Sandman and the Thrimes carried the Dream-Thief-inator down the stairs. Peaches did as she was told, taking a seat in the chair and wincing at how rough it felt. She might as well have been sitting on a slab of rock. The Dream Weaver waved at the cloud to make it dissipate, then took a pencil and some paper out from her hammerspace spine, laying it on the table before she adjusted the lamp that was above the table so its snake-like extension kicked in and the light shone on the paper. "I believe you come from Vallea, correct?" Peaches stared at her. She wasn't expecting a question that had absolutely no relation to "write this thing" or "draw that thing". She blinked a couple times, becoming distracted by the villainess's white hair that was now lit up, like it was a glow-in-the-dark hairstyle. "Um, I...y-yes. I do. H-how do you know, exactly?" "Oh, we're all well-acquainted with Toronto and a few of its citizens. You, however, seem to be a new face." The Dream Weaver leaned in closer, just as the Sandman and the Thrimes approached the duo. "We're quite interested in you. And your cousin is quite the blabbermouth in battle." An annoyed "tch" forced its way out of Peaches. Of course. Mandy enjoys monologuing. No doubt she'd mention me at some point. She stared at the paper in front of her. "Um, so...what's the paper and pen for?" "Oh, nothing..." The Dream Weaver pressed her thumbs together. "I just need you to write down everything you know about Vallea." Everything?! Peaches stiffened. Oh no...they're gonna wreak havoc in my hometown, aren't they? And who knows if King Ashero is even prepared to deal with oddness like that! But then again...I could always lie. Isn't it common knowledge that villains aren't necessarily the smartest people? Because if so, then I could easily fool all of them. She closed her eyes for just a moment. I don't want to hurt Vallea. Mandy can take care of King Ashero, I'm sure. But if these villains get involved, they'll hurt more than just the King. A sigh danced on her lips before she picked up the pen and silently got to writing. The Dream Weaver smirked, as did the Thrimes and the Sandman. "Good girl." It was rather easy to find the Dream Weaver's apartment. After all, it was the only one that looked like something straight out of a dream, with its blinding-white...well, everything. Plus the tag inside one of the mailbox slots in the front yard that was marked with DREAM WEAVER. That too. Using her telekinesis, Mandy opened the front door, slowly and carefully. Her eyes scanned the living room for booby traps, her body relaxing slightly when she couldn't see any. "Okay. Try and keep a low profile." she said, her voice low as she made her way inside. The mares followed suit, keeping an eye out for any surprises. Sure enough, within just a few steps, two puffs of smoke appeared. One materialized a large structure with bright pink, dull pink, and blue-and-purple bowl-shaped glowing fixtures on its base, as well as six jagged lightning-bolt-shaped pieces that surrounded a glowing purple orb. The other obscured the rescue team, causing them to give startled cries and stumble about as they were temporarily blinded. Mandy coughed, her eyes watering and looking rather bloodshot as she looked around. "Rarity? Rainbow Dash? Twilight?" she called. "Where are you? I can't see you!" Her search was interrupted by a weird sensation in her head, like something had entered it, and she shook it off before she continued. She could hear coughs, cries of fear and worry, and her name being called, but she couldn't see anyone. Her eyes began to close involuntarily. "What'zz...happening...Raiiiiiii..." Sleep claimed her quickly, and she was reduced to a snoring mess within the span of a minute. Unbeknownst to her, the ponies had also fallen asleep, and they were sprawled out on the living room floor, snoring away and completely incapacitated. "Ah." The Dream Weaver smiled. "I believe our guests have arrived." Peaches looked up. "Guests?" "Mm, yes. Agent Rarity, Agent Rainbow Dash, Agent Twilight Sparkle...and of course, who else but Agent Mandy." She came for me. But something's wrong. "What did you do?" she asked, struggling to keep an innocent tone to her voice to mask her anger. "Just laid them down to rest for a while, that's all." the Dream Weaver said. "For Mandy in particular, however...that little ringleader will be receiving a special surprise from yours truly. Thrimes? Sandman?" All four villains looked at her. "Please keep an eye on Peaches for me. I have some matters to attend to." She became surrounded by a bright pink glow, and then, just as quickly, she was gone in a flash. Peaches got back to writing without another word, letting her thoughts do the talking for her. Mandy got put to sleep, didn't she? Along with the ponies. This villain is the biggest threat to her, without a doubt. But somehow...I'm confident she'll pull through. She has to pull through. For my sake. When Mandy awoke, she felt a warm sensation overtake her body. It felt welcoming, and so she stood up, her head beginning to ache. "Rainbow? Twilight?" she called out. "Rarity?" came the final desperate squeak, her eyes darting around for any sign of her co-workers within the purple-hued setting. "My dear sweet Felicity." The voice was smooth. Not in the same way Rarity's was, mind -- this smoothness sounded like something that came from an adult woman, not a mare. Mandy's eyes fell on a silhouette of such a woman. As thin as a twig, clad in a dress with long hair. Her figure was obscured by fog, the same way the view of the child she was holding was obscured. "You will grow up to be such a happy and healthy child." the silhouette murmured in between the baby's coos. "And with my spirit guardian by my side, we will be safe and protected. Don't worry about a thing." She set the baby down onto the ground. "Now, I must leave. I cannot be late for the dinner party." She gave a soft huff. "I'll be back soon." With the sound of clicking heels echoing through the space, she walked away, her silhouette gradually fading until it was no more. Only the baby remained now, giving inquisitive coos while reaching its small hands out in a futile attempt to call for its mother. Mandy watched with intrigue. She wasn't sure who "Felicity" was -- it certainly wasn't her name, and she didn't know anyone with that name, either. Still, something in her told her to pick the child up, and so she did, carefully moving through the fog while also keeping her ears open for any other sounds. Like the entryway of a door, she broke through the haze. Her eyes fell on the baby. It was a rather healthy-looking and slightly chubby baby, with a head of brunette hair that looked like hers. But it wasn't until she picked it up and cradled it in her arms that a wave of familiarity slammed into her. The baby gave happy coos, grabbing at Mandy's nose and moving it around. Mandy, however, was rendered in a state of shock. Why does this feel so familiar to me? This baby looks familiar...and that woman... Her voice sounds familiar. Who is she? Her being lost in her own thoughts left her immune to the sound of heels clicking as they got closer and closer. "Might I ask what you're doing with my child?" Mandy's eyes widened. She whirled around, and found the same woman standing behind her. With her strawberry-blonde hair, her sparkling black dress, and black heels, she looked every bit like a model who had stepped out of a fashion magazine. A rather mean model, if the angry expression on her face was any indication. "Oh! I-I'm so sorry, b-but you left her here a-and I thought..." Mandy stammered, sweat beginning to drip down her face. The woman's expression softened and became warm. "Felicity." she murmured. "How you've grown." Mandy took a step back, her eyes remaining in their widened state as her gaze moved from the baby to the woman and back again. Is...am I holding...nonono, this can't be me... The baby continued to give elated coos towards Mandy, gurgling and giggling while making mad grabs for her suit. It took a while before Mandy was able to give at least some semblance of a coherent response. "I, uh..." She cleared her throat. "M-my apologies, but my name's not Felicity. I'm Mandy." "Oh...you changed your name." The woman once again switched moods on a dime, becoming downcast. "But I thought you enjoyed the name Felicity?" "I- wh- my name's not Felicity!" Mandy reiterated. "W-who are you? Why do you have a baby that looks like me?!" The woman stooped to Mandy's height and looked her dead in the eyes. Her eyes held a sort of maternal warmth to them that flew completely over Mandy's head. Especially when she said her next words. "I'm your mother." Oh, did Mandy very nearly drop the baby in her hands. Her heartbeat quickened. Her brain began the process of slowly melting into a pile of mush, thoughts conversing all on their own while she stared at the woman for what felt like hours. M-my mother? Don't be ridiculous, Olive's your mother! Adoptive mother, thank you very much. So this woman's my...real... She's my real mother. The one who brought me into this world. This can't be. This is a dream. How can she be my real mother? Most Odd Squad agents are humans. Humans are brought into the world one way or another. She slumped to her knees, her shock leaving her paralyzed just enough for her to not notice the woman and the baby disappearing in translucent pixelated flecks. In spite of her eyes being wide open, she also didn't see the familiar form of the Dream Weaver materializing in the woman's place. "Won't this be some juicy gossip to tell everyone in the Villain League." The villainess chuckled. "I honestly thought the whole thing with your birth mother wouldn't be such a big deal. I suppose I was wrong." Mandy was still in a state of shock, unable to form any sort of response. She looked like she was in a state of suspended animation. The Dream Weaver sighed. "I already know what you're going to say before you're even saying it. 'This is all your doing, isn't it?' Do I have that right?" She smirked. "You see, I can pull dreams from memories buried deep under the sea of people's minds, as well as those that are floating on the surface of the water. As a special gift to you, I decided to go deep. Really deep. Twilight-zone deep." A chuckle slipped past her lips. "And it looks like I hit the jackpot!" Ever still, but listening now, Mandy's ears swiveled towards her opponent. And she took notice. "Mm, glad I don't have to repeat myself." Her lungs filled with air, and then she gave a satisfied sigh. "Now, with you and the rest of your rescue team out of commission, I can continue extracting every piece of info about Vallea as I can get from your feline friend." Mandy blinked once, and then twice. The shock slowly began to wear off as the taunts from the Dream Weaver sunk into her brain. What festered in shock's place was anger and confusion. "You inconceivable, low-lying, scum-of-the-earth thing." The Dream Weaver merely tilted her head, not fazed by this insult in the slightest. Mandy slowly got to her feet. "You dug into my memories, memories I didn't even know I had, to expose who my real mother is?" she asked. "Why?" "If I have to be honest, it was never my intention to dig up that specific memory." The Dream Weaver shrugged. "I just got lucky." "Lucky?" Mandy spat. "You have the nerve to call this vile act 'luck'?" "What are you getting so wound up for? I haven't even turned this dream bad yet." The Dream Weaver rolled her eyes. "Honestly, save your anger for when I actually do, hm? Which will be...right now." In a bright pink flash of light, the structure from earlier reappeared. The Dream Weaver made her way over to it, grabbed a pull cord that Mandy couldn't see before, and gave it a single yank, causing the bowl-shaped structures and the orb on top to start glowing intensely. Within seconds, the setting changed. What was once a purple void filled with fog was now the bullpen of Mandy's very own workplace. In a bright flash of pink light, agents from all kinds of different departments materialized. This is going to go bad. Very, very bad. She barely registered the Dream Weaver's evil laugh, instead remaining vigilant and lighting up her horn in preparation for battle. Suddenly, she felt a hugging sensation on her tail, like someone was squeezing it. And the next thing she knew, she was air-lifted and was face-to-face with a snarling Olive, along with Otto, Peaches, and the others. Her horn's magic died down, her eyes being reduced to pinpricks as she braced for the worst. "You are in so much trouble." The words came pouring out, laced with venom. Olive narrowed her eyes as she continued. "First of all, take off those accessories. What, are you going to the Toronto Cosplay Convention? Try to look civilized, for odd's sake." Using the hand that wasn't securing Mandy's tail, she effortlessly tore off Mandy's horn and wings as though they were apples from a tree. The pain shot through the hybrid, and she gave a scream, beginning to thrash about. She only barely registered a couple small streams of blood leaking from the hole that remained in her forehead. "Eugh, Olive, don't make us look at that!" Pinkie said. "Cover it up or something!" A sigh, and then a pulling of a roll of duct tape from a hammerspace spine. "Fine. Rarity, tear off two pieces of this tape and arrange them into an X shape, would you please?" Wordlessly, the unicorn mare did as she was told. The sound that was produced as a result of the tape coming apart from the roll was a horrific screeching sound that only made Mandy start screaming louder, using her hands to cover up her two human ears and letting the flexibility of her pony ears do the rest. "Stop." Olive held up a hand, causing Rarity's levitation to cease movement. "You can't put it on the thing when it's thrashing about like that." "Give it a couple whacks on the floor, partner!" Otto suggested. Murmurs of agreement followed suit. A malicious grin split the girl's face as Mandy felt her body being swung up into the air, and then felt it brutally collide with the floor. Painfully. Several times over. By the tenth go-around, the hybrid was shaking and whimpering, the air knocked out of her lungs. She felt her body being picked up again, but only barely reacted. The Dream Weaver, on the other hand, watched with intrigue, knowing that she and her machine were invisible to everyone but Mandy herself. "Aw, come on!" Oprah whined. "You stained the floor!" "Sorry, sorry. I'll clean it up when I'm done. Rarity?" The mare stepped forward, levitating the tape shape and securing it to Mandy's forehead. She gave a satisfied sigh. "And finished. That shouldn't be too much trouble anymore." "Good. Now can you clean the mess on the floor?" Oprah snapped. "I don't need my agents walking in here and thinking a murder was committed." "Would've been a much better idea, if'n ya ask me." Applejack muttered under her breath. Mandy tried to speak, but no words came out. Her lungs felt deprived of air. "Go away and become a waste of space in the Volcano Room, why don't you." Olive said. A word eked out. "Momma..." "Don't call me that." Mandy's eyes widened. Her gaze stared at Olive's expression, steely and emotionless. "Not after what shame you've brought on us, little miss horrid abominable freak of nature." With a hefty swing of the Director's arm, Mandy's body went careening through the air, then made impact with the floor and rolled before coming to a dead stop. She could barely make out the sound of retreating footsteps and retreating hoofsteps. The Dream Weaver laughed. "Oh, wow. That was quite something, wasn't it?" She gave a satisfied sigh. "Seeing your friends, your family, just beat you up like that. Not even I got that treatment in my school days!" Mandy slowly got up, hacking and coughing as she tried to register what, exactly, had happened within the past few minutes. "And lest I forget the funny thing..." The Dream Weaver raised an eyebrow. "My Bad Dream Machine was on one of its lowest settings." Mandy's body suddenly became aware that essential limbs were missing. Her back rippled, but no wings opened. Her fingers tenderly touched her forehead, but felt nothing that would indicate there was a horn, just something smooth covering something gaping. "That's riiii-iiiight." the villainess cooed in singsong. "You caused your own wings and your own horn to disappear. Just. Like. That. And there's absolutely no hope of getting them back, because your supposed 'tormentors' are long gone by now!" Just as she let loose another heinous laugh, Mandy looked in the direction Olive and the others had gone. Her eyes began to water involuntarily. How could Momma just...do that? How could anyone just do that?! First I meet my real mother, and then everyone decides to take away my wings and horn and assault me for no reason! And all of it...is her fault. The Dream Weaver tilted her head. "Oh? Is this it? Are you finally falling into despair?" she tittered with excitement. Her smile turned into a beaming grin. "Oh, it's about time!" Mandy watched as her tears dripped onto the floor. She didn't bother to look up when she heard the sound of footsteps. "Would you stop crying already? You're just asking for it." came the familiar voice. "Honestly, I can't believe I raised you to be so pathetic. Do you know how many times I've ever cried in my life?" She leaned closer. "Zero. Zilch. Nada." She topped it off with a raspberry. Slowly, Mandy's rage marched up to her heart and began forcefully pushing the sadness aside. "Now, if you want to be a good girl, you'll shut up, and stay shut up." She blinked. "Oh yeah, and don't bother asking about your cosplay accessories. Twilight disintegrated them." Mandy's body began to quiver, now. Olive began to mop the blood up from the floor. "Not that you would understand, but have I ever told you how you're just an unfortunate and unwelcome accide-" With a punch, Olive was unceremoniously cut off. The force behind the attack was so strong that it sent the girl onto her side, the mop clattering to the ground in the process. She blinked a couple times, trying to process what just happened. I'm not going to even give her room to breathe. A mighty roar echoed through the bullpen as Mandy swung her fist again and let it collide directly with Olive's cheek. The blunt force caused a couple teeth to fly out along with some blood. "Well that's not a nice way to treat your mother!" The Dream Weaver's taunt was lost on Mandy. Something snapped inside of her with that punch, and from there, the attacks got more and more brutal. She punched, she kicked, she bit, and she bashed with her hammer. She screamed, she cried, she roared, and she became engulfed in flames that incinerated everything and everyone within a fifteen-foot radius. Amidst the tears and wails of her opponent, she beat her up from head to toe. By the time she was done, Olive didn't even look human anymore. She looked like a grotesque shell of one, shuddering and whimpering and crying and begging for mercy that would never come. With a snap of her fingers, the Director's pathetic and pale replacement was gone in a flurry of translucent pixelated flecks. The Dream Weaver had watched the curb-stomp battle go down in awe. She was well-aware of Mandy's sheer raw power in battle, but certainly wasn't expecting this turn of events. "You." The villainess blinked innocently as Mandy whirled on her. "I'm destroying your Bad Dream Machine and getting myself out of here. You've committed horrible acts here today, and you won't be getting away for any of them." In the blink of an eye, the Machine was destroyed. All it took was a few pumps of power into the hammer's head to make it grow three times its size, and one hell of a mighty swing from one hell of a pissed-off agent. "Noooooooo!" came the anguished cry of the Dream Weaver, slumping to her knees. "What have you done?!" "You just saw what happened." came the plain and simple answer of Mandy, her flames dying down. "Gonna take ya a while to rebuild that, huh?" The setting began crumbling away. Mandy's eyes widened, and she jumped up into the air, only to come plummeting down to the ground, realizing just a second later that she didn't have wings nor did she have her horn. Eventually, what met the pair was sheer darkness. The eerie silence sent a chill down Mandy's spine. "Curse you!" the Dream Weaver spat. "I'm getting out of here." Conjuring up a remote from hammerspace, she pressed the singular red button on it, and Mandy rushed to grasp her arm before the Dream Weaver left her in a state she had been in before and certainly didn't feel like revisiting again. Mandy's eyes squeezed shut, and then slowly opened. They met the bright light of the kitchen, as well as a view of what looked like a living room in a house. "Oh, thank Celestia! You're awake!" Rarity sighed, extending a hoof. "Here, let me help you up, darling." "Jeez...we thought you were a goner for sure!" "Are you all right?" "Aside from my throbbing head? Yes." Mandy winced as pain began ricocheting through her forehead. "The Dream Weaver got into my dreams pretty good." "She got into mine too." Twilight remarked, the other two mares nodding in agreement. "It was awful." "There's a reason why she's one of my biggest threats." Mandy shook her head and sighed. "Anyway, enough chittychatty. We have to save Peaches, and quickly!" Together, the group moved quickly but cautiously through the living room and into the kitchen, more vigilant than ever before. It wasn't until they heard a muffled scream followed by a loud thump that they stopped dead in their tracks. "What was that?!" Rarity cried out. "That sounded like Peaches!" Rainbow said. "Duhhhh, stop tearin' up. We ain't done with you yet!" Eyes widened. Everyone recognized that voice. And even though its owner was as dumb as a bag stuffed inside of another bag, everyone feared that voice. Slowly, Mandy took her hammer out from behind her back. "Hammer, do your worst." she murmured, just before she booked it to the basement door like a person running last-minute to a store about to close. "Odd Squad, Odd Squad, stop right there!" she cried out, busting down the door with one mighty swing of her hammer and sending it careening down the stairs. The Dream Weaver had to nearly dive to get out of the way of the impromptu projectile that was sent weaving and soaring down the stairs. "Aw pooh, the cavalry arrived." said the Dream Weaver in mock surprise, before she waved a hand. "No matter. You got through my trap, but that doesn't mean we'll so willingly hand Peaches off to you." Rage began settling into Mandy again. "You will give me back my cousin or I will bash in your face so hard that every single anatatomincal piece of your head will feel it." "Oh, Mandy. You are just too predictable. I see it all the time whenever we do battle." The Dream Weaver shook her head and gave a mighty sigh. "Your anger issues tend to cramp your style. It causes you to make hasty decisions that ultimately lead to your losses." She tilted her head slightly. "Admit it. You haven't won every single battle with every single villain, now have you? You aren't much for a Mary Sue, if you ask me." Mandy's eye twitched once. And then twice. And then more and more. Her fists slowly clenched, her knuckles turning white as she bared her teeth. "And the word is 'anatomical', darling." A growl rolled about in her throat, and then she charged with a primal battlecry, hammer in hand. The Thrimes and the Sandman didn't see that coming. The Dream Weaver, on the other hand, saw it coming a mile away like it was an airplane descending onto a runaway in the dead of night. She lunged, making a mad grab for the hammer's handle. Using quick agility, she caught it with only a single hand, leaving Mandy shocked and wide-eyed. This made for the perfect distraction for the villainess, who yanked the hammer out of Mandy's hands and threw it backwards, letting it land amidst a maze of boxes with a clattering noise. The three mares all gasped in shock, as did Peaches. "My hammer!" Mandy cried out, immediately booking it for the boxes before the Dream Weaver used the power of offscreen teleportation to land in her path and stop her. "And that's that!" The Dream Weaver clapped her hands together. "With this basement negating any unicorn and alicorn magic..." She looked towards Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who all wore expressions of worry. "...you're defenseless." Mandy's pony ears drooped. The Dream Weaver cradled her neck in three of her fingers. "So what are you going to do, my little pony-human hybrid?" Mandy swiveled her head around. She looked straight-dead into the eyes of Peaches, who fixed her with a look of worry. Inside that gaze of worry, however, she also saw a glimmer of something else. Something else she direly needed right now, here in this moment with no powers available to speak of. Determination. She sighed. I can't leave Peaches alone. I won't leave Peaches alone. But it's impossible to get my hammer back through artificial means -- I can't float it back over here, and neither can the ponies. Using my tail's out too...I don't know where the hammer is. "What's wrong? Catgirl got your tongue?" The Dream Weaver snickered at her terrible pun. "In that case...Sandman! Fire up the Dream-Thief-inator!" "Uhhhh..." The Sandman eyed the gadget, the Thrimes looking completely unamused. "How does this thing go where again?" "Oh for Pete's sake, must I do everything myself around here?!" The Dream Weaver snapped, before she eyed Mandy with a look of surprise, as though not expecting her to overhear that. Regardless, she made her way over to the gadget. Mandy turned to face the mares. "Rarity, I hope you've brushed up on your physical combat skills, 'cause we're gonna need 'em." "Well, I am rather rusty, seeing as how I use my magic more than my bare hooves, but-" "Say no more." Mandy said. She had confidence in the mare, even in spite of her words to the contrary. Her gaze flicked to "Rainbow and Twilight?" "Oh, I'm pumped and ready!" Rainbow said. "Just tell us what to do!" Twilight said, marking her words with a nod. Mandy took a deep breath. "Twilight, I want you to assist Peaches. Get her out of the house and get her to Headquarters, far away from these guys." "Got it." "Rainbow Dash, Rarity and I will work on beating them to a pulp." "Um..." Rarity said, her eyes widening. "Should you be saying all of this in front of three mimes?" Mandy, Rainbow and Twilight whirled around. Sure enough, the Thrimes were standing right in their path, angry but devious looks on their faces. They began advancing on the group, slowly but surely, counting on their shock to last until they had a clear shot at catching them. "Well." Mandy snickered. "They're gonna regret they ever listened." Taking a step back and winding up her fist, she stayed poised, taking great delight in the Thrimes stopping dead in their tracks. With a mighty swing, the fist was flung forward and collided with air, sending the trio soaring across the room a little ways before colliding with the floor. Rainbow was absolutely dumbfounded. All she could do was stare in complete disbelief. "What was that?!" she finally said after a few moments. "That punch didn't even hit them!" "Which was my intent." "Huh?!" "See, Oprah and her former partner, O'Donahue, have both dealt with the Thrimes before. The way they defeated them -- which is, in fact, the only way to defeat them -- was by miming their own actions in battle. So you just have to do the same." Twilight nodded slowly, understanding what Mandy was saying even though she wasn't going to take part in the battle herself. Rarity did as well, although she was still a bit confused -- she wasn't exceptionally skilled in the art of pantomiming. "Oh yeah! Battling and defeating enemies without even touching them is super-cool!" Rainbow said, doing a few loop-de-loops in the air. The Thrimes slowly got to their feet, looking even more upset than before. However, Rainbow was quickly on that, swooping over to a Thrime and bucking the air, allowing him to collapse to the ground as though he was actually hit. The Pegasus's eyes shimmered, and a grin began forming on her face. "Oh, let me try!" Rarity trotted over, reared her legs back, and extended them in a mighty kick towards another Thrime, sending him careening with the ground once again. She turned around, surprised that the move actually worked. The only Thrime still standing eyed his colleagues with fear and worry. "Awesome job! You two handle the Thrimes. I'll handle the Dream Weaver and the Sandman." Rarity swiveled her head around. "You're going to fight them alone?!" "They have the unfair advantage over you! It's two to one!" Rainbow added. "I have to agree with Rainbow." Twilight said. "The Dream Weaver already got you once. Who's to say she won't get you again? Her odds are boosted with the Sandman at her side -- the one that can put people to sleep and create harsh sandstorms!" "Aww, Twily-wily, ya worry too much." Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "Trust me, I know what I'm doin'!" Neither mare needed to express their doubts. As silly and scatterbrained as Mandy was, she certainly didn't get the position of Oprah's second-in-command by kissing her Converse shoes and bribing her with dollar bills and bits -- they all knew that. "All right." Rainbow nodded. "Good luck!" Twilight, still possessing the power of flight due to an oversight on the Dream Weaver's part, made her way over to Peaches, who had been writing the entire time in a desperate attempt to keep up the ruse. "Hang on tight, okay, Peaches? I'll get you out." Peaches blinked and nodded wordlessly. "Just let me transform into my cat form first. My fur is black, it'll be hard to see me." With a bright flash, she transformed, and hopped onto Twilight's back. Together, the pair silently made their way up the stairs without being noticed -- the Dream Weaver and the Sandman were still working on the Dream-Thief-inator, while Rarity and Rainbow Dash had the Thrimes on the ropes, miming all sorts of things with their hooves to capture and subdue them. Mandy watched Twilight and Peaches go up the stairs, internally breathing a sigh of relief. Good. They'll get out safely. She turned to the maze of boxes on the other side of the basement. Now, all I need to do is enact my revenge. Slowly, she used her wings to gain lift, then began making her way towards the boxes, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of the hammer. It didn't take her long before she realized she wasn't going anywhere. And not only that, but her tail felt...caught on something. "Where do you think you're going?" Mandy's wings nearly stopped flapping for a minute. Pickleferries, I should've known they would be done with warmups eventually! Ah, how she wanted to slap herself for her reckless and plain idiotic thinking. "After your hammer, I see. My, you just keep playing into our hands, don't you?" The Dream Weaver tutted. "You're making the Sandman look like Einstein in comparison!" The Sandman, standing a little ways behind her, laughed sheepishly at her comment. Rage began overtaking Mandy again. "You will pay for what you did to my cousin, and to me." she said, before she combusted into flames again, her gaze searing into the Dream Weaver. "YOU WILL PAAAAAAAY!!" "Oh no, here she goes again." said the Dream Weaver in a response of mock concern. The more she taunted Mandy, the more enraged the hybrid grew. She lunged for her opponent, swinging her fist in a mighty punch. Unfortunately for her, the Dream Weaver caught it barehanded with nary any effort. "You never learn, do you?" The villainess scoffed. "You may have beaten me in the past, but your streak is ending today. And this time, since you destroyed my precious machine..." She reached behind her back and pulled out a long staff, the likes of which Mandy had never seen before. It was gold-plated, wrapped in a ribbon with an astral pattern and bearing a crescent moon on its top, adorned with moonstones. "...I'll beat you with my own two hands!" Mandy lowered her fist and stood slack-jawed. Where the heck did she get a staff?! Has she just had it on backlog this entire time for when her machine failed?! She had to admit, she didn't pin the Dream Weaver as a fighter with a staff...but then again, she didn't pin her as having a lair of a spacious basement in her own home, either. First time for everything, she supposed. Still, confidence flowed through her. She was absolutely hellbent on revenge. Just as she was for Cherry Moriarty, she was for the Dream Weaver. She scrapped the tactics and reasoning she usually employed in battles for the end goal of leaving the villainess a bruised, battered mess, begging for mercy and vowing never to hurt Peaches ever again. Yes...that would make this all worth it. Some would view Mandy as insane, and in a way, they were right. As of this moment, her mental health wasn't exactly in the best state, and it would worsen with each and every attack she made. But she didn't care. So long as Peaches was avenged, that was what mattered. Her not being physically harmed in any way -- or at least not in any way Mandy could see -- mattered not. "That's not 'with your own two hands'..." Mandy rolled her eyes. "But semanihantics. I don't care whether you have a staff or not." "Oh? You haven't seen what this staff can do." The Dream Weaver smirked. "Trust me, I've made many backups for my Bad Dream Machine over the years. As durable as it is, it's been broken by Odd Squad agents one too many times." So it's her Bad Dream Machine in a different form. Mandy blinked. But if she can't put me to sleep... Her eyes darted over to the Sandman, looking absolutely confused, between Peaches going missing and Rarity and Rainbow Dash still tussling with the Thrimes. And she can't. The Sandman is a non-threat. I can wrap him up and ship him off when our fight's over. She glanced behind her, and smirked. "Would you like a way to test your staff's power?" "By trying in vain to get your hammer?" "Mm, no." The Dream Weaver blinked. Mandy moved backwards, towards the maze of boxes. Her cat smile stayed plastered on her face the entire time, as though enjoying doing a little trolling with her enemy. Finally, she took flight, and charged. "By doing this!" Extending her two feet forward, she gave a mighty kick to the front of the Dream Weaver's body, causing her to go soaring to the other side of the room. Her body made two impacts with the ground before it began rolling on the second impact. "Weavoo!" the Sandman cried out. "Are you okay?" All he got was a groan in response. He turned on Mandy, and wordlessly began firing bright beams from his hands, which she was easily able to dodge -- in part due to his aim being absolutely terrible. "You'd be wise to stay out of this. My beef's not with you! My beef's at home, waiting to be eaten!" Mandy said, making her way over to the Dream Weaver as fast as her feet would carry her. Not fast enough, though. "Mighty kick you got..." The villainess slowly stood up and gave a cough. "But I'm not done!" "Bring it on!" For the next few minutes, a swordfight ensued -- the Dream Weaver's staff versus Mandy's next-best weapon: her very own tail. It deflected beams and straight attacks with ease, which surprised the villainess, as she had completely taken Mandy's tail out of the question when it came to how she battled. Giving a battlecry, Mandy decided that enough was enough and charged, sliding across the floor and using her tail as a blunt-force weapon to send her opponent to the floor once more. It wasn't much, but it was just enough. "Now's my chance!" she remarked, booking it over to the Dream-Thief-inator and launching her entire body at it. With the help of her tail, she dismantled the large gadget piece by piece, tearing off paneling and exposing loose wires that she easily snipped with the aid of the Scissor-inator. All the Sandman could do was stare in all of his idiotic glory as he was overwhelmed by two battles happening at once, as well as still trying to pinpoint where Peaches had gone. Wrapping her tail around the gadget's base, Mandy yanked on it, using her wings as a sort of motor the way she had seen Scootaloo using her scooter before. A snapping sound ensued, and the heavy gadget made its way towards the ground with a large crash, with Mandy falling forward as her tail let go. Before she could even utter a word, the gadget exploded, causing her to be sent towards the boxes, along with Rarity, Rainbow and the Thrimes. The Dream Weaver and the Sandman, likewise, were sent towards the table that Peaches once sat at, the force of the explosion sending them careening with the wall. Mandy's body rolled and rolled, and then came to a dead stop. She grunted. "Wasn't expecting an explosion...'specially not one like that..." she muttered, rubbing her head and surveying the situation. Both mares were getting to their hooves and going after the Thrimes to make sure they couldn't get away. The Sandman and the Dream Weaver both laid unconscious. Where the Dream-Thief-inator and its stand was, there was only a charred black patch. And Mandy...Mandy was where she was meant to be, by nothing more than sheer luck. Her eyes widened as she took a look behind her. Sure enough, the hammer she was seeking laid head-down in a box full of tinsel. She extended her tail and watched as it grabbed the weapon before it snaked back to her. I should work on honing my punches and kicks instead of using my tail as a lazy crutch...Oprah's prolly gonna rip me a new one when I tell her. She got to her knees and grabbed the hammer, twirling it around in her hands. But that'll be for later. I'm not done. Sure enough, her body was still in flames, her heart still wrapped in the coils of revenge. The Dream Weaver wasn't down -- Mandy knew that. She was unconscious, but she wasn't down. "Mandy, darling!" Rarity called. "Are you all right?" "I'm fine..." Mandy wiped her face. "A lil' beaten-up, but fine." "What shall we do with these Thrimes? We have them all tied up." "Take them back to Headquarters." Mandy remarked. "Throw them into the bullpen." Rarity nodded, grabbing the invisible rope in her teeth and pulling the Thrimes out of the basement with Rainbow's help. "Not you, Rainbow." "Huh?" "Tie up the Sandman." Mandy reached behind her back and produced some rope, which she threw to the Pegasus. "Lead him to the bullpen, too." Without another word, Rainbow flew around him in a multi-colored blur, and only a few seconds later, he was tied up and fully awake. "Lemme go!" he cried out. "Hmm...nah. Not a chance." Rainbow snickered. "Come on! Back to Headquarters!" "D'awwwww..." With both hero and villain on their way out, now it was just down to Mandy and the Dream Weaver, the latter of whom snapped awake and jumped to her feet. "You." she growled. "First you destroy my precious machine, and now you ruin my entire plan!" She raised her staff into the air. "Weeeell, we'll just see how you like it when I put you in a state of endless sleep!" "How's that?" Mandy chuckled. "The Sandman's long gone. Just admit defeat and let's get this dull fight scene in this dull chapter wrapped up already." With a scream, the Dream Weaver charged. So did Mandy. The swordfight continued, with Mandy having a proper weapon this time around. Blow after blow was exchanged. Neither side was letting up even so much as an inch. Every beam that the Dream Weaver fired either whizzed past Mandy's shoulders or missed her entirely. Likewise, Mandy was aiming for an opening where she could easily and skillfully perform her finishing move, but couldn't find any that wouldn't end with her missing a shot. She knew better. She couldn't afford a miss. Finally, after what felt like hours, Mandy threw aside the hammer in what appeared to be frustration. "Oh, are you finally giving u-" It all happened in a matter of seconds. With one swift kick, the staff was knocked clean out of the Dream Weaver's hands and careened towards the ceiling, where its handle got wedged in a long wood plank. The villainess went slack-jawed. Mandy won the fight. "You're pathetic." she spat, as the Dream Weaver began to choke and collapsed on the ground in a sitting position. "My cousin...she risked her life to save mine. She put herself in the face of danger to save me. And yet...and yet...you didn't use the Dream-Thief-inator on her." She narrowed her eyes. "You attacked her outright." Without waiting for an answer, her grip tightened on the hammer's handle. "Since she saved my life...then I'll save hers. By destroying the one person who caused her so much strife -- and who caused me much strife as well." The choking noises the Dream Weaver made had a sort of pleading edge to them, now, that Mandy caught on to. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY MERCY FROM ME, YOU VILE DISGUSTING BEAST!!" she roared, with such intensity that it ruffled the Dream Weaver's hair a little. The villainess's eyes widened, and Mandy could swear she saw tears in them. I should kill her. For what she's done to Peach...for what she's done to me...for what she's done to countless other people! Make her see that she can't get away with her actions! Mandy grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes tight, fighting off the insanity that was bubbling inside of her. But...but...it goes against my moral code. I don't kill. I don't have a heart stained black enough to kill my foe. ...I don't have a heart stained black enough to kill anyone. Not even if the person who I was saving asked me to. She slumped to the ground, keeping her grip on the hammer nice and firm. Her expression darkened, and the room became filled with near-silence. I'm just one slip-on-the-edge away from accidentally murdering someone. But what if I intentionally murdered the Dream Weaver, right here and now? How would Peaches react? She would scold me, wouldn't she... Momma would fear me... Everyone who wasn't Oprah would fear me. Suddenly, she didn't feel so confident anymore. She gazed at the Dream Weaver, her eyes looking tired and holding a glaze of sadness. "I will have mercy on your life. But only if you are taken into Odd Squad custody." Mandy said, not realizing how saddening her voice sounded. "Do we have a deal?" The Dream Weaver nodded, and Mandy yanked the hammer from her mouth, after which she coughed and clutched her throat. Wordlessly, Mandy conjured up another rope and began tying it around her opponent, knotting it up with a nice neat bow. "We're going back to Headquarters, you and I. And I don't want to hear a peep out of you the entire ride there, you got it?" The Dream Weaver nodded again. When the pair made their way outside, they found Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Twilight waiting in the front yard. "Hey!" Rainbow waved. "We brought those villains to HQ, and Peaches as well. Twilight insisted we go back and see if you needed any help." "Actually, yes I do." Mandy thrust the Dream Weaver forward. "Take this one to HQ. Put her with the rest of the villains. We'll deal with all of them in the morning." With magic available and free to use on the outside, Twilight and Rarity had a much easier time guiding the villainess to where they wanted to go. Working together, they made their way towards the nearest tube entrance, telekinetically yanking on the rope. "Aren't you coming with us, Mandy?" "I'll catch up." The hybrid waved off Rainbow, who simply gave a shrug and went to assist her friends. Mandy's gaze flicked towards the house. Without even thinking, her feet took her down to the basement again, where she saw the Dream Weaver's staff still in the ceiling, not having moved at all. She yanked it out, eyeing the weapon with curiosity but also regret. She knew this would be returned to the Dream Weaver once Odd Squad was done examining it and whatnot, and to be honest, the examination was better done sooner rather than later. The adrenaline and rage she had been feeling was wearing off. Her flames died down, leaving her a tired and achy mess. A tired and achy mess who had free reign to let it all out now that no one was here. She gave an anguished scream that slowly segued into choking sobs as she laid on the dirty, grim floor. Her mind began to replay a horrible memory, a memory of her suddenly snapping at one of her friends and ramming the head of the hammer down their throat...ripping it out with such force and such velocity that it left their jaw in a completely broken state, leaving them crippled... She had the power to disfigure anyone. Anyone she pleased, if they pissed her off enough. That included Peaches. I have terrible anger issues. The realization pushed its way to the forefront and provided Mandy with just a small bit of clarity. Maybe I should just give up fighting. Maybe I should just be like every other agent and have my weapon of choice be gadgets, rather than something silly like a hammer or my own limbs... ...No, who am I kidding. Those gadgets are dangerous. I could ruin my opponents' appearances in other ways, just with the gadgets' odd effects. Only one thing became apparent, now. I have to be more of a pacifinist. Towards my friends, and towards villains. The sobs continued to come for a very long time, echoing throughout the large space and reaching her eardrums. Time passed, as it did, but she didn't care about that very much. Footsteps made their way down the stairwell leading into the basement, followed by a set of hoofsteps. "All right, Agent Pinkie. Start looking around. We need all the clues we can get." "Righty-o, Ms. O!" came the cheerful response, as Pinkie bounded down the stairs and began scanning the area. Oprah, meanwhile, let her flashlight fall on what appeared to be a dead body. A body she recognized. "Agent Mandy?" Slowly, she approached the body, kneeling down and pressing her ear to the agent's backside. Her heartbeat grew steady when she heard the sound of air entering and being pushed out of a pair of lungs -- Mandy was alive. Glancing at Mandy's face, the Director saw tear stains that made their way downwards, from her eyes, to her chin, and then to the floor. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened. She cried herself to sleep. But why? Suddenly, Mandy's fingers began to twitch. Her teeth were clenched together as a groan rumbled about in her throat. "No...no! I'm not Felicity! Get away from me!" Pinkie lowered herself from the desk she was looking at, eyeing her partner with worry. "Mandy?" Both girls' heads swiveled towards the entrance, where Peaches stood at the top of the stairwell. "Oh cattails...what's going on?" "She's having a nightmare." Peaches was very much fazed by Oprah's response, and threw herself at Mandy's side in an instant. "Mandy, wake up! C'mon, wake up! Come back to us!" "No! I'm not Felicity! Why are you claiming you're my real mother?!" That stopped Oprah dead. Her eyes widened. "Real mother...?" she breathed. "It's...she's not..." Pinkie trotted over, eyeing Mandy with concern but also with intrigue. "Could Felicity be her real name?" Peaches grit her teeth and shook her head, violently shaking Mandy in vain attempts to wake her up. "Stop it!!" The cry made Mandy's eyes snap open, tears filling up within them again as she gazed at the one who was holding her, then at her partner, then at her boss. "What's going on? Why are you crying?" Those two questions became the trigger. Mandy buried her face in Peaches' chest and began loudly sobbing, blubbering about the nightmare that the Dream Weaver had sewn into her brain, how the nightmare had continued just now, and how absolutely guilty she felt. "I j-just wanted t' make sure Peach was okay!" Mandy sniffled. "Don't agents p-protect their partners with intense passion? Just like how Momma protects Otto, a-and Otto protects Momma..." She looked up at her cousin with her eyeballs quivering in their sockets. "Don't I do that for you, cuz?" Peaches opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't get a single word in edgewise. "I just f-feel like...like I'm too harsh on villains. Like I'm just one snap-of-a-twig away f-from actually murdering someone! Murdering you, or you, or..." As Mandy pointed to each of her friends, her gaze lingered on Oprah. "Or you!" Peaches again tried to speak, and failed. "I-I don't mean to kill anyone!" Mandy sniffled again. "It's just...I want justice t-to be served. I want villains t' know that when they mess with the people and ponies I l-love...then they get hurt." She gazed at her hands, watching through a blurred view as tears dripped down into her palms. "I...I lost control of myself. Adrenaline and rage took over..." She started giving out choked sobs again, struggling to say anything more. "Cuz." Peaches pulled Mandy close to her. "Don't feel so regretful. You did what you had to do in order to save me and stop the Dream-Thief-inator from being activated and used on anyone else. The Dream Weaver needed to be taught a lesson. And you...you gave her that lesson." This only served to elicit a wail from Mandy, nestling her face into Peaches' chest and continuing to cry. "If you hadn't fought like you did, I wouldn't be here. I would be robbed of my identity. Of my thoughts, my emotions, and my feelings. Seeing you fight the Dream Weaver without mostly using your hammer...it was impressive." Peaches smiled. "Odd Squad agents fight hard to save and protect the world from oddness. Even if they have to resort to more violent means to do so. That means you, too." She caught Oprah and Pinkie nodding in agreement with her, and she began to stroke Mandy's hair. "Don't ever, ever be afraid to fight, Mandy. You're one of the strongest fighters of this precinct. You took down the Big O even when you were on the brink of death. You beat him to a pulp, and you showed him what-for. That takes guts." Mandy wiped her tears away and gazed up at Peaches once more. "B-b-but...but am I...t-too violent?" "Not to me, you're not. And you never will be." Peaches said. "You're silly and weird, and your mental health is...questionable. But you have standards, even when fighting your enemies. Killing one of them is always a possibility..." She glanced at Oprah and Pinkie. "...but we won't hold it against you if it happens. Not now, not ever." Oprah blinked. For all the years she had lived, and for all the years she had known Mandy, she didn't ever consider her agent up and killing anyone. There were close calls, sure, and it was certainly a possibility -- but she wouldn't actually do it. Or, well, maybe she would. Still, death was not a new concept to her. It was as common as brushing teeth. "Of course we won't!" she said, putting on a smile. "Honestly, it's not like death in Odd Squad is uncommon. Even if it's by your hands. Or hammer. Or horn." "Yeah! If you kill someone, it'll be with good intentions!" Pinkie chimed in. Her cheery tone of voice elicited strange expressions from Oprah and Peaches, who both wondered why she didn't seem bothered by Mandy killing anyone. Mandy sniffled and hiccuped, wiping away the rest of her tears. "Y-you all mean it?" Three nods, almost in unison. This was enough convincing for the hybrid, who smiled. But just as quickly as the smile came forth, it quickly went away, and her expression darkened. "What's the matter?" Peaches asked, before she realized. "It's about your dream, isn't it?" Mandy nodded. "You're worried that your name is actually Felicity, huh? And that woman and baby you saw...it was mother and child. Your real mother...and you." Another nod. Peaches went silent. She didn't want to invalidate Mandy's memories or the dreams she had by saying they were false...but she also didn't want to say they were true. It was clear that Mandy enjoyed her life the way it was now, with her actual name and her actual life with an actual adoptive mother and an actual cousin and an actual family. She didn't want that to change. I have to choose my words carefully. She took a deep breath, and spoke. "Consider the possibility that the Dream Weaver was lying about pulling the memory deep from within you. She has power over the dream realm, after all. She can craft dreams and nightmares both, letting them go exactly according to her desires. It's always possible she created a situation with a real mother who loved you and protected you. But...in the event that it turns out to be real..." Mandy sniffled. "...that's a long, long way away." Oprah and Pinkie just stared, not saying anything and instead allowing themselves to listen to Peaches' words. "We don't have to find out the truth for years and years to come. Which just means that you have years and years to spend with us." Peaches winked. "That's more years than you think, by the way." Mandy's eyes quivered. "R-really?" "Really!" Peaches said. "I want to spend all the time with you that I can, even if it's for the rest of your life. Or my life. Definitely somebody's life." She chuckled. "You're a good person, cuz. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for fighting so hard, all for my sake." Mandy stared at her for just a couple moments. And then, the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile. "Aaaall right! Smile mission accomplished!" Pinkie said, pumping her hoof as she leaped into the air. "I love you so much, cuz!" cried the hybrid, embracing her in a tight hug. "I love you too." Peaches returned the hug eagerly. "Now, let's go home. No doubt you need a good night's sleep after this whole ordeal." "Hey, Peaches, before we go..." Pinkie trotted over to the desk and used her forelock to grip the paper that was still on it. "What's this?" "Oh, they wanted me to write down everything I knew about Vallea. Since I thought they were going to use the information to attack them, I decided to write down a bunch of fake facts to fool them." Oprah smiled. "Well done. I have to say, you handled yourself well, for being a willing captive." "It was tough going...but I pulled through." "Now..." Oprah picked up the Dream Weaver's staff, as well as Mandy's hammer. "Let's head back to HQ." With that, the group made their way out of the basement, with Pinkie making sure to turn off the lights and close the door behind her. When they arrived at the nearest tube entrance, Mandy stopped Peaches from going inside. "Peach?" "Yeah?" "I...I wanna sleep with you. Just for tonight." "You mean today." Peaches pointed to where the sun was beginning to rise. "You want to keep me safe, don't you?" Mandy nodded. "Of course you do." Peaches ruffled her cousin's hair. "All right. When we get back, let's wash up and sleep sleep sleep, huh?" Mandy took her cousin's wrist and yanked her into the tubes, their exit marked with the same bright blue flash as any other time an agent used the tube system. It was to absolutely no one's surprise that Mandy collapsed on Peaches' bed not even a minute after arriving back at Headquarters. Peaches, who had long gotten used to the sound of her cousin's raucous snoring by now, was also getting some well-deserved sleep on the floor of her room, having changed into her cat form since Mandy took her bed. Oprah, meanwhile, reiterated the story to Olive and Otto in the Breakroom. "You're kidding!" Olive blinked. "The Dream Weaver got Mandy?" "Wouldn't be the first time." Otto said, swallowing his bite of ham sandwich. "I don't really know whether Mandy has any memories of her real mother or not..." Oprah sighed. "And I don't know if her real name is actually Felicity or not, either." "I named her Mandy on nothing more than a whim. To think she has a real name, especially one like Felicity...it just doesn't seem..." "Plausible?" "No..." Olive rolled her hand about as she tried to come up with a word, but couldn't think of any. She shook her head. "Anyway, i-it's like Peaches said. We won't have to find out her true origins for a long time, right? So we should enjoy what time we do have with her. Spend as much time with her as we can, doing whatever she wants! Spoiling her rotten! Buying her all the food she can eat and all the toys she can play with!" Otto raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but otherwise said nothing in response. "Oh! You three." Oprah waved Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow Dash over. "I never got to thank you properly for your efforts in stopping the Thrimes and the Sandman." "Aww, it was nothin'!" "Yes! We put our all into rescuing Peaches from those ruffians, and we would do it again in a heartbeat!" Twilight nodded. "Even with the Dream Weaver's anti-magic properties, we were able to stop them easily. Using your technique, of course." "My technique?" "Mandy told us that the way to beat the Thrimes in particular was by miming our actions and using them in battle, saying that's how you defeated them once. I have to say, I was a little skeptical...but it all worked out." Oprah had to take a moment to think about what, exactly, Twilight was referring to. And then it dawned on her -- it was during O'Donahue's time as an infiltrator for the Thrimes. She nodded in understanding, mentally cursing the fact that her memory was apparently growing shoddy. "Ah, I see. Very well done." she said. Rainbow suddenly perked up, a look of horror settling on her face. "Rainbow? What's wrong, darling?" "We..." The Pegasus clasped her hooves to her cheeks. "We forgot the plans!" Oprah bit back a groan. Another thing she was kicking herself for -- she had been so focused on Mandy that she forgot about the plans entirely when she went to Pinkie Pie. And apparently Mandy had forgotten as well. "You three, go back to the Dream Weaver's house and look for them. Bring them back here when you're done." The three mares nodded and eagerly made their way out of Headquarters without a second thought. "Olive? What's going on?" "Huh?" Olive blinked, having been brought back to reality and having been oblivious as to the agents' arrival and departure. "I-it's nothing. I'm...just going to go for a little stroll. You should get back to Headquarters." She patted Otto's shoulder and then left, heading down the right hallway. "Great. She's gonna be worried about Mandy's real identity and real origins for weeks." Otto complained, going back to his ham sandwich. Oprah only looked at the direction Olive went in, a sigh dancing on her lips before a frown settled on her face. She was concerned for her former agent, sure...but a small part of her had confidence that Otto, being the best friend and crutch he was, would keep her well under control. Olive rubbed her forehead, struggling to make heads or tails of the situation. Mandy's real mother...a model who leaves her child, no more than a mere baby, behind, alone, for fancy dinners... And me...an Odd Squad agent who loves my adopted child and would protect her with my life...and has been, ever since she was a baby. It seems like an open-and-shut case to me -- Mandy should stay with me, forever and ever. But every human has to be born from someone, somewhere, in some way or another. And I'm not Mandy's real mother. Not by a long shot. Her feet took her to the door leading into Peaches' room. Her ears picked up on the sound of raucous snoring -- no doubt that Mandy was still fast asleep and roaming about in dreamland. Without thinking, her hand gripped the doorknob and turned it. Her head poked inside, and her eyes landed on Mandy. Fast asleep in her PJs from the previous night, position askew, and a trail of drool leading down her mouth to the bedsheet she was on. On the floor, the cat form of Peaches slept peacefully, not being disturbed by the sound whatsoever. Olive wanted so badly to wake Mandy up. To ask her to do something with her, anything she wanted to. Like it was her last day on Earth. But the hybrid needed her sleep. She knew that. She knew better. Sighing, she closed the door and rested her forehead on it, closing her eyes and letting herself wander in her own jumbled thoughts. I'm not letting Mandy go back to her real mother. It's been years. Why would she start looking for her now? Mandy deserves someone who will love her and care for her. She deserves... me. And only me. I'm the one who will give her what she needs to survive. What she needs to live a happy life. What she needs to be a good agent of Odd Squad. The sound of shimmering caught her attention, and her head swiveled to the right, where she saw the tip of a tail that appeared to be made out of grass and surrounded by a shining and sparkling golden light. However, it was only for a fleeting moment, and it disappeared so quickly that she had to wonder if she had imagined things. A heavy sigh leaving her body, she made her way back to the bullpen, a wave of determination washing over her as she made a silent promise to herself. A silent promise to spend all the time with Mandy she possibly could...before the opportunity slipped out of her hands. S1E14: RarimenaJust a little ways inside the Odd Squad Boutique (name pending), Rarity was hard at work, humming a small ditty and hemming her suit together after having torn it earlier while on a rather difficult case. She had lost track of how many times her suit needed to be repaired -- she already had a list of complaints lined up to march right over to the Tailoring Department with when she had the time. As she was halfway done, an elated laugh, followed by a high-pitched "Whee!", whizzed past her door, breaking her concentration slightly. In spite of this, however, she didn't dare look up, and pressed onward with her work. The sound of galloping and raucous high-pitched laughter together made her eye twitch as she bit back a groan. Still, she forced herself to keep it together. She could not, would not, let all of her hard work come undone due to something as simple as a noise breaking through the barrier of her focus. Unfortunately, a noise did break through the barrier of her focus, although it was by her own volition. "Hey, hey, wait for me, silly!" came the voice, followed by another bout of laughter, which was accompanied with the sound of chattering creatures and bouncing noises. Rarity knew what was going on -- but that didn't mean she liked it. She made her way to the door and telekinetically opened it, identifying the owner of the voice rather quickly. "Agent Pinkie Pie, darling!" "Hold on, Rarity!" A Centigurp passed through the unicorn's field of vision, bouncing up and down with Pinkie frantically chasing after it. Finally, with the pink pony giving a mighty leap, she caught it in her hooves. "Gotcha!" Pinkie smiled. "Whaddya need, Rares?" "Would it be too much to ask you to keep it down?" Rarity asked. "I'm quite busy with work, and I wish to not be disturbed!" "Oh! Sorry! I'll try to be quieter." Rarity gave an exhale of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. "Thank you." she responded, before closing the door and beginning to make her way back to her workstation. She didn't get more than a few hoofsteps before her ears picked up the sound of chirping, followed by some light banging noises. Her eye twitched again, and it was quickly accompanied by a very angry growl. "PINKAMENA DIANE PIE!!" The cry made not just Pinkie, but the Centigurps that were still loose, turn their heads towards a unicorn whose face was as red as a cherry tomato. "I have just about had it with your antics!" Rarity snapped as she threw open the door. "It has been the same thing, every day, every time I try to get work done! And I simply cannot get any work done with you galloping about like a schoolfilly!" Pinkie blinked. "But the Centi-" "I do not care!" Rarity closed her eyes. "Ms. Pie, I hate to be so blunt, but..." She trotted over to Pinkie and thrust her muzzle into the party pony's face, winding up her lungs for a mighty yell. "TAKE YOUR NOISE SOMEWHERE ELSE!!" Before Pinkie could respond, Rarity was already back inside her boutique, slamming the door shut and walking away. "Goodness! Some ponies just do not understand common decency." She brushed the front of her suit and gave a sigh, allowing herself to calm down and tackle the situation head-on as she asked aloud, "How can I get Pinkie Pie to stop making so much noise?" Her mind flashed to a conversation she and Pinkie had, many years ago -- how Pinkie didn't like her dark side, and when she slipped into it, the "good" part of her became scared of the "bad" part of her. She had one too many bad experiences with her own personal dark side, and she resolved to stay as far away from it as she could. The idea Rarity had seemed silly in hindsight. Foalish, even. It was something far more suited for someone like Mandy to do. But the mare had to admit, Pinkie's straight hair was a rather gorgeous style...and Rarity herself had always wanted to try having her long hair short and straight, just for curiosity's sake. Smirking, her horn's magic levitated a pair of scissors and a comb, and once she had gathered her shower products as well, she booked it for the Bathroom and shut the door without Pinkie or the loose Centigurps ever being the wiser. This is going to work. It has to work. If it doesn't...there's simply no way I'll be able to get all of my work done! In the bullpen, Mandy had somehow secured a spot on Chopped. If "securing a spot on Chopped" meant "securing a spot for the record of the most innovative way to use a sharp knife". Try as she might, she couldn't slice open a gadget she had been trying to open in vain. "Any luck?" "No good." Mandy shook her head in response to Peaches' question. "At this rate I'm gonna hafta take a chainsaw to the thing. Go big or go home, baby!" The sound of chirping reached her ears, and as she spun around in circles, the chirping only served to grow louder. Finally, her gaze settled on Peaches, and she gave a frown. "Peach, what are you, a bird? Quit your chirpin'!" "Uh, that's not me." Peaches picked up a Centigurp. "It's these round fuzzy things attached to your tail." "Huh?" Mandy wagged her tail once, then twice, then wagged it as hard as she could, each to no avail. Eventually, she resorted to picking up one of the "round fuzzy things", nearly doing a double-take when she realized what she was holding. "Centigurps?!" she cried out, giving a groan of frustration while Peaches simply looked confused. "What are Centigurps?" the catgirl asked, watching her cousin sit down, pull her tail closer to her, and start with yanking the creatures off. "They're creatures that like spherical things and can multiply fast when exposed to light. They tend to escape and bounce all over the place 'cause some agent falls for their adorable purring and chirping." Peaches nodded, still a little confused but deciding to roll along with what Mandy said regardless. Her eyes caught Pinkie Pie approaching them, clutching a container tight to her body, her pupils and irises shrunken down to pinpricks as though she had just witnessed an unspeakable horror. "Partner! These yours?" Mandy asked, holding out a Centigurp. "Uh-huh..." came the murmured response. Mandy gave a sigh. "Don't tell me you opened the container..." "Uh-huh..." Peaches tilted her head in concern and confusion. Mandy, on the other hand, couldn't care less. "All righty! Be right back. Gotta turn all these Centigurps back into one." With that, she grabbed the container from her partner's grasp and moved towards the lab, where a ton of the fuzzy little things were bouncing about in the quarantine chamber. The ones on her tail chirped in protest, something that she didn't pay any mind to. "Hey, Pinkie...what's the matter? You look skittish." Peaches asked. "Rarity..." Pinkie dragged her hoof along the floor, dipping her head down low, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "She...she yelled at me..." "Yelled at you? Why?" "'Cause I was trying to catch all the Centigurps...and she straightened her mane and tail..." Peaches blinked. "Straightened her mane and tail?" "Like what I've done before." "You had a straight mane and a straight tail before?" Peaches scratched her head. "I'm a little confused." Pinkie only gave a sigh in response, before following it up with, "Just give Mandy my thanks, I guess. I'm gonna...go back to Equestria." She turned and began heading out the steel double-doors, catching the eyes of agents who seemed concerned that the pink party pony wasn't her usual cheery self. "Okay, have fun!" Peaches waved her off, then muttered to herself, "Huh. That was weird." "Hiya! I'm back." Mandy approached her cousin, hairbrush in one hand and big poofy tail in the other. Her head swiveled back and forth. "Where'd Pinkie go?" "She's returning to Equestria. She was acting...really weird." Peaches explained. "Said Rarity yelled at her because she was trying to catch the loose Centigurps, and she straightened her mane and tail like how Pinkie had it before." Mandy digested this information with a nod, and then a smile began forming on her face. "Rarity? Straighten her mane? And straighten her tail?" She burst into giggle-and-snort laughter. "The day Rarity straightens both her mane and her tail is the day Oprah might as well retire. She's always kept it in loose curls! Even as a filly it was a lil' curly!" A sigh escaped her. "Besides, she's busy with work. Hemming clothes and working on suits for Momma and Otto's precinct and all that. When's the mare gonna have time to straighten her mane and tail, huh?" Peaches didn't even try to protest Mandy's words. "Do they not have their own tailor?" "Oh they do. Every precinct has their own Odd Squad Tailor. We have O'Q. Lovely chap, nice and bright, pip pip, cheerio cheerio." Mandy said, slipping into a brief British accent on the last sentence. "Momma and Otto have Osiris. And believe you me, that kid is a god on the sewing machine." "So why is Rarity making suits for Olive and Otto?" "She's helping Osiris out, as a favor. There are a lot of agents in that precinct." A simple "mm" was all Peaches gave in response. She was still a little confused, but she chalked it up to her inexperience in making clothes for other people besides herself, although she could slightly understand why Rarity was helping out -- her Element was generosity, after all. The sound of approaching hoofsteps made both girls turn their attention towards its source. Sure enough, speak of the mare and she doth appear -- in an entirely new manestyle. Her mane had the same appearance it did when it was wet, only it wasn't actually wet at all, and was neatly brushed to only give off the appearance of such, being curled at the ends. The same went for her tail, which drooped down and touched the ground. Peaches was impressed. Mandy...not so much. "Hello-oooo! Do you two like my new look?" "It's great!" Peaches nodded. "You look amazing." "Why thank you, darling." Rarity's gaze flicked to Mandy. "And you, Mandy?" Mandy stared. Her eyes flitted just a little ways to and fro as she fully absorbed her friend's new appearance. She bit her lip. On odd, it looks hideous. Almost makes me wanna vomit. Almost. I can see why Pinkie had such a negative reaction to it...but she was just horrified by it. ...Yeah no, I am horrified. But I'm also disgusted. What is this? She reminds me of... Suddenly, flashbacks hit her like a battering ram. Flashbacks of her partner's flat mane and tail, and all the anger and upset that came with it. The many rumors of her psychosis when her mane and tail were in such a state didn't help matters. Still, she knew that she had to be a supportive friend, and forced herself to put on an act. "I-it's, uh...unique?" she weakly offered, giving a splitting unsure grin and a half-hearted shrug. "Is it?" Rarity fiddled with her mane. "Honestly, I really don't know of anypony with the 'wet mane' look...but it seemed to scare away Pinkie Pie, so it seems like it works!" She then poked the white-polka-dotted bandana that she wore around her neck. "I also added a bandana, to make the style really pop out. Could you tell me what you think?" Peaches eyed the accessory for a few moments, then smiled. "It looks nice! I think the red is a good contrast to your white fur. But I say experiment a little!" Rarity returned the smile, and once again looked to Mandy for her opinion. Oh my odd, Peach, stop being a yes-man! You're not the one tryna save face over here! "U-um..." The hybrid twiddled her fingers. "I-it's, um, well...y-your mane and tail are your business, and...you can do with them what you want." She's asking about the bandana, ya nitwit. "Also the bandana is...nice." "Ooh, I just knew you two would love it!" Rarity giggled. "See, I decided to spruce up the look after taking inspiration from your own wet hair, Mandy!" Mandy blinked. "What?" "Yes! It always looks so luxurious, so elegant. Especially when it's halfway dry! So fluffy..." Rarity began to blush slightly, but a quick couple shakes of her head restored the color to her face. "Anyway, I tried to copy that as best I could! I do hope you don't mind." "That's...nice, Rarity...but..." Mandy began to fiddle with her own hair, now. "As much as I'd love to keep my hair and tail wet, I'd much rather keep them dry. And with this fall weather, wet hair can stiffen up and become icky and crunchy and gross." She shuddered. "I can speak from experience." "Oh, I know that." Rarity waved a hoof. "That is why I am stopping by the store after we deliver the suits, to get some nice shampoo and conditioner in order to keep my new style in tip-top shape!" Mandy wasn't sure what to be more scared by -- the fact her friend was going to go out looking like that, or the fact that she was going to face people looking like that. "We?" "Oh! Yes, yes, I wanted to ask you." Rarity said. "Would you mind helping me deliver the finished suits to Osiris when I'm done with my current project?" "Huh? S-sure, I guess." "Thank you, darling! You are a lifesaver." She turned to leave. "I'll be here in my boutique if you need me. Ta-taaaaaa!" Peaches watched the mare leave, then her gaze landed on Mandy. "Mandy, you're quivering." Sure enough, the hybrid was visibly shaking. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. Her eyes were shrunk down to pinpricks. "I'm about to go into cardiac arrest..." she wheezed out, feeling suddenly aware of her heart racing a million miles an hour like she was in a dogfight in her personal plane. Knowing she had to snap back to reality, she shook her body out and let her head move towards the chainsaw that laid on her desk. "Um...a-anyway, we should-" "You operate that chainsaw the way you are now and it'll do more damage than my claws could ever do to anyone." Peaches said, grabbing ahold of her cousin's head and jerking it back around. "What's wrong, cuz?" Mandy had to take a few deep breaths to stabilize herself so she could give an explanation, reminding herself that Rarity was no longer here and she didn't have to look at...that again. "See, whenever Pinkie has her mane and tail straightened, it usually means she's sad. Other times, it means she's gone completely off the deep end. I remember one time, I was sleeping, and I woke up to find Pinkie leeeeeeeaning over me with her mane flat like she was gonna rip me to shreds. I might've broken every glass item Oprah has in her office with the scream I gave!" "Why was she sad?" "That..." Mandy's mouth pinched inwards as she tried to think. "...is a good question. Might hafta rack the ol' brain for that one." "So let me get this straight. You think Rarity straightening her mane and tail means she's gone off the deep end? Which is...going completely insane?" "Certainly seemed like it! I'll never get the word 'fashion' outta my head now!" Mandy gripped Peaches by the shoulders and got closer and closer to her. "And the worst part? And the worst part?" "What's the worst part?" "I HAFTA SEE THE MARE EVERY DA-A-AAAAAAAY!" Mandy slumped to her knees and began wailing. This, of course, attracted the attention of almost no one, save a few agents-in-training who hadn't quite gotten familiar with the concept of ignoring her whenever she did something crazy. "Look, I'm sure Rarity will realize what she's done and change her style back to normal." Peaches blinked. "You're overexaggerating, cuz. It's probably just one big joke between Rarity and Pinkie that you're out of the loop on." "No it's not a joke!" Mandy got back to her feet and then shook Peaches. "She's gonna turn on us!" "Okay, now you're acting hysterical." Peaches broke free from Mandy's grasp and grabbed her by the tail. "C'mon." Mandy immediately began to make a run for it. "H-hey, let go of me!" "Nope, c'mon. We're going outside. You've been cooped up in Headquarters all day. It's not healthy for you. A little fresh air will do you some good." Peaches began dragging Mandy with ease, not showing any signs of struggle, even as the hybrid's body fell to the floor and she began scrabbling at it in a futile attempt to escape. "No! Don't put me outside! I don't wanna go outside! We're in trouble, Peach, real trouble, that starts with T and ends with RARITY KILLING US ALL! We gotta stay here! PEACH, YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND ME, WE'RE DEEEEEEE-" The automatic doors closed before Mandy could finish her proclamation. Some time later, after Mandy had been dragged around town against her will, she went with Rarity to give the suits she had so lovingly made to Osiris, a pit of dread rolling about in her stomach like a dung beetle rolling...well, dung. "We're heeeee-eeeeere!" Rarity declared, taking the cart from Mandy's hands and wheeling it through the hallway on the second floor. "I'm going to bring these to Osiris, all right?" "'Kay..." "Thank you for helping me out, Mandy. You're a doll!" The hybrid watched her go wordlessly, only giving a ragged sigh and a ruffle of her hair as she trudged to the one place she knew she could find reprieve right now. That, and hopefully some advice. "Who eats black licorice anymore?" "Hey, black licorice is good!" "No it's not! It's a charcoal version of red licorice!" Olive and Otto, with a bag of black licorice spilled out on their desk, butted heads, growling at each other. However, their conflict quickly subsided, and both Directors shared a hearty chuckle. "Help me please..." Olive's gaze moved towards the glass doors, where Mandy was stumbling in. "Mandy? You look like a wreck!" "What happened to you?" Otto chimed in. "Hold that question." Olive held a hand up. "Let me make you some tea." "Tea? I thought you were off tea." "On and off. I like it whenever I'm stressed and need to relax a little." Olive began making her way towards the drink bar. "I have a few bags left over here. Let me surprise you." Taking a coffee pot filled with hot water and a mug, Olive poured some water out and topped it off with a tea bag, making sure she didn't mess up any steps like she had done numerous times in the past. "Here. Drink this." she offered, as Mandy flopped down onto one of the couches. "It'll help calm you down." Mandy eagerly took the drink and took a giant swig out of it, smacking her lips a couple times to try and identify the taste before it clicked. "Aah...chamomile." she purred, her tail flicking about happily. "Now, why don't you tell us what's going on?" Olive urged next. "Rarity..." "Oh! Did she deliver the suits to Osiris yet?" "I would say that's why Mandy's here, partner." Olive blinked. "Oh." was all she said in response, before she shook her head in a futile effort to save her own skin. "Are you helping her out?" Mandy took another swig. "Yes. She asked me to." "Okay. So, uh...is...something wrong with her?" Otto asked, tilting his head. "Her mane's straight." "And?" A groan. "Kids these days..." "So this is about hair?" "Would you SHUT YOUR FOOD HOLE AND LET ME SPEAK, CHILD?!" Mandy very nearly threw the mug down onto the coffee table, but forced herself to take another swig to keep herself steady. Clearly, the tea wasn't a fast-acting kind of tea. "Do you two remember when you heard an ear-piercing scream and it broke nearly all the glass items in Oprah's office?" "Yes. And then your yelling at Pinkie that came out of it." Olive tenderly touched her ear, knowing that her sensitive hearing had given her absolute hell that day. "What happened there, anyway?" "Pinkie, with her mane and tail straighter than a wooden plank, was staring at me. On my bed. Just...staring. Like she was gonna destroy me." Mandy began flailing her arms about. "Do you know how scary that is?!" "I can think of at least six different times where you've done just that, Mandy. To me. In the wee hours of the morning." "That's not my point!" Mandy sighed in response to Olive's snark. "Let me rephrase...do you know what happens when Pinkie's mane and tail go straight?" "Oh, oh!" Otto raised his hand. "Doesn't it usually mean she's depressed or angry?" "Aaaaaaand lo and behold, one of these guys can actually think for themselves!" said Mandy to the reader, clapping her hands and letting loose a bout of belly laughter. Olive gave a groan in response. A final squeak came out of Mandy, and she sighed happily before continuing. "Yes, Otto, it does mean exactly that. Most of the time, though, it also means her mental stabilihillbilly...isn't stabile." "'Stability'. And 'stable'." Olive corrected. "I'll have to ask Santa Claus to bring you a dictionary this coming Christmas." "Yeah okay." Mandy waved her off. "Anyway, I fear it may be the same case for Rarity." "So what happened with Rarity?" Otto asked, a little less confused now but still struggling to understand what kind of point Mandy was trying to make. "Pinkie was making too much noise while Rarity was working because she was trying to catch Centigurps. So Rarity, in some sort of weird revenge plot thingie, straightened her mane and tail and deemed it her new style." Mandy sighed. "And you know how carried away Rarity can get with fashion sometimes." "So why don't Rarity and Pinkie Pie just make up?" "Beats me!" "Hmm..." Olive took a moment to think. "Maybe Osiris can help." Mandy took another swig of tea. "Your tailor? How can he help with hair?" "He may be skilled in clothing, but he may also have a few hair tips for Rarity to-" "Embrace her curls!" Olive shot her partner a look that just screamed "dead". Her eyes half-lidded, her lips pursed tight, her body stance rigid. "Thanks for finishing my sentence." she snarked. "Well, it's better than nothing." Mandy took her final swig of tea and set the cup down onto the table. "Thankies for the tea! And the advice!" "No problem. Remember, we're a call or a tube ride away if you need anything, okay?" Olive's expression went from annoyed to sweet, something that made Otto roll his eyes. Mandy nodded, got up, and went to leave, waving to the two Directors eagerly. She was so focused on giving goodbyes, in fact, that she almost didn't hear Rarity exiting the Clothing Room. "Oh, Mandy!" The mare trotted up to her, toying with her mane. "Osiris complimented my mane!" Sorry about that, Momma...what was that about Osiris maybe having a few hair tips? A sch sound forced its way out of Mandy. When ya find an actual hairdresser with actual taste, call me, huh? Realizing that Rarity was staring at her with intrigue, she broke out into nervous laughter. "D-did he now?" She pressed her thumbs together. "That's...nice, Rarity! Very nice!" This seemed to satisfy the unicorn. "I'm off to Lather Love now. Would you like to come with?" She might as well have asked the question of "would you like to die of second-hand embarrassment", because as much as Mandy was running low on shampoo and conditioner and needed to stock up, she really didn't want to be made the laughingstock of Toronto, being seen with a mare who had questionable mane and tail choices for somepony who worked in the fashion industry. "I think I'll decline. But have fun!" "All right. I'll see you later, okay?" Rarity skipped away, giving a hearty "Ta-taaaaaa!" in singsong to mark her departure. Mandy simply looked at her hands, one thought pushing its way to the forefront of her mind. That tea Momma gave me? Weakdrink. Utter weakdrink. Still, she wasn't about to go home empty-handed. Olive and Otto had given her advice, and aside from the risk of Osiris feeding her bad advice in equal measure, there was no possible way this could go horribly. He was a good kid, she was sure -- Olive and Otto hired him, probably, so of course he was good. Her lungs pushed out air as she gave three tentative knocks on the door. "Come in." came a voice. Silky, inviting, and with just a slight twinge of a British accent. Mandy opened the door and gave a wave to the brown-haired, hazel-eyed boy that was fixing up a few ties on display. "Hi. You're...Osiris, right?" "That I am." Osiris turned around. With his gray plaid vest, his white long-sleeve undershirt with well-made cuffs and a well-fluffed collar, and navy pants that looked similar to Mandy's own, he looked every bit like someone in the Tailoring department. "And you must be Agent Mandy, of Precinct 13579." Mandy blinked. "How did you-" She paused as she came to a realization before the question could even fully tumble from her mouth. "Ah, never mind. Momma and Otto must've told you about me!" "Indeed." Osiris cleaned some dust off of the Tailoring department symbol that adorned his undershirt in place of an actual tie. "What can I help you with today, Mandy?" "Um...do you know Agent Rarity?" Mandy asked. "N-not just in Odd Squad, just...in general. Outside of Odd Squad." "Why, as a matter of fact, yes." Osiris nodded. "I have heard talk of her throughout the town. People and ponies alike, all spreading rumors that she will be opening up a boutique here in Toronto to sell human clothing." He smiled. "She certainly has become popular for her designs. The suits she made in particular were stunning." Mandy's gaze flicked to the cart with the suits on it, tilting her head. Rarity? Opening up a boutique here? Wouldn't surprise me. But with that...style... She couldn't help but shudder slightly at the thought of her friend being review-bombed and eventually closing her new store, all because she didn't look presentable to too many customers. "Y-yes, well, see..." She twirled her fingers about. "While she was making the suits, my partner, Agent Pinkie Pie, kept on interrupting her work. She got fed up with Pinkie's antics and she changed her manestyle and tailstyle so it looks wet, but it's not actually wet. Like it's straight." "And is this a bad thing?" "When my partner has a straightened mane and tail, it usually means that any sanity she has is gone out the window. I worry that it might be the same for Rarity. She tends to be very...overbearing with her fashionista...ism sometimes." Osiris didn't bother to point out how "fashionistaism" wasn't a real word. "I see. So what is it you're hoping to accomplish?" "Well...I want Rarity to see that changing up her manestyle and tailstyle isn't going to get my partner to stop being herself. She was trying to catch Centigurps when Rarity was making the suits, and that's a bit of a loud activity. There are better ways to get someone to stop doing something than..." Mandy scoffed. "...changing your entire 'do! And I certainly don't want to be on the brunt end of whatever psychotic thing Rarity's cooking up." Osiris nodded and gave a soft hum as he thought for a few moments. "I must admit, I'm not good with hair so much as I am with clothing." Called it, Mandy thought, mentally giving an "I told you your advice was terrible" smirk at Olive and Otto. "But perhaps Rarity needs something else that she can be inspired by. Someone to rival her in style. Someone who can become the new go-to person for fashionable hairstyles, or so she believes." As he looked knowingly at Mandy, all she could do tilt her head. "And how will that help?" "If she feels that she is outclassed by you, it might just get her to crack." Mandy bit her lip. It seemed like a good idea, but one thing weighed on her mind. "I'm not sure...I mean, what if it just becomes a big ol' hairstyle battle? I top her, she tops me, and it just keeps on going until..." "Then you will need to take your entry in the first round a step further." Osiris placed a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "You work with Rarity on clothes, do you not?" "Yes, but-" "Then add some clothes to the mix. Something to make yourself stand out." Osiris smiled. "I have the utmost confidence in you, Agent Mandy. You can do it." For a moment, she almost wanted to ask Osiris for tips on what clothes, exactly, would make her "stand out". But something told her he wouldn't be so keen on giving that advice. For me, someone who doesn't know much about fashion, to do battle with Rarity, a mare that's well-respected in Equestria for her taste in fashion...it seems foolish. But if it'll stop her killing someone or going completely insane... She shuddered as she imagined Rarity dressing up everyone she saw in outlandish clothing. And then, a memory of her "Inspiration Manifestation" story came forth, as a haunting reminder of the possibilities that could ensue if she kept on going down the path she was on. Forget about the cons of it all. I have to do this. It's for the good of Odd Squad, for the town...and for the world. "It wouldn't hurt!" she said, settling on an answer. "Good luck." "Thanks." Mandy turned to leave. "Feels like I'm gonna need it." As she made her way back to her own Headquarters, ideas began bubbling forth in her head, moreso about her hair than about her clothing. The clothing was easy--she could sketch ideas and make them as she needed to, right in the comfort of her own room. The hair, though...not so much. She wore the same style every day and never bothered to change it up too often, aside from the occasional mockery gag. Suddenly, a realization came to her. Her eyes widened, and she was gone, teleporting away in a bright flash. Mandy's teleportation took her right in front of the Lather Love shop on Green Street. She would be lying if she didn't say that she loved haircare stores in general -- the scents alone were enticing. "There's gotta be lots of haircare stuff here!" she chirped, bouncing her way inside. An orange-yellow Pegasus mare with an orange mane was working the front counter, and gave Mandy a friendly wave. "Ah, Mandy, what a lovely surprise! Haven't seen you in a while!" "That's 'cause you guys were sold out of my hairspray last time!" Mandy said, making her way over to the counter. "Is your laser chicken wound doing okay, Honey Breeze?" "It's healing well, thanks to Dr. O's treatment! He's such a darling!" The mare held up her bandaged leg for Mandy to inspect, giving a lighthearted giggle. "Can I help you find anything?" "Oh, yes. See, I'm looking for something that'll make these curls bounce." Mandy toyed with her hair. "Specifically, new hairstyles are what I'm testing out." "Well, if it's new hair-" "Ooh, ooh, got anything that'll make my hair look like this?!" From hammerspace, Mandy levitated a drawing of a girl who had two corkscrew twintails on the side of her head. Of course, far be it from Honey to question where Mandy got the drawing, and whether it was hers or not. "Ah, the twintails!" She nodded. "Yes, yes, I can actually recommend you some hairstyle books if you want the-" "No, no! I have books on those! I just need haircare stuffs." Honey nodded again, emerging from behind the counter. "I see. In that case, follow me, and I'm happy to get whatever you need!" A few minutes later, Mandy was walking out with an absurd amount of bags that not even her own magic could handle. "See you soon!" Honey called. Mandy tried to give her goodbyes, but a pained squeak pushed forth from her lungs instead as the door closed. She refrained from collapsing onto the dirty hard ground. "Might've...gotten...too much stuuuuaaaaaaaahhh..." Shifting some of the weight to her hands only made things worse, as she nearly toppled over. "No matter...I'll make sure my hair's wild n' stylin' by tomorrow!" Gritting her teeth, she flapped her wings as fast as she could -- which wasn't saying much, given they usually went at a hummingbird's speed -- and took the bags with her to a tube entrance that, luckily for her, was right across the street in the entrance to an alleyway. By the time Mandy returned to her room, she couldn't fly anymore. She collapsed right onto the floor of her room, products spilling everywhere from their bags as she gave ragged breaths. "Why...did I buy...so much stuff?!" she yelled. It was bad enough her wallet had taken blow after blow -- now her wings felt cramped and tired from beat after beat of trying to support a body that had what had to amount to at least 150 pounds of haircare stuff attached to it. Everything from dyes, to hairsprays, to ties, to her own shampoo and conditioner that she had originally meant to buy. "Oh! I knew I'd find you in here, darling." Mandy slowly rose to her feet, finding Rarity standing in the doorway but not finding the energy to give even a simple "hello". Rarity's gaze drifted across the items that laid on the floor. She gasped. "Did you go to Lather Love too? Why, I thought you said you didn't want to go!" "I wanted to talk to Osiris first." Mandy explained, magically conjuring up a glass of water and chugging it. Rarity nodded in understanding, then levitated a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner that both had the label SPRITZ'S on it. "I bought the most fabulous shampoo and conditioner for my mane and tail! And some wonderful brushes too." Out came a couple hairbrushes. "Tomorrow, I think I'll freshen up this look even more! I simply cannot wait for you to see it, darling. It will be divine." "Yeah, I'm...sure it'll be divine..." "What's wrong? You sound so tired!" Rarity asked, seeing that Mandy's eyes were now half-lidded and she was now slightly swaying on her feet. "It's...just been a long day for me, that's all." "Mm, I see. I'll leave you alone then." Rarity turned. "Mind if I use the shower first?" "Go ahead." "Thank you, darling!" Mandy watched as Rarity left with skipping hoofsteps, humming a short but sweet ditty to herself as she did so. A sigh escaped her that morphed into a yawn. "Mm...better eat dinner 'fore I collapse..." she murmured, trudging off towards the kitchen while keeping a note in the very back of her mind to clean up and put away the stuff she bought later. It wasn't priority, however -- what was priority was getting food in her belly and getting washed up before she ended up falling asleep in a place that wasn't her bed. The door, as white as snow, creaked open. The mare, as white as snow, crept inside. Raucous snoring and unintelligible sleep-talking filled the room -- nothing surprising for the mare. Slowly, she made her way towards the bed, with the sleeping agent on it, and hoisted herself up onto it. Her four hooves dug into the agent's stomach, although it wasn't like the agent minded very much. She was in a state of very deep sleep, so much so that it didn't seem like she needed her white noise to help her out (the mare had to wonder whether a timer would be installed for that thing). With her horn alight in blue, the mare grabbed ahold of the girl's shoulder and shook it. "Mandy! Mandy, darling, do wake up, won't you?" It took several seconds, but the girl did wake up with a start. A snort put a dent in her snoring as she sat up, her eyes flying open. "Whozawha?! Bennington, if I've toldja once I've toldja 'm thousand timezz..." What met her vision was a mare she recognized, but a hairstyle that looked almost the same as yesterday. Her straight mane had a sort of sheen to it that gave it a glossy fresh look, as did her straightened tail. Said tail was tied up with a black hair tie in a high ponytail. Finally, Mandy (somewhat) snapped to her senses. A "NYAAAAAAAAH!" left her as she scrambled backwards, completely bug-eyed as she stared at the one who was directly on her. "R-Rarity, what are you doing?!" "Oh, I am sorry, Mandy. I didn't mean to frighten you. It's just..." Rarity gave a giant squee. "I wanted you to see my new manestyle!" Sleepiness began to settle in, now. Mandy glanced at the clock on her nightstand, which read 9:00. "I used a mix of manespray and water, and tied my tail up a little so it wouldn't drag so much. See?" Rarity turned, showing off her tail for just a few moments before she thrust her face into Mandy's. "Don't you think it looks positively stunning?!" One blink. Two blinks. Mouth hanging slightly open. Truly, such raw emotion could only come from a near-vegetable in a hospital bed. "Ohh, you don't have to say a thing, darling. You're speechless!" Rarity giggled. "Anyways, I just wanted you to see. I think I'll get to work on some clothing that will look tres magnifique with this new style of mine! Ta-taaaaaa!" And with that, the unicorn mare hopped off of the bed, skipped out the door, and let out a few excited jumps as her magic aura closed the door. A few moments later, Mandy was back on the sleeping game. Somehow, the "you need more sleep" switch clicked on in her brain, and she was going to get as much sleep as she could. Or at least, as much as she could before that white blob with the weird accent woke her up again. It wasn't until she saw Rarity around Headquarters a few times that she realized what, exactly, the mare had been trying to communicate to her. And that was her cue to hole herself up in the bathroom, with all of her hair supplies. Every last one of them. "Oho, Agent Rarity. This agent will not take this hair issue lyin' down. Not when it gives me terrible bedhead!" She cracked her knuckles, a mischievous glint to her eye. The first book of hairstyles flung open. "Let's do this." Water from the sink and the shower ran. The sweet smell of hairspray filled the room. And the suit was flung out of the door completely. From struggling to comb and tame her poofy curls ("How does Pinkie Pie do it?!") to consulting every single hairstyle book she had bought (yes, including How to Create Fabulous Twintails in Five Easy Steps), Mandy was ready to work towards a new her. A her that would wow people, make them turn heads, make them see who was really the hairy best boss around these parts. "Hair extension here, hair extension there, a little pinkery-doo!" she sang, applying bobby pins to her loose hair as she read the next step in her book. She had to admit, a lot of her time was spent running the hair dryer. The warm air it gave off felt especially nice on cold days, and she loved how it felt on her hair. But now, she had an actual reason to use it that wouldn't get her yelled at for it, and so, she dried her hair over and over as she experimented with different twintail styles. Meanwhile, Oprah went down the hallway, Olive, Otto, Peaches and Twilight following her. "So that's what's been happening?" "Pretty much." Olive sighed. "And all of this because Agent Pinkie Pie was doing nothing more than trying to catch Centigurps..." Oprah groaned. "This is going to turn out like the Jackalope Gala incident all over again if this keeps up." The sound of whirring caught the attention of everyone. Their heads immediately swiveled towards the Bathroom door. Just as Twilight opened her mouth to ask what was going on, a cry burst forth. "Et voila! Now this...this will be my most grand masterpiece yet! That'll put that ragged old mare in her rightful place!" And of course, in typical Mandy fashion, a bout of insane laughter topped it off -- laughter that, for Olive and Otto, almost rivaled Oprah's own insane laughter when she tried to win her first Jackie Award. Almost. "I'm not sure I want to know..." Olive said, her gaze drifting towards the suit that still laid on the floor. Unfortunately, she was about to know, as the Bathroom door swung open. Steam poured out of it like Mandy had just gotten out of the sauna, causing everyone to cough. With a mighty whoosh, however, the steam was cleared, and a new Mandy was revealed. A Mandy that looked absolutely hideous. Her hair was now loose in two brunette twintails that managed to reach the floor, and then some. However, loose hairs stuck out all over the place, the twintails themselves looked jutted out in ways that went far beyond looking like mere lightning bolts, and her hair overall was dyed in a complete myriad of colors that ranged from the simple to the extreme. Her tail was the same way, being separated into twintails and dyed all kind of colors while also sticking straight out from her body, like it had been flash-frozen. Both Peaches' hair and tail stuck straight up as she gave a hearty yowl, her eyes nearly bugging out of her own skull as she bore witness to the horrors of Mandy experimenting with hair. Oprah, likewise, turned a color that no juice flavor in existence could be reasonably matched with. "Oh my odd..." was all she murmured, her brown eyes shrinking to small dots. "Sweet Celestia!" Twilight's ears folded down, and she was forced to take a few steps back, using her wing to shield her eyes from the awful sight. "Mandy..." Olive was the most unfazed, and slowly stepped forward, taking a deep inhale before what came forth was "WHAT IN THE NAME OF ODD DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?!" "It's the twintail look!" Mandy chirped. "Like what you see in anime all the time! Ya like?" Oprah audibly gagged. "Aww, c'mon. Is it really that bad?" "You tell us!" Peaches cried, taking out a mirror from hammerspace and thrusting it in front of Mandy. Within seconds, the mirror developed a spider-web crack in it that encompassed the entire thing. "Mm..." Mandy's mouth pinched inwards. "I guess it wasn't the perfect twintail look..." Her gaze drifted towards Olive, looking utterly floored. She looked like her brain was doing a complete and utter hard reset. Mandy gasped and made her way over. "Mommamommamomma!" She grabbed Olive's curly ponytail, yanking it towards her to get a better look and ignoring Olive's cry of protest. "Yes! This is perfect! Ha, I forgot ya had a lil' corkscrew! Hold on, gotta take pictures!" Olive went from floored to confused in just a minute, trying to comprehend what was happening while Mandy was snapping pictures of her hairstyle with a camera she had pulled from her hammerspace spine. "Perfecto!" Mandy grinned as she looked through the pictures. "If I can't make twintails, then I'll make corkscrew ponytails!" "ALL RIGHT, ENOUGH!" Oprah cried out, causing Mandy to stop as she stared at her boss. "Agent, what are you doing?" "Weeeeell..." Mandy took a deep breath. "I stopped by Momma and Otto’s precinct the other day, and I asked them for advice, so they told me to go to Osiris, their tailor, so I went to him and he told me that I could only rival Rarity in hair, so I had to get a whooooooole lotta stuff from Lather Love so I could style it, and then Rarity, bless her equine heart, scared me when I woke up with her new manestyle! So I knew I had to rival her somehow, and that’s what I’m doing now!" All she got in response were four blank stares as she inhaled and exhaled. "Well, you're not going to rival Rarity looking like that." Twilight pointed out. "What were you thinking?" Mandy shrugged and giggled. "I never think!" "Isn't that the understatement of the year." Olive snarked, rolling her eyes. "Cuz, look. Calm down, first and foremost. You're gonna wind up being as overenthusiastic as Rarity if you keep this up." Peaches took a deep breath, as though the advice was directed to herself as well as Mandy. "To put my opinion of you bluntly...you look like a train ran you over, immediately followed by three semitrucks. Each in rapid succession." That analogy seemed to stick in Mandy's head. She gave a pitiful whine, poking at one of her twintails. "Is it really that bad?" "Yes." Peaches responded. "You don't know much about hair, do you?" "Yes I do! I read all the books, and, and I spent a whole ton of money on hair supplies!" Five half-lidded stares made her revoke that comment right quick. "...No. B-but that's why I had to ask for advice!" "Well, I'm not a big old hair expert or anything, but if you're looking to rival Rarity in hair, you need a different style." Peaches explained. "And not corkscrews. She already has curls." "But I wanted twintails!" "A-and I can get you twintails!" Peaches reassured, slightly wincing at Mandy's high-pitched whine. "But if you let me help you, then you'll come out looking much better than...ehhh..." She pointed. "Whatever this is. What do you say?" "Okay-dokay, let's do it!" Mandy pumped a fist into the air. "Great!" Peaches turned to Olive, Oprah, Otto and Twilight. "Now, the rest of you, head into the bullpen. I want you to be surprised!" Everyone else exchanged curious glances and smiles, knowing that even though Peaches' knowledge in hair was lacking just as much as Mandy's was, she at least had a better grip on the concept of hairstyles. "Oh oh oh! I know what else I can do!" Mandy raised her eyebrows. "Are your...fashion skills up to par?" "Always!" Peaches winked. "Clothes make the agent." "Clothes are gonna make the agent! They're gonna make the agent the star of the show!" Mandy jabbed a finger at Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle! Get me my sewing machine! We're about to make magic!" The mare complied with only a single nod, heading in the direction of Mandy's room while everyone else made their way towards the bullpen, telling Peaches and Mandy that they couldn't wait to see what they had in store for them, for Rarity, and for the rest of the precinct. It didn't take long for Peaches to undo Mandy's work and get started on her own -- a lot less time than she had thought it would take. She cut, she washed, and she brushed to what she viewed as perfection. Mandy let her go through the motions, placing her full trust in her cousin. She worked diligently on an outfit for herself, with Peaches' advice on how to make it glamorous without looking utterly ridiculous. "Glad you bought hair dye." Peaches said, tossing a box to the side. "But why did you think you were going to need it?" "To be honest, I dunno why I bought the hair dye. I just grabbed whatever I could!" Peaches opened her mouth to ask how, exactly, Mandy could afford all the stuff she bought, but before she could get a word in edgewise, the hybrid teleported a small bottle into existence. "Sequiiiins!" she squealed, opening the bottle and beginning to apply them to her outfit. All Peaches did was sigh and playfully roll her eyes in response before she got back to work. Fifteen minutes later, and both girls were "Done!" Peaches held up a mirror for Mandy to eye her new hair. "Do you like it?" "My hair...it's soooooo coooool!" she exclaimed, toying with it. Her hair, now pink instead of brunette, was wrapped in long twintails that nearly reached the floor, secured by two hair ties with four circles each that mysteriously floated in midair around the ties themselves. The ends of the twintails curled upwards quite a bit, and the twintails themselves were touched with stripes of the seven colors of the rainbow in the middle. Her bow had been removed entirely, and her hair had been parted down the middle, creating short bangs that fell across her forehead. Her pink tail had the same stripes, and had her iconic red bow tied tightly around it. It was lined with sparkly multicolored ribbons that spiraled down it, creating a small trail just past its end. Peaches looked over Mandy's shoulder at the outfit she had designed. "You really took a theme and ran with it, huh?" "Yup!" Mandy grinned. "I had it in mind when I first tried doing my own hair!" "Well, why don't you put it on, and I'll gather everyone in the bullpen so they can see it, okay?" Mandy nodded, watching Peaches leave the Bedroom. She stared at the mess on the floor, knowing that she would have to clean it all up later but not finding the heart to complain about it. "Now this...this will make me the talk of the town!" Mandy gave an evil chuckle. "Watch out, Rare-Rare. You've got a new competitor!" Laughter, twinged with just a touch of evil, echoed throughout the halls, causing some agents to become started and look around for the source. "It's weird, but I haven't seen Rarity all day." Oprah said, glancing at the steel double-doors. "Maybe she went back to Equestria?" "Or maybe she's just in hiding 'cause she's afraid of Mandy!" Olive rolled her eyes. "Partner, I doubt she even knows Mandy's competing against her." "What's taking Mandy so long?" Peaches muttered to herself. "Doesn't take this long to put on a piece of clothing..." The sound of whooshing caught everyone's attention as a figure began soaring through the bullpen. Up and down the figure went, doing all sorts of acrobatics in what looked to be a truly fantastical outfit. Agents began gathering around, giving curious reactions as they watched the show in progress. "Oh no." was all Peaches could utter, her cat ears folding downwards as she did a facepalm. The figure soared right above the heads of the group, causing Olive to instinctively crouch low to the ground. "Ooh, showy!" Otto remarked, watching as fireworks began to go off. His eyes gained a shimmer in them as he became captivated by the show. With a few speedy midair somersaults, Mandy landed on the ground, hammer in hand. "My hammer will crush anything that stands in the way of normalcy!" She struck a pose. "I'm Agent Mandy!" This incredible display, which Oprah and the others all knew was done in the style of magical girl transformations, was met with raucous applause from agents, some of whom wanted an encore. However, instead of honoring those requests, Mandy made a mighty leap into the air and did a couple of cartwheels, followed by a few more midair somersaults before proudly landing on her feet. It was then that the agents could fully take in her entire outfit. She wore a pink-and-white bodice adorned with two logos of the Investigation department and her badge on the front, a frilly pink skirt with a cloud-like bottom layer, tight pink shorts underneath, and a pink choker with a golden emblem around her neck. On her feet were a pair of rollerskates, bedazzled with glitter and painted with stripes of every color imaginable, and blue bracelets adorned her ankles as well as her wrists. Her wings seemed more fluffier and looked far more angelic in appearance than they usually were. A spiky golden crown sat on top of her head with a sky-blue diamond embedded into the middle, and her face consisted of just a tiny amount of blush. Her golden spherical dangle earrings, as well as her painted pink-and-red nails, completed the ensemble. "S-she actually pulled it off..." Peaches uttered. "Have to agree with you, Otto. That's just a little too showy for my taste." Oprah dryly remarked. Lots of staring and jaw-drops ensued. No one said anything for a while. Finally, Peaches snapped to her senses. "Cuz, you shouldn't have made such a grandiose entrance like that. Your hair's gonna be all messed up!" "Nonsense!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "My hair's fine now, isn't it? And just look at the fabulous display I've put on!" Oprah suddenly had a juice box in her hand, taking a swig of it. "Well, if it's any consolation, you look stunning, Mandy." She smiled. "Thank you! But I'm not done." "There's more?" a despaired Peaches asked. "There's always room for more!" Mandy giggle-and-snorted. "Just wait 'til Rarity gets here!" Sure enough, speak of the mare and she doth appear. Or...perhaps not. The automatic doors opened, drawing the attention of the entire group, who waited with baited breaths for Rarity to step through and be surprised at Mandy's new design. Instead, the pony that came through the door was Pinkie Pie, in tears and heading for the hallway as she gave a violent wail. Rarity followed shortly after. "Darling, wait! I didn't mean to..." she called, knowing that Pinkie couldn't hear her but still reaching a hoof out regardless. She shut her eyes tight and folded her ears down as she tried not to cry. "Uh-oh." "I'm guessing Rarity and Pinkie tried to reconcile, and it...didn't go well." Peaches said, sharing a look with Olive. With her eyes still closed, the unicorn mare walked. "Goodness, the one time I try to talk to Pinkie Pie and she- oof!" Rarity opened her eyes and backed up, rubbing her head as she looked up to apologize to the agent she had bumped into. It was right then, when Mandy cleared her throat and opened her mouth, that the "more" part of her entire facade kicked in. "Oh! Agent Rarity! Whatever is the matter?" Oprah did a complete spit-take. Jaws dropped again. A "You. Have got. To be kidding me." slipped from Olive's lips. Rarity's eyes were shrunk to more than pinpricks. They were shrunk to the point where there was 95% sclera and only 5% pupil and iris. There is no way...everything...from her nails, to her hair and tail...she... Her mouth ran dry. Mandy is glamorous! Why, I didn't think it was possible, I... Ohh, what am I saying? Mandy works with me in the Odd Squad Boutique. Of course she would know a thing or two about fashion. But if I don't do something fast, my new style's popularity will soon be no more! No one will turn heads to look at the one, the only, Rarity! She violently shook her head and steadied herself. No, no. I must remain composed. Just...speak to her normally, Rarity. Surely you can manage that. With a polite smile, the mare snapped out of her thoughts. "Hello, Mandy." She sighed. "See, I had attempted to make up with Pinkie Pie regarding yesterday's...ahem...issue, but we got into a rather heated argument instead. Now she hates me even more!" "Well, if I may give you some advice...perhaps you should give up on your whole...mmm, what was the word, now? 'Schtick'? Yes, give up on that whole schtick of yours." Otto, Oprah and Peaches all saw Olive's dumbfounded expression. They all knew Mandy had a pretty good grasp on the English language, but couldn't help internally cringing at her faking obliviousness when it came to a word that certainly was in her everyday vocabulary. Rarity took a step back and gasped. "And give up this fabulous new look? Why in the name of Celestia would I ever do that?" She squinted. "Are you trying to de-throne me?!" In response, Mandy gave a raucous noblewoman's laugh that caught the attention of any agent that hadn't been paying attention to her show previously. "De-throne you? Why no, darling, that is certainly not my intent." Rarity wasn't convinced. She squinted harder. "Really now, have I ever steered you wrong?" "Yes, actually, you have." the mare deadpanned. Mandy cleared her throat. "Er, anyway. My point is that your look was originally created to drive away Miss Pie, correct? An...ah, what do they call it...'hoist by their own petard'?" "Hoist by their own petard?" "Yes, yes. It means to defeat someone using their own weapons or battle methods. In this case, you used 'Rarimena', as I so call it, against Miss Pie, whose full first name is 'Pinkamena' and whose mane and tail also go flat, to scare her away." Mandy explained. "And you also borrowed her...mmm...well, let's just say that your new style invoked some strong memories in her. Memories that she would not rather dig up." Rarity's shock died down slightly, enough for her to fully understand what her supposed opponent was saying. Guilt began to fester inside of her, and she mindlessly toyed with her mane. "I see. I suppose I got carried away with this whole new style, but...all I wanted was for her to leave me alone as I worked!" "There are better ways to tell someone to leave you alone than to take such dramatic measures, darling." Mandy soothed. "Simply sitting her down for a bit and talking things over with her would have likely worked out just fine!" Biting her lip, she muttered under her breath, "And saved us a good portion of time in this chapter..." "Ooh, now I feel so guilty!" Rarity whined. "Poor Pinkie Pie...I simply cannot imagine what stress she's under right now..." "Why don't you go talk to her?" "I think I'll do just that." Rarity gave a grateful smile to Mandy, then perked up with a gasp. "But this style!" "I would suggest you get rid of it. Go back to your old loose curls! Straight hair does not look good on you, darling." Rarity nodded. "Oh, thank you, Mandy. You are truly a wonderful friend. I don't know how I can ever repay you." She cleared her throat. "But, um...I can think of one way. Let me share a good piece of news to you, from one friend to another." Mandy blinked. "Drop the act! You are not fooling a single person nor a single pony!" And with that, Rarity sauntered off, down the hallway where Pinkie had rushed towards earlier. "Darn. And I thought I really had her goin'...but at least that's all resolved!" With Mandy's voice back to normal, everyone gave a unisonant internal sigh of relief. Olive, in particular, looked about ready to die before she was given sweet release. "Yeah, I don't have to hear your horrific attempt at a Trans-Atlantic accent anymore." she remarked with a smirk on her face. Mandy's eye twitched. Her mood did a complete 180 as she thrust herself at the Director. "You wanna say that to my face, Momma?!" "Hey, hey, take it easy! You know you wouldn't stand a chance against me." "Technology's evolving, Momma..." Mandy raised her hammer, twirling it about in the air before letting the head of it make impact with the concrete floor. "And so are my fighting skills!" "HEY!!" Oprah shouted. "No one is fighting in my precinct!" Olive and Mandy only gave a respective groan and scoff in response before they shared a smile. "We're still doing a 1-on-1 someday. Mark my words." "Positivi-rutely marked. With pleasure." Peaches watched as the agents who had been watching everything go down return to what they were doing before. "I guess all that's left to do now is to make sure that Pinkie's cheered up and back to her usual self." "Here's hoping that Rarity can make amends with her..." Otto remarked, trailing off as his gaze lingered on the right hallway. A loud yawn forced its way out of Mandy, and she rubbed her head. "Oh wowee, I'm overdue for a nap! Guess I should undo all this schtuff..." For the next few minutes, everyone watched in both amusement and pity as the hybrid began yanking on her hair ties to let her hair loose, only to find that they weren't budging so much as an inch. No one said anything or offered to help -- just watched her go at it using her hands and using her magic, to no avail. A moment of silence as Mandy slumped over, forfeiting the war with her own accessories and looking defeated to match. "Cuz, can you help me undo this hair?" Peaches bit her lip as she contemplated denying Mandy help just to be a troll (not in the literal sense, of course), but ultimately went with a playful sigh and a lighthearted rolling of her eyes. "Oh, all right. If I must." "Thank you." As Rarity opened the door to the Bedroom, she found Pinkie Pie curled up on her bed, her back to her. She didn't seem to be moving, and Rarity wondered if she had fallen asleep or was just moping around. "Pinkie Pie?" she said, a tentative tone to her voice. "I truly am sorry, darling. I never meant to scare you away or anything of the sort. Honest!" She pawed at the ground. "It's just that Osiris is an agent who simply craves perfection when it comes to his outfits, and I wanted to make sure the suits were perfect for him." Nothing happened. No noise was made. And then, Pinkie spoke, her voice cracking on every word. "All I did was what I was supposed to do...catching the Centigurps." She sniffled. "Is it my fault they're all so noisy?!" "N-no, not at all! When they multiply, Centigurps can be very loud creatures." "Not only that, but...but...even when I wasn't on a case..." Pinkie squeezed her eyes tight, remembering the horrible words Rarity had thrown at her after she had just done some simple paperwork. "...you yelled at me anyway!" "I know. And I shouldn't have." Rarity moved closer to the bed and climbed her way up, taking a seat on the end of it. "It wasn't just the Centigurps. But Pinkie, you need to understand when someone is working and needs quiet. Like...oh!" She straightened. "You know how upset Peaches can get sometimes when someone ruins one of her naps. She gets all hissy, like Opalescence!" Pinkie curled her body tighter. "Now how would you feel if you were napping and someone woke you up? Or if you were baking a cake and Ms. O pulled you away at the last possible second to give you a case? That wouldn't feel good, would it?" "I guess not..." came the mutter that Rarity could barely make out. "We are both in the wrong, darling. I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did, and I am very sorry. But please, do try to be respectful and understand when I am in the middle of work and when I am not." With no response after a few moments, Rarity hopped off of the bed. "I shall leave you alone to think about it, all right? I will be around, in either Odd Squad or Equestria. You can reach me with your badge phone." She couldn't fight the worry that crept into her voice as she made her way out of the Bedroom, making sure to close the door behind her. Slowly and involuntarily, Pinkie's eyes began to close until she was greeted by darkness. It was only a short while before she realized she was running. Her hooves took her across a dark and vast land, tinged with black and purple. The Centigurps that she was chasing provided a pop of color, although not by much. "Wait, come back! Please!" she cried out, extending a hoof towards the small furry bouncing creatures to no avail. Suddenly, an apparition of Oprah appeared in front of her, slowly beginning to circle her head as it spoke. "Agent Pinkie Pie, you need to catch those Centigurps! If you fail in your task, then you'll be kicked off the force!" Pinkie skidded to a halt, watching as the Centigurps bounced away, chirping their merry tunes of mischief. She tried to swat the ghostly figure away, and to her surprise, she did so successfully, as it vanished in a puff of blue smoke. Unfortunately, that was not the end of her troubles. A bout of sinister laughter rang through the space. It felt familiar to Pinkie, but how, exactly, was something she could not place. Her head swiveled from left to right, struggling to identify its source. "Who said that?!" she cried out, after a source did not seem to present itself. "I did, darling." came the chilling response of Rarity, who seemed to suddenly appear in front of Pinkie as the party pony looked away for only a second. She was sitting at a red desk with a sewing machine that had a piece of blue fabric inside of it. "I am trying to work, and I cannot be disturbed! Ever!" Pinkie tried to swallow the lump that had begun to form in her throat, feeling her legs quaking from the cold tone her friend had adopted. "So leave me be...if you know what's good for you." "W-w-wait, Rarity! Please!" Pinkie said. "I need your help catching the Centigurps, there are so many and-" "Help you?" Rarity delved into a bout of evil laughter that struck Pinkie like an arrow to her heart. "Why would I help you? Your noise would only... drive them away." Somewhere, the whine of a low string instrument played. Pinkie was too scared and too desperate to comment on it, let alone notice it. "Rarity!" "I need to get these ssssuits done for Osssirisss. Sssso do not disturb me!" The unicorn mare's horn flared. "Or else!" A burst of magic was fired at Pinkie, who gave a yelp of surprise and quickly rolled over to the side to dodge it. "Drat, missed. Oh well...there's always tomorrow." Pinkie didn't bother to get up, instead folding her ears down against her body as hard as she could and squeezing her eyes shut to block out the evil laughter that once again echoed through the land. "Pinkie!" The party pony slowly opened an eye, only to find a seemingly-in-the-flesh Oprah standing over her with an upset look on her face. Almost on instinct, she scrambled to her hooves. "M-Ms. O!" "Why are there Centigurps all over the place?!" "I-I can explain!" The sound of cracking reached her eardrums, and she watched as the world faded away, pixel by pixel. It began to horribly glitch as a result, in a way that she had only seen in the video games that Otto played. Oprah also began to glitch out and her words became muted, although her mouth was still moving. "W-what's going on?!" Pinkie crouched down to the ground and squeezed her eyes shut once more. "Let me out!" It wasn't until she felt a wave of peace wash over her that she opened her eyes. Immediately, her vision became flooded with white. It looked a lot more pleasant than the weird world she was in before, but that didn't mean she was so keen on taking it at face value. "Pinkie." Okay, maybe she would take it at face value a little. "Partner? Where are you?! We have to get out of here!" "Calm down. You're safe." Pinkie watched as her partner materialized in front of her. A small piece of her told her that this was most likely just a hologram or some other kind of magical projection of Mandy, but she didn't care, so long as she was here. Tears began to spring to her eyes. "Oh, thank Celestia! I'm so scared...Rarity, she- she tried to hurt-" "Shh. Say no more." Mandy knelt down and opened her arms, and Pinkie rushed right into them, nearly knocking the hybrid over in the process. Within the silence of light, the pair hugged for a long, long time, Pinkie crying her eyes out. "This feels nice..." she softly remarked, once her tears had mostly stopped coming forth. "Pinkie...you should listen to Rarity. In the real world. She's very sorry for what she's done." The mare blinked. "You heard that?" "I hear all and see all." came the simple response, before Mandy continued. "I had to go through quite a lot to get Rarity to realize what she was doing and cease it. I had to change my entire look, head to toe. It was a stressful time...but a rather fun one." Pinkie only gave a soft "mmm" in response. "She does have a point, though. You're both in the wrong. She apologized to you." Mandy smiled. "Can you find it in your heart to apologize to her? For her? For Odd Squad?" Pinkie's eyes began to water again. "For me?" A few moments passed, and then she went into another crying fit, this time her sobs becoming hysterical as she buried her face into Mandy's chest. "Shhh, it's okay. Let it all out." The sound of her own crying echoed through the empty space, which only served to make her cry harder. She stayed like that for a good long time, embracing the warmth of her partner's love and friendship and appreciating it with everything she had. Pinkie's eyes flew open, and she bolted upright in bed. Her head began to ache as she looked around to try and collect her bearings. "Weird...Mandy's not here?" she asked, giving a big loud yawn as she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. "Where is she?" Tumbling her way out of bed and somehow still managing to land on her hooves, she left the Bedroom and went down the halls until she arrived at the bullpen, where she saw Peaches eating a whole raw fish. "Hey, Peaches?" "Huh?" Peaches swallowed her bite and gave a friendly smile. "Oh, Pinkie, hi. What's going on?" "Have you seen Mandy at all?" Pinkie asked. "I wanted to talk to her about something." "She's asleep right now. Or she should be, anyway...but Mandy's definitely not one to miss a nap." Peaches chuckled. "Is something bothering you?" "Oh! No, it's...it's fine. It can wait. I'll just, uh..." Pinkie's eyes darted about until she found her desk. "Do some paperwork!" Peaches watched as the Earth pony mare hastily trotted over and grabbed a random piece of paper and a pencil, beginning to fill it out. Her head slightly tilted in confusion. "Okay, then. Have fun." she said, waving her friend off as she took another bite of fish and headed for the back of the bullpen. Something inside of Pinkie tugged at her right then and there. Before she knew it, her hooves were taking her down the right hallway, and no matter how hard she tried to resist, she couldn't stop herself. Eventually her hooves did stop, right at the doorstep of Mandy's room. She pressed an ear against it, not being surprised in the least when the sound of loud snoring reached her eardrums. I knew it. So she really is sleeping. But how did she get into my dream? She tapped a hoof to her chin. Usually Mandy's not so wise in my dreams! She's the funnerific hybrid she is in the real world! Finding the door ajar, she nudged it open just enough for her to slip inside. The room was dark, which certainly wasn't to her detriment when she could just reach inside of her hammerspace mane and pull out a flashlight. As she walked, she made sure to avoid the absolute mess of hair products that were strewn about, noting that Mandy certainly wasn't one to keep her room in such a messy state. She began to approach the bed where Mandy was sleeping in the position of a 180-flipped L, her head on the middle pillow and her back up against the left two pillows. Biting her lip, the mare briefly contemplated saying "screw you" to her own standards and waking the hybrid up, but ultimately decided against it. As she got closer, she felt something round and hard under her hoof, which rolled backwards and sent her careening to the ground, the flashlight falling loose from her forelock and clattering on the floor along with her. "Whuh-huh?!" Mandy awoke with a start, blinking and yawning. "Who'zz there...?" Oh, phooey. "U-um...it's me." Pinkie slowly got to her hooves. "I'm really sorry for waking you, partner, but I have a question!" "If izz a long one, I don't wanna hear it..." "Oh, it's not long!" Pinkie smiled. "What I wanted to ask is, do you have dream-walking powers? Like Princess Luna?" "Dream-walking...?" Mandy tilted her head as her jaws opened wider to let another yawn slip out. "'Courzze I walk in my dreamzz, y' expect me to move like a walruzz?" "No, that's not what I..." Pinkie heaved a sigh. "Never mind. Just go back to sleep. And when you wake up again, clean your room, okay? Olive's not gonna be happy if she finds it so messy." "Mmm-hmm..." came the sleepy murmur, quickly followed by the symphonic snoring and sleep-talking continuing as soon as Mandy's head flopped the pillow once more. As Pinkie picked up the flashlight and held it in her forelock again, she made her way through the room, being more aware of her surroundings this time around. She felt relief that Mandy didn't get too upset over being woken up -- the last thing she needed was to disturb what someone else was doing and have them get mad at her for it, let alone when that someone else was her own partner. She closed the door as soon as she was out, letting out another sigh. The gears in her mind began turning as she walked aimlessly through the hallway. Maybe I really did dream her up...but she looked and felt so real! She had to have been using some kind of cool alicorn magic! If only Princess Luna knew about her...or maybe... She stopped suddenly and perked up. "I know! I'll go and ask Twilight! She's the bestest when it comes to magic!" she declared, turning around and beginning her journey towards the Odd Squad Library, as a starting point when it came to looking for her friend. A couple hours later, Mandy was feasting on dinner in the Breakroom, deciding to settle on some chicken nuggets. Olive sat across from her, silently reading the latest issue of The Shmumbertimes. "Y' want one?" the hybrid asked, as she swallowed her bite of chicken. "I think I'll pass, thanks." As Mandy set the nugget back down onto the plate, her ears picked up the sound of approaching hoofsteps, and she swiveled her head around to find Pinkie and Rarity trotting side-by-side together and in good spirits. "So then he starts monologuing while I'm setting up my party cannon, and then I blast him! Wha-bam!" Rarity chuckled. "Oh, that is a wonderful story, darling. Good for you!" Pinkie's expression brightened when she saw Mandy, and she gave a furious wave. "Hiya, partner!" "Hi! Seems you made up with Rarity." "I did!" Pinkie giggled. "We're gonna have such an amazingly fun time together!" "Pinkie Pie and I thought we would do a little shopping on the town tonight." Rarity explained. "We've gotten all our work done, and we both have some free time, anyway." "Ooh! Have fun with that." Mandy said, a twinge of jealousy to her voice as she knew she couldn't attest to the same. "We will!" Rarity began to leave, heading for the double doors. "Now come along, Pinkie. We've got lots of shops to visit." "Whee-hee! Let's go!" With Rarity trotting away and Pinkie Pie bouncing giddily behind her, Mandy couldn't help but smile. "That dream-walking definitely helped..." Olive looked up from her newspaper. "What was that?" "Nothing! Just, uh, t-talking to myself!" A dubious look was shot Mandy's way. "Oh, don't give me that look." "Well, anyway..." Olive sighed. "I'm glad that Rarity and Pinkie made up in the end." "Because you didn't want me to whip out the Trans-Atlantic accent again?" "Your impression is horrible and you know it." "It is superior!" "It is inferior." Both girls squinted at each other for a long beat before erupting into laughter. "You gonna join them on their shopping night?" "Would if I could..." Mandy chewed on another nugget. "But I've got a ton of work to do!" She gestured to two tall stacks of papers that both looked about ready to topple over. Olive gaped. "Those two entire stacks?!" "Hey, being the second-top chiefaroo around here is a blurse. It's a real blurse." Mandy rolled her eyes. "And I lost some time with the whole Rarity and Pinkie shinangleafangle." Olive closed the newspaper and set it down onto the table. "Hey...I have a question." "Hm?" "What made you decide to go the magical girl route to upstage Rarity?" Mandy gained stars in her eyes as a whimsical expression sat on her face. "I've always wanted to be a magical girl! You can fly and do awesome magic and beat up bad guys..." "You can already do those things." "But I don't have the super-cool outfit to go with it! Or the super-cool hair!" Mandy complained. "Instead I'm stuck in a business suit with this blah hair!" "You could always change it. Nothing's stopping you." Mandy scoffed. "I like my nice poofy curls to stay as my nice poofy curls, thank you very much. I'm not changin' this hairstyle again anytime soon!" She paused. "Well, unless I wanna experiment again-" "No!!" Olive reached out a hand. "Don't experiment. I'm gonna have nightmares about that hairstyle. Both of them. For weeks." "All righty then, suit yourself!" Peaches approached the duo right then, a bottle of hairspray clutched in her hand as a growl rolled about in her throat. "Mandy...you want to explain why I tripped on this in your pigsty of a room?" Olive raised an eyebrow at the hybrid, who gave a nervous chuckle as her face became flushed with red. "...Oopsie?" More glares. Mandy gave a sigh, and then got up from her seat, nabbing the bottle from Peaches' hand and marching to her room without another word. S1E15: Season's SneezingsThe amount of times Odd Squad agents have gotten regular, human-borne illnesses like the flu, chicken pox, and pneumonia, as opposed to odd illnesses like The Skips, lemurnemia, and Restless Moose Syndrome, would surprise you. The amount of times Mandy in particular has gotten regular, human-borne illnesses as opposed to odd illnesses would probably surprise you even more. Contrary to popular belief, these illnesses were hardly ever caused by her tendency to eat a lot of food -- she had an iron stomach which had about the same digestion skills as a god, and so, she rarely got food poisoning from eating too much. She was more prone to getting colds or strep throat, although the jury was out on whether she could get illnesses more commonly found in Equestria, like fur blight or pony pox, from being part pony. Regardless of all of this, however, one rule remained clear. When the all-enigmatic Mandy is put out of commission by something out of her control, panic. Olive soared through Precinct 13579 as fast as her feet would take her. She bumped into numerous agents and nearly tripped on some small creatures that were roaming about, but neither of those were much of a problem with her. Odd bless her athleticism. Once she reached her destination, she threw the door wide open and took in the sight that laid before her. Mandy, looking visibly pale, threw up into a bucket that Peaches was holding, her body rippling with each heave she took. When she looked up, Olive was quick to notice how dirty her face looked, how matted her hair was, and how glassy and tired her eyes were. "Olive!" Peaches sighed. "Would you mind emptying this bucket and cleaning it? And would you mind doing it quickly? Mandy's been puking every five minutes and I don't know how much she has left in her." Olive didn't answer for a few moments, but nodded when the pieces began falling into place for her. "S-sure, I can do that." she responded, moving over to the catgirl and taking the dirty bucket from her. "If you tell me exactly what's going on here." "Isn't it obvious? Mandy's sick." Peaches said, grabbing a tissue from the tissue box that sat on Mandy's nightstand and wiping her mouth with it. "She woke up this morning feeling absolutely terrible. Threw up all over the floor. Holed herself up in the bathroom for hours before I managed to convince her to come out." At that moment, Mandy's nose twitched, and Peaches instinctively grabbed another tissue. The hybrid sneezed three times just as Peaches held up the tissue to her nose. Olive blinked. "Okay, well...let me go clean this bucket and I'll get back to you." A few minutes later, she was back, armed with a clean bucket and another question. "Did Dr. O examine her?" Peaches nodded. "100.3 degrees Fahrenheit. He said this was just a case of the common cold with a side of vomiting. It should pass soon enough, although how soon is something he doesn't know. For all we know, it could be weeks, or it could be by tomorrow." Mandy began coughing into the crook of her elbow right then, seemingly looking more ill with each cough -- or perhaps it was Olive's mind playing tricks on her. She couldn't tell. Instinctively, the Director made her way to Mandy's bedside and shot her an empathetic look. "Hi, Mandy. You feeling okay?" A soft moan and a head shake was her only response. "Ohh, I know. But maybe if you get some sleep, it'll help you recover. How about it?" Another soft moan. Olive sighed and glanced at Peaches. "I guess her being sick leaves her unable to help out with Santa this year. Really a shame, too...she's been talking about it nonstop all month." Her face lit up with an idea. "Have you tried anti-nausea medication?" "Yes. She threw it up. Doesn't seem like she can keep water down yet." Olive's gaze flicked to a fridge that sat next to Mandy's nightstand. Curiously, she made her way over and opened it, where she was met with bags of ice. "That's for her forehead. I haven't been able to put a bag on her because she keeps throwing up." Peaches trailed off upon seeing Mandy grab the bucket and lean over it, mouth open and waiting for the next round of vomit to come. The two girls held their breath for forever. Nothing came. Except the loud sound of a stomach growling, followed by another soft and rather pitiful moan. "You're hungry?" Olive asked, a soft sigh leaving her. "I'm sure you are. But if you can't keep water down, you shouldn't be eating a whole bunch of food." Peaches nodded in agreement. "Peaches, go up to Dr. O's office and get some anti-nausea medication. Whatever works, but preferably one with the strongest dose possible. If she doesn't have anything left in her, it might work this time." The catgirl nodded and quickly sped out of the room. Mandy began to sneeze, and she used the crook of her elbow once more in order to prevent any of her germs from reaching Olive and making her sick. "Bless you." Olive said, before reaching a hand behind her back in search of something. It didn't take her long for her to come up with a dark bottle of Shmumber's Sleep Aid. Mandy squinted at the label as she read it, then forcefully pushed the bottle away. "Ap ap ap. Don't fight back. You're taking this whether you like it or not." Olive waved a finger. "You don't want to go to sleep because you don't want to miss out on helping Santa Claus this year. Do I have that right?" Mandy's mouth pinched inwards like she wanted to protest, but whatever energy she had to speak had been sapped out of her long ago, and so, she put on a resigned expression and nodded. "Thought so." Olive smiled. "Don't worry about a thing. Twilight and the others have things covered this year. You should stay here and rest." Another moan. "There's always next year! You can help out then." Olive said. "You don't have to help Santa every year. I know he likes seeing you, but I'm sure he won't mind if we tell him you fell ill and had to stay home and rest." Her expression brightened again. "Besides...if you rest now, Christmas will come so much faster." Despite Olive's attempt to push her to rest, Mandy wasn't having it. She swiveled her body away from Olive and crossed her arms, a dissatisfied grunt bubbling forth. "You don't want Christmas to come faster?" Olive blinked. "That's a first. Usually you try, and you fail, to pull all-nighters and then dive for your presents first thing in the morning at exactly 6:00. I know being sick doesn't really allow you to do that...not unless you're an utter fool..." She rolled her eyes as she thought of Otto and how he would probably do exactly that. "But think about it. You love Christmas. You love sleeping. This is the perfect opportunity for you." "Olive?" Olive's head moved towards the door, where Oprah entered with a worried look on her face. "How's Mandy?" "She's...well..." Olive twiddled her thumbs. "P-put it this way, Oprah. She's stopped vomiting." "Oh praise be." Oprah ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I was afraid she was going to vomit up her large intestine sooner or later." "...Why the large intestine?" "Trust me. You do not want to know." She was right -- Olive had no interest in knowing any more details, and took Oprah's answer at complete face value. She cleared her throat. "Um, anyway...Peaches is getting some anti-nausea medication for Mandy now. I told Mandy she should rest, but it doesn't seem like she's willing to do that...not since she'll be missing out on helping Santa this year." "I already called and explained the situation. He told me to give Mandy his well wishes and to get better soon." Oprah pulled a bag of coins from her hammerspace spine. "I didn't know the North Pole even had a well. News to me." Olive stared as her old boss dropped the bag on the sewing table, regretting not seeing that literal metaphor coming. "I'm back!" Peaches announced, holding up a small bottle. "This is about the strongest medication Dr. O has. If this doesn't work on Mandy then I don't know what we're gonna do." Reading the dosage instructions, she followed them to a T, and soon had a tablespoon of the medication ready to give to her cousin. Unfortunately, she knew all too well how catpeople felt about medication, and so it didn't surprise her too much when Mandy began squirming and turning her head away. Luckily, she had a tactic up her sleeve. "Mandy, Olive will die if you don't take this medication. She has a deadly illness and will die within the next 24 hours- aaaaand gotcha!" The hybrid began coughing, making a mad grab for the glass of water next to her but not being able to lift it due to her magic being shot as a result of her affliction. Peaches gave it to her, and she began chugging it. "Peaches..." "What? Look, I didn't want to force her to take it, but we catpeople are notorious for despising taking medication. Myself included..." Peaches rubbed the back of her neck. "Saying that you're dying was the only way for her to open her mouth long enough. I'm sorry." Olive sighed. "Well, whatever works." She held out her bottle of sleep aid. "This one next, if you please." Peaches examined the bottle. "'Shmumber's Sleep Aid'? Why does she need that?" "She refuses to go to sleep. This is what I used to give to her all the time when she had fits of insomnia prior to the transformation. Worked like a charm every single time." Olive placed the bottle in the catgirl's hands. "Just try it out!" A sneeze from Mandy caught everyone's attention, and the hybrid reached for another tissue as she blew her nose into it. Peaches looked her cousin up and down, and it was then that she noticed how puffy and bloodshot her eyes looked. She needed sleep, and the eyes were one of the main selling points. "All right. Stand back and watch me work my magic." Not a minute later, and Peaches had a teaspoon of Sleep Aid ready. She had to invent a different story about herself dying, but she got Mandy to take that tablespoon, and then another one. "Now, lay your head down on the pillow and let me get you some ice. For Pete's sake, I did not spend fifteen minutes hauling a mini-fridge of ice into your room just to let it go unused." Peaches gently pushed Mandy's upper body downwards, her expression becoming one of surprise when the hybrid willingly complied instead of fighting back. Oprah had a bag of ice already in her hand by the time Peaches turned around. "Thank you." the catgirl said, before laying the bag of ice down on Mandy's forehead and straightening it out. Ragged wheezing breaths left the hybrid as her eyes slowly began to close. "Whoa, that was quick." "Well, she's transformed now. The Sleep Aid probably affects her differently." Olive made her way over to Mandy and lightly patted her shoulder as an alternative to a kiss on the cheek, pulling the blankets up and over her. "You have sweet dreams, okay, Mandy? Get better soon." It was both weird and unsurprising to see Mandy not snore, instead having her mouth open to allow airflow while slightly wheezing. Still, she was fast asleep now, and that was all that mattered. "S-she's not gonna puke in her sleep, is she?" Peaches asked, taking a few tentative steps away. "No." Oprah asked, her nose wrinkling. "Mandy doesn't do that stuff. The anti-nausea medication should start working any minute now. Let's just leave her be and let her get some rest." To that, Olive and Peaches gave nods of agreement, and the three girls began exiting Mandy's room. Peaches gave one last worried look at Mandy, her frown morphing into a smile as she closed the door behind her. Unfortunately, sweet dreams weren't necessarily on the agenda for Mandy. Not this time. "Sensei, the answer is six!" Blue eyes struggled to adjust to the light as Mandy awoke with another one of her typical non-sequiturs. Her jaws parted and a yawn slipped through, followed by a few sniffs. Her eyes widened as she continued to sniff, making a surprising discovery. "Hey...I don't feel so stuffed up anymore! And I feel fine now!" She took a deep breath. "It feels so good to not feel like you're dying." Sneezing from outside of her room caught her attention. Three of them in rapid succession, and none of them hers, thank odd. Or so she thought. "Gesundheit!" she chirped. Another sneeze. "Wow, I haven't heard this much sneezing since the last time Peaches had a sneezing marathon." she mused. "Better go see what's up." She hopped out of bed and made her way out the door. It didn't take her long before an agent looking quite worse for wear passed her, tissue in hand. "Ethcuthe me." "Sure!" Mandy tilted her head. "Uh, hey, you all right?" The agent blew her nose. "I'm fine." Mandy blinked and watched her move away. "Uh-huh." she said, not sounding at all convinced but deciding to roll with it. "Well it's that time of year, everyone gets colds, common thing. I'd better check on the others." As she wandered the halls, she was met with a rather ominous sight -- agents leaned up against walls, some sitting on the floor, all of them looking terrible as they were armed with tissues that they blew snot into like nobody's business. The more of these agents she saw, the more confused she got. She wasn't sure if this was some prank everyone was playing, or if she was just imagining things. A bump into something hard knocked her out of her thoughts, and she took a few steps backwards. "Oof! S-so sorry, I wasn't watching-" "Mandy, you're finally all better." It took a few moments for Mandy to register what, exactly, she had bumped into. She took in the sight of none other than her boss, with her nose red, her eyes looking puffy, and her legs shaking. Her dark skin had paled a very considerable amount, and her tight bun had come completely undone so her long dark hair fell in light waves. "Oprah?!" Mandy shook her head. "Y-you're sick too?!" "Unfortunately yeth." "You should be at home resting, ya know! I can take care of things here." Mandy's eyes caught Olive and Otto approaching her next. Neither of them were looking as sickly as Oprah was, but they had all the telltale outwardly physical signs of someone who was battling a cold. Like the other agents, they too were armed with tissues. "Mandy! Tho nithe to thee you up and at it." Olive smiled, before a round of coughing made its way forth. "Partner, we have to get back to that meeting with Oprah, remember?" Otto said, blowing his nose into his tissue before quickly reaching in his hammerspace spine for a tissue box. "Yeah, yeah, I remember." Mandy's eyes went wide with shock. Sure, maybe the agents she saw were sick just by mere coincidence. But if Oprah was sick, it was an immediate cause for concern, and it was her appearance that made the hybrid less confident that this was just a mere prank. No...she was the one that was sick. And even though she wasn't in a state of wellness, she still recognized the agents who had taken care of her and what they said to her. "Wh- all of you, sick..." She stared for a few moments, watching as Oprah shifted her feet as though she was set to collapse. "S-surely I didn't get you sick...there's no possible way my cold can infect all the agents of this precinct..." She swallowed the small lump in her throat. "Can it?" "Aww, don't worry. We'll be fine. Dr. O checked uth all out and he thaid we were only at 99 and 100 degreeth." Olive waved a dismissive hand. "That's not a normal temperature." Mandy deadpanned. "Besides, Momma, you're the one who gave me flak for not resting and gave me a sleep aid! Don't be so hypocritical. Go home and rest." "If we go home, there'll be no one to run the prethi-" Another wave of coughing interrupted Olive. This time, however, the coughing was more violent in nature, to the point where the Director had to stumble to the closest wall to steady herself as she hacked away. "That's bad. That's 'I have lung boogers' bad. No one wants lung boogers!" Mandy peeked past the trio and was both surprised and not so surprised to see agents coughing, sneezing and sniffling away. It was like those 'chickenpox parties' she read about once on the Internet, where parents got their kids together to try and share chickenpox to achieve herd immunity -- only this was the common cold, herd immunity was certainly not the goal, and it almost looked like agents were meeting intentionally. "Wha...is everyone in this precinct sick?" "Yeth. What about it?" Mandy groaned in response to Oprah's question, pushing past her and emerging into the bullpen. "HEY EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!" No response. Not even a head-turn. "LISTEN UP!!" Still no response. "Oh for the love of..." Mandy thrust a hand behind her back and pulled out a megaphone that, if stood vertically, would match her height to a T. She planted it onto the ground, gathered enough air into her lungs, and screamed, not even flinching at the whining feedback noise she got. "EVERYONE GO HOME AND DO THE RIGHT THING!!" The cry blew a few papers around and caused Olive, Otto and Oprah to cover their ears, but otherwise had no effect on the sick agents, as everyone kept milling about. "GO HOME AND GET SOME RE-" Now it was Mandy's turn to cough. "Ah, geezaloo, forget it. They're like walking zombies." She threw the megaphone off into the distance to some unknown location, and made a mad dash for Olive and Otto. More specifically, she made a mad dash for the collars of their suits. "You two are coming with me!" she declared, beginning to drag the duo across the halls like they were nothing more than blankets. The fact that they seemed to be as light as air didn't faze Mandy in the slightest -- she had bigger priorities on her mind at the moment. She didn't really know where she was going with them. All she saw was a bed on a door, and that was it. She kicked open the door and threw the Directors into their own separate beds. "And you are staying in bed!" "Mandy, we're fine." "Can it with the hypocrisy!" Mandy snapped in response to Olive. "Now what was that stuff you put in my mouth...it was small, brown..." The next thing Olive knew, she had a hand rummaging through her hammerspace spine. "What-" "Gimme a sec, I'm rummygauging." Mandy shushed, squinting as she continued to search for the small brown item she was looking for. Otto's eyes widened as he heard the sound of loud crashing, followed by a cat yowling. Olive, on the other hand, couldn't help but snicker and squirm about. "That tickleth!" "Aha! Got it!" The item in question was Shmumber's Sleep Aid, in its ever-familiar brown bottle. "Nice to see my magic still works." Mandy said, eyeing the bottle that was caught in a multicolored field of levitation. Within seconds, she had conjured up two teaspoons and poured a little bit of the bottle's contents in each. "Now open your mouths." "But why- mmph." "How- mmph!" "Drink up. If it can send me to Dreamland, then it can work for you too." The teaspoons were teleported out of existence, and Mandy watched as Olive and Otto struggled with swallowing their sips before launching into a fit of coughing. And there's revenge for making me drink that stuff! she thought, as a smirk settled on her face. "Now, you should be knocked out shortly. I'm gonna go and see if there's anyone around here who isn't sick in this crazy fever dream." Sighing, Mandy left the Bedroom, not bothering to look back to make sure if Olive and Otto were staying in bed but deciding to place a magical lock on the door to prevent their escapes. "If only I could find the ponies...or Peaches. I wonder where they are." she mused aloud as she made her way to the bullpen. Part of her wanted to find Oprah and hurl her in the same room with Olive and Otto, but she figured the Director was long gone by now and didn't want to invoke her wrath. It didn't take her long to find Pinkie wandering about, holding up a tissue to her nose and squeezing her eyes shut. "Pinkie!" Mandy called. "Oh, thank odd, there you are. A-are you...sick?" "What doeth it look like?!" snapped the pink pony in response, her tone a level of anger that was hardly ever witnessed. Before Mandy could respond, the rest of the girls marched up to her, armed with tissues like all the others, with red noses, puffy eyes, and matted manes and tails. And none of them looked all too happy to see their friend. "Oh no." "You did thith to uth!" Applejack accused, thrusting a hoof towards the hybrid. "M-me?! What did I do?!" Pinkie joined the others. "You got that cold and you dethided to thpread your dithguthting germth to everyone here! And now they're all thick!" It was all too clear to Mandy now. As she heard the sound of vomiting coming from somewhere she couldn't identify, memories began to flood her brain -- memories of her stark refusal to go to bed and rest until she vomited all over the floor and was resigned to making the bathroom her home-not-so-far-away-from-home. The truth was, she was already starting to feel sick the day before, but didn't tell anyone and didn't keep it hidden because she certainly wasn't going to pass up a year to help out Santa Claus with his gifts and with oddness that affected him, his elves, or his workshop. "I...I did this?" "You motht thertainly did!" Rarity cried out, before letting out a sneeze into her tissue. Fluttershy was arguably in the worst state out of the group, her legs wobbling the same way Oprah's were, with her wings splayed out and nearly touching the ground.. "I...can barely...thtand!" Mandy could only stare and stammer. "The Big O ith coming by to thay thomething about the outbreak. And you better be there!" Rainbow said, shooting daggers at Mandy. "What?!" The hybrid took a step back in surprise. "I-is this really that bad? I-I mean it's just a little cold-" "It'th more than jutht a little cold." Twilight, on the contrary, stepped forward. "You put my friendth in danger! No...you put everyone in danger!" "T-Twi, there is no possible way my cold infected hundreds of agents in one-" The steel automatic double-doors opened with a loud whooshing sound, causing everyone's attention to be turned towards the newest arrival, one they were expecting. "The Big O!" came the unisonant but congested cry. Relieved murmurs followed suit as agents kneeled down in the typical greeting pose, and Mandy couldn't help but give a relieved huff herself as she made her way over with the ponies and got down in the same pose. Yes! The Big O will clear all of this up, for sure. If no one will believe me, she has to! "Please rise!" came the call, and almost immediately, agents began getting to their feet. However, many were slow to do so, and some even collapsed onto the floor and had to try again. "I have gotten wind that this precinct is going through an epidemic of the common cold, and-" The Big O took pause for a moment to let her gaze sweep over the gathered agents. "Odd. I expected a larger crowd." "Motht of the agenth who aren't in Invethtigation are gone, ma'am." Oprah piped up, two agents flanking her on both sides and struggling to keep her standing. "Gone? Where to?" "Toronto General." "The hospital?! For colds?" Mandy asked, her eyes growing wide as she ignored Oprah's coughing. "A lot of the coldth have developed into the flu." The flu...that would explain why I heard vomiting earlier. But I don't have the flu...unless I missed something. Mandy's head began to hurt, and she instinctively rubbed it in a futile effort to dull the pain. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that." the Big O said. "I also heard the catgirl that's staying with you, Peaches...she is suffering from pneumonia?" "Yeth." Oprah conjured up another tissue from her hammerspace spine and blew her nose into it. "Thee's been thick with pneumonia for a few dayth now." Mandy's gaze drifted towards her boss's wobbling legs, which seemed to be wobbling even harder than they were before. Oprah can barely stand. Why is she pushing herself like this? Suddenly, she began to regret not taking Oprah with her and forcing her to rest. Even if she got angry at her, it was better than her becoming even sicker. Mandy would have been willing to take that chance. Still, it wasn't like she could do it now, and so, she was forced to put the action as a mental sticky note in the back of her brain. And then, what Oprah had said hit her with all the brunt force it had. "PEACHES!!" came the worried cry, as she spread her wings and quickly flew up to the Medical Bay. Within seconds, she had thrown open the door and laid eyes on the weakened state of her cousin. Wires streamed from her body to a computer that sat beside her bed and showed her vitals. Her breathing was ragged but slow. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be in a state of sleep, even though Mandy knew that it was far more than just a state of sleep. The hybrid began to hyperventilate right then and there. Her heart beat a million miles an hour. "CUZ!! No!!" she cried out, before throwing herself at her bedside. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she clenched her fist. "Don't die on me! Don't!!" she screamed, before launching into a fit of sobs. "Y-you can't! I'm...I'm not..." Whatever English skills Mandy might have had were non-existent by that point. I can't believe it...I caused everyone to get sick here. Everyone including my own cousin. I'm Patient Zero. Patient Zero...it sounded so ominous, when she thought about it. The one who started it all, the one who would probably be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of agents, and all because she was too oppositional to make room for common sense. Down in the bullpen, the discussion continued. "So, I'd like to ask all of you. Do any of you know exactly who started this epidemic?" Silence met the Big O's question. "Anyone?" Confident hoofsteps made their way forward, one pink pony guiding her winged friend as they both wore steely looks. "Agent Mandy." The Big O glanced at Pinkie and Fluttershy, and tilted her head slightly. "Mandy?" "Mandy wath the one who got thick inithially." Twilight explained. "But thee dethided to puth through tho thee could thee Thanta." She raised a hoof. "By the way, Big O, it'th worth noting that Thanta himthelf ith also thick with a cold. Lloyd, hith right-hand elf, called and confirmed it himthelf. And Mandy did vithit him a couple dayth ago." "I see." was the Big O's response, as she gave a nod and digested the information. Her head swiveled towards the Medical Bay, and her eyes slowly opened. "Agent Mandy! By order of the Big O, I order you to come down here this instant!" Mandy perked up. A feeling of dread sat in the pit of her stomach, which only served to add to her anxiety. Still, she maintained a small shred of confidence that she would dig her way out of this sticky situation. And she held onto hope that her cousin would make it through her illness and come out alive. "Stay strong, cuz. Please do it for me." she murmured, planting a kiss on the catgirl's forehead before leaving the Medical Bay and soaring back down to the bullpen. "You called me, Big O?" "Yes. These agents here seem to be in agreement that you caused this epidemic." It was one thing for Twilight and the other ponies to accuse her of getting everyone sick. It was another thing entirely for everyone else to accuse her of the same thing. Worst part was, they had factual evidence to back them up, assuming they knew of what Mandy did prior to her getting sick. "No!" she cried, before shaking her head. "I-I mean yes! I mean-" "Silence!" The resounding cry nearly knocked Mandy off of her feet. "Mandy, you have proven yourself time and time again to be a valuable asset to Odd Squad. Because of this, I will allow you to testify before these agents here and now." Normally, Mandy would have made a quip on how this felt a lot like a court trial where she was the defendant and everyone was the plaintiffs. But the cold and icy aura that radiated from the Big O had finally gotten to her, and she refrained. "And...what happens if I...?" "Then you will be fired." Mandy's iris and sclera shrunk considerably. Sure, the punishment was fitting, especially if some agent happened to die as a result of her stupidity...but that didn't mean the Big O being willing to fire her wouldn't shock her. Her gaze swept across the crowd of small, upset, and very very sick agents. One thing became apparent in her mind right then and there. This is it. Everything rides on my testimony. If they don't believe me, my career's gonna end. I have to pick my words right! Slowly, she made her way to where the Big O had been standing, the glorious leader herself moving back and allowing her agent to take center stage. "U-um..." Mandy tugged at her collar. "First of all, I'd like to give my condolences to everyone. I hope you all feel better soon." Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and absolutely none of them were murmurs of intrigue or happiness...or any positive emotion, really. To Mandy, that certainly wasn't a good sign. "Heh. Tough crowd." she said, clearing her throat. "I-I know you might all be thinking that I was reckless and pushed myself too hard. And...you'd be right. I did." The murmurs died down. "I wanted to participate in helping Santa Claus this year so badly that I didn't listen to my body when I first started feeling sick. I didn't look out for my own health, nor did I look out for the health of others. I kept on pushing myself, and in the process...I infected tons of other agents." Mandy sighed. "What I did wasn't right. I should have gotten rest..." Her voice began to crack. "And because of it, now my cousin is suffering from pneumonia and about to die...!" By the time the tears came, it was clear that the anxiety got to her too much for her own good. She broke down, burying her face in her hands and sobbing. Her career was on the line, her cousin was about to die...it was almost like a nightmare that had come true. She wanted so badly to run away right then and there, but the little sliver of hope that lived on inside of her stopped her from doing so. And besides, she would have gotten in bigger trouble with the Big O if she ran, anyway. "I've infected all of you!" came the horrid realization, followed by a screeching and anguished wail as she slumped to the ground. "What ith going on?!" "What'th that noith?" Olive and Otto's arrivals did absolutely nothing to deter Mandy. She didn't feel like asking herself why the Sleep Aid didn't work, or how they escaped, or why they were still sick -- she had bigger issues. "I'm sorry!! I'm sorry..." She sniffled. "I know that what I did isn't reversible. But...I'd like to remedy this however I can. You name it, and I'll do it. J-just...please...don't be mad at me. It was never my intention to infect this place." With that, the testimony ground to a halt and ended. All the crowd could do was stare at Mandy sobbing her eyes out, although none of them wore looks of sympathy. Especially not the ponies. "You thure about that?" Mandy looked up, her gaze settling on Rainbow. Pinkie followed up with a bout of bitter and mirthless laughter. "You know, you're not muth of a comedian, Mandy. Do you really think..." She coughed. "...that thaying a few thimple wordth ith gonna make all thith go away?" "I think we would all be better off without you." Fluttershy chimed in, just before she sneezed and crumpled to the ground. "Your thilly little thpeeth didn't thange a thingle thing!" Rarity huffed. Like Fluttershy, she too punctuated her words with a sneeze that was in no way ladylike. "And now, you're payin' the prith. In karma." Applejack said, her green eyes piercing Mandy in a way that she had never seen in the farm pony before. Her breathing became slow and heavy. Twilight turned around. "Agenth of Prethinct 13579, wouldn't you agree?" A pause followed her question. And then, concerned murmurs, much to Mandy's chagrin. "My friendth are all correct." Twilight remarked, turning back towards Mandy. "You have proved, in thpectacular fathion, why the prethinct doethn't need you. Why Odd Thquad doethn't need you." The sick alicorn tentatively stepped towards Mandy. "'I'd like to remedy thith by doing whatever I can'? What a boring lackluthter thtatement. What maketh uth inclined to believe you?" "Twi!" Mandy cried out. "No, you have to understand! My words are honest!" A snort was her only response. "Well, the agents here have made their decision." The Big O sighed. "I'm sorry, Mandy. I have no choice but to fire you from Odd Squad. Hand in your badge." "But-" Mandy glanced from the Big O, to the crowd, and back again. It was made clear to her now that in this crapsaccharine world, absolutely no one was on her side. Her testimony had fallen on deaf ears, and she knew it. Essentially, losing her job meant that she was homeless too, but she didn't pay much attention to that fact. Heaving a sigh, she unclipped her badge and placed it in the Big O's outstretched hand, the tears falling harder now. "Now, stand on the seal, if you will." Like a programmed robot, she did as she was told, placing her feet smack-dab into the center of the seal and awaiting whatever further punishment the Big O had for her. It was then that the agent who once led her put on a wicked smile, something entirely unprecedented for her that was best suited for her predecessor. "Au revoir, Patient Zero." A lever that wasn't there before suddenly made itself known, and as the Big O yanked it backwards, the seal opened up within a second. Unable to catch her fall in time, Mandy was sent plummeting down into...well, it should have been the Dinosaur Room, but it seemed more like a bottomless pit, now. She let out a scream -- a scream of fear for where she was going to land, a scream of worry for her cousin on life support and stricken with pneumonia, and a scream of sadness for her friends who weren't so keen on forgiving her for her mistake. A mistake that, granted, could end in mass murder. Finally, something clicked in her brain, and she flapped her wings to gain lift. Unfortunately, they didn't do much of anything, and she was still falling at a breakneck pace. "Not even my wings are of any use he-" Harsh impact with the ground cut her sentence short. The wind was completely knocked out of her lungs as she landed on her back. She hacked and wheezed in an effort to scramble for air, but as she did so, her ears caught the sound of another person doing the same thing. It was Oprah. Coughing and wheezing, lying flat on her stomach, surrounded by agents who all expressed their concerns for her. Somehow, she managed to look worse than the last time Mandy saw her. Something clicked in her brain. I'm...back where I was before. She took in a big gulp of air and rose to her feet. "Oprah!" "Stay away from her, agent!" Something hard and lengthy slammed into Mandy's chest, and the next thing she knew, she was sent hurtling towards the steel double-doors, a loud slam marking her body's full impact with them. She slumped to the floor and became dizzified, eyes spinning around in their sockets as she saw dancing jackalopes circling her head. "Say whatcha will about the Big O...she sure knows how to leave a good impression on doors..." "There'th no pulthe." Fluttershy's soft but defeated voice snapped Mandy out of her stupor right quick. She shook her head and began to take in the sight that laid before her. Oprah laid deathly still. There's no pulse. There's no pulse. Oh odd, she's... "NO!! OPRAH!!" came the horrified scream, tears springing forth and beginning their descent down Mandy's face. She didn't dare move forward, for fear of the Big O knocking her back again, and instead, she settled for a feeble outstretched hand. How the mighty had fallen. Oprah, the one whom everyone regarded as a powerhouse when it came to strength, wits and intelligence. Oprah, the one who could somehow down more sugar with her juice addiction than even Pinkie Pie consumed in the span of a single day with the sweets she made, and yet she could still function like a normal human being. Oprah, the agent who had somehow, some way, lived to be millennia old, and yet what remained was her physical appearance of a mere ten-year-old child. Her time upon the earth had been met with a swift and premature end. And it was all because of Mandy. "That doeth it." Twilight stood up and jabbed a hoof towards the shocked and grief-stricken hybrid. "Mandy killed our leader, and thee hath no regret for it!" "Please!" "Get her!" Mandy could hardly get a word in edgewise. As the small crowd began to approach her in a slow and ominous manner, her body scrambled against the doors, and she tried to open them. Try as she might to get them to budge, her attempts fell flat. Her vision became blurred as her eyes filled with thick, ugly tears. She was in too much of a state of shock to defend herself, let alone go on the offense against the angry mob. The seal opened up again, without the use of a lever this time. One by one, agents were sucked into the looming black hole that laid within it. Even the Big O couldn't resist its pull. Mandy's body was subject to the massive force. She scrabbled at the cement floor to no avail, as gravity took over. She barely had time to ask herself why the objects in the bullpen weren't getting sucked in as well, before the room shrank and shrank before her very eyes. "I'M SORRY!!" were the last words that fell from her lips before her body was once again thrown into the abyss. It wasn't too long before her body was thrown into yet another setting, and certainly not the same one. As she landed on her stomach, the sound of agents sneezing, vomiting and coughing was the first thing she noticed, and as her eyes opened, she was met with a view of a room that she had never seen before. The only thing within it were two rows of ten beds, each parallel to one another, and all of them full of what she had to assume were patients. "I'm...in a room full of sick people?" she mused, slowly getting to her feet while also glancing at the ground every so often to make sure whatever cosmic forces were controlling this entire scenario didn't drop her into another bottomless pit again. "Oh! You must be Mandy." Mandy turned around, and came face-to-face with an Odd Squad Doctor -- not the warm inviting figure of Dr. O himself, mind, but a different Doctor. She had pale-grey hair and blue eyes that looked soulless, and her skin was unnaturally pale as well. "Y-yes?" Mandy tilted her head. "Who are you?" The Doctor didn't answer that question. Her smile morphed into a frown as she looked through the papers on the clipboard she was holding, then looked at Mandy. "Mm, wait, no. Wrong patient." Mandy suddenly found herself hoisted up by the arms. Two Doctors, each of their heights easily surpassing six feet, dragged her effortlessly to the door that looked to be streaked with blood. "Wait! W-whaddya mean, wrong patient? I'm not supposed to be heeeeeeeeee-" Her body being unceremoniously tossed through the door marked the abrupt end of her sentence. With its owner screaming, it went flying backwards through the air for what seemed like hours, until it tumbled about in the snow in a cartoonish manner. Only after inadvertently turning into a wheel for several seconds did she come to a complete stop, eyes spinning around in her sockets once more and the dancing jackalopes returning to her head for an encore. "Beatzz bein' thrown into a black hole againnn..." came the dizzified response, the cold barely fazing her as she struggled to keep up with what was happening. The sound of bells tinkling brought her back to her senses, and she began to take in the new setting she had found herself in. It was nighttime, a vast, snowy landscape with Christmas lights strewn up on lampposts and hardly a building to be seen. "Wait, I recognize this place. Isn't this..." Mandy slowly stood up, brushing the snow off of her pajamas and glancing behind her. "It is!" she squealed, spotting a house with a very familiar red-and-white figure emerging from its entrance. "And there's..." Her feet began to move. They took her across the cold white snow, the glorious contrast with the dark night. She didn't care whether Santa was going to pummel the heck out of her or not -- it was a familiar face that was actually an inviting one in this twisted fantasy, and she was going to seize the opportunity tenfold. It was a 50/50 chance, and she was willing to take it. "Santa!" she cried out, happy tears beginning to flow down her face. Said tears only came harder when Big Red himself threw open his arms, as though anticipating the gesture to come. "Mandy! Oh-ho-ho, it is so wonderful to see you again!" Santa Claus said, taking a few steps back when Mandy plowed into him and threw her arms around him. He could already feel his suit getting wet, no doubt from all the tears Mandy was shedding, and he allowed her to cry as much as she needed to. "L-likewise!" the hybrid squeaked out, wiping away her tears and sniffling to try and clear her clogged-up nose. "It's just so good to see a warm face for once...a warm face that's actually happy to see me!" "Oh?" Santa tilted his head slightly. "Why's that?" "Well...I-I have something to, um..." Mandy bit her lip as she struggled to find the right words. A breeze suddenly swept forth, causing her tail to bush up as the rest of her body shivered. "Why don't you come inside?" Santa urged. "It's much too cold for you to be out here." Mandy nodded, eagerly taking the invitation and making her way inside. Santa took a few moments to smile at the vast sight that laid before him before he closed the door. A few minutes later, Mandy was settled in a comfy chair with a warm cup of hot cocoa. Her tail flicked to and fro as she took a huge sip, relishing the taste. She didn't realize how thirsty she was until that sip, and she eagerly drank more. "Now, young Mandy..." Santa Claus settled into the chair across from her. "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" "Well...I've unfortunately come down with a terrible cold. It's left me bedridden for a day and a half." Mandy said. "And..." "And?" Mandy ran a finger along the outside of her cup. "I realize now that this is all some crazy dream, but-" "A dream?" Santa said, a bout of soft laughter bubbling forth. "Why Mandy, this is no dream." Fear shot through Mandy like a lightning bolt. She blinked. So all the stuff I experienced...was...what...that was real? I didn't really...they're not all... One part of her told her to try and wake herself up, to go back to the real world and see if everyone was okay. Another part of her told her not to waste her energy on something so fruitless -- she could hardly control when she woke up, and her efforts would do nothing. Her mouth felt dry, and she took another sip of cocoa. "It...it isn't a dream?" "Well...yes and no." Santa made a rolling motion with his hand. "You are in a dream, right now. But you are talking to the real Santa Claus." That brought a wave of ease to Mandy -- So the nightmares weren't real? -- but it didn't last for very long. She wanted to believe Santa, but she was still worried for her friends. Her family. She wanted to make sure they were okay. "How are you..." she started to ask, before her eyes widened as she came to a realization. "Oh. Yeah. Odd Squad." Santa chuckled. "So does that mean you're fine? Y-you're not sick or anything?" "Oh, not at all. I'm perfectly healthy." Santa said, before his smile turned into a frown. "However..." "Hmm?" "I do believe that you've been pushing yourself too hard." Ahh, there it was. That little dose of reality that decided to bite Mandy right in the tush. She had realized the consequences of her actions all throughout her nightmares, but didn't really give it too much thought with all the hubbub over the Big O's meeting and everyone getting sick and all that. "Normally I'd laugh that off, but after the nightmares I've been through...I'm inclined to believe you." Mandy sighed. "It's just...you know how excited I get whenever I help you deliver gifts to kids around the world. It's a rare experience. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. But..." She fiddled with her cup again. "I just hate to miss out on this year." "And why is that?" "It's another year I get to spend with all my friends and my family." Mandy smiled. "And...I can't spend it with them if I'm bedridden. S' not like any of 'em will wanna come near me." Santa nodded slowly, hanging on to every word. A sense of warmth rose from within him, and he put on one of the warmest smiles that Mandy had ever seen. "Mandy. You are a tender and warm spirit. You are the star on top of the Christmas tree that illuminates even the darkest of nights. You bring joy to every boy and girl on the holidays." he said, his voice as soft as a cloud. "I've seen it firsthand. The way you put your own little touch on presents. It makes the children so delighted." His smile grew bigger. "You are very selfless, and that is something I admire." A blush crept into Mandy's cheeks. "W-well, I-" "I believe it's time I give back." "Give back?" Mandy blinked, struggling to understand what Santa meant by those words for only a few fleeting moments, before it finally hit her and she widened her eyes. "Santa, y-you don't have to, really!" "I insist." From behind his back, Santa pulled out a scroll and a quill. "What would you like for Christmas?" Six words. Six words that made Mandy's child-like spirit go wild. Every year, she was asked the same question, and every year, she was all too eager to answer it. Everyone who knew her well had the common knowledge that her requests ranged from the utterly fantastical -- yes, even for this world -- to the plain and easy-to-get. But that didn't mean they didn't try to spoil her rotten and give her all the gifts she could ever want. She was ever so grateful to have such loving and caring people in her life who was willing to give a "buck you" to finances and splurge for one month out of the year. Still, she knew exactly what she wanted the most. She didn't need a single second to think about it. And this time, it wasn't a material object. "I...um, well...what I want is something that can't necessarily be obtained in a single day." Santa tilted his head. "Hmm?" "I want to spend as much time with my friends and family as I can. I want them all to be happy." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out a paper. "But, uh, while you're at it, I have a list." Santa eagerly grabbed the list and read it over. A warm and kindhearted smile spread across his face. "I believe this can all be arranged." "It can?" "Of course. You just have to believe it's true, in your heart." Mandy took the time to think. She was only a child of eleven years old, a child who had many, many years of life ahead of her -- perhaps more, if she somehow found out whether she could live for millennia like Oprah could or not. The same could certainly be said for her friends and family. Even Twilight and her friends were fit and spry enough to get plenty more decades in before the cosmic forces shuffled them all off of their mortal coils. No way she got them all sick. They were fine, surely. It would take more than a simple cold, and even the flu if it got to that point, to bring them down and make them stay down. Mandy held that hope deep inside of her, and treasured it for all it was worth. For the first time since she had descended into the land of dreams, a genuine smile made its way across her face. "You must cherish the time you have with your loved ones." Santa continued. "And if you believe with your heart that they are happy, then it will come true." "That's...really nice." Mandy murmured, feeling tears spring to her eyes but fighting the urge to let loose this time around. Santa stood up with a grunt. "Now, I must be heading back to the barn. Twilight Sparkle and the others are waiting for me." "W-wait!" Santa turned around. "Thank you. For finding the time to chat with me like this. I appreciate it." "Oh-ho-ho, it's no problem at all!" Mandy rubbed her arm. "Can we maybe...exchange a hug before you go?" "Why of course." With that, Mandy threw her arms around Big Red once more, hugging him as tight as she could. She almost felt like crying again. Almost. But she held back. Too much crying would make her tired, and she didn't feel like falling asleep in a dream so she could go deeper down the rabbit hole. "Good luck!" Mandy called, as she broke away. "Thank you! And merry Christmas!" Santa responded, before heading into the cold dark outdoors. Now, it was just Mandy, alone in the house. Her gaze drifted to the fireplace, and she watched the flames of the fire burn with intensity that not even she could match with her own fiery form. "Now how do I wake up?" She blinked. "Maybe I don't?" Her desire for a drink brought her gaze towards her cup of cocoa, which had surprisingly been left unfinished. It wouldn't stay that way for long, however, as she eagerly chugged the rest of it. Now, all she had to do was wait. Surely, with the hope that swirled about in her heart, she would wake up and find out the truth that had made itself so obvious to her. Mandy's eyes opened, and her vision met utter darkness. To her complete lack of surprise, she still felt sick. Her head ached, she felt nauseous (although it was probably from hunger, now), and it still felt like she had a fever. With tremendous effort, she was able to use enough of her magic to create a small bulb of rainbow-colored light that sat at the tip of her horn, and she had herself a look around. As her gaze moved to the nightstand, she saw a glass of water, a banana, a bowl of rice, a bowl of applesauce, and two pieces of toast, all neatly arranged. Laying on the toast slices was a small note, which she eagerly took and read. Mandy, I hope you're doing better. It looked like you were having a terrible nightmare, but I didn't want to disturb you, so I left you alone. On your nightstand, you'll find key components of the BRAT diet -- bananas, rice, applesauce and toast -- that should help your tummy feel right as rain. Remember to start out with the water, to test the waters of your stomach. (I'm sorry, that was a terrible joke. But I couldn't resist.) Pinkie Pie and I are having a Christmas get-together tomorrow at 7PM, and we've invited everyone. If you get better by then, please come and stop by. It'll be at my house, over on Cypress Way. And don't worry -- I'll give you your gift there, too. Eat well, rest up, and get better soon, okay? If you need anything, Dr. O is right upstairs. - Olive Of course. Typical of Mandy's mother to lay out stuff that should be obvious, like Mandy wouldn't know where her house was or wouldn't know to drink water to make sure her stomach could handle it first. As Mandy picked up the glass of water and took a few sips, relief washed over her. She knew something, now -- both Olive and Pinkie Pie were alive, and so was Dr. O. Perhaps it was a safe bet to assume that everyone else was alive, too, but she couldn't know that for sure. Not until she saw everyone else. Her pony ears swiveled about like satellite dishes, trying to pick up on the sound of sneezing or coughing or any noise that would indicate an agent was sick. No such sound presented itself, and she heaved a sigh that morphed into a cough of her own. Deciding to set her worry aside for now as best she could and hold on to that spark of hope in her heart, she grabbed a Wolves of the Wilderness book from her bookshelf and got to reading, waiting for the water to settle and allow her to make a judgement on whether she could progress to eating solid food or not. Sure enough, the anti-nausea medication had worked its magic. Mandy had finally graduated to eating solid foods. If only someone were around to give her a diploma. She hungrily downed the toast, the rice, the applesauce and the banana like she would never see the foods ever again as long as she walked the earth. Her stomach felt full by the time she was done, and she decided to take a bath to clean herself, from her toenails all the way to the deep insides of her mind. Baths were a nice way for her to think about things, after all, and with her having already gotten good rest, she wouldn't fall asleep in the tub and risk drowning like she had done so many times before. As she went down the hall, forcing herself to keep her legs steady so they wouldn't shake as a result of the remaining sickness, she passed one or two agents who looked healthy enough. None of them were armed with tissues or buckets, just with paperwork that needed to be filed or with an odd creature that needed to be properly dealt with. That brought her further relief, and set her mind at ease that maybe, just maybe, the dreams she had were really just dreams, like Santa said they were. The warmth of the water, soft and inviting, melted away any sickly feeling she might have had. Coupled with some nice Brittany Gomez tunes from her "classical and smooth" discography era, it made for one of the best baths she had ever taken in her entire life. She wasn't sure how much time had passed between going to sleep and finishing up her bath, but the clock now read 9:00. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the warm water had made her feel sleepy again, and as soon as she got dressed in a clean set of pajamas, it was back to bed for Round 2, Shmumber's Sleep Aid and nightmares excluded. The next evening, Olive's house was about the liveliest it had ever been. A total of fourteen guests had been invited, including Olive herself and Pinkie Pie -- a small party, honoring Olive's wishes and preferences of enjoying such parties instead of ones with a ton of guests. Thirteen of the fourteen guests had already arrived. No one needed to guess who was missing. "Hey, partner." Otto said, flopping down on the couch between the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Olive with a slice of cake in his hand. "You still waiting for Mandy?" "Yeah. I haven't heard from her all day." Olive's gaze stayed fixated on the front door. "When I went to check on her this afternoon, I found her sleeping, but Dr. O insisted she was getting better..." "Don't worry. It's like you said -- Mandy never turns down a good party!" Otto took a bite out of the slice. "Yeah, but I told her it would start at 7 and it's 6:45 now!" Unbeknownst to the two of them -- or to any of the guests, really -- Mandy was, indeed, at the front door. The cold wind blew relentlessly, giving off an eerie howl that she would have been terrified of, if it weren't for how cold she was. Her entire body felt tired, especially her feet, given that walking to Olive's house from the second-nearest tube entrance that wasn't her backyard wasn't an easy thing to do. "W-w-why aren't they a-answering t-the door?!" she asked, her body shivering as she felt icicles begin to form on both sets of ears. "I-I'm g-gonna freeze m-my tail off!" As much as she wanted to look inside through the top windows of the door, she couldn't find the energy to jump up and look. What she did have energy for, though, was something she considered a last-ditch resort. At the very least, it was better than trying to get herself through a window. Through the bumping sound of the music, a loud screeching wail from the other side of the door caught the attention of more than one partygoer, Olive included. "W-what was that?" Sweetie Belle asked, lowering her bowl of Christmas Chex Mix. Olive, forgoing any sense of fear, immediately lunged for the door, having a pretty good idea of what, exactly, the sound was coming from. As she threw the door open, she took a step back as her eyes laid upon a shivering, icicle-ridden Mandy, lying on the ground and looking feebly up at the one who had opened the door. "Mandy?!" came the Director's shocked cry. "W-w-what...l-let me get you inside, quickly!" She grabbed ahold of Mandy's shoulders and effortlessly pulled her inside, Rarity closing the door from her current position in the kitchen doorway. "Can you speak?" Olive shook her head furiously, regretting asking such a rhetorical question. "No, never mind that. We need to warm you up." Immediately, Peaches rushed over with a few blankets that had been sitting on top of the couch. As Olive took off Mandy's jacket, Peaches wrapped her cousin's body in the blankets to make a "hybrid burrito", as she had called it when she had found Mandy in the same shape of her own volition some time ago. As the minutes passed, Mandy slowly stopped shivering. A sense of warmth filled her -- both as the result of the hope she still had in her heart that her friends really were all alive and well, and the blankets feeling nice and snug around her body -- and she almost felt like drifting off to sleep. "Feel better?" Olive asked. "Very." Mandy purred in response. "I'm really sorry we left you outside. You weren't waiting too long, were you?" "No. But your tube entrance is broken. Had to walk all the way here!" Olive's eyes widened. "You walked?" "It was too cold to fly. My wings were frozen solid by the time I got to your door!" Mandy looked around at the partygoers, who were all looking at her with relief. A warm smile spread across her face as her next words danced on her lips with grace. "You're all alive." "Yeah! Why wouldn't we be?" Rainbow piped up, hovering above the crowd. "Y-you're not sick!" "We're all perfectly healthy." Olive said. "Aside from the occasional runny nose or sneeze that came about as a result of the cold weather, of course." Mandy attempted to wriggle free of her burrito, with Peaches assisting her until she was out and able to stand on two feet once more. And then she lunged. In one swift move, she had pulled thirteen people, including nine ponies, in a tight hug. The coughs and cries of protest did absolutely nothing to deter her from treasuring the moment. Santa...you really weren't kidding. Everyone's alive. No one's sick. My dreams...were really just dreams all along! After a minute or so, she put everyone down, allowing them to recollect their bearings. "Jeez, what's with you?" Oprah asked, cracking her neck. "You're acting like we're dead or you're never going to see us again. Did something happen?" All she got in response was a long slow whistle and an eyeroll. "I died?!" "Well, 'died' isn't really the right word...more like 'murdered'." "Wh- how- you- are you-" "Just let it out. We got all night." Mandy had gathered everyone in the living room and told the story of her adventure through the land of dreams, including meeting Santa Claus himself. "That would explain why he told us he had to do something important right before we headed off to deliver presents." Twilight said. "If the Sleep Aid is really that powerful..." Olive twiddled her fingers. "Maaaaaybe it was a bad idea to use it. It might have altered your dreams and turned them into nightmares." "Maybe!" Mandy shrugged. "But I'm feeling much better now. I'm just glad I didn't get any of you sick!" She shuddered. "Those nightmares were awful. Especially when Peach was on life support with pneumonia..." Peaches wasn't sure how to react to that bit of information. Part of her was surprised that Mandy's mind, as complicated and crazy as it was, had concocted such a scenario, but another part of her figured that it was just "Mandy being Mandy". "But for how scary those nightmares were..." Mandy rubbed her arm. "It made me realize something. Something that should've been obvious." The group stayed silent, watching and listening. "I pushed myself too hard. All I wanted was to help Santa with Christmas, and I didn't listen to my body when it was trying to tell me I was getting sick...a whole two days ago." Oprah's eyes widened. "You were sick two days ago?" Mandy sadly nodded. "I figured I could push through it...and that ended up being a very bad idea." "That's so typical of you to say." Mandy's gaze drifted to Pinkie, who gave an eyeroll. "You always work yourself too hard! It's best to take breaks every once in a while, so you don't get burnout." Mandy couldn't deny it -- her partner was right on the money. But the stubborn part of her resurfaced. "But...but my wish! I can't spend any time with any of you if I'm just rotting away in bed!" "Put it this way, sugarcube." Applejack said. "If'n you're dead, then ya won't be able t' spend any time with us anymore." Her quip was met with silence as everyone's heads turned towards the farmpony. Her blunt honesty didn't surprise anyone, but that didn't mean it didn't sound a little rude in their eyes. "Mm, well, that..." Rarity made eye contact with Mandy again. "And you're certainly not bedridden now, darling. You don't have an ounce of sickness in you." Mandy fiddled with her shirt. Both mares made very good points, she had to admit. She wasn't in bed right now -- she was at a party, with her friends. With her family. With presents, and food, and music. With warmth filling the entire household, top to bottom. With the knowledge that she wasn't one of those people who just sat in bed all day doing nothing. Yeah...every day I go to bed knowing I worked really really hard to stop oddness! And I'm proud of it! I wouldn't trade it for anything else! Even if I didn't help Santa this year, there's always next year. Maybe it's not the end of the world if I missed a year just 'cause I got sick. As long as none of my friends and family are sick, I'm fine. She sighed and stood up. "All right, I concede. Let's put this convo to the way-wayside..." She reached behind her back and pulled out a party cannon, with cat ears embedded on the wheels. "...and get this party started already!" All she needed to do was press the purple button on top of the barrel to set the cannon off, showering confetti on everyone. The music blared throughout the lower level of the house. Some partygoers talked, while others sung and danced. Others were moreso concerned with the food than anything else. In the kitchen, Mandy had gathered with Pinkie and Fluttershy, munching on some fudge pretzels. "And then..." Fluttershy said, giggling throughout. "...Blitzen fell in the snow!" Mandy erupted into laughter, clutching her stomach as she felt its sides begin to ache. "Oh, that's rich! Wish I could've been there to see that! I would take soooooo many pictures!" Before Pinkie could chime in, Olive walked up, carrying a huge stuffed bunny with fluffy yellow fur and a pink bow around its neck. In her other hand, she held a rather large present, and was clearly struggling with both items. "H-hey!" she said, setting the items down. "I got your gifts, Mandy. Took me a while to find them in the walk-in closet, but I got 'em." Pinkie rubbed the bunny's leg. "Ooh, it's so soft!" "It has to be." Olive hugged the toy close. "It's designed for Mandy to cuddle with and sleep with. Kind of...like a cloud, but in stuffed toy form." Mandy tilted her head. She couldn't understand why Olive was giving her an animal that felt like a cloud when she could just get a cloud from the sky, but the more she looked into the animal's green eyes, the warmer she felt. "It's cute! Thank you!" she chirped. "But maybe you should put it out of the way for now, so it doesn't get dirty." "Good idea." Olive said. "Open your other gift." As with every boxed present she received on Christmas (or really, any package addressed to her in general), Mandy performed her tried-and-true analysis on what could be in this box. She levitated it closer to her and began. Hmm...lightweight, doesn't really make much noise...did Momma give me an empty box? 'Cause it sure feels like she gave me an empty box! She tore the bow off and nudged the box open. Immediately, a barrage of bright multicolored lights hit her in the face, causing her to yelp in surprise and shield her eyes. Upon closer inspection, however, she found a set of wing covers, tailored to fit over each individual feather in her wings. Each feather on the covers was colored in a color found in the rainbow, as well as those outside of the rainbow -- turquoise, pink and gray, among others, were all seen. The glowing gift was truly a spectacle to behold. "Here, let me put it on you." Olive offered, setting the toy down and getting to work applying the covers onto Mandy's wings. Once she was done, she conjured up a mirror and held it up so Mandy could see her reflection. Shimmers formed in the hybrid's eyes as she sucked in air in such a way that it sounded like a squeal. "Oh my gooooosh, it's beautiful!" "It's that, yes, but it's also wing bling!" Olive smiled. "You always complain about your wings freezing up in the cold, so Rarity and I worked together to make these wing covers for you!" Mandy chuckled. "Jeez, if only ya gave me those before I left Headquarters!" "You didn't have your badge phone on you?" Mandy shook her head. "Didn't think to bring it with me." Her face brightened. "Oh! Pickleferries, I almost forgot! Where're you keeping the presents?" "Cubby by the door." Olive took the wing covers off of Mandy and took the plush toy. "I'll stick them in-" "No! No. I'll get 'em. I've got presents for everyone in there, anyway! Hang tight!" Only a couple minutes later, and several presents gathered together in a blob moved across the living room, caught in a rainbow-colored magical aura. Olive, Pinkie and Fluttershy both watched as she moved about the room, giving gifts to everyone, before she finally came back to the kitchen. "Et voila!" she exclaimed, giving the girls their gifts. "Sorry I couldn't get you any more, Pinkie. I wanted to get a whoooooole slew of gifts for you! But I'm not exactly the richest agent in Odd Squad..." Eagerly, the trio opened their gifts. "A new soccer ball?" "A box of Dough Must Go On brownie mix?!" "A pet fountain?" Mandy eyed the confused reactions with a grin on her face, nodding eagerly. "I tried to get you all stuff you liked!" Silence fell in the room. Mandy used the noise coming from the living room to ward off her nervousness, but that didn't stop the sweat from cascading down her face nor her grin from becoming wobbly as she awaited her friends' verdict. Olive's eyes shone in a way they did back when she was a young agent-in-training. "Do you know how long I've waited for this soccer ball, Mandy?" "Yes! A whole year!" the hybrid chirped in response. "You keep talking to Otto about it, so I decided to jump the gun and get it for you!" It looked like a normal soccer ball to the untrained eye. To Olive, however, it was one of the ultimate soccer balls on the market. Perfectly inflated, suited to the Earth's gravity, had a guaranteed 90% scoring rate in games...and was also insanely expensive. Her eyes began to water. "I...I don't know what to say..." "A 'thank you' is just fine." Mandy waved a hand before her gaze drifted to Pinkie, who wore just as big of a grin on her face as her partner did. "This brownie mix...I thought they discontinued it!" Pinkie turned the box over and read the back. "And it's only sold in Equestria, not Toronto! How'd you get it?" A bout of nervous laughter left Mandy's lips. "Um, c-can we just say that I have my ways and leave it at that?" "Sure!" came the enthusiastic response, much to the hybrid's surprise. "Ohh, thank you thank you thank you! I'm gonna make the bestest brownies in the entire world with these!" Mandy caught Olive's raised eyebrow, but ignored it and shifted her gaze to Fluttershy, who was observing the fountain. "It's...nice." A frown came forth. "Just nice?" "Just...nice." "Oh, you don't like it!" Mandy shook her head. "Knew I should've gone bigger but I just didn't have enough money for anything extravagant and you know how I love pet fountains and maybe you needed one I dunno so I decided to get one for you and please look I'm so sorry I just-" A hoof to her lips stopped her rambling. "Mandy, I do like it." Fluttershy smiled. "As it just so happens, I've been considering buying one. But I haven't had the time to shop around for one." Mandy's expression immediately brightened. "Thank you. Um...would you mind telling me where you got it? In case I need to buy more?" "The Super Pet Market!" Mandy responded, levitating the three gifts she still had in her possession towards the kitchen counter. Fluttershy nodded, and moved to take the fountain back to the cubby so she could grab it on her way out. "What are those three presents?" Olive asked. "Gifts from Santa!" Olive blinked. "Where are the rest?" "This is it!" Instinctively, Olive moved to place her palm on Mandy's forehead. "No, no. You're definitely not still sick. Odd." "'Course I'm not!" Mandy got to opening her first gift. "I just didn't need that much stuff this year. Next year, I'm gonna go big!" As the hybrid dug her way into the tall box, she came out with a complete set of golf clubs tucked inside of a black caddy bag. Pinkie eyed them curiously. "Golf clubs? Since when do you golf?" "All the time! I'm even in the Hall of Fame!" Olive and Pinkie's jaws dropped as Mandy showed them a picture of her posing next to a golden plaque. "I...y-you've told me you were mini-golfing. These are regular golf clubs." Olive took out a 9-iron. "You're aware of this fact?" "Doiii, Momma." Mandy rolled her eyes. "But the place I go to is a real, actual golfing place! With rolling greens and trees and sand traps and water hazards!" "A-and when do you...when do you find the time for this?" "When you're efficient enough, more time than you'd think." As Olive looked through the caddy bag, her expression soured. "I've always wanted to take up golf..." "Now's a good of a time as any!" Mandy blinked. "Or, well, I guess not...'cuz of the cold and stuff. But you should totally ask Coach Roberts to give you lessons!" Pinkie, her curiosity getting the better of her, picked through the next box, opening it and coming out with a rainbow-colored bow around the tip of her forelock. Mandy gave a happy squeal. "Ooooh, a new hair bow!" She took the accessory in her hands and examined it. "This'll be great for the collection!" "You only have the one bow." "And who said I only have the one?" Olive stammered as she tried to come up with a retort, but found herself being resigned to giving a heavy sigh, not willing to get into a spat with Mandy over something as trivial as hair bows. Mandy tucked the small gift away in her hammerspace spine, and went for the third gift, stored in a horizontal box. She tore it open, revealing a small statue of her and the others, which was engraved with "BEST FRIENDS AND A LOVING FAMILY UNTIL THE END OF TIME" on its base. "Ooooh, a statue of all of us!" Pinkie said. "It looks so cool!" "Now there's something I can spice up my room with!" Mandy took a few more seconds to admire it, then tucked it away in her hammerspace spine. She swept up the rest of the gifts in a field of levitation and moved them over to the cubby. "All righty, gift time over! Now it's time for fun!" Mandy threw her hands up and shuffled Olive and Pinkie to the living room. "Go dance your hearts out! You deserve it!" Both girls did as they were told, without another word spoken. As Mandy watched them go, the sound of tinkling bells caught her attention, and she moved over to the glass door that led to the backyard. Her gaze shifted up to the sky, where a full moon sat, and a shadow moved across it. "Is that...?" She took a pair of binoculars out from her hammerspace spine, and smiled. "It is." For what seemed like hours, she stared up at the moon. If the weather were nicer, she would have gotten a lawn chair and sat out there and watched its mesmerizing glow all night long. But alas, she had to settle for a glass door separating her from freedom. "Thank you, Santa. Thank you so much." The words danced softly on her lips, and as soon as Santa and his reindeer were out of view, she turned her attention back to the party and began making her way to the living room, not hearing the jolly cry from up in the night sky but keeping the sentiment in her heart all the same. "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!" S1E17: Peaches and CreamThe desk was dirty. She had a job to do. She loved cleaning, when she was able to get in the zone and become completely lost in her thoughts. Lady Luck was certainly on her side today. Figuratively speaking. With rag in telekinetic grasp, she applied it to the desk and scrubbed furiously, gritting her teeth as she poured all her strength into it. She leaned to the left and then to the right, craned her neck up and then down, and the rage she had for cleaning this one damned spot began to hit the boiling point. After her energy was spent, she panted and lifted up the rag. "YOU SON OF A MOTHER-" "Hey, cuz!" She whirled around to find Peaches entering the bullpen, clearly in better spirits and with a big smile on her face. Her nostrils flaring, the hybrid's blue eyes seemingly glowed with anger as she became fixated on the one person who had disturbed her so. "Oh, in business mode, I see." Nothing. Just eyes growing narrower. Peaches swallowed a small lump in her throat. "Is, um...this a bad time?" An indignant grumble as the hybrid resumed cleaning, putting on a new coat of hydrogen peroxide disinfectant spray and watching it soak. Peaches really wasn't sure where to go from here. She knew her cousin was an absolute time bomb right now, and that even a single puff of wind was enough for her to fly into a rage. But she didn't really know how to diffuse time bombs...let alone diffuse a living one. And then she got an idea. A hasty idea, but still an idea nonetheless. She glanced downwards at a small four-legged odd creature. Every inch of its features looked like a rather interesting, but certainly not cursed, mix of a domestic canine and a domestic feline. Long whiskers, four ears, six eyes, five tails, and an unidentifiable number of legs Peaches was scared to try and actually identify adorned its body, and it panted happily. "OUT! OUT OUT OUT! GET OOOOOOUT!" came the primal scream, as the hybrid tried once again to rub the stain clear off of her desk. Her crazed mind could have sworn the stain was actively conspiring against her, not budging so much as a single inch. "Mandy?" Peaches walked over, forcing herself to remain calm and collected. "I can get that stain out for you, if you want." Mandy swiveled her head around again, and came nose-to-nose with the creature. She blinked. It blinked back, and gave a hearty "whuff" sound for an added touch. "I don't see how that thing's fur is any better than this heavy-duty, tear-free, went-to-Mayhem-Tools-all-the-way-in-the-stinkin'-United-States-of-Utah-just-to-get, had-to-pay-$120-just-to-buy, THE-GUY-HAD-TO-GET-IT-FOR-ME-ALL-THE-WAY-ON-THE-ROOF-OF-THE-STORE, DO-I-REALLY-NEED-TO-EXPLAIN-IT-ALL-TO-YOU CLEANING RAG, PEACH." Peaches' eyes widened at Mandy's sudden cold snap. Part of her was, of course, curious about what led Mandy to go to Utah to get, of all things, a cleaning rag from a hardware store just to clean what she had to admit was a pretty sizeable stain, but one that she didn't see the harm in keeping around until cleaning day rolled around. As clean as she was, she was no obsessive neat freak. "I never said I would use its fur." she said, before reaching behind her back and producing a sterile cup filled with yellow liquid. Mandy stared, her expression twisting into confusion and incredulity. "A pee cup. You're going to use pee to clean the stain?" "Yes." Peaches produced an eyedropper next, and with careful hands, she placed the creature down on the table, popped open the cup, and gathered up some urine. "Watch and learn." The catgirl squeezed the tip of the tool and let it hover above the stain. Within minutes, the urine was taking away the stain right before the duo's very eyes. Soon, all that stood was the bright red of Mandy's desk. Mandy's jaw dropped. Her gaze went from the creature to the desk to the rag and back again, as her eye began to twitch. An entangled mess of sounds were produced by her vocal cords and shunted forth into the world for everyone to hear. "Surprised?" Peaches chuckled. "This creature's pee can clean any stain on Earth. I found that out when she peed on a man's shoe, and it actually took off some coffee he had spilled on it." That. Is honestly. The most disgusting thing I have ever heard. But look at what it did! You've been trying to get rid of that stain for weeks, and all you had to do was have this odd creature piddle on it! Now it's gone, Oprah won't yell at you for it, and... And... Oh my odd... "I wasted $120 for nothing." Mandy slumped to the ground. The odd creature leapt down from the desk and immediately began licking her arm, to no avail as she adopted a dead look in her eyes. "120? In Jackalope Dollars? Yikes." Peaches winced. "And you used it too...guessing the return policy doesn't allow used rags to be returned, huh?" No response. Peaches expected flies to appear and begin buzzing over Mandy's dead corpse any minute now. She could have sworn she saw the girl pale just a little. "Aw, pickleferries. I got shuffled off the ol' mortal coil, huh?" The catgirl whirled around so quickly that her head would have nearly flown off of her body if she had moved it any faster. Standing behind her was another Mandy, who looked completely normal in every aspect. Any rage or shock she had before was utterly nonexistent. She moved over to her desk and examined it. "Oooh, cool, she got the stain out! Thank odd, 'cuz I've been tryna do that forever and ever and ever and it just would not come out!" Mandy giggle-snorted. "Now Oprah won't have my head for dinner tonight! She can have that Salineburied Steak frozen dinner in her fridge!" "How...what...how did- who is this?!" Peaches yowled, gesturing to the slumped-over Mandy clone that her supposed pet was now sniffing. "A clone." Mandy waved a hand, and winced. "I'll admit, I'm not at my usual strength today, so I got a clone to help me out with removing the stain. I've already tried doing it myself." "But timetastrophe rules-" "Do not apply to clones." Mandy wagged a finger. "They apply to alternate selves, cuz. Not to clones. I had to bend the rules of reality to make that one happen. Twenty looong, aching years and many messups 'cuz for some reason I had no hands and it's really hard to do things without 'em..." It was then that the hybrid turned around, and noticed exactly what was sniffing her supposed clone. Her expression probably broke at least one world record somewhere in the Odd Squad Book of World Records. "OOOOOOMIIIIIGOOOOOODNESS!" she squealed. The sound of glass breaking did nothing to deter her attention, and she threw herself to the floor to pick up the odd creature. "Lookitchu! Who's a cutie-patootie-woohooey? You are! Yes, you are!" Peaches violently shook her head, regretting having forgotten her lesson of "don't question 95% of what Mandy does". It was a lesson she had learned many times over, but yet, Mandy continued to invent new gags from out of nothing and she was still surprised at every single one of them to some extent or another. She smiled. "I named it Cream. I don't know what species of odd creature it is yet. Haven't had the time to go to Ocean and Fluttershy to have it examined." "I love this world." Mandy grinned. "'Cuz in this world, you can clone a dog and a cat and get a really really great result from it, instead of having it be some weird mushied-up thingie that looks ugly!" "And, uh...what other worlds are there?" Mandy suddenly grew shifty. "N-nothing!" she chirped. "There are no other worlds outside this fic. Absolutely none. Nada." Cream hopped up onto Mandy's lap right then, giving off sounds that were a sort of cacophonic blend between a high-pitched bark and a meow. "I'm...sorry, I don't speak your language." Mandy tilted her head and stared up at Peaches. "Translation, please?" "She says she wants to get to know you more." Peaches grinned. "She really has taken a liking to you." "Jeez, that might be a new record. 'Fastest Mandy-Likeness Conversion Rate'...nah, doesn't have a good ring to it." Mandy lifted the creature up. "Sooooooo is she your pet or something?" "It...um...y-you could say that...but a catgirl who can turn into a cat owning an odd creature as a pet seems a little awkward, don't you think?" Peaches scratched the back of her neck, wincing when her claws inadvertently came out and she nearly gave herself deeper wounds than what was needed. "It's more of a companion." "Mm." Mandy's mouth pinched inwards. "And how do you know it's a she?" Peaches simply shrugged in response to that question. "Well, whatever it is," Mandy blinked. "Please don't ask me to babysit it again. It's too soon after the whole Natsu thing, I-I really just can't." "Really? You sure? I could really use some help with taking care of it." "No." Mandy swiveled her head around. "Read my lips, cuz. N. O." "I-" Mandy conjured up a permanent marker and scribbled the two letters on her lips. "Read 'em again." Peaches groaned. "N-O. No." "Better." The hybrid took a baby wipe from the container on her desk and wiped her lips off before the marker could really settle in. Lucky for her that she had used the kind of permanent marker where the word "permanent" was nothing more than a cheap and scummy advertising tactic. She took the wipe, threw it in the trash, set Cream down onto the floor, and began to make her way down the right hallway. "Where are you going?" "To take a nap." Mandy's eyes were half-lidded, now. "Makin' a clone that's got more strength than you's not easy." A yawn slipped out of her. "Good 'noon." "Good...'noon...?" Peaches' brow furrowed. Far be it from her to question Mandy's English skills, but as confused as she was, maybe she had a point with this new term. It was the same way Olive and Otto conversed about why winter wasn't also called "fall" because of snowflakes falling from the sky, only at least Mandy's logic in finding a balance between "have a good rest of your morning" and "good night" made some sense. She glanced at Cream, who began panting eagerly. "You wanna go for a walk, huh?" Peaches said. "Well, all right. I wouldn't mind another round through the park. Come on." With that, catgirl and her pe- er, companion were out the steel double-doors. "Cream, wait! Stop running away from me!" Peaches, tired and mere minutes from falling on the ground and staying there, rounded another corner. Cream very nearly left her sight by the time she did, no thanks to her massive advantage in sheer legpower. Had she and Peaches not gone for another walk, the catgirl would have been able to catch her easily. As Peaches soared down another hallway, her eyes caught Cream suddenly go through Mandy's bedroom door like it was nothing. Her jaw dropped. "Y-you can phase through doors?!" she cried out, coming to a stop in front of the door and leaning down to take a couple gulps of desperately-needed air. Something unintelligible wheezed its way out of her -- perhaps it was the dread of what was to come that spurred the emotion of fear within her. Once she had steeled herself, she opened the door, and gazed upon the sight that laid before her. Cream was giving soft whuffs at a Mandy who was deep in the thralls of a dream and had a whole entire corner of her pillow stuffed into her mouth, completely drooled on and in the process of being chewed. The whuffs grew louder in volume with every second that passed. "Cream, what are you doing?" Peaches hissed through her teeth. "Mandy's asleep right now, she can't play with you!" Cream responded by jumping up onto the bed and giving plaintive mewls as she nuzzled Mandy's arm. This, of course, did absolutely nothing to stir the hybrid away from whatever food-induced dream or acid reflux nightmare she was having. "I'm sorry. But Mandy's next to impossible to wake up, and she needs her sleep!" Peaches made her way over and picked up Cream. "Trust me, she's not gonna wake up for a while." Mandy's mouth let go of the pillow right then and there with a "mah" sort of sound. She hugged it tight against her body, her feet kicking wildly as she let out her usual, how-to-level-an-entire-one-hundred-story-building-without-even-trying snores. Cream observed this rather strange occurrence, then dove into Mandy's tail and settled in, promptly making it her new bed. "You...want to stay with Mandy?" A couple yap-mews. Now it was Peaches' turn to get flashbacks to Mandy's time with Natsu. How it had slept with her, only to observe her and use her love of sleeping against her. She had to admit, she couldn't shake the possibility that Cream would potentially do the same. But surely she wouldn't maul Mandy or anything, right? She's been nothing but sweet since I've found her. And Mandy would stop her if she did try to hurt her. I know I promised Mandy she wouldn't have to babysit her, but...I have to keep looking for the culprit and I don't know how good this creature is at tracking. Forcing herself to retain her optimism, Peaches chuckled. "All right, if that's what you want." She moved towards the door. "In the meantime, I'll run to the store and get you some food, okay? How's about fish?" Cream barked rapidly, her tails all waving back and forth in various different directions with excitement. "Fish it is! Be right back." And with that, Peaches left the room, keeping a close eye on Cream up until she closed the door and couldn't see her companion anymore. Cream, as short as her many legs were, felt a sense of strangeness in them that she could not describe, whether in English -- which, for the record, she was unable to speak, as her species hadn't evolved that far yet -- or in her bark-meows. They felt rather weightless, and as she ducked her head into Mandy's tail, her eyes bore witness to something utterly fantastical. She couldn't describe it. For what it was worth, no one would be able to describe the innards of Mandy's tail, but even if she could speak English, there was no way she could even begin to put into words what she was seeing. It was a pleasantly chaotic mess of everything and nothing, a cosmic entity of its very own that would give Odd Squad a tougher time than any of the kid villains in its rogues gallery had given them over the course of several millennia. It was completely and utterly beyond comprehension of any single human mind the powers-that-do-be up there had ever crafted, something that transcended the very logic of oddness itself, the vast knowledge that agents had accrued since humans became a species. And yet, it was- The sight of another odd being for only a split-second caused Cream to jerk her head free and back away. She let out a sharp exhale through her nose, and shook her head as she sat on her rump. The adorable head of a divine being with falsehoods and the hairy, spindly legs of a reprehensible hellspawn flashed through her mind, although she wasn't sure if that was what she saw. She growled, shaking her head furiously in an effort to clear her mind. It was lucky she had the mental acuity that very few others of her species had -- had that not been the case, she would have quite literally torn Mandy a new one and would have kept on living with not even a single tiny shred of regret inside of her. Just as she came back to reality, she leaped off of the bed to avoid being crushed by 110 pounds of human. She blinked, and then swiveled her head back, to find that Mandy had rolled over and was scratching her tummy as she snored away. The nonsensical talk that ensued from her mouth was something that Cream had a hard time understanding at first, but she was able to make sense of it upon a closer listening. (An important mission. Take over the Joir de Vivre Kitchen, eat the poisoned food supply, and save the city of 'Pair-ee'.) (She is done, but there are still more kitchens in 'Pair-ee' to be devoured. Poisoned food or not.) (She wishes she had more of her, because the best thing about her is that there are so many of her to share the wealth with.) (...She has more of her now.) (They've gone to the Eiffel Tower, made of checkerboard cookies and dreams.) (Mouths open wide...) Cream straightened. She couldn't look at the sight of Mandy sleeping anymore nor continue to figure out what she was saying. For one thing, it was boring, but for another thing, she didn't want to see any more of her tail...if she could even call it that. It weirded her out just thinking of it now. She moved towards the Bedroom door and nudged it open, leaving as soon as she got the opportunity to and feeling relieved that her owner had only left it slightly ajar. With her not being confined to one room anymore, she was free to move about the 'quarters, so she decided to let her legs do the walking while her eyes took in the sights. As Fluttershy made her way through Headquarters, her vocal cords trembled with the loveliest of tunes. It was a melody of ten simple notes that she could have sworn she had heard somewhere before, but could never place. Still, to her, it didn't matter where it came from -- it was pleasant on the ears and put her in good spirits, and that was all that mattered. A force of a sensation in her leg brought her to her senses, and she looked down to find what was perhaps one of the most precious-looking odd creatures she had ever seen over the course of her career. Cream looked up at her and cocked a head out of curiosity before panting and wagging its tails. "I've never seen that kind of a creature before." Fluttershy mused to herself, before leaning down to examine it closer. "It looks like a mix of a dog and a cat." She had to wonder if Mandy had gotten some kind of a new pet, as the hybrid had been known for doing when she was a littler kid. Always grabbing "pets" (read: wild animals that animal activists would never recommend keeping as pets) off of the streets, Olive had to scramble to make sure everyone's rabies and tetanus shots were all kept up-to-date because it wasn't a night of fifty-five-degree weather without Mandy bringing home another Beauregard the Badger that eventually was let loose and tried to maul people. The Pegasus shook her head to free the thought. "Hello, little one. My name is Fluttershy." she cooed. "Would you mind if I took you back to the Creature Room? Oh, I'd love to study you!" Cream let out a series of bark-meows. "Wonderful!" Fluttershy scooped the small creature into her hooves. "Let's go." A happy bark this time around. Upon arrival, Fluttershy sat Cream down next to the database computer, where she sat patiently. "Now, I can analyze you." the Pegasus said. "Just let me input some physical attributes..." Hooves flew across the keyboard at a rapid rate. Cream watched the feat for a few moments before her eyes scanned the room she was presently in. Her ears picked up the sounds of many odd creatures, and she couldn't help but tense as she listened for the sound of her most prominent and most formidable foe. Nothing. She was safe. A sharp exhale left her nose as she turned back to the one who had picked her up, an odd creature in its own right with stubs and hair and some weird marking on her body that made it look nothing like the being who had found her originally. Fluttershy examined the computer, where many different species of creatures were listed. She frowned. "Hmm, that doesn't narrow it down too much." A sigh then left her. "If only Ocean were here. He would be able to help." Unfortunately, her partner-in-crime was on a break at the moment -- a rather unlucky break for her. As skilled as she was with creatures, she couldn't deny that Ocean had skills she didn't possess, and the same held true for the other way around. She straightened her posture as her mind churned out an idea... "Maybe I could go to the Big O!" ...and then shot down said idea within seconds. "But that would be a waste of her time. For something so trivial..." Cream tilted her head and gave a bark filled with worry. "I'm so sorry, little one." Fluttershy scooped the creature in her hooves again. "I wish I knew what you were, but...perhaps you're a new species that Odd Squad just hasn't discovered yet." Taking flight, she opened the door soared out of the Creature Room, making sure to close the door behind her. "How about I analyze your behavior and take some notes? Do you want to go to the Dog Park Room?" As Cream opened her maw to answer, a feeling of worry overtook her suddenly. Much like a human or a Technicolor equine with a gut instinct, she got the feeling that something was wrong with the one who had found her. "Are you worried about someone?" Cream tried desperately to wriggle out of her confinement. The automatic double-doors opened, and in walked Peaches, who held a small bag of freshly-caught fish in her hands. She quickly raced to Mandy's room as fast as her feet would take her, which left Cream with little opportunity to catch up with her -- she may have had more legs, but Peaches had far more of a stride. All it took was the slight loosening of Fluttershy's leg grip that allowed Cream to escape and begin chasing after its owner. "Oh! Wait!" she called, soaring after the creature with small wing flaps. Peaches managed to reach the door of Mandy's room first. She grasped the doorknob and swung the door open, giving very little regard to the room's two occupants. Or what she thought was two occupants, anyway. "Cream...I'm back..." the catgirl wheezed, dropping the bag of fish on the floor before she looked around the room. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She made her way to Mandy's bed, looking under bedsheets, under the bed itself, and even dipping a hand into Mandy's tail in case it just so happened that Cream had slipped in there. Nothing. She took a deep breath, and tried to use her senses. Mandy's reverberating snoring tickled her eardrums, but otherwise, she could hear no sign of Cream. A deep inhale allowed a flood of sensations to enter her body -- the scent of fish, her own scent, and Mandy's own scent that smelled in a way she could not describe, neither bad nor good. An intense and focused scan of the room with her eyes turned up nothing. And quite obviously, the senses of taste and touch were non-applicable. Peaches sighed, her entire body wracking with anxiety. "Cream...where could you have gone?" she pitifully mewled, as a knot slowly but surely began to twist and turn about in her stomach. Before today, she couldn't have attested to owning a pet, because to any normal person, it would have been weird for a catgirl who was able to turn into a cat to own another animal that was probably higher in the food chain. But now that she had Cream, she had become emotionally attached to it in a span of time that she certainly didn't think was possible. She wanted to love it and care for it like her very own, to give it a happy and healthy home where it could grow and thrive. A loud snore cut into her running thoughts. She turned around and bore witness to Mandy continuing her trudge through another few hours or so of slumber. Some gibberish fell from her lips that Peaches didn't even bother trying to identify -- she would have, just to entertain herself and maybe even drive herself a little mad in the process, but as far as she was concerned, she was a little too far gone in her stress at the moment to do such a trivial activity. The true battle of "should I or shouldn't I?" began. Cream was in the room with Mandy last. Surely she would know where the creature went. M-maybe she just...got up to go to the bathroom or eat a quick snack or something, and she noticed her and played with her a-and... ...No. Mandy doesn't wake up for any of that stuff. She's been asleep this whole time. But what if she was woken up by something, and she didn't go back to sleep right away? No, she would go back to sleep right away. Don't be silly, Peaches. I have to wake her up. She may not know where Cream is, but maybe she could help me lo- Are you crazy? You know perfectly well the consequences of waking Mandy up before her time. She'll be mad, sleep-deprived, probably destroy a villain or maybe even an entire town...the whole world, perhaps... Within the depths of Peaches' head, her cerebellum had already gotten to work. Her hands had started tentatively moving towards Mandy's shoulder. Inching closer and closer, like a predator stalking its prey, waiting to strike at the perfect moment. "Peaches?" A sharp exhale. The catgirl stopped and looked up at the doorway. Her eyes began to water. "Fluttershy? A-and...Cream!" The creature gave a few happy yaps, racing over to Peaches and bounding into her outstretched arms. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile as pet and owner were reunited, her heart instantly warming when she watched Cream lick Peaches' face. However, her cyan eyes caught Mandy shifting in bed, and before she could shush the pair, the hybrid sat up. "Who'zz been uppit n' dizzturbin' m' nap, mmm...?" came the sleepy murmur, as blue eyes found the trio but couldn't quite make sense of who they were or what was happening. "S-sorry, Mandy." Fluttershy took initiative, hovering over to her. "Peaches was trying to find Cream, her lost...um..." "Companion." "Companion!" The Pegasus smiled. "Yes, companion. We're really very sorry for disturbing you. We'll leave so you can get some more sleep, okay?" A large yawn caused Mandy's body to quiver, her vocal cords rumbling to produce a soft moan before her body's upper half flopped back onto the bed and the festival of snores and sleep-talking continued. Once Fluttershy, Peaches and Cream were out of the room, the former explained her reasoning. "I took Cream up to the Creature Room so I could examine it. I-I thought it was Mandy's pet, so I figured she wouldn't mind if I just took it and analyzed it really quickly while she slept...I didn't think it was yours!" Peaches nodded. "I found her..." -- she made sure to emphasize that pronoun -- "...roaming around in the park. She looked so lost, and something in me just compelled me to bring her back to Odd Squad. Did you find anything in your analysis?" "Not much." Fluttershy exhaled. "I was trying to figure out what species Cream is, but my search in the database didn't turn up anything, even after I inputted every one of her physical attributes." Peaches' ears folded downwards. "I'm really sorry, Peaches. I didn't mean to take Cream away, it's just-" "Don't worry about it." Peaches held a hand up to stop the butter-yellow Pegasus before she could really get going on the overapologizing, then her gaze moved to Cream. "Now, Cream, I brought some stuff back for you, including the fish you wanted. You wanna go check it out?" Cream's tails wagged, and she gave a few happy bark-meows. "Okay, okay, calm down! We'll go right now." Peaches chuckled. "Come on." "Um..." Fluttershy blinked. "Would you mind if I tagged along too? I'd love to do some more analysis on Cream and her behavior." "Sure thing!" Peaches said, grabbing the bag of fish that she had left on the floor. "Take all the notes you need." "Now, here's the fish..." Peaches didn't even need to bring a plate. All she had to do was throw a fish on the floor and watch Cream go to town in gobbling it up. It was no Mandy's technique of "teeth sliding and bone-exposing", but it was good food going in a happy belly. That was what mattered to her. "And heeeeere's a collar and leash for you!" Peaches reached behind her back and produced the items, both red in color. "That way, we can go for walks everywhere. How about that?" As Cream gave a few happy yelps, Fluttershy let her mind wander on one particular subject. Specifically, how Peaches felt about dogs, since she had to have gotten the "walk an animal on a leash" concept from somewhere, and cats being walked on leashes was a rather rare occurrence in Toronto. Was she scared of them? Did she enjoy their presence? Who knew. But since she felt comfortable around Cream, Fluttershy had to suspect that it was the latter. "I didn't think you were the type to have a pet, Peaches." The words came loose before she could stop them. She clapped a hoof to her mouth, her eyes widening as she mentally smacked herself for her social blunder. "You think it's weird, don't you?" Peaches sighed. "First Mandy, now you. There's a reason why I call it a companion and not a pet." "And...you're aware about Mandy and Natsu?" "Natsu was...manipulative, for sure. And it did cause us all a lot of strife. But Cream here is as sweet as can be!" That sounded a little too much like the auditory equivalent of a red flag for Fluttershy's liking. "Uh-huh." she said dubiously, before she forced herself to level her tone. "Well, I'd like to continue keeping an eye on it, if that's all right. For all we know, this creature can devour Headquarters in a day!" "If you want to do that, I won't stop you." Peaches ate a fish whole. "You are the co-Director of the Creature Room, after all. This is your job." Cream leapt up and frantically began licking Peaches' face, causing her to laugh. Fluttershy's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she watched the feat. Sure, Peaches was nothing like Mandy. She didn't hold grudges for ridiculously long periods of time or get swayed easily by villains' tricks or bawl over kittens she found on the street. But she was smart, and that was what was throwing the Pegasus off. I've never seen Peaches so...happy before. Not like that. It's like when...Mandy had Natsu. And I gave it to her to...care for... Surely, Cream isn't all sweet. Even Angel has his dark and manipulative side, after all. I have to study her more and see what tricks she has up her sleeve, if anything at all. "Fluttershy?" She blinked. Peaches was making eye contact with her. "Cream and I are going to go for a walk. You wanna come?" "Hm? Oh!" Fluttershy shook her head. "Yes, um, yes, I would. I'm sorry, I was just lost in thought." "No worries." Peaches waved her hand. "Let's go!" Cream gave a few yips as it happily trotted alongside Peaches, with Fluttershy taking flight and hesitantly following them. A hand rapidly shaking Mandy brought her clear out of her dream of eating the forbidden but edible snacks known as laundry detergent pods that strangely tasted like vitamin gummies. "Mmmmmwhaaaaaaaat?!" came the plaintive cry, along with arms frantically waving in a way that would put the Wacky Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Donkey to shame. "Wouldja people pleazze quit dizzturbin' me f' five' minutezz...?!" "Mandy, it's 5:00!" The hybrid had no desire to listen to the words. They all blurred together in one nonsensical conglomerate that she didn't want to spare any mental capacity just to understand. Her hands touched skin...something round and high in the air...and then they made their way to a pair of triangular ears that felt all too familiar. "...Peach...?" "Don't tell me making a clone took so much energy out of you that you had to sleep for four hours?" Peaches frowned. "From my understanding, the process of making a clone in Odd Squad is pretty simple and low-effort." A sleepy groan was her only response. "Wake up, will you? I want you to see the cool setup I have for Cream!" "Th' cool whazz-now...?" Peaches heaved a sigh. She reached behind her back, produced a tall glass of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise, and shoved it in Mandy's mouth. She watched as her cousin coughed and spluttered before taking the shaking glass in her hands and sipping it clean. "What'd ya hafta go and do that for?!" "Look, it's 5:00 and you look more worn-out than..." Peaches bit her lip. She couldn't finish that simile. "W-well, whatever, the point is that I have something to show you and it's very important." "So important you had to wake me up from my nap?" Mandy threw the covers off and rubbed her eye. "Do you even know what I was dreaming about? My brain doesn't suddenly just decide to make me gallivant on over to Paris and eat out of every single kitchen there, and then go to the candy shop and gorge on stuff 'til I'm sick!" "That just sounds like your everyday life." "No it's not, and you can shut up before I up your shut." Peaches had to bite back a snicker as she watched Mandy trudge for the door. "All right, let's go see this thingie you say is so important. And it better actually be important!" Only a few minutes later, it dawned on Mandy that what Peaches had wanted to show her was, in fact, not important at all. "Oh my garmonbozia." "I know." "You said this was important." "I know." "You lied to me." "...I know." "You're a sadistic being of nature, cuz." "...I know?" "And ya had to drag Flutterbutter into this?" "Okay, stop it." Inside of Peaches' room was a tiny round playpen for Cream, along with all sorts of toys littered around the floor. Clearly, the catgirl had spoiled her new companion rotten, and even someone as airheaded as Mandy could recognize that. As Peaches knelt down to play with Cream, Mandy took a seat next to Fluttershy, who was gripping a pencil in her mouth and scribbling something down on a piece of paper. "Partner, what are you doing?" Fluttershy scrambled backwards, her eyes growing wide as she dropped the pencil and the clipboard she was holding. "M-M-Mandy?!" "Hiya!" Mandy waved and smiled. "Sorry if I scared ya." "I-it's...fine." The Pegasus tried to bounce back, allowing her heart to slow its crazed beating as she got on her haunches once again. She eagerly took the pencil and the clipboard that Mandy had levitated over to her with a smile, setting them down onto the floor for the time being. "Did you have a good nap?" "Oh yeah..." Mandy purred. "I could've kept goin' if Peach hadn't woken me up! I stuffed myself soooooo silly..." Fluttershy watched as her friend began rocking back and forth. The hybrid entered a state of bliss, and the Pegasus was suddenly feeling a bit hungry herself. Still, she had a job to do, and filed away "get something to eat" as a small note in the back of her mind for later. Mandy suddenly snapped out of her trance and shook her head. "Soooooo what're you doin', again?" "I'm doing some research on Cream to find out what species she is." "You haven't found anything?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I analyzed her and tried to narrow down what she is using her attributes, but that didn't help much." She gazed at Peaches and Cream forlornly. "I wish Ocean were here. He'd probably be able to identify her species." Mandy bit her lip. As much as she wanted to bet on Cream being a simple cat-dog hybrid, she knew that in such a world as Odd Squad, there was hardly such a thing as a simple cat-dog hybrid. Animals like that were child's play compared to creatures like Hopinbobs, Centigurps, and Friggle Frogs -- and that wasn't even getting into the vast distinction between the two terms. No...this creature had to have a name attached to it, a name that defined its species and set it apart from the array of other odd creature species living on Earth. "What's wrong?" Mandy blinked. "Huh?" "You have a worried look on your face." Sure enough, Mandy did, indeed, wear a worried look. It had happened completely subconsciously, and she tenderly touched her cheek before she spoke. "Yeah. I-I'm just thinking. About Natsu. About how I thought it was all cute and cuddly, and how you had me look after it...until it turned on me." Her eyes briefly caught Fluttershy's own, widening in surprise. "A small part of me thinks that Cream...she may not be what she seems, either." Fluttershy nodded. "I understand. I've been having the same thoughts myself." she said. "Have you ever seen Peaches so happy about anything the way she's happy over Cream?" A few moments passed as Mandy tried to wrack her brain. Ultimately, though, she shook her head. "No. I mean she's definitely never been as happy as how I get about things..." Mare and child sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. They sat on the floor, watching their friend play with Cream like nothing bad was happening, like nothing bad would eventually happen, like they could just go about their daily lives and not have to worry about them at all. Such terrible naivete. They couldn't risk naivete. "Do you have a picture of the creature?" The question snapped Fluttershy out of her worried stupor. She glanced at Mandy. "No. Why?" "Either I badger Oprah and the Big O for answers, or nothing's gonna happen." That's right. Mandy is close with the Big O. How could I have forgotten? Fluttershy began mentally slapping herself right then and there, for thinking that going to the ever-benevolent Big O with a creature problem was a waste of time on both ends. In truth, she had no idea how long the Big O had been employed with Odd Squad, but even though Mandy had picked her for her kindness and assistance in stopping the previous Big O, she had to wonder if she had been picked for having some kind of longevity backing her up. "I'll ask them about the creature, and whatever I find out, I'll report back to you. In the meantime, if Ocean comes back, maybe you can talk to him about Cream and ask him if he knows anything about it!" Mandy chirped, feeling more optimistic now that she had a set plan. "Do you have a camera on you?" "I don't." Fluttershy shook her head. "Do you?" Mandy stood up. All she had to do was reach a hand inside of her hair and pull one out, a small black Odd Squad-branded digital one that had a slat at the bottom for producing photos similar to that of a Polaroid. "Always!" Fluttershy watched the antics of Mandy the photographer go down. The hybrid held her eye up to the lens and focused on Cream, who was holding a bulky white rope in her mouth. All it took was one second of her staying still for Mandy's itchy trigger finger to go off before she darted to the side and snapped a few more pictures. "Et voila!" The hybrid returned, levitating a photo of Cream to Fluttershy. "One for you and the rest for me!" "Oh, wonderful!" Fluttershy smiled as she looked over the picture. "Now I have something to put into the creature database! This is sure to help me narrow down Cream's species. Thank you, Mandy!" "D'aww, no prob!" Mandy waved a hand and began bouncing towards the door. "I'm off!" "W-wait, let me come with!" "I took so many notes on Cream's behavior. I can't believe it likes to eat everything on the ground. Even the ground itself!" "Like Daves, but they're cuter and they don't eat the entire planet!" As Fluttershy and Mandy roamed the halls, the former reached behind her back and pulled out a set of notes. "Would you, um...like a copy of my notes? To help you in asking about Cream?" Mandy took the papers in her magical grasp and scanned through them, not noticing Fluttershy's surprised expression as she wondered how, exactly, the hybrid could walk with her vision obscured and not bump into anything. "Ooooh!" Mandy's tail wagged. "Yes, I'll take these! They'll definitely help!" Fluttershy giggled, then straightened. "Oh dear. I should go back to Equestria. I have put the animals to sleep at home. The poor things must be so tired!" "Hey, what if you brought Cream to your house?" The question made the Pegasus nearly stop. It was a good thing she didn't, though, and a frown settled on her face. "I did talk with Ocean about inviting odd creatures from this world to my home. But he said they should remain here, since they're so unusual." Mandy nodded. She could certainly understand that logic -- Fluttershy's world had its fair share of odd creatures, but some of Odd Squad's might be downright weird even by Equestrian standards. "Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you later!" Fluttershy took flight and soared off, giving a "And good luck on your search!" before she rounded the corner. It took a while before Mandy began walking again. She read over the notes once, and then twice, to make sure she hadn't missed anything important. All that was there was how Cream reacted to the outside world and the strangers that lived within it, which wasn't all too helpful. Anyone who was anyone put on a nice front for strangers every time they went out. Mandy didn't -- she didn't really see the point in such a thing -- but she knew other people who did. And if Cream really had a nasty side, it would be shown right here in Headquarters. A feeling of exhaustion and stress encased Mandy's entire being as she made her way into the bullpen, where Twilight and Rarity had just entered. "Oh, Mandy! Welcome back!" Twilight waved eagerly. Rarity opened her mouth to issue a greeting of her own, but her smile faded upon seeing her co-worker in such a wretched state. "Is something wrong, darling?" "Wha?" Mandy blinked, and then her eyes widened, as though she had just come out of a trance. "I- n- no, nothing's wrong!" She gave a bout of sheepish, and hopefully convincing, laughter. "I-I was just lost in thought, that's all." As Rarity and Twilight exchanged confused glances, something inside Mandy snapped. Twilight was here. All-powerful, all-knowledgeable Twilight. Oprah? Big O? Who needs 'em, Twi could prolly outclass 'em in smarts! "Twilight!" The alicorn blinked, surprised by the sudden calling of her name and the sight of a human's index finger that was pointed right at her. She was too stunned to respond, instead staring up at the owner of the finger. "You've gotta be prof...pro...professor..." Mandy shook her head. "You know a lot about creatures! Read this and tell me if you know anything about this creature in particular!" With the notes still standing in midair, Mandy floated them over to the Princess of Friendship, where she took them in her own magic aura and read them. Rarity craned her neck to her left in order to read the notes along with her dear friend, her expression twisting from pleasant to displeased to outright surprise. Mandy twiddled her thumbs. Sweat began to pour down her face. As far as she was concerned, meeting up with Twilight was an opportunity. She didn't need to bug Oprah and risk getting yelled at, or go all the way over to the Big Office. She could speak to the smartest mare in Odd Squad and get the exact response she was looking for without all the extra work- "Hmm...I can't say I haven't." "Me neither." ...Or perhaps not. Mandy's body physically deflated, ever so slightly. What had she said about Twi being able to outclass Oprah and the Big O in smarts? Was she within the five-minute return window to give that statement back to the Jumping-To-Conclusions Store for a full refund? "It looks like a mix of a cat and a dog, though. Are you sure it's an odd creature?" Add another anvil to the pile of them that were already pushing on her spine and making it scream in completely unfathomable ways. "The thing eats dried cement, Twilight." came her voice, raspy and half-drained of energy. "It nearly ate through its own leash!" "It sounds pretty harmless to me." An eye twitch. "Uh, m-maybe not completely harmless!" Now it was Twilight's turn to sheepishly laugh as she waved her hooves back and forth in front of her, hoping to avoid whatever wrath might be coming her way. "I'm sorry I can't help you, Mandy, really. But Odd Squad has so many odd creatures for being around since the caveman times, and research on all those species takes time. I'm not even halfway through." "And for what it's worth, darling..." Rarity raised a hoof. "I certainly don't recognize this creature, either." A heavy sigh left Mandy's body completely open for deflating even further. She ruffled her hair, her anger beginning to dissipate. "Well, it was worth a shot, I guess...back to work I go. Thanks for nothin'." Twilight and Rarity watched the hybrid go with worried expressions before they left to attend to their own work, feeling bad that they couldn't help their friend with her issue. Although Twilight did make sure to file a note away in her brain to study and read more about what odd creature said friend was describing. Work had caused Mandy to temporarily derail her plans of asking Oprah or the Big O about Cream, and so, she decided to get as much done as possible to free up the next day. It was lucky for her that efficiency was one of her strongest traits, one that made her such a valuable asset to have within Odd Squad. Still, for some unexplained reason, when she had gone to bed that night, it was like she had taken one of the most fast-acting sleep aid drugs on the market. About half a bottle of them, if one bothered to calculate. Her deep sleep left her completely immune to the sound of the door opening, and the frantic "Mandy!" that came from the room's latest entrant. Said entrant wasted no time rushing over to Mandy's bed and shaking the hybrid awake, her black tail lashing to and fro. "Cuz, wake up! Please wake up!" Naturally, all Peaches got was a soft "mmm", an unintelligible grumble that told her that her cousin didn't want to be woken up, and then more loud snores that would make the most famous lumberjack in the country weep with envy. "Please! It's about Cream, I need your help!" Peaches' plaintive cries did nothing to sway the hybrid from her slumber. All that met here were more snores, unintelligible sleep sounds that ground into her brain like the inner workings of a coffee maker. By this point, she was getting a pretty solid workout in her arms just from shaking the hybrid back and forth in utter vain, although that amusing thought did nothing from stopping the tears that began to fall. "You've had enough sleep! Why don't you-" A growl cut into the catgirl's thoughts. Low, ominous, and certainly not coming from the deepest of her cousin's vocal cords. She swiveled her head to the source of the sound. Cream stood in the doorway, large off-white teeth bared in a show of aggression. "C-Cream! Cream, I-I'm so sorry!" For some unexplained reason, the creature did a 360-degree personality switch. Its aggressive demeanor switched to that of a scared animal on a dime, and she began yelping in fear as it scrambled away, as though Peaches had accidentally kicked her or stepped on some of her tails. "Cream..." Peaches' eyes grew misty as she leaned out the doorway and watched her new pet run down the hall and turn a corner. "Why does she hate me now? Why such a sudden change?" Aside from Mandy's snores, her musings went unanswered. She could feel her heart breaking in two, her brain allowing a memory to float to the surface about how the whole of Vallea had shut her out for years as though that would make a worthy comparison. In truth, that was just...well, not the truth. Years of isolation and bullying and abuse did not a worthy comparison to a friend suddenly hating her make, and she knew that. But that didn't mean the feeling of abandonment didn't hurt any less. She suddenly felt the same crippling loneliness again she felt when she first came to Toronto. After befriending everyone, she had vowed to never feel that same way again, and now that she did...she felt a sense of irrational paranoia infecting her mind. Without even thinking, she lunged at Mandy. The speech she gave was completely unintelligible as her hands curled up into fists and began pounding on her chest as though she was dead and needed to be revived. Tears began to make their way down their face, pulled by the ever-persistent forces of gravity and emotion. Peaches was so distraught in that moment that she didn't hear Mandy's ceasing of sleep sounds nor see her face turning into one of discomfort. And on that note, she certainly didn't initially feel Mandy's tail pushing her away towards the other side of the room as the hybrid turned over onto her left side. "NO!!" came the eardrum-splitting screech, as the catgirl scrambled back to her cousin's side. "D-don't leave me! The nightmares, the nightmares are so awful...so awful, and, and I can't be abandoned like that again, I just can't!" The lack of coherence in that sentence was something she probably would have laughed at in about twenty-or-so years if she looked back on it with the same optimism as Mandy. But she certainly didn't feel like laughing now -- not after recalling the sleepless nights she had back when she first arrived at Precinct 13579, which, she had to admit, hadn't really gone away even after her prolonged stay here. Sometimes, they still cropped up, and she couldn't stop them. Other times, they cropped up, and all she had to do was imagine Mandy or Pinkie Pie or some other exuberant character to brighten them up or even make them go away completely. She started shivering. The tears came faster now, until she felt like she had no more of them left to give. Her claws came out as they took ahold of Mandy's shirt sleeve, the sound of ripping doing nothing to sway her from her distraught moment. Something wet splashed against them, and she slowly opened her eyes to the color of red. Blood. I...did I just... If she did, Mandy didn't so much as give a groan. She was completely oblivious to the injuries, snoring and sleep-talking away as though nothing had happened. Peaches sheathed her claws. All she could do was stare at Mandy's exposed skin and watch the blood dribble down her arm like a haunting reminder. What is wrong with me? It was a question the catgirl hadn't been meaning to ask herself. But regardless, she already knew the answer. ...A lot of things. She had to wonder if Odd Squad offered therapy services. Surely they had to, what with these being children risking their very lives to fight things that could mark their premature ends. And if they did, surely a catgirl like her could attend therapy. Would she be classified as an odd creature? Did odd creatures even qualify for therapeutic services? Maybe she could ask Ocean or Fluttershy about it when she had the time. "One order 'f macadamia cheezze...!" Mandy sat up in bed, her eyes half-lidded as they struggled to adjust to reality. A yawn rattled about in her throat, capped off with a few lip smacks for good measure. Peaches' eyes widened, her previous thoughts running away from her mind and not bothering to stick there even with the most effort she could muster. She backed away, ears folded against the sides of her head as she grit her teeth and prepared for a verbal smackdown. "Wh'zz..." Slowly, Mandy's hand clasped her arm and pulled back. She squinted, she craned her neck, but for the absolute life of her, she couldn't put two and two together. Her other hand reached for her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. Peaches tensed up. Swig after swig after swig, and the glass was empty within just a few seconds. In three, two, one, and... "...Blood?" The sensation of pain hit Mandy like a train, and she clutched her arm. "Oww!" she cried out. "What..." Silence. Peaches could feel her cousin's gaze boring into her, and she knew she had to fess up. "L-look, cuz, I can explain!" "What? This was you?" Peaches searched her eyes. No signs of anger, but rather, just simple confusion with a twinge of drowsiness. She had to stop herself from being irrational and thinking the hybrid was going to break all family and friendship ties with her over something as silly as an accidental injury. But part of her told her that it was too late for that. "It..." She bit her lip. "I woke up this morning and tried to pet Cream, but she nearly bit my hand off...and then when I opened the door, she ran right out." Mandy blinked. "I tried to wake you up because I wanted you to help me find her, but you were dead asleep and I..." Peaches started to shake again. "I don't want to be abandoned again! I can't! It, it was my entire life, I never wanna go back to that, ever!" She broke down in tears. All Mandy could do was watch, rubbing her head and realizing that she might be far too early in the "I need to wake my entire being up" stage of her arousal to fully comprehend what was going on. Still, she got the basic gist of it, and threw off the covers. "Cuz..." She tilted her head. "What're you talkin' about? Who abandoned you?" Peaches didn't answer, just give a plaintive wail. Mandy held her close and rubbed her back, her own ears folding down along the sides of her head. "Look, I'll help you find Cream. I plan on asking around and seeing if I can identify her species, at the very least." Mandy said. "There has to be some explanation for why she suddenly became aggressive with you after you've been nothing but kind to her." This reassurance didn't help Peaches' fit of sadness all too much, and a few more choked sobs left her. "I really don't know who else abandoned you..." No, wait, that was a lie. Mandy did know. She had a pretty good idea. But unfortunately, discussing her cousin's life in Vallea under that utter slimy bastard who dared to call himself a king was only second on her list of priorities right now. "But once I get this whole Cream situation resolved, we can talk about it whenever you want. 'Kay?" Peaches swallowed a ball of saliva that had gotten stuck in her throat, then began wiping her tears away. She gave a simple small nod. "Good!" Mandy stood up. "Now, lemme just go get some brekkie first, and I'll get started! Why don't you hang around the bullpen for a lil' bit and converse? It'll do ya some good! Oooooor, use that super-awesome nose of yours to track down Cream! I believe in ya!" Peaches didn't even get a chance to answer before her cousin hopped out the door and down the hall towards what she had to assume was the Bathroom. With a shaky sigh, she, too, got to her feet, staring at the doorway for what seemed like hours. Yeah...she'll find out more about Cream. She has to. I just want Cream back with me...together again...I bought all this stuff for her, and now... She furiously shook her head. Now's not the time to get overly sentimental. I have to find Cream, and quickly. Grabbing a tissue from Mandy's nightstand and giving her nose a quick blow, she made her way out the door to start the search that she hoped really wouldn't take her a long time. After all, she could only take so much alone time before she broke. "Thank you!" "Not a problem, ma'am. You have a good day, now." "You as well." As Oprah waved goodbye to the deliveryman that had delivered a new stash of one thousand juice boxes, she got up to tear them open like Christmas presents and put them away. However, the sound of footsteps very nearly interrupted that activity. "Hiya, boss!" "Hi, Mandy." Oprah began prying open the first box. "Did you need something?" "Weeeeeell, I certainly didn't come here for a friendly chat!" Mandy giggle-snorted at her own comment. "See, you've lived a loooooong long time..." Oprah raised an eyebrow. "Do you know anything about this creature?" As Mandy reached into her hair and pulled out a photo of Cream, Oprah eyed it curiously. She tilted her head as her eyes narrowed, then tilted it the other way as her eyes narrowed further, and then her eyes widened considerably as she went slack-jawed. "Is...is that..." She took a step back. "It is! B-but I thought those just existed in Odd Squad folklore!" Before Mandy knew it, her boss was lunging for the box that she was trying to open before. She did it effortlessly, of course, and pulled out a juice box of a random flavor, sticking the straw into the top and taking a large sip. "Well? What is it?" "That, agent, is a Serpida." Mandy's nose wrinkled. "A Serpida?" "It's an odd creature that is a mix of two animals." Oprah explained. "They look and act friendly, but once they spend a couple days with someone, their view of them becomes warped." "Uh...warped how?" "A Serpida's most formidable enemies are spider-cats. When they spend enough time with a person, they will lash out at that person and attack them because they think they're a spider-cat." "But if they're enemies, don't they attack each other?" "Yes." Oprah nodded. "Serpidas will attack the person they've bonded with. It's led to many incidents and many hospital visits to boot. As well as...many casualties." Her eyes grew slightly misty. "Smaller Serpidas deal less damage due to their size, but still pack quite a punch." A sigh racked her body. "An agent I knew was a victim of a Serpida’s attacks. They took it home, bonded with it like it was their pet, and it turned on them a couple weeks later. At the time, I didn’t believe them when they told me. Serpidas were only known to exist in Odd Squad folklore tales. But this picture…" Mandy held it out for Oprah to examine again. Silence filled the room for a few moments. "Where is this Serpida?" "Peaches has it. I dunno where she found it, but she took it home and...I guess she's been caring for it." "For how long?" "I...I don't know." Mandy scratched her head. "I only found out about it recently. So did Agent Fluttershy. She's been making notes of Cream's behaviors -- Cream's what Peaches calls the creature, see -- and she's put them into the Creature Room's database." Oprah suddenly gripped Mandy by the shoulders. "You have to warn Peaches of what's going to happen. And you have to get her away from Cream before it's too late!" Ignoring the pain that was rocketing through her shoulders at the moment from Oprah gripping them too hard, Mandy bit her lip. It's me and Natsu all over again...only at least Cream attacking Peaches seems to be instinct. Still, maybe the stars aligned in the shape of "no one in Odd Squad is allowed to keep odd pets" for a second time...and now my cousin's gonna be slaughtered by that thing she calls a pet. Ohh, if only I'd just slacked off on work yesterday...now I know why Cream was so aggressive towards her. Oprah's right -- I have to find her and warn her! Her mind only barely registered Oprah's lips moving in what she was 99% sure was her signature "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" catchphrase, but her feet had caught on nonetheless. Before she knew it, she was running downstairs and through the steel double-doors, nearly tripping and falling a few times as she headed for the tubes. After a tumultuous tube ride that ended with her stomach slamming against ground a few times, Mandy decided to take flight and begin her search. Unfortunately, she forgot that Toronto wasn't what anyone would call a "small city". And she was only in the suburban part of it. "She could be anywhere in this city!" she lamented, not even bothering to stop the groan that tumbled from her lips. "And I didn't even get the picture back from Oprah...when will she give her a badge phone already?!" It felt like days before Mandy was able to find Peaches and Cream, and even then, she was confident it was just due to Lady Luck shining down on her once again. She swooped down as quickly as she could with mighty beats of her wings. "PEEEEEEEACH!!" "Huh? Nyaaah!" Peaches soared to the ground just as Mandy flew over her. Cream, likewise, gave a couple scared yelps as she scrambled backwards at the sight. "J-jeez, Mandy, don't divebomb me!" the catgirl snapped as she got to her feet, brushing dirt off of her dress. Unfortunately for her, Mandy was in no mood to listen to that. "It's, he, I, was, it, is-" "Whoa, catch your breath first! What's going on?" Mandy took a couple gulps of air into her lungs. "Cream is bad. She's a Serpida. You have to get rid of her!" Her voice was practically a scream, her arms having about the same density as overcooked pasta noodles as she waved them around frantically. "Get rid of Cream?" Peaches tilted her head. "Why?" Mandy grabbed her cousin by the shoulders. "She'll attack you soon! She thinks you're a spider-cat! A-and when Serpidas think you're a spider-cat, they'll maul you and shred you to bits n' pieces n' kibbles n'-n' bits!" Peaches blinked. For a moment, Mandy was confident her cousin would listen and work out a plan to get rid of Cream somehow. After all, she was the smart one between the two of them. Surely she wouldn't just dismiss her words as some weird ramblings or the talk of someone completely and utterly insane -- Mandy could be insane to some, but she wasn't "shoo-in for the latest opening at the psychiatric ward" insa- A laugh pierced her eardrums. "Cuz! Are you overdue for your nap or something? You're speaking in crazy!" Mandy's heart dropped at least ten stories. Maybe twenty. Elevators would weep at how fast her heart dropped, and it didn't even have a kill count yet. "No, I'm not, I'm being legitimate!" "Look. Cream is a sweetie. I know she was being really mean and elusive this morning and she tried to bite me, but we made up now! She was just having a bad day, that's all." "She's beginning to turn on you!" Mandy slightly shook Peaches. "It's instinct. That's why she tried to bite you! Oprah told me everything!" "Well, you can tell Oprah that she's wrong." Peaches said, gently pushing Mandy away. "I've had Cream for weeks now, and she's been nothing but nice! Er, most of the time." All Mandy could do was stammer. She glanced at Cream, who gave a soft whuff noise that contained nothing but the pure and kind innocence of a happy pet with its owner, and she felt a part of her die inside right then and there. No...she doesn't believe me. Why isn't she believing me?! "Older relatives' knowledge is the best knowledge, cuz." Peaches ruffled Mandy's hair. "Go home and get some sleep. I know I woke you up earlier than expected and you must be tired. Some sleep will do you some good!" The amount of vibrating Mandy did, coupled with a low deep growl, would probably have been enough to either send her to the astral plane, cause a few mini-earthquakes, or possibly both. To Peaches, however, it just made her look even cuter, and the smile on her face only grew bigger. "Sleep is not my top priority right now!" Mandy snapped, in a desperate last-ditch effort to make Peaches see reason. "My top priority is getting you away from Cream!" Peaches' smile suddenly turned into a harsh grimace. "It's not going to happen, Mandy. Cream and I have a strong bond. And it will not be broken just because you lay claim to it being mean!" A chuckle bubbled forth. "Maybe you're just jealous because you think I've been paying more attention to Cream than I have to you." Mandy's skill of the English language flew right out the window. She could only stutter and stammer, with none of the noises she made even coming close to being anything of coherence. And it certainly wasn't anything within the language parameters of what Odd Squad's alien agents in space spoke, either. Even her mind was an utter pile of mush, her thoughts being mashed together in one grand amalgam produced by her very own purely-human brain. And the worst part? All the while, Peaches was watching the act with a bemused smile. That damn bemused cat smile that just mocked Mandy without even trying. She wanted to badly to wipe that smile clear off of her cousin's face, and it took every inch of her willpower not to land a punch as hard as the one she gave Olive in that dream the Dream Weaver concocted. Finally, it seemed her brain was willing to work. Or the dominant hemisphere was, at least. "Jealous?! I'm not jealous!" "Sure. Keep telling yourself that, and maybe it'll start coming true." An eye twitch. Another eye twitch. Mandy yanked her pony ears down, parted her jaws, and let out a piercing scream of utter anger and frustration that caught the attention of more than a few passersby. While still screaming, the hybrid took flight once more, going back the way she came without another word spoken. Peaches watched her go for only a few moments, the smile still remaining on her face before she was jerked along the sidewalk by a dashing Cream. "Whooooa! Hey, wait for me!" It never really occurred to Mandy that perhaps she needed to find other places to blow off some steam than bothering two busy Directors, but in this particular instance, venting to Olive and Otto was exactly what she needed. As it just so happened, both of them were on their lunch break, it being a slow day at the precinct. Olive was reading the latest issue of The Shmumbertimes, her eyes skimming through an article about the unfortunate hospitalization of pop star sensation Alysha Webb after a drug overdose. Otto, on the other hand, was mindlessly staring at the ceiling, taking a swig of Dr. Shmumber soda. The sound of footsteps made Olive look up. "Huh? Oh, hi, Mandy." An unintelligible grumble became her only response as the hybrid flopped onto the couch, magically conjured up a five-pound bag of gummy bears that had the same density as a package of rocks not from Pinkie's family's rock farm, and shoved some in her mouth. "Something wrong?" Mandy stopped chewing. She adjusted the gummy bears in her mouth, pushing them to the far ends of her cheeks. "Do you really want to know?" she asked, not bothering to pay attention to whether any gummy bears flew out onto the floor or not. Olive wasn't deterred a single bit by the bad vibes in the air. A smile formed on her face. "Sure! We're all ears." "Yeah, what's up?" Otto chimed in, taking another sip of his soda. Mandy pulled some gummy bears into the center of her mouth, chewed them up, and swallowed them. "You know about Cream?" "I, um...can't say that I do." Olive said. "Are you talking about the food, or...?" "No. She's Peaches' new pet." Mandy said, with a grating edge to her voice. "Peaches found her somewhere and she's been taking care of her. But unfortunately, I had the...rather disappointing pleasure of finding out that she's a Serpida." "Peach? A Serpida?" Otto snapped his fingers in an "aww, man" sort of gesture. "Man, I knew something was off with her! She couldn't have just been an ordinary catgi-" A hammer resting on his face stopped him cold, its head almost being rammed up his nostrils. He glanced at it with widened eyes, and then looked directly at the one who was levitating it, with teeth bared, eyes narrowed, and a low growl to complete the ensemble. "S-sorry. I, uh...couldn't help myself." Otto said, pushing the hammer down slowly with his index finger and giving a meek grin. "Continue." Mandy huffed and pulled the hammer back towards her, setting it on the couch in case either Otto tried one of his jokes again or Olive tried one of her snark bits. She swallowed the rest of the gummy bears that were in her mouth and had gotten slightly mushier. "A Serpida, if you don't know, is a hybrid creature that forms a strong bond with someone and then turns on them after a while." "Turns on them?" Olive asked. "Why?" "A Serpida's biggest enemies are spider-cats. When they spend enough time with a person, they think that person is a spider-cat and and they begin to act aggressive towards them. And then they atta- um, no, wait...a better word would be 'maul'. Yeah, they maul them." Mandy folded her ears down in a show of anger. "I tried to tell Peach what Oprah told me, but she's so..." For the next few minutes, Olive and Otto watched as Mandy stammered in many pathetic attempts to come up with a more intricate word for what she was trying to say. Olive's eyes went completely half-lidded with bemusement, while Otto cracked a small smile and summoned every inch of his willpower to try and not laugh lest he wanted his skull bashed in. Ultimately, Mandy gave up the fight. "She just won't listen to me!" she cried out, before giving another frustrated scream and proceeding to bang her head on the coffee table. Olive's eyes grew wide on pure instinct before she realized that she had switched out the coffee table's makeup from glass to wood a long time ago after Mandy had tried to kill a cockroach and instead ended up killing usage of her hand for several weeks. Still, in spite of her surprise, she took initiative in giving the hybrid advice. "Unfortunately, there's nothing you can really do about it, Mandy. Remember, you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves." Otto nodded in agreement. "Just keep a close eye on Peaches and protect her when the Serpida attacks." "But-" "Take our word for it." The look in Mandy's eyes was nothing short of betrayal as she glanced at Olive. Take their word for it? That's the best advice they can give? Geez, put 'em through Harvard and make 'em therapists, I hear there's a shortage. "Take our word for it"...what, is there no magical solution I can use on Peach to make her listen to me? Some kind of unconventional thing like stealing the pet and maaaaaaaybe throwing it somewhere into Ohio? I have to let her do her thing and keep an eye on her at all times to make sure she doesn't get hurt by it? History really is doomed to repeat itself. If "repeat itself" meant "move at least three chairs to change the timeline". Silence filled the room. Deep down, Mandy knew they were right, but that didn't mean she was so keen on admitting it. She ruffled her hair and heaved a mighty sigh. "I just want Peach to be safe...but if she really does love Cream that much..." Her heart began to grow heavy all of a sudden, with a feeling of utter dread and resignation. "Guess there's nothing I can do about it." "Besides, can't Peaches fend for herself against one tiny Serpida, anyway?" Otto asked, giving a shrug. "She has a few battle skills up her sleeve." Mandy didn't feel like telling him about the size differences between each member of the species. "Yeah, but...I just don't want her to get killed by that thing!" "Have some faith in Peaches. She'll know what to do." "I hope so..." Another sigh. "Maybe she's right. Maybe I'm...just worrying too much because I need sleep." Olive and Otto watched her get up. "After all, 's not every day you wake up with gashes in your arm 'cause your catgirl cousin scratches you and screams about being abandoned." Confused expressions, which Mandy didn't see, and even if she had seen, would have chosen to ignore. "I'll see you guys later." With a halfhearted wave, she trudged out the glass double-doors, her hammer following suit in the thralls of her magic in a last-minute "whoops, forgot this" memory glitch. All Olive and Otto did was watch her go, their expressions changing to one of concern as they glanced at each other. Only after a few minutes did they go back to what they were doing, her strife only being a footnote in the backs of their minds. Teeth bared. Claws unsheathed. Expression twisted into an ugly grimace of pure, raw, unbridled anger. A frown. Claws sheathed, as they usually were. Expression one of concern and worry, with not a trace of fear held in it. "Cream? Are you-" Then came her piercing scream, loud and booming, managing to reach the ears of every single agent in Headquarters. Mixed in with the sound of a cat's yowl, it was, perhaps, one of the many subjective auditory equivalents of Hell itself. The scream cut off suddenly, and what met Mandy's vision was pure darkness before the scene switched like the snap of a finger. Her view met a medical monitor, with all three lines completely flat. Five huge zeroes stared at her, almost taunting her like they were willing victims of a number hog. "I'm sorry." Two powerful little words that can change an entire situation. Depending on the context, they could lead to a mended relationship between two lovers, a fixed friendship between two friends, or a dying ship that had capsized and was taking every one of its occupants with it. And, of course, there was the other kind of context they had attached to them. It had hurt her when she had seen her cousin lying in a bed, oxygen mask on her face, entire being hanging on by a mere thread so thin that most patients' guardians would have gone the physician-assisted suicide route by that point. Pneumonia, like many regular and odd diseases, was not something to be trifled with, and Odd Squad was no exception to that long-standing rule of biology and common sense. Likewise, neither was Vallea or any of its many residents. (Although time would tell in how they reacted to odd diseases. She wasn't sure whether they had traveled there or not.) Now, she was staring at a face whose beauty had been pockmarked every which way from the second Sunday of June. The limbs were much the same, four legs angled in awkward positions with bones broken to completely irreparable degrees, as was the tail, which was now nothing more than just a mere stub wrapped in white gauze. "She's gone, Mandy." Those were words she never thought she would have to hear. Not up until her adoptive mother died. Or one of the ponies died. Or Oprah, as the strong-willed and powerful Director she was, died. The one-toned sound of the flatline displayed on the medical monitor drilled into her ears. She probably would have gotten more joy from the sound of the Alert Ready tones, because at least those had actual flavor and substance for something that could deafen an entire village. The sadness that rocketed through her body had made her start shaking, and she had to fight to keep her grip on the side rail. She wasn't quite sure how much time had passed. All she knew was that she was screaming. A long, painful, mournful scream that threatened to crack the glass windows of the Medical Bay and bring the precinct to a complete stop as they listened to the song of its second-in-command. Before she knew it, she had somehow stopped screaming, like someone had taken a bullet straight to her windpipes. She was staring at a rather disappointed and angry Peaches, who was towering over her floor-bound body. Words tumbled out of her without her even thinking. "Peach, I'm only trying to protect you!" "What do you know?! You're just a kid!" "Wh- you're not even from here! You weren't born and raised in Odd Squad like I was!" Mandy fired back -- a rather stupid and irrelevant rebuttal in her eyes. Not that she knew for sure, but she figured Peaches was around the same age as her, if not only two or three years older. Who was she to tell Mandy that she was "just a kid"? For all she knew, the hybrid could have been an immortal goddess and she was just hiding it the whole time. "Cream is the sweetest creature I've ever met!" Peaches spat back, her long black hair and skinny black tail bushing outwards. "How dare you accuse-" "You're going to get killed! Do you really want to fail in your mission to find who burned down Vallea just because of one tiny little creature?! Is that how you want to die?!" Saliva shot out from Mandy's mouth as she spit the words at her cousin like knives coated in venom. "Don't you want to die with honor and dignity instead of at the paws of that...that thing?! That's gonna be your cause of death?!" Peaches took a step back, her angry expression faltering for a moment as she took in Mandy's words. Mandy herself, meanwhile, clapped a hand over her mouth, not expecting to dip her hands in the well of morbidity within this rather senseless argument. Perhaps it was her own doubts about Peaches surviving whatever attack Cream was going to go at her with that were resurfacing and twisting in her intricate mind. Perhaps it was her own cynical side bursting through and reminding her of just how contrived and complicated of a place her world truly was. She didn't know, and frankly, she didn't want to devote any resources to figuring it out. It was small potatoes compared to the current issue at hand. When Peaches didn't speak after a minute or so, Mandy got to her feet. "Forget it!" she cried out. "You're on your own! Do what you want! I don't care anymore!" Turning and stomping away, she felt anger swirling around inside of her gut. There was little reason why she shouldn't have slapped or punched or generally just beat up her cousin to make her see reason. But in this dream, she was not the one in control. The sound of whistling wind stopped her in her tracks. She looked up, and found that her view had once again suddenly changed. Luckily for her, she knew the place well, and the anger in her gut began to subside. "Haruko! Haruko, can you hear me? I need you, please!" "Mandy." The hybrid whirled around so quickly that she ended up falling on her rump. Standing in front of her was Haruko herself, ever-regal and ever-poised, gazing at her with her illustrious shining green eyes. "I will never get used to that." Mandy muttered, getting to her feet. "Haruko, you have to help me. My cousin, she's in possession of a dangerous odd creature that's going to attack her. But I can't convince her to give it up and let go of it! She just brushes me off as immature and silly..." She rubbed her arm. "Any second now, it's gonna happen. A-and I won't be able to protect her when it does!" "And why is that?" "I'm asleep. And when I'm asleep...I can't really be woken up by anyone else." Mandy's eyes widened. "W-well, I can, but it takes me a really really long while." A soft hum rattled in Haruko's throat. Mandy clenched her fists. "I just want to keep her safe..." "If I recall correctly..." Haruko said. "A while ago, you saved her from some villains whom she had willfully surrendered to, yes?" "Yeah. What about it?" "Mandy." Haruko blinked. "Do you not think that she can handle her own in combat?" "I-it's not that I don't think she can, 'cuz I know she can, but...dealing with villains is a whole different experience than dealing with odd creatures!" "I can sense the bond between you and her. It is quite strong." Haruko smiled. "It is clear that you really do care for her." "I do. I love her to kibbles n' bits and I don't want her to get hurt!" "You must believe in her, Mandy." Haruko took a few steps towards the hybrid, placing a gentle paw on her knee. "She may not be able to be convinced that the creature is a threat, but when the time comes...when it attacks her..." Silence. Mandy tensed up. She held her breath as she watched Haruko's eyes slowly close. "She will be prepared." "But- but no one knows when it'll attack!" Mandy blurted out in one breath. "I am quite certain that Peaches can fend for herself. After all, she traveled all the way to Toronto from Vallea just to find who attacked her town. Traveling that far...it is a feat in and of itself." Mandy didn't respond. She just glanced down at the ground. "And has Peaches not assisted you in taking down villains before?" The answer to that question, of course, was a solid "yes". Peaches and Mandy were a true dynamic duo in battle, and together they had taken down many villains and the oddness they created. With Peaches' razor-sharp claws and Mandy's powerful hammer, they were nearly unstoppable. Even Oprah had to note how well of a team they made. "Well, she...she has, but-" "Believe in her, Mandy." Haruko's voice was more firm this time. Mandy gripped the grass with her hand, pulling a few blades out and examining them as she tried to process what the kitsune was telling her. In a final attempt to get some advice that would placate her, she said, "But what if she gets hurt?" To which Haruko replied, "Then you can help her heal." A failed attempt. Still, far be it from Mandy to question the will and advice of someone so wise and collected -- and her words had made her think. Maybe Peaches really will be okay on her own. After all, Cream's a really small creature. If she's in her usual form, it wouldn't take much to knock it down to the ground and defeat it. Unless it can grow bigger...no, Oprah would've told me about that. I guess...the best thing to do is to leave her be. Even though worry had her heart in a vicegrip, she had to admit that the coils had loosened significantly. "Worry and fear is nonexistent in the Magical Grasslands, Mandy." Haruko cooed, taking a seat and gazing up at the sky. "Come sit and relax." And so, Mandy partook in the same song and dance again, sitting beside Haruko and trying to spot funny shapes in the clouds to distract herself for the time being, until it was her time to depart. They sold Converses with no-slip soles. Oprah knew that. It was just a shame that those versions weren't adopted into the standard work uniform for Odd Squad employees. As such, her sprint down the hall towards Mandy's room nearly ended with her legs buckling under her enough to twist an ankle. She was more agile than that, though, and managed to catch herself just in time. "MANDY!!" she screamed, breaking the door open with one mighty kick. "Come quick, there's an emergency!" The agent in question was fast asleep in bed still, eliciting her usual loud snores and nonsensical sleep-talk. However, her face expression was contorted into one of discomfort as she slightly tossed and turned. Normally, Oprah wouldn't have even tried to wake up Mandy, and would have just walked away. But panic was settling in, and any semblance of keeping a cool head went clear out the window. "Come on, wake up!" she said, grabbing Mandy by the shoulder and shaking her. That appeared to be a trigger for the hybrid. "Peach, PEEEEEEEACH!!!" came the terrified scream, as Mandy woke up, spread her wings, and zoomed out of the room at about the same average speed as Rainbow Dash performing her most dangerous stunts. Oprah blinked a few times, then slowly turned her head towards the direction of the doorway. "Well, that takes care of that..." she muttered, before she made her way out of the room. A painful yowl, followed by a command to sit still, only made Mandy put on more speed, nearly knocking over agents and creatures in the process. She swooped up into the air and made a mighty landing at the entrance to the Medical Bay with the sound of a boom accompanying it, her magic throwing open the door. "Cuz?!" "Mandy!" "Oh thank the-" A round of coughing interrupted Mandy, and she keeled over to catch her breath, folding her wings in. "Thank the jackalopes you're okay! I, I was so worried about you and I thought that you, you weren't gonna make it, and I wanted to protect you but Haruko told me that you would be okay and so I had to- ohh, I was asleep while you were attacked, why couldn't I have just stayed up just this once, and, and-" "Whoa, calm down!" Peaches said. "You're-" "I'M SORRY!!" "...Huh?" "I'm sorry!" Mandy repeated, leaping over and clutched the side rail of the cot Peaches was laying in. "I...I thought...I underestimated your combat abilities. I thought that Cream would murder you, and you wouldn't even try to fight back because...because you aren't..." She twiddled her fingers. "...you aren't used to dealing with odd creatures." Peaches' eyes widened. "Cuz...I've fought oddness with you tons of times. Villains, odd creatures, you name it. You know that I'm quite skilled on the battlefield." Mandy looked up, and it was then that she was able to fully take in her cousin's appearance. She was in her cat form, with stitches all over her body and two of her legs bandaged. Likewise, the tip of her tail was wrapped in gauze as well. Her eyes held fatigue, but also held a sense of warmth. The hybrid couldn't help but start to well up with tears. "I'm fine." Peaches assured. "Cream attacking me, it...it was...a shock, I'll admit. But look at me. I'm alive." "But- but-" "Look, Dr. O's treating me right now." Sure enough, the Head Doctor himself entered the room, a warm smile on his face as he glanced at Mandy. "Some of her injuries are pretty severe, but otherwise, she just has a couple of scrapes and bruises. She'll need to stay here for a day or two so I can evaluate her." Mandy's vision was becoming obscured by thick globs of water. "A-and Cream-" "It's being treated by Fluttershy and Ocean. They're putting it in the Dangerous Animal Quarantine for now." Mandy couldn't hold it back anymore. Her body heaved with sobs. "Aww, Mandy, you don't have to cry-" And then, the sobs turned into waterfalls, paired with pitiful wailing that made both Peaches and Dr. O cover their ears. "Hey, easy, easy, you're gonna aggravate my wounds!" Peaches yowled, struggling to scramble backwards in the cot. However, Mandy was beyond the point of listening. "I'm just so happy you're saaaaaafe!" she cried, nabbing Peaches and pulling her into a tight hug, which the catgirl scrambled to get out of before she added a broken spine to the list of injuries. "Peaches, mind opening your mouth and saying 'aah' for me?" The request was subconsciously met, no thanks to Mandy squeezing her cousin hard enough to where she had opened her mouth to protest in a loud ear-piercing yowl before Dr. O came along. He took an eye dropper and put three drops on her tongue, which she noted tasted rather bitter. "That's a pain reliever." he explained. "It should start working in a few minutes. For now, you should be confined to Odd Squad and get plenty of rest." As Peaches squirmed out of Mandy's grasp and landed on the cot again, she gave herself a quick shake before making eye contact with Dr. O. "And my shapeshifting abilities?" "Your cat form is more beat-up than your human form. Thus, if you stay in the latter form, then the former form should heal fine." Peaches nodded and moved her body so she laid vertically on the cart before a shimmer of light marked her transformation back to her regular form. By this point, Mandy had calmed down, being reduced to mere sniffles as she glanced at Peaches' injury-free body. "Peach...I wanna stay with you." "Mandy, don't you have work to do?" Peaches' nose wrinkled. "The sentiment is nice, but-" "Mm-mm!" Mandy shook her head. "Forget about work! I wanna stay with you!" "Forget about work?" Peaches chuckled. "You sure you're feeling okay?" "I'm fine!" Mandy grabbed the chair that sat on the far end of the room, then conjured up two more to accompany the rest of her splayed-out body. "Here, I'll nap with you!" Peaches didn't see it fit to argue with Mandy any further. She heaved a sigh. "All right. If that's what you want." "I'll leave you two to it and check up on you again in a couple hours." Dr. O said, before he left the room with a wave. Only a minute later, Oprah entered, her eyes wide with panic. "Peaches!" "Oprah!" "Are you feeling okay?" the Director asked, rushing to the catgirl's bedside. "Still in a lot of pain..." Peaches gave a soft chuckle. "But to be honest? I've been through worse. I'll manage." As Oprah opened her mouth to respond, a loud snore came forth to interrupt the moment. She swiveled around to find none other than Mandy, sprawled out on the chairs with half of her body hanging off of them and in quite the deep sleep. The Director smiled and shook her head. "Ha. I was wondering when Mandy was gonna fall back asleep. Didn't even have any of her chocolate drink." "She was adamant that she wanted to sleep with me. Unfortunately, Dr. O said that I have to rest here for a few days by myself." Peaches twisted her body to and fro in an effort to relieve tension that had begun building up in her back. "Did you know that Mandy actually thought I was weak in combat?" She laughed. "I mean really, a catgirl, like me, weak in combat? It's like she got amnesia!" Oprah responded with a laugh of her own, a rather uneasy and hesitant one as she recalled more than one time that Mandy had, indeed, suffered through a bout of amnesia. Perhaps it was just luck that all of them were only temporary. Or perhaps it was that oracle that Oprah had summoned enough to the point where he was now charging a $25 base fee for all future calls. "Yeah, well..." She smiled. "Mandy has a good heart. She's just looking out for you." A thought passed through her mind that made her perk up. "I gotta say, I admire your combat skills myself. Although maybe that's just because I've never seen a catgirl in action before." "Well, I'm always looking to get stronger!" Peaches' tail flicked to and fro with anticipation. "Got any place I can maybe train?" Oprah nodded, a smirk of her own settling on her face. "You're talking to the right gal. Come by my office once you're healed and we can discuss." "Sounds great!" "In the meantime, you rest up." Oprah glanced at the sleeping form of "Mandy, on the other hand, has a backlog of work. I'll let her sleep for now, but if she gets up, remind her, okay?" Peaches gave a nod and a thank-you to the Director before she left, another sigh leaving her as she got cozy under the Medical Bay's provided sheets. The sound of whirring marked the lights dying down throughout Headquarters, a symbol of another hard day's work coming to a close. That included the lights in the Medical Bay, which became downgraded to a dim setting at night in case of emergencies or simple Medical late-night work. Luckily for Peaches, she was able to see in the dark, and so, she was able to easily find her cousin and allow three simple words to dance in the air. "Sleep tight, cuz." A few days later, Peaches trudged into the Creature Room, nearly slamming into the door before muscle memory allowed her to pull it open. Her body ached a little, offset only a little by a round of painkillers she had been given earlier -- sleeping in a hard cot wasn't exactly the best thing in the world, but it was a good thing Dr. O had permitted her to start sleeping in her own bed again. "Hm? Oh, Peaches!" Fluttershy greeted, turning around and hovering her way over to the catgirl. "Hello there. How are you feeling?" "I'm fine!" A popping sound that Peaches could most certainly feel coming from her knee. "Um, mostly fine...has the research on Cream been going well?" "Oh yeah!" Ocean turned his head and nodded. "We've inputted what we know into the creature database." "We're so glad that Serpida didn't kill you!" Fluttershy clutched a hoof to her chest. "And we're even more glad we let it go before we had a chance to become its next victims." Ocean's smile turned into a soft frown as he watched Peaches nearly keel over. "You feelin' alright, kitty girl?" "I..." Peaches' eyes flicked from Ocean to Fluttershy and back again, a horrid sense of realization kicking in. "I'm just a little shaken still. I can't believe that Cream...really was that vicious." Her eyes widened, even more realization coming around to give her a kick in the gut. "And Mandy was right...ugh, why didn't I let her take it away when she was trying to warn me?!" "It's okay, Peaches." Fluttershy put a comforting hoof on her friend's shoulder. "What's in the past is in the past." "Best you can do now is apologize." A slow nod met Ocean's suggestion. "You're right. I-I have to apologize to Mandy, now!" As the catgirl soared out of the room, she stopped at the rail separating her from a terribly premature death, watching her cousin about to smash a gadget on the floor with her hammer and with Olive and Otto as the sole witnesses. "'Kay." Mandy took a deep breath and raised her hammer high into the air. "Stand back, this is gonna get messy!" A battlecry rattled in her lungs and was expelled in one mighty blow as she began to bring down the hammer. "Mandy!" "Wah!" The sudden shout of her name caused the hybrid to whirl around, Olive and Otto giving startled yelps as they stumbled backwards. Her grip loosened on the hammer, sending it flying towards the caller... Who ended up catching the handle of it clean in her hands before it could reach her face. Mandy stared for a few moments, completely agape as she watched Peaches slowly exhale and rest the head of her cousin's weapon down onto the floor. Both Directors could only exchange a surprised glance with each other, but at least they were better off than "ran into a problem and needs to restart" Mandy, who inched a pointed index finger up towards Peaches and struggled to form coherent English words. Finally, after a few minutes, the words came. "Wow, you're...really good!" the hybrid cried out, sparkles forming in her blue eyes. "I've learned from enough near-smash incidents with your hammer." Peaches said, walking over and handing Mandy's hammer back to her. Her gaze turned steely. "Now, on to business." Mandy blinked as she put the hammer behind her back and took the full brunt of the gaze. "L-look, if it's about the fish I ate, I was really hungry and that fish looked really good!" "No! It's...not that." Peaches chuckled. "I came to apologize." "...Apologize?" "When you came up to me and tried to take Cream away...I should have listened. Instead I just brushed you off as immature and silly, and I really shouldn't have." Peaches rubbed her arm. "You're an Odd Squad agent, and I'm not. You know more about odd creatures than I do. And I should have trusted your judgement. I'm sorry." The catgirl closed her eyes, expecting Mandy to still act bitter and hostile towards her. The feeling of abandonment began creeping up into her heart, and she could feel irrationality begin to take over yet again as she began to recall all the other times Mandy had been hurt and needed more than just a few hours to spare some forgiveness. "Aww, that's okay!" She opened her eyes and blinked. "I'm just really really happy you're alive after all this!" Mandy ruffled her cousin's hair. "Can't have our faaaaavorite catgirl dyin' when she's got a mission to complete, can we?" And then, there came that laugh. That giggling and snorting that warmed Peaches' heart more than a fireplace in negative-degree weather. To her negative feelings and worries, it took the form of a single foot that punted them high into the sky enough to create twinkles in it. (Not literally, of course, but it would be rather funny if they did.) "Oh, definitely not." she said, laughing alongside her cousin before she gave a pleasant sigh. "And speaking of the mission...I'm gonna go and have a little chat with Oprah. She promised to tell me where I can train." Mandy tilted her head. "Train?" "Well sure! There's always room for improvement." Peaches gave a shrug. "And whoever did burn down Vallea is probably super-tough. I'll need to be prepared." "Weeeeeell..." Mandy pulled Olive and Otto closer to her in a hug, with one Director on each side and both of them developing surprised looks. "If ya ever wanna train, we three are your gals!" "And guy!" "And guy. We're your two-gals-and-a-guy." Peaches blinked. "You'd...you'd really take the time to train me?" "Of course, silly!" Mandy chirped, setting Olive and Otto down. "You're part of the Odd Squad family! I'm always up for trainin' ya! And Momma and Otto received toooons of strength training when they were made Directors!" Olive nodded, brushing dust off of her suit in an attempt to compose herself. "It's true. I'm the strongest one out of us two, though." Otto whirled his head around to face her. "What? No you're not!" "Am too!" "Am not!" "Am too!" The pair shot glares at each other that could melt butter. For a minute or so, it didn't seem like either one of them was going to back down. Peaches and Mandy watched the standoff with curiosity, the latter having a shimmer in her eyes as though rooting for one of them to win. Eventually, their expressions relaxed, and they shared a hearty laugh. Peaches gave a smile, the small part of her worried that things were going to escalate slowly ebbing away. "Well, in that case...I'll consider it!" "Yay!" Mandy joyously leaped into the air, her wings providing the extra lift. "Now go and see Oprah. She's super-duper strong! Stronger than Momma and Otto both, even!" "Hey!" "All right, all right!" Peaches laughed and began to make her way towards the left staircase. "See you later, okay?" "'Kay! Have fun!" Mandy, Olive and Otto all waved the catgirl off as she went up the stairs and disappeared into Oprah's office. "Now..." Mandy gave a sigh. "Where were we?" Olive pointed to the gadget, in one whole piece and still on the floor. "About to smash the Grab-inator?" "Ah, yes." Pulling her hammer out from hammerspace again, Mandy raised it up high and gave a mighty deep breath, channeling all her focus into her aim and precision. "Okay, stand back, for realsies this time!" she warned, narrowing her eyes. Olive and Otto, of course, did as they were told. Had they not, either a gadget piece would have injured them, or Mandy's hammer would have. And they didn't want either. Once Mandy was sure she had good aim, she riled up her lungs, let loose a primal and rather feline yowl, and threw the hammer down onto the gadget. A loud bang sound was produced, marking the destruction as a complete success. S1E18: Working Hard and Hardly Working"Ocean? I'm going to get more creature food." "'Kay! Take your time!" Fluttershy stretched out her legs before exiting the Creature Room, the fur on her sides rippling as she sighed. It had been a rather long day of chasing, feeding and cleaning up after creatures, including new inductees into the Creature Room, and she was starting to feel exhausted. Still, she figured that getting some fresh air by traversing through Headquarters would do her some good, if she couldn't go on her break early and go outside. As she descended the stairs, her eyes fell on a large mound of papers that were rustling, as though someone was hiding and wasn't doing a very good job of staying hidden. A muffled scream emanated from it, which startled the Pegasus. "Oh! G-goodness!" she exclaimed, backing up a step or two and feeling her legs begin to shake. Another muffled scream came forth, which made her eyes widen further as she became paralyzed with fear. Secretly, she wanted to explore the pile to make sure the screaming wasn't coming from a stray creature that had somehow gotten lost, but her fear ultimately took over. Still, she managed to work up the courage to speak. "W-who's that?! I-is it a paper monster?!" "Fluttershy?!" She gave a soft gasp, clearly not expecting the pile to speak back to her but knowing full well who the voice belonged to. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she called out, "Mandy! I-is that you?" "Help me! I'm..." A pause as the pile rustled in a more fierce way than before. "...kinda stuck over here!" "Um..." Fluttershy began to hover. "I'll try!" As she moved closer to the pile, she looked around it for any sign of Mandy's body. To her surprise, there didn't seem to be anything. It would have been the perfect disguise for any unsuspecting villain who was dumber than bricks -- which, to be fair, described a lot of villains in the Toronto area. "Um, can you give me a hand?" Fluttershy asked, jumping back slightly when a hand suddenly thrust out of the pile like a fast-moving zombie seeking a new victim. "O-okay...I'm gonna pull you. Try and break free!" "I'm not makin' any guarantees!" With wings flapping as hard as she could, the Pegasus clasped her hooves around the hand and pulled. For a minute, it didn't seem like Mandy was budging. It was almost like she was stuck to the floor by some mysterious force. Either that, or Fluttershy's strength really wasn't up to snuff. "I can feel myself comin' loose!" came the elated cry, which spurred Fluttershy to put more effort into her pulling. She grit her teeth, wondering if she was actually pulling the Shapeshifter who had somehow gained the ability to change her weight. But whether it really was the villainess or not, she couldn't help but ask herself if Mandy had gotten heavier. Of course, she knew better than to ask that aloud. She was the Element of Kindness, and she certainly hadn't forgotten Mandy's wishes of not having agents talk incessantly about her weight. Finally, with a mighty "Hah!", she yanked Mandy free. The hybrid went up into the air a little ways before crashing down onto her friend, leaving them both splayed on the floor and panting heavily as papers fluttered about in the air. Once Fluttershy caught her breath, she wriggled herself free, folding her wings in and turning to face Mandy. "Mandy! You look like a mess! And..." She tilted her head. "Why are you buried in papers?" "I..." Mandy swallowed. "I've been so backed up with work..." She slowly began to get to her feet. "See, there's been a recent surge in Toronto cases and Oprah assigned me with filing paperwork that other agents fill out." "Don't they have a File Room with a receptionist for that?" "Yeah. But they've been sick and out of work all week." Fluttershy bit her lip, noting how Mandy's matted hair and tail, her puffy eyes, and the exposure of her white undershirt made her look more tired than when she was sleep-deprived. "But you have cases to solve and paperwork to file too, don't you? Not to mention all the gadget repairs!" The Pegasus took a few steps forward. "Oh, and you look like you're going to collapse any second!" "I think we're well beyond that stage..." Mandy said, rubbing her head and groaning as she felt a headache start to come on. "On top of that, I've been having to get up earlier than usual. My sleep's all outta wack now!" That would explain her appearance. Or mostly explain it, anyway, Fluttershy thought, eyeing her friend up and down. She inhaled, confidence surging through her and a determined expression settling on her face as she straightened and laid her game plan clear on the table. "Mandy, you need a vacation." Weak laughter met that proclamation. "Yeah, I do. But ya really think I'll be able to take any time off when I have all this to do?" "Yes." Fluttershy said. "Because I'll do it for you." A pause. Mandy's eyes widened. Her expression twisted into one of surprise, and then skepticism, and then right to utter disbelief. "You?" she said. "You don't even work in Investigation, how do-" "I may not work in the Investigation department..." Fluttershy raised a hoof. "But I received Investigation training at the Odd Squad Academy, remember? I know how to handle paperwork." "And the gadget repairs?" "I'll leave those to Oona and the other Scientists until you come back." "And what about Oprah? She's gonna yell at you if she finds you doing my work when you're supposed to be in the Creature Room!" Fluttershy gave a mighty huff. "Let her." Mandy took a step back. "Wow. You sound...really confident." she uttered, an edge of worry creeping into her voice. "You do know that Oprah's reeeeeeally really strong, right? Like, she can twist you into a pretzel in five seconds flat?" "I'm aware." Fluttershy nodded. "But I can fend against her. I'm not afraid of her! I'm not the shy pony I once was!" She was right, of course. Mandy knew that Fluttershy had gotten more confident over the years, thanks to the support of Odd Squad and all of her friends. But she also knew that the mare had quite a ways to go, and with Oprah, it was made even more obvious. A rough-and-tumble leader who ruled an entire branch of a pseudo-government organization with an iron fist didn't necessarily mesh well with a meek but kind Pegasus who was the Bearer of the Element of Kindness. Fluttershy herself knew this too. But she was too wrapped up in her confidence to care very much about dealing with Oprah. Besides, as far as she was concerned, the Director mostly stayed in her office, and if Mandy was backed up with paperwork, surely she was backed up as well -- meaning her exiting the office was almost a non-issue. "Heh. Well...don't say I didn't warn ya." Mandy shrugged, before her eyes widened. "Hold on. What about your Creature Room duties?" "Ocean's a laid-back guy. He'll understand the situation." Mandy stammered, as though trying to protest further, but ultimately accepted her imminent defeat with a sigh. "All right." "Now go! Take a vacation!" Fluttershy shouted, stamping a hoof on the ground to emulate the slammed fist of Oprah as well as emulating her loud voice. Still, the mare's volume certainly couldn't compare to her boss's, and she smiled as she spoke more quietly, "I insist." "Yes, Ms. O." Mandy snickered, and began to make her way down the right hallway. "Have fun!" Fluttershy waved goodbye with a hoof, then exhaled as she turned to face Mandy's desk and the pile of papers that sat by it still. The confidence didn't ebb away any, and she almost felt like trotting in place to burn off the excess energy she had accrued from sheer motivation. "Now, where to begin..." Within the hour, Fluttershy had gotten a sizeable amount of paperwork done. A stack of papers sat to her right, and she was working on another O-135 form that had been half-filled. Mandy regretted to tell her that many of the forms had been half-filled, or a quarter-filled, or not even filled at all. Perhaps that was the source of her strife. After all, who likes things done half-fast? "If only I were a unicorn...writing with a pencil would be so much easier." she mused aloud to herself, lazily rolling the pencil about as she contemplated taking a break to go and get something to eat, or perhaps a drink to quench her thirst. The sound of the automatic doors opening put an end to those thoughts, and she turned her head to spot Olive and Otto coming through. "Oh, hey, Fluttershy." Olive greeted. "Olive, Otto! Hello." "Have you seen Mandy?" Otto asked. "Odie's been backed up with gadgets all day and we really need some repaired." It figures they would ask about Mandy. Fluttershy internally sighed. She wasn't too worried about Olive nor Otto -- they were powerful Directors, sure, but this wasn't their precinct to run, and they wouldn't have the mare's head on a platter just for doing Mandy's job. She straightened up in the chair. "Mandy...is on vacation." "On vacation?" Olive blinked. "That's weird. It's not really like her to take vacations." "It's at my own insistence. Not Oprah's." "But what if Oprah finds out?" Otto asked, his tone nothing short of panicked. "Olive and I have both witnessed firsthand just how strong she is. And it goes double if she's angry!" "I'm not concerned about that." Fluttershy shook her head and smiled. "Mandy was so overworked that she was buried in papers when I saw her!" "And what about your Creature Room duties?" "I spoke to Ocean and told him what was going on. He was more than happy to run the Creature Room in the meantime." "But...you work in the Creature Care department, don't you?" Olive tilted her head. "You don't work in Investigation." Fluttershy was starting to get a sense of deja vu, and it was tiring. She silently sent a prayer to Celestia that no other agent would come along and ask about her sitting at Mandy's desk and doing her friend's paperwork, because she really didn't feel like giving the same old answers to the same old questions over and over again, even if this was just the second time. "No. But I've received enough training at the Odd Squad Academy to know the ins and outs of paperwork like the back of my hoof." She extended a hoof towards the Lab. "If you need gadgets repaired, go to the Lab and leave them for Oona and the other Scientists. It's a little difficult to repair gadgets without unicorn magic." The Pegasus's confidence appeared to be lost on Olive and Otto, who were either too preoccupied with what they were doing or just didn't care. "All right." Olive said, giving a shrug as she and Otto began making their way to where Oona was behind the counter, fiddling with a gadget of her own. Fluttershy, meanwhile, quickly returned to work. Peaches stretched her feline body out, her jaws parting in a rather toothy yawn. "Oh wow. That was one of the best naps I've had in years!" she said, feeling energy begin to return to her as she leaped off of the bed and transformed back to her humanoid form. Deciding to see if Mandy or someone else wanted to hang out, she began to make her way out the door and down the hall. As she approached the bullpen, she was quick to notice one thing that was particularly off. "That's definitely odd." Peaches muttered, making her way over and giving a wave. "Hey! Agent Fluttershy!" "Hm?" The Pegasus swiveled her head to make eye contact with the one who had called her. "Oh, hello, Peaches." A pause. Peaches squinted, scanning Fluttershy up and down, touching her mane, and booping her hard in the snout. "You're...not Mandy in disguise, are you?" she asked, not bothering to hide her suspicion. Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm really Fluttershy. Mandy's on vacation." Peaches blinked. She had expected the Pegasus to tell her that Mandy was out on a case or was sick. A vacation was the last thing she had been expecting, and so, it briefly caught her off guard before her mouth curved upwards into a smile. "Ha! Mandy, on a vacation?" Peaches held back a snort. "Just last week, she told me that she would never take a vacation because-" "-it'd just be me sleeping for a week or two." Mandy smiled. "I mean don't get me wrong, I loooooove to sleep, but you guys go nuts if I sleep for more than 12 hours!" She patted Peaches on the shoulder. "Besides, Precinct 13579 needs me! I'm not here to kiss the feet of Oprah." She capped this off with a round of her giggling-snorting laughter, while Peaches nodded in understanding. Or, well, at least the best understanding she could. Fluttershy tilted her head. "Well, I pretty much forced her to take a vacation. The poor thing was buried under a mound of papers, and she looked so worn-out when I rescued her!" "What was she doing?" "The receptionist down in the File Room is out sick, so Oprah has been delegating agents' paperwork-filing duties to Mandy." Fluttershy rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "I'm honestly not quite sure why she couldn't just do it herself, but perhaps she's busy with other things." Peaches' gaze drifted to the two stacks of papers that both looked about ready to topple over. "And you finished it all?" "Mhm!" Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically. "It was actually easier than I thought it was going to be, even though many agents didn't take the time to do it properly." Her gaze moved towards the left hallway as she sighed. "Now I just have to take them down to the File Room..." "I can help with that." Peaches offered. "Why don't we do half-and-half? I take down one half, you take the other." "You'd...really help me?" "Sure. It's the least I could do while I'm here. Carrying all of these yourself would probably break your back, especially since you don't have any unicorn or alicorn magic to levitate it or anything." Fluttershy couldn't deny that Peaches was right -- and she really couldn't risk getting injured while Mandy was away. A smile formed on her maw. "Oh, thank you, Peaches!" As catgirl picked up one stack, mare picked up the other, and together, they traversed down the hallway with papers in tow, both surprised at how lighter the stacks seemed to be than what they were expecting. A few minutes later, they had arrived at the door to the File Room, which was decorated with a few bins that had plastic folders in it but were certainly not for filing paperwork. Nonetheless, they saw some papers littered throughout the bins, which, to their luck, were all fully completed and ready to be filed. "Here, I'll get the door." Peaches said. She pressed her body and the stack against the door while her right hand moved towards the doorknob, giving it a quick yank to the right. A stumble brought her back to her senses as she tried to keep the stack steady, but she found her balance rather quickly. Once she steadied herself, she had a look around the room. Two cabinets sat on the far side, stacked to the brim with gadgets galore. Flanking her on both sides were two more cabinets that also had gadgets and folders sitting on every shelf, with the cabinet on her right boasting a bulky tan-colored machine of some kind that she didn't identify. In the center of the room sat the receptionist's desk, with three bins to sort files into as well as some stray files and all the normal stuff one would find on a desk -- calculator, desk lamp, cup with pens and pencils, and some sort of holder with index cards shoved into it. She didn't know what that was for, if she was being honest. "Huh. So this is the File Room." Her nose wrinkled. "Looks...smaller than I thought." "The receptionist specifically asked for a small room." Fluttershy explained, her voice sounding strained as she lifted the stack into the furthermost right basket. Once she set it down, she exhaled and added, "You can set the papers in that machine over there." That bulky machine? Really? The machine that doesn't look like it does anything? Peaches thought. They really couldn't have come up with some better system, huh? She gave a couple grunts as she lifted the stack into the machine. To her surprise, the machine came to life the second it was inserted, as it produced an orange widespread beam that scanned the papers with a series of whirs and beeps. The process only took a couple seconds, and once it was complete, the button on the bottom-right glowed green. "Um...d-does that mean...it's okay?" she asked hesitantly. "Yes." Fluttershy nodded and pointed to the third bin. "Just take that stack out and put it here." Peaches did as she was told, which allowed the Pegasus to put her stack into the machine for scanning, where it too got the green light. She then put it right on top of Peaches' stack before landing and folding in her wings to let them take a good long rest. "Thank you so much for your help." Fluttershy smiled. "Carrying that many papers, all by myself...it would have been such a hassle!" "Not to mention back-breaking. Literally." Peaches couldn't help but wince as she briefly imagined Fluttershy in a wheelchair with a broken spine, or maybe a slipped...ah, whatever they were called. She couldn't remember. "Anyway, it's no problem. Did you happen to find out where Mandy went on her vacation?" Fluttershy shook her head. "She never told me. But you can try calling her." Ah cattails, why didn't I think of that? As Peaches reached a hand up towards her chest, she groaned as she came to a realization. "I don't have a badge phone. I really have to ask Oprah for one..." "Here. You can borrow mine." Peaches glanced at Fluttershy's outstretched hoof, with her own badge phone delicately resting on it. She took it and opened it. "Thank...you?" A long pause settled in the air. Fluttershy watched Peaches tilt the phone every conceivable way and begin pushing buttons that didn't do anything. For a moment, a thought passed through her mind of letting her fiddle with the phone, and bringing out a sort of trolling side to her no one would have expected. But she threw it into the mental trash -- that was the sort of thing meant for Pinkie Pie, anyway, and she didn't feel like having her kindness and patience tried with Odenbacker again. "Uh, remind me how this works?" "I have Mandy on speed dial. Just press 1." A beep, and then a couple ringback tones began to play, echoing within the tiny room. Unbeknownst to both mare and child, however, Mandy was busy relaxing at a beach. Her phone was on vibrate, but even though should could very well hear it, she refused to answer it, instead resuming her tan and cranking up the volume on the boombox that sat on the table to her right. Fluttershy frowned. "No answer." she murmured, as Peaches closed the phone and handed it back to her. "I guess it's for the best. Mandy deserves to have a vacation, alone, if she wants it. She works so hard for Odd Squad." "Sometimes too hard." Peaches concurred with a nod. "Well, if I can't hang with Mandy, I guess I'll go for a walk around the town." She began to head for the door. "See you later, Fluttershy." "Bye!" As she walked out, her mind began to fill up with thoughts. Mandy on vacation...it just doesn't feel right to me. I can't explain it, but I'm getting a sort of bad feeling about this. Like something's going wrong. Please, cuz, stay safe. Have fun on your vacation, just stay safe. A half-hour into working on some more paperwork that she had found piled up on her friend's desk, Fluttershy's concentration was broken by the booming sound of yet another stack of papers making impact with the desk. "Eep!" "Oh, Agent Fluttershy. Sorry about that. I didn't see you there." Oprah apologized, brushing dust off her hands. "Why are you sitting at Mandy's desk?" A feeling of dread began to settle in the pit of Fluttershy's stomach. She had talked the talk, and now she had to actually walk the walk. The only problem was, she hadn't really thought of any excuses for when Oprah did eventually come out of her office, leading her to devise one on the spot. "Oh! Um, she...she's...getting a checkup from Dr. O right now and asked me to fill in for her in the meantime." Sweet Celestia, please don't let my cover be blown! Oprah looked to ponder this answer for a moment, before she nodded. "Well, it is important to be healthy, I suppose." she said, resting a hand on the stack she had just put down. "When she comes back, can you tell her that this is another batch of paperwork for her to file?" That same hand then moved to ruffle her tied-back hair as best she could, a ragged sigh escaping her. "There are just so many cases that agents have been solving and so many are in a rush to get the paperwork filled that there are tons of blank spots!" Fluttershy internally breathed a sigh of relief. "Um, sure, but..." She tilted her head. "Forgive me for asking, ma'am, but...is there a reason why you can't fill out the paperwork?" "I'm busy with my own Director duties. Besides, it's not in the job description of the Management department to do that kind of stuff." Oprah responded. "I know Mandy is very productive and is a very diligent and hard worker with tons of energy, so with that in mind, this should be no problem for her." Half of Fluttershy had a mind to smack her boss right then and there. The other half, of course, was more rational. It knew better, and instead allowed the mare to settle for a light disapproving frown. But she has her limits. I understand that. If she wants to take a break, then that's fine with me. Heck, I'll even let her take a vacation. She deserves it! ...Is what I want her to say. But she's not going to. Is she really this blind as to Mandy's wants and needs? As she berated herself for asking such a rhetoric question, she settled for an "Uh-huh" of incredulity, followed by, "Well, I'll pass the news along to her when I see her." "Thank you. And you can tell her that if she gets all the paperwork done, I'll reward her with a special juice box." "Will do." Those two words were enough to get the Director off of Fluttershy's back, as she turned and began making the journey back to her office upstairs. Fluttershy gave a scoff, her facial features darkening. "Yeah, she's productive, diligent and hard-working, all right. Apparently she's supposed to be like that all the time without stopping, huh? As if you're not lying about having so much work to do yourself?" She pivoted back around in the chair. "Luckily, she has me to pick up the slack she leaves behind. I'm starting to like doing this." She quickly returned to work, grabbing a pencil between her teeth and an incomplete form and beginning to fill it out. In the Lab, Olive and Otto were retrieving the last of their gadgets from Oona, now fully repaired and functional. "Thanks for repairing these gadgets, Oona. We really appreciate it." "Hey, it's not a problem!" Oona nodded at Olive. "Sorry it took so long. Uh, but might I suggest you two use the double-doors to enter Headquarters instead of...you know, using my back room?" "But we...didn't..." Otto trailed off, having argued with the Lab Director about this issue thrice now and not being so keen on going for Round Four. He turned to leave, as did his partner. "Fine. Sorry. We'll do that next time." "Have funnily-doo!" Oona chirped, waving them off before her smile contorted into a frown. "Darn it, I have to work on a better catchphrase..." Neither Director got very far before their eyes laid upon a mare at work. "Hey, is...Fluttershy still working?" "Apparently." Otto said, in response to his partner. "But the stack looks...taller than last time. Did Oprah give her- er, uh, I mean, did she give Mandy more paperwork?" "Looks like it." Olive scanned the bullpen. "Speaking of...I haven't seen Mandy all day. Maybe we should give her a call and see where she is." "She's on vacation. What more else do you need?" "She could be on vacation in a villain's lair, tied up and helpless." Olive sharply retorted, beginning to reach for her badge phone. "I wouldn't do that." Both Directors whirled their heads to the right, gadgets in hand and ready to fire. As soon as they saw who it was that was approaching them, however, they relaxed. "Oh, Peaches! Hi!" Otto waved. "What's going on? Why shouldn't we call Mandy?" "Because Fluttershy and I tried calling her earlier. We didn't get a response." "Maybe she has her phone on vibrate? Or silent?" "Could be." Peaches shrugged. "But really, not bothering Mandy is for the best. It's like I told Fluttershy: she works so hard for Odd Squad that if she wants a vacation, we should let her have it." Both Olive and Otto concurred, giving murmurs of agreement. "Have you told Oprah?" Olive asked. "No, and I'm pretty sure Fluttershy hasn't, either. I'm not sure what she would do to her if she found out." "She could fire her...or put her on probation..." Peaches stiffened. "I-I think Fluttershy knows what she's doing, though. She doesn't seem to be worried!" She gave a bout of nervous laughter. "Besides, if I'm being honest...I'm on her side here. I know Mandy's second-in-command, but does Oprah really need to stick her with all of the paperwork duties?" Olive and Otto exchanged an inquisitive glance. "It just doesn't seem fair, is all. Mandy's only one person." Peaches sighed. "Whatever. It's out of my hands, anyway. I just hope Mandy's enjoying her vacation...wherever she is." The ten notes of Odd Squad's theme tune broke through the rather depressing air, and everyone stared at Olive's badge phone as she hesitantly picked it up, opened it, and pressed a button to put the incoming call on speakerphone. "Go for Olive." "Mommaaaaaaaa..." Eyes widened across the board. Fluttershy, working at Mandy's desk nearby, swiveled around in her chair. "Mandy?! Oh, I-I didn't expect you to call!" Olive said. "Uh, listen, I heard you were on vacation-" "Hav' I ever toldju m'bout the time...the tiiiime..." A hiccup. "I went water skiin' with...Larissssa Cabreeeera?" It was then that Olive realized exactly what was going on, and she could feel her heart drop several feet as a flicker of anxiety came to life. She covered the speaker part of the phone with her hand and leaned in closer to Otto and Peaches. "I, uh...think she's..." She mimed someone chugging a glass of alcohol, complete with silent glug sounds. Otto managed to catch on rather quickly, giving a long, drawn-out "ohhhh" of realization that curved upwards into a question at the end. Peaches, on the other hand, didn't quite understand, and only gave a meek shrug. "She's...sick?" "She..." Olive's expression twisted into a rather ugly-looking smile. "...is drunk." "That means she's had too much alcohol." Otto explained to Peaches. "It's what adults drink all the time. It's really bad stuff, especially for us kids." "She hasn't had alcohol, Otto!" "And thennn we had Slurpeeeees together!" The muffled sound of Mandy's laughter came forth, followed by another hiccup. She rolled around on the hotel bed she was laying on, kicking her feet to and fro -- not that anyone could see it. "That was funnnnnn." Olive took a deep breath and placed a hand on Peaches' shoulder. "Let me explain. Once in a blue moon -- and I'm not talking about when the moon is actually blue -- Mandy treats herself to root beer. The thing is, she always treats herself to too much root beer." She held up her badge phone. "And when she does..." Peaches listened to the sound of Mandy's slurred laughter, which only increased after she belched. She was starting to understand exactly what alcohol was, and if Otto's words were any indication, she had to wonder how Mandy had gotten her hands on a drink that was for adults. Perhaps her drinking root beer worked the same was as Oprah drinking juice, which, in and of itself, was likened to an alcoholic drink by passing agents she had eavesdropped on. "That sounds horrible. Can't she die from that?" "No. She'll wake up the next day feeling horrible, but she's not gonna die from it." Olive waved her hand. "That's for adults." On a whim, Peaches leaned closer to the badge phone and said, "Mandy? It's Peaches. Where are you right now?" "In Unicornia!" Olive and Otto both raised their eyebrows. "Yeah, okay, I see how this works now." she said, her voice nearly deadpan. "It's almost like the way she acts when she's sleep-deprived." "Ah, yes! It's somewhat similar." Olive nodded, happy to find some analogical ground her friend could stand on so she could understand exactly what was going on with Mandy. "Unfortunately, we're not going to get any answers out of her as to where she is or what she's doing. At least not any that are coherent." Peaches rolled her eyes in disappointment and annoyance. "Mandy, we're gonna go, okay? Just call me if you need anything." "Will doooooo!" Mandy laughed. "Y' can tell Missus Butterflutter that Imma gonna be stayin' here for a whooooole month!" More laughter, only this time, it ended in a high-pitched squeal that sounded like the dying noise of a pig. "Iss' so funnnn and, and, iss' got rides n' stuff! And, and, and, Imma gonna make a whoooooole buncha new friendzzzzzz!" Peaches' eyes widened. So did Otto's. "A month?!" Olive put forth a nervous laugh that was nothing short of awkward. "Mandy, Mandy, c-can't you stay there for...a week?" she said. "You can always come back! I'll take you there personally." "But Mooooooom, iss' so much funnnnn!" Mandy whined. "Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, I'm gonna go on the bestestest ride ever! The Aeson Cazzino!" The phone slipped out of Olive's grip and clattered to the floor. "She's going to a casino?!" Otto yelled, enough to catch the attention of a few passing agents. "Exactly where did she go to that has a casino?!" Olive was at an utter loss for words. She looked like a mannequin, with her jaw agape and her hand positioned in such a way that it looked like she could model clothes at an Old Navy Blue store. Her brain had completely shut down at the mention of a casino, and Otto's reaction didn't help matters. "H-hold on." Peaches said. "It's possible that Mandy is going to an amusement park instead. She did mention the 'bestest'...uh...'est' ride ever." For a brief moment, Olive made eye contact with the catgirl. To any outside observer, it looked like she was considering her words and using them as a means of calming herself down and reassuring herself that Mandy was not, in fact, going to a casino -- and they would be right. The moral implications of Mandy going to a casino and then either getting her rump catapulted across the parking lot or being let inside but then getting her rump catapulted across the parking lot outweighed her panic and shock the more she thought about them, and it was then that she regained clarity. "Mandy, that's great!" she said cheerfully, going along with her adopted daughter's skewed mentality as though it was a game she intended to win. "Just don't gamble all your money, okay?" The hybrid laughed and hiccuped. "Nooooo, don't worry, I'm jus' gonna play some Gooooo Fiiiiish!" Her words were somehow even more slurred, which made everyone do double-takes. "Iss gonna be so much funnnn n' I dunno how I'm gonnaaaaaaaaa..." A long pause as she trailed off. Olive raised three of her fingers, pulling them down by the second. When she got to zero, Mandy began the process of destroying an entire forest full of trees and scaring the wildlife away with the loud sawing of wood. Lying on the bed with half of her body hanging off of it, she could have been mistaken for a dead body had she not been making noise. "She passed out!" Peaches remarked in surprise. "There we go. Always the staple of Mandy going wild on root beer." Olive closed the badge phone and clipped it back onto her suit, turning to face Otto and Peaches with a knowing smile. "Her passing out within mere minutes of getting drunk." "That was probably one of the most useless calls to anyone I've ever witnessed." Otto deadpanned. "But at least we know where she's going!" Peaches tapped her chin. "Aeson Casino." "Aeson...wow, that's...in the United States." Otto glanced at the catgirl. "Norwall, Montana." "Is that far?" "For us?" Otto scoffed. "Nah. No place is too far for us. Except maybe Neptune. That's pretty far. Can't get there with tube travel." His gaze moved to Olive. "Partner, do you really support Mandy going to a casino?" Olive stared at him as though offended by his question. "What? No! I was playing along! They're not going to let an 11-year-old girl into a casino. Adults are as dumb as bricks, but they have standards." Far be it from Peaches to know what, exactly, a casino was, but that didn't mean she couldn't pick up on its definition from hearing Olive and Otto talk about it. All in all, she knew it was a place Mandy was not allowed in, if not due to her boisterous personality then due to her age. After the two Directors said goodbye to Peaches, Olive and Otto began walking to the Tube Lobby. "I guess all we can do now is hope Oprah doesn't find out about Mandy and Fluttershy." "And make sure Mandy comes back to us from her vacation in one piece. That too." Olive heaved a sigh. "We should stay out of this issue as much as we can. Even though she's not our boss anymore, the last thing I want is to get in trouble with Oprah for sticking our noses into something that should be Fluttershy's business. Especially if she ends up going to the Big O..." Otto glanced at the ground. His retreat into his thoughts, laying out a scenario where he and Olive got fired, lasted for only a second before his stomach growled. "Come on, let's head back. I'm hungry." Olive gave a soft chuckle. "Of course you are." The next day didn't bode any better for Fluttershy. Particularly since a new stack had been placed on Mandy's desk the second she had finished getting ready for work. It was a good thing she had overheard the conversation between Olive, Otto and Peaches, and it was a good thing Ocean had allowed her to work in Mandy's stead for six more days. At first, she honestly wasn't sure how she was going to manage it -- between her animal friends at her cottage and the immense stress of keeping her actions a secret, it was a lot to juggle on her plate, and she wondered how she would ever handle both things at the same time. But her motivation to allow her friend the vacation she so very much deserved trumped any indecisiveness she had. This was going to happen. It was happening right now, and it would continue to happen. She wasn't afraid of the consequences. After all, she had already defied them once. And now, she was about to do it again. "Agent Fluttershy? You're here again? Where's Mandy?" "She is sick, ma'am. Very sick." Oprah squinted, her expression full of anger, suspicion, and disappointment. "Sick? With what?" "It's a disease that Odd Squad doctors are still trying to figure out." Fluttershy said, putting on on the best worried face expression she could muster. "It's nothing serious, but Dr. O did say that Mandy must be quarantined in the Bedroom for a week." "A week?!" Oprah exclaimed, before sighing and taking a sip of the juice box in her hand. "Well, I can always have other agents pick up the slack, I suppose, but...all this paperwork still needs to be done." An idea came to Fluttershy right then and there. "Um...may I do it, ma'am? I am Mandy's friend, after all." As though someone had just told her something incredibly obvious, Oprah perked up and turned around, swiveling her head to and fro. "Where's Agent Pinkie Pie? She's Mandy's partner. I can get her to solve this." Fluttershy's face fell as she realized that Oprah wasn't really listening to her, even though she was speaking in her normal soft-and-firm-at-the-very-same-time voice. Still, she forced herself to remain level with her boss, lest she get in trouble for developing an attitude and weaponizing it. "Pinkie is in Equestria right now, but I can give her a call and tell her to come back, if you want." "Please." Oprah turned back around. "Someone in Creature Care can't handle paperwork -- at least, not the same kind of paperwork as what Investigation agents handle. Not only is it not in their job description, but you nor Ocean have the expertise to do paperwork like that." A flare of anger sparked in Fluttershy's heart. She couldn't stop her eye from twitching as she grit her teeth together in a show of being out-of-character. Don't have the expertise?! Who does she think filled out all that paperwork yesterday? The flare died down slightly as her body sagged with the answer to her question, as her hoof reached for her badge phone. Oh. Right. She thinks Mandy did it. Well, I can't argue with her, of course. She's my boss. "I'll give Pinkie a call right now, ma'am." "Thank you." Even after Oprah left and went up the stairs, and even after she had made the call to Pinkie, that flare never really fizzled out. Fluttershy had known her boss to be steely and harsh on the outside, but carry a facet of kindness, resilience, and warmth with her too. Now it just seemed like that facet had dulled, and the Pegasus wasn't sure who could polish it again with a little reminder. Certainly not her, of course. Perhaps she was too meek, too much of a wallflower to be paid attention to very much. I took this job from Mandy because I wanted to help her out. She's a friend. And friends help each other out! She huffed. But to disobey Oprah... A firm look settled on her face. She turned around, picked up a pencil, and went back to filling out another O-135 form. No. Mandy deserves to have time off! And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she does! It was only a few minutes later that Agent Pinkie Pie arrived to Headquarters, and it was within that few minutes that Fluttershy's confidence had begun to waver the more she thought about the weight of what she was doing. "Hey, Fluttershy!" She waved. "What's going on?" "Pinkie." The Pegasus's voice sounded strained and disheartened. "Pull up a chair and sit next to me. I want to discuss something with you." Pinkie picked up on her friend's inflection, her brows creasing in worry as she grabbed a chair from a nearby desk and sat across from her. "So what's the beef? Why are you sitting at Mandy's desk? Ooh, ooh, did she get a case of acute lobster-itis again?" "No, it's not that." Fluttershy replied. "Mandy is on vacation right now, at my insistence, and I offered to do paperwork for her while she's gone -- paperwork that Oprah keeps giving her because the receptionist down in the File Room is out sick. But Oprah doesn't know that Mandy's on vacation, and so I've been lying to her." She scoffed in disgust. "You want to know what she said?" "What'd she say?" "She asked me to call you to do Mandy’s paperwork for her because you’re in the Investigation department, and I’m just in Creature Care! She said that I don’t have the expertise to do paperwork!" Pinkie leaned back and gasped. "That's so not true! You were a whiz with paperwork when we were at the Academy!" "I know. But I can't go and confront Oprah." Fluttershy broke eye contact, her ears folding downwards as she attempted to steel herself for her next words. "Admittedly...I'm not really ready to face her yet." A tilt of the head was her response. "She's strong, Pinkie. It's no wonder everyone follows her orders!" Fluttershy's voice became quieter but still desperate, as though she was trying to recruit Pinkie to take down a ferocious enemy with all of her might. "I need to...build up more confidence before I can properly tell her off...and I really don't want to get fired from Odd Squad, either." Pinkie nodded and considered her words for a minute, closing her eyes to allow herself to think. "Well, if Ms. O wants me to do Mandy's paperwork...then I guess I'll do it." she said. "I'm her partner. It would be wrong of me not to!" "You're not doing this alone!" "Huh?" Pinkie's eyes flew open. They met Fluttershy's bowed head, her eyes squeezed shut. She couldn't help but notice the cracks in the Pegasus's voice as she spoke. "I'm going to help you!" came the definitive cry. Fluttershy's legs began to shake. As confident as she claimed to be with this whole situation, she was completely and utterly afraid of her boss and the wrath she would incur on the Pegasus if she found out the truth. The mask she had been putting on had crumbled away within seconds, and she hated it. She had barely gotten through the second go-around with her boss, and no one could say whether she would survive a third one with all of the excuses she had written down. Although granted, she hadn't been expecting to run into her boss twice. But a desk job was a desk job. "But Fluttershy, you heard what Ms. O said! You can't do Mandy's paperwork!" Pinkie said worryingly. Slowly, she lifted her head and stared at the pink party pony. Her lungs riled themselves up and prepared to expel words that she hoped were filled with confidence, even in spite of her fear. "Mandy is my friend. And friends help each other. Now let's get started!" For a moment, Pinkie was left speechless. She watched as Fluttershy turned in her chair and resumed her work, jaw dropped and eyes bugging out of her skull. A breathy "whoa" left her lungs, but that was as far as speech went for the next few minutes. At least, up until she formed a few coherent words. "I guess you really are 'Flutterbold' now if you're willing to stand up to Ms. O, of all people!" she chirped. "Let's work these papers!" Fluttershy smiled, a few smidges of confidence returning to her now that she had a trusted friend who was in the loop and was willing to back her up. After all, if Otto and Olive didn't want to stick their noses where they didn't belong, Pinkie Pie could easily take up that mantle. The rest of the days passed for Mandy about as quickly as a car on the freeway. She couldn't count how many times she had gotten drunk off of root beer, toured national parks located within the state, and laughed at countless groups of people who played themselves at games like Skip-Bo, The Game of Life, and funnily enough, Trivial Pursuit. Perhaps the only disappointing part was being thrown across the parking lot and right onto the windshield of a truck with an angry Rottweiler in the backseat. That had allowed her to learn the lesson of "don't mess with muscly people who are twice your size" pretty good. "Did you really win?" "No! Beverly did. Sweet, kind Beverly. You know she makes the bestest apple pie, Momma? It's so heavenly!" "I'm sure." Olive laughed over the phone. "Well, it's a good thing you didn't win the car. We only have licenses to operate little kid cars, and I'd think you'd prefer to fly rather than drive, anyway." "The only problem is that the tube entrance is so far away!" Mandy whined, heaving a sigh that caused her to briefly lose altitude and take the bags she was levitating with her. "It's been a half-hour since I left the hotel and my bags are getting so heavy. Feels like I've been flyin' forever!" "If you need to rest, then rest." Olive said, her words more of a command than a suggestion. "And when you get back, please, make sure to take a shower first thing. I've heard horrible things about hotel showers. I still have nightmares about one hotel shower I went in..." She gave a shudder that Mandy obviously couldn't see. The hybrid laughed and snorted. "Aww, don't worry, Momma! I was planning on doing that anyway! I really haven't showered in a couple days and I must smell preeeeetty awful." She moved a large bag to the front of her, making sure to keep her eyes peeled to the ground for any sign of her destination. "Oh, by the way, I brought you and Otto some gifts, so I'll be sure to stop by with 'em once I shower and save you from my stink." "Sounds good. See you soon." "Bye!" As Mandy closed her badge phone and clipped it onto her chest, she could feel her wings begin to get tired, and so, she swooped downwards to land and catch a few quick Z's before she continued her search. Following a call from Olive telling her that Mandy was on her way back to Headquarters, Fluttershy began to work on the second half of another stack of paperwork. By this point, she had lost count of how many stacks there had been, but she had managed to dodge the bullet that was Oprah two more times. She liked to attribute those to sheer luck more than wit or smarts. Her ear swiveled to the right at the distant sound of a slurp. Its source was unmistakable. She quickly dropped the pencil and pretended to stare at the labyrinthine screensaver of Mandy's computer. "Agent Fluttershy, why are you here again? Where's Agent Pinkie Pie?" The mare turned to face her boss. "She's, um...she's in the Bathroom." she responded -- the one excuse she had that could actually be proven true, and really was true this time around. "I see. And why aren't you in the Creature Room?" Now that question was a little harder to devise a good excuse for, especially since Fluttershy had to up her game for each approach. "Um, uh, I-I'm trying to catch a creature. It..." She looked around. "...made its way into Mandy's desk and I can't find it." The look in Oprah's eyes worried her. It was almost...knowing. Terrifyingly so. "Why don't I help you look?" "L-look?" Fluttershy blinked. "I, um..." She bit her lip. Mandy would probably be coming back any minute now, and she was going to be a dead mare if Oprah helped her look for a creature that didn't even exist in the first place then saw Mandy. Still, perhaps she could get this done quickly. Mandy probably wasn't at her usual zippy speed -- vacations did that to people. Fluttershy rode on that hope, because it was the only thing going flawlessly well for her at the moment. "Sure! I would, um, appreciate the help." She opened a drawer to her right. "It should be around here somewhere..." "I'm baaaaa-aaaaaack!" She stiffened. Oprah turned to look with a confused expression on her face. "Hiya!" A thump sound came forth that Fluttershy was too scared to try and identify. It was amazing she could even hear it over the sound of her own racing heartbeat. Up and down went Oprah's gaze, taking in Mandy's T-shirt, ripped-at-the-knees jeans, and twintails secured by two yellow bows, as well as the bags she had sitting on the floor. "Mandy," she said, her words slow but icy, "why do you look like you just came back from vacation?" Suddenly it dawned on the hybrid exactly what was going on. And unlike Fluttershy, making up excuses was not her strong suit. "U-uh...um..." was all she could stammer out, as both she and Fluttershy shared the same thought. The jig is up. Fluttershy could have sworn she saw a vein pop out of Oprah's neck as her head whipped around to shoot a glare. She whimpered as she shrunk into a half-hunched position in the chair. "AGENT FLUTTERSHY!! IN MY OFFICE, NOW!!" Now the mare was shaking. She didn't even bother to move, let alone peek at her boss going up into her office. A scared yelp eked its way out of her as she buried her face deeper in her hooves. "F-Fluttershy!" Mandy called, making her way over. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, I-" "No! It's my fault!" Fluttershy yelled, tears streaming down her face. "I was the one who made you go on vacation! I...I was only..." "Trying to help out a friend?" Sobs wracked the Pegasus's body as Mandy scooped her up into a tight hug. The pair stayed that way for minute after minute, with Mandy allowing Fluttershy to cry as much as she needed to. "Fluttershy..." the hybrid murmured. "The vacation I went on was the best vacation of my life, narrow superlative aside. I'm happy that you stepped up when I was in trouble, and I'm happy that you did what you did." "AGENT FLUTTERSHY!!!" A bellow from the second floor, harsher this time around, very nearly killing the moment cold. "We're coming, Ms. O!" A response that was just as harsh, hoping to resume the moment and allow Fluttershy to calm down at her own pace. "I-I told myself t-that I could f-face Ms. O, b-b-but she's so s-scary! I-I underestimated her!" Fluttershy squeaked, before she delved into a series of terrified whimpers as she buried her face deeper into Mandy's shirt. Before she knew it, she felt air move along her back, which slightly eased her crying as she looked up at her friend. "M-Mandy?" "I'm coming with you. We're going to see Ms. O together." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "N-no! W-what if you get in trouble too?!" "I don't care." In that moment, Fluttershy looked around, and saw her world rising. It took her a moment to realize that she was ascending the stairs to the second floor. More specifically, to Ms. O's office. She knew that Mandy was a near-unstoppable force in battle. Outside of combat, however, the same often held true for helping her friends out. When she got going, she really got going, and something told the Pegasus that stopping her hybrid friend would be a fruitless endeavor. But...Mandy is strong and brave, much more so than I am. And if she's with me, then we can be strong and brave together. After all, that's what partners are for, even if we aren't really partners. ...Yes. We'll sort this out. Everything will be just fine. I don't have to face Ms. O alone. I have a friend with me! The thoughts put another round of confidence back into Fluttershy's bloodstream. She took a few deep breaths, imagining herself back at her cottage with all of her animal friends crowded around her as a sort of happy place. "Let's go." The high pitch was unmistakable. Those were the only two words she needed to begin moving forward. And so, the pair walked inside, towards the final obstacle of it all, prepared for whatever might come their way. Or so they thought. "Mandy. I'd like to have a word with you as well. Close the doors." Wordlessly, the hybrid did as she was told, lighting up her horn and allowing the doors to swing closed. "Now, have a seat. Both of you." If Oprah's frosty tone of voice was a gambit to try and shake either Mandy's or Fluttershy's shared confidence, it wasn't working. Both of them kept the same neutral expressions on their faces as they each took a seat in a gold-painted chair. Oprah took a deep breath. "Agent Fluttershy." The Pegasus straightened. "I have not received any creature reports from you over the past week. Usually, one each comes from you and Ocean, twice a day." Oprah's eyes narrowed slightly. "Have you been neglecting your Creature Care duties?" "N-n-no, ma'am." Fluttershy responded, being unable to stop the stammer that fell from her lips. Oprah gave a soft hum. "I find it hard to believe your word. Considering you've been lying to me consistently this past week." Typical response. Don't let your guard down, Fluttershy. "Nonetheless, I'd like for you to tell me what has been going on. I want to know all the details." Oprah then added pointedly, "All of them." Over the next minute, Fluttershy recounted the story, keeping her tone as steady as possible. "You gave Mandy vacation time without my permission?!" The question was practically a yell, and it, along with Oprah suddenly shooting up from her chair, startled Fluttershy. "Y-yes." "So you were the one who did all that paperwork..." Oprah slowly sat down. "I knew the handwriting was off, but I couldn't match it to anyone." Mandy resisted the urge to correct her boss by saying it was hoofwriting, not handwriting -- and on top of that, she refrained from mentioning how Oprah was smart enough to recognize every agent's handwriting and hoofwriting. "Why did you lie to me?" Fluttershy tensed. For a moment, her gaze locked onto Mandy's, and the hybrid gave her an assuring nod along with a small smile. That was all she needed. She closed her eyes and screamed. "D-delegating paperwork duties to Mandy isn't fair!!" A small echo shook the room. Oprah's eyes widened. Fluttershy continued, the words tumbling out of her without thinking. "It's not fair...she's just one person! How can you possibly expect her to do all that paperwork when she has cases to solve, gadgets to repair, and even her own paperwork to do? Why would you mistreat her like that?!" Tears began pricking at her eyes. She gave a small sniffle. "Mandy's my friend, and I refuse..." Slowly, she rose to all four hooves. Her wings opened and flared in an attempt to show dominance. The fur on her chest rippled ever so slightly. "I refuse to let you mistreat her further with your actions!" Mostly, it was silence pierced the room. The other one-percent came from Fluttershy's breathing, heavy and slow as she remained in her position and glared at her boss. Oprah's expression grew dark. It was clear to see, even with her bowed head. Blinding-white teeth became bared as a low growl rolled in the chambers of her throat. Nails, though not very long, scraped along the wooden surface of the desk. "How dare you..." Fluttershy's eyes widened. Mandy tentatively reached out a hand. "O-Oprah?" "How dare you snap at me like that?!" came the grinding screech, as Oprah shot up fast enough to allow her chair to collide with the back wall and topple over onto its side. "Do you think I had a choice?! Mandy is the second-in-command of this precinct, and working in the Investigation department, it's in her job description to do this type of work!" Her boss's reaction took her by surprise, but Fluttershy wasn't so keen on backing down anytime soon. "'Job description' this, 'job description' that. I'm tired of hearing about your silly little 'job descriptions'! Why don't you have some compassion for your employees for once and stop being so naive?" "It is my job as an Odd Squad Director to keep this place running!" "It should also be your job to care for your agents and treat them right!" By this point, both girls were nose-to-nose, each giving angry growls. Mandy squirmed in her own seat slightly, not feeling so comfortable with being a third wheel and feeling even more uncomfortable with the bad vibes in the air. "Oh dear odd." was all she could squeak out, but after that, she opted for silence. Oprah's brown eyes flickered with rage. "You lied to me about Mandy's whereabouts so she can get a vacation! A vacation that I never granted her! Do you know how much trouble I could have gotten into with the Big O for vacation time without notice?!" Fluttershy rested her front hooves on the desk, her cyan eyes shimmering with the same emotion. "Would you get your head out of your job for one second and have some decency? Mandy deserved a vacation if she wanted it, for all you put her through." "I have a responsibility to protect two things -- my job, and my juice boxes!" Fluttershy barked a cruel laugh, filled with nothing short of sheer mockery. "Not three things? Not your agents too? How selfish and pathetic!" Mandy's eyes widened as Oprah began visibly quaking. "You're pushing my buttons, agent." "I may have been afraid of you before, but that's changed!" Fluttershy reared up. "I don't usually get into physical fights, but...if that's how it's gonna be, then bring it!" Now Mandy's eyes looked almost like they were about to fall out of their skull. Never in her life did she expect to hear Fluttershy actually willing to physically fight someone, let alone when that someone was the strongest agent in the entire precinct. She honestly wasn't sure the mare would win, even with the advantage of flight -- but at the same time, she didn't think the mare would go through with actually fighting her boss, either. Oprah thought so too, going by the twitch of her mouth that threatened to curve into a smug smile without any power holding it down. "No brutality needed." she said, holding her hand up. "Unless...you refuse to turn in your badge?" Both Mandy's and Fluttershy's hearts plummeted. For Mandy, she was saved only by a simple plea, from subordinate to leader: "O-Oprah, no! You can't!" For Fluttershy, it marked the official death of her confident mask as she folded in her wings and sat down. Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks, her face holding nothing but an expression of utter shock. The world and the voices within it became nothing but blurs to her. "Well?" Mandy grit her teeth and stared at Fluttershy, realizing that arguing with Oprah wouldn't do anything. Much like adults in the workplace, the Director was set in her decision whenever she fired someone, and no one could sway her into keeping the employee she was firing onto the force, even if the firing was completely unjustified. "You're fired, Agent Fluttershy. Your badge." The hand was held out, menacingly. Watching. Mocking her. Waiting for its offering. Fluttershy felt a clash of emotions stir within her -- sadness, frustration, anger, regret. All of them coalesced into one growl as she wordlessly unclipped her badge, slammed it down on the desk with a thunk, and soared out the door, not bothering to recognize Mandy at all. Mandy blinked. Like Fluttershy, she too was in a state of shock, but anger shared a throne with it. She could feel it boiling inside of her. "No...Fluttershy...w-wh-how-I-d-" Oprah was as cool as a cucumber. She might as well have been told that the grass on her lawn was green. "Speak coherently." "What have you done?!" Mandy screeched, her eyes brimming with tears. "I fired Fluttershy for misconduct against me, for disobeying me, and for going behind my back. There was nothing immoral about it." Oprah said. "I abide by the rules. But it's clear that she does not." "B-but who's gonna- I-" Mandy violently shook her head, trying to regain her composure. She wanted to cry, oh so very much. She wanted to share a cry with Fluttershy, whom she had imagined was feeling quite upset and worried in the aftermath of what had happened. But she wouldn't just let her boss push such a shy and kind pony around like that, especially when that shy and kind pony was her friend. "Fluttershy has a way with animals that Ocean doesn't have. How will he manage?" "Ocean will be fine. He's had lots of experience working alone." The ball of anger grew bigger. Mandy sat down and buried her face in her hands, grasping her fingers around her head in an attempt to stop herself from slapping Oprah. One thing was made clear -- her attempts to make the Director see reason were failing spectacularly. But she was a human, and all humans had their weaknesses. Lucky for her that Mandy just so happened to know Oprah's weakness. Well, one of them, anyway. "Oprah...if I had asked..." She pulled her hands away from her face, staring at her boss with blue eyes so icy that they could freeze anyone that stared into them long enough. "Would you have given me a vacation?" "You never take vacations." "That's besides the point. Answer the question. And answer honestly." "Honestly?" Oprah cocked an eyebrow. "No." "Why not?" "Because we need you. Pinkie needs you." Oprah's eyes shimmered. "I need you." Yes. There it was. Much like Peaches hunting mice in the park, Mandy was ready to pounce on her prey. It was the perfect gateway, the leg up she needed. "You need me?" Mandy cracked a small smile. "If you ask me, you’re becoming a little too over-reliant on me. I leave for an entire week and everything turns to mush." Oprah's eye began to twitch. She barely recognized Mandy placing a hand on her shoulder. "Oprah. You’ve done great things. You’ve gone on dangerous secret missions, caught bad guys in their traps...and let’s not forget how you became a Director to begin with." The smile on Mandy's face grew bigger. "And you can do more great things by yourself. This precinct will not fall apart without my presence." More twitching. No verbal response. Mandy's expression darkened as she said bitterly, "I just wish you realized that before you went off on my best friend." "B-but I have a job to do here!" Oprah exclaimed. "It's my job to make sure this precinct runs smoothly. I have served as a Director here for decades, and I believe I'm running it right." The more time passed, the more Mandy made sure to gain the upper hand against Oprah when it came to who was more calm and collected. It helped that she knew she was in the wrong. "If 'running it right' means not bothering to care for your agents, then yes, you are correct. You are running this precinct right." Like a light switch, Oprah's mood changed from desperation to frustration. Another growl emanated from her as she glared at her agent, who only looked on with a smile of amusement. Just seeing this smile caused her to ball her hand up into a fist and bring it down onto her desk with a mighty slam, enough to create a small crack running down a quarter of the way through. Her words cut through the air like sharp blades. "I am doing what's right for this precinct! For Odd Squad!" Mandy wasn't sure what would have gotten her to cackle -- her opponent's facade breaking, or the fact that said opponent was riding on ego and thought she was the Big O of the entire organization. But as much as she wanted to laugh, she settled for an eyebrow raise and an incredulous-sounding "Really?" Oprah, eyes flaring with volcanic fire that outmatched even the contents of the Volcano Room, watched as Mandy magically unclipped her own badge and held it up to her. "If this is your definition of 'right', then I want no part of it." The hybrid's voice audibly quivered, but Oprah was too enraged to notice. Another growl rattled in her throat. "Just...get me a juice box!" Mandy placed the badge next to Fluttershy's, then pivoted and began walking away. It was only then, with her back turned to the Director, that her eyes welled up with thick tears. "Get it yourself." Biting her lip, she barely registered Oprah's next words. "Agent Mandy, get back here this instant! I WANT A JUICE BOX AND I WANT IT NOW!!" Silence. "I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BE FIRED!!" "Then it's a good thing I wasn't fired, was I?" Mandy said, the bitterness returning. "Maybe next time you'll reconsider how you treat your agents, and how you're making a big deal over such a simple thing as me going on vacation." She opened the door. "But until then..." A footstep, and then another. "I quit." Cavernous lungs filled up to their capacity, and the last thing Mandy heard before the glass door swung closed was a high-pitched scream of raw, unbridled rage that surpassed anything any Director across history had for their own agents. With the tears falling down her face now, Mandy took a deep breath and began descending the stairs, the scream getting further and further away the more she walked. "Mandy!" Her eyes snapped open to find Peaches standing at the bottom of the stairwell. "What's going on? I heard Oprah scream!" "I told her off. It's a long story." Mandy responded, quickly wiping her tears away. "Right now, my main priority is getting myself clean." Peaches' nose wrinkled. "Yeah, you don't really smell too good, if I'm being honest with you." A sniff of the air told Mandy that her cousin was right. She resisted the urge to gag. "I would suggest you don't go into her office for the time being. She's preeeetty upset." The sound of a loud boom made both girls jump, Mandy falling into Peaches' arms as her head swiveled around and tilted upwards. She barely registered the catgirl's hair and tail bushing up. "Holy cattails..." "Y-Yeah. Spread the word, wouldja? I don't want anyone facing her wrath." "Will do." "Thank you." Mandy straightened up as she watched Peaches' hair and tail returned to normal. "Oh, and, um, would you mind borrowing a badge phone and giving Momma and Otto a quick call? I don't need them calling my badge phone when it's up in Oprah's office." It was then that Peaches noticed something was off. Her gaze drifted to Mandy's chest, and her eyes widened. "Wait, you don't have yours on you!" "Yeeeeeeah, about that. I quit." "You quit?!" Peaches yowled, ignoring the stares of agents as they ceased their activities to turn their attention to her and Mandy. "Mhm. Oprah believes that she's running this precinct correctly by bending it to her liking with minimal to no care for how her agents feel. I told her that I wanted no part of that. So I quit." Peaches stared at Mandy for so long that one would have thought she had done the living equivalent of a blue-screen. Stammers bubbled forth after that for a few moments before she was able to form something of coherency. "B-but-" "Hold that thought." Mandy held her hand up and brushed past her cousin. "I really need to shower, 'kay? Once I'm fresh and clean, we'll go over to Momma and Otto's precinct and talk things out." "I..." Peaches blinked, and then shook her head to clear her mind. "W-well, all right...I'll be here." Mandy's horn lit up. She grabbed the bags that were still in the middle of the bullpen from before and soared down the hallway with them. Peaches watched her go, a look of confusion still etched onto her face. "Mandy...quit...but she would never..." Another loud thump, followed by a scream, startled her, and she scrambled backwards. She could have sworn she saw the glass doors rattle with the force of that scream, but chalked it up to her seeing things, because no human could have that powerful of a scream. Except maybe Mandy. But the jury was still out on that. "Maybe it's for the best. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Peaches mused, her gaze flicking towards the hallway Mandy had gone down. "Now to find a badge phone I can borrow..." Ignoring the sound of another boom, she began her pursuit for the electronic device, her pace quick as she came to the realization that finding one was something that was better off being done sooner rather than later. Olive bit her lip as force was applied to the pencil she had in a vicegrip. She didn't get halfway down the report she was writing before the pencil broke in two, causing her to give a groan of defeat. "That's the fifth pencil you've broken, partner." Otto noted from his position beside her, as he sat in his own chair. Olive heaved a sigh. "I'll admit, I'm a little worried." "About Peaches?" "She sounded concerned when we talked. I just hope nothing bad has happened." The sound of whirring caught their attention, and their heads turned to the right almost in unison. Emerging from their personal tube was Mandy, who flung open the doors with such velocity that it was amazing they didn't fly clear off of the hinges. "Mandy! You're..." Olive's smile fell right to a frown as she took note of the hybrid's appearance. Her eyes were partially glazed over with shock and anger, and her body sagged with the weight of some unidentifiable force. But perhaps most strikingly, both her hair and her tail were straightened, in a rare show of emotion that both Olive and Otto had seen before. Utter depression and despair. "Aha, well, first of all, before Olive works her way into another tizzy..." Otto glanced over, seeing his partner's eyes grow wide as she looked to be hard-rebooting. "How was your vacation?" At this question, Mandy straightened with renewed purpose. "It was the greatest time of my life! Oh, I went to so many places, met so many people...it was like I was living on the edge with just adrenaline as my guide! Like what Rainbow Dash does on a daily basis!" she said, her eyes shimmering. "It was awesome!" "Really?" "Yeah!" Mandy blinked in realization. "Aww darn, I forgot to bring you guys your gifts..." She shook her head. "Ah, no matter. Next time!" Otto gestured to the couch on the right. "Why don't you have a seat on the couch?" "Glad to!" As Mandy took a seat, Otto's brow furrowed. He couldn't be sure -- not many partner pairs had telepathic powers between each other -- but he was thinking the same thing as Olive. Something's off about her. She's never happy when her hair and tail are straightened like that. He watched as Olive shook her head and snapped back to reality, then took initiative, standing up and asking Mandy the ultimate question. "Is everything okay?" "'Okay' isn't the adjective I would use." Her voice lost all of its enthusiasm. It had about the same enthusiasm of your average 9-5 adult in the workforce. Her mirthless laugh was even worse. Olive and Otto definitely shared the same thought. Bingo. We got her. "See, when I came back from my vacation, I found Fluttershy at my desk with a huge stack of papers. Oprah asked me why I looked the way I did and then she called up Fluttershy to her office." Mandy explained. "I know Fluttershy told me that she didn't fear Oprah or what she would do to her if she found out. But...that was a lie." Otto tilted his head. "A lie?" "She began blaming herself for what happened, became a nervous wreck all over again. I comforted her and we went to see Oprah together." The hybrid bit her lip and gripped the legs of her pants. Olive and Otto moved towards the couch she was sitting on, taking seats on both sides of her. "What happened with Oprah?" Olive asked, her tone holding an edge of urgency and worry. "She and Fluttershy...they got into a fight. She was told everything about what happened and...m-my friend..." Mandy's voice began to quiver. "She told Oprah that putting all that paperwork on me wasn't fair...that I was just a single person and couldn't do it all. And then-" A strangled, choked sob left her throat. On sheer instinct, Olive began rubbing her back. Both she and Otto didn't urge her any further than that. "SHE FIRED HER!!" Silence. Olive and Otto looked at each other, eyes wide. Mandy began sobbing harder, burying her face in her hands. "She fired Fluttershy?" whispered Olive. "S-she said...it was for three reasons..." Mandy gave a rather undignified sniffle. "For misconduct. For disobeying her. And...for going behind her back." "That's not fair! She can't fire Fluttershy just for that! I-it's-" "AND THEN I QUIT TOO!!" Otto sat slack-jawed, partly out of interruption of his sentence, but also partly out of pure shock. Olive, on the other hand, looked like she had just been shot and then stabbed, her eyes wide in shock as she just sat there, staring at Mandy. It took her a long time to begin formulating words. "Y-y-you...you...you quit? Odd Squad?" "I wasn't gonna let Oprah have her way!" Mandy's eyes squeezed shut, which allowed a few more tears to fall through. "She wasn’t gonna let me go on a vacation no matter how much I asked, because she’s too clingy! She defended her firing of Fluttershy because she has such a warped view of what is the 'right' way to run her precinct! She had no remorse for what she did!" Out of pure frustration, Mandy picked up a glass that had been left on the coffee table and hurled it with all her might. It clattered with the predictable sound of glass cracking, and she slumped back down as her body wracked harder and harder with sobs. Right then, the tubes sounded with the call of arrival. Peaches stepped out, her eyes bearing witness to her cousin sobbing and two of her friends gazing at her with worried but sympathetic looks in their eyes. "Cuz..." "H-how could she...how could she do such a thing?!" A hiccup. "All over me going on vacation!" Olive sprung up from her spot on the couch, an icy aura emanating from her as her expression darkened. "Partner?" "I'm going to Oprah's precinct." Her tone was cold in a way that had never been seen before. Otto knew that she was the type to sometimes fling herself into battle and throw the first punch, but this was a new breed of anger, even for him. In spite of that, however, he knew that no matter how Olive got angry, it was a good idea to stay far away from her as humanly possible when she did. Unfortunately, Peaches didn't know. "I-I wouldn't do that right now. Oprah's pretty upset and she's throwing around stuff like crazy and-" "I don't care. I'm going." Olive said, a tinge of fiery-hot anger laced in her voice before she swiveled her head towards Otto. "Otto, you know what to do." He nodded. "G-got it. Stay safe, Olive." As he moved back to his chair, Olive was "squishinated" and shot up into the lone tube, going at breakneck speeds to her old boss's office to give her a piece of her mind. "It'll be okay. Just let it all out." Peaches was rubbing the back of a still-sobbing Mandy, trying to offer the best condolences she could as she held the hybrid tight to her chest. "Losing a partner...or a friend, in this case...it's one of the most hurtful things an Odd Squad agent can go through." "Have you gone through this before?" "I haven't." Otto glanced at the tube. "But Olive has." "Really? With who?" "It's...a bit of a sensitive topic. I'm not sure she would like for us to discuss it so casually, and without her present." Peaches simply nodded in understanding. "The pain that Mandy must be feeling right now..." Otto's gaze moved to Peaches. "Fluttershy has been with her since we found the two of them as infants. Or, well, not really infants. Fluttershy was a filly and Mandy was a baby. Two totally different things." Confused by his sheepish but forced laughter, Peaches blinked. "Anyway, the two of them spent a lot of time together. Out of the six ponies that came here, Mandy would always go back to Fluttershy." The six ponies that came here? Now Peaches' mind was whirling with questions about her cousin's backstory. However, she forced herself to put them aside for now. "Huh. I thought she would gravitate more towards Pinkie Pie." "Nope. I think it was due to Fluttershy's soft and shy nature. Mandy loved that. When she wasn't with Olive, she wanted to go to Fluttershy." Mandy pushed herself away from Peaches right then, sniffling and giving a small hiccup. Snot ran down her nose and her eyes looked horribly bloodshot. "Are you gonna be okay?" Otto asked tentatively. "I'll...I'm..." A hiccup. "I'm fine. It's just...n-not having Fluttershy here, it's..." "You did the right thing, cuz. None of this is your fault." "Peaches is right." Otto smiled. "Olive's on her way to talk some sense into Oprah now, and get Fluttershy back into Odd Squad. And I know she'll succeed." Mandy gave a snot-filled sniffle. She didn't give a smile, but rather, she gazed at Otto with a small flicker of hope in her eyes, her mind only echoing one thought. She better. "Hey, you must be exhausted from your trip back here. Why don't you go and take a nap?" Peaches suggested. "It'll help take your mind off of things for a while." "I guess." The answer sounded quite noncommittal, to Peaches' and Otto's surprise. They shared a glance as Mandy trudged her way over to the other couch and flopped on it, with her back facing them. She didn't bother to put up a soundproof shield, nor earplugs, nor anything that would allow her to block out the inevitable sound. She felt utterly miserable, but that, combined with the fact that she hadn't napped for that long at Olive's previous insistence, didn't stop her from falling asleep anyway. In hushed voices, the two children talked about other subjects and shared a few snacks to lighten the mood a little, only glancing at the exposed tube every once in a while for any sign of Olive's return. Her nostrils flared. Heavy, rumbling breaths shook her entire chest down to the ribcage. She stood and faced a vast wasteland of utter destruction. Broken glass littered her office and the floor outside of it, startling the few agents who walked by and didn't dare say a word. Some, but not all, of the carpet was ripped up and scattered all over every inch of the room. Behind her, her open computer screen carried nothing but silent snow and a large spider-web crack. Any sense of rationality or sanity had long since gone away. Thoughts of murdering that disgusting, reprehensible rat with wings flickered in her mind. She knew how she would do it too. She would use her hands, slowly wrapping around her neck, choking her ferociously before she was hurled to the ground, where she would promptly receive the gift of a thousand stompings performed by a single pair of Converses. And then, she would go to the nearest river, drop the waste of mass into the water, and wipe her hands clean of any consequences she would rece- "WHO'S THERE?!" Her expression softened, moving from anger to shock as she bore witness to her latest visitor. "Oprah." "O-Olive! I-I-I wasn't expecting you here!" "Neither was I." Olive's gaze, like her voice, was as cold as ice and carried not a single trace of niceties. "We need to talk. Now." Oprah blinked. "Talk?" "Yes. Talk." Oprah's head swiveled behind her, and she examined the room. The calamitous damage was beginning to settle in for her, but fixing it wasn't on her list of priorities at the moment. She bit her lip and stayed quiet for a few moments. "Um...w-well, all right. Sure. Come, um, have a seat. On the couch." As Oprah moved to clear debris away from the right-side couch, Olive glanced at the aftermath of her rage. It served as a stark reminder for her that while Directors could be strict on their agents, they had to keep their anger in check as well. As an Odd Squad historian, she had read many stories of Directors in countries, states and cities around the world that had police forces and a justice system outside of Odd Squad, who had gotten tried in court on counts of murder or aggravated assault of their own agents. Many had rotted in jail for years, some to the point of death. Others had gotten released on bail. Others had just gotten away with a slap on the wrist, usually in the form of community service. She didn't want Oprah to be the next one, even in such a province as Ontario, which had no active police force to speak of. "I might as well cut right to the chase." she said, taking a seat on the debris-free left-side couch while Oprah took a seat on the right one. "I heard about what happened with Mandy and Fluttershy. How Fluttershy has been doing Mandy's paperwork while she's on vacation. How you and Fluttershy got into an altercation and she got fired, followed by Mandy quitting shortly after." "Y-yes." Oprah cleared her throat in an effort to clear her head, her anger slightly dying down. "I mean, yes. I fired Fluttershy on three grounds: misconduct, disobedience-" "I don't need to hear why you fired her. As I said, I know everything." "Oh." Oprah narrowed her eyes slightly and gave a huff. "If you've come to try and get me to change my mind, then you should know that it's not happening. I stand by what I say and what I've done." "But you doing that has come with a grave consequence, Oprah." Olive responded, her tone carrying just the slightest edge of desperation that threatened to shatter the ice within her. "Your second-in-command has quit Odd Squad for good. You have absolutely no one that can take your position as Director if you get injured or, Sheila forbid, killed. Never mind the fact that Mandy has lifted the spirits of so many agents here." She blinked. "You and I both know that she would never quit Odd Squad. But she did. Because of what you did to Fluttershy." At this, Oprah growled. Olive didn't budge so much as an inch. "The mare is right, by the way. Mandy is one person. You putting massive amounts of paperwork on her just because your receptionist is sick isn’t fair to her, or to the receptionist. And that’s not even getting into how you would have refused to let Mandy have a vacation even if she asked." "Because I need her. This Squad needs her." "Mandy has learned by now that Precinct 13579 can run just fine without her. Heck, it ran fine without her for an entire week." Olive gave a soft huff. "Oprah, why do you have such an attachment to Mandy? Why do you need her so much?" The anger rushed back to Oprah like a flood. Her thoughts shifted from murdering Fluttershy to murdering Olive, same exact plan and all. Her teeth ground together, although not hard enough to cause a tooth to crack. She slammed her fist downwards, not reacting when she felt it hit nothing instead of hitting a glass coffee table that had long since been broken. "What hole is Mandy filling for you?" Her lungs met their capacity... "O'DONAHUE, OKAY?! IT'S O'DONAHUE!!" ...and her voice shook the world. Or, at the very least, it shook the three-dimensional circular fixture hanging just inches away from the back wall of the bullpen. A choked sob left her. She covered her eyes, as though not looking at anything would take the pain away. Olive tilted her head. "Your old partner?" "Ever since he left, it's been..." Oprah grit her teeth together and ground them for a little bit. "It's been so hard on me. I was starting to move on from his disappearance when...when Mandy showed up." "But O'Donahue doesn't seem anything like Mandy." She was right, of course. Oprah knew that. O'Donahue was cool and debonair. He had style, he had flair, and he was there for her as a friend and as a partner. Mandy had style, she had flair, she was there for her as a friend, but she was no partner, and "cool" and "debonair" weren't the first two adjectives she'd use to describe the hybrid. If anything, they could probably be used to respectively describe Rainbow Dash and Rarity. They would get along with O'Donahue well, probably. That is, if he were still here. Oprah glanced at Olive. "I view Mandy as...as..." Her gaze moved away. "As what?" "As more than a friend." Now, it was back to Olive. "I view her as my partner. Filling the gap that O'Donahue left behind. She may not be anything like him..." Her mouth slowly curved upwards. "...but she's got the same passion and drive that he has. And just as he served as my second-in-command...Mandy does too." Olive didn't respond right away. Instead, she took a minute or two to think. "We're not just partners, we're friends"...Otto said those with such conviction when I was framed by Odd Todd. Adults view the term "partner" to mean a lover, but Oprah didn't love O'Donahue. Not romantically, anyway. And she doesn't love Mandy romantically, either. That's just weird. Still, viewing Mandy as a replacement...it's not healthy. She really hasn't moved on from O'Donahue after all these years. ...Therapy... By this point, her thoughts were going off on adventurous tangents. She shook her head to snap back to reality. "Did. Past tense. She doesn't work for you anymore. She quit. Because of your actions." Oprah's eyes slowly closed and her head bobbed a little as she softly murmured, "I know." A realization occurred to Olive right then. The coldness slightly faded away from her aura, being replaced with just the tiniest sliver of hope. "Oprah, let me ask you." she said. "Do you want Mandy back in Precinct 13579? Working for you again just as she did for years?" "I'd do anything." A heavy sigh edged its way out of the millennia-old corkscrew-ponytailed girl. "Then you're going to have to reinstate Fluttershy as well." Oprah's eyes flew open. Her head slowly swiveled towards Olive, as though she had just spoken of sin. "Reinstate Fluttershy?" "You and I both know that Mandy has been fond of Fluttershy since I found both of them. They have a strong bond. When you fired her, it cut Mandy deeper than you thought it did. And that’s why she quit." Olive's eyes flashed with authority. "Bring them both back onto the force." All Oprah did was stare, her mouth slightly open to the point where it was amazing a trail of drool didn't begin to form. She had fired Fluttershy for three specific reasons, and now, here was her old employee -- her best employee -- telling her she needed to bring the tick with wings back. O'Donahue wouldn't have done this. The thought forced its way through. It planted the seeds of a headache, which Oprah could most definitely feel as she rubbed her forehead. Still, even in spite of her throbbing pain, she couldn't help but begin to quiver. That thought, that lone thought, was right on the money. She wouldn't admit it, but it was right on the money. O'Donahue was cool and debonair, but like her, he was smart and both knew and played by the rules. If he were in Oprah's place, he would have given Fluttershy no more than a slap on the leg and let her walk away after an apology. That was the result of the temper he lacked, and the result of his compassion which endeared Oprah to him to begin with. Meanwhile, she had yelled at the mare, spewed venom unbecoming of an immortal manageress, and then proceeded to throw a tantrum by destroying her entire office. She had regressed from the kindhearted boss she was now to the downright egregious boss she was in the past, and she hated it. This didn't feel like her. This felt like something the Shapeshifter would do, or a Party Crasher creature, or any other oddity who was able to imitate her. Something they would do because they didn't know how far she had come in her second chance at leadership. "You won't have Mandy working for you if you don't bring Fluttershy back as well. It's a package deal." Silence. Three minutes of agonizing silence. Even the bullpen seemed quiet. When she didn't get a verbal response from her old boss, Olive turned. "Think about it for a bit. Mandy is at my Headquarters. When you're ready to talk, come over." The girl began to walk towards the tube, then suddenly stopped after just a few steps. "But I must warn you." Oprah looked up with a face full of hopelessness and guilt. "Even if you bring Mandy back to the force, it may take a while before you earn her full trust. We both know how Mandy acts when someone hurts her." Her head slightly turned. "You are no exception." The words were like icicle spears that were thrown at Oprah's chest and made direct contact. She watched with her mouth dry and her vocal cords growing tired as Olive got squishinated and sent back home through the tube. She could have sworn the girl shot her one last cold look, but she couldn't be sure. When she was all alone, the tears began to fall. Sobs increased in volume as her body shivered. At one point, she subconsciously vomited onto one of the pieces of carpet that hadn't been ripped up, then tore off her clothes, not getting any farther than her necklace and jacket before she stopped. The windup came in the form of her lungs becoming filled with air again until they threatened to burst with one more second of air intake. The pitch came in the form of an echoing screech of anguish that weaved its way through every inch of Headquarters and pierced the eardrums of every living thing in it. From there, her brown eyes faded and turned to gray, and she lost complete awareness. Otto honestly wasn't sure how much time had passed. He had gotten a sizeable amount of work done, which took his mind off of things for a little while, but got bored and diverted his attention to listening to Soundcheck tunes in an effort to improve his mood. Next to him, Peaches was kneading Mr. Jackalope, Oprah's jackalope plushie, with her paws, a purr rumbling about in her throat as she relished the soft feel of the toy's fur. A bang and the winding-down of a whir brought the duo's attention to the tube, where Olive stepped out. "Partner!" Otto said, relief washing over him. "How'd it go with Oprah?" Olive allowed her cool facade to drop as she took a deep breath. "I've said what I've needed to. I think my words struck a chord with her." "What did she say?" Peaches asked, taking a seat on the top of the couch. "She sees Mandy as not just an agent. She sees her as O'Donahue's..." Olive's eyes widened. "...replacement." "Her old partner? But he disappeared forever ago!" "Oprah misses him." Olive's eyes grew misty as she made eye contact with Otto. "I remember when we were Investigation agents...I could see the pain in her eyes sometimes, beneath her ironclad exterior. Something was hurting her, but it wasn't like I could just go up to her and ask her about it." Otto realized what his partner was getting at, and nodded slowly. "When you and I became Odd Squad Directors, and got our new Headquarters...then you asked her." "Yes. And she broke. She told me everything." "What happened?" Olive's head swiveled towards Peaches. She stared at the catgirl, as though she had suddenly just appeared and Olive had just noticed her presence. Her mouth curved into a small, but tight, smile. "It's a bit of a rough and complicated topic. Sometime in the future, maybe, we can discuss it." The sound of snoring cut into the conversation and cut through the dour air. Gazes fell upon Mandy, still fast asleep on the couch, snoring through her nose and not her mouth as her hands and feet twitched. In stark contrast to how she was in the waking world, she looked rather peaceful as her mind took her through another feature film. Time would tell how long that would last. "I suggested she take a nap since she was probably exhausted from traveling all the way here." Peaches explained, answering the question that Olive had before it was even formed. "Guess she didn't stop for much of a rest..." the girl muttered under her breath, before the volume of her voice rose to normal. "Good. Because Oprah may be coming here." "Why?" "To talk things out. To spill the beans." Olive made sure to put emphasis on how figurative the metaphor was. "And to rehire Mandy and Fluttershy." "Wait." Otto blinked. "Speaking of, where's Fluttershy? Where did she go after Oprah fired her?" "I'm not sure." Olive unclipped her badge phone and opened it, punching in the numbers 1-5-4. "I'll give Pinkie a call. She and Fluttershy are close friends, after all." As it turned out, Pinkie had no clue where Fluttershy is, but had resolved to find her as soon as she was done working at Sugarcube Corner. Olive spared the fun-loving mare the details of what happened, but she was still able to piece together most of what had happened -- namely that Fluttershy had, indeed, been fired for telling Oprah off. It was then that, out of obligation to Pinkie as Mandy's partner, Olive conceded, spilling everything to her to get her up to speed. The call had ended abruptly when Pinkie dropped the phone and had, according to Mrs. Cake, galloped off to her bedroom to cry. Over the next few minutes, Olive had then gone an alternate route and called the rest of the Mane Six to see if they were able to spare some time to comfort their friend. Of course, all of them had been more than happy to either drop whatever they were doing, call Fluttershy, and come right away, or wait until they were done before they called her and met up with her. With that done, Olive could breathe a little easier. "Okay. Twilight and Rarity are on their way." she said, closing her phone and putting it back onto her suit. "Applejack is busy with farm chores and Rainbow Dash has Wonderbolts practice, so they're a little tied up. They promised to come and help Fluttershy as soon as they were done, though." Another bang, and then another whir winding down, marked a new arrival to the office. With her loose bun, stained purple shirt, ripped skirt, and face full of dejection, it was clear who it was. But that didn't mean Peaches, Olive and Otto weren't taken aback by her scruffy appearance. "Oprah." The name felt weird on Olive's tongue. "You came...your eyes...have you been crying?" Normally, Oprah would have tried to hide any evidence of weaknesses. Her tear-stained cheeks would have been washed clean, her clothes would have been changed, and her hair would have been placed back up into a bun on a whim, all while she had been standing there. But this time, she hid nothing. With her voice dry and raspy, all she needed to do was speak five words to clue her friends in on what she wanted to do. "Where are Mandy and Fluttershy?" Mandy awoke to the sound of voices. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the voices woke up her. Her features contorted into discomfort as she gave a moan and opened her eyes. She could hear words being said, but couldn't quite make them out. As she turned around, her vision slowly became clearer and fixated on one girl in particular. "Oprah? Why is she here?" she asked herself aloud, making sure to keep her voice quiet. Her mind flashed back to the words Haruko had said to her when she had entered the Magical Grasslands yet again. "Mandy. I sense that Oprah is hiding something. Something...that she does not want you to know." Mandy blinked in surprise. "If you wish to repair your relationship, Oprah must be willing to confide in you." Oprah hiding secrets seemed...well, actually, no, for her it seemed perfectly fitting. But Mandy had surely thought that after all these years, she would be willing to share some of those secrets, even if Mandy was prone to blabbing anything and everything to anyone and everyone. But part of her figured that's not why she hadn't shared any. Haruko gazed at her still. "She must confide in you about how she really feels." How Oprah really feels... Mandy watched the Director converse a bit more, noting her dirty appearance and dull eyes. It didn't take much brainpower to deduce that she was, at the very least, feeling remorseful about what she did, but to the point where not even her eyes held any life was a surprising new low. When the last time the Director fell into despair like that was, Mandy couldn't remember. But the animosity she had for her old boss stuck around. She's had one chance too many. Now, I'm gonna really make her think. With a heavy sigh escaping her, Mandy slid off of the couch and made her way over to the trio. Oprah's eye caught her immediately, and she stiffened. "Mandy..." "Oprah." The even tone the hybrid adopted was lost on the Director as she sighed shakily. "I...I'm sorry. For everything." Olive nodded. "Tell her." Slowly, Oprah nodded in return, swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in her throat. "Mandy...do you know about my old partner, O'Donahue?" "Yes." "And how he has been missing for years?" "Yes." "I..." Oprah trailed off. She bit her lip until it began to bleed, a metallic taste filling her mouth and providing at least some level of quenching for how dry it was. "I view you as not just a friend. I view you as...O'Donahue's replacement. My partner." Mandy tilted her head. "Your partner?" "You may not act exactly like O’Donahue, but..." Oprah smiled, genuinely smiled, for the first time in what seemed like forever. "You mimic his passion. His drive to beat oddness. When you came along, it was like all my worry about him...it lifted away. I felt free for the first time in a long time." A tiny brown flicker of life returned to her eyes. "You work so hard for Odd Squad, Mandy. You push yourself to your limit and would risk life and limb just to save us. I never should have denied you a vacation if you wanted it. And…" She rubbed her arm. "I never should have unloaded all that paperwork on you. I know that Fluttershy offered to help you by doing your paperwork and letting you go on vacation, and I commend her for that. She may be a Creature Care agent, but she would make a good Investigation agent if given the option to be promoted." At this, Mandy's eyes widened. Would Oprah actually promote Fluttershy to the Investigation department? Would she really rip her away from her destiny just to be an agent in the most populous department of the organization? Yesterday, she would have told herself that would never happen. But today, the pessimist in her said that it probably would. Still, she forced herself to continue listening. "I’m really very sorry. For all that’s happened. For firing Fluttershy and for making you quit." Oprah sighed. "If Olive hadn’t come by and talked things out, I never would have realized just how much my actions have hurt you and your coworker. With that being said…" She reached behind her back and pulled out two badges. "I would like to rehire you and Fluttershy both back onto Odd Squad. If you accept." All Mandy could do was stare. For the first time in a long while, she was at a loss for words. She absentmindedly tugged at her straightened hair as her gaze flitted from her badge to Fluttershy's, her mind being filled with thoughts. She...wants to take me back in. Fluttershy too. She really does feel shame for what she did, huh? Is her past with O'Donahue what she wanted to confide in me about? This can't be what Haruko was talking about. No way. This is too easy. There's more to this that Oprah isn't telling me. Friends...partners...they tell each other secrets. Even the deep dark ones that not another soul should be told. Surely that's the same thing Oprah did with O'Donahue, right? From the way she talks about him so lovingly, you'd think they were attached to the hip. They did everything together. They were as much of a dynamic duo as Momma and Otto, without the legendary status-y stuffs. "Mandy." The mention of her name made her snap out of her thoughts. "Oprah is being completely genuine. Precinct 13579 really wouldn't be where it is today without you and her. Please, come back. For me. For all of us" She stared at Olive, utterly dumbfounded. Everyone's on her side, huh? Like she didn't just use a facade to sway them over? For all I know, she messed herself up intentionally to make herself look more sympathetic. It was the pessimism from Mandy's depressed state talking, of course, but she didn't care. If I don't accept her offer, maybe she'll become corrupted. I could get Odd Todd to make it happen faster. I could use this as a social experiment for the Big O...see what happens when an Odd Squad agent is pushed dangerously close to the edge, teetering between consciousness and death. See what happens when Odd Squad has a case of suicide on their hands. See what happens when people don't respect my feelings and needs. ...Wait, no, what am I thinking? That's selfish. And for all that Oprah's done, it's not fair to her. Mandy took a deep breath to force the bad thoughts out of her head. Friendships have blunders. This is just one of them. She made a mistake, and the blood can be on her hands as she resolves it. But in the meantime, I have to settle for a compromise. One that will make her return to normal, but satisfy me until she learns her lesson in proper. From there, she took a couple minutes to think of such a trade-off. The muffled sounds of the bullpen below helped, since she found it hard to think in complete silence. The others watched her with intrigue, waiting patiently until she made up her mind. Finally, letting out a sigh, she grabbed her badge in her rainbow-colored corona and clipped it back onto her suit. "I accept. But I want you to give Fluttershy her badge in person, with me as a witness." Oprah nodded. "That's fine by me." Was that relief in her voice? Mandy couldn't tell. Her corona grabbed her badge phone next, flipping it open and pressing the 1 button to speed-dial Fluttershy and tell her to come to Headquarters. Not five minutes later, and the mare had arrived. "I'm here." she announced, before her eyes settled on Oprah and turned icy cold in an instant, along with her voice. "You." "Fluttershy, I...I want to apologize. I realize now that you were only trying to help Mandy. I never should have snapped at you like I did, and I never should have fired you for doing something so selfless." Her body began to quiver slightly. "I’m sorry. I would happily accept you back on Odd Squad, working in the Creature Care department once more, if you wish." "I accept." Mandy's eyes widened with slight surprise, wondering how and why Fluttershy had spat out her answer so quickly. She chalked it up to the Pegasus having thought long and hard about her decision on the way back to Odd Squad from Equestria, and watched with satisfaction as she accepted her badge and clipped it back onto her suit. "But I hope you've learned your lesson." "I have. You may return to work in the Creature Room." "Thank you, ma'am." With a few flaps of her wings, she soared out of the room. Mandy could have sworn that between that and her voice becoming less and less icy as she spoke, she had forgiven Oprah. Which would make sense to her, because Fluttershy was one of the kindest ponies she had ever met. Mandy was kind, too. But unlike Fluttershy, she had hit her limit, and it was time she planted the elephant in the room. She turned and began to head towards the doors. "Leaving?" "Oprah." Mandy closed her eyes. "You have a lot of flaws. Flaws that cloud your vision. Flaws that make you jump to conclusions. Flaws that can hurt your friends." Everyone heard the voice crack on that last sentence, Mandy herself included. She gripped her chest with a hand, balling it up as tightly as she could until it began to ache with the turn of knuckles from tan to white. She didn't dare look back. "Right now, you should be asking yourself...what you can do to earn my trust and my friendship back." she declared. "I will continue to work under you as an Investigation agent. But not as your second-in-command." A shaky gasp was heard. The hybrid knew who it belonged to within the second. Without waiting for anyone to respond to her, she left the room and descended the stairs, head hanging low. Oprah's eyes shrunk. She slumped to the ground, the sound of her knees hitting the floor being nothing but an afterthought in her mind compared to what Mandy had just told her. It was clear that she could not accept the compromise, and it was clear that there were negotiations to be held to decide a better one. Olive shrugged. "I hate to say 'I told you so', but...I told you so." "Mandy's not one to easily forgive." Peaches sighed. "I think you should take her words to heart, Oprah. You've committed heinous acts. This is your punishment that is being imposed." The words tumbled out of Oprah as her brain began to shut down. "But...w-without Mandy as my right-hand agent, how...how will I..." She remembered what Mandy had told her about her doing great things. About how the precinct wouldn't hit the fan just because she wasn't here. Back then, she had been so blinded by anger that she barely registered the words. She had received them, they had stuck in her brain, but anger shoved them aside and then began forcefully stuffing them into the trashcan like the old-timey classic move of your average school bully. Now, she realized that Mandy was right. She was right about everything. Oh odd, how could she have been so blind? Her gaze stayed fixated straight ahead of her. Her pupils and irises both quivered, and thick ugly tears began streaming down her face once again. Memories of what had transpired hit her suddenly and repeatedly like battering rams. With it, her body began to tremble, and with that came the abhorrent, ungodly sounds of sobs that threatened to collapse a lung or two -- sounds that no human, not even a human as immortal and as powerful as her, should ever make. Olive, Peaches and Otto stood behind her, scared for their lives and unsure of how to comfort their friend through what was obviously a moment of severe distress. As much as they didn't want to watch, it was all they could do. Downstairs, Mandy had met up with Rarity and Twilight, who had informed her that after a long talk and a get-together with some tea, Fluttershy had been feeling much better. It was good news for her, and it was, perhaps, that good news that had made her hair and tail return back to its regular poofy, curly state. "Heya, Mandy!" Pinkie greeted, merrily trotting over to her partner with a big grin and a big change in mood from earlier. "How're you feeling?" "Been better. Felt better." Mandy sighed in an effort to relieve tension and stress that still weighed on her spine. "It's been a long week. I would rather be buried in paperwork again." "Weeeeell, I know a good way to cheer you up!" Pinkie reached inside of her mane and pulled out a recipe for a three-layer chocolate cake. "You wanna help me bake the bestest chocolate cake ever?" It didn't take a second for Mandy's mouth to begin watering. Her stomach cried out for food, and she was more than happy to oblige it. "With you? Absolutely." "Yes! Let's go!" Throughout the making of the cake, Pinkie had tried to cheer Mandy up further with stories of parties she threw -- only the best parties, of course, for the best partner, she said. Mandy listened to each and every one of them, feeling more like her old self with every minute that passed, and as she and Pinkie messily but happily ate the finished product, a thought occurred to her that she kept close to her heart. I don’t need Oprah to be happy. I have my friends and family. Momma. Otto. Peaches. The ponies. With them, life will always be good. It’s time for Oprah to think long and hard about what she’s done. And it’s time for me to live the bestest life I can! Throughout the rest of the day, she and Pinkie shared jokes, sung songs, and baked their hearts out. Worries were forgotten, even long after they had gone to bed. Mandy had woken up the next day with renewed happiness. And even though she had to face her boss repeatedly, that happiness remained within her, and that infectious cat smile never faded away from her face. S1E19: Fake Charmer"Orino! Come forth!" Deep within the cavernous castle that stood at the foot of Vallea, a commanding bellow shook the walls. Guards straightened the second it reached their ears. Citizens passing by on the streets ran for their lives, not wanting to be next. And one king stood in front of his throne, tall and proud, with his curved staff gripped tightly in his paw and his green eyes piercing the area below. His cloak billowed in the wind for only a second after he had made the call, before it came to rest just inches from the ground. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer, and it didn't take long before a catperson entered the room. His short blonde hair streaked with finger waves and his copper eyes were the first things the king noticed about him -- that, and his casual attire of nothing more than a T-shirt, some jean shorts, and some sandals. By all means, he looked moreso dressed to go to the beach rather than face an individual in a position of power, although he didn't care very much. "Yes, King Ashero, Your Majesty?" came the response, placid and filled with suavity. The king waited until his subject had stopped in front of him before he continued onward. "As I am sure you're aware, Peaches has been away from Vallea for quite some time, looking for the person behind the attack on our village." He gave an amused huff. "And nothing of value has been lost." "Oh, certainly not, sir." "However...sources have reported that she is staying in the company of an organization known as 'Odd Squad'. Most notably, a being named 'Agent Mandy' has come up frequently." Ashero's nose wrinkled in disgust for only a moment. "As Peaches'...friend, I am entrusting you with the task of finding her." Orino nodded. "And what should I do if I find her?" "Bring her back here. Make her be of use to Vallea instead of letting her live as a groveling, yapping dog." Ashero snapped, almost as though berating his subject for asking such a dumb question. "And bring Agent Mandy back with her." "Right away, Your Majesty." Orino bowed, then turned to leave. However, a question came about in his mind that caused him to stop and turn around. "And, uh, why do you want Peaches back, again?" Ashero's patience was tried again, and it showed in his rage-filled voice. "Because, unsurprisingly, she has failed. And anyone who does not heed my orders is to be swiftly punished." He gave a sharp exhale through his nose as he jabbed his staff towards his subject. "Do not return until you have succeeded in your mission. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, Your Majesty." The sight of Orino bowing once more pleased Ashero, and set his rage at ease. "Very good. You shall depart immediately." Orino didn't need to be told twice. He was well aware that "immediately" meant "go now, and do not even think about packing anything or giving goodbyes". The throne doors closed behind him the very second his foot left the room. Only a second after that, Ashero sat back down in his throne and gripped his staff tighter, the sound of distant yowls floating through his ears and having as much significance as a soft breeze. He thought back to the Big O's letters, and how he had absorbed piece after piece of information about Odd Squad and about Agent Mandy. The exchanging of letters had only been for a short time, but the Big O had quite a lot to share about the organization that had become Vallea's most prominent enemy, and Ashero had gained lots and lots of knowledge that he shared with the subjects he sent out to keep tabs on said organization and on Mandy. Still, he couldn't help but crave more. After all, the more information you had on your enemy, the easier it was to defeat them, and if he was being honest, he was aiming for a swift defeat just to feed off of the despair of the townspeople and the townsponies that had placed their trust in such a sham of a group and such a fraud of a hero. "If only the Big O had not failed. We could have killed two birds with one claw swipe." he growled aloud to no one but himself, before giving a short huff. "But no matter. Vallea and its people -- my people -- can and will bend to my wishes. And I have confidence that Orino will succeed." He banged the thin cylindrical end of his staff down on the floor twice, the bell attached to it producing a rather deep and ominous gong-like noise with each impact. His eyes landed on a lone guard posted at the door. "You!" The guard stiffened, her short tail bobbing to and fro. "Send another round to Toronto. I want around-the-clock monitoring. I want all of the information we can get about Odd Squad." "R-right away, Your Majesty." After a quick bow, the guard exited the room, and another guard from the far end of the room moved to take her place. In an attempt to relieve the stress that weighed on his shoulders, Ashero took a deep breath and let out a mighty roar. The sound shot through the open windows of the castle, causing some catpeople to immediately retreat back into their houses and lock their doors. Peaches roamed the vast hallways of Precinct 13579, passing by agents who all gave her friendly hellos. Ah, another day at Odd Squad. Everything seems fine. She bit her lip right then, knowing that saying "everything seems fine" was just as much tempting fate as openly stating you hadn't been assigned any cases for the day yet. Sure enough, when she arrived at the bullpen, she found Mandy eagerly rolling her tongue inside of a glitter jar, tittering as she watched the flecks sparkle on her tongue. Uh...for the most part. Peaches rolled her eyes in bemusement before she moved past the steel double-doors. I guess I'll go out and see if I can find the Vallea culprit. I should broaden my search area, anyway...maybe to other Canadian cities? I'll have to ask Mandy if I can book some flights on her back. She wasn't sure how she got there, but she had somehow found herself aboveground, and began walking once again. Perhaps I should look on the outskirts of town. I haven't really looked much there. I should invest in a map or somethi- "Oof!" Peaches backed up a few steps, shaking her head as she stuttered out an apology. "S-s-sorry about that! I-I didn't see you there, I-" A pause lingered in the air. He looked at her. She looked at him. She gasped. "I-it can't be. You...you're here?!" "Yes, it's me." Her eyes shimmered with excitement. "Oh my cattails, Orino, I haven't seen you in so long!" she squealed, giving a light laugh as she wrapped her arms around her friend in a hug. "Why are you here?" "Oh, I'm..." Orino broke eye contact for just a single moment. "...just here for a visit. Yeah. I heard you went out to find who burned down Vallea, and I decided to join in the search." Peaches wasn't sure what to feel -- surprised that he had apparently escaped Vallea without King Ashero knowing, or excitement that this was no longer a one-feline search expedition. "Really?! That's amazing! Oh, I could use the help!" "Yes, yes, I'm sure you could." Orino replied, his tone carrying the faintest hint of mockery. He cleared his throat. "So where are you staying?" "Oh, I'm staying in this place called Odd Squad." Peaches suddenly brightened up and grabbed Orino by the wrist. "Hey, you should come check it out! Do you want to? It's a really cool place!" "Sure. Lead the way." Giddily laughing, she dragged him along with her towards the stairs that, luckily, weren't too far from her current location. Orino couldn't help but form a grin that could only rival the infamous Cheshire Cat's. How easy it is to prey on the idiotic. This will play out well in my favor. The steel double-doors opened to reveal Peaches and Orino, the latter of whom didn't even get so much as a single crumb of attention. To the inhabitants of the precinct, he was nothing more than a blade of grass, a cloud in the sky, a can of tomato soup at the supermarket. But that didn't matter to him, of course -- he was not vying for their attention. The one he actually wanted attention from was playing cleanly into his hands. "So here's the bullpen!" Peaches made a sweeping motion with her hand. Orino looked around with feigned surprise. "It's got some really neat stuff, like-" "Hold on." Orino flicked an ear. His eyes paused their movements on a four-legged pink-furred...what was it? A "pony"? ...Yes, a pony. Even the name sounded awful. It was talking about something he didn't care to listen to, and instead he focused his attention on the recipient of the words. She looked rather unusual, with her ears, hair and tail shaped similar to the pony's and her long pale white horn that protruded from her forehead, and he came to a sudden realization as a memory flashed in his mind. That...is Agent Mandy, no doubt about it. She looks exactly the same as the King's descriptors of her. And she looks about as dimwitted, too. This day just keeps getting better, huh? His tall ears swiveled suddenly towards the sound of someone approaching the duo. He wasn't quite sure who this person was, exactly, but he watched with intrigue all the same, making mental notes. "Hello, Pinkie, Mandy. Am I interrupting anything?" Mandy turned to face her boss, her smile immediately turning into a frown. She had been willing to only interact with her when necessary, but as the days since their spat went by, she had been coming down to the bullpen more and more, which irked her. A sharp exhale left her nose as she jerked her head away. "No. Nothing at all." she plainly responded. "Oh good." Oprah smiled, willingly ignoring Mandy's attitude. "Listen, I've been thinking about what you said. About how I have flaws and all that. And..." A pause. Orino watched with breath held. Mandy simply gazed at her boss expectantly. "And?" "Can we...talk in private sometime in the next couple days?" The sheer disgust that filled Mandy's face, as well as the sheer confusion on the pony's face, was almost as good as meat on a silver platter to Orino. As Peaches was still next to him and watching the entire exchange go down, though, he fought to keep the smile off of his face in order to keep up the facade. Still, he couldn't deny that watching this drama go down was rather thrilling, and gave him more crumbs of knowledge about Mandy to boot. It felt like forever before Mandy spat out a response. "Fine." Oprah sensed the out-of-character, but very much intentional, brevity in the response. "Thank you. Just come up whenever you have a free minute." And with that, she went up the left staircase, making sure to mind the slide as she slid into her office once more. "I sense some hostility!" Orino said, immediately kicking himself mentally for allowing himself to show excitement over something no one would show excitement over. Luckily, Peaches didn't pick up on it. "Yeah, Agent Mandy and Oprah had a falling-out a few days ago." she explained, watching as Pinkie attempted to put Mandy back into high spirits again. An "ohh" sound tumbled from Orino's lips. If Agent Mandy is that horrid abomination, then Oprah must be that girl who was speaking to her. A complete and utter non-threat, too -- King Ashero could send her flying through the castle with a single kick. Wouldn't that be funny to see? He watched with further intrigue as Peaches waved Pinkie and Mandy over. "Mandy, Pinkie, meet Orino. He's a childhood friend of mine who traveled all the way from Vallea to visit!" "Nice to meet you, Orino!" Pinkie extended a hoof for the catboy to shake. "I'm Agent Pinkie Pie, and I work at Odd Squad! And Sugarcube Corner in Equestria too, but also Odd Squad!" "Agent 57, at your service!" Mandy moved her hand about in the air before taking a deep bow. "I'm Mandy, nice to meetcha!" After shaking Pinkie's hoof moreso out of politeness than anything else, Orino's gaze focused on Mandy. He took in her appearance fully, from her rather grotesque brown tail that wagged slightly to her beaming cat smile and shining blue eyes. It almost made him not want to capture her and take her back...but he was sent out on a mission by his leader, and unless he was asking for a death sentence, he wasn't about to stray from it any more than he had to. "So you're Agent Mandy." he finally settled on saying, putting on a smile. "The one and only!" The hybrid leaned in close to his human ear and added in a whisper, "Beware of impostors. They're the ones that bite." Orino just stared as she pulled back and made a series of sounds that he could probably equate to laughing. Although then again, she's a disgusting spawn of the world that shouldn't even exist to begin with. I shouldn't be too surprised that she's making such terrible noises. He scanned her up and down again, tilting his head as he began plotting out his course of action for getting down to the nitty-gritty of who his opponent was. "You know, Mandy...you in particular strike me as someone intriguing." he said. "You're not a normal human being. What are you?" "Weeeeell, if we're talkin' biloohologally, I'm a human." "If we're talking what now?" "But if we're talkin' present-day, I'm a pony-human hybrid! Part pony, part human!" ...Okay, so she's not all that great at English. Checks out. "But you have wings. And a horn?" "I'm classified as part of the alicorn race. Or, uh, 'winged unicorn', as they're also called." "Interesting." Orino gave a soft hum of thought, his brain absorbing the explanations like a sponge. "I'm curious. Exactly how powerful are you?" "Uhh, hellooooo? I'm right here!" Orino blinked. His gaze shifted to Pinkie, who was frantically waving a hoof and trying to get her attention. He had completely forgotten she was there, and if he was being honest, he really didn't care. Not that he would ever say that to her face, of course. "Sorry." He barked a short laugh. "I got so caught up in learning about Mandy." "It's okay! In fact, I should leave you guys to it! If anyone can teach you about this place, it's my trusty-but-certainly-not-rusty partner!" Pinkie giggled and bounced away. "See ya!" As the trio waved the party pony off, Mandy turned her attention back to Orino. "Now, to answer your question...I'm kiiiinda powerful. I mean, I can't move the sun and moon or anything, but I do have skilled battle prowess." She reached a hand behind her back. "Although I usually prefer to fight more with this!" She whipped out her hammer and rested its head on the top of her foot. With a jerk of her leg, the hammer was sent flying up a little ways, and her foot making impact with the head in a mighty kick caused it to be sent spinning into the air. "Stop right there!" With an equally-mighty jump, Mandy grabbed the weapon's handle and landed perfectly on two feet. From there, she thrust the hammer out in a showy motion, like she was on camera and was showing the viewer a close-up of it. "'Cause it's hammer time!" A few spins performed, and her arm raised in a finishing pose, marked the end of the show. Peaches smiled and clapped, Orino joining in when the shock died down only a few seconds after she had started. "Very showy. In a good way, of course." "Thank ye thank ye!" Mandy bounced back over to them and rubbed the head of her hammer with her jacket sleeve. "This baby can grow huuuuuuge. Perfect for smashin' trees, villains, the ground..." Orino's eyes widened and began to sparkle. He was in pure genuine awe of this weapon, and he deduced that it was probably why Mandy had been such a formidable force all this time. "If it's not too much to ask...may I see you in action?" "In action? Like actually fighting someone?" "Yes!" Orino couldn't fight the excitement that crept into his voice. "See, us Valleans don't normally fight for fun. We are peaceful and tend to stay out of conflict unless it finds us or our king demands it. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared." Peaches grinned and pat his shoulder. "That's Orino for you!" "Heh, well..." Mandy scratched her cheek. "There isn't really anyone around to fight right now, but...there's video footage of me fighting villains and creatures and stuff if you wanna look at that!" Orino contemplated the offer. A small part of him wanted to challenge Mandy, just so he could watch her lose and get the mission over with faster. But he certainly wasn't prepared to deal with a hammer that had enough blunt force power to smash through earth. He needed more time to figure out how he could get through that -- if that was Mandy's signature weapon to use in battle, rather than any claws or any other part of her body, he was going to have a tough time and end up on the losing end fairly quickly. Still, he knew that if he was able to garner information from watching footage of her battling with her hammer, it would help in planning out battle strategies for if and when she was going to put up a fight. "I would prefer to see it in real-time, but a video would work just as well." "Great! C'mon, let's head to the North Control Room." Orino watched where Mandy pointed to, then followed her there, Peaches following suit. Of course, it didn't take them any more than a few footsteps to get where they were going. "So this is the North Control Room?" Orino asked incredulously. "Yep! Agents who work in the Security department handle footage from both Headquarters and the town here." Mandy looked from side to side, her pony ear flicking a few times before she sat down in an empty chair and grabbed the white-and-blue joystick in front of her. "Here, I'll show you footage from last week when I was fighting off a villain." Tilting the joystick to the left caused the content on the screen to rewind. What came up was a view that Orino couldn't help but go slightly slack-jawed at. Mandy was going at it with a villain who clearly had lightning powers, going by his leather attire and thunderbolt decor. She dodged his lightning attacks with graceful flaps of her wings. In one fell swoop towards the ground, she sideswiped him, causing him to stumble and misfire, and she repeated this three more times before she went back up into the air again. Furiously rubbing his hands, the villain shot out a rather large bolt of lightning at the hybrid, which she quickly counteracted with a blast of magic. From there, the two attacks met in the middle and pushed against each other, and for several seconds, it seemed like neither side was willing to let up. Although there was no sound to the video, Orino could feel the yell that Mandy's parted jaws allowed her to give as her blast grew in intensity and effortlessly pushed back against her opponent, encapsulating him. Orino held his breath, waiting for the aftermath to be shown. The video stopped. He let out a breathy "whoa..." that led into a "tch" of disappointment. "Oh yeah. That's Mr. Lightning. I went toe-to-toe with him last week. It was brutal." "And then you came home with your hair and tail all frizzed and stuck up in the air!" Peaches snickered. "Yeah...that took the rest of the day just to fix. S' why I really don't like dealin' with him, but it's all a part of the job." Orino was floored. Perhaps the only other time he would have been utterly overcome with shock and surprise like that is if he was told King Ashero died. His eyes lost all sense of debonair and coldness, instead sparkling with warmth and excitement. "This is...incredible!" he yowled. "I'd like to watch some more of this footage, if that's okay with you." "Sure!" Mandy pointed to where a big red desk sat, complete with an object that Orino couldn't identify nor care enough to identify. "I'll be over there at my desk. If you need anything, ask Peaches!" She got up. "Or me. Me works too." Peaches waved her cousin off, not noticing the sly smile her friend had put on as he came to a realization. This...thing...she has so much power. Power beyond what I initially thought. He bit back a soft chuckle, letting it instead form as a whistle through his teeth. If I’m to take her back with me...I’ll need to be careful. Fifteen minutes later, Mandy was absentmindedly chewing on a piece of Twistorice while typing up a report on students at the Odd Squad Academy when Olive and Otto entered. "Hey, Mandy." Olive gave a wave. "Momma! Otto!" The hybrid eagerly waved back, chewing up the rest of her Twistorice piece. "Who's the catperson over there?" Mandy turned towards where Otto was pointing. Over in the North Control Room, Peaches was talking about something with Orino. The screen was paused on a shot of Mandy and a Pegasus pony about to meet halfway with two individual attacks -- Mandy, for the life of her, couldn't remember who the pony was, but she was sure she knew who Otto was talking about. She tried to stifle a laugh, but it soon came out in full force. "Otto! Don't tell me you forgot Peaches' name again?" "No, not her!" Otto rolled her eyes. "The other one." "Oh! That's Peaches' friend, Orino. He's here for a visit!" Olive tilted her head. "Sure does seem like he's interested in your battles." "I guess he wants to learn from my style and techniques to improve on his own." Mandy gave a happy sigh and leaned back in her chair. "I can’t believe I’ve gotten to a point where I’m inspiring people who aren’t even Odd Squad agents to fight!" "Don't you mostly use a hammer and your magic to fight, though?" Otto asked. "Orino doesn't look like he has either of those." "Yeah, the last time you tried to punch a villain, you nearly broke your arm." Mandy nodded, recalling the incident clear as day. She rubbed her wrist subconsciously, remembering how the fracture looked like a candy cane but how it was a candy cane that hurt. "True. But maybe Peach can give him some pointers! She's the same species, it'll work out." The sound of laughter brought the trio's attention to Peaches and Orino, who were approaching them. "Hey, me and Orino are gonna go spar in the park. Any of you want to come?" "I would, but I've got a lot of work to do. Sorry, cuz!" "Us too." Olive nodded. Orino tilted his head at the newcomers. "And who might you be?" "Oh, I'm Olive, and this is my partner Otto. We're the Directors of the Odd Squad precinct the next town over." "Hi." Otto waved. "You must be...Orino, was it?" "Yes. Lovely to meet you both." Orino put on the most genuine smile he could muster. "So you two work at Odd Squad as well?" "Yup! We've worked here for a long time now." "I see." Orino took in the appearance of Otto, then the appearance of Olive. The latter was rather short for someone who was apparently in a high position -- someone easy he could take down in a fight if she intervened, he supposed. As for the former, he was taller, but he didn't quite look like the fighting type to Orino. He had a sort of goofy smile on his face that clued the catboy in to just how airheaded he was. Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, an idea flashed in his brain. An idea regarding something that, if he was being honest, he never would have thought of. But it was just so obvious that he wanted to slap himself for it. "Hey, Peaches." His gaze moved to the catgirl. "I'm really interested in...Odd Squad. Later on, would you mind telling me all about it?" Peaches gasped, her eyes gaining little shimmers in them. "Orino. Are you really thinking about joining?!" "What?" Orino wrinkled his nose. "No, I never said that. I just said I wanted to learn about it, that's all." "Oh..." A disappointed look fell across Peaches' face briefly before it faded away. "Well, okay! We can do that after we spar." "Great. Let's go!" "See you later, Mandy!" The hybrid gave the two catpeople a wave as they left the bullpen. As much as she wanted to smile, one thing had became hauntingly apparent to her throughout Orino's stay, and so, a frown formed instead. She only barely heard the conversation Olive and Otto were having in the background. "You know, Orino could make a good agent. His name starts with O and everything." "But catpeople aren't allowed to attend the Odd Squad Academy." Olive said, before she blinked. "At least...not that I know of." "That's a shame. Although I don't know exactly how close Vallea and Toronto are to each other. I've never even heard of Vallea. Have you?" Olive shook her head. Mandy's brow furrowed. I just realized. What Peaches said, back when we first met...what she told me after she told Momma and Otto and Oprah... "I...y-you see, I'm...an outcast. I never fit in with the other catpeople of Vallea. I was teased constantly, a-and I never really had any friends growing up. I was essentially...a loner. And when our king sent me away to find out who burned our village, I felt like I was a part of something bigger. Like he was giving me a chance to prove myself and make me a hero. "But I realized...he did it to exile me from Vallea. It was never to make me a hero. It was never because he trusted me. Even though the culprit is still out there, I...I spent countless months thinking I was doing good for Vallea. That I could find the culprit and get fame and respect. B-but...when I met Mandy for the first time, and I got to meet all of you, I realized...you all are the first ones to ever be genuinely nice to me." "She was alone all her life...so how does she have such a close friend...?" "Mandy? Helloooo-ooooo? Come back down to Earth!" Mandy perked up and blinked. She whirled around, coming face to face with Olive and Otto. A simple "Muh-huh?" was all she could utter as she snapped out of her thoughts. Otto bit back a snicker. "Did you fall asleep or something?" "I..." Mandy shook her head furiously. "No, no! I was just...lost in thought. Yeah." A bout of sheepish laughter left her lips. She had to send a prayer to whomever was up above that it was convincing enough. Olive and Otto simply exchanged shrugs. Mandy turned back towards the gadget on her desk. "Anyway, I'm almost done repairing your gadget, just gotta put this last lil' piece...in..." As she captured a small triangular piece in her magic aura, she slowly and carefully placed it in the similarly-shaped hole. When a snap sound resounded through the area, she smiled. "And done! Here ya go!" "Thanks." Olive said, grabbing the gadget and tucking it behind her back. "Mandy." The sound of her name being called made her jerk her head upwards. It didn't take her long to find the source of the sound, straight ahead and staring right at her. "Huh? H-Haruko?" "You must come to the Magical Grasslands. Immediately. There is something we must discuss." Before Mandy could even eke out anything that could come close to sounding like a word, Haruko had ducked around the bend, leaving behind a short trail of sparkles in her wake that dissipated within seconds. The hybrid simply sat there for a few moments, completely agape and trying to comprehend exactly what happened within the past few seconds. Like the flick of a light switch, she came back to reality again and shook her head. "What's wrong? Who are you talking to?" Otto asked. Mandy didn't answer him. Now I'm seein' things...was that really Haruko? And why did she sound so worried? She never sounds worried! Usually she's all calm and stuff! "Were you talking to Haruko again?" Olive tilted her head. She sounded worried either way...I should go and see her, but... "But that can't be right. Haruko is just someone in Mandy's dreams. She's not real." My work... Mandy grit her teeth together. I told Oprah I would work under her as an Investigation agent, but if Haruko's worried, of course I'm gonna panic! She sighed. I'm sorry, Oprah, but my work can wait! Out of frustration, Mandy's fist met the desk. Olive and Otto's eyes widened. "Mandy, are...are you okay?" "That seems rhetorical." Otto remarked. "I'm fine!" This outburst was met with looks of suspicion, and Mandy gave a sigh that sounded ragged before she composed herself. "I'm fine. Look, I have to go, so why don't you two come back later?" As she stood up and allowed her chair to roll behind her, touching Rainbow Dash's and Twilight's desks, Olive tilted her head. "Is something wrong?" "It's...none of your concern." Mandy said. "Move your butts out of my business and go back to your HQ. I'll be fine." With that, she darted for the right hallway, leading Olive and Otto to give an exhausted sigh as they gave up the fight in trying to get Mandy to fess up. Outside of sleep deprivation, Mandy was no narcoleptic. She didn't fall asleep standing up or just fall asleep at complete random. She had specific sleep conditions and not-so-specific areas to sleep in. The world was her slumbering oyster and she was living in it. So perhaps it was unsurprising that the first thing she did after leaving Olive and Otto was yank open her nightstand drawer, yank her adoptive mother's sleep medicine straight out, and take one mighty swig that not even Oprah could attest to with her juice. It didn't take her long before she was snoring away face-down on her bed, not even giving any thought to taking her suit or shoes off. Immediately after Mandy opened her eyes, she performed the same song and dance again. "Haruko! Are you there? Answer me, please!" "Mandy." "Haruko!" Mandy raced over, words tumbling out of her subconsciously. "What's happening? Why did you sound so panicked? Nonono, wait, why did I see a figure of you calling out to me?" Naturally, Haruko did not answer any of these questions, and instead urged Mandy to sit next to her to discuss things further. "I have been watching your interactions with Peaches and her...friend, Orino." Her muzzle wrinkled slightly. "When you met Orino, he seemed kind and caring, did he not?" "Yeah." A pause. Haruko took a deep breath. "I can sense that Orino has intentions. He is not here for a simple visit. He is here for something...more." "More?" Mandy asked, in a rather impatient tone of voice that was very clearly urging the kitsune to elaborate. "Yes. I will admit, I do not know much about 'Vallea'. I am still learning about its cultures, its people, and its history." Haruko said. "But I have the ability to sense humans' true emotions. And Orino..." Mandy bit her lip. She didn't like where this was going. "...is aiming to hurt rather than heal." "Hurt?! Hurt who?!" "Peaches." Mandy's heart plunged right into her bowels in less than ten seconds flat. She subconsciously began to tremble. The sense of fear, though nonexistent throughout the rest of her body, remained in her brain like glue. He's here to get to Peaches. He either wants to kill her using my battle moves...or knowing his leader, he wants to take her back to Vallea. King Ashero must have sent him. And he looks like he's gonna get the job done faster than Old Man Giuseppi workin' the grill on a Sunday. Oh odd... "I have to do something." Haruko perked up upon hearing these words, shaking her head. "You would be ill-advised to do something right now, Mandy." "And why is that?!" Mandy's voice was practically a screech. "My cousin could be seriously injured by that thing she thinks is her friend!" "If you act too soon, you may never find out his true goal. You must strike when the time is right." All Mandy could do was blankly stare at the kitsune. Her already-shrunken eyes slightly moved back and forth, as though trying to make sense of what her spirit guardian was saying but couldn't. Her mouth turned into a grotesque display of bared teeth, held together by a bond that could only be surpassed by the world's strongest superglue. And then she screamed. She screamed, and listened as the world trembled with the might of her rage. The double centerline in the road turned into flames that lit up the empty asphalt and lapped the grass at the edges, although they did nothing to burn it to a crisp. The sky became a hazy orange, the clouds turning into midair fireballs that flickered to life. Her body became swathed in flames, with both her hair and tail beginning to take on a new appearance that made them look like they were actually created from fire. The "damage" -- not that it could be counted as damage, really -- was surprisingly minor, but it was enough for Haruko to react in mild surprise all the same. She took in Mandy's appearance as the scream died with nothing more than a sharp echo that didn't bother to stick around, reflecting on the hair and tail in particular as she gave her next piece of advice. "Mandy. I sense that you love Peaches very much. She is a dear, dear relative of yours." Haruko looked out over the darkened landscape. "If you wish to help her, you must heed my advice. Otherwise...you may never see her again." That made the hybrid freeze. Her flames died down, and the environment returned to normal. Not once in her relatively-short-or-long life did she ever consider that Peaches would be ripped from her life to such a point where there was no possibility of ever seeing her again. She had figured Peaches would free herself from whatever confines or conflict she found herself in, or she would save Peaches from whatever confines or conflict she found herself in. New fear unlocked, indeed. "Just like how Oprah opened the door to her heart, so will Orino." Haruko said. "Orino's visit here will play a crucial part in mending your bond with Oprah." It took her a minute or two for her to snap out of her shocked stupor. "Oprah? What's she got to do with this?" In response, Haruko simply stood up and began to walk away. "Mandy. I have given you all the advice you need. Take it, and act upon it." "No, Haruko, wa- no! Wait! Don't take me yet, black void! HARUKOOOOOOO!!" "H-Haruko...come back, Harukoooooo-NYAAAAAAH!!" Mandy shot up in bed, her body heaving with heavy breaths as the tears began to fall. What do I do? Orino...he's going to hurt Peaches, but...I can't do a thing about it! I just have to sit back and watch! She allowed a few choked sobs to leave her, ignoring her lungs' desperate cries for air. The more she thought about her conversation with Haruko, the more it made her realize just how dire the situation was. And the more she thought about Orino hanging out with Peaches, potentially manipulating her for his own benefit and that of his leader's, the more enraged she got. Any joy and happiness that remained within her got killed off in one fell swoop. In its place grew a new emotion, an electrifying clash of anger, indignation, and resentment. She ripped the covers off of her, balled up her fists, and bore witness to the area that lay before her, teeth bared once more as her vocal cords trembled with a mighty growl that coalesced into a primal scream. Outside, Olive and Otto both leaped a considerable amount into the air as a scream, followed by loud banging, ensued from the other side of the door. Both of them shot worried glances, wanting to rush inside and see what was happening to Mandy but lacking the courage to destroy the one obstacle standing in their way. When the banging came to a stop and there was a five-second lull, they opened the door. "What happened in he- OH MY SWEET ODD!!" Olive stumbled backwards into Otto's arms, the boy barely managing to catch her as he too became in awe of the state of Mandy's room. Instead of destroying any valuable objects, the hybrid had instead decided to go right for her floor, which was in a state of dilapidation and had dents and holes galore. Her carpet had, likewise, been ripped to shreds. The hybrid herself was completely in flames, which looked more intense than usual to the point where both Olive and Otto were confident they didn't want to touch her for fear of actually getting burned this time. The flames were so intense, in fact, that the blood leaking from her fingers and hands were hardly seen. "W-we're lucky she didn't break the entire floor!" Otto squeaked, avoiding eye contact with Mandy as she stared at him and Olive with nothing but pure anger and insanity in her eyes. Unfortunately, Otto's attempt at avoiding any further acts of aggression was stomped flat. Mandy slowly approached the duo, smacking her fist against the palm of her hand like a bully about to give a victim the pummeling of their life. Olive and Otto both began to back away, taking out their shields from their hammerspace spines in the process. "Sh-sh-sh-shields...up...?" Mandy lunged for Olive, ramming her up against the wall and causing her to give a pained yelp on behalf of her spine as well as her hand, which loosened its grip on her shield and sent it rolling to a stop near a hole. The girl squirmed, her head and face moving as far back from Mandy's own as it possibly could as she began to sweat from the hot breath aimed right at her. In an ominous, threatening, gravelly voice, the hybrid made her intentions clear. "You will tell me where Orino is, before my hammer makes your face do a 180 turn into the BACK OF YOUR FREAKIN' HEAD!!" The fact that Mandy was still keen on using alternate swear words brought a little amusement to Olive. It almost made her want to smile, if it weren't for common sense keeping her terrified frown and letting her eyes do all the "help me" communicating to Otto. Still, she had to answer her adopted daughter, so she went with the genuine response. "I don't know! H-he might be in the park, C-Cedarvale Park maybe, with Peaches!" Mandy's expression didn't falter. She kept her gaze fixated on Olive, contemplating the answer but not letting her grip on her shoulders go. Olive could feel her scapulas begin to develop some bruising, but didn't dare wince in pain until she was let go -- assuming she was going to be let go, that was. Luckily, Mandy took the Director's answer and let it pass, letting go of her shoulders and allowing her to fall to the floor. Otto quickly rushed over to tend to his partner, brushing dust off of her suit as she rubbed her rump in pain. "That pathetic little cat. Off giddily-vanting with my cousin." Mandy's fists balled up so tightly that both Olive and Otto were surprised they couldn't see bone jutting out from them. "When I find him...when the time is right...I'm gonna murder him. He'll be nothing but a corpse..." A look of dread crossed Otto's face. "A-a corpse?" "HE'LL BE ROTTING AWAY IN THE MOOOOOORGUE!!!" came another yell, this one echoing and slightly shaking the room. Mandy threw a fist down onto a stuffed lamb that looked like it had been quite literally fed to the dogs, her breath coming in ragged exhales that made her body quiver. By this point, one thing remained clear to the two co-Directors. Mandy was no longer human. She was, for all intents and purposes, a wild and rabid animal, neither human nor equine. Very few odd creatures could surpass her behavior as part of their instincts, but for her, a level of rage like this had hardly ever been seen before. "No one...will hurt my cousin...and get away with it. NO ONE!!" The flames surrounding Mandy's body exploded. Olive and Otto hastily scrambled out the door and kept low to the floor as fire flickered on the walls, the pieces of furniture, and the toys. Luckily for them, the flames appeared to be no-sells to the objects, and as soon as impact was made, Mandy gave a calmer exhale, her body, as well as her emotions, returning to their regular states. Neither Olive nor Otto dare spoke a word. They watched as Mandy's head turned towards them and then tilted, her face full of confusion and innocence. "What're you two lookin' at?" Olive's body went limp and slumped forward, the consciousness having been sucked out of her like a sponge. Otto kept her stable lest her head hit the floor and bounce like a basketball, but he couldn't resist giving Mandy a deadpan look. "Great. You made Olive faint. Which, mind you, isn't an easy feat." Mandy shook her own head furiously, rubbing it in an attempt to alleviate the pain that shot through it. "Ugh...I was out of it. What happened?" The sound of crackling made her perk up. Almost immediately, she went airborne, surveying the floor that was still broken and the flames that were gradually dying. A feeling of dread filled her heart as she began to connect the dots. "Oh jeez! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't- it's just-" "What's up with you?" Otto interrupted, slowly getting to his feet and holding the still-limp Olive in his arms. "Having a bad day or something?" "It's Orino. He's..." Mandy glanced at Otto, then glanced at her empty and still-bleeding hands. She wanted to break and tell him everything -- he was her confidante, after all. The same agent who singlehandedly coordinated a taking-down of Odd Todd could surely provide advice and assistance on sending Orino to the deepest layers of hell. He might not know too much about Vallea or its mysterious populace, but he could do the best he could in supporting her and saving her cousin. Right? Well...at the same time, she didn't want to get him involved. Not that she knew why, really -- Haruko hadn't said not to get them involved. But Mandy had pinpointed Orino's schtick, his motives and his plan, and if they were all what she thought they were, she didn't want to drag anyone else into what was already a tangled mess. For all she knew, King Ashero had gotten wind of Olive, Otto, Oprah...the ponies...the rest of the precinct...perhaps all of Toronto and Equestria, all thanks to the Big O. But he was going after two victims, and two victims only. If he showed any signs of wanting any of the others, Mandy hadn't seen it. Her shoulders heaved. "It's none of your concern. This is a family matter." "A family matter? But we're your family." Yeah, that stung. It stung fast, and it stung hard. His hurt tone made her heart ache, and for a split-second she debated actually roping him into this debacle. Unfortunately, the plan she had somehow mapped out in her head in spite of her blind primeval rage had no room for him, for Olive, or for anyone else, and she was riding on it with confidence only because it was the single key she had to saving Peaches. It looked smart on paper, it sounded smart when she said it aloud in her head and it echoed the words back to her, and it would work in execution. It had to work in execution. She would accept nothing less. "This is something I have to do alone." she responded, before she began hovering out of the room. "Come. I'm holding a meeting in the bullpen." Otto quickly began pursuing her, Olive still in his hands as though she was nothing more than a small rock he was carrying -- in both weight and priority. "C-can you do that? Will Oprah let you?" "I don't know. And I don't care." came the grating response, before Mandy began to put on more speed. By doing this, she left Otto in the dust, and he didn't see much sense in catching up with her any further, instead heading towards the bullpen with one thought in his mind. She...she did all of that...with her bare hands...just how much physical strength does she have? Caught in the corona of one angry hybrid, a wooden podium slammed onto concrete, causing agents' attention to be grabbed. "Awright, Security agents, listen up! I have something important to say!" Confused murmurs, from both Security agents and non-Security agents alike, met this command, and a crowd of the former soon began to form in the center of the bullpen. The latter, on the other hand, opted to stay back, though ears were kept open for listening nonetheless. "Whoa, Mandy's really fired up!" Rainbow Dash remarked, beginning to approach the crowd with Applejack at her side. "Somethin' must've set her off." "Girls!" Both pegasus and Earth pony turned to find Twilight galloping up to them in a fluster. "Hey, Twilight." Rainbow waved. "What's up?" "Mandy's room, it's completely destroyed!" "Again?!" "It had t' have been Mandy herself that did it. She looks injured." Twilight turned to where Applejack was pointing, but as Mandy was wildly gesticulating to a Security agent about something, she couldn't make out what, exactly, her friend was saying. "You mean...it really was her?" "Maybe she did it with her hammer?" Rainbow suggested, giving a halfhearted shrug that showed she was noncommittal to her theory. "No. Look at the back of her hand there. It's bloodied. Bruised." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "That was all done by her!" The second Mandy ceased movement of her hands, both Twilight and Rainbow were able to get a good look at them. Indeed, they were still bloodied and dirty from her outburst, and it didn't look like she noticed nor cared. The mares exchanged shocked looks between each other. "But there's no way...Mandy doesn't have that kind of strength! How did she..." "Now hold on." Applejack held up a hoof to interrupt Twilight. "Ain't she an alicorn? Doesn't she have Earth pony strength?" As Twilight took a moment to sit on Applejack's questions, Rainbow spoke up. "Yeah. Last week, we were going for a fly, and I dared her to try bucking a tree without breaking anything. She swooped down, bucked it, and nearly left a dent in it!" "Now that ya say that..." Applejack tapped her chin. "I have been noticin' her hangin' in the Orchard Room buckin' apple trees for the past few weeks. Tried askin' her what was goin' on but all she told me was that she just really wanted apples." Twilight nodded, taking in the information and quickly arriving at a conclusion. "Then she's got to be exercising and building up her physical strength. And at the rate she's going, she'll be able to stand toe-to-toe with Ms. O." Rainbow's muzzle scrunched up, and she barked out an amused laugh. "Yeah, right! Like anyone could be as strong as her! Not even the princesses could-" "QUIET!!" The bellow made the bullpen fall silent, including the three mares, who turned to listen to what Mandy had to say. "Now, recently we have been visited by someone from a faraway land known as Vallea. Someone named Orino." Mandy's usual cat smile returned to her face. "I don't know if he's staying here, but I do encourage you all to make him feel welcome all the same!" The arrival of a new guest was enough to excite the crowd. It was quite rare that agents got to meet a special guest who wasn't a victim of oddness in some way or another, or just a client in general -- let alone when said special guest was from a land not many had heard of. "However!" Silence again. Mandy's smile twisted and turned sour. "That doesn't mean I don't want him to go unnoticed. I am entrusting all of you with the task of monitoring him and making sure he doesn't get into any...trouble." The tip of Mandy's curly tail began to flick back and forth knowingly. "Make it as discreet as you can. Nothing obvious." From above, Oprah emerged from her office, juice box in hand and eyeing her agent through a narrowed view. "What is she doing down there?" she mused aloud, too captivated by curiosity to go and put a stop to this blatant disrespect for authority. "Let's say he...does manage to get into trouble." Mandy gave a soft chuckle, her ears beginning to swivel back and forth curiously. "If he does, you report it to me and me alone. I will handle it, only me, you got that?!" A brief lull of silence followed her seemingly-random outburst as agents reacted in confusion. Then, they murmured their agreements -- a majority of them knew better than to tussle with a mad Mandy. "Good." Mandy's gaze moved to a sandy-haired boy, who was clad in the same blue-and-navy uniform as the rest of the agents in the crowd. "I'd like for us to have a meeting later on, Owen, just you and me. To lay out the details." Owen blinked, as though he had been dragged out of a trance. "Oh! Uh, sure, of course!" Mandy's smile remained as she looked over the crowd. "You are all dismissed!" she called, watching as agents began to disperse and return to whatever they were doing before. Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, however, remained where they were, gazing at their friend with concern. "That was...authoritarian." Twilight noted, more to break the silence between the three mares than anything else. "It's like the Mandy we knew just disappeared!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "Wonder what happened." Applejack tapped her chin in thought. "Mandy!" The three mares jumped slightly as they not only heard the voice of their boss, but saw her coming down the stairs and approaching Mandy. "What do you think you're doing, hosting meetings without my permission?!" snapped the Director, her brown eyes blazing with fury. Mandy, however, was indifferent to her boss's rage. "Saving this precinct, what's it look like?" she responded, taking the podium in her corona and teleporting it away to a randomized location. "If I recall correctly..." The fury on Oprah's face was replaced with a sly smile, a smile that told most everyone watching that she had her agent in her clutches. "You said you didn't want to work under me as my second-in-command. You wanted to work under me as my Investigation agent, and that alone." Her smile morphed into a frown. "So this is out of line!" "Can you just take my word for it already?!" On and on the girls bickered, butting heads as each one of them tried resisting the urge to strangle the other. Otto, with the unconscious Olive still in his hands, caught wind of the argument, and sighed. "She's fighting with Oprah again..." he muttered, capping his annoyance off with an eye roll. "Just forget it! FORGET IT!!" Mandy screamed, interrupting Oprah's tirade about her many flaws that she seemed to have brought up for no good reason other than to be petty -- or to show Mandy she was losing the argument. The hybrid couldn't tell which one, and she didn't care. "I'll handle this on my own. Get your nose outta my family business!" "Fine!" Oprah retorted. "But if you bring this precinct down to its knees then odd so help me I will strangle you to death." "Fine by me!!" Both the mares and Otto watched as Oprah and Mandy went their separate ways. Oprah stomped off towards the right staircase, keeping left to avoid slipping on the slide, while Mandy went to her desk, beginning to clean the papers off of it. Before Otto could call out to any one of the ponies, they had begun to walk away from the scene. Furthermore, a groan from Olive interrupted him, and he kept her steady in his hands as she slowly opened her eyes. "Olive! You okay?" "What...happened?" Olive squinted at Otto, as though not recognizing him. "You fainted after seeing Mandy go berserk." he explained, setting her down and allowing her to find her footing on the concrete. "Can you stand?" "Yeah." Once Olive's legs were steady, Otto let go of her, giving a small relieved smile. "She just finished hosting a meeting of the Security agents. She wants Orino monitored." "For what, quality assurance?" Olive snarked, half in amusement and half in annoyance. Otto began to walk away. "I'm gonna go talk to her." "Whoa whoa whoa." Olive gripped the sleeve of his jacket to stop him. "Not without me, you're not. We're going to find out what Mandy has planned. Together." Otto couldn't argue with his partner's logic. He gave a shrug as the pair began to wander over to where Mandy was still cleaning off of her desk and muttering something to herself. "...Honestly, she can be such a little bi-" "Hey, Mandy!" Mandy glanced up and saw Olive and Otto eagerly waving at her. Almost immediately, her anger began to dissipate, and she returned the wave. "Oh, hey, you two. Sorry about making you faint, Momma..." "Don't worry about it." Olive said. "It was just surprising to see your room wrecked like that after what happened with Natsu in the Bedroom." Mandy's eyes grew misty. "Oh. Yeah. That." She glanced at the floor. "The thing is...a-and you guys prolly already know this, but...that was me. I did it all. With my physical strength." Olive and Otto nodded. They did, indeed, know it was Mandy, even if she was in a feral state of mind. Still, Otto in particular was curious. "How, though? I mean, you've never been the weakest person around, but-" "I've been training." Mandy responded. "I need to start using more than just my hammer in combat. If a villain knocks it outta my grip and I can't reach it without putting myself at a disadvantage, then I'm gonna need to defend myself until I can gain an advantage. Which is why..." She inhaled and straightened herself up with determination. "...I've been getting stronger!" Olive blinked. On the one hand, she had to admire Mandy's dedication to improving her strength, knowing that her magical and flight prowess outclassed her physical prowess by a pretty wide margin. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but figure there was a driving force behind this sudden change -- perhaps that thing Mandy was refusing to tell her and Otto about? The thing that was "family business" to no other family than herself? Who was to say. "How long have you been doing this?" was the question she eventually settled on asking. "Oh, a couple months now." Mandy said, an excited edge to her voice. "I've been going to the Odd Squad Gym every day to train, and to Formation Fitness too. I got the VIP membership package there!" "And...why don't you just use gadgets like everyone else does?" Otto asked. "Mm, I have thought about making some that would attach to my horn and be powered by my magic, but I'd need to ask Oona about that." Mandy shook her head. "Still, taking gadgets out from behind my back and using them...it'd be a time-waster." The spluttering noise Olive made was, perhaps, her best attempt at a motorboat engine imitation -- and what an imitation it was. That is, before she managed to spit out, "A time-waster?!" "Agility's the name of the game. If you can't whip out a gadget in the time it takes for a villain to launch an attack, then you're done for." Silence. Olive and Otto stared at her for what felt like several minutes, completely floored by this sudden knowledge she seemed to have accrued in the span of less than a day. They knew Mandy was skilled in combat, even when she often acted without planning, but neither one of them thought Mandy knew anything other than the surface-level basics of the activity. Further thought to her words revealed that perhaps she might have a point -- Olive and Otto were both agile in combat, but Otto was klutzy, and one drop of a gadget could lead to serious injuries or death being served to him within seconds. "When did you become so...battle-proficient?" Olive asked, the question being directed more towards her than towards Mandy. Regardless, the hybrid answered. "I'm trying to save this precinct, and my cousin, from danger. That catboy is a menace." With a huff, she shot a glare towards the Directors. "As I said before, get your butts out of my business, and keep them out. This is a family matter that I have to deal with alone." "But I'm your adoptive mother!" Olive cried out. "Am I not family?" That comment hurt more when it came from Olive. Mandy grit her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut. "Let me rephrase." she said, before she unclenched her jaws and gazed at the Director with sad eyes. "This is a matter between me and Peaches, and only us. I don't want anyone else getting involved." "But-" "Olive." Otto placed his hand on his partner's shoulder. "We should take her word for it. If she doesn't want us to get involved, then we shouldn't get involved." Olive looked into his eyes. Minute after minute, she contemplated the situation. Her heart became wrapped in the coils of worry -- worry about what would happen if she said no, worry about what would happen if she said yes. Any way she saw it, it was a lose-lose situation for her. Either Mandy would get hurt by Orino, or Mandy would hurt her own mother in equal measure. Her worry bubbled up into a shaky sigh. "All right, if you say so. Just...don't get yourself killed, okay?" "Don't worry. That won't happen." A satisfied sigh left Mandy, and her mouth curved into a genuine smile as she glanced down the left hallway. "Now, I think I'll go and prep for that meeting with Owen. The sooner I can pummel Orino's face into his skull, the better." Olive and Otto watched her go, and it was only when she turned the corner that the former expressed her worries that hadn't come out in her sigh. "She's going to get carried away, Otto. Something bad will happen. I can feel it in my gut." "You sure that isn't just the sushi talking?" Otto joked, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, Olive was in no mood for laughing this time around. "This isn't a joking matter! I know she's always talked about not killing when she attacks, but...I feel like she's actually gonna kill Orino." Otto's eyes widened. "Huh? You think so?" "It was that look in her eyes..." Olive murmured, her gaze fixated on the left hallway and ignoring the other gazes of agents entering and exiting it. "I remember Odd Todd telling me that I had the same look whenever we faced off. It was pure hatred. Murderous intent." Gradually, Otto was beginning to realize his partner's concerns. He wasn't there during most of the battles and confrontations between Olive and Odd Todd...all except for one, where he had to actively pry her away from him when she was seconds away from delivering a final blow to his skull that, in essence, would have killed him. He never forgot that snarling face, stained with tears and saliva and blood and a few fallen hairs, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Mandy had had a similar face. He felt a little more wary towards the old phrase "like mother, like daughter" now. "We have to stop her!" "Not now." Olive shook her head. "We should follow her closely. She'll attack him eventually, and when she does, we'll be witnesses." Otto straightened as an idea came to him. "Should we get Oprah to help?" "Absolutely. Otherwise this precinct is going to fall with her at the helm." Olive glanced at Oprah's office. "But don't let Mandy know we're following her, or she won't be happy." "Got it." "Right now she's planning on meeting with Owen. If we can find out where they're having the meeting, we can eavesdrop and get more insight." Olive held up her hand. "You in, partner?" "Definitely." Together, the two performed their signature handshake -- a high-five up above, down below, and side-to-side on both sides of the hand, then a fist-bump performed both up and down, and finally, an exploding fist-bump as the two shared a unisonant "Boom-plan-a-lotta!" With confidence surging through them, they left in pursuit of Owen, already mapping out a course of dialogue since they knew getting anything they wanted out of Owen was enough of a feat on its own. "Uhh, I believe we're holding it in the Big Meeting Room. The one a little ways down the hall from the Princess Room?" "Oh yeah! That dark, foreboding room with all the lights off!" Owen and Olive shot Otto strange looks. "Oprah...she, uh...i-it's a long story." Owen shrugged. "Anyway yeah, we're planning on meeting there." "Good. That's all we need to know." Olive nodded, mentally breathing a sigh of relief that squeezing that answer out of Owen wasn't that hard. "Thanks, Owen, and good luck." "No problem!" As Owen walked away, twirling his baton and whistling a ditty, Olive and Otto watched him go. "So what now?" Otto asked. "We eavesdrop, right?" "Yup. We'll find out exactly what Mandy is planning." Olive sighed. "It feels so wrong to go against my own adopted daughter like this, but...if this goes well, we might just end up saving a life." "And a few reputations!" "And a few reputations." Olive agreed. "C'mon, we need to stake out somewhere. And I think I might just have an idea on how we can do that. Follow me." With the pressing of three buttons on each of their jackets, Olive and Otto turned completely invisible. "Ooooh, the Director suits have camouflage abilities?" Otto asked. "Just like the Investigation suits!" "Otto, I keep telling you, you have to read that Agents' Manual sometime. We're Directors now. It's pitiful." "I know! I have it on my list." Otto didn't need to see Olive to know that she was shooting him a dubious look, and he sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll read it when we get back to the office." "Good. Now, we wait." Luckily for the two Directors, Mandy and Owen came around the corner no more than a few minutes later. "Now, I want absolutely no shenaniganihansens at this meeting. This is a very serious matter. I am entrusting you and your team to get the job done." "Sure thing." Mandy grabbed ahold of the doorknob and jiggled it to and fro, frowning when the door didn't budge even when magic was brought into play. "Aww pickleferries, it's locked." "I have a lockpick if you-" "No need." Cracking her knuckles, Mandy wrapped an index finger around her forelock, fiddling around with it until it stiffened and stuck out straight. She bent down until the lock in the door was at eye level, then let her forelock extend and work its magic as it moved about inside the lock. A loud click marked the sound of success, and Mandy stood back up as she loosened her forelock and set it back to its usual bouncy position. Owen blinked in surprise. "Whoa." "This lil' bit of hair can do many things." Mandy said modestly, before she opened the door and stepped inside. "Follow me inside." As Owen followed, the door closed behind them. Normally, this would be an obstacle for Olive and Otto, but in their invisible states, they were able to slip through the door as easily as ghosts. "That's so cool!" Otto said, his voice quiet but still earning a shush from Olive. Mandy and Owen sat down in two chairs in the center of the room, illuminated by only a single lightbulb hanging from a string. A table suddenly popped into existence to complete the ensemble, and Mandy propped her feet up on it. "Now, I'm going to get right down to business here." she began. "Vallea is a bit of unknown territory for Odd Squad. As far as I know, no agent has ever visited there. And from what I hear from Peaches, their king Ashero isn't a kindhearted ruler." Owen's brow furrowed. "Is he like a lion cub, or...?" "I don't know what he is. Never met him." Mandy shrugged and cleared her throat. "I’m aware that the king conspired with the previous Big O to take Peaches back for her wrongly-presumed failure in finding who burned Vallea down to the ground. And I have a bit of a hunch that Orino is here to do exactly that." "Whoa...really?" "Really really." Mandy nodded. "However, I had a sort of...prophetic dream. A dream where someone told me that I can't act now, otherwise Orino will never show his true colors." Her eyes became glazed over with upset and sadness for just a brief moment, and before Owen could even process the sudden change in mood, the steeliness returned to them. "So I'm gonna take the long game approach." "The what?" "Right now, Orino is as sweet as cherry pie. He and Peach are doing wonderfully together. But his real nature will begin to show eventually." Mandy balled up her hand into a fist. "If I know King Ashero well, he probably won't want Orino back until he completes his mission. But Orino will want to get Peaches and come home as soon as possible." Owen's eyes widened. "But you barely know the guy!" "Cats are crafty creatures." "Ooh, wordplay!" A look of disappointment crossed Mandy's face. "Owen, please." she scolded, her tone close to a snap. A heavy sigh regulated her emotions. "What I want you to do is to have you and the rest of your Security team keep tabs on Orino. When he goes out, what he does, what he says, I want it all." Owen tugged at his collar in a desperate attempt to fight off the nervousness that bubbled inside of him. Mandy's behavior made him think twice about slacking off and going on more breaks than one could possibly conceive. "O-of course!" he said. "Um, if you'd like, I can also give you daily reports? Kind of like what I do with Ms. O." Mandy's expression turned thoughtful, and she tapped her chin as she weighed Owen's words. "Daily reports...hm. Yes, daily reports, please. This way, I can decide on a course of action." "You got it! And when should we start?" "First thing tomorrow. And as I said earlier, if anything comes up, if he starts trouble, any Security agent who spots it is to report to me and you. No one else." Owen blinked. "I thought you said just you?" "I changed my mind." Mandy extended her tail and used it to pat Owen's shoulder in lieu of her hand. "You're the head of Security, Owen. You have every right to be in the know." "All right, whatever you say!" Owen responded with a shrug. "Good." Mandy didn't seem to notice Owen's carefree "I'm just gonna roll with it" attitude, nor did she care. "And do not attempt to pry Peaches away from Orino, either, by the way. And don't get Ms. O involved. Let things play out and do what I tell you." "Got it!" Owen's gaze flicked towards the entrance. "Can I, um...go now?" "Yes. Meeting concluded." As Owen got up and began walking towards the door, Olive and Otto silently passed through the wall and arrived back outside the room. "Thanks for meeting with me, Owen!" Mandy called, as she watched Owen walk down the hall. "It's no prob!" he called back, before he took out his baton from his hammerspace spine and began whistling a ditty while twirling the weapon in his hand. Olive and Otto waited with held breaths. However, the only thing that came forth was a comment about Mandy taking her long-overdue and well-needed nap, and as she walked away, both of them breathed collective sighs of relief as they pressed the three buttons on the fronts of their jackets to return to normal once more. "C'mon, Otto, let's head back to the office. We'll discuss things there." Olive grabbed two bottles of water from the bar in her office, throwing one to Otto. "So. She really is going to monitor Orino around the clock." "Seems kinda creepy if you ask me." Otto said, taking a swig of water. This remark was met with doubt on Olive's face as she turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "Otto...Mandy's not the stalker type." Otto, likewise, had his own doubtful look, mixed in with a twinge of smugness as he smiled at Olive. All of a sudden, a memory began to bubble to the surface of Olive's brain, of a time that Mandy was, indeed, the stalker type... The sound of sipping was the first thing that met Olive's eardrums. As she rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn, her feet met the solid ground of the first story of her house, where they almost took her right past... Past... "Mandy?!" Olive was (mostly) alert in an instant. "Wh-what the heck are you doing in my house?!" Mandy, sitting and relaxing on the couch, stretched her legs out further, a glass of orange juice caught in her rainbow-colored corona. "Jeez, Momma, and you complain that I stay in bed all day! What is it, noon, and you're comin' down here in your kitty jammies?" Olive stared for ten full seconds at the giggling form of her adopted daughter. Alert as she was, her fatigue-bogged brain hadn't quite caught up to her yet, and it took her a bit to fully absorb what was happening. Finally, she managed to spit out a "What are you doing here?!" "Oh, I'd thought I'd make you brekkie!" Mandy pointed to the kitchen. "You looked sooooo run-down the other day, your hair was messed up, I mean, Otto could throw a fish at you and he'd get no reaction!" "And...how'd you get in here?" "I have magic, ya wingding!" Olive pinched the bridge of her nose, regretting not having figured that out sooner. One thing she knew about Mandy was that if she wasn't going to be let in, then by odd, she was going to let herself in -- whether it was by busting down the door with her hammer or by simple teleportation. "Right..." She began making her way to the coffee table, where she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to the news. "Anyway, look, I need to take a shower." "No prob! Whaddya want for brekkie?" Olive shot her a confused look. "I don't...need anything for...'brekkie'." she remarked, making air quotes around the foreign word. "I'll make it myself." "That's Momma! So modest and humble." A thought occurred to Olive right then. Secretly, she really wasn't up to making her own breakfast, and with Mandy's superb cooking skills and high energy, she could get it done faster than Olive herself ever could. "If I eat your breakfast, will you get out of my house?" "Sure!" Mandy took a sip of her orange juice. "Your snoring's a nuisance anyway. Which is weird, 'cuz you usually don't snore-" And there came the rambling. Olive had been expecting it, but that didn't mean it didn't annoy her any less. A groan marked her journey back up the stairs towards the bathroom, whereupon she promptly closed the door, locked it, and prayed to whomever up above that Mandy wouldn't suddenly teleport into her shower. "I...take that back." Olive shook her head in an attempt to clear the memory. "But this is different. She clearly has some intent to kick this guy's butt into the BC years." "Seems like King Ashero's up to no good again." Otto said. "He wants to take Peaches back to Vallea!" Olive grit her teeth. "For being a lazy leader, he sure is persistent. Annoyingly persistent." "So what're we gonna do?" Otto took another swig of water. "If Mandy finds out we're involved in all this, she's gonna smack both our faces into our skulls!" "Partner, honestly. You worry too much." Olive smirked. "I have an idea in mind." Sure enough, she had Pinkie Pie on the line less than a minute later. "You need a favor?" the party pony asked. "Sure thing! Whatcha need?" "How often do you hang out with Mandy?" Silence, and then a bout of laughter, followed by a snort. "How often? We're partners, silly, we hang out all the time!" "Mhm...I see." Olive mentally smacked herself for asking such an obvious question. "Um, Mandy, she...she's hit a bit of a rough patch as of late. Irritability with a certain...someone. Would it trouble you to keep a constant eye on her, maybe check up on her daily? As a friend and a partner?" "Of course!" Pinkie chirped. "Who's the someone?" At this, Olive gave a bout of nervous laughter. Apparently she didn't factor in Pinkie's need to shove her muzzle into business she had no right to shove her muzzle in -- great partners thought alike. "N-not anyone important, don't worry. Just keep tabs on her, okay?" "Will do!" "Thanks, Pinkie. You're a big help." "No prob! Where's Mandy now?" Olive's gaze moved towards the doors. "Taking a nap, I think. But she'll probably want dinner soon." "Ooh, I can help with that! Otto taught me some awesome recipes that I wanna try out!" Otto beamed in the background upon hearing the mare's praise. "Er, anything she wants in particular?" "Make whatever. You know Mandy can and will eat anything and everything." "Aaaaaall righty, be back at Odd Squad in a spiffy-jiffy!" "Thanks again, Pinkie." "You're welcome!" As Olive ended the call and clipped her phone back onto her chest, Otto tilted his head. "So you're going to fight monitoring...with monitoring?" "No." Olive held her index finger up. "I told Pinkie to check up on her daily. What I didn't tell her was to follow Mandy around all the time and keep a single eye on her around the clock." Otto's eyes widened. An "ohhh" slipped from his lips as he began to nod in understanding. "If Pinkie can keep Mandy under control...we’ll be saving the life of...uh...someone we barely even know. But it’ll still be a life!" Olive sighed. "Honestly, I don’t know what connection Odd Squad and Vallea have to each other...I’ll have to ask the Big O about that sometime." "So we just sit back and let Pinkie do her thing, right?" Olive took a sip of water and sat in her chair with a smile. "Exactly." The sparring between Orino and Peaches had gone well. Numerous times did Orino contemplate actually bringing Peaches down and capturing her, but stopped as he realized that he had to bring Mandy back as well, and to King Ashero, it simply wouldn't do to have just one rulebreaker in his grasp. So, he resigned to friendly sparring, putting on his facade and making mental notes of Peaches' battle moves in her cat form for easy reference. As they roamed the hallways, a lighthearted chuckle fell from Orino's lips. "You're so funny, Peaches!" "I picked up a few jokes from Otto and Mandy, what can I say?" Peaches shrugged. The conversation came to a slow halt when the pair passed by, and eventually stopped in the doorway of, Mandy's room. The hybrid had left the door wide open and was wrapped up in sheets and blankets, entering the realm of deep sleep as she snored away. This, of course, intrigued Orino, who had gotten wind of Mandy's famous love of sleeping from Ashero talking about it to the townspeople of Vallea -- how she didn't wake up easily, how she wasn't a morning person, how sleep deprivation affected her. Sleeping was a key cornerstone of her entire identity, and for the first time, Orino found something in her that he could relate to. He would have been scared of having a familiarity with the enemy, if not for the fact that he wasn't willing to spare any sympathy. "Mandy sleeps a lot." Peaches explained, apparently having caught Orino staring at Mandy. "Over 12 hours, actually." "Wow." Orino gave a soft chuckle, biting the urge to tell Peaches that this was knowledge he already was aware of. "Well, she could be part-cat. Since she's your cousin and all." Oh cattails, why did I say that? Come on, Orino, keep your head in the game. Now you're gonna have nightmares for weeks. "You know, I've thought of that." Peaches said, before the low growl of a stomach cut through the air. A pause as Orino scratched the back of his head. "I'm kind of hungry. Mind making me dinner?" "Sure thing! We can go catch some fish together." Orino's eyes widened. "Actually, I'm..." He leaned over and clutched his stomach. "...not feeling well." "Oh!" Peaches placed a hand on his back to stabilize him. "Well, in that case, I'm sure I can go to the town lake and catch you some." "Thank you." Orino fought to stay standing, even though he was merely putting on a facade. "Um, is there anywhere I can...lie down?" A few minutes later, he and Peaches had arrived at the latter's room. "Just make yourself comfortable on the bed and I'll be back soon with plenty of fish!" "Thank you." Orino closed his eyes. "You're a life-saver." As he got situated on the bed, Peaches left the room and closed the door. It was only then that Orino dropped the act, unclenching his stomach muscles and allowing his eyes to spring back to life again. An exhale shook his chest as he had himself a thorough look around his "friend's" room, making note of every little detail he could find. It was lucky that he had been blessed with the gift of a good memory. I need to get to Vallea as soon as possible. King Ashero won't like it if I prolong my visit here. A sigh came forth. Even if he said I can't return until I have both Peaches and Mandy...and even if he said that I will be punished for my failure... He hopped off of the bed and headed for the door, allowing his feet to guide him through the hallway as he continued to become lost in his thoughts. Although I am quite glad she told me so much about Mandy. That mutt is quite interesting. He smirked. Such power...I want to see it in action, with my own eyes. If I can critically wound her... His brain began to concoct the fantasy he had most often whenever King Ashero sent him on a mission. It was glorious, like a slice of heaven he could enjoy again and again whenever he wanted. And it played out in the exact same way, every time. Like they were nothing but mere pebbles, Orino carried two captors in a single brown sack. A sickeningly sadistic cat smile adorned his features as he stepped inside the castle of King Ashero and began to make his way to the throne room with two guards at his sides. When he arrived, he made sure to slam the sack onto the floor to stop the captors' squirming as well as their muffled cries for help. "Your Majesty? I have brought Peaches and Mandy, as you requested." The delight that settled in King Ashero's eyes filled Orino with joy. It was quite rare that his king wore such an emotion in front of his subjects, let alone in front of someone like Orino, and as someone who was utterly loyal to his leadership, Orino was happy to see him happy. "Well done, Orino." Ashero watched as the catboy began dragging the captors out of the sack. "I see they are critically injured." Indeed, both Peaches and Mandy carried scars, bruises and broken bones on their weak and frail bodies. They looked like they had come back from a water park where blood was the substitute for water, with the red substance streaked all over their faces and limbs. For the cherry on top, rope was tied tightly around their bodies to prevent their movement, and it showed in the way it chafed their skin, threatening to cut off blood circulation if it were any tighter. "Yes. They put up quite a fight, and this was the only way I was able to put them out of commission." "Hm." Ashero's tail flicked to and fro. "No matter. So long as they can speak." A moan echoed throughout the Throne Room. It didn't take neither Orino nor Ashero very long to pinpoint its source. "Peaches. Your failure in finding who attacked Vallea irritates me greatly." Ashero's nostrils flared. "I will admit, I had originally sent you away because you brought nothing of value to this place. It seems like with this latest setback..." His body rippled with a huff. "...it was a wise choice indeed." Even with the odds stacked against her, Peaches continued to fight with verbal assaults. "K-King Ashero...y-you can't...do this..." "Quit your whining, you pathetic dog." came the mighty bellow. "I ought to execute you here and now." And perhaps he would have, if not for his eyes wandering towards the second capture, who was feebly trying to get up but was unable to do so. "And Agent Mandy. A part of Odd Squad, I presume?" The agent only responded by groaning in pain as she tried once more to get to her feet. This was met by a harsh mocking laugh from Ashero, a smug smile displayed on his face. "Look at you. Too weak to stand up." he taunted. "Fitting for someone who is nothing more than a revolting half-breed." Unlike Peaches, Mandy had no witty quip to offer in response. Instead, her energy was directed towards attempting to stand, even in her rope-bound state. "You are wasting your breath, mongrel. Give up. You have no power here." The words were like a siphon that sucked all of Mandy's energy away in one fell swoop. She fell to the ground without another sound uttered, Peaches gazing at her with tears in her eyes. Ashero gave a low hum as his tail flicked back and forth again. "I ought to execute her as well. And if I did not need information out of them, I would." His gaze moved from Mandy to "Orino. Bring these two to the House of Torture. If they are not willing to give answers to me, then we will claw the answers out of them ourselves." "Oh, right away, Your Majesty!" Orino eagerly nodded before moving to shove Peaches and Mandy back into the sack. "Come on, you quivering canines, let's go." The last thing he heard as he left the throne room was the lovely melody of his king's laughter, which bounced off every inch of the throne room walls. It was like a victory fanfare for him, and he treasured it for all it was worth. Orino's expression was stuck in a state of bliss. King Ashero would praise me! Mandy and Peaches would both be tortured to death...and I would be responsible for it all! The sound of snoring snapped him out of his stupor, and he once again paused at the entrance to the doorway of Mandy's room. Perhaps...I could get started on the half-breed while she’s asleep. She wouldn’t know what hit her. And she wouldn’t even fight back! It’s perfect. He didn't need to conceal the sound of his footsteps as he walked inside -- his innate cat abilities did all the work for him in providing perfectly quiet tread. Within just a few seconds, he was looming ominously over his snoring enemy, who seemed to be unaware of his presence. He unsheathed his claws and raised them over her. "Now...prepare to get sliced." A tail quickly snaked up his body and held him by his neck, causing him to give a yelp of pain. It gripped the extremity tighter and tighter, causing his face to turn pale as his eyes began to roll in the back of his head. However, before it could kill him by way of asphyxiation, it jerked upwards, sending him into the air. He soon found himself being spun around and around like a carousel, and a yell escaped him as he flew out the door and collided with a wall. A minute or two passed. Orino groaned as he slid down the wall, his rump met the floor, and he landed back-first. "Oww...for the love of cattails, what the heck happened...?" he asked, eyes spinning around in their sockets as he struggled to get to his feet. His keen ears caught the sound of Mandy still snoring away, only now, she was muttering something he couldn't make out. Pure gibberish, he supposed. "Was she...acting out a dream?" He shook his head as he placed one foot on the ground, and then the other, using the wall to steady himself. "No...it seemed targeted towards me. Did she know I was there?" He tried again, stepping into Mandy's room and looming over her. This time, however, he kept a close eye on the tail that was drooped over the side of the bed, in case it tried to attack him again. A thought flickered in his mind of him possibly stepping on it so it would be a non-threat, but he quickly shut that down as not being a good idea. Instead, he made a note about her tail being prehensile and strong enough to be weaponized against enemies. "You pathetic mongrel. I know you can hear me, so listen up." Orino hissed, from his position at the end of Mandy's bed. "I have one goal in mind, and that's to bring you and Peaches to King Ashero pronto. And nothing is going to stand in my way. Absolutely nothing." He spoke his words in confidence that no one was around to hear them, unaware that there was someone listening to his conversation that wasn't Mandy. She was pressed on the wall next to Mandy's door, her ears swiveling towards the door to make out what he was saying. "Tomorrow, you will be at the mercy of my glorious King, fatally wounded and tortured for information on this wretched place." Orino purred. "Just you wait. For now...get some sleep." He leaned in closer. "You'll need it." The equine eavesdropper listened to the sound of evil laughter that echoed out of the room. A gasp left her, followed by a "He's going to take Peaches and Mandy away?!" She clasped her hooves over her mouth, but by then, it was too little, too late. "Who said that?" Orino asked, poking his head out of the door and letting his eyes rest on the eavesdropper. In spite of their meeting before, he didn't recognize her, instead having funneled his attention to Peaches and Mandy. "You...you're wearing the same outfit as Mandy. Are you affiliated with her?" The pony dropped on all fours and turned to face him, ears folded downwards and an angry scowl on her face. "W-well...why should you know?! Who are you?!" It seemed neither one of them recognized each other, which was good news for Orino. "Oh, just someone who's being a good little kitty-cat and obeying his noble and kind King." In the blink of an eye, he tore a piece of cloth from his pocket -- something he had been saving since he had found it on his journey to Toronto, since he could never be too prepared -- and wrapped it around the pony's muzzle, silencing her. "That ought to shut you up." he said, ignoring the pony's attempts to speak through the obstruction. His claws unsheathed once more, and a sickening grin split his face as he bent his legs slightly and shifted one backwards. "I'm sure King Ashero won't mind if I take one more back with me." A loud yowl pierced the air. In contrast, a muffled scream went unheard. It was only a few minutes later that Peaches returned. "I'm back, Orino!" she called as she set the bucket down. "I brought a ton of fish. Enough to last us the whole week!" As she opened the door, she found the catboy lying on the bed, still clutching his stomach. "There you are. You feeling better?" "A little." Orino smiled. "I had a nasty hairball that was stuck in me for a good while." "Ugh, yeah...I can relate." Peaches winced. "Anyway, let's eat!" As the pair chowed down on as much fish as their stomachs could handle, Orino mentally ran through the next phase of his plan. He had disposed of an unforeseen obstacle, and with that done, he could move on to the next phase of his plan and get this mission over with. "Hey, Peaches." he said, swallowing his bite of fish. "Um...I have something to discuss with you." "Hm?" "It's about King Ashero." A look of pleading settled in Orino's eyes. "He really wants you back in Vallea." Peaches ceased her chewing for only a moment, before she swallowed in an attempt to keep the piece in her mouth and not have it wind up on the floor. "He wants me back?" "See, before I left, I was summoned by him." Orino explained. "He confided in me, and told me that he realized sending you away was wrong." Half of the catboy had expected Peaches to not be fooled for a second. The other half had expected her to buy into the lie hook, line and stinker. Lucky for him that the odds worked out in his favor. "Did he...did he admit to sending me away because I was useless?" Orino nodded. "And he profusely apologized. He said that it was wrong for him as the king of Vallea to commit such a hasty and rude crime against a hard-working member, especially since you were attempting to find out who burned the town down." Peaches bit her lip and didn't say anything in response. "I know you haven’t found the culprit yet, and I do want to help you look. But perhaps we could return to Vallea together and meet up with the king. He said that he wants you to return. And...I want you to return too." Pain flashed in Orino's eyes, now. "Vallea has been a desolate town ever since you left. Everyone is on edge. No one is safe. King Ashero believes that you…" A pause. "You deserve a second chance." Peaches gasped. The fish she had been eating fell on the floor. Her eyes began to water slightly. "This place...it's nice." Orino said. "But tell me. Don't you want to go home, Peaches? You could be the hero that Vallea needs." Peaches stared at him. "B-but...Mandy..." The water that had been pooling in her eyes fell down her face in two beautifully cascading streams. "I finally found a member of my own family, Orino. You know how they went missing in the attack. They..." "I know." Orino placed a hand on her shoulder. "And perhaps we'll find them too. But do you really not want to leave Mandy?" He glanced at the wall just outside of the door. "A girl like her would never fit in with Vallea's citizens. She would be an outcast, living at the bottom of the hierarchy. Is that the position you want to put her in?" Silence hung over the room like a thick dark cloud. Orino made sure it didn't last for very long, though. "Besides, from what I've seen, Mandy is happy here. She has friends, family, a purpose. Do you want to take all that away from her?" "I don't...I don't know!" Peaches blurted out, burying her face in her knees. Orino was, of course, entirely indifferent to her emotions, instead eating the rest of his fish in one fell swoop. "Why don't you sleep on it? I'm leaving tomorrow." Peaches' head jerked up. "T-tomorrow?" "I'm going to search around the area of Vallea for any sign of the culprit. The sooner the better. I assume you've been searching around here and haven't found anything?" "N-no..." "They couldn't have gone far. I could always use a trusted friend to help me look." Orino got off of the bed. "Is...there anywhere I can sleep for the night?" Peaches wiped away her tears. "Um...you can sleep in my room. I'll set up a cat bed or something." "All right. I'm just going to go out for a stroll and get some fresh air. I'll be back, okay?" "Okay..." With that, Orino left the room, making sure to close the door behind him. Which, in turn, left Peaches alone with her thoughts. She stared at the fish she had dropped, the appetite she once had suddenly sapped out of her. The tears flowed freely, and she laid on the bed with her hands wrapped tightly around her. That stupid king...he wants me back after sending me away and exiling me from the town? After how he worked with the Big O? After all he's done to hurt us?! Is he insane?! A choked sob left her. And Orino... Orino... He...wants me to come back. She blinked. "I could be the hero Vallea needs"...what did he mean by that? Could I overthrow King Ashero and become the Queen? ...No, no. Don't delude yourself with such silly thoughts, Peaches. Someone like you could never be the leader of an entire town. Suddenly, a realization broke through. If I return to Vallea, it'll be for Orino. He's been my friend since I was a child. I can't let him go back to Vallea and live under that...monstrous tyrant. If I go with him, we can stop King Ashero together. Maybe that's what he means by me being the hero Vallea needs...? Thoughts kept spinning around and around in her head like a carousel, and it didn't take long before her eyes slowly began to close as she slipped into slumber. Meanwhile, Orino was having thoughts of his own. If I can get Peaches away from Mandy and get her to Vallea...perhaps Mandy will follow suit. Considering I can’t catch Mandy directly, I’ll have to resort to more tactful methods. He gave a soft chuckle. But everything will go according to plan in the end. It always does. As he rounded the corner, his keen eyes spotted one of his two intended targets, who was busy conversing with Olive and Otto. It's Mandy! With those two, no less...whatever their names are. His eyes narrowed. I could try and persuade her now, but would it be better to manipulate her while she's asleep? He bit his lip. No...she'd just attack me again. I have to do it now, while I have an opportunity lying right in front of me. It didn't take long for one of the beings Mandy was talking with to spot him. Her corkscrew ponytail bounced as she turned her head. "Oh! Orino, was it?" "Um, yes." Orino nodded. "And remind me who you two are, again?" Luckily, neither one of them seemed fazed by his forgetfulness. "I'm Olive, Mandy's adoptive mother." "And I'm Otto. We work together in the Odd Squad precinct in the next town over." It was then that something occurred to Orino. He pointed at Olive. "You're her mother?" "Yes." "No rude intentions, but..." He smiled. "You do look quite young for being Mandy's adoptive mother." He had expected Olive to be offended or to scold him for being rude. To his surprise, however, she barked a pleasant laugh. "I get that a lot. It's a rather complicated story." Orino really wanted to hear the story, but his conscience told him to stick to the plan and not to go astray. He nodded at Olive before making eye contact with Mandy. "Um, Mandy...there's something I need to tell you." Mandy was busy looking the catboy up and down, which unnerved him only by a twinge. After a few seconds, she blinked and returned to reality, as though she had simply zoned out for a moment. "Y-yes! Yes, of course!" She awkwardly laughed as she moved her chair closer to him. "Here, have a seat." "I'll pass." Orino cleared his throat. "Peaches has expressed an interest in returning to Vallea." Mandy's eyes widened. They remained that way for a minute or two, before a few blinks brought them back to normal. "But I thought she wanted to find out who burned it down to the ground. I'd imagine it looks pretty barren..." "Oh, no, not at all! We've rebuilt since then." The narrowing of Mandy's eyes, followed by the low inquisitive hum she gave, once again only fazed Orino just a little bit. He had to wonder if she was catching on to him, but pushed that thought to the side, because there was no way someone as dumb as her could see past the thick mask he was wearing. "I know that her returning to Vallea would mean that she would have to leave you and the rest of Odd Squad behind." he continued. "But all the same, I'd like to extend an offer to you." Mandy's expression didn't falter. Orino straightened as he laid down the million-dollar question. "Would you like to come to Vallea with Peaches, on a permanent basis?" Otto took a step back. "Come to Vallea?!" "Y-you can't be serious!" Olive cried out. "Do you really think that Mandy would uproot herself and her entire life over to-" "Guys." Silence fell among the group. Olive and Otto gazed at Mandy, who had her hand up and her eyes closed. "It's fine." Mandy heaved a sigh, and her frown was quickly replaced with her usual cat smile. "Orino, I'd love to come with you and Peaches to Vallea." Olive looked about ready to faint. "Mandy, no!" "Wonderful!" Orino clapped his hands together, the cries of Olive and Otto feeding into his rush of endorphins. "You'll love it there, I'm sure." "When do we leave?" "Tomorrow morning." "Got it." With the phase of the plan having gone smoothly, Orino turned and began to head for the steel double-doors, mostly in an effort to hide his excitement. "I'm going to go for a walk to clear my head. I suggest you start packing." "Yup!" As soon as the doors closed behind him, Orino did a fist pump, a grin settling on his face. Yes, I got her! I didn't think it would be this easy, but oh, the blessing of the King must have been shining down on me! He couldn't resist chuckling. All that's left now is to beat them until they can't move, then take them back to my glorious King and reap in the rewards. Everything is going well in my favor, and I'm not about to let anything stop me now! Unbeknownst to him, however, there was, indeed, an "anything" that was planning to stop him now, and she was standing right in the bullpen. She listened to the overlapping chatter of her adoptive mother and her partner, gritting her teeth in annoyance before her jaws parted to let out a cry. "I DIDN'T MEAN FOR YOU TO SPEAK LIKE THAT, STOP!!" The chattering stopped. Olive and Otto stared at her, jaws spread. "Are you two dense?" Mandy snapped. "Do you really think that I would uproot myself and my entire life over to Vallea and leave Odd Squad behind, just like that?" Olive threw her hands in the air. "That's what I was gonna say!" "Look. I know what Orino's planning to do. I'm going along with him because I want to. I'm going along with him because it's part of my own plan to stop him." In one fell swoop, Mandy extended her arm and pulled both Olive and Otto close to her, putting her face in theirs. "Trust my judgement and don't intervene, got it?" "But what if you get hurt?" Mandy's mouth pinched inwards as she went half-lidded, staring at Otto as though asking him if he really just asked what he just asked. "I've got alicorn magic and a hammer. Do you really think I'll get hurt?" Not noticing Olive and Otto's exchanging of doubtful glances, she gave a chuckle. "He's not bringing Peaches back to Vallea. He's forcefully taking her back there. If I can tag along with them, I can beat Orino to a pulp and maaaaaaybe, just maaaaaaybe, check out Vallea for myself." Olive's brow furrowed. "Why would you want to see Vallea?" "So I can meet King Ashero and give him a few choice words. And maybe a punchie or two!" Both Directors squirmed free from Mandy's grasp, doubtful looks remaining on their faces. "Well...you're your own person, Mandy, and...I can't really hold you back, I suppose..." Olive sighed. "But just try to be careful, okay?" Mandy scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, I'll be fine! And I'll come back in one piece. That's a Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" After she went through the motions, she gave an exhale and swiveled her head towards the right hallway. "Now, I think I'll start packing. Vallea may be a ways away, but I don't think I'll need to travel that far." Otto and Olive watched her leave, only a single thought being shared amongst their minds. "We're following her, aren't we?" "Oh yeah. And we're bringing Oprah along with us too. Strength in numbers." As Mandy began the short journey back to her room, a satisfied smile settled on her face, and her tail wagged happily as she came to a conclusion. I've got Orino right where I want him. And tomorrow, he, along with his lousy-mousy king, are gonna be sorry they ever tried to tussle around with Peach. Perhaps my plan hit a few snags...but nothin' I can't handle! It was about 10 in the morning when Orino, Peaches and Mandy met up just on the border of the city. Mandy had made sure to chug lots of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise in preparation for the upcoming battle she would eventually need to have with Orino, and for an extra "gotta stay awake" punch, she had eaten raw sugar by the measuring cup. After all, it would do her no good to fall asleep during the battle and answer the nonexistent question of "can I fight in my sleep or is it an immediate getting-my-butt-kicked sentence?" "There you two are." Orino, carrying a bindle with a rather large sack, waved Peaches and Mandy over. "Are you ready to go?" "Yupparoonie! Got all my things." Mandy gestured to her hammerspace spine, although she didn't expect Orino to get the gist of what she was saying. "And I got mine." Peaches did as well. "Wonderful. Let's head off, then." With that, the trio began walking, but it was only a few minutes in that Mandy already had a question primed and ready. "How far is Vallea, anyway?" "About two-and-a-half hours." Orino explained. "We set up residence in a ghost town that was once known as Falkenburg. Since then, it's become Vallea, a thriving town." A simple "uh-huh" left Mandy's lips as she racked her brain in an attempt to pinpoint Falkenburg on a mental map. Although truthfully, geography wasn't really one of her strong subjects, and so, she dropped the attempt after a minute or so. Unbeknownst to her and the others, however, Olive, Otto and Oprah were following behind. They made sure to put quite a distance between themselves and the other trio, in such a way that to anyone passing by, it just happened to look like three kids who were simply going the same direction as two catpeople and a pony-human hybrid and not to the same destination. They watched as Orino waved Peaches over next to him before the weight of what he had said hit them like a truck. "Two-and-a-half hours?!" "We can't walk that far!" Otto glanced down at his feet. "I don't think we'll need to." Oprah assured. "Let's just follow them. And keep your voices down!" Both Olive and Otto still felt unsure, but went along with their old boss anyway, and resumed their positions next to her while keeping an eye on the trio ahead of them. Only twenty minutes later, Mandy was starting to get tired. Not of walking, mind -- she had already taken flight and was now hovering along to allow her feet to rest -- but of whatever long-game gambit Orino was pulling. Patience wasn't really her thing, and that especially held true in regards to the current situation. C'mon...surely he's not gonna wait 150 minutes just to enact his plan? I could fly us all there in half the time! She gave a soft sigh. It isn't like he's gonna take me up on the offer either...oh well. Forty more minutes passed. By this point, Olive and Otto were dragging their feet along the ground, and they could swear they actually both felt and heard their muscles screaming. All of the water in the water bottles they had brought with them in their hammerspace spines couldn't perk them up, either. They contrasted with Oprah, who also looked tired but was still going with no signs of dragging feet. "It's been an hour!" Otto complained. This earned him a shushing from Oprah. "We can't rest now!" "But my feeeeet..." "Olive, stop complaining and walk!" The two Directors only gave soft groans in response, wrapping their arms around each other to keep themselves stable. Lucky for them, they didn't have to walk any longer, as up ahead, Orino posed a suggestion. "Hey, why don't we all take a quick rest? I'm sure your...er...wings must be sore, Mandy." "Mm, kinda." Mandy took the opportunity to land on the ground, folding her wings in. "Feels like we've been walking forever! Or, uh, flying, in my case. At least the grass is nice and lush!" Everyone stopped and sat, finding it rather coincidental that their current destination just so happened to be a mostly-open field that was flanked by a two-lane road with a sidewalk and then another field beyond that. Still, no one could deny that they weren't grateful for the opportunity given to them by the enemy, and took the time to rest and chat. "Mandy's planned for this, right?" Oprah asked, leaning in close to Olive and Otto. "That's what she told us." Olive responded, rubbing her sore feet. "Hey Orino..." Peaches, who had shapeshifted into her cat form along the journey, stretched her body out. "Do you think...maybe we could spar again?" "Now?" Orino blinked. "But you won the last time! And we're on our way back to Vallea anyway!" "I know! But I want to see if you've learned something from it." "Like what?" "Well, I can give you pointers." Peaches waved a paw. "Go on! Shapeshift into your cat form and let's rumble!" Orino stared for a few more moments. He certainly didn't expect this wrench to be thrown into his plan, but he rolled with it regardless, shapeshifting into his cat form as requested while his brain instantly came up with a new solution. "Well, all right. But you better be prepared, because I'm going to win!" "I'd like to see you try!" Both cats bunched up their legs. No more than a minute passed before one of them made their first move, a loud yowl piercing the air. "Hey, not ba-" As pain began to course through Peaches' neck, she let out a loud screeching yowl. "Hey, hey! Get off!" Otto's eyes widened. "He's attacking her! And Mandy's not doing a thing!" Sure enough, Mandy was lying flat on the grass, relaxing and cloud-watching like her cousin wasn't getting attacked by a crazy catboy. "Let this play out. We'll intervene if we have to." Oprah responded, holding out a hand to stop Otto from jumping in to save Peaches. As Orino let go of Peaches, her breathing became heavy. "What was that for? I thought we were sparring!" Slowly, ever so slowly, a sickening smile formed on Orino's features. Her tone sounds so full of innocence. Pure, naive innocence. It's such a shame that I have to crush it under the weight of my own two paws. "Let's just say I changed my mind." His eyes shone with nothing but pure malice. "It's a duel to the death now." Peaches blinked, taking a step back as she tried to figure out what was happening to her friend to make him act this way. Part of her thought this was some kind of a weird joke he was playing, and so, she rolled with it. "A duel to the death? B-but-" "Look. It's time I admit the truth, pretty kitty." Orino strode closer to her. "All that stuff I said about King Ashero wanting you to come back? It was all a lie. A lie!" He cackled. "And you fell for it, you dumb mongrel!" Any hope Peaches had that this was some kind of a joke had been immediately shot dead. All she could do was stare agape, her rump hitting the ground as the floodgates of thoughts swung wide open. He...this isn't a joke. He lied to me. He's working with the enemy. All this time...I trusted him...was he even my friend all these years? Or was he someone fabricated to be my friend by King Ashero? I should have known better. The King doesn't want me back. He never wants me back, ever. I was exiled for a reason. There's no way he would welcome me back with open arms after I haven't found the culprit yet. And there was no way anyone would have wanted to be my friend. Not back then. I lived with a false friend all these years...and now that I have real ones...ohh, why didn't I see the truth from the get-go? Was I really that stupid? The thoughts, scrambled in nature, kept going and going. Peaches barely heard Orino's next words. "King Ashero has sent me to get you and bring you back to him for your failure in finding out who destroyed our town. Not only that, but he wants Mandy as well." That last bit made her snap out of her thoughts. She stared at the catboy whom she had dared to call her friend. "Why her?" "You have been interacting with her during your exile. And it has come to my glorious king’s attention that you and her are somehow connected. He refused to share any details, but regardless. Orders are orders." Orino chuckled. "I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring you and Mandy back alive. I also know exactly how I’m going to bring both of you back." He unsheathed his claws and bunched up his legs again, turning to face Peaches with a grin on his maw. "Starting with you." Peaches' head swiveled back and forth between Mandy and Orino. "Mandy! Mandy, help!" she cried out, before Orino leaped up and changed forms right before her eyes. The distant sound of yowling made Mandy crack open a nonchalant eye, a short soft hum escaping her as she sat up to inspect the scene. She allowed a smile to settle on her face as a hand slowly reached behind her back and she rose to her feet. "Ah, look who finally woke up. Come to join the battle?" Orino moved his gaze from the now-humanoid Peaches to Mandy, his foot resting on the former's chest as she spluttered and coughed. "I must say, it'll be terribly outnumbered. But I'm more than confident I can take down two little girls." The coughing from Peaches grew fiercer, to the point where Mandy was concerned she would start hacking up blood. But she didn't pay her cousin any mind. That would be for after she sent Orino flying out of the Milky Way. With confidence, she straightened her posture. "Go ahead, try and hit-" Her taunt was immediately interrupted by a blur crossing her vision, followed by a pair of hands clasping her neck and squeezing it, causing her to start hacking the same way Peaches was. She only barely heard the catgirl utter her name before she fired up her horn and teleported away, bending over and coughing in an effort to regain her breath. With her mind struggling to comprehend what had happened, she lit up her horn and swooped Orino up in her corona. "Ah-ah-ah. You don't want to hurt a sweet, innocent little kitty, do you?" Mandy's head lifted. Her gaze moved to Orino, who had somehow managed to change back into his cat form and was putting on a pleading face. A growl rolled about in her throat. That coward! This is how he's gonna play defense, by changing into a cat so I can't hurt him! Her corona grew more intense. Well, too bad for him. I've got a solution. Orino could feel himself forcefully turned back into his humanoid form within five seconds. Before he could transform back into a cat, however, chains made of magic wrapped around him, connected to a magical lock that clicked shut. "You're not sweet or innocent." Mandy taunted. "But go off if it'll help ya sleep at night." She dropped Orino to the ground suddenly, causing him to stumble. Every attempt he made to shift back into his cat form failed, and a spark of panic ignited in him. "W-what did you do?" "Form-changing prevention spell. I have Agent Twilight Sparkle to thank for that." For a moment, Orino stopped. The name sounded familiar, and it took him a few seconds to realize that Twilight Sparkle was the pony whom King Ashero's friend had tried to kidnap and enslave before. But he shoved her to the wayside. After all, Twilight wasn't his main target, and he could worry about her later if he needed to. Before Mandy could attack him head-on, he growled, which slowly formed into a loud yowl as he charged at her with blinding speed. From there, sharpened claws began to scrape at her from all angles, which didn't leave her much of an opening to fight back. "Ha!" Orino leaped backwards. "You didn't account for my speed and agility, did you?" He shook the blood off of his claws. "Here's the thing about us catpeople. We're part cat. Which means we can land a hit on you before you even have a chance to blink." Mandy turned her head and spat to the side. Of course. Peaches is fast and agile, and it would be foolish to think Orino wasn't the same. I'll have to either match him with my own speed, or find a way to slow him down. "Not only that...but I’ve seen you in action. Don’t you remember when you showed me footage of your previous battles?" Orino grinned. "Heh, I had initially thought that you were so powerful that I’d actually need to be careful for a change. Guess I overshot my mark." That stopped Mandy cold. Immediately, she began to internally kick herself. She had shown Orino her battle moves out of nothing but an act of friendship, but even after it had dawned on her that he was not what he seemed, never once did she consider the impact of him watching her battles with villains and odd creatures alike. Now, he had knowledge of all her moves -- and she supposed one could call her predictable in battle. "Shut up." was all she could utter, fighting and failing to keep the tremble out of her voice. "What's the matter? Do you need another clawing?" Orino licked the very tip of his claw. "Because my claws are sharpened and ready for more!" A pause. Mandy smiled. "But can your claws..." With her hand behind her back once again, she took a step forward, pulling out her signature weapon. "...meet my hammer?" Spinning the hammer around in circles, Mandy flung it straight towards Orino, her smile growing wider as she knew it would be a direct hit...that is, until Orino caught it with only a singular hand, straight by the handle. "Yes!" The smile remained on Mandy's face all the same. The hammer's head began to grow, a pulsating sound accompanying it as it began to swell to twice Orino's size. He eventually couldn't take the weight, and a loud yowl accompanied an earth-shattering boom as the hammer seemingly landed on top of him. From afar, Olive, Otto and Oprah all gave yelps of surprise as they were briefly lifted off of the ground. Orino fought back, however, and managed to stop the hammer from crushing him flat by pressing against it with all his might. "So this is your enlarged hammer..." he said, with great effort as he tried to push the weapon away from him. "...it's bigger than I expected..." "You like?" Mandy chuckled. "That bad boy can crush anything. And I'm gonna use it to crush you." With the handle caught in her rainbow-colored corona, the hammer began to slowly lift off of Orino, giving him enough time to scramble away as he gave a panicked screech. He wasn't fast enough for Mandy's magic, however, and the hammer hit him square in the back, causing him to yell as he was sent flying towards a tree. As Mandy watched his body make impact with the tree and slump to the ground, she brought her hammer back to its normal size. "That'll do." Her wings took her over to Orino, who was struggling to get on his feet. His back was surprisingly intact, although it certainly wasn't without bruising, and it certainly wasn't without a massive amount of pain. "There was nothing in the rules about using weapons." she purred. "Now get up." Mandy's taunt spurred something in Orino. He didn't know if it was adrenaline or something else, but whatever it was, it caused him to quickly rise to his feet like he had no wounds at all. "That...that was nothing! Absolutely nothing!" he said, shaking his body out. "Riiiight. Mhm." Mandy raised an eyebrow as she tucked her hammer behind her back. "Anyway, I'll give you a leg up 'cuz I'm sweet and kind. I'll put my hammer away. It's time I put my workouts to good use, anyway." "Bring it on." The voice came from behind Mandy. She didn't have any time to react before a loud yowl pierced her ears and she was met with a flurry of pain that could only come from a set of claws. Before she knew it, it was her turn to be sent flying, hitting the ground once, then twice, then skidding to a dead stop. Orino smirked. "Had enough ye-" A popping sound, accompanied by a bright rainbow flash of light. "Never." A searing pain shot through Orino's shoulder right then. His jaws parted to let a loud and echoing yowl escape, which only intensified in pitch when he felt an even worse pain in his back. Sure enough, Mandy had gone for her classic move of biting the enemy. Like with the previous Big O in the past, she aimed for Orino's shoulder, letting the metallic taste of blood flow along her taste buds. And this time, she would hit a nerve, or she wouldn't stop until she did. Her feet scrabbled against Orino's back in an attempt to gain footing, but that ultimately didn't matter to her. Orino couldn't comprehend this move, especially since he hadn't seen Mandy bite her foes in any of the videos he watched. He began stumbling backwards, all while giving a plaintive cry of, "Why are you biting me?! Stop it! Get off of me, now!" From afar, Otto began to get up. "Oprah, we should really help Mandy, she's bleeding!" "A bite move..." the Director mused, not listening to Otto in the slightest. "She used to do that all the time growing up..." "Yeah, I remember." Olive nodded. "And those bites hurt, too. I think she actually broke Rainbow Dash's leg once by doing that!" The sound of tearing brought a rather sadistic and twisted joy to Mandy. "I'll rip your schkin!" "No, please, stop stop stop!" begged Orino, forgoing any confidence and suavity he had and replacing it with pure utter fear -- which only grew when he could hear the sound of a massive tear, followed by the sound of something gushing. He didn't need to look to know what it was. All he had to do was feel the immense pain. With a mighty "Nyah!", Mandy grabbed the piece of torn flesh in her mouth and spat it off to the side, wiping her lips free of blood and hopping off of her opponent. By this point, blood was all she could taste now, and she couldn't deny that it tasted absolutely awful. It almost made her want to chug a bottle of water if she didn't have a need to finish the battle and go home a winner. "You idiotic cur..." Orino clutched his shoulder in an attempt to stop the flow of blood, to little avail. "You tore apart my shoulder!" "And I got blood in my mouth, so it's an equal exchange!" Mandy fired back, spitting off to the side in an effort to alleviate the taste that coated her tongue. For a moment, both Orino and Mandy licked their wounds, metaphorically speaking. The battle came to a standstill, and Mandy decided to seize the opportunity to fire some potshots to counter Orino's own. "I know what you've been doing with Peaches. You have issues with her that go far beyond just wanting to take her back to your pathetic king." A bolt of pain shot through her side, and she began to stumble. "You're dependent on her. Too dependent. Clingy, even. Aren't you?" "Clingy?!" came the shared exclamation between the three spectators, eyes widening in shock. Oprah's eyes, in particular, began to develop water in them. "Haru- er...a special someone told me everything." Mandy faltered, making sure to backtrack before she revealed the existence of her spirit guardian to the enemy. She had to maintain the crazy theory, and that was all that mattered. "How you were over-reliant on her from childhood. How you posed as her friend just so she could care for you like a menial servant to a greedy king." Orino growled. "And so what? That has nothing to do with this!" "Really? Because you've been stuck to her like glue all throughout your visit!" "Again I ask: so what?" Orino straightened, still clutching his shoulder in pain but attempting to stand tall regardless. "That doesn't matter! What matters is that I take you and Peaches to King Ashero, and that's just what I'm going to do!" "Then you're gonna hafta take us over my own dead bo-" Another loud yowl interrupted her. She was then promptly slammed onto the ground back-first, which sent another bolt of pain rocketing through her body. When she opened her eyes, she found a kneeling Orino and his ever-sharp claws looming over her menacingly. In one swift move, said claws sliced through her shirt, exposing her chest. "Hey, hey, what are you-" Within the next second, she had a heart attack. And her body wasn't the perpetrator. A scream full of anguish and torture rattled her vocal cords and echoed into the blue sky above, her body thrashing in an attempt to throw Orino off of her. However, much like a parent watching their child throw a tantrum, Orino remained unfazed. Olive, Otto and Oprah all rose to their feet and watched the attack go down with nothing but sheer horror in their eyes. "I'll rip your heart out. Maybe it'll finally get you to shut up...and stay dead." he growled, as his grip intensified. "Yes, I'm clingy towards Peaches. And no, I was never her friend. But no one wants to be friends with someone who enjoys fashion more than hunting mice and disobeys our kind and just ruler instead of going along with his judgment! If that’s what she so desires, then perhaps she doesn’t deserve friendship, let alone a place to live in our fair city." As if Mandy's scream wasn't enough noise to tolerate, another scream echoed in Orino's left ear, and he swiveled his head to find a large blur heading straight towards him. It made impact, knocking him away from Mandy and sending him tumbling onto the ground a little ways. "Get off of my daughter, you pathetic excuse for a living thing!" Finding himself to be too much in pain to get on his own two feet -- whatever had slammed into him was hard and heavy -- Orino instead opted for swiveling his body around to face his newest attacker, who had apparently gotten on her own two feet in record time and was staring him down with malice in her eyes. "Y-your daughter?!" was all he could stammer out within his shock and surprise. "Partner, no!" Orino's gaze shifted to two more beings that were running towards him. Oh cattails, who are they?! This wasn't part of the plan! And I can't get up... The spark of panic flickered to life again. If I don't beat these three blockades to the ground, I'm done for! Oh, my King, please send your blessings once again... "Otto, tend to Mandy!" "Right!" "And as for you. Orino, was it?" one of the other beings said, standing beside the other being whom Orino could now make out as being Olive. "Listen up and learn our names. My name is Oprah, Director of Odd Squad Precinct 13579. And this is Olive, Director of the Mississauga Odd Squad precinct." A sickening grin spread across the girl's features. "We're going to sock you to a place where the sun never shines." The anxiety that was pumping through Orino caused him to give a half-mocking, half-nervous laugh in response to just how cliched the threats sounded. "Oh, I'd like to see you-" Five seconds later, he was lying face-down on the dirt some distance away, a groan rattling in his chest. "P-point...made..." he uttered, weakly raising a hand before it flopped back down onto the ground. By this point, he knew that he was beyond help, whether from King Ashero or otherwise. He wasn't usually one to admit defeat, but this time around, he was getting pretty close to actually doing it. His stubbornness, however, won over -- he knew the consequences for not completing his mission, and he would be damned if he had his life cut short by execution just for failing to do one relatively simple task. "You're not taking Peaches or Mandy back to Vallea. Not if we have a say in it." Orino spat to the side and stared at Olive with fury and malice in his eyes, baring his teeth as he gave a low growl. "Your power is weakened." Oprah crossed her arms. "Peaches and Mandy may be down, but we're not." "And neither is my partner, Otto!" "That's me!" called Otto, from where he was still tending to an unconscious Mandy. Oprah straightened. "So we suggest you leave..." Olive cracked her knuckles and smirked. "Or I can put my hammer throw practice to good use." "N-never..." Orino hissed, shaking his head rapidly as he struggled to get up. "I have to...take Peaches...and Mandy...t-to-" A round of coughing interrupted his protest, and he slumped to the ground, the adrenaline beginning to wear off. This is the end for me. My King, I am so sorry. "King Ashero?" Olive finished. "Oh, he'll be receiving something. But not what he's looking for." She slowly began to approach Orino, only uttering a single warning to her cohorts: "Stay back." Orino only barely heard the next words between the thrumming of blood in his ears. Something about if Olive could "do it" in a wooded area and Olive calmly responding that "it's an open field, I think I'll be fine." He took one last look at the unconscious Peaches and the unconscious Mandy, and smiled. Even if he hadn't fully completed his mission, he had gotten the farthest out of any catperson his king had sent by fatally wounding both his targets. And that, to him, was a mighty accomplishment on his own. One that he would soon take to his grave. Pain coursed through his tail, but he didn't react. He allowed Olive to spin him around and around like a carousel, his life beginning to play as a movie reel in his mind. A minute later, she let him go with an "Au revoir!" He was sent soaring with the sound of a bomb whistle, off to who knows where. He had hoped he would land in Vallea, but he didn't think Olive's aim was that good. My King...please, wait for me. If I make it back to Vallea...I want my execution to be at your hands. To show just how well I've done. How exemplary I am for all of the Valleans. How what you want to achieve is possible, and someday, you will get there. Back at the battlefield, Oprah and Olive turned to face Peaches and Mandy, preparing to go and help Otto when a rustling sound made them whirl back around twice as fast. "What's that?" "Stay back." Oprah held a hand against Olive's chest. "Who knows if Orino brought anyone with him as backup?" A section of the tall grass began to rustle fiercer, now. It didn't take long before a familiar equine stumbled out, with hardly any place on her body that wasn't injured in some shape or form. Her mane and tail were in similar states of disarray. The unisonant cry rang out: "Pinkie Pie?!" "G-guys, please! I...need help..." Immediately, Oprah took charge. "Olive, take Peaches. I'll take Pinkie." she ordered, heaving a sigh. "Looks like we now have three in need of medical care." Olive nodded and booked it over to Pinkie, kneeling down to match the party pony's height. "Pinkie, can you walk?" "N-not...really..." Pinkie weakly pawed at the torn cloth hanging from her neck -- the muzzle that Orino had given her earlier. "Otto, take Mandy through the tubes and bring her to Dr. O's office, stat." "Got it!" "Olive! Bring Pinkie back to 13579! Dr. O's office!" As the two co-Directors began making their way towards a barren-looking tree, Oprah scooped up Peaches in her arms. "C'mon, Peaches. We have to get you back to Headquarters." With cleanup having been batted, the trio and their wounded companions soared behind the tree and into the tubes as fast as they could, sending silent prayers to whoever up above that said companions would get better soon after yet another senseless tragedy. It was a good thing Oprah had ordered the construction of an Emergency Room specifically for situations like this. For years, Precinct 13579 had gone without one, and she never knew why. While the Toronto General Hospital did excellent work, Odd Squad Doctors were just as well-equipped as the doctors and nurses there for emergency situations, major injuries, and operations like life-saving surgeries, and it had been shown time and time again with how many times Mandy had been treated over the years. The Medical Bay was great as a doctor's office, but didn't serve well as a hospital room that could accompany more than one cot and the appropriate medical equipment. So Oprah set aside a hefty amount of the budget to get such a room built in her own Headquarters. X's be damned, they could go screw themselves. At that moment, only three occupants were in the shared room, each in their own individual cots, each hooked up to vital sign monitors, and each separated by a curtain. Dr. O, as well as a few of his nurses, examined them for a minute more as Oprah, Olive and Otto watched, until he approached the door and they scrambled backwards to let him out. "Will they be okay?" Oprah asked. Dr. O closed the door behind him. "Pinkie's suffered only mild injuries, so she'll be all right. Peaches and Mandy, however..." His expression darkened. "...were hurt more badly." "How badly?" Otto asked, not bothering to fight the tremble that crept into his voice. "Peaches' ribcage is broken, and she received some deep cuts from Orino that we'll need to treat." Dr. O explained. "Mandy took the brunt of the damage, though. Her heart...we'll have to do surgery on it to repair it." The trio's eyes widened. They all exchanged shocked glances. "That's the second time recently!" Olive sighed. "Poor Mandy...she's so young, and yet, her heart..." "Don't worry." Dr. O interrupted her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'll have Odd Squad Nurses and Doctors working around the clock. They'll both be better in no time." He gave a small smile. "For now, Olive and Otto, it's best if you return to your precinct." "He has a point." Olive and Otto didn't need those words from their old boss to seal the deal. They nodded in unison and began to make their way to the Tube Lobby, waving goodbyes to her and to Dr. O. "Thank you, Doctor." Oprah said. "But, um...may I have a word alone with Mandy?" "Of course. I'll leave you to it." Only a minute later, Oprah was kneeling at Mandy's bedside, gritting her teeth as she tried to force the words to come out. Her mind flashed back to the battle, and how Mandy's words about Orino being clingy towards Peaches had sparked something in her. Not that she knew if he was actually clingy towards Peaches, but it was a wake-up moment for her all the same. "I hope you can hear me...even though you probably can't." she murmured. "But...I'm gonna try anyway." Silence lingered in the room for a moment. Oprah took a deep breath before she continued. "I realize now that much like Orino was with Peaches, I’ve been too clingy towards you. I wanted you always by my side, to bring me comfort when I was sad and be a friend when I needed one. When you left for your vacation, it was heart-wrenching for me. I just couldn’t bear the thought of me having to manage this precinct alone, with no one but my assistants. I realize that’s a flaw of mine. A flaw that I need to fix." Her body began to tremble. "You’re your own person, and I shouldn’t be so possessive of you." If Mandy was listening, Oprah couldn't see it. Still, that didn't stop the Director's tears from beginning to flow. "All I ask...is that you return by my side once more. Odd Squad is about teamwork, after all. And perhaps we could be more than teammates." A small smile crept across her lips. "We could be friends again." She slowly stood up. "I think I know what I need to do to earn your trust and friendship back. But I can't do it without you." Feet began moving towards the door. "Please. Do consider." The door opened and closed, and she took another deep breath to calm herself as she wiped her tears away. The hallways were silent, with no agent passing by -- and perhaps she liked it that way. "I did what I could. There's nothing I can do now but wait." she said aloud, in an attempt to reassure herself. "Now, for some well-needed juice." She began to make her way back towards her office, pain gripping her heart as Mandy became stuck to her mind like glue. "Mandy. Do you understand? What Oprah is saying?" "I do." Mandy responded, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh. In truth, she had, indeed, heard every word of Oprah's, and although she still had some doubts about her boss, she couldn't deny that her intentions sounded true. After all, Oprah had never really been much of a liar -- not when the truth could easily be uncovered with her bare fists. "She understands that, like Orino was to Peaches, she was attached to you. It is clear that she has now learned her lesson. She has opened up her heart and fully embraced what she has done." Haruko placed a gentle paw on Mandy's leg. "So now, you must forgive her." Mandy hadn't really known Oprah was listening to her whole spiel to Orino about how clingy he was towards Peaches. Really, she only said what she said because she had never seen Orino alone. He was always around Peaches, claiming he was her friend and guiding her as a friend would. But even friends took breaks from each other. Mandy knew that anything more than that would constitute as what adults called "first base", and she had already gotten that way with Bradley Beli against her will. Now, she realized that Oprah had been different -- she and Mandy weren't together all the time, and spent time apart more than anything. For Oprah's heavy reliance on Mandy, even she was able to stand on solo ground sometimes, and Mandy was committed to laying down more of that ground for her. She sighed. "You're right. I can't bear to see our friendship ripped to shreds over this! I have to make amends with her!" "You can start by becoming her second again." Haruko smiled. "And then..." "And then?" "Spend some time with her. Work together as a team. As best friends. Be there for her when she needs it most." Mandy nodded. "I am quite sure that one of your friends..." Haruko squinted her eyes slightly in thought. "Twilight...Sparkle, was it?" "Yeah?" "She knows all about friendship, no? She can help you when tensions arise. Do not be afraid to go to her if you need to." It was in that moment that Mandy had to smack herself. All the options posed to her to help her deal with the whole skiddly-doo about Oprah, and she completely forgot about the Princess of Friendship. Had Mandy gone to her, the skiddly-doo would have been resolved sooner, and she felt rather stupid for not realizing it. "Wow, I'm more of a dum-dum than a lollipop." she mused, flopping down onto the grass and staring up at the sky. Haruko had herself a chuckle at that comment. "You followed my advice, Mandy, and exposed Orino for who he truly was. You did a very good job, and I am proud of you." "D'aww, Haruko, you're makin' me blush!" Mandy said, touching her cheek as she felt it begin to grow warm. Like the flip of a coin, Haruko's expression darkened. "But your troubles are not over yet." "Tell me about it. King Ashero is a nasty one. He'll prolly keep sendin' catpeople to do his bidding until Peaches is returned to him." "And he will continue coming after you, as well." Mandy couldn't help but give a soft whine of worry, knowing that one such attempt had just been carried out that had ended with her heart having to undergo even more repair. "You must be vigilant, Mandy. So must Peaches. And eventually...the rest of Odd Squad. The whole of the world the ponies come from." "You mean Equestria?" Mandy sat up. "A-and what do you mean, the rest?" "Both Odd Squad and...Equestria..." Haruko let the name roll on her tongue. "...will be targeted by the king, if they are not targeted already. You must take action sometime in the near future." "But what can I do?" "When the time comes...you must prepare Odd Squad and Equestria for war." Dread settled in Mandy's chest, and although she couldn't feel it, she could certainly feel the emotion. "W-war?!" she cried out. "But...Odd Squad has never had a war before...and I dunno about Equestria." "Luckily, you will gain a few allies who have." Mandy blinked. "And who are they?" "You will find out, in due time." Mandy would have snapped at Haruko about her consistent usage of that phrase if the worry weren't still lingering around in her body. She gave another soft whine, her mind racing with thoughts. Haruko got up and began to leave. "But for now...you are safe. Enjoy the time you have now, before it is tainted with darkness." Mandy could only stare after the kitsune as her body began to ascend upwards. "HARUKO!!" she screamed, her voice echoing among the Grasslands. "Why do you have to leave me with arbitrary hints?! HARUKOOOOOOO-" And then, she disappeared into the dark void once again, her cry unceremoniously cut off as she began to float in darkness. This time, however, she wasn't so keen on being brought back to the real world, and her mind began swirling with questions. Mandy awoke with a gasp and a few quick breaths. Her eyes scanned the area in an attempt to figure out where she was. Right away, she knew that she wasn't in the Medical Bay, and she appeared to be in something more akin to a hospital. A hospital? Inside Precinct 13579? Her brows furrowed, before she remembered that she was still mad at Haruko and gave a groan. As her hand ran across her chest, she felt something that definitely wasn't smooth skin. And she was all too familiar as to what it was. "Stitches...?" she murmured, before the realization hit her. "Oh. Orino...he tore into my heart..." The beeping of more vital sign monitors than just her own was the only thing filling the room for the next few seconds. Mandy knew Peaches was sharing the room with her, but she couldn't make out who, if anyone, was in the bed to her left. She sighed and shook her head. "Okay, first things first. If I can't pry answers outta Haruko, then I hafta make things right with Oprah!" Her gaze fell on the button that laid beside her bed that read "Press for assistance", and she pressed it. "Dr. O! Are you, uh...anywhere?" Within the span of a minute, the door opened, and Dr. O himself came in. "Mandy, you're awake! What's wrong?" "I have to be released. There's something I need to tell Oprah." "Calm down!" Dr. O rushed over to Mandy's bedside, gently pushing her back into bed. "Don't you want to hear how your surgery went first?" He does have a point. "Yeah, I guess. Hit me." "All right. Well, it went fine." Dr. O smiled. "Your heart has been fully repaired, no complications. But you will need to take it easy for a couple weeks. No strenuous physical activity. And a recommended diet of things that are good for the heart, of course. And here's some medication to help with post-surgery pain." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orange pill bottle. "As for your other injuries, those will need time to heal too, so don't go and do anything risky." Mandy nodded and levitated the bottle closer to her. "And Peaches?" "She's fine. She's in her room resting. I've treated her cuts and they should heal well. But like you, she'll also have to take it easy until her ribcage heals up. Being in her cat form will help her human form get better." "Thank goodness." Dr. O lowered the siderails on the bed and extended a hand out to Mandy. "Here. I'll guide you to your room so you can rest in bed, and I can call Ms. O to there once we get you settled, okay?" Slowly, Mandy eased her body off of the cot, wincing at the pain that, surprisingly, was very mild. She supposed the anesthesia had yet to fully wear off, which was a good thing for her. Once her feet were on the ground, Dr. O grabbed a wheelchair from the corner, and the duo left the Emergency Room, just as Mandy looked back to see three beds that were all empty. Weird. If Peach and I were in the first two beds, who was in the third one? "I still feel a lil' woozy..." "That's the anesthesia. It'll wear off soon." Dr. O watched as Mandy used her magic to cover herself in blankets, placing the medication on her nightstand before he made his way out with the wheelchair in tow. "Now, I'll go get Ms. O. Rest here." "Sir, yes, sir." Mandy gave a weak chuckle as the door closed behind Dr. O, but the smile faded away from her face when she was met with darkness. As she slipped further under the covers, she heaved a sigh and thought back to her conversation with Haruko. What did Haruko mean...when she said that we have to be prepared for war? Is Vallea going to attack Odd Squad? Do they know about Equestria? Will they attack it too? She blinked. No...King Ashero would be too lazy to do that. Her stomach began to churn, but she wasn't sure whether it was out of hunger or anxiety. ...Wouldn't he? She turned over onto her side. And who're the allies who have been through a war? For all I know it could be some odd creatures from Sector 21 or something...or aliens from some other world I don't know about! Her eyes closed. Whatever. I shouldn't be thinking about it right now. Haruko has a point. I should enjoy life in the moment! If only "the moment" were me not being stuck in bed... "Mandy!" "Whuh-huh?!" Her eyes flew open. She turned onto her back and sat up in bed, gazing right into the brown eyes of none other than Oprah. "Did you fall asleep or something?" "No! I was..." Mandy twiddled her thumbs. "...lost in thought." She sighed. "Listen, I-" A lump began to form in her throat. "I heard what you said. About how you were too clingy towards me. And..." "And?" A small smile formed. "I'd love to work as your second-in-command again. And maybe we could be teammates again?" "More than that." Oprah returned the smile. "Friends?" "Friends!" "Oh, you don't know how happy I am to hear that!" The two girls exchanged a hug, Oprah making sure to be gentle so as not to aggravate Mandy's wounds. When they broke free, they happily sighed. "I'm really glad you're okay. That fight with Orino was something." Mandy's eyes widened. Suddenly, it clicked into place. "Wait...you followed me?" "Um...well, I'd be lying if I said no..." Oprah scratched the back of her neck. "B-but it was only to help you and back you up if you needed it! Me and Olive gave Orino a good beating and sent his tail flying home." Mandy shook her head and sighed. "I don't know what else I should've expected. Momma's way too stubborn when it comes to my life at stake." She gazed into Oprah's eyes. "All I remember is Orino clawing at my heart, seeing a body move in front of me like a blur, then Otto caring for me..." "Well, the important thing is, Orino is gone. Hopefully for good." "Yeah. For good." Oprah perked up. "You know, I heard that you've been trying to build up your physical strength. If you ever want to practice, come by the Odd Squad Dojo. We can train together, and I can give you pointers if you want." Mandy's brows furrowed as she tried to rack her brain to see if Odd Squad even had a dojo. Eventually, the memory came to her, of Oprah often going to the Dojo to practice martial arts -- she had never witnessed the Director actually training, but the offer was intriguing. "I'd love that!" Her expression then sank as she flashed back to Orino telling her how much faster he was than her. "But..." "Look, don't be so down on yourself." Oprah laid a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "You only lagged behind because Orino was speedier and more agile than you were. It was something you weren't expecting. And we all won in the end, anyway." Mandy gave a soft chuckle. "True!" "Why don't you get some rest?" Oprah suggested. "You want me to make you dinner?" "It's that late already?" Mandy blinked in surprise. "Huh. Sure, I guess. What's on the menu?" "Spaghetti and chocolate chips." "I'll take it!" "All right, be right back." Oprah began to make her way out the door. "Don't fall asleep, okay?" Mandy nodded. Only a few minutes later, Oprah returned with dinner and people in tow. "Hey." She smiled. "I brought you dinner. And a few guests!" "Momma!" "Mandy!" Olive pushed past both Oprah and her partner, enveloping Mandy in a tight hug. "Oh thank odd you're alright!" "Glad to see you're okay!" Otto chimed in, waving his hellos. "No hugs, no hugs!" Mandy grabbed Olive in her corona and lightly pushed her away before grabbing the bowl in Oprah's hands and levitating it towards her. "It'll make my injuries worse." "Sorry, sorry." "Make sure you eat up!" Oprah said. Mandy eyed the meal. "Ooh, thank you!" she chirped, before a sigh escaped her. "I suppose this'll hafta be my last meal before I switch to heart-friendly stuff for the time being. Doctor's orders." "Heya!" A high-pitched greeting cut through the conversation, and in bounced Pinkie Pie, whose mane and tail were back to their usual curly states and whose wounds were still visible but appeared to be healing. "Pinkie Pie!" Olive asked. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?" "I am now! But whoo, was I in a tough spot there for a sec." Mandy's eyes widened. The realization of whom the third bed had belonged to hit her. "You?" "Me?" "You?!" "Me?!" "You!!" "Me!!" Pinkie jumped into the air, then stayed there for a few moments, a confused look settling on her face. "Wait, what're we talking about?" "You were the patient in the third bed!" Mandy jabbed a pointer finger towards the party pony. "You- you got attacked too?! How? Why? Did Orino- I- I mean- how did- what happened to you?!" Pinkie took a deep inhale. "Weeeeeeell, I was coming back to see you when I heard this super-weird voice coming from your room! It was talking about how it wanted to take you and Peaches back to some 'King Ashero' and how you were gonna be wounded and tortured! It was terrible! So I accidentally talked to myself out loud and he heard me and when I asked him who he was he muzzled me and beat me up and put me in a sack and took me aaaaaaaaaaall the way to...somewhere, and, and it was awfu-u-uuuuul!!" As Pinkie began to wail, Mandy stared at the indignant looks of Olive, Otto and Oprah. "What?" she asked, with a piece of her dinner in her mouth. "Jeez, lemme have dinner first..." she muttered, before swallowing and gazing warmly at Pinkie. "Look, partner, the point of the matter is that you're all right now. Orino won't be bothering us anymore. Those two sent him far far away." Pinkie turned to look at whom Mandy was gesturing to. Olive and Oprah gave friendly waves towards her, and she slowly turned back around as she raised a leg to wipe her tears away. "Really?" "Really really!" Pinkie sat on this reassurance for a minute, then a smile split her face. "Oh, thank Celestia! I was so scared! There was no one around, a-and I thought I was gonna die!" "Well, we're all alive, aren't we?" "...Yeah..." "Tell ya what. Why don't you sleep in here with me tonight?" Mandy suggested. "I'm a lil' bedridden right now...that anesthesia is powerful stuff." Pinkie nodded. "Sure!" "In the meantime, I should go take a shower. If I don't get clean at least once a day then I feel all icky and slimy and gross." Oprah watched as Mandy threw the covers off of her and slowly inched her body off of the bed. "Can you still walk?" "I'll be fine! I'm a little dizzified, but not that dizzified." Mandy replied, just before she flailed her arms and fell backwards until she was lying on the bed. She blinked in surprise before a bout of sheepish laughter left her and she began to stand up again with the assistance of magic. "I'll, uh...be in the Bathroom. If you hear a scream and then a thump and then pitiful crying then it's probably me and you should probably help and...not let me die. Heh." Olive, Otto and Oprah moved out of the way as they watched Mandy meander on out of the room and made a left towards the Bathroom. Not a few seconds later, and they witnessed a bath towel being caught in a familiar rainbow-colored corona as it floated out of the room and moved down the hall in the same direction. Otto chuckled. "Well, I guess one good thing that came out of all this -- I mean besides the fact everyone's alive -- is that Mandy's back to her usual self." "Yeah. Bossy Mandy is not a good Mandy." Olive agreed, Pinkie Pie nodding along with her. "I'm just happy she's working as my second-in-command again. My assistants are nice, and Oona’s helpful and all, but...Mandy and I work so well as a team. If she weren’t working with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, I’d make her my partner." "Well, she kind of already is." Olive rested her hand on Oprah's shoulder. Her expression faltered. "Not in the actual sense, but...uh...I guess metaphorically?" "Fair point." Oprah shrugged. "Now come on, let's all go get some dinner. I'm starved." Murmurs of agreement followed that statement. The group left the room, discussing what was on the menu aside from spaghetti and chocolate chips that was, unsurprisingly, only appealing to Pinkie Pie. The next afternoon, Olive and Oprah found themselves staring down at a snoring and sleep-talking Mandy. The hybrid looked rather unceremonious, with her matted hair, her trail of drool pouring out from her mouth, and her limbs that twitched every so often. Her pose looked like something more befitting of an Egyptian hieroglyph than something a human could do in their sleep. Even if she...wasn't entirely human. "It's 3 in the afternoon." Olive said. "How much energy did that fight take out of her?" Oprah shot Olive an incredulous look. "I don't know." she snarked. "I'd say 'let's try and wake her up!' but that doesn't seem to work out well." "As evidenced by the dent in the wall?" "Yep." Oprah turned her head to look at said dent, which hadn't been fixed so much as an inch since the battle with Orino. "No doubt that Orino must have tried to wake her up and took a direct hit to the spine. Or his front." The snoring and sleep-talking ceased right then. Mandy's face twisted from one of pure bliss to pure discomfort. "Wait, Oprah, she's cringing!" "Huh? She must be having a bad dream." A few groans left the hybrid as she began to toss and turn, before the weight of her dream came crashing down onto the two girls. "No! Stop this! Stop fighting, please! This war doesn't need to happen!" "War?!" came the unisonant cry, as Oprah and Olive exchanged a concerned glance. Both of them had the same thought -- they wanted to observe Mandy some more and see exactly what she meant by "this war", but at the same time, it felt cruel to let her be in anguish the way she was. "Mandy, wake up!" Olive said, grabbing ahold of Mandy's shoulder and shaking her. "C'mon, you're having a nightmare!" "STOP THIS, I'M BEGGING YOU!!" Near-silence filled the room. Mandy took in air and pushed it out in slow, heavy breaths, sitting up in bed, her eyes wide as though she had just witnessed something truly horrific. "What's happening? What were you dreaming about?" Mandy's head whirled around so fast that Oprah was surprised she didn't get whiplash from it. The two girls looked at each other for a minute before Mandy collected her bearings. "I...it..." She shook her head. "It was nothing!" Olive wasn't convinced. "You were shouting something about a war not needing to happen." Mandy bit her lip. She knew she couldn't tell either agent about Haruko's warning -- it would spark unnecessary panic, and she couldn't do that if she only had barebones information to go off on. Though addled with fatigue, her brain tried its damnedest to concoct a good lie. "W-well, I, um...it was...it was a toy war! Yeah! Nasty toy war on the South Sea. Teddy bears and sentient spinning tops going at it. All they wanted was peace...not sure how they thought a war was going to prevent that…" Olive and Oprah exchanged a worried glance. "Anyway, I'm fine!" Mandy chirped, shaking her head. "What time is it?" "Three o'clock." "In the afternoon?!" Mandy flung the covers off of her. "J-jeez, I'm so sorry! Guess my energy was completely sapped from yesterday..." "Don't worry about it." "How's Peaches? And Pinkie?" "Peaches is resting in her room. And Pinkie is in Equestria, working her shift at Sugarcube Corner." Mandy heaved a sigh. "What a relief." "I've set some paperwork on your desk that you can get started on, plus a few cases." Oprah said. "You can handle them solo, I'm sure. Olive and I are going to hang in my office." "'Kay, thanks! And have fun!" "We will!" Olive turned towards the door, following Oprah outside. "Just take care of yourself, okay?" The smile remained on Mandy's face up until she couldn't hear the girls' footsteps anymore. It was only then that a growl came bursting forth, and she began musing aloud to herself. "Don't tell me it's closer than I thought it was! Ohh, if Oprah, Momma and the others find out there's a war coming, they're gonna panic!" She smacked her forehead. "King Ashero isn't gonna do anything yet. I have to move on for now. And when the time comes..." Her gaze turned steely. "I'm gonna keep everyone safe!" In the hallways, Oprah and Olive vented their worries. "Something's definitely up with her." "No doubt about it." Oprah took a sip from a grape-flavored juice box. "Maybe she's shaken up after the battle with Orino?" "Could be. There's no doubt that Vallea can pack a punch. Odd Squad should be on the lookout." Olive fought to hide the worried tremble that crept into her voice. "Agreed. We don't know what King Ashero will do next. All we know is that whatever it is, he won't be directly involved." "And that he's after Peaches and Mandy. Especially after the whole Orino business -- he's gonna start getting serious." "Eh...he's pretty lazy." Oprah shrugged. "I doubt he'll do something until after a good chunk of time has passed." "True..." Olive wrung her hands together as the duo entered the bullpen. "But I still worry for Peaches and Mandy. I worry every day. I hate sitting idly by and watching them get attacked over and over like this. It's not right. They need to grow up in a safe and happy environment." Oprah had a sneaking suspicion that Olive was speaking more on Mandy than Peaches, but she didn't say anything about it. All she did was nod silently in response. Together, they made their way up the stairs to Oprah's office. A lucky streak came their way, in the form of no agents seeking their assistance for anything or even just interacting with them in general, and they were grateful for it -- they really didn't feel like making casual conversation with anyone at the moment. As the doors closed, they made sure to lock them tight, and got to discussing about Vallea, Mandy, and how Odd Squad could protect themselves against, as Olive had put it, whom might turn out to be one of their biggest foes yet. Orino wasn't sure whether it was luck or coincidence that made him land a little ways into Vallea. Whichever one it was, though, neither one of them could save him from the unbearable pain he was feeling. Nor could they save him from the execution he was secretly dreading. Slowly, he limped through the town, listening to its rich silence as a majority of catpeople holed up inside of their homes. He was always confused as to why that was, since King Ashero was no cat to be afraid of, but right now, he didn't pay it any mind. He soon arrived at the doors to the castle, where he was greeted by two guards that were quick to point their spears at him. "Who dares to approach the castle of King Ashero?" one of them asked, a girl with long brown hair and a caracal's ears. "Orino. I was sent on a mission by the King and I am here to report back to him." Orino responded, his voice strained as a bolt of pain shot through his torn shoulder. The guards exchanged glances. Then, they slowly went for the door's handles, opening them wide to allow Orino entry. He gave them a grateful nod before he made his way inside. Not ten minutes later -- the King's castle was big and he was just one limping catboy -- and he was approaching the King's throne. "Ah, Orino." Ashero stood up. "Welcome back. I entrust you have both Peaches and Mandy in your possession..." He looked around for a few moments, then squinted. "...somewhere?" "I, uh...a-about that, Your Majesty..." Orino said. "Through a particularly-planned gambit, I attempted to capture Peaches as well as Mandy, and I was well on my way here with the both of them, but...my plan fell through due to unforeseen circumstances. As you can probably see." Ashero took a moment to examine Orino's bruises, scratches, and injuries. He only took those as proof that Orino had tried, nothing else more and nothing else less. "Hm. And here I thought I had sent someone who was well above the others in competence to try and bring those reprehensible mutts back." "Y-Your Majesty, please, allow me to explain!" Orino winced in pain, but forced himself to keep it together, knowing that he needed to relay his words to the King before he was inevitably executed. "It was Mandy's mother, and her pathetic friend. They were the ones that ultimately stopped me. They're powerful, Your Majesty, more powerful than you would think. They were the ones that sent me back here!" "I do not wish to hear any excuses from failures. You were given a rather simple mission, Orino, and yet somehow you managed to mess that up. It seems my confidence in you was rather misplaced." "No!" Orino reached out a hand. "Please, I know I can do better. If you just give me one more chance, I-" Ashero's cloak rippled as he gave a hearty laugh full of nothing but poison and mockery. It filled every inch of the throne room, reaching the guards' ears and Orino's. "I do not grant second chances to failures, either. Failures are nothing but wastes of space, time, and resources." Silence. Orino swallowed the lump in his throat. "Orino!" Ashero pointed his staff at the catboy. "For your failure in capturing Peaches and Mandy and returning them to Vallea, you are hereby sentenced to instant execution at the House of Torture. Two of my guards will take you there." All Orino could do was stay still, his heart stopped at the mention of execution as two guards wrapped rope around his wrists. They forcefully shoved him out, and it was only then that he started to move of his own accord towards his doom, but not before giving a cry of "I'M SORRY, MY GLORIOUS KING!!" as the doors to King Ashero's castle closed. The House of Torture wasn't too far from the castle, and King Ashero had arranged it as such. He was never one for prolonging punishments, instead going right for the disposal and moving on -- something Orino knew all too well. One guard opened the door, leaving the other guard to shove Orino inside. Where the catboy landed was, in perhaps an intentional turn of events, straight under a guillotine stained with blood. He looked at his fate for only a second before he closed his eyes and pinned his ears to his head. He whispered under his breath, "My King...I have truly failed you. Please, do well in my stead. I know you can." It would be the last thing he would ever do before his untimely and sudden death at the hands and paws of the very Valleans he had lived with. S1E20: Taking A Walk in the Odd SideOver in Trillium Park, Applejack conversed with her latest client. "So I was walking in the park, and I decided to get some push-ups in by using a tree. But when I touched it...I got tree hands." Applejack took a moment to eye the woman's hands. The hands and fingers, once smooth skin, were now prickly branches, and the tips of her fingers were leaves. Briefly, a thought flickered through the farmpony's mind of how the woman could put on a puppet show about a tree, but it died as quickly as it was born in favor of a question that was pressing on her mind. "Uh, pardon me for askin', but why were ya usin' a tree?" "Standup push-ups. Keeps the arms strong." "Uh-huh." Applejack's muzzle wrinkled in confusion. For all the years she had been here, she still had no idea why humans did some of the things they did, and for the sake of her sanity, she chose not to think about it for too long. "Well, I got just th' gadget for ya." She reached a hoof behind her and fished out a rather small spherical gadget. "Un-Tree-Hand-inator." Steadying her aim, she fired two blasts at each of the woman's hands, which returned them to their normal states. The woman gasped, clasping and unclasping her hands as she eyed them with happiness and relief. "Thank you, Odd Squad!" "Glad I could help." Applejack tucked the gadget away behind her back. "You have yourself a good day, now." "I will!" And with that, the pair parted ways. Applejack smiled as she began to trot towards the same tube entrance she had emerged from. Well, that's another case done. Reckon I can head on back t' Headquarters and tackle some of that darn paperwork that's been pilin' up for a couple days now... "Odd Squad! Help! Over here!" Applejack perked up at the mention of "help". She looked around for a few moments, managing to spot a young boy over by the sandbox at the playground that was one of the centerpieces of the park. "I'm comin'!" she called, her hooves taking her over to the playground as fast as they could. Lucky for her that she was fast, rivaling only Rainbow Dash in sheer speed. The boy peered into the sandbox for a few moments before turning around when the sound of hooves on the grass reached his ears. "Now, what seems t' be th' problem here?" The boy pointed to the sand in the sandbox. "There's something hidden in the sand here, and I'm afraid to dig it out!" Applejack blinked. "Really now?" she asked, her tone skeptical as she peered in the sandbox. To her, it looked just like an average run-of-the-mill sandbox, filled with sand and toys and the usual things one would expect to find in one. Still, she gave her client leniency on the sole basis that he was a child. "W-what if it's an odd creature, or, or something super-dangerous?" the boy asked nervously, crawling back to Applejack and grabbing ahold of her back leg. "Okay." Applejack said, wrenching her back leg free and moving it backwards. "Stand back, ya hear? I'm gonna dig your thing out." "Be careful!" With one mighty bound, she landed in the sandbox and backed up to the edge. She got to work digging at the sand with her hooves, sending the substance flying every which way. It was only a minute later that the sound of whooshing reached her ears, and the more she dug, the louder it got. Finally, she managed to expose a rather large portal, with hues of purple and black swirling within it. Her mane and tail billowed in the wind it created, even moreso when she leaned in to get a closer look. The destination on the other side depicted all kinds of oddities, complete with the sky hued in pink. "What is tha- whooooooa!" Applejack's client stared in horror as the farmpony was quickly sucked into the portal. Her voice died with an echo, although strangely, the portal didn't close after her. "Oh no!" The boy got to his feet and began running towards one destination only, his mind abuzz with worrying thoughts. "I gotta tell Odd Squad!" Mandy's eyes might as well have popped out of her head at the sight that laid before her. Three fillies, an Earth pony, a unicorn and a Pegasus, all dressed in spiffy new suits and badges akin to her own. They looked rather proud of their new looks, and professional to boot. "I can't believe it." she murmured. "You three were made agents at the same time?!" "Yeah!" Apple Bloom nodded enthusiastically. "It was so cool!" Sweetie Belle excitedly trotted in place. "Academy work was soooooo tough..." Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "But we got through it as a team!" Sweetie Belle rushed forward, as though a gust of air blew into her from behind. "And, Ms. O made us all partners!" Apple Bloom fiddled with her badge, which looked similar to Mandy's own but had a 107 printed on the bottom instead of a 57 -- her own badge number cobbled from adding up the letters in her name. "I feel so grown-up!" "Agent Apple Bloom, Agent Sweetie Belle, and Agent Scootaloo...they've got nice rings to them!" Mandy bounced up and down excitedly. "I'm so so happy for you three! Congratulations! You three trained super-duper hard for this and honestly, you should be proud of yourselves!" "Thanks! We are!" came the unisonant response. "So when can we start on our first case?" Sweetie asked excitedly. "Can it be something big, like battling a Hydraclops?" Scootaloo asked, her wings providing temporary lift for only a few seconds before she fell back down to the ground. "Or a year-long adventure halfway around the world?!" Mandy laughed at the fillies' enthusiasm. "Hold on! You guys are only just beginner agents. Oprah's not gonna give ya that stuff just yet. Besides, we don't want any of you getting injured!" A look of disappointment crossed Scootaloo's features, and she feebly kicked the ground. "I guess you have a point..." "Can we solve oddness with you?" Sweetie asked, as a sort of compromise. "Well, that depends. You can ask Oprah to give you a case where all three of you are involved, but..." Mandy twiddled her fingers about. "Since I'm more skilled than you are, the dishrarity may be...offputting." Sweetie's brows furrowed slightly. "There's a dish named after my sister?" Before her question could be answered, however, the automatic doors opened and a young boy ran up to the group. "Odd Squad! Odd Squad, help, please!" Mandy blinked. "What-" "What seems to be the problem, kid?" Mandy stared at Scootaloo for a few moments, her eyes slightly narrowed as she expressed her dislike for the filly interrupting her. "It's, um, an agent, they...they were helping me dig up something odd at the playground in the park and they fell into a portal!" "A portal?!" Sweetie cried out, her high-pitch voice making her exclamation come off more like a screech. "Do ya know what th' agent happened t' look like?" Bloom asked. "Um..." The boy took a moment to think. "She was a pony...um...an 'Earth pony' I think. An orange pony, with a hat, and a yellow mane and tail!" Bloom's eyes went wide. "That's my sister!" Sweetie's head swiveled to look at her partner. "Agent Applejack fell into a portal?!" "We have to save her!" Scootaloo said, beginning to head for the steel double-doors. "Hey, hey, hold on a sec!" Mandy swooped up Scootaloo in her rainbow-colored corona, setting her down next to the other fillies. "Did you three forget what I just told you?" Bloom rushed up to Mandy, placing her hooves on her lower legs as she stared up at the hybrid pleadingly. "Applejack's trapped in another world!" "We'll get her back, don't worry." "But that's my sister in danger! I have t' go save her!" "Agent Apple Bloom, wait!" But the filly was already out the door before Mandy could even try and snatch her with magic. "Pickleferries..." she muttered, before glancing at the boy again. "Thank you for informing us. Agent Scootaloo, Agent Sweetie Belle, you two are off this case. That's an order!" Scootaloo did a salute, with Sweetie nodding in response to her senior's command. "Yes, ma'am!" "Kid, do you know what the portal looked like? What was on the other side? The color of it?" "It was a black and purple kind of color, and when I looked inside...all I could see was all sorts of weird stuff with a pink sky!" Mandy's nose wrinkled. She tapped her chin in thought. "Weird stuff...with a pink sky..." After a minute of thinking, she groaned. "I'm sorry, can't say I know it. But I know who does. Berightback!" The mere sound of her glass doors being thrown open with loud squeaking made Oprah's office chair tip over, taking her with it. "Oprahwereallyneedyouitsanemergencyandapplejackisgoneand-" "Mandy, calm down!" came the angry shout, as a dark-skinned hand shot up and then slammed down onto the table. It began moving about for a few moments, up until it grasped what it was looking for: a fruit-punch-flavored juice box. The sound of sipping followed, and then Oprah's head poked up from behind the desk. "What's going on?" "Applejack just fell into a portal. Not only that, but Apple Bloom's going to save her." Most any inexperienced Director would have freaked out about this. An agent-in-training they just promoted, going off on a dangerous mission? That meant a naughty leader not keeping an eye on their employees. But Oprah was no spring chicken. She was an "I was personally born when apes evolved into humans and don't you forget it" chicken. "What did the portal look like?" "Black and purple, had weird stuff inside and some kind of a pink sky." That did it. Oprah could feel the juice skyrocketing back through her esophagus, threatening to leave the building and not pay for the visit. She stared at Mandy in horror as a murmur danced on her lips. "Oh no. Nonono." Mandy tilted her head. "What's wrong?" "Applejack is in..." Her pupils and irises shrank further. "The Odd Side." A sickening dread filled Mandy's stomach right then. She didn't really need to ask what the Odd Side was -- the name was enough to tell her that it was more of an enemy to her than a lion was to a gazelle. But she posed the question anyway. "It's a realm filled with oddities that Odd Squad has taken care of. Odd creatures, odd viruses, you name it." Oprah turned to pick up her chair. "According to legends, it has been ruled by many individuals over the years. Those who enter it may be corrupted by the oddness and turn odd themselves. In more worse cases, they may descend into mathness- er, madness." "Nice save. You remembered this fanfic doesn't have math because the author doesn't live by S&P." "It's been called 'descending into madness' for years, Mandy. Odd Squad is ever-changing, you know. Try to keep up." Oprah flopped into her chair with a huff and continued. "Moving on. Others who enter the Odd Side may be compelled to challenge whoever is in charge." "And what happens if they win?" "They take over the Odd Side for themselves and bend it to their wishes." Mandy's ears folded downwards. "That...sounds horrible. But at the same time, the name sounds familiar..." "Go and save Agent Applejack and Agent Apple Bloom before they become corrupted. Bring Olive and Otto with you -- they're very knowledgeable about the Odd Side and will assist you well in the mission." Oprah ordered. "Agent Pinkie Pie should come with you as well, for backup." For a minute, Mandy questioned whether any of the employees Oprah had mentioned were of sound mind. Pinkie Pie, in particular, was more of a sound mind than Mandy herself was. A horrifying thought flashed through Mandy's not-so-sound mind right then, of her partner sitting on a throne, commanding oddities to descend upon Toronto and its citizens...achieving the respect that half the villains in Precinct 13579's roster had dreamed of... Nope. Too much. Way too much. Mandy violently shook her head before giving a promise to Oprah that she would return Applejack and Apple Bloom to Toronto without so much as a scratch on either of them. But even as she descended the stairs, one thought stayed in her head. The Odd Side...it sounds so familiar...but where have I heard the name before? Applejack gave a mighty yell as she saw the ground rapidly approach her. She landed with a loud thump and an "oof", staying there for a few moments before she lifted her head off of the ground and gave a groan. Surprisingly, she didn't feel as injured as she probably should have been, but her spotting her surroundings put that issue aside. "Where am I?" she murmured. "This doesn't look like any place I've ever seen..." Swimming in the sky were hybrids of creatures that realistically couldn't be bred, both regular and odd. Random food bits floated about in the sky as well, and the sky itself began to twist and warp slightly. Wherever Applejack looked, there was an oddity of some kind, and she suddenly felt like she was in an unnatural, hostile environment -- Flim and Flam's home turf would be a worthy comparison, perhaps, assuming they actually had some kind of home turf. "Who dares?!" The angry shout reverberated, bringing Applejack to her hooves right quick. Her green eyes darted back and forth, trying to find the shout's source. It was only when she heard the sound of footsteps that she whirled around and had to maneuver her head slightly upwards to properly take in and address who was speaking to her. Applejack quickly noted that the being looked much like a humanoid dog. Floppy dark ears, long dark brown muzzle that was spotted with white, sharp hazel eyes, and a black-and-brown tail. What she was wearing was nothing more than a long dress that nearly touched the floor and was imbued with cosmic patterns -- which Applejack figured made sense, because the bottom of the dress had an ethereal flow to it similar to Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's manes. She looked like an embodiment of regality, although the farmpony couldn't be sure whether she was actually the ruler of this place or not. Did this place even have a ruler? Hastily, she grabbed her hat and placed it on her head again. "I-I'm sorry, ma'am, I fell in here on accident! I don't mean any harm t' ya!" "Hm." The dog-person looked at the pony, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Judging from your uniform, that's a very unlikely story." She straightened. "My name is Clementine. I am the ruler of the Odd Side." "The Odd Side?" "Yes. A safe haven for all oddness to roam free. Oddness that had been vanquished by your betraying, dishonest kind!" Applejack took a step back at Clementine's sudden flare-up. "D-dishonest? What do ya mean by that?" Clementine's gaze grew steely. "Many years ago, when I was a child, an Odd Squad agent left me to die at the hands of a human mob -- a mob that was coming for her head. She used me as a scapegoat while she made her escape." Her fist slowly curled until it was clenched as hard as she could clench it. "I'll never forgive her for what she did. It made me realize that Odd Squad is an organization filled with nothing but cowardice and selfishness, especially within its ranks." Cowardice? Selfishness? Applejack wanted to fire back. Odd Squad don't have any 'f those things! What the hay are you talkin' about? "Odd Squad agents send oddness to the Odd Side and have played a major part in its growth." Clementine continued. "But in doing so, they seek to get rid of it, with no remorse. In a sense, we have a symbiotic relationship, but we are also mortal enemies." "I see..." Applejack said, blinking as she tried to understand Clementine's words. In truth, she had very little clue as to what she was actually talking about, but for the sake of staying alive, she decided to roll with it. "Well, I can assure ya, Clementine, I'm no enemy 'f yours. I just fell in here by accident, and if I'm bein' honest, I have no idea how t' get out." A distant scream made both of them perk up. Clementine's head jerked upwards to find another pony quickly descending, watching as she fell to the ground about as unceremoniously as a half-cooked pancake being thrown from a building. Applejack scrambled backwards. "Apple Bloom?! What're ya doin' here?!" Bloom took a minute or two to get to her hooves and snap back to reality. Her gaze landed on her sister, and a sense of relief bubbled up from within her. "I came t' rescue ya! Some kid came t' Headquarters and told us that ya got sucked into a portal!" "Why didn't ya let the more experienced agents handle this?" Applejack snapped, her tone nothing short of worried. "You're gonna get yourself killed here!" "I wanted t' save ya and bring ya back home!" The sound of a roar bellowed through the area. As if on instinct, Applejack and Apple Bloom held each other tight, giving startled yells, while Clementine turned towards where the sound was coming from. Quickly, she began to run. "You two, follow me! We must flee, back to my throne room! Quickly!" Neither pony needed to be told twice. With Applejack hoisting Apple Bloom onto her back, they galloped away, glancing around for any threats that might attack them in the meantime. "Okay, so let me get this straight. Applejack was digging something out of a sandbox for a client, and it turned out to be a portal...that she fell into?" "Got sucked into, Momma. There's a difference. But otherwise, yes." "And Apple Bloom went after her?" "Yep." The voices of Mandy and Olive echoed in the hangar as they, along with Otto and Pinkie, walked. Mandy took the lead, with the others following her and being very unsure of where they were going. "What are you planning to do, partner?" "The Odd Side sounds a little dangerous for us to simply take a jump -- or I guess a tumble -- into the portal that leads to it. So I've decided to use an alternate method of transportation!" Mandy rushed off, and then reappeared next to a rather large and rather wide structure that was covered by a white sheet. She gestured to it, but all she got in response were looks of confusion. "Oh. Gotta take the sheet off of it first, huh?" Mandy laughed as she grasped the sheet with both hands and gave it a mighty tug, her body leaning towards the right and nearly making her lose her footing. Three jaws dropped in rapid succession. "Et voila! Magnifique holifique!" Mandy bowed. "May I present: Serendipity 2.0!" Made from the finest silver, with feathers that hit just the right balance of soft and hard and formed four large wings, seats that hardly any spa in the world could match in terms of comfort, and a supercomputer built inside that could detect villains and oddities from a sizeable distance. One wouldn't look at Mandy and deduce that she was a capable pilot. One wouldn't look at Mandy and deduce that she was a pilot at all. The question was obvious: since she had wings, why would she need a plane? The answers were just as obvious: because she was full of surprises. And also because she just...could have a plane. No law in the world would stop her from having one. After a few minutes of silence, Olive worked up the nerve to speak. "You built another plane?" "No. This is the same plane I piloted when we went to stop that Daves invasion. Buuuuuut..." Mandy grinned. "I added a few more extra features! More seats, two more pairs of giant wings, a small propeller in the back for lentildation..." Otto's eyes slowly, ever so slowly, gained shimmers in them as he stared at the plane. "So cool!" Olive blinked. "The word is 'venti-'" "Also it's not a space plane. But it should work fine in the Odd Side!" Mandy hopped up onto a wing. "Now who's ready to go, in Serendipity 2.0?!" Silence. "Uh...we all are, partner." "Roooooad triiiiip!" Mandy called in singsong, before she faltered. "Okay, not technically a road trip because we're taking this. Mhm." As the door to the cockpit flung upwards to let her inside, the other two doors followed suit. "All righty, everyone hop in!" Exchanging "just Mandy being Mandy" glances and eyerolls, the rest of the rescue team climbed aboard the massive aircraft. "Ooh, these seats are cozier than I expected!" Otto said, looking around for a seatbelt. "What if I told you..." Mandy popped up beside him on the outside of the plane, resting her cheek in her palm. "...they're heated?" "No way, really?!" "Once we reach high maltitide, I'll put 'em on for ya!" "Altitude!" came a cry from behind him that Mandy could easily identify as Olive. Even though she was within earshot of her mother, Mandy opted to ignore her. As the hybrid was hovering around the plane for one final check prior to liftoff, she punched the numbers 1-2-2 into her badge phone and lifted it up to her human ear. It only took two ringback tones for someone to answer. "Um...hello there, Sweetie Belle here!" And then a low mutter of, "Ugh, that was bad..." "Hi, Sweetie Belle! Is Scootaloo with you?" "Yeah, why?" "I want you to go to the Lab and get two Stretch-inators, then take the tubes to the playground in Trillium Park and zap the portal, got it?" A short pause before Sweetie Belle, then Scootaloo, gave their agreements. "Thanks, guys! Talk to ya soon!" Landing in the cockpit, Mandy closed her phone and clipped it back onto her jacket as both her door and the door behind her closed. "Everyone buckled and ready?" Three murmurs of agreement came in response. "Then let's go!" Mandy leaned down and flicked upwards three switches, all dabbled in the primary colors. A steady whooshing sound filled her ears, and she smiled as she realized that the large wings that kept the plane aloft were beginning to stir. Up ahead, the doors began to open in three different directions -- left and right, to allow room for the width of the aircraft, as well as upwards, for when the plane was going to be shot into the air. "Now hold on, 'cuz we're gonna rocket forward at light spe-" Mandy didn't get to finish her sentence. At a breakneck speed, the plane took off, soaring into the sky with wings flapping ever harder. The small propeller at the back of the plane began to spin steadily, providing proper air ventilation through the craft. "Ye-e-eah, whoo!" the hybrid squealed, throwing her hands into the air. A rectangular computer that sat in front of her came to life with a series of beeps and whirs. "Welcome, Agent Mandy. Activating scanners." Behind the pilot, one passenger was gripping onto her seat handles so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. "And I thought the takeoff from the ice cream truck spaceship was bad! This is worse! AND I'M NOT EVEN THE DRIVER!!" "This is awesome!" Otto's eyes shimmered as he looked down at the view below. "Ooh, it feels so weird being inside of the plane instead of the outside!" Pinkie chirped, as she, too, looked below her at the view of Toronto. "I remember when the plane nearly crashed before we went up into space...that was horrible!" Mandy was about to respond to her partner when a beep from the computer caught her attention. "Oddness spotted. Identification process commencing." Preeeeetty sure I know what it is, but go on... "Identification process complete. Portal, large size. Location: Trillium Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada." "Uh, Mandy..." Olive asked, having somewhat snapped out of her fear. "How are we going to enter the portal in a plane?" Mandy smiled. "Let's just say...you should hold on real tight!" That made Olive slump back into her seat with an "Oh odd help me." "I see it!" The exclamation from Otto made Mandy begin looking around. Sure enough, there was the portal, which, in its enlarged state, had sucked up the sandbox and everything in it, and looked to be dangerously close to sucking up the rest of the playground equipment as well. She winced as she thought of her wallet and how Mayor Mackelmore would likely charge her out the tail for a replacement of the sandbox...let alone an entire playground. "All right, here we goooooo!" she cried out, pushing the steering wheel inwards to guide the plane into a gradual nosedive. As it stood, they were directly aiming for the target, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo scrambling to flee within their dropped jaws and widened eyes. Similarly, Otto, Olive and Pinkie Pie all started screaming in terror. "We're gonna crash!!" "No we're not, Mommaaaaaaaa-" Screams resounded throughout the cabin as Serendipity 2.0 made its way through the portal about as cleanly as a knife went through a warm stick of butter. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo watched the feat in awe, staying silent for a few moments after the behind of the plane went through. "T-t-they went through a portal!" "In an airplane!" Scootaloo grinned. "Awesome!" "MANDY, PULL UP!!" "P-pulling!" Right before the plane could make impact with the ground, Mandy yanked back on the steering wheel, causing the plane to jerk upwards and slightly ascend until it was a reasonable distance from the hard surface below that threatened to cut the craft's life prematurely short. A shaky breath left Mandy as she felt a piece of her soul leave her. "Made it..." she said, barely registering the groans of her passengers. "Computer, where are we?" "You are in the east section of the Odd Side, Agent Mandy." Mandy's ears folded downwards as she took in the oddities that lay before her. An unnatural feeling began to worm about in her gut, like she didn't belong here. As much of an oddball as she was -- pun not intended -- even she drew the line at mutated frogs, flying pieces of bread, and dancing typewriters. "Whoa...this is freakier than I thought." "Well duh, it's a haven full of oddness!" Otto quipped from the back. "Everyone, stay on your toes." Mandy ordered with caution in her tone. "I hear that you can be corrupted in this place. Keep your sanities in check!" She turned her head around. "Pinkie...I'm talking especially to you." "Aww, don't worry about me! This place looks super-cool!" "You've gotta be kidding me...that's what I'm worried about." The four wings of the plane continued to flap about steadily, not faltering in the slightest when chipmunk-beetle hybrid creatures began curiously nibbling at them. "Computer, can you bring up a map of the Odd Side and locate any beings?" "Pulling up map." The computer beeped once, generating a map that nearly extended to both ends of the cockpit and obscured Mandy's view. "Checking for any living organisms. What is the species you are requesting to find?" Olive and Otto both exchanged surprised glances with each other. "Species?" "I didn't know Mandy had the capability of building such a high-tech computer..." Pinkie blinked. "Cool!" "Equine. Two of them." For the next minute, the only word that echoed through the plane was "searching". A red dot scanned through the map, attempting to locate Applejack and Apple Bloom. Finally, it landed on a rectangular area, and began beeping rapidly. "Two equines found. Ponies. Agent 75, Applejack, and Agent 107, Apple Bloom. Subjects are located in: a throne room on the west side. Status for Applejack is: unknown. Status for Apple Bloom is: unknown." Mandy grit her teeth, a "tch" sound escaping her. Technology's great, but it's not flawless, huh? Olive's brow furrowed. "A throne room?" "Does a princess live here?!" Pinkie asked excitedly, repeatedly flicking the switch on the side of her seat that made it move from side to side. "Yes." Olive said. "The previous one was Rosemary, but I'm not sure who it is now." A loud roar resounded through the area, its reverb shaking the aircraft and nearly sending everyone tumbling about as they gave startled screams. "W-what was that?!" Mandy said, clearing the map in order to see out of the front. "If I had to guess..." "They're wild budgerigars!" Olive would have given an eyeroll in response to Otto interrupting her if fear hadn't overtaken her entire body. "Wild what?!" Olive leaned forward. "Mandy, fly! Fly away! NOW!!" "O-okay, j-just hold on!" As Mandy leaned forward to flick a button on the control panel, a loud boom came forth, shaking the plane more. Mandy's face went careening and made impact with the panel, causing her to give a cry of pain as she clutched her nose. Startled yells came as a reaction to the noise, though she tuned them out and attempted to lean forward again to grab ahold of a cylindrical button, moving it up, then down, then up again. "Activating High-Speed Mode." "Well, are you gonna kick in shooner or-" The speed at which Serendipity 2.0 took off right then was a speed that no military fighter plane could match even on their best days with a skilled pilot at the helm. The screams seemed to echo from the plane as it disappeared within the blink of an eye, throwing the chipmunk-beetle hybrids off of it and sending them tumbling away. "Too fast, TOO FAAAAAAST!" came Mandy's screech, attempting to keep her hands steady on the steering wheel as she guided the craft through aerial oddity after aerial oddity. Within five seconds, the plane came to a stop at the entrance to a pair of tall doors. Filled with yellow swirls amidst a dark pink background, its hinges came to rest against a rectangular structure that looked akin to that of a portable storage unit. Mandy's eye twitched. Another piece of her soul left her as she began to hyperventilate. And only one thought floated up to the surface of her mind. And this is why I don't do planes. Especially not this plane. "Are we at the west side yet?" Pinkie asked. "You have arrived at your destination, Agent Mandy. Location: Odd Side, west end." "Oh, we're here! Thanks, Miss Computer!" The doors swung open, allowing everyone to exit -- including Mandy, who was attempting to crawl out of the aircraft on her hands and knees. "That was terrifying! Never again!" Her eyes widened ever so slightly. "Never! Ever! Again!" "Mandy, unbuckle your seatbe-" Olive's words were cut off as Mandy landed on the ground face-first. Her body slumped backwards onto the plane, rattling with a plaintive "Why-y-yyyyy?" Pinkie trotted around the plane to face the tall double-doors that greeted her and the rest of the rescue team. "Sooooo what do we do now?" "We go in there..." Mandy coughed as she pulled herself to her feet. "...get Applejack and Apple Bloom, and bring 'em home, of course!" "Hold on!" Otto came to stand besides Pinkie. "We don't know what we're up against!" Mandy blinked. She leaned back onto her tail, which propelled her into the air and allowed her to join the rest of the group. "I thought you and Momma knew about the Odd Side!" "We have a general basis of what it is as a location." Olive explained, coming to join the others. "But we don't know who its ruler is. And we've never actually been here before." "The ruler could be some odd creature, or another human being...that's just it, we don't know!" Otto gave a shrug. For a minute, Mandy glowered at them. Oprah made me take them when they know nothing about the Odd Side other than where it is? Really? They've been co-Directors for ages and eons, how do they not know about the Odd Side? But then she came to a realization. If whatever's behind those doors is aggressive and tries to attack us...it wouldn't do me any good to just have Pinkie on my side. Strength in numbers, after all. Pinkie's an awesomazing partner, but Momma and Otto are super-duper strong! They can take down whatever, however, in seconds flat! ...Okay, fine, maybe Oprah might've had a point in takin' them along. "We'll be fine!" she chirped, beginning to head towards the doors. "Just stay alert." Cautiously, the rest of the group followed her, making sure to stick close together as they kept an eye on their surroundings. Mandy's magic latched onto the half-circle handle, giving it a single yank. She flipped backwards as the doors slowly began to open. "Who dares?!" The bellow was a no-sell on Mandy, who strode in with confidence and contrasted with Olive, Otto and Pinkie, who all moved at a regular pace behind her. "Hiya!" the hybrid chirped. "My name's Agent Mandy, and these are my friends! Olive, Otto, and Pinkie Pie." As she pointed to each one of them in turn, Olive and Otto gave sheepish waves. Pinkie's wave, on the other hand, was far more enthusiastic, as she wore a giant grin on her maw. Clementine's eyes widened, and she gave a small huff of surprise as she leaned forward. "More Odd Squad agents?" she growled. "Has the Odd Side been discovered? Must we relocate?" "Nooooo, silly!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "We're here to get Applejack and Apple Bloom and bring them home." A quick look around the throne room showed no sign of either pony. Just as Mandy was about to ask about their whereabouts, however, an even louder bellow shook the room. "You." Mandy swiveled her head back around to meet the snarling form of Clementine, standing only a mere few feet away from her. "You're the girl that abandoned me, all those years ago!" Olive and Otto moved their gazes towards the floor, while Pinkie Pie's smile faltered. Mandy, on the other hand, simply looked confused. "A-abandoned you?" "We were but children. I had come to Toronto in order to find something that would appease my ever-strict parents. And you..." Clementine's fists clenched. "You were an outcast. Mistreated by the world, just for looking different from everyone else." Gradually, Mandy could feel her heart began to sink. No. Odd no, don't make me relive that again, I don't wanna! "I was the same way. Mistreated by some of those of my town because I was different from them. We had commonalities. That is what spurred me to befriend you." Olive buried her face in her hands, Otto rubbing her back for comfort. "But when a mob came storming after you, attempting to run you out of town, they spotted me as well." Clementine's eyes narrowed slightly. "And they took me instead!" A shaky gasp rattled Mandy's lungs. The one memory she had hidden deep inside of her was now being dug up in painstaking detail, and she began to recognize exactly who Clementine was. Out of everything that could have happened on this rescue mission, having to be reminded of what she had to do all that time ago certainly wasn't one of them. Even worse was that Clementine refused to shut up, especially as her cries became desperate. "You let them take me! You didn't even bother to fight back! All you did was run, like the coward you are!" The dog-person huffed. "It was lucky I could get away and return to my town mostly unscathed. But it came at a price." Her eyes closed. "I could never forgive you. How could you abandon a friend in a time of need?!" Mandy grit her teeth. Flames began to encase her body, causing all three of her rescue teammates to back up. "How could you do nothing but stomp all over the concept of friendship?! How could you-" "I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!! That mob was going to kill me!" came the resounding screech of the hybrid as she began to choke up. "Do you think that if I had a choice, I'd have just up and left you?! I was suffering! No one was by my side! It was an agent-eat-agent world and I had to fend for myself and myself alone!" Clementine's low growl was her only response. Mandy didn't care. She didn't care whether it was in response to her justification or whether it was due to her word swap of "agent-eat-agent". All she knew was that the tears were rolling down her face. "Besides..." A choking sob interrupted her. "I DON'T EVER WANT TO THINK ABOUT THAT AGAIN!! SO DON'T BRING IT UP!!" Shaky hands reached behind a back, and pulled out a hammer. Shaky hands held the hammer in a death grip. Shaky hands were unsure if they were shaking because of their owner's anger or sadness. "D-don't make me use this. 'Cuz I will use this!" "You dare come here to challenge me for my throne?" Clementine jabbed a finger at the rest of the rescue team. "And with further challengers?!" "All I came here for was to bring Applejack and Apple Bloom home." Sure enough, the sister pair trotted out seemingly from just behind a pillar, eyeing the situation that laid before them. "Hey look, it's Mandy! And Pinkie Pie!" Apple Bloom pointed. "Olive and Otto too. Wonder what's goin' on." "Mandy looks like she's gettin' into an argument with Clementine!" Applejack thrust a hoof against Apple Bloom's chest, backing up and taking her along. "I don't see this endin' well. Stay back, Apple Bloom." Mandy twirled her hammer around in her hands, which were still shaking. "G-give them up. Or you won't be seeing the sunshine anymore!" Lucky for her, either Clementine wasn't willing to entertain her fear, or she genuinely didn't want to have her altercation with her escalate into something more physical. "And whoever said I was keeping them hostage? I only took them in because we were fleeing from the budgerigars." She huffed. "If you want them, you can have them. They have already been determined to not be challengers for the throne, anyhow." "So where are they?" Clementine opened her maw to answer, but as she looked around for any sign of either mare or filly, she quickly closed it. Her anger was briefly replaced with confusion. "I...I am not sure." Unfortunately, Mandy was running on nothing but pure rage now, her eyes narrowing as she screamed, "WHERE ARE THEY?!" "They were here! I swear! But it seems they have disappeared..." "GIVE THEM UP!!" "She's gonna destroy Clementine!" Apple Bloom glanced up at her sister. "Applejack, we gotta do somethin'!" The sound of a thump, followed by a howl of pain and a loud crash, made the pair's eyes widen. "I-I think it's a bit late for that now!" Applejack scooped up Apple Bloom, throwing her onto her back before galloping towards the commotion and revealing herself and her sister. "Mandy, we're here!" Mandy didn't see her, but a loud roar from Clementine, who was slowly getting to her feet, broke any kind of hope that she would notice them and calm down. "Everyone, run, now!" she called to the rescue group. "Head back to the plane!" "What about you?!" "I'll ward Clementine off, just go!" Otto and Pinkie, along with Applejack and Apple Bloom, ran. Olive, however, stayed rooted to the ground, clearly concerned for the safety and well-being of her adopted child as she went head-to-head with what she supposed was a dog-girl, as opposed to the catgirl species that Peaches was a part of. "Olive, come on!" Pinkie cried, her hooves extending and grabbing around Olive before yanking her away. "How dare you!" Clementine's attention was solely on Mandy, not noticing nor caring that the others had left. "If you wish to fight, then I will happily oblige!" Her foot was raised, and then lowered to the ground with a mighty stomp. For a few moments, nothing happened. And then the rumbling came forth. "What-" Mandy didn't get a chance to go any farther than that as an oval-shaped stone made of chocolate and dirt abruptly emerged from under her, sending her flying backwards and landing on the ground. "It's best you leave now." Clementine said. "This is my domain! It certainly isn't yours!" Mandy was able to get back on her feet in record time, as though the move never fazed her -- although she couldn't deny that she was in considerable pain. "You don't make any sense! You're not listening!" "I have heard enough! More than enough, even!" Clementine snarled. "You are nothing but a coward, a pathetic low-class Odd Squad agent who can’t even protect her own friends! I’m willing to bet that the townsfolk still hate you just for looking different! They’ll never accept you as you are now!" "Shut up!" Mandy grit her teeth... "And don't you dare bring up my past!" ...and charged at Clementine with a screeching battlecry, her hammer, and many mighty beats of her wings. Outside of the throne room, the rescue team, plus Applejack and Apple Bloom, stared at the doors as the sounds of fighting commenced behind them. Although Mandy had commanded them to get back into the plane, none of them were too keen on just leaving her to fight the ruler of the Odd Side on her own, no matter how much of a competent fighter she was. "They're gonna kill each other in there!" Pinkie glanced at the two Directors. "Olive, Otto, can't you go get Mandy? You've..." She glanced down at her hoof. "...got opposable thumbs to grab her with." "Even if we do have opposable thumbs, who's to say she won't knock either one of us out too?" Olive's eyes grew misty. "She nearly slaughtered me when she found out what Orino was doing to Peaches. At its peak, her rage is something that none of us can qualm, and it's safe to say that this is arguably the angriest I've ever seen her." "What did Clementine mean when she said that Mandy abandoned her?" The question from Apple Bloom brought a brief silence. Olive glanced at her, but then just as quickly jerked her head away, staring past her partner at a glue bottle that was running off in the distance. "You want to tell her, or should I?" Olive ignored her partner's question, instead letting her shoulders roll as she sighed. "Now's not the time, Apple Bloom." she said, her tone despaired and melancholy. "If Mandy is in too battered of a state to fly us home in Serendipity 2.0, either we won't get out of here, or-" "We'll die in a fiery plane crash?" Surprised glances, mixed in with a few glares, were sent Otto's way. "Great job, partner. Way to scare everyone." Olive facepalmed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yes. What he said." Pinkie clasped her hooves to her face. "I don't wanna die in a fiery plane crash!" "We need t' get Mandy and go back to Odd Squad, now!" Applejack said, lifting up a hoof as though debating rushing in there and grabbing Mandy with her own force, buck to consequences. Otto glanced at her. "But how are we gonna do that when Mandy's in there with Clementine and-" A loud boom erupted from the throne room, followed by a howl from a figure that whizzed past the group at the speed of lightning, and then a crash that created a billow of smoke. Although everyone was confident in what had happened, it didn't stop them from turning around to look. "Everyone, get in, now! We're leaving!" No one dared to ask Mandy a single question, instead scrambling to get into the plane as the doors opened. Mandy, slipping the hammer away in her hammerspace spine, bounded into the cockpit and put her own seatbelt on before flicking the three primary-colored buttons upwards once more. "We're taking off." she announced, the cockpit doors closing as the wings began to slowly flap up and down in preparation for takeoff. By the time both pairs of wings had begun to flap both up and down and side to side, Clementine had risen to her feet. The only thing she gave was a piercing howl of pain, anger, and sadness that Mandy could hear even through the glass windows. It chilled her to the bone, but she forced herself to keep pressing forward. However, as she pressed forward, so did the tears that began rolling down her face, and so did the aching pain she felt in every inch of her body. Outside of the portal, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle waited. As bored as they felt, they didn't want to risk getting scolded by Mandy or by Oprah, and so, they opted to hang around the playground. The pair sat on the swings, looking around at all the people and ponies that passed by as they moved up and down rhythmically. "It sure is taking them a long time to come back." Scootaloo said, her tone having a slight irritation to it. "Yeah." Sweetie stared at the sky. "I thought they were supposed to be the 'more experienced age-'" A sudden loud whooshing sound sent them toppling backwards. They only barely managed to dip their heads low enough so the swings didn't clock them right in their faces. As Scootaloo quickly rose to her hooves and began rushing closer to the portal, she saw the plane shoot towards the sky before angling downwards and continuing its journey to what she could only assume was back to Headquarters. "C'mon, Scootaloo, we should meet them back at Headquarters!" Sweetie called, rushing up to the other filly and watching the plane. "Hold on." Scootaloo's gaze moved towards the spot where the portal was still churning away. "Shouldn't we close the portal first?" Sweetie blinked. "Oh yeah, I have a gadget for that! Um..." She turned her head to her left and let her hoof slide towards her back. "I think you reach behind your back like this and...concentrate really hard..." Scootaloo watched in awe as the unicorn filly squeezed her eyes shut as her hoof moved along the back of her suit. Only a few seconds later, a ding noise sounded as she pulled out a gadget with a small satellite dish at its end. "Look, it worked!" Sweetie grinned. "The Portal-Close-inator!" "Is...there an off switch?" Scootaloo asked cautiously as Sweetie took the gadget in her corona and aimed at the active portal. "Yup!" With a click of the singular switch to the ON side, a bright blue beam shot at the portal, gradually shrinking it until there was nothing left but dirt and grass. The act was completed with another ding, and Sweetie pointed with her hoof at the ground. "Aaaand it's gone!" Scootaloo looked, and a grin formed on her face. "No portal!" "Yes, I did it!" Sweetie hopped into the air excitedly. "Let's head back to Headquarters! C'mon!" Tucking the gadget away in her hammerspace spine, Sweetie quickly dashed after Scootaloo, happiness radiating in her chest as she felt pride in correctly using one of her first gadgets for what she considered a monumental mission. Serendipity 2.0 made a successful landing in the hangar, the wings slowly coming to a halt and folding up so they encased the craft's sides. "You have arrived at your destination, Agent Mandy." "Yeah, thanks." As she exited the plane, Mandy nearly landed on her face. Luckily, her wings, which had somehow remained intact in the fight, broke her fall, and she landed on her one good foot instead. Her lame one dragged weakly behind her as she began to head for the door. "Now where in Equestria do you think you're goin'?" Mandy didn't bother to stop and listen to Applejack. "To my room. To be alone." "But you're injured!" "I don't care." Otto lowered Apple Bloom to the ground. "Applejack, Apple Bloom, why don't you go see Oprah and let her know you're safe? I'm sure she'll want to reprimand you for what you did, as well, Apple Bloom." "I know." Apple Bloom deflated slightly. "I'm really sorry." "C'mon, sis. Let's go." Together, the pair followed Mandy on their way out, Otto, Olive and Pinkie all watching them go. Still, they couldn't help but keep their gazes on Mandy, who looked to be struggling with her bad foot. "Why don't we all head to Oprah's office?" Otto suggested, causing both girls' attention to be moved from Mandy to him. "I know how stressed you can be when Mandy's in a rut, partner." "Really? How could you tell?" "Well, your voice is strained, for one." Otto pointed out. "I haven't heard it be that strained since that bad case of laryngitis went around the town!" Olive gave a sigh. "Fair point." "C'mon, Olive, cheer up!" Pinkie placed a hoof on her arm. "Mandy will be fine. She just needs some time to rest, that's all." Olive looked deep into the party pony's eyes. She knew Pinkie was the bringer of hope and good cheer, but something told her that not even one of Pinkie's best parties, or any of her best pastries, could cheer her up this time. Still, when Otto and Pinkie began following the others, she followed suit, even with the sickening feeling churning away in her gut that Mandy wasn't okay. And she probably won't be. Not for a long, long time. I just wish I knew how to help her... By the time Mandy got back to her room, her body felt tired, right down to the straight hair and tail. She wasn't sure whether to pin it on jet lag or to pin it on the nasty wounds Clementine managed to give her. But she didn't feel like sleeping. No...she felt like punching something. She felt like socking that dog-girl right in the face. Maybe then, she would listen to what Mandy had to say. Flopping face-first onto her bed, Mandy stayed there for a good long time. Her heart began to hurt as she began to relive the past, of when she managed to become the freaky-looking hybrid she was today. The optimism she held had allowed her to shove all memories of that incident, and all the memories of what followed, to the wayside, until it was teetering off the cliff and within inches of falling to its death. She never wanted to think about it, she never wanted to discuss it, and she certainly never wanted anyone to bring it up. She didn't even want anyone else to know about it. Well, outside of her friends and family. They were the only ones who knew. But at least they were smart enough to respect her wishes. Of all the people who had to rule the Odd Side, why did it have to be her? She grit her teeth. I abandoned her, and I really thought she would be more forgiving as to why I had to do it...but alas. And I don't think my beating her up did the trick, either. Her ears barely registered the sound of footsteps, and they barely registered the sound of the door opening and closing behind her. "Hey, cuz!" A pause. "Whoa, that's some messed-up look. You go on a year-long mission that took you a couple hours or something? Or is this knotted hair and tail some kind of trend I have to get in on?" "Neither." came the snap, showing that Mandy was in absolutely no mood for Peaches' jokes. "Well, something's wrong, and I'm not leaving your side until you tell me what it is." Mandy's head lifted off of the bed to glare at Peaches. "Can't you see I want to be alone? Do I hafta spell it out for you?" she said, turning around and curling up her body in a way only she could. "Or do the flattened hair and tail not give it away?" "C'mon. You won't feel better until you have someone to vent to. I'm all ears." Yeah? If I put an ear where your mouth is, will it make you shut up? ...is what Mandy wanted to say. But in actuality, her cousin's idea wasn't necessarily a bad one. Perhaps venting would allow her to try and sleep everything off, just as she always did for pretty much everything that ailed her. And besides that, Peaches was the only one who didn't know of Mandy's actual backstory. Mandy knew where she came from, but she had no idea where Mandy came from. Truth be told, Mandy didn't know that either. But she certainly could recount everything past the age of 5. It was something, at least. "Fine." She sighed. "I formed a rescue team to go to this place called the Odd Side in order to rescue Applejack after she fell through a portal connected to it. And also to save Apple Bloom after she went through the portal to save her sister." Her eyes closed. "It went well at first, but..." A pause. Peaches leaned towards her slightly. "But?" "I-I came across..." The name spurred nothing but rage from within Mandy. She grit her teeth together, while at the same time clutching her blanket. "Who?" Peaches tilted her head. "It's okay, Mandy, I'm not going to ju-" Mandy held a hand up to stop her cousin, giving a soft exhale. "I think it would be best if I told you the entire story, starting from the beginning." She spread her wings and uncurled her tail, extending it towards Peaches. "If you can believe it...I didn't have all these things, once upon a time." "You didn't?" Peaches perked up and blinked in realization. "Oh, wait, that would make sense. You're a pony-human hybrid, aren't you? So I would imagine you were once human in some form or another." "I'm biologically human. Born a human, might die a human." Mandy lifted herself up and slowly turned around to face her cousin. "When I became a part of Odd Squad, I was a human just like everybody else. I was a hard worker, always dedicated to fighting oddness. I solved cases with Momma and Otto as soon as I was able to. It was a lot of fun, and we had some good and bad times...I was even known as a bit of a prodigy." A sad smile danced on her lips for only a couple seconds. "Then the Hydraclops incident happened." "What's a...'Hydraclops'?" Peaches asked, outwardly cringing as a mental image began to form in her mind. Sure enough, as Mandy pulled a picture of one from her hair, she felt her stomach begin to churn. "It's so huge...and so ugly." She pushed Mandy's hand down to get the image out of her face. "So, uh, what happened?" Mandy tucked the picture back into her hair. "Well, Oscar -- he was the Lab Director before Oona -- he knew all about the Hydraclops, and buried a super-secret weapon that could defeat it. So Momma, Otto and I went with him while Oprah and another agent named Olaf went to warn the beachgoers that the Hydraclops was gonna rise out of the water." She gave a sigh that was mostly tired, but also carried an air of wistful amusement. "Oscar's precautions were a little excessive, but eventually, we found the weapon and went to the beach to confront the creature." "What was the weapon?" Mandy's nose wrinkled. "It was a sock. A gross, stinky sock." Peaches wasn't sure whether to laugh or be grossed out, although going by her expression, Mandy could see she was trying hard not to do the former. "Oscar buried it six years ago to stop the Hydraclops. But it didn't work as well as he thought it would...mostly because it was hardened." A snort made its way out of Peaches. "S-sorry, sorry. I meant to say 'eww, that's gross'...but the story just sounds so ridiculous. What power does a sock have to stop a creature that looks like that?" "I'll tell you." Mandy scratched an itch on her pony ear. "The ponies came to the beach too, hearing about the attack, and advised that we solve the issue with punches and kicks and cool fighting moves instead of something silly like a sock. So we went on the offense." The more Mandy told the story, the more she could feel memories resurfacing. But this time, with the comfort of her cousin sitting right next to her, she allowed them to come forth, and she allowed herself to reminisce. Painful as they were, she was committed to making sure Peaches understood every inch of the strife she had to suffer from, the strife she had to live through... The strife that resulted from a freak accident which no one understood. "Let's go, girls!" Twilight and the others made their way to the ocean, to the danger that lied ahead. They were the first ones in the water, heading to their enemy with no fear. A determined look settled on my face, and I started running after them. "Mandy, wait!" The plaintive cry of my mother went unheard. If there was a way I could keep the ponies who grew up with me safe, then I was going to do it. I would fight for Odd Squad. It was my life, the cornerstone of my identity that made me who I was. These were the people who cared for me, who raised me, who nurtured me and gave me shelter and food and water and air and love. And this monster was going to kill them all in one fell swoop. It could wreck the world underground just as easily as it could wreck the world aboveground. I could not let that happen. I would never let that happen. "Rainbow, lift me up!" I called, taking my first steps into the water and reaching a hand towards the sky. The blue Pegasus glanced down, breaking away from the group. "Got it!" she called, grasping my hand and lifting me high into the sky with all her strength. I barely heard Olaf's worried howl, followed by Oprah saying that I wasn't any match for the Hydraclops. Ha, so said the girl who thought a sock was enough to defeat this abomination that could barely be classified as a creature. Reaching behind my back, I pulled out a gadget and took aim. What the gadget was didn't matter to me, so long as it did damage. "The eye scream truck is here!" I called in singsong. My thumb hit the red activation button of the gadget, and a beam hit its intended target dead-on. The Hydraclops let out an uluation that would have melted the minds of any weak-willed person that happened to hear it. Its four tentacles thrashed about wildly in a desperate attempt to find its footing in the water. Within the thrashing, Pinkie got thrown off. I wasn't quite sure where she was -- all I heard was frantic screaming and then a splash. Immediately, I began to regret my course of action, and knowing that Rainbow Dash could be the next pony to possibly have a tentacle sent her way, I decided to let her ball and chain go so she could fly freely. After all, she was used to carrying ponies, not people, and I was just a little heavier than the average pony. "Drop me in the water, Rainbow Dash! I'll attack from behind!" I called. I wasn't quite sure if she had heard me, but her swooping around the Hydraclops while dodging its frantic tentacles confirmed my suspicions. As I landed in the water and gave my thanks to Rainbow Dash, a call from Twilight reached my ears. She was attempting to keep her own footing on the creature's head, her horn alight as she gazed down upon me. "Mandy, be careful!" "I know!" I called back, half in annoyance and half in dismissal as I reached behind my back and exchanged the gadget I was holding for another one. My gaze briefly passed over Pinkie's body floating in the water, but as much as I wanted to save her, I was committed to taking this creature down. I had hoped that any of the other ponies would spot her and take her to safety, and so, riding on that confidence, I took aim at the back of the Hydraclops and fired. A loud roar shook the area, making the water tremble. The monster thrashed about harder, taking its rabid tentacles with it. Within the tantrum it was throwing, it took Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight with it. The three mares were smacked off hard by the waving tentacles, making hard landings into the water. All I could do in that moment was call their names in anguish, seeing their lifeless bodies rise to the top. As if on cue, another scream and a loud splash marked the demise of Rainbow Dash. The only ones left were me and Applejack, now. The farmpony was desperately hanging on to a tentacle by way of her teeth clenching a rope that had been tightly tied around one. My eyes began to quiver, moving back and forth between her and the wounded ponies. It shouldn't have been a choice. But that behemoth had enough firepower within it to kill a pony, and I wasn't about to let any of my friends die. Not now. Not today. And not because of my inability to take action. Furiously kicking my legs, I dived under the surface and opened my eyes, looking for any identifiable tails that had dipped under the water. It didn't take me long before I had gathered all five of them, the Lift-inator I had grabbed from my hammerspace spine assisting me in carrying them all back to shore. "Mandy, what're you-" A smack, and then a splash. Applejack had gone down. "I have to keep going!" I shouted, mostly to convince myself more than anything else. I wanted to save Applejack, but I knew that going to rescue her left me free and open to getting a bashing from the Hydraclops, and as much as I wanted to save each and every one of my friends, I knew it would do me no good if I, as the rescuer, got injured by the monster too. Within seconds, I stumbled onto the shore, lowering the ponies to the ground and tucking the gadget away while leaning over to catch my breath. "T-take...take them..." I sputtered out, coughs wracking my body and sending me to my knees. "We need to get the ponies somewhere safe." Oprah said. "Those hits they took from the Hydraclops were brutal." "But what about the Hydraclops itself?" Otto asked. "Forget about it for now!" A howl from Olaf reached my ears, but I was too tired to lift my head and look. "Mandy, watch out!" I was a sitting duck, and for that, I paid the price. Something long and hard slammed into my front. Air rushed through my ears before a searing sensation tore through my spine, marked with a resounding crack. My body slumped to the ground as I grit my teeth together from the pain that began ricocheting through it. Within the groan I gave, I barely heard my name being called in a unisonant chant. "Are you okay?!" Out came Momma's worry as she rushed over to me, lifting my chin up so my blue eyes met her chocolate-brown ones. Something snapped within me. I wasn't sure what it was. "I'm fine!" I insisted, before another severe jolt of pain decided to answer me with the simple words of "On the contrary." I squeezed my eyes shut. "Agent Applejack..." My hands struggled to find something to get a good grip on so I could stand. "I have to save her...!" "No. I'll save her." Oprah grabbed ahold of the Scientist who had so bravely volunteered to put his life on the line to risk one of his coworkers. Alas... "No, you can't swim!" "Then I will!" With a mighty push, I pushed myself to my feet. The pain in my back was burning, but as far as I could tell, nothing was broken. I could reflect on the miracle of that later -- I had a friend to save. "Applejack, I'm coming!" I called, as my legs and feet propelled me through the water as fast as I could make them go. The Hydraclops gave a mighty roar in response. It had regained its senses, and was dangling its tentacles over the water menacingly, as though trying to aim for me. "Y-y-you don't scare me!" The tremble in my voice was apparent. "Applejack's my dear friend, and she's going to drown if I don't save her! Friends help friends, no matter what!" I dove under the water, looking at my surroundings for any sign of a yellow tail. It was rather easy to spot in a sea of blue, and as I reached my hands out, I emerged with the body of Applejack in my grasp. Taking a deep breath, I leaned down to whisper into Applejack's ear. To tell her that she was safe, she would be with the rest of the agents soon, she would come out of this okay. The water shimmered under me, as though touched by unicorn magic. And a pillar of water erupted. I was suddenly skyrocketed into the air, my grip on Applejack's body loosening. A scream rattled in my throat as I shut my eyes, fully preparing to let gravity take over and pull me back into the water -- possibly suffering the same fate as the ponies had, with hitting the water so hard that it could cause serious injury. "W-what's happening?!" I looked around nervously, finding that I was remaining in midair. Ahead of me, the Hydraclops let out another mighty roar, its one eye narrowing, its nostrils flaring. It, too, was trying to comprehend what was happening, which eliminated any questions I had about it causing the eruption of water. "Wait..." A twitch ran through my back, then another, and another. "My back...it feels ticklish! And really weird." A loud fwoomp noise came forth, followed by the sounds of rippling water. My back began to tickle even more, and I turned my head to take a look at what had happened. Somehow, another miracle had occurred. And this one was, perhaps, at the bottom of my list of "miracles that could happen". I had somehow gained a pair of wings made of water. Angelic in appearance, but yet, they somehow kept me aloft. Part of me figured that I shouldn't question it. This was Odd Squad, after all, an organization located on a planet that was not bound by the uniform rules of science. I certainly hadn't seen it all -- not in the same way those like Oprah had -- but having been raised here, I had learned to, more or less, take anomalies as they come and simply do my job. The thing was, this was one anomaly I didn't want to get rid of. Not when I still had a mission to complete. With a mighty flap, I took advantage of my new aquatic forelimbs, soaring back to shore and gently dropping Applejack to the ground in front of the others. "Take care of Applejack and the others!" I said, not bothering to acknowledge the shocked expressions that laid before me. "What about you?" Olive asked. I smirked, and turned to face my enemy. "I'm gonna go kick some Hydraclops butt!" I declared, before taking off with another flap. Of course, it didn't take me long to actually reach the thing, given my speed. As I hovered in midair, I made sure to fixate a glare directly into its blue-green eye, filled with nothing but unforgiving hatred and menace. "Listen up, you!" I jabbed an index finger at it. "I don't tolerate anyone who hurts my teammates! But even more than that...I don't tolerate anyone who hurts my friends!" A confused grunt was my only response. In front of me, water shot up and assumed my form, certainly not to scale as it towered well above me even from my position in the air. A brief thought formed in my mind of this figure looking like something I had once seen in a video game Otto had given me, but I didn't let it linger. I closed my eyes. "So I'm...gonna..." Still unsure of what was going on but once again choosing to take the advantage as it was laid on the table for me, I attempted to control the water version of myself with my mind. Surprisingly, it worked, and the form took ahold of all four tentacles. I decided to make it spin around and around, hoping I wouldn't cause a water tornado of some kind. "...send you back...to the depths...which you came from!" My marine form threw the monster into the air. It gave a loud roar as the form leaped up and raised her hand, as though preparing to spike a volleyball. "Take two!" What erupted from me after that was a cry of many emotions. Pain, sadness, anger and confusion all mixed together as my manifestation landed the final blow and sent the creature deep under the sea. My eyes followed the ensuing wave as it headed towards the beach and made impact with the other agents. In spite of my seriousness, I couldn't help but crack a smile as it doused every one of them to their chagrins, as they began lodging complaints and whining about how they were soaked to the bone. I gave my wings one more flap, allowing them to guide me to the beach. "Oh. Uh...hi, wings!" I glanced down. "Maybe if I flap them really hard, I can get somewhe-" My question was cut short by the wings disappearing in a sudden burst, the droplets that composed them landing in the water below. From there, I received a lesson on how gravity could be a harsh mistress sometimes, as my body hit the water and I went rolling. The momentum at which my face kept dipping under the surface left me little room to breathe, and it only got worse when I came to a skidding stop face-first on the sand. "Are you okay?" Oscar asked, rushing towards me and giving me his hand so I could get on my own two feet again. "Seems a little rhetorical to ask at this point." Momma deadpanned. In place of "I could be better", I spit out a chunk of sand, and my back rippled with the sensation of not having any wings. Sad to say, my reign of marine combat was over. The Hydraclops was now deep under the sea once more, and I had saved all of my friends from further harm. A feeling of relief encased my heart, for even though my friends were gravely injured, I had taken action to save their lives before their injuries turned into deaths. At least I hoped they weren't deaths. But the shimmering light that surrounded my body seemed to leave little room for me to breathe, to celebrate, or to even remotely process what had happened. Olaf gave a worried whimper, backing up a few paces and fixating me with a look of fear. "What's happening now?" Otto asked cautiously. "Don't look at me, I'm not doing this, I swear!" I tried to justify, holding my hands out as the mysterious light began to lift my body upward. A pleasant warmth began to radiate through my body, slowly killing my racing adrenaline while also alleviating me of my pain. Swaths of magic began to swirl around me now. Oprah broke her gaze away from the sight to glare at the Lab Director beside her. "Oscar, this wouldn't have anything to do with the Hydraclops...would it?" "No!" Oscar blinked. "I-I don't know what's going on! But the Hydraclops seems to be gone, at least..." I could see Oprah mouthing something else to Oscar, but the loud whirring sounds that blew through my ears prevented me from actually hearing her words. The mysterious magic closed around me, making a sphere with my body as the center. My eyes followed a swirl of magic that made its way to my forehead, and although I couldn't see what was going on, I could hear a sort of tinging noise and felt a new extremity protruding from it. Then came another swirl that circled my head and gradually went down to my hips, creating two separate tinging noises. I couldn't resist giggling at how the magic tickled me, and the giggles only grew when I could feel my hair begin to grow curly, and another, rather... weird extremity suddenly appearing somewhere close to my rump. That was probably the weirdest sensation of all, and as soon as it hit me, the giggling stopped. All of a sudden, I could hear my heart beat. It was steady, smooth, something a doctor would use as an example of picture-perfect cardi...car...heart health. Yeah, heart health. A swirl of magic entered my chest, and I could feel my heart grow warm. Another ting resounded. Seemingly completing the ensemble, a fourth magic swirl traveled to the top of my head. I felt two new extremities forming, one on each side. Right then and there, my eyes widened. It was hard to describe what was happening in the present moment...but perhaps how I could best describe it was that I could feel parts of my brain being rearranged, like they were puzzle pieces that just needed to go in the right spots. My vision began growing dark and then it became exposed to searing light at will, like someone was putting a dark sheet of paper over my eyes, then removing it, then putting it back, over and over again. A dull pain began to make itself known, but I was too busy slipping in and out of comas to register it fully. After what seemed like an eternity, the comas stopped coming. I could see the sphere pulsating once, twice, thrice... And then a loud boom. A piercing scream left my lungs as I attempted to shield my eyes from the brightness that filled my line of sight. When next I awoke, it was back on the beach. Oscar's words were muffled, but I could still hear them. "She looks so different!" Different? Different how? Giving a moan of fatigue, pain, and uncertainty, I shook my head. "I feel so weird..." I murmured, struggling to get to my feet. "Oh, you don't just feel weird." Momma reached behind her back, and came up with a mirror that was as tall as her. "Have a look in a mirror." My eyes opened and fell on the mirror. Time came to a complete standstill. The first thing I noticed were the pony ears. They looked just like the real things, if "the real things" meant my friends' ears. Angular but oval-shaped, they felt rather soft, and I could feel them as they swiveled around like active satellite dishes. And then, my hair. Right away I was able to identify it as looking just like that of Pinkie Pie's. But it wasn't just enough that my hair had to have the same curly and poofy bounce to it that hers did -- my new tail spoke the same volume, and also just so happened to look like hers. I had to wonder if that weird magic had somehow intertwined our souls together, so that she and I were driving only a singular vessel. But then I came to the conclusion that the idea was silly. I didn't feel any more energetic. I didn't feel like planning parties or baking or making others happy like she did. I mean, I liked to make others happy, but she had it as a stock-in-trade. I made people happy by doing the bare minimum and being nice. But I digress. The wings. Now those were new. They weren't made of water like they were before. No, these were made of pure, bonafide, could-only-be-found-in-the-best-pillows feathers. They made me look almost...angelic. But I was no angel. This wasn't heaven. I was still alive, lying here on the sand, four faces all staring at me, twisted into looks of worry and fear and hesitance. It made me sick just thinking about it, so I decided to move on to what else was included in Mandy 2.0. Somehow, within my shock, I had managed to miss the long horn that erupted from my forehead. It looked sharp, but the rounded tip threw any fears I had about me accidentally stabbing someone right into the trash. It was longer than Twilight's and Rarity's horns, and that was all I knew for certain. It looked more akin to the horn of that unicorn Momma interrogated, the star of The Second to Last Unicorn. But whatever it was, it felt weird. All of these... things felt weird. "I...what am I?" I murmured aloud. "I have wings...a horn...pony ears...hair and tail that looks like Agent Pinkie Pie's for some reason..." I shrank away from the mirror. "Is this some weird side effect from touching the Hydraclops? O-or my water form touching it?" The world unfroze. I felt it. But that didn't mean I enjoyed it. "She looks kind of similar to Agent Twilight." Oprah observed. "Wasn't she a unicorn before getting her wings?" "Yeah. Maybe Mandy went through the same thing." Otto said. I wished he would take his eyes off of me. But being the inquisitive one sometimes had its downfalls for the one whom the curious eyes had fallen upon. "But Mandy's not a unicorn." Momma said. "So how could she go from being a human to being an alicorn?" "I think...I know how." Four heads turned. My jaw dropped. Twilight was limping across the sand towards us. Her head was bowed down, but I could see her wincing with pain every couple steps. It was clear that it had taken a lot of effort to get on her hooves, and even more effort just to come to us. My eyes began to water as a small smile danced on my face, knowing that at least one of my friends wasn't dead from this disaster. "Twilight! You're okay!" came the unisonant relieved cry of four agents. "Despite taking a beating from the Hydraclops, Mandy pushed past it to save us all. Because...we’re her friends. That’s why she became an alicorn." Twilight explained. "Though I’m not quite sure if she can be considered a princess. She didn’t ascend to the astral plane like I did, nor did she meet Princess Celestia." "Well, Princess or not..." Oprah leaned down next to me to pat my shoulder. "You did a brave thing, Agent Mandy. You took action to save not only us, but the town from destruction, when Oscar’s weapon failed to work. And even though you took a nasty hit to your back, you still got back up to save Agent Applejack." She smiled. "We’re so proud of you." Even in spite of the mixed emotions I was feeling, my smile grew bigger at Oprah's praise. It was better than her yelling at me or kicking sand in my face or calling me a freak, at least. I took it entirely at face value. "It was nothing, really! They would have drowned if I hadn't saved them." I sighed in annoyance. "But really, not one of you thought of jumping into the water to help? Way to be bystanders!" Oscar, being someone who would have actually been a fatality if he had tried to rescue the ponies, gave a sheepish shrug. Momma, Otto and Oprah, on the other hand, adopted guilty looks. "Yeah, in hindsight, maybe we should've helped..." Momma said. "I can't swim!" "We know, Oscar." "And the Hydraclops is gonna return with its brothers and sisters in the next one hundred years!" "We know, Osca-" Momma stiffened. "Wait, what?!" Shock coursed through my body. The only thing I could give was a "You've gotta be kidding me!" as a flurry of questions entered my mind -- why didn't Oscar tell us this sooner, can't we just kill the thing and get it over with, all of my efforts in defeating it were for nothing? "Everyone, socks off!" "Look, we don't have time for that!" I snapped, putting all of my willpower into getting to my feet and going over to where the other five ponies laid motionless on the sand. "We have to get the ponies some medical treatment, fast!" "Mandy's right. Let's go!" Oprah ordered. With that, she, along with Oscar, Otto, Olaf and Momma, all came to help me carry the ponies through the nearest tube entrance towards Headquarters, and eventually, the Medical Bay. I still felt a sense of abnormality in my body as it tried to adapt and get used to my new features, but I didn't worry much about my new appearance after that. My main priority was getting the ponies to safety and getting them healed up. Unfortunately, within the hubbillibub of the after-action patching-up, I failed to consider how my new appearance would look to the citizens of Toronto. But even with careful consideration, nothing could have prepared me for just how much my life was about to be changed -- for better, and for worse. Peaches stared at Mandy, jaw dropped as she hung on to every word. It was only a few moments after Mandy had concluded the first part of her story that her jaw closed, and she shook her head as she snapped out of her shock. "Holy cattails." she murmured. "So the power of friendship allowed you to become an alicorn?" "Pretty much." Mandy rolled her shoulders in a shrugging motion. "No one really knows exactly what happened that day. I wasn't all too concerned about my initial appearance, outside of when I first saw myself in that mirror. I just wanted the ponies to be safe. That was all I cared about." "So what happened?" Peaches asked. "I-I mean, the ponies didn't die...they're still alive...but you said your life was going to be changed for better and for worse. How'd it change?" A sad chuckle danced on Mandy's lips. "Well, they say you hafta get through the bad before ya get to the good..." Back then, we had a different Dr. O. She was much like Momma -- serious to the point of being funny, dedicated to her job, and laughing only when infected with an odd disease. Still, she had a caring heart for all of her patients. That was what we loved about her. After we took the ponies to the Medical Bay, she healed them right up. Out of an abundance of caution, she checked me out, too. For all of her "countless years of hard work and studying", as she so put it once, not even she could explain what had happened to me. She had called it "one of the most abnormal oddities I've ever seen". She couldn't pin it to any odd disease I had, and she disproved my theory about the Hydraclops' skin clashing with my body and creating some kind of an adverse reaction to it. Aside from the ponies, who were resting in their beds in the Bedroom, Momma, Otto and I were waiting. Neither one of us felt like making casual conversation, our stomachs in tight knots of anxiety and fear as we waited for our boss to come out. "Well?" Hearing Momma's voice address Oprah, I looked up and stopped fiddling with an idle gadget in my hand. "They'll be fine. But they need to take it easy." the Director explained, her expression darkening. "Meaning that I'll have to put them off of cases for the time being." Otto bit his lip. "So we're losing six agents..." "Not forever, partner. Just until they get better." Momma placed a hand on his shoulder. "Remember, if Mandy hadn't saved them, they would have drowned. Then we really would have lost them." Oprah's gaze moved to me. "In the meantime, Mandy, you should learn how to control your magic and learn how to fly. We still need to repair that dent in the wall from when you sneezed." It's hard to believe now that my first act of magic was having my horn spontaneously fire a laser beam at a wall just because I bent my head down to sneeze into the crook of my elbow. I was lucky Oprah hadn't charged me for repairs. "I'll, uh...do that." I sheepishly chuckled. "But I don't know where I would even begin. None of the agents here can fly or do magic." Oprah adopted a smug expression. "None of the human agents here can. But we don't just have human agents." "Huh?" "We also have two unicorns and two Pegasi in our ranks. Which is why I'm assigning the ponies to you as personal tutors." I tilted my head in confusion. "Personal tutors?" "Yes. Almost all of them have wings and horns, and are skilled in the ways of flight and magic, so they should be able to help you out." I took a moment to ponder what Oprah was saying. On the one hand, I had uncontrollable magic and couldn't even fly, whereas Rarity and Twilight knew magic like the backs of their hooves, and both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had flight capabilities to some degree. On the other hand...she implied that everypony was going to be my tutor. Which led me to ask a burning question. "But what about Pinkie Pie or Applejack? They don't have wings or horns." "Pinkie is your partner. That's a given." Oprah said. "Applejack, on the other hoof- uh, hand..." A pause. Still confused, I leaned in closer, as though encouraging her to continue. "Twilight informed me that your physical strength might have received a boost when you turned into an alicorn. So Applejack, along with Pinkie, are going to help you control that." "Why? How much stronger could I have gotten?" "You're crushing a gadget in your hand." I blinked. My gaze drifted down to the gadget that was still in my hand, now cracked in a few places. I hadn't even grasped it all that tightly, and yet, it had been destroyed without me being aware of it. I was no weakling before, but I was far from "able to crush a gadget in a single hand clench" level of strength. It worried me how, if I happened to give someone a hug, I could potentially crush their spine, cause a murder, and have to live forever with the regret that I killed someone by innocent means. But that was what Applejack and Pinkie Pie were here for. They were here so I wouldn't do that. And they would fix me. I knew they would. "In the meantime, how are you adjusting?" Oprah asked. "It still feels weird." My back rippled, attempting to pull my splayed wings into my body to no avail. Then my tail wagged back and forth subconsciously, like it had a mind of its own. "It's like I'm some Odd Squad anomaly, an odd creature that has to be cared for..." "Don't be like that." Momma's tone of voice didn't get by me. It was half pleading, and half worry. "You're still human." "Yeah! And you'll always be an Odd Squad agent." Otto smiled. "Keep fighting against oddness, Mandy." Oprah turned on her heel. "The world is counting on you." I watched her go, and then stared at the ground. It was true that even though I was in a new form...or had new bodily extensions...or whatever, I was still an Odd Squad agent. The words of the agents that raised me affirmed that they didn't see me as some kind of freak. To them, I was just the same old Mandy. But as much as adults envy children for being honest and open, us children were, and still are, humans. Humans who put on facades thicker than maple syrup. That was how every kid villain who was at least somewhat successful in their attempts to take down Odd Squad operated before they were outed as villains, after all. And I couldn't deny that a seed of doubt was worming its way through me. Like no one knew what to do with me aside from just pretend that nothing had happened. As time went by, the ponies helped me to control my new abilities and accessories. It was made clear that none of them knew what to do with me, either. But at least they weren't trying to teach me like I was a human trying to leap off of a fire hydrant in a pathetic attempt to fly. I took that for what it was worth, which, frankly, was a lot. They even helped me to stop using magic in my sleep and sleep-flying halfway around the world, thanks to Twilight's crazy-good research skills. Unfortunately, not even they could explain why I began snoring and sleep-talking, or why I slept in until noon every day. It took many trials and tribulations, but even Twilight determined that those were two problems no one can fix, stating that they seemed like two new relatively harmless additions to my routine and everyone should just leave them alone and not try to fix them. Which was a good thing, because I developed a love of sleeping I certainly didn't have before. Not that it trumped work, of course, but next to my severely-increased appetite and strangely omnivorous eating habits, sleeping was one of my favorite things to do. With me getting a (mostly) solid grip on my wings and my magic, as well as getting used to my new appearance, Oprah permitted me to start solving cases again. Getting to do the thing I loved the most, the thing that defined my entire existence within Odd Squad, after what felt like decades was truly a dream come true. I remember ripping the case file out of Oprah's hands and soaring out of her office so fast that I ended up doing 360-degree tumbles down the stairs, hitting step after step until I landed face-first on the bottom. It should have hurt like crazy, but I just got on my feet like nothing had happened and quickly rushed off. Peaches snickered. "Sounds like you." "Nah." Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "That's more the result of the world having no rules of biology or physics to speak of." "Mm." Peaches ran a finger across the bedsheet, though Mandy could see her brow furrowing in confusion. "Soooooo when does the bad part come in?" Silence. Mandy's ears folded downwards. She looked to the side, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth to speak again. It was clear to see that, to some extent or another, Odd Squad had accepted me with open arms even with my new "form", so to speak. But now, it was time for it to be put to the test with the townsfolk of Toronto. I wasn't as famous as Momma or Otto. I was just an average run-of-the-mill agent whose name happened to start with an M and not an O. There was nothing spectacular about me that made me stick out from anyone else. Not even the fact that I was raised by an Odd Squad agent got much of a reaction from people. Still, Torontonians were friendly. I had helped a lot of them, and they, in turn, repaid me with kindness. That ended today. I- I mean...the day that...yeah, whatever, you get it. I ascended the stairs and knocked three times on the door of a brick house. Almost immediately, the door opened, and out came a woman with long brown hair, decked in cleaning clothes that were stained with bleach. "Hi!" I said. "I was told you have an odd problem?" Normally, people would reiterate their odd problem to me, show me the issue, then complain about how it was a detriment to themselves or to their way of living. And then I would fix it somehow, as I do. And then I would receive a whole bunch of relief and a whole bunch of thanks before I left and went back to Headquarters or to my next case. But this client simply stared at me. She scanned me up and down for a few seconds, before her expression twisted into anger and disgust. "Yes, I do." She began to back away. "But I don't want it solved by a monster!" The door slammed closed. I stayed silent for a few moments, until a desperate and panicked "oh no" forced its way out of me. At first, I thought maybe it was a one-time thing. Maybe this was some kind of a joke this client was playing on me. Maybe this was a client who just wasn't as open to change as others were. Maybe I could come back later, and she would open the door and invite me in for some food and some drinks. But as one could probably have expected, my fate became grabbed and firmly held in the palms of cruelty. With almost every case, people were quick to shut me out. Some opened the door, saw me, and quickly slammed it while calling Precinct 13579 and demanding they get a different agent. Some let me in initially, but kicked me out as soon as they saw what I looked like. Some didn't even get past the peephole, instead telling me to go away and nothing more. To try and circumvent the issue, Oprah decided to send me on a case with my partner. She figured, if clients saw me being friendly with another Odd Squad agent, they would realize that I was friendly and accept me just as they did before the Hydraclops incident. Pinkie, of course, had been nothing but supportive of me -- I had vented to her, cried in her chest, asked her the ever-standing question of why. She, in turn, stayed by my side whenever I went to the world aboveground, glaring at people who rudely stared and calling out people who made snide comments about how freaky I looked. She was really the only one I remained close with. I liked to think we had a bond that was as strong as Momma and Otto's. Pinkie and I arrived on the doorstep. She rang the doorbell, and we waited. The door opened to reveal an older, rather chubby man with gray hair. His gaze remained fixated on Pinkie as he asked, "May I help you?" "Hiya!" Pinkie waved. "We got a call about an odd problem at this place! Can we check it out?" The man's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, yes! My crying sink. Follow me inside, if you will." Pinkie took her first steps inside. Although I was hesitant to follow her, my legs began moving on their own anyway. I had one foot, and then two feet in the house, and a tiny flicker of hope sprung to life inside of me. "Uh, n- not you." I blinked. "Huh?" The man put on a look of pity. "I'm sorry. I just don't feel comfortable letting someone like...you into the house." He might as well have taken a bow and arrow and delivered a shot right to my heart. It would hurt just as bad, but at least it sounded more reasonable than "you're an abomination that shouldn't exist and I wouldn't let you into my house if the world was ending." A pitiful whine shook my vocal cords. My pony ears folded downwards. "It's okay, partner!" Pinkie turned to face me. Her voice was filled with hope, but it also held worry and, worst of all, pity. "I'll have this done in a lickety-splickity second. Why don't you go wait outside?" My bottom lip began to quiver. My vision grew blurry with fat, wet, ugly tears. Before I knew it, I was running, falling, and resting my head on the pavement as I cried and cried until my lungs began to give out. I only faintly heard the door closing behind me, but didn't bother looking back to see who it was. I really was a freak. I was a mutated being that surpassed anything odd that had been created by the hands of the powers-that-be up above. A Squanzo Bonzo, a Tiggle or a Taggle, even a Gornum meant more to these people than I ever would. I had gone from someone whom clients loved and respected to someone whom clients wouldn't dare interact with if they were given trillions of dollars to do so. My self-esteem, already low as it was, took a nosedive. And just when I thought it couldn't go any lower, it got lower. Nearly everyone in the town shunned me. I was barred from homes, shops, and stores. I was nothing but a bygone relic of Odd Squad. I was nothing but an alien living on Earth that no one knew how to handle or how to interact with because there was little research done on me that provided solid answers. My hair and tail went from being curly to being flat, and became tinged with gray to signify my depression. One day, Oprah assigned me a case. I outright refused, and declared my intentions to stay holed up in Headquarters forever. There were many people and creatures alike who lived in the underground world. Some lived in burrows. Others were on a quest to answer the question of "if I dig through the entirety of Earth, where will I emerge?" And others passed by me every single day, giving their greetings as nothing but the bare minimum of politeness so they wouldn't seem rude. On days where I was feeling really crummy, I stayed in the Bedroom all day, doing nothing but sleeping or reading or watching TV. If someone told me to get out of the Bedroom, I refused. If someone yanked me by the hand or by the foot and tried to remove me from the Bedroom by force, I kicked and screamed and locked the door and told them I never wanted them to come back. I faintly remember telling Momma that I wish she would run and then fall off a cliff to her death when she tried to pull me to the Breakroom. I told her the truth about how she hated me and didn't know how to handle me with my new powers and accessories. I wasn't sure if I had confirmed my suspicions about her and about everyone else or not, but from that point on, we became distant. Everyone always commented about my tendency to hold long grudges. This one was the longest grudge I had held yet, or so they said. Oprah, not wanting to be down an agent, took action. With a microphone in hand and a podium as a platform, she tried to speak to the townsfolk about my new appearance. She tried to tell them that I was no threat, that I was still the same Mandy they knew, that she would keep me around because I was good at solving problems for clients. Her words held a sense of pleading conviction, an emotion that only few Odd Squad agents had seen in her before. Just for that speech, she dropped her shield of iron and spoke genuinely from the heart. No one bought a single word. Even worse, a boycott was waged against Odd Squad as an entire organization for allowing a monster within their ranks. Oddness rates in Toronto flickitiated rapidly. They went down, they went up, and then went back down. It was so alarming that the Big O -- the old Big O, mind you, the one that trapped Twilight -- called me, Oprah and Pinkie to his office for a meeting. Out of every agent in Precinct 13579, Oprah was the only one who could get me out of the Bedroom, and so, I begrudgingly left my cave to go to the big boss's office. "Now." He sat down in his seat. "I understand you went through a change, Agent Mandy. Correct?" I nodded. "And Oprah, is it true that the citizens of Toronto have been boycotting not just your precinct, but the entirety of Odd Squad?" "Yes." The Big O gave a soft hum as he thumbed through a stack of papers on his desk. "According to reports, oddness is currently rising in Toronto. But it is also shifting." "I can assure you, sir, we have agents working diligently to fix the rising rates of oddness." The Big O gazed at Oprah inquisitively. "And what of Agent Mandy?" "She..." I could feel her gaze boring into me. I tried to make myself as small as I could while still remaining upstanding and professional. I knew it was clear to her what my stance was on the entire issue, and I could feel the hurt in her next words. "She’s not willing to go on any cases. From what I’m told, whenever she approaches someone who is afflicted with oddness, she is often told to go away while also being told to get different agents to solve it because people don’t want to deal with someone who looks so...odd." The Big O's expression didn't waver. "So she is actively refusing?" he asked, an edge of irritation to his voice. "Yes. She spends most of the day in the Bedroom now, not doing much of anything. When we try and get her to come out, she..." Oprah bit her lip. "...throws fits. Screams at us to go away. Yells at us that she wishes we would die. Tells us that we don't want to deal with her because we don't know how to deal with her now that she's...like this." I had expected the Big O to at least widen his eyes a couple inches or so upon mention that I had been giving death threats to my coworkers. But looking back on it now, his indifference matches up to what I had to face when he tried to tame Twilight and turn her into a regular Earth horse. "Well, as you know, this can't stand." he pointed out. "Odd Squad agents' jobs are not to laze around all day." "I tried to convince the Torontonians not to see Mandy as the enemy, but as an ally. They didn't listen to me, and as a result, the boycotting began." "So it sounds like the problem lies with Agent Mandy and her new...accessories." The Big O gave a scowl of disapproval. "Have you tried prying them off?" Oprah nodded. "They're permanently affixed to her. We've tried gadgets, we've tried Dr. O's odd cures...nothing's worked." "Hmm. This presents a problem." I rolled my eyes. Oh no freakin' duh, genius. "Um..." Pinkie took a step forward. "Maybe we could try and have Mandy convince the townsfolk herself?" The Big O leaned forward in his chair, fixing my partner with an ugly grimace. "And do you really think the results would be any different?" Pinkie's ears folded downwards. Her eyes darted from the Big O to the floor and back again, as she stammered out a "W-well..." "The only logical solution..." The Big O leaned back in his chair. "...would be to fire Mandy." That spurred something in Pinkie, erasing her hesitance. "Big O, no!" "Sir, you can't." Oprah said, her tone one of pleading conviction again. "Mandy is one of my most hardworking agents, I can't just let her go!" "It's the only solution we have. If Mandy is taken out of the equation, then people will stop boycotting Odd Squad and life can go on." My knees hit the floor. Tears began spilling from my quivering eyes unexpectedly. My mouth hung open like it was one of those basketball hoops at an arcade cabinet. I stared at the Big O for what felt like hours. Then my body wracked with sobs. My lungs began scrabbling for air. Both Oprah and Pinkie stared at me with those worried and pitiful looks I had come to despise, but yet, none of them tried to comfort me. My eyes drifted to Pinkie at one point. They did all the talking for me. They uttered a cry for help. They asked her if she could fight back against the Big O, tell him off like she had told off so many other people and ponies who had stared at me or made rude comments about how I looked. She didn't respond. She jerked her head away, glancing at the Big O, then to me, and back and forth again. "Your badge, Agent 57. Hand it over." My breathing quickened. I stared at the Big O's outstretched hand. It was waiting. Everyone was waiting. Slowly, my hair and tail began to turn an even darker shade of gray. Oprah's eyes widened in surprise, as did Pinkie's. The Big O, of course, didn't even flinch. It was almost like he was enjoying this, in a sickening and sadistic way. All he needed was a big old smile to complete the ensemble. Right then and there, I decided that I had had enough. Most ex-agents were fed up with Odd Squad as an organization. I was one of them. Instead of hating it because of the work they did, however, I hated it for its people. I didn't mind Odd Squad fighting oddness. I was strictly anti-odd, and that was how I liked it. What I did mind were all the humans and all the ponies who dropped me like a hot hot tater as soon as I went through a massive change to my looks, my personality, and my overall being. Odd Squad was supposed to be a place where all kids were equal, and all kids belonged. Its DE&I policy went unmatched by any other cheap copycat of its kind. And it wasn't just kids -- Oprah had accepted the ponies who were with me with open arms. I was once accepted with open arms, too. I was once accepted with open arms by people who had no idea how to raise a child. Those days were gone now. Anger bubbling inside of me, I spat out one final sentence of opposition. "Neither one of you deserve to be Odd Squad agents." And then I bawled, my legs taking me through the hallways and past the Big O's mindless and brutal assistants. I let them guide me to wherever they wanted, my heart and chest aching with pain and regret. I didn't stop to think about if I should pack my things and leave -- although if I did, I wouldn't have. I couldn't face anyone. I didn't want to face anyone. Before I knew it, I was lying flat on my back, staring into the face of a girl that looked to be half-human and half-dog. Her hands and feet were that of a human's, but her face and two ears on the top of her head were that of a dog's. Her tail wagged inquisitively, and her short dark brown hair bobbed as she leaned closer to me. "Oh! I'm sorry. Are you okay?" My nose made a sound that was somewhere between a sniffle and a snort. "N-no! I'm not! If you're just gonna bully me then you can just go away!" I had expected the girl to shoo me away and brand me a transmuted anomaly that shouldn't even be walking the Earth, let alone laying down in it. But instead, she put on a confused expression and tilted her head. "Bully you? Why would I do that?" Part of me was screaming at me not to trust her. The other part of me was desperate for someone who was actually nice and understanding. The latter won. I took the bait. Hook, line, and hopefully not stinker. "Huh?" The girl giggled. "You look funny. Who are you? What are you?" I rolled onto my stomach and stroked one of my pony ears. "I'm...M-Mandy. I...w-well, I'm a human, but...I have these pony things on me..." "Cool! I'm Clementine and I'm a dog-person. Well, not really, 'cause I can't change into a dog yet like some people can. Where are you from?" A hiccup caused my body to jump slightly, and I landed on my stomach, the air out of my already-desperate lungs being blown out of me. It was a bit before I was able to spit out an answer. "Odd Squad..." "Odd Squad? That's a weird town!" Clementine giggled. "I'm from Galagu. It's a town filled with dog-people! Everyone's super-duper nice, and we even have an awesome queen!" I barely heard the second half of what Clementine said. My body began to quiver, and I began to cry again. Deep inside of me, homesickness, regret and anger waged an all-out war against each other. I thought the homesickness was winning, but I couldn't really tell. "Hey, what's wrong?" Those three words...if only someone, anyone, had given me those three words earlier. "I...I was fired from Odd Squad..." I managed to choke out, burying my face in the grass and letting my tears flow once more. "Fired? You mean kicked out?" More confusion, and then... "That's horrible! What for?" "I-it's not a town! It's an organi-" I hiccuped again, before trying to calm down. "Organization d-dedicated to fighting odd stuff. I used to w-work there." "Ohhh, that's so cool! But they sound like real bad people for kicking someone like you out!" Giving a shaky inhale, I attempted to wipe my tears away. After all, it would do me no good if I spent all my time crying when someone as nice as this girl took time out of her day to talk to someone like me. And if I was being honest, people would have sided with the Big O in a heartbeat even before he started ripping ponies away from their friends and enslaving them. "R-really?" I stammered out, turning around and laying on my back. "Yeah! You're funny and cool!" Clementine smiled. "I wanna be friends!" My eyes widened. I sat straight up and looked deep into her eyes. I scanned them extensively, looking for any kind of malice or meanness or anything that could tell me this was nothing but a facade. But there was nothing. Just pure innocence and happiness. A soft gasp fell from my lips. I had six friends -- although if you count Momma, Otto and Oprah, that makes nine -- and not one of them had even remotely tried to extend a hand to me in friendship after I transformed. Instead they had beaten me down, shunned me, and abandoned me because they didn't want to try and understand me. But here was a girl who looked different, just like I was. In a town like Toronto that was populated with people and ponies, she and I were outliers. And outliers stuck together. "Y-y-you want to be...friends? With me?" "Uh, yeah!" Clementine giggled again. "C'mon c'mon c'mon, let's be friends! The bestest of friends in the whole wide world!" The way she declared her friendship in that moment reminded me a lot of Pinkie Pie, and how she would do the same thing to people she had met. But whereas Pinkie didn't even try to stand up to the Big O, Clementine would face him with innocence and purity and tell him off. Maybe. Probably. I wasn't gonna go back to him anyway, so it made no difference. It took me a few moments to realize that I was crying again. Only they weren't tears of sadness, or of rage, or of remorse. They were tears of pure happiness. For the first time since the ponies got better, I felt genuinely happy. My heart began to lift. My head began to feel light, like the dark clouds had been cleared away and the sun had begun to shine. My face...was an ugly mess of snot and tears. But Clementine didn't care. "Y-you don't know...how much...I wanted to hear that!" I gave a small hiccup, not enough to lift my body off of the ground but enough to make it perk up. "Of course I wanna be friends with you!" A small blush crept onto Clementine's cheeks. "Yay!" she cried out, throwing her hands into the air. "You wanna come back to Galagu with me?" "Yeah!" I didn't even need to think about it. Anywhere that was far away from this wretched place with its even more wretched inhabitants, I wanted to go to. Still, a small frown formed on my lips as I asked, "B-but...will they accept someone like me?" Clementine nodded. "Galagu is super-duper accepting! Of course they will!" She extended a hand. "C'mon, follow me!" "Okay!" I eagerly took her hand, and she pulled me to my feet before taking off with me in tow. As I reached into my hammerspace spine and pulled out a tissue to clean my face with, I got a better look at my new friend. She was rather small, being about eight or nine years old and reaching up to my elbows. And whoo boy, was she fast. Not as fast as Rainbow Dash, but she had about the same speed as a child who had consumed at least half a bag of sugar. Still, I followed her wherever she went. I never wanted to be apart from her. We were aiming to go all the way to Galagu, and we would never stop until we got there. At some point, I had chucked my badge into some body of water. I wasn't able to take off the suit -- I wasn't wearing anything under it -- but I was able to destroy the most prominent connection I still had to Odd Squad. That made me feel free. I resolved to change my clothes the second I got to Galagu. I had hope. I was happy. And for the first time, I felt like the person I was before the transformation occurred. It was truly magical. "Hold on!" Mandy blinked. "I remember...King Ashero was talking about Galagu, many many years ago. Vallea's gone to war with them before. They're one of our biggest enemies." "Really?" Mandy tapped her chin. "Well, I guess that makes sense...cats and dogs are usually enemies with each other. At least that's how the old story goes." Peaches stared up at the ceiling. "And Clementine is from there..." "Do you know her?" "I don't recognize the name..." Peaches' brow furrowed. "And I don't know what she looks like." A low hum was Mandy's only response. She didn't feel keen on sharing the details regarding Clementine's appearance to Peaches, especially since she was on a roll with her story and talking about it was actually starting to make her feel better. Peaches shook her head. "Anyway, what happened? Did you two reach Galagu?" "We tried, but...we didn't get as far as I'd hoped we would." Up ahead, we could see the Now Leaving Toronto sign. I never thought that one day, that sign would bring me relief, but it did. The hope in my heart began to swell and swell. Like the chasees of a foot chase in a horror movie, we were going to lose everyone. I was going to lose everyone. Everyone that had once been my coworkers, my friends, and my family. I couldn't have asked for anything better. But within my newfound merriment, I had forgotten one important life lesson. Life, even when you were happy, was absolutely chock-full of pain. And that pain could strike at any moment. "Hey!" Clementine stopped. I did too, nearly ramming into her and knocking her over. We turned around to find a construction worker pointing an accusatory finger at us. Even worse, a sizeable crowd of other people were coming up behind him. "That's the Odd Squad monster threatening our town!" "And she's with another monster!" "Get her!" The crowd began running. And given that they were adults with longer legs, it wouldn't be long before they caught up to us. I knew that all too well. "Who are they?" Clementine asked. "Bad people! Very bad people! Run!" was all I said in response. It was my turn to grab her hand, and I took off as fast as my legs would take me. I aimed for the Now Leaving Toronto sign that was nothing but a small microscopic speck in my vision, and was rapidly moving closer. "You have wings!" Clementine pointed out, her tone panicked. "Can't you fly?" Surprised that she hadn't asked that question before this point, but still keeping my mind clear to focus on my goal, I shook my head. "Not very well yet! Maybe...if I can just..." I closed my eyes, let magic sweep over my horn, and let it rip. I heard a zap, and when I opened my eyes again, I found myself standing in the road, right next to the sign I had been looking for. "Clementine! I-I did it! I...uh..." Blinking, I looked behind me. I clenched and unclenched my hand a few times. Clementine was nowhere to be seen. A piercing scream cut through the air, and as my eyes followed it to its source, my heart plummeted. "Got you!" the construction worker declared, grinning with sickening glee as he squished his forearm tighter against Clementine's neck. The girl was kicking with all her might, her hands squeezing the forearm in an attempt to try and loosen its grip. But of course, the arm of someone who operated forklifts and placed cement on buildings was much stronger than a little girl whose strength was merely average. "Mandy, help me!" she cried, as she tried in vain to free herself. Her green eyes carried the same plea. It was clear she wanted her newfound friend to help her out of this rather sticky situation. But I became frozen with fear. All I could give was a simple "Hold on!" for reassurance. Under normal circumstances, a gadget could stop this act of aggression against a literal child, free said child, and send us to Galagu within seconds. I was no Scientist, but I could wield gadgets well, especially when it came to battling villains. I was often praised for my quick draws and even quicker fires. But I had no gadgets on me, and it wasn't like I could use them now that I was no longer working for Odd Squad. Magic and flight were off the table, too. My magic wasn't mastered yet -- for Pete's sake, I couldn't even teleport properly -- and I couldn't fly well, either. All I had were simple punches and kicks, and even then, there was no way I would be able to take out an entire mob of adults. I had nothing. Oprah could take out these guys easy, but I was about as far from her as the Earth was from Neptune. "We're gonna rip you apart limb to limb!" If someone had given me that threat today, I would've laughed at them. I would've then fired off some kind of witty retort before I either attacked them or messed with them until they got so angry they couldn't think straight, because that was my brand. But here and now, I did the one thing I could possibly do. The one thing that, even today, I fully regret doing above almost anything else. I ran. "I'm sorry, Clementine! I'm useless! I can't help you!" The last thing I heard before I crossed the border into the next town was Clementine calling out my name. She was full of hurt and desperation and confusion, just one little girl against a whole slew of adults. I didn't bother to see or hear their reactions. All I did was keep on running, as fast and as far as my feet and legs would take me before they gave out. After that, I never saw Clementine again. I fell into the worst depression I ever had. I just wanted the world to make me no more, to make me completely nonexistent. Discard and draw, even, so I could get a second chance at a life that wasn't so filled with misery and hatred. With Galagu no longer an option now, I wasn't sure where I was going to go. But as long as it was far away from people, I would be happy. After all, what was a person's existence if they weren't even able to make one single friend to prolong their lifespan with? A few months passed. I had deemed myself a runaway, and decided to live in the woods without a home. My attempts at trying to secure housing in neighboring towns went without success. Mostly because I only tried a couple houses before I gave up, coming to the final realization that no human being in existence would accept me. I even tried to pull off my new extensions myself, thinking that it was like a "sword in the stone" thing where only I could pull them off of me. No matter what I tried, nothing worked. Don't like it or don't like it, I was stuck with these things. They really were permanently affixed to me. With a majority of caves being either too dark for me to explore or already inhabited by a creature or two, I had resigned to making a triangular home out of sticks and vines. It wasn't perfect, but it provided shelter. That was what mattered. During my time being isolated from other people, I tried practicing magic using the skills that Twilight and Rarity had taught me. I tried flying with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s instructions. And I tried to balance out my physical strength the way Applejack and Pinkie Pie told me to. I figured they would become survival skills, and nothing more. Twilight had once told me that every pony has a special talent and a destiny they must follow. Though I was deemed a "pony-human hybrid" and had no cutie mark to speak of, I believed my special talent was survival. My destiny was merely to live in an agent-eat-agent...no, a people-eat-people world forever, with no one to rely on but myself. No friends, no family, no Odd Squad, just me and the creatures that dwelled here. I survived on nothing but berries, nuts, and anything else I could scavenge that wasn't dead animals -- I didn't have the heart to kill any. I drank water from nearby lakes, regardless of whether it looked clean or not. For someone like me, whose appetite had expanded drastically, it was torture. I was constantly hungry. The food I ate felt like nothing but crumbs. But I learned to adapt, just as I did when I got my new extensions. I must have lost at least ten pounds. Maybe twenty, I wasn't sure. I didn't have the luxury of owning a scale, and I wasn't about to shoplift for one, or for anything else I needed. Even in my sour state, I still had standards. One day, I had just finished eating some berries I had found when I heard a loud boom that shot through the woods, startling creatures as they chittered and chirped and ran for their lives. I wouldn't have cared about the noise and just brushed it off, but I figured, if there was one boom, there could be more. And that wouldn't bode well for the nap I planned on taking. So, using my newly-perfected teleportation skills, I closed my eyes and decided to teleport to where I thought the sound was coming from. And by some kind of miracle I never would have thought would happen to someone like me, I managed to get close to the source. The bad part was, I had wound back up in Toronto. But that was of little importance compared to what I would find standing right in front of me. In the center of Trillium Park was a jackalope that was easily ten times my size. Of course, it wasn't the creature's natural size -- large jackalopes aren't a natural odd creature. Jackalopes have always been as small as rabbits since man discovered them, the same way they were small in Equestria. A loud crack caught my attention. My head swiveled to the left just in time to see an agent slump to the ground. I bit my lip as a memory resurfaced, of that Hydraclops flinging me towards the beach as my spine made harsh impact with the tree. I could almost feel the pain that agent was facing...almost. If my heart wasn't nearly frozen and dead, I might have. My eardrums resounded with the sounds of the townsfolk screaming, yelling, running. It was a true cacophony of noise that threatened to make me deaf. I wasn't used to hearing so much noise after months spent in the quiet of the woods. Couple that with me having two pairs of ears now instead of just one pair, and you might as well have sat me in front of a bass speaker for an hour or two. I could see Oprah. She was yelling and pointing at the jackalope as agents rushed past her with weapons. It was then I realized that she must have sent at least half the precinct to fight it off -- and if that was the case, then it had to have been powerful. Sending that many agents to fight one enlarged creature was usually only seen with Ginormice, and that was because capturing them and then shrinking them was a hard feat to pull off. This creature had antlers. Antlers that could easily fling the body of an agent up into the air and send them plummeting to their deaths. Out of the army of agents, I tried to spot familiar faces. Otto and Oscar were down for the count. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Olive and Oprah looked to be the only agents left who were able to fight it, and even they were in such disheveled states that one paw swipe or antler fling could end them before they even had a chance to hit the ground. Broken gadgets were strewn across the battlefield, shooting out sparks and missing pieces. Some looked to be far beyond repair. It sounds insane, but in spite of all that they did, I felt compelled to help them. After all, I was a hybrid with standards, and my standards were "if someone's about to die and they're your mortal or immortal enemy, then for odd's sake, help them and keep them alive". If I didn't help resolve things for them, then I would at least help resolve things to stop an entire town, and eventually the world, from being destroyed. That jackalope grew any bigger, and it would be eating the entire planet like a puppy with a slipper. The only problem was...I didn't want to get shamed and attacked again. What if they thought I was working with the jackalope? That this was one big old Mandy scheme as her first kid villain stint? That I was only helping them because I was too dumb to know any better? Before I could think over the matter any further, the body of Momma whizzed past my vision. Her body hit the ground hard. I counted three times before she went rolling and came to a stop. "Momma!" I cried out, dashing over to her and nearly tripping over my feet as I landed at her side. I grabbed her shoulder and shook her furiously. "Momma, please, get up!" Nothing. Momma didn't do so much as move. Her expression was contorted into one of pain, but her mind was fully in the dark void that unconscious-but-alive shared with death. Tears sprang to my eyes. "Get up! GET UP!!" The jackalope's head turned towards us. Slowly, with big, booming pawsteps, it began its approach, like a hunter about to kill its prey. I shook Momma as hard as I could. "Momma, please! You gotta get up!" The jackalope came faster than I thought. One minute, it had been some distance away from me. The next minute, it was roaring in my face, sending spittle all over me. "Don't you dare!" I yelled, rearing back and letting my horn do the legwork. The jackalope stumbled backwards, letting out a roar of pain. "Yeah, how do ya like that?!" Adrenaline and confidence joined together in an electric clash, and before I knew it, I had taken flight. I fired laser after laser at the creature, not really having a set course of action other than to just knock it down until it couldn't fight anymore. My movements in the air were graceful and elegant, just like Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had taught me. Even though Rainbow didn't really do "graceful" or "elegant"...but I digress. It was mostly a one-sided battle. But when my back was to the jackalope, it fired its own beam of magic from a sphere formed between its antlers. I barely caught it just in time, firing back with a beam of my own. The two beams met in the middle and began pushing against each other. Tears fell from my eyes, though I was too focused on winning to care about them at the moment. "Don't...hurt...them!" An angry roar was my response. A feeling of deja-vu swam in my gut. Unfortunately, this jackalope wasn't gonna go down the same way the Hydraclops did. Especially since I was pouring every ounce of magic I had into pushing the creature's magic back at it, and by odd, I was going to win. "No one...hurts them...and gets AWAY WITH IT!!" My voice became a reverberating echo on the last three words, punctuated by my magic eclipsing the jackalope's own and making impact with it. With another pained roar, it was sent flying until it crashed right in the road, squishing cars and...well, hopefully not drivers alike under its massive weight. I quivered with rage. But I wasn't so far gone that I let it overtake me. "Oprah!" I called, swooping down to the remaining combatants. "Get the others to safety! Quickly!" A startled yelp left me as I faltered in my flight, but I was able to compose myself enough to head towards the fallen jackalope. In that moment, I wondered why I was helping them. It was bad enough they had to kick me when I was down. Now, they seemed to have forgotten all about me. But seeing Momma -- the person who raised me, the person who cared for me the most -- sparked something in me that I couldn't describe. It made me help, even though I didn't really want to. Maybe it was familial instinct. Maybe it was an inner sense of justice taking my standards into consideration. Really, who was to say. Not even I can explain it. With my wings flapping as fast as a hummingbird's -- it was the only way I figured I could keep myself aloft -- I hovered above the jackalope, narrowing my eyes and lighting up my horn once more as I let slip from my lips one final warning. "Don't ever hurt them. Not on my watch." I reared up once more, and then fired. The jackalope got smaller and smaller, until it was back to its regular size. The silence that swept over the area was deafening. My feet touched the ground. My wings stopped flapping. I folded them in with ease, just as I was taught to do. The adrenaline and confidence within me died down, and I slumped to my knees, breathing heavily. And then, yells erupted. My name was called repeatedly. It startled me so badly that I scrambled backwards and made myself as small as I could, just on pure instinct. Only a minute passed before I realized something. These people weren't laughing at me. They weren't mocking me, telling me to get out, or calling me a monster or a freak or an anomaly. They were...cheering for me. "You saved us all!" "You're a hero, Mandy!" My ears folded downwards and pressed against my head. My eyes grew wide with shock. My skepticism was at an all-time high. Surely these people were just mocking me, right? Yeah, I stopped the jackalope, but I was still an ugly abomination. These people ran me out of town, and now they were praising me? In my not-exactly-the-most-sane-from-three-months-of-pure-isolation mind, it just didn't make any sense. Oprah and the other remaining agents limped over to me. They all wore smiles on their faces. Secretly, I wished I had Pinkie's power of reading smiles so I could tell whether these were genuine or not. "Mandy. I can't believe it. You...you came back." Oprah's one open eye watered. "Thank you." "T-t-thank you...?" "Ever since you were fired, Precinct 13579 has been suffering. Every one of us has been suffering. We even sent out search parties to find you!" Oprah winced. Most likely from pain, but I had a sneaking suspicion it was a wince of regret from making the decision to send out search parties to find a being of monstrosity. But then her eye began to leak. "Please. Come back to us. We promise that we'll give you love and care, and in return, you can help fight oddness alongside us again." She looked deep into my eyes. "It is true that we didn't know what to do with you when you first transformed. We didn't know how to help you. We treated you like a normal human being, like nothing had happened to you. But then you started shutting us out and giving us death wishes, and I knew that we were doing something wrong." All I did was blink in response, shock running through my body that left me too stunned to speak. "Mandy, on behalf of Precinct 13579...I'm sorry." A choked sob left her. "We should have taken the time to communicate with you, to understand your wants and needs, to help you adapt better to your new extremities and new powers. But we didn't." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "From now on, we're going to help you learn all about who you are and who you've become. We're going to help you unlock potential that perhaps not even you think you have. What you did here?" She smiled. "This is only the beginning of just how good of an agent you can be. So with that said..." Wiping away her tears, she stuck a hand out. "What do you say? Wanna come back to Odd Squad?" My mouth ran dry. All I did was stare at Oprah's hand, as though she was offering me a piece of food and was encouraging me to take it. Her words held the same conviction she had when she was trying to convince the townsfolk I wasn't a bad person, and she was genuine then. "We're really sorry for being so hurtful to you." As I glanced behind Oprah, I could see a crowd of adults begin to form behind her and the other agents. All of them were fixing me with looks of guilt. "Yeah. I think we Torontonians have learned a valuable lesson." a man piped up. "Differences are what make us unique. It doesn’t matter what you look like, Mandy. The truth is...you and the rest of Precinct 13579 have been crucial in saving this town. Heh, I still remember when you helped me rescue my cat stuck in a tree, even though it wasn’t an odd problem!" "It's true!" Pushing his way past the crowd was none other than Mayor Mackelmore. Out of all the people I had expected to show up...well, I wasn't really expecting anyone, but if I were, he wouldn't have been one of them. Dressed in his gray suit and gray top hat, he gave a warm smile. "Mandy, you’ve helped this town thrive. Precinct 13579 really wouldn’t be Precinct 13579 without you. I am so, so sorry for not doing anything to help you out before. We would very much appreciate if you came back to work for Oprah." My gut instinct was telling me to run away and hide. But something kept me firmly rooted to the ground. I stared at the crowd that was looming over me, staring at me expectantly. Not wanting to make this more of a "crowd bullies a defenseless victim" situation that it already was, I attempted to get on my knees again, and then to my feet. "Mandy!" Pinkie marched forward. "Please please please come back! I, I'm so sorry I didn't stand up to the Big O for you! That's what this is about, isn't it? If- if I had just stood up to the Big O, if I had just told him how you were hurting and how you needed help, then I could've stopped this whole thingamajiggy with you running away, never to be seen again! Instead, look at you, you're just a scared defenseless kid!" She sat on her rump and brought a hoof to her face. "I was a terrible partner, Mandy, and for that...I'm sorry. I wore my hoofsies out looking for you, and I lived every day with pain and regret, but it wasn't enough." Her eyes began to shimmer. "Just tell me what I can do to help, and I'll do it! I'll do anything if it means getting to be partners with you again! And also...if it means getting to be best friends again." I blinked a few times. Out of everyone here, Pinkie was the only one who had asked me what she could do to try and rectify her actions, which, I had to admit, certainly wasn't out of the norm for her. She had been the one agent who was by my side after the transformation. And when it concerned the Big O -- a figure who no one could fight against without dire consequences -- it was hard for any agent to stand up against him. I had to grant her some leniency in that regard. My heart began to ache. I didn't need to think about why. My eyes welled up with tears. I lunged for Pinkie, scooped her into my arms, and bawled. As I tried to form at least one coherent word within my complete butchering of the English language, Oprah and Fluttershy crowded around me. The adults all took a couple steps closer, looking on with concern and sharing glances. I don't know how much time had passed by the time I had gotten everything out of my system. The adults were still here, so I had to imagine it wasn't long. I wiped my tears away and tried to stand up straight again. "Please, everyone. Just know..." I swallowed a lump that was stuck in my throat. "...that even though I've changed, I'm still the Mandy you guys know and love. Even though I look different now, I'll keep fighting oddness for as long as I'm able to!" I gave a hiccup. "With that being said..." My hair and tail began to grow curly again, the chocolate-brown color being restored to them and wiping the gray away. "Oprah...I'll come back to Odd Squad." Loud cheering from agents and adults alike filled the area, sending me toppling onto my back again. The cheers died down, and the looks of concern came back. "S-sorry. I've been isolated from people for so long that loud noises tend to startle me now..." I said. "Quieter cheering, please?" The townsfolk gave their whoops and hollers more quietly. Some even started chanting my name quietly, too. Oprah, Fluttershy and Pinkie, on the other hand, exchanged concerned glances, realizing that they hadn't heard the half of what I had gone through when I ran away. Almost everyone turned out fine. There were some unfortunate casualties, but not very many, and people were quick to blame the rampaging jackalope and not Precinct 13579. The Big O got wind of my wanting to come back onto the force, and once he was sure no one was boycotting Odd Squad anymore, he agreed with Oprah's decision. From the look on his face when she and I went to the Big Office, he really didn't want to, but knew that leaving me an ex-agent would do more harm for the organization than good. Once things became steady again, Oprah called a meeting. "It is with great honor that I welcome Agent Mandy back to Precinct 13579!" Cheers erupted -- loud ones, this time. My hearing had gotten fully adjusted to being around a lot of noise, and so, I allowed people and ponies to cheer as loud as they want. "But that's not all." Oprah said, pinching her fingers and swiveling her hand downwards to mimic the gesture of someone turning back a dial. "Mandy showed bravery in the face of danger, risking her own life to save those of her teammates. She came back from isolation to save us all, and I believe that deserves a reward. So..." The tension was so thick, one would need a bread knife to cut through it. "I am hereby promoting you to be my official right-hand agent, my second-in-command!" My eyes widened. My pony ears swiveled back as they caught the sound of murmurs. I had fully expected Oprah to give me a medal of some kind, maybe even some cash if she was feeling generous. Anything other than a promotion after I had just gotten rehired. "Like Olive and Otto, you show promise. I think that us working together as a team will help you unlock some more of that hidden potential I mentioned. What do you say?" I frowned. "If you're tryna play some cruel cosmic joke on me, it's not a good one." "No jokes. My offer is genuine." In all the years I had known her, Oprah had never once needed a second-in-command. She was an independent and strong leader, one who could get things done well and fine on her own. She had assistants for seconds, seemingly-endless numbers of them who were at her beck and call. The idea of her having a second-in-command who wasn't an assistant was laughable. But she was being completely genuine. She was so eager to have me back that she wanted me as her top-dog assistant. Not only that, but she had the gall to compare me to Momma and Otto. Momma had already professed her goals in becoming an Odd Squad Director, perhaps succeeding Oprah if she ever decided to retire. Otto didn't want to become a Director, but he was loyal, hardworking, and skilled. The pair were nigh unstoppable together. They were cementing themselves as living legends, and I...was hardly a legend. Did I really stand on the same ground as them? Could I stand on the same ground as them? Even though Olive was my adoptive mother, I wasn't sure. "On one condition." I raised my index finger as I settled on an answer. "Can I still-" "Work as an Investigation agent? Yes." "In that case, I accept." Momma scooped me up into a tight hug amidst the cheers of the other agents. "Oh, Mandy, I'm so happy for you. Welcome home." "As are we!" Twilight trotted up with the other ponies in tow. "Congratulations, Agent Mandy!" Being surrounded by my friends and family with comfort melted the ice that was still remaining in my heart. I had forgotten how much I missed the warmth of others. How much I craved it. How much I wanted someone to be nice to me for a change. And what was more, I was home. The stick tent I made could barely be called a home. Headquarters was where I belonged. I was truly in my element here. And now that I stood on the seal that adorned the floor once more, I realized that I never wanted to leave again. Things had really turned around for me. Torontonians had done a 180 on their view of me, as did Odd Squad. I was no longer a monster who needed to be abandoned and left to die, but a hybrid who would fight on the side of good until my final breath was given. As time went by, I was let back into the shops and stores. I received case after case where I was welcomed into homes and even invited to share food and drinks. And everyone in the precinct helped me to get stronger with my new powers and abilities. Any doubts I still had about people being fearful of me or downright hating me were thrown out the window. And perhaps best of all, my self-esteem improved. You know how I said it felt like my brain was being rearranged when I was first transforming? My new bubbly and exciting personality was just one of the results of that. Or at least I liked to think so, anyway. I became one of the most cheerful agents in the precinct. I woke up and went to bed every day with a smile on my face. The excitement of doing what I love again brought nothing but joy to me. It was like someone had put a key into a lock, and opened up an entire side of me that no one knew I had. All this time I had felt it, deep in my heart, but the events that had unfolded had kept it hidden away. And I came to realize: this was me. This was who I was meant to be. And if I was being honest? I wouldn't have had it any other way. "Whoa." Peaches blinked. "So that's what happened...that's how you became Oprah's second-in-command?" "Yep. Having that enlarged jackalope rampage through town gave me a chance to prove myself." Mandy scratched her hand. "But as for Clementine...I haven't heard from her since that day. Until I met her when rescuing Applejack and Apple Bloom." Tears began to prick at her eyes. "I let my anger get the better of me, and...I attacked her 'cuz I thought she wouldn't give them up." Peaches rubbed a comforting hand over Mandy's back as the hybrid began crying. She let her get her tears out for a minute or two before she asked the million-dollar question of... "What do you want to happen?" Mandy looked up. "Huh?" "Do you want to become friends with Clementine again, just as you were in the past? Or do you want to spend the rest of your lives as enemies?" "Clementine resides in the Odd Side now." Mandy sniffled. "There's no way I could befriend her. She rules a land full of oddness. I fight to get rid of that oddness and send it to that land." "So you work together?" "What? No I don't-" "Picture this." Peaches held up a finger. "You get rid of the oddness, whatever it is, wherever it is. Where does it go?" Mandy's brow furrowed. "To the Odd Side, but-" "And Clementine rules over the Odd Side. What does she do with the oddness when it gets sent there?" "Nothing. It roams free in a place where nothing can touch it." "I rest my case." Peaches smiled, her eyes half-lidded. "You and Clementine are working on the same side. You just aren’t seeing it. If the oddness is in the Odd Side, then it can’t affect the real world. In a way, you’re defeating the oddness, but you’re also allowing someone who enjoys it to preserve it. And she’s not villainous either, right?" "...Well, no..." "Is Odd Squad active enemies with the Odd Side?" Mandy shook her head. "Oprah just thinks that it's a dangerous place." "So she should have no issue with Clementine. And neither should you." Peaches gave a soft exhale, her gaze fixated on the wall ahead of her. "Look, it’s true that Galagu and Vallea are enemies. I was raised to hate the members of that village when I was a kitten. But I soon found that Galagu was a lovely place -- I went there once to deliver a message to its queen, and found that they were all pacifists who were nothing but nice and would only resort to violence if needed." She extended a hand towards Mandy to rub her back again. "If a catgirl like me can make friends with dog-people, then I’m sure a pony-human hybrid like you can make friends with a dog-person too." With a soft grunt, Peaches got off of the bed. "Why don't you sleep on it? Maybe you'll feel better after a nap. I'm gonna go have something to eat. I'm starved." She turned towards Mandy. "Do you feel any better?" "A little." The beaming cat smile returned to Mandy's face. "I guess you were right. Spilling my entire backstory to someone really did help. Thanks, cuz." "Think nothing of it. Us cats are good listeners." Peaches headed out the door. "See you later, okay?" "'Kay." As soon as the door closed, Mandy's head slumped downwards onto her bed, and she fell asleep within seconds. Peaches, meanwhile, ran right into an eavesdropping Otto and Olive, giving a yowl of fright. "Jeez, can you warn me before you eavesdrop next time?!" "Sorry. We were passing by and happened to hear Mandy telling you about what happened with the Hydraclops and her..." "Running away?" Olive looked away. Peaches could swear she saw tears pricking at her eyes. "Painful topic to talk about?" "Still stings a little." Otto responded, rubbing Olive's back. "Is she doing okay?" "She's taking a nap. Some sleep will cure everything that ails her. It's her tried-and-true remedy, after all." Peaches chuckled, but a frown began to form nonetheless. "I can't believe how hurt she is over Clementine...it's like she regrets what she did, but doesn't feel like she can make amends. For a multitude of reasons, I'd bet..." Olive sighed. "I doubt Clementine will even want to see her after the fight she and Mandy had. It lasted longer than we expected." "And it ended with her as the loser." Peaches rubbed her arm. "I just wish I could help Mandy more." "You did your best, Peaches." Olive said, a sad smile dancing on her lips. "Sometimes, people just need someone to listen to them. And that can be the biggest help of all." "Hey, you said you were going to get something to eat, right?" Otto piped up, in an attempt to divert the subject and lighten the mood. "Why don't we join you? I'm starving!" "Otto, you're always starving." "I know!" Peaches smiled. "Sure. It's a lot more fun eating with friends. Let's go." Together, the trio made their way to the Breakroom, Otto comforting Olive all the while. Still, even in spite of her partner's comfort, Olive couldn't help but let a few tears fall as Mandy's story replayed over and over in her head. "Now there, Apple Bloom, I hope you've learned not t' run off like that. You could've gotten yourself seriously hurt!" "I'm sorry! I just wanted t' save ya!" Applejack heaved a sigh. "At least Ms. O didn't fire ya. Leave more dangerous missions to the more experienced agents, 'kay?" "'Kay." "Good." Applejack and Apple Bloom approached Olive, Otto and Peaches in the Breakroom, smiles on their faces. "Howdy there, y'all." Applejack greeted. "Have any 'f ya seen Mandy? I wanted t' thank her for comin' t' rescue us and all." "She went to the Bedroom." Peaches pointed in the direction of the hallway to her left. "I lent an ear to listen to her spill her backstory about the Hydraclops and her, uh..." "Runnin' away from home?" Peaches affixed Applejack with a look of worry. "I'm fine with discussin' it." the farmpony assured, waving the catgirl off with a dismissive hoof. "Mandy did a really brave thing savin' us from that nasty jackalope. Even if I was unconscious when it all happened..." Apple Bloom's eyes widened. "Hold on. Y'all really fought off a jackalope?!" "Sure did, sugarcube." Applejack ruffled her little sister's mane. "I'll tell ya the whole story another time. It's a pretty sensitive topic for Olive and Otto and I don't wanna upset 'em." "Aww...okay." Applejack turned. "C'mon. Why don't we head t' the Orchard Room? I can show ya what I do on my off time here!" "Yeah!" As the two sisters left, the trio gave their goodbyes and watched as they disappeared from view. Olive slumped onto the table, her cheek being squished by the glass surface. "Partner, you gotta cheer up." Otto said. "I know it's probably mother's instinct to worry about their kid, but Mandy's fine! I'm sure what Peaches said to her resonated with her." He smiled. "Plus, Applejack and Apple Bloom are home safe and unharmed." A sigh was his only response. "Hey. Why don't we go and take a walk around Headquarters. All three of us!" Peaches finished the fish that was on her plate. "Yeah, I'm done eating." she said, pushing the plate to the side. "I could use a walk to help boost my mood a little." Otto rose from his seat and grabbed Olive by the wrist. "Come on, let's go. We're gonna cheer you right up faster than Pinkie Pie can bake a cake!" "Otto, I don't really- whoa!" Before Olive knew it, she was being dragged by Otto, stumbling after him and trying not to let her body slump to the ground as they headed for the left hallway that flanked the steel double-doors. Peaches couldn't help but snicker as she followed them, her gaze peering down the hallway that Applejack and Apple Bloom had left through before picking up her pace to keep up with the two Directors. She was only a few seconds too late to catch a lumbering and slumbering figure emerging into the bullpen. Still dressed in her suit, her mane and tail looking like it hadn't been brushed in a week... And holding a secret she was dedicated to not letting anyone know about. Author's Note Whoo boy...out of the "episodes" so far, this is probably the one that's gonna need revising the most. I spent a fair bit of time crafting and tweaking Mandy's backstory, but it could use some pretty heavy refinement (where's Applejack? why isn't she more involved post-transformation? Mandy becoming more accepting of the townsfolk is a little janky, Pinkie should be more involved too, blah-dee-blah, so on and so forth, wow do I nitpick a lot). I'm not intending for these things to be over 20k words, but I want to flesh things out as much as possible since this doubles as a writing exercise in addition to being just a fun side project for me. Long fics are just more my speed than short stuff, I suppose. I have a side story in the works that spins off from this chapter, so expect it soon when I can scrabble enough muse together. Also, apologies if the formatting is bad. The site crapped out on me when I was copy-pasting something and it created extra spaces in between words. There might still be a few stragglers, but I think I got 'em all. S1E21: Let Sleeping Odd Squad Directors LieImmortality was a blurse. On the one hand, Oprah was utterly immune to time. The villainous Father Time's ability of aging his opponents had very little effect on her because she could change her age back and forth at will. In that way, she supposed she was a surpasser of him, as he could not age objects, people or ponies backwards. It had been fun when he had found out, that day inside of the supermarket when he was going wild aging fruits so that they became moldy and downright unrecognizable. "What...what are you?!" he had bellowed, to the shoppers' fear as they cowered and scuttled inside of shelves and under displays. Oprah had blinked. "What do you mean? I'm human, just like you." "No you're not! No human could possibly withstand my powers!" He had raised the tall wooden staff in his hand. "I'm going to freeze you permanently. If I freeze you, then you won't be able to...to..." "To what?" Father Time had no coherent answer to that. He had banged the staff down, and the shockwave from the blue crystals that sat atop it washed over Oprah. Her expression had been stuck in the same bemused position, and no matter how much she willed herself to move, she was unable to. "Haha! You try and get out of this one, now!" 55 seconds remaining. He better not move. "Ah, no witty comeback, hmm?" He had fiddled with the staff in his hands. "Good. Although it's a pity you had to be stuck with...that expression." He had turned. "But no matter! I shall continue my reign of oddness here in the produce section. You are free to watch, of course." He had ambled away. 30 seconds. And he's moving. Luckily, he hadn't gone very far. Still in Oprah's line of vision, he began his assault on a display of apples. It was his final attack. Oprah had been freed, had tackled him to the ground and had taken him into Odd Squad custody, where he couldn't do any lasting damage for a while. All the while, he had kept insisting she wasn't human, but she had ignored his cries. Now, on the other hand, for all of her immortality, she was not immune to outside forces. If her body took physical damage by any means -- whether from a gadget, or from something more deadly -- then she would pay the price in death, if said damage ruptured an organ. This especially held true for disease. Oprah had gotten many a disease throughout her life. For some of them, she had been cooped up in a hospital bed, weak, frail, and requiring nurses to help her do even simple tasks. For others, she had resolved to tough it out, believing in her body's strength and her own willpower to push through and come out alive. This held true for both regular diseases and odd ones -- rumors had especially built around her surviving all kinds of odd diseases to the point where she was now immune to them. (Which was only partially true. The only illness she was immune to was the Jinx.) But there was one disease that always seemed to get her above all else. A disease that, if she had it, one could easily mistake for what adults called a "hangover". A disease that often seemed to strike her moreso than other agents. And the worst part? It left her completely and utterly helpless. That was one of the worst feelings of all, to her. After she first got the disease, she vowed to never get it again. But fate has a funny way of dealing its cards. “C’mon, Twilight!” “I’m trying my best, Rainbow!” Heading up to Oprah’s office, Twilight and Rainbow were in the midst of transporting a heavy and rather sizeable chest that was studded with gems and indents of swirls. Even with Twilight’s magic levitating it and Rainbow pushing it, both mares found the item to be a little uncooperative. Finally, after a few minutes, the chest came to rest on the second floor. Twilight and Rainbow took a moment to catch their breaths. “Finally!” Rainbow exclaimed. “We made it!” “I wonder why Ms. O wants this chest, anyway.” Twilight mused, running her hoof along the item’s top. “It’s gotta be full of super-cool treasure!” Rainbow hovered just in front of Twilight, clasping her hooves on the alicorn’s cheeks as her cerise eyes shimmered with curiosity and excitement. “What do you think’s inside? Gems? Gold?!” “I’m not sure. But what I do know is that we shouldn’t open it.” Twilight let her corona surround the chest once more as she began to trot for the glass double-doors. “Come on, we gotta...bring this inside!” Rainbow groaned, her head slumping before she reluctantly began to help Twilight push the chest into their actual destination. Once they set it out of the way of any agents who might come barging in, the two mares stopped to take a break. However, the sound of snoring caught Rainbow’s ears, and her head perked up. Her gaze rested on the slumbering form of Oprah, with her head on the desk and a juice box beside her. “Uhh, does Ms. O usually take midday naps? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure that’s my thing.” "Maybe she just worked late into the night yesterday." Twilight gave a soft exhale as she made eye contact with Rainbow. “It happens." As Rainbow reached a tentative hoof out to Oprah, she felt the end of her tail being grabbed by magic, and then felt her rump meet the ground. “Hey!” “And we are not waking her up.” “Why not?” “I once did when I was a filly. She gave me a really harsh scolding.” Twilight began making her way out the doors. “Besides, she deserves to get some sleep if she needs it.” Rainbow bit back a groan. “I guess.” “Come on. There’s a case on my desk that we can work on together.” “Wait!” Rainbow flew past Twilight, stopping right in front of her to block her path. “What if other agents go to see Ms. O and find her sleeping?” Twilight took a moment to think, having not considered the fact that Ms. O did indeed get agents who often barged into her office to ask her questions or receive cases. It didn’t take her long before her face lit up with an idea. “I’ve got just the thing.” Only five minutes later, the glass double-doors closed, revealing a sign that was hung on them by a hook. “Command hooks”, Twilight had called them. Strong, sturdy, and sticky, they were perfect for heavy things, and she had a fond memory of seeing one in a store for the first time and then buying at least 5 to hang around her bedroom in the castle. Spike hadn't really understood the appeal, and for all Twilight would have taught him, he wasn't likely to. “’Ms. O’s office is closed. Do not enter. Please direct all needed inquiries to Agent Mandy.’ There!” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “That way, Ms. O can get some sleep, and she won’t have to be bothered by anyone. And just for extra measure...” The doors shimmered, revealing the symbol of a lock. “I put a lock on the doors and made them gadget-proof.” Rainbow blinked. “Wow. You’re really thinking of everything.” “That’s how I roll.” Twilight said, a smug air to her voice as she began trotting down the stairs. “Now come on. We’ve got work to do!” Down on the first floor, Olive and Otto were watching Mandy repair yet another gadget of theirs. “Hand me a wrench.” Something heavy was placed in her hand. She didn’t bother to see who the giver was. “Thank you.” Her mind was focused solely on the gadget -- so focused that she barely missed Twilight’s greeting. “Hey, Mandy?” “One sec. If I don’t tighten this stupid bolt, it’ll-” As if on cue, the boxing glove that was attached to the gadget cut loose, hitting her square in the nose and nearly sending her toppling backwards to the floor. “Nyaaah! Pickleferries!” she cursed, clutching her nose and shooting daggers at the glove as it swung side to side like a jack-in-the-box toy trying to be menacing. “You okay?” “My noshe would shay no...” Mandy rubbed her nose in an effort to alleviate some of the pain from it. “Dang it. Now I gotta re-tighten the boxing glove too!” “What are you making?” Rainbow asked. Mandy bit her lip. “It’s...a gift. For someone.” “Who?” “Just...someone.” Mandy heaved a sigh. “Momma, hand me the bigger wrench.” “Here.” “Thank you.” Mandy looked at Twilight and Rainbow, her eyes half-lidded. “Now, can I help you two mares?” “Actually, you can.” Twilight looked up at the second floor. “Ms. O is taking a little impromptu nap in her office.” Mandy rolled her eyes playfully. “Ah. Haha. Sugar burnout. Been there, felt that. Gotta be rough, buddy.” “Well, you’ve probably experienced firsthand how upset she can get when she’s woken up.” “She threatened to put me on probation.” Olive said. “She threatened to poison the precinct’s food supply!” Otto chimed in, his tone filled with horror. “And she threatened to rip the forelock off my scalp!” Mandy stroked it, her eyes quivering as the memory replayed in her head. “My beautiful...pretty brown forelock!” “Yes. Which is why I’ve delegated her duties to you, Mandy.” “Ah, well, that’s understanda-” Mandy blinked. Her eyes slowly shifted towards Twilight. “You did whozawha now?” “Agents are going to be asking Ms. O left and right for things.” Twilight explained. “If they find her asleep and try to wake her up, there could be trouble.” Mandy sighed. “Well, this is my job as the second-in-command. It’d be criminal not to handle Oprah’s duties while she’s OOC.” “Out of character?” “Out of commission.” Mandy said in response to Otto, shooting him a dirty look before turning her attention back to the gadget. “If I could just fix this up...” “Let me help.” Before Mandy could utter out a single sound of protest, Twilight swooped the gadget up with her magic and began tinkering with it. Within a few seconds, she was “Done.” The gadget was fully repaired, the boxing glove’s spring having been squished down so that the glove was back in its regular position. An audible clunk sound was heard as Mandy’s jaw fell straight to the floor at such a high rate of velocity that the spot where the jaw made impact left a small dent. Olive took the liberty of closing it for her. “Wh- b- b- how- why- when- whaaaaaaaa-” “No need to thank her.” Rainbow said. “Twilight is kinda an expert on this stuff, y’know.” Mandy’s eye began to twitch. “B-but I spent...I spent three hours...three hours on fixing that whole thing...” “And now your efforts won’t go to waste!” “You’re welcome.” Twilight smiled, then turned and began heading towards her desk. “Good luck with taking over for Ms. O!” “Ya miiiiight need it.” As the trio watched them go, Otto smiled. “Looks like Twilight has a little Scientist blood in her!” Mandy’s head went thunk on the desk. “I can’t believe I wasted all that time...three hours of my life, just wasted...” “Well, the point of the matter is, your gift’s complete.” Olive said, grabbing the roll of wrapping paper that was leaning up against the desk. “How many does that make? Ten?” “Fifteen.” Mandy said, lifting her head off of the desk and grabbing the roll of wrapping paper in her corona. Olive watched as her adopted daughter went through the motions of tearing off a piece of wrapping paper, then covering the gadget with it before topping it off with a nice red bow. “You sure are adamant about giving gifts to people lately.” “Ah, well, it’s a helpful community, we got each others’ backs.” Mandy gave a shrug, intentionally choosing to forget her entire backstory and one of the times where Torontonians did not, indeed, have each others’ backs. “I figure it’s the least I can do.” She sighed. “Now all I have to do is my paperwork, my new Director duties, and-” “Mandy!” The shout of her name caused Mandy to perk up. As her gaze moved about, she found Fluttershy gliding over to her with soft wingbeats, a piece of paper in her hooves. “Is it true? You’re filling in for Ms. O?” Mandy blinked in confusion. “Yes...?” “Oh, thank goodness.” Fluttershy smiled and placed the paper down in front of Mandy. “I have something that she needs to sign off on. Could you sign it?” Mandy looked over the paper. To her, it was filled with nonsense words that she didn’t really care about, except for the words “TERMS & CONDITIONS” stamped in bold at the top. She gazed at Fluttershy with a look that was half bemusement, half disdain. “You want me to forge a signature?” “I- w- well, no...” Fluttershy twiddled her hooves together. “You could always put your own.” “Maybe. Let me see.” Mandy had expected her boss to have received a paper to become a stockholder in a company. (That was how it worked, wasn’t it?) In reality, it was a paper detailing a magazine publishing company’s wishes to make a magazine out of Odd Squad. She chose not to question how or why Fluttershy, of all agents, had such a paper. “Doesn’t say anything about it needing to be signed by a Director...and having Odd Squad in another magazine is kinda cool.” With a click of a pen, Mandy got to scribbling her own signature. Her ears caught the sound of Olive groaning -- likely about Mandy’s absolute butchering of the concept of cursive -- but she willfully ignored her. She floated the paper back into Fluttershy’s hooves when she was done. “There.” “Oh, thank you so much!” “You’re welcome!” As soon as Fluttershy floated away, Mandy teleported a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise into existence, chugging it the same way college people chugged beer at a party. “Why are you drinking another Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise?” Olive asked. “Because I have a feeling I’m gonna need all the energy I can get today.” “But don’t you usually have a ton of energy?” Mandy heaved a sigh. “Admittedly...ever since we went to the Odd Side, I’ve completely lost my mojo. I figure it’s from the whole Clementine shimmy-maboo and spilling my backstory to Peaches. I’m just...not myself.” She pawed at her hair, which felt just a tad more limp than usual. “And I don’t think I will be myself again until I patch things up with Clementine.” Olive and Otto exchanged glances. Of course, they were the first ones to notice that something was wrong with her off the bat. She was functioning much like she did before the transformation, like all the energy had been sucked out of her by an industrial-grade vacuum cleaner. It felt weird to both of them, to not have Mandy doing the usual crazy cartoonish stuff she did or to see her with the boundless energy she usually had -- and not only that, the air in Precinct 13579 had shifted since she became more moody and down-to-earth. “I’d ask why you don’t just go and patch things up with her, but...” “We all witnessed your last battle.” Otto finished for his partner. “I don’t think Clementine will welcome you back into her life so easily.” Olive’s eyes widened slightly in realization. “Is that who the presents are for?” “No, I told you, they’re for the townsfolk.” The defensive tone in Mandy’s voice caused Olive to blink, a concerned expression crossing her face before it faded away. “All right. Well, if you want help, just give us a call. Otto and I have to get back to our own precinct.” “Thanks for taking the time to help me out.” “No problem. Good luck!” As the pair left through the steel double-doors, Mandy groaned and flopped back into her chair. Her ears picked up on the sounds of the Cutie Mark Crusaders arguing about who could solve the most cases, rushing up the stairs, and then reading aloud the sign that had been put on the door -- no doubt put there by Rainbow and Twilight. “Hi!” she chirped, attempting to straighten herself up and make herself at least somewhat chipper. “C’mon down! You three are the next contestants on ‘Go Ask the Ms. O of the Day Something’!” The fillies descended the stairs, eyeing Mandy with confusion. “Uh, what’s goin’ on? Did ya get promoted or somethin’?” “No!” Out came a laugh that definitely sounded more forced than anything that could even remotely relate to Mandy’s actual laugh. “Come now, Agent Apple Bloom, let’s not kid ourselves here.” Apple Bloom merely shot a confused glance at Sweetie and Scootaloo, who shrugged. “Oprah, uh...overworked herself and is getting some well-deserved rest in her office.” Mandy explained. “So I’m taking over her duties.” Murmurs of realization swept over the trio. “Do you have any cases for us?” Sweetie asked. Mandy grit her teeth, mentally cursing out both Rainbow and Twilight for not thinking that far ahead when they decided to appoint her the temporary Director. “Ah, no, but...why don’t you stay here, and I’ll be right back?” A second later, she arrived at the interior of Oprah’s office in a bright rainbow-colored flash. The snores the Director were giving were almost as loud as Mandy’s own. Jeez, is this what I snore like? Odd bless those ponies for putting up with me for so long. Pressing the three buttons on her jacket, she turned herself invisible, and got down on all fours. From there, her fingers moved with all the dexterity of someone who treated a keyboard as a third hand, tapping the floor and allowing her to move across it in a way that only she could perform. She managed to head behind Oprah’s desk as well as her chair, where her screen laid. And then she moved to the right, where a crudely-drawn image of two stick figures in a meadow sat on a wall, because she realized that the files weren’t in the spot below the screen like she thought. Her eyes narrowed. Ah pickleferries...I gotta knock on it to turn iiiiii-HAAAAAAAAAAA- A sharp sensation rocketed through her tail, and she swiveled her head around to see that Oprah’s chair had rolled on it, effectively trapping her. She held her breath, trying not to scream, and she attempted to grab the jutted indents that stuck out from the wall in order to reach the part of the wall she knew held the case forms. It took a couple minutes of trying, and failing, to reach the wall before Mandy simply resorted to just using magic to quietly move Oprah’s chair and free herself. She knocked twice on the wall. It spun upwards to reveal a rack full of cases. Breathing a sigh of relief, Mandy grabbed them (and the phone, she completely forgot about the phone) with her magic and teleported back down to the bullpen, where the Crusaders were still waiting. “There ya are!” Apple Bloom said. “Ya got th’ cases?” “Yep...” Mandy said, setting the files and the phone down on her desk and taking her tail in her hands. “She nearly woke up, too...and I nearly lost a quarter of my precious tail!” “What’s so bad about waking Ms. O up?” Scootaloo asked. “She can get more than a little...crabby when she gets woken up. It’s not a pretty sight to see.” Mandy’s eyes briefly shrunk to pinpricks, as though remembering a time when she accidentally woke Oprah up and got heavily reprimanded for it. “T-take my word for it.” A chorus of “ohhh”s echoed among the trio. “Oh, oh, Assistant!” Mandy waved, flagging down a girl with blonde hair who was dressed in a gray T-shirt and navy shorts that both had the Odd Squad seal imprinted on them. “Please let the other assistants know that I will be serving as Precinct 13579’s Director for the day.” “Oh!” The girl nodded. “Yes, of course, Mandy. Will do.” As the girl walked away, Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Must be nice t’ have agents at your beck and call all th’ time.” “I wouldn’t know. Second-in-commands don’t have that privilege.” All of a sudden, the phone rang. Mandy was quick to pick it up. “Odd Squad Precinct 13579, how may I help you?” A pause. “Uh-huh...oh wow. You don’t say, that’s horrible!” She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. “Place of residence, ma’am? ...Got it, we’ll send agents right over.” Another pause. “Oh, no problem! Buh-bye now.” Mandy placed the phone back on the receiver and waggled the piece of paper in front of the fillies. “Good news. Duty calls for you three. Some lady is having her home overrun by blobs. 131 South Street. Think you can handle it?” “We’re on it! We’ll have it done in no time!” Apple Bloom rushed towards the steel double-doors. “C’mon girls, let’s go!” As Sweetie and Scootaloo followed her, Mandy’s attention drifted towards the small pile of paperwork she had on her desk. “Ah...well, now that that’s done, maybe I can get started on my own paperwo-” The phone rang again. “You’ve gotta be stinkin’ kiddin’ me.” A few hours had passed. Mandy felt her energy slipping away from her with every phone call she took. What was more, her voice was starting to grow quite raspy. And although she didn’t have access to a mirror at the moment, she was pretty sure her hair and tail were starting to make stray hairs curly as they jutted outwards. “Odd Squad Precinct 13579...” She coughed. “How may I help you?” A pause. “Right away, sir. Thank you.” She hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. “This is a horrible existence...” Her magic took ahold of a glass of water that sat on her desk, which she chugged in only a few seconds. While it was hydrating, it didn’t relieve the stress and the irritation of her vocal cords. “All the liquids in the world can’t help my voice...” she uttered, setting the glass back down. “Hey Mandy, I brought the...” Olive, entering the bullpen with a tall golden staff in hand, stopped and gazed at Mandy, her eyes widening as she saw just how much of a wreck her daughter was. Her hair and tail were both matted, and she could have sworn she saw bags beginning to form under the hybrid’s eyes. “What happened? You look like a wreck!” “I’ve been wearing my voice thin with all these phone calls.” Mandy explained, turning to look at Olive. “Do you know how many I’ve answered so far? Two hundred. And a quarter of those were wrong numbers!” Instinctively, Olive tucked the staff under her armpit and grasped Mandy by the shoulders. “You need to rest your voice. You’re going to develop laryngitis.” “I can’t. I’m the only person who’s able to do this job.” Mandy took Olive’s hands off of her shoulders. “If Oprah finds out that I’ve delegated it to someone else-” A round of coughing interrupted her. “-she’ll never forgive me.” Olive moved her gaze to Oprah’s office. “Don’t tell me she still hasn’t woken up?” “No. She’s still up there.” A groan. Olive ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, well, don’t tell me she went on another crazy juice binge...the last time she did that, she was out for a week.” “A weeeeeeeek?” Mandy asked, the words morphing into another moan. “I really wish I could help, but Otto and I have our own precinct to run.” Olive perked up for a moment, and pulled the staff out to show me. “Oh yeah! I brought the Oblivion Staff like I said I would. It was a pain finding it because our Odd Artifact Room is not the most organized. And...” A mug with a bag of tea inside of it was placed in front of Mandy. “Have some lemon honey tea. It should help your throat.” Olive then added for good measure, “I’ve got plenty of bags to spare.” “Thanks, Mandy said, coughing a few times. “Don’t overexert yourself, okay? At least try and get some sleep.” Before Mandy could even finish coughing, Olive was already out the double-doors. “Olive’s...bleh...right.” Mandy rubbed her head. “I can’t overexert myself. Every time I’ve pushed myself, it’s cost me big time and has only brought me more suffering. If I’m gonna do Oprah’s job...then I’m gonna do it right!” A few minutes later, the tea was prepared, and Mandy took an eager sip of it, sighing as she sat back down in her chair. “Hey, partner!” Her head swiveled to her right, finding Pinkie trotting up to her covered in blob from head to toe. She blinked, remembering that she sent the Crusaders on a case involving blobs...did Pinkie somehow get involved? She wasn’t sure. “You got a towel or something? I became all gunked up with blob on my way to a really difficult case! And you were there!” She grinned. “In spirit.” A bright flash of rainbow colors marked the appearance of a fluffy white towel, which Pinkie caught in her hooves. “Ooh, thanks!” As she began rubbing it on her face, she eyed the folders on Mandy’s desk. “Uh, what’s with the stack of cases?” “I’m taking over Oprah’s job.” Mandy’s voice went unnoticed by Pinkie as she gasped in excitement. “Don’t tell me. She’s promoting you?!” “No, no. She’s...asleep. Prolly a sugar crash. So I’m taking over her job for her.” “Yeah, been there!” Pinkie laughed, before her smile morphed into a frown. “But your voice sounds like it’s gonna give out! Are you doing okay?” “Wish I could say yes, but...” Mandy fiddled with a case file. “I have to do this. It’s my job as the second-in-command. I’ll let Oprah sleep.” She grabbed a case file in her corona and levitated it towards Pinkie. “Anyway, I’ve got a case for you. Think you can handle it?” “Sure! I just have to go and take a shower first, then I’ll be on my way!” Mandy couldn’t help but crack a smile at her partner’s enthusiasm. Likewise, said partner’s smile remained on her face. The pair stared at each other for a minute. Mandy tilted her head. “What?” “The catchphrase!” “The ca-” Mandy gave an eyeroll. “Ohhh, the catchphrase. Ha, right.” Putting on her determined face, she said, “Well, what are you waiting for? Go!!” “Now ya got it!” Pinkie said, grabbing the case file and trotting away with a giggle, not caring that the folder was stuck to her chest. As soon as the party pony left, though, Mandy’s happiness died down. She took another few sips of the tea. “I dunno if this is helping...” The phone rang again. Mandy groaned, and let her forehead collide with the table. As Peaches arrived in the bullpen, she was quick to find Mandy resting her cheek in the palm of her hand. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t snoring or sleep-talking, which was unusual for her. The catgirl took ahold of her cousin’s shoulder and lightly shook her. “Cuz?” “Wh-huh?!” Mandy shot up with a start. “I-I’m awake, deeeeefinitely wasn’t sleeping, nope!” A bout of nervous laughter left her throat as she stared at the one who had woken her up. “Peach, where’dja ever get the notion I was sleepin’ on the job, huh?” Peaches only stared as Mandy gave another round of nervous laughter. “What are you doing? And why do you sound a little ho-” “Make the pun and I’ll smite you.” “Fine.” Peaches’ eyes went half-lidded. “Why do you sound raspy?” “I’ve been answering phone calls all da-” Coughing interrupted Mandy’s explanation. As her eyes darted around, she came to a realization that she had emptied her cup of tea a long while back, and hadn’t replaced it with something else. “You sound like you’re getting sick.” “I can’t rest, before you ask.” Mandy held up a hand. “Oprah’s been asleep since this afternoon, and I’ve taken over her job.” “Hi, Mandy!” The call of Twilight caused Mandy’s gaze to shift to Twilight, who was trotting up the stairs. “Hi. Where’re you going?” “To remove the magic locks on the doors of Ms. O’s office. She has to be awake by now.” Curiously, Mandy watched as Twilight undid the seal and threw open the doors. Her eyes widened as she saw the swaying form of Oprah standing right in the doorway. “Whoa! M-Ms. O?” “Have y’ ever thought...” A long pause. “...ever thought of what the world would look like...” She poked Twilight in the cheek with her foot. The alicorn looked visibly uncomfortable. “...if it were full...of fish?” “Uh, what?” Oprah slowly pointed up to the sky, and Twilight got a good look at her face. The first thing she noticed was that her eyes were glazed over and half-lidded. The second thing she noticed was the trail of drool that led from her mouth and went down her chin. “Ooooooh, look, a rainbow!” she said, laughing in a rather slurred manner as she tried grasping the air with her hands. “Are you...sleepwalking?” Twilight tapped her chin. “No, that can’t be it. Your eyes would be closed! But...” Her head moved towards the Medical Bay, which was completely dark with no trace of Dr. O or any other Odd Squad Doctors. “Of course Dr. O’s out for the night...” “Oh, hi, butterflyyyy!” Another bout of slurred laughter bubbled up and spilled out of Oprah as she continued to paw the air. “All right, let’s get you home.” In one fell swoop, Twilight grabbed her boss and angled her onto her back. To the alicorn’s surprise, she wasn’t as heavy as she had thought she would be, and together, the pair made their way downstairs with little effort. Peaches tilted her head. “What’s wrong with her?” “I don’t know.” Twilight shrugged. “I thought she was sleepwalking, but-” A loud gasp cut into the alicorn’s explanation, and two hands instantly grabbed ahold of Mandy’s cheeks, pulling her downwards. “Lookitchu, all pretty-witty!” “Schtop, let go of the cheeksh, let go of the cheeksh!” Mandy’s arms waved frantically, her eyes widening when she felt pain shoot through her mouth. “Ah, ow, that’sh my jaw...” “I’m gonna take you hooooooome!” Oprah said. She giggled again as her hands moved around Mandy’s cheeks, squishing them in any way she could. Mandy’s gaze became fixated on Twilight, her eyes narrowed. “Twilight, if you casht any weird magic on her then sho help me odd...” “N-no! I came across her and she was like this!” Peaches blinked. “She might be hallucinating.” “Halluchinating?” Mandy asked, giving a sharp yelp as Oprah grabbed ahold of her jaw again. “Her eyes are open, and she seems awake, but her view of things is warped.” Peaches mused, watching as Oprah let go of Mandy’s cheeks. Twilight perked up. “Aha, that’s it!” She tapped her chin. “But if that’s the case, why is she hallucinating?” “She doesn’t usually hallucinate after a sugar binge...” Mandy, rubbing her sore cheeks, glanced up at the Medical Bay. “Where’s Dr. O?” “He went home.” Mandy heaved a sigh. “Well, if that’s the case, then there’s nothing we can do. Twilight, take her ho-” Her eyes widened as she felt a lump attached to her leg. Slowly, ever so slowly, her gaze drifted downwards, where she found Oprah gripping her leg tightly. A shrill scream left her. “Owowow! Get her off of me! Get her off of my legs!” she cried, kicking her leg out and stumbling about. Oprah didn’t budge, and every attempt just served to bring Mandy more pain. Twilight’s eyes widened, but it only took a couple seconds of staring before she took quick action, lighting up her horn and prying Oprah off of Mandy’s leg with ease. The hybrid fell backwards onto her rump, clutching her leg and gritting her teeth. She heard Twilight’s apology, but didn’t bother to respond. “Are you okay, cuz?” Peaches asked, her tone concerned as she knelt down to inspect Mandy’s leg. “I’m...fine...” Mandy winced. “But that weight...I dunno if my leg feels the same way...” “I’ll go and take her home, don’t worry.” Twilight assured, before she and Oprah disappeared in a bright purple flash. A round of coughing burst out of Mandy. “My voice...” she rasped, her voice far less prominent than it was before. “That yelling must have strained it further. Try not to speak.” Unfortunately for Peaches, in spite of her advice, even she knew that Mandy was the “I will never shut up and you couldn’t pay me enough Jackalope Dollars and bits to make me shut up” type. Getting her to stay quiet was about as much of a success as telling a fly to stay still. “But I have to speak!” Mandy protested. “If I don’t-” Peaches waited until the hybrid was finished coughing before she spoke again. “Look. I’m not a part of Odd Squad, but I’ll handle your job for you. Just tell me what to do.” Seeing Mandy open her mouth, she raised a finger. “Ah- and write it on paper.” Exhaling in defeat, Mandy grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from nowhere, and began scribbling on it. When she was done, she floated it in front of Peaches for her to read. “Okay, so all I have to do is hand agents cases that I think are best suited for them, and take calls from clients. And...” Peaches slightly squinted. “I have assistants that are able to help, all I have to do is call them over. Right?” “Yep.” Peaches scoffed. “How hard can it be?” she said, giving an eyeroll. “Besides, I don’t think I’ll have to do it for very long. Oprah’s probably just fallen ill with a bad fever. A few days of rest will do the trick.” Now it was Mandy’s turn to narrow her eyes. “You’d better be right.” “Have you tried anything to help?” “Yeah. Momma gave me some lemon honey tea to help soothe my sore throat.” “Hmm...honey is good.” Peaches smiled. “But steam also helps. Try taking a shower and inhaling the steam.” Mandy’s nose wrinkled. “Really?” “Yeah!” Peaches said. “Skeptical you may be, but I read somewhere that it reduces swelling in your throat and helps with the pain. A humidifier can also help, too. Whatever that is.” “Huh...” Mandy shrugged. “I’ll have to try that. Couldn’t hurt.” Another bright pink flash marked the arrival of Twilight. Her mane and tail were slightly matted, but she was without Oprah. “Hey, Twilight!” Peaches greeted. “How’s Oprah?” “I put her to bed. She tried to grab me like I was a stuffed toy, but I managed to replace myself with an actual stuffed toy she had.” “Never took her as a stuffed animal lover.” Mandy muttered, although her muttering to herself didn’t do much against the wave of coughing that rattled her lungs. “Anyway, the point is that she’s fast asleep now.” Twilight turned towards the steel double-doors. “I’m going to go back to Equestria for a little bit and take a shower. And Mandy, you should really rest your voice.” The hybrid groaned. “I know, stop reminding me.” As Twilight left, Mandy got to her feet and looked down the right-side hallway. “Guess I’d better hop in the shower.” “You want me to make you something?” Peaches offered. “I can whip up some hot soup for you, and some mac and cheese.” “Sure, go for it.” Mandy said nonchalantly, before heading down the hallway. She only barely heard Peaches’ call of the food waiting for her while she was in the shower. She didn’t really feel all that hungry at the moment, anyway. Mandy had tried, really tried, to inhale all the steam she could from her shower, at the cost of her skin feeling like it was about to get third-degree burns. But no matter how hard she tried, the pain didn’t go away. As she turned the water off and grabbed her towel, she heard a few knocks at the door. “Occu-” Her cough this time was more of a hacking. “Occupied...” “Mandy, darling? It’s Rarity.” came the silky voice on the other side. “I have a favor to ask of you, if you don’t mind?” “Yeah, can you wait a few minutes? I just got outta the shower.” Mandy asked, her eyes widening as she realized that her voice had gotten even more hoarse. “Oh! Why yes, of course! Take your time.” As Mandy coughed again, she wrapped the towel around her body and made her way over to the sink, where she gazed into the mirror at her reflection. Ugh, I’m getting worse. That’s not good. I have presents to deliver to the group tonight! She dried off her body and shifted the towel to her hair. I should conserve my voice, but...it’s so hard to not talk... She wasn’t sure how much time had passed by the time she got done in the bathroom and opened the door, and as such, she wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by Rarity still being outside or not surprised at all. “Oh, there you are!” The unicorn got to her hooves. “My, you took so long in there I thought you drowned in the tub!” As Rarity gave a chuckle, Mandy spat out a “Sorry” as her lungs once again rattled with coughing. “What’s your favor?” Rarity’s eyes widened. “Goodness, are you all right? Your voice sounds terrible!” “I’ll be fine. What is it?” “Um, yes, well, I was going to ask you to help me put on some last-minute touches for a dress I’m making, but it sounds like you’re getting sick! You really should-” “Rest, yeah, I know, I’m getting there.” Mandy said. As much as she wanted to snap at Rarity for being the millionth-gazillionth agent to tell her to rest, she didn’t have the energy, and she knew that yelling at the unicorn ran a risk of her losing her voice entirely. So, she stuck with an irritated tone of voice instead. “Look, I’ll help you out another time with something else, okay?” And with that, the hybrid left, old clothes in hand. Her stomach began to ache with hunger, which was a good thing since her next destination was the Breakroom. “Steam didn’t help, huh?” Peaches shook her head. “Well, it was worth a shot. Just try to save your voice, okay? I know it’s probably hard because you talk so much.” She shunted the two bowls towards Mandy, one filled with chicken noodle soup and another filled with mac and cheese. “Here.” “Thanks.” Mandy said, before taking a huge chunk of mac and cheese and shoving it into her mouth. Weird. She’s not scarfing it down like she usually does. Something’s definitely up. But it isn’t like she’ll tell me if I ask her directly... Peaches frowned, and took a seat right across from Mandy. “You planning on going out?” Mandy looked up. “No. Why would I go out when I’m losing my voice?” The hybrid’s “what, do you think I’m stupid?” tone went intentionally lost on Peaches. “Ah, you know, just for a fly. It really helps to clear your head.” “I should probably stay here, to help you out. You’re not used to this.” “Mm. Fair point.” It was only a few minutes later that Mandy was done eating, and as Peaches took the empty dishes down to Olly, Mandy took a few sips of orange juice. “Mandy.” The hybrid performed something that was in between a spit and a complete inhaling of liquid without using those swallowing muscles. She peered ahead of her, and found Haruko standing a few ways from her, sparkles littering her ethereal body. “Haruko-” “Shhh. Do not speak. I will do the talking.” Haruko raised a paw, watching as Mandy began coughing and wiping her mouth on her napkin. “Your boss is in danger. Her symptoms far exceed that of a mere sugar binge. She has been struck down with disease. Enlist the aid of Dr. O, quickly, before it becomes too late!” And just like that, the kitsune was gone, dashing down the left-side hallway that flanked the steel doors. Mandy stared, her expression twisting into one of upset. “Haruko!! Why do you have to give me these stupid cryptic riddles?! You can’t just give it to me straight?!” More coughing ensued. “Great, now my voice has to suffer even more...” she muttered, taking a huge swig of her drink. Her head rested on the table for a few moments, up until her brain was able to fully process what Haruko was saying. “Oprah’s in danger?! With disease?!” Her words were shrill, nearing a screech, but she followed it up with a sigh. “And Dr. O’s out for the night!” She felt like crying. Crying, however, would be reserved for when she inevitably lost her voice, which she was at least 90% sure she would do. The 10% she kept aside for generosity’s sake. “Okay, okay, I can handle this.” She rubbed her forehead. “I’ll go see Momma and Otto! They’ll know what to do!” Not five seconds later, and she was grasping an office-bound Olive by the shoulders and telling her about the situation. “Is Dr. O in?” “Not right now, he isn’t. He’s out collecting medical supplies.” Mandy buried her hands in her face, her lungs rattling with a groan that edged into a whine. “Where’s Oprah now?” “She’s at home, sleeping.” Mandy blinked. “Twilight took her there. She started hallucinating.” Olive’s eyes widened. “Hallucinating?” “I’d go and handle it myself but I have to give presents to the gro-” Mandy stammered as she attempted to backtrack. “Er, I-I mean, I have something important to do tonight.” Luckily for her, Olive didn’t seem to pick up on anything suspicious. “Well, whatever it is you have to do, try and conserve your voice. At this rate you’ll be voiceless by tomorrow morning.” “I’m trying, but it’s so haaaaard!” Olive went half-lidded. “Gee, can’t imagine why.” It was then that Mandy perked up with a gasp. “Oh, I know! I can study Oprah and see how she sleeps. Whatever disease she has must be tied to her sleep. And I did solve that sleep-transfer-itis outbreak a little while back.” “Worth a shot.” Olive smiled. “Why don’t you use the Dream-inator helmet?” “Oh yeah, that helmet you used to peer into my dreams when you couldn’t wake me up!” Mandy nodded. “Ha, good idea! I’ll go get it.” “Good luck.” “Thanks! I’m gonna need it.” As Mandy disappeared in a bright multicolored flash of magic, Olive slumped over as she realized what, exactly, Mandy losing her voice entailed. “Guess I’ll have to prepare for yet another round of Mandy Charades...” Mandy hadn’t really been inside of Oprah’s house. Ever. Only once or twice, and the second time had gotten her forehead stamped and her entire body shoved straight through a mailbox just in time for the mailman to ask if this was a legitimate package or not. So it surprised her when her teleportation took her to the living room couch, right where Oprah was sleeping, destroying forests with her trusty two mini-chainsaws she had in her throat. “Ooh, perfect. Just gotta do this and I can deliver the presents!” Mandy said, making sure to keep her voice quiet. She took out the Dream-inator helmet and looked it over. “Hopefully this one won’t break like when Otto used it on me...” Heaving a sigh, she gently placed it on Oprah’s head and grabbed the remote that came with it, pressing the ON button and watching as a flurry of still images from her dream came up. Each one of them had juice in some capacity or the other -- Oprah drinking juice, Oprah working in a juice factory, Oprah yelling at the grocery store manager about why they didn’t have a specific brand of juice. “Wow. This is...weird.” Mandy gave a halfhearted shrug. “But kinda expected that she’d dream about juice.” The snores stopped, replaced by a soft moan. The pictures went away, and snow was the only thing Mandy could see. That was soon replaced by video of Oprah that kept glitching every moment or two. “Stop! Get away from me!” were the words the hybrid could eventually make out. “Ooh, that’s not good. Taking notes...” A few bursts of magic brought forth a notepad and pen, where Mandy furiously began scribbling as she watched the dream commence. A dark shadow loomed over Oprah, bearing yellow teeth and limbs made of straws. Its body was sort of cylindrical, with a top as a hat and a wide bottom for its hips, in addition to its slimmed-down sides. Mandy deduced that it was in the shape of a juice bottle, a pure 96 fluid-ounce one that was as durable as a human child bombing a master hill. “What do you want?!” Oprah cried out, no longer glitchy but her voice still crispy as a result of the video quality. “Back off! Go away!” “Nightmares...” Mandy squinted. “Maybe they’re a common symptom?” Her ears caught the sound of rustling, and by the time she looked up, the slumbering Director was already on her feet and moving at quite a brisk speed. “Sleepwalking?! That can’t be good...” Oprah began heading for the door. “Oprah, don’t go and fight the juice monster, it’s not re- ah, why am I even bothering.” A hand grabbed the doorknob, and the door flung open. Mandy was quick to follow right behind her. “If only I could walk in her dreams!” “I’ll fight you with my own bare fists, juice monster!” Oprah shouted into the dead of night, raising her fist and shaking it angrily like Mandy had seen old people do when she came onto their lawns sometimes. The hybrid read over her notes. “As long as the threat of that juice monster is there, she’ll keep on-” A nasty cough made her ball up her hand into a fist and begin pounding her chest. “-fighting it.” She rubbed her head. “Twilight, I could really use some help from your ‘Princess Luna’ right about now...maybe she could at least help stop Oprah from wandering o-” It had only taken a second of looking away for Oprah to go wandering off. “Oprah!!” The cry came as more of a screech as she glanced around for any sign of the Director. “Oh pickleferries pickleferries pickleferries...where did she go?! C’mon, she’s gotta be somewhere...” Even an aerial search turned up nothing. “Stupid stealth teleportation ability...and stupid Odd Squad uniform for being so dark!!” she cursed, landing back on her feet and beginning to walk as she continued to look. Sure, Oprah was fast, but she hadn’t been going that fast. And sure, she had the ability to appear and disappear at random the second someone looked away, but there was no way she could have used that in her sleep. ...That was a lie, because Mandy had done the same thing once or twice before in her sleep. As she launched into a coughing fit again, her eyes opened just a bit to spot the darkened, but still very much pink, form of her partner making her way up to her. “Hey there, partner!” Pinkie greeted with a wave. “Shouldn’t you be resting?” “I would, but Oprah’s gone MIA and she’s sleepwalking somewhere in the town!” Pinkie tilted her head and pointed to her left. “Isn’t she right over there?” Mandy’s head slowly swiveled, and she could see Oprah just across the street, resting her cheek against the display window of a restaurant and still snoring away. Her jaw dropped, another round of coughing being the only thing that cut through her shock and exasperation. “I’ll take her back to Headquarters for you!” “No, no need...I’ve got it.” Another few coughs. Mandy’s lungs felt about ready to collapse. What didn’t help was that she was starting to feel a little thirsty. “I’ve almost worn my voice entirely thin...” “You need to rest, Mandy!” Pinkie cried out, nothing but worry in her voice. “Otherwise you’ll never get better!” “Yeah, I know, but I’ve been trying to find out what’s wrong with Oprah.” A singular cough, this time. “Sleepwalking, weird nightmares...” Pinkie’s ears folded down, as though she knew that she couldn’t convince Mandy no matter how hard she tried. “Just don’t push yourself, okay? Take it easy!” she advised, before beginning to walk past her partner. “I’ll see you back at HQ!” “Got it. Have fun!” Mandy was quick to soar past Pinkie and head right for Oprah. Whatever nightmare she had been having seemed to be rendered nonexistent now -- and perhaps that was a good thing, because Mandy was starting to feel tired. She grabbed ahold of Oprah and gave a relieved sigh. “C’mon, you, let’s go home. Pretty sure I can do this...” Within seconds, the pair were back at Oprah’s house. And within five minutes, Mandy was able to find her bedroom and tuck her into bed safe and sound. “Oh, thank goodness.” the hybrid said, stumbling out of the bedroom and beginning to make her way downstairs. “You didn’t sleepwalk as far as I thought, boss, but...I...” Her eyes began to droop. However, her brain was not so keen on letting her rest tonight. Perhaps it had been affected and altered by the whole Clementine debacle too, though she wasn’t about to prove it right now. “What am I doing?!” she yelped. “Nngh, falling asleep here...if Oprah finds out I fell asleep in her house, she’s not gonna be happy!” Using the last bit of her magic reserves before it was locked away in the vault for the night, Mandy teleported back to her room. There, at the foot of her bed, lay a massive pile of gifts, all wrapped individually with its own special gift wrap. “Ahhh...” She began swaying on her feet. “Maybe now I can go and...and...” Her vision was growing blurry. All of a sudden, she wished she had taken Oprah’s reading glasses before teleporting back. “Wow, everything’zz zzoooooo blurryyy...” Her eardrums registered a thump, although she wasn’t sure where it came from nor what had happened. “Can’t believe...I’m rezzizzting zzleep...” A couple weak coughs rattled about in her throat. Her eyes closed fully. Her willpower, as it pertained to staying awake, had been sapped. “But...I can’t...fight it...” Another thump was the last thing she heard before her view went entirely black. “It sounds like Precinct 13579’s Director has sleep-itis.” Olive blinked. She leaned forward in her chair so much that her head was about ready to bonk the desk the same way cats headbutted their owners. “Sleep-itis?” “Yes. It’s still in the beginning stages, but it can be curbed before it grows more severe.” Dr. O explained. “I’ll give the Dr. O of 13579 a call. He should be able to resolve this issue.” “There’s not going to be an outbreak, is there?” “I’m not sure. An outbreak doesn’t usually happen in the beginning stages of sleep-itis.” Dr. O exhaled. “Did Mandy say if anyone else has any similar symptoms?” Olive shook her head. “No, it’s just Oprah.” Dr. O gave a low hum as he closed his eyes, trying to process the situation. “Okay. Well, either way, I’ll contact the other Dr. O and inform him of what’s happening. He can treat her first thing tomorrow.” He smiled. “In the meantime, keep yourself safe and healthy, Ms. O. I know how much you hang out with Oprah.” “Of course. Will do.” “Good.” He turned his head. “What’s next?!” came the bellow from his mouth before he walked out the doors and went back to the Medical Bay. Olive flopped back in her chair, grabbing her bottled water and taking a mighty swig of it. “I can’t believe it...Oprah has sleep-itis!” She gave a ragged sigh that shook her entire chest. “And I thought Mandy sleepwalking all across the town was bad...this might be even worse!” The sound of the Bedroom door opening jerked Twilight away from her book as she looked up. “Howdy there, Twilight!” Applejack greeted, a basket of apples perched on her back. “Brought some fresh apples from th’ Orchard Room if ya want one.” “Oh! Yes, please.” Applejack set the basket down gently and grabbed an apple from it. She gently tossed it to Twilight, who caught it in her corona gracefully and took a bite, relishing in its taste. “I heard Mandy was sick, too. Runnin’ some kind of fever?” “No, no, nothing like that.” Twilight waved her hoof. “She just wore her voice thin.” “Wore her voice thin?” Applejack chuckled. “Well, she does talk a lot. Nothin’ too surprisin’ there, I’d reckon.” “She’s been taking over for Ms. O all day, answering phone calls and doing paperwork.” Twilight sighed before taking another bite of her apple. “I may be the Princess of Friendship, but I couldn’t imagine being an Odd Squad Director. It must be so stressful.” “Runnin’ an entire country’s just a tad different than runnin’ a worldwide organization, wouldn’t ya say?” “...Yeah...” A loud raspy uluation cut into the mares’ conversation. Applejack turned around towards the doorway, while Twilight attempted to crane her neck in order to get a good view of what was happening outside of the room. “What’s that snoring?” the alicorn asked. “Hold on...I recognize that snore. Sounds drier than usual, though.” As the sound came closer and closer, Twilight hopped off of the bed and peered out the door. Sure enough, the stumbling form of Mandy was coming towards her and Applejack, snoring up a storm and carrying an entire slew of gifts. Twilight gasped. “It’s Mandy! And she’s sleepwalking again!” She blinked. “Why does she have gifts? Who are they for?” “I don’t know...” Applejack stood in front of her friend. “But don’t you remember what happened th’ last time Mandy went sleepwalkin’? She could destroy the town again!” “Good point, Applejack. Let’s follow her!” Soon, they were following Mandy through town as she carried the presents. Both of them had decided to go along with the flow of what she was doing, even in spite of their many questions. The streets of Toronto they walked on were almost dead for the most part, save for the occasional stray cat or the occasional weird shout that came from a nearby house. Eventually, they turned onto a residential street. “Knight Avenue?” Applejack read as she passed the sign. “Why’s she goin’ here?” It was the third house down on the left that Mandy stopped at, a small two-story house made of brick. Her head was drooped as she continued to snore, but she otherwise stayed upright. “Applejack, look at this sign.” Twilight waved a hoof over as she hovered to read the sign that hung on the front door. “’Secret Organization for the Handling of All Loony Criminals.’” Applejack tilted her head as she trotted over to her. “Are they...like us?” “They might just be. Who knows.” Twilight said. “I’ve never heard of them.” Both mares backed up suddenly as Mandy lowered her body to the ground, taking the presents with her. They landed on the ground in a rather graceful manner, almost like she was conscious and was meticulously making sure no gifts got damaged. It was a rather weird sight, even for Applejack and Twilight, and they watched with intrigue but also with concern. “Huh. She’s droppin’ th’ gifts on the doorstep, but the lights are out.” “Something odd is definitely going on.” Once Mandy was satisfied with her gift placement, she stood up, a bout of gibberish sleep-talking leaving her before she began to walk again, back the way she came. “Where is she going now?” Twilight asked. “I dunno, but we’d better follow her before she gets lost! C’mon!” With that, the two mares trotted after their friend, sharing concern and worry for just what and why she was doing what she was doing. None of them bothered to question the how, because with Mandy, there usually was no how. “Well, we’re back in Headquarters.” “That was weird.” Twilight said, never keeping her eyes off of the stumbling, the snoring and the sleep-talking Mandy. “Is Mandy going out every night to drop gifts off to this...organization in her sleep?” “I say you and Rainbow Dash take a look at it first thing tomorrow.” Applejack suggested. “I’ll talk t’ Ms. O if she wakes up.” “Sounds good.” The trio eventually arrived at Mandy’s room. By this point, the hybrid had not only ceased her snoring and her sleep-talking, she looked about ready to collapse -- and that she did, as she flopped onto the covers face-first and finally fell still. Applejack and Twilight opted to hang in the doorway, though both of them kept a wary hoof in front of them in case they needed to rush in. “Finally. ‘Bout time she gets back into bed.” Applejack heaved an exhale. “But she isn’t snoring now.” Twilight shook her head. “She probably lost her voice.” “Reckon she did.” Applejack concurred, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “C’mon, Twi, we should get some rest too. Tomorrow’s gonna be a heck of a busy day.” “Absolutely.” Applejack went ahead, but Twilight couldn’t help fixating her gaze on Mandy, which lingered for a minute before she closed the door and began making the journey back to the Bedroom. A discomforted moan left Mandy as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. She became dimly aware of a sensation in her legs, a dull ache of sorts that rocketed to her hips. “Why do my legs feel like they’ve been sho-” Her eyes widened. She gingerly touched her fingers to her throat. She had been expecting this, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be surprised if it happened. Plus her brain was still trying to get out of bed and had only gotten so far as letting a foot weakly dangle off of it. Oh no...I lost my voice! Slowly, she became aware of where she was. Not only that, but I fell asleep! Ohh, please let the gifts still be there... She slid over to the foot of her bed and peered around the footboard. Dread began to fill her chest, and she squeezed her eyes shut, eye boogers be darned. Well, if they’re not here...maybe I delivered them. Somehow. She shook her head and opened her eyes again. But my voice! I need to get my voice back! ...Somehow. As she got dressed and went through her routine, she began devising all sorts of ways to get her voice back. They ranged from the simply mundane (more tea, or all of the tea?) to the crazy-extreme (get surgery to replace the vocal cords and worry about the bill later). Her mind began swirling with ideas, and only stopped when she entered the bullpen with a loose tie. Her eyes widened as she saw Olive sitting at her desk, talking with Applejack. Otto, of course, was beside her, listening all the while. “And that’s what happened.” “So let me get this straight...” Olive said. “Mandy went sleepwalking to the house of some organization that deals with odd criminals? And she dropped gifts off for them?” Applejack nodded. “Twilight and I followed her all th’ way there.” Mandy’s jaw dropped. I did...what?! her thoughts screamed. So that’s how the gifts went missing...I delivered them in my sleep! “I can’t say I’ve heard of this organization before. Have you, Otto?” “I haven’t, either. But if Twilight and Rainbow Dash are up for checking it out, then I’m sure Mandy will let them.” “Hopefully.” Reluctantly, Mandy began to approach the trio, wringing her hands together. “Oh, howdy there, Mandy!” Applejack greeted. “Feelin’ any better?” Mandy sadly shook her head. “Oh no.” Olive stood up. “You didn’t actually lose your voice, did you?” An equally-sad head nod. “Isn’t she taking over for Oprah?” Otto asked. “How’s she gonna do it if she can’t speak?” “That...is a good question...” Olive glanced at Oprah’s office. “Not to mention that Oprah still hasn’t woken up yet...” A pause. Olive rubbed her forehead, trying to come up with a course of action. Naturally, it didn’t take her any longer than a minute. “Otto, you’ll have to fly solo at our office. I’ll handle things here.” “W-what? But we’re just as busy at our own precinct!” “You’ve handled things solo before. I have faith in you.” Olive stood up, giving Otto a few shoulder pats. “If neither Mandy nor Oprah can do the job, then...I don’t have a choice.” “But won’t ya wear your voice thin too?” Olive gave an amused chuckle. “Applejack. I’m an Odd Squad Director. I’ve gone months without losing my voice. And even if it starts to, it’s nothing a little spare honey tea won’t fix.” The relief that Mandy’s responsibility had been passed on to a willing participant temporarily shoved to the side any notion of anyone finding out about who she was giving gifts to and why she was giving them such things. She smiled and lunged for Olive, pulling her into a hug. “Ah! W-well, you don’t have to thank me!” Olive said, before pushing Mandy off of her and gripping her shoulders. “But Mandy, in the meantime, I want you to rest up. Don’t speak, and don’t strain your voice. I’ll handle things here, I promise. Okay?” Mandy nodded. Absolutely! You can do this! “Good. Now, back to bed with you!” Olive spun Mandy around and began pushing her towards the hallway she came out of. “I’ll have Dr. O examine your throat and bring you some tea later.” Mandy wasn’t sure whether she was going to go back to sleep or not -- after all, she had more gifts to make -- but she figured some more sleep would do her some good. It wouldn’t take her that long to think of, create, and wrap more gifts, anyway, especially if they were handmade. “Mandy, wait!” The hybrid stopped and turned. “Before you go, grant Twilight and Rainbow Dash permission to check out the organization Applejack was telling us about. You know, the one you sleepwalked to last night to deliver gifts?” Her heart plummeted downwards and landed somewhere in her bowels. Oh pickleferries, she knows! I-I can’t have her becoming suspicious! Otherwise they’ll have my head! Literally! “We’ll discuss whatever’s going on between you and them when you get better.” Olive said. “But for now, do you grant them permission to go and check the organization out?” Knowing that a head-shake would immediately tip Olive off, Mandy gave a resigned nod instead, hoping no one would notice the sweat beads beginning to form on her head. “All right. Applejack, go find Twilight and Rainbow Dash and give them their latest case, please.” “You got it!” Mandy watched as the farmpony darted down the same hallway she had been heading towards. A sort of relief began to fill her chest as she realized that at least she wouldn’t have to hear what was going on -- at least, if Olive or Otto didn’t make her (metaphorically) spill the beans here. “Hey, I have an idea!” Otto perked up. “You don’t have to wait ‘til Mandy gets better if you want to know what’s going on between her and that organization.” Olive raised an eyebrow. “I don’t?” “Just have her write it on paper if you want the information so badly. She may have lost her voice, but her writing skills are intact!” Mandy physically began to deflate. She ground her teeth together as her way of communicating a growl but without the assistance of her voice to actually provide one. Otto, you idiot, how dare you! Treachery! Mutiny! Uh...traitorism! ...No, wait, that’s not right... “Not too bad of an idea, partner.” Olive said, grabbing a scrap piece of paper and a pencil that sat off to the side of the desk. For a moment, Mandy asked herself why she even had that scrap paper, but then realized Olive would have just conjured one up anyway. “I want you to explain exactly what your relationship is with this ‘Secret Organization for the Handling of All Loony Criminals’, Mandy. Why do you keep bringing them gifts, and why are you so adamant about doing so? Never mind the fact that you’ve been sleepwalking again!” Mandy shook her head. “C’mon, tell us!” Another head-shake. “Mandy, please! We need to know what’s going on, on both sides!” No head-shake, but the Director did get a pivot and then a rather flippant tail-twitching. “She really doesn’t want to give the information up.” “Guess I can’t force her. Not even my strongest interrogation tactics will work on her.” Which was true -- Olive had tried everything in that stupid thick rulebook and absolutely nothing worked on the girl. Many a 20-minute timespan was wasted over the years, and she regretted every single one of them. “Fine. You’ll be let off the hook this time, Mandy. But when you’re better, then we’ll talk. And don’t fake your laryngitis either -- because I’ll know.” Mandy narrowed her eyes. I’ll never give you what you want, Momma. She almost wanted to mouth that part, but decided to keep it glued shut and began making her way towards the Bedroom. I can’t let anyone know what’s going on. Otherwise, the organization is going to kill me. If I can just appease them with gifts for a little while longer...just a little while longer...then things’ll be okay. She took off her jacket and shoes, and got into bed once more, her eyes slowly closing as one final thought stuck in her mind. But for now, there’s nothing I can do but sleep...and think of new gifts to give to them tonight. Squinting, Rainbow knocked on the door thrice with her hoof. “Looks like an average house.” she noted. “Why is there an organization here?” Twilight shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.” The door opened, and the two mares backed up to get a good look at who they were facing. Standing in front of them was a girl, about somewhere in her mid-teens, wearing a black hooded robe. Two blonde waves of hair cascaded down her face, and her green eyes held nothing but malice. There were also two small bumps on the top of her head that Twilight noted, but didn’t think too much about -- perhaps she had some kind of disease or disorder. It wasn’t her place to comment on it. “Hello.” the alicorn greeted. “My name is Agent Twilight Sparkle, and this is Agent Rainbow Dash, my partner.” Rainbow gave a short wave of her hoof. “We’re with Odd Squad. Can we come in?” The girl put on a smile. “Of course. Right this way.” Slowly, both of them made their way inside. It looked to be a fully-furnished residential place, with pictures hung up on the walls, a couch and chair or two sprawled about, and dishes placed in the drying rack in the kitchen. “Now, allow us to introduce ourselves.” the girl stated, making her way over to three other individuals that wore the same robes and ruining the mares’ chances at a further investigation for now. “My name is Aozora, and I am the head of the Secret Organization for the Handling of All Loony Criminals. SOHALC, for short. These are my confidantes.” She pointed to a short girl with long black hair that nearly went down to her rump, giving a friendly cat smile. “Yuki.” Then, she pointed to a taller girl who appeared to have short hair, as neither mare could see any hair through the hood she wore. The frown she wore was much like Mandy’s own, in the shape of an upside-down V. “Zifia.” Finally, Aozora pointed to a short boy who was shooting daggers at the new visitors. “And Kenji.” “Nice to meet you.” Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged a look of nervousness, not expecting the unisonant voices of the four individuals to sound so creepy. “Er...likewise.” “So what do you do, exactly?” Rainbow asked. “It’s quite self-explanatory. We arrest and capture loony criminals. Right now, we have our eye on one in particular.” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Aozora. “And just who would that be?” Aozora turned around. “Kenji? Show them.” Kenji nodded and made his way over to the coffee table, grabbing two tattered and worn papers that were sitting on it. He approached the two mares and held the first paper out without a word, allowing them to see exactly what it was. “This is Peaches. She is a catgirl hailing from a town known as Vallea and is wanted by King Ashero, the town’s ruler, for failing to find who razed it.” Kenji then held the second paper out. “And that’s Agent Mandy. She is an agent of an organization known as ‘Odd Squad’ who is a close friend of Peaches. Wanted as well for being an accomplice.” “You two are from ‘Odd Squad’, you said?” Aozora asked. “Um...yes! Yes we are.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh but we assure you, we’re not friends with Mandy. Not at all.” “Uh, you su-” A swift kick to the ribs with an outstretched purple hoof halted Rainbow’s speech, and she coughed for a few moments before speaking again. “I mean, yeah, Twi’s right. We’re more...enemies than friends.” Aozora merely blinked. “I see. In that case...” A pause. Both mares felt sweat beads begin to form on their foreheads. “There is one way that we are testing the loyalty of Mandy in particular.” She glanced to the side. “Yuki?” “Oh! Yes. We, ah, struck a deal with her...” ”All right then, Agent Mandy.” Aozora grinned. “How about a deal?” Mandy narrowed her eyes. “What kind of a deal?” “We will let you go...if you bring gifts to us on the daily in return.” “Gifts?” Mandy blinked. “What kind of gifts?” A soft hum rattled in Aozora’s throat as she contemplated the hybrid’s question. “Any will do. After all...they will all be for the sake of rebuilding our home.” She looked up and made eye contact. “So what do you say? Will you comply?” “Like I would ever agree to that.” Mandy spat in response. “You may be willing to let me go, but what about Peaches?” “Out of the question.” “What?” “We are an organization dedicated to capturing insane criminals. That includes Peaches, whether you like it or not.” Aozora raised a finger. “Since you are biologically a human, we are willing to make an exception for you.” Mandy huffed. “So what happens if I don’t comply?” Aozora ran a claw under her chin. “Then we will not hesitate to kill you. And after that, we may just go after the ones you love.” she murmured, her voice almost a quiet purr. “Including Peaches.” “We suggest you don’t cross us.” Kenji chimed in. “Our organization is very well-renowned for its members’ fighting prowess.” “We wouldn’t want this pretty face to get hurt, would we?” Yuki cooed, clutching Mandy’s cheeks and moving them around, much to the hybrid’s chagrin. A few minutes passed before Mandy cried out, “Fine! I’ll do it!” “Very good.” Aozora smiled. “Now, go and get started immediately. We expect gifts on our doorstep by sunrise.” A look of despair crossed Mandy’s face briefly, but she ultimately complied, beginning to head out the door. “Oh! And don’t forget.” Mandy looked back at Aozora. “This is between us, and us alone. You are not to tell another single soul about our deal.” Mandy blinked, but said nothing. Instead, she headed out the door and slammed it closed. “It was really easy to get her to comply.” Yuki smiled. “Since then, she’s been upholding her end of the deal.” “If this keeps up, we may just ask her to join us.” Twilight and Rainbow exchanged nervous glances. Even though they knew Mandy would refuse, they didn’t know what tricks SOHALC had up their sleeves. “Join you?” Twilight tilted her head. “But I thought you were a pretty large organization. Or is this it?” “This is it, for now. But we plan on expanding soon.” “I see.” Twilight scanned Aozora’s features, trying to find any sort of crack in her facade that would reveal her true intentions. But the girl maintained a good mask, and the alicorn knew that she would have to take another course of option. “May we stop by another time, for a more casual chat?” “Why do you wanna do that?” Rainbow asked. “I’m interested in learning more about the members of this organization.” Silence. Twilight didn’t expand on her words any further. “Why of course.” Aozora grinned again. “We’re more than thankful that you wish to learn so much more about us and what we do here. Feel free to stop by anytime.” “Thank you.” Twilight began heading for the door. “Let’s go, partner.” “Uh...all right.” Rainbow followed. “Thanks for letting us in!” “It’s not a problem. Enjoy your journey home.” Outside, both girls gave deep exhales as they made their way to the nearest tube entrance. “So what do we do now?” “What we do best.” Twilight said. “Find out more about SOHALC and take ‘em down!” “All right, I’m game! Let’s go!” “Now, if we just drop the contents of the pill into the tea here, and stir...” Mandy, eyes half-lidded and slightly dull, watched as Dr. O stirred the mixture in the cup. The clinking of the spoon gave her a slight headache, which only served to add to her misery. “There!” Dr. O took out the spoon and handed Mandy the cup. “Drink up.” “And you’re sure this is going to work, Dr. O?” Peaches asked, fiddling with her hands nervously. Dr. O nodded. “This is a special pill designed to speed up the time it takes for someone to recover from laryngitis, if they take care of themselves. If Mandy doesn’t speak and drinks plenty of fluids, she should get better as soon as tomorrow or the next day.” A moan tried to eke its way out of Mandy, but came out as more of a harsh wheeze instead. “Ohhh, so that’s why you’re putting it into lemon honey tea.” Peaches realized. “Yes, exactly.” Dr. O glanced at Mandy. “Now go on, Mandy. Drink.” Next to “eat”, “drink” was one of Mandy’s favorite words. But she didn’t really feel like getting excited. She stared at the brown mixture in her cup. Ugh, doesn’t look like the tea I’m used to...but if I wanna get better... Steeling herself, she lifted the cup to her lips and began sipping -- small sips, to ease her taste buds into the foreign sensation. “And what about Oprah?” Peaches asked Dr. O. “It’s just as I feared.” Dr. O’s lips pursed together. “She has sleep-itis. She’s going to need a few days to recover.” “Isn’t that contagious?” “Yes. But she’s in quarantine right now, so she should be all right.” “Thank cattails.” With a clink, Mandy set the empty mug on her nightstand, smacking her lips as she began to feel the mixture swirl around in her gut. She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Now, Mandy, go ahead and take a good rest.” Dr. O smiled. “Let the tea work its magic. Make sure to drink plenty of other fluids, like water.” Mandy nodded. “I’ll be back in a little bit to check on you. Get better soon, okay?” With that, Peaches and Mandy watched him leave the latter’s room. “I should go and help Olive out.” Peaches made for the door, now. “Quite a shame she took over your duties...I kind of wanted to take a crack at being an Odd Squad Director myself.” She sighed. “Oh well, another time.” As soon as she left the room, Mandy flopped back down onto her bed in relief and buried herself under the covers. Well, at least she’s not suspicious. If Peaches found out, she’d be all over me about it! I just have to hope that my “keeping things hidden” thingie doesn’t spread to anyone else... Twilight and Rainbow stepped through the steel double-doors into the bullpen, making their way to a furiously-working Olive. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, Twilight!” the girl greeted. “Welcome back. I actually have a case for you right here if you-” “Forget about that!” Rainbow snapped. “Is Ms. O better yet?” “No. She’s in quarantine right now recovering from sleep-itis. She won’t be back in action for another few days. As of now, I’m the functioning Director of this precinct.” Olive explained. “What’s going on?” “Do you have a couple minutes to spare?” Olive looked at Twilight and nodded. “Sure. Pull up a couple chairs.” Twilight and Rainbow recounted every detail of what went down with SOHALC -- their mission, their members, what they were doing and why. “So that’s why Mandy’s been making gifts.” Olive mused. “She’s trying to avoid being killed by this...organization.” She bit her lip. Her expression contorted, going from understanding, to confusion, and finally to anger, which she punctuated with a slam of her fist on the desk as she shot daggers at the two mares, who yelped in surprise. “Are you two aware that this ‘organization’ is made up of catpeople from Vallea?” she spat. “Catpeople like Orino, who want to abduct Peaches and Mandy and bring them back to their home?” Rainbow blinked. “Now that you say that, it does make sense.” “It makes perfect sense.” Twilight said. “They had on cloaks the entire time, which were no doubt used to hide their feline features. And them going after Peaches and Mandy is an easy tip-off...ohh, why didn’t we figure that out sooner? We could have stopped them!” “Well, we don’t have a choice in the matter. We have to drive them out of town. And if they’re anything like Orino, they aren’t gonna go down without a fight.” Olive declared matter-of-factly. Twilight’s eyes widened. “But Ms. O and Mandy are both out of commission!” “Heh, well...I can’t believe I’m saying this...” Olive shook her head. “But who needs ‘em? We can handle SOHALC on our own.” “Three to four?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “I dunno, Olive, I think we’re preeeetty outnumbered.” “All right. How about eight to four?” “Eight?” Olive listed off the names on her fingers as she spoke. “You, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Peaches, and me. That way, they’ll be the ones who are outnumbered.” This brightened Rainbow’s spirits. “Aww yeah! Let’s go kick some feline butt!” “Hold on, Rainbow!” Twilight raised a hoof. “Let’s at least gather the others up first and let them know what’s happening. Especially Peaches.” “You mean me?” Everyone’s heads began to whirl around, looking for the source of the familiar voice. Within seconds, it revealed itself to be Peaches, who began to shapeshift back into her human form. “How...long have you been there?” Olive asked. “We catpeople are very quiet. I was listening while cleaning myself under the table.” Peaches brushed some dust off of her dress. “Anyway, I heard the whole thing. Of course I’m in.” She heaved a sigh. “I can’t believe King Ashero’s sending more of Vallea’s catpeople to do his bidding...even though they hurt me so much, they don’t deserve a fate as cruel as this.” “Twilight, Rainbow, gather up the others.” Olive ordered. “I’ll give Otto a call and let him know what’s going on.” Twilight tilted her head. “He’s not coming?” “Our precinct’s just as busy with work as this one is. Someone has to run it. And we don’t have a second-in-command.” “All right.” Twilight turned. “Come on, Rainbow, let’s split up. I’ll search Odd Squad, you search Toronto and Equestria.” “Got it!” Within minutes, the two mares had gathered up the rest of their friends, and once the plan was relayed, everyone was ready to head off to Knight Avenue to fight even more of King Ashero’s willing cronies. “So what exactly is the plan here?” “Just follow my lead and stay on your toes. Er, hooves.” Olive said. “We don’t know what’s coming. Peaches, stay outside until I tell you to come in.” “Right.” As Peaches darted around the house, changed into her cat form, and dove under a side window, Twilight took initiative of knocking on the door. The door opened, and Aozora peered out, gazing at the group with intrigue. “Ah, more Odd Squad members.” Her voice was a soft purr. “Please, do come in.” Most everyone spent their time looking at the interior. Some eyeballed the other three members, who were ominously standing in the corner, eyeballing them with just as much intensity. Olive, in particular, made sure to shoot glares at the other three members, making sure they knew she meant business. “Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. I see you’ve brought friends.” “Yes. Allow me to introduce everyone here.” Twilight pointed at everyone in turn, “This is Olive, the Director of the Odd Squad precinct in Mississauga. And these are Agents Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, our coworkers at Precinct 13579.” “Hm. Nice to meet you all.” Aozora said, her eyes half-lidded as though not bothering to give any of the other agents so much as the time of day. But it didn’t last for long, and she straightened up again. “My name is Aozora, leader of the Secret Organization for the Handling of All Loony Criminals, or SOHALC for short. These...” She waved a hand towards the other three members. “...are my confidantes. Zifia, Yuki and Kenji.” Everyone, bar Twilight and Rainbow, exchanged greetings. “So what brings you all here?” Aozora inquired. “Well, I heard that you were looking for a certain catgirl.” Olive explained. “Normally, I wouldn’t get involved in things like this, but...to tell you the truth, I hate her just as much as you do.” “You don’t say?” “Which is why I’ve taken the liberty of capturing her for you.” Olive turned her head towards the door. “Peaches?” A pause. And then, Peaches made herself known, stepping through the doorway and shapeshifting back to her human form. Claws came out. Hisses were shared. “It’s you.” Aozora spat. “What are you doing?” Peaches spat in equal return. “Why has King Ashero sent you four here to get me and Mandy instead of doing it himself?” “Because he feels that we can do the job better than that pathetic Orino ever could.” Aozora smirked. “And we’ll prove it.” Peaches was intrigued. “Oh? And how’s that?” “With a battle, of course.” Aozora chuckled. “I think Orino at least had some valuable wisdom to provide before his...untimely execution. We won’t be able to bring you and Mandy back alive. I’m quite sure King Ashero won’t mind if we bring some seriously-injured criminals to him.” Aozora’s bold attitude didn’t sway Peaches any -- on the contrary, it just made her more excited. “Fine. Then it’s on.” “Hm. Not the wisest choice. You should know as well as anyone that the people of Vallea are well-renowned for their fighting prowess. And we are no exception.” “Of course I do, I’m from there!” “But you are an outcast.” Aozora taunted. “What skill do you have in the realm of battle?” “Fight me and I’ll show you.” Olive and the others opted to hang back and let the preamble to the catfight play out, though in spite of the plan going well, they couldn’t help but worry for their friend. Aozora’s expression contorted in such a way that it looked like she wanted to bust out laughing, before she reverted back to her collected demeanor. “All right then. Let’s take it to the street.” “Sure. On one condition.” Aozora tilted her head. “If I win, me and my- them...” Peaches cleared her throat. “They...will have the honor of running you four out of town, for good. If I lose, then you can take me and Mandy back with you.” “You got yourself a deal. Not like you’ll win, anyway.” Aozora said, ignoring the startled expressions of the other three SOHALC members. Instead, she beckoned them forth. “Zifia, Kenji, Yuki. Come. You will be spectators.” Before Peaches could follow them outside, she was yanked backwards by Olive, who whispered something in her ear. “Remember the plan. Stick to it, and you can’t fail.” “Got it.” Luckily for everyone, the street was pretty much dead. Olive knew this area in general was pretty much dead. She had never been sure of why, but regardless, it made for good circumstances for the fight that would ensue. “Now.” Peaches began stretching. “Are we doing this in human form or in cat form? Perhaps...a little bit of both?” “Human form.” Aozora cracked her knuckles. “It makes for a more interesting catfight.” “All right. Bring it on.” Both girls unsheathed their claws. Aozora licked her lips. “With pleasure.” They charged at each other, leaping into the air in a fantastic show of first moves. From by the door, the rest of SOHALC, along with Olive and the others, all watched nervously, waiting for their chance to partake in the plan that would hopefully foil Vallea’s latest attempt at capturing Peaches and Mandy. S1E22: A Dog-Girl's Best FriendOn the dead street of Knight Avenue, in the middle of the day, two catgirls went head-to-head. One was part of a weakly-cobbled-together organization with a shoddy lair and an even shoddier MO of capturing only two people. The other was part of a better-built organization dedicated to stopping oddness...and part of a whole village of catpeople who were led by a corrupt king who was hellbent on capturing said two people because of his impatience. As they jumped in mid-air, one made sure to hit the other square in the face with a simple claw rake upon passage. It was simple, it was not-so-sweet, and it managed to cause some degree of pain upon landing. "Nngh...that was a dirty move, Peaches!" Peaches chuckled. "No one said this fight had to be fair, Aozora." "What?!" "You heard me." Aozora stared. Stared in utter disbelief of this catgirl, who had been kicked down by life, and her witty comeback and...was actually right. Just a little bit, not by much, but...she was right. ...No. That was not right. She was not right. She needed to get her head out of the dirt. Aozora's teeth grit together. A growl came forth. She ripped off her cloak in one fell swoop. "I'LL KILL YOU!!" she screamed, bursting towards Peaches with long strides. The other catgirl easily avoided the attack, however, simply by stepping off to the side. Aozora stumbled and whirled around. "What..." "Your friend Orino may have beaten Mandy by being more agile, but don't think it'll be the same this time." Peaches smirked. "Because this time, you're fighting another catgirl!" Aozora's face went tomato-red with rage, even moreso when she saw Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of the group they had brought with them come up to Peaches. "And I've got friends on my side!" She had made sure to emphasize "friends". Aozora's expression, in turn, twisted into an ugly grimace that no one would ever think could be done by her species. "I knew it. No wonder you've been able to evade our King for so long. But that ends today!" Upon receiving a simple head nod, the other members of SOHALC came to her side. "Because I've got reinforcements on my side as well!" An index finger was jabbed at the opposing group. "If you want to make this a war, then we'll make it a war!" The two sides charged without hesitation, and met in the middle. Dust began kicking up from the scuffle. The ponies used everything from magic to gadgets to take the catpeople down, even in spite of the advantage they had in terms of agility. Even so, Rainbow and Applejack, two of the most athletic members of the group, became the star MVPs, delivering blow after blow to SOHALC from both air and land. Off to the side, Zifia and Olive were facing off. "You...you were the one who took Orino down, didn't you?" Zifia spat. "Lucky guess. But it wasn't just me." Olive smiled, choosing to be light on details regarding Oprah -- while she was aware the Director could probably take down the whole of Vallea if she so chose to, she didn't want to make her opponent suspect of why she wasn't involved in this fight. She gazed at Zifia, kneeling before taking off at a running start towards her. "Either way..." The sound of bones cracking, and the horrific pain that accompanied it, sent Zifia into a horrifying yowl. Olive leaned close, her lips nearly caressing the catgirl's human ear. "I can send you back the same way I sent him back. Don't underestimate my strength." The Director backed off, leaving Zifia with enough time to compose herself. "But can you handle this?" A swift kick to the shins sent Olive toppling onto her back, her head nearly hitting the concrete. As she winced in pain, she felt the sensation of a hand clasping her throat hard enough that she was close to choking. "You're pinned!" Zifia declared. Before she could declare victory by tightening her grip, however, Olive began thrashing, hard enough to throw her off and send her tumbling to the ground. "I'll..." Olive gave a cough. "...fight for Peaches and Mandy for as long as I'm able to. For as long as I'm alive!" Zifia growled, rubbing her broken arm as she watched her opponent slowly get on her own two feet. "I know about Mandy's beef with Clementine." Olive's eyes widened. "W-what?" "How she hates Mandy's guts now because Mandy attacked her completely unprovoked. How Mandy wants to make up with her." Zifia chuckled. "Like she'll ever be able to do that!" "Don't talk nonsense!" Olive shouted, thrusting herself at Zifia until they were nose-to-nose and ignoring the pain in her shins. "Mandy will find a way to make up with her!" "I doubt it." Baring her teeth, Olive decided it was her turn to try and choke Zifia -- and by odd, if she wasn't going to do it better. Her grip was more firm, was far tighter, and was filled with nothing but sheer rage. "Don't ever doubt her ability to mend friendships, you got that?" she snarled, a little ball of sadistic satisfaction forming inside of her as Zifia began to cough. "Now why don't you give me one good reason why I should let you go and-" Two claw swipes, each going diagonally down her lower stomach, stopped her cold. She let go of her opponent's throat, stumbling backwards before landing on the pavement and clutching her stomach, feeling blood begin to soak through the two layers she was wearing. Zifia gave a few coughs of her own before beginning to rub her throat. "Not on the agile side, are you?" she taunted. "I figured. You're probably a half-breed just like that "friend" of yours." Olive was too busy shivering in pain to fight back. As she pulled her hand back, she could see red coating it, and instantly feared the worst. How could a couple claw attacks hurt so bad? It's like she attacked with knives! If I bleed out like this, I- "Freeze-Ray-inator!" A sudden blast filled Olive's vision, and within the blink of an eye, she found Zifia nearly fully coated in ice, with only her head sticking out of the top. "What..." The catgirl tried in vain to move. "H-hey, get me out of here!" Olive smiled, seeing the form of Pinkie Pie trot up to her with a gadget held in her forelock. "I got your back, Olive!" A shaky sigh of relief left the Director. "Thanks, Pinkie!" "A pro-tip, though..." The party pony sidled up to Olive, reaching behind her back and taking out a towel she could use to wrap around her senior's stomach. "I think we can defeat these guys if we use the gadgets we have! After all, if Peaches says we can play dirty, then I'm ready to play dirty!" Olive's eyes widened. A realization began to take form. "You're right." she murmured, allowing Pinkie to patch her up as her shirt and jacket were lifted up to make room for the towel. "We're not going to win this with brute strength. We've got things they don't!" "Hey, get back here!" Pinkie perked up with a yelp, her hooves working about as fast as a hummingbird's wings to tie the towel around Olive's stomach and lower her clothes back down. "Oop, gotta go!" she said, taking off in a blur. Olive simply blinked in confusion. She recognized the voice as one of the catpeople, but her brain was still stuck in the process of "have to thank Pinkie". However, she snapped back to her senses when she saw Zifia struggling to get out of her confine. "King Ashero is gonna hear about this!" Olive slowly got to her feet and smirked. "Not if you're so injured you can't even bow down to him." Reaching behind her back, she whipped out an absurdly-large gadget. Zifia's ears flopped downwards. Her eyes shrunk. "Oh cattails." With a foot and a hand dangling off of the bed, Mandy snored. It was like they had been trying to make up for lost time, like they were hardly punctual and had just arrived at their destination. Which was probably true, but if anyone saw Mandy in such a state, they'd take it as a pretty good sign that she was on the mend. A snort caused her body to jerk slightly, and her eye-booger-encrusted eyes slowly opened to meet the ceiling of her room. Sleepy murmurs left her, and one coalesced into a squeaky yawn. "Mmmwow, that was a nap I didn't think I needed..." she purred, before she touched her throat. "Oh, my voice is back." Another yawn left her as she rolled over and allowed her body to hit the floor. Which, really, wasn't her ideal way of waking up, but she didn't really care about that too much. She slowly got to her feet, swaying slightly as she leaned on her nightstand for support. And then a truck hit her. Metaphorically, of course. If a truck came barrelling through the underground of Earth then it would be an utter disaster. She gasped. "My voice is back! I can talk again!" she cheered. "No more stinky ol' Laurenhitis for me!" As she bounced around the room with glee, a happy sigh left her. "Wow, whatever Dr. O gave me was powerful schtuff! Oh, oh, I'm gonna go see him!" Not a minute later and she was throwing open the door to the Medical Bay, a big fat grin on her face. "M-Mandy!" Dr. O whirled around, but just as quickly tried to compose himself. "Um, h-how's your throat?" The grin turned lopsided. "Hmm...I guess the cure didn't kick in yet." "Yes it diiii-iiiiid!" Mandy called in singsong. "Oh!" Dr. O blinked. "Oh, thank odd. I'm so glad you're talking again. I suppose since you have different sleeping habits, the cure worked faster than usual." "Is Oprah better?" "She's still resting up. We're having nurses monitor her around the clock to make sure she doesn't sleepwalk or do anything else dangerous in her sleep." "That's a relief." Mandy placed a hand on her chest. Part of her felt upset that Oprah was still asleep, but another part of her was relieved that she seemed to be making improvements. Her ears swiveled as she attempted to listen for any sign of her friends in the bullpen, frowning when nothing presented itself. "It seems quiet...a lil' too quiet. Where is everyone?" "I'm not sure." Dr. O said, turning back to his cart and the bag of cotton balls that sat on top of it. "They're probably around somewhere." "Maybe they went on some super-big mission." Mandy theorized, before giving a sigh. "That's okay. There's something I have to take care of first, anyway. Thanks, Dr. O!" "Not a problem. Just make sure you drink lots of fluids. A-and try not to talk so much for the next couple of days. Just so your vocal cords can heal." "Got it!" As Mandy made her way out of the Medical Bay, her mind got to churning. I need to patch things up with Clementine. I almost forgot about her in the wake of Oprah getting sick and then me getting sick... She clenched her fist. But I need to make amends with her. I shouldn't have gotten as angry as I did... She stopped. Bit her lip. Closed her eyes. She was the one ally I had when no one else was on my side. We were just starting to become friends... Tears began to well up, but quickly stopped. No. I can't cry now. There's only one thing I have to do. I'm sorry, SOHALC. But this is more important. With loud fwoomp noises, her wings spread. She soared through Headquarters and right to the tubes, where she made her destination loud and clear to the on-duty tube operator. Soon, she found herself hovering over a spot in Trillium Park -- not the same spot where the sandbox was, mind, but a completely different spot. Either way, she knew that any area was viable for her to create a portal that would take her to her destination. "It may have been an issue going to the Odd Side when I had others with me, but doing it alone doesn't require Serendipity 2.0." she said aloud, her tail bobbing up and down as she took out a gadget that had a large pudding bowl for a cone. "Portal-inator!" She fired the gadget, and a portal opened -- one that wasn't too large, but one that wasn't too small. It was perfect for her, and even better, it led to right where she needed to go. Tucking the gadget away, she took a deep breath, and dove straight in. Lucky for her that she had wings, because the descent alone was enough to turn her into a Mandycake. "Weird..." She tucked her limbs closer to her as she looked around warily. "It's like the Odd Side got stranger since the last time I was here." In reality, not much had changed. The sky had grown a slightly darker shade of pink and the floor was lined up like a checkerboard -- Mandy suddenly got flashbacks of that Discord figure the ponies had told her about -- but that was about it as far as changes went. She drifted along the same way she had gone, off to the west side of the realm. "Aw jeez...what am I gonna say to her?" she fretted. "It's gonna be really awkward, and she may attack me, but..." Her gaze turned steely. "I hafta try!" It took her far longer to get to Clementine's throne room than it did with Serendipity 2.0 -- mainly because the plane had gone at breakneck speeds and nearly made her regurgitate at least half of her organs and the large lunch that festered within them. But she arrived eventually, and stood at the entrance as she awaited the opening of the doors. The first thing she was met with in terms of a living face was the ugly grimace of a dog-girl. "Oh no." "You." "Wait!" Mandy stretched her hands out. "Clementine, it's not what you think. I didn't come here to fight." "After you tried to murder me the last time because you thought I was keeping two of your friends hostage, I believe otherwise." Clementine spat, her eyes narrowing. "I came here to apologize!" Clementine's expression twisted so it looked like she was about ready to bust out into laughter. "You? Apologize? Now?" She couldn't stop a snicker from making its way out. "I am sorry to say, you are a little too late to get that ball rolling." "Can't we talk things out?" "I am not interested." Mandy bit her lip, realizing that she was going to have to resort to extreme measures. "I-I even brought you a gift that was meant for SOHALC! Please!" That did it. Clementine's eyes widened as she stared at Mandy. "SOHALC? How do you know about them?" Mandy's eyes went the same in turn. Me?! How do you know about them?! Her brain became scrambled as she tried to figure out how and why Clementine, of all people, knew about SOHALC. The stars of coincidence had clearly aligned. Assuming that was actually a thing. She didn't really know. "I..." She fiddled with her hands. "W-well, it's kinda a complicated story, but..." A grating sigh left Clementine's body. "I suppose there is no other choice. Come and walk with me. We will talk on the way." Mandy had almost contemplated asking "On the way to where?" But even she knew that was a fool's errand -- Clementine was, for once, not acting hostile or aggressive towards her. It was the perfect chance for Mandy to make amends, and so, she followed the dog-girl as the doors closed behind them. "Um...see, they gave me an invitation to come to their..." Mandy's brow furrowed. "I dunno if 'headquarters' is the right term for it...but anyway, I went there, and they said that they would let me go home a free hybrid if I brought them gifts." "And what if you didn't?" Clementine asked, not looking back in the slightest. "They would kill me. And Peaches, too. A-and everyone else...my friends, my family..." "Peaches..." Clementine tasted the name on her tongue as she racked her memories. "The name sounds familiar, but I'm unable to place it..." Mandy buried her face in her hands, gritting her teeth in an attempt to try and stop the tears from falling. Some part of her knew that her effort of keeping the secret was inevitable, for many reasons. For one, she was terrible at keeping secrets for any span of time longer than at least a day, and that was being generous. For another, Olive was already catching on, and it was safe to say that most everyone else was catching on too. ...Okay, that was far fewer reasons than she thought. But the risk of her being slaughtered, along with her entire family, still remained. "Peaches is..." Her shoulders rolled. "...my cousin." A pause. And then, "Your cousin?" "Yeah!" Mandy chirped, in an attempt to try boosting her mood that ultimately proved futile. "Well, I didn't know she was my cousin until she came to Toronto looking for the person who burnt down her hometown, Vallea." Clementine softly smacked her lips a few times, the name "Vallea..." dancing upon them. "She thought I was the culprit, but I wasn't. Once we made amends and became friends -- hey, that rhymed, coolio! -- she became an ally of Odd Squad!" "I recognize the name 'Vallea', but..." Clementine slightly slowed her walk. "For some reason, I cannot recall a thing about it." Mandy sidled up alongside her. "You...don't remember Vallea? Enemies of Galagu, your hometown?" Clementine came to a full stop. She took a deep inhale, a gasp of shock as memories began coming back to her in a flood. Within the opening of the gates, a single tear broke from the crowd and began falling down her face. Her eyes began to slightly quiver, a sign of more tears to come. "Are...you crying?" The dog-girl straightened, wiping the tear away using the bottom of her palm. "No. It's nothing." she starkly responded, clearing her throat to steady her voice. "Let's go." As the duo arrived at the entrance to the Odd Side, where a cave sat embedded in a wall, Clementine crawled through it, Mandy following suit using her own wings to propel herself. They soon landed back in what Mandy recognized as Trillium Park. "So what are you doing out of the Odd Side?" Mandy asked. "Running errands. Getting groceries and such. Food in the Odd Side can get rather tiring after a while." Food shopping. Adults hated it. Mandy, on the other hand, would set up residence in a supermarket if she were allowed to. She loved riding in the carts that held food and sampling all sorts of food and buying food...it was just a dream come true as someone who adored eating food and making it. She would have gotten overly excited if she wasn't on an important friendship-repairing mission, and since she had an opening, she wasn't about to let it go. "Um...I know you probably don't want it, but..." Mandy gave a small smile. "Do you want my help?" Clementine stared at her. Gazed into her bright, beaming, eager eyes. It almost sickened her. Key word being "almost", because she had standards even for those that attacked her. "You are a persistent one." she noted. "I have a feeling you will not back down if I say no, so..." She bit back a groan. "Fine. But do not get in my way, understand?" "Yuppies!" With that, Clementine started on her way again, with Mandy following suit once more as she beamed from ear to ear. Well, we're not quite there yet, but...it's a start. Maybe if I invoke more memories of Vallea and Galagu, it'll get her to open up. Maybe... ...Man, I guess people callin' me 'annoying' really is starting to pay off! Aozora got thrown to the ground once more, a painful yowl leaving her. She found it hard to get up, no matter how much she struggled. Blood was oozing from wounds all over the place, and one of her eyes had shut as the result of an attack aimed directly at it. "Well?" Peaches stood over her. "Can you stand, or can we call this a loss for you and your cronies?" A growl rattled in Aozora's throat, followed by a hiss that was full of spittle. "How...dare you...King Ashero...he'll do something...about this...!" "Yeah? Highly doubt it." Peaches smirked. "King Ashero is a lazy being who sends catpeople to do his bidding for him because he's a coward who doesn't want to face us directly. Tell him that. You can even say it's a personal message from me to him, if you want." "Anyway, rules are rules. You all lost." Twilight pointed out. "Which means we get to run ya outta town! For good!" Rainbow hovered high in the air, crossing her front legs together as she stood alongside Twilight. "F-fine! Fine." Aozora extended a hand for Kenji to help pull her to her feet. "We'll leave. But this is certainly not the last you'll hear of us catpeople!" "We know." Peaches said. "Ashero can send as many of Vallea's townsfolk as he wants. We'll beat them down every single time." Hisses were her only response. "Twilight, Rainbow, follow them to the town line so they don't try anything funny." The two mares nodded, following the four catpeople as they began to waddle and limp their way away from the battleground. "The rest of you did great." Peaches nodded, wiping off some blood that had begun to ooze from her cheek. "That was a really smart idea to have us use gadgets, Pinkie." "Aww, it was nothin!" "Are all of you okay?" "Aside from my stomach..." Olive clutched it as another round of pain shot through her. "...as well as the soreness and the rest of the cuts and bruises, I'm fine. I'll be fine." "Got some bruised bones, probably, but nothin' too serious." Applejack said, stretching out her hind leg. "I think some of my wingbones may be broken..." Fluttershy tenderly touched a wing. "I'm totally fine!" Pinkie, of course, was largely uninjured. "Apart from a messy mane..." Rarity shuddered as she pawed at it in some kind of a desperate attempt to fix it. "I am fine as well." Peaches gave a relieved sigh. "Let's head back and rest up." "Wait!" Rarity cried out. "What about the house?" "We'll deal with that later. The most important thing right now is that we all see Dr. O." Murmurs of agreement came forth, and everyone began making their way towards the same tube entrance they had come out of, licking their wounds and comforting those who had received more serious injuries. Peaches watched the catpeople with Rainbow and Twilight head off into the distance, a worried expression settling on her face just before chasing after the group in the hopes that they could grab onto her, or she could grab onto them, so she could use the tubes. Soon, Mandy and Clementine were standing near the entrance of a store that the former certainly hadn't seen before. "What's this place?" she inquired with a tilt of her head. "They call it 'Shop and Savor'." Clementine explained. "It looks like a grocery store." Mandy blinked. A memory began flooding back to her, of being at the store on opening day. It was, perhaps, the first and last time she would ever visit a store on opening day. Twilight had warned her, she had refused to listen because with a new grocery store came food, and she nearly got trampled on by crowds galore. It was almost traumatizing, but Mandy forced herself to look on the bright side -- she got at least $200 worth of food. It was something for her efforts, and well worth the money too. "Oh yeah!" she chirped. "They're pretty recent. Lots of good stuff!" "Mm." Clementine stepped through the automatic door. "Let's go inside." Mandy bounced her way inside, giving friendly hellos to the people and ponies that recognized her. The second she stepped foot inside the store itself, she was assaulted with smells of food. So much food. All the food she could ever have, within her grasp, as she devoured it, piece by piece... ...No. That wasn't what she was there for. She was hungry, but even she drew the line somewhere. Besides, she had no money on her at the moment anyway, and no one was likely to hand out free samples to her even if she was an Odd Squad agent. "It smells so...fresh in here." "Well, it is a grocery store." Mandy giggled. "Got anything you wanna buy in particular?" "Yes. I have a list." One reach behind Clementine's back and a rather long list was brought into existence. Mandy marveled as she came into the knowledge that dog-girls from Galagu apparently had that ability. Although...now that she thought about it, Peaches had that ability too, so maybe Clementine having it wasn't all that strange. "Quite the long list!" "Indeed. Come along." Mandy's tail began swishing side to side as she fought off the urge to either ask Clementine if she could leap right into a cart -- assuming she wanted one, anyway -- or to just leap right in herself and go on a cart ride and pray to the powers-that-be up above that the cart wouldn't tip over (again). A deep inhale, a straightened posture, and she was marching after Clementine, gritting her teeth together. The ponies followed closely behind SOHALC. However, they were just at a great-enough distance to where SOHALC could talk to each other -- a rookie mistake, they thought. But Aozora, being the group's leader, wasn't about to go down without a fight. If it meant not getting killed in the House of Torture, that was all that mattered to her. "What do we do now, Aozora?" Yuki asked quietly. "Just follow my lead." Aozora responded in turn, her voice just as quiet before she raised it back to its normal volume. "It's over, Yuki. We failed." "B-but...if King Ashero finds out we failed, he'll punish us!" Kenji said, his body beginning to shiver. Aozora bowed her head. "I know. We tried our best. But Peaches and her friends are just too strong." "Stronger than we anticipated." Zifia agreed. "Darn right we are!" Rainbow cried from behind. "And hopefully you catpeople will know what's good for you and stop trying to capture and hurt Peaches and Mandy!" "Hmm...speaking of..." Aozora looked around. "Where did Mandy go? Did you pathetic lot try to leave her behind?" "Uh, no! She's si-" "She..." Twilight said, giving Rainbow a sharp jab to the chest with a hoof. "...thought we could handle you four on our own and wanted to see how we did." Aozora took a moment to let this sink in. "Hm. So even if we did beat you, we still would have gone home with only half the winnings." Sighs rung out among the group of four. "I suppose this is the end for us." Zifia said, attempting to pick up her leg so she wasn't dragging it on the ground anymore but utterly failing to. "It's also the end of our escort." Twilight pointed to the Now Leaving Toronto sign. "You're at the town line. Now go home, and never show yourselves around here again!" Zifia, Kenji and Yuki all looked towards Aozora, who solemnly nodded. "You heard her. Let's go." As the group began to plod away, Rainbow smirked. "That's right, don't come back!" Four pairs of ears swiveled towards the mares, and remained pointed in that direction. "Well, I think we showed them." Twilight turned and began to head further into Toronto. "Come on, let's head back." "Yeah! I could soooo use a rest after that battle." "Me too." The two groups went their separate ways. It was only when neither catperson could hear the sounds of wings flapping or hooves tapping along pavement that they all dropped the ruse with mighty sighs. "Is everyone all right?" This question of Aozora's was met with uneasy murmurs as the other ex-SOHALC members checked their wounds. "If we can't get Peaches, then we can at least get Mandy." "Aozora!" Zifia's cry of her leader's name was almost a mewl. "It's over. If Peaches is too strong to handle, then what makes you think we can take on Mandy?" "Orino got close, remember?" Aozora fired back. "The only thing that stopped him were those two Odd Squad leaders, Olive and Oprah. Perhaps if Mandy isn't around those two, we could easily take her down." "Aozora...I don't think this is a good idea." Zifia's ears folded downwards, which wasn't without its share of pain especially since both had a few notches embedded in them. "Even Mandy was able to give Orino a run for his money. We're already weak and injured. It'll be an easy battle for her!" Aozora growled and thrust her face into her subordinate's. "Don't defy me, Zifia!" she yelled. "Do you want to be executed under King Ashero's orders? Because that's exactly what he's going to do to us if we don't bring at least one of those idiots back there!" Giving a small mew, Zifia backed away, rubbing her arm as another bolt of pain shot through her that caused her to wince. "If everyone is in good shape...then let's go find Mandy. We'll crush her under our claws and make her come back with us!" Both Kenji and Yuki exchanged nervous glances. Neither one of them really agreed with the manic but determined Aozora, but they certainly didn't want to be killed at the House of Torture, and they certainly didn't want to go out as defying the orders of one of Ashero's most trusted catpeople. "Uh...sounds good, I guess." "If that's what you want." "Good." Aozora turned and pointed towards Toronto. "Now, shapeshift and spread out! We'll cover a lot more ground that way. Toronto is a big city, after all." She watched as her underlings began heading off towards Toronto, shapeshifting into their more healthy cat forms and sprinting in three different directions. She then did the same, turning into her own cat form and sprinting back into the town. "Mandy...you won't get away. Not from me!" Mandy's body quivered as she glanced at the bag of oranges that were the next item her rainbow-colored corona had to latch onto. It was clear that carrying so many items at once was beginning to take its toll on her, especially since half of the items were heavy and some of the stuff was stuff that adults could slip a disc carrying. Maybe. Probably. She wasn't sure what "slipping a disc" meant, in all honesty, but it sounded painful enough. "Y-Y'know..." A bout of nervous laughter left her body -- a bad idea, one that caused her to nearly stumble. "It might be better if you got a cart for all these items...m-my magic can't really hold all this stuff." "And yet you're doing it now." Mandy blinked, taken aback by the sudden snark. "I...w-well, um, y-yes, that's...true. But if I let go of these things, all of them are gonna drop." Her gaze swiveled around the area, attempting to find an empty cart nearby she could use. Lucky for her that she and Clementine were rather close to the entrance in an adjacent aisle, and she was able to wobble over there and retrieve a cart. She tried to gently place the items in the cart, but ended up doing things halfway and nearly throwing some stuff in there she knew wasn't super-fragile. As her magic flickered, the final box of crackers landed inside, and she gave a mighty sigh. "There..." she wheezed, taking the cart and pushing it towards Clementine. "Now it's all in a shopping cart." Clementine's muzzle wrinkled in unease and disgust. "That thing looks like it'll kill me." Mandy sputtered. "Nooooo! Kill you?! No, no, I- what makes you think that?!" "It's got four wheels, a nose that sticks out, and..." Clementine poked at the flap that covered the baby seat. "Whatever this is." Mandy's brow furrowed as she tried to ask herself how and why Clementine didn't know about carts, then a realization hit her. "Ohhhh, right. I forgot. You probably don't have carts in Galagu." She shook her head. "No, no, see, it's not sentient. A cart is meant to hold things so you don't have to carry them. Like..." She moved her gaze about. "Ooh, see that baby?" Clementine looked at where she was pointing. A Pegasus mare was pushing her foal in a cart designed specifically for ponies, the baby cooing happily as it played with a circular toy in its hooves. As she wasn't all too familiar with the equine species, she didn't feel a need to question how or why such a creature had carts or was using them to begin with. "Yes?" "That mom can't hold her baby and all her items at the same time. So she uses a cart to carry both so she doesn't have to!" "Mm." Clementine watched as both mother and baby left the store with the cart. "It does look rather odd." "Plus, you can ride in it too!" Mandy chirped, before backtracking. "Er, well, not when you're big. I tried that once, and I toppled over. It wasn't fun. I got a bad nosebleed from the pavement. Momma punished me good that day." "I think I'll stick to the outside of the cart." Clementine made her way to the back end of the cart, gripping the handle and peering inside of the vehicle. "We're almost done, anyhow." "Really?" "You looked at the list, didn't you?" Mandy twiddled her fingers. "Well, I did, but it seemed so long!" "I needed less than I thought." Mandy nodded, then her gaze drifted to the sign in the next aisle, marked with "Pet Food". She smiled. "Hey, ya need any...dog..." Clementine fixed her with a half-lidded gaze and a raised eyebrow. Mandy couldn't tell whether she was upset or unamused, but she took a guess and assumed it was both. "N-never mind! Tasteless joke, totally tasteless joke!" She let out some nervous laughter that attracted the attention of more than one customer, and certainly more than one employee. "I'll, uh, shut up now." Doing a facepalm, Clementine gave a ragged sigh, her body slightly deflating as she pushed the cart along. She had to ask herself if Mandy was usually this annoying, but of course, the question remained only in her mind and was never spoken aloud. Besides, she was pretty sure the answer was a resounding "yes", anyhow. Mandy, of course, followed, wincing as she began to fret over her blunder being the killing blow that would sever the one chance she had at mending things with Clementine. "Fluttershy, Applejack, you're good to go. Take it easy, okay?" "Mhm." "Thank ya kindly, Doctor!" "Not a problem." As both Fluttershy and Applejack headed out of the Medical Bay, they began heading downstairs to meet up with the others. Bandages littered their bodies, with Applejack's bruised back leg wrapped up in a cast. "I'm glad that no one got seriously hurt." Fluttershy commented. "It was all thanks t' Pinkie suggestin' we use gadgets instead of attackin' those catfolk physically. Otherwise we never would've won!" "Hey there!" The two mares glanced down to see Peaches waving to them, and gave friendly waves back. "Have any of you seen Mandy?" she asked as they arrived in the bullpen. "She wasn't in bed when Olive and I went to check on her." "I was up in Dr. O's office." Applejack explained. "So was Fluttershy. We haven't seen Mandy at all." Peaches sighed. "Where could she have gone?" "Oh! How's Ms. O?" Fluttershy asked. "Still resting in quarantine. She'll probably be out of commission for a few days." The sound of the steel double-doors opening caused everyone to turn their heads towards the newest arrival to the bullpen: Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who quickly made their way over to the trio as soon as they saw them. "Hi, everyone!" "Hey." "Hi!" Peaches greeted. "How were they?" "They behaved well and are heading home now." Twilight reported. "They shouldn't cause trouble for us anymore." "They'd have to be really stupid to try and mess with us again, especially since they're worn out to the max!" "That's a relief." Peaches heaved another sigh. "Thanks for doing that." "No problem." Twilight glanced at Rainbow. "Come on, let's go and see if Olive has any cases for us." As they turned to leave, Peaches stretched a hand out, although her gaze was fixated on Olive, who had gauze wrapped around her exposed stomach. "Wait, hold on! Shouldn't you be resting?" "We're fine." "Yeah, I think we'll be alright." Rainbow stretched out her front leg and rubbed it, examining the large bruise that sat in its crook. "All right, if you insist." Peaches shifted her gaze towards the right-side hallway. "I'm gonna go clean up and take a nap. See you four later." A chorus of goodbyes were the last thing the catgirl heard as she walked away. As she began to make her way towards her room, she closed her eyes in thought. She was relieved that SOHALC had been chased out of town for good, because it meant that both Odd Squad and Mandy were free from Vallea's grasp once again. But she couldn't help but worry about her cousin -- the same one who had a tendency to run after distractions and charge headfirst into battle. She wasn't sure if she was cured or not, but regardless, the worry still festered inside of her. Mandy...I really hope you're safe. And I really hope you aren't going and straining your voice again, either. "Thankies! Have a good day!" "You as well, Mandy! Glad to have met you!" As Mandy gave a friendly laugh in response, Clementine's eye twitched. Her energy had almost been completely sapped out of her just from enduring the girl's conversation with a cashier she hadn't even met. Her eyes darted around in an attempt to find a clock so she could find out just how much time had passed, but found there were none in view. The pair left the store, with Mandy taking half of the bags in her corona and Clementine taking the other half. "It looks like we got everything we need." Clementine said. "And it's a good thing, too. I can't leave the Odd Side unattended for too long." "Why not?" "Strange things will start to happen." Where've you been? Strange things have already been happenin', sister. ...is what Mandy would have snarked, if she weren't in the process of repairing a friendship. "Well that's vague. But I'll take your word for it." she decided on. "You want help carrying these back?" Clementine grit her teeth. Every bone in her body was compelling her to bark out an angry "no" and then maybe an angry "leave me alone". But if she was being honest...she was growing a little attached to Mandy. Annoying as she was, she had a certain charm about her that acted like a magnet, and Clementine could feel herself being pulled into it effortlessly even in spite of her hostility towards the hybrid. She clenched her fists together. She bugs the snot out of me...but...she's just so nice...and...I've always wanted company... But she abandoned me! She left me in the hands of those merciless adults! Only because she had no way to fight back. But she could have done something to- "Yes!" The word came out without consent or warning. Clementine's eyes widened. She had half-expected Mandy to start cheering or throw a party or do something that would irritate her more than that one bad poison ivy rash she got as a child. But the hybrid just smiled and followed Clementine as she walked, not saying anything or doing anything. Of course, unbeknownst to her, Mandy was celebrating solely in her own thoughts. Yeah-ha-ha! Wow, I guess she's starting to warm up to me! This is great! At this rate we'll be best friends in no time! Although...maybe I should take it easy...after all, she does seem a little stand-off-ish. But hey, nothin' I can't fix! Once they arrived back at the throne room, they dropped the bags, Mandy breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, thank you for the help, I suppose." Clementine said, taking her own bags to the right side of her throne. As she knocked on the wall, it spun around to reveal a rather large refrigerator. "It's no problem!" Clementine very nearly dropped her bags as a memory came back to her. It had been when she and Mandy were heading back to Galagu, just before they had crossed the border into another city that she couldn't remember the name of -- how she had lost her barrette, the one she treasured the most since it was a gift from her parents, and how Mandy had found it and said those same words... Tears began to cloud her vision as she stared at Mandy, picking out all the cold food items from the bags and holding them with her magic. In that moment, the bitterness and revenge she had held against Mandy for years slowly and gradually began to ebb away. She felt a new emotion, one she couldn't describe, but one that was warm and familiar. It was one that told her, "I want to befriend this girl." Or, well...she supposed in her case, "I want to befriend this girl again". "Something wrong?" The question snapped her out of her dazed stupor. She blinked at Mandy rapidly, and it took a moment before words came out. "I...I want you to...stay here with me." she posed. "Can you do that?" "Stay here?" Mandy tilted her head. "A-are you sure?" "This is non-negotiable." The words were harsh, constricting, and made sure Mandy had no means of escape -- which were fine by her, because in her mission, this was a good step forward, a large step forward. "Makin' this kinda awkward, aren't we?" she cracked, before nervous laughter left her lips. She composed herself seconds later, however. "Anyway, sure! If you want me to stay, then I'll stay." The sound of Mandy's stomach growling resounded through the room, to the point where Clementine was worried it would trigger a structural collapse. But it didn't -- and Clementine had full control of the room, anyhow, so even if it collapsed, she could always rebuild it. "Um..." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "You got any food I could have from your bags?" Mandy happily consumed an entire mini-sandwich, chewing and swallowing it as her tail beat the ground. "Mmm, you picked out some great stuff!" she chirped. "I have plenty." Clementine smiled, a little surprised by Mandy's voracious eating habits but choosing not to comment on them. "Do you want another one?" "Normally I'd eat it all!" Mandy declared. "But, uh, out of respect...I'll have one more, and that's it, please. I have standards." Reaching into the container, Clementine took out another sandwich and decided to place it in Mandy's hand, forgoing the plate as she had figured out that those were a lost cause. "Here you are." "Thank you!" Just as quickly as she downed the one before, Mandy ate the mini-sandwich in her hand, relishing at the crunchiness of the lettuce and the rich taste of the ham inside. Silence fell among the duo. Clementine fidgeted with her hands, struggling to ease into one of the questions that had gotten her curious about Mandy. "Um...this is going to be awkward, but...what is life like for you now?" Mandy swallowed her sandwich and grinned. "Well, it's pretty great! I have a loving adoptive family now, and lots of nice friends!" She blinked. "Although you've prolly already met a couple of 'em..." Clementine only gave a soft "mm" in response as she ate another sandwich, racking her brain for another conversation piece. Finally, after a minute or two, she decided to settle on one of the other questions that had gotten her curious -- a question that involved a commonality she wanted to dig into deeper. "Hey..." "Hmm?" "About that gift for SOHALC...um, no, wait..." Clementine shook her head. "How are you involved with SOHALC?" Mandy's eyes widened only slightly. She rubbed her arm. "Well, it's kinda complicated, but...the gist of it is that they want to take me and Peaches back to Vallea with them because Peaches didn’t find who razed it, and because...I’m an accomplice. W-well, not really, I didn’t burn it down and neither did she, but...yeah." She stared at the floor. "They created SOHALC in order to find and capture us, but promised to let me go if I brought them gifts daily." Her gaze drifted to Clementine. "Wait, how are you involved with them?" Clementine sighed. "They confronted me as I was coming out of the Odd Side after we...well, you know. They told me that they knew all about my past...that they would tell me all about it and bring me back home if I did not comply with their wishes." "What did they want you to do?" "They wanted me to destroy you, for good. And...I promised them I would." Mandy sat on this information for a minute. So SOHALC got to Clementine, too...they tried to use her to attack me because she's a dog-girl? Is that how they knew her? They don't really know about my friendship with her, do they? She's just someone from a neighboring town of theirs that they're using as a pawn to try and get to me. ...Although knowing King Ashero, guess anything's possible, huh? For all I know he could be one heck of a strateetergist and I wouldn't know it. He probably knows about Odd Squad...and knows that the Odd Side is somehow connected to us. The pieces were falling into place, now. And as they began falling into place, one by one, something became apparent to her. It was almost like a eureka moment. "It sounds like they view us both as the enemies." "Enemies?" "They're after both of us. Although their priority is set on me and Peaches right now, not on you." Mandy explained. "Did you recognize any of the names of the SOHALC members?" "None of them." Mandy bit her lip as she stared at the far-off wall, not noticing Clementine's eyes beginning to well up with tears again. Perhaps "they're after both of us" was a little strong -- after all, who knew if Vallea was going after Clementine with as much intensity and drive as they were going after Peaches and Mandy -- but years of being an Odd Squad agent had taught her to never ignore a hunch, especially when that hunch was right and had more legs to stand on than a millipede. Finally, she looked to her left, and she saw tears streaming down Clementine's face. "Are you crying again?" "No. I'm fine." The response was instant, and the wiping of tears came even faster. The sniffle was apparent, however. "I'll be okay. You should probably head home before the Odd Side corrupts you." Mandy had forgotten about the dangers of the Odd Side entirely. Strangely enough, though, she didn't feel her mind becoming twisted in any way -- at least, not more twisted than it already was. "But I thought you wanted me to stay?" she asked. "There is always tomorrow." Clementine said. "Can you come tomorrow?" "U-um...sure! I can come tomorrow. If you want." As Mandy stood up, Clementine fixed her with a warm smile, a light blush creeping along her cheeks. "Thank you. For spending time with me today. I...I appreciate it." Mandy had to fight hard to not burst with excitement. "It was nothing, really!" she chirped. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" The hybrid took to the sky and flew off, giving Clementine one last "bye" before the throne doors closed behind her. It was only then that she began squealing with excitement, and the entire fly back, she began talking to herself endlessly, going on tangents about all the fun things she could do with Clementine and how she was oh so close to befriending her fully and wondering what she liked to do and what foods she liked to eat. Unbeknownst to her, however, it seemed that her mission of befriending Clementine had already been well-achieved. The words came effortlessly. The tears, thick and solid, came just as well. "Goodbye...my old friend." As Olive piled some papers together, a sigh left her, which only served to aggravate her wounds. The clutching of her stomach and the wishing of the pain's disappearance left her immune to distractions, such as- "Partner!" Olive blinked. Turned her head to the right. And smiled. "Otto!" she cried out, embracing her friend in a warm hug. "You all right?" Otto asked, before his gaze drifted to the gauze around Olive's stomach. "Uh, besides that." "Well, I've got some cuts elsewhere, some bruises, and a fair bit of soreness." A tired chuckle left the girl. "But nothing life-threatening." "Thank odd." Otto breathed a sigh of relief. "So what happened with that organization?" "We beat them in a fierce battle and ran them out of town." Olive explained. "They shouldn't cause trouble anymore." "Good. Are the others okay?" "Yup! Just minor injuries all around." Otto glanced up at Oprah's office. "How's Oprah?" "Still in quarantine, resting. She'll probably be there for a couple more days." She gazed at him hopefully. "Think you can manage running the precinct alone until then?" "Better idea: how about we trade off?" he said. "I'll handle Director duties here tomorrow, and you run our precinct." Olive chuckled. "Sounds like a plan!" The sound of the automatic doors opening caught both Directors' attention, and they turned their heads to look. Joy and relief began filling their chests as they saw exactly who had arrived. "Mandy, there you are!" Olive called. "Where have you been? Everyone's been asking about you!" She gasped. "Is your voice back?" For a moment, Mandy didn't respond. She made her way over, but kept her eyes glued to the floor. And then came: "Yeah, my voice is back." "Thank odd!" came the unisonant cry. "Okay, next question: where have you been?" Olive repeated. "I was..." Mandy gave a small smile. "...with a friend. An old friend of mine." Silence. Olive and Otto leaned in, as though expecting a barrage of words to come flying at them. But nothing came. "Care to elaborate?" "I'll have to decline." Otto's eyes widened. His gaze flicked to Olive, who only gave an unsure shrug. "Are you feeling alright?" Olive asked. "You're still not your usual self, even though you don't have laryngitis anymore." "I'm fine. I just...have a lot on my mind." Mandy replied, giving a weary chuckle. "Oh." was Olive's initial response as she stared at Mandy for a little while longer until the smile returned to her face. "Well, you'll be happy to know that SOHALC has been run out of town." Otto tilted his head. "SOHALC?" "The secret organization." Then, to Mandy, "Peaches, the ponies and I gave them a good beatdown. They shouldn't harm you anymore, okay?" It took a few moments for Mandy's brain to catch up to what Olive said, but when it did, she became elated -- or, well, as elated as she could get in her exhausted state. If Olive and Otto's reactions were any indication, SOHALC hadn't just been thrown out of town, but they had failed to capture Peaches too, which was a good thing. The fact that everyone knew about her affiliation with SOHALC didn't matter to her anymore, and she no longer had to keep the terrible secret bottled up inside of her. It just made her day all the better. "And please, don't give them gifts anymore." Olive added. "There's no need. Twilight and Rainbow Dash told us everything. We know about the sleepwalking, too, so hopefully that won't crop up again." Mandy sighed. "I didn't wanna tell you..." "Because you didn't want them to go after you." Otto finished. "Mhm." Olive grabbed Mandy and pulled her into a hug, her body jerking slightly with another bolt of pain that shot through her stomach. "Well, you're safe now." she said. "They're heading back to Vallea. The organization is dead and gone." Secretly, Mandy had already known SOHALC was just four catpeople sent by Ashero. But she wasn't sure. Oddness was everywhere, after all, and what laws prohibited four humans from dressing up in dark cloaks and threatening murder by proxy if a victim didn't comply with their demands? Olive let go of Mandy, but still kept a grip on her shoulders. "Why don't you go and take a rest? Maybe Otto can make you some dinner if you're too tired to cook." Mandy shook her head. "I had dinner already. But I can always make some more food for myself if I need it. Thanks for the offer, though." As her head moved towards the right-side hallway, another eureka moment hit her. Dinner...Clementine...Galagu...yes! I know how I can fully re-form the friendship! Oh, why didn't I see it before? It'll be perfect! "Wait, wait, I got it! Thanks for the suggestion, guys!" were her final words before her feet took her straight to the Breakroom. Olive and Otto merely blinked in surprise as they stared after her. It wasn't long after she began rummaging through the cabinet that sat at floor-level in the wall that she heard footsteps approaching her, and then a familiar voice. "Cuz! Oh, there you are! You weren't in bed so I thought you went missing." A barrage of clattering and clanging pots and pans was her response as Mandy moved about in the cabinet. Peaches tilted her head curiously. "No, just went to see an old friend." came Mandy's actual response, as she yanked out a plate, a mixing bowl, and a few utensils. "Ah!" "Huh. Well, we ran that nasty organization out of town!" "Yeah, I know, I heard." Mandy pulled herself up on her feet. "Look, do we have any lettuce?" "Lettuce?" Peaches did a quick sweep through the refrigerators that lined the walls, as though expecting a head of lettuce to just be sitting inside one of them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were none, but it did make her realize something. "Uhh, last I checked, Olly came through yelling that she needed to go get some..." "It'll take her seventy light-years just to get it!" Mandy gave a groan. "Whatever, I'll go myself. Stand guard and don't let anyone touch this stuff, okay?" "Uh...o...kay...?" "I'm headin' back to Shop and Savor!" "Shop and what?" Peaches didn't get an answer to that, as Mandy was gone in nearly an instant, taking off for, and through, the double-doors. Olive and Otto watched the ordeal go down. "There she goes." "And Peaches is guarding kitchen supplies." Their eyes went half-lidded. Hands rested in cheeks. Typical of partners with strong chemistry, they moved as one unit, and thought as one unit. "Typical day at Odd Squad." Clementine emerged from the portal connecting Toronto and the Odd Side, getting to her feet with a huff. It was a pity that she had forgotten something she hadn't put on her grocery list, but a return trip to Shop and Savor would, of course, clear that right up. "Well well well. Look who it is." The familiar voice stopped the dog-girl cold. The source of the voice showing her humanoid face threatened to send her to her knees. She gasped. "You." The source smiled her rather wicked cat smile. "Did you forget the deal you made with us?" "No, of course I didn't forget!" "Good. So I trust you succeeded?" Clementine hesitated for only a moment. "W-well...no, but-" "Ah ah ah. No buts. It was a 'yes or no' question. If you haven't destroyed Mandy yet, then that's on you." The source huffed, her short bob of a tail flicking from side to side. "Need I remind you that we are more than willing to take you back to Galagu?" Clementine's eyes shimmered with a sense of familiarity, fixating on a random point in the sky. "Galagu..." "Yes, your old home. Our King has mentioned it once or twice. Often lacing the name with enough venom to wipe out an entire army of catpeople." The source began fiddling with a few strands of her long blonde hair, her expression one of disappointment. "Look. We may not have been able to bring Peaches back, and we haven't found Mandy yet..." The expression then turned malicious. "...but perhaps taking you back is enough to prevent us from being executed." Something in Clementine snapped, and she returned to her senses, baring her teeth at the enemy. "You'll never make me come with you, Aozora." Aozora, on the contrary, grinned. "I thought so." Clementine barely even had time to react against Aozora's blinding speed, as the catgirl unsheathed her claws and landed a mighty blow on the dog-girl, who gave a yelp of pain as she stumbled backwards and landed on her rump. "Which is why I'm going to take you back by force- aah!" Aozora winced, and her body began to slightly shake. "Nngh...that stupid fight, it wore me thin..." She slowly raised a hand. "But I will never give up!" Clementine's eyes widened. Even in spite of the pain a majority of her front was feeling, she couldn't help but smile. "So you are weak. And meanwhile, I am strong." Unfortunately, her hope of having the upper hand was squashed by Aozora returning to normal and rearing up, both of her hands in the sky now. "We'll just see about that." More attacks were made on the front, serving to amplify the pain Clementine was feeling. She let out a sorrowful and painful howl, a cry for help that echoed into the air. "Yeah, how do you like that?" Aozora taunted, capping it off with a round of light chuckling. As Clementine opened her eyes, they began to water. She could feel blood beginning to soak her clothes. "P-please, stop!" "What's the matter? Can't fight back?" Aozora crossed her arms. "I'd think that since you're from Galagu you could easily have some battle prowess. But if you're not gonna even bother, then it's not fun!" Something else snapped in Clementine right then and there. She bared her teeth, a growl rumbling about in her throat as she reared her feet back before giving Aozora a mighty kick. This sent the catgirl flying a little ways, and it took a few moments before her body met the ground again. "Ha!" Aozora snapped right out of it. "You're gonna pay for that!" Within seconds, she had Clementine by the neck -- quite literally, as her claws sunk into the dog-girl's neck. Clementine had opportunity to give another howl, as the claws hadn't sunken so far in as to damage her vocal cords. Aozora thrust her face into Clementine's, enough to give a single warning. "You have five seconds to tell me where Mandy is, or I will kill you and take your body home as a prize along with hers!" "Stop! NO!! STOP!!" Just as Clementine gathered her willpower together to send another cry for help, another familiar cry, this time one of singsong, cut through the air. "Tiiiiimbeeeeer!" A hammer came spinning right for Aozora, at such a high rate of speed that not even she could dodge it. It hit her dead-on, making her release her grip on Clementine's neck and sending her flying once again. Five seconds after she hit ground, her head lifted. "What in the name of the-" "Don't you dare touch her, Aozora!" Rubbing her neck, Clementine's eyes widened as she turned to look at her savior. "You!" Sure enough, there stood Mandy, arms crossed and wearing a triumphant smirk. Her corona allowed her hammer to come right back to her, and she held it out for both combatants to see. A bout of manic laughter left Aozora as she slowly got to her feet. "Looks like I didn't need to go hunting for my prey. My prey came to me!" "Save it!" Mandy barked. "You're weak enough as it is. Give up now..." She threw her hammer up into the air, allowing it to complete three full spin-cycles before she caught it in her hands and held it outwards in a showy pose very reminiscent of a magical girl's once they finished transforming. "...or feel the wrath of my hammer!" Aozora growled. "I refuse to be executed by King Ashero!" she declared, charging after Mandy with a piercing yowl. Mandy, being used to catpeople's speed thanks to both Peaches and Orino, simply stayed in place, the cat smile remaining on her face as the handle of her hammer became swept up in her corona. Her swing to Aozora's face was a direct hit, and thanks to its brute power, it sent the catgirl flying further than Clementine's kick move did, allowing gravity to, in turn, allow her to give a painful yowl before letting her add in a few hard knocks to the dirt and a skid stop for good measure. "Aozora!" Both Clementine and Mandy turned to look at Zifia, rushing over in her cat form to tend to her comrade. "Aozora, are you alright?" Aozora gave a growl, weaker this time around. "I'm fine, Zifia- nngh!" "You can't beat them. They're stronger than you are." Zifia warned. "If you keep going like this, you won't be getting an execution from King Ashero because you'll die right here!" Unfortunately for her, Aozora wasn't keen on listening, as she struggled to get to her feet. "As long as I can stand...I will fight. I don't think I need to-" "Aozora, watch out!" Zifia had leaped out of the way just in time, her hearing having detected the sound of Mandy teleporting. Aozora, on the other hand, was not so lucky. One open mouth of shock only invited the head of a hammer to come and live there as a temporary squatter. The sounds of choking were, of course, included in the lease. "Well." Mandy landed on the ground, tucking her wings in. "That was easy." "Aozora, wait!" "Aozora!" Both Kenji and Yuki arrived on the scene in their cat forms, stopping cold when they saw their leader in her current state. "I knew you were weak from your last battle with Peaches and the others. You never stood a single chance. You won't beat us." Zifia rolled her eyes. "I could've told you that!" "Now, I'll give you -- and your comrades -- two options." Mandy said. "You can leave for Vallea and never return, or I can kill you right here, right now." She narrowed her eyes. "So what's it gonna be, Aozora?" All she got in return was a bout of muffled speech, leading her to sigh and remove the hammer from the catgirl's mouth and allow her to breathe -- and also cough. "Well?" Another cough. "Fine! Fine. We'll leave. We'll leave and never come back." Then, her body wracked with a final cough. "You were right, Zifia. She's too strong. We can't beat her." "Darn straight." Mandy's tail lashed back and forth. "And you can tell King Ashero that if he really wants to capture us so badly, then it's already been made clear -- he'll need to get off of his lazy tush and do it himself." Aozora's eyes widened. "Now leave. AND DON'T COME BACK!!" And that was all the incentive she needed to book it, changing back into her cat form and darting away. Mandy watched her go for a moment before her gaze moved to the other three ex-SOHALC members. "You three as well. I don't want to see your filthy faces around here again, unless you're askin' for a face-bashin'." Zifia didn't bother to argue. "You heard her. Let's go." With that, she, along with Kenji and Yuki, ran after Aozora, right in the direction of the town line. Another fling of the hammer into the air, another three spin cycles, and another capture of it in Mandy's hand as she held it out. "And that's how we do it!" Clementine blinked, having been rendered speechless by the awe she had felt just watching Mandy in action. The pain she had been feeling had mostly gone away throughout the ordeal, but had come back just as quickly, and she winced in pain as she struggled to understand the reasoning behind it all. "I...y-you...you saved me." She stared at Mandy. "Why did you save me?" "You were in trouble. There was no way you could fight back. And because..." Mandy looked back at her, and smiled. "Because you're my friend." The floodgates opened. A rush of memories flooded Clementine's brain as it began to warp, as though attempting to break free from a trance. Her entire body shook as she stared into that face...that beaming, hopeful face that she had befriended and journeyed with. She understood everything now -- why Mandy did what she did, why she had suffered through such hardships and came back kicking every time, why she had been so nice to her even after she had willingly attacked her...why she had even attacked her to begin with... She's grown up...she's so strong... So strong, that now, she's fully able to protect her friends. Including myself. ...Including myself... Tears cascaded down her face. Her eyes began to shake and quiver. Wordlessly, and without any regards to her injuries or to her pain, she reached up and pulled Mandy into a tight hug, loudly sobbing into the hybrid's chest. "T-take it easy there, huh?" "I-I'm sorry, it's just..." Clementine gave an ugly-sounding sniffle. "Seeing you rush in to save me...I'm so grateful, and..." She grit her teeth. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" "Sorry?" "I know now. I know why you abandoned me all those years ago." Clementine's pupils grew. "You really couldn't fight back. The mob...you were outnumbered. Your magic and flight skills were weak. And if you tried to fight with your hands and feet, you could have put us both in danger." Mandy's eyes widened as she realized exactly what was going on. She shook her head furiously. "Nonono, I'm sorry! I should have stayed behind and fought, even without my flight or my magic. It wasn’t right to abandon a friend like that." She folded her ears downwards. "You were right. I was a coward. A-and when I went to rescue Applejack and Apple Bloom, I...I lost control of my temper. You were telling the truth." Tears began falling from her eyes, now. "I’m in the wrong, not you!" The words were a scream, punctuated only by a hiccup that threatened to ruin the mood. The two girls stared at each other. Seconds later, they were hugging each other. Pitiful wails, sorrowful howls and choking sobs were exchanged. Within the messy din, they found room to say a few more words to each other. "I'm sorry!" "So am I!" Neither Mandy nor Clementine knew how much time had passed by the time they broke free of one another. They smiled, their eyes red and bloodshot. "Thank you. For saving me." "It was nothing, really. Thank you...for accepting me." Mandy rubbed her arm. "Could we maybe-" "Start over as friends?" Mandy looked up and blinked a few times. Clementine gave a small chuckle. "Of course we can, Mandy. Let's be the best of friends!" Mandy could feel her eyes beginning to water again as she leapt at Clementine and lifted her up into a tight hug, ignoring the spluttering sounds the dog-girl began to make. As soon as she put her down, a realization came to her. "Wait! What about the Odd Side?" The Odd Side. Clementine had forgotten all about it in the wake of Aozora attacking her. And now that Mandy had brought it up, she began to realize just what that sensation in her brain was. "The Odd Side...it isn't where I belong." she murmured. "It doesn't need a ruler to keep things running. My home is Galagu, and it always will be." Mandy gasped. "That means...the Odd Side corrupted you!" "I suppose so." The hybrid's mouth pinched inwards. And then her ears flapped a little as she began to recall everything that had happened with Clementine -- going to the Odd Side and recognizing it as a hostile environment, fighting with her over Applejack and Apple Bloom, her stand-off-ish-ness and hostility even before Mandy went utterly berserk. Wait...how the heck did Momma and Otto not realize that?! was a question that sat there, but then rotted and decomposed just as quickly as she had made it up, because frankly, neither Olive nor Otto knew jack about what the Odd Side was truly about. A new one formed soon enough, though. "Wait! A-are you sure you don't wanna come back with me, to Odd Squad? Peaches is there, a-and you can even help out if you want!" Clementine shook her head. "I don't think my skills will be of much help. Although..." "Yeah?" "I don't have anywhere to stay now. I can't go back to the Odd Side. And I need these wounds treated." Clementine stared at the slowly-setting sun, still pretty high in the sky. "Is it possible...you could stay with me?" She perked up. "Oh, uh, n-no, I-I-I mean..." "You wanna stay with me?" Clementine stared at Mandy. "You would allow that?" "Well..." Mandy twiddled her index fingers about. "My boss is kiiiiinda outta commission right now, and I'm the next in line to be leader, so...I'll say yes!" Clementine gave a giddy laugh. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" "However!" Mandy raised one index finger. "We can't let those groceries you bought go to waste, can we?" She giggled. "I'll go get them for ya, and close the portal to the Odd Side too! Anything valuable ya have there?" "Not really. Just the groceries." "Okay-dokay! Stay here, I'll be right back!" With mighty wingbeats, Mandy raced into the portal at a breakneck speed. It only took her about fifteen or so minutes to retrieve the groceries, and to her surprise, she was able to carry the rest of the bags with ease through the portal. She chalked it up to her energy and drive having been fully returned to her, and didn't bother to question anything past that. As soon as she was out of the portal, she used the reverse settings on her Portal-inator to close it. "I'm back!" she declared, making her way over to Clementine, who was leaning up against a tree and clutching her front. "We used up a couple groceries from our...uh, meal, but I got all of them! And the portal's closed too." "Thank you..." Clementine winced again, squeezing her eyes shut. "Now c'mon, hop on my back!" Mandy urged. "We should get you some treatment for those wounds of yours." "Hop on...what?" "Oh! I like to give rides to people and ponies. My spine became strong enough to support the weight of two, if you can believe it, I mean..." Mandy gave a laugh throughout her words. "Human anatomy, amirite?" Clementine was still a bit hesitant, but another pang of pain shooting through her stomach ultimately made her cave in. She slowly got on Mandy's back, her hands gripping her friend's shoulder blades in a way that she hoped wasn't too tight. "Now hold on tight!" Mandy warned, spreading her angelic wings far and wide. "You're not gonna go super-fast, are you?" Clementine asked warily, as she eyed the wings. "Nah! For you, I'd always go easy." Peaches fiddled with a pencil on Olive's desk. "The calls have slowed down substantially, huh?" "You said it." Olive sighed, poking at the wrinkles that she had felt forming under her eyes. "Now I know how Mandy must have felt. At least at my own precinct I don't go home feeling as weary as this at the end of the day." "Hey, look on the bright side! Maybe Oprah will get better as soon as tomorrow. Dr. O did say he gave her a special fast-acting cure." "I hope so." Olive said. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up." The sound of the double-doors opening snapped everyone out of the cloud of fatigue. Sure enough, it was Otto, there to brighten Olive's evening and perhaps share some of his boundless energy with her. "Hey, partner!" "Hey." "You feeling okay?" "A little worn-down..." Olive stretched her body out. "...but nothing I can't handle. How were things back there?" "Pretty good! Steady workflow, no conflicts, and I got to go home early!" Otto grinned. "And yes, I did all our nightly duties, before you ask." "Good." "Isn't Mandy back from the store yet?" Peaches asked. "It's been a while." Olive tilted her head. "Is that where she went?" "She said that she had to get lettuce. Not sure why. Olly came back with some a long time ago..." "Maybe she had some separate business to take care of?" The sound of laughing could be heard through the bullpen as the double-doors opened. Mandy and Clementine walked through, the former clutching her chest with one hand as she wiped stray tears away with the other. "Oh, Clementine..." Mandy gave a wheeze, a sign that her lungs were crying for air. "You're such a crack-up!" "Am I?" Clementine tilted her head. "I've never really thought of myself as much of a joke-maker, but..." "The word...the word i-" Mandy gave a few hacking coughs. "C-comedian! The word's comedian!" she finally eked out. "And nonsense! You...could be a one-dogperson act at standup comedy!" "What's 'standup comedy'?" "A-" Mandy stopped. Blinked a couple times. And then a blush crept across her face. "Oh. I forgot. You're not used to customs here, are ya? Sorry about that." "It's all right. Although I do want to know more about this place you call..." Clementine rolled her hand. "Toh-rain-toe." "No, no! It's 'tuh-ron-tow'! Tuh, ron, tow!" "...Tuh-ron-tow. Toronto." "There ya go!" Mandy began to head for the Breakroom. "Now c'mon. I'll go put these groceries away! All the frozen stuff's gonna get spoiled! You, missy, go on up there and get some treatment from Dr. O." Peaches sighed as she watched the pair move in separate directions. "And there she goes." "Wow, she didn't even say hi to us!" Otto remarked, his tone having just an edge of hurt to it. Olive stared for a few moments as she finally recognized just who Mandy had brought back. "W-w-wait...guys, that's Clementine! The ruler of the Odd Side!" "That's Clementine?!" Peaches' words were practically a yowl as she too stared at the dog-girl, who was entering the Medical Bay. "Yeah. That's the girl we came across when Mandy took us to the Odd Side to rescue Agent Applejack and Agent Apple Bloom." Otto explained. "Do you recognize her, Peaches?" The catgirl thrust her face right into Olive's. "Do I recognize her?!" She pulled backwards, and in a much calmer tone of voice, said, "Well, no...I didn't know what she looked like up until now, and the name didn't ring a bell..." And then, being nose-to-nose with Olive again, she screamed, "But that's who attacked my cousin?!" Olive placed a hand right over Peaches' face and gave a mighty push. "Yes. That, indeed, is the one who attacked Mandy. After Mandy attacked her." "But...Mandy's so friendly with her now!" Peaches gasps. "That means-" "What? What does it mean?" Otto asked. "She took my advice to heart." A smile formed on Peaches' face. "She became friends with Clementine! Ha, I knew she could do it!" Olive's eyes became half-lidded. "It's like I told Zifia. Never doubt Mandy's ability to mend friendships." "Maybe that's why Mandy wasn't acting like her usual self." Otto theorized. "She wanted to make things up to Clementine for what she did in the past. And for how she acted when she went to rescue Applejack and Apple Bloom." "You're right on the money with that, partner." The phone ringing snapped the trio out of their people-watching, and Olive reached over to pick it up. "Hello, Precinct 13579, how can I help you?" "..." "Uh-huh...you got it, sir, we'll send someone over there right away! Thank you! Buh-bye now." As Olive placed the phone onto the receiver, her gaze moved around the bullpen in an effort to spot any stray agents that looked like they weren't busy. As luck would have it, two such agents entered the bullpen from the left-side hallway, deep in conversation. "Hey! Applejack, Rarity!" The two mares looked up and began making their way over. "Oh, hello, Olive, darling!" "Howdy!" Applejack waved. "How're things goin' with your Director duties?" "Pretty well." Olive smiled. "A man needs your help, though -- something about his furniture being turned into washers. You two up for solving it?" Applejack hesitated for a moment, wondering if Olive meant the bolt kind of washer and not the appliance. Still, she nodded. "Sure thing! Aren't we, partner?" Rarity giggled. "Of course, partner. We'll go and solve that right now!" "See y'all in a bit!" The trio watched the partner pair leave with smiles on their faces, oblivious to Mandy and a patched-up Clementine coming up to them next. "Hiya, Momma!" "Mandy!" Olive's expression was nothing short of relief as she turned to face her adopted daughter. "It's good to see you in high spirits again." "Uh-huh!" Mandy pulled Clementine closer to her. "I'm sure you and Otto have met Clementine, I mean of course, you guys were there for that whole thing..." Clementine waved. "Hi." "Hi! I'm Olive, of the Odd Squad precinct the next town over from here." Olive gestured to Otto. "This is my partner, Otto, who co-runs the precinct with me." "Hey! Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you two as well." Mandy bounced over to Peaches, pulling her close as well. "And this is my cousin, Peaches!" "Oh!" Clementine eyed the catgirl. "You're from Vallea, right?" "That's right." Peaches nodded. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Clementine." "Same to you as well!" Clementine tilted her head. "I must say, it's quite odd how I don't recognize you." Peaches simply shrugged. "Well, the feeling is mutual. But hopefully we can become good friends!" she said. "I know how Vallea and Galagu see each other as enemies, and how your queen isn't one for violence. I, um..." She twiddled her fingers. "...had to deliver a letter to Galagu a long time ago." "Queen Weylyn?" The name tasted weird on Clementine's tongue -- had it really been that long since she had been in Galagu? "Yes, you're right. The people of Galagu don't like inciting violence. We only fight if we need to." She sighed. "I plan on returning there, as a matter of fact. It has, unfortunately, been quite a while. It will be nice, to be able to see my friends and family again." "I see." Peaches nodded. "I wish you the best of luck, then." "Thank you, Peaches. I promised Mandy I would write letters whenever I got the opportunity, but perhaps I'll write you some as well." "That would be wonderful. Please do!" Mandy blinked, wondering exactly how and when Peaches had gotten more eloquent. She made a mental note to check the character description of her cousin later. "Sorry to butt in, but..." Otto had to resist snickering at his own pun. "What happened to you? Why is there blood on your shirt?" "Oh!" Clementine pulled her shirt out a little ways to examine it, as though having not noticed the stain before. Indeed, she had been so caught up in fighting Aozora and Mandy saving her that she barely noticed it. "I was attacked by SOHALC after exiting the Odd Side. Luckily, Mandy arrived just in time to save me." Olive, Otto and Peaches all stared for a minute or two. Neither Clementine nor Mandy knew whether they were stares of shock or anger. "So they came back..." Olive finally lamented, pinching the bridge of her nose with her two index fingers. "After we beat them and everything!" Mandy scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, they didn't put up too much of a fight. Aozora was already weakened from whatever you guys did, and everyone else was tryna convince her not to fight! But she did anyway." She laid a hand on Clementine's shoulder. "Luckily Clementine didn't get hurt too badly!" "Don't worry about me, Mandy. I'm fine." Clementine assured, before giving a soft sigh and letting her gaze rest on the trio. "Mandy helped me see that the Odd Side had corrupted me. It's not my home. I belong in Galagu." "She was corrupted. Just like what you guys were talkin' about!" Mandy offered for an addendum. Olive tilted her head slightly. "How'd that happen?" "I'm...not too sure." Clementine rubbed her head. "My memory is rather fuzzy. One minute I was in Galagu and the next minute I was in the Odd Side..." Peaches bit her lip. "So...you're not staying here?" she asked, her tone carrying a level of heartbreak within it. "No. I'm heading back to Galagu tomorrow." "But why?" Peaches begged. "You could stay here in Odd Squad! I'm sure Oprah -- she's the leader here -- she wouldn't mind! We could get to know each other more!" Clementine merely shook her head. "I'm sorry, Peaches. But I don't belong here, even if this 'Oprah' character would let me stay." She gazed into the catgirl's eyes. "I have made up my mind. Please, try to understand." Peaches opened her mouth, as though aiming for another attempt, but closed it just as quickly as she realized that any further attempts would likely be futile. Deep down inside, she knew Clementine was right -- both of them had vastly different approaches to staying in Odd Squad. Peaches had left because she was exiled by Ashero and needed a place to stay, while Clementine simply needed a place to stay for the night after leaving the corrupting Odd Side because Galagu was too far to journey to in the span of a day. Peaches was a permanent resident, and Clementine was not. Secretly, it hurt the catgirl. As many friends as she had in Odd Squad, Clementine was one of the only ones whom she had felt a personal connection with. And she was just leaving...it almost didn't seem fair. But she forced herself to swallow that pill. "I can't force you." she said. "In that case...good luck." "Thank you." Clementine looked around. "Now, is there any place I could possibly sleep? A free bed, perhaps?" "Can you shapeshift into a dog?" Clementine turned to face Peaches again, taking a few seconds to process her strange question. "Er, yes...why?" "You could sleep in Mandy's room. She can have a dog bed ready for you in seconds flat!" Mandy nodded enthusiastically. "It's true. I've got two ways." "Well, I don't mind either way. I'm flexible." "GreatI'llgomakeoneberightback!" And off the hybrid went, her feet taking her down the right-side hallway and turning a corner. Olive bit back a groan as, before she sharply turned the corner, Mandy nearly collided with the back wall. But she caught herself just in time. "I will say this..." Clementine said. "It's amazing to see how Mandy has turned out." "What do you mean by that?" Olive asked. "When I first came across her, she was sad. Angry. Scared. She held so much resentment for Odd Squad kicking her out." Clementine smiled. "But now, she's so full of energy and life. It fills my heart and makes me happy, just like how her heart is filled and she's happy." Peaches sighed. "Well, that's Mandy for you. She always brightens up our moods with her crazy antics." "She can get grating, and annoying, and...exhausting..." Olive rubbed her head, her mind partially shutting down before her energy was sapped by the many memories of Mandy's enthusiasm taking its toll on her. "But honestly, it's hard to stay mad at her. Even as a baby, she was more calm and peaceful." Clementine stared at Olive. "You knew her as a baby?" "If you can believe it..." Olive pointed to herself. "I'm Mandy's adoptive mother." Clementine did a double-take right then and there. She looked Olive up and down, looked down the hallway Mandy had gone through, and back again. "You?" "I know, I look young." "You?" "It's a long story." "...You." "Don't keep pushing it." "Sorry, it's just..." Clementine stammered, trying to find more words to say, but none came. She became fixated on Otto instead. "So that must mean you're the adoptive father, right?" Otto's eyes widened. He took a visible step back and threw up his hands. "Me? Nonono, I'm not her father. I'm a friend of hers." "Oh." "I raised Mandy from infancy into the agent we see today." Olive explained. "It was hard work, but to me, it definitely paid off." "That...makes sense." Clementine said, still a little bewildered and confused. "Uh, y-you did a good job, Olive." "Thank you!" The sudden arrival of Mandy via a very stealthy whoosh of air was punctuated by a cloud of dust that kicked up around her. "I'm back!" she declared, showing the group the dog bed she had made. Large, red, and made with a cloud-like material -- perhaps it was made of clouds. If it was, no one could tell. "Here you go, Clementine, one large dog bed! I, uh, didn't know what breed of dog you were, but..." Clementine laughed. "That's okay. Thank you, Mandy." "Oh!" Mandy perked up. "Um, I was making you bone salad before I realized I didn't have any lettuce. As a sort of make-up present." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Do...you still want it?" Clementine's eyes shimmered. "I love bone salad! Oh, count me in!" "Yay! Let's go!" Olive, Peaches and Otto all watched as Mandy crafted a bone salad in the Breakroom. They weren't exactly sure what bones she had put in there, and it was a bit terrifying to think about if they dwelled on the question too long, so they moved on to other topics of conversation. Finally, after a few minutes, Mandy laid a bowl down in front of Clementine. "Et voila! Bone salad!" Clementine eyed it for a few moments, feeling her mouth begin to water. "It looks wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you were so good at cooking!" "Weeeeell, I'm more of a baker, really..." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "Blame Pinkie Pie. She threw a cookbook at me and broke my computer, and I never looked back!" Eagerly, Clementine took a huge chunk of the salad and shoved it into her mouth. "So good!" she said, resting her hands on her cheeks. "Lemme know if you want more!" Mandy said, looking upwards. "Ocean's got a tooooon of bones up there in the Creature Room that he doesn't mind me using. Not sure why..." Clementine had the bowl halfway empty within a few minutes. "Hey, take it easy! The last thing you need's a tummyache!" Mandy patted her own stomach. "Besides, eating like that is my thing!" "Mm?" Clementine looked up and swallowed her bite. "Oh! Sorry, it's just...bone salad is one of my favorite delicacies back in Galagu. It's been so long since I've had it!" Mandy took a seat and eyed Clementine as she continued to eat. "Well, eat up! I've got plenty." she said, choosing to take some salad for her own and leaving the bones out of her mouth by the end of it since they weren't the soft squishy kind she liked. Once Mandy had cleaned up the dishes, she headed up to the Medical Bay, where she received the news that Oprah would be right as rain tomorrow. Relief coursed through her -- not just relief that her boss would be healthy, but relief that she and Olive didn't have to play O for a Day anymore. It was stuff like this that made her realize that, for the hierarchical position she was in, she could never be a Director. Not now, anyway. After going through her nighttime routine, she showed Clementine around and briefed her on the "Handle Mandy with Care" manual. "Now, if there's an emergency, you can wake me up. It might take me a while before I actually do, though." the hybrid explained. "I'm not gonna bore ya with details, but lemme sum up: I'm a really deep sleeper, and, uh..." "You still snore, don't you?" The deadpan question made Mandy blink a few times. "S-snore?" she muttered, before launching into a stilted laugh. "Ah- I- I- don't-" She leaned on her bed for support. "I don't know what you're talking about!" A sigh. Clementine stared at her. "...Yes. I snore." "I figured. Many nights on our journey was I kept awake by you 'sawing wood', as they say." Clementine playfully rolled her eyes. "Aah-ha-haaaa..." The laugh lacked any sense of enthusiasm as Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out a pair of earmuffs. "Well, if you want, you can use these. Fluttershy gave me these when I was sleep-flying all around town...bit of a long story there..." She placed them in Clementine's hands. "But they're great soundproofers!" Clementine tilted her head slightly, gave a soft hum of curiosity, and then smiled. "Thank you. I'll have to try these out." Closing her eyes, the dog-girl began to change form. It was much like Peaches -- a bright shimmer of light that was inching ever-close to blinding. Within seconds, she became, to Mandy's surprise, a yellow Labrador Retriever. The earmuffs remained on her leg, swaying back and forth slightly. "...Well that was a lil' unexpected." Ignoring Mandy's comment, Clementine sat and placed the earmuffs over her ears. They didn't necessarily work all too well due to how the ears were facing downwards, but it was a better solution for her than getting less-than-ideal sleep due to all the sleep noises her friend made. "Much better." Mandy simply stared as Clementine climbed into her bed and did a few round-trip spins on it before laying down in a tight ball. "Good night, Mandy." It took the words a little while to connect to Mandy's intricate brain, but when they did, she stammered out a "Oh, g-g-good night!" before climbing into her own bed and allowing sleep to claim her, while at the same time disallowing her from thinking about Clementine any further. Clementine woke up first, of course. It had been like that for the journey to Galagu, and it was like that in Odd Squad too. Her jaws parted in a yawn, and her whole body shuddered with the recoil of morning breath. Slowly rising to her paws, she stretched out her body and turned her head to the clock that sat at Mandy's nightstand. 6:00. So early. She looked at Mandy. I hate to wake her now, but she'll be sad if she finds that I disappeared suddenly. After changing back into her more humanoid form, she made her way over to the snoring hybrid, with one leg and one arm draped over the side of the bed, and gently shook her. "Mandy? Mandy, wake up." No response. Clementine heaved a sigh and tried again, shaking her a little harder this time. "Please? It's time." A frantic waving of hands and a cry of pure gibberish brought Mandy back to the waking world. Her head slowly turned to look at Clementine through half-lidded, crusty eyes, the popping sound her neck made going completely unnoticed by her. "I have to go now, if I'm going to make it far." Mandy's ears slowly folded downwards. Likewise, her entire body slumped forwards. Clementine smiled. "Still not a morning person either, hmm?" She chuckled. "I'm sorry. But I thought you would at least want to see me off." A squeaky yawn made its way out of Mandy. "Yeah, I do..." she muttered. "But y' couldn't wait' til...I dunno...9? 10?" "I wanted to leave at sunrise." Clementine, after stretching her body out a little, made her way for the door. "Come on, let's go wake Peaches up too." "Mmmmm-all right, all right..." Slowly, Mandy began to get up. "But I'm gonna head zztraight t' bed after thizz..." In spite of a few falters with her telekinesis as a result of her half-asleep brain, Mandy was able to get the bags to Clementine as they, along with Peaches, stood on the town line of Toronto. "Y' sure thizz izz ev'thin...?" Mandy asked. Clementine took the rest of the bags from the hybrid's magic grasp. "Positive. I think these groceries will last me throughout my journey." She began to gaze at the contents inside of them. "Thank you, Mandy. For freeing me from the Odd Side, for making up with me..." And then, she made eye contact with Mandy -- although it was a one-way street, seeing as how the hybrid's head was drooped. "...for everything. I'm so glad that you're doing well. And...I hope you stay safe." A bout of loud snoring came from the hybrid in response. "...Mandy?" "Wha-huh?!" came, along with a flurry of snorts. "I-I'm awake, I was listenin', I swear!" This got a hearty laugh out of Clementine. "Did you hear what I said?" "Totally!" Mandy chirped. "You, uh...you're thankful for me. And I'm thankful foooooor..." A yawn interrupted her sentence. "...you too. I'm glad I was able to make up with you, Clementine. I hope we can stay bestest friends forever." "Me too." The two girls went for a hug, causing Peaches to smile wide. While no one was looking, she wiped away a stray tear that had begun to fallen down her cheek. "And Peaches?" Clementine gazed at the catgirl with warmth in her eyes. "I'm glad I got to meet you. I hope we can stay in touch, even though we're supposed to be enemies." Peaches' tail began to wag slightly. "Of course! I'll have to visit Galagu again sometime and meet Queen Weylyn." "I'll tell her to look forward to your visit." And then, they hugged. However, as much as Mandy tried to stay awake, it was quite evident she was gradually beginning to lose that war. "You'll write letters, won't you?" "Of course I will, whenever I get the opportunity to." "Good." Mandy yawned again. "And don't forget, you're always welcome in Odd Squad whenever! If you need help, don't be afraid to contact us, 'kay?" "I'll keep that offer in mind. Thank you." Clementine turned in the direction of the next town over, the soft breeze allowing her hair to billow slightly. "I suppose this is goodbye." Mandy glanced at her damp index finger. "Mm...I can't tell if these tears are from me yawnin' or if I'm really cryin'...but..." She gave a soft sigh. "Good luck." "We'll miss you." "The feeling is very much mutual." Clementine began taking her first steps. "Goodbye, my friends." Peaches kept her gaze fixated on the dog-girl's figure. When it finally disappeared from view, she bit her lip. As much as she wanted to cry here and now, she figured that Mandy would cry eventually too -- at least, once she got her bearings together and met the world fully awake once again. So, she forced herself to bottle her emotions, even in spite of one rampaging thought that bounced in her brain: I already miss her. The method failed. Tears began to fall. The sound of a big squeaky yawn from Mandy snapped her out of her stupor. "All right, sleepyhead, let's get you back to bed before you fall asleep on my-" Loud snores threatened to break nearby windows, scare animals away from their homes, and disturb people's commutes to work. As Peaches turned her head, she found Mandy using her shoulder as an impromptu pillow. "...shoulder." the catgirl lamely finished, before giving a sigh and beginning to head back the way the trio had come originally. Of course, with Mandy being Mandy, it was a little harder than expected, but Peaches soon reached a tube entrance and dove inside by using Mandy as a sort of human shield, and eventually, put the hybrid right back to bed before heading for her own room to get some well-needed rest. Good luck and stay safe, Clementine. We'll see you again, I'm sure of it. "Mmm...file th' reportzz by Monday, get me some pazzta, and zzhave the goat already..." Although Mandy was deep in the thralls of a good dream, with her sheets askew and all, it didn't stop Olive from nearly throwing open the door. "Mandy!" She rushed to her adoptive daughter's bedside. "Wake up, we've got great news!" Arms slowly wrapped around the girl and pulled her closer, leading her to blink in shock a few times. Before she knew it, her ear was being gently nibbled on. "H-hey!" Olive pushed Mandy downwards. "Stick to eating your own pillow!" Sighing, she reached behind a back, pulled out a small piece of cloth, and tied it around Mandy's eyes. Once she was sure the knot was secure, she watched as Mandy, in the midst of a sound-barrier-breaking snore, stretched her hands out. It was the perfect opportunity for Olive to offer her jacket as an object to grab on. As soon as she felt a tug, she hoisted Mandy up onto her back, watching the hybrid's arms drape across her shoulders and down towards her torso. Sure, her hands weren't gripping onto anything now, but Olive had enough strength to stabilize Mandy, and that was what mattered. The only problem was that she could feel her eardrums rattling with each snore. Maybe they were developing cracks in them. She honestly couldn't tell. "Why do I think waking her up will be easy? It's never easy!" she muttered to herself, leaving the room and beginning her journey down the hallways of Precinct 13579's Headquarters. As soon as the duo stepped foot in the bullpen, Oprah jumped out from behind the wall that separated the hallway and the Breakroom. "Surpriiiii- ohh..." Near silence. Olive and Oprah merely stared at each other, listening to the sound of Mandy's snores and incoherent sleep-talking. "She's still asleep." "Yeah." "She got up early this morning, didn't she?" "Can't say for sure, but I'm 99% positive she did." "And you're carrying her on your back?" "Do you want her to start sleepwalking again?" More near-silence. "Well I didn't get sick for..." Oprah faltered. "...at least a couple days just to be greeted like this." Olive blinked. "Don't." Oprah ignored her, of course. Made her way over to Mandy, and began slapping her in the face with as much force and as much speed as that runaway Ferris wheel she had to chase down one time. A simple moan as Mandy weakly pawed at her cheek, a sleepy mumble of "too early", but nothing more. Clearly, waking up Mandy was not going to be an easy task. Not that it ever was. To Oprah, though, that just made it all the better a challenge, and her mind immediately came up with an idea. She grabbed ahold of one of Mandy's pony ears, jerked it down to her own mouth level, and whispered: "Precinct 13579's food supply is open for free raiding." A flurry of snorts, and then some leg kicking that nearly made Olive topple over onto her back. "Hzuh-whuh...?!" came the plaintive cry, as Mandy's eyes, still obscured by the cloth, flew open then reverted back to a half-lidded state. "Where'zz food? M' hungry! Mr. Jonezz didn't give...he didn't..." The hybrid's vision was blurry. Shapes of hallucinations began swaying side to side, and she rubbed her eyes in an effort to restore her eyesight. "...Oprah...?" "Surpriiii-iiiiise!" called the Director in glorious singsong. Slowly, Mandy edged her way off Olive's back and onto her feet, where the Director took the blindfold off of her. It took her a few more seconds than normal to get to Oprah, but she got there, and pulled her boss into a tight hug. "You're cured...!" "I am." Oprah sighed. "I'm feeling so much better. Whatever Dr. O did certainly worked." She looked behind her, where agents were simply going about their daily lives. "And it looks like Headquarters didn't fall to shambles while I was out." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, chugging it before speaking again. "Nope. Me n' Momma got all taken care of." she sleepily chirped. "But, uh, mostly Momma. My voice got sore waaaaay too soon, lost it, had to recover for a while. Nasty stuff." She felt her voice begin to grow stronger and felt her energy returning to her with every word she spoke, and that made her smile. "Oh, oh, and you know how you said the Odd Side is super-duper dangerous?" "Yes, what about it?" Mandy put on a smug expression. "What if I told you I managed to save and uncorrupt its ruler?" Oprah's eyes widened. "You did what now?" "Have a juice box, sit down, and I'll tell ya all about it!" "I can't believe it. So you saved Clementine from the clutches of both the Odd Side and the catpeople of Vallea?" "Yup!" Mandy kicked her feet against the stem of the chair she was sitting in a few times. "We're finally friends again, after...being apart for...so long..." Olive and Oprah, who were sitting across from her at the Breakroom table, watched as Mandy grit her teeth and let her eyes begin to quiver. "That's good!" Olive offered, as a lame attempt to cheer her adopted daughter up. "So why are you crying?" Mandy's body quivered next. "She...she didn't wanna stay here, so she...she left for Galaguuuuu!" And then came the wails and the waterfalls. The brunt of just what Clementine had done earlier hit Mandy like an airplane in the air, and she was nothing short of upset about it. Part of it was her struggle to try and recall exactly what had happened -- her mind had been fuzzy and she had been acting largely on autopilot with whatever part of her mind had been awake taking the wheel. She had a brief moment of clarity, when she had asked Clementine if she would write and then offered for her to contact Odd Squad if she needed help, but then her consciousness began to waver. She failed to remember anything after that. Olive, on the other hand, knew Clementine was leaving for Galagu, but had no idea Mandy and Peaches had left to see her off -- probably early in the morning, judging from how it was past 1:00 now. "Oh, Mandy..." She gave a sigh as she got up and pulled the hybrid into a hug. "It's probably for the best. We already have Peaches. Inviting Clementine to stay likely would have dragged Odd Squad into more conflict, and we already have Vallea after you and Peaches." This seemed to calm Mandy down as the waterfalls ceased and she gave a sniffle, which didn't help much considering that snot was nearing her top lip. "Aw man...it didn't really set in when she left...I was prolly half-asleep...but..." She shook her head. "I know she's moving on to bigger and better things. She'll be all right!" "You did a brave thing." Oprah praised. "The Odd Side could have just as easily corrupted you too, and yet, you took the time to befriend and save its ruler." She smiled. "I couldn't be more proud." Another ugly sniffle. Mandy magically conjured up a tissue, both to clean the snot off of her face and to hide her reddening cheeks. "You're makin' me blush!" "I have a question, though." Olive said. "Who's running the Odd Side now that Clementine is gone?" "Clementine told me that it doesn't really need a ruler to keep it running." Mandy blew her nose with another conjured tissue, then stuck out her bottom lip in thought. "Actually, Peaches told me something similar when I told her my backstory...when oddness gets sent there, it sorts itself out!" "So you broke the cycle." Mandy blinked, and then shrugged. "I mean sure, if that's what we're callin' it!" Only a second later and she felt her body being squeezed, her lungs screaming for air. "Ti-i-iiight! Too tight...face blue, need aaaaaair..." She was let go, and she let out a choking gasp. "Oprah, please-" A round of coughing. Oprah made her way back to her seat. "You've just solved one of the biggest oddities this precinct has ever had. Now no one can be corrupted by the Odd Side anymore." "I do have to wonder how the concept of having a ruler came to life to begin with, though..." Mandy shook her head and smiled. "But that doesn't matter!" The sound of a growling stomach cut into the conversation. Both Oprah and Olive didn't need a single second to figure out whose it was. "Oh wow, can't believe I forgot to have breakfast! Or lunch. Any food, really." Mandy hopped off of her chair. "Berightback!" Both Directors watched as Mandy sped through the double-doors, nearly knocking papers out of the hooves of Applejack, who fixed her with a glare. "It really makes me happy to see her smiling again." Olive mused. Oprah tilted her head. "Like she wasn't before?" "She was so bitter and upset before. She really wanted to make up with Clementine." Olive's eyes closed. "I'm surprised she isn't even sadder about having to let her go, but...I guess she's accepted it." "Part of me thinks that we'll be seeing Clementine again someday." Oprah frowned slightly. "I really wish I could've met her." "Well, Galagu and Vallea are close towns, I think. So you may not be too far off." "Hmm." "Hey..." Olive got up and stood in front of Oprah. "You want me to help you make something? I'd imagine you must be starving after that bout with sleep-itis." "No need. Looks like Mandy's doing it herself." Olive peered behind Oprah and watched as a suddenly-appearing Mandy made her way through the Breakroom, gathering all sorts of pots and utensils and placing them on the table. "She moves fast." "Have you seen her when she's hungry?" Oprah smirked. "If you mention food, she moves at Mach 5." She held up her badge phone. "I kid you not. I recorded it." "...Huh." "I burnt my hand!" came a distant high-pitched screech from somewhere that, without a doubt, belonged to a Mandy who had just learned one of the many improper ways to handle things on the stovetop. A plaintive cry followed the words, attracting the attention of a few passing agents. Peaches emerged into the bullpen right then, giving a hearty yawn. "Hi!" she greeted, before her eyes widened. "Oh, Oprah! You're cured!" "Yep." Oprah nodded. "That cure Dr. O gave me worked its magic." Peaches gave a sigh. "That's a relief. Both Mandy and Olive were getting really worn out." She tilted her head. "How did you get sleep-itis, anyway?" "I'm not too sure..." Oprah scratched her cheek. "Dr. O couldn't pinpoint a cause, but he did say it could be brought on by one or two bad nights of sleep...although I've been sleeping fine." The sound of approaching footsteps came. Mandy levitated a plate of waffles and a plate of pancakes, letting the latter land in front of Oprah. "Et voila! Pancakes for you, our dear leader..." "Oh, thank you." "Aaaaaand waffles for me!" Mandy took the other plate in her hands, setting it down and going right to town on the syrupy waffles. "Mmmm..." "Hey, why is my phone on your desk, Mandy?" Mandy choked on her bite of waffle. Some food that was well on its way to the stomach threatened to climb back up there to her mouth and deal with the issue itself. Her hair and tail bushed out as she attempted to swallow the bite she had, feeling the large mass scrape the back of her throat. From there, she began to cough, which also made the recent delivery of food threaten to come back up and tell her to get her fo-shizzle together. Olive, Oprah and Peaches all watched in shock as Mandy grabbed ahold of her water, chugged it, and then proceeded to launch into another round of coughing again. All fell silent right then and there. Mandy picked herself back up, let her hair and tail return to normal, and began to speak. "How did I not notice that?" Olive's comment became overshadowed by a bout of nervous laughter from Mandy. "Oprah, Oprah, ya worry too much!" The laughter turned stilted. "Now c'mon, that doesn't matter in the long run, does it? But I mean, if ya want it back..." She levitated the phone from her desk and placed it in front of Oprah. "Take it. Cell phones are in now, baby!" "Uh...thanks?" As if sensing that it was removed from a rightful place, the phone rang. Before Oprah could even lift a single finger, Mandy snatched the receiver up with her tail and held it up to her ear. "Precinct 13579, Mandy speakin', how can I help ya?" "..." "You don't say! I'll need your place of residence, sir." "..." Mandy blinked. "...N-no, your address, sir. I don't need to know your wife's maiden name and your annual income." "..." "Got it! We'll send someone over right away." "..." "You're welcome! Bye now!" As Mandy placed the receiver back onto the top of the phone, she stared back at the three pairs of eyes that were staring right at her. "Whaaaat? Lemme have one more, I'm the second-in-command here! Plus I didn't get a chance to take that many calls...stupid plot convenience." A hearty sigh left Oprah as she went back to eating her pancakes. Mandy, likewise, eagerly downed the rest of her waffles as Olive and Peaches shared a laugh. S1E23: When All You Have is A Snail (Or Several)For the most part, Odd Squad was not a place where someone could get bored. Scratch that, it wasn't a place where someone reasonable could get bored. Because there had been people, both agents and clients, who had gotten bored in Odd Squad before, and the only difference was that one group often had a shift in alliance that came with the boredom. There were multitudes of rooms, oddities, and activities for agents of all kinds to enjoy, both in Headquarters and aboveground. For any agent to be bored with it all would have to at least take an incredible feat -- at the very least, something that would make them come into the very silly mentality that Odd Squad was flawed and it needed to be fixed, and then they would turn evil and begin destroying the organization before going on to destroy the world. At this point, it was a tired old cliche, but luckily, at the same time, it wasn't a frequent cliche. One could hardly call it a cliche at all -- more of a schtick. Olive and Otto hardly ever found themselves bored. Each one of them kept themselves occupied with work, whether that was filling out paperwork, making calls, or doing simple lunch runs. Olive had been at the organization longer than Otto, but for all of her many "I work with idiots and I help idiots" moments, she had never once gotten bored. Otto had helped her to expand her world beyond sitting behind a desk, showing her all kinds of fun Odd Squad stuff she could occupy her time with. He, on the other hand, had long since drudged his way out of the "newbie gets excited at anything and everything" stage of his employment, but he was still a fun-seeker, and he would often frequent rooms that had absolutely nothing to do with work if he found himself with a free slot in his schedule. Still, there were days when they did find themselves bored. Hence the keywords "hardly ever". And for Otto, it just so happened to be one of those "blah days" where he wanted to do nothing but sit and idly flip through the latest issue of The Shmumber Times newspaper. "Hey, partner! Back from my break." Olive greeted as she walked into her shared office. She gave a sigh of relief. "I definitely needed it, too." "Uh-huh." "Agent Oluwa and Agent Ostin are on cleaning duty this week. You mind giving them a reminder later?" "Uh-huh." Olive held up a mirror with one hand and used a wipe to clean her face with the other. "Oh, and the Big O called. She wants a progress report on the precinct. I've gotten my half done, so do you mind doing the other half when you get a chance?" "Uh-huh." It was this third "uh-huh" that caused Olive to finally take notice. "All right, something's up with you. Did you fall out of bed this morning or something?" "No." Otto replied, flipping a page. Realizing a simple "no" wouldn't suffice, especially not with his partner, he sighed. "It's just that I'm bored." "Bored?" "Every day it's the same thing. I wake up, I do my morning routine, I go to work, I come home, I do my evening routine and I go to bed." Otto scoffed. "I feel like this is what adults go through every day!" "But we're kids." "Yes, exactly!" Otto rolled over onto his stomach to look at his partner. "I just want a hobby, something I can do aside from work. But nothing I've found interests me." "Let me see that." Olive made her way over and snatched the newspaper from his grasp, beginning to flip through the pages. "Did you get to the classifieds in here?" "Why would I want to look there?" Otto asked, sitting up. "The Shmumber Times recently put in a 'Hobbies and Interests' section, where people and ponies can post listings of meetups and various other events." Otto's expression was one of intrigue as he watched his partner turn page after page until she got to the very back. "Oh, here! A Slowest Turtle Contest!" The expression turned sour right quick. Otto's eyes squinted. "Are you mocking me?" "No, I'm helping you. There's a difference." Olive answered with a small smile on her face before she read off the listings. "Let's see, bathroom repair club...patio furniture sale meetup...library clubs..." She perked up. "Oh! If you don't like turtles, then how about snails? There's a listing here. 'The Hottest New Thing in Canada'." "Really?" Otto outstretched a hand. "Let me see." As Olive handed him the newspaper, his eyes widened as he skimmed the listing below. Canada Association of Snail Racing Named "The Hottest New Thing in Canada" by Shmumbers Illustrated Come Join In the Fun! For details, please email ReesMercedes@shmumlook.com "Wow. That actually..." Otto smiled. "...sounds like fun!" "Personally it's not for me, but if you're interested, you should definitely do it!" Olive encouraged. "It would be a great break for you." "Sign me up! I'm gonna do some research!" "Ahem?" Otto looked at his partner, wearing an unamused expression. "As...soon as I get my work done." he backtracked, chuckling nervously as he got up from the couch and began making his way to the desk. Olive simply rolled her eyes. "Oh, Otto...never change." On Otto's break, he had decided to go to one of the places he had never really frequented. The Odd Squad Library was vast and expansive. It held all kinds of books, perhaps more than any kind of bookstore would. He knew that it was the place Twilight frequented the most when she wasn't busy with work both in Odd Squad and in Equestria, but he himself was not much of a reader. Sure, he read the occasional magazine, newspaper, or paperwork form, but that was as far as it went. Reading was more Olive's thing, for however much she tried to convince him that "reading is knowledge" or whatever tidbit of wisdom she had to share whenever the topic was brought up. As he sat down and began to type into the search engine on one of the computers, a meow broke his concentration, and he looked up. "Huh?" His head swiveled to the right. "Oh, hey, Peaches." The feline shapeshifted back into her more humanoid form and glanced at the computer screen. "What're you doing?" "I'm looking up info on snail racing!" Peaches blinked. "On...what racing?" "Snail racing!" Otto jabbed a finger at the screen, which was showing a list of search results from the term "snail racing". He grinned. "Look at this. People from all over the world compete in these tournaments to see whose snail makes it to the finish line first! It's so thrilling!" Peaches took her time looking through the results. "Must take an awfully long time. You'd have to have some serious patience to partake in such a slow...uh..." She pinched her mouth inwards. "Dare I call it a sport?" "If it isn't a sport, it should be, and it should be in the Olympics!" Peaches, not fully knowing what the Olympics were -- the best she had in terms of knowledge was a comparison to it in regards to the annual O Games -- simply gave a hesitant "Uh-huh" and decided that perhaps she should leave Otto be. "Well, good luck on your research, I suppose." "You don't want to take part?" Otto asked, with equal parts dejection and disappointment. "Honestly...it doesn't sound like my thing. I don't see the appeal in it." Otto gasped dramatically. "Blasphemy!" "But, uh, if you want to do it, then, uh...more power to you. I'm not gonna stop you." Peaches turned to leave. "Have fun." As she left, Otto gave an indignant huff. "Who does she think she is, dissing snail racing like that?" he said aloud, to no one in particular but his own self. A second later, he gave a shrug. "Oh well, it's her loss!" With that, and a bout of giddy laughter, the Director got right back to it, staring at the screen, at thousands of search results and articles and personal testaments to snail racing until he felt like they were going to melt clear off of his face. Snail racing really was one hell of a drug. "Good morning, Otto!" came the cheerful greeting, as Olive walked into the office. However, much to her surprise, Otto didn't seem to be anywhere in the room. She set her bags down on the desk. "He's not here yet...probably still stuck on that snail racing business." "Um, excuse me, Ms. O?" Olive looked up to find a sandy-haired boy clad in an Investigation uniform holding a small manila folder. She smiled. "Yes? How can I help you?" "Um, is Mr. O here yet?" The agent looked around the room. "He told me that I needed to give this file to him..." "No, he's not." Olive shook her head. "But I'm more than happy to give it to him when he arrives." The agent eagerly handed her the file. "Thank you, Ms. O!" were his final words before he exited the room in a speed-walk, as though he were being chased by a rogue creature. Olive placed the file on her desk and flopped down in the chair, wincing as it creaked before she gave a sigh. Without Otto around, she had to admit that the office seemed rather boring now. The massive amount of work she had to do didn't help. Still, she forced herself to push through it, figuring that Otto would arrive in just a few minutes with some food, some drive, and lots of chatter about his new hobby. The clock ticked and ticked. Time went by, as it did. Olive was half-sure she had fallen asleep at some point during the waiting period, but when she next looked at the clock, two hours had passed. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous." She stood up. "Assistant?" An employee with long blonde hair who was clad in the usual Director's assistant fare -- grey T-shirt and navy shorts both emblazoned with the Odd Squad seal, purple headband and wristbands, and dark purple shoes -- suddenly emerged and landed on Olive's right. "Yes, Ms. O?" "Please go and find Mr. O. He's at least two hours late and-" In that moment, Otto chose to hurry up the stairs and stumble into the office. His tie was almost completely loose, his jacket had come undone, and his hair and face were both dripping with sweat that Olive caught for only a second as he leaned over and panted. "Sorry...I...was late!" "Where were you? I think we're far past being 'late!'" Olive asked, her tone inching closer to a snap. "There was a snail racing competition in Brampton that I couldn't miss!" Otto lifted his head up. "And I couldn't sleep last night so I stayed up late catching snails! Look!" Olive only caught a brief glimpse of the bags that sat under Otto's eyes, because her eyes were more focused on what he was holding out to her. A small snail, with a shell that had markings on it reminiscent of cooked spaghetti that curled around into a swirl. Olive's face contorted into one of slight disgust. She knew of kids who did...things with bugs. Some played with them. Some killed them for giggles. And others downright ate them. For however tomboyish she was, she was not a kid who played with bugs. She was the kind of kid to kill a spider out of sheer instinct if it so much as crawled across the living room floor. Snails, while not bugs, were no different. She saw a slug on the trash can that sat on the side of her house, that sucker was getting hosed down to hell and back. And here was her partner, holding one in plain view of her, as it waved its little antennae around like- "I call him Shirley Temple!" That seemed to snap her out of her disgusted and fearful state. She stared at her partner for a few moments before she took a deep breath and spoke. "Otto. Shirley Temple was a woman from the 1900s. A child actress. How did you think that was a good name for a snail?" Otto bit his lip. "Well...how about just Shirley, then?" A groan. "...Shir-shir?" "Look, that's besides the point." Olive furiously waved her hand about. "You showed up two hours late to work. I was about to send one of our assistants to find you!" Otto glanced at the assistant, who simply gave a sheepish wave and moved off to do other things. The Director knew he had to smooth things over with Olive, and luckily, this was his first offense. "Sorry...b-but look, it'll never happen again, okay? I promise." Olive narrowed her eyes. Kept her gaze fixated on him as though expecting him to make a sudden move. Ultimately, though, she tilted her head. "Pinkie Promise?" Otto sighed. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." he chanted, going through the motions. "Good. And don't even think about breaking it, because I will tell Pinkie Pie if you do." "Fine, fine." Otto made his way over to the desk, where he pulled out a container that he used to put Shirley Temple in. He covered it with a lid and decided to set it off to the far end of his side for now. As he dropped his own bags, Olive placed her hand on a giant stack of papers beside her. "Now, we need these filed to the Big O by the end of the day. And you still haven't filled out your half of the precinct report, by the way." "Right, I'll get started on all that right now!" Olive gave a head nod, then took the first small stack of papers off of the pile and began looking through them. "Right...now..." Olive's gaze shifted over to Otto, staring at Shirley Temple like it was his own child. Which, if one asked her, was really unnerving to think about. "Otto, put Shirley away or I'm going to take him and put him in the hands of Ocean." Otto jerked the snail away with a look of horror on his face. "No, don't do that! Anything but that! I nearly dug to the Earth's core just to get that snail!" Olive didn't bother to question whether that claim was true -- she knew it wasn't. "Then stop looking at her-" She blinked and shook her head. "Stop looking at him, and get to work!" Flopping in his chair, Otto gave a sad sigh as he prompted for Olive to put a stack of papers into his hand for him to review. Even though she had told him to stop, he couldn't resist sneaking quick peeks at Shirley every once in a while, just to make sure he was okay. After all, Shirley was a pet, and pets had to be cared for all the time, work be darned. Olive woke up the next morning fairly early. Or at least a half-hour earlier than her alarm, anyway. With her body feeling like lead, she made her way to the kitchen and made herself some cereal as well as a cup of iced tea -- her own equivalent to the nasty coffee adults drink. It took her a few minutes to find the remote, but she eventually turned the TV on to the news. "A fire broke out on Westley Street this morning, injuring two people and taking the life of a bystander. Witnesses say that this fire was a case of arson, but firefighters suspect otherwise." The muffled sound of dirt shuffling overrode the sound of both the news anchor and Olive munching on cereal, but she ignored it as she continued to watch TV. "In other news, police say they are looking for a missing child. Kayla Robertson, 14 years of age, is described as having black hair, blue eyes-" Olive's brows furrowed. "That's terrible!" The shuffling sound grew louder, and that was all the incentive she needed. She stood up and began heading for the front door, her body slowly but surely losing its lead-like feeling. As she opened the door, her head swiveled to the right to find- "Otto!" The boy had wasted absolutely no time. Already clad in his Odd Squad Director uniform and armed with a large shovel, he had a pretty sizeable hole in front of him, overturning some of Olive's flowers that lined the skirtings of her porch in the process. As his name was called, his eyes widened and his head whirled around to stare at Olive like he had just been caught doing something bad. A bout of nervous laughter tumbled from his lips, and he gave a small wave. "Hi?" Olive's eyes drifted to the flowers. One of the organs twitched. "What are you doing?!" she screamed, being careful not to be too loud as to not wake up the entire neighborhood. Otto jabbed a finger behind him. "Your neighbor told me your yard has the best snails!" Ohhhh, and of course it was Carrie! Sweet, innocent Carrie, trying to tell a young boy to go find snails in my yard... Olive began to grind her teeth together. I'm gonna have to go around and have a nice talk with that one. Still, she pushed the thoughts aside for now. "And what happened to Shirley?" she asked of Otto. "I, uh..." Otto avoided eye contact. "...may or may not have lost him..." The exhale that was pushed through Olive's nostrils threatened to take some blood and perhaps a brain cell or two with it on the way out. It eased into a low growl. "You're lucky you didn't wake me up or you'd have a couple knocked-out teeth right about now." she said, through gritted teeth that threatened to crack if she applied any more pressure to them. A simple "S-sorry!" was all Otto could offer in return. "Besides that, you can't just go and dig up my yard without asking!" "Why not? We're partners!" "Because it is my yard at my house! And I say you can't dig here!" yelled Olive, not caring anymore whether she woke up the neighbors or not. "Why can't you go and dig up your own yard for snails?!" "I did that already. It doesn't have any snails." Olive tried to form coherent words. She really did. But ultimately, nothing came. Her face was as red as a tomato, and stray hairs began popping out of place. Eventually, all she could muster up was another toothy growl. "Okay, okay, I get the hint, I'll leave!" Otto said, grabbing his shovel and booking it clear across the lawn and down the rest of Cypress Way. "AND THE NEXT TIME YOU COME AROUND MY HOUSE THIS EARLY, I'M GETTING A RESTRAINING ORDER!!" Olive's hair stuck out on the last five words of her threat, much like Mandy's did when she was scared. It flopped back down as she took heavy breaths and sulked her way back inside, slamming the door with enough force that threatened to shake the house down to its very foundation. A roll of the dice in an intense game of Swamps N' Gators brought the total to 11. "Yes! I win!" Oprah threw her arms up and cheered, her assistant sulking in defeat as she moved her boss's game piece to the shared start and finish line. The sound of a bang, and then whirring that was winding down, caused the mood in the air to sour, especially when Oprah was able to see who it was that had just arrived to her office. "Whoa. Hi to you too." she said, in response to an Olive who wore an ugly grimace on her face and bags under her eyes. She turned back to her assistant. "Assistant, if you could..." "Oh! Of course, Ms. O." The assistant gathered up the board game and all the pieces that went with it, quickly stuffing it into its box and taking the whole thing with her. Oprah turned her attention back to Olive as she wore a sly smile. "Someone's a little cranky today!" "Save it or I'll shove it into your skull, Oprah." Oprah blinked a few times in surprise. She wasn't sure how to react -- either "I don't believe I've ever been spoken to that way before by my own ex-agent", or "oh, now, come on, teasing you is so much fun". She ultimately chose the latter. "Oooh, getting bold, are we?" She put a hand to her cheek. "What is this, your hidden hatred of me from when you were an Investigation agent? Honestly, Olive." Her old boss's tutting managed to calm Olive down a little. "Look. I'm just looking for advice." "Mm. A little Director-to-Director advice, huh?" Oprah wheeled her chair back to its proper spot behind her desk, grabbing her apple-flavored juice box on the way and giving it a few sips. "Okay, I'm listening. What's troubling you?" "A couple days ago, Otto came to my house in the early morning. He decided to dig up my yard to look for snails." "Snails? Why snails?" "He's participating in..." Olive grit her teeth. It took every ounce of strength for her to utter out the words she had come to despise in less than a week. "...snail racing." "Oh. That 'hot new sport' everyone's talking about?" Oprah shrugged and put her feet up onto the desk. "Honestly, I don't understand the appeal." She took another sip of juice. "It's so boring and slow. That's why I took up kart racing." "You do kart racing? Since when?" Oprah's eyes widened. They moved side to side, almost as if she was hiding something. "That's...not important." she dismissed. "Continue." Olive ignored her old boss's shiftiness. "I tried to tell him that digging up my yard without permission isn't okay, but he refused to listen!" Olive began to massage her forehead. "And you know what he did last night?" "What?" The memory hit Olive like a battering ram, and hurt like one too. "Just as I was about to go to sleep, he knocked on my door and let himself in. And then I spent a good portion of the night hanging out with him and listening to him yammer on and on and on about snail racing! All because he lost his second snail! His second!" Oprah nodded. "So you barely got any sleep." "Worse." Olive's eyes closed. "I didn't get any." "Ouch." "He just won't shut up about snail racing! He's been neglecting his work too, it's driving me insane!" Oprah adopted a worried expression. "Olive, if you two keep at it like this, then your partnership will be severed. Which won't mean good things for your precinct." she explained. "Have you tried just...talking things out with him? Peacefully?" "And how is that going to help?" "Otto may not be...the sharpest tool in the shed." Oprah rolled her eyes. "But he's more than smart enough to know when his actions are hurting his friends. If you just take the time to have an open and honest heart-to-heart talk with him-" "Like he'll listen?" Olive interrupted, her voice nearly morphing into manic laughter. "He hasn't listened to me at all these past few days, so what makes you think he's gonna start now?" Oprah threw up both of her hands. "Look. My advice is on the table and up for grabs. Take it or leave it. It's your choice." A few seconds later, she gasped as she got hit with a bolt of realization. "Oh, or even better: why not talk to Twilight? She's the Princess of Friendship, after all. Maybe she can help out with your little...friendship dispute." "Being partners with someone and being friends are two different things. They're mutually exclusive." "But they don't have to be." Oprah said. "I'd say you and Otto are both partners and friends." "Well, he's getting dangerously close to dropping our friendship." Oprah shrugged. "As I said, my advice is on the table and up for grabs. I don't know what else to say." "You can say 'yes' to my question of 'can I have a juice box'." It was a rather stupid question for someone to ask, in Oprah's eyes. She wasn't so keen on giving juice boxes away to just any agent, especially when they held the potential to become akin to alcohol worming about in agents' bodies, leading to a potential lifetime of addiction and all the misery (or in her case, glory) that came with it. But Olive was an exception -- she knew the Director could withstand juice. For odd's sake, the girl withstood white grape juice, and Oprah had been confused over why that was a thing for years. "Fine. Yes." she responded, moving to take a juice box down from her rotating wall full of them and handing it to Olive. The girl eagerly took it, jabbed the straw in it, and began chugging the thing, stopping when the box was halfway gone. Oprah looked at the clock. "Is it your break time yet? Why don't you go and take a nap? If it can cure mostly everything that ails Mandy, surely it can help you." Olive, too, looked at the clock. "Actually it is my break time. And as much as I'd love to go for a nap..." She sighed. "With Otto's negligence, it's not like I can be on break for long." "Well, if all else fails, don't forget that you have the Big O to use as a last resort." Olive's eyes widened. She hadn't even considered going to the Big O for assistance on the matter. "True..." "Now go and get some sleep." Oprah waved her off. "You look like you're about to keel over and faceplant onto the floor." "Yeah, that's accurate." Olive sighed and began making her way towards the glass double-doors, sipping the rest of her juice. "Bye, Oprah. And thanks." "Bye! Good luck! You'll need it." Olive weakly laughed. "Thanks. I will." With that, she exited the room, her body once again getting that heavy lead feeling that meant it was giving out and she needed to slow her roll. Rounding the corner and heading for the bullpen, Twilight and Rarity chatted. Twilight gave a chuckle. "Aw, Rarity, you didn't need to do that." "I didn't?" "No! I could have handled Jamie Jam myself. But I do appreciate your quick thinking." A dainty laugh came out of Rarity. "Oh, why thank you! It was the least I could do for a dear friend." Twilight's warm smile threatened to extend far past her face. "Now, what do you say we go and get some lunch?" Rarity inquired. "I hear there's a new fancy restaurant in town that is simply magnifique!" "Sure, why not?" Just as the pair were about to head for the doors, however, Olive slowly began to approach them. Her body was slumped over, her hair looked messy and knotted, and her eyes looked just a tad glassy. "Oh, hi, Olive." While Twilight was concerned about her friend's overall appearance, Rarity managed to one-up her in that field. "Darling, what happened to you? You look simply awful!" Olive heaved a sigh. "It's Otto. He took up snail racing recently and he's been getting on my nerves about it." Rarity, having hardly an idea of what snail racing was, tilted her head before glancing at Twilight, who responded aptly. "That new sport everyone's talking about?" "I did hear someone talking about it the other day..." Rarity said. "But why would Otto be interested in something as boring as that? I've always thought of him as an agent who would love adventure, something high-stakes and full of energy!" Olive had to admit, the unicorn was...not exactly right on the money. In all the years she had known Otto, he went on adventures, but more often than not, he preferred the relaxing way of doing activities. If Olive had decided to play volleyball on the beach, Otto was relaxing in a beach chair listening to some Soundcheck tunes. If she had decided to run a 4k, he was in the stands cheering her on. So perhaps it was this relaxing way of doing things that got him into snail racing. Aside from her introducing the thing to him in the first place, of course. "Look, have you guys seen Mandy?" she asked, diverting the subject. "I wanted to ask if I could borrow her room for a bit. To nap in." "You just missed her." Twilight said. "She went out on a case with Pinkie Pie a couple minutes ago." "Of course she did." "Er, why not sleep in the Bedroom?" Rarity asked. "I'd like at least a little peace and quiet. The Bedroom's not exactly the quietest space in the precinct. And I don't know if Fluttershy, Applejack or Rainbow Dash are sleeping in there or not." Truth be told, Rarity didn't know where her friends were, either. "Mm. Fair point." "Well, Rarity and I are going out to lunch." Twilight smiled. "Try and get some good rest, at least." "Uh-huh. I'll try." Olive watched them go, feeling her eyes begin to slightly droop. She rubbed her head as she continued on the path to Mandy's room. "The last thing I want is to see any more people toda- wah!" A startled meow filled her eardrums, and she took a couple steps back as a black cat did the same. "S-sorry, Olive!" the feline spoke. "I wasn't looking where I was going and-" "No, no...you're fine, Peaches." "You doing okay?" Peaches tilted her head. "You look like you haven't gotten any sleep in a week!" "You're almost right on the money with that." Olive sighed. "Otto, snail racing, blah-dee-blah." "Ohhh...the snail racing thing. He's still on that, isn't he?" Peaches rolled her eyes. "I always thought he'd be near food, myself. Maybe as a judge in a cooking competition or something. But as they say around here, 'different strokes for different folks'". Olive adopted a bored but irritated expression. "Yeah okay." she briskly said, going around Peaches and heading down the hallway once again. "Make sure to get some sleep!" she heard the catgirl's voice call. "It's a great cure-all!" "I know, shut up!" came the angry response, before she muttered a slew of curse words under her breath that would have probably earned her some bitter-tasting juice in the mouth. Or a bar of soap. She wasn't sure which one, and she didn't care which one. Luckily for her, Mandy's door was left just slightly ajar. As she pushed her way in, she examined the room, finding it to be spick and span with not a trace of Mandy in sight. The second her eyes laid on the hybrid's cloud bed, her body began to feel relaxed, and she stumbled on over to it. Her brain had given her enough leniency to remove her jacket and shoes before she collapsed with a happy sigh, giving snores that could rival Mandy's in terms of sheer volume. As the automatic doors opened, Mandy and Pinkie stumbled into the bullpen. Both of them were covered in splotches of sand and dirt from head to toe, their clothes beyond a state of "this has a stain on it" and going right into "I ran this through the floor of an inner-city subway and picked up at least 40 different diseases". Mandy's ears flapped, and she let out a sneeze, blowing out some sand from her nose. "Ugh...I've still got sand everywhere!" she whined. "Why's it hafta be coarse and rough and irritating?!" "You think you have it bad?" Pinkie wiggled her back leg about. "I've got so much sand in my mane and tail they're gonna become sandbags!" "The Sandman may be an idiot, but he can sure pack a punch!" "Agreed!" Both mare and child attempted to shake their bodies out in an effort to free some of the sand. Key word being "some", because that's about all they were able to get off of themselves, and even then, it wasn't much. "You want the shower first?" Mandy asked. "Nah, you can have it." Pinkie wagged her tail a little. "I gotta head back to Sugarcube Corner, so I'll just take a really quick shower there!" "Ohthankodd." Mandy expelled in one breath. "But, uh, when you get a chance..." Pinkie sat down and began maneuvering her way out of her suit, which was a rather easy feat for a pony like her who was able to give a big "buck you" to reality and its many rules. "...do you mind washing my suit?" Mandy took the suit in her corona. "Yeah, I was about to do the same thing with mine..." she remarked, taking her own jacket and tie off. "Sure, I'll get these washed up!" "Thanks! See you later, partner!" called Pinkie, as she made her way back through the doors at a brisk trot. Heaving a sigh, Mandy began making her way to the Laundromat Room with the suits in tow. However, before she could get there, an obstacle stood in her way -- a large obstacle by the name of Peaches. "Cuz!" Peaches greeted, before her smile turned into a frown. "Wow, you look...messy. Although when are you not?" Mandy gasped dramatically and recoiled her body. "How dare you!" "No, no, I didn't mean it as an insult!" Peaches said, throwing her hands up defensively. "You work hard, and, well, it's typical you'd get messy." Mandy snickered. "Nah, I'm kiddin', I'm kiddin'! I'm a child, we're always messy." "Oh." Peaches blinked. "Well, anyway, if you don't have another case, you feel like taking a look in the next town over? For the culprit?" "Sure! I just need to take a shower first." Peaches scanned Mandy up and down, noticing the many sand splatters that littered her body. A disinterested look crossed her face. "You humans and your showers and baths." She waved a hand. "Why don't you just lick yourself clean like I do? It'd save a lot of time! And water!" Mandy opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, grabbing ahold of it and yanking it towards Peaches to show her. "Hath you theen thith tongue? We got tathte budth, not lil' barbth!" And then, back in the tongue went. "Besides, water's amazing! I love water!" She began to bounce up and down. "Oh, I could write an entire essay on how much I love water!" "Uh-huh." Peaches raised an amused eyebrow. "Well, I'll be waiting. Take your time." "'Kay!" Mandy began to head for the Laundromat Room again as fast as her feet would take her, because she wanted to get the dirty clothes she had in the washer and then feel the nice warmth of the shower as it seeped into her muscles and bones. As she was walking, her badge phone began to ring, and she unclipped it from her suit before opening it and shaking the sand out of it. "Mandy speaking, how can I help ya?!" "Hey, Mandy? It's Otto." "Heya! What's going on?" "Have you seen Olive, by any chance? Her break is almost up and I haven't heard from her." Otto said. "And I really have to go on break!" "Unfortunately no! I just got back from a case with Pinkie. I've been outta the office for a majority of the day!" Otto gave a sigh, choosing to ignore the bragging tone in Mandy's last sentence. "I figured." he muttered. "Well, do you think you can look for her? Like, right now?" Mandy opened the door to the Laundromat Room. "Why? What's the emergency?" She gasped. "Blobs invasion? Villain attack? The hundred-degree weather going on in Cali?! Oh, no, wait, that's not so odd..." A pause. "Uh, no. Bigger than that. There's a snail racing competition that I have to get to, or else I'll be disqualified! It's one of several that will get me into the province tournament listings!" Mandy's brow furrowed. She had no idea what Otto was talking about, but she supposed that if he was happy, then that was okay. "Uh, okay, well...I'll try, but I'm not makin' any guarantees!" she said, throwing the clothes into one of the washers and using her magic to fill up the detergent drawer with fabric softener and...well, detergent. "I don't even know if she's in Headquarters right now!" "Please, find her! I'm begging you!" For a moment, Mandy honestly contemplated charging Otto a fee for finding his missing partner -- something small, like $5. But it was more of a joke idea than anything else, and so she scrapped it. "Okay, okay, calm down! I'll see what I can do!" "Thank you so much, Mandy, you're a lifesaver!" Otto said. A quick "Oop, gotta go, bye!" made him hang up the phone. Which, in turn, left Mandy listening to a dial tone, confused as to what just went down. She hung up her own phone, clipping it back onto her undershirt. "Well that was sudden." she said, turning on the washer. "Maybe it's a sign that I'll be able to take my shower in peace!" With that glimmer of hope in mind, she made her way out of the room, humming a little ditty to herself and ignoring the stares of other agents who were also washing and drying their clothes. An hour later, and Mandy emerged from the bathroom fully dressed in a new suit. "That's more like it!" she purred, making her way down the hallways to her room. "Now I just have to find Peaches and-" A muffled but very blaring scream reached her eardrums. The hybrid screamed back, her hair and tail bushing up. Silence. Mandy could feel saliva building up inside her mouth, and she swallowed it. "Wh-wh-what was that?!" came the nervous cry, as she reached behind her and pulled out her hammer. "It came from my room!" "Mandy, what's going on? Why did you scream?" The way the hybrid whirled around to face her cousin looked all too much like she had done something bad and was going to get reprimanded for it. The hammer that got stretched out towards Peaches the second she uttered a breath spoke the contrary. Mandy's body, including her hair and tail, relaxed when she saw Peaches approach her, but not by much. "S-s-something's in there!" she whispered loudly, gripping her cousin's arm as she pointed to her room with her hand. Peaches tilted her head. "In that room?" "Yeah! I heard a muffled scream!" Peaches began to feel pain in her arm from Mandy gripping it so tightly. A further look at the hybrid made her realize that her knees were knocking together, her hair and tail were frazzled, and her entire body was shivering. A soft groan left the catgirl's lungs. "Well don't be so chicken. Open the door!" "I-I don't wanna! I'm too sca-a-aaaaaared!" "Just use your magic and open it!" Mandy swallowed another lump. Summoning up what very little courage she had left, she lit up her horn, let her magic grasp the doorknob, and allowed the door to slowly open. The first thing she saw was a dark figure sitting in her bed. "Who's there?" With a yelp, Mandy scrambled backwards on all fours until her rump made contact with the wall. Her hammer fell from her grasp, clattering to the floor as she shivered harder, her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Peaches rubbed her aching head. "You scaredy-cat, just go in!" "It's a shadow person!" "...A shadow what?" "A shadow person!" Mandy put her hands on her head. "They're gonna get me!" Peaches rolled her eyes. "Cuz, you're being irrational!" she snapped. "Calm down!" "How can I calm down when there's a shadow person right the-" By the time Mandy broke eye contact from Peaches to look at the room again, the dark figure was gone. An uneasy feeling settled in her chest as more stray hairs came out of place. She suddenly became aware of a presence beside her. Something so horrifying that it extended beyond any comprehension, something so dark and twisted that it extended beyond any meaning of oddness. It was not oddness. It was something...supernatural. The presence opened its mouth, baring tooth after tooth, and spoke only a single word on a single puff of air. "Boo." Mandy jerked her upper body upwards and screamed with such intensity that Peaches could see her tongue sticking out in a wavy shape like in cartoons. The gale-force sound broke glass item after every glass item -- computer screens, doors, flasks and beakers, fish tanks, and of course, Oprah's own two-week-old coffee table that she had just replaced, much to her chagrin. The scream seemed to scare the presence, who quickly made itself get lost, and also startled Peaches, who pinned her cat ears to her skull to protect her eardrums. Finally, the scream stopped, and Mandy began hovering in midair as she flailed all four limbs about. "SHADOW PERSO-O-OOOOOOON!" came the screech, before she zoomed off at a speed that could only rival that of Rainbow Dash. Peaches blinked, raising her ears once more. "Wow. That's probably the most scared I've seen her...ever." She glanced at the presence, whom she could see was just Olive. "She can really pack a scream, huh?" Olive got to her feet. "Last time she did that, she broke the windows of two interrogation rooms." "Huh. Why am I not surprised." Peaches responded in deadpan. "Well, I guess I should ask you what you were doing in Mandy's room. You look a little more well-rested." "Yeah, I decided to borrow it to take a nap in before my break ended." Olive sighed. "Gotta say, now I know why she loves naps so much. They're really refreshing!" Her expression soured. "Too bad I have to go back to Otto and his stupid snail racing..." "Hey, keep your chin up! I'm sure you can work things out with him." Peaches said, placing a hand on Olive's shoulder. "You two have been partners for a long time, right?" "Yup." Peaches' eyes widened slightly as an idea began worming its way into her mind. "Why don't you go talk to Twilight? Isn't she the Princess of Friendship?" "That's what Oprah told me." Olive said, her eyes half-lidded to show her lack of amusement. "And I just might, considering he won't bother to listen if I sit down and talk to him directly." "Did you try?" Olive blinked and grit her teeth, rocking back and forth for a few moments. "Well...I- n- no, but-" "Doesn't hurt to try and talk to him first. If that doesn't work, then go to Twilight." "You sound just like Oprah!" Olive lamented, giving a sigh that morphed into a half-groan somewhere along the line. "Although...I guess you're right. Otherwise I'll continue to have nightmares of giant snails eating me..." Her body gave a shudder as she remembered the last one she had. She refused to even look at a blob after experiencing the insides of a snail...if they were actually gelatinous in real life. It was scary to think about, because giant snails were very much a possibility in the real world, and for all she knew, Otto was keeping one somewhere out there and she didn't know it. "Well, either way, good luck. I'm off to go find Mandy." Peaches said. "She promised me we'd look for the Vallea culprit. Take it easy, okay?" "I'll try. Good luck." "Thanks!" As Peaches rounded a corner, Olive unclipped her badge phone and opened it. Maybe I should call him. She stared at the dark void that was the phone's screen. The dark void that was the phone's screen -- somehow, it didn't get broken within the din of Mandy's piercing scream -- stared back. I should tell him I'm on my way back. And maybe...talk with him. Minute after minute passed as she weighed the decision in her mind. Finally, she closed the phone and clipped it back onto her suit. No. I want to talk to him face-to-face. Not over the phone. With a huff, she began the journey back to her own Headquarters, Plan A being set in stone as she prepared to get the ball rolling down the hill -- hopefully to a single degree of pure success. A bang and a whoosh marked Olive's return to Headquarters. Although she had been feeling okay when she woke up, her mood began to take a downwards spiral when she saw Otto, eyeing his newest snail in its little container. His...his...honestly, she had lost count. "There you are!" Otto set the container down and got up. "Where've you been? You're pulling overtime on break time!" The comedic quip he made was completely lost on Olive, who simply rubbed her forehead. "It's...none of your concern." "Finally, I can take my break!" Otto cheered, completely ignoring how tired his partner's voice sounded and glancing at the watch on his wrist instead. "There's a snail racing competition I have to get to, and I'm already five minutes late! I'm lucky if I can even get Ringo entered at all!" Oh. Ringo. Like the Soundcheck member. Of course he'd name a snail that. Olive rolled her eyes, the hope that had been building up inside of her shot to hell and back. "Well, go and have fun." "Thanks!" Within just a few seconds, Otto was sent up the tube that Olive had just exited out of, and just like that, she had lost one of her chances to talk with her partner about his new hobby. Still, that didn't mean Plan A was out of the running -- she could just as easily coordinate more chances to meet up with Otto throughout the day, and the day still had a long way to go before it came to a close. With an exhale, she sat in her chair, picked up a pencil, and got to work on filling out a form to be sent to the Creature Care department at the Big Office. "Ms. O? Do you have a minute?" "Hm?" Olive picked her head up and stared at Dr. O, who had poked his own head in. "Oh, Dr. O. Yes, I do. What's going on?" Dr. O pulled a small stack of about twenty or so papers from his back, walking up to Olive's desk to hand them to her. "These are the weekly progress reports you wanted from the Medical department. Could you look over them and get back to me with any improvements we can make?" Olive nodded and eagerly took the papers, laying them on the desk. "Sure." "Thank you." And then, in a big bellow, "What's next?" Olive watched him leave before eyeing the papers and thumbing through them absentmindedly. Oprah said to have a heart-to-heart talk with Otto. But how can I do that when he's rushing off to snail racing competitions every second of the day? She glanced at her partner's side of the desk and scoffed. He didn't even do that much work here! A flare of anger lit up inside her heart. Not having a chance to talk with Otto was one thing, but when he was failing to do entire chunks of work, that was an immediate cause for alarm -- or in Olive's case, it was an immediate call to get mad. She remembered Oprah's advice, of how she should go to Twilight for help, and she grit her teeth. Well, I still have time to talk with him...but in the event that doesn't work out, I'm going to need a backup plan. The extra advice from one of the top experts in friendship would help, too. Taking the phone off of its receiver, she quickly dialed the numbers 1-9-0, then waited. "Hello?" "Twilight? It's Olive." "Oh, Olive! How are you doing?" For the Director, that was an incredibly loaded question. However, she picked her words carefully. "Much better now that I've had some rest, but...I need to ask you a favor." "What is it?" "I have a...um..." Olive fiddled with the wallet on her desk. "...sort of friendship problem that maybe you can help solve?" "Of course I can!" Twilight responded cheerily. "Is it with Otto?" Olive blinked. "How did you..." she started, before realizing that she had met up with Twilight and Rarity earlier. "Oh yeah, we were talking about it." "I figured." Twilight said. "Why don't you meet with me around 10AM tomorrow? I can come to your office if that's more convenient for you." "Sure, that works fine." "Great, see you then!" Both mare and child exchanged goodbyes. Olive put the phone back onto the receiver, slumping back in her chair and idly staring at the ceiling. Only a single thought passed through her mind, and it was one that made her smile, retaining another small shred of hope. Now everything will be all worked out. All that's left...is to see the outcome of Plan A. ...Plan A.5? Ah, who's keeping track. The Restaurant Plan...now that's a better name for it. The Restaurant Plan was a relatively simple plan. An annoying plan, sure, because dumb adults were quick to assume that Olive and Otto were dating when they most certainly were not, but a simple plan that Olive was sure would work out. Otto loved food. He loved restaurants that served food. And best of all, he loved eating with his best friend at restaurants that served food. So it would stand to reason that he would drop anything and everything pertaining to snail racing to come eat with Olive at The Bronze Grill, which just so happened to be one of his favorite restaurants. Surely he could kick back just for one night and enjoy some food, talk with his partner about the goings-on of life, and just forget everything about snail racing for one freakin' night. Right? Well, truth be told, Olive had been waiting at the restaurant for ten minutes now. Which wasn't a whole lot of time, but it did make her worry. "Well hi there, miss!" A short Earth pony with a light brown coat and a sandy-red mane approached the table the girl was sitting at, a smile on her maw as she took out a notepad. "My name's Parsley Sprig, I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I getcha started with somethin' to drink?" Olive blinked. "Um..." She looked towards the front of the restaurant for Otto, but there was no sign of him. "I'll just have a water, please. And may I also have a chocolate Twist Milkshake for my...guest?" Parsley wrote the orders down. "Sure thing, darlin', I'll bring those right out for ya." "Thank you." As the mare walked away, Olive unclipped and opened her badge phone, staring down at the keypad. She contemplated calling Otto, perhaps yelling at him about why he wasn't here yet and telling him to get his rump over to the restaurant before she hauled it there for him. But she knew Otto. Oftentimes, he wasn't that punctual, but for something like this, he was almost always on time. He had even said he would come when Olive had called him initially, and she had faith that he was true to his word. So why was it that, after twenty minutes, he hadn't shown up? Surely he hadn't gotten caught up in some crazy oddness, could he? Or maybe, just maybe, he was too obsessed with his snail racing to even give Olive the time of day, even in spite of his promise. Maybe, just maybe, he was still at that competition he went to earlier, and was so into it that he was willing to put his friendship at stake over it. She closed the phone and clipped it back onto her chest, heaving a sigh as she began to fiddle with the exposed silverware that sat on her table. What's the use? He'll probably never come. He's probably still at that stupid competition. A "tch" sound left her mouth before a worried expression settled on her face as she glanced at the line near the front again. But I called him, and he promised he would come. He would never stand me up. Her eyes began to water involuntarily. ...Would he? "And here ya go! One chocolate Twist Milkshake, and one water." Olive quickly blinked in an attempt to pull the tears back into her eyes before whirling her head around to watch as Parsley set the drinks on the table. When that was done, the mare put the tray on her back and pulled out her notepad again. "Er, thank you." Olive said hastily. "Are ya still waitin' for your guest, or wouldja like to order now?" "No, he's..." Olive bit her lip and dragged her fingers along the table, gripping it tightly and attempting to summon up the courage to come to an awful realization. She could deny it all she wanted, but the proof was metaphorically in the pudding, and she didn't want to run away from it anymore even if it hurt. "He's not coming." She swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat. "I'll order now, if you're ready." "Sure thing, darlin'! What wouldja like?" "Um..." Olive began to realize that she hadn't read the menu at all since she got to the restaurant, and quickly scanned through it to find something she liked. "I'll have...the triple-decker deluxe grilled cheese with a side of green beans, please." Parsley wrote the order down, and tucked the notepad into the left pocket of her apron. "Of course! I'll bring that right out." "Thank you." Olive watched the mare go again, the flare of anger that was still in her heart growing just a tad larger. She felt like crying in that instant, but forced herself to suppress her emotions, knowing that if an Odd Squad employee were spotted crying all alone at a restaurant, it wouldn't be a good look for her or her precinct. After all, she still had a reputation to maintain. In spite of her lack of crying, though, she could feel her throat begin to close up, allowing her to only get a couple saddening words out as her gaze moved to the line at the front door. The tears then welled up in her eyes again almost immediately, but this time, she let them fall freely. Getting stood up hurt. Getting stood up by your longtime best friend was some of the worst pain imaginable for an Odd Squad agent. "Well there goes Plan A." Olive normally liked grilled cheeses. They weren't on her Top 10 list of favorite foods, but they were very enjoyable, and she knew Otto made some of the best ones in town. But within the aura of sadness that surrounded her, she ate her meal in silence, the tears dripping onto the plate as she nearly choked on bite after bite. She tried to stay conspicuous so that no one would notice, instead attempting to reflect on the happy times in her life she had spent even before Otto came along. ...She had to admit, she didn't really spend enough time with much of anyone else. Maybe she could change that. If Parsley saw Olive crying, she certainly didn't ask about it. She did, however, put on a look of pity that Olive definitely saw. It made the Director sick to see, and ironically, that only made her cry harder. As soon as she paid the check, and as soon as Parsley wished her a good night, she hightailed it out of there, attempting to hide her face as best she could from the line that still existed at the front door. When she got outside, she grit her teeth and closed her eyes as she quickly got ready to book it back to her house so she could cry in the privacy of her own home while still retaining some dignity. "There...there you are, I..." Otto, with Ringo in a container under his arm, sprinted up to her right then, leaning over to catch his breath. "I...I'm so sorry, it's just...they had me stay late at the Monjack Bingo Center because I was late, as penalization, and..." He lifted himself up. "I wanted to come, really, I did, but they refused to listen to me! And then I had to take care of Ringo..." His excuse had no coherency to Olive. She wasn't sure whether that was because she didn't care or because it was actually non-coherent. Either way, she didn't want to listen to whatever excuse he had. "Yeah. Sure." she muttered, avoiding eye contact with him. "Olive, I'm so sorry." Otto repeated. "I didn't mean to stand you up, honest! I would have come if I were able to." He eyed the takeout bag in Olive's hands. "But hey, it looks like you got some yummy food! What'd you get?" Every bone in Olive's body was telling her to run straight home and not to stop running until she got there. But something made her feet stay rooted to the ground, and she figured that perhaps she could at least lord her meal over him even if she didn't truly enjoy it. "Deluxe grilled cheese, green beans, chocolate cake slice, some water, and a chocolate Twist Milkshake." Otto gasped. His eyes shimmered. "Ooh, I didn't know you liked The Bronze Grill's Twist Milkshakes!" He adopted a sly expression on his face. "Being daring now, aren't you?" Olive clenched her fists. A simple "Uh-huh" slipped out from her equally-clenched teeth as she deeply repressed the urge to punch Otto in his Odd-Todd-absolutely-does-not-compare-to-this-absolutely-punchable face. "Hey, don't be so downtrodden." Otto said. "I promise, next time you invite me to dinner, I'll clear my calendar. Look, I'll even Pinkie Promise if you want me to!" He went through the motions smoothly. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-" "No, no. You...don't need to." Olive held up a hand to stop him before turning her back on him. "I'm heading home. This food's going to spoil if I don't put it in the fridge." The mysterious thing keeping her feet plastered to the sidewalk finally released its grip on them, allowing her to begin her rather brisk walk home, takeout bag in hand. "Bye...I guess." she could hear Otto say, quickly followed by, "Oh shoot, I forgot to feed Ringo! Ugh, better head home too before he starves to death!" I can't believe it. He's off to tend to his stupid snail...again. The tears flowed again. Olive allowed them to, knowing that hardly anyone sane would be on the streets at night. Her body quaked with sob after sob. He'll never learn, will he? He can't get his stupid priorities straight. He stood me up because of snail racing. He's neglecting his work because of snail racing. He's even mistreating me, his own partner, his own best friend...because of snail racing! At the same time as her frustrated scream, her foot made contact with a crumpled-up soda can that went flying a considerable distance. She watched it fly, and as it flew, her eyes widened with a realization. I still have a backup plan. I have quite a few backup plans. Her head lifted, and her lips curled up into a small smile. Although a bit of sadness still remained within her, she managed to scrub most of it away and replace it with confidence, knowing she had many people and ponies in her corner on whom she could rely on. Plan B it is. The next day, Olive had decided to work overtime to make up for Otto's shortcomings. He, of course, was nowhere to be found -- and by this point, she had stopped actively looking for him. Any agents' questions about him were answered with the same well-crafted lie, that he was simply sick with a nasty cold that left him bedridden. She refused to elaborate further, and any pushiness to do so resulted in an angry glare sent the asker's way that let them know it wasn't a good idea to push her around. A bright flash of teleportation stopped Olive's work cold as she set down her pencil. "Olive? It's Agent Twilight." The alicorn approached the Director. "You asked me to meet with you?" Wordlessly, Olive looked up, only for Twilight to falter as she stared into her friend's puffy bloodshot eyes. It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce what had happened, but she felt like asking anyway. "What happened? Are you all right?" "I'm fine. I'm just..." Olive shook her head. "Sit down and I'll tell you about it." Twilight did as she was told, taking a seat in one of the golden chairs that sat behind Olive's desk. She looked around for any sign of the Director's partner. "Where's Otto? Isn't he here?" Olive almost wanted to laugh in that instant, just for the rhetorical question that had been asked so many times over it was making her physically sick. Instead, she decided to go the deadpan route as she fired back with, "Where do you think he is?" "Oh." Twilight mentally slapped herself for her foolish thinking. "Well, anyway, I'm here now. So what's going on with you and him? I know you said he took up snail racing, but is that impacting your friendship?" "Yes. His workflow has slowed down substantially." Olive bit her lip. "He and I, we worked together like we had been doing it since we were babies. But he's been neglecting his work to go and participate in snail races. He's done so little because he's caring for...whatever snail he has in possession at the time." She gripped the desk and shut her eyes tight. "And last night, he...he stood me up!" "Stood you up? How?" "After I called you, I thought I would try and work things out with him by inviting him to dinner. Like a nice in-person conversation." Olive said. "He told me he would meet me at The Bronze Grill at 9:00. But when I got there, I waited and waited, and...he never showed up. That is, until I left the restaurant." "Where was he?" "He said that he had to stay late at the Monjack Bingo Center -- that's where the latest snail racing competition was being held -- because he was late to the competition. But he never called to say he was gonna be late or anything, he just...showed up and lamely tried to explain himself. And even after I told him I was going home, he rushed off to tend to Ringo." Twilight tilted her head. "Who's Ringo?" "His newest snail." A brief silence hung in the room. Twilight could easily see Olive struggling to not cry, to bottle her emotions up. She was almost tempted to tell her not to do that, but didn't want to upset the girl further, so she let things be. "Even though I had backup plans to fall back on, and friends to support me...my confidence in making things right crumbled as soon as I got home, and...I cried myself to sleep last night." Olive explained. "That's why my eyes look weird." Twilight extended a hoof out and rested it on Olive's arm, fixing the Director with a sympathetic look. "Olive, you know Otto better than anyone. You're his partner. You need to tell him how you feel about his obsession with snail racing, and let him know that what he's doing isn't right." "But how will that fix things?" "If he realizes that what he’s doing is hurting not only his partnership and friendship with you, but also his job, he’ll listen. But if push comes to shove, get the Big O involved and let her know what he’s doing." Twilight raised her other hoof. "However!" Olive straightened up in surprise as Twilight's expression grew gravely serious. "Only use the Big O as a last resort. Tell Otto how you feel first. Go to one of his competitions and have a chat with him." She smiled. "It couldn't hurt." Olive groaned. Going to one of his stupid competitions was what I was trying to avoid in the first place! If I go there, then I'll just get mad and go off on him, ruining the experience for everyone else...and I don't want to drag the rest of the competitors into what is already a tricky sticky friendship mess. Ha...tricky sticky...sounds like just the sort of thing Mandy would say. But anyway, Twilight's idea isn't necessarily a bad one. I can't get him to sit down and talk at any other time, so why not go straight to the source to talk to him? A smile crossed her face. "That does sound like a good idea. I'll try it out!" A relieved sigh that she didn't know she was holding left her lungs. "Thank you, Twilight. Your advice on friendship is invaluable." "No problem! Anything for a friend." Twilight returned the smile as her horn lit up. "If you need me, feel free to call, okay?" "Will do. See you later!" With a wave of her hoof, Twilight was gone in another bright purple flash of light. Olive stood up from her chair. "Now, to find out where the latest competition is..." As she began walking towards the glass doors, however, her mind came up with an idea that was even better, and virtually risk-free. Otto may have lived and breathed snail racing competitions, but he certainly didn't live at the places where the competitions were held -- he still had a place of residence. A home. And she had been to it enough times that she didn't need to research where it was. She snapped her fingers. "Or I could just meet him at his house! Would be way better, and faster!" She chuckled to herself as she turned right around and went back to her desk. "Olive, you're a little genius." Back at home, Otto was busy playing The Rise of Order, one of the hot new video games that had just come out last month. He had been having trouble with one particular level, and it seemed his latest attempt was another to add on to the pile of failures. "Aw, come on! It's already been three weeks, I've read all the playthroughs I could find, how have I not-" Knocking at the door forced his tirade, as well as his game, to be put on pause. A "who's that?" left his lips as he got up and headed for the door, opening it to find Olive. "Hi." "Olive!" Otto blinked in surprise. "What's going on? Is there an odd problem?" "No, nothing like that." she said plainly. "Can I come in?" "Sure! But, uh, watch out for the snails." Otto's warning was legitimate -- the very first step Olive took was one of very few safe ones, as snails of all kinds were moving everywhere. And even then, she still managed to get goo on her shoe. "You're letting snails climb in your house?" she asked, her tone not holding back with its disgust. "Only a couple at a time." Otto replied, closing the door and making his way over to the couch. "So what did you want to talk about?" Olive followed him, making sure to avoid the other snails climbing about before she found herself in a position to fix him with a steely gaze and firm eye contact. "About your snail racing." "My snail racing?" Otto adopted a confused expression before it turned into one of excitement as he gasped. "Don't tell me you're getting into it too?!" "No!" snapped Olive, before she forced herself to regulate her emotions. A sigh wheezed out. "I mean, no. I'm not. But it is affecting your workflow and your employment at Odd Squad as a whole." Otto looked defeated, but mostly he was just confused yet again. "How so?" "You’ve been doing such minimal work that I’ve been forced to consider whether I should work overnights to cover your butt. You stood me up when I invited you out to dinner. All you’ve been focusing on is that stupid snail racing ever since I showed it to you. Can’t you focus on work, or at least something that’s more worthwhile than that stupid hobby of yours?" "What?" Otto blinked. "You're the one who showed it to me in the first place! And now you want me to quit?!" Any attempts at Olive stifling her rage were gradually flying clear out the window. "I’m fine with you getting a hobby, but not when it’s going to interfere with your work this much! If you’re not gonna quit snail racing then you might as well quit Odd Squad!" Otto recoiled, as if Olive had spoken of sin. "I would never quit Odd Squad! It's my life!" "No. Snail racing is your life, Otto." Olive's voice began to quiver. "If you're not gonna quit, then maybe I'll get the Big O and make her fire you." That was enough for Otto to shoot straight up out of his seat. "You wouldn't!" "I would." Otto stammered, unable to get a single word out. The look on Olive's features was deathly serious in every sense of the word, and he knew it. However, he certainly didn't feel like fighting with his partner, and decided to go the diffusion route instead. "L-look, Olive, I don't wanna fight...uh..." He looked to the floor and spotted a particular snail, gently picking it up and holding it in his hand as he stuck it out for Olive to see. "Here! Look at John Doe! Pet him!" Olive slightly leaned backwards. "Why would I want to pet something that's gross and slimy?" The gasp Otto let loose left his jaw unhinged. His eye twitched once, than twice. He was pretty sure part of his brain had completely shut down just from hearing his partner dis what was, ironically enough, a fun sport. "Don't mock snail racing!" he nearly yelled. "It's an art!" "It's a stupid silly little sport and that's all it'll ever be!" Olive fired back. "We've been working together for ages. But I don’t want to be partners with someone who’s going to make me do all the heavy lifting and go neglect their agents because of some craze." "Didn’t the whole incident with Rainbow Robyn and the vortex teach you anything about loosening up?" he said, recalling that day clear as...well, day. He could swear he still had a scar somewhere from the incident, but he remembered every word of the lesson he and Olive had to recite to Oprah at the end, and kept them in mind as he went on an enraged defense. "Life’s not all about work, Olive. You have to live a little! We’re kids! We should enjoy the freedom we have before we become adults!" Olive jabbed a finger into her chest. "I do live a little. I play sports, real sports. But I can also balance Odd Squad! If I can balance that and something I like, then why can't you?!" "I can balance snail racing and Odd Squad, too!" This got a hate-filled laugh out of Olive. "Oh really? Because I wouldn't call 'letting Olive handle most of the work while I gallivant across town with my pwecious snails' balancing things!" "Maybe you're just jealous that I'm doing something fun and you're doing something boring!" Now it was Olive's turn to get offended, as she recoiled with a scoff. "Sports are boring?!" she screamed. "Pardon me, but I happen to enjoy playing sports. It's good exercise for me." "See?" Otto said, extending an index finger towards Olive and choosing to ignore the smugness in her previous sentence. "You can't even find a hobby that's fun! Why can't you be more like me and do more things for the fun of it instead of finding something educational about it?" "I do things for the fun of it!" "Oh really? Name one!" Olive bit her lip. He got her there, but it wasn't like she would admit it. She furiously racked her memories, trying to find something she did in her life that she considered fun just for the sake of fun. Finally, she settled on something that, while it was a weak comeback, was legitimate in that she did indeed enjoy doing it for fun. "I like video games!" "Ha!" Otto's exclamation was high-pitched enough that it would have broken a studio's sound mixer. "I haven't seen you pick up a single video game since the Game Time case!" A "tch" sound left Olive as she balled her hands up into fists. He was right -- for her supposed love of video games, she hadn't gone back to the Shmumbercade or bought a video game of any kind since then. In all honesty, she had meant to, but it had slipped her mind time and time again until she simply forgot about it. Which was a mistake, particularly if a video-game-themed villain happened to come along, since not even her wit and her smarts could worm her out of whatever patterns in their crimes they laid out for her to follow, nor could they worm her out of a trap if she found herself in one. Otto continued. "Think back to when we were run out of business by Weird Tom's Weird Team. I found a hobby, and you were moping around for an entire month doing nothing. You told me yourself!" Olive's eyes widened as she remembered that horrific month. Being laid off from Odd Squad didn't leave her with much motivation to consider getting another job, whether it was something paid or it was simply volunteer work. Odd Squad was her livelihood, something that was an essential part of her, and it had been ripped away by some stupid adults (and a young, but justifiably stupid, Big O) in the blink of an eye. So, all she did was lay around, watch some movies on Shmumflix, eat, and sleep. She had told Otto all of this, and as far as she was aware, he had been very understanding. But now... Now he was using the experience as leverage in an argument. An utterly stupid defense that wouldn't hold up in Odd Squad court even with said young but justifiably stupid Big O as the judge. I've had enough. If he wants to continuously fail to see the point even after I've hammered it in enough times, if he just wants to argue for the sake of arguing...then fine. Plan B only went halfway well. Time to move on to Plan C. I'm sorry, Twilight. But my life is being cut into pieces, and like you said, this is going to be my last resort. "So what? We're not out of business now." she fired back, with a scowl on her face. "But you will be. And I'll make sure of it!" Otto met the nasty expression and even nastier words with an expression of his own. "You wouldn't dare get me fired." "As I said, I would absolutely dare to get you fired." Olive said. "If you love Odd Squad so much as you claim to, then you'll show up to Headquarters tomorrow and actually do work instead of fretting over whatever stupid, little, inefficient snail racing competition you may have." The key word in Olive's tirade was, of course, "may", because she had no idea if there was a competition coming up. Coincidentally, though, she was right on the money, as Otto dropped his anger. "B-but I have to get into the province tournament bracket! There's a special prize!" Olive turned to leave. "Whatever 'special prize' there is can wait, Otto." A crunch sound seemed to fill the entire area. Olive's eyes widened. She blinked. Lifted up her foot. And found various bits and pieces of a broken shell filling some of the gaps in the sole. Otto gasped and immediately rushed over as fast as he could without taking any innocent gastropods' lives. "Ringo!" He pulled out Olive's shoe to inspect it, completely ignoring her as she struggled to keep her balance. "Oh no...nononono!" As Olive stopped her fall by leaning on the table with her arms, she saw Otto's disheartened and hurt expression. "You cracked his shell! His lucky shell!" Otto squeezed his eyes shut. "And I...I can't even replace it!" He let go of Olive's foot, allowing the girl to turn upright once again. The sight of him crying made her rage dispel, and she bit her lip as she struggled with what to say. "Otto, I-" Within seconds, she was under Otto's arm and heading for the door without her even noticing. "H-hey! Put me down!" She squirmed about in an attempt to break free, but to no avail. "Otto, if you don't put me down right now, I'll-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as the door opened. Otto's right side, the one that was holding Olive, leaned backwards, and the girl was thrown into the air, landing on the sidewalk leading to the front door chin-first. The action, of course, was coupled with a startling and confused scream. "AND STAY OUT!!" were Otto's final words, echoing into the afternoon air along with the sharp slam of a door. Olive slowly got up and rubbed her sore chin, snapping her jaws together a few times to make sure they still worked and nothing was broken. When she received confirmation that everything was in working order aside from some pain, she began to make her way to the tube entrance in his yard, ducking through it while reflecting on the argument she had with her friend. Or, well, no. She supposed it was her former friend, now. "Yes. Mhm, I'll get those to you right away. Thank you!" As the Big O put the white handle of the phone back onto its equally-white receiver, her eyes caught one of her assistants poking his head in. "Big O, ma'am? Olive wants to see you. From the Mississauga precinct?" "Oh! Yes, bring her in." As Olive approached her desk, the Big O put on her usual genuine smile. "Olive! It's wonderful to see you." "You as well." The Big O moved a plate of cookies towards the Director. "Would you like a cookie? I have a whole plate of them here. Freshly baked!" Olive shook her head. "I think I'll pass, but thank you." The Big O set the plate down. "So what brings you to my office?" "Um...it's about my partner, Otto." Olive explained. "He's been neglecting his duties at work as of late and I want you to take action." The Big O raised an eyebrow. "Neglecting his work, you say? How so?" "He's been caught up in this new..." Olive rolled her hand about, trying to find a good word to describe it. "...thing called snail racing, and it's slowed down his workflow. I’ve been having to cover for him, doing his work while also doing mine. He’s out for a majority of the day now, including on his break." She sighed. "I've tried to talk things out with him on numerous attempts, but they've all failed." "Hmm." The Big O tilted her head inquisitively. "I did notice he brought back his half of the precinct report late compared to your half...and if you tried talking things out with him..." "I was hoping that maybe, if it’s not too much to ask...you could fire him?" Olive gave a nervous grin. "I-I mean a Director who doesn’t serve their precinct...they’re hardly a Director at all, right? They’re dead weight!" The Big O nodded. "You do make a point. The Mississauga precinct is one of the least busiest precincts in Canada and has been for a while, but if Otto is neglecting his work, then I don't have much of a choice." Secretly, it alarmed her to hear Olive talk about Otto in such a way -- after all, they were co-legends -- but protocol had to be followed, and she couldn't let personal bias get in the way. "Are you sure you'll be fine handling the precinct on your own, Olive? I could always help you search for another qualified candidate-" "No, I'll be fine." Olive smiled. "I might already have someone in mind who's willing to help out, anyway." The Big O simply shrugged. "Well, it is your precinct. So if you're willing to go through with this, then so am I." She leaned to her left and glanced behind Olive. "Assistant!" Another assistant, different from the one before, entered. "Yes, ma'am?" "Please bring me Form #5520." "Of course, I'll deliver it to you right away!" "Thank you very much!" As the assistant quickly made their exit, Olive blinked. "What, exactly, are you planning to do?" "I’ll write up a termination of employment notice. This will notify Otto that he is hereby fired from Odd Squad and is not to return to Headquarters for employment reasons under any circumstances unless I hire him back. You can hand-deliver it to him." Olive felt hope filling her heart. Now she knew what Twilight meant by using the Big O as a last resort. The most logical thing one can do after noticing an employee slacking off repeatedly is to go to the boss and get them fired. With Otto, there was no more covering for him, no more trying to talk him out of what he was doing -- only going to the extremes would make him learn his lesson. And if that didn't work? Well...she didn't know what else. She had already severed ties of friendship with the argument. She was here now, getting him fired. She supposed there was nothing more she could do. She nodded. "I appreciate this, Big O." "Oh, don't mention it a bit." The Big O waved a dismissive hand. "It's my job to write these things, as unfortunate as it may seem sometimes." The assistant returned right then, with nothing more but a sheet of paper in hand. "Here you are, ma'am. Form #5520." "Thank you!" The assistant left once more, leaving just Olive and the Big O alone. The latter quickly picked up a pencil and got to filling out the form, while Olive looked on nervously. "Just give me a second...gotta fill out all the necessary sections here..." the Big O muttered as she got to the "Reason for Notice" part of the form. A few minutes later, she was done. "All right. Just hand this to him and you're all set." Olive took the paper eagerly -- perhaps a little too eagerly, but she didn't mind. "Thank you." "Not a problem at all!" The Big O held out the plate of cookies again. "Are you sure you don't want a cookie before you go?" Olive stared at the plate for a few moments. While she wasn't hungry at the moment, the cookies did look good...and she supposed she deserved a little reward for enduring Otto's shenanigans all this time. "Actually? I think I will." The Big O smiled and gave a playful wink. "I knew you'd cave. Everyone always does." Olive laughed in response, turning on her heel and walking away. "Take care." "You as well, Olive!" As the Director left the room and began heading for the exit, she munched on her sugar cookie, a grin splitting her face as her body began to swell with excitement. Assistants who passed by widened their eyes upon seeing her, but she paid them no mind. A termination of employment notice...now this will show him. And I know exactly who's going to help me when he's gone. "Hello! Can I help you?" "Yes, I'm looking for the snail racing competition being held here?" The receptionist at the desk of the Mississauga Community Center pointed to Olive's right. "Yes, you want Room 7." "Thank you." The Community Center wasn't all too big -- Olive had been here many times to go swimming, as well as get some basketball practice in when the Odd Squad Gym at her Headquarters was too packed. She knew her way around, and thus was able to easily identify Room 7 along the right-side hallway. The sound of muffled chanting filled her ears as she got closer. If I really wanted to be mean, I would shame him in front of the crowd. The paper in her hand rustled as she held a tighter grip on it. But I've got standards. As she opened the door to Room 7, she was greeted with a rather unusual sight, even by her standards as an Odd Squad agent. The room was filled with about eight people and ponies, all of them staring down at the ground at a tiny racetrack that went straight across. Eight snails in eight lanes slowly moved, as their owners -- or whom Olive had to assume were their owners -- cheered them on. One racer among the crowd was Otto, who was talking to an elderly woman. "All right, Betty! Nice going!" "Thank you, Otto!" Betty smiled. "Oh, Sammy's really got guts!" Olive suddenly felt awkward, like she was in a foreign environment she shouldn't be in. No one had noticed her yet, not even when the door closed rather loudly behind her. "Hey, Otto!" And now they did. "Another Odd Squad agent?" a unicorn stallion asked. Otto's eyes narrowed as he glared at Olive. "Yes. The one who cracked Ringo's shell." Gasps rung out through the room, causing Olive to wince slightly. "That's her?" "She hurt Ringo?" "The nerve of her!" Crumpets...well, I'm already deep in muck as it is. Guess I should add more fuel to the fire. The room went silent. Otto stood agape, his eyes bugging out of his skull. "This...this is-" "Your termination of employment notice." Olive attempted to draw herself up to Otto's height as best she could without resorting to tippy-toes. "I'm an agent of my word. Don't bother coming into work -- today, tomorrow, or any day in the foreseeable future." The look on Otto's face shifted from shock to hurt. It almost made Olive feel pity for him, if her cocky, "this is gonna go so right for me every single step of the way" attitude didn't prevent that from coming forth. He stared at her for what felt like hours. "I can't believe it...y-you..." He looked at the paper, then back to her. "How could you do this? I thought we were partners! Friends!" Olive thought back to Oprah's words, how "partners" and "friends" didn't have to be mutually exclusive terms. To her, Otto was neither a partner nor a friend right now. Secretly, she couldn't deny that this whole roundabout way of saying "you're fired" stung a little. But at work and in life, he had been nothing more than a ball and chain wrapped around her ankle, and it was now time to get the big ol' Odd Squad scissors and snip off the cuff. "I think last night's argument confirmed otherwise." she said. "And this comes from the Big O herself, as you can see." Otto was rendered catatonic right then and there, slumping to his knees and simply looking up at the sky. His eyes, once a chocolate-brown color, were becoming duller by the second. Olive, on the other hand, gazed around the room of angry and upset snail racing competitors, and gave a nervous chuckle. "I, uh...I can tell I'm not welcome here, so...I'm gonna go. Good luck!" She turned to leave, fast-walking straight out the door and closing it before booking it towards the Community Center entrance. Her heart began to give painful pangs, but she largely ignored them, knowing exactly why the pangs were coming now. Still, she found it in her best interest to let Twilight in the loop and let her know how things went -- perhaps the Princess of Friendship had more advice at her hooves to dispense. Olive made her way into the bullpen, immediately spotting Twilight at her desk. "Hi, Olive!" the alicorn greeted. "Did you talk to Otto?" Olive heaved a sigh. "I tried to, but he refused to listen. So I went to the Big O and had her sign off on a termination of employment notice. I just delivered it to him now." Twilight nearly fell off of her chair, her wings opening and fluffing up in shock. "You got Otto fired?!" she yelled. "Yup. You said to use the Big O as a last resort, Twilight, and I did." Olive chuckled. "He was left in quite a state of shock when I gave him that paper. But at least it was better than what I was initially going to do." Twilight folded her wings back in and resumed her normal position in the chair. "Which was?" "Shame him in front of his snail-racing-loving friends." A look of disappointment crossed Twilight's face for just a moment, before she gave a resigned sigh. "Well, you did what you had to. But aren't you still friends?" "Nope. I've broken off all ties of friendship." Twilight's next freakout simply involved a pair of eyes widening. "What?" she asked, struggling to find the words to say in response for a minute or two. Instead, she stammered, starting on one word before backtracking and resorting to another. Ultimately, another sigh left her body. "Well...I suppose it can't really be helped, but...you and Otto have been partners and friends for a long time! To see you two break ties like this, it's almost impossible to imagine!" "I don't want to be friends, or partners, with someone who's not going to prioritize work over their hobbies. It's like I told him: I play sports all the time, but I also am loyal to Odd Squad and do my work in an orderly and timely fashion. You can balance a hobby and employment at the same time." Twilight nodded, knowing that she herself was a good example of someone who could balance both. She enjoyed reading and gaining knowledge about a wide variety of subjects, but still managed to do her work in both Odd Squad and Equestria. Still, she couldn't help but frown at Olive. "Sounds like you need to be a little more open to Otto's likes and dislikes." "That's not the problem." Olive fired back. "The problem is that he keeps neglecting his work for something inconsequential. That's what adults do!" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I don't know...I don't think that's how adults act." she said, gesturing to herself. "Look. Maybe it's just a passing phase. Kind of like how he changes what he wants to be when he grows up all the time. His love of snail racing might not stick around for long." "I hope not. It's stuck around for long enough." Olive rolled her eyes. "But in the meantime, he doesn't have a job now." "So who's going to take his place?" "No one. Not in an official sense, anyway." It took Twilight only a few seconds to realize exactly what the sly look on Olive's face meant. "You want Mandy to help you?" "Why not? She does a great job here. Surely she can help me out." "But there's no way she can balance her work here and whatever you're going to make her do at your precinct." Twilight pointed out. "Do you really think she'll say yes?" Olive waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, of course she will. Mandy's a very open-minded person. A couple weeks ago I asked her if she could mow my lawn for me because I was too tired from a basketball game I had played in. She got right to work, got it done within a half-hour, and even planted flowers." "Uh-huh." Twilight said, an unimpressed look on her features. "Well, she's napping right now, so I don't think you're going to be able to wake her up. She's already solved ten cases and fixed fifteen of Oona's gadgets in just the span of three hours." Olive snorted, and then laughed. "Oh, Twilight...Twilight, please...that's nothing! For an Investigation agent, that's completely average!" She began heading for the right-side hallway, waving her hand in a beckoning motion. "Come on, let's go. I'll show you just how much I know my own adopted daughter." Mandy was, of course, deep in the thralls of her afternoon nap. With a blanket covering her and a pillow clutched tightly against her body, she was in utter bliss. Well...aside from the dreams of the shadow-person. Those had been resurfacing every few days. But luckily, her dreams this time around were peaceful. Two hands grasping her arm shook her. "Hey Mandy, wake up. I've got a question to ask, and you're going to say yes!" Twilight simply rolled her eyes at that comment. Mandy, however, continued to snore, her tail thrashing back and forth furiously. Olive groaned. "Come on! Surely if you don't wake up, you can work in your sleep, right?" Noticing Twilight's disbelieving stare, she commented, "It happened once! I saw it happen!" "Zztop, zzhadow-perzzon, y' not gettin' away...!" Mandy's finger was sitting against the wall she was facing, but only sat there for a few moments before her leg and foot began to twitch as violent snores erupted forth. Twilight shrugged. "I hate to say I told you so, but-" "Shh! Just watch." Leaning close to Mandy's pony ear, Olive whispered, "Come on, wake up! If you do, maybe I'll make you a strawberry tart! I know how much you love my strawberry tarts." More loud snores told both Olive and Twilight that the former's plan had failed. The twitching stopped, however, as did the tail-thrashing. "Jeez, how wiped out are you?" "Like I said, she's been busy." Olive chose to ignore Twilight's quip and leaned close to Mandy once more. "Please, Mandy, wake up. All I want to do is ask you one simple question. How hard does this have to be that I-" A flurry of snorts marked Mandy's arrival to the waking world as she shot straight up in bed. "I-I'm awake! Where'zz th' fire, where'zz th' fire?! Did I leave th' muffinzz in th' oven 'gain?!" "Mandy, calm down!" Twilight hovered, placing her hooves on Mandy's shoulders. "You're in your room. There's no fire. Everything's fine." "Huh?" Mandy's jaws parted in a yawn. "Oh! Hey, Twi..." The hybrid weakly waved, and then her eyes laid on Olive, her arms outstretched. "Momma...!" "Nice to see you too. Fully awake." Olive rubbed the hybrid's head, causing her to give a happy cry of contentment. "Look, I need to ask you a question, and you'd better say yes!" Mandy blinked twice. "A what?" Upon seeing Olive stammer, she rubbed her head. "Sorry...my brain's still defoggin'..." She smiled. "Repeat that?" "I need. To ask you. A question. And the only answer I am accepting is a big fat yes!" "Okay!" Mandy grinned. Blinked a few times. And then said, "What is it?" "Can you help me out at my precinct?" Olive asked, watching as Mandy teleported a glass of water into existence and drank it. "It's just that I fired Otto and I need someone that'll be willing to help me o-" Mandy's eyes widened as she choked on a large glob of water. Every cough she made caused her hair and tail to bush out. "You...you did whoosa-what-now?!" "I fired Otto." Olive shrugged. "He’s too fixated on snail racing nowadays. That’s his life’s purpose. Not Odd Squad. I tried to talk him into giving snail racing up, but...he refused to listen. And then we got into an argument, he kicked me out of his house, I went to the Big O and had her fill out a termination of employment notice, I gave him the notice, and...now I’m alone." Silence. Mandy stared at Olive with an expression that somehow combined bewilderment, panic, and a tinge of "is this some kind of cruel joke?" all in one. "I think you broke her." Twilight commented, slowly reaching out a hoof to touch Mandy. Thankfully, the hybrid (mostly) broke out of her stupor herself with a mighty shake of her head. "Y-y-you...you...I...who...you..." She moved her neck to one side in order to "pop popcorn" with her neck muscles, as it were. "Nonononono, hold on. I have to get this straight." she said. "So Otto’s obsessed with snail racing and not Odd Squad, and you tried to convince him to give up snail racing but that didn’t work, so you went to his house, you two got into some big kerfuffle-huffle, he kicked you out, then you went to the Big O and had her give you a “termination of employment” notice, whatever that means, and then you gave him the notice, and now you’re...running your precinct on your own." She grinned. "Do I have that right, do I have that wrong, or do I have that utterly stinkin' bananas?" Olive exchanged a glance with Twilight. "Well, thank odd I don't have to repeat it..." the Director muttered, before she nodded. "There are some parts I left out, but that's the main gist of it." Mandy tilted her head. "Ooooookaaaay, so why're you tellin' me this?" "I thought since you're so efficient working at this precinct, you can help me at my precinct...in place of Otto?" Olive's grin was nerve-wracking to Mandy, who began to sweat and gave a nervous laugh. "M-Momma, surely you understand that I already have a big workload here as it is and won’t have time for your precinct? If I ran two precincts at once, I’d experience burnout!" Twilight sighed. "Once again, Olive, I told you so. Mandy's just too busy. You and Otto work well as a team." "Yeah!" Mandy nodded in agreement. "I couldn't possibly fill the void Otto left behind. You two have been partners for forever! And you make the bestest team in all of Odd Squad!" "But I don't want him back if he's just going to talk about snail racing all the time! I want him focused on work, not to...to..." Olive stammered as she tried to find the right word. "...regress to how he used to be!" Mandy pinched her mouth inwards. "Hmm...why did he take up snail racing to begin with, anyway?" "He was bored and wanted something to do. So I showed him a listing in The Shmumber Times about it and things went from there." A snrrk sound bubbled forth from Mandy, seconds before she launched into full-on belly laughter. "What? What's so funny?" Mandy managed to roll off of her bed and onto the floor in the process, her legs flailing wildly as she continued to laugh, finding the time to squeeze words in between chortles. "You...you started this? All of this?!" Olive blushed and sharply turned her head away. "S-so what if I did?" she retorted. "That's not an excuse to defend him or his actions!" "Oh...oh odd...ohh, if that oracle hadn't...gotten a restraining order...against me..." Mandy coughed a few times as she slowly rose to her feet, clutching her chest and wiping her tears away. "Now that, is one of the best things I've heard all day." A sigh marked the end of her guffawing as she gazed at Olive. "Momma, honestly. Otto's his own person, he has a right to do what he wants!" "But not if he's neglecting his own work to do it!" "True..." Mandy's pony ear flicked a few times until she stumbled upon an idea, punctuating it with a snap of her fingers. "Ah! Why don't I go over to his house and have a little chat with him on your behalf? That way, I can try and convince him to come back to work! He can do it for the 'darling daughter' he claims he's not a father of." She gave her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. Olive blinked. "How is that going to help?" "Let's just say I've picked up a few..." Mandy cleared her throat. "...flair d'en'taires from Rarity." "Is...that even a word?" Twilight's eyes were half-lidded. "I have no idea." "That termination of employment notice might've done something to him! Like a good ol' kick in the rump!" Mandy nodded enthusiastically. "I'll be the final nail in the coffin that'll get him to come back!" Olive crossed her arms and scowled. "I don't care if he's back or not, as long as he gets his work done." Mandy grinned and booped Olive on the nose. "Don't think you're off the hook either!" "What?" "You need to loosen up a little!" Mandy chirped. "Life's not all about work, Momma. Ya gotta live a little!" Olive groaned. "Otto told me the exact same thing, so I'm going to reiterate what I told him." She took a deep breath. "I do live a little. I play sports all the time. But I can also balance work. If I can do it then so can he!" Mandy simply smiled her usual cat smile and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're skeptical, huh?" Olive scoffed. "You shouldn't be, considering you complain all the time about how I'm- hey, w-where are you-" The next thing the Director knew, she had rope tied around her stomach and was being dragged out of the room by Mandy. It had all happened so fast that she hadn't even noticed. "Mandy, let go of me!" "Nope!" "No?" Olive spluttered. "I'm your mother and I'm telling you to let me go this instant!" In response, Mandy simply hummed a little ditty before giving a "Bye, Twilight!" to the alicorn still in the room. "Have fun, you two." she responded, waving a friendly hoof. Olive growled and wound up her lungs for one last mighty cry, knowing that escape attempts would be proven futile since Mandy was bound to catch her each and every time. "I'm never giving you my strawberry tarts again!" Inside the Odd Squad Boutique -- the name was still a work in progress -- Rarity was busy organizing her spools of thread. Just as she was about to start on the second shelf, a knock rung through the room. "Oh! Goodness, who is that?" Her head swiveled towards the door. "Come in!" The door opened, and in walked Mandy. "Hiya!" "Mandy!" Rarity clapped her hooves together. "Oh, what a delight. And, er...you brought Olive, too!" By the time she arrived to the room, the grumpy Olive had been flipped onto her side, looking very displeased as she felt both her butt and the side of her body begin to itch from being dragged along the floor. In response to Rarity, all she did was give a nasty grumble that might or might not have contained a swear word. "That I did!" Mandy looked around. "Is Pinkie here?" "Right here!" came the shrill cry from the back. "I'll be out in a bit!" "She's modeling a dress for me. One from my newest line, 'Creatures and Features'!" Rarity explained. Mandy's nose wrinkled. "Doesn't sound like an interesting name." "The title is a bit of a work in progress, but I assure you, the dresses are simply gorgeous!" The sound of a curtain moving along a rod caught Mandy's attention. The first thing she laid eyes on was her partner, clad in a leopard-printed dress. She could swear there were patches of (what she hoped was) faux fur on it, but she couldn't tell from such a far distance. She gasped, her eyes shimmering. "Pinkie, you look amazing!" "I do?" Pinkie had a mirror levitated towards her so she could check out her new appearance, and like Mandy, her eyes got shimmers in them as well. "I do!" "Oh, I must agree with Mandy, darling, this dress looks wonderful on you!" Rarity praised as Pinkie made her way over to the group. "Would you like me to make you another? Perhaps...mm, just in case?" "Sure!" Pinkie replied. "But why can't I keep this one?" "That dress is one of my best works, and I want to preserve it!" "Sounds good to me!" Pinkie, realizing she hadn't met the two newcomers to the boutique, gasped. "Hey partner, hey Olive!" "Hi!" "Hi, Pinkie." Pinkie blinked in surprise. "Someone's in a grouchy mood!" she said. "What's got you so steamed?" "It's a long story." Mandy said, sympathetically patting Olive's head much to her chagrin. "Why don't you change out of that dress and I can give ya a quick rundown?" "Sure! Gimme oooooone second!" "One." Pinkie playfully rolled her eyes. "Okay...one minute?" "That I can do." As Pinkie skipped to the dressing room in the back to change, Rarity perked up. "Oh, Mandy, I've been meaning to ask you. Is the Color-inator fixed yet?" she asked. "I have a couple of white spools that I would love to experiment on using the gadget!" Mandy bit her lip, her eyes moving side to side. "Ehhhh...gettin' there! Oona really gave that thing a beating!" A look of horror settled on her face. "And then she gave me a beating...ruthlessly...with her mallet. Scientist's stealin' my schtick..." Rarity had no idea what Mandy was talking about -- she hadn't been present during Oona's supposed assault on Mandy -- but was sympathetic nonetheless. "Well, when you're done, may I borrow it, please?" "Sure!" The curtain was flung open again, and Pinkie approached the group with the dress tucked behind one leg. "Done! Here you are, Rarity!" Rarity took the dress in her blue corona, levitating it beside her. "Thank you, Pinkie." Pinkie leaned closer to Mandy. "Sooooo, what's goin' on?" Mandy heaved a sigh, trying to recall the events that Olive told her as best she could. "Otto got into snail racing, which Olive doesn’t like ‘cause now he doesn’t do work. She tried talking things out with him and it didn’t go well, so she went to the Big O and got a termination of employment notice-" "I got him fired!!" Olive screeched, getting to her feet in record time and whirling around to face Mandy. "A termination of employment notice is a firing, Mandy!" She crossed her arms. "That's it. Next year I'm gifting you a dictionary for your birthday." Mandy blinked in surprise for a few moments, before a grin came across her face. "D'aww, someone's a lil' crabby!" To punctuate her point, she pulled out a crab from hammerspace, who snapped its pincers together as though knowing it was a prop for a joke. Pinkie, of course, got a good laugh out of it. "Good one!" "Anyway, yeah." Mandy tucked the crab back into hammerspace. "She went to the Big O, got Otto fired, and now he's out of a job. Sooooo I was wondering if maaaaaaybe you can cheer this lil' squirt up?" Pinkie gave a dramatic gasp. "A chance to cheer up Olive? Don't mind if I do!" "Help her live a little and see that bein' a workaholic's not a fun thing to be!" Mandy kneeled down and leaned close to Pinkie's ear, whispering, "Take her to Club 24. She loves that place." Olive could swear she was about to crack a tooth from all the teeth-grinding she was doing. "Every day I get closer and closer to wanting to strangle you." "Well don't." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out her signature weapon from hammerspace. "'Cuz I got a hammer!" She pat Olive on the shoulder. "Now, let Aunty Pinkie fix things while I go talk to Otto. Partner, you're in charge!" As Mandy removed the loop of rope from her wrist, she handed it to Pinkie, who applied it to the base of her forelock and adjusted it accordingly. "Oh, we're gonna have so much fun, you and I!" "One more thing!" Olive jerked backwards as the tie holding her corkscrew ponytail together came undone, allowing her hair to fall in light brown waves. Mandy hummed as she tied up Olive's hair into a messy hairstyle, secured only by a sparkly pink bow. Rarity, deciding to go along with her friend's antics, levitated a mirror in front of Olive so she could see her reflection at the end of it all. "Really?" "Yes." Olive's voice became deflated. "Really?" "Yes." And then, more deflated. "Really?" "Yeeee-eeeees~!" Mandy called in singsong. "Now go with Pinkie and have some fun! I wanna see a smile on that face by end of day! Take it to bed with ya!" Pinkie squealed as she saddled up next to Olive. "We're gonna have so so sooooo much fun!" She began to head for the boutique's exit. "First stop: the Breakroom! We're gonna bake some cake!" Olive groaned in response as her body was dragged out the door. "Have fun!" Mandy called, sending the duo off with a wave before following them. "Now, to repair that Color-inator gadget! I'll have it fixed by tomorrow, Rarity!" "Thank you, darling!" With that, the unicorn closed the door and began heading to the back room with dress and mirror in tow, a ditty getting stuck in her own head as she hummed it. Otto was generally known among Odd Squad for being a joyful happy-go-lucky free spirit, known more for goofing off than actually doing work. Today, however, he certainly didn't feel joyful, lying on the couch and staring at the TV with its bright flashy colors. He sighed. "Can't believe I was fired from Odd Squad...all because of my hobby!" A pause as he rested his cheek on the pillow. "Why did I even get into snail racing to begin with? At least none of my other hobbies cost me a friendship...or a partnership." As he clutched the pillow, a flurry of rapid knocks entered his eardrums. "Must be the stress pizza I ordered." he said. "Come in." To say that the door blew open and fell off on its hinges was an understatement -- which, of course, meant that Mandy had arrived. "Helloooooo aaaaaand salutaaaaaatiooooons!" she sang, spinning around a few times before giving a flashy pose. "Hi, Mandy." Otto said, not bothering to look up. "Look, if you're coming to invite me out or something, I'm not in the mood." "I know. But I'm not inviting you out." Mandy raised a finger. "I'm here to remedy the situation between you and Momma." "So she got you involved, huh?" "Yupparoo!" Mandy bounced on over to the couch and took a seat next to Otto, which was rather hard considering his entire sprawled-out body spanned the length of the couch. "But I'm not doing this just for her. I'm doing this for me." She frowned. "It pains me so, to see you two like this, all broken up after being partners forever and ever." Otto didn't respond. "Look, I’ve heard the entire story. And it’s true that Momma is always stoic and serious all the time. But it also wasn’t right of you to just abandon work like that!" Mandy's tail wagged slightly. "You can find ways to balance work and hobbies. I do it all the time!" Mandy swept her arm from left to right in an arc, her mouth curving up into her usual cat smile. "It’s all about...efficiency." Otto gave a soft groan. "Ooooookay, so maybe you’re not much of a talker. No matter, ‘cause I’m very much of a talker!" Mandy cleared her throat. "All I want, and all your partner wants, is for you to stop putting down your work and neglecting it for snail racing competitions and...uh...whatever it is you do with snail racing!" She threw her hands into the air, then lowered them. "If you did that...maybe Momma would support you in your hobby. But if you just magically decide you’re not gonna work outta the blue 'cuz of your hobby, of course that’s gonna make her mad! And that’s why she had to go to the Big O to get her to fire you!" Otto shifted his body, pulling his knees slightly closer to his chest as a few tears began to fall. "Sensitive topic, I see. I might have hit a nerve there." Mandy shook her head. "If you can start doing work and treat snail racing as more of a side gig, then maybe she would let you back onto the force. Or...if you really can’t balance work and snail racing, then you’re gonna hafta quit snail racing. That is, if you really love Odd Squad so much. You can always find a new hobby that’s much less time-consuming!" No response, not even so much as a movement or a moan. Mandy sucked in as much air as she could, and released it with one big sigh. "Otto...you’re gonna hafta make a choice. Which one would you rather do?" She looked over at him. "The hobby you picked up only a few days ago, or the oddness-fighting organization that you’ve been with for...uh..." She bit her lip. "W-well I don’t really know how long you’ve been with Odd Squad, but it’s a long time!" This time came a soft moan, muffled by the pillow that Otto had buried his face in. "Sleep on it, at least? We really want you back at Odd Squad, Otto! I’m sure the agents at your precinct miss you, and...so does Momma. I bet she’d really love it if you came back!" Mandy frowned. "It would really break all our hearts, though, if you continued on with snail racing. No pressure." The hybrid got up from her spot on the couch and began making her way to the door. "Well, I've said all I need to. Take care of yourself, 'kay?" She smiled. "If ya need me, I'm only a call away!" "Mhm." Mandy stopped and blinked, then gave a shrug. "Eh, one word. I'll take it." She bounced out of the doorway and called in singsong, "Have a good niiiii-iiiiight!" Otto simply turned over onto his other side. Although it didn't look like it, he had been hanging on to every word that Mandy said, and it was made clear that he had a lot of thinking to do -- which he planned on getting started right now. Meanwhile, on her way back to Headquarters, Mandy polished her curled-up hand against her chest. "Ah, Mandy. Your wisdom and intelligence impresses even myself sometimes." Surprisingly, all through the night, Mandy did not dream about the scary shadow-person. She supposed she had scared them off -- or if not her, then someone. Whoever it was, she had to find them and thank them. Her snoring and sleep-talking ceased as her eyes slowly creaked open. Sitting up in bed, a noisy yawn escaped her, then she reached her arms high into the air. "Ooooooh, big zztretch! Mmmmm, big zztretchie!" A loud pop resounded, both across the room and through Mandy's body. She winced, her eye twitching a few times. "That...wazz too big of a zztretchie. Too big." she squeaked out, encapsulating the realization with a groan. As she got out of bed and chugged her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, she made her way over to the door and opened it, her eyes widening when she found a rather downcast-looking Otto on the other side of it. "Otto! Nice to see ya!" Mandy chirped. "Or, uh, are you a robot Otto? A Robotto? Ooooooh, that's a good name!" "I'm...the real Otto." Otto rubbed his arm. "Um, anyway, I thought about what you said last night, and..." A pause. Mandy leaned closer to him and grinned. "Aaaaaaaaand?" Otto sighed. "I want to quit snail racing and begin working at Odd Squad again." Mandy gasped one of the most dramatic gasps she had ever done, and began bouncing up and down. "Yay! Oh, I'm so so sooooo happy to hear that!" She stopped bouncing. "I mean, i-it was your decision in the end, but, um, still...yay!" She blinked. "Wait. But why are you coming to me?" "The termination of employment notice said that I can’t return to Odd Squad for employment reasons. So I’m wondering if maybe...you could help me get re-hired and..." He bit his lip. "...face Olive?" Mandy pinched her mouth inwards. "Ohhhhh. Yeah. Might be awkward." She tilted her head. "Why don't you ask Twilight?" "I thought of that, but..." Otto gave a small smile. "It was you who helped me realize that my passion for snail racing was getting in the way of what was really important." He clasped his hands together. "I want you to come with me." Mandy heaved a sigh. "Fine, fine." She retrieved a small stack of papers from somewhere and looked them over. "Honestly, this chapter called for me to be outta the action, but it is partially my story." She tossed the papers away. "All righty, you got yourself a deal! Gimme 5 minutes to get changed." "Got it." As Mandy closed the door and began making her way to her wardrobe, she groaned. "That's the last time I get dragged into any sort of a friendship dispute..." She shook her head and slumped over. "Aw, who am I kiddin'. I can't escape friendship disputes! Why-y-yyyyyy?!" "So let me get this straight. You realized that your hobby was overshadowing your job, and because of it, you want your job back?" Mandy threw herself down onto her knees, put her hands together, and begged. "Please please pleeeeeeeease, Big O, if he doesn't get his job back I'll never hear the end of it! It's- I'm- he's-" The Big O laughed. "Relax, Mandy! I was going to give it back to him anyway." Her gaze rested on Otto, standing beside Mandy with a serious expression on his face. "Otto, you are one of the best Directors of the organization. You and Olive have made your mark on Odd Squad history. Together, you two make your precinct stand out." She shook her head. "It’s not right for you to be separated like this. But I can see Mandy’s words got through to you." "They did. And..." Otto bowed his head. "I'm sorry. Mandy was right. I should have found a way to balance snail racing and work in equal measure. Abandoning Odd Squad -- the organization I’ve worked for for so long -- wasn’t the right thing to do. It wasn't fair to my agents, or to Olive." The Big O smiled and took out a small circular gadget from hammerspace. "In that case..." She fired the gadget, causing Otto's normal outfit of a Soundcheck shirt, jeans, and sneakers to change back to his usual Odd Squad Director attire. "I hereby declare Agent #70, Otto, a full-fledged Odd Squad Director of the Mississauga precinct, 73955. He is now eligible to work at Odd Squad and resume his normal duties as a Management agent." Gasps and laughter were shared among Mandy and Otto, who giddily hopped in place and then hugged each other. "Big O, thank you so much!" Otto said. The Big O laughed as she watched the display of joy, relief and excitement go down. "It's no problem!" she chirped. "Now, why don't you head back to your precinct and make up with Olive?" Otto broke free from the hug and frowned. "Oh yeah...I still have to do that." A hand grabbed his own and squeezed it with all of its owner's might. "Huh?" "We're in this together, you and I." Mandy smiled. "Let's go reunite you two!" Otto looked from her to the Big O and back again. A pit of nervousness still hung in his stomach, but he managed to gather up his confidence with a deep breath. Olive might have been more intimidating than him, but he was sure that he would be able to mend things with her, just as they had done in the past. "Yes. Let's go!" The phone rang. Olive picked it up as fast as she could. "Odd Squad Precinct 73955, Olive speaking." "..." "Uh-huh." "..." "Right, so what you're saying..." Just outside of her office, however, Mandy and Otto ascended the staircase. Neither one of them could escape the flurry of whispers and rumors that followed them from employees, and it only served to make Otto more anxious. "C'mon, keep your chin up!" Mandy encouraged, patting his shoulder. "You got this." Otto, in response, took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then walked inside. Olive sighed. "Nonono, it was crackers. Water crackers. I believe you're getting your snacks mixed up." "..." "Well, tell you what, I'll send a couple agents over and you can..." Trailing off, Olive looked up and stared at Otto, her expression turning sour. "Um...I'm so sorry, but can I call you back? I have...someone...in my office." "..." "Yeah." "..." "Okay, buh-bye now." Olive put the phone back onto the receiver and smiled. "Mandy! Good to see you! And...you brought, ah..." "Otto." Mandy answered bluntly. "Your ex-partner, your ex-friend, call him what you like." She gestured to his entire body. "You'll notice he's wearing a Director's outfit now." Olive's eyes were half-lidded, her expression turned unamused. "Yes. Did he commit an act of theft in addition to abandoning his job?" "No. Don't be rude." Mandy scolded, ignoring Olive's scoff in response and continuing with her words. "Otto was employed back onto Odd Squad and back into this precinct by the Big O herself. And he has some words to say to you." "Oh?" Olive took a sip of water, a smug smile forming on her face. "Enlighten me, then. Whatever you tell me can't be worse than what you've already done." Otto bit his lip. His hand curled up into a tight fist again, so tight that he could almost feel his knuckles turning white. "Go on!" Mandy urged, taking a few steps back and sitting on the couch to allow Otto to take the reins. The newly-rehired Director gave a sigh, opened his mouth, and spoke. "Mandy came over to my house last night and gave me some words of wisdom. And...you were right." Olive's eyes widened -- clearly, she didn't see that kind of comment coming. A simple confused "Huh?" was all she could utter. "You can balance work and your hobbies. Just like how you can balance sports and working at Odd Squad. But..." Otto looked away. "In my case, I can’t do that. There’s no way I could do snail racing and work here. Snail racing is just too time-consuming." And back to Olive. "So I quit." Olive stared at him. Her brain was finding it hard to form anything that could even resemble a coherent sentence. Someone might as well have up and told her that she won the mega-prize lottery. "You...you quit..." "I quit snail racing! For good!" Feebly, Olive tried to reach for her glass of water. She managed to grab it and not knock it over simply by a sheer stroke of luck, though anyone could see her hand shaking as she struggled to drink it. "I’ve been working at Odd Squad for so long. But most importantly...I’ve been working with you for so long. We’re partners." Otto shook his head. "No, we’re not partners. We’re friends." He shook his head again. "No. We're not partners, and we aren't friends. We're both." "...B-b-both?" "We get things done thanks to how strong our bond of friendship is. The Big O said that we’ve made our mark on Odd Squad history. And she’s right." Otto smiled. "We did it together." Olive took another swig, fixing Otto with a look of disbelief and shock. "Olive, I’m sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry. I should never have abandoned my job because of some stupid hobby. And I shouldn’t have left you behind either. Not at the restaurant, and not at work." Otto straightened. "From now on, I’m going to find a hobby that isn’t time-consuming and stick with it. And I’ll stay in Odd Squad for the rest of my life!" His voice cracked on his next words. "I’ll...I’ll be your partner, your best friend, until the end of time." He let the tears flow right then and there. Olive simply watched, trying to figure out exactly what she could say. She couldn't deny that Pinkie had planted a seed in her the other day -- a seed of "you did a lot of bad things and now it's time you apologize to Otto for them". When it came to persuasion, she and Mandy had her in a vicegrip most of the time, but it seemed Otto might have picked up on a few of those skills, because her heart began to twist in an ugly act of pity, sadness, and regret. Finally, after what felt like hours, she stood up. "I'm sorry too." she said. "Being with Pinkie Pie the other day...it taught me that I'm still just a little too uptight with work. It's okay to have fun, to laugh...to live a little." She laid a hand on Otto's shoulder. "That's what makes you the perfect partner, Otto. It's the way you're full of laughter and so carefree. Focusing on work all the time is for adults. It's not healthy for us kids. We only live once, as they say -- the fact that we're immortal aside." She circled her desk to face Otto, putting both of her hands on his shoulders. "We make a perfect team because of our contrasting personalities. And...I couldn’t imagine working at Odd Squad without you by my side." She broke eye contact. "I shouldn’t have tried to shame you in front of your new snail racing friends, and...I should be more accepting of your hobbies. From now on, whatever you decide to do..." She looked back at him and smiled. "You have my full support." Otto's crying escalated to sobs that shook his body. Olive took a step back and opened her arms. "Bring it in." Otto didn't need to be told twice. The newly-reunited partner pair embraced each other in a long, tight hug, smiles caressing both of their faces. Mandy, sitting on the couch, nodded. "Well, my work here is done." she murmured, lighting up her horn and teleporting away in a bright rainbow-colored flash that neither Director noticed. Otto was the one to break free from the hug first, sniffling. "Do you..." A clean tissue from hammerspace was handed to him. "Thank you." He took it eagerly, blowing his nose in it. Olive turned towards the couches that lined the office. "And thank you, Mandy, for-" She blinked. "Where'd she go?" "Huh?" Otto looked at the couches, a look of confusion on his face. "But she was just here a minute ago!" With careful movements, Mandy maneuvered the bead closer and closer to its designated spot in the gadget she had nearly finished repairing. Her blue eyes squinted to help her focus better, and she had attempted to tune out every single sound in the bullpen so she could focus even better than focusing better. "Aha! Gotcha!" she exclaimed, as the bead sat in the spot. "Hey, Mandy!" The greeting startled the hybrid badly, her hand whacking the gadget and sending the bead careening to the floor. Even when spooked, her pony ears heard bead meet surface easily. "Nonononono!" she yelped, scrambling down to the floor. "Where'd that bead go?! I need that bead!" She groaned. "Darn it all..." "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you!" Mandy continued looking for the bead without recognizing Twilight's apology. "I'm guessing Peaches or Oprah sent you?" "Er...no. Why do you ask?" "Aha! Found it!" Mandy emerged from under her desk, the small red bead caught in her prismatic corona. A sigh of relief escaped her body. "Thank goodness..." As she made her way back to her chair, she looked at Twilight. "Um...you were saying?" "Why are you asking if Peaches or Ms. O sent me?" Twilight repeated. "'Cuz they saw me crying and thought it had something to do with the whole Momma-Otto thingie so they thought a hug from good old Twi-Twi would cheer me up?" Twilight only grew more confused. "A-anyway..." Mandy waved her hand. "Momma and Otto finally made up. About time, too!" "Really?" "Yup! Momma wanted me involved, and I didn't really wanna get involved, but it all worked out in the end." "I'm glad!" Twilight put a hoof to her chest. "It just doesn't feel right to see them broken up and fighting with each other." "And hopefully, this won't happen again." Mandy sighed and turned back to the gadget on her desk. "Now, be quiet for just a sec..." Slowly but surely, she put the bead into its designated spot once more. Once it was perfectly aligned, the gadget shone in an array of colors and hues. "Yes!" Mandy closed the hatch over the notch where the bead was sitting. "The Color-inator is fixed! Now I can go and give it to Rarity!" "What does Rarity need it for?" "Oh, she wanted to try and color some white spools of thread she had. A little experiment with gadgetry and unicorn magic, she said." Mandy shrugged, completely oblivious to Twilight's eyes widening as she looked behind the hybrid. "I dunno why she just goes out and buys some spools. Maybe a fashion designer only has so many bits? I mean I wouldn't pin Rarity as a super-duper Miss Ol' Pennybags, if ya know what I mean..." Mandy laughed. "But using a gadget to color spools of thread almost seems like che-" "Uh, Mandy." Twilight raised a hoof. "Behind you." Mandy immediately stiffened. She could hear her head audibly creak as she slowly turned it. Or was that her neck? She wasn't sure. Her pupils and irises both shrunk. Clad in a black cloth, with only two pairs of eyes showing, the mysterious figure uttered only a single word as its lips -- perhaps one of many pairs of lips -- moved to Mandy's human ear, opened its mouth, and breathed. "Boo." The sonic scream came forth. The sound of distant glass breaking rung out first, followed by an "Oh, come on!" from one very angry Director. From there, the effect spread to the plastic slide, beakers and flasks sitting in the Lab, the gadget in Oona's hand (which she, of course, dropped, causing it to begin shooting sparks), computer screens, and finally, the large circular fixture that hung high above the bullpen near the back wall. Twilight winced as she plugged her ears with her wingtips and closed her eyes tightly. The figure, however, hardly moved this time, aside from reverting back to its usual tall position once the deed was done. Mandy leaped into the air, flailed all four limbs in ways that would outclass a long series of contortionists, and screamed, "SHADOW PERSO-O-OOOOOON!!" This declaration coalesced with a yell, followed by Mandy taking off at breakneck speeds down the right-side hallway. Once the noise had been greatly reduced to just agents complaining, Twilight took her wingtips out of her ears and folded her wings in, staring up at the figure. It laughed...a rather familiar laugh. And then the bottom half spoke. "Wow, you got her good!" "Of course I did! It works every time!" The cloth fell away to reveal a totem pole of exactly two Directors, one holding up the other. Twilight glanced at the Director on top. "Olive?" "Oh, Twilight!" Olive scrambled off of Otto. "We, uh, didn't scare you too, did we?" "No, not really. But why are you scaring Mandy...like that?" "That..." Olive gave a sly smile. "...is revenge for her making me hang out with Pinkie. As much of a fun time as that was, the gesture wasn't initially appreciated." "I think that'll teach her a lesson, partner." "Oh definitely." As the partner pair performed their signature handshake, Twilight laughed, which caused both of them to begin laughing as well. From somewhere within Headquarters, a high-pitched and very familiar warning echoed throughout the various rooms and hallways, reaching the bullpen where it ended up being completely and utterly ignored. "That shadow person is still out there! Nyaaaaaaaaah!!" S1E24: Revenge is a Dish Best Served DrowsilyDeep in the basement of the Villain League's main building, the Dream Weaver was hard at work. She wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since that stupid ingrate of a hybrid had beaten her. She thought she had the beast pinned down. She knew all of her weaknesses, had her on the losing end... And yet the Dream Weaver was the one who ended up losing. Since then, she had studied Mandy extensively. Anecdotes from other villains' past battles were piled up everywhere in her house. Although her stock-in-trade was sleep and dreams, she decided to focus on Mandy's actions while awake, as well -- every little bit helped, after all. But one day, the Shapeshifter had approached her. Told her that she had "an odd plan to end all odd plans". The Dream Weaver knew she was exaggerating, but had told her to proceed. The plan involved feeding into Mandy's fears, impersonating her and fooling her friends and family into thinking she was the real deal. That pony named "Pinkie Pie" had done the same thing with something called the "Mirror Pool", and it created a lot of strife for her, or so the Dream Weaver was told. Since Pinkie and Mandy were vastly similar to each other in terms of personality, the Shapeshifter was confident that such a similar plan could be enacted with Mandy and go off without a hitch. The Dream Weaver was, of course, hesitant. She knew Mandy well, and knew that she was also scatterbrained at times but quite intelligent. How, exactly, would one impersonate her to a T without tipping everyone else off? The Shapeshifter had a workaround, she had said. She held up a prismatic pendant, maroon in color, diamond-shaped, and filled with black wispy magic that she claimed came from the Evil Queen, who was known for sending people to other kingdoms with her magic wand. By placing it in close proximity to Mandy, it would feast on her dreams and twist them to become nightmares, helpful forewarnings for what was to come. Having consistent nightmares would leave the hybrid in such a tired state that she would be too exhausted to even put up a fight. It had all made sense to the Dream Weaver in that moment. Sure, she had tried to poison Mandy by unearthing nightmares about her past, but it didn't affect her on the outside. By odd, she hadn't even thought about her on the outside. Sleep affected a person primarily on the outside. Gosh, how foolish of a villainess she was. Upon realizing this, she had immediately agreed to the plan. And, as an added bonus, the Shapeshifter recommended to her an accomplice, a villain who would lay the foundation for the plan's enactment and make sure it went off without a hitch. The Dream Weaver agreed to having them onboard too, once she heard their very name. It was all coming together. Her revenge stew was nearly finished cooking. She'd make sure that rotten hybrid would pay for what she did, using all the resources she had at her disposal. A combo of thunder and lightning crashed through the nighttime streets of Toronto, with no rain to be found. Of course, Odd Squad was well-protected from most weather -- aside from earthquakes, they were pretty well-off. This weather, however, didn't deter villains any. And in fact, two of them were about to carry out a rather odd and evil plan indeed. Just outside Mandy's room, where the hybrid was in a deep sleep, the Dream Weaver was hard at work with her accomplice, a bearded man dressed in a cloak with silvers, grays and whites. In his hand was a tall wooden staff, embedded with gears and pipes of all shapes and sizes, twisting and turning in a rather unique shape with the top holding a mysterious blue crystal in place. Encapsulating his hood, as well as his shoulders and his chest, were metal loops that jangled lightly as he walked. "There she is." The Dream Weaver pointed. "You know what to do?" The accomplice smirked. "Of course." Taking only a single step into the room, the accomplice jostled his staff, moving it from one hand to the other. "Tick-tock!" He raised it. "Time tolls for thee!" As the staff was lowered, the blue crystal shot out a beam that swept through the entire room. Mandy's snoring and sleep-talking was put to an immediate halt, and she, as well as everything else in the room, was frozen solid. "It worked!" "Yes! Good job, Father Time!" The Dream Weaver giggled. "Part A of the plan down!" She reached behind her back and pulled out a small diamond-shaped pendant -- sky-blue, of course, to match the color of the top sheet of Mandy's mattress. "Now, where to put this pendant..." "Perhaps her hair would be the wisest choice?" The Dream Weaver shook her head. "No no no. She looks like the type who showers every day...and never takes the things out of her hair." Her nose wrinkled, remembering all of the stuff that Mandy had pulled out of her hair that couldn't possibly and reasonably fit in there. Father Time blinked. "Then her tail, perhaps?" "I don't know if putting it in her tail would affect her brain..." The Dream Weaver tapped her foot impatiently, knowing that her accomplice's powers only worked for ten minutes exactly -- a small improvement over the one-minute time limit he used to have. It wasn't a whole lot of time to come up with a plan on the spot, and she was beginning to regret not having planned for what she was going to do earlier. Still, she was able to come up with a place to put the pendant seconds after pondering the option of putting it in Mandy's tail. "Aha! Under the pillow!" Father Time nodded. "Yes! Genius!" "Shhh." The Dream Weaver pushed past him. "Now be quiet. I'll handle this." It didn't take her very long to slip on over to Mandy, lift the pillow, place the pendant under it, and walk back out. That was the easy part. The hard part had already been taken care of. She grinned, watching the pendant begin pulsating with a pitch-black light. "I've done it!" "Yes!" Father Time did a fist-pump. "All we have to do now is sit back..." "And let the nightmares begin!" The villainous duo shared an evil laugh as they closed the door to Mandy's room, the spell wearing off just as they began to walk away. Neither one of them noticed Mandy's snoring and sleep-talk ceasing, nor her expression contorting into one of discomfort, nor the moan she gave as she grit her teeth together. "Sensory hell" was a rather new experience for Mandy. Usually, it only happened with music, especially those bass-thumping beats that made bass thump against each other in bodies of water and also made her hair and tail stick straight up. But she could hardly call that "sensory hell" -- although it wasn't "sensory heaven" either. She didn't know what to call it, in all honesty. But today? Today, the world decided to lay out an all-arms assault on all four senses. (Excluding taste, of course. Her taste buds were still intact, but she didn't feel much like consuming half of what a well-off farm with good farmers could make in the span of a day.) The lights of the bullpen were blinding. The chattering of the agents felt like they were running around screaming their lungs dry. She was hallucinating all kinds of smells that she thought only came from people who were "altered in such a way as to become degrading and inhuman", according to Olive. And she could swear that, every so often, a fly was landing on every piece of skin that was exposed on her body -- which, really, was only her face, hair, tail, and hands. As she scribbled on an O-135 form, her eyes began to droop, causing the pencil to steer off to the right and create an ugly line under the "Odd Problem" section. She bolted up with a start, a "Wah!", a couple blinks, and then a sleepy moan as she rubbed her head. A meow rattled in her eardrums as she noticed a black cat approaching her. "Hey, cuz!" Mandy barely registered the cat turning back into her normal humanoid form. "Hi..." she said, her voice drowsy. Peaches' eyes widened. "Whoa, what's with the messy look?" she said, noticing Mandy's lack of a jacket, messy hair and tail, and dull blue eyes. "You know, we catgirls take pride in our appearances. We certainly don't go around looking like...that." "No sleep..." "Ah, one of those nights, huh?" Peaches gave a nonchalant shrug. "Fair enough. It happens. I guess that means you're not up to looking for the Vallea culprit with me later?" Mandy waved her hand slowly. "No, no, I'll..." Her jaws parted to let a yawn out. "I'll go..." "You sure? You really don't have to!" "I'll...be fine..." Peaches watched as her cousin's eyes began to close, just as her body also began to droop. Unsure of what to do, she eventually resorted on unsheathing a set of claws and sinking them into Mandy's arm, which caused her to bolt awake. "Wah! I'm awake!" Claws went back inside as Peaches asked, "Didn't you have any of your Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink when you woke up?" "I did..." Mandy yawned again. "But it hasn't helped." Peaches blinked. "Huh. Usually it perks you right up. You can't function without it." She smiled sympathetically. "Well, it was a bad night of sleep. Maybe you'll have better sleep tonight!" "Yeah...maybe..." "Anyway, we leave at dusk. I've gotta clean myself first. I feel like the fur in my cat form is matted six ways from Sunday! Maybe seven!" Peaches sighed and turned to leave down the left-side hallway that flanked the double-doors she had walked through. "Chin up, okay? I'll see you later!" Mandy didn't even have the energy for a verbal goodbye, settling on just watching Peaches leave instead. Not that it mattered whether she received a goodbye or not, but Mandy didn't want to be rude -- except when she was forced to be rude, that is. Just as she turned her head back to the desk, her badge phone rang, and she slowly began the process of picking it up. "Precinct 14357..." Mandy slowly blinked. "I mean Precinct 13579...Mandy speaking..." A yawn slipped out of her again. "How can I help you?" "Hey, Mandy! It's Olive. Um, I have a little favor to ask of you. Could you stop by my precinct...say...right now?" Can you drag me there? was what Mandy wanted to say. But, as she knew Olive would grow suspect and ask a whole bunch of questions, she resorted to a simple "Will do..." "Thank you! See you in a bit." Mandy hung up and put her badge phone back on her chest, a moan seeping out of her as she attempted to gather what willpower she had to either go and walk to the Tube Lobby, or teleport. Today is the worst. First I have an awful nightmare and now I'm being slammed with work... She slowly shook her head. I just gotta keep my head up...it's just one bad night of sleep...just one... Eventually, she managed to gather up enough of her magic to teleport, and disappeared in a bright rainbow-colored flash of light. Upon arrival, Mandy stumbled, in a way that was only seen with unicorns and alicorns who hadn't quite mastered teleportation. Although she had mastered it, her drowsiness caused her to lose her balance and nearly topple over. It was almost a miracle how she remained standing. "Mandy! I..." Olive's smile slowly morphed into a frown. "Oh." Otto choked on his soda, but still managed to swallow the sip he had. "Someone's been in Oprah's secret juice box stash!" His quip earned an incoherent grumble from Mandy, which was quickly followed up with him exchanging a surprised glance with Olive. "Anyway, what's this favor?" Olive put on a worried expression. "Well, I was going to have you deliver something important to one of the Big O’s offices, but looking at you, I don’t know if you’re going to make the journey." Otto tilted his head slightly. "Did you not get enough sleep or something?" Mandy began to sway. "It's just one bad night...one bad night..." That was enough for the next exchange of glances to have a hearty dose of worry and concern. "Not even your Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise helped you?" Mandy shook her head slowly in response to Olive's question. The Director decided to offer up the most reasonable solution. "Why don't you go and take a nap back at Headquarters? Maybe it'll help." "Love to, but...I'm slammed...with work..." Otto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we can vouch for that." "Well, if you can’t take a nap, at least try to go to bed early, okay? In the meantime..." Olive gathered up a stack of papers that sat on her side of the shared desk. "I’ll take this to the Big O’s office and-" A prismatic corona yanked the papers from her grasp. "Huh?" "I'll do it." Mandy yawned. "You asked me, and...I'll..." Like a toy dying in real time, the hybrid's body drooped. She fell deathly still, not making a single sound, and her magic held onto the papers for a few seconds before it fizzled out, causing them to flutter to the floor. Olive inhaled. "Are-" "Hold on, partner." Otto smirked. "I've got this." Reaching behind his back, the co-Director pulled out an air horn, branded with the Odd Squad seal on it. A silly grin split his face as he slowly raised his hand over the top part, then slapped it against the button repeatedly, causing the air horn to give little honks. "Otto..." The honks stopped. "Sorry, sorry. Just doing a test run. Plus, it's kinda funny." Extending his arm as far as it would reach, he slowly laid an index finger down onto the button, causing the air horn to give a loud screeching honk that startled Mandy awake. "I'm awake! Where's the villain?! I'll smash 'em to bits!" she yelled, blinking sleepily a few times as she tried to comprehend what had just happened. Olive smiled. "Welcome to Earth. Would you like a free brochure?" Mandy, looking far more alert than she was before, gave a low growl. "Can it." She gathered up the papers into one pile again, not caring about the order, and turned. "I'll deliver this for you. Thank me when you drop the sass." "'Sass' is included in my character description." As punishment for that comment, Olive got the head of a hammer shoved right up against her philtrum, threatening to go up her nose if she dared to even breathe through her nostrils. She gave a bout of nervous laughter. "O-okay, c'mon now, put the hammer away, Mandy. You've made your point. Just...deliver the papers." Mandy rolled her eyes. In another bright flash, she and her hammer were gone. "Someone's grumpy." "Well, that's what happens when you don't get enough sleep." Olive shrugged. "I've felt like that on some days." "It's not like her to be completely tired, though." "Eh, it was one bad night. Maybe tomorrow will be better." "Yeah, I sure hope so..." Otto's sentence trailed off as he grabbed ahold of the air horn and pressed the button on top repeatedly again, a silly grin on his face. Olive winced from the sharp sounds. "Otto!" The co-DIrector chuckled. "I can't help it! This thing's too fun!" "Well put it away and let's get back to work, already!" With a sigh, Otto tucked it in hammerspace. "Fine." He swiveled back around in his chair. "Honestly, partner, you need to try your hand at an air horn competition one of these days. Then you'll understand the appreciation for them." Upon teleporting back to the bullpen in her own Headquarters, Mandy wobbled badly. So badly that she needed to lean on the corner of her desk for stabilization and support. She yawned. I feel like I'm gonna collapse...but I gotta stay awake...even if not sleeping brings disaster... Her tired mind slowly but surely ran through a host of ideas as to how she could stay awake. One was caffeine, something Olive and Oprah had both prohibited her to have, citing that she would level the entire town of Toronto and build an entirely new town in its place that would surpass any fake town Odd Squad had ever built for its evil-plan-foiling schemes. They also brought up Pinkie Pie rather cautiously, for reasons neither of them would elaborate on. So, she decided to go with something similar. Her next best equivalent. She slammed a massive tulip dessert cup down onto the ground, filled to the absolute brim with her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. Grinning, she leaned back onto her tail, bunched it up, and propelled herself to the ceiling before diving into the tasty beverage. "Partner!" Mandy blinked. "Whatcha doin' with a biiiig chocolate drink?!" Pinkie's voice was so tiny that any normal person at Mandy's height could either barely hear her or not hear her at all. But Mandy wasn't a normal person. And besides, Pinkie was generally a very loud pony anyway. "Sippin' it, what else?" she fired back. "Why do you have such a big drink?!" "Gimme one sec!" Cracking her knuckles, Mandy got to work on sipping the drink with a large Odd-Squad-branded straw. She was done within two minutes, and landed on her feet fully refreshed. Pinkie's jaw dropped. "You drank all of it?!" "Yup!" Mandy lit up her horn and teleported the tulip cup to somewhere random. "The Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise I had didn't really help, so I made another one. Bigger, and waaaaaay more full of sugar!" Pinkie stuck out her quivering lip. "But what happened to the one I gave you?" Mandy gave her a head rub. "Yours are great, partner!" she assured. "But it didn't really help. I had a bad night of sleep." "Ohhh..." Pinkie nodded in understanding. "Well, in that case, I’m glad you’re full of energy again! You looked really rough when we were fighting against Mr. Lightning. I had to cover for you!" A nervous bout of laughter slipped from Mandy's lips. "Yeah...sorry about that. But work is work, no matter what state you’re in. I’m hoping that big drink will get me through the rest of the day." "Didja have a nightmare or something?" Mandy's eyes widened. She blinked once, and then twice. "H-how...how did you guess?!" "Because if I know my partner, I know that she never has bad nights of sleep! Unless she’s called on a late-night case by Ms. O or something." This got a chuckle out of Mandy. "Well...in that case, yes, you're right on the money!" She frowned and shook her head. "Horrible one, too..." "What was it about?" "The Shapeshifter, the Dream Weaver and Father Time were chasing after me. I didn’t have my wings or my magic, so all I could do was run. Father Time’s intent was to trap me in suspended animation so the Shapeshifter could impersonate me...forever." "Did they catch you?" "Yes." Mandy rubbed her arm. "I tripped and fell over my own two feet. All I could do was watch as the Shapeshifter turned into me and interacted with all my friends and family! And...I couldn’t do a thing about it…" Pinkie tilted her head. "Aww, but that was just a dream! This is the real world! You could take those three down in seconds!" Mandy knew her partner had a point, and didn't really feel like arguing anything of the contrary. "Heh...you make a good point, Pinkie. After all, I've stopped the Shapeshifter and Father Time before. And I did stop the Dream Weaver once." "Oh yeah! When you went to rescue Peaches from her evil clutches with Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight, right?" "Yes, exactly!" Pinkie pawed at the ground. "I still feel a little hurt you didn't invite me...I coulda helped!" "It was time-sensitive. Peaches sacrificed herself to save me. By the time we found her she was being tortured!" Mandy pat her partner on the head twice and smiled. "Don’t worry. Next time we kick Dream Weaver butt, I’ll cordially invite you. And Fluttershy and Applejack too." Pinkie giggled. "It's a dealio!" Mandy threw her hands up into the air, letting her body vertically stretch out. "Now I can get back to work and not conk out at my desk!" Mandy did, indeed, conk out at her desk. Drool dripped onto the floor, from a flowing river that started at her open mouth. Loud snores rumbled about in her throat as she slept, her left arm sprawled out onto the desk while her other one drooped weakly at her side. If she leaned any closer to the desk, the chair would give out from under her and go careening towards Twilight's desk that sat behind her. The double-doors opened. "Gadget delivery for Agent Man...dy..." Otto gave a breathy chuckle as he followed Olive inside. "Wow, I haven't seen anyone that tired since the last time we went to see Mr. Bihooly!" "She even has drool coming out of her mouth." Olive pointed out. "She's in deep." The Director moved closer to the hybrid, dropping her gadget and giving Mandy a good shake. "Mandy, wake up." She shook her a little harder. "C'mon, wake up. You can't be that tired, surely?" In response, the snores only grew louder. Otto shook his head. "She's that tired, surely." Olive sighed and scooped up Mandy in her arms effortlessly. "Come on, let's take her to bed. At least she's gotten all her work done." "You two!" Both Directors stiffened at the familiar voice, just on sheer instinct. "Why are you holding Mandy like that?" Olive and Otto turned around. Olive bit her lip. "She's, uh..." "Asleep." Oprah blinked. "How? I saw her drinking a huge glass of Chocolate Moo-Moo surprise just a couple hours ago!" "Maybe it wasn't enough?" Olive theorized. "How big was the glass?" "It was huge. It reached almost all the way to the ceiling!" Olive's eyes widened. Otto, however, was largely indifferent. "I'd ask how that's possible, but...we all know Mandy." "She's probably out of energy because of a sugar crash, then." Olive shrugged. "We were just about to put her to bed." "Is that why she's been tired all day?" "We're..." Olive bit her lip. "...not sure, actually. But it is 'one bad night', as she said. I'm sure she'll be better tomorrow." The sensation of Mandy's body seizing startled Olive, and her pupils and irises shrunk as she saw what was happening. The hybrid's body was shivering, and she was giving soft whimpers. "She's cringing!" Otto said. Oprah took a few steps closer. "Is she having a nightmare?" A horrifying cry split the air right then. It was cacophonic, it was startling, and it was filled with nothing but misery and pain. In response, Olive, Otto and Oprah all gave their own yells of pain as they rushed to cover their ears, as did the few agents that were around them, wondering what was going on. Olive in particular lost her grip on Mandy and dropped her to save her right eardrum from destruction. "Make it stop, Olive!" Oprah screamed, her own voice even being hardly distinguishable within the noise. "Don't you think I would if I could?!" Olive retorted, just before her yell escalated to a scream that, thankfully, wasn't as loud as Mandy's. The screaming died down in less than a minute. Mandy shook her head furiously, pawing at the air in a fit of desperation. "Get away from me! Get away!" Olive, Oprah and Otto all uncovered their ears, breathing sighs of relief. The agents surrounding them largely resumed what they were doing, as even Mandy screaming wildly didn't cause many of them to bat much of an eye. "It's like she was using some kind of..." Otto rolled his hand around. "...sound attack or something." "But Mandy doesn't use sound attacks." Olive reminded. "Either way, she's being tormented by nightmares." Oprah sighed and glanced toward the Lab. "If only Oona had some sort of a Good-Dream-inator gadget." "And we can't build one. None of us know how." Two head-nods sadly agreed with Otto's statement. They were skilled with using gadgets, but not so much building the things. After all, it was Investigation agents trying to build gadgets and utterly failing to do so that led to the creation of the Science department, anyway. With a sharp yelp, Mandy bolted awake, quick breaths being pushed out from her body as she shook her head. Olive looked down. "Mandy, what happened?" "It was terrible!" the hybrid cried out. "I- I could only sit and watch as the Shapeshifter tricked all of you!" Her voice began to crack. "She...she made you guys think she was the real Mandy, and…" She bowed her head down. Her body began to quiver. And then, she cried. Loud, ugly cries, filled with snot and tears and bloodshot eyes. "Come here." Olive murmured, as she held Mandy and embraced her in a warm and loving hug. "Look, the important thing to remember is that it's all just a dream. If the Shapeshifter ever impersonated you, I think we would know." Oprah nodded. "Definitely." "Without a doubt!" Olive stroked her adopted daughter's hair. "We don't know what's going on with you, but we'll get to the bottom of it, okay?" Mandy began sniffling. She saw snot on Olive's jacket, and immediately tried to push herself away, but ended up losing the fight. "I..." More tears came, to the point where all she could see of Olive was a blurry shape. "Mommaaaaaaaa!!" she wailed, burying her face deep into Olive's chest. Olive continued to stroke her hair. "Let it all out. Come on." she encouraged, making her voice as soft as she could -- which, to anyone who only knew her on the surface, didn't seem like an easy feat, but she had lots and lots of practice over the years. "I never wanna sleep again!" Mandy wailed, gripping Olive's jacket harder. "Add that to the list of things I'd never thought I'd hear." Otto cracked. "Mandy, it was just one bad dream." Olive soothed. "Just because you had one nightmare-" "Two! I've had two of them! They just won't stop!" Oprah tilted her head slightly. "Olive, why don't you take her to Dr. O?" "I would, but...don't you remember when Mandy went sleepwalking through town? Dr. O said that the transformation messed with her brain, but no one knows how. All they know is that her brain has a hub that controls her flying and her magic. He said nothing about her dreams. And before you ask...I doubt the Dr. O at our precinct would know much about her sleep, either." Mandy's quaking turned into soft trembles as she continued to cry and hold onto Olive's jacket. Peaches walked up right then, giving a friendly wave. "Hey guys! Have any of you seen-" She gasped. "Mandy?!" The frightened yowl caused Mandy to tremble harder, seemingly out of fear even though Peaches' voice was recognizable and friendly. "What happened?" Peaches stared at Mandy for a few moments before she whirled on the three Directors. "What did you three do? She looks terrified!" Oprah and Otto both threw up their hands and unisonantly responded, "We're innocent, we swear!" "Mandy fell asleep at her desk, and when Otto and I came across her, she began having a nightmare." Olive explained, stroking Mandy's back to stop the trembling. "A nightmare?" Peaches shook her head. "Mandy never has nightmares. Something must've happened if she's having them all of a sudden." Oprah blinked. "You seem really matter-of-fact about that, Peaches." "I know my cousin well enough." Peaches polished her fist against her chest and gave a smug smile. "Don't you guys have anything that can look into someone's dreams?" Oprah shook her head. "It's the one gadget Oona hasn't gotten around to making yet." "And getting anything from Odie is a hassle." Peaches glanced at Olive. "How so?" "He talks endlessly." Otto complained, rolling his eyes. "Even I don't talk as much as he does!" "Okay..." Peaches got to thinking. "So why don't you make one?" "We don't have gadget-making expertise. We're not Scientists." Olive said, in a tone that was indirectly asking Peaches if she had a blip in smarts. Peaches' expression twisted into an upset grimace. Olive shrunk back, taking Mandy with her. "Why are you looking at us like that?" "Don't you want to at least try?" Peaches snapped. "If Mandy’s having nightmares, then we should work together to figure out what the cause is and get rid of it. Not just sit idly by and twiddle our thumbs!" Silence fell over the group, aside from Mandy's soft whimpers. "She's right." Olive and Oprah glanced at Otto. "Huh?" "Mandy’s a friend to us. Family. We can’t let this go on. Dr. O may not know much about Mandy’s sleep, but we can learn as we go along. I say we enlist the help of other Scientists to make some gadgets that will help us." Otto pointed at the hybrid. "Look at her. She’s traumatized." Mandy's tremors and whimpers ceased, giving way to thick, heavy breaths that, for all intents and purposes, sounded normal. Still, she clung onto Olive for protection as hard as she possibly could. "If she has any more nightmares, she may never want to step foot outside again." Otto shook his head. "No...outside of her room. And we all know what happened the last time she holed herself up in her room. So let's use what we know already and figure this out." "That's the spirit, Otto!" Peaches praised, looking to Olive and Oprah for their agreement. "Well, Mandy's family to me." Olive said, waving her hand as it began to grow numb from rubbing Mandy's back. "I can't let her keep suffering like this. It's cruel." Oprah nodded. "And she's my second-in-command. Of course I'll help." "All right!" Otto did a fist-pump. "Let's get started!" A pause hung in the air. No one moved. Olive smirked. "So, partner, what's our plan?" "Shut up and get in the Lab!" Armed with his flip notebook and a pencil, Otto immediately got to work, sitting in one of the Lab's many chairs along with the rest of the group. Mandy sat on the table, her tail curled defensively around her as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Now, Mandy..." Otto tapped the pencil on the notebook. "Can you tell us when this started?" "Um...well, it started last night..." Mandy glanced at Otto. "I was having good dreams when all of a sudden they became nightmares!" Otto nodded. "And how would you describe the switch?" "Well, I was running in a meadow, rolling around, having fun..." Mandy drew a finger along the table. "...and then the land crumbled at my feet and I was falling...falling forever!" She blinked. "And then I landed, prolly broke a bone or two, I mean it was a hard fall..." Olive and Oprah exchanged glances of simultaneous bemusement and irritation. "And I saw...me!" Mandy put her hands to her cheeks. "I thought it was me me, like the actual me, but it turns out she was an evil me! Her goal was to take over Odd Squad for her own!" Olive raised an eyebrow. "I feel like you might be exaggerating the tru-" "Shhh!" Otto glared at his partner. "Mandy, continue." Mandy gripped her pant legs. "I tried calling for help, but no one would answer. And then Peach came, and she tried to stop the evil me, but the evil me..." Silence filled the Lab. Peaches leaned forward, partly out of curiosity but also partly out of worry. "What did the evil you do?" Mandy couldn't answer her cousin's question right away, her mind replaying the dream over and over in her head like a record made to be broken. "She killed you. It was a one-hit knockout." Mandy murmured. "She succeeded in her mission and took over Odd Squad." Peaches' eyes widened to be the size of saucers. Oprah glanced at Peaches before her gaze moved back to Mandy. "What happened when she took it over?" "I woke up before I could see it happen." Otto finished scribbling down his notes. "Okay, so that was the first nightmare. What about the second one?" Mandy blinked for a few moments, and then shook her head. "Wait, no...that was the second one." Groans were elicited from everyone in response. "So what was the first nightmare about, then?" Otto asked. "The details are a little fuzzy..." Mandy's pony ear flicked a few times. "All I remember was that three villains were chasing me, and one wanted to freeze me forever so another one could impersonate me and trick all of you." Otto wrote down the details, adjusting his glasses that were on his face for aesthetic purposes and nothing more. "All right!" He tucked the notebook under his arm and cracked his knuckles. "So what we know is that you dreamed of a villain who was impersonating you, and three villains who were chasing you so one could freeze you forever and another one could impersonate you and trick all of us." "You didn't have to write that exactly..." Olive muttered under her breath. "Now, as crazy and sadistic as this sounds...I think we should get more information by having you experience more nightmares." Mandy's eyes widened, and she moved away from Otto. "What?! No! There's no way I'm having any more nightmares!" "It's the only way we'll be able to see what's going on." Otto said, a sad but resigned tone in his voice. "In the meantime, we can work with other Scientists to create a gadget that will allow us to see into your dreams." "Uh, Otto?" Olive piped up. "I just realized...we already have one of those." "Huh?" "The Dream-inator helmet?" Otto blinked. He hadn't even considered the helmet, and he had a good reason not to. "Oh." he said. "Yeah, about that...after it got broken, Oona said that she'd need to spend a lot of time repairing and improving it. She's not done with it yet." Olive sighed. "Of course." She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. "And it isn't like Mandy can repair it. Not in her tired state." "So what can we do?" Peaches asked. "It's like I said. Mandy will need to have more nightmares if we want to piece together what's going on." Otto explained. Oprah gave a nod of agreement. "It's the only way, for now." "Okay, so with all that being said." Olive stood up. "How are we going to get Mandy back to sleep?" Otto raised a dubious eyebrow. "What?" He reached behind his back and held up a bottle of Shmumber's Sleep Aid -- whether it was his own or Olive's, who was to say. "Yeah, okay, fine." Most everyone agreed to have Mandy take the Sleep Aid in the comfort of her own room and not in the Lab, to prevent any adverse effects from cropping up. (Well, namely the sleepwalking. No one wanted the sleepwalking again.) So, everyone moved operations to her room and helped her get settled in. Olive held a tablespoon full of the liquid up to Mandy's face. "Here, Mandy, take this." Mandy wormed away from the substance, her expression twisting into disgust. She almost felt like dry-heaving from the supposed smell it gave off, but even she was rational enough to realize that it was completely odorless. "Don't be shy, cuz!" Peaches urged. "I'm sure the nightmares won't be that bad." "Yeah? You're not the one havin' 'em!" After staring at the liquid for a few more seconds, Mandy bit the bullet and thrust half of the tablespoon into her mouth, nearly gagging as the liquid sloshed around her taste buds. As it went down her throat, she could feel her esophagus trembling at the mere sensation of it on its journey to her stomach. "Blugh, it's so bitter!" she remarked, wiping her tongue with her finger in a feeble effort to get rid of the taste. "Here." Oprah handed Mandy a pair of rather familiar earmuffs as the hybrid slid into bed. "I believe these are the earmuffs Fluttershy gave you when you went on your sleepwalking rampage. They should help with noise reduction." Mandy eagerly took them, placing them on her four ears. A yawn escaped her body as she snuggled into bed. As much as she didn't want to go back to sleep, it was very much involuntary at this point, and all she could do was rely on her friends to fix things as her eyes slowly began to close. "So what are we going to do in the meantime?" Oprah asked. "I’ll stay here and see if Mandy’s sleep-talk can give us anything. You three can enlist the help of the Scientists and finish that Dream-inator helmet." "Sounds like a plan." Olive nodded. "Even though they'll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting." Oprah rolled her eyes. "That's their job, Olive." "Doing the heavy lifting?" "Olive." Oprah whirled around to face her ex-agent. "On the way there, I need to re-teach you about the symbiotic relationship between Investigation agents and Scientists..." "Let's go!" Peaches barked, waving her hand to beckon the other two Directors. As the trio closed the door behind them, Otto grabbed a chair from Mandy's sewing table and took a seat. He examined his notes, unaware of a faint pulsating sound that was, unbeknownst to him, from nearby. Mandy had already descended into sleep, giving off loud snores that Otto was sure would start shaking the room's walls. Still, he gave a satisfied sigh, already well used to Mandy's snores and remaining poised with his flip notebook and pencil. "And now, we wait." Three villains, each in anything but silhouettes, loomed over Mandy. She recognized them fairly well. The Shapeshifter she had done battle with before. It was a favorite trick of hers, to turn into Mandy and mock her accordingly. There was one month where she turned into Mandy four times, one for every week, just to play tricks on her, but that ended up being too boring for her so she stopped. Still, Mandy viewed her as one of the top dogs of the Villain League, since she had been a sort of beta in the League when Odd Todd led them using nothing but (figurative) string. She was cold, she was calculating, and to be honest, Mandy could swear she was actually one of those changelings that lived in Equestria. Maybe she was even that 'Queen Chrysalis' character, taking on a human persona to get closer to her and the ponies. Father Time was another big name. For one thing, not even her zany ways could overpower his freezing powers, even if it was just for a minute or so. For another, she hated the design of that staff, with all its gears and pipes and its horrendous smell. And for another, she never received an answer as to where that crystal he had in his staff came from. He got offended whenever he was asked, and then he would try to fire at her. To most anyone else, he was a relative non-threat, but to Mandy, he was definitely a big threat. And finally, there was her. The Dream Weaver. Mandy remembered every detail of their last confrontation, and she swore to never forgive the villainess after she had made her remember her (supposedly) real mother. Perhaps that was why she was dreaming of her now -- maybe her brain was crafting home movies from her battle with her, back when she had kidnapped Peaches. But who was to say. All Mandy knew was that she hated her, and she wanted to get revenge on her. But she couldn't. She couldn't fight any of these villains. Not without her signature weapon. "Stop!" she cried out from her sprawled-out position on the ground, stretching out a hand. "My hammer!" "Your hammer, you say?" Father Time smirked. The hammer was twirling around and around on the tip of his staff, and all it took was a thrust of the staff at just the right angle to send the weapon flying. "Give that back!" "You poor, innocent agent. Are the wittle nightmawes getting to you?" the Shapeshifter mocked, giving a light but still very much evil chuckle. "They should be." Mandy's eyes began to well up with tears. "Why are you doing this?" "It's quite simple, really." The Dream Weaver blinked. "Have you ever heard of the saying 'an eye for an eye'?" It didn't take Mandy very long to realize what she was referring to. Her heart plummeted deep down into her intestines somewhere, and her eyes began to quiver. "All this..." "Revenge. Simple as that." The Dream Weaver leaned closer to the agent, nearly getting into her face using a level of physics only Pinkie Pie and Mandy herself could pull off. "You took something that was rightfully mine, Agent Mandy. But I know what your greatest weakness is. And I am going to exploit it to make sure you never mess with my plans again." Mandy didn't have any sort of witty comeback, feeling too scared to do anything other than whimper. Sure, she could take the Dream Weaver on and win singlehandledly, but she wasn't sure about taking on a shapeshifting villainess and a time master as added bonuses. "You spared my life only if I were to be taken into Odd Squad custody." The Dream Weaver snickered. "It's too bad that didn't work out. It was a mistake to let me live." Within Mandy's fear, a burning question came forth. "How did you-" "Escape? That's not important." The Dream Weaver held up a hand. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. But as we all know...you don't kill." She gave a soft chuckle, lifting up Mandy's neck using only a single index finger. "Wouldn't you like that to change?" All Mandy did was bear her teeth in response, although her show of aggression did nothing to stop big, thick tears from forming in her eyes and obscuring her vision. A thought occurred to her right then, of the Dream Weaver getting killed by her so that this nightmare, and all the rest of the misery she had inflicted upon her, would end. But killing one villain didn't even put so much as a dent into the endless cycle of oddness. Chances were, a new villain with sleep and dream-related powers would come around to take the Dream Weaver's place, so killing her would do nothing besides bring Mandy utter regret. "Hmph. Not going to say anything, are you?" Those words snapped Mandy out of her thoughts as she shook her head. "What are you planning?!" she snapped. The Dream Weaver blinked. "Oh. I thought you went mute because you were scared." She scoffed. "Like we would ever tell you?" "Tell them!" Father Time raised his staff. "It's not like they can fight back anyway." "No, no. That would ruin the fun." The Shapeshifter cracked her knuckles and grinned. "Let's tease them a little." "Oh! A rather excellent idea!" Father Time and the Dream Weaver cried in unison. The Shapeshifter nudged the Dream Weaver backwards, taking center stage as she gazed down upon Mandy. Mandy's pony ears drooped. Her pupils and irises both shrunk. The pieces were slowly falling into place for her. "Don't tell me...you're-" "Ah ah ah. Let it be a surprise." Standing up tall and proud, with her hands on her hips, the Shapeshifter transformed into Mandy with a bright blue flash. It certainly looked like the real deal, right down to the final strand of brown hair that laid atop her head. She leaned close to Mandy, and in the hybrid's unmistakable high-pitched voice, she uttered the addendum: "That way, it'll be funner!" Mandy gasped, but it was broken and straggled due to just how much shock she was experiencing. She was no stranger to the Shapeshifter transforming into her, of course, but all those times, something had given her away. Now, this time, it was like she read The Scientist's Guide to Everything Mandy and absorbed every last bit of knowledge from it. It sickened the real deal, so much so that she began to feel nauseous. It didn't help that the Shapeshifter's hands were slowly closing around her neck. "Now, don't tell anyone about our little exchange here...or there will be consequences." She released her grip and turned on her heel. "I'll see ya very soon!" The sounds of three distinct evil laughs rung throughout the area as the trio of villains walked away -- or in the Shapeshifter's case, bounced away, leaving Mandy lying there on the ground, sick and scared. All she could do in that moment, as the tears began cascading down her face, was scream. Scream in pain, anguish, fear for what was to come. Scream as a cry of yearning for the good dreams she once had. Scream as a way to get her out of this utter fiery place, hoping her brain would help her go back to the waking world. Otto nearly fell backwards in his chair as Mandy awoke with a piercing scream. Like her earmuffs, his flip notebook and pencil was sent flying, something he barely noticed as he watched Mandy give ragged breaths. "A-are you okay?" Mandy gave a soft gasp as her head whirled around to make eye contact with Otto. "You were talking about getting away from someone. Telling them to stop." Otto got up to retrieve his notebook and pencil. "Not as much sleep-talking as I expected, but that's fine." Mandy bit her lip. What am I supposed to do?! The Shapeshifter and Father Time are planning something and I can’t even tell anyone! It’s SOHALC all over again! She shook her head as she weighed the decision in her mind. She wanted to tell Otto everything, but at the same time, she knew that the Shapeshifter and the others would go after her if she did. And then they would go after her friends, her family...everyone she loved. Just like SOHALC had once threatened to do. She gripped her bedsheets tightly. "I can't tell you." "Can't tell us what?" Otto asked. "You can't tell us if you're doing okay?" "No! I'm..." Mandy sighed. "I'm not okay. But I can't tell you what's going on." As the hybrid threw the sheets off of her and proceeded to get up, she stopped before she could stand, burying her face in her hands to hide her tears. "Hold on!" She let her eyes peek out from between her fingers. "Huh?" Otto pointed at her. "It's just like with SOHALC. You're hiding something!" Pickleferries! His intuition skills must've increased... Still, Mandy knew that he wasn't exactly smart -- at least, not as smart as Olive. "W-what?! No! I-I'm not hiding anything!" "You just said that you can't tell us something." Aww darn...yeah, they definitely increased. Mandy rolled her shoulders and gave a resigned sigh. "Mandy." Otto gazed at her sympathetically. "We're always here to listen. Me, Olive, Oprah, Peaches, the ponies. Whatever’s on your mind." He blinked. "I wanna help you. But I can’t help you unless I know the whole story." A gasp forced its way out of Mandy as her mind took her to a flashback of when Olive had spilled her backstory to Otto. She had been eavesdropping at the time, but remembered every single detail. As Olive slipped the file on her former partner into the slot below one of the Security monitors, she put on a determined expression and quickly marched back to the monitor's respective control panel. "Let's take a look at the file." With near-blinding speed, she jerked the joystick to the left time after time, blasting through all sorts of pictures of her old partner, from when he was an agent to just minutes before when he had made his not-so-grand return. "No...no...no...no...no-" "Partner!" Otto exclaimed. "Slow down! Who's Todd?" "I told you. He used to be my partner. Now, he wants to make the world more odd." "No, I mean, how did Todd go from that..." He pointed to the image currently displayed, of Todd as an investigation agent standing tall and proud, then took the joystick and moved it to the left to show the image of Todd's grand return as he spooked Olive and Otto badly, emerging from his hiding spot within a painting at the town museum. "...to that?" As Olive crossed her arms and glared at the photo, Otto put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I wanna help you. But I can't help you unless I know the whole story." Backed into a corner, Olive gave a simple "Okay, fine." From there, she began launching into her long-winded tale of misery and pain, a tale of an agent who was set up by the system to fail in every conceivable way, and the tale of his partner who had to bear the brute force of it all. Mandy heard every word of the story. She heard it clear as day. But her trials and tribulations with Todd -- no, Odd Todd, as he had preferred to be called -- were too much for her to think about right now. The door to Mandy's room opened, revealing Peaches, Oprah and Olive, all with worried expressions on their faces. "What's going on? Is everything okay?" "We heard Mandy screaming!" "Did she have another nightmare?" Mandy began trembling again, though whether it was due to the nightmare or the flashback was anyone's guess. "Yes, she did, but she won't spill the beans!" Otto exclaimed, his tone exasperated. Her own voice, that of the disguised Shapeshifter's, ran through Mandy's head again. Now, don't tell anyone about our little exchange... "Or there will be consequences..." The murmur was barely heard, but with Peaches' better hearing, she was able to pick up on every word. "Consequences?" Mandy shook her head. "Stupid Shapeshifter..." Olive blinked. "The Shapeshifter?!" Oprah leaned in close to Mandy. "What about her?" "Stupid Father Time..." Olive bit her lip. "Father Time, too?!" "And...stupid, stupid Dream Weaver..." Silence. Mandy began trembling harder and harder, until her thoughts gathered together and were shot out into the world with one final scream. "I HATE ALL OF THEM!!" Olive looked down at the ground. "'I hate all of them'..." "Could they be responsible for all the nightmares she's been having?" Otto asked, shooting up and out of his seat. "The Shapeshifter doesn't usually dabble in anything related to sleep or dreams..." Oprah shrugged. "But then, that's what the Dream Weaver is for." "Why is the Dream Weaver targeting Mandy, though?" Olive asked. "The last time she attacked, she went after her, but Peaches sacrificed herself to save her cousin!" "That's true. But Mandy ended up saving Peaches in the end. The Dream Weaver is probably still bitter about that." "I've had enough!!" The group all looked at Mandy, with her tear-stained face, messy hair and tail, and eyebags that seemed to hold more weight than a hundred mangoes in a shopping bag. "Sit down, all of you. I don’t care what the Dream Weaver, the Shapeshifter, and Father Time say. Bad things happened because I didn’t tell you about SOHALC." "But we managed to beat then anywa-" "Shut UP!!" Everyone, bar Otto, immediately grabbed chairs from hammerspace and quickly sat down, never taking their eyes off of Mandy for even a second. "I'm going to tell you whether you like it or not. Whether anyone likes it or not. You all have a right to know what's going on." Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Mandy gazed at her friends with tired, bloodshot blue eyes. "These nightmares I’ve been having...all of them consist of Father Time, the Shapeshifter, and the Dream Weaver, who is the spearhead. Their plan is to do exactly what happened in the first nightmare: impersonate me and trick all of you." "But why does the Dream Weaver want to do that?" Olive asked. "If I had to guess, it’s when I rescued Peaches from her. She wants revenge. But...I don’t know what she’s planning, exactly, with the whole tricking-you-guys thing. All I know is that it involves a fake me." Suddenly, the hybrid perked up, her pony ears swiveling like satellite dishes behind her. Her right ear twitched. "Wait, what's that sound?" Otto looked around too. "What's what sound?" "Peach, do you hear that?" "I..." Peaches' cat ears began swiveling too. "I do!" "It sounds like..." Mandy got off of the bed and kneeled down to the floor, sticking half of her body under the bed and looking around for the sound's source. "Weird. It's not under here." she said, before grunting as she attempted to free herself from the bed's accidental confines. When she did, she made an "aah" sound of contentment before shaking her head. "Under the pillow!" Mandy's rainbow corona caught hold of her pillow's corner and lifted it up. Sure enough, she pulled out a diamond-shaped pendant, pulsating with some sort of black energy she didn't recognize. "What is this thing?" she asked, levitating it up into the air to show the rest of the group. Oprah rightfully kept her distance. "Looks...like a weird pendant of some kind." Olive's eyes widened. "Don't tell me...that's the source of Mandy's nightmares?" "You might be right!" Mandy said, dropping the pendant to the floor and quickly pulling out her hammer. "Stand back!" Everyone moved to the farthest corners of the room and stared at the hybrid as she raised the hammer high into the air, then swiftly brought its head down onto the pendant. It shattered into millions of tiny pieces. And it seemed to take Mandy's mind with it. A foreign sensation rocketed through Mandy's body, and then came the excruciating pain. She let out a scream, dropping her hammer as she stumbled around, clutching her head and moving her fingers through her hair as though attempting to dig into her head and reach her brain. It felt like someone had performed a lobotomy on her without using any anesthesia. "Mandy!!" came the unisonant cry, watching in horror as the hybrid collapsed to the floor. "What's going on?!" Olive cried out. "I don't know!" was all Otto could say in response. A minute passed. Mandy calmed down, the pain slowly ebbing away. She shook her head, a groan bubbling forth as she tried to come to her senses. All of a sudden, she felt a lot more drowsy now, similar to how she felt after a really bad sugar crash. Just as her vision began going all wobbly, so did her body, swaying side to side. "Cuz, are you okay?" Peaches asked -- although to Mandy, she was speaking in near-complete tongues. "I..." Mandy shook her head again, although it was slower than usual. "I'm fine..." "Something must have happened in her brain when she smashed the pendant." Oprah deduced. "Does this mean she's not going to have nightmares anymore?" Olive's tone was full of hope, but still held a twinge of worry for her adopted daughter. "She looks sleepy." Otto bent down and attempted to stabilize Mandy, who had her eyes closed and was seconds away from going into a deep sleep. "Why don't you three go and finish the gadget? I'll stay here and see what happens." "All right." Peaches nodded. "If something dangerous happens, though, shout for us." "Will do!" "Come on, let's go." Olive and the others left the room, never taking their eyes off of Mandy until they were completely unable to see her anymore. It was by that point that Mandy had entered a deep sleep, giving off raucous snores and pure gibberish. From the looks of things, she was completely back to normal, something that Otto was sure of based on one single piece of evidence that he wrote down in his flip notebook. "'Smile on her face.'" The sound of his stomach growling made him realize just how hungry he was, and he clutched it as he made his way back to his chair. "I really wish I brought something to eat. I'm starving..." Completing the gadget only took a few minutes thanks to the power of teamwork that Odd Squad was known for. Unfortunately, those few minutes felt like torture to Otto, who had grown considerably weak due to his gnawing hunger. He had the strength to at least put Mandy to bed, but that was about it. "Olive..." he murmured, slowly reaching a hand out like a zombie aiming for its next victim. Olive sighed. "He's starved." she explained to Oprah and Peaches, before they had the chance to ask. "Hang tight, Otto. Oprah, do you mind?" "Not at all." Oprah responded, having picked up on what Olive was putting down, so to speak. "I'll be back, then." As Olive departed the room, Peaches took initiative in approaching Mandy with the completed Dream-inator helmet. "Wait!" Otto shot upwards, his state of hunger temporarily forgotten. "Peaches, be as quiet as you can. Mandy doesn’t have her earmuffs on. I know the helmet is shatter-proof, but she could knock it off like last time." "Trust me, we catpeople are masters at stealth." Peaches smirked. "Watch and learn." She didn't need to go slow, or watch her step. All she did was stride over to her snoring cousin and put the helmet on her. At one point her leg jerked, which startled Peaches, but she brushed it off, knowing her cousin was known for these kinds of things that would make her a shoo-in for restless leg syndrome if anyone in the Medical department actually knew what it was. "Yes!" she declared, taking a few steps back. Oprah patted her on the shoulder. "Nice work." she praised, pulling out a small square-shaped remote from hammerspace. "Now let's test this bad boy out." As the Director pressed the red button in the center, the sound of whirring could be heard, indicating that its antenna was connecting with the helmet. Sure enough, the indents on the helmet began to flash in an array of colors, and a holographic screen was projected into the air just above Mandy's head. Although there was snow, it didn't take long for a picture to be produced. "-farm hand!" a unicorn finished, walking in a field of grass and staring up at whom everyone could only assume was Mandy. "Really? Cool!" Mandy gave a hearty laugh, throwing her hands into the air and taking a deep breath. The field of grass seemed to stretch on for miles, only marked by a row of small fruit trees far off into the distance. "Everything's so fresh here! The air, the grass..." Oprah's eyes widened. "She's having good dreams!" she said, her tone full of elation. Olive entered the room right then, holding a plate of food that included a chicken breast, some rice, and some green beans -- because she had to make sure Otto was eating healthy, at the very least. "All right, I'm back!" Otto's glazed-over eyes shifted from the dream to the plate of food, and almost immediately, the sparkle returned to them. "Food!" he cried out, grabbing the plate and the fork and digging in. Olive blinked as she watched the holographic image. "Whoa, is that Mandy's dream?" she asked. "Yes!" Peaches quickly grabbed her by the shoulders. "She's free from the nightmares!" It took a moment for Olive to process the news, but when she did, relief filled her chest so much that she almost began to feel lightheaded. "What a relief." She put her hand to her chest. "So it was the pendant thing giving her nightmares after all." "Ahh, much better!" Olive swiveled her head towards Otto, who was holding a plate that looked like it had been licked clean down to the last microscopic crumb. Which, frankly, didn't surprise her in the least. "You were hungry, huh?" "Let's leave Mandy be." On Oprah's suggestion, the group got up and prepared to exit the room, watching as Oprah powered down the Dream-inator helmet and Peaches grabbed it. Once they were sure everything was in order and Mandy was still in a peaceful sleep, they left. Except for Peaches, who served as the caboose of the group to give some final words to Mandy. "Sweet dreams, cuz." With a smile, the catgirl shut off the light and closed the door, a feeling of peace washing over her as she knew that Mandy was safe, she was happy, and she was finally getting the good rest she so deserved. In the Dream Weaver's eyes, the plan was going well. Mandy was growing weaker by the hour, and soon, the fruits of the villainess's labor would begin to show. Still, she thought it was a good idea to see how Mandy was doing, and to see exactly how her pathetic friends of hers had meddled in her plan, if they even did so at all. ...Oh, who was she kidding. Of course they did. They always did. But she could stop them, just like she could with Mandy. As she made her way through the dark hallways of Precinct 13579, she kept her senses alert for any signs of active movement. Even a sleepwalking agent could mess up her entire check-in, and she couldn't afford anything like that -- although she was sure no one was here but the ponies, Peaches, and of course, Mandy. Still, she was dedicated to making sure her revenge plot went off without a hitch. She managed to reach the hybrid's room with ease and slowly let the door creak open as her eyes laid witness to her most persistent and most irritating foe. The very first thing she noticed was that Mandy's expression was...happy. Disturbingly so. It was like someone shoved a giant red flag right into the villainess's eyes. "Why isn't she grimacing?!" She growled. "Don't tell me..." With stomping footsteps, she thrust a hand under Mandy's pillow, feeling around for the pendant. When nothing sharp and hard presented itself, she mentally shot out a few curse words. "Darn it, they found the pendant!" Before she could blow her top, the Dream Weaver forced herself to take a nice deep breath. "No matter. I have a backup plan. Which...also involves the actual plan being a bit rushed, but it's no sweat." From hammerspace, she took out another pendant but in a different form. This one was a diamond embedded at the centerpiece of a black-and-blue choker. She tied it around Mandy's neck, being careful to leave it loose so it could work its magic if her rescuers struggled. The gem pulsated, giving off ugly black tendrils of mist that reached into the air, and Mandy's expression twisted into one of discomfort as she gave a groan. "It's working already." The next step was feeding Mandy a sleeping pill, which would ensure that she wouldn't wake up from the nightmares she had. That part was easy -- the Dream Weaver always had sleeping pills on her, because she loved to fly and it was the only way she could handle long flights. So, she popped one in Mandy's mouth and massaged her throat to allow her to swallow it. And then came the final part of the plan. Cracking her knuckles, the Dream Weaver took ahold of Mandy's blankets, wrapping her up in a burrito and tying them up in a neat little bow. She grabbed Mandy and quickly made a run for it, closing the door and sprinting back the way she came. "Now, let's take you to a place where you'll never be heard from again. Shall we?" A mental note pushed forward in her mind, to inform the Shapeshifter of the change in plans -- or the change in the timing of the plan, anyway. Kidnapping Mandy was supposed to be for when she was close to collapse, so she wouldn't struggle when she was tied up. Still, hiding her away was the Dream Weaver's first and foremost priority, and as she racked her brain for good locations in Toronto where a pony-human hybrid could be easily hidden, one came to her within minutes. Yes. It's perfect. It's hidden. And it'll be where absolutely no one, pony or human, will ever be able to find her. Perhaps it was a good thing that Mandy's snoring had ceased and the Dream Weaver only had the sleep-talking to deal with. It made the journey to the destination go so much faster, and it saved her from having to shove something down Mandy's throat the same way she had shoved her hammer down the villainess's throat. The pair soon stood at the large, gaping entrance of a cave. It was dark, it was ominous, and it was absolutely perfect. From what the Dream Weaver could see, it seemed to stretch on for miles. She stepped inside, allowing her white, glow-in-the-dark hair to light up the way. She had wanted to go deep, but the more she walked, the more she realized that going in deep would take at least a day, and if she was being honest, she couldn't afford to waste more than a minute. So, she ended up settling for about 15 minutes in, with her taking a respective right and left at two forks in the road, until she got to a large area with a small pool that was surrounded by rocks and a reasonably-sized wall. Laying Mandy down on the ground, she pulled out four cuffs and got to work untying the hybrid. Although it took some work -- and certainly not from Mandy giving her a fight -- she eventually managed to get her tied up, closing the cuffs around her wrists and ankles and tightening the chains around rocks that jutted out from the wall. When the work was done, leaving Mandy suspended right above the pool, the Dream Weaver took a few steps back and gave an inquisitive hum. Something's missing. She's going to wake up...so she could... Bingo. She reached behind her back and pulled out a smaller cuff, one that could fit snugly around her thumb. It had a padlock on it, one that would fit with the same key she used for the other four cuffs, but it also had a sort of magical property about it. Using other rocks that protruded from the wall as makeshift stairs, she put the cuff on the base of Mandy's long alicorn horn and tightened it. It hummed and pulsed once, indicating that said magical property was serving its purpose well. As for the wings, she didn't feel a need to do anything about those -- there was no way Mandy was flying free from her confines, anyhow. All was said and done, now. Mandy was now trapped, tied up a position of crucifixion with her arms and legs outstretched accordingly. Her head was drooped, and she was still giving out various sounds of discomfort every so often. Perfect! The Dream Weaver clapped her hands together. All I need to do is hide the key somewhere, and I'm set. Her mind got to work concocting various places where the key could be hidden. She couldn't go deeper into the cave, so she had to hide it somewhere in her steps. But the question was where, exactly. Odd Squad was smart, and... And... Wait. There's a pool under her feet! Grinning, she made her way over to the small body of water, took off the golden glove attached to her hand, and stuck her arm into the water to see if she could reach the bottom. To her surprise, she couldn't, and at the risk of messing up her glow-in-the-dark hair, she stuck her face inside to see. Luckily, her hair's illumination properties worked well even in water, and she was able to deduce that it was quite a ways down. She could very faintly see the bottom, or what she thought was the bottom -- which made it the perfect place to hide a key. She took her head out and dropped the key into the water, then conjured up a towel from hammerspace and dried her hair, groaning as she mentally lamented about how long it took her to style it and how it was probably ruined now. She got to her feet, eyed her slumbering enemy for a few more seconds, then turned to leave. As she walked, her hand slipped into her pocket and grabbed her smartphone, where she got ahold of the Shapeshifter. "Dream Weaver, there better be a good reason for you calling me this late." "Oh, there is. About our little revenge plan on Agent Mandy...things have shifted juuuust a tad." The next day, everything seemed normal at Precinct 13579's Headquarters -- or as normal as it could possibly get by Odd Squad standards, anyway. Peaches awoke late, which didn't draw too much ire from her as a crepuscular catgirl, and emerged from her room to go to the bathroom and get ready. Along the way there, she spotted Mandy, who seemed to be in good spirits and back to normal. "Oh! Hey there, cuz!" Peaches waved. "Feeling better?" "Hm?" Mandy turned around. "Oh! Yeah, I'm feeling fine. Honestly, I don't know what went on with me..." "When the pendant was smashed, your brain must have felt an adverse reaction to it. I dunno. Your brain functions weird." Peaches bit the inside of her cheek. "Er, no offense." "None taken!" "I know you definitely weren't up for looking for the Vallea culprit with me yesterday, so...wanna go tonight instead?" That question earned Peaches a vacant stare that slightly unnerved her, especially since Mandy was gazing right into her eyes. "Uh...cuz?" "Huh? Oh!" Mandy laughed. "Sorry, I was lost in thought. What were you saying?" "I was asking if you wanted to come with me to try and find the culprit who burned my hometown down." Mandy looked from side to side in a shifty manner. "Um...heh...s-sure, I guess. Anything for more quality time with my faaaavorite cousin, right?" "Right..." Peaches' tone was dubious, her eyes squinted as she scanned Mandy up and down. Something was off about her, but Peaches had a hard time with determining what that was. Her cousin looked perfectly fine and healthy, and she still held the same enthusiasm...or most of the same enthusiasm, anyway. Maybe that was it, just a lack of enthusiasm. After all, Peaches knew Mandy to be bouncing up and down, speaking in singsongs, doing wild and crazy and odd things...and now, she didn't seem capable of that. But maybe she was having an off day and was still recovering after her sleep deprivation. Still, her gut feeling was that something was wrong, and she kept her eyes squinted at Mandy, who nervously laughed. "Cuz, what're you doing?" "Something's off about you." Peaches answered. "Maybe you should go see Dr. O and make sure that pendant didn’t give you any other effects besides the nightmares." "Ehehe!" Mandy bit her lip. "I-I mean...um...y-yeah! I'll go and see her." "...Him?" "Huh?" "Dr. O is a boy." Mandy blinked. "Oh! I-is that so?! Ahaha! Aaah...my my, I'm forgetful today, aren't I?" She gave another nervous laugh, and then turned on her heel, speed-walking away from the scene. Peaches' tail twitched inquisitively. "No doubt about it. Something's definitely up with her." she mused, continuing on her way. She made a mental note to keep an eye on Mandy throughout the day, and get to the bottom of why she was acting so weird. Surely it wasn't just residue from the sleep deprivation -- Mandy was usually right as rain after a bout of that, but this time, she wasn't. It was an odd case across the board, and if there was one thing Peaches knew a lot about, even as someone who wasn't an agent, it was odd cases. By the time Peaches reached the bullpen, Mandy was already sitting at her desk and happily conversing with Olive and Otto. A growl rolled in her throat as her claws subconsciously came out, leaving scrapes on the brick wall that she was holding in a death grip. Lost in thought, thinking Dr. O was a girl instead of a boy...and her smell is off. I know her smell. That's not her smell. If the Shapeshifter, Father Time and the Dream Weaver are behind this too, then I am so gonna kick their butts. It's the least I could do after Mandy saved me from the Dream Weaver. For now, though...I have an idea. I'm gonna prove whether that's the real deal sitting in that chair or not, and lucky for me that I have two witnesses on my side. Filled with confidence, she strode into the bullpen, where the conversation became clearer and clearer. "Ahaha...c'mon, Otto, you're being ridiculous! Why would ya stack a marshmallow on top of the sundae?" "Hey, if I won that contest I could have gotten free ice cream for life!" "But he got a stomachache and couldn't come into work the next day." Olive nudged her partner and gave a chuckle. "He threw up so many times that I had to buy him a bismuth subsalicylate solution!" "Don't tell her that!" "Hey, Mandy!" The trio turned to look at Peaches. "Oh! Peach, it's you!" Mandy chirped. "What's goin' on?" Peaches largely ignored Mandy and made eye contact with the two Directors. "Do you two know if there's an interrogation room open?" Otto blinked. "Why? You...wait...you want to interrogate Mandy?" "Just answer the question, it's urgent!" "U-uh..." Olive glanced at the second floor, where every interrogation room on the right side seemed to be occupied by an agent and/or an oddity. "As far as I can see, no." Peaches sighed and shot Mandy a glare. "All right then." Mandy squirmed in her seat a little. "W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?" "I want to ask you a couple questions." Peaches pointed at Olive and Otto. "And I want you two here as witnesses." The two Directors exchanged confused glances. "Witnesses?" Leaning close to Mandy, Peaches gave her a few sniffs. To keep Mandy steady, she placed a hand on her head, preventing the hybrid from moving too much. Mandy began to look visibly uncomfortable, and as such, she attempted to push Peaches away. "C-cuz, don't! Not in front of everyone! You'll embarrass yourself!" Peaches pulled back and gave a simple "hm" followed by a flick of her cat ear. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she cleared her throat and laid down her first question in the interrogation. "Mandy, what's your favorite food?" "Favorite food?" "If you could pick one, and only one." Mandy had been asked this question before. And whenever Peaches had the glorious-but-not-so-glorious experience of witnessing someone ask her this question, she watched Mandy's brain circuits be completely and utterly fried beyond repair in a way that would make fried food enthusiasts start crying. The hybrid stammered, she tried to spit out a single answer, but nothing came forth. Sometimes she was reduced to tears, crying out about how the asker was torturing her and then going on a ramble about how she'd get her lawyer and sue for damages. (Which wasn't true. Mandy didn't have a lawyer. She had beaten the heck out of the top firm in Toronto with her antics and they had barred her from ever using their practice. A majority of the rest of them were the immoral "squeeze every last financial drop out of the victims" kind that no one allowed her to go near out of an abundance of caution.) Now, though...Mandy was hesitating. She was hesitating in the "I genuinely can't think of an answer because I don't know what my favorite food is" way and not the "how can I pick just one?!" way. "U-um..." She scratched her neck. "I guess...mac and cheese?" Peaches sat on this answer for a minute, then nodded. Mac and cheese seemed normal, although Mandy liked to spice it up by adding chicken coated with paprika and Italian seasoning. Still, she let it slide. "Okay. Next question. Who's your best friend, out of the ponies?" Mandy's eyes darted from side to side. "Out of them...you mean all six?" "Yes." Mandy had been asked this question before, too. And every time, the answer was clear-cut: "D'aww, you know I can't choose! They're all my bestest friends! And don't ever say 'you can only choose one' again, because I can and will find a loophole." But Mandy was, once again, hesitating. It seemed like forever before she actually spit out a viable answer. "Heh. Um...w-well...Rarity, I guess. She's skilled, powerful, knows a lot about fashion..." The expression on Mandy's face was clear to Peaches. She knew she gave a wrong answer, and she knew she couldn't take it back. By this point, Peaches could have gone after her and exposed her for who she truly was -- but in order to be sure, she decided to spring for one last question. A question that she knew no clone, no impostor, no fake could ever answer honestly. "Final question!" She grinned. "Who wants twirlies?!" Memories surfaced in Olive's brain. She remembered giving twirlies to Mandy often, lifting her up into the air and spinning her around until she got so dizzy that it felt like that one stage in Otto's video game that was shaped like a UFO and kept doing 180s every six seconds. Mandy was far too old for them now, but sometimes she would ask for one, and Olive would oblige (except if it was in public, because she had standards and a reputation). They were fond memories that made the Director smile as she looked back on them. "Twirlies?" Mandy repeated, staring at Peaches for a minute or two until a smile formed on her face. "That sounds fun! Go for it!" Peaches smirked. She cracked her knuckles, reached her hands out, attempted to lift Mandy up... And couldn't. The hybrid had about the same weight as a boulder, and certainly not that of Pinkie's sister's pet who was named Boulder. Mandy was no lightweight, but she wasn't insanely heavy, either, and it was Peaches' sheer inability to lift her that caused Olive and Otto to gasp in unison as the truth was revealed to them. Peaches let go of Mandy and keeled over, panting. "I...knew it!" She stuck her hand out. "Olive, hand me...your Reveal-inator!" "No, don't do it, Olive!" Mandy stretched a hand out. "Y-you don't want to!" It was Mandy calling Olive by just that and not by the "Momma" moniker she had grown to love that made the Director take action without even thinking, taking the gadget out from behind her back and handing it to Peaches. The catgirl slipped her fingers into the designated holes on the top of the gadget. "Your days of impersonating my beloved cousin are over..." She jerked her arm backwards, causing a light blue ring to shoot out and travel down Mandy's body, exposing her true identity. "Shapeshifter!" The Shapeshifter gave an angry growl. "How dare you!" Before she could antagonize the group any further, Peaches gave an angry yowl and slammed into her full-force, pinning her to the ground. "What have you done with the real Mandy?!" The Shapeshifter, while surprised, managed to keep most of her cool. "Like I'll tell you." Peaches unsheathed her claws, holding them up against the villainess's cheek. Her tone was low and ominous as she leaned in close to her ear. "Tell us, or you're going to be in for a world of hurt." "F-fine!" The Shapeshifter sighed. "I was about to go there anyway. If you get off of me and follow me, I'll take you to her." On the one hand, Peaches didn't trust the villainess in the slightest. After all, who knew if she was just going to run the second she was freed or not? It was certainly a possibility. But on the other hand...she was the only one who knew where Mandy was. She was the only lead they had, and they couldn't afford to lose her. With how big Toronto was, it could take days to find Mandy -- days that would leave her in nothing but suffering and pain. Peaches couldn't, wouldn't, allow that. Mandy had to be saved now, while the going was good. Peaches grit her teeth and looked at Olive and Otto. "Any of you have a rope?" "A rope?" The Shapeshifter chuckled. "You really are naive." In response, Peaches gave an angry hiss, her hair and tail both bushing up. "And just as feisty as ever! Just like your poor cousin." Olive and Otto walked behind Peaches and the Shapeshifter, intimidated by the former's show of aggression. If this was how Mandy acted when she went to go stop the Dream Weaver from harming Peaches, they...well, no, they wouldn't be too surprised. They kept their voices low as they spoke. "Should we intervene?" "Nope." Olive shook her head. "Mandy saved Peaches' life, remember? She's probably returning the favor now." "Ah, gotcha." "Keep your eyes on her!" The sharp command made both Directors stiffen, giving small yelps as they nodded. "Y-yes, ma'am!" I can't believe we're taking orders from someone who isn't even an employee of Odd Squad... "Are we almost there?" Peaches snapped impatiently. "Yes." the Shapeshifter responded. As her hands and wrists were tied up with rope, all she could do was point to what laid ahead of them. "She's in that cave, just up ahead." Peaches' nose wrinkled. "A cave?" "The Dream Weaver thought it was a good place to hide her. After all, what..." She chuckled. "What Odd Squad agent has experience with caves?" "Tons of them." Olive and Otto unisonantly deadpanned. "Hmph." The Shapeshifter rolled her eyes. "Just go inside. There's a surprise or two waiting for you." "What surprise?" Peaches asked. "You'll see." As the group got closer, the figure of the Dream Weaver was becoming more and more prominent. She gave them a wave, and then a beckoning gesture with her hand. Peaches' expression turned from rage to nervousness, something that Olive and Otto sensed as they placed two hands on her shoulders. "We've got your back, Peaches." "Yeah!" Otto nodded. "No matter what comes our way, we can handle it." Peaches took a deep breath, letting her friends' words ring in her head. Her confidence quickly restored, she gave a determined head nod and straightened her posture, glaring at the Dream Weaver with all the anger she had stored within her. "Ah, there you are." The Dream Weaver clapped her hands together giddily upon seeing the heroes, but quickly faltered when they saw the villain whom they had tied up. "Er...and...Shapeshifter." The Shapeshifter leaned close to her partner-in-crime's ear. "Listen. That catgirl is more dangerous than she looks. You realize I wasn't even able to break out of these things? And I can break out of handcuffs! Handcuffs!" she hissed. "Ohoho!" The Dream Weaver patted her shoulder. "Relax, relax. I'll take over from here. You go get some rest and you'll be refreshed as the rain!" "In this cave? No thanks." the Shapeshifter muttered, watching as the Dream Weaver stood up and approached the group. "I understand you're looking for your anomalous hybrid friend." "Yes. Take us to her. Now." "Oh?" The Dream Weaver blinked in surprise. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today!" She shook her head. "All right, all right. Follow me. I'll show you the way." Otto and Peaches went ahead. Olive, however, pulled out a Weight-Shift-inator and fired it at the Shapeshifter, binding her to the ground and leaving her unable to stand up, let alone even push herself up. "You stay there. We'll be back shortly." she said, her tone threatening as she ran after her friends and the villainess. The Shapeshifter struggled, but the Director paid no mind to her. After all, she was confident that not even the Shapeshifter could free herself from the gravitational confines that the Weight-Shift-inator put on her. At the first fork in the road, the group heard a faint but sharp yelp that bounced off every surface. Heads swiveled, unsure of where it was coming from. Peaches shapeshifted and climbed up onto the Dream Weaver's back. "You'd better put a step on it!" she threatened, holding her claws close to the villainess's neck. "A-all right, all right! We'll..." The Dream Weaver faltered, and then pointed to the right cave. "It's that way." Using flashlights -- Olive and Otto's badge phones would have worked fine but they weren't the best illumination tools -- the trio burst ahead of her, leaving her in the dust. She, of course, quickly followed, knowing that if she turned back and abandoned them, she would be found sooner or later -- and besides, she wanted to be there for the grand reveal. "Come on, guys, put on some speed!" "I can only go so fast, Peaches!" Olive snapped, keeping pace with her longer-legged partner. It didn't take long before they reached the second fork. Three whimpers, each two seconds apart, rung out, almost like signals to tell Odd Squad where to go. They were brief, but they were very close. Olive's heart plummeted. The Dream Weaver groaned as she made her way up to them. "Left." Again, the children were quicker than the adult, and the Dream Weaver had to put on a lot more speed than usual to even remotely catch up to them. Still, the thought of her enemies reacting with sheer horror at what they were about to see granted her more energy to keep on running. "Stooooop!" The cry of the Dream Weaver caused the trio to halt, Otto slamming into Olive and Peaches slamming into Otto. They looked around, shining their flashlights everywhere for any sign of Mandy. "H-help me..." Olive gasped. She shone her flashlight a little to the right. And dropped the tool entirely. "Olive? What's..." Otto shone his flashlight on Mandy next. "Oh my cattails!" Mandy was squirming a little, though not enough to break free of the cuffs. Her expression was contorted into one of discomfort as she feebly kicked her legs. Her eyes were, of course, closed, allowing the trio to deduce that she was acting out yet another nightmare. The Dream Weaver stumbled into the cave and keeled over, glancing up at the frozen states of Peaches, Otto and Olive. A grin came across her face as happiness flowed within her. None of them moved -- all they did was stare at their beloved friend, their beloved family member, suffering in pain and agony with no way to get out of it. Otto took a step back. "She...she looks so exhausted..." The Dream Weaver straightened up and laughed. "Of course she is!" She waved a hand. "I put a new pendant around her neck and gave her a sleeping pill. She'll be having nightmares for days!" Olive slowly turned her head to look at the villainess, her brown eyes flashing with rage. "You gave her a what." "Look at the lock on her horn!" Peaches looked at where Otto was pointing. "And all the chains and cuffs!" "Oh, those?" The Dream Weaver examined her nails. "I refer to those as 'ability limiters'. But really, they're just so she can't use her magic or her flight." "How dare you." The area fell silent. The Dream Weaver looked right into the face of a snarling, very-much-peeved Peaches. "My cousin doesn't deserve to have any nightmares. Nor does she deserve to be impersonated by your little gal pal out there!" She unsheathed her claws. "Mandy saved me when you held me hostage. So it's time I do the same!" An angry yowl bounced off the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. The Dream Weaver barely had time to react as Peaches whizzed by her, seemingly unmoving. The sound of tearing filled her ears, and she looked down to find that her cosmic-patterned one-piece outfit had been torn at the forearms, two vertical even splits that exposed her skin. "M-my...this outfit cost me...hundreds!" the Dream Weaver stammered. "You-" "And I can give you more!" It was clear to the Dream Weaver now that Mandy's catgirl cousin was looking for a fight. Sure, she had seen her talk the talk, but she couldn't deny that she was eager to see her walk the walk -- especially since she was out for revenge for her torn uniform. She took out her Bad Dream Machine from hammerspace and set it on the ground, smirking. "Bring it on, pretty kitty!" Both combatants charged and met in the middle, kicking up dust with flurries of punches, kicks, bites, and magical attacks to the point where Olive and Otto could barely see them. "Partner! While they're fighting, let's free Mandy!" "Wait!" Otto put his hand on Olive's shoulder. "We should be careful. We don't know what traps the Dream Weaver or the Shapeshifter may have set up." Olive nodded. "Good idea. Come on." Cautiously but as quickly as they could, the pair made their way over to the now-cringing Mandy. The Dream Weaver was sent flying past her Bad Dream Machine towards a stalagmite, hitting it dead-on and collapsing to the ground. Her outfit was developing more and more tears with every attack, and she feared that the way things were going, she would be fighting Peaches as nature intended for man to fight. "Like a couple of scratches is going to stop me?!" she taunted, slowly rising to her feet and re-activating her machine. With dazzling speed, Peaches soared towards the villainess and gave her a good, solid punch in the gut, causing her to choke, stagger, and fall to her knees. "I pack more than just my claws!" the catgirl said, her tail swishing back and forth as she pounded her fist into her open palm. "I can also pack a punch!" Otto looked around the area, using the assistance of a scanner gadget to help him. "There doesn't seem to be any traps, Olive!" Olive blinked. "Weird. You'd think that, since the Dream Weaver laid a trap for Mandy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Twilight when they went to rescue Peaches, that she'd do the same thing here..." She sighed. "Talk about unpredictable." The sound of whimpers caught the girl's attention, and she immediately whirled around to face Mandy. The sight of her panicked expression frightened her when seen up close. "Mandy? It's Olive and Otto! We're gonna get you out of here, don't worry!" "Maybe we should destroy the pendant first!" Otto suggested, as he came over to his partner and tucked the scanning gadget away. "Good idea, but..." Olive bit her lip. "It looks like it's pretty tight around her neck." "Don't we have...I dunno, some sort of tooth gadget?" Otto gave a halfhearted shrug, as though knowing that his idea was bad but also knowing that it was better than nothing. "Like the wind-up teeth toys, but in a gadget form?" Olive fixed her partner with a deadpan glare. "No." she responded, before her eyes widened in realization. She pulled out a gadget that looked like a pair of scissors. "But I do have a Scissor-inator!" It took a minute for Olive to fix her aim. She didn't want to accidentally decapitate her adopted daughter with one wrong misfire, and so she took her sweet time aiming for the choker instead. Finally, when she was satisfied, she opened the gadget, causing three horizontal tendrils of magic to appear between the blades, then closed it again, which sent the magic right towards the choker. With a burst of orange-colored magic, it broke and fell into the pool below. Mandy gave a piercing, agonizing scream as she began to writhe more aggressively. Still, this did not free her from the cuffs, and she was left in the same position of crucifixion. The fighting between Peaches and the Dream Weaver temporarily stopped, the former taking her foot off of the latter's chest as she stared at Mandy. "Huh?" The Dream Weaver looked too, and horror began to seep in as she realized just what her enemies had done. "No...NOOOOOOO!!" she screamed. She grit her teeth as a growl rumbled in her throat, staring daggers at Olive and Otto. "How did you take the pendant off?" "Easy. We used a gadget. Same as we always do." came Olive's smug reply, an equally-smug smile settling on her face to go with it. Otto polished the gadget beside her, giving the Dream Weaver a smug smile of his own. Another growl came forth from the villainess. However, this one turned into a full-on scream of unbridled rage and frustration. "Whatever!" She jabbed a finger at Peaches. "I'm still not done with you!" "Oh? Bring it on!" Both Peaches and the Dream Weaver then disappeared in a giant ball of dust, hair, and surprisingly, a few torn pieces of clothing. The ball broke free only a few seconds later as the Dream Weaver looked at her torn leg, streaked with rivers of blood. "Oh no." "Blood, huh?" Peaches wiped her face. "Yeah, it happens. Get used to it." Over by Mandy, Otto was eyeing the Scissor-inator. "Maybe this gadget can work on Mandy's horn lock!" Olive shook her head. "Mm-mm. Too risky. We could slice off the lock and her horn!" "All right, well..." Otto tapped his chin. "If it's a lock, maybe there's a key hidden somewhere! Let's look around!" "Perfect!" As the pair of Directors began searching along the ground for any signs of the key being buried, the Dream Weaver gave a cry of pain as she was sent tumbling along the ground by a nasty claw swipe, landing by her Bad Dream Machine. Peaches rose to her full height. "You're lucky I'm not as enraged as Mandy was or you wouldn't be seeing the sunshine anymore!" she spat. A convulsion of pain stopped the Dream Weaver from responding right away -- she was growing tired, and she was sure that Peaches could see it. Not only that, but the shapes of Olive and Otto were growing blurry to her, and at some points, it seemed that they were speed-walking. "Nngh..." She stared at Peaches. "P-please, stop..." "After you tortured my dearly-beloved cousin? Not in a million years!" Peaches grabbed ahold of the villainess's neck with her claws, ignoring the choking sounds she made. "You're about to feel the full extent of my wrath!" With Otto having resolved to checking the pool, Olive held his feet sturdy and stared at it with worry. She watched as the bubbles came up, indicating that her partner was still breathing. He hadn't put on a scuba mask or any sort of assistive underwater breathing device, and so, she was forced to wait and see when he would come back up. A foot jerked, causing Olive to flinch before she began to pull him up. As she peered into the depths of the water, she saw a dark shape emerging, growing closer and closer. Before she knew it, Otto had emerged, taking a deep breath that led to him coughing up a storm. "Did you find it?" she asked, letting go of him and allowing him to get his bearings together. "I..." A cough. "Yeah. I did." He held up the key. "Take it." Olive did as she was told, grabbing the key in her teeth and using the jutted rocks that protruded from the wall to hoist herself up. In that moment, she thanked the powers-that-be that they had blessed her with strong athleticism, as she was able to reach the top of Mandy in no time at all. She unlocked the cuffs on Mandy's right wrist and right ankle, then tossed the key to Otto, who only had to lay a single foot on another jutted rock by Mandy's ankle to unlock her left wrist and left ankle. His fast reflexes allowed him to catch her before she slipped into the depths of the pool below. "How can we make sure all the stuff we did worked?" Otto asked, letting his feet touch ground as he carried Mandy and made his way towards Olive. "We can't right now." Olive said. "Not until Mandy wakes up." The hybrid began thrashing right then. "Make it stop, make it stop!" she cried out, kicking her hands and feet a lot more violently now that she was free. "Olive, try cuddling her!" Olive blinked in surprise, once, and then twice. Her gaze moved slowly towards Otto as her expression twisted into confusion. "Wha...cuddling her?" "I remember that it was a surefire way to make her fall asleep as a baby. If you hold her in your arms, maybe she’ll have good dreams again!" Olive looked at Mandy. "Otto, she's a bit too grown to be cuddled, don't you think?" "Just try it!" With a resigned sigh, Olive beckoned for her partner to give her the hybrid. He did so eagerly, watching as Olive held Mandy in her arms like a baby. "It's okay. You're free now." she soothed, ignoring the sounds of fighting that resounded behind her. "Hush hush. Have good dreams again. Uh..." She bit her lip, struggling with what to say. "Bippity-boppity-boo?" Otto groaned. "C'mon, put some effort into it!" "Okay, okay!" Olive gave another sigh and closed her eyes, lightly bouncing Mandy up and down -- which was a pretty hard feat, given that Mandy was only just an inch or two taller than her. "Peaches is fighting for your sake, Mandy. Rest easy now. She's got the situation handled from here." Both Peaches and the Dream Weaver were at a standstill. Peaches was covered in dirt, bruises and blood that littered nearly every inch of her body, one eye closed as she took heavy breaths. The Dream Weaver looked much the same, with tears in her outfit that exposed their own streaks of blood, marks of pain, and pieces of dirt. Her Bad Dream Machine had gotten its top sliced off, although exactly how it got sliced off, given that it was made of strong metal, was anyone's guess. Both catgirl and villainess were standing, though neither of their postures were straight. "Are you done yet?" Peaches asked, her tone hiding an air of desperation as she knew that one more severe blow could end her reign of terror. The Dream Weaver opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by a bolt of pain that caused her to yelp and sway backwards until her back met the ground. "Haven't you learned by now that it's best not to cross us? We beat you every time..." Peaches gave a cough that made her whole body shudder. "...and yet you still try." "You..." The Dream Weaver spat off to the side. "Your cousin...rescued you. I...swore revenge that night." With half-lidded eyes and a deadpan tone: "Right. Like I care." And then, Peaches approached the villainess and placed one single foot on her ribs. "Just admit defeat already." "Never!" A loud crunch made the Dream Weaver think otherwise as she began to choke. "Okay!" She coughed. "Okay, you win! You win!" "Heh. Good choice." Peaches removed her foot, allowing her opponent to breathe while she reached behind her back and pulled out a roll of medium-sized rope. "And don't even think about it." she threatened, as she got to work tying the rope around the Dream Weaver's wrists. "I have an extraordinary sense of smell. I will find you...and unlike Mandy, I will kill you." The Dream Weaver growled in a way that it would lead up to whatever retort she wanted to fire next. However, she ended up coughing before she could utter a single word out, and that was the point that she admitted defeat, not bothering to fight back anymore. It was clear that she had sorely underestimated Peaches, especially for being related to Mandy. "Come on. Let's get out of here." Peaches said, tying a knot in the rope and standing up, grabbing ahold of the Dream Weaver's wrists to make her stand up. "This cave's starting to give me the creeps." As the pair made their way over to Olive, Otto and Mandy, they eyed the hybrid, still asleep and clutching onto Olive's jacket. A small smile graced her face and her tail lightly wagged back and forth, which were clear indicators that she had emerged free of her nightmares and was back into the world of good dreams once more. "Seems like Mandy's calmed down." Otto noted. "But if the Dream Weaver gave her a sleeping pill, who knows how long she'll be out for?" Olive nodded. "True. She could be out for hours, days, weeks...months...years...centuries." She slightly paled. "Her brain's so unpredictable..." The sound of a growling stomach echoed within the cave. It didn't take much deducing to figure out whose it was. "Well, she's gotta wake up soon. She's hungry." "Yes, and she's eating my jacket." Olive groaned as everyone peered at the hybrid. Sure enough, she was nibbling away at her adoptive mother's jacket like it was food -- something she would often do when she was an infant. "I just had it washed, too!" The group eventually began making their way out of the cave, leaving the Bad Dream Machine behind -- they figured they could gather a team of agents who would come to collect it and dispose of it appropriately. Peaches stuck close to Mandy, even as she started snoring and sleep-talking again. A smile graced her face, even in spite of the injuries she had received. Hang tight, cuz. You'll get better soon. You have to. For me. For all of us. As soon as the group got back to Headquarters -- with both the Dream Weaver and the Shapeshifter, who had been lingering by the cave's entrance, in tow -- Olive, Otto and Peaches plopped the two villainesses in Oprah's hands and put Mandy to bed, making sure to look around for anything else that might give her nightmares. Once that was done, Peaches made her way to the Medical Bay while Olive and Otto made their way to the bullpen and met up with Oprah, who didn't have the two villainesses in her possession anymore but wouldn't disclose where she had taken them. "Good job, all of you. Thanks to you, both the Shapeshifter and the Dream Weaver are back in Odd Squad custody." Oprah glanced at the patched-up Peaches, covered in gauze and bandages. "Peaches, I can't believe you actually took on the Dream Weaver by yourself. She's a really tough villain." Peaches shrugged. "I owed it to Mandy to save her. She saved me from the Dream Weaver once, after all." "Fair point. You two love each other very much." Oprah smiled. "Dr. O told me that she should wake up by tonight." Olive blinked in surprise. "So soon?" "As I'm sure you're aware..." Oprah rolled her eyes. "She can't go without food for very long, so her hunger might trigger her brain in some way that will make her wake up." she explained. "Or so he says." "Well then, there's no time like the present to whip her up something nice!" "Ooh, I'll help!" Peaches gave Otto a smile, and together, the pair drifted towards the Breakroom, taking out ingredient after ingredient. "So what're we gonna make for her?" Otto asked, setting a bag of flour down onto the table. Peaches set down a cereal bowl. "Anything. As much food as we can possibly make. You know she's going to scarf it all down in a matter of seconds." "True!" Otto laughed. "Let's do this!" Olive watched the chaos begin to unfold for a few moments, then turned to look at Oprah. "I'm going to head back to my precinct. Can you have your Dr. O call my Dr. O if something comes up?" Oprah nodded. "Sure. Good luck." "Thanks!" With that, Olive raced out of the bullpen, leaving her partner and Peaches to their culinary madness as they began excitedly discussing tips and tricks for making Mandy's food the best it could possibly be. In spite of Mandy's voracious appetite, her hunger rarely affected her dreams. All of her food-related dreams were born out of her love for food, her desire to eat anything and everything while being in the warm embrace of the Gods of Really Really Good Metabolism. But her brain, as intricate as it was, often reminded her that necessities like eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, and staying hygienic trumped sleep tenfold. And it was one of these reminders that caused her to snap out of her dream of soaring through the skies of Equestria. Or, at the very least, what she thought Equestria looked like. "Mmmrrr...5 more minitzz..." she mumbled, pawing at nothing but air as she turned over onto her back. A smell hit her nose right then. A smell that could only have been crafted by The-Super-Important-Power-That-Be themselves. It was heavenly, it was taunting, and it was something that served the same purpose as an alarm clock to most, Mandy included. "Mmm..." She sat up, her eyes blinking off-sync, first the left one and then the right one."Wh'zz that zzmell..." she asked, looking around but finding no tasty food in her room that could make such a smell. She rubbed her head. "Head'zz all fizzly-fuzzy..." As she felt for her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise, she struggled to use her magic to grab it, as the aura refused to come forth no matter what she tried. After a few moments, however, the prismatic aura returned, allowing her to grab the drink and sip it. "Zzmellzz good, tazzt' good..." she hummed, taking eager sips until the plastic cup was entirely empty. Once that was done, she set it down on the nightstand. A rumbling sound came forth. The pain in her stomach made itself known. "Jeez, I'm zzo hungry..." She swung her legs over the bed and slowly got to her feet. "What even happened...?" The brain fog began to clear up, slowly but surely. By the time she had left the bathroom and made her way to the bullpen fully-dressed, she was in her usual state of alertness and all the more ready to chow down. The sight that laid in front of her when she found out where the smell was coming from was astounding beyond any and all means. Dish after dish after dish was lined on the table, covering every single inch of it. Sauces oozed, steam wafted, and something made a pop noise that she didn't care enough to identify. She gasped, which spilled into a laugh as she began to drool. "All this food!" She grinned. "It doesn't smell too bad...aww, pshh, who'm I kiddin'? This is heaven!" She threw her hands up into the air. "I died! I died and I went to the good place! They were wrong, all wrong!" Her head swiveled to the left, her gaze sweeping the bullpen, watching every agent walk by with a cautious eye to see if they were coming to claim this feast of food. Some agents looked, but ultimately, no one came by -- although granted, Mandy only waited about fifteen seconds. "No one's coming to claim it! More for me!" She grabbed the first dish she could find, a three-patty hamburger, and ate it whole. She relished the taste in every ingredient, chewing it all up and then sending it down her esophagus. Her stomach began to rumble, and as she ate more and more, it kept on rumbling until it gradually began to decrease in volume, like someone was turning back a dial very slowly. By the time she was done, her stomach was distended. Not to insane degrees, mind, but pretty noticeable. Like "I just gained at least 50 or so pounds" noticeable. But no matter what her stomach looked like, it was satisfied, and that was all that mattered to her as she slumped in her chair. A belch came forth. "Aah...that was soooooo filling! I feel like I haven't eaten in years!" Her gaze shifted to the automatic doors as they opened, and she watched Peaches and Otto approach her with relieved expressions on their faces. "Cuz!" "Peach!" Mandy outstretched her arms as she tried to get up. Her body wouldn't budge, even when she kept on kicking her feet. Eventually, Peaches resorted to just giving her cousin a hug right when she was in the chair. "I've been looking all over for you!" Mandy chirped. "Well, not really, I've been eating, but I wanna ask you something!" "You wanna know what happened to you, right?" "Yes!" Mandy nodded. "Last thing I remember was smashing some pendant under my pillow, then I fell right back asleep. Those nightmares came back…" "Well, after the pendant was smashed, we put a Dream-inator helmet on you to study your dreams. You were having good dreams, and we left you alone, but…" A pause. Mandy tilted her head. "But what?" "The Dream Weaver somehow stole you and hid you away in a cave near the edge of town. And then the Shapeshifter..." Peaches bit her lip. "...impersonated you." The horrified gasp Mandy made nearly made her topple backwards in her chair. "So the nightmares came true?!" "You...could say that." Peaches responded, taking a step forward as Mandy struggled to stabilize herself. The hybrid's firm grip on the table, however, followed by said grip allowing her to return to an upright position, told her that she didn't need her help. "But I managed to expose her. Once we did that, we forced her to take us to where you were captured. Or, well...the Dream Weaver technically did. They- they both did, how about that?" "Olive and I freed you!" Otto piped up. "And I fought the Dream Weaver." "You?" Mandy's eyes widened. "Cuz, she's dangerous! Why did you take her on all alone?" "I had to repay the favor. You saved me from the Dream Weaver. So I thought it was my turn to save you." Mandy's blue eyes became filled with tears. "Oh...cuz, that's so sweet! Thank you!" She blinked, letting a few tears fall down her face. "Wait. Where are those two now?" Otto rolled his eyes. "They're in Odd Squad custody. Again." "And Father Time?" The question dangled in the air. Horrified looks of realization set in on both Peaches' and Otto's faces. They looked at each other, and stared deep into each other's eyes for the longest time. The first words that were uttered after this period of silence was a strangled, high-pitched "oh no" from a Director. Which was followed quickly by a yowl of "We forgot about him!" Otto blinked. "Wait...what did he even do?" "Beats me!" Mandy shrugged. "He must've done somethin', though!" The automatic doors opened again, and Olive stepped through with a smile on her face. "OPRAH!" came the bellow from the Director. "I GOT HIM!!" "That's great, Olive!" Oprah called back, descending the stairs. "You sure it's Father Time?" "Yep! He was pretty easy to find. A couple of our agents wrung out what he did." Olive said. "Apparently he froze Mandy so the Dream Weaver could put the pendant under Mandy's pillow." "So he's an accomplice." Oprah summed up, giving a sigh of relief. "Well done. Is he in custody?" "Yep. Right with the Shapeshifter and the Dream Weaver." "Good to hear." Mandy, who had been listening to the conversation from afar, flicked a pony ear. "Jeez, I didn't even hear anything!" she remarked. "Man, I must've been in a deep deep sleep..." "Oh? Mandy, you're awake!" Olive bounded over to her adopted daughter, effortlessly scooping her up into a big hug. Mandy coughed, beginning to feel nauseous from her stomach threatening to send the non-digested food back to sender. "Momma, please, not too tight..." Another cough. "I'm gonna...vomit up all the food I ate!" Olive respected her wishes and set her back down in the chair. "How are you feeling?" "Full and happy! Soooooo much better rested now." Mandy gave a happy sigh. "Otto and Peach filled me in on what happened." "Yeah, about that...did they tell you that the Dream Weaver put a horn lock on you?" "A hehh?" "Like a regular lock, but placed on your horn so you couldn't use magic." Mandy touched the base of her horn gingerly. "Ohhhhhh, so that's why it took a little bit for my magic to come back!" She blinked. "I didn't even know my magic could be limited like that..." "Well, the point of the matter is, you're back to normal now." Olive smiled. "The Shapeshifter, the Dream Weaver, and Father Time shouldn't be bothering you anymore." "And it's thanks to Peaches!" Peaches tilted her head. "Me?" Mandy beamed from ear to ear. "You fought for my sake. You wanted to repay the favor, and you fought the Dream Weaver with all the strength you had! I’m really super grateful!" Peaches' cheeks became as red as beets as she scratched her neck nervously. "I-it was nothing!" "It was everything!" Mandy used every inch of her willpower to stand up, and although it was a struggle, she was eventually able to land on two feet. "A true family always has each other's backs!" She rushed forward to envelop Peaches in a tight hug. "And I'm sure glad you're a part of mine." Peaches' eyes began to water. She had always viewed Mandy as family, but if she was being honest, she didn't really know for sure, 100% positively sure, if Mandy felt the same way. Her words, however, were pure and genuine, and it was that genuineness that made Peaches start crying. "Don't cry, silly!" Mandy chirped. "It's time I make up for lost...er...time! Let's go find that Vallea culprit of yours!" Peaches pulled away from her cousin. "Now?" "Yeah!" "As in...'now' now?" "As in now now now now now!" Peaches rolled her eyes and sighed. "You really are persuasive. All right, all right. Let me climb on your back and let's go." "Actually..." Mandy clutched her stomach. "Y' mind sittin' on my shoulder? It was a hassle just to stand. I don't think I wanna feel what happens with a whole lotta catgirl crushin' my back." Everyone began to feel nauseous, Peaches included. She didn't need to inquire any further, and shapeshifted into her cat form to climb up on Mandy and sit on her shoulder. "And, ah...we'll walk. Eating all that food all at once was..." Mandy lurched. "...a really bad idea." Peaches smiled. "To the drugstore?" Mandy slowly nodded. "Antacids..." With that, the pair set off, slowly but surely, Mandy staggering to and fro until her body finally disappeared from the others' views. Everyone gave heavy, exasperated sighs at the hybrid's antics, staring at the co-chef who had made the food that had gotten Mandy sick to begin with. "...Hey, she said make anything and everything." S1E25: Mandy's Friend FeudMandy was a Torontonian, through and through. She was maybe born in Toronto, she was definitely raised in Toronto, and she superly-definitely lived in Toronto. Canada was her home and native land, and she wouldn't have it any other way. In spite of this, however, she had made many trips to the United States for odd cases. Usually, it was to help out Directors in need, but that wasn't her only reason. Secretly, her going to the neighboring country for odd cases was also a springboard for her to take in the sights -- landmarks, food, good sleeping spots, and best of all, the ponies and people that resided there. She had made many friends in the good old U.S. of A, and she was sure she had at least one in all 50 states. Some were probably one-sided on her end, but that was okay. But right now, she wasn't in the United States. She was in her hometown, at St. James Park, lying on a bench and drawing in a huge sketchbook she had bought on a whim with colored pencils that she...well, had also bought on a whim. She was randomly scatting as she scribbled absolutely nothing in particular, just running her colored pencil along the sketchbook for the fun of it. "Mandy." The scatting stopped. Mandy lifted her head and slowly swiveled it behind her. Her eyes landed on a chubby brunette-haired girl around her age, clad in a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It took her a moment to register just who this girl was, but when she did, she looked about ready to burst into the air and explode. "No. Way." Mandy sat up and grinned. "Is...is it..." The girl outstretched her arms. "It's me!" Mandy looked her up and down. Took in her beaming smile and warm expression. By all means, it was certainly the real deal. "Sophie!" she yelled, leaping towards the girl and enveloping her in a big tight bear hug. Sophia coughed. "H-hey, take it easy...oh..." "Osh-kosh-b'gosh, I haven't seen ya in so long! Forever and a half!" Mandy set her friend down and threw her arms out. "A gaziiiiiillion eons!" Sophia looked a little unnerved by Mandy's enthusiasm, but still managed to give a polite smile. "Heh...wow, I don't remember you being this energetic. And, uh..." She looked Mandy over and tilted her head. "You're cosplaying as...?" "Oh, this isn't cosplay, silly! These are all genuine!" Sophia blinked a few times, her brain trying desperately to stop her hands from reaching out and touching Mandy's wings, tail and horn. "They're...what." "We have sooooo much to catch up on!" Mandy declared, as she began to bounce in place much like her partner was known for doing. "I, uh..." Sophia fiddled with her index fingers. "W-well, why don't we go on a walk, and you can, uh...tell me all about your new, uh...features." Mandy grinned, using her tail to scoop up her colored pencils and sketchbook and place them right into the tail itself. Sophia eyed the feat with a nervous stare, feeling sweat begin to pour as she realized that this certainly wasn't the same Mandy she had met all those years ago...if it was even Mandy at all. Still, she went along with her old friend, who got to amiably chatting about her wild and twisted backstory. "So that's how I got accepted into Odd Squad with all these things!" Sophia's eyes widened. "I had no idea that happened to you, Mandy. I'm so sorry." "Aw, don't worry about it!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "It still kinda stings a little, but now that Clementine and I are besties again, I've mostly gotten over it." "I'm sure. So I guess the transformation made you a bit more perky, huh?" "Yeah!" Mandy nodded, then her eyes widened. "O-oh, but by all means, tell me if it's too much for you! I know I tend to scare some folks away by how crazy I can get." "Nonsense! I've gotten used to it by now." Sophia smiled. "Honestly, I need more energy in my life, anyway. Working at Dad's hardware store has been kicking my butt." Mandy thought back to when she had visited the store. It was small, and didn't really have many customers. She still had a pack of nails she bought just out of sheer pity. "It's still thriving?" "Now more than ever!" Sophia responded, her tone carrying a hint of exhaustion underneath the happiness. "He gets a ton of customers. He's practically the talk of the town!" "That's great!" Mandy's tail wagged back and forth. "Did he come with you?" "No. Mom did. She had some time off from work and decided to come with us-" Sophia's eyes widened as she hastily tried to backtrack. "-ah, I mean, with me on the plane. So we're staying here for a week!" Sophia's slip-up didn't seem to faze Mandy in the slightest -- the girl wasn't sure whether the hybrid simply hadn't noticed or was just playing along, and definitely couldn't tell by the gasp she gave. "Yay! I have time to show you around the town!" She grabbed Sophia by the wrist. "C'mon, there's so so so many places ya gotta see!" "Okay, okay, calm doooooooooown!" Sophia was yanked almost clear off of her feet by Mandy taking off in a run, her feet desperately trying to figure out what was happening and what they needed to do. The pair visited many different spots all around town, but Sophia was quick to note the lack of diversity by the time Mandy had shown her the fifth place. "And this is...uh..." Mandy's eyes moved from side to side. "Well, I dunno what it is, but it's a restaurant!" "Mandy, all you've been doing is showing me restaurants." Mandy made eye contact with Sophia, blinked, and then promptly blushed. "Ehehe...admittedly I'm a lil' hungry." "Well, I've got some money." Sophia patted the pants pocket where her wallet sat. "Why don't I treat you to an early dinner?" Normally, "treating you to a meal" for Mandy meant "I will waste at least half of my life savings on you by buying everything in the restaurant". It was for that reason that Mandy usually turned down offers to have meals paid for her, unless it was a pay-it-forward kind of thing where no one knew whom, exactly, they were paying for. Some people and ponies who did that, and then noticed her, were often regretful and left the restaurant muttering about how they would pay for someone else's meal...preferably the meal of someone who wasn't a giant glutton. But Mandy had standards, of course. She knew that Sophia worked for just a little bit above minimum wage with no other source of income, and because of it, she decided to take things easy. Still, she felt like confirming, just to be sure Sophia knew what, exactly, she was getting into. "Really? Y-you don't have to!" "I insist!" Sophia said. "It's for my very best friend." That did it. "Well if you're offering, then I'm in!" Mandy raised a fist into the air. "Let's go! Your pick!" "How about Debbie's Pizzeria?" Sophia suggested. "I can take some home to my mom. She loves pizza!" "All righty, let's go!" Instead of teleporting or flying, Mandy opted to walk with Sophia, since the Pizzeria was only a few blocks away. The two got to talking once again, with Mandy pointing out other non-food-related sights along the way. With a resounding thump, Oprah's forehead met her desk in a fit of exasperation, making the large stack of paperwork that sat beside her shift. "Where could she be?" she lamented, only lifting her head when she heard the sound of hoofsteps. "Oh, Pinkie!" "Heya, boss!" Pinkie waved. "Didja need something?" "Yes. Have you seen Mandy?" Oprah laid a hand on the stack. "This paperwork's been piling up and I haven't seen her since this afternoon!" "Last I saw she was heading for St. James Park. I can give her a call!" "Please." With swift movements, Pinkie unclipped and opened her badge, tapped the 5 and 7 keys, and held it up to her ear as she began bobbing up and down in anticipation. The bobs grew less and less prominent, however, with each ringback tone she received. "Hiya, you've reached Agent 57, Mandy! I can't come to the phone right now, prolly sleeping or tied up in an odd case or doing...whatever. Yeah. Anyway, if you just wanna leave me a message with your name and phone number -- and Jim, don't leave me your wife's personal information, that's uncalled for -- that'd be great, and I'll be sure to get back to ya as soon as I can! Thankies!" A long beep was heard, which caused Pinkie to close her phone and clip it back onto her suit. "No luck. She's not picking up!" Oprah growled. "I could help out with the paperwork!" This suggestion from Pinkie, offered as a sort of way to ease the tension, caused Oprah to give a heavy sigh as she rubbed her forehead. "If you're not busy yourself, you might as well." "Ah, I've got some free time!" Pinkie trotted over to Oprah and stood back-first to her. "Just load 'em on my back and I'll send 'em down to the receptionist when I'm done!" "Thank you." Oprah effortlessly took the stack of papers and gently placed them on the mare's back. Although she sunk a little under the weight, it wasn't anything spine-crushing, and she was able to ambulate towards the doors, albeit a little slower than normal. Oprah raised an index finger. "And if Mandy comes back, tell her I want to see her." "Sure...thing!" Within minutes, Pinkie had made her way to the elevator and went down to the first floor. Something in her told her to try for an arched-back shot with the papers, but she ignored it, not wanting to disturb the agents working down there and create a big mess to boot. From there, she placed the papers on her desk and got to work, her mind wandering every so often with worries of just where, exactly, her partner had gone. The door to the quaint little Debbie's Pizzeria closed as Mandy did a stretch, her stomach satisfied. "Aah, that was great!" Sophia, who had only bore witness to Mandy's crazy appetite just moments ago, gave a polite smile, her surprise at said appetite having died down some and being largely replaced with genuine, "maybe you should see a doctor" levels of concern. "I, uh...guess that transformation you went through must have really expanded your appetite, huh?" "Oho, very." Mandy pat her tummy. "I can pack soooo much food into this thing!" "Yeah, I'm aware. You packed away three large pizzas in one sitting." "And I could've gone for my fourth one!" Mandy pointed out, making it clear that her restraint certainly didn't last any longer than a candy bowl at a party. Sophia heaved a sigh and looked up at the sky, where orange reigned as the primary color and signified that nighttime would fall soon. "Anyway, it's getting late. Mom will want me home soon." Mandy looked at the sky as well, blinking in surprise. "Oh wow, I didn't even know!" she said. "You wanna meet up again tomorrow? I can show you around our local Odd Squad precinct!" "Sure!" Sophia nodded. "In St. James Park?" "Yeah!" Mandy turned to leave. "I'll see you then!" "Okay! Bye, Mandy!" "Bye!" Mandy watched her friend go in the complete opposite direction, a sad smile dancing on her face for only a moment as she disappeared into the distance. Wanting to get back home before a potential food coma settled in, she bounced away, her heart swelling at how great a day today had been. Meeting up with an old friend, especially one from before she transformed, was rare, and it was even rarer when it was a friend that Mandy had really bonded with and gotten to known on a deeper level. Most would call it luck. Mandy called it "the Mandy magnet workin' its magic again". As she bounced along the sidewalk, passing by people and ponies of all kinds, her head swiveled to the right as she eyed a rather desolate shop. Her bounce slowed into a walk, and as she kept on looking at it, she felt something tall and hard slam into her. "Huh?" Mandy looked down, eyeing a girl who was about three years younger than her, with long brown hair and hazel eyes. The sunflower-patterned dress she wore showed more than a few dirt stains, but was otherwise pristine. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going!" "It's fine." the girl said, not looking up at Mandy and instead picking up the heart-shaped trinket she had been carrying in her hand. "Um...have you seen a girl named Mandy around here?" It was then that the realization of just who she was talking to slammed into Mandy. Her eyes widened in shock, and her lungs took in a large amount of air in one huge, almost dramatic gasp. "Nonono...my eyes are deceiving me!" She rubbed them accordingly, then shook her head. "Jessica?!" Tucking the trinket away in hammerspace, Jessica made eye contact with Mandy and tilted her head. "How do you know my name?" "I'm Mandy! The girl you're looking for!" Jessica was skeptical. "You? But you look so different!" "What, you want me to whip out an ID card or something?" Mandy rolled her eyes. "It's really me!" Jessica squinted, craning her head every which way, scanning Mandy's features. It took her a minute to complete her visual analysis, marking the beginning of her findings with a nod. "Mm, yeah, I can kind of see it now. It's the face." "Wh..." Mandy touched her face. "What's wrong with my face? I've already removed all fifty-five contacts from these eyes, now how much more blue do my eyes hafta get?!" A pitiful whine eked out of her. "Gotta visit Rarity and see what she knows about facial construction surgery..." "Huh?" "Nothing!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand, like nothing had ever happened. "It's just, this is so crazy! Meeting two of my old friends, whom I haven't seen in yeeeeeeears and yeeeeeeears, on the same day?!" "I, um..." Jessica scratched her neck. "I came with someone. On a plane. She really wanted to see Toronto." "I don't care how ya got here, so long as you're here, sister." Mandy gave a sigh. "If only the day was longer, I could spend some time with you!" "That's okay. What about tomorrow?" "Sure!" Mandy blinked. "Oh, wait. I'm meeting up with Sophie that day." Jessica visibly blanched. "She's here too?" "Yeah! She came here with her mom!" Jessica didn't seem too sure how to respond to that. For the sake of keeping up the facade, however, she gave a heavy sigh. "Well, I guess it can't be helped." Just as soon as she resorted to resignation, however, she straightened up. "Wait. Unless...I can come with!" Mandy reeled back with another dramatic gasp, then began bouncing up and down excitedly. "Yesyesyes! Of course you can! MeetmeinStJamesParktomorrow1PMgottagoplanbyeeeeeee!!" "See..." Jessica watched Mandy peel past her and down the sidewalk, a happy squeal filling the relative silence of the streets. "...you...tomorrow?" she lamely finished, filing the time and the location away in her brain before continuing to walk in the same direction she had been going. Normally, she would have been happy to see Mandy, even if she looked vastly different than when she had visited Jessica before. But the absolute last person Jessica had wanted to see in Toronto was...Sophia. Even the very thought of her name gave her the shivers, and she certainly didn't want to be associated with such a wretch. She had thought the brunette-haired girl had gone home on the next flight by the time she had woken up today, and her worries would be next to nonexistent. But no...definitely not. And now she was being forced to hang out with her tomorrow. Whoopee. Heaving a sigh that turned into a groan, she began trudging her way back to the hotel she was staying at, hoping she wouldn't run into Sophia at all on the way there with how slow she was going. "And you're saying that she hasn't been back here since this afternoon?" "No!" Oprah cried out, nervously pacing around her office to the point where Olive, Pinkie and Otto were all worried she would start making an indent in the floor. "I don't understand. She left for her break and hasn't returned since. Pinkie tried calling her, but she hasn't picked up." "Maybe she's injured?" "Don't say that!" Olive snapped at Otto defensively. "I mean, she could be...but don't say things like that! If she's injured, then who knows what-" The sound of distant, high-pitched squealing, followed by the very close sound of a huge crack forming in a glass door, stopped Olive cold. If it weren't for those sounds, one would hear the audible squeak of the girls' eyeballs turning in their sockets as she slowly swiveled her head backwards and looked behind her. "Partnerpartnerpartner!" came the audible, non-squealy voice, and then over a hundred pounds of pony-human hybrid came barrelling in, bouncing up and down. "You won't believe who I just met!" Pinkie's frown remained on her features. "Mandy, where-" "Two of my bestest friends are here, in Toronto, for an entire week!" Mandy swept up the mare and clutched her cheeks, emitting another loud squeal. "And I'm hanging out with them tomorrow!" Another squeal, this time mixed in with giddy laughter that could only come from a Mandy hopped up on laughing gas. "That's super great, partner!" Pinkie said, her frown turning into a smile. She raised a hoof. "But-" "Mandy!" The sharp and admittedly harsh bark of her name made Mandy's head turn. However, not even Oprah's upset expression could damper her raging excitement. "Oprah! You won't believe who I came across! My two bestest old friends are-" Her lips being grabbed and comically stretched out by Oprah like pizza dough stopped their movement cold. "In Toronto and they're staying for a week. Yap yap yap. We get it." The Director rolled her eyes. "Is that where you've been? Pinkie tried to reach you and you didn't even pick up!" Mandy responded, but her words were muffled and illegible. "Really, I know you're excited about meeting your friends, but work is just as important. You had all of us worried sick!" More muffled words. Olive sighed. "At least you're not injured." "Except maybe on the inside." Olive stared at Otto half-lidded, jabbing an index finger at Mandy. "I dunno. Look at her." Mandy was still speaking in unintelligible words, her arms flailing about as she kept going on and on about her old friends. It was clear that she was in no mood to listen to anyone right now, only wanting the people (and the lone mare) in the room to be listeners instead of talkers. Otto blinked. "Fair point." "What did you do, down an entire bag of sugar before you came back?" Oprah asked, mostly deadpan but with just a smidge of annoyance. She was no stranger to Mandy's hyperactivity, but she couldn't deny that it definitely got annoying at times...especially when her hyperactivity had a set source such as sugar. Mandy continued waving her arms and attempting to speak. "I don't think she's listening to us, Oprah." Olive pointed out. "She's too excited about her friends." Otto looked at his partner. "What friends?" "I..." Olive faltered, realizing that she had absolutely no idea who Mandy had referred to. "...don't know." She tapped her chin. "They're not from Toronto, so I don't think I would know them..." "That's not important!" Oprah snapped. "What's important is that Mandy has to apologize to Pinkie Pie for sticking her with all that paperwork. It isn't fair to her." "Aww, don't worry about that, Ms. O!" Pinkie waved a hoof. "Let Mandy be happy. She met up with some old friends! How often does that happen?" "Knowing her, probably a lot..." Oprah muttered under her breath, before she gave a sigh. "Fine. But you're going to have to make up for it tomorrow, Mandy." Mandy's impeded speech turned from excited to worried. Her ears flattened downwards as she slumped to her knees and clasped her hands together. "Getting down on your knees and begging isn't going to get you out of this." In response, Mandy closed her eyes, opened them to reveal the shimmers and sparkles within them, and gave a pitiful whine as a cherry on top. Oprah stiffened. The pupils grew bigger. The whine grew slightly higher in pitch. "Don't..." Even bigger, and even higher. Oprah visibly winced, her eyes trying to look away at anything else in her office but those baby-blue puppy eyes. But her scleras were just two prisons for her irises and pupils, only if the scleras had stay-in-place lasers. She couldn't pry her own eyes away, and she was pretty sure Olive, Otto and Pinkie had averted their gazes somehow in anticipation of what was to come. A growl rolled about in her throat. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!" she roared, furiously shaking her head. "Fine! You can meet up with your friends tomorrow! Just put the eyes away!" She rubbed her own. "But so help me odd if you miss work the day after that, you will not be seeing the sky anymore, understand me?!" "Mhm!" Mandy nodded. "Good." Oprah released her grip on Mandy's lips, causing them to go flying back towards the hybrid's face and stick the landing with a resounding snap. "Oww...that really hurt!" Mandy rubbed her mouth. "Jeezaloo, Oprah, are ya tryna reconstruct my face?" "No, I'm trying to get you to settle down." Oprah crossed her arms. "Who are these 'friends' you've met, anyway?" "Sophia and Jessica! They're from the United States. Sophie came up with her mom to Toronto! And, uh...Jessica came up with...someone." Mandy rolled her hand around. "Maybe with Sophie and her mom!" Now Olive could connect the dots. "Oh yeah! You've told me about them before. Didn't they both used to live in Mississauga?" "Yup! And then they moved to the States...and we kinda broke apart." Mandy looked crestfallen for only a moment before she got right back to it bouncing up and down again. "But now they're here! And I'm gonna spend all day with them!" "Well, do they at least know about your..." Olive bit her lip, trying to find a delicate way to describe Mandy's extensions. "...current appearance?" "Yup! I told Sophie the whooooooole story!" Mandy stopped bouncing. "Oh, but, uh, not Jessica. We didn't really have time to chat. But there's always tomorrow! When the sun will come out! Bet your bottom dollar that the sun will come out...tomorrow!" Olive groaned at Mandy's impromptu song, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers to stop an incoming headache. "All right, well...we hope you have a good time with your friends, Mandy." Otto said, Pinkie nodding enthusiastically next to him. "Thanks, Otto! We're gonna have so much fun! I still gotta show Jessica around the town, she's gonna love it!" A grin sat on Mandy's face, one that quickly faded when her eyes shifted to Olive. "Momma, drop the snark." "Whaaaat? Me, snark? C'mon..." Olive broke out into forced laughter. "I mean when would I ever snark, huh?" A round of half-lidded stares were fired full-force at her, all of them saying the same thing: "Snarking is literally your bread and butter." "Fine." Olive conceded. "Just make sure to behave yourself, at least." "I will!" Mandy began making her way out. "Gotta go plan our awesome day of fun!" The group watched as the hybrid flew over the rail that hung on the balcony, not bothering to show any concern for her falling and injuring herself -- for one thing, she was made of putty whenever she flung herself over and onto the floor, and for another, she was quick to catch herself in flight and was probably soaring to her room. "Hey Oprah..." Otto broke the silence. "You're aware that Mandy will want to bring her friends to Odd Squad, right?" Oprah shrugged. "I figured as such. Mandy has a sense of decency. I'm sure she won't wreck the place." The quaver in her voice on the last sentence made her tack on the addendum of, "If anything, Pinkie can accompany her. Or Peaches." "Not a bad idea." Olive nodded. "At least she's safe." "And uninjured." Otto added. "You two better get back to your precinct. Sorry for the false-alarm call." "Eh, it's fine. Things were winding down anyway." Otto placed a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Let's go, partner." As the group exchanged goodbyes, with Olive and Otto leaving through Oprah's personal tube and Pinkie leaving to work on some more paperwork, Oprah turned to her desk and was greeted with a black cat sitting on it, giving a friendly meow. Oprah's eyes widened in surprise, until she realized that she really only knew one black cat. "Oh. It's you." Peaches transformed back to her humanoid form. "Well! That was rude. But I will ignore your tone out of respect for you." Her tail-tip flicked back and forth. "So Mandy's got some new friends, huh?" "Old friends." Oprah corrected. "She'll probably be busy with them for...how long did she say? A week?" "Aww, that's a shame. I kinda wanted to start teaching her how to hunt mice." Oprah stared at Peaches with a nonplussed expression. "Mandy's not a cat." "Hey, we're related. She has some feline blood in her!" A heavy weight suddenly settled in Oprah's body. "Peaches...can I confide in you?" Peaches tilted her head and smiled. "Uh, sure. My ears are open!" She crossed her legs. "What's on your mind?" Oprah cautiously looked behind her, to see if any agents were willing to eavesdrop. Fortunately, with the day coming to a close, not many passed by her office, and even fewer stopped to listen through the broken and exposed glass door. Thus, she deemed it safe to (metaphorically) spill the beans to Peaches. "See, Mandy meeting up with her old friends, it..." She bit her lip and stayed quiet for a few moments, before sighing in an attempt to relieve some of the weight within her. "I'm kind of jealous of her." Peaches blinked in surprise. "Really? You didn't even have one friend?" "Yeah, I did. Yucks Shmumbers." Oprah smiled fondly at the memory of the girl. "To make a long story short, she and I ran a fruit stand together. We bonded over our mutual love of fruit, but I always thought of us as business partners rather than friends. When I managed to stop a rogue Odd Squad agent from stealing fruit, I decided to join Precinct 13579 in her place, and Yucks and I drifted apart. And then I had O’Donahue." The name sounded familiar to Peaches, and it was only a minute later that she realized who Oprah was talking about. "O'Donahue...your partner?" "Old partner." Oprah raised a finger. "Before he disappeared, we were best friends. And then I became an Odd Squad Director and we...drifted apart, over time. Eventually he..." A long silence filled the room. Peaches was patient, though, and waited for her friend to finish. "He quit. Because my Director duties were taking up so much time, I didn’t get to hang out with him as often as we used to. He and I got into a nasty argument when we were trying to catch a villain known as Equal Evan. And we...broke up." Peaches stopped for a moment, and considered Oprah's wording. "You two were...dating?" "Dating?" Oprah looked almost aghast at the catgirl's calumny. "Odd no. We were friends. Strictly platonic." "I...huh." Peaches blinked. "Either way. I'm sorry that happened to you. Must've been terrible." "It's...fine." Oprah rolled her shoulders. "Just don't tell anyone about any of this, okay?" Peaches nodded. "So O'Donahue and Yucks are the two reasons you're so jealous of Mandy?" "Yes." "But you have Olive and Otto." "Co-workers." "The ponies?" "Co-workers." "Mandy?" That got a pause. And then, "A partner. A dear partner. Which, as you should know, also means 'friend'." "Okay..." Peaches did know that. It wasn't exactly breaking news to anyone, agent, guest or client, who lingered in Odd Squad for long enough. "Me?" "Mmm..." Oprah's mouth pinched inwards. "An acquaintance, maybe. I barely know you." "Well, ouch." Peaches' frown quickly turned into a smile. "There's no time like the present! It’s like I told everyone: I was an outcast back in Vallea. You guys are my first true friends. So why not take the time to get to know all of you better?" she suggested. "I mean I know Mandy well enough, we’re cousins and all, but what about you?" For a minute or two, Oprah pondered the offer. She had to admit that she had only talked to Peaches a handful of times, but hadn't really gotten to know her on a deeper level. Which was a shame, because Peaches had been staying at Headquarters for a long while, and Oprah was genuinely interested about the catgirl. "I think...I'd like that. Very much." "Good!" Peaches clapped her hands together. "So, um...why don't you tell me about your favorite gadget?" "Oooooh, that's a tough one." Oprah tapped her chin in thought. "See, back in the 1800s, we didn't have gadgets, and so we had to make do without..." As Mandy and Jessica sat on a bench at St. James Park the next morning, they watched people and ponies go by, chatting and playing and eating. Jessica slumped back with her arms drooping over the back of the bench, while an eyes-closed Mandy -- donned in a yellow T-shirt with red stripes and flower-patterned shorts instead of her usual suit -- happily felt the breeze on her face. "Are you really sure we can't get going now?" Jessica complained. "I mean, we're losing daylight!" Without missing a beat, Mandy responded with, "Hold on. She'll come." Sure enough, Sophia chose that moment to rush up to the duo. "I'm here!" She stopped and keeled over, trying to catch her breath. "Sorry I'm late, Mom wanted me to-" A pause. Mandy opened her eyes and watched as Sophia stared at Jessica for what seemed like minute after minute. Both girls shot each other death glares. "Hello, Jessica." "Hello, Sophia." Mandy, for her part, didn't notice the bitter tones in each of her friends' voices, nor pick up on their hostility. "Great! Now both my bestest friends are here! C'mon c'mon c'mon, we got a lot to see!" Both Sophia and Jessica found their wrists being taken ahold of by Mandy's hands, and their bodies quickly yanked off of the ground as they struggled to put their feet on it and follow Mandy at the very least. "Uh, Mandy, it's nice that you want to hang out with me again, really!" Jessica said. "But...did you have to invite her?" "Whaddya mean? You two are best friends! And you're my best friends!" Jessica resisted the urge to bark out a stilted laugh. Unbeknownst to her, Sophia did the same thing. "Uh-huh. Well..." She shot a look at the other girl. "I won't mind." Sophia's look quickly turned from amused to angry, as she growled at Jessica from her position next to her. The two girls then literally butted heads, baring teeth and both wearing looks primed to kill. "Okay, now, first up-" "Actually, Mandy, there's a place I want to take you to first." Sophia pushed Jessica off of her and fixed her with an innocent look. "If...that's okay with you, Jessica?" Now it was Jessica's turn to growl in response, her fingers waving back and forth as though attempting to resist strangling Sophia right then and there. "I'll take that as a yes." Sophia gave a complacent chuckle. "How about it, Mandy?" "Sure! Lead the way!" Mandy, blissful and oblivious as ever, let go of her friends' wrists. Before she turned around, Sophia used the free opportunity to get in one last sneer at Jessica before she confidently strode to the front of the group, beginning to head towards her preferred destination. Only a few minutes passed before they arrived. "Ta-da!" Both Jessica and Mandy peered at the sign that hung above the door, which read "Got You Covered" in big bold lowercase letters. The storefront was painted in black, which looked a little ominous in the sunlight but certainly helped to make it stand out. It was a haven that only the purest bookworms could love. Mandy gasped. "A new bookstore?!" she squealed. "Why have I never heard of this?!" "My mom and I went the other day. She loves to read now, so she thought she could pick up some books as souvenirs. As she called it." "Souvenirs?" Jessica scoffed. "That's so like your mom." Sophia bit back any worded insult she could have spat out at Jessica, instead resorting to a low growl instead that told her to shut up. "Cool!" Mandy reached for the door handle. "C'mon, let's go inside!" Although initially reluctant -- and partially amused, because how had Mandy not noticed them going at each other's throats yet? -- both Sophia and Jessica followed their friend inside, heading down the stairs to the first floor of the store. Said first floor was rather big, hosting a wide array of books in all sorts of different genres. For Mandy, who wasn't as avid of a bookworm as, say, Twilight, but loved to read, she was thrilled at the large selection, giving a happy cry while her tail wagged furiously. "They have all-new books here." Sophia explained. "Everywhere else we've looked sells old books. And a lot of them...aren't in good condition." A sigh forced its way out of Jessica, moreso out of tiredness than out of sheer pettiness for what Sophia was saying. "Oh?" The other girl took notice. "Don't sigh, Jessica. I thought you loved books." "Yeah, I used to." Jessica watched Mandy amble off towards the Fiction section, then fixed her sworn enemy with a pointed glare as the latest argument got well underway. "And now I don't." "Hmm." Sophia examined her nails absentmindedly. "So now that Mandy's gone, tell me. What are you planning?" "What? Whatever do you mean?" asked Jessica, with nothing short of innocence in her voice. "You know what I mean. You're trying to steal Mandy away and have her all to yourself, aren't you? Again?" "Oh, that's some hypocrisy coming from you, who's trying to do the same thing." Sophia met this with a scoff. "Says who?" "You've been doing it for years now. No one needs to 'say' anything." Sophia slowly curled up her hands into fists, a harsh growl emanating from her. "If we weren't out in public, I'd strangle you." she threatened, getting up close to Jessica's face. The other girl, however, merely chuckled. "I'd like to see you try! I've been taking karate classes recently. They're really starting to pay off!" "So how about we do this?" The words came so fast that Jessica barely had time to process them. "Huh?" "We'll ask Mandy which one of us she likes." "That's stupid. You think she's going to answer with you?" "It doesn't hurt to try, you quitter." A pause. The fight between both girls seemed to be at a stalemate. Jessica's eye twitched. "Oh, you're going down, you ugly witch." And that was the moment when the shorter girl went after the taller one, attempting to get a slap or a punch in to no avail. Likewise, Sophia was attempting to do the same thing, and got a few slaps in before she realized that Mandy might be watching and ceased her fire. "Oooooh, a new Wolves of the Wilderness book! Man, I hardly have time to read these anymore!" Mandy looked up, turned her head to the right, and found Sophia putting Jessica in a headlock. Both girls noticed her staring at them and promptly paused their assault. Jessica spoke up first, awkwardly laughing. "Hi! We were just, uh...play-wrestling. Like old times!" "Tell you what, Mandy." Sophia released Jessica and promptly pushed her away, fixing Mandy with a grin as the hybrid met her smile with one of her own. "Why don't I buy you that book you're holding?" "Really? Are you sure?" Mandy tilted her head. "I mean, I don't want you to waste your money or anything..." "It's fine. I have a ton left over from my weekly allowance. I insist! It's always good for you to read more books." Jessica let loose an audible scoff. "Well, if you're insisting..." Mandy nodded. "Then yes! Thank you!" "C'mon, let's go pay for it." As Mandy followed Sophia towards the register, Jessica bit her tongue in order to suppress a cry of rage. Instead, she muttered under her breath one simple warning that was more a declaration for herself than for her opponent. "Sophia...just you wait. I'll get Mandy back from you. You'll see." The rest of the day was filled with all sorts of fun for Mandy and her old friends. She dragged them pretty much everywhere, from the movie theater to a high-scale restaurant to the amusement park, forgoing the plans to bring them to Odd Squad for now in favor of showing them around the town instead. Both Sophia and Jessica had a hard time keeping pace with Mandy's boundless energy, when they weren't at each other's throats making threats of violence against each other. They had learned that doing both at the same time was not a viable option, mainly because Mandy's tendency to talk incessantly and never shut up put a damper on whatever arguments they got into. Still, their hostility didn't waver, and perhaps most impressive of all, Mandy didn't even notice their spat, carrying on like nothing was the matter. As Jessica rushed into a nearby jewelry store to use their bathroom, Sophia and Mandy hung around out front. "Hey, I have an idea!" Sophia said. "Why don't you and I hang out again tomorrow?" "Really? But what about Jessica?" "Oh, she's busy with her mom- uh, wait, no." Sophia bit her lip, attempting to backtrack. "She wants to go to Nathan Phillips Square and hang out with a couple of her friends who live here. Yeah!" She nodded. "But I'm free." "Well, all right! Sure, we can hang out!" Mandy grinned. "Whaddya wanna do?" Sophia had expected an answer to come to her naturally. However, nothing came to her. "Hmm...I'll have to think about it. Meet me at St. James Park at 1PM?" "Yeah, you're on! Maybe I'll take you to see Odd Squad this time!" "Oh. Yeah. I kind of forgot." Sophia laughed. "Are you sure it's okay with Ms. O?" "Well...she never gave me permission, but I'm sure she'll say yes!" "Sounds good to me." Sophia said, giving a halfhearted shrug that showed she was willing to roll along with Mandy, even if her predictions weren't so spot-on. The door swung open right then, the little bell tinkling as Jessica stepped out. "Hey, I'm back. Did I miss anything?" "I'm gonna take Sophia to see Odd Squad on our day of fun tomorrow!" Mandy grinned. "Oh, oh, maybe the day after tomorrow, we can have a day of fun, just you and me!" Jessica blinked. "What...did..." Her gaze drifted over to Sophia, who was giving an innocent chuckle and a wave of her hand that said nothing short of "Buh-bye, Felicia." That stupid little...she stole her out from under my nose! If I'd have known that was gonna happen, I'd have dragged her in there with me -- or even better, held it in! She took a deep breath in an effort to regulate herself, putting on a smile. "Um...I mean, that's great, Mandy! I'd love to have a day of fun with you!" "It's a deal!" Mandy's smile remained on her face for a few moments before faltering. "Oh, pickleferries...I can't meet you two as early as I want. Work and all." She rolled her eyes. "So how about nights out instead?" Sophia and Jessica, with their minds scrambled, picked up on Mandy's unintentional-not-so-unintentional slip of the tongue in mentioning that she couldn't meet them as early as Sophia wanted to. It was clear that she had changed her mind and wanted to hang out with both of them, and if there was one thing they had learned about the new and improved Mandy, she wasn't one to let up on some things easily. So, they were forced to hold back for now, and go along with what she wanted. They figured the beef could continue cooking on the way back to their shared hotel room, where it would be out of the view of Mandy...and Sophia's mom. "Sounds good to me." Sophia nodded. "Does 7PM sound good?" "Sure does! How about you, Jessie?" "7 works fine for me, too." "Then it's a done and done deal!" Mandy gave a giddy laugh. "I can't wait!" "Yeah, neither can I." Jessica remarked in a tone that was nearing deadpan status. "Um, look, we should probably head back to the hotel where Sophia's mom is staying." "Oh! You're staying at the same place?" "We rode on the same plane together." This remark from Sophia made Mandy think for a moment. Neither one of them elaborated much on the plane situation, but then, in terms of vacationing, that didn't matter very much unless it was a large family. "Ohhh. Well of course, silly! You two are best friends!" As the hybrid joyously laughed, Jessica and Sophia joined in with their own bout of awkward laughter, exchanging upset glances all the while. "Anyway, I'll see you, uh...the day after tomorrow." The last words of Jessica's sentence were phrased almost in a question, as though unsure what Mandy really meant -- was she hanging out with each of them individually, or as one big happy group? "And I'll see you the day after tomorrow. 7PM sharp." Not bothering to get any official confirmation, the trio split, with Mandy taking off to the skies and Jessica and Sophia walking towards the nearest bus stop to hitch a ride back to their hotel. This, of course, left both of them free to continue the argument again. "What. Did you do?" Jessica asked ominously. "Why, whatever do you mean?" Sophia answered, in a contrarian and innocent tone of voice. Jessica's eye twitched again. "Don't play innocent, you slimy little snake!" she snapped. "You scored a day to hang out with Mandy tomorrow, to have her all to yourself!" "So what if I did? It's better than her hanging out with you! What with your holier-than-thou attitude and your overprotectiveness of her!" Jessica scoffed. "Me, overprotective of Mandy? Now isn't that some projection!" She let out a harsh bark into the sky with the setting sun. "You're more overprotective of her than I could ever be in a lifetime!" "Dumb argument you got there!" Sophia spat back. "I'm looking out for her best interests! I know what's right for her!" "Yeah right! She's 11 and works for a government organization? Hellooooooo? She can handle her own, you nitwit!" Both girls butted heads again, growls rolling about in their throats as they glared at each other with the fire of a thousand suns each. It felt like hours before they jerked their heads away, crossing their arms and settling on a unisonant "hmph". They refused to make eye contact all the way to the bus stop and all the way back to the hotel, but at least they had set standards for each other in the form of not getting into any more physical altercations for the rest of the day. They didn't really feel like getting arrested by police tonight -- assuming Toronto actually had an active police force. With the fatigue getting to her after a long day of fun, Mandy yawned, a little squeak emanating from her as she did so. As she passed through the bullpen, her peripheral vision barely caught something purple and orange. "Howdy there, Mandy!" "Hi!" The voices became clear now. "Hiya!" Mandy greeted Applejack and Twilight with a wave as they sat in chairs at the former's desk. "Where have you been all day?" Twilight asked, setting her book to the side. "Hanging out with a couple old friends of mine." "Really now? Who're they?" Applejack asked. "Sophia and Jessica!" Mandy chirped. "They used to live in Mississauga before moving to the United States. I haven't seen them in years, what with Odd Squad taking up too much of my time..." The mares exchanged sympathetic glances. "Funny, I never heard of 'em." Applejack piped up. "I don't think I've ever mentioned them to you." Mandy blinked. "Or maybe I did? I dunno, my memory's hazy." "Are they joining Odd Squad?" Twilight inquired, a hint of excitement in her voice. Mandy perked up. "Oooooh, that's not a bad idea!" She smiled, thinking about all the fun times she could have with them...and even getting Pinkie involved, too. However, the thought soon faded away as reality set in. "But as much as I'd love for them to join, they're too busy with their own stuff. And they prolly wouldn't work at this precinct anyway." She smiled. "But I'm bringing them here first thing tomorrow night!" "Tomorrow night?" "I skipped work today to hang out with them, and Oprah threatened me by saying that I wouldn't see the sunshine anymore if I skipped work tomorrow." Mandy gave a chuckle, as though unfazed by Oprah's realistic, absolutely-could-be-carried-out threat. Which, frankly, she was, because she felt she could best the millennia-old manageress in combat handily. She let out a gasp as an idea came to her. "Hey, would you guys be up for meeting them?" "Of course! I'd love to meet your friends, Mandy." "Me too!" Applejack nodded. "Maybe I can give 'em some tips on how t' harvest apples." She blinked. "Do they harvest apples?" "No. But Sophia works at her dad's hardware store, if you know a thing or two about hardware." "'Course I do!" Applejack chuckled. "If that's so, then I'd reckon we'd get along just fine!" Mandy's ears picked up on the sound of muffled laughter right then, and swiveled to meet the sound in question. As she turned around, she saw Oprah and Peaches pass through the bullpen and continue down the left side hallway, both of them sharing a hearty laugh at something Mandy hadn't heard. She watched them walk, a smile on her face. "Wow, I didn't know Peach and Oprah were so buddy-buddy!" "Who is?" Twilight asked, moving her head and watching the newly-bonded pair go. She blinked in surprise, a small smile dancing on her face as she realized what was going on. "It's so nice to see my cousin making new friends!" Mandy chirped. "The two of 'em never really had a one-on-one conversation...at least as far as I know." She let out another yawn that ended with a squeak. "Anyhoozle, I'm exhausted. I'm gonna go get ready for bed. Got a lot of work to catch up on tomorrow!" "Oh!" Applejack perked up. "Pinkie Pie wanted me t' tell ya, she did all your paperwork for ya." "Really?" Mandy exhaled. "I'm not surprised. Is she here?" "Nope! Went back t' Equestria about an hour ago." "Drat...well, if any of you are heading back, tell her I thank her so so so so soooooo much for what she's done! And that I'll make it up to her. Somehow." She began bouncing towards the right-side hallway. "Allrightytightywhiteythanksbye!" Before either Twilight or Applejack could say their goodbyes, let alone open their mouths to do so, the hybrid was gone. "Sooooo..." Applejack's gaze moved back to Twilight. "Peaches and Oprah are friends now, huh?" "Friendship can be very unexpected sometimes. Like how Mandy met up with her old friends." "Mm." "Hey, you two!" Peaches called from the Breakroom, neither Applejack nor Twilight having any clue as to how she got there. "You're still working?" Oprah asked, having diverged from her newfound friend and begun the ascent up to her office. "I was gathering some things up for Rainbow Dash." Twilight explained. "And I was just finishin' up some paperwork before I headed back to th' farm." Peaches, carrying a plate of haddock, made her way over to them. "Oh, have either of you two seen Mandy? I did want to spend some time with her, but if she's busy with her friends..." Applejack gestured towards the right side hallway. "She came back just a couple minutes go. Left for her room, I think." "Darn." "Well, you two, finish up what you're doing. It's closing time." Oprah ordered, before turning and heading into her office. "You know, it's weird. I thought Mandy was going to bring her friends to Odd Squad today." Peaches mused aloud. "Maybe she forgot about it." Twilight offered, her horn glowing as she shuffled through a small container on her desk and pulled out a paper clip. "But she is bringing them tomorrow." "Oh good! I do want to meet them myself, actually. Hope they think a catgirl roaming about here isn't too weird." Peaches had herself a chuckle at that. "What time are they coming?" "Not sure. But it has to be pretty late since Mandy's working." "Mm. Yeah, I forgot Oprah chewed her out. Not that I think she cares." The last sentence was nearly spat out with jealousy. "Well, can't wait to meet them! In the meantime, guess I'll search for the culprit myself." "Good luck!" "Thanks!" With that, Peaches left as well, heading through the automatic double-doors. "Ya need help with that paperwork, Twilight? Carryin' it down to th' receptionist n' such?" Applejack asked, pointing to the large stack that sat on Twilight's desk. "Sure, I'd love some help! Thanks, Applejack." "Ain't no problem at all." Applejack hopped off of her chair. "We're both headin' back t' Equestria, ain't we?" "Mhm! And tomorrow, we'll make two all-new friends." "Can't wait!" As soon as Twilight laid the stack of papers onto Applejack's back, she helped the farmpony balance the stack all the way to the File Room, then went with her back to Equestria as they talked about Mandy's friends and what they were like. Peaches' journey to find the Vallea culprit took her down Marigold Street, where she passed by people and ponies whom, when asked, had no idea what she was talking about, who the "Vallea culprit" was, or where they even were. However much she expected the answers, she figured it was worth a shot. Even talking to the alley cats brought up no results, although she was sure a few of them watched her go with glints in their eyes, which unnerved her. As she dashed down the street, her sharp hearing picked up on the sound of arguing. "If you weren't so stupid, maybe you could get it through your thick skull!" "Get what?" "The fact that Mandy is fine, obviously!" The mention of her cousin's name made Peaches freeze. "Yeah, right! You do know that Mandy's had a rough childhood? She's adopted, Jessica!" "So? She's happy! She's sounded happy in every single letter she's sent us! What, are you gonna never let her out of your sight?" "Yes, exactly! And then I'm gonna prove to you why she needs protecting! She's weak, and she's helpless!" Now Peaches' curiosity was piqued, and anger was slowly beginning to grow inside of her. She darted closer to the voices, ducking inside a nearby alleyway and poking her head out. Standing in front of a small hotel building were two girls, one who looked to be around Mandy's age and one who looked to be a year or two younger than the hybrid. Both of them wore colorful T-shirts, ripped jeans, and sneakers. The younger girl barked a cruel laugh. "No she's not! She’s got wings, a horn, a whole new appearance, new powers! Have you read any of the letters she’s sent?" She reached inside her pocket and took out a crumpled piece of paper. "Here, here, I’ll read you one right now!" "Girls!" The sound of an adult woman nearly made Peaches jump in surprise. When she poked her head out again, she saw a woman with dark blue hair stick her head out the front door. "How many times have I told you to stop arguing? Get in here this instant!" The older girl huffed. "Yes, Mom." "Fine." With that, Peaches watched them go and saw the door close. She sat on the ground, her eyes fixated on it in thought. Those girls...could those be Mandy's friends? No no, what am I thinking, they have to be. They were talking about her, so they obviously know her. But it seems like they're fighting over her. Each of them trying to figure out what's best for her...if only Olive were here, she'd be able to educate them both on what their so-called "friend" is like now. Either way, I wonder if Mandy knows about this...if not, she might be in for a shock. Transforming back into her humanoid form, she made a mad dash for the stairs that led back to Headquarters, her mind running with a million thoughts as to who, exactly, the girls were and what their deal was with her cousin. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. The next day, Mandy was quick to get right down to business. Filling out papers, solving cases, and repairing gadgets was the name of the game, and Mandy was determined to do it all. Lucky for her that efficiency was one of her strong, and most admired, suits. "Hey, Mandy." Twilight trotted up, gadget caught in her purple corona. "Could you do me a favor and repair this gadget when you have the chance, please?" "Yeah, sure!" As Mandy used her own magic to take ahold of the gadget, Twilight's attention was brought by a hiss from Peaches, who was frantically waving her over to the left-side hallway. "Twilight Sparkle, meet me in my room right now!" "Huh? Peaches?" The alicorn regarded the order with confusion, but still made her way over to the catgirl anyway. Mandy looked up too, but simply gave a shrug and a small hum and got right back to work. Getting to Peaches' room from the left-side hallway was no problem at all. "What's going on?" Twilight asked, as she took a look around the room she had been in only a few times before. "Close the door." Twilight did so, sensing the seriousness in Peaches' tone. "Okay. So you know Mandy's friends? Her old ones?" "Yeah..." "When I went out last night, I saw them arguing with each other. Apparently one of them was talking about protecting Mandy because she’s weak and helpless. And the other one...thinks that Mandy is strong and is happy here." Twilight sat on Peaches' words for a moment. She certainly didn't view Mandy as weak and helpless, but apparently one of her friends thought differently. "So what's your point?" "I don't think they're actually friends of Mandy." Peaches theorized. "If they are, then they're sorely uneducated about what she's like now." "Well, it has been a while. I think. She never specified how long it's been since she's seen them, exactly." Twilight blinked. "Does Mandy know they're arguing over her?" "If she does, she's not showing it." Peaches said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Mandy's pretty smart. I'm sure she'll catch on to what Sophia and Jessica are doing eventually." "I hope so." Peaches tapped her chin in thought. "But perhaps you could help them become friends again? You are the Princess of Friendship, after all." "I could, but the problem isn't between the two of them. It's between all of them." Twilight explained. "Once Mandy sees that there's a friendship problem, then I can work together with them to help solve it." Peaches' expression twisted into confusion, her brain attempting to process how Twilight's mentality made sense but hurting the more she thought about it. Still, she was willing to go along with the alicorn no matter what confusing words she spat out. "Okay. So I guess we'll have to see what will happen in the coming days." "Exactly." Twilight nodded. "In the meantime, can you keep an eye on them and see what happens?" "Sure. Stealth missions are easy for me!" The boastful tone wasn't lost on Twilight, who smirked for a moment. "Report back to me each day. That way, I'll be able to know what the trio's friendship is like." Peaches nodded. "Good plan. I'll go and get started first thing." "And don't forget, call if you need me." Peaches sighed. "I would, but that'll be hard. I don't have a badge phone yet." "Still?" Twilight's eyes widened, and then she face-hoofed. "All right then, I'll ask Mandy to coordinate something with Ms. O. Just borrow other phones in the meantime." Twilight headed out, leaving the door ajar for Peaches to get out. The catgirl let out a sigh, wondering how, exactly, she hadn't been given a badge phone yet in all the time she had been here. Sure, she was a guest and not a full-fledged agent, but she would have thought that Oprah would have given her one so they could stay in touch -- or if not her, then the Big O herself. As much as she wanted to use her new friendship with Oprah to her advantage, she figured that Mandy was closer to her position-wise, and thus would manage to get her cousin a badge phone single-handedly. Taking advantage of a friendship to get what you wanted wasn't really ideal, anyway -- she knew it, and she knew Twilight would chew out her tail for it. So, she slipped out the door and made her way towards the bullpen to await her new gift. "One sec...there we go!" "Thanks, Mandy!" Olive said, receiving a square-shaped gadget back from Mandy. "Otto will be happy to have this one back." "'Cuz now it tastes like whipped cream and shoots out whipped cream?" "Yup!" Mandy's attention was broken away by Twilight trotting up to her right then. "Hey, Mandy, can I ask you something?" "Sure thing, Twi! What's up?" "Do you think you can convince Ms. O to give Peaches a badge?" Twilight asked. "I know she's not an agent, but she could really use one! For calls and stuff." Mandy let in a huge intake of air in one dramatic gasp. "Well finally! You stinkin' writer, you waited 'til the 25th chapter to give my cousin a badge phone?" She scoffed, looking at nowhere in particular. "C'mon. You can do better." Her gaze moved to Twi. "Aaaaaaanyway, I could! One sec!" Silence. Mandy began wordlessly counting, her eyes rolling to and fro as she thought. Olive's brow furrowed. "Are you..." Her gaze drifted to the red smartwatch that adorned Mandy's wrist, and she only served to get more confused. "What are you-" Not ten seconds later, she gave a happy squeal that molded into laughter. "Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshwehavethesamebadgenumber!" Twilight glanced at Olive with desperation in her eyes, knowing that she spoke "Mandy-ese" far better. "The same...I'm sorry, what?" "The same badge number!" Mandy ripped off her badge and thrust it into both of her friends' faces. "Look! I'm 57, and she's 57!" Another squeal and another laugh left her body. "Berightback!" Before Olive or Twilight could say anything else, Mandy zoomed straight up to Oprah's office, blowing a small stack of papers an agent was holding completely upwards, much to their chagrin. "What just happened?" Olive caught Twilight looking at her. "Don't look at me." she said, her tone entirely flat as she stared at Oprah's office and expected the worst. Sure enough, the sound of muffled shouting came forth, which was punctuated by a crack forming in one of Oprah's glass doors. "Crumpets." Olive did her signature facepalm, pinching the bridge of her nose with her two index fingers. "I hope she's not going to make Mandy pay for that out-of-pocket..." Mandy rushed back in seconds. "She said yes!" She gave a triumphant laugh. "All I hafta do is go to the Big O and get her to make one!" Twilight watched Mandy's feet rapidly move on the floor like she was stepping on hot coal with bare feet. She had only seen Pinkie achieve that level of trotting in place, only what Mandy was doing wasn't really trotting because she was only half-pony and she had feet and not hooves. Olive glanced around, watching as agents passing by stared at the trio. She began to feel uncomfortable with so many eyes staring at her, and gave a small shudder. "That's...great, Mandy, but do you think you can calm down a little? We're getting a lot of stares..." "Stares schmares, tell Pinkie Pie to handle the paperwork, I'm gone!" Twilight blinked. "To where?" "The Big Office, silly! I'll be there and back faster than a jackalope on roller skates! Eating a pickle in the middle of August!" "Oh great, you're turning into Obfusco." Olive groaned, immediately reaching behind her back and pulling out a bottle of Shmumbers brand aspirin. "Berightback!" And like that, Mandy was gone by a feat of teleportation. Once Olive put a few pills in her hand, Twilight grabbed the bottle from her grasp and dropped some in her other hoof. Both mare and child popped their pills and chugged their water in complete sync, both of them thinking the same thing. We love Mandy, but a knock in her energy points would be better. Or just having her be sane for more than a minute, really... In a bright flash, Mandy was back, charred, burnt, and with every piece of clothing ripped in some form of another. Her hair, also charred and burnt, stuck straight up, as did her tail. A few feathers fell off of her outspread wings as she moved them about. Truly, she was a sight for sore eyes, but all the aghast Olive and Twilight could do was look at her. The hybrid keeled over, hacked a few times, spit out something that neither agent wanted to even try to identify -- for odd's sake, did it just move? -- and weakly reached into her pocket to pull out a badge that, surprisingly, hadn't gotten so much as a scratch in whatever scuffle she had gotten into. "Here...her badge." she rasped, letting out another cough that was coupled with a grin that revealed at least three missing teeth. "What happened to you?" was all Olive could say within her shock. "Accidentally teleported into the Big O's office right when she was checkin' on an experiment..." Another round of coughing ricocheted through Mandy's body, causing her to begin hacking again. "And how did you get the badge so quickly?" Mandy perked up. "Big O works fast!" She held out the badge phone. "Anyhoo, give that to Peach and she should be all set for calls!" She blinked. "Weird...I thought I thought this was gonna be resolved in some future chapter. Big plot point or something. Eh, writers will be writers. Whaddya gonna do?" Twilight hesitantly took it, wondering how long it took before the aspirin kicked in. "Uhh...thanks, Mandy." "Nonono, wait, I take it back!" Mandy yanked the phone out of Twilight's grip using her own corona, her head swiveling frantically throughout. "Where's Peaches?" "Um..." Twilight bit her lip. "Tell you what, why don't you...get back to work?" A meow startled the group, and three pairs of eyes looked down to see a black cat staring up at them. Within seconds, the cat transformed into its more humanoid form and gave a smile. "Hi! I'll take that off your hands. Er, hooves. Er...whatever, just give me the phone." Mandy eagerly floated the phone over to her cousin, even taking the liberty of clipping it onto the left side of her chest for her. All she needed was the suit, and she would look like a full-fledged Odd Squad agent who was just a bit outside of the age requirements to become one. "Thanks, cuz! How do I look?" "Amazing!" Mandy grabbed Peaches by the shoulders. "Ooh, ooh, did you know we have the same badge number?! Looklooklook!" Peaches gazed down at her badge, finding that her badge number read 55. "Um...Mandy, this says 55. Not 57." A pause. "Whaaaaaa?!" Mandy ripped the badge off, looking at it up-close and from afar, turning it in every single direction to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Sure enough, when she added up the letters in Peaches' name again, and then did it three more times to make sure, they added up to 55, not 57. "Aww...and here I was gettin' all excited 'cuz we had the same badge numbers. Now I feel like an idiot!" "Well, look on the bright side. We'll be able to call each other, forever and ever." That seemed to brighten up Mandy's mood considerably. "Yeah!" She bounced up and down. "But...if you don't get back to work, there won't be a 'forever and ever'." Peaches smirked. "Besides, aren't you meeting your friends later?" Mandy stopped bouncing in midair, her body slowly coming back to Earth as the realization ticked in. The second her feet touched the concrete floor, she gasped. "OmigoshIforgotthanksPeach!" she spit out in one breath before rushing to her desk and getting right to work without even sitting down first. "Huh. That was easier than I thought." Olive remarked. Peaches simply shrugged. "I've experienced her hyperactivity enough times to know what makes her tick for the most part." "Can you repair Oprah's glass door, too?" Peaches looked towards where Olive was pointing. The large crack was still in the door, threatening to break the door apart if it moved only a couple more inches. "Yeesh...I would if I could." "Hey, Twilight..." Olive glanced at the mare. "Why were you being so secretive before? Are you hiding something?" As much as Twilight wanted to fire a rebuttal of lies, she knew Olive was smarter than that and would probably sniff her out. She wasn't all too skilled at lying, anyhow. "Should we tell her?" she asked Peaches. "Olive's a trustworthy agent. I don't see why not." Twilight nodded. "Let's all go somewhere a bit more private." "And that's the gist of it." Olive had listened to the story with intrigue, her mind whirling with questions. Not that she had ever met Sophia and Jessica before, but she supposed she couldn't blame them for their attitude towards Mandy, especially since the hybrid had gone through a major change that she had never told them about. Still, she had to wonder if they had any ulterior motives in mind, though thinking about that made her feel queasy in a way she couldn't describe. "So Mandy's friends are arguing over her?" Peaches nodded. "They haven’t seen her in a while, but must be pretty uneducated on what she’s like now, compared to...um...well, when she first met them." "I’m having Peaches spy on her and her friends when they go out. That way I can gather more information about their interactions." Olive put on an incredulous expression. "Why don't you just tag along yourself?" "Mandy probably wouldn’t like that. As friendly and outgoing as she is, she likely wants to spend time alone with her friends. Peaches is more skilled at stealth than I am, so she’s going to be doing the spying." The logic made sense to Olive, and so she nodded in understanding. A cat would be far less suspicious than a full-grown mare following a group of people around. "I'll admit, from what I’ve heard about Sophia and Jessica, they seem nice. But Mandy hasn’t seen them in a long time. At least...that’s what she’s said." "So they probably don't know her as well." "We don't have much to go on." Peaches crossed her arms. "Once I spy on them, I'll get more info." "You know, if Mandy's bringing them to Odd Squad, it makes your job easier, Peaches." Olive noted. Peaches blinked. "That's...true..." "So all we have to do is wait until she comes back here with them." Peaches and Olive gave sounds of agreement in response to Twilight's statement. "Sooooo..." Olive scratched an itch on her head. "Why are we not telling Mandy about this?" "Well, for one, she probably wouldn't believe us." Peaches rolled her eyes. "And for another, she might think we're jealous of her friends or think we have some vendetta against them." Twilight exhaled. "It could cause issues." Olive wasn't one to speak on Mandy's reactions to the matter -- her unpredictability managed to stump even her own mother sometimes."Fair enough. Let's see how things go, then." Mandy had resolved to get to the park early, finishing up her work in record time, making sure she didn't do anything half-fast, and rushing there as fast as her feet and the tubes would take her. With loads of time to spare, she had found it fit to get in that daily nap she had sacrificed in favor of efficiency and hard work, with her body caving in almost immediately like that of a person who couldn't even go a single day without sleeping. As foals and kids alike laughed and played, as adults of both the human and equine variety talked and ate and relaxed, Mandy slept. Her body sprawled out on a bench that looked fit for a king, with one arm and foot draped towards the ground, she snored, muttering unintelligible things that no one around her even bothered to understand. To those that knew her, her sleep habits were no surprise, but even to those that didn't know her, they just didn't pay her much mind, even as a popular Odd Squad agent. While she was in a deep sleep, Sophia spotted her as she walked along the thin concrete path that snaked through the park. "Mandy?" she called tentatively, placing a hand on the hybrid's shoulder. "Hey, Mandy, wake up." In response, all she got was a loud snore as well as a foot moving about limply on the ground. "Weird. You were never a heavy sleeper." Sophia muttered to herself, resolving to shake Mandy even harder. "Come on, wake up already! It's me, Sophia, your one and only best friend, ready for a night out on the town, just the two of us!" No response. The barrage of sleep noises continued. "Mmm..." Sophia's mouth pinched inwards in disappointment, before she took in a deep breath and resolved to scream. "MANDY, WAKE UP!!!" This got the attention of quite a few parkgoers, who all turned their eyes on Sophia. She quickly waved them off with a smile and a nervous laugh, tempted to ask one of them to wake up Mandy but not wanting to disturb whatever they were doing. Just as she turned to leave, the sight of Mandy moving in her peripheral vision caught her eye, and she turned back around. "Mrrrh...what're y' doin', m' tryna sleep..." "Mandy! You promised you'd hang out with me today! Come on, I want to go see Odd Squad with you!" Sophia sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I'm late, okay? You know how my mom can be pushy sometimes, and she made me clean the entire hotel room before coming to meet you, and I just-" A loud yawn, followed by a squeak, cut her off, and she saw Mandy rise to a sitting position. "Mm...Sophie...?" Breathing an internal sigh of relief, Sophia asked, "Did you have a bad day at work or something?" Mandy shook her head. "No, no...I was waiting for you!" Another yawn left her, and she stood up before shaking her body out furiously. Sophia gave a smile. "Heh. You've certainly changed a lot, haven't you?" "Y' could say that." Mandy rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry. I guess you should know that I'm largely impossible to be awoken unless it's of my own accord. Part of the transformation. Don't ask about logistics." "It's okay! Thank you for telling me." Sophia said. "Are you still up for hanging out?" Mandy's energy levels heightened in one swift second. "Of course!" she chirped. "I'm gonna take ya to Odd Squad and you're gonna have the bestest time!" "It's like you read my mind!" Sophia laughed. "Let's go!" "Here, hop on my back!" Sophia's smile faltered as she watched Mandy bend down and angle her back towards her. She stared at the pose for a few moments in confusion. "On...your back?" "Yeah! It's another post-transformation thing. I can carry people and ponies on my back while I fly! Makes for great transportation." "And this is safe?" Sophia asked immediately, more on instinct than anything else. Her tone was filled with worry, something that she hoped Mandy wouldn't pick up on. "Yep! Don't worry, if you fall, I can catch ya!" Sophia contemplated the offer for a few moments. Her falling wasn't necessarily a big deal to her -- she trusted Mandy to catch her, of course. No, what got her was the mere feat of getting on Mandy's back. What if she crushed the girl's spine? Injured her so badly that she became paralyzed for life? Was she willing to take that risk? "Normally I'd say no, but a small part of me is itching to see what it's like." Damn it, Sophia! Why?! As Sophia carefully climbed onto Mandy's back, she asked, "This doesn't hurt?" "Nope! Now hold on to my neck!" "Gently, like this?" Sophia grasped Mandy's neck gently. "You got it! And away we go!" Before Sophia could object, the two girls were flying through the park, with Sophia eliciting a scream of terror as she got a first taste of what riding with Mandy Airlines was like. "Holy cabaneros..." Laying right in front of Sophia was a host of oddities, gathered in such a way that it was like they had gotten wind of her arrival in advance. Her eyes widened as she glanced at each and every one of them, as a lot of them were ones that she had never really seen before. Mandy cleared her throat. "Welcome to the most sophisticated place on Earth! A place filled with wonder and amazement, where long-lasting friendships are made and dreams..." She got into a showy pose, doing jazz hands as she finished her sentence. "...come truuuuue!" Sophia blinked. "This is...amazing!" She glanced at Mandy. "You work here?" "Sure do! I've worked here for as long as I can remember! C'mon, I'll show ya around!" A few footsteps brought the duo to the Lab, which was surprisingly empty but still very much alive in terms of lighting. Mandy smiled. "So this is the Lab." "Where Scientists make gadgets, right?" "Yes!" "Didn't you write to me once that one of your jobs is repairing gadgets?" Mandy's expression and voice didn't falter. "Yes!" "But you're not a Scientist." "Nope! I work in the Investigation department as an agent. Repairing gadgets is more of a side thing for me." "So why'd you say it was a job?" Mandy opened her mouth, thought about the question for a minute or two, and then slowly closed it as her brain failed to provide her with an answer. She considered fixing gadgets a job, but it was clear her friend didn't think the same. And while she was at it, exactly what constituted a "job"? Was it getting paid? Was it doing something heavily laborious as opposed to something simple and minor? Was it being hired by a company's dedicated department? ...Okay, maybe she was getting off track now. "Let's move on." The next stop on the tour took the girls to one of the hallways. "Wow, there are a lot of doors here." Sophia remarked, recoiling as her hand touched a door that was freezing to the touch. "Well duh! Have you even visited an Odd Squad Headquarters?" "Only once or twice, but I never saw the doors." Mandy scoffed. "You should be afflicted with oddness more often!" "Mandy, I'm not going to infect myself with oddness!" Unbeknownst to the two girls, the feline form of Peaches watched them from behind a corner, only her head peeking out to spy on them. A smirk settled on her features as she watched them converse, taking mental notes as to what they were doing. After a minute or so, Mandy held her hands up. "Fine, fine! Here." She turned around to face the abstract, brightly-colored door of her room and flung it open. "Aaaaaaaand here's my room!" Sophia looked inside, eyeing the bed, the dresser, the cabinets, the sewing table, and all of the posters. It looked nice, for sure -- certainly nicer than her room -- but she couldn't help but feel pity. A frown settled on her face. "This is where you sleep?" "Yuh-huh!" Sophia stared at Mandy with a look of sadness. "You've never experienced living in a house?" "Nope! This Headquarters has always been my home!" There was a pause. Sophia bit her lip, looking from Mandy's room to Mandy herself and back again. The thought tumbled out without getting her consent. "Sad life to live, if you ask me. You deserve better." "Whaddya mean?" Sophia's gaze finally rested on Mandy. She looked completely innocent -- perhaps she hadn't noticed her friend's change in expression. Or perhaps she did, and she was hiding it. Sophia couldn't tell. "It's nothing." she settled on, trying hard to give a convincing smile, if only a small one. Mandy gave a simple shrug. "Well, all right." She closed the door and pointed down the hall. "You see that door, painted in blue?" "...Yeah?" "That's Peaches' room." "Who?" Mandy blinked. "Oh! I never told you about her, did I?" Sophia sadly shook her head. In a murmur, she answered, "You haven't written to us in a while." "I know, and I keep meaning to! But work and life and...everything's got me soooooo busy!" "I'm sure." "Well...maybe I'll tell you when we meet up with Jessie!" "Sure, if you want." In the midst of her apathy, Mandy's words didn't click in Sophia's head. So as the pair walked through the halls and made their way back to the bullpen, she became lost in thought with Mandy's safety and well-being until the words finally made full contact with her brain. Unfortunately, that was around the same time her eyes landed on her. "Wait, what?!" "You?!" Sophia whirled on Mandy. "Mandy, you invited both of us here?!" "I know, I know, I said I would hang out with you today and Jessica tomorrow." Mandy explained. "But since you two are bestest friends, I thought we could all go on the Odd Squad tour together! So I called Jessica and asked her to come over!" The two girls were flabbergasted. A thick silence hung in the air, broken only by their heads turning so that they locked on to each other's gazes. Both of them thrust out their hands and their index fingers, with Sophia reacting first. "I don't want her here!" "And I don't want her here!" "She's only out to hurt you!" "Nuh-uh, that's you!" Mandy's grin quickly turned into a frown. Her eyes shifted from Sophia to Jessica, her head tilting in confusion. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, however, the argument continued at full force. "You keep letting her run around and letting her do her thing, but the girl was robbed of a home life, Jessica. She never had a home to grow up in." Sophia gestured to the area around her. "This dirty, rusty place? This is her living space! It barely qualifies as a home!" "A home doesn’t have to be an actual house, you idiot. Home can be anywhere!" Jessica pointed at her friend. "Look at Mandy. Do you think she’s depressed? Because she sure hasn’t sounded depressed in any of her letters!" Mandy looked in seemingly no particular direction and gave a shrug. Behind her, Twilight trotted up, eyeing the situation with concern. "Well she's depressed now! Look at her!" Sophia screamed, her cheeks becoming aflush with red. Jessica merely shook her head in disapproval and gave a scoff. "I've always said you needed therapy, and you're just proving me right." Sophia, unable to come up with a witty comeback initially, stammered. "So what?! She can't even stand on her own two feet!" She gave a mighty exhale. "I knew I should have come sooner, but with my family’s responsibilities, I couldn’t catch a flight to Toronto if I tried. She’s had a terrible life. She doesn’t deserve a life like this!" "And what makes you think that? If I had brought some of Mandy’s letters with me I would share them with you to back up my point. But rest assured she’s fine. We talked about this before you got on the plane. You were so worked up by her last letter that when your mom decided to go to Toronto you were the first on board." Sophia crossed her arms. "So why did you come along, then?" "Because I wanted to see Mandy too." "And why did you want to see her so badly? To make sure she's okay? To make sure she's healthy and safe?" Sophia asked, her tone making her words come near a gloat just so she could call Jessica a hypocrite. Unfortunately, Jessica wasn't too eager to play into her gambit. "Because we haven’t talked properly, in person, since we moved to the United States! It isn’t like she’s a stone’s throw away from us, Sophia!" Another round of silence was fired into the air and lingered like thick fog. Tears streamed down Jessica's face as she glowered at Sophia, the other girl looking rather distraught as she stared at Mandy. Within her rage, she couldn't deny that Jessica was right -- it had been a long, long time since Mandy had written to them. And it seemed the hybrid knew it, too, judging from the way she shied away and rubbed her arm. The pony next to her gazed at Sophia with worry, and it sickened her. "You need to quit being so overprotective of her. Just because your uncle was overprotective of you doesn't mean you have to do the same with Mandy." Sophia's rage came back like a light switch, upon hearing mention of the one family member she cherished the most. Without even thinking, she raised her fist and charged. "Don't you dare bring my uncle into this-" Her fist was caught in an open palm. She gasped. "I would suggest you don't try that." Jessica said coolly. "I've been taking martial arts classes recently. Remember?" "HOW DARE YOU?!" Sophia screeched, wrenching her fist free and backing off of her enemy. Off to the side, Peaches joined the group, shapeshifting into her humanoid form. "Twilight!" "Peaches!" Twilight turned to face her, relief in her voice. "Should we intervene?" "I don't know. Mandy's just standing there." Peaches remarked, watching as her hybrid merely stared at the ongoing argument with an unreadable expression on her face. It was almost like she was in suspended animation, and it might have been the most still that either Peaches or Twilight had ever seen her. Sophia growled. "I'll be taking Mandy back home with me." she spat. "Her letters are lies, Jessica. She's hiding her true emotions!" "No she's not! Don't take her away from here! She works here! She lives here! She has friends and family here who love her!" Jessica gave a scoff. "You're insane, you know that?" "I'm not insane! I'm doing what's best for her!" "By being an..." Jessica stammered as she tried to come up with coherent words. "An overprotective parent, you think that's what's best for her?!" By this point, Olive and Oprah had both joined the audience. "What's going on?" Olive asked. "And who are they?" Oprah pointed at Sophia and Jessica. Before Peaches and Twilight could answer her query, however, Sophia marched up to Mandy, ignoring the shock radiating through the physical outwardly features of her body, and grasped her wrist so tightly that it was amazing how the hybrid wasn't reacting to any pain. "Mandy...we're leaving. I’ll take you back to our hotel room. Surely my mom and I can make space for you." She sighed as she gazed around the bullpen. "You can’t stay here. It’s rusty and dangerous. You can find another job." Her face lit up with an idea. "I know! You can work at Dad’s hardware store! He’s always looking for new employees." "Mandy, don't go with her!" Now it was Jessica's turn to come up to Mandy, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Sophia has...issues that she needs to work out. You’re happy here, aren’t you? Every single one of your letters...you have memories here. You have a good life here, with a loving family and lots of friends. Am I wrong?" Sophia pushed Jessica with her free hand, sending the other girl stumbling a few steps backwards. "Let go of her!" "No, you let go!" "That can't be...Sophia and Jessica?" Olive blinked. "They're fighting over Mandy!" "That's them?!" Oprah asked in bewilderment, before her eyes moved to Mandy. "But why is Mandy not fighting back?" "She's not moving." "I think she might be in shock." Twilight nodded at the three girls. "Come on, we have to save her before she gets hurt!" The group took off. Peaches got there, first, grabbing Mandy by the arm. "Cuz, let's go!" Sophia, shocked by the sudden appearance of what she deduced was an odd being of some kind, let her jaw hang loose for a few moments before she spoke. "Who are you?!" "Get your hands off of my cousin!" "Your cousin?!" Twilight magically took ahold of Mandy's shoulder and shook it hard. "Mandy, snap out of it! Your friends are fighting over you! If things escalate any further you're going to get hurt!" Olive and Oprah grabbed Mandy's other arm, but instead of pulling it, they opted to try pushing. Even with their combined strength, however, the hybrid didn't even do so much as budge. "And who are you?" Sophia asked, whirling on the two Directors. "I'm her mother!" Olive snapped. "Why are you hurting her?" "You're her mother?" A million questions ran through Sophia's mind -- namely, how this girl, so young, was Mandy's mother -- but she set them to the side for now. "You...wouldn't happen to be Olive, would you?" "Yes!" A pause. And then, "So she's never even had real parents?!" "Olive makes a fine parent!" Oprah screamed, in a voice that would have scared off any other agent but only barely fazed someone who wasn't an agent like Sophia. Sophia didn't offer any kind of a rebuttal, instead setting her sights on Jessica, who had run around to Mandy's back and was pushing her. "Mandy is mine, Jessica!" "No, she's mine!" What followed was a few minutes of six girls fighting over one pony-human hybrid, yanking her body every which way like it was play dough meant to be molded. Yelling came from all sides, all mixing together into incomprehensible din that flew in one of Mandy's ears and out another. All the hybrid did was stare straight ahead, her pupils and irises not budging an inch as she raked through her memories. All this time...I thought they were just arguing for the fun of it. Or that I was imagining things. But...they really... They hate each other. How did I not notice? Was I really so caught up in hanging out with them after so long that I failed to realize there was an issue? ... That's a rhetorical question, Mandy. You know the answer is yes. Something clicked inside of her brain right then. Sensations of pain rocketed through her limbs and organs, all of them sending signals to her brain like a 911 operator receiving a ton of calls at once. Instinctively, she thrashed her body about, trying to throw the sources of her pain off. "ENOUGH!!" she screamed, tears pooling in her eyes and flying everywhere in the immediate vicinity. At one point, she fell on her rump, but she didn't bother to get back up, instead burying her face into her hands and continuing to cry. She faintly felt a pair of hands let her go and a magical grip around her shoulder fade, but she didn't bother to see their sources. Sophia raced over to Mandy and knelt down. "Mandy, you have to listen to me! Please!" "Don't do it!" Jessica did the same. "Listen to me instead, I-" "Shut up!! Shut up both of you!!" The shout silenced both girls, making them back off as they stared at Mandy in shock. The hybrid gave a hiccup. "Why are you fighting? I thought..." Her body trembled. "I thought you were friends!" Another hiccup. "I thought we were all friends!" Looks of regret began settling on both Sophia's and Jessica's faces. "I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but...is this what our friendship has become? You two fighting with me as the third wheel?" "Well I have good intentions." Sophia said, in a bragging sort of tone. "You don’t belong here. Your family is a mish-mosh of...people and...ponies. Your living quarters smells like asbestos. You’re hiding your feelings, aren’t you?" She gazed at Mandy sympathetically. "Come with me, back to the US. You can live with me and my family. We’ll take good care of you. You can even have a stable job working for Dad!" She sighed and gestured to Olive, Oprah, Peaches and Twilight. "You don’t deserve them. They don’t deserve you. You’re a good person, and if you took my advice to heart you could-" "Shut up!" Sophia narrowed her eyes slightly. "Excuse me?" Slowly, Mandy arose to her feet, and walked over to Olive, pulling the girl closer to her. "This is Olive. Sure, she doesn't look like a mother to you, but she's my Momma and she always will be." She let go of Olive and pulled Peaches close, the catgirl giving a yowl of surprise. "This is Peaches. She’s my cousin who mistakenly thought I burned down her town. She was kinda weirded out by me at first, but she’s a part of us now." Next was Twilight. "This is Agent Twilight Sparkle. She works here, and she's one of the bestest friends I've ever had. She's smart, kind, and a good leader as a princess of Equestria." Sophia watched with a bemused expression. "And just what is your po-" "And this..." Mandy pulled Oprah close. "...is Ms. O. Oprah. She's the head of this Odd Squad precinct. She's also a bestest friend for me, who cared for me and respected me and gave me all the love I could ever want. And I'll forever be loyal to her." Jessica watched the introductions go down with a warm smile on her face. Sophia, on the other hand, was beginning to get agitated again. "I know who all these people are! What's your point?!" "My point is that I don't have bad friends or a bad family like you seem to think." Mandy let go of Oprah and gave a sigh, slowly closing her eyes. "Jessie was right, y'know." Jessica's eyes widened. "I...was?" "Sophie, you do need therapy. You don't know me at all. I'm not the same person I was all those years ago." Mandy opened her eyes again. "I've changed. More than you could ever know." "I could've told you that." "Don't think you're off the hook either." Jessica paused for a moment. "What?" "I don't wanna be friends with you two if all you're gonna do is fight over me." Mandy glanced at the sole pony in the room. "Twilight, do with them as you will, please." "Mandy, wait. This is something all three of you need to work out." Twilight sighed. "I need to confess. Peaches and I were planning on spying on you to learn more about your friends. Peaches heard them arguing last night. They’ve...been arguing ever since you came across them." Mandy was tempted to spit out that she knew that already. But as she wanted to know the truth and confirm her suspicious, she held back and stared at Sophia and Jessica. "Is this true? Have you two been arguing ever since you arrived in Toronto?" Sophia and Jessica exchanged glances. "Yes. We have." Jessica sighed. "We’re so busy with...jobs and school and other things in our lives. And we’ve been sending you letters, but-" "You haven't written back to us in a long while!" Sophia finished. "I thought you had gotten hurt, Mandy. That’s why when Mom decided to travel to Canada, I came with. I wanted to make sure you were okay. That you were safe. And when I saw you, I thought you were hiding your feelings from us. But...that wasn’t the case." A look of regret settled on her face, for good this time. "I realize now. You’re happy here. You have a family and friends who love you so much." She gazed at Mandy. "But just to make sure...are you sure you sure you're not upset?" "About my life? No. About our friendship being ruined? Yes." Silence. "I'm sorry!" The words burst out of Sophia without thinking. When she caught herself, she took a moment to gather her bearings. "I’m really sorry. Jessica was right. I should have listened to her. And I shouldn’t have made you the third wheel in our argument, either." She ran the toe of her sneaker along the ground. "Just...maybe you could...be a little more timely with your letters? I-I understand you have work, but...even a phone call or an email can make a world of difference!" And then she turned on Jessica. "Jessica, I don’t want to fight anymore. You were right. As soon as we get back to our hotel room, I’m gonna talk to Mom about getting therapy." Her gaze flicked to Mandy. "Mandy’s happy. All I’ve been doing is causing her strife." "So have I." Jessica stared at Mandy, her eyes beginning to well up with tears. "Mandy, I’m sorry too. Both of us were grossly misinformed about you. We should have taken your letters at face value." Instead of answering, Mandy simply turned around, eyes closed and arms crossed. "Mandy doesn't take getting hurt lightly." Olive explained. "It may take her a while to-" "I'm sorry too!" Mandy whirled around. "This entire thing is my fault. I’ve barely had the time to contact you guys nowadays, what with work and daily naps and all my other responsibilities. The least I could’ve done was given you a call or something!" She did a facepalm. "This is how friendships drift apart…" "But our friendship doesn't have to drift apart." Sophia smiled. "I want to be friends with you again, Mandy. And I want to be friends with Jessica, too." "Same here!" Jessica said. "Even if you've changed, I'm up for getting to know the new you that you've become!" Mandy stared at the two girls, her eyes beginning to quiver. "You...you mean it?" "Absolutely!" "Mhm!" This reassurance was enough to dispel any grudge of any kind that Mandy had held against them, in what was a rather out-of-character moment for her. "Bring it in, ya big sillies!" she cried out, lunging for them and enveloping them in a tight hug. "Well, it looks like they didn't need much of my help at all." Twilight remarked, not being fazed by Sophia and Jessica choking to death while pleading with Mandy to set them down. "It's nice to see a friendship rekindled like this." "Warms your heart, doesn't it?" Olive asked, putting her hand on Peaches' shoulder as the catgirl nodded. Next to them, Oprah gave a small smile of her own. Eventually, Mandy set her friends down onto the ground, and they were able to catch their breaths. "So..." Jessica coughed. "You invited me here to check out Odd Squad?" Mandy gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah. My intent was to give you both a tour, but...I guess that didn't work out." "Are you kidding?" Sophia's eyes gained twinkles in them. "There's still so much you haven't shown us!" "Yeah! The Headquarters where we live looks so different. I want to get to know this one!" "All righty then!" Mandy gestured to her friends. "We can start with a few of its inhabitants, whom I'm sure you've, uh...met." Twilight, Olive, Peaches and Oprah all bowed and chanted in unison, "It's nice to meet you, Sophia and Jessica! Welcome to Odd Squad!" Sophia marveled at the display, while Jessica tilted her head and pointed at Peaches. "You're Mandy's cousin?" "Yep! I mistook her for the criminal that burned my hometown down to the ground. And then I found out we were related. We’ve been stuck like glue ever since!" "Literally and figuratively!" Mandy added, with a snort-laugh. Jessica's brow furrowed. "You two don't look related, though." "Family genetics are complicated." Peaches gave a shrug. Sophia glanced at Olive. "And you're Mandy's mother? You look younger than I expected." "Adoptive mother." Olive corrected. "And yes. I get a lot more 'you look so young' comments than you'd think." She shook her head and chuckled. "But I've raised Mandy well." "I can see that." Sophia smiled and let her eyes rest on Oprah next. "And you're..." "Mandy's boss. She's my second-in-command here." "Second-in-command?" Sophia's eyes widened. "Wow...she's in such a high position. It'd take me years before Dad promoted me to any kind of position like that!" "What does your dad do, Sophia?" Oprah asked. "He runs a hardware store. It's a family thing. I work there too. It's tough work, but very rewarding." Oprah opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the sound of Sophia's phone ringing with a "ringity-ding-dingy-dong". "Oh, it's him. Hi Dad, what's up?" "..." "What? You're kidding!" "..." "Daaaaaad, do we have to?" "..." "All right. I'll tell Mom and we'll be on our way back, okay? Love you." "..." "Bye." Sophia tapped the End Call button and slid her phone back into her jean pocket. "Did something happen?" Olive asked. "Jessica, and everyone else...I'm sorry, but..." Sophia bit her lip. "We have to leave early." "What? Why?!" Jessica whined. "Dad broke his foot. Again. He won't be able to run the hardware store for a while until he gets better, and he wanted me to come back and run it in his stead." "Can't he find other employees? What about Paul, o-or Janine?" Sophia shook her head. "Paul's retiring next week, and Janine can't possibly run the shop on her own." Jessica clutched Mandy's arm. "But we've only just made up with Mandy and now we have to go?" "I'm really sorry." "Don't be!" Sophia blinked as she stared at Mandy. "Huh?" "With the tube system, I can come visit you guys anytime! We have each other's numbers, too." "But we wanted to spend time with you. Here. In Toronto." "Yeah!" Jessica held Mandy's arm a little tighter. "Look, if your dad’s injured and needs someone to run the shop, then that’s how it is!" Mandy gave a shrug, and then gasped. "I have an idea! When are you set to leave?" "Dad said I should pack up and leave tomorrow." Mandy's pony ears folded downwards. "Oh. That puts a dent in that plan then." she murmured in disappointment, kicking at the ground. "I was thinking we could spend the rest of the night together, but..." She rushed over to Olive and pulled the sleeve of her suit upwards, exposing her watch. "...it's already pretty late." The sad vibes in the air seemed to get to everyone at this point, with Oprah, Peaches, Twilight and Olive all watching the three girls with disappointment. Still, Mandy resolved not to let it get her down anymore. "Pre-bye-bye-hug?" she asked. Sophia and Jessica glanced at each other, and then back to her. And then, they lunged for her, scooping her up in a hug almost the same way she did to them. On top of it all, they began to cry. "G-g-guys, stop, you're gonna..." Mandy's pupils and irises were quivering, and however hard she tried to fight back tears, she had little to no defense and gave loud, pitiful wails filled with waterfall tears. Instinctively, all four Odd Squad denizens whipped out their umbrellas from hammerspace, only acting surprised that the waterfalls seemed to miss Sophia and Jessica entirely. "You're always welcome here anytime!" Oprah shouted over the noise. "Feel free to visit if you ever get the chance to come up here again!" Sophia, with bloodshot eyes, swiveled her head around to look at Oprah. "We will." Jessica, with similar eyes, did the same. "Thank you!" Mandy's waterfalls ceased movement rather quickly, but the sobs and hiccups didn't stop. "I-I-I'm gonna m-miss you guys...s-so much!" she choked out. "Same here." Jessica rubbed her friend's back. "Come on, Sophia. Let's go home and pack. And tell your mom." Just as the two girls began to leave, however, Mandy stretched her arm out. "Wait! W-what time's your flight?" "I'll text it to you." Sophia responded. "'Kay! I'm gonna meet you two at the airport!" Mandy, now having a plan to say another goodbye to her friends, wiped her tears away and smiled. Both Sophia and Jessica returned the smiles, and made their way through the double-doors of the bullpen. And it was then that Mandy turned on Oprah, her arms flailing wildly. "OprahpleasepleasepleeeeeeaseletmeseethemattheairportIgottaseethemoffand-" Her words were put to an abrupt end by Oprah placing two fingers over her lips to silence her. "Of course you can. Go and see your friends off tomorrow, Mandy." "Oh thank you thank you thank you! You don't know how much this means to me!" She scooped up Oprah and pulled her into a hug, ignoring the sounds of her choking and her cries of protest before setting her down moments later and giving a sigh. "I wish I could go with them..." "You can always visit them." Twilight pointed out. "They're a tube ride away, aren't they?" "Yeah! I just gotta find the time to do it. And write more letters…" A yawn suddenly escaped Mandy, which, in turn, made her realize that fatigue was quickly starting to settle in. "Better go to bed. If their flight’s early then I’m gonna have to get up early...and drink lots of Moo-Moo Surprise." "If you get up any earlier than noon it'll be a shocker." Oprah half-deadpanned, giving a small smirk. "Oh don't worry, I'll go back to bed right after. You know me well. Toodles!" The three agents and one guest all watched their hybrid friend bounce down the right-side hallway before making a sharp turn to the right. "It's really a shame that Sophia and Jessica have to leave." Olive said, to break the silence. "I was looking forward to getting to know them more." "Me too. I didn't know Mandy had other friends." Twilight chuckled. "Though with how outgoing she is, it checks out." "Well, it's like we always say." Oprah looked at Peaches, and it didn't take the catgirl even a single second to realize what the Director was trying to tell her. "She continues to surprise us." As it turned out, the flight wasn't early at all. 11AM was a pretty reasonable time to get up by Mandy's standards, and she figured she could earn back the missing hour from her daily nap. The Toronto Pearson Airport was packed with people as well as ponies. Mandy was rather surprised at how well ponies had been integrated into daily life at the airport, from security guards to CATSA agents to flight attendants. Truly, it was one more step towards equality within both species. She had to wonder if there was an equine pilot out there somewhere. Pinkie aside, of course, because Mandy meant actual big planes with wings and jet engines. Standing at gate B17 were Sophia and Jessica, who were waiting to board. Mandy could also see Sophia's mom with them, deep in conversation. "Hiya!" Sophia's mom turned to face her. "Oh, Mandy! My goodness, Sophie wasn't kidding when she said you'd changed." She gave a small smile. "I must say, I love your wings and horn." "Oh! Uh...ha...thank you!" Mandy blushed just a little, not expecting her friend's mom to compliment her on her appearance. "Um, Sophia, say hi to your dad for me, okay?" Sophia chuckled. "Will do. I'll tell him to expect a visit from you soon." "Sounds good! Consider my schedule cleared!" "We'll miss you." Jessica stepped forward, clasping Mandy's hands in her own. "Don't forget, you can always call us, text us, write a letter, email...just contact us if you need anything!" "Likewise!" The three girls shared a hug, Sophia's mom watching on fondly with a smile. Surprisingly, no tears were shed this time -- everyone had gotten into the stage of acceptance, with the hope that they were all just a phone call, email or letter away from communication. As they went through the gate, everyone exchanged goodbyes. Mandy watched them go with tears in her eyes, her vision growing blurry even though she tried to keep it stable enough so she could see them. She clenched her fists and sharply turned, biting her lip. She couldn't stand to see them disappear from her view -- it would only make her more sad, and she didn't feel like crying any more than she did yesterday. No, she still had to hold on to hope. Hope that she could keep the friendship going between her, Sophia and Jessica, by sparing a few minutes of her day to write an email or a letter to them, or give them a call. It was so simple, and yet she hadn't done any of that... Maybe she was becoming a workaholic. A workaholic strained everything -- marriages, friendships, nearly everything in life. Olive had been one, before Otto helped her realize the value of fun. That thought was concerning enough for her to wander over to one of the large windows overlooking the airplanes, staring out listlessly. Her lips parted. She gave a shaky sigh as she placed her hand on the glass and looked out into the vast world that lay ahead of her. "Stay safe. And stay happy, you two." Author's Note Yeah, needless to say, this one needs some work. Got a bit sloppy towards the end, but it's pretty polished so I'm putting it out there. S1E26: A Glimmering DebutThe sun shone brightly over Ponyville, marking another beautiful day in the town that seemed to be rife with its own special brand of oddness. Ponies of all kinds chatted, ate, and played, with some passing through the portal that sat at the town line, secured by protection of the princesses' own creation. For many who were seeking out the small-town kind of life, it was paradise. Inside the library of the Castle of Friendship, a light purple unicorn hoofed her way through photos of Twilight and her friends at Odd Squad. Her dark purple mane, with an aquamarine streak running through it, bounced slightly as she shifted each photo to the side, a smile gracing her features as she thought of the many stories she had been told about Odd Squad. She couldn't deny that each story had made her more and more curious as to what the organization was like, but of course, she wasn't about to go venturing into a whole world mostly occupied by another species without doing a little bit of research first. She stopped upon spotting a photo of Twilight and Pinkie with their faces splattered with ice cream. Occupying the photo was not only them, but someone who looked like a human with pony ears and a mane that was, oddly enough, shaped like Pinkie's. Starlight's nose wrinkled as she moved the photo aside and shuffled through the rest of the photos, trying to find any other sightings of this mysterious figure. By the time she finished, she deduced one thing -- there were a lot of pictures. More than she thought there were, at the very least. Many of them depicted the figure doing silly things like balancing balls on her nose, or things that showed her hardworking nature like fixing machines. Some of them even showed her in funny sleeping positions, and Starlight had herself a chuckle at the photo that showed her hugging a lit-up lamp. As she flipped one over that showed Twilight, the girls, four humans, and the mysterious figure all having fun at a beach, she found text scrawled onto the back of it. Mandy & Friends at the Beach Mandy...is that her name? Starlight tilted her head. Is she a clone of Pinkie Pie? She has the mane and the tail to match... She squinted at the beach picture, and then promptly gasped. Wait, no! She has...wings? And a horn? The look on her face was one of pure confusion. Whatever this creature was, it certainly wasn't human. Or at least, it wasn't fully human. Perhaps it was time for Starlight to get some answers. She rose from her chair and began trotting towards the doors, only stopping when she realized that Twilight wasn't home at the moment. Mentally shooting out a string of curses, she turned back to the table, and it was only then that she heard the castle's doors open and close. "Starlight! I'm back!" Twilight's voice was close, and the unicorn soon found her mentor poking her head in the library. "What's going on?" "Twilight." Starlight turned around again, and slowly approached her. "Would you like to tell me what this is?" Twilight blinked as a picture of her and Mandy was floated right in front of her face. "Who, the girl?" She smiled. "That's Agent Mandy, my coworker. She's part of a species known as a pony-human hybrid. Half human, half pony." Starlight simply stared. "I never told you about her, did I?" "Not even in the slightest." Starlight's deadpan expression didn't faze Twilight. "Well, instead of me giving a long lecture about what she's like...how about you go see her for yourself?" "And go into that world full of humans?" Starlight bit her lip. "Yeah, I dunno. I mean, I know ponies have been integrated into their society, but it just...weirds me out to go there." "How?" "Well...I can't really describe it." Twilight gave a sympathetic smile. "I understand. But I'm talking about bringing you to my workplace." "Odd Squad? That organization that deals with odd stuff?" "Exactly. A unicorn like you would fit in perfectly there!" Twilight said. "And I would know, as someone who's seen both the unicorns of Equestria and the unicorns of Earth." Starlight tapped her chin. She was a little hesitant, but now, she couldn't hide the feeling of curiosity that was gnawing at her. If Twilight thought the world was safe, then surely Starlight would have no problem going there. It was simple thought logic. "All right, I'm game. Lead the way." Back at Headquarters, Mandy was in the thralls of sleep. She was lying flat on her stomach, a pillow below her as she snored away and muttered something about cheese balls. In the midst of another Earth-shattering snore, Pinkie Pie threw the door open like it was Christmas morning. "Partner!" she called, her tone completely panicked as she trotted over to the bed. "Partner, wake up!" She paused for a moment, before giving a growl. "Oh, who am I kidding? You never wake up when I tell you to wake up!" Mandy gave a soft moan. "Not th' lazzt 'f th' peanut butter..." "We have plenty of peanut butter!" Pinkie screamed to the powers-that-be above, before putting her hooves on Mandy and shaking her as hard as she could. "Come on, it's an emergency!" A few broken snores left the hybrid as her hand waved behind her, trying to feel for the source of the intrusion to her slumber. "Pleasepleasepleeeeeeease!" Slowly, Mandy's eye-booger-encrusted eyes flickered open. A mighty yawn left her, and she feebly kicked her feet in an effort to try and get up. "Mmmmmm, Imma beached turtlllle..." Pinkie sat back and groaned. "Finally!" With an extended hoof that looked like it was made of putty, she grabbed her partner's Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, hopped onto the bed, opened her partner's mouth, and poured the drink in before closing it. "Drink up and let's go! You're gonna miss her!" Mandy's cheeks were bulging, and it took her a few moments before she was able to get all of the drink down. "Mmmmmizz who...?" she muttered, but Pinkie was already shuffling through the wardrobe closet and throwing her suit onto the ground. "Hurry up and get dressed!" the mare ordered, pointing to the suit. "Or I'll make you get dressed!" "Please, don't..." Mandy rubbed her head as she slowly rolled off of her bed and landed on the ground, then got up in a kneeling position before slowly rising to her feet. "I can dress myself, thank you." "Could've fooled me." That earned Pinkie the boot, in the form of Mandy sweeping her up in her magic and throwing her to the ground outside of the room rump-first. "Hey! I wasn't actually gonna dress you..." "Really?" Mandy picked up her suit and fluffed it out. "Coulda fooled me." And with that, she slammed the door on her pink friend before she could even fire a rebuttal. Five minutes later, Mandy was dressed in a suit, but definitely didn't feel like her old self just yet. With curiosity as to whom Pinkie had been talking about, she went to the bathroom to finish her routine, wondering if a new agent was joining Precinct 13579 or if it was some kind of ambassador from another land. The possibilities were endless, really. "An emergency means you gotta move faster than that!" "You and I have differing opinions on what an emergency is, Ponka." By the time Pinkie and Mandy arrived at the bullpen, Twilight, standing on the seal with a purple unicorn at her side, was finishing what Mandy had to assume was some kind of introduction. "Please make her feel welcome!" As agents rushed to the duo to give their introductions, Mandy tilted her head. "Who's that with Twilight?" Pinkie responded by pushing her partner towards the front of the crowd. "Mandy, this is Starlight Glimmer! She's one of our best friends!" Twilight turned her head to make eye contact with Mandy. "Oh, Mandy, you're finally awake!" She smiled. "I brought Starlight here to meet the agents of Precinct 13579. She's never been to Toronto before, let alone this world." When Starlight waved off the last agent in the crowd, she turned to gaze at the pony-human hybrid, examining every last one of her features. She towered over the unicorn, although not by very much, and donned a professional-looking business suit that was the same as Twilight's as well as a curly hairstyle and tail with the former in a sparkly bow. True to the pictures, she had pony ears as well as a long horn and a pair of angelic wings, but the one thing that really caught Starlight's eye was the smile. It looked cat-like, far unlike the mouths she had seen on humans from pictures. Quite unnatural for a being that was part pony, the unicorn noted. "Hi!" she greeted. "You, uh...don't look anything like the humans I've seen. You're a pony-human hybrid, right? Are you an alicorn?" "Yes I am and yes I am!" The girl bowed. "Agent 57, at your service! I'm the second-in-command here at Odd Squad Precinct 13579!" "Agent...57?" "Mandy. Just call me Mandy." "Ah." Starlight extended her hoof. "Well, my name's Starlight Glimmer. It's a pleasure to meet you! Twilight's told me a lot about you." "Oh, she has, has she?" Mandy smirked. "If I'm as famous in Equestria as I am here, I should really go visit sooner rather than later!" Starlight's eyes widened. "Uh, m-maybe that's not such a good idea..." Not wanting to linger on the point any longer, she shook her head. "Anyway, if you're the second-in-command, then who's the leader?" "Ms. O!" Mandy chirped. "I call her by her first name, but she gets a liiiiiittle touchy about sharing it with people and ponies who aren't me, or Momma, or Otto, or Oscar, or-" "Why don't you take Starlight to her?" Twilight interjected. "After that, you can join us for a tour." Mandy gasped and began bouncing up and down. "Are you kidding?! I'd love to give her a tour! C'mon, Starlight, let's go!" As the hybrid bounced away, Starlight glanced at her mentor. "Is she always like this?" "Oh yes. Yes she is." Twilight gave an exasperated sigh. "You get used to it. Now go, before you get lost!" Rolling her eyes, an amused Starlight trotted towards the stairs that Mandy had ascended, hoping to get up to the second floor where she was standing before she pulled her there by force. Oh yeah, there's no doubt about it. If this isn't some weird clone of Pinkie Pie, then she has to be related to her at the very least, she thought, a smile on her face as she gave a friendly wave to the hybrid upon setting hoof on the top step. Unbeknownst to her, however, a particular agent was watching her with excitement, although she remained hidden, wanting to finish her welcome basket before introducing herself properly. With that, she ducked behind the hallway again and raced off to some unknown destination. "So this is an organization where you fight oddness?" Starlight asked. "Co-rrect!" Mandy nodded. "Hydraclops, Jamie Jam, that dog on Cherry Street that keeps sounding like the most annoying cicada in the world...we deal with 'em all!" "Huh. And it accepts both humans and ponies?" Mandy had to take a moment to sit on that question, because she genuinely wasn't sure what Oprah's stance was on ponies joining her precinct. She knew other precincts had long since accepted ponies into their ranks, but for all of her high power, she wasn't sure of Precinct 13579's policies. So, she decided to go with the policy she thought of. "W-well, the organization does, but as for this precinct...only humans for now. Twilight and the others are exceptions. Although other precincts have started to hire ponies in all sorts of departments." Her face lit up, and she gasped as she thrust her face into Starlight's. "Are you thinking of joining?!" "Well, uh..." Starlight blinked. "I'm not sure, to be honest. This world is still very new to me, a-and I don't know a thing about Odd Squad except from what Twilight and the others have told me. Maybe if I see this place first...?" "Ah. Good point." Mandy turned away from Starlight to peer inside of Oprah's office, where the head honcho, along with Olive and Otto, seemed to be having a meeting. Or, well, what Mandy had to assume was a meeting, going by the serious expressions on everyone's faces. She scoffed. "Of course she's having a meeting! She never stops having meetings!" As the hybrid groaned, Starlight looked inside. "Which one's Ms. O?" "The one on the right couch." "So who are the two kids on the left?" "Momma and Otto! Momma-" Mandy stopped and then shook her head, realizing that Starlight had no idea who "Momma" was. "Olive is my adoptive mom and co-runs the Mississauga precinct along with Otto. They've been partners for..." Her brow furrowed. "Weeeeeell, I wanna say forever!" Starlight broke her gaze away to stare at Mandy. If she was adopted and had what looked to be a normal human girl as a mother, the unicorn supposed that killed quite a few notions about her being related to Pinkie, since Pinkie wasn't adopted. However, it didn't put the theory completely to rest. With that thought put aside for now, Starlight went back to staring at the trio of normal humans. None of them boasted the same features Mandy did -- no wings, no horn, and no tail, although Ms. O did have a pair of wing flaps she was showing off that Starlight deduced were a part of the suit she wore. Curiosity dug its talons deep into her. "You're adopted?" "Yep." Mandy's eyes grew slightly misty. "I don't have any memory of my actual parents. I was rescued by Momma when a pienado -- that's a tornado made of pies -- was released by her old partner, Odd Todd. Since then, she's raised me into...uh...well, me!" Starlight spit out the first thought that came into her head. "She looks so young." "Aaaaaaaand that's another coin into the Young Adoptive Mother jar!" From out of nowhere, Mandy grabbed a large jar that was nearly a quarter of the way filled with coins. She reached into her hair, pulled out a Jackalope Nickel, and dropped it into the slat on the cap, grinning as it made a clink sound. Having gotten used to these kinds of antics from Pinkie Pie, Starlight gave an amused smile. "Well, if they're having a meeting, I won't interrupt 'em. We'll meet 'em later." Mandy tucked the jar away behind her back and hopped onto the stair railing. "C'mon, let's go meet Twilight and get on with that tour!" As Starlight watched her slide down, she heard a high-pitched squeal, and then the sound of laughter, come bursting forth. She didn't need to try and figure out who it came from. She had to admit, she was becoming rather enamored with Mandy and her antics -- not that she had any doubts, since it was almost like she was a human Pinkie Pie. Maybe she would join Odd Squad after all, just to see if she was able to work with Mandy. Quickly, she trotted downstairs, in an effort to keep up with the pony-human hybrid and also out of eagerness to begin the tour of the precinct. Inside Oprah's office, the sight of something purple moving in the Director's peripheral vision snapped her attention away from a lengthy discussion about gigantic creatures and the most effective strategies in defeating them. "What's up?" Otto asked, looking in the same direction but finding nothing there. "Mandy just went downstairs with a pony I've never seen." Oprah explained, her tone cautious as she rose from her seat. "Really?" Olive's turn to look, now. "Did she say she was inviting a guest over?" "Not that I'm aware of. You two stay here, I'll be right back." As Mandy was laughing at a joke Twilight had given, the sound of her name, as well as the sight of someone descending the stairs, brought her attention to what turned out to be Oprah. "You brought a guest here?" the Director asked as she approached the group. "I did, Ms. O." Twilight stepped up and gestured to her protege. "This is Starlight Glimmer. She's a student of mine who resides in Ponyville." "Hi! Nice to meet you." Starlight waved. "I take it you're the leader of this place?" "That I am. It's nice to meet you too, Starlight. You're free to call me by Oprah, if you wish." Starlight took a few moments to take in the appearance of Ms. O- er, Oprah -- the former of which, apparently, was merely a title and not an actual name. By all accounts, she looked completely human, and on top of that, she was far more sane than Mandy. She also looked powerful in a way that Starlight couldn't really describe. "I'll admit, I thought you'd be a little older." she said, hoping she didn't somehow offend her. "Oh, she's old. She's-" Mandy was cut off by an arm wrapping around her neck, followed by her upper body keeling forward and then suddenly straightening up again until her feet were lifted off of the ground. She coughed and hacked as she struggled to get out of the headlock that she knew her boss had put her in. "Not. Another. Word." was the only warning the pint-sized girl gave, ignoring Mandy's cries for help. She locked eyes with Starlight, who watched the act with worry but made no effort to intervene out of fear of retaliation. Mandy was taller than Oprah, although not by much, and if she could put Mandy in a chokehold as fierce as that, who knew what she would do to Starlight, even if the unicorn had a wide repertoire of magic on her side. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Oprah set Mandy down, causing the hybrid to lean over and begin giving coughs that Starlight couldn't believe came from a pair of lungs that were neither equine nor human. "Are you okay?" "I'm..." A cough. "Fine. Oprah...she does stuff like this...all the time. Don't worry." Twilight, meanwhile, moved on. "I've mentioned Odd Squad to Starlight many times, and she wanted to have a look for herself. We were just about to take a tour." Oprah raised an eyebrow at Starlight. "You're not thinking of joining, are you?" "I'm not quite sure. I want to have a look around the place and learn more about it, as well as the denizens of this world, before I decide for myself." A relieved expression crossed Oprah's face for just a moment. "All right. In that case, go ahead. Mandy, you can help." The hybrid straightened up and did a salute. "Yessirree!" "Are Olive and Otto coming down as well?" Starlight's question made Oprah pause for a moment, as she wondered how the unicorn knew of their existences. But she supposed Twilight told her, or Mandy. "I heard my name!" a voice called from inside of her office. "Otto, get out of the juice bar!" "But my lucky marble rolled down there!" "You got yourself stuck last time, so get out of there because I'm not pulling you out again if you get stuck!" Oprah sighed. "I'll take that as a no. I'm sure Mandy and Twilight will introduce you to them later, though." "Sounds good." "All right." Twilight turned towards the right-side hallway. "Mandy, lead the way!" "Whoo! Tour guide Mandy, baby, at your service! Let's go!" Oprah watched the trio head off, breathing a sigh of relief in regards to Starlight not joining. She had her own reasons as to why she was relieved rather than disappointed, and she certainly wasn't too keen on sharing them with much of anyone, instead bottling them up inside of her. "Oprah! Otto got stuck under the juice bar again!" The Director bit back a groan. "I'm coming, Olive!" she called, as she ascended the steps to her office once more and prepared to get to work on pulling out one of the more taller agents she knew from what she had to assume were a couple of bar stools...again. That would make it the fifth time, she supposed. "Sooooo...first off, we have the Lab! That's where gadgets are made." Starlight eyed the place curiously. Humans clad in lab coats and navy suspenders roamed about, some working on white-and-blue machinery that she had to assume were gadgets and others just standing around and talking. "What are gadgets, exactly?" "They're kinda like tools we use to solve cases. Also, they make amazing-tastic weapons!" A soft hum emanated from Starlight. "They don't really look durable." "Eh, most aren't. Oona, the Lab Director here? She breaks about ten a day. Maybe even more than that, but she hasn't broken the record yet!" Upon hearing yet another title, Starlight came to a logical conclusion. "Does she run the Lab?" "Yep!" Mandy gazed around the area before frowning. "She's not here right now, though...ah well, c'mon!" The hybrid led Starlight and Twilight to one of the hallways, with its massive amount of doors that contained everything from the surface of a pool table complete with set-up billiard balls to a giant tissue box. "So as you can see, we have many different rooms!" Mandy zoomed over to a blue-and-yellow door that contained a circular food item that looked to be glazed. "Here we have the Donut Room slash Bagel Room slash Potato Room. It changes every so often." She zipped towards a red, almost vault-like door. "We have a Storage Room, here..." And then, she went over to a room marked with a white comforter and a few pillows. "And here's the Bedroom!' Starlight blinked. "Whose is it?" "Twilight and the others'. Used to be mine, but I got my own room down there." Starlight followed the pointed index finger down the hall, and was surprised to find a door that seemed slathered in colors. She had a sneaking suspicion that door led to Mandy's room, going by the wild patterns on it and the fact that Mandy seemed to be the type of person who would throw paint on a surface and call it art. Mandy grabbed ahold of the Bedroom's door handle and flung it open. "Et voila!" Starlight looked inside, but didn't really find much of anything of interest -- it looked like the bedroom she had at the Castle of Friendship, which in itself was by no means impressive. "You sleep here?" "And live here." "And work here." Twilight added. "Wow." Starlight chuckled. "No offense, Twilight, but this place is a lot more impressive than the Castle of Friendship. And a lot bigger." "It is. A lot of Odd Squad precincts are like this, as a matter of fact. Some even have rooms that change every hour or so!" "Does this precinct do that?" "Not necessarily. They change, but not every hour. I haven't exactly figured out how they change or when, exactly." Twilight explained. "But the rooms here are different from other precincts! Or, uh, so I've read." Mandy suddenly perked up and snapped her fingers. "Oh! Starlight, I never told you about the departments we have here!" She giggled and snorted. "Ah, silly me. It's one of the most essential things for agents to learn!" Starlight didn't bother to tell her that she wasn't an agent, which was largely due to Mandy rushing them off towards...well, she wasn't sure, really. She just let the hybrid take her wherever. "So I'm an Investigation agent, and so is Twilight. We are the..." Mandy faltered, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to find the right wording for her explanation. She blew a raspberry at one point, perhaps her own way of helping her think, even if it was odd. "We make up the bulk of the organization?" "Yes, exactly!" Mandy pointed at Twilight. "We solve cases and get things done around here, mostly. We also have partners! Almost every one of us has at least one." "Oh, right!" Starlight nodded. "You said your partner was Rainbow Dash, right, Twilight?" "Yes. And Mandy has Pinkie Pie." It was the perfect segue for the unicorn into the question she wanted answered the most. "You two wouldn't happen to be related, would you?" Mandy took a moment. "I...ah..." She began patting the air behind her, clearly attempting to score a seat but not grabbing onto anything. "W-well, Starlight, that's...prolly the first time someone's asked me if we're related..." Starlight tilted her head slightly, still expecting an answer. "Yes, we're related." Twilight's eyes began bugging out so much that Starlight and Mandy could have sworn they saw them bulging from the sockets. Starlight, however, only gave one simple word as a response: "Really?" "No we're not related! What're you, crazy?!" Mandy yelled. "I'm biologically a human, Glimmer. In what crazy universe would a human and a pony do the thing in the place involving the stuff and then have a baby?!" Now Twilight blanched. It was clear that no adult had had The Talk with Mandy, and the alicorn really hoped it stayed that way for as long as possible -- and even then, if Mandy was still the same, chances were she would probably take "the birds and the bees" literally. "You, uh...make a good point. Sorry I asked." Starlight gave an apologetic smile. "So why does your mane- er, your hair and your tail look like hers, then, just colored brown instead of pink?" Mandy let out a long, slow whistle. "That's a looooooong story. But to be honest, no one knows. I don't even know!" She gave a shrug. "I kinda like it, though. Used to be a nuisance but I've gotten used to it." As she made her way down the hall, she smiled. "Okay-dokay, anyway, let's go to the Creature Room and I'll show you the next department!" The trio emerged in the bullpen and promptly went up the stairs, Starlight gazing at all the agents and clients with oddities that passed through. It fascinated her, in a way -- Equestria had its own share of oddities, but nothing like this as far as she knew. Mandy threw open the Creature Room door and pointed at a curly-haired dark-skinned boy sitting at a large computer. "That is Ocean!" Upon hearing his name, the boy turned around, and Starlight got a good look at him. Perhaps the most striking thing about him was his lack of socks or shoes, exposing something that definitely wasn't a hoof. A "foot", she had heard Twilight call it once. His exposed undershirt and necklace lined with small shells were easy tellers that he was just a bit eccentric. Not as much as Mandy, but eccentric enough. Surprisingly, though, "eccentric" wasn't the right word to describe him. "Hey there, hybrid dude and bookworm dude!" he greeted, in a low and just slightly slurred voice that reminded Starlight of one of Rainbow Dash's crewmates. Soarin', she thought his name was. "Who's your guest?" "Starlight Glimmer. I'm from Equestria!" Starlight responded. "Nice to meet you, Ocean." "Cool, another pony! Is she joinin' us?" "No, she's just having a look around." Mandy looked around the room. "Is Fluttershy here?" "She's juuuuust finishin' up with some creature-feeding." "All righty! So." Mandy interjected. "Ocean and Fluttershy are both part of the Creature Care department! They run the Creature Room here and care for all the odd creatures that call this Headquarters their home." "What kind of odd creatures?" Starlight asked warily, looking around to make sure nothing was going to jump at her and devour her down to the last hair on her tail. "Oh, if I gave you a list, we'd be here for..." Mandy did some quick math in her head. "About five years, give or take. We have a lot." She rolled her hand around as she listed off some of the more common creatures. "Centigurps, Hopinbobs, blobs of both the baby and adult kind, we've got a whole variety!" The first two sounded like creatures that Starlight would probably see in Equestria. The last one sounded like what Twilight would call a failed experiment. No, wait, scratch that, she had called one of her failed experiments a blob before, because that's exactly what it was. Starlight still had nightmares about it sometimes, and upon recalling one of them, her body began to shudder, only stopping when it felt something rough and furry rub up against it. Looking down, she saw a creature that was mostly fur and a face. "Who's this little guy?" "That's Paul. He's a Lestybara. Super cuddly and small, but they bite. And their teeth are filled with poison." Starlight immediately scooched back, giving a startled "Whoa!" as she did so. Mandy lifted the creature up in her magical corona. "Maybe you should put it in a cage? Y'know, if it bites and stuff." Fluttershy then emerged from the far left corner of the room, which was obscured by bushes. "Hello, everyone." She waved, then her eyes widened upon seeing Starlight. "Oh, Starlight! I wasn't expecting you here!" "Hi, Fluttershy! Twilight brought me here for a tour of Odd Squad. I'm learning so much about this place and this world!" "I'm glad you like it." Fluttershy gestured with her hoof to her co-worker. "You've met Ocean already, right?" Starlight nodded. "How do you manage working here and helping all the animals at your cottage?" "It's tough, but I make it work." Starlight waited for her friend to elaborate. However, the Pegasus remained tight-lipped, leading the unicorn to give a soft sigh and a smile. "It really does seem like there's something for everypony here." "There is! We're all one big happy family! This is the place where long-lasting friendships are made..." Mandy got into a showy pose again, just before she broke out into song. "...and dreams, coooome, truuuuuuuuue! Ha-cha-chaaaaa!" At this display of true eccentricity, Starlight had herself a hearty laugh. "If you ever do decide to join, Starlight, then I'm sure this precinct would love to have you." "Well, I haven't seen the rest of this place!" Starlight turned and made a sweeping gesture with her hoof. "Surely there can't just be Investigation and Creature Care for departments, right?" "Oh! Yeah!" Mandy bounced towards the door. "C'mon, I'll show you some more!" Twilight waved. "Bye, Ocean! Bye, Fluttershy." "Catch you all later!" "Goodbye!" Mandy, along with Twilight, eagerly took the time to show Starlight the other departments Odd Squad had to offer. She showed her the Scientists (again), the North and South Control Rooms and the Security agents that worked there (complete with Owen shouting that he was going on break and Mandy telling Starlight that "you get used to it"), and the tube operators and Maintenance agents that made up the combined Maintenance/Transportation department as well as the tube lobby where the agents of the former group worked -- and that was before getting into the thirteen other departments that were fresh in the minds of both alicorns. By the time the tour was over, Starlight's hooves were sore, as she couldn't afford to take a break with Mandy zipping around to and fro. Even Twilight encouraged her to keep going, much to her chagrin. "So...that's it?" "That's it! The end of the tour! They teach all this stuff in-depth at the Odd Squad Academy." The trio stood in the bullpen, now. Starlight's gaze moved to Twilight for confirmation. "Uh, but there are still more positions. Over sixty in total, from my research, although I've been told there might be a lot more." Twilight sheepishly grinned. "Just...wanted to clarify." Starlight's eyes widened. "Sounds like agents here have a lot of options." she remarked. "I'm curious about The Big Office, though. Do you think I could meet the Big O in-pony? Er, I mean, in...person?" The saying sounded foreign on her tongue. "I could try! She's busy with a lot of stuff, but even if she is, I could always show you around the Big Office!" Mandy said. "Are you coming back tomorrow?" "Sure! I'd love to come tomorrow." "Great!" Mandy grinned. "Maybe we can meet outside of the portal at..." She swiveled her ears in thought. "Mmm, 2PM?" "Sounds good!" "Hey, Starlight..." Twilight sidled up to her apprentice. "I know you must be tired, but once we get a good rest, how about I take you on a tour of Toronto? You've seen Odd Squad, so it's only fair you see the world aboveground." The alicorn was right in that Starlight was tired. But regardless of her fatigue, sparkles formed in her eyes as she realized what her mentor was offering. "Yes! I've always wanted to see Toronto!" she said, recalling the many stories Twilight and the others had told her about life in the big city. "Can we go see the sights too?" "Sure!" Twilight began trotting towards the steel double-doors. "Let's go. We'll grab a bite to eat first, then be on our way." Like an excited schoolfilly, Starlight began to follow her, only stopping to ask Mandy if she wanted to come with. "No thanks! I have work to do here. And a nap to catch up on." "All right. See you tomorrow, then!" As Mandy waved goodbye to the disappearing unicorn, a smile danced on her face. "Mm...I like her." "Boo." A frightened "NYAAAAAAH!!" came out of Mandy as the hybrid leaped a foot or two into the air and scrambled backwards on her rump, her hair and tail sticking straight up. "M-Momma!" She growled. "Don't scare me like that!" Olive laughed. "Sorry! I've been watching you in the bullpen for a while. That unicorn was Starlight Glimmer, right?" "Yes!" Mandy blinked. "Uh, how'd ya know?" In response, Olive simply gave a knowing smile and raised an eyebrow. "Ohhhhh...right. Oprah must've told you. Haha..." A soft blush crept onto Mandy's cheeks for a moment. "She's a super-nice pony. I think you'd like her!" "I'm sure. It would be nice to have another pony join Precinct 13579, but..." Olive trailed off. Her head ducked down low, and she rubbed her arm awkwardly as though hiding something. A pause hung in the air. "But what?" Mandy pressed, to no avail as the silence still lingered. Finally, Olive murmured, "It's nothing." Her mother's concern didn't sneak by Mandy any. "You have ponies working at your precinct, don't you?" "We have a few, but we're planning on getting more soon. The Big O insisted we up our DEI rates." "DEI?" "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion." Olive explained. "You've seen ponies at my precinct, haven't you?" Mandy's nose wrinkled as she tried to recall. As far as she knew, there were no equine agents working at the precinct, but perhaps they were tucked away in areas she didn't go to. "Not...really. Maybe I passed one and didn't know it?" She gave a shrug. "Anyway, it's back to work for me! Gotta do some stuff before I take a nap." "Oh, hey, before you do that, you mind helping us with something?" Mandy's eyes went half-lidded. "You couldn't get Otto out from under Oprah's juice bar?" Olive's eyes, on the contrary, blinked in surprise. "Yes. That's exactly it." "One second." With confidence, Mandy strolled past her mother and went up the stairs into Oprah's office, where she was immediately met by a happy gasp from Otto, who had both of his legs weaved through two bar stools and was stuck to the floor by some spilled juice that hadn't been cleaned up. "Mandy! Oh thank odd, please, help me!" Oprah, who had a few stray hairs sticking out of the tight bun she usually wore, gazed at Mandy with exasperation. "He's so stuck, I can't-" "Shhh. Shh shh shh. Watch and learn." was all Mandy said, ignoring the footsteps that signaled Olive's arrival to the office and getting right to work. The hybrid's horn glowed in an array of colors, its corona latching on to Otto's entire body. The boy didn't dare move, instead staring at Mandy with worry as her magic began grasping the two bar stools he had gotten stuck in. His lower limbs were moved and stretched every which way, but in ways that wouldn't cause him immense pain. When moving his body didn't work, Mandy moved on to the bar stools, eyeing the rims below for a specific pattern she could use to her advantage. And when that didn't work, she let out a groan, let go of the bar stools so that she was just taking hold of Otto's body, and made him disappear and appear in two bright prismatic flashes of light. The Director landed, groaning in pain but able to freely move his legs now. "Sorry! You okay?" "Fine...save for my butt." Otto responded, shooting daggers at Mandy. "Ah, you're good then." Oprah and Olive, who had watched the efforts in awe, stared at Mandy for a few moments before the former gave a growl. "Why didn't anyone suggest we ask Mandy from the get-go?!" she screamed at the powers-that-be above. "Maybe because she was busy giving a tour to Starlight?" Olive offered with a raised eyebrow. Oprah snapped out of her angry stupor. "Oh yeah." As Otto got to his feet and brushed his pants free of dirt, he gave Mandy a smile. "Thanks, Mandy. I owe you one!" "No problem! But in the future, let someone just a liiiiiittle less tall go under the juice bar." She tilted her head. "Why were you under there, anyway?" "I was trying to find my lucky marble. I've had it ever since I was a little kid and I lost it somewhere under there." Mandy didn't waste any time in rushing over, getting a running start and sliding on her stomach like a penguin on ice while knocking over a few stools in the process. Her head bonked the bottom of the bar, but she quickly swiveled it to the right as she thrust her hand under the bottom and began feeling around. After a minute, she came to the conclusion that feeling with her hand wasn't going to work. She had to go deeper. By sheer way of "Mandy just being Mandy", the hybrid, treating the bottom piece of wood as nothing more but a giant flap, stuck her head under it. The rest of her body followed suit, snaking under the juice bar until it completely disappeared from view. The three Directors were silent for a few moments. "Did...did she..." Oprah slowly raised an index finger and pointed at the juice bar. "How...she's..." "Oprah. General rule of thumb in Odd Squad is that we never, under any circumstances, question any agent's logic or actions. Especially not Mandy's." Olive raised her own index finger. "That's how brain hemorrhages start." Oprah simply stammered as she watched the juice boxes and fruity ice cubes on the top of the bar shimmy and shake. A muffled sneeze came forth from under the bar. A small, carelessly-placed glass toppled onto the floor and developed a crack. "Eww...Oprah, ya ever hear of a broom?! There's waaaaaaaay too much dust in here!" Oprah, in response, grit her teeth and took a big inhale through her nose. Her supposedly calm composure didn't even last five seconds before a wail that sounded like one from a dying odd creature came forth and she buried her face in her hands. After a few minutes, Mandy's rump poked out from the bottom, then the upper half of her body. As she got up and brushed the dust and dirt off of her, Otto approached her eagerly. "Did you find it?" What he got as an answer was Mandy lurching forwards, her cheeks bulging as she held a hand to her mouth. Oprah's eyes widened. "Is she..." "She's gonna vomit!" Olive began lunging for Mandy. "Mandy, no! Not on the floor!" A saliva-covered marble was spat out, clattering to the floor and rolling until it came to a dead stop against a foot of the wooden coffee table. Olive, Otto and Oprah all stared at the marble with looks of surprise, disgust, and concern, and then looked at Mandy the exact same way. "Oh, so much better." Mandy gave a ragged exhale. "Sorry about that. It was the first thing I thought of when it came to how I was gonna get the thing out of there." A pause. "Also, you're welcome." "Yeah, thanks." Otto said, taking out a clean latex glove from hammerspace, putting it on his hand, and picking up the marble with it. "But next time, can you get it without putting your gross spit on it?" "I said I was sorry!" Mandy scoffed. "Bunch of ungrateful kiddos...just gimme the marble." Before Otto could protest, the marble was wrenched free from his hand, and then disappeared in a bright prismatic flash that also took Mandy with it. "You, uh..." Olive blinked, snapping out of her traumatic trance and shaking her head. "You should really get a pouch for that marble, partner. Or at least keep it at home." Otto sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Odd Squad isn't a place that really relies on luck, anyway." He tilted his head. "Are you okay, though? You were staring off into space for a little bit." "I...yeah. I was just recalling the last time Mandy had...thrown up." Olive shuddered. "My bathroom took weeks to actually get fully cleaned. I'm seriously considering getting it renovated now." "Yikes." Otto bit his lip, wanting to throw in an addendum but being stopped by a bright flash of rainbow-colored light. "All right. I've cleaned your marble with disinfectant, put it through the wringer with Shmumber Keeper's Friend, and I washed it with just a pinch of bleach!" Mandy frowned. "Odenbacker wouldn't let me use the whole bottle...not after he told me about the fumes." Otto took his sparkling-clean marble back. "Thank you, Mandy. You're the best." "All right, all right, let's not go that far." Mandy put her hand on his shoulder. "But you're welcome." She turned and began making her way towards the doors. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a ton of work to do if I wanna meet up with Starlight tomorrow. Toodles!" Otto watched Mandy take off. Olive's attention, on the other hand, was elsewhere. "Something wrong, Oprah?" "Starlight's not really thinking of joining Odd Squad...is she?" The words were nearly a murmur, punctuated by Oprah staring dead ahead with a worried expression on her face. "Well, she did say she wasn't sure, right?" Olive assured. "Besides, if she did join, the chances are really slim that she would go to this precinct upon graduating." Oprah crossed her arms, and her expression changed from worry to annoyance. "It's not like I would take her in anyway." "Why not? You have Twilight and the others." She wasn't sure what about Otto made her want to metaphorically spill the beans -- his persuasiveness, his innocence, him calling her out on hypocrisy -- but she did so anyway. "Because..." She clenched her fists. "Because I'm not ready for such a big change." With the secret out, the Director sighed and made her way over to one of the couches, taking a seat and bowing her head down with her lower arms resting on her knees and her hands clasped together. "The Big O said that this is one of the few precincts that hasn't allowed ponies in." Olive frowned. "Sooner or later, you may be leader of the only one." That stung. No...it cut. It cut deep. Thoughts flooded Oprah's mind, of her precinct being shamed for not letting ponies in, of ponies staging protests and waging war against the precinct for not being allowed in, of the Big O removing her as lea- It was too much to bear. "Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" The voice was almost a snap, but the glare in her eyes told Olive and Otto all that they needed to know. She stared at them with harsh, angry fire in her eyes, almost daring them to press her further. "Starlight's not joining this precinct and that's final." Olive took the hint at face value. "If that's what you want." Otto, as well. "It's your precinct." The partners moved towards Oprah's personal tube entrance, watching as the wooden double-doors opened and exposed the tube. Olive got in first, turning around and hunching down. "We'll see you later, okay?" She went up the tube, followed by Otto quickly after. That just left Oprah alone with her thoughts. She rubbed her head, a sigh escaping her as she meandered over to her desk and knocked on one of the wooden walls that sat beside her screen. It flipped vertically to reveal a four-by-four row of juice boxes, and she snagged one at random, jabbing the attached straw into the top and taking a mighty swig out of it. But not even her "alcohol" -- air quotes intended -- could ease her worries about those colorful Equestrian equines joining her cherished, sturdy, and strong-willed precinct, and so, she sat in her chair at her desk for a long, long time, deep in thought and barring any agent from coming to see her until she had snapped back to reality. After the tour of Toronto had concluded, Twilight had let Starlight go free to poke around Precinct 13579's Headquarters by herself. Although Starlight had concerns she would get lost, Twilight had assured her that if she did, an agent would show her the way back to the bullpen. Headquarters was huge, but it was lucky that there were denizens willing to help a lost soul (or more) out. So it was now that Starlight was wandering the halls, eyeing the rooms and trying to decide which one looked safe to explore. She figured, if she was going to join Odd Squad, then she should at least get to know all the rooms that resided within it. Any danger she faced...well, she had magic to fight it easily, no matter how odd it was. As she trotted through the halls, a figure made itself known, stepping through a corner. "Hi!" Starlight stopped and gazed at the newcomer. With her red hair, red glasses, beaming smile, and Investigation suit, she certainly looked friendly. Although the large basket she held in her hands, which was brimming with everything from crackers to little trinkets, seemed just a tad suspect. "You're a new face around here, aren't you?" the girl chirped. "My name's Olympia. What's yours?" Starlight had to briefly wonder if she really was an actual clone of Pinkie Pie this time around. At the very least, she had the enthusiasm and similarly-colored hair...and the tendency to give gift baskets to newcomers like Pinkie often did. But she pushed that thought to the side for now. "Starlight Glimmer." she answered. "It's nice to meet you, Olympia! You, uh...work here?" "Sure do! I love it here!" Olympia said. "Where'd you come from?" "Ponyville. It's in Equestria." "Cool! But I mean more like your hometown. Where do you live?" Starlight blinked. "Um...Ponyville?" She gave a sheepish grin. "But I used to live in a place called Sire's Hollow with a good friend of mine named Sunburst. When he got his cutie mark, though, he left for Canterlot and I was left without any friends. So when I grew up, I left Sire’s Hollow and founded a new town called Our Town, where I...uh…" "Where you what?" Starlight bit her lip and rubbed her leg awkwardly. "Kind of sort of stole the cutie marks of everypony in the village and made everypony think they were all equal to one another, with no special talents to speak of." The look on Olympia's face was hard to pin down to a single emotion. But perhaps the best way Starlight could describe it was simply "disappointment". Her turned-over mouth showed two rows of straight teeth, and her eyes showed just a tiny hint of malice. "So you were...a villain?" Starlight, who wasn't sure why Olympia's mood had changed so suddenly, gave a regretful nod. "More or less, yeah. But Twilight helped me realize the error of my ways. I owe a lot to her, and to her friends." This didn't sway Olympia any. "Oh. I see." she said, her tone utterly disheartened. "I'll let you go now. See you later, I guess." "Wait! What about the-" Olympia had disappeared before Starlight could inquire about what she was holding in her hands. "...basket?" The unicorn blinked, taking a moment to figure out what, exactly, had just transpired. Not coming to any kind of conclusions, she gave a shrug, brushed it off as "just Odd Squad things", and continued her journey through the halls and into the rooms. Mandy stuck her tongue out halfway as she slowly and carefully applied the final stroke of paint to a gadget that had been badly singed. The singes had been scrubbed out, but the hybrid felt the gadget could use a new coat of paint too. "Mandy." "Hmm?" The hybrid turned to meet the upset face of Olympia, who was very clearly invading her personal space. "Oh, Olympia! Hi! Whatcha dooooooin'?" Olympia wasted no time. "Are you aware that there's a villain in Headquarters?" "What?!" Mandy shot up from her chair and let her head swivel all around. "Where?! I'll beat 'em up! Where are they?" She grabbed Olympia by the shoulders. "Tell me where they are! Who they are! Are they are they are!" "Some pony named Starlight Glimmer. She said that she stole the cutie marks of every pony in some village called 'Our Town' and pushed a philosophy of equality on them." Olympia scoffed in disgust. "Can you imagine anything more vile?" Mandy's eyes widened briefly, although the reaction didn't last very long as she began to weigh the possibility of Olympia outright lying to her face. Starlight seemed like a nice pony who didn't have a mean bone in her body. ...No, wait, scratch that. She suddenly recalled a story of Twilight and the others going to some remote village and stopping its unicorn leader without any warning to her or to Oprah. She just didn't think this was the unicorn they had been sent to stop. Still, a unicorn who stole cutie marks didn't seem all that powerful. "Yes. King Ashero and everything he's done, for starters." the hybrid deadpanned, as she offered up an example of a villain who could easily outclass Starlight. It took a special kind of malice to send innocent people to do your bidding and capture two other innocent people because you were too lazy to do it yourself, and even moreso when you sent out one of your people to find said two innocent people under the guise of going out on a mission. "Who?" Olympia paused for a moment, then shook her head and set aside the point. "Anyway, we need to get rid of her! She's a threat to Odd Squad!" "Yeah!" Mandy looked to be geared up for battle, right before she backtracked. "Wait, no." She blinked. "When I met her, she seemed like a kind pony! She wasn't sure whether she wanted to join, but she-" Olympia recoiled. "You are not going to allow her to join! You wouldn't!" "W-well, she hasn't decided yet...and I haven't talked about it with Oprah." "Then let's go up to her office and see what she has to say. Right now!" Mandy's gaze shifted to her desk, and then shifted back to Olympia. "R-right now?" She scratched her neck. "Olympia, I'm really busy and-" "No buts, no cuts, and no coconuts!" "Um, isn't that Oprah's li-" Mandy was stopped by Olympia's hand being slapped onto her wrist. The hybrid stared at the hand for a few moments before she felt her body go flying clear out of the chair and head towards the stairs with its dragger in tow. "WhoaOlympiaslowdown! Slow doooooown!" came the frantic scream. However, Olympia did not slow down, and burst her way into Oprah's office where the Director was sipping a juice box. "Ms. O, do you have a moment to talk?" Oprah stopped, set the juice box down, and eyed the pair of agents that had come into her office. Her gaze settled on Mandy, who was wheezing and panting in futile efforts to try and regain her breath. Clearly, this was a matter of great importance, and the Director was committed to giving it her full attention. "What is it, Olympia?" "You should know that Starlight Glimmer, a villain, is loose in Headquarters." That made Oprah's eyes widen slightly. She hadn't really gotten to know the mare outside of basic introductions, but for all intents and purposes, she seemed decent enough. "Starlight Glimmer is a villain?" "Yes. By her own admission, she stole the cutie marks of a bunch of ponies in a village named 'Our Town' in order to push a mindset of equality." Olympia threw her hands into the air. "We need to get rid of her. Take her into Odd Squad custody, something!" "Hold on." Oprah held a hand up. "When I met Starlight, she seemed nice enough that I was willing to let her take a tour of Headquarters." She turned on the other being in the room. "Mandy, you were with her, weren't you? Does she seem villainous to you?" Mandy shook her head and groaned, still trying to get her bearings together. Luckily, she had enough of them together that she could reasonably answer her boss's question. "No...she doesn't. She's not sure if she wants to join Odd Squad, either." "Out of the question. I'm not allowing any more ponies into this precinct." The answer was quick, almost reflexive in nature. Olympia gave a satisfied smirk. "What? Why not?" Mandy gestured to outside of the office. "You have Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack here! A-and you accepted the Cutie Mark Crusaders in without hesitation!" She neglected to mention that Oprah had let them in due to her nostalgic blindness, but she figured she would bring up the point regardless, if only for the hypocrisy. "It's a personal matter I don't wish to discuss." "Ha!" Olympia pointed. "See, Mandy? Even Ms. O agrees that we shouldn't let her into Odd Squad! She's dangerous!" Oprah's brow furrowed. "I never cited her being dangerous as the reason why, Olympia." Olympia simply gave a scoff. "Anyway, I refuse to be friends with someone who's a potential villain. Once a villain, always a villain." And there it was. That long-standing mentality of Olympia's that she refused to let go. Unbeknownst to her, as well as Mandy, her partner was primed to challenge that mentality and prove evidence of the contrary, but certainly not ready, as he didn't like talking about his harsh and twisted past. Still, one thing both Mandy and Oprah could agree on was that the mentality was completely flawed -- for both Odd Squad villains and Equestrian villains. And it had been proven time and time again. "I'll admit, our first interaction was brief." Oprah said, not wanting to butt heads with her agent over it. "But if she really was villainous, she likely would have tried to take Mandy or Twilight out first. And as far as I can see, Mandy is still standing. Twilight, as well." "And I'm very very busy with work!" Mandy complained. "I can assure you, Oprah, Starlight is very kind. She was very attentive on our tour! And she didn't try to harm anyone!" Olympia took a step forward. "If you won't run her out of Headquarters then I'll do it myself!" "Olympia!" Oprah narrowed her eyes slightly. "Starlight is a guest here. We should treat her like one, whether she has bad intentions or not." "No! Once a villain, always a villain!" A growl eked its way out of the Investigation agent. "I thought you were on my side!" "In this matter, I am on no one's side but my own." Oprah replied calmly. "Starlight can stay. Besides, if she does turn out to be a villain, then we can take her down." Another growl. Olympia's head whipped towards her co-worker. "Mandy, you better not agree with her!" Suddenly, Mandy was getting flashbacks to when Fluttershy confronted Oprah over the hybrid taking a vacation. It was sickening deja vu. "M-me? I...aww, I don't wanna get involved in this! I like Starlight!" she whined, before heaving a sigh. "Look, look, tell ya what. I'm hanging out with her tomorrow. I promised to let her tour the Big Office. So I can keep an eye on her then and find out her true intentions." Olympia took a moment to consider the plan, then jabbed an index finger at Mandy. "You'd better. I want to see what she's really up to. I may know a lot about Odd Squad, but I'm still learning about Equestria and its history." She gave a single nod. "I'm counting on you, Mandy." "Right! You have my word!" Mandy did a salute. "Just...don't keep harassing her, okay? 'Cause then she might not wanna reveal the truth!" Olympia had to admit, her higher-up spoke wisely. "Hmm. You make a good point. I guess I can watch from a distance." "Good!" "And as for you, Ms. O..." "Huh?" Olympia's expression soured. "You disappoint me. I really hope you reconsider your stance. I looked up to you." As the agent left, Oprah slumped down into her chair with a sigh, rubbing her forehead. "Oprah...I'm sorry. I didn't wanna get roped into this any more than you did." Mandy said. "But you and I both know how Olympia feels about villains." "Yes. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do about it." Oprah put on a sad smile, full of pity. "We've already tried everything." "Not everything." "Huh?" "Olympia looooooves Momma and Otto, right? So maybe a couple words from them is just what she needs!" Oprah bit her lip. The idea was good in theory, but whether it was good in execution was something else entirely. "I don't know..." "Hey, it's worth a shot!" Mandy shrugged. "And it'll keep her at bay while I hang out with Starlight." Eccentric and crazy as she was, Oprah knew that Mandy came up with some good plans. She had her moments of idiocy, but outside of that, she was very crafty and quite the manipulator. If she wanted, she could become a villainess worthy of outranking even Odd Todd -- at least as far as Oprah considered. But luckily, she was on the heroes' side. "Well, in that case, all right. I'll give them a call." "Winner winner chicken dinner!" Mandy exclaimed, suddenly getting a thought as to what to make for dinner. "Tell 'em I'm meeting Starlight outside of the portal to Equestria at 2, so anytime before then, they can come!" "Will do." Oprah nodded. She made a mental note to tell Olive and Otto to come between 12 and 2, since she knew Mandy wasn't going to get up before noon for something like this, even if it was important. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a loooooot of work to do before my nap! Hopefully Olympia doesn't give me any more trouble...or anyone else for that matter." She began bouncing away. "Toodles!" With both agents gone now, Oprah could finally relax. She felt the tension seep off of her and was honestly surprised it didn't manifest as wisps of magic like the last time she had let herself relax somewhat. "Assistant! Get me a juice." she called, nabbing the box she hadn't finished and continuing to chug it even after an assistant placed a fresh fruit-punch-flavored one on her desk. All the while, the note of "Call Olive and Otto" kept ramming itself against the front of her brain, with her deciding that when she had calmed down enough, she would call them and explain to them the entire situation. The next day found Olive and Otto trudging through the hallways of Precinct 13579. "Why does Mandy always have to drag us into her business?" Olive complained. "She can't get Pinkie involved? Twilight? Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity? For odd's sake, not even Peaches?" "Hey, it's for a good reason!" Otto countered, trying to pick himself back up and fix his posture. "Olympia needs to drop her stupid philosophy. Villains can reform, they just...don't always reform." "True." Olive scratched an itch on her arm. "Odd Todd reformed, and now he works as a gardener who runs rehab places for villains on the path to reformation. There's no reason why Starlight can't do the same, if she's even evil at all. Olympia's just making a mountain out of a molehill." As the pair rounded the corner, they found Fluttershy exiting Mandy's room, a look of mild disappointment on her features. Quickly, they rushed up to the Pegasus before she could take off, hoping to gather some info on Starlight -- after all, Fluttershy was Starlight's friend, or so they presumed. "Hm?" Fluttershy turned and smiled. "Oh, hello Olive, hello Otto. What's going on?" Olive and Otto took a few moments to catch their breaths. The former, being the more athletic of the pair, spoke first. "Hey, Fluttershy. We're just here to see Mandy." "For what?" "Olympia thinks that Starlight Glimmer -- that pony who came with Twilight the other day? She thinks she's a villain." Fluttershy gasped. "Oh no, I can assure you, Starlight's no villain!" She shook her head. "At least, not now. She used to be, but we helped her learn how much better friendship is." "For our part, we don't think Starlight's a villain either. From what Oprah's told us, she seems nice." "But we haven't met her in-person." Otto blinked a couple times. "...In-pony?" Olive amusedly rolled her eyes. "Just go with 'in-person', partner." Fluttershy tilted her head. "So what do you need Mandy for?" "She thinks that we, as...Olympia's idols..." Olive ran a head through her hair, briefly wondering if Olympia's infatuation with her and Otto was just like Scootaloo's infatuation with Rainbow Dash. They both idolized prominent figures, so there was one comparison on the books. "...will be able to knock some sense into her by having a little chat." "I have noticed she talks a lot about you two." Fluttershy noted. "It just might work. But, um...Mandy's asleep still. I wanted to ask her a question about laser chickens, but I didn't want to wake her up." Otto gave a few nods. "Good call." Olive pulled back her jacket sleeve and undershirt sleeve to reveal her smartwatch. "It's already 1:00. Mandy's meeting Starlight in an hour, and she wanted us to come before then." Otto made his way towards the door and turned the knob. Sure enough, Mandy was absolutely nowhere near ready to meet a unicorn who was new to Earth. Clutching a pillow close to her body, raucous snores and silly sleep-talk left her as she tossed and turned in bed. Olive was quick to take charge, pushing past Otto and Fluttershy and heading straight for Mandy's bed. "Mandy? C'mon, wake up. Otto and I are here." A feeble whine left Mandy as she extended a hand hard enough to bop Olive in the face. "Mmmm...not that dog, I want th' other onnnnne..." "Oh come on, snap out of it!" Olive screamed, before she began pinching the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, I love you, Mandy, but your inability to wake up is infuriating sometimes..." "Can't we just wake her up with a stack of pancakes or something?" Otto asked, watching as Mandy's foot twitched violently for a few seconds as she let out another snore. "The last time we tried to wake her up with food, she ate the food in her sleep. And then the plate. And then the silverware. And the plate and silverware went out the same exact way it went in." Olive thrust her face into Otto's. "Do you really think that'll work?" Otto gently pushed his partner away. "Touche." A snort brought the trio's attention to Mandy, who pushed the pillow away and turned to face them. "Wh-huh...?" She squinted. "You th' zzhelter workerzz...?" "Yes. We're here to help you pick out your new dog." Olive deadpanned, before she gestured to herself and her partner. "It's us, Mandy. Olive and Otto? You wanted us to come here to help you with the whole Olympia issue?" Silence. Mandy stared at them with her eyes half-lidded. "One language...don't zzpeak it." Her right hand thrust towards her nightstand, where she grabbed her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink and chugged it. Once that was done, she set the glass down and faced the trio again. "Englizzh, pleazze...?" Olive sighed. "Yesterday, Oprah called us and said you had an idea to change Olympia’s philosophy and get her to like Starlight. You also told her that you wanted us to be here an hour before you were going to go hang out with Starlight and-" Mandy gasped. "That was today?! Aww pickleferries!" She furiously shook her head. "I completely forgot!" Suddenly, she paused, her eyes widening. "Wait...wait...ohhhhhh it's coming back to me! We were gonna visit the Big Office! I was gonna show her around!" All Olive could do was stare at her adopted daughter, unable to form coherent words as she simply stammered. Finally, a growl forced its way out of her as she screamed, "Are you kidding me?!" "Now I remember it all!" Mandy nodded. "Yeah, I thought that since she’s a biiiiig fan of yours, you could help her be a little more open and a lot more friendlier towards our guest!" "Sure! We're here to help however we can." Otto nudged Olive with his elbow. "Right, partner?" Olive rolled her eyes. "Right." she spat out noncommittally. "Yay!" Mandy clapped her hands together. "Okay, gimme five minutes and then we'll go get Olympia!" She hopped off of the bed, rudely shoved Olive, Otto and Fluttershy out of the way, and made a beeline for the Bathroom. With the hybrid gone, Olive could voice her concerns. "Otto, you really don't think this is going to work, do you?" "Ah, don't be such a killjoy, Olive. It's worth a shot." Otto smiled. "If Olympia won't listen to Oprah, she'll listen to us." Secretly, Olive had a feeling this plan wasn't going to work. She wasn't sure whether it was due to its logistics, Mandy being...well, Mandy, or the ages-old adage of "you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves". Still, she supposed giving it a shot was better than doing nothing and sit back and watch a human torment an innocent pony on the misguided basis that she was a villain. "I suppose." "And you're sure this won't blow up in my face?" "Honest-to-goodness! It's not an explosive surprise." A pause. "This time." The blindfolded Olympia bit back a groan as she was led through the halls by Mandy. She had no idea where she was going -- all she knew was that Mandy had sprung up behind her, quickly tied a blindfold around her eyes after the third attempt, and the rest was history. Mandy went ahead of her to open the door for her and led her inside, taking the blindfold off of her. "Okay, open them!" Olympia did. She was met with a room that was white, though it had indents jutting out from the wall so it wasn't some kind of creepy white void room. Sitting in two grey chairs were none other than the two Directors she idolized the most. "Olive and Otto?!" "Hi." "Long time no see!" Olympia's face suddenly lit up with excitement. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She glanced at Mandy. "Mandy, you didn't tell me you were bringing them here!" "'Cuz it was a surprise, silly!" "Are you guys free to hang out? We could get some lunch, take a nice stroll, catch up, oh, we could even go shopping if you guys are up to that, there are a ton of things on my list and I need-" "No." Olive interjected. "Actually, we came to talk to you." "About you and Starlight Glimmer." The smile on Olympia's face faltered. "Me and her?" She nervously gave a chuckle. "What about us?" "Oprah told us that you came to her yesterday and informed her that Starlight is a villain. You two butted heads, exchanged some words…and then you stormed out of her office." "And you got Mandy involved, too." Otto added. Olympia suddenly felt pressure begin to weigh on her. She bit her lip. "W-well...I..." "Look, we'll cut to the chase, Olympia. Starlight is not a villain." Olive's gaze shifted to her adopted daughter. "Mandy, you went on a tour with her yesterday. Did she do anything malicious? Anything that posed a giant red flag to you?" "Ha, Oprah asked me that same question yesterday!" Mandy had herself a giggle-snort at the coincidence, then shook her head. "Starlight was actually very nice. And super-curious!" "Sure, she may have stolen cutie marks in the past and wanted to spread a message of equality." Otto blinked. "But did you get the whole story?" Olympia hesitated for a moment. "The whole story?" "Whatever Starlight might have told you about what she did as a villain...maybe she was holding back some details." Otto gestured to his hip. "Besides, we humans don’t have cutie marks. She can’t do anything to us." "B-but just think, Otto! If she was powerful enough to steal the cutie marks of ponies, who knows what she could do to us Odd Squad agents! O-or even to the townspeople!" Olive, feeling another headache coming on, did her trademark "Olivepalm" -- pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers. "Stop this. You're being ridiculous." "I’m looking out for Odd Squad’s best interests! I’m protecting us from a major threat!" Olympia furiously shook her head, while Mandy, sensing things were about to get worse, backed away. "You guys aren’t understanding! I know Odd Squad history from the time it was formed up until this very second. I’ve read about the worst villains this organization has ever faced. And I gotta say...Starlight Glimmer is one of the worst ones by far." Olive stared at her in disbelief, from one Odd Squad historian to another. She didn't have the vast library of knowledge Olympia had, granted, but she knew a fair bit about the organization's history that she felt she could probably go toe-to-toe with Twilight. And although she hadn't met Starlight, "stripping cutie marks" was nothing compared to, say, killing a bunch of innocent agents like Odd Todd did -- just as an example. Had Starlight ever killed a pony? She didn't think so. "Olympia, you’re comparing apples to oranges. Ponies are a different species than humans. They’re different than Odd Squad agents. Are they more powerful? Yes. Are they a threat? Some could be, yes. But to think that…" She chuckled. "...a pony with the power to remove cutie marks is on the same level as, oh, I don’t know, Felicity Flora. That’s stupid." "It's not stupid! You just don't know what she's capable of because you've never met her!" "Well, you're right about one thing." Otto responded. "We haven't met her." "But..." Olive raised a finger. "...we're willing to take Mandy’s word for it when it comes to her personality. Plus, Oprah mentioned that Starlight is a student of Twilight’s. I don’t think the Princess of Friendship would take someone under her wing who was villainous." Olympia could only stammer, unable to provide a proper rebuttal. When words failed her, she swiveled her head towards the other being in the room, who had been staying surprisingly quiet only because she was busy staring at one of the indents in the wall. "Mandy!" No response. "Mandy!!" "Whuh-huh?!" That snapped the hybrid out of her daydream. She blinked and turned around. "Sorry, I was kinda starin' off into space...what're we talkin' about?" "You dragged me here to see my idols just so they could lecture me?!" In complete and chipper dead earnest: "Yes!" Olympia growled. "How dare you!" And then, her attention became fixed on the two Directors again. "I looked up to you guys! We worked together, even! And now you're just gonna...you're-" "Yes." Olive chose to ignore the audible cracking in Olympia's voice. "Starlight is a nice pony, Olympia. I don't know how many times we have to hammer it into your brain." Thick, ugly tears began pooling in Olympia's eyes, and they just as quickly began streaming down her face. "Fine. FINE!! Thanks for nothing!" she screamed, her voice bouncing off of the walls of the room slightly before she stormed out, slamming the door closed behind her. Mandy's ears flattened. "What have I done?" she asked aloud, before her ears caught the sound of Olive and Otto rising from their chairs. "I'm so so sorry I ever dragged you two into this!" "Don't be." Otto placed a hand on Mandy's shoulder before the hybrid could really freak out and start firing off words like cannonballs. "We tried. That's what matters!" "Yeah, but what if she actually goes after Starlight? Twilight brought her here for a reason! I don’t want her Odd Squad experience ruined just because of one agent!" Olive simply smiled. "Instead of working yourself into a frenzy, why don't you try telling Starlight about Olympia? Maybe she'll understand." "I dunno...I could try, but..." "In the meantime, I can let Oprah know what went on here." Otto leaned in close to Mandy's human ear. "Olive...woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. She's a little crabby." "It was construction! Why is there construction happening on a residential street without prior forewarning?! Not even a letter!" Olive threw her hands into the air. "Adults, I swear, they make life so much harder for us kids..." An amused Mandy rolled her eyes. "Sure! It's almost time for me to meet her, anyway. Or...at least I think." She pulled back her jacket and undershirt sleeves expecting a watch to be there, much to her disappointment as she realized that she didn't carry a watch on her. "Ah, nothin' wrong with me meeting her early! See you two later, and thank you!" The hybrid left, and she became resigned to one thing. If Olympia couldn't be swayed into dropping her philosophy, then she would have to target the other end of the hostility -- explain things to Starlight, hope the unicorn understood, and then show her the awesome sights of Toronto and teach her lots about Earth. As it turned out, Mandy was definitely not early. She was late. By a whole 15 minutes. Her body soared out of the tubes, and from there, she took flight, flapping her wings and attempting to get to the portal as fast as she could. She knew where it was -- it was hidden in a large cluster of bushes lining the entrance of a forest that sat at the end of a small meadow -- but that didn't stop her from nearly tumbling in. "Bad, bad, bad!" she exclaimed as she placed her feet on the ground, nearly falling into the portal before whirling her arms backwards in an effort to stop herself. Starlight's turquoise corona caught her and began moving her upright. Mandy breathed a sigh of relief as her feet touched the ground. "Oh wow, thanks!" she chirped. "Going into that portal would have been awful." "Why's that?" "I've never gone through the portal before. Since I'm a pony-human hybrid and not entirely a pony, the results could be disastrous. I could end up completely mutated, I could end up as a human entirely...Equestria could even fall to shambles!" Mandy rubbed her arm. "Anyway, I'm so sorry I was late, I had to deal with something and-" "Don't worry about it!" Starlight smiled. "Being an Odd Squad agent takes away a lot of free time. Twilight told me that. Although I am curious as to the whole 'pony-human hybrid' thing and how it impacts Equestria." "Oh thank goodness." Mandy placed a hand on her chest. "Me being a pony-human hybrid is a little, uh...complicated. Twilight might have some notes on it...though if she does, I haven't seen them." She turned her back to Starlight and bent over slightly. "Now c'mon, let's go to the Big Office!" Starlight blinked, taking in the sight of Mandy's slightly-wagging tail and her current posture. "What are you doing?" "You can hop on my back! My spine can support ya, don't worry." The sound of magic being activated that definitely wasn't Mandy's made her straighten up and turn around. Her jaw dropped as she laid eyes on a now-floating Starlight, who was encased in her own magic. "I can self-levitate. But thanks!" Mandy's jaw dropped. Self-levitation was something that she had tried to do before, mostly when she first got her extensions, only for Twilight and Rarity to gently remind her that self-levitation was something for more advanced unicorns and alicorns. Since then, she had never thought about trying again. The only time it even flashed in her mind was in that one nightmare she had after she failed to fly using her tail. But she could do that, and she had wings. Being able to fly with just her magic would be helpful, though...especially if her wings and tail became disabled for whatever reason. Self-levitation was merely another avenue for flight, and here was a unicorn who seemed to be flawlessly skilled at it. "You can't self-levitate, can you?" The amused question brought Mandy out of her excitement. "I...n-no. I want to do it, though. I can already fly with my wings..." She demonstrated by extending her wings and doing a few loop-de-loops. "...and my tail..." She folded in her wings, bunched up her legs, and leaped backwards, letting her spinning tail support her body. "...but having self-levitation would be amazing-tastic!" Starlight stared at the spinning tail, trying to recall if Pinkie Pie could perform such a feat. She hadn't seen it, but she had to assume the answer was a fat resounding "yes" across the board. "Well, I could always teach you, if you're up for it." Mandy gasped. "Really?! Would you really?!" Her eyes got stars in them. "Oh, I’ve been trying to master levitating others for ages, and I’ve gotten a little better at it. But Twilight tells me you’re so good at magic that I’ve kinda always wanted a lesson from you!" This got a smile out of Starlight -- Twilight had been mentioning her to Mandy, if not to other Odd Squad agents. Which, in all honesty, was a good sign that perhaps her visit to this world had been long overdue. "Sure thing." she said. "Maybe we can get started after you show me the Big Office?" "Yes! C'mon, let's go!" The speed at which Mandy moved was so fast that it nearly knocked Starlight out of her levitation field. The unicorn stared at the disappearing figure for a few seconds before recollecting her bearings and soaring after her, a smirk forming on her face as she got the idea to have a little race with this anomaly of a creature she had gotten to know and, perhaps, befriend. "Ha ha! I win!" As Mandy landed and folded her wings in, Starlight came to a rest as well, her magic fading away. "I gotta say, you're really fast for someone who wasn't born a Pegasus." "Took me a while to get used to these babies!" Mandy's wings rustled. "But believe me, I can fly like a total pro now." Starlight's gaze fell on what she could only assume was the Big Office. All around her, agents came and went, some human and some ponies. She was surprised to find ponies among the ranks -- she would have to ask the Big O how they pulled that one off. Maybe the Big O actually was a pony, a denizen of Equestria. Maybe they were even an alicorn. For all she knew, Celestia herself could be manning it and she wouldn't know. The possibilities excited her. "So this is the Big Office?" "Yup! A lot of assistants work here, under the Big O!" "Assistants? Like royal guards?" Mandy's nose wrinkled. "I guess?" An Earth pony with a cutie mark of what looked to be a solar eclipse and wearing a white suit passed the duo and waved her hoof. "Hi there, Mandy!" "Hiya, Golden Moon!" Mandy waved back. "Love the white on ya! Looks nice!" Starlight gave a friendly wave to the other mare as well. "I didn't know there were other ponies working here." "As Earth and Equestria..." Mandy faltered as she tried to think of exactly what planet in what solar system in what galaxy in what subsection of space in what section of space Equestria was on, exactly. But nothing presented itself. "As my planet and your planet are closer now, the Big O decided to employ ponies into Odd Squad, as agents in every department! Even the Big Office department!" "Huh. I knew there were ponies here, but I didn't know they were a part of Odd Squad." "Nope!" Mandy began bouncing towards the doors. "Let's go inside!" The first thing Starlight noticed upon stepping hoof into the Big Office was just how white it was. It was like someone used Celestia's own coat color for inspiration. She supposed that checked out, given how many assistants wore mostly white. It was a good thing everyone wore uniforms here, because otherwise, Starlight would have kept on asking what agents were in what department and then question the logistics of pony races and how they worked in each department magic-wise. "Welcome to the Big Office!" Mandy gestured to the entirety of the building. "It's so white." was the first thing out of Starlight's mouth, quickly followed by, "I gotta say, it's not the best color choice." "The Big Office, as a department, has white as a theme color. That's why everything's white." Mandy shrugged. "It's not like this at the other six Big Offices! One's as big as an airport but it's got a lot more than just white." "As big as a what?" Starlight didn't get her question answered, as a blue-coated Pegasus stallion marched up to them. "Hey there! May I help you two ladies?" "Hi! I'm Agent Mandy, of Precinct 13579. This is Starlight Glimmer, a guest of mine. We're just touring the place." "Ah, I see." The stallion nodded. "My name is Cobalt. I'm one of the Big O's assistants." Cobalt blinked in realization and thrust a hoof at Mandy. "Hold on, you don't have an O name!" Mandy stiffened as though she had been caught in the act, even though she had no act to be caught in. "W-well, no, I don't! I-I can assure you, though, I'm friendly! Honest!" She gave an awkward smile. "Surely ya know me?" "Can't say that I do." "What's going on here?" Mare, stallion and child all jumped at the sudden new voice. A girl with long blonde hair and dressed in the typical assistants' uniform made herself known, striding up to the group and observing the situation. "Cobalt! Don't tell me you were harassing them!" "N-no, Omaira, I wouldn't dream of it!" The stallion turned to face whom Starlight had to assume was his superior. "I was just shocked at the fact that Mandy...doesn't have an O name." Omaira rolled her eyes and sighed, as if this was a common issue that she didn't like dealing with. "I'm really sorry, you two. We don't mean to cause you trouble." "It's no problem!" Mandy waved a hand. "I'll assume he's new here?" "Yes, he is." Omaira's gaze moved to the stallion. "Cobalt, Mandy is a sort of...ah, how do I put this...she's famous. After all, she's the one who took down the former Big O." Starlight's eyes widened. Now she was really curious to see what the Big O was like. If they were equine in nature and Mandy took them down, that would surprise her. If they were equine in nature and were an alicorn that Mandy managed to take down, she would probably have to borrow Rarity's fainting couch for a little bit. "That was you?" "Yup!" "I've overheard Twilight say that the Big O was a really powerful being. And you took them down on your own?" "Yes and yes!" Mandy beamed. "Long story short, he wanted to turn the ponies in both Equestria and Toronto into his personal workhorses. Well, only the ones that weren’t unicorns, anyway." Cobalt tilted his head. "Why not the unicorns?" Mandy's eyes widened. "He...uh..." She pinched her mouth inwards, her eyes darting back and forth and, for some reason, squeaking in their sockets. "It would, uh...unnerve Starlight, so I'd rather not say it." She gave a nervous grin that stayed plastered to her face for a few moments before it went away. "A-anyway, I, uh, found out when he promoted Twilight to be one of his assistants. Had a hard battle with him, but I came out alive!" "Ever since then, nearly everyone here has heard of the story in some way or another." Omaira explained. "And those who haven't tend to learn eventually." "So who's the new Big O?" Starlight asked, her tone having just a small edge of impatience. "Oriella! She rebelled against the previous Big O and clued me in to what he was doing. If it wasn’t for her, I would have never found out his plan! So I chose her to be the new Big O instead of me." Starlight's eyes widened. "You really are more famous than I thought. Which is saying a lot, because if I'm being honest, I didn't really think you were famous at all." Mandy blinked in surprise, but the unicorn ignored it. "If you came to Equestria, you could have double the fame!" "I could!" Mandy said. "But like I said, people going into Equestria...no one's sure what would happen. So I've never tried it, and I don't plan to 'til it's safe." She shook her head and made eye contact with Omaira. "Anyway! Can we see the Big O?" "Unfortunately not today. She's backed up with meetings." "Aww, pickleferries..." Mandy pouted, her sadness only lasting for a few seconds. "That's okay! Next time then." She smiled at Starlight. "In the meantime, Starlight, why don't I give you a tour of the rest of the place?" "Sure!" "Thanks, Cobalt! And thanks, Omaira!" "It's no problem." Omaira nodded. "Have a good time, you two." "Enjoy yourselves!" Cobalt added, watching the pair walk past them before exchanging goodbyes with Omaira and parting with her. Meanwhile, Mandy couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something she forgot to do...something very important. Whatever it was, though, she was sure it was pretty inconsequential, and she quickly shoved it to the back of her mind. By the end of the day, both Starlight and Mandy were exhausted, especially when it came to the self-levitation lesson -- Starlight had quickly learned that Mandy probably wasn't the best of students, as she kept getting distracted and tried in vain to self-levitate numerous times. She did eventually get the hang of it, though it was clear that there was a little ways to go before she could fly long distances like Starlight could. "Mmm, that was fun!" Mandy chirped, stretching her body out as she walked into the bullpen. "That magic lesson really helped." "Keep on practicing, and you'll be self-levitating in no time." Starlight assured. "Maybe you can even lift other people and other ponies, too!" "Yeah! I've gotten much better at it, but human adults are a little harder for me than full-grown ponies." Mandy chuckled. "Saving Momma and Otto from falling to their deaths that one time...that was a pain." The good vibes stopped when the pair laid their eyes on an Olympia that looked about ready to speak to the manager over something petty. Only in this case, she was planning on speaking to the second-in-command. Mandy, not sure why Olympia hadn't spoken after several seconds of waiting, carefully opened her mouth. "...Olympia?" And with that, hell was let loose. "This is where you've been? With her?" "What- no!" Mandy stammered. "Olympia, I-I can explain-" Olympia scoffed. "I can't believe the situation's gotten so bad that the entire precinct is in the hands of a villain-loving agent!" Mandy gave a few blinks. "What?" "What are you talking about?" Starlight asked. "I'm not a villain!" "Really? You stole cutie marks from a bunch of ponies because you wanted 'equality for all'. Who's to say you won't strip us of our individuality as well?" Not wanting to remind Olympia once again that humans didn't have cutie marks tied to their individuality, Mandy groaned. "Olympia, you're being ridiculous!" She glanced at Starlight with an exasperated expression, and the unicorn stared back at her in confusion. "Starlight, I'm sorry. I didn't tell you about Olympia, and I said I would, but I got sidetracked!" "What's going on?" "I'll tell you in private." Mandy whirled on the still-seething Olympia again. "Olympia, get back to work. That's an order!" The Investigation agent stayed deathly still, her glare cutting into Mandy like a thousand knives. This didn't sway the hybrid any, however. "Don't make me take you up to Oprah's office." Olympia bit her lip, clearly trying to form a rebuttal, but ultimately relaxed as she became forced to concede. "Yes, ma'am." she muttered, before her voice rose to normal volume as she pointed at Starlight. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you, Starlight Glimmer. No villain gets by me!" As the girl walked away, Mandy lit up her horn. "C'mon." she said, before teleporting herself and Starlight away. The spell took them right to a room that Starlight, for her part, had never seen before. With the sewing machine, she had to wonder if it was Rarity's room, but the bed made of clouds made her think it was Rainbow Dash's room instead. But she doubted that Mandy would teleport to either pony's rooms and invade their privacy, and she had mentioned that the Bedroom was shared by all six, which led Starlight to one of the more logical conclusions. "Is this your room?" she asked, looking around at the posters that hung on the walls. "Yes. It's the first place I thought of." Mandy sat on her bed, and briefly contemplated laying down before realizing that she would probably conk right out, and that was a bad idea when she needed to relay something important to someone who was being unfairly targeted. "Starlight, I need to tell you the truth." "About what?" "Olympia...she’s an Investigation agent of Odd Squad who works here. She’s usually nice, super energetic, and loyal to the organization. But she has this weird philosophy when it comes to villains. 'Once a villain, always a villain.' She doesn’t believe that villains can be reformed." "Well that's not true!" Starlight countered. "Twilight helped me see how great friendship can be, even after my falling-out with Sunburst. I turned my life around because of her. A-and aren’t there villains here who have turned their lives around too?" Mandy nodded. "Yeah. Odd Todd is one of them. He was the former partner of Mo- er, Olive before he...turned to making oddness instead of solving it." Her ears folded downwards. "He did a lot of bad things. But Otto managed to defeat him, and he became a gardener. Long story short, anyway." She heaved a sigh. "I don’t know why Olympia has this philosophy, but Oprah, Mo- Olive, Otto, and I have all tried talking to her with no luck. I don’t want your experience here to be ruined because of one stupid agent, but...if you want to leave and never come back, then...that’s fine." Starlight watched as Mandy got up from her bed. She opened her mouth, almost as a gut reaction to tell Mandy that she wanted to stay, but closed it. As much of a pain in the flank as Olympia was, the unicorn couldn't deny that she was even more interested in Odd Squad than before. Mandy was a kind and silly hybrid to be around, and all the other agents she had met were just as nice. Truly, if she were to join Odd Squad, she would fit right in here. And besides, Twilight had encouraged her to go make more friends. It would be nice to expand her horizons past Trixie -- which reminded her, she had to bring the magician here to see the sights one of these days. But that was a matter for another time. "Mandy, I wanted to come here." She smiled. "Twilight and the others always share stories of their days at Odd Squad. It's just that I've never been to this world before, and I had no clue what to expect. But looking at pictures of all you guys and hearing about all sorts of adventures...it got me curious." A smug but amused chuckle made its way out of her. "So what if Olympia thinks I’m a villain? None of the other agents here seem to think so. And I like everyone here. You, Olive, Otto, Oprah. This place is great." The smile on her face faltered. "A-and maybe I’m not sure if I want to join. But...I can come visit, right?" Mandy blinked and nodded. "I'm confident you can change Olympia's mind. I'll even help you out." "Really?" "Why not? I can take her on." For a while, Mandy stared. With her mouth slightly open, it was a miracle how drool hadn't decided to make an impromptu escape from it. "I...you...you're sure you're not mad?" "Of course not! It's just one agent." She gave a huffy laugh that spilled into her next words. "Surely this entire precinct can take down one agent, right?" Confidence started flowing within Mandy. "Yeah. We can!" She bounced up and down. "All right, let's go give Olympia what-for about her philosophy! We can tell her to shove it right up her a-" "Ah ah ah." Starlight waved a hoof. "How about we plan it for tomorrow? It's been a long day for both of us and I still have things to do back in Equestria." "Aww, why is it every time I go to say a no-no word someone has to stop me?! First it's Momma, now it's you..." Mandy sighed. "Fine. 1:00?" "Sounds good." With a game plan in mind, Mandy did a fist pump. "Tomorrow, we'll change your mind, Olympia! Just wait and see!" The sounds of lasers firing and muffled clamoring from all sorts of agents did nothing to disturb Mandy as she tossed and turned in bed. It was often joked that the hybrid could sleep through a tornado, which no longer retained its joke status when she was, indeed, tossed around in a tornado, flung tons of miles away, landed in the upper branches of a tree, and continued to snore like nothing had even happened. As she laid askew in bed, scratching her tummy as she became lost in dreams of sugar-coated billboard signs, the cyan-blue form of Rainbow Dash barged in without warning. "Mandy, you gotta come quick!" the Pegasus cried, shaking Mandy rapidly while also taking a quick peek at the clock. It was 11AM, which was only an hour before Mandy was due to get up. "Starlight and Olympia are fighting!" Realizing not even that was going to work, she resorted to shaking her co-worker harder. "Wake uuuuup!" A few snorts left Mandy as her eyes fluttered open. "Whoo-zza-wha...?" "Mandy!" Olive peered into the room. "Wake up and help us out here! We've been trying to calm the situation down but nothing's been working!" Both Rainbow and Olive might as well have been on both sides of Mandy and screaming into her ears like misbehaving toddlers. The hybrid slowly got up and reached for her drink, downing it and staring at them sleepily. "You were sayin'...?" Rainbow simply gave a groan. "Starlight and Olympia are fighting in the bullpen." Olive repeated, accentuating each word. "At the rate they're going, it'll be completely destroyed!" Finally, the words clicked. "What?!" Mandy flew out of bed, landing stomach-first but getting up on her feet in record time. "B-but I told Starlight to meet me at 1:00! We were gonna confront Olympia together! Why is she..." Before Rainbow or Olive could answer, they were hastily shuffled out of the room, and the door shut on them with the room's occupant shouting "Spare me 5!" before they could protest. Their mission completed, they raced back to the bullpen to witness the showdown. As soon as Mandy finished putting her belt on -- which completed her routine in 5 minutes exactly -- she rushed to the bullpen, nearly colliding with a sizeable crowd that had come to watch the battle. Easily, she flew over agent after agent, landing in front and letting her eyes bear witness to what was going down. "No way!" Armed with brutal weapons of their own were none other than Starlight and Olympia, standing in the center of the bullpen and staring each other down. Olympia held a gadget in her hand that looked like a ray gun, while Starlight was resorting to good old-fashioned unicorn magic. Mandy didn't need a second to think about who would be the victor, assuming they were going all out. "I'll destroy you if it's the last thing I'll ever do!" came the high-pitched screech of Olympia that made her already-high-pitched voice sound closer to Pinkie Pie's. "I'd like to see you try!" Starlight taunted, a sly smirk on her maw as she lit up her horn again. With tears streaming down her face, Olympia aimed her weapon and fired. Starlight reared back and did the same. The result was a small ball of magic forming in the center of the battlefield, and then growing slowly but steadily by the second. Gasps and scared cries rung out through the crowd. "That blast is going to destroy Headquarters!" Oprah exclaimed. Lucky for her that, for someone who woke up an hour earlier than normal, Mandy was quicker on the draw. In what was a desperate move that was certainly not thought through, she fired up her horn and let her rainbow-colored corona encase both combatants, lifting them up into the air as they gave cries of surprise. At the same time, she fired a beam of magic at the sphere and let it swirl around and around. Her horn sparked. Sweat came pooling down her forehead and her face. Her legs started to wobble. C'mon Mandy, put some work into it! Save Headquarters! If you fail now, you'll not only lose your home, you'll lose your friends! Your family! Tears began streaming down her own face. Her lungs compressed, eking out a piercing scream that could only come from massive effort. She couldn't see it because she had her eyes squeezed shut, but the sphere was shrinking, and the more effort she put into it, the faster it shrunk. She heard voices from behind her that she didn't care to identify. Surely, at least one of them was telling her to not die while plenty more were already sealing her fate. Heck, for all she knew, a few of them were discussing funeral plans if she ended up dying from thi- No. I'm not going to die. I've faced off against Orino, against SOHALC, against villains both egregious and harmless...if I can take them down and survive, I can do this and still stand. The ball shrunk, but just before it disappeared, Mandy's horn sparked again, this time more fierce than before, cutting off the flow like a scissor taken to a piece of string. With a yelp, she stumbled backwards and fell, clutching her head and giving a groan. As they fell to the ground, Starlight's horn stopped glowing, and likewise, Olympia put down her weapon. "Mandy!" Olive, of course, was the first to soar to Mandy's side, nearly doing a knee slide. "Are you okay?!" "Nngh...headache..." Olive was quick to reach behind her back and pull out a bottle of Shmumbers brand fast-acting ultimate-strength aspirin -- one of the most essential things she had learned to keep in hammerspace because of Mandy's antics. She opened up the cap and dropped two pills into her hand. "Here, take these." Mandy did as she was told, slowly putting the two pills on her tongue and retracting it into her mouth. Olive provided her with the bottled water needed for easier consumption, lifting the hybrid upwards slightly to allow her to drink. Unsurprisingly, Mandy drank the entire thing in one go. "Why did you do that, Mandy?" Olympia asked. "I was inches away from destroying Starlight Glimmer for good!" Mandy grit her teeth, having an answer at the ready but still reeling a bit from the pain. "Not just Starlight...your entire...workplace...!" she managed to get out, closing her eyes tightly. Everyone waited until Mandy was able to speak again. After a feat like that, it would have been a fool's errand for any run-of-the-mill agent, human or equine, to mess with her. Luckily, "ultimate-strength" really meant "works in seconds, and no, that's not just a cheap advertising gimmick". She had her world breaking the rules of anatomy to thank for that, and also had it to thank for allowing her to stand on her own two feet and fly over to the battlefield. "Honestly, Olympia, I'm disappointed in you." the hybrid spat, turning towards the Investigation agent. "Do you ever stop to think about your actions? You nearly took out Starlight, this workplace, and your co-workers! Absolutely no one likes an agent with a death count!" Olympia blinked. "But-" "I’ve tried everything. I’ve gotten Oprah to talk to you. I’ve gotten Momma and Otto to talk to you. Nothing. Ever. Works." Mandy thrust her face into the other girl's. "Can’t you get it through your thick skull that Starlight is no villain? She would have destroyed Headquarters by now." She narrowed her eyes. "The only villain here is you." "Wait-" "I'm done being the 'nice gal'. Surely you’ve been here long enough to know that it’s never a good idea to make me angry unless you want your life threatened with early termination. Clearly, being nice hasn’t worked. It’s time I take more aggressive measures." Mandy sneered. "Really, it’s pitiful and ironic how you’re an Odd Squad historian and yet you don’t realize that villains can reform for the better. Odd Todd was proof of that, and so is Starlight." "She-" "Really wish your partner was here so he could see exactly what kind of agent you are. Someone who’s willing to go so far as to take the life of innocent people and their workplace if they oppose your opinions? Please. It’s sad is what it is. Just a shame he's sick and has had to stay home for the past week!" On and on and on Mandy rambled, much to the bewilderment of the crowd as they watched her go at it with Olympia. Starlight, on the other side, merely watched the confrontation with confusion in her expression. "She's really going off on her." Olive noted. "I can't tell if she's all bark and no bite, or if she's going to bark and bite." Oprah said. "For her sake and ours, I hope it's the former." Even when Olympia fell onto her rump, the still-hovering Mandy still ripped into her like a fresh bag of potato chips. "So why don’t you do us all a favor, drop your mentality that’s better suited for a Squanzo Bonzo than for you, and start over with Starlight Glimmer? As friends, and not enemies?" "But..." Olympia paused after that word, just to see if Mandy would come after her again. When the hybrid didn't speak, she felt it was safe to proceed. "Ugh. You were always kind of-" "Kinda what? Airheaded? Ditzy? More stupid than a lobotoritimized patient?" Mandy reached behind her back, whipped out her hammer, spun it thrice, and shoved it into Olympia's face to the point where she could feel the hammer touching both of her maxillas. "Is that an insult?" "T-two villains isn't gonna be enough to..." Mandy narrowed her eyes again. "...convince...me..." And then she was lit ablaze, a guttural growl rumbling in her throat as she glared at her fellow co-worker. Olympia drew the line there, backing up a little, her body trembling with fear. Starlight, likewise, was also backing away, her eyes widening at this sudden display of aggression. She had no idea that this was what Mandy was capable of. If Twilight had mentioned it in passing, it certainly wasn't when Starlight was within earshot. Instinctively, she created a shield around herself, lest Mandy's flames burn her fur off. Off to the side, the crowd of agents, having seen this side of Mandy before, was rather indifferent to it all. "I should go stop her." Olive said, beginning to head for the trio before a hand reached out and stopped her. "Olive, hold on." Oprah glanced at her. "Have faith in Mandy. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." "I surrender!" Olympia screeched, holding up her hands. "J-just please, don't hurt me!" "Are you just saying that so I won't hurt you?" "No! I-I mean it! Hear me out, please!" Mandy took a minute to consider the proposal, then decided to give Olympia at least some semblance of a chance to explain herself, if only out of fairness. She jerked the hammer away and let it rest against the floor, the flames surrounding her body dying down as she gave an exhale. "All right then. Go ahead." Starlight lowered her shield, while Olympia gave her own sigh of relief. "I...you're right." she began. "I was too set in my ways to realize that you’re right. Starlight...she’s not a villain. If she were, she would have taken us out when she first came here." "I could've told ya that." Mandy said, with a roll of her eyes. "But it’s just...she stole the cutie marks of ponies. There may not be pony villains in Toronto, but one could always appear! Equestria has them, of course, and I thought that...Odd Squad was the same way." Mandy couldn't deny that Olympia raised a good point. Truth be told, there were pony villains in Toronto -- in very small numbers, granted, but they existed. Perhaps they figured that instead of wreaking havoc in Equestria where six Element bearers resided, they could wreak havoc in a world that had no Element bearers to speak of, unaware that there was an organization that could match the bearers on equal footing without the use of gemstones. Mandy had faced down a few of them and had beaten them every time, but that didn't mean it was right to assume any pony was a villain, because that was simply just not true (and was also very speciesist, if one asked her). And besides, there was one point that had hit her like a truck at a hundred miles per hour. "The irony..." "What?" "You're an Odd Squad historian, aren't you? You know everything about the organization from the day of its founding up until this very second. And yet you don’t have enough faith in Odd Squad to think that, oh, I don’t know, we can deal with any villain, human or equine, that commits an act of oddness?" Olympia bit her lip. "Well, when you put it that way..." "Let's not forget I was the victim of Laura Lovebloom. One of the most dangerous villains I've ever come across." Mandy said. "I could've been killed by what she did to me and Bradley Beli. Starlight never killed anyone." The fact that Mandy had said that last part with confidence made Starlight blink a few times, even though she was very confident she had never killed anyone, both as a hero and as a (former) villain. "And then you have Odd Todd, who’s also a dangerous villain. But he managed to reform." Mandy sighed. "Of course, I tried bringing this point up to you already, but you refused to listen…" Olympia craned her head to look at the unicorn who had once been her opponent. "Starlight...I'm sorry. Mandy was right. Everyone was right. You're..." She slowly closed her eyes. "...not a dangerous villain." The unicorn watched as the girl slowly rose to her feet and began to approach her with another proposal. "Can we...maybe start over? As friends?" Starlight considered it for a moment, then smiled. "Sure. I don't see why not." Both of them shook hands and hooves, exchanging friendly smiles. "Come on, we can have lunch together. You and me." Starlight offered. "Twilight showed me a great place I really want to try!" "Sounds good." Mandy and the crowd watched in awe as the pair left through the steel double-doors, with the former giving a warm and relieved smile. Before she knew it, however, Olympia came racing back. "Thank you, Mandy. If you hadn't tried to help me..." "Aww, don't mention it! Go have fun!" Mandy encouraged, waving the girl off once more. In tune with the rest of the crowd, Olive breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't think I'll ever get used to her...uh..." She blinked. "What were they called?" "Mood swings." "Ah. Yeah. That." Olive nodded in response to Oprah. "I'll never get used to those." Mandy drifted over to both Directors, giving them a friendly smile. "Thank you guys so much for helping!" She gave a sigh. "I mean, you didn't really help at all, but ya took a shot at it! That's what counts!" Olive's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to ask Mandy if she just stealthily insulted her, and to protest that she did help by waking up the hybrid and alerting her of the situation, but Oprah quickly placed a hand to her mouth before she could even utter out a word. "And thank you for preventing the destruction of Headquarters. If you hadn't come when you did, we all would have been killed." Olive gave an impatient growl. It was then that Twilight chose to trot up, having been late to the whole debacle. "Hey, everyone. What's going on?" Mandy turned to face the alicorn, her eyes widening. Her head swiveled from the battlefield, to the crowd, and back and forth again. "T-Twilight? But...weren't you..." "I was reading in the Odd Squad Library." Twilight tilted her head. "Did something happen?" "Well, your student and one of Precinct 13579's agents nearly destroyed Headquarters, sooooo...there's that!" Twilight blinked. "Starlight?" "We don’t know what happened, but Oprah and I were up in her office and we heard a lot of noise going on downstairs. When we looked, Olympia and Starlight were battling." Olive explained, after freeing Oprah's hand from her mouth long enough to speak. "My guess is that Olympia was the instigator, but…" "Where are they now?" "Mandy stopped the blast and helped the two of them make up. They're heading out to lunch now." Twilight gave a groan. "I'm so sorry, Ms. O. If I had known Starlight was going to get into a big battle like this, I never would have-" "Save it." Oprah held a hand up. "The important thing is that Headquarters is safe. But..." She took a moment to pause before she continued. "You should know that if she decides to join Odd Squad in spite of what went down, she's not allowed to be hired at this precinct." "What?" Twilight's ears folded down. "Why not?" "It's a personal matter. I don't want to discuss it." Twilight bit her lip. She almost wanted to pressure her boss into spitting out the details, but knew better than to pressure Oprah into doing anything she didn't want to do. So instead, her gaze flicked to the second-in-command. "Mandy?" "Yeah?" A pause. Twilight simply stared at the hybrid, pleading being the only emotion written in her eyes. Olive and Oprah also stared at her, but more out of an "are you stupid" reaction than anything else. "...What?" "Aren't you going to overrule this?" Twilight asked. Mandy giggle-snorted. "No, silly! Oprah's made up her mind. I'm not gonna challenge her! I know better!" Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it and bowed her head. "I'll...go talk to Starlight later, then." she muttered, beginning to plod back the way she came with slow hoofsteps. "Where are you going?" "Back to the library." the alicorn answered in response to Olive. "See you later." The trio all watched their friend head down the hallway and turn the corner. Oprah in particular let out a huff, clearly tired of agents asking her why, exactly, she refused to let any more ponies into her precinct. The mood was broken up by the sound of a stomach growling, and it didn't take long to identify its source. "Oh wow, I'm hungry! Better go make some brunch!" Mandy chirped, leaving the scene and bouncing over to the Breakroom. "I'm surprised she even did what she did on an empty stomach." Olive said aloud, rolling her eyes amusedly before turning to face her fellow Director. "Oprah, are you sure you don't want Starlight to work here? She'd make a great Investigation agent." "Not at my precinct. I said I don't want to talk about it." Oprah waved a hand. "Go back to your Headquarters. I'm sure Otto's waiting." Realizing that convincing Oprah was completely off the table, Olive left through the steel double-doors. She knew only a little bit of the reasoning behind her old boss not wanting to let ponies into her precinct -- something about not being ready for a big change. But not even she had any idea what that really meant. Maybe it was simply routine for her to only let humans in, and she didn't want to change. Maybe it was due to her not wanting to fail at her second leadership stint. Or maybe, just maybe, it was some kind of hidden speciesism facet of her personality that Olive wasn't aware of. The theories could go on for miles and miles. Still, there was a plan Olive had in mind that no one had apparently come up with, at least as far as she knew. Why doesn't Starlight just hang back and wait for Oprah to change her mind? I'm sure Twilight could do it. Or Mandy. Mandy's very persuasive. ...But that could take weeks. Months. Years, even. Starlight has potential that I can't let go untapped. Maybe I should hire her into my precinct. Otto would be fine with it, right? Me and him visit Mandy all the time, and we could bring Starlight with us! It's perfect! ...But Twilight deserves to be with her student...even in Odd Squad. Gritting her teeth, Olive made her way up the tubes, her mind waging a war with itself over what to do about Starlight Glimmer. Somewhere within her thoughts was a mental note to talk with the unicorn and get to know her more, but it was a whimper compared to the clamor of the crowd inside her brain. Also somewhere within her thoughts was a mental note to squeeze answers out of Oprah regarding her rather hypocritical stance if it was the last thing she would ever do. As Starlight slipped through the portal to Equestria and emerged just on the outskirts of Ponyville, she began to trot back to the castle. It had been a long day of getting to know Olympia and learning about Odd Squad, and she was confident in saying that she had finally made a decision. "Oh, Starlight! You're back." Spike greeted. "Twilight's in the kitchen making dinner. She said that she'd like for you to help, if you're willing." "Thanks, Spike. I'm just going to rest my hooves for a little bit." Starlight gave a tired smile. "What're we having?" "Vegetable stew." "Again? The mare really loves her stew, huh?" "Tell me about it." Spike gave a sigh. "This is the third time this week she's made it." "That would explain all the vegetables she bought over the weekend." Starlight began trotting away. "Anyway, thanks, Spike!" "No prob." Although Starlight wanted nothing more than to rest, she felt she could afford Twilight a quick visit. Excitement bubbling within her and granting her some more energy, she quickly headed to the kitchen where, sure enough, Twilight was in the middle of cooking veggie stew. "Hey, Twilight? I have an announcement." The alicorn lifted her gaze from the stew. "Starlight? Welcome back. What is it?" The unicorn stood tall and poised. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and laid her wishes out for her mentor to see, imagining all of the fun times she was going to have with all the friends she had made. A smile formed on her face, and she opened her maw. "I want to join Odd Squad." S1E27: Mandy's The WordWhen it came to secret-keeping, skill levels varied among agents. Some were good at not letting things slip, while others were complete and utter blabbermouths. In terms of the latter category, however, only two remained supreme. Pinkie Pie, whose tendency to talk a lot and get off-track caused her to let things loose. And Mandy, who was much of the same, only she had a tendency to spill secrets not out of malice, but because something in her was literally incapable of holding in a secret. If you told her what your favorite tree was and told her it was a secret, chances were high that she was going to blab about it before end of day. All it took was that trigger, that "it's a secret" trigger. Of course, not everyone is aware of this facet of the hybrid. And those who don't are, like many of Mandy's other antics, often in for a big surprise when they do become aware of it. Right now, though, she had no secrets to bear. She was happily asleep in her room, taking her afternoon nap and ignoring the sound of the Odd Squad theme coming from her badge phone on the nightstand as she snored. "Hiya, you've reached Agent 57, Mandy! I can't come to the phone right now, prolly sleeping or tied up in an odd case or doing...whatever. Yeah. Anyway, if you just wanna leave me a message with your name and phone number, that'd be great, and I'll be sure to get back to ya as soon as I can! Thankies!" The phone beeped. "Mandy? It's Oscar! I, uh, need you to come to the Science building! At the Odd Squad Academy! Please, it's urgent, and-" The sound of crashing could be heard. "Aw, c'mon, man, we just finished building that! M-Mandy, I gotta go, just...get here quickly!" Mandy jerked awake with a start and a "H-huh-bluh-bbl?!", pushing herself upwards as she sleepily blinked. She didn't last all of five seconds before her face met the pillow again and she went right back to sleep, letting out powerful snores that didn't quite reach "earthquake centered on one room" levels but were certainly very close to it. A couple hours later, Mandy's nap was completed. A noisy yawn left her and made her body tremble slightly. "Mm, that was a good nap..." she murmured sleepily, beginning to make her way towards her desk so she could get right to work. "Mandy!" "Wah!" Mandy turned and began stumbling backwards until she fell over her chair. Her head shot up just as quickly, glaring at the agent who had scared her and made her far more alert now. "Oona, what is it?!" "Just..." Oona stammered as she grabbed ahold of Mandy's wrist and yanked her. "...come with me!" Before the hybrid knew it, she was soaring towards the Lab and then released for what she was convinced was some kind of test of balance. As she flailed her hands about, the palms of her hands got caught on the green beaker-shaped table, causing her to give a sigh. "Oona, what're you-" Mandy's words were cut off by a few fingers to the lips, causing a squeak sound to emerge from somewhere that definitely wasn't from her. "Hold on." Oona narrowed her eyes and lifted her head up, moving it to and fro. When she deemed it safe, she let out a sigh. "Okay, no one's around." A bolt of fear suddenly pierced Mandy's heart, and she could feel her own heartbeat booming in all four of her ears. That phrase, used in that context, could mean any number of things when it came to Oona. Either she was going to begin sweeping up the floor, or she was going to create her own kill count and mark her first victim on it. "Now, I'm about to tell you a big secret. You can't tell anyone. Got it?" Mandy swallowed a ball of saliva that had gotten stuck in her throat. All she could do was babble out an incoherent response that Oona apparently took as a solid "yes", because she went around to the hybrid's side and began whispering in her ear. Suddenly feeling nauseous, Mandy gagged, her stomach gurgling and allowing its contents to begin making their way back up. "Oona..." she wheezed out, her ears drooping as she gazed at the Lab Director with sweat beginning to pour down her green face. "Why...why would you-" As many signals were sent to the rest of her body that said "vomiting is bad, don't do it", Mandy knew it was inevitable. She didn't see a bucket, forcing her to go behind the counter on the other side of the Lab and do the deed there. Her body heaved as the messy contents of food and acid poured from her mouth like a waterfall. Only a minute or two passed before Mandy was finished. When she slowly got to her feet, with her legs shaking and the counter used as an impromptu assistive mobility device, she found Oona standing there, arms crossed and treating the act of vomiting on her floor as much of a minor inconvenience as getting a paper cut. "If you tell anyone..." Oona marched up to Mandy and poked her in the nose. "...then you can feel the wrath of my mallet." Sick as Mandy was, Oona's threat began weaving its way into her mind. "Got it?" And then it clicked. "Got it?!" "G-g-g-g-got it! G-got it..." Mandy weakly smiled. "B-but you trust...you tr-trust me t-to..." A sharp glare from Oona made Mandy not even bother to finish the sentence. She gave a bout of nervous laughter. "U-um, look, I...hafta go iron myyyyyeeeeeeeee..." She bit her lip. "...daaaaan-tastic dinner! 'Kayseeyoulaterbyeandsorryforthepuke!" With that, the hybrid rushed off to the hallway, wanting to avoid Oona's wrath but also wanting to clean herself up. The nausea had gone away by the time she had reached the Bathroom, and as she undressed for a last-minute shower, the gravity of the situation had fully settled in. She wants me to...keep a secret. It was lucky that Mandy had checked her badge phone's messages as soon as she got dressed, lest she miss Oscar's request entirely. The President of the Scientists had only just become such, usurping the throne from a madman named Obbs who dabbled in mind control and even managed to get Oprah and Oscar himself under his command before Oona stopped his nefarious plan. Mandy knew Oscar well, as he had been the Lab Director of Precinct 13579 prior to that whole debacle, and the two had remained good friends even with his rank ascension. Still, as she trudged to the Science building at the Odd Squad Academy, she couldn't help but chew the inside of her cheek in annoyance as she made a mental note to ask him to hire more Scientists. An Instructor O Mandy was not, and it had been shown time and time again with how she would fall asleep during lectures, go on long tangents about unrelated topics, and make a mess of things by spilling chemicals onto the floor and onto unwitting students. Being a teacher simply was not for her, but it was clear that Oscar had not gotten the lesson drilled into his head yet. Still, there was one thing that was weighing on her mind more than anything else. "Oona trusts me to keep a secret?" she ranted aloud, giving a groan. "She knows I can't do that!" "Do what?" A piercing yowl that could only come from a cat made its way out of Mandy, the hybrid jumping a foot or so into the air with her tail and hair sticking straight up. A Scientist stood behind her, with light brown hair that was tied in two small braided space buns on each side and was connected by an equally-braided bridge across the top of her head. She donned the same Scientist attire as Oona did, same as nearly everyone else in the building who weren't Scientists-in-training with gray sweatshirts instead of a white button-up undershirt. "I, u-um..." Mandy's eyes darted from side to side. "Hi, Odelia!" she said, deciding to settle on a greeting. "Never mind what I said, um...Oscar wanted to see me?" Odelia didn't question Mandy's nervousness whatsoever, the smile remaining on her face. "Yeah, he's upstairs. Follow me and I'll take you to him." It was lucky that Odelia wasn't much of a talker, leaving Mandy free to retreat into her mind and think hard about what Oona had said. Okay, so I can’t say the secret out loud. But I can think it! Unless someone can read minds or something...hnngh, I hate living in a world of oddities sometimes! Mandy rolled her eyes. Just have to keep it in...for...forever… ...Forever... ... Forever. Mandy paled, ever so slightly. Her eyes went into a thousand-yard stare, like she had just seen an unfathomable horror. Oh no. She wants me to keep it in forever?! I’m terrible at keeping secrets in forever! Mandy swallowed a bit of saliva that was stuck in her throat. I can already feel myself sweating...how does she expect me to pull this off? I mean I talk so much, it’s gonna slip out eventually and then she’s gonna kill me with that mallet of hers and when she’s done with that she’ll maybe harvest my organs or leave me to rot or feed me to some odd creature or- "Hello-oooo? Mandy? You doing okay?" "I'mokayperfectlynormal!" The words had come out in a quick burst, almost in a robotic way, like they were programmed into her brain. Odelia simply stared at the hybrid with a look of confusion, though it didn't last very long -- she knew the hybrid well enough to not pay much mind to her thought processes and silly antics. "O...kay." she said, before gesturing to the door. "Well, we're here!" With three knocks on the door, she called, "Oscar? Mandy's here to see you!" "Send her in!" Odelia opened the door for Mandy. "Go ahead." "T-thank you." Mandy took her not-so-first steps into Oscar's office. It looked about as pristine as the Big Office, though not to blinding degrees. White was still very much a prevalent color, but blues and greens were present too -- the green Science logo, the blue carpet, and the gray chairs that sat around two cube-shaped tables, to name a few things. It was clear that Oscar's and Mandy's color preferences clashed, but she wasn't worried about that. "Oh, thank odd you came, Mandy." Oscar spun around in his chair, greeting her with a warm smile. His short light brown hair and thin-rimmed glasses had still remained well into his presidency, and the only thing that had changed about him was that he was wearing a green button-up undershirt instead of a white one. "I was worried you didn't get my message, heh!" A bout of awkward laughter slipped from Mandy's lips. "Oh, I did! I was sleeping, and then, uh...something came up, so I didn't get it until later." She twiddled her fingers. "W-what didja need?" "Well, to make a long story short, one of the Scientists was supposed to be teaching a class on gadget repairs today but he called out sick. The class starts in fifteen minutes and, well, I was hoping you could fill in!" "Again?" Mandy whined. "I..." "Please? There's no way I'm gonna be able to find anyone else in such a short span of time!" If there was one thing Mandy absolutely despised about Oscar, it was his time blindness. If it were an actual medical condition, he would be at the severe end of that spectrum. Still, she wasn't about to disobey an agent who was technically her higher-up, even if she worked in an entirely different department than him. "Ugh, fine, I'll do it! But you owe me lunch." "Deal!" Oscar nodded and stood up, beginning to head for the door. "C'mon, I'll show you where the classroom is." As the pair made their way through the hall, Mandy's eye caught a Scientist wheeling something bright and blue in a fish tank, encased in a block of ice. "Is that a blob?" "Huh? Oh! Yeah. It's frozen, though, so don't worry. I was planning on using it to have Scientists study the effects of blobs and their contents and how they affect gadgets." Mandy wanted to inquire more, she really did, but her thoughts regarding Oona's secret kept ramming into the front of her mind. "Ahaha...w-were you? That's...greeeeeeeeeat." Oscar stopped and turned around to face the hybrid, his brows furrowing in confusion. "You doing all right? You're, uh, sweating, heh." "I'm fine!" Mandy spat out, pulling on her collar. "I-it's just...really hot in here. Yeah." "Feels fine to me." Pickleferries. Should've said I was hot. Much more believable. "Ah, y-y'know what, uh, let's go to the classroom. I, uh, need time to get ready. Hau d' contraire, as Rarity says." Oscar turned around. "I don't think that's how it-" "Show me the classroom, Oscar." "Showing you the classroom!" It was lucky for Mandy that the class she was supposed to teach didn't cut into her lunchtime. She found it hard to give a lecture on the best gadget to use for sticky messes when her stomach kept growling so loud that it overshadowed her voice through the microphone -- because, of course, when it came to teaching, even the tiniest sliver of skill shown was frowned upon by the educational powers-that-be. As soon as she got back to Headquarters, she fixed herself a large salad, complete with a sandwich that reached to the bottom of the second floor with all of its assorted toppings. "Ahh, finally, lunch." Mandy mused. "That class really took a lot outta me, but at least the secret didn't leak, and that's what matters!" "You got a secret?" Mandy turned, gave another piercing yowl, and promptly fell off of her chair, sending it rolling towards the agent -- or rather, Directors -- who had approached her. The impact was enough to send the top half of the stacked sandwich toppling down onto the floor, with a lot of the toppings landing in Mandy's tail while others went all over her suit and onto the cement floor. In her shock, she barely noticed that the ones who had interrupted her were none other than Olive and Otto, who had watched the events unfold with surprise. "Wow. I didn't think you were gonna yowl like that." "She's related to Peaches, you know." "Can it, wise guy." Olive playfully nudged her partner, causing him to chuckle. Mandy groaned as she struggled to get to her feet, jerking her tail up into the air so the ingredients in it would land in her mouth. She didn't mind any tail hairs that attached to them, as she was too hungry to care, and ate her food with gratefulness that at least some of it could be salvaged. As soon as she finished eating those, she ate the ones off of her suit, then raced for the rest of the toppings on the floor before they could become contaminated as per her "one-minute rule". With magic, it made the process easy, and aside from some of the sauce, she was able to eat a large majority of her toppings. "People walk on there." Olive remarked with disgust. She had seen Mandy eat things off of floors numerous times, but that didn't mean it was any less disgusting. Mandy pulled a bottle of disinfecting cleaner and a roll of paper towels out from her hair, getting right to cleaning up the sauce spills. "Soooo..." Olive bit her lip. "What's this I hear about you having a secret?" Mandy stiffened. She dropped the paper towel from her magic, her eyes widening as a sense of dread began washing over her. Furiously, she scooped up the paper towel again and cleaned up the rest of her mess, then tucked the cleaner and roll back into her hair while floating the used paper towel over to the trash can in the kitchen and dropping it inside. "Me, have a secret?" Mandy got on her feet. "C'mon, Momma, you know I'm terrible at keeping secrets! Keepin' 'em, spillin' 'em, I'm terrible at it all!" The bout of awkward, stilted laughter she gave caused Olive and Otto to exchange confused looks, and attract even more from passerby agents and clients alike. After a minute or so, she cleared her throat. "W-why are you two here, anyway?" "We just had to return something to Oprah." Olive explained. "Apparently we've had it for a couple weeks and-" "'We'?" Otto smirked. "There's no 'we', partner. There's a 'you', and only a 'you'." "No there isn't!" "You kept it under your bed! You told me yourself!" "No I di-" Olive stopped and blinked for a few moments. "Oh yeah. Guess it kind of is my fault. And I deserved the yelling." "And you say I always lose things." Otto gave a scoff, not noticing Olive's piercing glare that she gave in response. Mandy, having thanked the powers-that-be that she had been granted reprieve from talking about her secret, took a few hefty swigs of soda. Still, she knew that neither Director was one to forget things, and hesitantly decided to loop the conversation back to the topic. "Anyway, I'm not keeping any secrets. This hybrid's got nothin' to hide!" "Do you mind if I shake your tail?" "Except the stuff in my tail!" Mandy held the soda in her magic and clutched her poofy tail close to her. "I keep stuff in there you don't wanna know about. 'Specially not you, Momma!" Olive's eyes went half-lidded. "Good. Because we didn't ask." "Good, 'cuz ya shouldn't!" Mandy slammed a hand down on the edge of the bowl that held her salad, sending all of its contents straight up into the air and then straight downwards into her mouth. She did the same with the plate that held her sandwich, with the bottom half quickly flying upwards and into her mouth. She quickly swallowed, then got up from her seat. "Now...I am off to do some-" A screech that could only come from those in straitjackets was unleashed onto Headquarters right then, quickly followed by a loud bang that was almost as piercing as a shot from a rifle. Silence fell among the trio as they stared at the direction of the sound. Neither one of them felt the need to question who or what was making it. "...thingsinaplacefarfarawayfromherekaythanksseeya!" Before Olive or Otto could even open their mouths to speak, Mandy was already booking it down the right hallway as fast as her wheel-o'-feet would carry her. It was amazing to both of them how she was even able to turn the corner without crashing into the wall. "Good call." Otto nodded. "Oona in her 'I will destroy all useless gadgets' state of mind is...terrifying. We should go back to HQ before we end up on the chopping block." He moved towards the double-doors. His partner, however, was staring down the hallway where Mandy had gone, an unreadable expression on her face. "Partner? Something wrong?" Olive snapped out of her trance, staring at Otto and blinking a few times. "Huh? Oh. Nothing. Let's go back." She followed Otto through the doors, but couldn't help sneaking one last look at the hallway, her eyes narrowing as she began to look back on her interactions with Mandy, noting that the hybrid seemed to be hiding something...but what she was hiding, exactly, wasn't something she was going to be so keen on sharing. Regardless, it was going to bug Olive all day, and that put her in a sour mood that not even Otto could jerk her out of. Mandy's room was the first place she had thought to hide, and as she closed the door and flopped onto her bed, she released a sigh she didn't realize had been locked away inside of her. "What made Oona think I can keep a secret?" she blurted. "I can barely keep my mouth shut, and she thinks I can keep her secret safe?!" A ragged sigh caused her body to quiver slightly. "Should've asked Oscar about it, but even then...I don't think he knows!" She rose, and began to nervously pace back and forth. "What's worse...I have to keep it possibly maybe hopefully not forever. I can't tell anyone!" Three resounding knocks at the door made her nearly jump out of her skin. Before she could even spit out anything related to "don't come in here", the door opened, revealing none other than Peaches standing in the doorway. "Hey, cuz. You busy?" All she got in response was a stare that was starting to make her uncomfortable. "Cuz?" Peaches took a few tentative footsteps towards the hybrid, then snapped her fingers twice. "Hey! Earth to Agent 57! Your cousin wants to ask you something! Wake up!" "I didn't tell her I swear!!" Silence fell upon the room. Peaches reeled back, blinking a few times in surprise before she collected her bearings. "Uh...tell her what?" "P-P-Peaches!" Mandy whirled on her cousin, throwing up her hands and beginning to stammer. It took her a while before she was able to form coherent words. "I, I'm so sorry, I didn't...I mean...it's a long story and-" "Your hair looks messy. What happened to it?" Peaches interjected, pointing to the brown rat's nest that sat upon Mandy's head. "And don't say you didn't fix it this morning, because I saw you go into the Bathroom this morning with messy hair and come out with it clean." Mentally, Mandy cursed, largely out of her complete lack of foresight in fixing up her appearance so she looked completely normal and didn't raise any suspicions. Now, because her hair was entangled, she had to worm her way out of Peaches'. "I..." Her eyes shifted back and forth for a moment or two. "...j-just wanted to try out a new style!" She nodded furiously. "Yeah yeah yeah, messy hair's all the rage nowadays, that's what Rarity told me, mhm!" Peaches didn't buy it. "Uh-huh." she said, narrowing her eyes as her tone became laced with doubt. Ultimately, though, she chose to move on to a different subject. "Well, anyway, I came by to ask if you wanted to help me search for the Vallea culprit, maybe catch some fish...ooh, or, we can go to the supermarket and I can ogle at the fish I can’t eat while you play with the lobsters! How about it, huh?" The offer sounded tempting to Mandy. Some fresh air would be just what she needed to relieve her stress and get her mind off of this terrible secret. The only problem was...she was going to be around Peaches, who was a very perceptive catgirl. Mandy wasn't sure if that was the norm for her species or not, but either way, it presented a problem for her. Settling on going, her mind began running through escape plans, cobbling one together as an out if she needed it. "Uh...well...sure, I don't see why not." "Oh good. Honestly, I hate going alone. It's so...lonely!" Peaches gave a relieved exhale. "You ready to go now?" "Sure!" Mandy chirped, her mouth curving upwards and making the sound of a creaking door as she put on a toothy smile. "All righty then, let's go!" Peaches' own smile turned into a light frown as she waved her hand. "But, uh, put the smile away. It scares me." A soft whine accompanied Mandy's mouth turning back to a frown, and the pair left the room, making sure to shut the door behind them. Apparently Mandy hadn't been paying much attention to her cousin as of late, because somehow she had practiced flying with her tail enough to where she could go high into the air. Maybe she had been watching Mandy fly, and had gotten inspiration from that. Still, Mandy didn't really know when, exactly, she would use the ability. Aside from now, of course. Because searching from the air is far better than searching on the ground. "Okay, we're in Oakville. That culprit couldn't have gone far." Peaches spoke with an air of confidence as she indicated to the badge phone that was hanging on her chest. "Now that I have a badge phone, we can spread out and I'll call you if I find anything!" She pointed to her right. "You go that way and I'll go the other way, okay?" Mandy didn't respond. She was too busy staring at the ground, her mind whirling with thoughts of the secret, of the horrible things Oona would do to her if it got out and she got wind of it...of how her funeral would be planned. "Uh, Mandy? You alive?" Still no response. Peaches narrowed her eyes, raised her palms, and began slapping Mandy's cheek quickly and repeatedly. "I am slapping your face, now wake up!" "I didn't tell anyone, Oona, I promise!" The plaintive cry echoed into the air, where a few Pegasi flying by picked up on it but otherwise said nothing as they continued on their way. Peaches stared at her cousin with worry for a minute or two, then let out a sigh of frustration. "If you're gonna be out of it for the entire time, then maybe you should head home." "No! I'm..." Mandy, snapping out of her brief trance, shook her head. "I was just lost in thought. I-it won't happen again! Let's go find your culprit!" Just as she was set to take off, Peaches grabbed her by the tail, stopping her before she could even begin. "Hold on." she said, her gaze turning steely. "We'll go and find the culprit, but if we don't find them after a while, let's settle down for a nap." "But I'm not tired!" "And I'm not a catgirl." "No, really, I'm telling the truth!" "We are settling down for a nap and that's final!" Peaches snapped, punctuating her order with a scoff. "Besides, it's not like you to refuse a chance to sleep. You must've had a hard day's work so far. Some sleep will do you good." Mandy blinked. "But- but I-" She tried to utter out that she had already taken a nap, but something told her that Peaches wouldn't be so keen on hearing something that would be an excuse to her and utter truth to Mandy. The hybrid sighed and conceded. "Fine..." "That's my cousin!" Peaches began heading in the direction opposite of Mandy. "Now let's get to work!" All Mandy could give in response was a very unenthusiastic "yay" followed by a few halfhearted chuckles as she watched Peaches head off. Feeling like a ball and chain was wrapped around her but was staying in midair -- as balls and chains tended to do in this world, of course -- she went the way her cousin had indicated, and began looking for the culprit. Not five minutes into the search, she was already beginning to regret even coming outside. No matter what, her brain refused to scrub away any thoughts of the secret. It had fully infected most of it, making the secret the only thing she thought about aside from the basics like walking and talking and eating and the like. "I can't believe I said yes to this." she said aloud, as soon as she realized that very few Pegasi were in the skies today. A bit, dare she say, odd, since there were usually a lot more, but she didn't question it too much and instead viewed it as the powers-that-be granting her luck. "I love spending time with Peach, but...if I keep hanging out with her, the secret's gonna slip! And then Oona's gonna hit me with her mallet, maybe kill me with that thing..." Her body shuddered, first out of fear and then out of frustration as a rising growl made itself known. "Why does it hafta be so complicated?! Oona, you made a really bad choice..." "Hey! Weird monster thing high in the sky!" Mandy stopped. Her wings kept going like a hummingbird's as usual, but the rest of her stopped. Her expression turned into one of confusion. "Weird monster...?" "Yeah, you! C'mere!" Swiveling her head around, Mandy tried to find the source of the voice, believing it to be a Pegasus filly going by how close and how high-pitched it was. But nothing presented itself. "On the ground!" Mandy's gaze moved to the ground, where, sure enough, a small shape was frantically waving. The hybrid soared down, seeing that the shape actually didn't have wings at all, being an Earth filly with a dark red mane and tail and a light red coat. Landing on her feet and tucking her wings in, Mandy gave a smile, and then opened her mouth to speak. "What seems to be the problem, young filly?" "Never seen you around here before. Who're you?" Mandy eyed her suit for a few moments, then her gaze met the filly's. "Do you, uh...know about Odd Squad?" "Yeah. But I've never seen you." The filly's eyes went half-lidded. "Don't tell me you're a loose creature that somehow borrowed a suit from Odd Squad and is gonna eat me. I've dealt with enough of those." It was clear to Mandy now that either this filly was either one of oddness's dedicated victims, or she was really that bratty agent Orchid reincarnated as a pony. Or her sibling. Or, well...related to her, somehow. She certainly reminded Mandy of Orchid, at the very least. "No, I'm the real deal!" The hybrid smiled. "Agent Mandy, from Precinct 13579? In Toronto? That ringin' a bell?" The filly blinked. Her expression contorted into one that held both disappointment and a complete lack of impression. "You're Mandy?" "The one and only!" "The one that eats blobs?" "Yeah!" A few moments passed before Mandy realized what the filly just said. She blinked twice. "Wait, no. Where did you-" "A couple friends of mine were talking about how you like to eat blobs. Now that you're here, maybe I can finally find out the truth." Mandy's mouth ran dry as fast as a large wet/dry vacuum taken to a river. The last part bounced around in her brain, causing beads of sweat to begin forming on her forehead as she recalled the secret, and all that was riding on it, once again. Her mouth opened, and all she could utter out were unintelligible stammers. The filly sat and crossed her front legs, glaring at Mandy. "Yes or no, c'mon, I don't have all day." Like reciting a single letter in a grade school class's lesson, Mandy simply spit out the pronunciation of the letter "E" over and over again. She clasped her hands to her head, rubbing it fiercely as though that would make her regain a sense of coherency. The filly rolled her eyes. "System overload." Whether it was that comment or it was just perfect timing, Mandy was finally able to form a sentence. "I don't eat blobs!" she screamed to the sky. "Gah, I can't take it, stop tryna make me spill the beans!" She took off in a run, not quite reaching wheel-o'-feet status but coming pretty close. She only barely heard the filly calling her "disappointing", coming to a realization as her feet took her past people and ponies who glanced at her wondering why she was looking so distressed. "That's it! I can't be around anyone. Ponies, humans, catgirls, anything that's alive!" Mandy applied the brakes, causing her to kick up two small mounds of dirt under her shoes. "It's the only way..." She stared at her hands. "...the only way I'm gonna be able to keep this secret." The realization was horrid. Someone might as well have told her that all her friends were killed in a freak accident. Mandy was a sociable hybrid, someone who preferred to be with others rather than enjoy some self-company. As such, she loved to talk, as was evidenced by the way she would go on crazy tangents long enough to where she could be a poster child for public speaking. This didn't bode well for anything classified as confidential or secret, and most everyone knew it. Mandy's body rolled with a sigh. "As much as I wanna help my cousin find who she's looking for...I can't be around her." She straightened up. "But I'm not just gonna leave her hanging!" Unclipping her badge phone and opening it, she quickly pressed the 5 button twice and held it up to her ear as the ringback tone began playing. "Hello?" "Peach? It's Mandy." Peaches gasped. "You?! Don't tell me you've found the culprit!" "No, no, I didn't find them. It's just..." Mandy bit her lip. "I have to go back to HQ." "What? Why? We haven't even been searching for that long! We were gonna hang out together too, you know!" Regret began worming its way into Mandy. "I know, it's just...I remembered I..." Her eyes darted about as she tried to scrabble together the excuse she had thought of before. "...have work to do! Yeah, I, uh, forgot to tell Oprah where I was going too, she’s gonna be so so mad! So I’d better head back." "Aww..." Peaches' voice sounded disheartened, and it was like she had stabbed Mandy with a knife. "Well, all right. I guess we'll make sturdier plans another day, huh?" Still, in spite of how sad she sounded, Mandy was thrilled that she had been let off the hook with her cousin, doing a fist pump. "Yes yes yes! Oh, thank you sooooo much, cuz! You don't know how happy I am!" She gave a chuckle. "Bye!" She snapped her phone shut, clipped it onto her chest, and began bouncing towards the nearest tube entrance. Unbeknownst to her, however, Peaches had a rather different reaction to the conversation. "Thank you? She's...not even sorry?" Peaches blinked, closing her phone and putting it back on her chest. As realization began to sink in as to what had happened, a growl came forth. "Did she just blow me off?! For work?! Why would she do such a horrible...awful..." Her anger was short-lived, beginning to dissipate before it was replaced by sadness and heartbreak. Tears began pooling in her eyes, and her voice cracked on the final two words of her sentence. "...terrible thing?" As Mandy walked through the double-doors, her mouth had surprisingly taken the hint and relegated her words to her brain, to exist as thoughts and not as dialogue. Aw, I feel so bad...what I did was wrong, but...it was also the right thing to do. After all, if I get mashed to mushy-mush by Oona’s mallet then I can’t be there to help Peach look for the culprit! "Agent Mandy! Where have you been?" The harsh voice jerked Mandy out of her thoughts, and she lifted her head up to spot Oprah coming towards her. "Ah, Oprah!" Mandy's brain quickly shoved the thoughts aside. "I was...helping Peaches find the Vallea culprit. B-but I'll get to work right now, I promise!" "Good. See to it that you do. You have a huge stack of paperwork to complete." It was then that Mandy noticed the stack in question, which looked about half as high as her burger from earlier but was certainly not enough to constitute "huge". Still, it wasn't the stack that intimidated her -- no, it was doing it around agents. Agents who could easily get wind of the secret, gab about it to Oona, and then feel regret over crafting the perfect circumstances for a completely unjustified murder. A nervous gulp made its way down her esophagus, followed by a strangled and high-pitched "Yup!" Oprah, seemingly sensing her nervousness, patted her shoulder. "And don't forget, you can always ask Pinkie Pie for help if you need it. She should be free right now." "Got it!" Mandy's ears swiveled backwards to catch the sound of Oprah ascending the stairs. When she heard the glass door leading to her office creak slightly, she gave a weary sigh, placing a hand on her heart. Surely, there wouldn't be any more problems with any other agents toda- "Mandy." The hybrid had lost track of how many yowls she had given today. She was starting to become convinced she would turn into a cat somewhere down the line. "Oona?!" The Scientist narrowed her eyes. "You haven't spilled the beans, have you?" "N-no! I swear, I haven't, but Oona, I...it's just..." Mandy threw herself down onto her knees. "How long do I hafta keep it?!" Oona's expression turned from anger to bemusement. "What do you mean, 'how long do you have to keep it'?" she said. "Keep it until I decide I'm ready to tell everyone." In a voice that could only come from a rubber duck with speech capability, "Which is when?" "When it's time!" Standing up again, Mandy gave a disappointed groan. Oona began to walk away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to have a little..." Her mallet came into full view of a now-paling Mandy. "...fun. And if you don't wanna be part of the fun, then make sure you keep the secret." Mandy's legs began to wobble, her teeth began to chatter, and her tummy was quivering with something she wasn't sure what it chalked up to. Either digestive troubles or anxiety, and she was sure it was the latter because she rarely had any digestive troubles. Slowly but surely, she ambled over to her desk and sat down, throwing her head onto the desk and causing the stack of papers to shake for a few moments before falling still. Her mind became plagued with thoughts of the secret again, but within that sea of bad thoughts came a wave of more thoughts as to where she was going to go with all of those papers that was as far away from people as she could get. What didn't really help was the fact that she had gotten a paper cut on her forehead...which was bleeding pretty profusely for its size. After applying a bandage to her forehead, Mandy swooped up the stack of papers in her magic and went down the hallways. "I said I wasn't gonna be around people, but...I'm a people magnet! People get stuck to me!" A pause. "Literally, at least once, people have gotten stuck to me!" That was true, of course. Mandy just seemed to attract being of both the human and equine variety wherever she went. And more than once, she's had the side of her body glued to someone else's. She remembered being attached to the hip of Applejack once, who was lifted into the air every time Mandy stood because of how much taller she was than the farmpony. It looked awkward, and it felt awkward. She had tried to scrub the incident from her mind, to no avail. She heaved a sigh. "Now I can go to my room, where no one can bother me, I can get some work done, and be away from people!" She gave a few blinks. "And ponies! Them too!" In her confident strides, she nearly ran over a passing Rarity, who quickly hoofed it out of the way. "Oh, Mandy, darling, if I could just have-" "Absolutely no minutes of my time will be given, thank youuuu!" came the dismissive response, as Mandy's pace began to quicken so that it looked like she was speedwalking. She barely caught a "pity" from Rarity as she quickly darted into her room and closed the door, making a mental note to go out and try to find a good lock. A relieved sigh was pushed out from her lungs, and she let the tension holding her down melt away. Moving the sewing machine on her table to the side, she placed the stack of papers on it and smiled. "Maybe I should make this my new desk!" she said, her tail swishing in thought and then stopping after a few moments as she shook her head. "Nah, that might be too drastic." Her horn lit up in an array of colors as she pulled out her chair and took a seat. She cracked her knuckles and let her magic encase a small stack of papers out of the bigger stack, electing to nick away at each small stack until it was all done. With a conjured pencil in her prismatic aura, she got to work, the relief she felt winning the war of attrition against the intrusive thoughts of the secret this time around. Weaving through Precinct 13579's agents, Olive and Otto butted heads over a topic that had been long withstanding since they were both in the Investigation department. "Otto, we've been through this a hundred times. I'm not zapping you with the Parrot Ray!" "Why not? I'd love to be a parrot! I'd be able to fly and speak bird speak!" "I said no, and don't you even think...about..." Olive's rebuttal trailed off, and her feet came to a stop as her eyes laid upon a rather downcast Peaches who appeared to be on the verge of tears. Noting that the catgirl wasn't usually one for crying, the Director was quick to drop the argument and rush to comfort her. "Peaches? Why are you sitting on Mandy's desk? What's wrong?" Peaches glanced at Olive and Otto for only a moment, anger flashing in her eyes. "Because that...that...inbred vermin blew me off!" Olive blinked. "Who blew you off?" Peaches gave an ugly, snot-filled sniffle. "Me and her, we were going to look for the Vallea culprit and spend some time together, but then she said that she had to come back to Odd Squad because Oprah would be mad at her. But that’s not even the worst part!" She buried her face in her hands. "She...she had no remorse! She was happy about forgoing our plans!" Olive didn't need to look past the first few words to know who Peaches was referring to. Still, she had to wonder if Mandy being so out-of-character with her cousin tied in to earlier in the day when she had acted stiff and awkward around her and Otto. It was food for thought that began cooking in her brain. "That's odd. Mandy usually loves spending time with you." she mused, sitting on the explanation for a minute before she perked up. "Unless she lied to you!" A hiccup came from Peaches, causing her to bounce slightly. "Lied?" "It’s possible that Mandy could be hiding something. She was acting pretty suspicious when we went to see her a couple hours ago." Olive theorized, Otto nodding in agreement with his partner. "B-but why? Mandy's the one who doesn't like secrets being kept from her, and now she's hiding something from me?" Another hiccup. "Talk about hypocrisy!" Otto nodded in agreement with that, too, remembering when Pinkie Pie had been made Odd Squad's Party Planner Agent and how disastrous that had turned out, especially when Mandy had gotten wind of the news. "Maybe we should confront her about it." he suggested. "If our last interaction was any indication..." Olive began, only stopping when she forced herself to admit the truth. "Ah, who am I kidding. Mandy's a terrible liar and we all know it." Peaches and Otto both gave murmurs of agreement. "Anyway, I agree, Otto. But I want to do this solo." Peaches tilted her head. "Why?" "I'm Mandy's mother. She might be more apt to opening up to me than to you or Otto." "Wait!" Peaches wiped her tears away and hopped off of the desk. "Please, let me come too! We're cousins. Family's..." She stopped to take a big inhale through her nose in a vain attempt to clear some of the snot from it. "Family's gotta stick together, right?" Olive nodded. "Good point." She reached behind her back and pulled out a few tissues, placing them in Peaches' hand. "Okay, first thing tomorrow, you and I are going to find out what's going on with Mandy." "Sounds great!" Peaches remarked, taking a tissue and blowing her nose with it. Otto began looking around the bullpen with intent, his brow furrowing in confusion as he asked the question that no one had an answer to. "Hey, where is Mandy right now, anyway?" "Mandy...you told the secret?!" Mandy tried to back away from Oona's crazed glare, her face being thrust into the hybrid's own face. But for every move she made, it felt like the threaded confines holding her hands together behind her back and her ankles together on the floor got tighter and tighter. So, all she could do was twist her head away and avert her gaze, and even that proved to be near fruitless, like a celebutante spotting something golden and valuable in a store window. Her blue eyes found their way back to Oona's brown ones in due time, as they always did. "Oona, you don't understand!" she pleaded. "I can't keep secrets!" "Anyone can keep a secret!" A low chuckle that could only come from someone who had made a psychiatric hospital their permanent abode slipped from a pair of lips. "Anyone who can't is a filthy liar. Including you." "I'm not lying! I'm telling the truth!" Mandy screamed. "Pinkie's...well, she's..." Her eyes darted back and forth for a moment before she groaned, realizing that her partner was just as unreliable with secrets as Mandy herself was. "Bad example." "Agent Pinkie Pie..." Oona's mouth turned into an ugly grimace. "...knows how to keep a secret." She tapped a finger to her chin. "What was it she said once? 'Losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend...forever'?" Mandy began to visibly pale. "O-Oona, you're not gonna sever our friendship over a silly secret!" Nervous laughter erupted forth, sprinkled with just a pinch of insanity and desperation. "I repair gadgets for you when you're busy! I invent new gadgets with you! I've even been your guinea pig! Literally and figuratively!" "Consider those days over." The words were spat out so quickly that it put an abrupt end to Mandy's latest plea. The hybrid opened her mouth to speak again, but the sight of Oona's mallet being dragged behind her -- and looking about as big as Mandy's own hammer -- made her throat begin to close up. Oona's smile was as wide as a mile, but it definitely wasn't the good kind of smile. Mandy didn't need Pinkie Pie to tell her that. "I think it's time you joined in on the fun." she purred, lifting up the mallet and polishing its head with the sleeve of her lab coat. "Fun?" came the squeak. "Yes. The fun I have destroying these worthless hunks of junk and stripping them of parts!" Mandy began to grow confused by Oona's wielding of plurals. Still, whether it was simply a slip-up or not, she knew exactly what the Scientist had in store for her. Her heart began to race faster and faster. "Y-y-you're...n-not gonna-" "I may not be as strong as you, or as strong as Ms. O, or Olive, or Otto, or…" Oona stopped, gave a low growl, and furiously shook her head, smacking the base of her palm against it a few times. "The point is, you will be stripped of parts as well. I’m sure two lungs and a kidney would really help me with some experiments. And Dr. O could use them to study odd diseases." Mandy's body began to visibly shake like it was caught in a 6.5 magnitude earthquake. She began to feel lightheaded, no doubt as a result of her heart racing at magnificent speeds. "Don't take my kidney! I need my kidney!" she cried out, tears launching from her eyes and splattering onto the floor in front of her. Oona met this latest plea with apathy. "No you don't." "Yes I do! I'm not old enough to have my organs taken and donated! Please, don't-" An ominous-sounding musical sting, similar to one that was cued often in reality TV shows, played somewhere. It was just the right accompaniment for Mandy to begin struggling, even in spite of her binds. She kicked and thrashed about, the chair she was sitting on miraculously staying upright throughout it all, as though it were enchanted with a magic spell. No matter what she did, however, she couldn't get free. Her magic and wings, as well, refused to come forth, but she refused to give up. A moving target, however, only served to make Oona more enraged. "You're not getting away, you untrustworthy secret-spiller!" she yelled. A psychotic scream preluded the raising of her mallet and the striking of it, directly down upon Mandy with a resounding bang. As Mandy shot up in bed, a high-pitched scream left her as her eyes quickly darted around the room. Everything was as it should be -- the stack of papers was gone from when she had taken them down to the File Room after its completion, her chair was pushed in and the sewing machine was moved back to its original position, and everything else in her room was in its usual spick-and-span state. The hybrid flopped backwards onto her bed, a series of rapid breaths arriving and leaving her lungs. "I...I have to keep this secret, at all costs!" she declared. "If I don't...then my life's gonna be forfeit!" Her keen ears picked up on the sound of muffled voices approaching her room. Almost immediately, she sat up, eyeing her door with concern. "I hope that's someone walking by..." Three knocks came a-knockin' on her door. "It's not!" she yelped, quickly leaping out of bed and making a beeline for its underside, her feet shuffling along the floor as she attempted to get her lower half in. It did so with a pop, and she breathed a sigh of relief before beginning to hold her breath as she heard the door open. "This is the only room we haven't checked." Mandy knew that voice. It was a voice she had feared a few times before, and it was a voice she was absolutely fearing now. The only question was, who was with her? "Mandy? Are you in here?" the voice called. "It's Olive and Peaches. We need to talk." Mandy had to bite her lip until it bled in order to prevent the squeal she had building up inside of her to eke out. Olive looking for her was one thing, but when Peaches came into the picture, the search could hardly be classified as a search. Pickleferries, I forgot about Peach and her sense of smell! Ohh, she's gonna catch wind of my scent, it's all over, it's all over! The sound of a couple sniffs. And then, "Hold on. I smell her." Mandy tried to curl herself up into a tight ball, wrapping her tail around her. It, perhaps, would have worked, if not for Peaches peering under the bed and spotting her only a second later. "Aha!" A frightened "eep!" came from Mandy as she tried tucking her head closer to her body. "Cuz, get out from under there." Peaches said, reaching a hand under her bed in a futile effort to try and grab onto some part of Mandy that she could pull. In response, the hybrid backed up until she felt her rump meet the wall. "Allow me." Olive stepped forward and effortlessly lifted the bed, revealing a scruffy-looking, pajama-clad Mandy whose eyebags showed a lack of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise (not that she needed it -- the fear was what was keeping her going more than anything else). She set the bed aside, gazing at Mandy with a look of sympathy. "Why are you hiding under the bed?" Peaches asked. "The more important question is, what are you hiding from us?" Mandy began to shiver, burying her face in her arms. Pickleferries, they're gonna know! And if I speak...if I speak...they're gonna know everything. "Mandy. You dumped Peaches in favor of doing work when you had time off, and you had no regret for it." Olive raised a finger. "That was a very rude thing to do. Apologize to her and tell us what's going on." Mandy shook her head furiously. She was well aware that what she did was rude, and she wouldn't have done it at any other time, especially not to her cousin -- but, at the risk of sounding selfish, her life was at stake. And she didn't want to bet her life over something as small as a secret. "We're here to listen, you know." Peaches urged. "We're family!" A realization settled in Mandy's brain right then. They're not gonna let up. I hafta get outta here, or else I'm gonna spill the beans! Peaches and Olive patiently waited for an answer. One that Mandy was more than happy to provide as her mouth scrunched up and she banished the secret to the farthest corners of her mind. "I can't be around you right now! I'm sorry!" "Why not? Do you have an odd disease?" Olive asked. "I just can't, okay?!" Mandy screamed, her voice audibly cracking as she fired up her horn. "Leave me alone!" And in a bright rainbow-colored flash, the hybrid was gone, leaving only a few sparkles in her wake. "Well that plan was a bust." Peaches dryly remarked. "It's okay. We still have tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. We'll ask her, and she'll relent eventually." Olive said matter-of-factly. "Clearly she's hiding something important if she can't be around us and wants us to leave her alone." "What will asking her continuously accomplish?" "She might be in a better mood." Olive's mouth curved up into a small smile as she got an idea. "Maybe we could get Oprah involved too..." "Why her?" "Mandy will have to listen to her boss. It's that drive of undying loyalty." Olive smirked. "And friendship." Peaches pinched her mouth inwards. "I don't know...Mandy is acting weird, and we should do something about it, but...I don’t think this is the way to do it." "Well, do you have any better ideas?" "...No." "Figured you didn't." Olive gave a mighty exhale. "So, we’ll rope Oprah in on what’s going on and we'll all get Mandy to spill the beans." Peaches simply gave a nod. "I'm gonna head back to my Headquarters. Still have some work to do." Olive turned Mandy's bed right side up again before leaving the room. "See you later." Peaches watched her go, her ears folding downwards as she eyed Mandy's unmade bed and untouched Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise. Her heart panged every few seconds, struck with bolts of heartbreak and pain, and she bit her lip as her next words tumbled out in a murmur. "Cuz...what're you hiding? Why won't you tell us?" A bright flash marked Mandy's arrival at her desk, as she took in and pushed out a few more rapid breaths. Her heart was thrumming in her eardrums like ponies at the Running of the Leaves, and sweat was pouring down her face as her body began to heat up. "That was close...too close!" she squeaked, furiously shaking her head to try and calm herself down. "I have to go to a place where there's no people or ponies! Where I can..." Her eyes widened as an idea took root in her head. "...be alone..." There was a place where she could be alone. Where she had toughed it out for months, living on barely anything and yet still managing to survive long enough to take down a creature at least thrice her size using nothing but adrenaline and a drive of protection. Yes. It was perfect. No one knew where it was, which meant that no one could come get her. All she would have were the animals and odd creatures surrounding her, many of whom were unable to speak English. Or at least she hoped, anyway. At least for the odd creatures, because regular animals couldn't speak and there was a stark difference. But she was getting off-track. "The woods! Where I was a runaway! That's it!" Her expression lit up. " If I can just live in those woods until Oona’s ready to reveal the secret, then I won’t have to worry! It sounds drastic, but..." She rubbed her arm and frowned. "...it’s the only place I can be away from everyone." Her mood soured as she began to wonder if this really was a good idea. In her mind, thoughts of her being ostracized by the town and running away from it with Clementine in tow began to surface, followed by the memory of her leaving Clementine in the hands of the adults who had terrorized them. Even though she had long since moved past the pain and had befriended Clementine, the thoughts plagued her now, as though her brain was warning her that her idea was a bad one that would only lead to misery. "I don't wanna run away from Odd Squad again, but..." Mandy bit her lip. Slowly and hesitantly, her right hand reached for a blank piece of paper, while her left hand reached for an Odd Squad-branded pen. She stared at the objects for a few minutes, wondering if the blank slate of the paper and the retracted state of the pen would mock her if they were afflicted by some kind of oddness that granted them communication powers. She really didn't want to do this. She really didn't. But what other choice did she have, when she kept on bumping into people and ponies alike everywhere she went? The only other thing she could really think of was to declare a personal vacation, and she knew all too well how that had ended up. "I don't have a choice." came the resigned murmur, as she clicked the top of the pen and began writing her letter like it was being sent to Twilight's own Princess Celestia. When she was done, she turned towards the doors, took a few tentative steps... "I'm so sorry." ...and made her way through the double-doors, to the tubes that would lead her to the aboveground world, where she would finally be able to avoid her premature death at the hands of a Scientist that made Oscar's eccentricity seem tame by comparison. "So. You're clear on the plan?" Oprah took a sip from her apple-flavored juice box. "Yep. But honestly, I don't see why I need to be dragged into this." "You're Mandy's boss." Olive explained. "If anyone can make her see reason, it's you." As much as Oprah wanted to claim that family trumps work, she couldn't deny that Olive made a good point. A groan left her as she put her feet down onto the floor and rose from her chair. "Fine. Let's go find her." The trio left Oprah's office and began making their way downstairs. They headed for Mandy's desk, a place they knew she frequented based on mathematical probability about where the hybrid was most likely to be. Peaches reached the desk first, immediately eyeing a white paper with familiar handwriting that had been placed on it. "What's this paper? Did she forget to file this?" she asked, holding it up for Olive and Oprah to see. Oprah blinked. "Looks like a note." Peaches turned the paper over and began to read aloud from it. To everyone: I'm sorry, but I can't stay at Odd Squad anymore. I can’t be around people and I don’t wish to interact with anyone. I’m not diseased, but I do have a personal matter that I need to take care of. I will be gone for as long as I need to. It could be weeks, months or even years before I come back. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give a more ‘grandeur’ goodbye, as Rarity so calls it, but I needed to leave immediately so I don’t spill the beans. Beans that would be really super hard to clean up. Peaches' nose wrinkled. "So she's doing this because she doesn't want to spill a can of beans?" "Keep reading!" Olive urged, giving an eye roll in response to Peaches deciding to take the metaphor literally. I hope to see you all soon. I wish I could stay, I really do, but if I spill the beans then I will be killed. Please try to understand. With love and lots of superflytacklehugs, Mandy Silence fell over everyone. Eyes widened in shock as the group tried to process the last part of Mandy's letter. "She left?!" Oprah yelled, breaking the silence. "But...she...I-I didn't permit her to take a vacation!" "Hold on." Olive held up a hand. "First of all, Oprah, this isn't a vacation declaration. It's...a note from a runaway." Her heart sank as she read the note over and over again, making sure Peaches wasn't just making stuff up out of her own head or anything of the like. When she discovered that Peaches had read the letter word for word, she gave a resigned sigh. "I knew that's what was going on." "What? What is it?" Peaches asked, leaning closer to the Director. "'Spilling the beans'? That's an easy indicator that Mandy is hiding a secret. That's why she's trying to avoid us." Peaches blinked. "Huh. That would make sense. She's never good at keeping secrets." "Wait, there's a more pressing matter at hand." Oprah interrupted, her tone carrying a sense of urgency. "If Mandy spills the secret then she's going to die. Who told her the secret to begin with? Did they threaten Mandy with death if she told anyone?" "That last question seems rhetorical...but..." Olive's eyes widened. "Crumpets, you're right! That's the real reason why she refuses to tell the secret. Why she doesn't want to see us!" A ragged sigh left her. "Poor Mandy, she must be so terrified..." "We need to find out who told Mandy a secret." "And we need to find Mandy herself." Olive added to Peaches' declaration, reading the paper over again. "The note doesn't say where she went." "Okay. Mandy can handle her own out there, I'm sure." Oprah nodded. "So first things first, let's find out who's got a secret." As Peaches and Olive nodded in agreement, Oprah quickly darted to where the seal adorned the bullpen floor and clapped her hands together three times. "Attention!" she bellowed, attracting the attention of a few passing agents who stopped to gather around her. Oprah steeled herself, and took a deep breath. "It has come to my attention that Mandy has run away from home." The still-gathering crowd gasped. Murmurs began rippling through, each expressing their shock about their beloved second-in-command doing such a thing. "And if the note that she’s left behind is any indication, she did it to avoid revealing a secret. So I’m going to ask you, agents of Precinct 13579!" Oprah pointed at the crowd. "Does anyone have a secret? Anyone? You don't have to reveal it, just let me know! Please!" All she got in response were confused murmurs. Unbeknownst to her, Oona had joined the crowd, watching what was going down with concern and a tinge of remorse written all over her face as the realization began to settle in. Still, she didn't speak up, choosing to remain quiet out of a decision to find Mandy before anyone else did. Twilight's ears picked up on the sound of drumming hoofsteps, and she turned around to find Pinkie Pie racing up to her with Rainbow Dash at her side. "Twilight, what's going on?" Pinkie asked, slamming the brakes before she could collide with her lavender-coated friend. "Mandy's run away!" Pinkie leaped into the air. "SHE WHAT?!" came the eruptive scream, which, surprisingly, wasn't piercing enough so as to attract the attention of many other agents. "Why?!" "Ms. O says it's because she can't reveal a secret." Rainbow blinked a few times in confusion. Pinkie, on the other hoof, gasped dramatically and slammed a hoof into the ground. "Aww, I know I should've taught her how to keep a secret!" "We have to find her!" Rainbow said, thrusting her muzzle into Twilight's. "Who knows what oddness is out there?" Twilight gently pushed her friend away to grant herself some personal space. "I agree. But this world is massive. Who knows where she is?" Up at the seal, Oprah's brows furrowed with worry. "No one's got a secret?" Still, the murmurs persisted. The Director clenched a fist, and then her teeth, in frustration. Part of her began to realize just how dumb the reasoning behind this impromptu meeting was -- no one sane was going to reveal what their secrets were, let alone reveal that they were holding in secrets to begin with. It was silly, and she shamed herself for not realizing that sooner. "Please, if any of you have a secret...come up to my office and we can talk in private. My doors will be open." Oprah bit her lip, and tried to release her stress out in one big sigh. It worked, but not as well as she had hoped. "Thank you." The crowd began to disperse, agents carrying the worry and tension with them. The air had shifted considerably, and if the worried vibes hadn't gotten to any agent yet, they certainly would now. Oprah, watching everyone leave, decided to head up to her office to get another juice box and weigh up the situation some more. "This isn't good." Olive remarked. "I know." Peaches exhaled softly. "Whoever has a secret, they don't seem to apt to reveal that they have one." "Olive! Peaches!" The two girls perked up, their eyes falling on a familiar alicorn rushing up to her with a familiar pink baker and a familiar speedy Pegasus in tow. "Twilight? Rainbow Dash? Pinkie?" Olive inhaled in order to say something else, but was cut off before she could get even a puff of air out. "We didn't tell any secrets, we can assure you. Pinkie Promise." Twilight raised a hoof. "But we want to help you find her. Mandy is strong, but there's no telling what oddities lurk out there. Some might be more than even she can handle." Peaches nodded. "She's right. We need to find her immediately!" Olive gave a growl of frustration, grinding her teeth together as she rubbed her temple in thought. "Where could she be? Where does Mandy like to go to be alone?" Pinkie voiced the thought that was on everyone's mind. "Tough question. Mandy doesn't usually go solo." "I doubt she could've gone far." Rainbow piped up. "Maybe she's on the outskirts of town! Or maybe she's still in town somewhere!" With those two leads, the frustration was washed away, and everyone became renewed with purpose. "I'll take the girls and start looking in town." Twilight offered. "Olive, Peaches, you two should look on the outskirts." "Got it. You ready to go, O-" As Peaches spun her head around, she was surprised to find that Olive had somehow vanished. However, it wasn't a case of a sudden disappearance so much as it was the Director deciding to book it before anyone else was ready. Peaches tilted her head. "Olive, where-" "I'm going to start looking, and I'm taking Otto with me. And I'd suggest all of you get going before the sun sets!" "But it's..." Peaches looked around for a clock, and eventually just resorted to getting one from hammerspace that, funny enough, told the correct time. "...noon!" "My point exactly, let's roll out!" All Peaches could do was stare as she watched her search party partner leave without another word. Within her shock, however, she realized that she couldn't be too surprised -- Mandy was Olive's adopted daughter, after all, and any mother would be worried about their child running away from home. It had happened in Vallea more times than Peaches was willing to admit. She went to follow the Director. "Well, I'll see you guys around. Call us if you manage to find her." "Of course." Twilight turned to Pinkie and Rainbow. "Come on, let's gather the others!" With that, everyone split, with Peaches rushing to catch up with Olive before she got to the tubes while Twilight left with her two friends to gather up Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity to assist with the search. Mandy's journey within the same woods she had once lived in on a temporary basis took her to the mouth of a large cave that appeared to be unoccupied. With her flight and magic abilities now fully honed, getting around had been a breeze, from being chased by a very angry bear to falling into a rushing river and nearly drowning. And she had managed to find a new hideaway quicker than she had thought it was going to take, too. Taking a deep breath, a smile danced on her face. "The tranhibilty of nature is fascinating!" she chirped. "This is much better than when I was a runaway. Nice cozy cave to sleep in, the ability to use my horn and my wings so I can survive..." Her smile turned into a grin. "And best of all, no one around to spill the secret to!" She began making her way into the cave, putting a ball of light on the tip of her horn for visual assistance as her view grew darker and darker. "Although...I'm sure people are looking for me, what with the note I left behind. They'll find me eventually." Her badge phone rang right then, as though it was waiting for its cue. She stopped in her tracks. "Aaaaand speak of the devil." She let the perky ditty ricochet through her ears as she decided to let it serve as musical accompaniment for her expedition to her new living quarters. Only a half-minute in, though, she relented. She loved her ringtone, but there was only so much of it she could take before she got annoyed. "Fine, I'll answer it!" she cried, unclipping her phone and opening it. "Agent 57 here, how can I help ya?" "Mandy? It's Twilight!" The alicorn on the other end of the line gave a relieved exhale. "Oh, thank Celestia you're safe! Where are you? Everyone's out looking for you!" Well, fluffernutter. That confirms my suspicions. Of course when something happens to me, everyone's gotta get involved. "I'm not telling you. I'm sorry, Twi, but I have to keep this secret. If I don't then I'm gonna be killed!" "Ooh, a deadly secret!" came the high-pitched voice of Pinkie. Mandy grit her teeth, a coil of pain wrapping around her heart as she thought of her partner. However, her reflection was cut off by Rarity's voice, making Mandy wonder if Twilight was passing her own phone around to everyone so they could try and persuade the hybrid to come back. "Mandy, darling, we're not going to judge you." "Yeah!" Rainbow Dash's turn, now. "And whoever gave you a death threat can meet my hooves!" "You don't understand! None of you understand!" Mandy snapped. "There’s no way you guys can face off against her! She’s insane! Unhinged! She’s got a mallet! She’s got gadgets! She tied me to a chair and threatened to smash me to pieces! She’ll do it, you know, she’s that crazy!" "Who is she? A villain?" Twilight asked. "If it is a villain then she shouldn't be walkin' 'round on the streets." Applejack added. Catching the phone in her magic, Mandy held it tightly against her chest and made sure to drop her voice to a near-whisper as she voiced her thoughts. "Nngh...I can't tell them who told me the secret! If I do then she's gonna kill me even though I kept the secret!" With her face buried in her hands, she barely noticed a poof sound marking the arrival of a smaller version of Mandy sitting on her shoulder. This Mandy was angelic-looking in nature, wearing a long white toga and a bright yellow halo over her head. Her white wings looked even fluffier, although much like the rest of her, they were very small. "You should tell them! They can't fight against one single Oona!" Another poof marked the arrival of another smaller version of Mandy, who looked to be more on the devil's side than the angel's side. Wearing what looked to be, oddly enough, a black one-piece bathing suit, she wielded a sharp trident. Her pony tail was replaced by a devil's tail and small horns protruded from the top of her head. The Devil Mandy laughed in a wicked manner. "No they can't! Don't tell them. Run away and never come back! Surely you can survive on your own out here. But it's better than getting your face bashed in!" Mandy closed her eyes as she began ruminating on what to do. Not a few seconds into her decision-making, however, and the sound of whooshing made her perk up, her shoulder angel and shoulder devil disappearing in two small puffs of smoke. "Wait, what's that noise?" the hybrid murmured, turning around to face the entrance. She didn't need to go back the way she came and see the source, however, as dread began settling into her gut. "There's only one agent I know who has rocket shoes that make that kind of a noise..." She gulped. "Oona!" Completely forgetting about her phone call, Mandy began to hyperventilate. "Ohhh what do I do, what do I do?! Knowing her, she probably has a location tracker or something! And if not her...then someone else does..." Her head whipped from side to side, as though expecting a miracle to come from the cave walls, but she soon stopped as she came to a realization. "Wait. I'm deep inside a cave. It's not like I'm right outside." A sigh of relief was pushed out from her lungs. "It'd take them ages to find me!" Her stomach began to growl, but one swift burst of magic brought a cake into existence, which she happily ate in one bite. "And I've got necessities!" "Mandy, are you there?" The sound of Twilight's voice snapped Mandy out of it with a sharp "eep!", and fear began to settle in again. "Oh pickleferries...I hope they didn't hear what I said..." she murmured, before shaking her head and lifting the phone back up to her ear. "Yeah, I'm here." "Who told you the secret?" "I can't tell you!" Mandy responded, her voice almost reaching a whine. She gave a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Twi. But I'm not gonna be killed by her!" "Mandy, we're here to he-" The hybrid abruptly ended the call, placing the phone back on her chest and giving an irritated groan. Twilight could be a stubborn pony when she wanted to be, but Mandy had thought she had made it clear that she didn't want to be found. Apparently, everyone had ignored her warnings, which didn't bode well for her. "I have to stay in this cave. And I'm putting you on silent." She tapped the front of her badge phone, which gave a beep to indicate that its volume settings had been changed. Once that was done, she continued her descent into the dark cave, hoping to find a good stopping point soon so she could rest -- after all, she figured it was almost time for her afternoon nap. As the sun began to set, Olive and Peaches began walking in the more rural areas of the city. While Olive was full of pep and drive, Peaches was dragging her feet along the ground, feeling exhausted and wanting nothing more than to curl up and take a nap back at HQ. She groaned. "It's no use. We've been looking for her all day with no other leads." "Stop complaining. We're not giving up." "But I'm hungry!" Peaches whined. Olive swiveled her head around and let her fiery eyes gaze into the catgirl's own. "Then go hunt for some mice or something." Peaches would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't so tired. "Look, Olive, I know Mandy's your daughter, but surely she has a good reason for running awa-" "It doesn't matter!" Olive snarled. Her expression then relaxed, and she gave a shaky sigh. "We need to get Mandy back. It doesn’t matter what her reason for running away is, whether she has a secret or not." She turned around and crossed her arms. "If only we had some sort of tool, like a location tracker…" Something clicked in Peaches' brain right then, causing her posture to straighten. "That's it!" Her tail-tip began flicking with excitement. "I remember Oprah telling me something a while ago, when we were trying to look for Agent Fluttershy. She was talking about agents having these location trackers hidden in their jackets or something. And also...homing beacons. I think." She blinked, and then shook her head furiously. "But anyway, I think we can use the location tracker in Mandy's suit to find her!" Olive nodded. "Yes, why didn't I think of that? We have to get back to Oprah's HQ, quickly!" Mandy had gone far enough into the cave to where she needed to brighten up the light on her horn because it was pitch-black. She regretted not having Peaches' ability to see in the dark, especially since she figured she had to have some catgirl blood in her and thus should have the ability. But alas, where she lacked night vision, she had magic, which didn't really work so well given how she couldn't keep her horn lit up forever. With her wings growing tired, she came to rest along a circular structure that sat in the middle of what had become a roundabout. She had lost track of the time, and didn't know how many minutes she was from the cave entrance. On that note, she was pretty sure she was lost, too. But that was merely to her benefit. "I wonder if Oona's still out there looking for me..." she mused, mindlessly playing with a small pebble on the ground. "Or maybe she gave up." The sound of a stomach growling nearly gave her a heart attack, as it was so loud that she had reason to believe it was coming from some large creature that roamed in the cave. It took her a few moments to realize, however, that it was her own stomach. "Oh! Didn't realize how hungry I was!" With a burst of magic came an entire multi-course feast that materialized into existence. A whole roasted chicken, some soup, some mashed potatoes and some steamed veggies were laid on a silver tray for her to enjoy, and she immediately went for the chicken firsthand, scooping it up into her mouth with her as-long-as-the-gag-needs-it-to-be tongue and swallowing it in one go. Her cheeks bulged a moment later before she spat the bones back out. As she began going for the potatoes, the sound of beeping reached her ears. Her eyes widened and her pony ears swiveled, trying to figure out where the beeping was coming from. "W-what's that noise? Sounds like it's coming from...from..." Her eyes slowly drifted to her suit, where she caught a few flashes of red peeking out from under her right lapel. A gasp left her. "The homing beacons! Oh pickleferries, I should've destroyed the homing beacons! O-or taken off the jacket!" She buried her face in her hands. "Now they're active...and they're probably gonna come after me!" Deep in the cave as she was, Odd Squad agents were absolutely no slackers in the tracking department. When you lived in a world where you had kids that were essentially human bloodhounds, villains that were exceptionally good at hide-and-seek, and creatures that treated camouflage like an art form, you had to be prepared. It was for that reason that Mandy couldn't stop her train of thought, wondering what would happen if everyone managed to find her. They would never understand, no matter how many times she told them. After all, they had never had their lives threatened by a mad scientist with a mallet who entrusted them with a life-or-death secret. She began hyperventilating. "If I destroy them then I'm gonna hafta get a new jacket...and white against gray doesn't mix!" Her ears folded downwards, and with that, she hunkered down as much as she could. "It's prolly nighttime. If anything, they'll come find me and take me back when I'm asleep!" Her head swiveled to the left, where three tunnels sat side-by-side. "Maybe I should go deeper into the cave...but if I do, then I'll get loster!" "Mandy?" The familiar velvety voice made her gasp. "Haruko? What...where are you...?" A near-blinding light shimmered in the distance, like a lone star in a dark night sky. Mandy's eyes took a moment or two to adjust to the new source of light. "I am here." Haruko took a few steps forward. "Why are you here and not back in Odd Squad, Mandy?" "Oh Haruko, it's awful! See, Oona wanted me to keep a secret of hers, and she told me that if I spilled it then she would hit me with her mallet! And so I’ve been trying really really hard to keep the secret, but…" "Sometimes, it is best to tell secrets if they threaten the life of you or someone you care about." Haruko gently advised. Still, Mandy wasn't having it. "But she'll kill me! I don't wanna be killed!" "Mandy." Haruko's tone became disappointed. "Do you not have incredible fighting skill? Are you not renowned within Odd Squad for how well you do in combat? And yet you are afraid of one of your own?" Mandy didn't have the heart to correct her and say that Oona was a Scientist and not necessarily an agent. Still, she couldn't deny that maybe, just maybe, Haruko might have had a point. She could certainly take on Oona and win, but hammer-to-hammer combat wasn't necessarily her forte. Hammer-to-gadget combat, on the other hand...now that was something she could get a good grip on. She gave a pitiful whine in response to her spirit guardian. "I understand you are scared." Haruko continued. "But I am sure that Oona did not mean what she said." Bolting straight up onto her feet, Mandy threw her hands into the air. "She did! She pounds gadgets with that mallet! She’s insane, Haruko, absolutely insane! And I’m not gonna be her next victim!" Haruko gave a soft exhale. "I can tell you this." A pause. "Oona is looking for you right now." "Tell me somethin' I don't know!" "But it is not out of anger. It is out of...worry." Mandy blinked. Surprised as she was, though, there was no reason to suspect that this was some gambit of Oona's to try and lure her out. That was always a possibility. And Haruko didn't seem like she would be willing to elaborate, if previous interactions served. Case in point: the way the light began to fade as Mandy could hear her pawsteps becoming fainter and fainter. "Haruko, stop being so cryptic!" Mandy screamed. "Whaddya mean?!" "You will find out, in due time." Darn it. I should've seen that one comin'. The light eventually became no more, disappearing like a candle going out with a gust of wind. A growl rolled in Mandy's throat that slowly turned into a rising cry of pure frustration that made a few stalagmites wiggle somewhere in the cave. She stumbled back and fell on her rump, pounding the ground with her fist before her anger began to subside. "I really wish she'd stop being so mysterious...and how did she know...?" She had to bite her tongue to stop her from asking the second, very much rhetorical question. She shook her head. "Ugh, never mind." She ate the rest of her food so as not to let it go to waste, let her body digest for a few minutes, then laid down on her back, staring at the dark ceiling. The sound of dripping water that echoed throughout the space provided a nice constant to her growing fatigue -- a side effect of the food coma beginning to settle in and a side effect of it being nighttime. "I guess now that I've eaten I should get some sleep..." Mandy yawned. "I can finally catch...up..." Within seconds, she was out like a light and snoring away, the magic on the tip of her horn dying down. "The location tracker, you said?" "Yes. Peaches recalled a conversation you and her had about finding Fluttershy. We think that Mandy's homing beacons may help us find her." "All right, I've got Mandy's files right here." Reaching behind her back, Oprah pulled out a rather thick manila folder, one that required two hands to hold with just how many papers were in it. Because of its height, she found her view looking straight ahead completely blocked, which didn't help in walking through a bullpen that was nearly pitch-black. "But honestly, can't we pick this up tomorrow? It's late." "Olive and I are willing to pull an all-nighter if we have to." Peaches responded, her voice carrying exhaustion but also a hint of determination. "Mandy’s your second-in-command. Who knows if she’s been eaten by some crazy odd creature out there or not?" Oprah set the large folder onto one of the swivel chairs, which creaked under its weight in protest. "Fair point." She began thumbing through the papers as quickly as Rainbow Dash speed-read through books, until she found the one paper she was looking for. She slipped it into the slot under one of the computers, went back to the control panel, and began tapping on the small navigation screen. The bigger computer screen on the left displayed a map of the entire world. Slowly, it focused on Canada, and then on the province of Ontario. A red dot, only a few feet above where Toronto was located on the map, popped up, and from it extended a line that linked to a headshot of Mandy -- no doubt her agent profile picture from when she graduated the Academy. "Aha! She's..." Oprah's face fell. "...she's..." Olive's jaw dropped. "That isn't..." Peaches nodded. "It is." The three girls stared at the screen for a moment, as the dot began to pulsate a bright red. "That's the wooded area where Mandy ran away to when she got fired from Odd Squad." Oprah said. "Why is she there?" Peaches asked. "Doesn't that place bring bad memories for her?" "Yes, but it's also secluded." Olive explained. "She said in her note that she doesn't want to be around people. There's no one in those woods!" "Except hunters." Olive shot Oprah a glare. "My daughter is not going to get shot by some idiot with a gun looking for big game, Oprah." Oprah ignored her former agent's burst of anger and tapped on the smaller screen again. "It says that..." She watched as the map began to zoom in, showing a picture of a large gaping cave. "She's located in a cave." "Well, it's better than the stick tent she built the last time she ran away." Both Directors concurred with unisonant nods. "Come on, let's go find her!" Olive declared, beginning to head for the doors. "I'll send the information to your tablet, Olive." Oprah moved to take the file out, pressing the Eject button. "And get Twilight and the others. They can spread out and help you." "Got it!" Peaches followed Olive. "I'll get the ponies, you get a head-start." Olive nodded and sped off as fast as her feet would take her, with Peaches following suit. Inside the Lab, Oona peeked out from the back room, eyeing Oprah carrying the large stack back upstairs and into her office. She had heard everything, and she couldn't deny that she was beginning to feel even more anxiety and regret now. Clearly, the situation had gotten well out of hand, and as she decided to go through the double-doors, only one thought hung in her mind. What have I done? As the woods where Mandy was didn't have a tube entrance, Olive and Peaches were forced to find the nearest one and then hike on foot. It was only a few miles, which Peaches in particular attributed to a stroke of luck more than anything else, but it was worth it if they managed to find Mandy. "It's lucky I'm a catgirl. I've got special eyes!" "Well, start looking. Start looking with your 'special eyes'." Olive sneered, as if almost mocking Peaches for her comment as she glanced at her tablet. Aside from the flashlights she and the catgirl were holding, the device was one of the only sources of light they had. Behind the two girls followed Twilight and the rest of the ponies, who all looked rather exhausted as they walked along. Twilight, at the head of the group, yawned. "Guys, I know finding Mandy is important, but are you sure we can't start doing this tomorrow?" "We're not resting until we find Mandy!" In response to the unisonant declaration, the alicorn heaved a mighty sigh. "We should be almost there." Olive stared at her tablet, which showed a cluster of eight dots that represented the search party on a sonar screen. "That cave has to be close by." A bright flash marked the arrival of Oona, with Teleport-inator gadget in hand and a side of dizziness. She stumbled around for a bit, giving a shocked "whoa" before she managed to regain her balance and let out a sigh as she realized she was in complete darkness. The sound of dripping reached her ears, but aside from that, no noise was present. "Flashlight-inator!" she called, reaching behind her back and exchanging her Teleport-inator for a Flashlight-inator, which, in reality, was nothing out of the ordinary. "Yeah, this is just a regular flashlight." As she walked, she moved the flashlight around, keeping an eye out for any human bodies. She didn't need to walk more than five minutes to come across one, which was lying eerily still. As she shone the light on it, the body's owner looked all too familiar to her. She gasped. "Mandy? Mandy!" she cried out, running to the hybrid's side and furiously shaking her. "Mandy, speak to me! Are you okay?" When she got no response, she jumped to her feet and moved the flashlight around, an ugly grimace on her face. "All right, you dirty odd creatures of this cave! Come at me! I can take ya! C'mon!" she threatened, a growl rumbling about in her throat as she moved the flashlight around, daring for some creature to jump her. Nothing presented itself, however. She lowered the flashlight with a huff, using her free hand to shake Mandy again. "Mandy, please wake up! It's not safe here!" A snort eked out of the hybrid as her free pony ear flicked. "Whuh...no, I'll take the pink zzhirt over there..." Oona gave a relieved exhale. "Oh thank odd, you're alive." She continued shaking the hybrid. "Wake up. I need to talk to you." "Zztop zzhakin' me, 'm tryna zzleep..." Oona could swear that, by some freaky anatomical...whatever, a few brown hairs popped free from her head. She reached behind her back, yanked out a cowbell, and began shaking it furiously. "Wake up!" she screamed, making sure to angle the cowbell right near Mandy's ear but not enough to hit her with it. Luckily for her, that got Mandy awake with a snort and a "Whuh-huh?!" The ringing in all four of the hybrid's ears was atrocious, and she could have sworn lost at least half of her hearing from what had woken her up. "Honezztly, who'zz buggin' me in th' middle 'f..." Her vision was restored, and the blurry figure wearing a white labcoat suddenly made itself clear. "O-Oona!" came the panicked yelp, as Mandy hunkered down and tried to make herself as small as she could. Her heartbeat began to quicken, and her anxiety levels began to rise. She had predicted that Oona would find her eventually, and it was merely a matter of time -- but to do it when she was sleeping? If she had known that, she wouldn't have gone to sleep at all. Now, however, all she could do was beg for mercy. "Oona, please don't hurt me, I didn't spill the secret, I swe-" Her pleas were cut off by Oona placing a finger on her lips, a disappointed look settling on her face. "Mandy..." She sighed. "I heard you tried to run away from Odd Squad." As Mandy took ahold of Oona's lips and pried her lips free, she gave a squeaky "Y-y-yes?" "And you did it because...you were trying to keep my secret." Mandy took a deep inhale, a sign that her mouth was going to run and not stop until something that wasn't her stopped it. "I didn’t wanna tell anyone so I came here because no one was gonna find me here and I figured that one day you were gonna be ready to reveal it to everyone but that wasn’t gonna be for years and years and years and so I decided to stay here but now that you’re here I’M GONNA BE DEAD!!" The hybrid collapsed in a fit of sobs, burying her face in her arms as she laid on the floor. Oona simply stared at her in confusion. "What...?" "Don't kill me, please!!" came the plea, from a snot-nosed and bloodshot-eyed Mandy. "I don't wanna be killed, I'm too young to diiiiie!!" "I didn't mean it!" The words were blurted out, and they dialed back the volume of Mandy's sobbing. Her body quaked with each sob as her lungs desperately grasped for air that didn't seem to be there. Her eyes fixated on Oona, waiting for her to explain herself. "When I said I was gonna smash you with the mallet...I didn’t mean that!" Oona avoided eye contact. "It’s just, that secret was really important to me, and I thought you could be trusted with it!" She gave a sigh and closed her eyes. "But some people...they just can’t keep a secret." Mandy gave a noisy sniffle, followed by a hiccup. Oona smiled. "And that's okay." Mandy's eyes began to dry, and shimmered with renewed hope. Part of her was screaming at her that this act of niceness was just that, but otherwise, the rest of her seemed to take the Scientist's words at face value. She understood. She understood Mandy's inability to keep a secret, and that was all the hybrid needed. If Mandy spilled the secret here and now, she wouldn't be killed for it, and realizing that brought her massive relief. "S-so...I don't hafta keep it anymore?" "No. You can shout it right here, right now. There's no one here." A hiccup forced its way out of Mandy, and then she nodded. She slowly raised herself, planted her feet firmly on the ground, took a deep breath, and went for the pitch. "Oona eats blobs!! And they taste good!!" The words bounced all around the cave, through every tunnel that surrounded the duo and perhaps even beyond it. "She eats blobs blobs blobs, all day long!" Mandy chirped, bouncing around Oona before giving a relieved sigh and flopping back down onto the ground. "That felt so great to get off my chest!" Oona gave a smile at her friend's antics, but it just as quickly turned into a frown. "Mandy...I'm sorry." "Sorry?" "I shouldn’t have threatened you by saying I was gonna hurt you with my mallet. It was wrong of me. You’re a great agent, and I really appreciate you helping me repair and build gadgets. And in the future...I won’t entrust you with any secrets." Mandy blinked. "You mean it?" "As sure as I know how to lasso." Mandy's eyes began filling with tears again, but the happy kind this time and not the ugly sad kind. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" she cried, lunging for Oona and embracing her in a tight hug. "Too tight...rib's getting bruised..." Oona coughed. "Can you put me dooooowwwwn..." Realizing that her last word had turned into a wheeze, Mandy quickly obeyed her wishes. "Oh, you don’t wanna know the nightmares I’ve had of you squishing me with that mallet! And I thought it hurt when I hit myself with my own hammer…" "I'm sure. So, now that this whole thingamajiggy is over..." Oona placed a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "Can you come back to Odd Squad? Oprah and the others...they're missing you." "Yeah, I figured. They're prolly tracking me right now, huh?" "Via the location tracker in your suit? Without a doubt." "Yeah, via the location tracker in my-" Mandy's eyes widened. "The huh in my suit?" "You didn't know?" Oona tilted her head. "Every agent has a location tracker hidden in their suit." She rolled her hand about, trying to find the best words to describe the tool but not coming up with much. "It's been an Odd Squad staple for years." So...all this time...even if I had taken the suit off in here...they still would've found me?! Mandy stared off into space for a few moments before a realization hit her. Wait. Odd Squad's the most high-tech organization around. Of course they'd have something like that. Doiii. Still, one thing bugged her. "But I thought we had the homing beacons!" "That's for if you want someone to actually find you." Mandy opened her mouth to protest, then closed it, remembering a time when Olive used the homing beacons in her Investigation suit to have Otto track her. She had done that willingly, because the homing beacons were under the lapels...and they didn't just lift on their own. No, it could only be lifted by an outside force. "Oh. Good point." Oona gave an exhale and stood up. "Let's go home. And hopefully we don't get lost in here..." Mandy's pony ears, sharp as they were, were the first to hear voices. They swiveled around, trying to find which tunnel they were coming from, but the echo made it hard to pinpoint. Still, the sources of the voices were unmistakable. "I recognize those voices..." she murmured, before gathering up her lung power to give another scream. "I'M OVER HERE, GUYS!!" The voice echoed, and overshadowed all the other echoes for a brief moment. "Ooh, this echo thingy is pretty cool! Echo!!" Now the word "echo" bounced off of the walls. Mandy gave a laugh, but it quickly turned into a yawn as she began swaying on her feet. A soft hum rattled in her throat. "Oh yeah. I forgot I woke you up." Oona sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Can you use your alicorn magic and make a flashlight?" Mandy shook her head. "You should use your flashlight. I'm gonna fall asleep in ten seconds flat if I use my magic." "Flashlight-inator, thank you." Oona corrected, before heading towards the tunnel that laid straight ahead of the duo, which just so happened to be the one where faint lights were shining off of the walls and growing by the second. "Let's get out of here." She only got a few footsteps before turning around. "Wait. Can't you teleport us all home?" "I just toldja. Magic." "Mandy?" The form of Olive emerged first, and as soon as her flashlight shone on Mandy, she gasped and rushed up to hug her daughter. "Guys, I found her!" Within seconds, the hybrid became swamped by seven more bodies and promptly collapsed to the ground. "Partner, you're alive!" "Oh goodness, we finally found you!" "Thank Celestia you're all right!" "Cuz!" Peaches got off of Mandy and gave a sigh. "My location tracker idea worked!" "Nice job, Peaches." Olive praised, giving a wink and a thumbs-up to the catgirl. Mandy, however, noticed the glare the Director gave her, and as she began pushing her friends and family away, she threw her hands up. "L-look, I-I can explain!" she protested. "Y-you didn't hear anything I said, did you?" "So, Oona, you eat blobs?" Mandy winced as she glanced at Oona, whose eyes widened in surprise. "Y-yeah. And so what? They taste good and I like a varied diet." The Scientist's eyes narrowed. "But don't you dare tell anyone else." Olive chuckled. "Don't worry. Unlike Mandy, I can keep a secret. It's safe with us." "Good. Because if you spill it then I will personally see to it that-" "Can it. Let's just get you and Mandy home." Mandy heaved a sigh. "I'm really sorry for running away and worrying you guys. It's just that..." She glanced at the ground. "W-well, I-" "So Oona told you a secret and threatened to kill you if you told anyone?" Peaches interjected, placing a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "Yeah. And Haruko was right. I shouldn't have been afraid of Oona." Mandy's ears folded downwards. "I'm such a weakling..." "No you're not, cuz." "You kept Oona's secret for as long as you could." Rarity assured. "Even if she did threaten to harm you, it still means that you're a great friend." "Yeah!" Rainbow nodded. "I'll admit, I'm kinda impressed. You are a bit of-" "A blabbermouth?!" Pinkie's shrill cry interrupted the multicolored-maned Pegasus, and she heaved a sigh. "Yeah." She narrowed her eyes at Pinkie. "Like someone else I know." Pinkie simply gave a grin. Applejack made her way up to the hybrid next. "But in the future, sugarcube, if'n ya got somethin' t' hide that can hurt ya or hurt other folks, tell us. We're here t' listen." Mandy was far too tired to fight back against her friends' reasonable advice. A soft breathy laugh eked out of her fatigue-addled body, and she blinked a few times in order to stay awake. "Thanks, guys." She glanced at Twilight. "But I'm really sleepy...Twi, can you teleport us all back to Headquarters?" "Sure." Twilight's horn lit up in a fantastical purple color, and everyone disappeared in a bright flash, with Mandy leaving hardly any trace of her short residence in the cave behind. Upon returning, everyone parted ways, with Oona leading Olive to the Lab so she could try a blob for herself, having gotten curious as to what one tasted like. Mandy, in particular, was quick to head off to bed as fast as her feet would carry her, wanting nothing more than to sleep on fluffy warm sheets instead of a hard cave floor. The good news for Mandy was that she went out like a light the second her body hit the bed. The bad news was that she wasn't able to resume her dream of strolling around the city, and so her brain was forced to make an entirely new movie to play. Which was how she found herself stuck with Mr. Lightning in a dimly-lit room with no magic to speak of and no way to access gadgets. Snoring away, she turned over onto her right side, half of her body hanging off of the bed and the other half hanging on by some sheer force of willpower. Her snoring was, of course, loud enough that she didn't hear her phone ringing, nor did she hear the voicemail message that was left. "Hiya, you've reached Agent 57, Mandy! I can't come to the phone right now, prolly sleeping or tied up in an odd case or doing...whatever. Yeah. Anyway, if you just wanna leave me a message with your name and phone number, that'd be great, and I'll be sure to get back to ya as soon as I can! Thankies!" The phone beeped. "Mandy? It's Oscar! Uh, could you come to the Science building? At the Academy? Right now? That same Scientist you filled in for...he’s still sick, a-and I need you to teach a class in a half-hour on combining gadgets. Please, come quickly, I-I can’t find any substitute Scientist! Uh...t-thank you!" "Be ready 'n five..." Mandy murmured, pawing weakly at her head. It wasn't until a minute later that she finally woke up, her blue, eye-booger-encrusted eyes slowly creaking open to greet the day. With a loud yawn, she stretched out her body, her breath becoming caught in her throat when a pop resounded in her body. "Aah...that's my spiiiiine!" she whined, right before her right side failed her and she collapsed on the floor in a tangle of sheets. "Oww." As soon as she gulped down her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise, she checked her voicemail messages. Right then and there, her mood soured. Oh, it's gonna be that kind of a shrummy-crummy day. Great. When she finished her wake-up routine, she went to the Breakroom for lunch, deciding to settle on a ham sandwich and a family-size bag of potato chips. In one fell swoop she ate the sandwich, though it didn't feel any filling when it went down her esophagus and dipped into her stomach acids. "Oscar...he really can't employ any other Scientists, honestly..." she muttered, toying with a potato chip. "That class was a living nightmare! I don't wanna go back there! All that rambunctious energy from a class full of promising students, looking up to me like I know my stuff..." Her body shuddered as her mind began replaying previous classes she had taught, stopping just before she got to the memory of one eager student trying to woo her with a loose Centigurp. She wanted to be wooed by no one but Bradley Beli, and he was in Hong Kong on another tour. "Rambunctious energy of what?" Mandy yowled, her chair toppling to the floor and sending its occupant along with it. Her chips nearly followed suit, but luckily, they stayed intact. "Wow, you're really on par with the yowls, cuz!" Peaches gave a wink. "Keep it up and someday you may get to be like me." "Don't scare me like that!" Peaches held her hand up and took a step back. "Jeez, sorry. Didn't know you were a little crabby." She cracked a smile. "What, you wanna go back to bed but you were forced to get up?" "No. Oscar wants me to teach one of his classes again." Mandy got up, straightened her chair, planted her butt in it again, and ate a chip with a bored expression on her face. "Ooh, you get to be a teacher? Like an Odd Squad Professor? That's so cool!" Peaches' eyes gained shimmers in them for only a moment, before a frown formed. "But why are you so upset?" "Because this is the tenth time he's asked me this month!" Mandy snapped, angrily taking a handful of potato chips and shoving them into her mouth. Within that big bite, she could already feel the heartburn settling in, but she didn't care. "Is that a problem?" "Yesh!" Mandy swallowed. "He needs to hire more Scientists! I haven’t heard a single thing about a Scientist shortage and you know that I have work to do here too!" "Oooookaaaaay..." Peaches attempted to reach for a potato chip, but a glare from Mandy stopped her hand cold. "So, uh, how long is this class?" "An hour." Peaches recoiled her hand and scoffed. "An hour? That's not so bad. What are you teaching?" "Gadget repairs." "But I thought you liked gadget repairs?" "Yes! With my butt in that chair! Not at the Academy!" Mandy pointed to her desk with one hand and placed the fingers on her other hand on her puffed-out chest. "I pride myself on having a familiar workspace surrounded by the people I love where no one bothers me." Knowing that Mandy's desk wasn't the most ideal place where one who didn't want to be bothered couldn't be bothered -- and knowing that Mandy was, at the very least, smart enough to realize that -- Peaches raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." she said dubiously. "Well, if you're gonna go visit Oscar, maybe you should ask him about Oona." Mandy blinked twice. "Oona?" "Tell him what happened with her secret." It took a minute for the dots to connect in Mandy's brain. "Ohhh." She nodded. "Y'know, that's not a bad idea. I'll captrize on that." "You mean 'capitalize'?" "Tomayto, tomahto." Mandy responded, waving a dismissive hand and stuffing her mouth with another handful of potato chips. Peaches watched her go at it before she suddenly realized something. "Oh, uh, wait, before you go...I should apologize." "Apologithe for what?" Peaches couldn't help but wince at Mandy spraying chip crumbs all over the table. "First of all, chew with your mouth closed." she suggested. "Second of all, I should apologize for getting all hot and bothered about you leaving when we were trying to find the culprit a couple days ago. And for getting on your case about not paying attention." Mandy swallowed her chewy chip lump. "Nonono, I should apologize! I should've been more considerate of your feelings and at least told you the truth. But I really didn’t wanna spill that secret. You know how Pinkie takes pride in keeping secrets, and...I guess I took after her." "Fair point. Though Pinkie's not the best role model for keeping secrets." Peaches threw her hands outwards. "Huggies?" Mandy smiled. "Huggies!" The speed at which Mandy tackled Peaches was so quick that it knocked both of them to the floor. After getting over her initial shock, Peaches laughed, and Mandy soon joined in before sharing some of her chips with the catgirl. "Oscar, please. I'm begging you. Hire more Scientists. Do it for yourself. Do it for me." "I-I'm trying, heh! It's just hard because, well..." Oscar scratched the back of his neck. "We have a lot of Scientists-in-training here. And not a lot of Lab Directors are free to teach a class or two, or even become full-time teachers." Mandy glanced at some of the Scientists that passed her by in the halls. She had to admit, with absolutely no offense to them whatsoever, that seeing them was becoming a tiring sight, as was going to the Science building of the Academy when Lab-Con wasn't being hosted. Why? Because she didn't belong there. She was no Scientist. She was an Investigation agent who repaired gadgets as a side gig. There was practically nothing for her here aside from Oscar, and those like Odelia and Oona if they happened to come visit. "You do know I have work at my own precinct?" "Yeah! B-but it's just..." "Oscar, I can't keep doing this forever." Mandy stared at him with half-lidded blue eyes. "I know, my suggestion is easier said than done. But being a teacher isn't my career choice. I do best in combat!" "Yeah, but..." Oscar hesitated for a moment, as though wanting to convince Mandy to at least give teaching one more shot, but ultimately relented and sighed. "All right. You don't have to teach classes here anymore if you don't want to." "Yay!" Mandy clapped her hands together. "Now, maybe we can talk about more...important things." "Uh...s-sure, I've got some free time, heh!" Oscar grinned. "What do you wanna talk about?" "Oona." "Oh, Oona! How's she doing? Hopefully she hasn't burned down the Lab and reduced it to ash." Oscar nudged Mandy in the elbow and gave a chuckle that quickly went from amused to terrified. Mandy, noticing this tonal switch, patted her friend on the shoulder and smiled. "No, silly! The Lab's fine. But, uh..." She bit her lip. "See, she told me this secret..." "What secret?" Oscar asked, as he pushed open a door that led to a large stairwell and began heading downstairs. Mandy stopped for a moment, the door nearly whacking her in the face before she was able to snap out of her stupor long enough to slip through and dash after Oscar. "Ah, uh..." She nervously laughed. "Um, I-I'd rather not say. It's um...rather personal." A small blush crept into her cheeks. "But she told me this secret, see, and she threatened to smash me with her mallet if I told anyone! So I kept the secret because I didn’t wanna be killed...and I ended up running away from Odd Squad." Oscar's eyes widened. "You ran away?" "Yeah. I stayed in a dark, gross cave." Mandy shuddered. "It was awful, but it worked. For a time." Oscar gazed at Mandy empathetically. "Well, if I'm being honest with you, Mandy...it wouldn't be the first time." "Huh?" "Oona's done this before with a couple other Scientists." Oscar explained, as the pair went to the first floor and he opened the door, holding it open to allow Mandy to go first before he went in after her. "Some have taken it in stride. Others...haven't. I've gotten a ton of complaints about it from the ones who haven't." Mandy stopped again, but for much longer this time. "Wait. So I'm not the only one?!" "Yeah." Oscar stopped, turned, and held up a hand. "And don't worry, heh. You don't have to tell me what the secret was." "Ohthankodd." Mandy clutched her chest in relief, her brain granting her legs the ability to move again as she ran after Oscar. "I'll have to have another talk with her about it." Oscar mused. "When you return to Precinct 13579, find her and tell her I want to speak to her as soon as possible." "Will do!" Within a few minutes, the pair had emerged at the front lobby of the building, where a loud explosion was heard, followed by a cry of "Aw, not again!" from what had to be a mishap-making Scientist. The explosion made the surprised Mandy's hair and tail stick outwards and bush up tremendously, but only the Scientists-in-training and a sparse few Scientists actually diverted their attention from whatever they were doing to inquire about what had just happened. "Y-y'know..." Mandy's tail twitched as she tried to get it to go back to its normal poofy state, while she did the same with her hair by running her hands through it in an effort to smooth it out. "If those happen every day, it's a miracle how this building hasn't been destroyed by now." "That's what I keep telling myself, heh!" Oscar shrugged. "Me, and the former Big O...many, many times over." Mandy dashed towards the entrance. "Anyway, I'll give Oona your message. See ya later!" "Bye!" Oscar waved her off, watching her as she went out the doors and into the fresh air of the outdoors. As Mandy began walking on the front grounds, she stopped and turned around, facing the large building that loomed before her. She gazed at the inside, watching as Scientists mingled and chatted and walked around. She had nothing but the utmost respect for them, of course. Investigation agents and Scientists were a truly symbiotic relationship, one she accepted and embraced by helping out Oona and obeying her rules when it came to checking out and checking in gadgets. No one department could take all the credit for helping to solve oddness -- after all, barring Mandy, Investigation agents and making gadgets went together about as well as peanut butter and rat poison. But Mandy had her limits. And those limits just so happened to be passing on her gadget skills to Scientists. If Oscar wanted a teacher, he could surely pull a few strings and hire some. It was hard, but it wasn't impossible. Unfortunately for him, Mandy wanted no part of it. "Yeah, no." Emerging in the bullpen, Mandy took a deep breath. "Finally, I'm back where I belong!" she chirped, before making a beeline for the Lab. As seemed to be more common over the course of the week, Oona was back at it with smashing another gadget using her mallet. Her focus was unbroken as she shot the gadget a look that could slice it cleanly in two if looks could wound, raising her hammer high above her head. "Oona! Hey, Oona!" Oona gave a scream and began bringing the head of the mallet down onto the gadget. With a swift hand, Mandy caught the head, letting it rest in her palm. She fixed Oona with a small smile. "Before ya smash that, five seconds of your time?" Oona blinked. "Oh, howdy-do, Mandy." She met the hybrid's smile with one of her own. "What's up?" "Oscar wants to see you about..." Mandy faltered. "Uh...w-well, he didn't say. But he wants to see you as soon as you're available." Oona's half-lidded brown gaze became fixed on the hybrid. "You told him about the whole secret thing, didn't you?" The wheeze that came out of Mandy shriveled her lungs up and then made them reform like a grape that had become wrinkly and then been reshaped so it looked fresh again. They then quivered with every nervous laugh she barked out. "Moi?!" she practically screamed. "Haha, nooooo, I would never!" The two girls stared at each other for a solid minute. And then, Mandy took off in a run, her wheel-o'-feet kicking up a long cloud of dust that marked her trail. "Called it." Oona shook her head and sighed, a smirk settling on her face. "Oh, Mandy. You really can't keep secrets, can you?" She turned back around and resumed her focus on the gadget, taking a deep breath as she raised the mallet high above her head once again. Once she adjusted it for a perfect aim, a psychotic-sounding scream left her lungs that preceded a loud bang as gadget pieces flew all over the Lab. S1E28: Field DayBeing a spirit roaming around the world of the living had its many advantages and disadvantages, especially when it came to someone like Haruko. For one thing, she couldn't possess other living beings or objects. Just for fun, once, she had tried to possess one of her fellow clan members, only to phase right through them like water through a bottomless cup. Perhaps it was just the nature of the Magical Grasslands that didn't allow her to have such a power. She honestly wasn't sure, but she knew well enough to not try again. And she knew her clanmates well enough to know that none of them had the same power, not even the clan's leader. For another thing, Haruko could not have a physical body, or put on a fake appearance of one, outside of the Grasslands. When she wasn't roaming around her home turf, she existed as a spirit, though one made out of sheer light that was nearly blinding. When she was in the Grasslands, her body took on a more solid form, although she was still a spirit that could not feel any emotions nor feel any pain. It was a curse, because, if she was being honest, she much preferred having a physical form to take. But alas, as her time on the planet had come to a close, so did the privilege of being born with a body to call her own. As she plodded through the Grasslands, her nature powers leaving small flowers growing in her wake, she got to thinking about Mandy, as she often did. Most of the time, she left the hybrid alone, allowing her to live her life as she so pleased without spirit guardian intervention. But fate had dealt its cards, and if Haruko wasn't careful, they would cut into Mandy's body and leave lasting wounds. Mandy must get stronger. She must prepare herself for the turmoil that Vallea will inflict upon Odd Squad and upon Equestria. Her allies will be helpful, but even they may not be strong enough. She closed her eyes. Furthermore...she must prepare herself for the uncovering of her true origins. He... All movement, aside from her breathing, ceased. Almost every night, he is crying. He misses her. He wishes to find her. He wishes to reunite with her. The thoughts running through her mind made one thing clear to her, which was that she had a lot to think about in regards to Mandy's future. She sat down, staring up at the bright blue sky and watching the clouds lazily drift by. Oh, Annabelle...if only you were here. If only I had been able to save your spirit before it drifted away into the nothingness of what is up there. But it is too late now. Mandy will have to move on without you. Such is the way life goes. Her eyes shot open as she felt a sensation rocket through her body. She stood up and turned around, facing the large hill that loomed over a majority of the Grasslands. Mandy is coming. I must meet her. Stretching out her body, she took off in large strides, soaring over and down the hill before going back the way she had come. The skies of Toronto were stormy. Not many people and ponies were out on the streets as lightning struck and thunder roared. Pegasi were nowhere to be found in the sky, while nearly everyone else either had shelter or were currently seeking it. As usual, this weather did next to nothing for the underground-residing Odd Squad. Only very few lightning strikes had ever been so powerful as to shoot down through several layers of dirt and penetrate the concrete floors of bullpens, and even then, those had been attributed to the lightning being a side effect of some kind of oddity, like a vortex. Thus, agents considered themselves well and safe, although many were hesitant to go solve oddness in areas that weren't indoors. Mandy, who certainly didn't enjoy the stormy weather, was busy doodling, having gotten all her work done. She often got the blahs during storms, and wanted nothing more than to stay curled up in bed and sleep the day away. But duty called, and staying in bed was a nigh impossibility in general, except if she was sick. "Agent Mandy! In my office, now!" The hybrid bit back a groan as she pushed herself away from her desk, got up, and began dragging her feet towards her boss's office. It was lucky for her that she hadn't been outside yet, and she hoped that this latest summons wasn't Oprah taking her out of storm range and throwing her directly into the eye. "Yeah, you called?" Oprah looked up from her craft. Mandy couldn't tell what she was making -- all she knew was that it involved pipe cleaners and googly eyes. "I’ve decided to reward you for your hard work as of late. So I’m giving you time off to take a vacation." Mandy opened her mouth to speak, but just as quickly closed it. She definitely wasn't one to take vacations, so this generous reward seemed very much suspect. She narrowed her eyes. "A vacation? This isn’t gonna become like when Fluttershy made me take a vacation and you yelled at her for it, is it?" "No. This comes from me." Oprah smiled. "You've been working so hard. You deserve it." "And you're not doing this just because I decided to get my butt outta bed this afternoon?" "Mandy. Don't be so suspicious. Have I ever steered you wrong?" "Yes." Mandy reached above her and pulled down a giant list from out of nowhere. "I have over five hundred incidents and counting of you steering me entirely wrong." Oprah scanned through the list, but Mandy yanked on the pull cord on the bottom and made it slip back up before she could even get halfway down the portion she was shown. She fixed the hybrid with a bemused smile. "Someone's a little cynical today, huh?" "Oh, you know how I always get with big nasty storms. The blah-dee-blahs are in full swing for me." Mandy couldn't resist cracking a smile, even if it was just a short one. "Please, take the vacation. I insist." Oprah encouraged. "You can stay wherever you want for two weeks." That offer was a little more enticing to Mandy. "Really?" "Really." Having a feeling that her boss wasn't going to take "no" for an answer, the hybrid came to a decision. "All right. But only 'cause you're insisting!" She tapped her chin. "I just don't know where to go, though..." A shimmering light caught her eye, and she turned to see Haruko, standing in the doorway and gazing at her with an unreadable expression. Before she could even call out to her spirit guardian, she was gone, dashing down the stairs and leaving a mass of sparkles behind. "What are you looking at?" Oprah asked, squinting. "Haruko." Oprah's brows furrowed. "You know, I’ve always wondered why we can’t see her, but you can. She must have some kind of personal connection to you." "Yeah...I'm..." Mandy began slowly moving towards the doors. "...gonna go. I'll leave right now." "All right. Stay safe." "Thanks." Mandy took off for the stairs, briefly wondering if she should chase after Haruko before realizing that she still needed to pack and the kitsune would definitely be long gone by then. Still, she had confidence that she would wait, and so, she decided to take off for her room to begin packing for her trip. It was lucky that Mandy hadn't taken any packing advice from Rarity. The mare always seemed to overpack for just about everything, but where Mandy was concerned, where she was going didn't need five suitcases that each weighed more than a sumo wrestler. "I think I've got all my things packed." she mused, mentally running through her list and wondering if she was missing anything. "Mandy." The soft and velvety voice interrupted her. She turned and found Haruko standing in her doorway, gazing at her with intensity. "Haruko?" "Are you ready?" The question threw Mandy off a little. "Uh..." She glanced at her two suitcases, each held in her corona. "Y-yes? I mean, I think so..." "Then follow me." In the blink of an eye, the kitsune was gone, veering a right and heading out of Mandy's line of vision. "Wait!" Hastily, Mandy let her magic guide her suitcases towards her tail, where they disappeared in the brown poofy mass of fur and remained hidden. "Don't leave without me! Haruko!" Using her wings, she was able to keep close tabs on the kitsune as she ran -- something that proved to be a bad idea when she was eventually thrust out into the thunderstorm and had to become wary of any stray lightning bolts. She looked like an utter fool, flying in such a dangerous storm, but she knew that there was no way she would be able to keep up with Haruko on foot. "Haruko, ya really hafta take me out here?!" Mandy screamed, using her hands to feebly cover her head while also making sure to never lose sight of the bright light that illuminated the near-darkness. "You're lucky you're so bright, ya know!" A bolt of lightning crashed and met ground, missing Mandy by several feet but still close enough to make her nearly spin out. "Please don't hit my wings, please don't hit my wings!" she prayed aloud, attempting to right herself as she continued to follow Haruko as best she could. The rain was pouring so intensely that she had no idea where she even was, and had no idea where, exactly, she was going. Still, if Haruko had wanted her to follow her, then she was sure it had to be important. By the time Mandy came out of the storm, she was heavily winded, sopping wet, and frazzled every which way. "I...can't...breathe..." came the wheezes, as she began to descend. Luckily, Haruko had stopped. "We are here, Mandy." That was the cue for the hybrid to flop onto the ground, her wings buzzing slower and slower until they came to a dead stop and drooped weakly at her sides. She feebly attempted to lift her head off of the ground in order to get a good view of her surroundings, but what she saw snapped her out of her dazed stupor in an instant. Immediately, the view of grass became familiar to her, even if it was without the barn, the fence, and the road. But unlike in the past, she had full control over her emotions and feelings. She could still feel the pain in her wings, she could still feel the dampness of her jacket, tie-dye T-shirt and denim shorts, and she could still feel the sensation of fatigue that still lingered. Her mouth ran dry. The...the Magical Grasslands. But it's...it's a real place? I didn't... She glanced behind her. I didn't get hit by a lightning bolt and get knocked out, did I? All this time, I thought the Grasslands was just a place that existed in my dreams. But it's real. It's really real. She conjured up a glass of water, surprised that she could still wield magic in the Grasslands as she drank it eagerly. "Aah, much better!" she chirped. "Come and sit by me." Haruko encouraged. "I will tell you all that you need to know." Curious, Mandy obeyed, crawling over to her spirit guardian and taking a seat, letting her back rest along the rolling hill that loomed behind her. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes as the breeze rustled the grass and the flowers and dried Mandy off considerably. To her, the Grasslands was as peaceful in real life as it was in her dreams, and the fact that she could actually feel things instead of being a spirit in all but appearance made it even better. "Do you remember when I told you about the Magical Grasslands?" Haruko began. "When you broke up with Bradley Beli?" Mandy nodded. "Yeah. I blacked out, and you said that my body was somewhere in...limbo." "Yes. But the Magical Grasslands is no mere fantasy realm. It is very much real." Even though Mandy had come to that conclusion already, hearing it from a denizen of the Grasslands itself still shocked her. "S-so that means you, and other kitsunes, and other creatures, and the Arcanes...they're all real?!" Haruko gave a single nod. In all honesty, Mandy had no idea what creatures had lived in the Arcanes, but knew that since many mythical creatures lived in the real world and were well-known to Odd Squad, she shouldn't be too surprised. "But...if you're real..." She shook her head. Haruko wasn't real. She looked real, but she wasn't real. And now, the hybrid's head was spinning. "If you're real, then why do you appear as...well..." She tapped her chin. "I don't wanna say 'spirit-like', so I guess the next best way to word it would be..." Haruko waited patiently with a small frown on her face as Mandy hummed in thought. After a few minutes, Mandy shook her head, deciding to ask a different question that would hopefully provide her with some less complicated answers. "No, no. Why are you only visible to me?" "You will find out, in time." Haruko glanced at Mandy. "But there is something I must tell you. There is a reason why I have led you here, and I feel that you are ready to face the truth." "Face the truth?" Steeling herself, Haruko took a deep breath, staring into Mandy's eyes intensely. "The time will soon come for you to learn about your true origins. Your true family. What happened to you that caused you to become taken in by Odd Squad." That made the hybrid freeze. She hadn't thought about her true origins since a couple weeks after the Dream Weaver had dredged up memories of that woman who might or might not have been her actual mother. If she was being honest, she didn't want to think about her true origins. She had a happy life with Olive, Otto, Oprah, Peaches, the ponies...and she never wanted that taken away from her, ever. But now, it was all about to come crashing down. "M-my..." "You cannot go your whole life without learning the truth, Mandy. I understand that Odd Squad has been your family for years. But your real family…" Mandy's breath nearly caught in her throat. All she could do was stammer. "They miss you dearly. They may not show it on the outside, but I can feel their hearts crying out in pain. Mourning over the loss of their missing loved one." Recalling that Haruko had mentioned she could sense humans' true emotions, an odd sensation began worming its way into Mandy's gut. "Mandy." Haruko murmured, in a calm but urgent voice. "What do you know about your origins?" Something inside of the hybrid told her that the kitsune wasn't going to let her off easy. This was a conversation that needed to be had, and no matter how hard she tried to change the subject or divert it, it would still loop back around to the same topic. So, with that in mind, she yanked out a small clump of grass, held it in her hand, and began. "My real family...I...I’ve never thought about where I actually came from. Olive has always been my mom, and...Odd Squad has been my only family. But...I remember Peaches saying to me when we first met…" She dropped the grass. "...how I was the child of some Aunt Kimi and Uncle Derek. Apparently, Kimi was a catgirl, like Peaches, and Derek was a human. But I don’t recall any of those names…" "I do not recall those names either." Haruko shook her head. "Is it possible that Peaches was mistaken?" "Mistaken...how?" "Perhaps she has some details mixed up. Peaches comes from Vallea, does she not?" "Yeah. She does." Mandy responded, confusion edging into her voice. Haruko's gaze shifted to the sky. "I will admit, I do not know much about Vallea. But from what I understand, it is populated by catpeople, yes?" "Yeah." A silence fell over the duo that seemed to last for an eternity. Then, Haruko glanced at Mandy again. "Do you remember how Kimi and Derek met?" Mandy shook her head. "As I said, I don't know them." "Mandy...what do you think of Olive?" The question was so sudden that it caught the hybrid off-guard for a moment. When she got right back to it, however, her face lit up. "Olive? She’s the best Momma I could ask for! Sure, she may be tough-as-nails on the outside, and all serious and frowny-faced and grumpy, but she’s got a heart of gold! She’s such a softie!" she explained, capping off her praise with a giggle. Haruko smiled at the thought. "Do you appreciate her?" "'Course I do!" Mandy said. "She cared for me for as long as I could remember. And yeah, she stumbled a lot, ‘cause she wasn’t used to raising a child and six fillies, but she got better with time! And with a lotta help from Otto, Oprah and Oscar, of course." She closed her eyes. "I’m really grateful to her." Haruko placed a gentle paw on Mandy's leg. "Tell me about how she rescued you. Your earliest memories." Mandy tilted her head. "My earliest memories?" "Yes. I would like to hear it all, from you." It had been a while since Mandy had thought about her rescuing when she was but a baby. But she could remember all of it, every painstaking detail of it. She didn't like to remember it, but she did it all for Haruko's sake, to satisfy her curiosity even if Mandy was sure she probably knew the story well enough already. The first thing I can remember is the interior of Precinct 13579’s Headquarters. Somehow, I had wound up there, but I don’t remember how. What I do remember is seeing pies zooming back and forth, wind blowing so fiercely that it felt like I would be swept away. And this one persistent alarm kept going off, reciting a bunch of numbers I didn't understand. I later found out that it would be the digits that comprised pi. And not the yummy kind of pie. I saw agents running for their lives, screaming and crying and being whacked with pie from every angle. Being only a baby who didn't really grasp what was going on, I thought everyone was playing some kind of game, and wanted in on it. From a short distance away, I saw Olive -- or, well, to me, just another girl at the time -- running back and forth, hair blowing in her face as she wielded a rather bulky device. Bodies were strewn all over the place. It was nothing but a pure disaster area. And I was so awestruck by it all that I didn't notice six fillies who had somehow gained access into Headquarters. "What's going on?!" Pinkie cried. "I-I don't think my Sonic Rainboom can fix this!" Rainbow called. "This place looks simply dreadful." Rarity let out a yelp as she buried her face in her hooves, in an effort to make sure every inch of her stayed clean. "I don't reckon any 'f y'all know how t' stop this, do ya?!" Applejack yelled, one hoof on her hat to keep it steady. "I sure don't!" Twilight's tone was one of shock and surprise. "This is unbelievable!" As for Fluttershy, she had already begun crying, attempting to make herself as small as she could, a mere speck on the battlefield. "Hold on, who's that?" Rainbow pointed at Olive, who was taking shelter behind the slide that led to the sandbox and pulling out a small notebook and a pen. "I'm not sure, but maybe she can stop this!" Twilight's tone showed hope, now, as she watched the girl at work. It was then that I noticed the fillies, but drowned out whatever words they said next, as I made my way over to a girl who was laying deathly still, with pie littering her body head to toe. I didn't know it at the time, but it was none other than Oprah. There were other agents covered in pie who were laying just as still. Only later did I find out that they had fallen ill from contamination -- the pies had been laced with poison, but it wasn't the deadly kind of poison, just the kind that could cause long-lasting disease. Worried for Oprah's health, I slowly crawled to her. I barely registered Rarity's cry, telling me to wait. This girl was laying down. Was she sleeping? Playing a fun game? Who was to say. The other fillies rushed over to the girl, trying to wake her up to no avail. And when they couldn't wake her up, I began to cry. It was only a minute later that a wounded Olive, her backside splattered with pie, limped over, gadget in hand. One of her eyes was closed, and it was obvious that she was struggling to stay alive. "Ma'am, let me help!" Twilight offered. Olive's eyes widened. "No, you'll get hurt!" Twilight didn't listen, trotting past Olive with her horn alight. "That's where all the pies are coming from!" she remarked, before lifting up the gadget in her corona, examining it, aiming it at the pienado's container blocked with seven green triangles, and firing it. The eighth triangle hit, and the pienado container was sealed. The winds stopped howling, and everything, even the dying screams and cries, quieted. The only high-volume sound that remained within the bullpen was my crying, as I hadn't realized what had happened yet. "Y-you..." Olive murmured. "You did it. You stopped the pienado!" "The what?" Olive opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, shaking her head. "Are you okay?" she asked, examining the filly up and down. "You weren't hit, were you?" Twilight shook her head, setting the gadget down onto the ground. "I'm fine!" Turning to the other fillies, Olive asked the same questions. They assured her that they were fine and completely uninjured. By this point, I had stopped crying and was doing nothing more but babbling in worry as I stared deep into the eyes of the one that had (partially) saved us all. "How did you all get here?" Olive asked, shortly before she cried out in pain and knelt to the ground. "Are you okay?" Twilight was quick to offer her support. "These pies...they're contaminated with disease." Olive explained. "If I don't get medical help soon, I'll end up just like everyone else here!" Applejack approached the girl. "Let us help, sugarcube!" "Yeah, we'll get you all better in no time!" Pinkie nodded. "All right." Olive slowly but surely extended a finger to another girl clad in a blue lab coat, lying flat on her back and, like Oprah, remaining deathly still. Since she had pie covering her body as well, it was no secret what had happened to her. "You see that girl with the blue lab coat, over there? Find other kids dressed like her. Those are Odd Squad Doctors. They'll help." "Okay." Twilight turned to the others. "Applejack, Rainbow Dash, come with me. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, go in the other direction. Let's hurry!" I watched as the six mysterious ponies took off running, in an effort to seek help before Olive died. Right then and there, Olive started coughing. Her hand clutched her chest as she hacked, and I could see spittle landing on the ground in front of her. Curious, I gave an inquisitive coo, crawling over to her and placing a hand on her foreleg. Luckily, her coughing spree wasn't long. "And as for you..." She tilted her head. "Where did you come from? You can't be an agent here...you're not wearing a suit." I gave a worried babble. "You're worried about me, aren't you?" Olive said sympathetically, before she gave a soft moan that indicated the disease was beginning to settle in further and further. I watched her with a worried look on my face, my eyes welling up with tears. "I'll be fine." Olive smiled. "I didn’t come this far...I didn’t save my precinct...just to fall here. That boy...he has to become my partner. I have to become the Director of my own precinct. I...I have to make sure Odd Todd falls." With loud shrieks, I began to cry again. "Oh...you're not convinced, are you?" Not even the sensation of being picked up and placed into warm and loving arms calmed me down. I was just too worried about this girl's fate. I didn't want her to go. "Shh, it's okay! It'll be okay! Uh..." Olive bit her lip. "Crumpets, I don't know how to take care of a baby..." Gently she rocked me back and forth. "Rock-a-bye-baby, on the treetop? When the wind blows, the cradle will rock?" That was enough. My crying began to cease, and I giggled. "Oh, thank odd." Olive gave a relieved sigh. "I don’t know who or where your parents are, but...we’ll try to find them. It’s the least we can do." She adjusted her position on the floor. "For now, let’s wait until those fillies come back. It’s weird, but they didn’t look like any horses I’ve seen. Maybe they’re from another world." Hearing such determination made my heart fill with joy. I gave a few happy coos, my little hands grasping at her nose in futile attempts to grab it. "My vision's growing hazy...the disease is settling in..." Olive turned her head to cough...no, hack some more. She set me down as I gave another inquisitive coo. "Ms. O..." Her voice was more strained, now. She hacked again, and looked at the girl who I tried to wake up earlier. "I’m sorry. I stopped the pienado...I saved this precinct...but it came with a cost. I didn’t want to die here, but…" Her hacking grew more violent in nature. At one point, I could swear I saw blood stain the floor, but I can't recall. I slowly began to crawl to her, giving worried babbles and coos. "Doctors are on their way." Olive assured. Her face began to pale. She rubbed Oprah's shoulder. "Please don't die...you have to stay strong. For me. For all of us..." The way she was hacking, it was clear that her fate was about to be sealed. " I...p-please...take care of...this baby. And the six…fillies that came with her." Olive collapsed onto the ground. Her eyes slowly began to close, her final words a mere whisper as they floated into the air and then disappeared. "I...am deeply sorry. But this is goodbye." Seeing Olive collapse in front of me like that was devastating. I don’t know why, but I was...drawn to her. She saved my life, and the ponies’ lives. To me, that was enough for me to believe that she was nice. The ponies weren’t back yet with the Odd Squad Doctors, and I knew that something had to be done. But my heart was too filled with sadness. So...I cried. I practically threw my lungs out, hoping someone would come and help. Anyone who was still alive and standing. Maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for Olive. She could still be saved. I just needed someone to come to me. Eventually, the ponies returned with some Doctors. The rest of it was kind of a blur. I was crying too hard to notice a lot of what was happening, but I do know that most everyone recovered. There were...many casualties, though. The disease progressed too far in some agents. Some were never able to function again. Others...died. Olive survived, thankfully. But she developed sensitive hearing from having pie in her ears. She also developed trauma from the incident, in the form of a pie phobia that would haunt her for a long while. Haruko closed her eyes. "I see." "I can tell you the rest, if you want..." "No need." Haruko held up a paw. "I do not wish for you to continue if it bothers you. I am deeply sorry, Mandy." Mandy bit her lip. Tears began dripping onto the dirt below, and she sniffled. "It's...it's fine." She slowly got to her feet. "I'm just gonna...go for a little fly and then take a nap, if that's all right." "That is fine. Do whatever you wish." The kitsune watched Mandy take flight through the expansive Grasslands. Although it wasn't visibly obvious to her or to anyone else, she was crying too. She was sure her heart was aching with pain and her lungs found it hard to take in air. She gave a soft exhale and laid down. I can feel the pain in her heart. She loves Olive dearly. That attack...it must have hurt her as well, even if not physically. If only I could make her feel better…if only I could help her. The sound of the breeze winding through the air and the sound of the grass rustling tickled her ears, but neither of those pleasant noises were able to placate her and make her calm again. "It's been two weeks!" Oprah cried out, pacing back and forth in front of her desk. "Where is she?!" "Mandy taking a vacation? That's unusual." Otto remarked, sitting on the couch with Olive beside him. The girl shot him a knowing look, as though attempting to remind him that Mandy had, indeed, taken a vacation before, in an incident that had ended in disaster. "Did she say anything about where she went?" Olive asked. Oprah stopped her pacing and gasped in realization. "Now that you mention it...she mentioned seeing Haruko before she left!" The sound of drumming hoofsteps ascending the stairs caught the three kids' attention, and the ponies all burst in with panicked looks on their faces. "We tried using the location tracker." Pinkie explained. "It's not working!" "Of course not, she doesn't have her suit on!" Pinkie blinked as she stared at Oprah. "Oh. Whoops. Hehe." "If she saw Haruko..." Olive gasped. "Maybe she went to the Magical Grasslands!" "But that place isn't real." Otto pointed out. "It only exists in her dreams." "Has anyone tried calling her?" Oprah's gaze moved towards the ponies. "I did." Fluttershy raised a hoof. "She didn't answer." Oprah groaned, heading back to her chair and flopping down in it. "If only I knew more about the Magical Grasslands...it's just as much of a mystery to me as it is to all of you." "So what do we do?" Twilight asked. "We don't have a choice. We just have to wait until Mandy comes back." Oprah reached for her apple-juice-flavored juice box and took a few swigs. "In the meantime, we can cope." "No!" All eyes turned on Olive, who had shot up from her spot on the couch. "I’m not going to just settle with that! Who knows if Mandy’s run into some odd monster or something, or needs our help?" Otto watched his partner move past the ponies, who quickly moved out of the way. "Partner..." Olive turned around. "I’m going to do some research on the Magical Grasslands. And I recommend you all do the same." She threw her hands into the air. "That’s our...our friend out there! Our relative! We shouldn’t just leave her be!" A pause lingered in the room as everyone considered the Director's words. It didn't last long, however, as the vote was unanimous in that she had a point. "Olive's right." Twilight nodded as she turned around. "I'm going to do some research too. It doesn't feel right to just sit around and wait for Mandy to come back." "Then we'll help too, darling!" Rarity turned and placed a supportive hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Let's go get Mandy back!" Rainbow declared, performing a loop-de-loop before hovering alongside the other ponies. "Let's head for the Odd Squad Library." Twilight suggested. "Maybe there's something there that can help us." She, and the others, began to head out as Peaches and Otto rose from their seats. "Peaches?" Oprah glanced behind her. "What about you?" The catgirl heaved a sigh. "Well...I'll kill two birds with one claw swipe. I'll go look for the culprit that burned down Vallea, and find the Magical Grasslands." Oprah nodded. "All right. Just stay safe. And call if you find anything." "Will do." With that, Peaches left the room, and its occupants were down to three. "Otto?" "I have to keep things under control at our precinct." Otto's gaze moved to Olive. "Besides, Olive was always better at doing research." "True." Oprah responded, choosing to ignore Olive's prideful smirk. "I'll see you later, then." As she waved Olive and Otto off, she gave a heavy sigh as she flopped back into her chair, beginning to feel a migraine coming on that no amount of kid alcohol seemed to fix. Regardless, she gave a few sips of apple juice and resolved to get back to work, hoping to do something to take her mind off of her beloved second-in-command having gone missing. One thing that Mandy hadn't witnessed when it came to the Magical Grasslands was the beauty of nighttime. The stars, the moon and the tranquility of it all held a sense of wonder that one couldn't experience by viewing it in the hustle and bustle of a city, with its light pollution and tall obstructing buildings ruining the sight. After making a fire and cooking about three dozen hot dogs (all with ketchup, of course), Mandy had fallen asleep with quite the distended belly and ketchup still smothered all around her mouth. Her snores, however loud they were, didn't seem to shake the foundation of the Grasslands, nor did they bother Haruko, who was sitting beside her and staring up at the sky. "From the bags Mandy carried here...I would assume she is on vacation." she realized. Just as she was about to speak her next thought, however, a sensation shot through her body. She stiffened. Odd Squad. They are looking for her. A sigh made the fur on her chest ripple slightly. Time moves slower here than it does in the real world. By the time she returns, it will have been months. Years, perhaps. She slowly closed her eyes. She cannot stay here. But... "Haruko." The tall, dark figure approaching the kitsune bore eyes of an icy blue, which shone in the darkness. Smoke smoldered from his nostrils for only a brief moment as he stared. "Huh?" Haruko turned to look at the one addressing her. "Skygaze? What are you doing here?" "I roam around the Magical Grasslands as a spirit. The Arcanes lived here for a very long time. This is my home as much as it is yours." Skygaze's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Something is bothering you." Knowing that Skygaze wasn't usually the all-too-perceptive type, Haruko asked, "How can you tell?" "I overheard your talk with Agent Mandy. I could sense the pain flowing through your heart as she told you her story." "I am Mandy's spirit guardian." Haruko countered. "Of course I share her pain." Skygaze's wings ruffled. "Why did you lead her here?" he asked, in a tone that conveyed curiosity more than scolding. "She needs to know her true origins." Haruko gazed into Skygaze's eyes with a sense of urgency. "I have been getting these...pangs, of sorts, for years. They are cries for help, Skygaze. From her real parents. They are looking for her. They miss her." "I can understand. But did you consider if Mandy is ready to find her real parents?" That caught Haruko off-guard. She glanced at Mandy, and then back at Skygaze, who was watching her expectantly. "If she is...ready?" "This is simply not something you can force onto someone, Haruko." Skygaze explained. "You are, perhaps, correct, in that Mandy needs to know about where she really came from. But not only do you need to be ready, she must be ready as well." Haruko had to admit that the raroh made a strong point. She had pushed Mandy to find her real parents and unearth her real origins without even considering her feelings, and it was that mistake that made her want to apologize right away. But as her head turned to Mandy once more, she found that the hybrid had rolled over onto her left side and was muttering something in her sleep about devouring every last crop on a farm in between her raucous snores. So, she settled for giving an understanding nod to Skygaze, a way of silent communication that showed him that he was in the right and she was in the wrong. Still, she had more things on her mind that she figured she would share with her former leader, now that he had taken the time to appear in front of her. "Skygaze, that is not my only concern." Haruko exhaled. "There have been creatures, catpeople, hailing from a land called Vallea, that have been coming to Mandy and attacking her and her friends. I have been keeping an eye on them during my travels in the real world. They want to take her and Peaches back with them." Her eyes shimmered with worry. "I do not know why...perhaps to torture, or even kill...but I do not want that to happen! And-" "Haruko." Skygaze extended a wing to quiet her, wrapping it around her back. "When Mandy was born, you took it upon yourself to become her spirit guardian, just like you were to her mother. You know her better than anyone. Even when you were in the Arcanes, and even when you became a spirit...you never stopped caring for her." He smiled. "You have the power to help Mandy. To work together with her and help her when she is in trouble. As the former leader of the Arcanes, I believe in you." He turned. Haruko, stunned by his words, could only manage a single utterance of his name. "Sleep on my words. Although the Arcanes are long gone, I, and your clanmates, will always be here, in the Magical Grasslands." He gave a soft sigh. "I have given you all the advice I can give. Farewell." "Skygaze, wait!" The raroh did not answer. Light began to overtake his body. He spread his other wing and took flight, soon becoming nothing more than a shimmering speck in the sky that eventually faded away. Haruko stared at the sky, uttering her former leader's name once more. After some time, she broke her gaze away and looked at Mandy again, who was sucking the tip of her thumb. As much as I do not want to believe it...he is right. I have been helping Mandy all throughout her life. We are connected. If Mandy does not wish to find her real parents… She laid down on the grass. ...then I must not force her. She will be ready, in time. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on her paws and drifted off to sleep, her mind swirling with thoughts on her conversation with Skygaze and on her past experiences with both Mandy and her mother. The next day, Mandy and Haruko both awoke to the sun at its highest point in the sky -- a good indicator that it was around noontime. Haruko woke up first, of course. She gave a soft yawn as she stood up and began stretching out her body. A few seconds after that, Mandy woke up, her yawn more volumetric in nature as she rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. "Mmm...that was the best sleep I've had in a long time!" she remarked, twisting her upper body from side to side to get the most pops and cracks out of her spine as she possibly could. "Mandy. Good afternoon." The hybrid's gaze flicked to her spirit guardian. "Oh! I didn't know you usually slept this late, Haruko! Good afternoon!" Haruko shook her head. "Not usually." Her gaze grew steely. "There is something I must tell you." "What is it?" "About yesterday..." Haruko blinked. "I am sorry for making you share your origins like that. I may be ready to talk about your real parents, but it is clear that you are not." "You're right. I'm not." The answer was so sudden that it made Haruko do a double-take, her eyes widening slightly. "But you’ve given me something to think about." Mandy stood up and stretched out her own body. "And when the time’s right, then I’ll come see you in the Magical Grasslands and we can talk!" One thing that Haruko loved about Mandy is that the hybrid was very forgiving. Even though she had a tendency to hold long grudges and not take "sorry" as any kind of answer, when it came to the right someone and the right time, she could pour all of her forgiveness out into her words and communicate them well. The kitsune gave a warm, grateful smile. "That would be wonderful." A sensation went through her body, and she perked up, giving a startled "Oh!" as she felt the grass begin to rustle and lap at her paws. Mandy blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "Your friends...no..." Haruko shook her head. "Your family...they are looking for you." "You said that yesterday!" "No. I am talking about Odd Squad." Haruko looked to the sky. "I can hear their worried cries. I can sense their strife. Much time has passed in the real world." It hit Mandy right then. Her eyes widened, and her pony ears drooped. "Oh no. Because time moves slower here! Ohh, how did I forget?!" She sighed. "I-I need to get back. I'm so sorry!" "It is quite all right." Haruko nodded. "Go and see your family. And please, remember, you are welcome here at any time." "Can this place be teleported to?" Mandy blurted. "I mean, traveling is nice, but the Magical Grasslands is soooooo hard to travel to!" She ran a hand through her hair. "You took me through thunder and lightning! I was out of breath! It was such a long fly!" Haruko couldn't resist giving a soft chuckle. "Yes, you may teleport here whenever you desire." Mandy gave a relieved sigh, placing her hand on her chest. "Oh thank odd." She began packing her bags, levitating them in her corona. "I'll see you soon, okay?" Haruko nodded. "I will always be watching over you, Mandy. Farewell." Looking over the real-life Grasslands one more time, Mandy teleported away, leaving her spirit guardian alone in the expansive space with her thoughts. Mandy managed to arrive back in her room, which was a good thing for her because she didn't feel like getting swamped by everyone. What was also a good thing was that she hadn't aged so much as a day, which meant that not as much time had passed as she had hoped. She had only stayed in the Grasslands for a day, but she was sure she had passed the two-week threshold Oprah gave her, which, compared to months, years, decades or centuries, was pretty solid. "Ahh, I'm back home! It worked!" Mandy grinned. "Man, teleportation's a good skill to have." She put her bags on her bed, opened them, and began to unpack. "And now that I'm home...maybe I can take some time to think about what Haruko said. About my real family." Her eyes grew misty. "I'm not ready to find them. But..." Memories began flashing in her mind. From Otto giving Olive advice on how to calm her down as a baby, to a teenage Rainbow Dash letting her watch her do all sorts of crazy stunts in the air, to Pinkie Pie teaching her the joy of baking for the very first time by letting her make a batch of cupcakes. All of them were precious, all of them were cherished, and all of them reminded her of one thing. "This place...all these agents...they're the only family I've ever known." Tears began dripping onto her bedsheets. "If I find my real parents, they’ll probably want me to go back home with them. And I’ll have to leave this place behind." She could see it now. Her mother and father, demanding she come home with them because they felt Odd Squad was unsafe or its members were untrustworthy. Dragging Mandy home by the ear. Keeping her in the home and never letting her see the daylight unless good old Mommy or Daddy went with her. "I don't want that!" she yelled, furiously shaking her head and sending tears flying from side to side. She clutched her head and slumped to her knees, trying to scrub the thoughts out of her head. "No, no, keep it together..." she murmured, almost like a mantra to steel herself. She balled up her hands into fists. "I just...have to spend more time with them. As much time with them as I can!" Her expression brightened. "And there’s no time like the present!" Smiling, she got to her feet and flung open her door, looking back and forth for any sign of life. There wasn't any, so she decided to make her way to the bullpen, which she knew had to have at least some of her friends and family hanging around. As she got closer, however, her pony ears picked up on the sound of someone crying. "Partner, it's gonna be okay. We'll find her." Is...is that Momma? And Otto! A hiccup. "Otto, I've looked through the entire Library. There's nothing on the Magical Grasslands." "Peaches is out looking right now. She'll find it." "It's been weeks! I just..." Mandy could feel her heart beginning to break in two as a pitiful, strangled wail left her mother's throat and she continued to cry. Although she couldn't see them, and they couldn't see her, she opted to peek around the corner and stay mostly hidden. "I've never seen her in this bad of a shape before." Oprah remarked. "Olive, we'll work together to find her. I promise." "We'd better! And if we do, I'm never, ever letting her leave my side again!" Mandy bit her lip. She knew Olive made empty threats from time to time, but this threat sounded ominously serious and one that she would definitely be keen on following through. Her stomach did a flip out of nervousness. "Whoa, whoa. Olive, that's a bit over the line." Oprah warned. "Mandy is her own agent. Her own person. She can do what she wants." In a snarl: "I'm her mother. She is a child." "The hypocrisy that you yourself are a child aside, my argument still stands. You won't be there for every second of Mandy's life. I know you're worried for her health and safety, but you're acting hysterical." "Come on. Let's go back to Headquarters." Otto urged. "You can sit down, drink some tea, maybe have a nap..." "No! I'm not going back until Mandy is found!" A pause. "Olive..." Oprah's voice was on the edge of pleading. "That's my daughter out there!" "That's it. We're going back. Now." In all the years Mandy had known Otto, he had never used such a serious voice. When you were fun-loving and kind enough, such a voice just wasn't stored in your collection. If she was being honest, it kind of scared her a little. "No!" came the screech from Olive in response. "I'm going out there, and I'm not coming back until I find Mandy. End. Of. Story." Mandy could hear the sound of quick footsteps, and then the sound of the automatic doors hissing as they opened, followed by them hissing again as they closed. "She's a stubborn one..." Oprah said, with a sigh. Mandy could feel the facepalm from where she was standing. "And an overprotective one." Otto gave a sigh of his own. Mandy, likewise, did the same, her body relaxing as he went back to his usual tone of voice. "Guess it's back to me running the precinct for...uh..." A pause, and then he continued. "Well, knowing her, it'll be weeks." "Good luck. Just call if you need anything." "Got it." The sound of departing footsteps marked the separation of both Otto and Oprah. Mandy pulled herself back around the corner, leaning against the wall. "Momma..." The name was a mere whisper on her lips. She knew, deep inside, that she probably should have gone after Olive. Who knew what "it's been weeks" constituted, after all, and she didn't want to leave Olive suffering over her like this. It was bad enough that Mandy was gone for only a day and a half and "weeks" had passed. But at the same time, she just wasn't ready to face her yet. She needed more time to think about Haruko's words. She needed more time to think about how best to approach the subject when it came to her mother. Her fist clenching, she left her spot on the wall and departed for parts unknown. Olive's feet took her through the streets of Toronto, as she tore past ponies and people going about their daily lives. "I have to find her. I have to make sure she's okay." she uttered in between pants, before slowing down just a little in order to call out without losing much of her breath. "Mandy! Mandy, where are you?! Please, answer me!" "Huh? Olive!" Peaches' eyes widened as she hovered downwards to meet Olive and landed on the ground a little ways away from her so she'd have time to stop. "Peaches..." Olive stopped, leaned over to catch her breath, and shot back up, all within five seconds. "Did you find the Magical Grasslands?" Peaches shook her head. "No. I've asked around, too. No one's heard of it." Olive bit her lip, a shaky sigh managing to eke out in such a way that it made a whistling sound. "It's hopeless. We're never gonna find Mandy." "That's right. You're not." The silky voice didn't come from neither Olive nor Peaches. Their eyes widening, the latter turned around while the former peered around her. Standing in front of them was a purple-furred unicorn mare with three different shades of pink in her mane and tail, her blue eyes holding malice within them as she stared. Peaches gasped. "It's you! That villain from last week!" "That's riii-iiiiiight!" the mare called in singsong. "I’ve already struck most of the town, blessing everyone with my fabulous singing! And now, I am here to soothe your aching hearts." "Ha! Bold talk coming from the pony who lost to Mandy at that singing competition last year!" The mare grimaced, her lips curling back to reveal two rows of pearly-white teeth. The nasty look only lasted for a few seconds, however. "Yes, well, there is always room for improvement." she remarked, polishing a hoof on her chest before shooting the two girls a wicked smile. "Now, let us get on with the show, shall we?" As she cleared her throat, Peaches glanced at Olive. "Olive, cover yo-" She didn't get to finish her warning. In one melodic, operatic note, the mare sang, her horn lighting up in pink to amplify her magic. Her singing produced rhythmic waves that washed over buildings and living beings, causing glass to break and said living beings to begin screaming in fright and pain. This, of course, included Peaches and Olive. "I...can't take it!" Peaches screamed. "It's...gonna...make me..." "Please, stop!" Olive cried out. "I have to find...Mandy..." Both girls' eyes began to dull until they looked akin to sheets of glass. Their eyes slowly began to close as they slumped to the ground. "Stop right there, Starry Song!" The mare stopped her cacophony. Her magic died down. Her gaze locked on the hybrid who had dared stopped her and dared to oppose her. "Oh, look who finally came." She smiled. "Agent Mandy. You poor, unfortunate soul. I can hear your friends crying out for you. They are suffering because of you." Mandy blinked. "Suffering?" "I can feel it in their hearts." Starry Song approached Peaches and Olive, who, in their hypnotized states, hadn't noticed Mandy's arrival. She placed a hoof on Olive. "This one has been looking for you for a very long time." And then, she placed her hoof on Peaches. "And this one has not found...the 'Magical Grasslands'. Whatever that is." A growl rumbled in Mandy's throat. "I'm not in the mood to banter. Give up before I make you!" In response, Starry Song merely gave a plaintive laugh. "Oh, such an awful cliche this all is." She shook her head. "Honestly, I would think you would know better, Mandy." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out her hammer, throwing it into the air. It spun around three times exactly before she caught it with her hand, extending it towards Starry Song. "Final warning, mare." "Oh no, I'm so scared! Woe betide me!" came the sarcastic response, followed by a chuckle. "Perhaps I should soothe your aching heart as well." "Soothe my aching..." Mandy stared at her enemy for a few seconds before furiously shaking her head. "My heart doesn't need aching!" She faltered. "I-I mean, no...nngh, it doesn't need to be soothed!" Starry Song shrugged. "Then that is, perhaps, your loss." Regardless of the unicorn mare taking Mandy's refusal at face value, she simply stood there, as though expecting the hybrid to change her mind. Which she ended up doing several seconds later as a plan began to take shape in her brain. "Actually...I changed my mind. Let me take you up on your offer." Dramatically, she clutched her chest. "Oh, my heart...it aches so! I have so many conflicting emotions!" Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. "Oh, please, please save me!" "Wonderful." Starry Song smirked. "Now, just stand still and we may begin." Mandy primed herself. Starry Song's jaws parted. "Perfect." A hammer was rammed straight into the mare's mouth. She began to choke, her eyes bulging with each gargling sound she made. Her rump met the ground as Mandy pushed the hammer further down her throat. "What's wrong? Hammer got your tongue?" Mandy mocked, as she gave a nasty snicker. "All it took was for you to open your mouth! You're still fallin' for that after all this time!" The hybrid gave a laugh that sounded purely evil. She had given laughs that were evil before, but those were mostly for fun or to demonstrate a point. Here, it was clear that Mandy's intent was to bring serious harm to this villainous mare, and she absolutely knew it. Inside, said mare began to panic, though she didn't dare let it show on her face and instead began to choke harder. "Careful there. Wouldn't wanna blow out a lung or two." Mandy gave a wink. Right then and there, Peaches began to get up, a groan leaving her body before a gasp took air right into her lungs again. She shook her head in an effort to clear it, and her eyes were restored back to their normal states. Mandy noticed. "Cuz!" Peaches looked up and gasped again, this time in surprise. "Cuz?! Y-you're back!" "Save all that stuff for later!" Mandy pulled the arm with the hand holding the hammer back, and then thrust it forward with a mighty "Hnngh-yah!" This allowed the head of the weapon to be released from Starry Song's mouth, as the unicorn gave frantic breaths of air and placed a hoof on her chest. "Now let's take you back." Mandy's tail wagged slightly. "Oh, and one more thing." Her horn lit up in an array of colors, allowing two strips of tape to be conjured into existence. Arranged in an X shape, they barred the mare from being able to sing any longer, and since it was magically enhanced, it took away her voice as well, for an added bonus. Gently, Mandy placed the tape over her opponent's mouth and made sure it was secure before her magic died down. Starry Song, of course, began to scream, her eyes pooling with tears of panic as she stared at Mandy. Luckily for her, as well as the rest of the townsfolk, her screams were muffled. "Don't worry, it's not permanent." Mandy assured, before turning to her cousin. "Peach, help Momma up. We need to take her back to Headquarters, now!" Peaches glanced at Olive, noticing that she hadn't yet awoken from the hypnosis. On the contrary, as a matter of fact -- her eyes were closed, and her mouth hung slightly open. Carefully, she picked her up, slinging the girl over her shoulder. Once Mandy had a good look at her surroundings and made sure everything was all right, she began to depart for the nearest tube entrance, encasing Starry Song in a magical bubble for easy transportation. Peaches quickly followed behind with Olive, unaware that two small dark figures were watching them from a bush situated on the other side of the street. "Mama..." The sound of an infant Mandy calling to her caught Olive's attention. Her head whipped around in every direction, her heart filling with hope as she tried to find her adopted daughter. "Mandy?! I can hear you but I can't see you!" she called out. With every second that passed, an unsettling feeling began to edge into her heart. "Mama..." "Mandy, come to me! Please!" came the desperate cry, which accompanied tears of sorrow as she began to run in the expansive purple-walled space, her eyes darting back and forth. The sound and sight of whooshing wind, manifesting as gray wisps, brought her to a stop. There, in front of her, was none other than Mandy. However, something was off -- namely, she was a baby, clad in a teal onesie and a messy head of hair. She gurgled, called out "Mama!" again, and giggled, her hands outstretched towards Olive, her expression one that the Director had seen so many times before and had come to love and cherish. "You...Mandy..." Olive took a step back. "You turned back into a baby?" "Mama!" came the singular-word response. Olive's expression contorted into one of anger, and she quickly jerked her head away so as to avoid eye contact with Mandy. "Is this what the Magical Grasslands does to people?" she said, her voice rising to a yell. "It turns people back into babies?" "No. It does not." The strange voice nearly gave Olive a heart attack. "What..." She turned around, only to find no one there. She quickly found out that no one was in the same vicinity as her, aside from Mandy, who was looking around for the sound as well. "Who are you? Show yourself!" Olive demanded, clenching her fists and steeling herself for a potential fight. "You will know me when the time comes." the voice responded. "But for now, you may view me as an ally." "How can I treat you as an ally when I don't know you?" Olive's voice dropped and quickly became coated in ice with her next question. "What have you done to my daughter?" "I have not done a single thing to harm your daughter." The voice paused for only a moment. "But she is not really your daughter." "Yes she is!" Olive snapped. "I saved her during a pienado attack and raised her! She was an orphan!" "Only one of those things is not true. Mandy is not an orphan." "She is!" The voice had an edge of warning to it as it spoke its next words. "Do not argue with me...Olive." That stopped the Director cold. Her eyes widened, and her lungs shrunk for a few moments as they found themselves without air. "W-what in...how do...you know my name?" "As I have said, you will know that when the time comes." Olive could hear the voice taking a breath, which was a good indicator that it wasn't disembodied, but rather, it belonged to someone. And the Director had a feeling that if she asked, she wouldn't receive any answers. Still, the voice continued. "Mandy has parents. Real parents, that she must return to. She does not wish to find her real parents, not right now. But she will begin her journey to find her true origins eventually. You must not stop her." Olive grasped the sides of her head. "No." "If you forbid Mandy from finding out about her real parents, she may never want to be with you again." The Director squeezed her eyes shut. "Shut up!" "Fail to heed these words, and perhaps it will shatter everything you hold dear to your heart." "Stop it!" The sound of whooshing wind met Olive's ears again. When it died down, she found that the voice, or rather its source, had mysteriously disappeared. She straightened, glancing at Mandy once again, who giggled and clapped her hands. She hadn't been completely aware of what the de-aged girl had been doing when the voice had been speaking to her, but something told her she had been aware of its presence and knew what it was saying. Had she been crying, Olive would have heard it, but that hadn't happened. Keeling over, the Director took deep, heavy breaths. "No. No no no. This has to be a dream." she said, with determination. "That stupid mare...she planted an illusion into my brain. None of this is real. I have to wake up." She looked at the only other being in the area with her. "Mandy…" The baby gave a curious coo. Olive's eyes grew steely as she narrowed them. "You will never find out about your real parents." "Mama!" The lone word echoed in the warped space. It was the last thing the Director heard before she returned to the waking world. With a yelp, Olive bolted upright in bed. She took in and pushed out breaths of air rapidly as her heart raced, trying to figure out what that nightmare was that she just had. "Momma! You're awake!" came the familiar voice of Mandy. She exhaled. "Thank odd!" "Are you okay? You're drenched in sweat!" Peaches had a point. Olive suddenly became aware of moisture beading along her forehead and dripping down her face. She glanced around and quickly found that she was in Mandy's room, as evidenced by the posters and the colorful door. "It...was horrible." she murmured, staring into Peaches' eyes. "I...this voice was telling me something about Mandy's real parents, and..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, but it delivered enough emotional impact to both Peaches and Mandy that it made the former do a double-take and the latter shut down. In fact, the latter didn't even notice Olive's eyes begin to well up with tears that were thicker than blobs. "Uh..." Peaches looked from Mandy to Olive. "Are you two gonna be o-" "Mandy!!" came the elated cry, as the Director feebly reached out a hand. She couldn't get close to Mandy no matter how hard she tried. "Y-y-you're..." It was at this point that Mandy snapped out of her stunned stupor. She hadn't heard anything of what Olive just said, but knew that the girl was probably happy to see her back. "I'm back!" She nervously laughed. "Funny story, um...maybe we can talk about it over some food? I'm starving! All I had were three dozen hot dogs!" That was the cue for Olive to cry harder. "T-they were good hot dogs! The bestest hot dogs, even! Take it easy, I'm tellin' ya the truth!" Peaches didn't bother to tell her cousin that Olive wasn't crying because of the hot dogs. "Okay, I can't take it any longer." Her gaze was fixed on the hybrid. "Why were you able to find the Magical Grasslands and I wasn't?" Mandy blinked. "I'm not sure..." "You were gone for months! Oprah said you were only supposed to be gone for a few weeks!" Mandy's eyes widened. In an entirely flat voice, she said, "I was gone for huh." "Months. Two months, Mandy." Peaches watched as the hybrid's mouth swung open, and then watched as her bottom jaw landed squarely on the ground. Just as quickly, though, she picked it up and snapped it into place like a piece to a puzzle, moving it around to make sure it worked okay. "You have an overbite." Peaches pointed out, causing Mandy to panic and readjust the lower jaw. "There you go. Much better." "Okay, about that..." Mandy held a finger up. "Time moves slower in the Magical Grasslands than it does in the real world. Or, uh...o-outside of the Grasslands." She thrust her face into Peaches' own. "I-I didn’t plan to go there, I swear! But Haruko appeared and then ran off so so quick and I followed her until I got there! And then...I stayed there. It was too nice." Her cousin's tone of voice implied that she was hiding something, which Peaches quickly picked up on. "You didn't have a good time there, did you?" Quickly, Mandy scratched her arm. "U-uh...well, I did! But, um..." The itching grew faster. "Haruko brought me to the Magical Grasslands for a reason." "And what reason was that?" Mandy bit her lip. She knew that if she told Peaches about what went on, it would break her heart. But she figured her cousin was a better beginner point for broaching the topic than Olive was, and so, with a deep breath, she decided to go ahead and spill all. "She...she told me that I'll have to find out where I came from soon." Now it was Peaches' turn to be surprised. And although Mandy didn't notice, Olive was surprised as well, as she began to connect the dots regarding who had spoken to her in her illusion. She decided to tune the other two girls out for now, as she thought about how Haruko was able to enter illusions when she often appeared in Mandy's dreams and why she came to Olive specifically. "Where you came from?" Peaches murmured. "B-b-but you were rescued by Olive, from the big pienado incident!" Mandy shook her head. "Before then. What happened that caused me to wind up in Precinct 13579's Headquarters in the first place." She stared at Peaches with saddened blue eyes. "And my parents. My actual parents." "Wait. Wait. No no no." Peaches shook her head. "Y-you're Kimi's and Derek's child. They were a couple who lived in Vallea, a-and King Ashero frowned upon them because they were a human and a catgirl!" She sat down. "At least...that's...that's what..." Could it be...did Ashero...lie? Peaches' brain began to dredge up a memory from childhood, of a time when she did something she shouldn't have and got punished for it in one of the worst ways possible. And unbeknownst to her, she verbally recounted every single detail of it. Inside the castle of the all-powerful and almighty King Ashero, a tall, thin figure approached him. Donning a spiffy-looking red jacket outlined with gold buttons and pockets lined with gray threads, he looked rather professional, moreso than other citizens of Vallea. "I understand you wish to see me, sir?" Ashero eyed the newcomer with an unreadable emotion. "Yes, Nekane. Please, have a seat." "I'd rather stand." Ashero chuckled. "Very well." He cleared his throat. "Now, I will cut right to the chase. We have an...outcast in our town." His lip curled back to reveal two rows of sharp teeth. "Do you remember when two humans came to Vallea looking for a place to stay?" "Yes. I remember them fondly. Or, perhaps I should say...not fondly." Nekane fiddled with his jacket a little to make up for his slipup, and partially out of nervousness. "If I recall correctly, they had catpeople relatives and had come here in order to give their baby a better life. And we turned them away." "You are correct. Of course, I am sure you are aware that humans are not permitted to enter Vallea." Nekane nodded his head. "I am well aware. Humans are nothing but mockeries of the concept of life, full of bad intentions. One human could wipe out the entirety of Vallea!" "These two humans gave birth to a catgirl they named 'Peaches' and left her in Vallea. We only took care of her because she was a catperson." Ashero scoffed. "But I am sure you know how she turned out." "Yes. It was just as you predicted, Your Majesty. She did not follow any of our customs and traditions. She became an ostracized outcast." Ashero gave a single nod. "I had threatened to have her punished for her misdeeds many times over, but she did not listen. And now, I may punish her properly." His eyes glowed in the dim light of the room. "Nekane. I wish for you to do something for me." Filled with hope, Nekane responded with, "Anything, Your Majesty." "Lately, Peaches has become rather...incensed about where she came from. She is not aware of her true origins, and I do not wish for her to be. The next time she asks you, send her to me." "What are you going to tell her?" Ashero hesitated, a rare occurrence for him. "I will...make up something." He chuckled, and a wicked grin spread across his lion-like face. "Kimi and Derek." Nekane's eyes widened. "Y-you mean..." "Yes. The most infamous couple in all of Vallea. One a catperson, the other a human. One a survivor, the other long since deceased." Ashero lifted a paw, admiring his claws. "I have no regrets, killing Derek. He would have killed us first when he had gotten the chance. I was doing what was right for my village." From afar, a young Peaches gave a soft, ever so quiet gasp, her eyes beginning to water and her tail beginning to droop. "But I digress." Ashero tilted his head slightly. "Did you have something to say, Nekane?" "Hm?" Nekane blinked. "Oh! Yes, yes. I was going to say that you should be a...town crier, of sorts. Bring the entire village together and tell the story of how Kimi and Derek gave birth to the town’s pariah. Because Kimi and Derek are hated by most everyone, it will give them more reason to avoid Peaches." A pause filled the room as Ashero considered this idea. And then, to Nekane's surprise, he broke out into uproarious laughter. "This is why you are one of my top assistants, Nekane. Always the one with the brightest ideas." If one looked close, they could see the happiness shimmering within Nekane's eyes. "I'm honored to receive such a compliment, Your Majesty." he remarked, being careful to make sure his tone didn't sound excited. "I despise Peaches as much as you do." The catgirl in question began breaking down into choking sobs. "First thing tomorrow morning, at sunrise. I would like for you to be there by my side." Ashero ordered. "Of course. Perhaps this will be the first step in driving out Peaches for good." The last thing Peaches heard before running away to cry even more was the sound of malicious and volumetric laughter that seemed to fill the entire building. Her heart broke in two that day, and needless to say, she never fully recovered. It was partially that incident that made her want to appease to Ashero's whims, to get on his good side so he would love her again like she was sure she had long ago. Sure enough, at sunrise the next morning, Ashero emerged from his castle with Nekane in tow and headed to the town square to make his announcement. "And so, in conclusion..." "Peaches is the daughter of Kimi and Derek." Nekane finished. "As you all know, all three of them went against the customs and traditions we have and uphold here in Vallea. Which should not be surprising, given how she...presents herself." The last few words were spat with pure venom that certainly didn't go unnoticed by the large crowd, who began to give cries and shouts of disgust. "She's the daughter of them?!" "Disgusting!" "Throw her out of town, now!" Back when she stayed in Vallea, Peaches lived near the town square, in a quaint two-story house. As a result, she got to listen to the clamors of the other townsfolk, whom she knew hated her just as much as she was beginning to hate herself. She slammed the door closed and slumped down to the floor, burying her face in her hands and beginning to cry once more, something that would become a daily occurrence all throughout her life. She never had a day where she didn't have a daily cry, and before meeting Mandy and the others, she never knew what a day was like without one. Peaches' body quivered as she gripped the wooden frame at the end of the bed. Tears began dripping onto the floor as she squeezed her eyes shut. "H-he...he...he lied..." She tried to swallow the large lump that was in her throat. "He l-l-lied to m-me!!" "This had to have been long ago...he was a tyrant even then..." Peaches' story didn't surprise Mandy in the least, from what she knew of the king. As far as she was concerned, he was an evil being of darkness whom she would have no problem either seeing being eradicated or eradicating herself. She rubbed a hand along her cousin's back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, cuz." Olive, who had mostly calmed down by this point, gave a small sniffle as she began to wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry too. I..." Another sniffle. "I didn't know you-" "Save it!" The sudden cry brought both girls to a standstill. And then, Peaches rushed out of the room, continuing to cry. "Peach!" Mandy called, outstretching a hand towards her cousin before a soft hum escaped her as she debated whether she should go after her or not. "D-don't worry about her. She'll be fine." Olive said, with a sniffle. "And what about you?" "I'll be fine too." Olive gave a small, but hesitant, smile. "I'm really just happy you're back alive and healthy. I thought you ran away again." "Well I didn't. I'm back now!" Mandy said. "Can you stand?" "Yeah..." Olive threw the covers off of her and placed her feet on the ground. Upon raising the rest of her body, however, she quickly began to wobble. "Whoa!" "I gotcha! Hold on!" Mandy quickly rushed to her mother's side and draped an arm over her shoulder, then lit up her horn and teleported both of them away from the room. They quickly arrived at the shared office that Olive and Otto shared. Otto, as well as the two agents who were facing him, turned around to look. "Oh!" Mandy nervously laughed. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?" "Yeah. I'm giving these two a case." Otto remarked dryly, before his gaze settled on Olive. "Partner, you okay?" "I'm fine." came the raspy response. "She just needs to lay down a bit." Mandy explained. "She got attacked by some vicious mare." "Starry Song. Her name's Starry Song." "Yeah whatever, I don't need to know specifics." Mandy waved her free hand and edged Olive's arm off of her shoulder. "Just lay down on the couch, okay? And try to get some sleep." "Sleep? I'm not even tired!" "Your face says otherwise!" Mandy snapped. Indeed, Olive's face looked sunken and tired, as though she had missed a few nights of rest. "Now go to sleep!" Olive, knowing that Mandy couldn't be reasoned with, gave a resigned sigh and moved towards the couch, where she laid down and grabbed a Management-symbol-shaped pillow to rest her head on. "Otto, keep an eye on her." was the only command Mandy gave before she teleported away once again, not bothering to exchange goodbyes. As soon as she got back, the very first thing she did was give herself a stark reminder to improve her mood. The very second thing she did was go to the Breakroom to fix herself up a gigantic meal fit for a queen...a queen who could really rule Vallea in proper, the more she thought about it. Even if she wasn't a catperson. With a full belly, Mandy sat down at her desk. "Much better." she purred. "Now I can get back to work!" "Mandy?!" The startled cry of her name made her jump in her chair. She swiveled her head to the right to find Oprah approaching her in a fast walk. "Oprah!" "Where have you been?!" Oprah threw her hands into the air. "We've all been looking for you for the past few months!" "S-sorry!" Mandy said. "See, when I saw Haruko, she took off, and I followed her to the Magical Grasslands." Oprah blinked. "It's a real place?" "Yeah! And I didn't wanna stay there, but Haruko brought me there for a reason." "And what reason was that?" Mandy hesitated. "I..." She looked around for any sign of the ponies. As they were the ones who had been with her during the pienado attack, she wasn't quite ready to hit them with the truth bomb of finding her real parents just yet, just like with Olive. When she didn't see any of them around, she pulled her chair closer to Oprah. "She told me that I have to find out where I came from. Before the pienado. Who my real parents are!" Oprah gave a shaky gasp. She stood completely still in shock, like she had been frozen in ice. "Y-your...real parents...?" "Yeah." Mandy held up her hands and put on a smile. "L-look, don't be upset. I don't wanna find my real parents right now, and I don't have to!" Her smile then turned into a frown. "But...eventually..." A pause lingered in the air like a thick fog. Oprah's eyes began to well up with tears. They fell. But no more tears followed. "That's okay." Mandy did a double-take. "Huh?" "If I'm being honest, I knew this day was coming for a long time." Oprah placed a hand on her chest. "If you want to find out who your real parents are, then I won't stop you." Slowly but surely, Mandy's eyes widened and gained sparkles within them. "Really?" "Mhm." Oprah nodded and gave a smirk. "But you know I'll fight to keep you here." Mandy couldn't help but grin at that. She gave a hearty laugh, filled with joy and relief. "Thank you! It's nice to have someone who understands." Instinctively, she leapt up and embraced Oprah in a hug. "But for now, I'm gonna spend all the time I can with you guys!" Taken aback by the hug she was, but Oprah couldn't squish down the warm feeling that encased her heart as she hugged Mandy back in equal measure. "Sounds great." She pulled away and pointed to the medium-sized stack sitting behind Mandy's computer. "You can get started with the paperwork I’ve left on your desk. Pinkie completed half of it, but you should be able to knock it out." Mandy eyed the stack. "How did I not see that?" She shrugged the question off. "Anyway, thankies!" She watched as Oprah left for her office, giving a happy sigh. After having Peaches run off crying and Olive be utterly broken by the news, it was nice to see someone that was so understanding and took the truth at face value. The sound of shimmering met her ears, and her gaze shifted from Oprah to a rather familiar figure, who wore a rather serious expression. "H-Haruko?" "Mandy. Please come to the Magical Grasslands. Whether it is in your dreams or in the real world. We must speak." This disappointed the hybrid. She wanted to stay in Headquarters, not go back to the Magical Grasslands. Or go anywhere, for that matter. Right now, she wanted to relax with some paperwork and maybe take a nap if she had the time for one. "All riiiiiight..." she said, her words edging into a groan. "But I need to get this paperwork done. How about tonight?" Haruko gave a soft sigh. "Fine. If you must. Then tonight. Meet me in the Magical Grasslands." The kitsune dashed off, leaving sparkles in her wake. Mandy's pony ear flicked. "Weird. She didn't even say what it was about." She gave a nonchalant shrug. "Ah well. Heh, it can't be that urgent!" That night, Mandy awoke in the Magical Grasslands once more. After having gone there with a physical body that was capable of feeling emotions and...well, feelings, she couldn't go back to being more or less a spirit and lacking those things. But she certainly didn't feel like going all the way back to the Grasslands for what she thought was something of little importance, so she had to settle for the second-best. "Haruko? Where are you?" she called. "You wanted to see me?" "I did." Instead of the kitsune seemingly materializing in the same way she usually did, her debut was marked by harsh wind billowing through the Grasslands, sending dandelion seeds flying. Wispy and gray in nature, it disappeared to reveal her shimmering, light-crafted form. "This can't be good." Mandy uttered, an uncomfortable feeling worming its way into her gut. "Please, come sit next to me." Haruko's voice was eerie, and gravely serious. Someone might as well have told her that her entire family died in a fire. And the way Mandy saw it, she wouldn't be surprised if that actually was the announcement she had. Anything seemed to go with the kitsune. Still, the hybrid cautiously approached her and took a seat next to her on the grass, as instructed. "So, uh...it's been a while, huh?" Mandy cracked, giving a bout of nervous laughter while also internally cringing at her lame attempt at a joke. "This is no laughing matter." Haruko fixed Mandy with a glare. "It is about Vallea." "Vallea? What about them?" Mandy gasped. "You're not working with them, are you?!" "No, I can assure you, I am not. But this does concern your cousin. Peaches." Mandy tilted her head. "Peaches?" "You are aware that she was deceived about her true origins, yes?" Mandy simply gave a single nod. Following that was a pause that seemed to stretch on into eternity, and she began to grow impatient as she wondered just what big whammy Haruko was going to drop on her this time. "Mandy. You and Peaches are connected. Far more than you realize." That took the hybrid for a spin -- literally, as she spun around on her rump. "Well yeah, we're cousins!" she chirped, in a tone that implied Haruko might not be in the sanest of states at the moment. But the kitsune merely shook her head. "No. I mean more than cousins." She stared at the blue, cloud-filled sky. "Your bond with her is very strong. When the time comes, where you are ready to discover where you came from, you will be met with a great surprise. A surprise that may change the way you two see each other." Mandy had absolutely no idea what her spirit guardian could mean by what she said. What was the "great surprise" that would change how she saw Peaches and how Peaches saw her? How could they be related any more than cousins? They were already pretty close-knit, so how closer could they possibly get? It all confused her and made her head spin. "But I must warn you." Haruko raised a paw and made eye contact with Mandy again. "Vallea is also closing in on you. Their attacks will get stronger. Fiercer." Of course, Mandy knew that already, if catpeople like Orino and SOHALC were any indication. But something else weighed on her mind. "Wait. I know they know about where Peach came from, but...do..." She gasped. "Do they know about me?!" "No. Not before they began attacking you. They do not know of your origins." Mandy gave a relieved sigh. "Oh thank odd." "However, that does not mean you should not be careful." Haruko warned. "As lazy as King Ashero is, he will strike eventually." Mandy opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it as she realized that the way things were going, things were falling into place and he really would attack eventually. "Oh. Yeah. That makes sense." A warm smile came across Haruko's features. "I believe Odd Squad will win in the end, Mandy. And it is your job to aid them in this war of attrition." "War of huh?" Mandy had never heard that word before. She figured it meant something like "hard" or "easily won". However, she pushed it off to the side to address another concern. "But...if I find out who my real parents are...I won't be able to help Odd Squad anymore." She hugged her knees closer to her body. "They're gonna take me away from them..." "I would not be so sure of that." Mandy's head lifted. "Huh? What do you mean?" Haruko simply smiled and said, "Let me just say...you will find out, in time." Disgruntled, Mandy's pony ears folded down, and she put on a frustrated expression. "Y'know, that phrase is really getting on my nerves, Haruko." "Just because you are not a part of Odd Squad does not mean you cannot help them out." Haruko placed a paw on Mandy's knee. "Always remember that." Truth be told, Mandy really couldn't argue with that. Polly Graph was already a stellar example -- she might not be able to join Odd Squad, but she was a valuable ally to the organization and had the smarts and wit to match even Twilight, especially in entrepreneurialism and graph creation. And her lemonade and hot chocolate was some of the best in Toronto. "Ya do got a point. Even clients can help out Odd Squad too." Haruko nodded in agreement. "And do not worry. Even if you are taken away from Odd Squad by your real parents, I will always be by your side. Whether in your dreams, or in the waking world." Her heart warming up, Mandy couldn't help but smile. "That's comforting to hear." she murmured, straightening out her legs. "But for now, cherish the time you have with your family. Olive. Otto. Oprah. Peaches. The ponies. They love them just as much as they love you, and it would pain them to see you leave." "That's what I plan on doin'!" "Good." For the rest of the time Mandy spent asleep, she and Haruko simply watched the clouds roll in the sky, the grass rustle about in the breeze, and the dandelion seeds that hadn't been touched fly past them. It took both of their worries away, and even when Mandy got sucked up into limbo, she felt a sense of peace that she felt like she had never attained before. Things would be okay. She had plenty of time to spend with her friends and family. Even if it was going to come to an end eventually, Haruko wouldn't pressure her to discover where she really came from before she was ready. For now, all she had to do, all she wanted to do, was just live in the moment. The next day, Olive, having been fully cured of her hypnosis and feeling much better, resolved to spend as much time with Mandy as she possibly could, work and other responsibilities pending. In her eyes, Mandy's real parents could show up at any time, whether it was due to Haruko's intervention or it was just them finally finding their daughter after all this time. As a result, there was only one reasonable solution. The most unreasonable solution was, of course, to have Mandy be literally attached to her hip. But the most reasonable solution, the only reasonable solution, was to free up as much of her schedule as she could and spoil Mandy completely and utterly rotten. She wanted a new toy from Games R' Us? She got it. She wanted one of those new smartphones she had seen adults carrying around? She got it. She wanted to spend $50 on a deluxe meal at TFC? She got it. She would get all of it, and so much more. As she roamed the halls of Precinct 13579, her nose began to grow stuffy and her throat began to close up. She sniffled. No...I shouldn’t get sad over what Haruko said. Mandy doesn’t have real parents. It was simply an illusion. And even if she did have real parents...I’m not gonna let her find them. Her fist clenched as she stood outside the door to Mandy's room. I have to divert her attention away from wanting to find her real parents somehow. Make her see that l’m the best and only fitting parent for her. With her free hand, she reached behind her and pulled out a three-course meal, full of healthy foods that would make any fitness guru weep. A smile settled on her face. And I know just how to do it. She opened the door and walked inside, not being surprised in the least that Mandy was still snoring away in bed. She set the tray on the nightstand, then placed a gentle hand on Mandy's shoulder to shake her awake. "Mandy? Wake up, it's almost 1 o'clock. I brought you lunch!" The Director's only response was a leg twitch as Mandy let out an eardrum-shattering snore. "Oy vey. Every time I think this is going to work, and every time it fails..." Olive muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose and mentally kicking herself for her brief moment in stupidity. An idea began to form in her head before long, though. "Ah! Maybe if I sing a song, it'll help you to wake up, hmm?" She cleared her throat, opened her mouth, and took a mighty inhale. With a series of snorts, Mandy bolted upright in bed. "He'zz got three pencilzz in hizz backpack!!" Olive had already known well enough by now not to question Mandy's non-sequiturs. Instead, she watched as the hybrid's head slowly turned towards her, her dull blue eyes gazing into her soul. Olive decided to start things off with a simple "Hi!" and see where things went from there. In response, Mandy gave a loud yawn, with Olive veering her head away when she caught a whiff of her not-so-pleasant morning breath. "Oh hi, Momma!" The hybrid weakly waved a hand. "Whass' up, homie m' homie?" "Well, your 'homie my homie' brought you lunch." Olive gestured to the tray sitting on the nightstand. "Your drink's already on the table, so I didn't bring one, but I can bring one if you want!" "Nah, 'm fine." Mandy reached for the Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise and chugged it, a happy sigh leaving her when the glass was empty. "Much better!" "Did you have good dreams?" "Uh..." Mandy nervously chuckled. "You could say that." She tilted her head. "Why are you here at Precinct 13579, anyway?" Olive didn't answer right away, instead watching as life began to return to her adopted daughter's baby-blue eyes. It warmed her heart, mainly because she had never seen a freshly-awoken Mandy with her eyes dull. She had to wonder if her eyes looked like that when she was hypnotized. "Otto had to return a gadget to Oona and ask Oprah about some paperwork, so I figured I'd tag along." "Hm." Mandy smiled. "Well, thanks for the food! Much appreciated." As the hybrid grabbed ahold of the tray and began munching on her ham sandwich, Olive's expression lit up. "Hey, I have some free time next week. Would you like to go out? Just the two of us? For some mother-daughter time?" Mandy tilted her head in confusion. "Well, I mean...sure, if you're up for it! But, uh, this is really sudden. You've never been this kind before." Realizing how awful that sounded, she hastily backtracked. "I-I mean, you've always been kind, j-just not...overly so, y'know?" She wasn't sure if that was any better, but proceeded anyway. "Did something happen?" Olive's eyes widened. Crumpets, I'm gonna get found out. I have to be more subtle! "No, no! It’s just that, well...I feel we don’t spend enough time together outside of work, and I know we’re both busy, but...you’re my adopted daughter. It’d be a shame if I didn’t spend much time with you in case...something happens." Raising a perplexed eyebrow, Mandy stared at Olive for a few moments. "Uh-huh..." she said, almost in a skeptical tone before she reverted back to her usual chipper one. "Well, count me in!" "Great! See you then. And enjoy your meal! Just let me know if you need anything, okay? I'm only a call away!" Mandy nodded as she watched Olive leave and close the door behind her, eating the rest of her sandwich whole as she kept her eyes on the door for a few seconds longer. Olive did a fist-pump. Yes! Now if I keep this up, ever so subtly...she’s bound to see that I am the perfect mother for her. She’ll never be willing to find her real parents again. Heh. Starry Song. Your silly little illusion didn't work on me. A wicked-looking grin spread over the girl's features as she stepped into the bullpen, her face darkening. "And it never will." S1E30: A Class ActInside Olive and Otto's office was something that could best be described as a disaster zone to all but the most crazy of bookworms. Papers were strewn about so that the room practically looked like it was made of them. Books laid both open and closed on all sorts of surfaces, with titles ranging from Amazing and Odd Artifacts of Squad History to I Know What I Did Tuesday Morning: How to Beat Oddness and Still Be Sane to Farmers Guide to Mathematica. And within it all were two Directors, scribbling note after note at the coffee table as they poured through book after book, the world around them melting away as they began to head completely into the zone. Oh, and one hybrid, of course, who was there because she had been lured with the promise of a meal at Shmumber King that had certainly been delivered with a twenty-percent tip. Otto tapped the pencil he was holding against his chin, squinting as he read one bullet point. "Mandy?" he called. "Hey, Mandy?" No response. That was enough for him to look up. "Uh...Olive, is she-" "No, she's not dead." Olive said, without missing a beat and without even looking up. "Pry the book off of her face." Otto, still clueless as to what was going on, got up and went over to the hybrid, who was looking quite relaxed even though she couldn't see. As he grabbed ahold of the book and pulled, his eyes widened as he realized that it felt like the pages had been glued on. "It's...stuck!" He began pulling harder and harder until the book flew off and he landed on his back with a hard thump. Sure enough, to no one's surprise, Mandy was fast asleep, snoring away with a trail of drool leading from her mouth and dripping onto her shoulder. Every once in a great while she muttered something in a language that was foreign to anyone who wasn't her, then let out louder snores that rattled the plastic covering of the coffee table. "Wow, she makes an art form out of falling asleep behind a book!" Otto remarked, with just a twinge of jealousy. "Should we, uh...wake her?" "Be my guest. The snoring's getting on my nerves anyway." If Olive performed an eye roll, Otto couldn't see it with her bowed head. "Just don't be surprised if she falls back asleep. She's been like that for hours." Otto rubbed his head, wondering if he was into his work so deeply that he didn't even register the sound of snoring. It certainly wasn't like him, but he supposed that was just Olive's influence as someone who was dedicated to her work. Cracking his knuckles, he got to work shaking Mandy awake. Of course, nothing happened. Only her snores began fluctuating in volume and pitch as a result of the movement, becoming broken and disjointed. "Mandy, wake up! I have a question!" Otto called, continuing to shake the hybrid like he was shaking a bottle of ketchup horizontally instead of vertically. Finally, after about five minutes of shaking, Mandy came to with a jolt. "Nyaaaah! T-they're here! They're here!!" "Who?!" Otto whipped his head back and forth. "Who's here?!" "Them!" Mandy grabbed Otto by the lapels. "They're here!" "Who?!" "Otto!" Now Mandy tried to climb up the kid who was just a filly taller than her. "They eat humans! They're gonna eat us alive!" "Who?! I don't see anyone!" "THE-E-EEEEEEM!!" Olive rubbed her temples, a surefire sign she was being launched into the first stages of what she had resentfully called a Mandyache. She had half a mind to chuck something at Mandy's head if that drive of making sure she was the absolute perfect parent didn't get in the way, because absolute perfect parents do not throw things at their children to get them to shut up. And it was that drive that caused her to take a deep breath and stand up. "Mandy..." She tried to put on a genuine smile. "You're in our office. You had a bad dream, that's all." Mandy snapped out of her fatigue-addled panic and went half-lidded. Her world began to grow warped. She slid off of Otto and landed on the floor like a glob of melting ice cream, laying her head on a piece of paper. "Everythin's all zzpinny-woozy..." she remarked. "What happen...? I w'zz readin' thizz book n' takin' notezz n' then I wazz in some devil'zz..." A yawn interrupted her explanation. "...cazzle." "You fell asleep." Every "ha" Mandy huffed out made her body deflate every time she inflated it by taking a breath. "Funny joke, Momma..." Another loud yawn, this one punctuated with an adorable squeak, cut through the air. "Anyway...hopefully you understand this..." Otto knelt down to better get to Mandy's level. "So this morning these two agents just came into Headquarters and they were talking about you and the Odd Squad Academy! So it got me thinking about what you do there. A lot of recruits talk about you." Mandy tilted her head to one side, than the other. She weakly pawed at the drool that was still on her face. "Do they?" she sleepily murmured. "Can I come with you the next time you go?" "...To where?" "The Academy! I wanna see what you do there!" Knowing that she wasn't going to get any work done as long as there was chatter in the room, Olive put her pencil down and opted to take a break, shooting Mandy a smile. "You do seem to make time to go there at least once a week." Now Mandy understood. "Yeah, I hang out with the recruits there. W-well, only in the Investigation portion, anyway. But they kinda see me as like a big sis slash mentor figure." "Now that you mention it." Olive picked a pretzel from the bowl of them that sat on the table. "I remember when you were sleepwalking around town and Oprah got a call from one of the Professor O's..." Otto nodded. "I remember that too! Heh, wow...those were some angry kids." "It was hard to explain to them that I had pulled an all-nighter." Mandy gave a small shudder, remembering how the Professor O that had called had chewed her out immensely. "But anyway..." Otto gripped Mandy's shoulders. "Can we come with you the next time you go to the Academy?" Olive tilted her head. "'We'? I never said I wanted to go!" "C'mon, partner!" Otto turned. "Aren't you at least a little bit curious?" "Well, yeah, but we've got a precinct to run and-" "I'm goin' first thing tomorrow." "And we've got the day off! Our assistants can handle things." Otto sidled up next to Olive and raised an eyebrow. "Sooooo are you gonna come or what?" Olive heaved a mighty sigh. "Fine. Only for Mandy." "Yeah!" Mandy could only manage an arm raise and a small flat "huzzah". While out of character for her, neither Olive nor Otto questioned it. "1:00 tomorrow?" Otto posed. "Yep." Mandy crawled back up to the couch and yawned. "Now can ya let me finish my nap, please?" Olive blinked. "You just had one!" "I know. This one's my afternoon one." Another yawn, which blocked her view of Olive's disbelieving stare. "I'll see ya in a few hours." "Wait!" Otto outstretched a hand. "Can you tell me who 'them' is first?" Mandy gave a nonchalant shrug. "Sure. They say I should sleep properly or my face will droop like a raisin." Otto's head met the floor as he started to cry. Olive simply got back to work with a smile, happy that the noise (or, well, most of it, anyway) had finally died down and offering Otto mental empathy pats. Sure enough, at 1:00 in the afternoon, Mandy's flight took her to the grounds of the Odd Squad Academy. She landed on the forecourt of the Investigation building, watching agents-in-training go to and fro. "Aah!" She folded her wings in. "I'm glad the new Big O allows flying at the Academy. Walking all the way here from the tube entrance is such a pain..." Her ears moved to and fro, as did her eyes as she tried to spot Olive or Otto. "Weird. It's 1:00. Where could they be?" she muttered. "Hiya, Mandy!" A familiar voice made the hybrid turn around. Trotting up to her happily was a hazel-colored unicorn mare with bright hazel eyes and a cutie mark of a hazel-colored flower. Truly, she would be a master of camouflage better than almost any other unicorn, if one deducted her gray, Odd Squad-seal-adorned sweatshirt from the equation. Mandy gasped as the realization set in. "Hazelblossom!" She rushed over to scoop up the mare in a hug, which she happily returned. "Wowee kazoo, I haven't seen you for a long time!" "Yeah, I’ve been studying hard at the Academy. Can’t believe the Big O is allowing pony recruits! And it’s not just fillies and colts, she’s accepting full-grown mares and stallions too!" "I never understood why, to be honest." Mandy set Hazelblossom down. "I mean Odd Squad is a kids-only place, and mares and stallions would be considered adults...which are frowned upon. Usually. I don’t understand how that works, either." "Well, I'm certainly okay with it!" "How's your magic ability comin' along?" "All right. I still have a lot to improve on, though...but that's what I'm going to Equestria for!" "Keep it up! You'll get there someday." The sound of a school bell permeated through the building, and echoed outside via the speakers mounted on the pole in the middle of the forecourt. "Oh shoot, I'm late!" Hazelblossom adjusted her saddlebags. "Sorry Mandy, but I have to go! It was great catching up!" "Likewise! See ya!" Mandy called, watching the mare dash towards the front entrance. "Mandy!" A more familiar voice caught the hybrid's attention, and she turned. "Momma! Otto!" She ran up to them. "Where've you two been?" "Sorry, we-" "Otto here wanted to stop at the Snooze Button Cafe for breakfast, so we got delayed..." Olive interrupted, shooting him a piercing glare. "I was hungry!" "You're always hungry!" Olive sighed and shook her head. "Anyway...it's a long way to walk from the tube entrance to here." "Yeah, the nearest tube entrance is right at the edge of the Academy." Mandy explained. "They're workin' on getting more, don't worry." Otto looked around the area, which was nearly empty. "Why does it seem like there's almost no one here?" "They're in classes right now." Mandy began hopping towards the front entrance. "C'mon, let's go inside!" Olive and Otto happily followed the hybrid, chatting about all the sights they would see at the place neither one of them had been to in several years. However, going completely unnoticed by them were three catgirls, each with a head of blond hair that was marked with three differently-colored bows wrapped around it. The bows reflected the color of each catgirl's eyes as well, making it easy to tell who was who. "That's her?" remarked the green-eyed one. "She doesn't look that bad." said the blue-eyed one. "She is bad." The red-eyed one fixed her two comrades with a glare. "That’s Agent Mandy, one of the fugitives of Vallea. She’s done a lot of heinous things in her days." A wicked grin settled on her face. "So. Chikako. Malma. You know what to do?" The green-eyed one, Chikako, raised a rather sizeable gun that looked more akin to a machine gun. "We've got the tranquilizer guns raring to go." "With extra-strength darts!" chirped the blue-eyed one, Malma, holding up a dart that looked like a badminton birdie in appearance but had a needle sticking out of its front. "We've also got those shapeshifter seeds you asked us to find before we left Vallea, of course." added the green-eyed one. The red-eyed one gave a soft chuckle. "Good. Now go catch me that stinky-breathed traitorous mutt of a hybrid. In the name of King Ashero." Chikako and Malma gave a unisonant confident nod. "We won't let you down." As Mandy opened the door, she spread her wings and did a twirl into the air. "Et voila! Welcome to the Investigation building of the Odd Squad Academy!" She faltered. "Again!" "Wow..." Olive's eyes widened. "It's been so long since I've been here." "It looks a lot...uh, what's the word..." Otto pinched his mouth inwards as he tried to think. "Cleaner, I guess?" Indeed, it did look cleaner, with its freshly-repaired windows, sparkling white floors and walls, and freshly-painted ceilings. It looked every bit like it had just gone through a major renovation, even with all the Professor O's and agents-in-training that walked, teleported and flew around on a daily basis. One could even put it on par with the Big Office as far as cleanliness went. "Does it?" Mandy glanced around. "I dunno, I can't tell." "Mandy!" A high-pitched squeal nearly made everyone jump. Mandy's gaze moved to the hallway, where she found a pink-furred, dull-white-maned Pegasus filly soaring towards her, wings abuzz like a hummingbird's. Like Hazelblossom, she too wore a gray sweatshirt with the Odd Squad seal emblazoned on it, though in a smaller version that fit her body. "Ribbon Twirl!" Mandy met her halfway, something that proved to not be the brightest idea when the filly smacked right into her chest with enough force to send her toppling backwards. "H-how's your...ouch...how's your Unicorn-tosis?" "Sorry about that!" the filly apologized, extending a hoof to help Mandy up. "And my Unicorn-tosis is gone! I'm really sad 'cause it was fun to be an alicorn, but I think I'm happy just being a normal Pegasus." As she hovered in midair, her eyes moved past Mandy, and she gave an elated gasp. "Omigosh, are you Olive and Otto?!" "That's us!" Olive gave a friendly wave. "Wow, I've heard so much about you!" Ribbon made her way over to the two Directors, her golden eyes shimmering with excitement. "And you're here, in-pony! Er, uh, I mean, in-person! Your feats are so legendary!" Otto blinked. "We're legendary?" His question was more directed towards Olive, who gave a shrug. As amazing as her and Otto's feats had been over the years, never once had they been considered legends among agents-in-training, let alone among agents-in-training who were Equestrian natives. "Well duh, of course you are! You two are like the most popular agents in all of Odd Squad history! All the Instructor and Professor O’s use you two as examples for lessons!" A blush began creeping along Olive's face, like she had eaten a hot pepper that took a little while to kick in. "Well, I wouldn't really call myself a stand-out agent, but...I'm honored!" "Yeah! It's really cool that we've become so famous here." Ribbon's eyes widened, and she turned towards Mandy. "Oh, but that’s not to say you’re not cool, Mandy!" she amended. "I hear agents-in-training that are going into the Creature Care department use a clone of you as a replica for training. But that’s just a silly rumor!" Mandy wasn't sure whether to feel offended, thrilled, or confused. Still, given that she knew the whole deal with clones both in Odd Squad and Equestria, she decided to settle on neither. "Believe me, if there were a clone of mine runnin' around, it’d be chaos. I already heard what happened when Agent Pinkie Pie cloned herself, and it wasn’t pretty." "Oooh yeah, I hear all of Ponyville was nearly destroyed!" Ribbon shook her head. "Oh, darn, I’m getting off track again...um, so, what are you three doing here?" "I'm takin' these two on a..." Mandy's pony ear flicked. "Well, not a tour, but...they wanted to see what I do here every week. So I brought them here." Ribbon nodded. "I think you two are really gonna be surprised. Mandy's a hit with everyone here!" Otto gave a playful roll of his eyes. "I'm sure." "Anyway, I gotta go. I told Instructor O I would only be gone for a couple minutes for a bathroom break and she’s gonna start wondering where I am. See ya!" Everyone gave their goodbyes to the filly as she began zipping past them towards her classroom. "Ahh...Rainbow would be so proud at how fast she's gotten." Mandy waved Olive and Otto in the direction Ribbon had come from. "C'mon, there's probably a couple recruits hangin' around somewhere." As the Director pair followed the hybrid, Chikako and Malma peered out from behind a wall, squinting as their cat ears swiveled about for any other signs of life. "How are we going to capture her?" Malma asked. "Easy." Chikako smirked. "We need to get her away from those two kids that are with her. Olive and Otto." "Should we capture them too?!" "Don't get too excited!" Chikako hissed, leaning close into Malma's face so that their noses nearly touched. "And no. If we capture them, Odd Squad’s going to wage war against us, and we can’t afford that right now. King Ashero only wants Peaches and Mandy, and since we can’t get Peaches with Mandy always around her, we’ll have to capture Mandy first." "Okay!" Malma chirped, oblivious to Chikako's brief moment of rage. "So how are we gonna get her alone?" "From what I've heard, she's easily distracted and constantly hungry." Chikako gave a low chuckle. "Of course. Degenerate mutts are always dumb fat gluttons." "So we have to lure her out with food?" "That's one way. But let's keep following them for now. Perhaps we'll come up with more ideas." "Yeah!" After Chikako shushed Malma for her ill-timed scream, the pair moved out from behind the wall and carefully ducked behind surface after surface in order to follow Mandy, Olive and Otto, while also keeping their eyes and ears out for anyone who might spot them and blow their covers. "Hey Mandy." Otto asked. "Did you ever consider becoming a teacher at the Academy?" Mandy stopped bouncing for a moment, resorting to her usual walking gait. "Y'know, I didn't!" She shook her head. "But honestly, I don’t think I could handle it. That many students...me teaching what I know about solving oddness...it sounds really unnerving!" "That's surprising, coming from you." "But I bet you'd be really good at it!" Olive chimed in. "You've been a substitute teacher for a couple classes at the Science building in the past." A loud groan accompanied a back-and-forth roll of the hybrid's head. "Don't remind me." she lamented. "And anyway, those were for gadgets. I'm gifted at making and repairing gadgets!" She straightened her posture. "But my way of solving oddness on the field...it kinda differs from most agents. Mainly ‘cause I have a horn. And magic. And a horn. And wings. Aaaaaand a horn." As she passed by a classroom, she peered at the small window on the door, where she could see some kind of mysterious smoke eking out of something that was out of her view. "Plus, there are more students in the Investigation building than in the Science building. Classrooms are bigger too. Overall...it’s just not for me." Otto gave a shrug. "Eh, understandable. I wouldn't wanna be a teacher either. Unless it was for a Soundcheck class!" "Yeah, nothing but napping, eating and playing Soundcheck all day long." Olive said, nudging him and giving a hearty chuckle. "Aaaaanyhoozle, why don't I sho- oof!" Cut off by her slamming into something tall but heavy, she backed up a few steps. "Aah! S-sorry, I wasn't looking where I was..." The tall and heavy figure turned around, his blinding-white teeth bared in a growl. Mandy's pony ears drooped. "...going." The boy went from angry to smug within a second. "Well well well, if it isn't Mandy." "Well well well, if it isn't Orlando." Orlando gave a snort, and then launched into full-on belly laughter upon fully taking in Mandy's appearance. "You look like some dopey fairy tale princess! What’s with the getup? Going to some lame-o costume party?" "No, I'm-" Mandy was cut off once again, this time by the sharp sensation of someone tugging on her wings. She made an "eep!" sound at just how painful it was. "These don't even look real!" Orlando let go of the wings, causing them to give a mighty snap sound akin to someone launching a rubber band. Mandy waved them around frantically in a desperate effort to relieve the pain. "Ow! Cut it out!" Next, Orlando put his finger on the very tip of Mandy's horn. "And what's with the freakishly long horn?" he asked, giving a cackle. "Whaddya think ya are, a unicorn? 'Cause news flash, we eat those here!" As Mandy recoiled in horror at the thought of Orlando wanting to eat her, it began to click in Olive's brain just who, exactly, the boy was. "Hold on. You're Orlando." "That's my name, don't wear it out. Whaddya wanna make of it, little girlie?" The words alone would have made Olive grow apprehensive...a good long time ago, back when she was shy and inexperienced. But she had taken enough guff from Odd Todd to get well used to insults. "Mandy's told us about you before." Otto stepped forward, narrowing his eyes. "Would it be safe for us to assume that you're one of the resident bullies of this place?" "Ha! You're even dumber than you look." Orlando snorted. "I have friends, you know. They're just in classes 'cause the teachers made them go there." Otto smirked. "That would explain why you're still here at the Academy. No Director's picked you yet?" That made Orlando's smooth and smug facade fade away in an instant, being replaced by anger again. "No, and it's not fair! I’ve been stuck at this stupid place for years and the teachers say I’m never gonna get out!" "Wooooweeee kazoo, can't imagine why." Mandy tutted. "Could it be because you and Arctic Breeze always tormented me even after teachers told you to stop more times than Centigurps can multiply?" Orlando stopped for a moment, considered the question, then shook his head. "Naw, that can't be it. You deserved all that came to you!" He chuckled and snorted derisively. "Freaks of nature like you don't belong here." Mandy just stared, taking a moment to figure out her next course of action. Putting on a grin, she spread her wings and moved them through her hair, styling it like Rarity's signature curls. She used her magic to do the same thing to her tail, and pulled out a fainting couch out of nowhere. "Oh! Oh I'm wounded! Wounded!!" she cried out, flopping onto the couch and placing the back of her hand on her forehead. "Oh, I'm hurt! Medic! My soul! MEDIC!! Oh, surely...surely someone as weak as me couldn't have..." A sniffle. "Couldn't have taken down the previous Big O, right? Aaaaa-ha-haaaaaa!" Olive and Otto simply watched this display of dramatics with rolls of their eyes, the former turning away so she didn't have to bear witness to another display of what she thought was poor acting. "So what if ya took down the previous Big O?" Orlando remarked. "I coulda done that with my own two hands!" Mandy, dropping her act, put on her cat smile. "Uh-huh. Me of little faith, huh? And how would you have done it, O Great and Powerful?" "Orlando! Why aren't you in class?!" The sound made Mandy leap into the air, hit the couch, and topple to the floor. Orlando, Olive and Otto all swiveled their heads towards the sound, but couldn't find anyone. Orlando, in particular, had dread written all over his face. "Aw nuts." "Get to class this instant!" "All right, all right, yeesh!" Orlando began to make a break for it, only turning around and shouting a quick warning to Mandy. "This isn't over, freak!" "Change your attitude and you'll graaaaduaaaate~!" Mandy paused. "And get better iiiinsuuuults~!" "He's a handful, isn't he?" Olive said. "Oh he's got issues, for sure." Mandy got to her feet, turned her hair and tail back to their normal curly states, and disposed of the fainting couch by kicking it away to nowhere in particular, letting it crash into something that she didn't bother to identify. "I can’t believe he’s still here. I’d have thought at least one Director would be willing to take him, but…" "No Director wants a nasty-tempered agent." "What about Op-" "Oprah is an exception." Mandy stared at Otto with a bemused look on her face, until she realized that recruitment prerequisites were probably very different in the late 20th century and her expression returned to its usual happy one. "So what were you planning on showing us, Mandy?" Olive asked. "Oh!" Mandy's tail wagged furiously, and she pointed down the hallway. "The Big O recently decided to put up a Wall of Fame featuring some of the Academy's finest agents-in-training. I hear I’m on it, so I wanna go check it out!" "Ooooh, maybe we're on it, partner!" Otto said excitedly. Olive gave a shrug. "Couldn't hurt to check. Let's go!" The Wall of Fame wasn't all too massive, or at least not as massive as Mandy, Otto nor Olive had expected it to be. It looked to be about the length of an average classroom whiteboard, complete with plaques that showed each agent-in-training's picture, their name, and what they were being commended for. "Here it is! The Wall of Fame!" Mandy, being faster than both Directors, got to the Wall of Fame first and immediately began zipping around it excitedly so that she was almost a blur. "Am I on it?! Oooooooooh, please tell me I'm on it!" "There you are!" Mandy looked at where Olive pointed, and gave an elated gasp followed by a squeal that could make a pig weep. "Lookit lookit! It's me! Me and my handsome face!" Otto read the engraving on the plaque aloud. Agent 57, Mandy. An Odd Squad Academy student who introduced ponies into our beloved world and into our beloved workplace. She has fought against all odds even in spite of her transformation into a 'pony-human hybrid' and is recognized for her efforts in taking down the previous Big O. He smiled. "That's pretty accurate." Mandy would have responded in kind, if she hadn't been distracted by a wafting sweet smell that seemed to come from a nearby hallway. "I can't believe they fit all that onto a small plaque." Olive commented. Mandy's tongue lolled out, and her eyes began to shimmer. Otto looked through the Wall of Fame. "Are we on here?" Right then, Mandy ambled away from the duo, entranced by the mysterious sweet scent that could only come from food. "I don't see us. Hey Mandy, do you know if we're gonna be added on here?" No response. Olive's head turned to and fro, only to find Mandy not there. "Mandy?" The hybrid was well out of earshot of both Directors at this point, as she turned the corner and went down a hallway filled with classrooms. "I can smell it!" Her tail began to wag furiously. "I'm so hungry I can eat a..." She blinked. "No, wait, that's rude..." Lost in her thoughts, she crashed into something hard, giving an "oof" as she stumbled backwards. As she shook her head and looked up, her eyes laid upon a blockade that was tall, brown, perforated...and very, very familiar. Mandy gasped. "It's...a big, big wall...of chocolate!!" It was incredible how the high-pitched cry of "chocolate" didn't make anyone shush her. Not that she cared, though, as she gave the chocolate wall a lick. "It's really chocolate!" she cried out, devolving into giddy laughter as her mind ran a million miles a minute, struggling to figure out where to start first. She didn't care much about the how or the why of it all -- her never-ending appetite meant she could devour the wall within seconds, though she wasn't sure if her mouth was volumetric enough to fit a bar that big in one go. She also didn't need to ponder how she was going to eat the thing, as she simply fired up her horn and shot a laser blast cleanly down the middle. It made the two halves land on conjured plates that also served as blockades, making Mandy look like nothing more than a small speck of dirt in a giant's world. Slicing one half down the middle of both halves using the same feat of magic so that it was now in fourths, she grabbed a large piece with her serpentine tongue and pulled it into her mouth, relishing the taste. "So good!" she chirped, her tail wagging back and forth as she got to work on the next piece. Chikako, situated behind another wall at the far end of the hallway, smirked. "Yes, we got her!" "What do we do now?" Chikako rolled her eyes at Malma's stupidity. "We trap her. What else?" About three-fourths into her third piece, Mandy straightened. "Ooh, I should take shome of thish back to Momma and Otto!" she realized, shoving the rest of her already-eaten piece into her mouth, grabbing the other piece in her prismatic corona, and happily bouncing away, leaving the plates behind. "She's getting away!" Malma screamed, pointing a finger in Mandy's direction. Hackles raised, Chikako hissed. "She was supposed to stay and eat all of the chocolate, not take it with her!" She furiously shook her head. "We'll think of another plan, Malma, let's go!" As the catgirls made a break for it, Olive and Otto began calling out for Mandy. "Maaaaandyyyyy?" "Hey, where'd you go?!" A well-aimed and well-timed bounce brought Mandy directly in front of them, with half of a piece of chocolate stuck in her mouth. Most of her face was smeared with chocolate, and she had a distended belly that made it look like she had packed on a good 90 pounds at the least. Olive and Otto, completely unfazed and beginning to piece together what had happened, took in the hybrid's appearance with neutral expressions. "Hi!" "Mandy, first of all, don't speak with food in your mouth." Olive scolded. "The amount of times I've had to tell you that is absurd." Mandy put on an apologetic look and happily swallowed her piece of chocolate. "Second of all, where were you, exactly?" "Oh! Well, I was really hungry, and I smelled something sweet so I followed it and I ran into this huuuuge wall of chocolate! I was gonna share it with you two, but...uh…hehe..." Mandy gave a muffled belch, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "I ate it all. Sorry." Olive gave an exasperated sigh. "Mandy, you're always hungry." She crossed her arms. "Try not to leave us alone like that, okay? You may come here every week but we haven't been here in decades." "Gotcha!" Otto reached behind his back and pulled out a rag. "Here. For your face. You've got a lot of chocolate on it." "Do I?" Mandy pulled out a mirror. "Oh wow, I do! Well, it's just an arrestiment to how good it was!" "'Testament', Mandy. The word is 'testament'. It is a testament to how good it was." "Nobody likes an English-ruiner, Momma." Mandy wiped her face clean of the chocolate and handed Otto back the rag. "English-ruinee? English-ruiness?" A pause. One could quite literally hear the gears turning in Mandy's head as she thought. "...English-ruinette! Yes! No one likes an English-ruinette!" "This." Olive glanced at Otto and pointed at Mandy. "This is why I'm a proud advocate for Odd Squad Academy English classes. Not everyone speaks Mandy language." "Right." "Anyway..." Olive gestured towards the path that she and Otto had come from. "We were trying to see if our pictures were on the Wall of Fame." "Oh?" Mandy shook her head. "Not yet. They're still tryna find the correct wording for the plaques, I hear." "They don't have to be perfect." "Nonsense!" Mandy patted Otto's shoulder. "You two are legends and you should be treated as such. Ooh, ooh, are you two opposed to crowns and scepters? Twilight might have some spare ones in her Castle of Friendship somewhere she could give you!" Just as Olive opened her mouth to oppose the idea, the sound of a school bell rung throughout the building. "Ooh, classes have let out!" Mandy began bouncing up and down. "Now we can see some recruits!" Otto's brows furrowed. "That was fast." Two separate shouts of her name caused Mandy, as well as Olive and Otto, to turn around. Two Earth pony fillies, both wearing the same gray sweatshirts that Hazelblossom and Ribbon Twirl had worn earlier, rushed up to them at blinding speeds, excitement radiating all throughout their bodies so that they nearly vibrated. Mandy waved. "Hiya!" "Hey, hey, do you think you could help me with my homework assignment?" the blue-coated one asked. "And I need help studying for my next quiz!" the pink-coated one said. "Hold on, hold on! I can't do both at once." Mandy gave a small smile. "How about we make separate times for each of you?" The blue-coated one nodded. "Sure!" The pink-coated filly, however, wasn't so convinced. "But my next quiz is tomorrow!" "What's it on?" Olive asked, kneeling down to reach the filly's level. "How to interrogate a unicorn." Olive blinked. Mandy patted her shoulder. "Looks like that's your territory, Momma!" "Oh definitely." Mandy glanced at the two fillies. "Girls, this is Olive and Otto. They're the co-Directors of the Mississauga precinct." And then, she glanced at the two Directors. "You two, meet Blue Lily..." The one with her blue mane and tail and her orchid-gray coat waved. "Hi!" "...and Strawberry Parchment!" The one with her fuchsia mane and tail and cerise-colored coat, gave a pleasant smile. "Most call me Strawberry, though." "Nice to meet you!" Olive and Otto greeted in unison. "Have you ever interrogated a unicorn, Olive?" Strawberry stiffened. "Um, I mean, Ms. O?" "Yeah. It was back when I was an agent and we were trying to solve the mystery of characters coming alive from their books. You remember, Otto?" "Oh yeah!" Otto scratched the back of his neck. "That time when I decapitated a mummy. On accident." Olive's eyes widened. "You decapitated him?! You told me he fell asleep!" "Look, if Oprah found out I decapitated him, she would have decapitated me!" Olive pinched the bridge of her nose and gave a groan. "Aaaaaaanyhoozle, Blue Lily, I've got some free time tomorrow if you wanna stop by Precinct 13579." Mandy glanced at Strawberry. "And Strawberry Parchment, you can go to Momma and Otto's precinct." Strawberry's eyes shimmered as she glanced up at the two Directors. "Can I really do that?" "Of course!" Olive nodded. "I'll try and teach you all that I can." "Yay! Thank you!" "And I'll be sure to stop by Precinct 13579 tomorrow, Mandy!" Blue Lily wrapped her front legs around the hybrid's own. "I'm so so lucky to have you as a friend!" "D'aww..." Mandy rubbed her arm. "You're gonna make me blush!" Blue Lily released herself from the hug. "I have to head home now. I'll see you tomorrow, Mandy!" "I should get going too." Strawberry turned. "See you tomorrow, Mr. and Ms. O!" Everyone gave their goodbyes to the two retreating fillies, who zipped off just as fast as they had come. "So what now?" Otto asked. Mandy gave a soft hum as her tail twitched. "Well, there are a couple new rooms that we could-" "Mandy!" This new voice didn't belong to any Academy student -- rather, it belonged to a Professor O, who rushed up to Mandy as fast as his feet would take him and keeled over when he got there. "Professor O?" "Oh...thank goodness you came." Professor O lifted himself up. "Listen, I need your help." "Okay!" A pause. Mandy's grin remained on her face. "What for?" "We’re studying ways that unicorns -- erm, Equestrian natives, I should say -- can use their magic to combat oddness. And I figured, who better to use as an example than one of the most powerful magic users ever?" Mandy's smile dropped from her face. She blinked. "Uhh...w-well, I, uh, wouldn't call myself powerful..." "You took down a Hydraclops and defeated it after taking a severe hit to the spine from a tree." Olive pointed out. "I think we’re well beyond calling you 'weak', Mandy." "Yeah, but in terms of magic..." Mandy edged her voice so as to remind Olive that she didn't take down the Hydraclops with unicorn magic -- or really any kind of Equestrian magic, if she thought about it. "I-I mean, I can teleport and make stuff float and fire cool laser beams, but…" "Oh come on, it'll be great! The students will love you." Professor O urged. Mandy heaved a sigh. "Well, if it's for the students...I hafta do it. It's in the contract." "Great!" Professor O turned. "Follow me to the classroom. The class starts in a couple minutes." Mandy began to follow him, her head angling towards the two Directors she was leaving behind. "You two can go explore if you want. You know where to find me." Olive wanted to say that they didn't know where to find Mandy because they hardly remembered their way around the Investigation building of the Academy as it was, but decided that they could probably ask some recruits for directional information if they were as legendary as the hybrid claimed they were. "Got it! Have fun!" she called, waving Mandy off. As both Directors went the opposite direction, Otto's eyes widened. "Wait, what contract is she talking about?" Olive simply sighed, reached behind her back, and pulled out a rather sizeable stack of papers, reading off of the top one. "Rule Number One in the 'Handling Agent Mandy' Packet..." Chikako and Malma were lucky to be catgirls who had the ability to turn into cats that could sneak around unsuspected. No one had managed to catch them, even though their ears and tails were out in the open and even though their other forms were of cute cats in a building full of kids of both the human and equine kinds. "Okay, so you're clear on the plan, Malma?" Chikako murmured, from where she was watching Mandy come down the hall with a kid dressed in a spiffy uniform. She didn't bother to identify who it was. "Yeah!" Malma nodded enthusiastically. "We eat the shapeshifter seeds and they transform us into Academy students. Then we can get close to Mandy and capture her without being suspected!" Chikako smirked. "Heh. Idiotic you may be sometimes, but you're not without your moments of cleverness. Let's hurry." Both girls took the oval-shaped seeds that were in their hands and popped them into their mouths, chewing them and wincing when some sort of juice began oozing out of them. With two small whooshes, they were transformed into purely human twins, down to the same uniform as what agents-in-training wore. "Yes, it worked!" "Wait!" Malma held out a hand to stop Chikako. "Before we go in, we gotta give ourselves O names!" Chikako snapped her fingers. "Shoot, you're right." She stood up, watching as Mandy and the kid went down a side hall. "We'll think of some on the way in. Let's go." As Mandy and Professor O made their way inside, they were met with row after row of eager Academy students, most of whom were talking amongst one another. A few students gave their attention to Professor O, though not many. "Hello, everyone!" he called, enough to quiet the room down and gather more eyes towards him. "I've brought a very special guest today." That did it. The room erupted into cheers, which startled Mandy enough that she took a step back and nervously laughed. "Hi!" she eked out, though it was barely heard above the cacophonous din. "She’ll be helping us with our lesson on magic and combating oddness. Now, settle down, and let’s begin, okay?" The cheers died down just as the door opened, revealing two girls who looked the same in everything but eye color and hair bow color. "Sorry, Professor O..." The blue-eyed student took heavy breaths. "We're late, aren't we?" The green-eyed student shook her head. "What a shame." Professor O tilted his head. "I'm sorry, do I...know you two?" The green-eyed student straightened. "Oh! U-uh, I'm Ohikako." "And I'm Olma!" "Nice to meet you." Professor O reached behind his back and pulled out a paper, scanning it intensely. "Um...you're not on my attendance sheet." "We're new students here." Ohikako explained. "Ah, I see." Professor O nodded. "In that case, you're free to take a seat wherever you like." "With pleasure." The tone in Ohikako's voice was sinister, but no one picked up on it as they made their way towards two vacant seats in the middle of the third row. "Okay." Professor O cleared his throat. "Now, unicorns have an innate talent for magic, and many possess basic powers such as telekinesis, or the power to lift objects. But unicorns can also practice and master spells in order to protect themselves in battle." He gestured to Mandy. "Mandy, for example, is an alicorn, also known as a winged unicorn. She knows a lot of spells..." "Uh, not really-" "She's quite the powerful agent..." "Well, that's kinda sorta true..." "And she's skilled in battle!" Mandy blinked. "Actually that's very true." "So today, we're going to learn about how to apply that magic to fighting oddness. Specifically, odd creatures." Professor O clasped his hands together. "Everyone, we're heading out onto the field! Let's go!" As students began to murmur and rise from their seats, Chikako and Malma momentarily stayed behind. "Yes!" Chikako grinned. "In an open space, there's less chance for us to be caught. Malma, get that tranquilizer gun ready! The sooner we shoot, the better!" "Yup yup!" As the last of the students gathered in the open area that was right next to the Investigation building, Professor O erected the last of the barricades for just what foe his students had to face. "Now, in the outdoors, we have more room." He pointed. "See those laser chickens?" The crowd erupted into nervous murmurs as two laser chickens, easily towering over them all by a landslide, wandered about, clucking and firing deadly lasers from their combs. "Those are not natural laser chickens -- rather, they have been afflicted by oddness and have become laser chickens by unnatural means." Professor O placed a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "Mandy will demonstrate how to use magic in order to turn those chickens into regular chickens. Watch closely!" "All right!" Mandy puffed out her chest. "Watch the master at work!" From behind a nearby tree, Chikako, tranquilizer gun in hand, cocked the weapon and aimed. She carefully followed Mandy's movement as she began to move closer to the odd creatures. "We're in position. Ready..." Mandy's horn lit up. "Just gotta warm up the ol' horn here..." "Aim..." "Got it...and-" "Fire!" The cry was unisonant, stretching across Chikako, Malma, and Mandy. As the former fired the weapon, the latter fired her magic, although Chikako managed to be quicker on the draw and successfully embedded a tranquilizer dart clear through Mandy's pant leg and into her skin. The hybrid gave an "Eep!" as she let her magic loose, and coincidentally enough, it hit a laser chicken dead-on, turning it back into a normal chicken within a puff of multicolored smoke. "Nice job, you got one!" Professor O praised. Like the rest of the students, he was oblivious to the whole ordeal, and simply thought it was Mandy's talented magical prowess at work. When she felt a pinch in her leg, Mandy's vision grew hazy. Her world began spinning in a way that nearly made her sick. What's happening...? If she had the energy to, her eyes would have widened at just how slurred even her own thoughts sounded. She had to look at herself in a mirror, see what was in her leg, get it out, and examine herself to see if she was in tip-top shape. She shook her head and turned to face Professor O. "U-um, Professor O...can we...put a pause on the lesson? I have to use the bathroom." "Of course!" Professor O turned to his students. "This is a perfect opportunity for you unicorns to try using your magic on the other laser chicken, and for those who aren't unicorns to help your classmates out. Meet back here when you’re done, Mandy." "Uh-huh..." Mandy didn't know how she had the strength to even make it inside of the Investigation building, but somehow, through willpower not even she knew she had, she did. With a lame leg, she dragged it through the hallways, trying to find any sort of sign that pointed to the restrooms but not finding anything. It didn't help that her vision was getting worse by the minute. "Everything is..." "Gotcha." "Huh?" Mandy slowly turned. The two beings that stood just a short distance away from her were close enough that she could easily identify them as two girls, yet at the same time, they looked like vertical blobs of mass. "Y-you two..." She shook her head. "No!" It was fight or flight. Mandy, being in no condition to fight, chose the power of flight. She didn't get very far on her own wingpower, as her flying was slow and erratic. Which, of course, made it all the better for Chikako and Malma. "Oh no you don't!" Chikako aimed the tranquilizer gun again and fired. Another dart went into Mandy's other leg, causing her to give a "Wah!" of surprise before she plummeted to the ground, her body hitting the floor twice before skidding to a slow stop. "Wow, you're pathetic." Chikako remarked, taking the seed she had been given to undo the effects of the transformation and chewing it to turn herself back to normal. "You never stood a chance against us!" Malma chirped, doing the same thing. Chikako shook her head. "If I had known it would be this easy, we would have tranquilized you long ago." "Yeah, and-" "Let me handle this, Malma." Chikako forcefully shoved her comrade aside and began to approach Mandy. The hybrid struggled to get to her feet, only being able to push her upper body up and turn her head around. The only word she could give was nothing but a mere croak: "Vall...ea..." "Yes. We are from Vallea." Chikako towered over her. "King Ashero has asked once again for you and your inbred cousin to be captured and taken back. Since we can’t get her when you’re around, we had to find some way to separate you two." "Chikako? Malma?" Katine made her way over. Neither catgirl had seen her since she had given them the seeds originally and neither catgirl had any idea how she had managed to find them. "You two managed to capture Mandy?" "We did!" Chikako grinned. "It was easier than we thought!" Upon surveying her enemy, Katine's smile turned into a frown. "She's not fully unconscious. Why is she not fully unconscious?" To Mandy, the catgirls were nothing more than smears in her vision, their words muffled gibberish that rang in all four eardrums. Still, her brain was sending every signal it possibly could to her body for her to stay awake, even with two darts stuck in her legs. A groan eked out of her, and while she tried to utter out another word or two, that feat proved to be impossible. "She's fighting it!" Malma's words were practically a scared scream, as she thrust her index finger at Mandy. "Should we hit her with another?" Chikako whirled on Malma, staring at her as though she had uttered out the ramblings of a madwoman. "No! That was an extra-strength tranquilizer dart! She shouldn’t even have her eyes open! She got two!" Katine groaned. "Whatever. It doesn’t matter if she’s conscious or unconscious. What matters is if she’s able to fight back or not. And right now…" She chuckled, watching as another moan came from Mandy. "I don't think she's even able to stand up." It was true. Mandy's entire lower body felt numb. She could feel her heart beating -- perhaps that was what kept her upper body going -- but it was clear that being sedated by a tranquilizer dart, let alone two, let alone extra-strength ones, and fighting their effects was a battle that she was destined to lose. In a second, her upper body failed her. Her heart slowed, her arms came out from under her, and her chest and head slammed onto the tile floor, her eyes closing ever slower until she was sucked into a world of pure darkness. "So what do we do with her now?" Malma asked her leader. "Easy. We take her back to Vallea. King Ashero will be happy with one." "And what about Peaches?" Chikako asked. "Our King will send someone to catch her as well. Preferably before she has the chance to realize that Mandy is missing." Katine exhaled and pointed at Mandy. "Pick her up and let’s go." A shrill, malicious laugh pierced the air, making all three catgirls go on high alert. "What's that?" Katine asked, unsheathing her claws. Chikako stood next to her, unsheathing her own claws as well. "That laugh..." "They call it the 'noblewoman's laugh!' Or the 'ohoho'!" Malma explained, approaching the situation with blissful innocence. "You honestly thought you could get away with dragging my daughter back to your little village? How cute." "Too bad we won't let you. Your stunt ends here!" From somewhere that no one could identify, triumphant music flourished. Standing right behind Mandy was none other than Olive and Otto, posing rather dramatically as though they were going to quite literally be poster children for a movie. The catgirl trio all wore various expressions of shock. Absolutely none of them banked on Olive or Otto showing up, and it showed in every inch of their reactions. "Them...THEM!!" Katine screeched, whirling on Malma and Chikako. "How could you two forget to knock out them?!" "You gave us the instructions!" "Right!" Chikako nodded, only barely fazed by Katine's rage. "You told us not to capture them because Odd Squad would wage war against us!" Katine's face turned a bright red as her teeth became bared in an ugly snarl. "Whatever!" She jabbed a finger at the two Directors, who hadn't budged so much as an inch, in both position and expression. "If we can’t knock them out with tranquilizer darts, then we’ll knock them out with brute force! Go get them!" Neither catgirl needed a second prompt, launching themselves at Olive and Otto at high speed. Otto heaved a sigh and shook his head. "They never learn, do they?" "Sadly, no." Both Directors reached behind their backs, pulling out golden shields marked with the Management symbol that looked quite rusted from years of heavy-duty use. Olive smirked. "Let's get ready to fight, partner." Otto nodded, and the pair rushed into battle, meeting the catgirls halfway. Although they were outnumbered three to two, they were still able to deliver mighty blows to all three Vallea residents, using their free fists as well as their legs, feet, and any available damaging gadgets they had in their hammerspace spines. The fighting was so intense that no one heard Professor O and the rest of the students arrive on the scene. "What in the name of odd is going on in here?!" he yelled, trying to make himself heard over the din. All five combatants disappeared in a ball of dust and violence. Within the ball came a loud, high-pitched yowl, followed by the deafening sound of a gadget's thick laser making impact, then the sound of a body hitting a wall hard enough to leave a dent. The students all huddled together behind Professor O, giving scared screams and cries as they tried to comprehend what was going on. Otto broke free, as did Katine, and held her back with both his shield and his free arm. "Professor O! Take Mandy to the Medical building! Tell them she got tranquilized!" "Take Mandy to..." Professor O peered behind Otto and the mysterious catperson, managing to spot a lifeless body behind them and Olive and Chikako, who were no longer kicking up dust and were fighting on the floor. "Oh my gosh, o-okay, will do!" He turned to his students. "Everyone, go back outside! Now!" The students did as they were told, leaving Professor O free to dart past the two separate fights as well as the wall-embedded catperson and make a mad grab for Mandy. "C'mon, Mandy, up and at 'em! Let's go!" When it became clear to him that the hybrid was knocked out cold, he picked her up with much effort and began booking it past the two fights once more, back to the outside where he could hopefully spot the Medical building, or at the very least flag down a passing Doctor. A well-aimed sock to the jaw left Chikako in more pain there than in any other part of her body. "I'm bleeding!" "Not..." A punch to the face. "My..." Another one. "Problem!" And another one, that one more hard-hitting than the last that managed to send her stumbling backwards. Nearby, Katine was making a mad grab for Otto, trying to snap at him while yowling and hissing with as much ferocity as she had. Due to Otto's incredible strength, her teeth only bit the air that was several inches from his nose, and he had all the means to throw her off. "Be quiet!" he yelled. "Get your filthy hands off of me, you dirty mongrel!" "Never!" With a swift yank, he pulled Katine's body close to him, as though he were leading her in a dance. However, what he was doing was far more sinister, as he grabbed the catgirl's left arm and pulled it so that it was bending at an angle that one didn't think such an arm could bend at. What ensued was a loud pained yowl that echoed throughout the hallways of the building, spittle flying from Katine's mouth as she tried to wrench free. Just as Otto was mentally praising himself for his quick thinking, his eyes caught the third catgirl of the group rushing towards him, snarling and with claws fully extended. "You little-" A golden shield went flying towards Malma, hitting her square in the chest and sending her flying towards the wall as she made a choking sound. However, she didn't hit it, and instead fell to the floor on her back, the shield clattering beside her as she laid unconscious. "Yes!" The voice was unmistakable. Otto didn't need to piece together what had happened. "Wow, Otto, you weren't kidding when you said our shields work well as saucers!" "Uh-huh!" Otto said through gritted teeth, as he struggled to keep the now-thrashing Katine out of control. Fed up with being at a standstill, he flipped the catgirl back over, balled his free hand into a fist, pulled it back, and let it fly towards the catgirl's face, causing her to release her grip on Otto and fall straight onto her back like a piece of wood that had been tipped over. "You all right, partner?" "Ah, just a little dirty. Not without any claw marks, of course..." Olive tenderly touched her bleeding cheek. "...but nothing too bad. What about you?" "A couple scratches and bruises. Nothing I can't handle." A low growl made both Directors' attentions snap to an enraged Katine, whose nose was bent at an awkward angle and whose cheek was a little swollen. "How...dare you...try and attack us." She slowly shook her head. "We should take you back to King Ashero...nngh...along with those two deformed mutts you’re housing." No one could see it, but it was calling Peaches and Mandy "deformed mutts" that made Olive's hackles rise. "Yeah, speaking of..." She walked over to the felled Malma and effortlessly picked up her shield. "Exactly how many times does Odd Squad have to hammer it into your feeble minds that King Ashero sending out catpeople to do his bidding isn’t getting the job done? Is he so lazy that he can’t take the time to come over here himself?" "N-nonsense!" Chikako winced as she, too, struggled to get to her feet after having lost her balance. "King Ashero is a very busy cat. He doesn’t have the time to deal with your lack of intelligence." Olive idly examined her fingernails. "It's a shame, really. We'd love to roundhouse-kick his butt too, just like we did with yours." Malma gave a spittle-laced hiss in response. "This isn't over..." Katine propped herself up on her lower arms. "No way is this over..." Olive and Otto exchanged a glance. Otto, tucking his shield away behind his back, gave a single nod to Olive, and she gave him a thumbs-up in return. "You're right. It's not over." Olive reached behind her back to put away her shield, but kept it there in order to fish for another item. "The first time I battled one of your ilk, I let him go with mild injuries. This time, I'm raising the stakes." Otto wisely backed up, watching as his partner pulled out a small gadget that looked to be in the shape of a ray gun and examined it to make sure she had enough ammo. Katine's eyes widened when she saw what Olive was doing. "N-no...you can't..." "If we're gonna...be executed..." A pained yowl cut off Chikako's sentence for only a moment. "...it'll be at...the hands of...our King!" A mirthless laugh slipped from Olive's lips. "No it won't." She cocked the gadget. "I am more than willing to be your executioner. I promise to make your deaths as dignified as you want." "Wait!" Malma grit her teeth. "You...you don't wanna do this in front of the kids!" Otto's brows furrowed. "What kids? They all went outside." He looked behind him, just to make sure no one was coming. "And everyone's in classes right now." Realizing her excuses would all be fruitless, Malma feebly held out a hand. "Then...t-take me! Take me first!" That made Olive falter. She blinked. "You...want to die first?" "Yes!" Malma squeezed her eyes shut. "Just get it over with!" Olive wasn't sure whether she was being genuine or if she was bluffing. "All right. I have a feeling your two comrades won't miss you all that much anyway." As she approached Malma, she glanced at Chikako and Katine, who were staring at Malma worryingly. A feeling began churning away in the Director's gut, a feeling of unfamiliarity that could only come from someone who had never killed before. She was no killer. Deep inside of her heart, she knew she wasn't. If she was, she would have killed Odd Todd long before Otto worked his skills at being a mole. However, as someone who was committed to being the absolute perfect parent to Mandy, she was more than willing to thin out Vallea's population, all the way up until she was able to rid it of its abhorrent king. "And when you're in the afterlife..." Olive gave a sharp chuckle, a way of her affirming that she didn't believe in such a thing. "...don't even think of trying to harm my daughter again." She jerked her head away and pressed the button. A loud bang echoed throughout the hallways, making Otto stumble backwards. "Otto...tell me I got her." Otto angled his head to peek around Olive. A pool of blood, rich and red, began forming under the lifeless body of Malma. "Yeah...you got her, all right." Chikako and Katine were considerably more scared now. They exchanged glances with each other before swallowing the lumps that had formed in their throats and glancing at Olive, their pain being squashed by the fear and defeat that began forming within their hearts. They would have mourned Malma's murder, if they weren't at the mercy of their enemies. Now, they could only mourn in the afterlife. Olive turned her head back, cocked the weapon again, and aimed at Chikako's chest. "M-m-me? W-why me?" "Does it look like I care about the why?" Olive sneered. "I just want you dead. And convenience didn't strike hard enough so that I could kill all three of you at once." "All we were doing..." Chikako squeezed one eye shut as a reaction to the pain that flared up within her body. "...was honoring our King's wishes." "And you could have easily turned away and rebelled. Yet you didn't." Olive gave a derisive snort. "You know what? Just shut up. My daughter's probably in a coma right now for all I know. Your precious King won't miss three cold bodies." Briefly, Chikako's gaze moved to Otto. He was still in a little shock from just how loud the fired weapon had been, but he was otherwise stony-faced and tight-lipped. Any mercy given by him would be nonexistent, and it squashed any hope she still had left in her. Olive aimed for the catgirl's chest, jerked her head away again, then fired. Another loud bang, accompanied by a strangled, scared, grief-filled scream from Katine. More blood began to coat the floors. "H-how..." Katine, fueled by anger, grit her teeth. "You're a coward." "A coward? Moi?" Olive's head turned to face the catgirl as an innocent smile began creeping along her face. "Do elaborate." "Every time you've shot one of my fellow civilians, you've...nngh...you've looked away. You still have a heart!" Katine tried to point, but could barely lift her arm a few inches. "S-so why...why?!" Olive fixed the catgirl with a disinterested expression. Quickly, she cocked the weapon one more time, aimed it at Katine's chest, ignored her rapid "no's" as she jerked her head away, and fired. By the third bang, students and teachers alike had begun peering out of classrooms, wondering what was going on. The sound of scared and concerned murmurs caught both Directors' ears, and made Olive hastily tuck her weapon away behind her back. "Uh, e-everyone stay calm!" Otto tried. "There was, uh, I mean, there were some odd villains here that my partner happily, uh...dealt with. They're no longer threats!" "Yes! Please, go back to class. We're sorry for disturbing you. Rest assured, my partner and I have everything handled here." "Why's there blood on the floor?" The innocent-sounding question from an equally-innocent student made Olive and Otto stiffen. Whatever attempt they had made at hiding what they had done would have failed, if they had actually made the attempt to begin with. They stared at each other, desperately trying to think of an excuse. "It's...paint!" Olive's grin was uneven, and quite frankly, it was terrifying, as evidenced by some students' worried reactions. "They were villains who attacked with paint. Yeah. W-we knocked them out good. And their paint spilled!" The students began murmuring. Neither Director was sure whether any of them had bought the poorly-concocted excuse or not. "All right, everyone, let's head back to class. That goes for all of you too!" The Professor O in charge of the class that was nearest the Directors called the final words of her order to her fellow teachers, who nodded and began corralling their respective students back inside, offering comforting words of encouragement. While Olive and Otto were grateful, the knowing look that Professor O gave as she slunk back into the classroom with her students was one they would most certainly be taking to bed that night. "So how do we, uh..." Otto's stomach did a flip. "...get rid of these guys?" Olive gave a low hum of thought. "Why don't I fling 'em? Wherever they land, they'll either get fed to the maggots or fed to some other wild animal or odd creature lurking about." She smirked. "Besides, if I do that, I can see if my skills have gotten better since Orino came to town." "That's your go-to move now, huh?" Otto shook his head in an amused manner. "I'm going to the Medical building to check on Mandy. Meet me there?" "Absolutely. But, uh..." Olive began picking up the three dead bodies, gesturing to the puddle of blood with her foot. "Can you clean this up first?" Otto reached behind his back and pulled out a gadget that looked like a long stick. "Mop-inator!" he called, aiming it at the puddle and yanking on the pull cord. This caused a mop head to suddenly grow from the far end of the stick, and when it was placed on the puddle, it mopped it up within seconds with not a drop to spare. "Good job." Olive began heading off. "Wring that outside and make sure Mandy's okay. Quickly!" "R-right!" Otto made sure to grab the gun that the catgirls had dropped, tucking it away inside his hammerspace spine before sprinting past Olive and making a beeline for the exit doors. Inside the Emergency Treatment Room at the Medical building of the Academy, Professor O, along with Blue Lily, Strawberry Parchment, Ribbon Twirl and Hazelblossom (he had run into them all on his way to the building), watched as an Odd Squad Doctor eyed a patient monitor, then let her gaze wander to a still-unconscious Mandy, lying on a platform that looked akin to the bottom half of a tanning bed. She took one of the darts that she had pried out of the hybrid and examined it for a few minutes. "Mmmhm. That's an extra-strength tranquilizer dart, all right. And since Mandy received two of them..." Professor O's face fell. "Don't tell me." "She's gonna be in a coma!" Blue Lily's words were practically a scream, and managed to catch the attention of a few nearby Doctors. "No!" Ribbon Twirl placed her hooves against the Doctor's legs. "Ozzie, there's gotta be some way..." "Wait!" Strawberry Parchment piped up. "Mandy told me something, a while ago...she told me about her sleep, how no one can wake her up and-" "Strawberry, that's different. Mandy's not asleep, she's unconscious." Professor O glanced at the Doctor. "Right, Ozzie?" Ozzie nodded, her poofy black pigtails bouncing as she did so. "Yes. Mandy’s not in a sleeping state. She’s unconscious, but she’s not asleep. It’s sort of like when you have surgery and you receive anesthesia." "But...but..." Strawberry began anxiously trotting in place. "How long is she gonna be out for?!" "No one knows." Running footsteps marked the arrival of Otto, who slid down the hall and landed perfectly in the doorway. "I'm here!" He tried to catch his breath. "Dr. O, what's going on?" "Otto, you're a Director. Surely you know that title is used for Head Doctors only?" Ozzie tilted her head. "Call me Ozzie." Otto made his way up to the growing crowd of concerned agents. "Right, okay, but how's Mandy doing?!" "Mandy’s all right. She took two extra-strength tranquilizer darts to both legs. Vitals are steady, but I don’t know how long she’ll be out for. It could be weeks, it could be months...it could even be the next day." "Extra-strength?!" The shout came from a newly-arrived Olive, who rushed in as fast as her feet could take her and nearly collided with the ponies, Professor O, and her own partner. Blue Lily looked up at her. "We're all really worried." she remarked, as the others murmured. "Is there anything I can do?" Olive said, keeping her gaze fixed on Ozzie. "Keep an eye on Mandy. For now, she should rest in bed." Olive gave a shaky sigh. "Those stupid catgirls..." "Hey, Ms. O...who were those girls, anyway?" "Local villain trio. They call themselves the Hissy Fits." Otto almost wanted to smile at how quickly he came up with that pun, but his worry trumped his amusement right quick. Hazelblossom's muzzle wrinkled. "Sounds like a weird name for a villain group. But then again..." She chuckled. "Villains aren't very smart." "Bottom line is, you all don't need to worry about them." Olive assured. "Otto and I took care of them." "Thank you!" Ribbon chirped, as the others followed suit in giving their own thanks. "Well, it was nothing, really...they were hurting Mandy. I couldn't let them get away with it." "All right, finished." The group's attention turned to Ozzie, who was hunched over Mandy with a clipboard in her hand that they had to assume was given to her by another Doctor when they weren't looking. "What with?" Hazelblossom asked. "I ran some scans on Mandy. She should be all right, but as I said, you'll need to keep an eye on her." "Right, of course." Olive nodded, watching as Ozzie began peeling off electrodes from Mandy's exposed chest. When the Doctor gave her an OK signal, the Director moved to grab Mandy in her arms, her eyes widening as she noted just how limp she was, like an overcooked spaghetti noodle. She turned to the rest of the group. "I’m really sorry that Mandy’s visit was cut off like this. Otto and I came with her because we wanted to see what she did here. I didn’t think we’d get caught up in this crazy mess." "That's quite all right." Hazelblossom gave her a grateful smile. "I'll see Mandy again." "Yeah!" Ribbon Twirl leaped into the air. "I know she'll get better! Mandy's a fighter!" "I'll still stop by Precinct 13579 tomorrow!" Blue Lily offered. "Even if she can’t help me with my homework, I can still check up on how she’s doing." Professor O glanced at the unconscious body of the one who had only helped him with his lesson just a short while ago. "I'll find a way to work through the magic lesson without her." "And..." Strawberry rubbed her leg. "Maybe I can still come to your precinct so you can help me with my quiz?" Olive nodded. "Of course. Come with us." "Keep us updated!" Professor O called, watching Olive and Otto walk out with Strawberry and Mandy in tow. "We will!" Olive called back. "And thank you, Ozzie!" Ozzie waved. "No problem. Best of luck to you two!" Ribbon, Blue Lily, Hazelblossom and Professor O split after that, with the latter helping the ponies get to their respective classrooms before heading back to his own class outside. Mandy woke up to a world of black. Aside from herself, every direction was nothing but the same color. She felt lightweight, and wondered how she could be standing on the ground with gravity holding her down. The area almost looked like the limbo she went through whenever she left the Magical Grasslands, only while that pulled her by force and was full of twinkling stars and a retreating utopia, this was just a void with nothing of the sort except the privilege of moving on free will. Her pony ears picked up on a faint call of her name. "W-who's there?!" she called, her voice strained as though she were on the verge of losing it. "I-if you're that 'Princess Luna' character, I mean no harm, I swear!" "Mandy." The mysterious voice was clearer now. "H-Haru..." "Shh. Try not to talk." Haruko urged. "You are unconscious. You are in endless sleep, a time not experienced since you were still in the womb, and a time you will experience even long after you are gone." Mandy tried to say something about how Heaven didn't exist and how darkness would be the only thing waiting after death, but a different set of words came out. "I can't see you..." "Your voice sounds strained." "I don't know where I am..." "It is all right. You have my voice to guide you. Even if you cannot see me, you will always be able to hear me. Our hearts are connected as one." Haruko assured. "Tell me, how did you end up like this?" Mandy squeezed her eyes shut. "The last thing I remember...the last thing I remember..." The memory flickered in her mind, as though it was corrupted. She spoke slowly, enunciating each word. "I was helping out with a lesson for some agents-in-training at the Academy and I was suddenly shot in the leg. My vision...it went all blurry, a-and I saw these two catgirls...and then I tried to fly away, but they shot me again...I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t…" "Perhaps it is a tranquilizer dart. I have seen it used a few times in the real world." "A tran-huh-lizer dart?" "Those catgirls must have hurt you with the darts." Mandy could almost feel the head shake Haruko gave, even if she was just a disembodied voice. "Oh, Mandy..." "Haruko...I don't wanna die." Mandy's voice was small. Tears began streaming down her face from the corners of her eyes. She wrapped her arms around herself. "Not before...not before I have a chance to say goodbye to my friends and family." "Do not worry. From what I understand, being hit with a tranquilizer dart is not lethal. You will wake up, in time." "B-but I'm not having any dreams...I just feel cold darkness." A shiver ran up Mandy's spine, causing the rest of her body to shiver in the process. "Being unconscious is a different...experience, so to say, than being asleep. When you are unconscious, your mind turns off. When you are asleep, you still have a sense of consciousness. Your brain is still active." "But my brain functions differently." "You are not dead, Mandy." Haruko assured again. "I can feel your heart. It is still beating. With love, kindness, and warmth. With the feeling of being alive." The sound of a heartbeat thrummed in Mandy's ears, although she wasn't sure if it came from her own body or if it came from somewhere in the void. "Your time in this world is not over yet." "H-how can I know that for sure?!" "All you need to do...is to place your full trust in me." The faint sound of shimmering and whooshing from off into the distance brought Mandy's attention to what was in front of her. While only a speck, a ball of pure white was driving the darkness away. "W-what's...is that light?" Her tone was hopeful. She would have run towards it, if her feet weren't rooted to the ground. "You are returning to consciousness." The sounds grew closer, and as they did, the ball of white grew bigger and bigger. Suddenly, Mandy felt terrified, and turned her body around to run away as anxiety began consuming her as well as the hope she had. "C'mon!" She tried to pull her feet off of the ground, but they stayed put. "Let me go!" Her head swiveled around. "S-stay away from me! Stay back!" Whatever words Haruko had to share, if any, were lost in the noise that had now become deafening. The ball would not stop, would not acknowledge her existence. It kept destroying everything in its path, just as it would soon destroy her. Mandy, paralyzed with fear, did the only thing she could do in that moment. She closed her eyes and screamed with every inch of force and emotion she had within her. As Mandy opened her eyes, her world became nothing but a smear. Much like the catgirls from earlier, the beings that stood over here were nothing but blobs, with something near their tops moving up and down. "...waking up!" Those words came clear as day, though she had no idea who they belonged to. She tried blinking in order to restore her vision, but it hardly helped, only serving to color the blobs. A moan eked out of her as she raised a hand to her forehead and began rubbing it. The words "my head" were formed by her mouth, but she wasn't sure if her vocal cords had worked together to create the sounds that formed them. "Oh, thank odd you're okay!" The blood rushing through her bony skull, her squishy brain, all of her nerves and vessels and matter, was cacophonous. It was like the heartbeat of a cat as heard through a stethoscope. As such, she couldn't tell who had expressed such joy that she was awake. Wait...I'm awake? I'm still alive? ...No. This can't be. I'm in the place above or something. I'm in another dream. This isn't reality. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. She became aware of her heart thrumming in her chest. But if I'm dead, why am I feeling so dizzy? Why do I have all these sensations...? "Where am I?" The words came out without warning. She didn't know if they had sound to them or not. "You're in your room." one of the blobs responded, with a sort of low voice. "You were out for an entire week! Two extra-strength tranquilizer darts...I'm surprised you weren't out for longer!" If Mandy was in her room, she didn't really see it. She tried blinking again, but only another small part of her vision became restored. Now, she could see that the blobs had features -- clothing, limbs, faces, hair. But it was still hard for her to make out who was who. "All right, everyone lay off of her." another voice chimed, as its owner pushed her way through. "Mandy? Are you up for eating or drinking?" A drink. That sounded like a good idea. Mandy gave a slow singular nod. "All right. I'll bring you some water first. Be right back!" The blob moved away. Mandy could now identify it as being an Odd Squad employee, though who it was, she didn't know. "Mandy?" Another blob, decked in yellow and white, moved forward, with something white seemingly floating next to it. "Is it okay if I wipe your face? You're sweating a lot." Another nod. Mandy felt something cold on her face that sent a shiver through her body, but she didn't wince, instead wheezing out a small murmur of thanks. "You've been through a lot, Mandy." yet another blob spoke. It reached out something to Mandy that she could see was a hand attached to an arm that had to be attached to a shoulder and thus a body, but quickly retracted it. "You're crying!" Gently, Mandy touched her cheek. The wetness wasn't from whatever had been soaked in water and rubbed on her face. No, it came from...tears. Thick, ugly, desperate tears. And the more she thought about them, the more tears came. She ducked her head down to where no one could see, and cried. Cried about the white ball that had consumed her in the infinite darkness. Cried about what had happened with the catgirls that had mercilessly wounded her and sent her out of commission for a grand total of 168 hours. Cried about the anxiety and the grief of it all, and how she would probably never be normal again. The blobs all gathered around her, almost instinctively. She wanted to scream at them, tell them to stay away from her. But the scream she gave wasn't so much a scream as it was a pitiful, strangled wail. Memories of her horrible dream flashed in her mind, becoming warped and twisted. The scream she gave as the white ball swallowed her up was ingrained in her mind and played on an endless loop. "Mandy, what's wrong?" She couldn't answer the voice right away. Her eyes were becoming reddened and dry. Her lap was becoming damp. She was still stuck in a state of seemingly-endless anxiety and all she could do was quiver and cry as these blobs offered their condolences. It almost sickened her how vulnerable she was. Suddenly, her upper body was jerked to the right and held by a pair of arms. She squirmed and yelped, but whoever was holding her was not only so keen on letting her go, they were also super-strong. And there were only two people she knew who were super-strong. With tears still clouding her vision, she stopped resisting, glanced up, and found a face staring back at her. It was only a blurry smear, but it held a level of warmth within it that calmed her down a little. "Bad dream?" it murmured. "It's all okay now. Remember, what you experienced wasn't real. You have all of us here to protect you." Mandy hiccuped and sniffled. She was still crying, but little by little, the ghosts of anxiety that lived within her disappeared. As she angled her head towards the being's chest, she felt a nice, steady heartbeat, coupled with the sensation of being rocked. "I'm so glad you're safe, Mandy. Otto and I fought hard for your sake." It held up a glass of water to her face. "Here. Drink this." Eagerly, Mandy took the glass, her eyes widening as she realized just how shaky her hands were. Still, she chugged the glass and got done with it in just a few sips. Her mouth and throat became filled with hydration, and she found herself able to speak again after pronouncing the sounds of a few letters. "W-who...who are you?" "Aww, c'mon. Don't you recognize me?" the being said. "I'm your mother." The pieces began falling into place now. Mandy tried rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hand in order to restore her vision, and suddenly she found herself with clearer sight than before. She could now make out the blobs as being everyone in her family -- the six ponies, Peaches, Otto, and Oprah had all gathered in what she now knew to be her room. Seeing them there made her anxiety go away tenfold. Whatever that white ball had done to her, it had given her life back. I...really am alive. Momma and Otto told me about the place up above...and it's nothing like this. It's filled with clouds and a big gate and stuff. I'm alive! Her tail wagged, and she smiled for the first time in what felt like decades. She twisted her body around within Olive's grasp, giving a relieved cry of "Momma!" before wrapping her arms around her in a hug. "That water did the trick, huh?" Olive returned the hug and then some. "It's good to see you up and at it." Now that Mandy was free from the binds of the horrid dream she had experienced and the fear it had brought her, she could move on to the questions she wanted answered. "W-what happened?! Where are those catgirls? A-are they gonna come back? Are the students okay? Can you give me all the details?" "Only if you stop asking questions." Sure enough, Mandy fell silent, staring up at her adoptive mother with big round blue eyes. "Those catgirls you came across were, quite obviously, from Vallea." Olive rolled her eyes. "Otto and I...we, uh...we took care of them. We beat them good and sent them flying to the next dimension. Like what we did with Orino!" If Mandy was aware of Olive's intentional hiding as to what had actually gone down, she didn't show it, instead giving a grateful smile. "Oh good!" "As for the students, all of them are fine. After Professor O corralled them back outside, he took you to the Medical building to get treated." "Really?" Mandy's eyes began to shimmer. "Oh, I gotta give him my thanks! I-is he around?" "He came to visit you earlier on his break." Olive rubbed the hybrid's head again. "But I'm sure he'll come to visit you again." She glanced at the doorway. "Do you want some food? I'm happy to make you anything you want." A yawn slipped from Mandy's lips as she imagined the food coma she would soon find herself in. "Surprise me! As long as it's filling!" "So a lot of food, then." Olive gently pushed Mandy off of her and chuckled. "I'll go get started. Otto, Rainbow Dash, you two wouldn't mind a trip to the Chair Room to get a chair, would you?" Rainbow tilted her head. "Nah, we wouldn't mind...but why? Mandy's gonna eat in bed, isn't she?" "It's for me." Otto gave a shrug. "All right." As the pair headed out, Olive's attention turned to the others. "You all are free to go back to whatever you're doing. I'll take over from here." "A-are you sure?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm positive. Things will be fine." Olive had to bite her tongue to refrain from adding "with me in charge". Oprah nodded. "All right, agents, back to work." She clapped twice, and the five ponies still in the room quickly booked it out the door to get back to work. "If you'd like..." Peaches raised a finger. "I can keep an eye on Mandy for you while you cook." "Sure. Thank you, Peaches." Olive made her way towards the doorway. "Put her to bed, why don't you? She's swaying on her feet." Sure enough, Mandy was, indeed, swaying back and forth, her head bowed as she tried to fight hard to stay awake. Peaches watched Olive leave, then sighed and shook her head. "Mandy, you just woke up from a week-long coma and one of the first things you do is decide to go to sleep?" She poked her in the shoulder. "Don't you need to go to the Bathroom, at least?" Slowly, Mandy raised her head. Stared at Peaches. Began to meander her way towards the doorway. "Ah, m-maybe it's best if I, uh...go with you, huh?" Peaches nervously laughed as she followed her cousin. "Don't want you falling asleep at the sink again like what happened last month, right?" It took about five minutes for Mandy to finish. By the time she got back with Peaches in tow, a rocking chair was placed beside the bed, which Olive was sitting in. Next to her was a small black table with a tray of food on it, in all sorts of kinds and varieties. Next to it was a tall glass of water. "I resorted to quick meals." the Director admitted. "But they're very filling! Eat all you want." Mandy eyed the meals with intrigue. A fair bit of energy was granted to her on a temporary basis, enough for her to begin hungrily chowing down on plate after plate. "Get this." Peaches said. "Mandy wants to go back to sleep! After she just woke up from a coma!" Olive eyed the catgirl oddly. "Like you think I didn't know that?" She shrugged. "If Mandy wants to go back to sleep, then let her. At least she'll have better dreams." As Mandy ate the last bite of frozen waffles, she gave a rather loud belch and a satisfied sigh, her tail wagging steadily. "Pardon me..." "Now there's the sign of a happy hybrid!" Olive smiled. "Let's get you into bed. I'd imagine you want actual sleep instead of...uh..." She faltered. "Whatever you were in when you were in your coma." A noisy yawn forced its way out of Mandy, and she slowly ambled towards her bed. Peaches and Olive watched as she slowly climbed into it, snuggled under the sheets, and yawned again. "Momma...can you read me...a..." It was like someone had flicked a light switch. She was asleep within seconds, snoring away and muttering incomprehensible things that showed she had been rocket-launched into her own personal dreamland. "Well, at least she made it to bed." Peaches shrugged. "Beats falling asleep with a syrupy plate stuck to her cheek. And then having her lick the plate. And then having her eat the plate." "That has to be the fast food-coma-to-sleep rate I've seen from her yet. I should note that for the record." Olive took a seat in the chair. "You wouldn't mind cleaning up, would you?" "No, but...what are you doing, exactly?" "I'm going to keep an eye on Mandy to make sure she's safe." Olive explained. "I also just...need some time to think. About what happened last week." Peaches bit her lip. She, along with everyone else in Mandy's immediate family, had gotten the full story of what Olive had done. Neither Olive nor Otto had told the Big O yet, out of fear of the consequences that would be brought upon them. Whether what Olive did was the morally right thing to do or not varied depending on whom one asked -- Oprah, for example, was against it, while Rainbow Dash was all for it aside from complaining that Olive didn't use her fists instead. Peaches was in a sort of undecided gray area, as she wasn't sure whether Olive killing three catgirls from her hometown had been a good thing or a bad thing. She didn't know them personally, but it did get her thinking for the entire week. "All right. Don't forget, if you need to talk, my door's open." Peaches took the tray and began heading for the kitchen, turning the lights off and closing the door behind her. Olive sat in the chair, a yawn of her own escaping her. She felt like she looked as old as she was, just rocking back and forth in the chair ever so gently, hearing Mandy's raucous snores as she muttered something about raccoons, and growing tired herself. She hadn't gotten much sleep over the past few days, and even talking with Otto, who was also suffering from a lack of proper sleep, hadn't helped. Her eyes began to droop involuntarily. Before she knew it, a movie began to play in her mind, one of all sorts of different oddities waiting to greet her. Mandy wasn't sure what time it was when she awoke, and if she was being honest, she didn't care at the moment. She was still too wrapped up in relief that she didn't get sent to that awful void of black again. As she yawned, her body rattled, and she glanced around the room. The sound of snoring that wasn't her own tickled her eardrums, and she turned her head to the right as she lit up her horn to see who had fallen asleep in her room. Momma? Mandy took in the Director's slumped and leaned position, her arm draped over her stomach, and the drool that was dripping out of her mouth. Wow, she never sleeps like that! She must be really tired. But why is she here and not back at her Headquarters? An idea occurred to the hybrid right then. Her eyes widening as the drowsiness began to wear off, she swung her legs over the bed, got up, and stealthily crept towards the door, slipping out of the room and making a beeline for the Breakroom. From there, she grabbed as many bowls as she could and cooked using whatever ingredients she had in the immediate vicinity. Agents stopped what they were doing to ogle her talented and pristine skills as she chopped, cooked, and crafted her culinary delights. After about a half-hour, she was done. She made her way back to her room, where Olive was still fast asleep, and turned on the light. While she had expected it to make her stir a little, it did absolutely nothing instead. As she placed the tray on the black table, she stared at her adoptive mother, wondering if she should wake her. She knew she shouldn't, but at the same time, the food she had made would go cold if someone didn't eat it. So, against her better judgment, she prodded Olive. "Momma? Momma, wake up!" The Director awoke with a jolt. "Huhwha?! N-no, I didn't do it, it was Otto, all Otto!" Her eyes went half-lidded, and she gave a moan. "What...?" "Hiya!" Mandy put on an apologetic look. "I didn't wanna wake ya, but I figured since you cooked a whole bunch of food for me, I'd cook a whole bunch of food for you as a thank-you!" She pushed the table and the tray towards her. "Eat up!" Olive sleepily stared at the food and rubbed her eyes. "Mandy...you didn't have to." "I didn't have to, no. But I wanted to!" Mandy stared at the food. "And, um...you can consider this an apology as well." "An apology? For what?" "I meant to show you and Otto a fun time at the Academy, but then the whole shmishkaboodle happened and I never got to finish the tour..." Olive smiled. "Don't apologize, Mandy. It wasn't your fault. Besides, being at the Academy again was actually kind of fun." She took a bite of the BLT that sat in front of her, relishing the taste. "You have some great friends, too. Maybe we can take another trip sometime. Preferably when our lives aren't in danger." "I'd like that." Mandy's tail wagged. "How's the food? I-if it's undercooked or somethin' I can always redo-" "No, no! It's great. Thank you." Olive took another bite of the sandwich. "When I'm done, though...I think I need to resume my nap." "Yeah, about that...you haven't been sleeping well, have you?" "I...how'd you know?" "You're starting to get bags under your eyes." Olive pulled out a mirror from behind her back, and yelped. Sure enough, two dark bags hung heavily under her eyes, making her look like she had a severe case of sleep deprivation. She had never really looked hard enough in the mirror -- particularly, the mirror in her bathroom -- to notice them. And her agents hadn't said a word, as far as she knew. She heaved a sigh. "I look awful!" "Yeah, ya do." Mandy said, not pulling any punches when it came to delivering honesty. "If you got as much sleep as I did, you wouldn't have those bags!" "If I got as much sleep as you do, nothing would get done at my precinct." Olive pointed out, taking an even bigger bite of her sandwich. "Is there anywhere I can sleep?" "You can use my bed!" Mandy shrugged. "You've done it before. And you're right here, anyway." Olive simply nodded. And then, right then and there, she made a decision, knowing that for how much she desired sleep, it would escape her as long as the pressing issue weighed on her mind. "Mandy, I..." She grit her teeth. "We need to talk." "We're doin' that right now!" "No, no! Be serious for a moment, would you?" Olive set the sandwich down. "I'm going to...try and spit it out. You deserve to know the truth." "The truth about what?" "What I did to those catgirls." Olive spoke hurriedly, almost reaching "Mandy motor mouth" status. "The thing is, I didn't throw them. I did beat them up, but I-I killed them too!" Mandy's eyes widened. She stared at Olive for what felt like days, her mouth hanging open until she was finally able to string words together. "You wha?!" Olive shut her eyes, fearing the worst. "I...Momma...wow. That's...ha...wow." Before Olive knew it, she heard a snort. A chuckle. And then a full-on belly laugh. She opened her eyes, fixing Mandy with a look of confusion. "W-what's so funny?" Mandy didn't answer her. She just kept on laughing, clutching her stomach and rolling around on the floor as her legs flailed to and fro. "I-it really happened, you know! I killed them! All three of them!" Strangled inhales of air followed a Mandy desperate to regain her breath. "Oh..." She coughed. "I'm...ugh...man, of all the news...of all the news..." Olive simply stared. Mandy slowly rose to her feet. "Why am I not surprised, huh?" "...What?" "It may not be in my moral code to kill anyone...but for these catgirls, the ones who have harmed Peaches for so many years, the ones that keep coming after me and you and everyone else in Odd Squad..." Mandy crossed her arms. "Killing them seems like the only solution. After all, I dunno if throwing Orino was enough to kill him. Not the fall that kills ya, as they say..." Listening to her talk, Olive honestly wasn't sure whether Mandy was nonsensically rambling or if she was being genuine, but perhaps it was a mix of both going by how she was still talking. "They say that blood tastes like metal but when it comes from an animal that isn't a human does it taste like meat? I should note that for the next time I attend a bihillology class..." "Mandy?" "Hm?" The hybrid's tail twitched. "What's up?" "You're...uh...you're going a bit off-topic again." A pause. "I am?" Mandy scratched at a pony ear. "Ah. Well. So I am, so I am." She sat on her bed. "So what did you kill them with, exactly?" Olive sighed, reached behind her back, and pulled out her weapon. "Wow. Wowee!" Mandy eyed it with intrigue. "It's a ray gun! You killed them with a ray gun?" "Yeah. I was just so scared and enraged that I pulled out the first thing I had that I knew would cause major damage." Olive wisely tucked it away behind her back again before Mandy could grab it and run off. "You've been harmed so many times by these catpeople, Mandy. I don't know if they genuinely want to hurt you, if they've been brainwashed or hypnotized or...whatever by King Ashero..." She paused. "But whatever the case is, rest assured I'm more than willing to deliver harsh consequences to them." "Good!" Mandy pointed at the BLT. "Now are you gonna eat your sammich?" Olive smiled. "All right, all right. But only because I know what'll happen if I leave it unattended." Mandy watched her eat more of her sandwich for a few moments, the saliva coating her tongue as she felt the mini-her begin pounding on the walls of her stomach. Nearly every inch of her was telling her to not eat the food out of courtesy, but at the same time, she knew she made way too much food for Olive's not-so-voracious appetite to handle. Giving an amused smile, Olive set down a plate of steak, cooked well-done. "Here. If you want it, then by all-" Her eyes widened. "...means." Mandy already had half of the steak in her mouth, chewing it happily. And then she stopped, her eyes widening. "What's wrong?" Olive reached out a hand. "A-are you choking? Do I need to do the Heimlich?" Mandy swallowed the other half without chewing it. "No! I-I hafta go apologize to the students at the Academy! And Otto! I hafta apologize to him too!" Her heart rate slowing down significantly, Olive's eyes moved towards her wrist, where she pulled her suit and undershirt back to check her watch. "It's 7:29. In the..." She squinted in an attempt to read the slat on the watch's face that would read either AM or PM. "Evening." As she covered up the watch again, she fixed Mandy with a smile. "You can apologize to them tomorrow. As a matter of fact, I can give Otto an apology on your behalf when I get back to Headquarters. How about that?" "But I wanna apologize to him in-person..." The Director couldn't fault her for that. "Well, if you really want to, he should be back at Head-" By the time she looked up, she was staring at a dust trail that quickly dissipated. "...quarters." Giving a shrug, she went back to eating her sandwich, and resolved to hurry up with it before the rest of the food went bad. The next day, Mandy shot out of bed, rushed through her morning routine, wolfed down breakfast, and zoomed to the Odd Squad Academy as fast as her wings would take her, which was nearly Rainbow Dash levels of fast. Within her haste, she forgot to calculate the hundreds of thousands of Academy students, meaning that she would have to go to the principal's office to page them. Luckily, she knew well where the office was and was there within a minute, throwing the door wide open. A red-haired girl sat on the other side of a C-shaped desk. "Hi! I'm sorry, but if you're looking-" "For a speaker? Yes I am." Mandy hopped up onto the desk and leaned close into the girl's face. "I need one. I need to speak to the entirety of the school." "T-the..." The girl blinked. "I, u-uh, c-can't permit you to do that, Agent...um..." "Are you the principal?" "No..." "That's what I thought." Mandy put on a lopsided grin that managed to make the girl's eyes grow wide. "Point me to her office." "S-she's not taking any visi-" Mandy cut the girl off with a loud exaggerated groan. "Isn't there an assembly or something? Where I can speak to the entirety of the school?" The girl glanced to her right, where a paper with a list of important school dates sat. "Well, t-there's one-" "Lemme see!" Mandy forcefully grabbed the papers that could potentially be in the girl's line of vision with her magic and leaned back. One by one she picked through them, muttering to herself before settling on one in particular. Her pupils widened. She began bobbing up and down with excitement. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "Yesyesyes, there's one today! It's perfect! Who's speaking? Clear your spots! Tell 'em I'm speakin'! And I'll be the sole speaker! You know who I am, I'm sure you'll relay the news to 'em, right? Once I speak then I can apologize to all the students and assure them that everything's fine and no one got hurt and I'm fine and Momma's fine and Otto's fine and those catgirls are fine and the school's fine and everything's fine! Oh, but you should prolly tell the principal 'cause I don't think she'd be very happy that I'm skearheadin' the entire assembly that's probably about 'don't do drugs' and 'don't talk to strangers unless they're clients' and all that jazz. She loves me, sure, but I don't think she'd be-" "Security's here!" The unisonant shout made Mandy give a yelp of surprise and fall forward, flailing her arms before collapsing on the desk and tumbling to the floor just as the girl moved her swivel chair out of the way. A crash sounded from right next to the hybrid, a crash that she knew all too well as the sound of a desktop computer meeting the floor. "All right, what's going o-" One of the Security agents, clad in riot gear, eyed the groaning Mandy. "Huh? Mandy? What're you doing?" "Hurting...oh so much..." "Can you stand up?" With both hands placed firmly on the floor, Mandy rose to her feet. The red-headed girl eyed the hybrid with fear and suspicion, even in spite of the four Security officers that had come to presumably take her away. "Care to explain what's going on, ma'am?" another Security agent asked of the girl. "I...w-well, this agent j-just came in here and...she demanded a speaker! And I t-told her I can't let her..." The agent sighed. "Are you a new hire, ma'am?" "Y-yes? I only started around a month ago." "That explains it." The second agent pointed to a Mandy that was now being hauled away by the agent that was helping her. "That's Agent Mandy. She's known for being a little...how do I put this without hurting her feelings..." The second agent scratched his cheek. "She's a little eccentric. Like a little ball of electricity. This kind of stuff is normal for her." The girl looked visibly scared. "I..." She glanced at Mandy, who was chatting away with the first agent while winging her arms up and down. "I see. I had heard of Mandy, but not much..." "You get used to it." The second agent gave a smile. "I'm sorry she scared you." "I-it's...it's fine!" The girl let a nervous giggle slip from her lips. "I've seen worse, really..." "-and you don't understand, this apology is very important to me!" "But you didn't have to go around scaring innocent people!" "I didn't!" Mandy protested. "She wasn't listening to me!" "Maybe because none of what you said made sense?" "I made perfect sense! I wanted a speaker so I could speak to the entire school and apologize for what happened a week ago!" That made the first agent stop. "About the rabid girls?" "Yeah! About the ra-" Mandy blinked. "The rabbit I'm sorry now?" "The rabid girls. The ones who were cosplaying as catpeople." the agent explained. "They pulled some kind of a prank and two Odd Squad Directors dealt with them. With fireworks, I was told." Mandy had a whirlwind of questions running through her brain all of a sudden. "If they're rabbit girls, why do they need to cosplay as catpeople? Momma and Otto wouldn't defeat anyone with fireworks, what, were they celebrating Odd Squad's one-millionth cosplayer? Where'd that rumor come from? Do you have more rumors? Preferably about the stude-" "All right, all right, let's not get carried away." The agent rubbed his forehead with one hand and made a dismissive handwave with the other. "You didn't have any coffee today, did you?" "No." Mandy's eyes shimmered. "Do you have some? Can I have some? The Big O doesn't know yet and I'm waiting for the day she finds out!" The agent narrowed his eyes. "No." he responded pointedly. "Now, I'd like you to go apologize to that girl over there." "That who over where?" "The girl over there." "But there are tons of 'em!" Mandy blinked. "No, wait, there are only ten. I think. As an estimate." "The redhead!" The agent thrust an index finger at the girl who was placing her broken computer back onto her desk and heaving a mighty sigh. Mandy went tight-lipped for a moment. "If I do, can I have some coffee?" A pause. The agent didn't answer. "Please?" Still no answer. "Fine. A chocolate chip cookie that's more chip than cookie?" The agent's expression relaxed just a little. "All right. Now go apologize." Mandy stuck out her tongue at him, then slunk over to the girl and laid her cheek on the desk, her eyes drifting towards a doorway that led into a hall. "Look. You don't know me. I don't know you. I want one simple thing. You want..." She blinked. "Well, actually, I dunno what you want." "I want you to pay for damages to my computer, for starters." the girl responded. "And for my part, I don't know what you want, either." "I want a speaker. I want to speak to the entire school about an important matter." Mandy said, spitting out the words with venom. "You're lucky I didn't use my fame to get what I wanted like some big hotshot kid villain." "Mhm." The girl moved her chair back to its original position, sat down in it, and began sorting through papers. "You realize why I had to call Security?" "They know me. It's prolly the only reason why my butt isn't slidin' across the walkway." The girl sighed, knowing that reasoning with this biological anomaly was out of the question. "Look. Why don't we...start over? With proper introductions?" She stuck her hand out. "I'm Obregonia." Mandy's eyes moved from the hallway to the girl. "Mandy. Not shaken, not stirred, but I like my food and drinks both ways." She lifted up her right arm and placed her hand in Obregonia's, shaking it up and down. "Charmed." "Are you always this depressing?" Jerking her hand away and letting it droop like a limp noodle at her side, Mandy glared at the girl. "No. But if you let me speak at that assembly today, I might feel a little better. Just a smidge-smoodge." Obregonia sighed for what felt like the millionth time in the span of just...she checked the clock...fifteen minutes. "I'll see what I can coordinate with the principal when she comes back." Mandy swiveled her head so that it was her chin resting on the desk now. "Really?" "Really." From one to ninety-nine went Mandy's mood. Her eyes began to shimmer again. "Really really?" "Really really." In truth, Mandy could have kept going until her lungs collapsed, but a double-confirmation was fine by her. She gasped and lunged for Obregonia, scooping her up in a big hug. "Oh thank you thank you thank you! Please, do your very best! I hafta speak to all the students, today! It's a crisis!" "It's not a definite." Obregonia reminded. "But rest assured, I'll do my best." She coughed as Mandy began to squeeze her tighter. "Also, please put me down and get your dirty shoes off my desk." Mandy did as she was told. Obregonia peered past her and glanced at the four Security agents. "Thank you. You're free to go now." "Are you sure?" the first agent asked. "'Cause Mandy didn't apo-" In one swift movement with one curly tail, the four agents were shoved out the door and had it closed in their faces. And then Mandy opened it again, sticking only her hand out and making a "gimme" gesture with her fingers. "The cookie." The first agent begrudgingly complied, and took out a chocolate chip cookie that looked like it had been baked with exactly one bagful of chocolate chips. Mandy took it, slammed the door, and ate it in one bite, relishing the taste. "Aren't you going with them?" Obregonia asked, in a tone that clearly conveyed a desire for Mandy to leave. "Nope! I'm gonna stay here 'til the principal comes back and leaves room for me to speak at the assembly." Mandy hopped in a chair, pulled an issue of Shmumber Nature out from behind her back, and got to reading. Obregonia simply rolled her eyes, sat back down in her chair, and got back to work cleaning up the dirt that was left behind on her desk. At least if Mandy was quiet, she would be no bother, and that was all she cared about. Sure enough, once the principal gave the okay for Mandy to speak at the school assembly -- after lots and lots of begging, and some bribery -- she was the first speaker there. In fact, she was the only speaker there, going on for a full half-hour about the events of last week, why it's a bad idea to treat straight sugar as a drug, and how to succeed in running a cell phone company without even trying. A lot of students listened to the ramblings of their senior, but many more were just plain uninterested. A few had been marked as absent when the incident took place. Following the assembly, Mandy drank an entire bottle of water, marking its emptiness with a satisfied "aah". Her eye only barely caught Hazelblossom, Blue Lily, Ribbon Twirl and Strawberry Parchment rushing up to her. "Mandy!" Hazelblossom called out. "You're okay!" "Course I am, silly! Why wouldn't I be?" "I heard that you got tranquilized. One of the Doctors at the Medical facility said that they weren’t sure how long you’d be out for!" Ribbon Twirl did a flip in the air. "I knew you would come out strong!" She turned to the others. "Told you all!" Strawberry gave a playful roll of her eyes and rested her hooves on Mandy's leg. "How're you feeling?" "Great!" Mandy replied. "It's nice to see you three again. Hopefully you're doin' well!" "I got straight O’s on my homework assignment!" Blue Lily trotted in place excitedly. "Agent Twilight Sparkle was willing to help me!" "And I passed my quiz!" Strawberry chimed in. "Oh, that's amazing! Good job, both of you!" Blue Lily tilted her head. "Are you here for your weekly visit? Or just for the assembly?" "Ah, just the assembly. I had to find some way to calm down all the students! I waited forever and a day!" Mandy snickered. "Could've been worse. I could've been at a sah-ree!" Hazelblossom raised a hoof. "I, um...think the correct term is 'soiree'." "Sah-ree, schma-dee." Mandy waved her hand about in a dismissive manner. "Anyway, while I'm here, why don't I teach you guys some magic and flight tricks? It's the least I could do after my last visit was cut short!" The four ponies all cheered excitedly, as Mandy led them away to a free and open space where she could teach them all that she had to offer. After all, she loved the students of the Academy, and they loved her in equal measure. And that love was something she aimed to keep and maintain for as long as she was able to. S1E31: A Catty Sibling RivalryDeep within the Magical Grasslands, far from where Mandy and Haruko usually met, sat an illustrious kitsune. With fur as soft as the clouds, eyes that shone like rubies, and tails that sparked with only the fiercest sparks of electricity, she stared at her one and only daughter sitting in front of her. "Haruko. Listen to me." She placed a gentle paw on the other kitsune's cheek. "Mandy is a kind, generous, loyal, honest, amusing, and magical soul. And it is you who has made her that way throughout all these years, where Annabelle and Kieran could not." A warm smile crossed her features. "As such, it is your job to continue to aid her in finding out where they are, and aid her in her war against Vallea." Haruko, for her part, had to resist rolling her eyes. "When you say it like that, Mother, it sounds quite a lot like you are just giving exposition. Exposition on things that I am already aware of." "Perhaps. But it does not hurt to give a little reminder." Mother smiled. "However, that is not what I have come to tell you." "Then what?" "You once told Mandy that she would need to find her true origins soon, correct?" Mother didn't wait for an answer before she continued. "I am afraid that time is on the horizon. It is coming soon, very soon." "What?" Haruko blinked. "What do you mean?" "Within a day's time, Mandy is set to undergo a big change in her overall appearance. With this change comes not only a tool that shall aid her in the war, but a clue towards her bloodline that will prove to be very valuable in her journey." Haruko didn't need more than five seconds to connect the dots, but that didn't mean she didn't react in surprise all the same. "I..." She struggled to get words out for a moment, leaving her mouth hanging open. "I see." Mother continued. "Furthermore, I see the one you call 'Olive' is acting just a mite more stubborn than usual. I would imagine she has gotten wind of Mandy's eventual departure." A soft sigh left her body. "I would strongly suggest you find her, take her to the Magical Grasslands, and discuss things with her." "Why not have her come here herself?" "She does not believe we, nor this place, nor its inhabitants, are real." Mother shook her head in clear disapproval. "She thinks it is nothing more than a fantastical realm that Mandy has conjured up from her own boundless imagination." Haruko felt a pang of disappointment, particularly about Olive denying her existence and that of her family and friends as nothing more than fictional. She knew the girl had a good heart, though -- after all, she had witnessed her love for Mandy in action, and it was clear that she had nothing but good intentions, albeit deeply misguided ones. And she was sure most anyone in the world of the living would laugh her off if she told them about the Magical Grasslands. Even its very name implied some sense of mythicality. She nodded. "All right. If not because I fear that Mandy hating Olive will lead to nothing but ruin in her future, then because bringing her adoptive mother into the loop will be for the better." She met her mother's smile. "Thank you, Mother." "It is no problem, my little Haruko. Do stay safe, and please, keep protecting Mandy until her dying breath. It is, after all, your destiny." As Mother turned to leave, Haruko's jaws parted to ask her another question. However, the other kitsune disappeared into a mass of sparkles before Haruko could get a word out, and so she was forced to move her gaze to the stars as she retreated into her own mind. The life of Mandy is in a state of direness right now. Between finding her true origins, dealing with Olive's overprotective nature, and her upcoming war against Vallea, it is almost impossible to believe how she is able to still stand strong despite it all. But I know she will come through in the end. She always does. Lying down on the grass, Haruko laid her chin down on her front legs and let her eyes slowly close. As Mandy woke up, she gave a snort as she opened her eyes. Something inside of her brain told her to put something fun on the ceiling in the event that she woke up on her back like today -- having just a white-noise machine up there looked terribly drab and she was amazed how Rarity hadn't said anything about it yet -- but it was quickly shoved into the deep recesses to make room for the top priority of waking up. Headache aside, of course. She sat up in bed, her jaws parted in a yawn. The second she began to exhale, however, a piece of paper was forcefully shoved into her mouth, causing her to stop for a few moments. "Wh'ffuh...?" "Mandy! Tell me who left this note, right now!" It took Mandy a few moments to register who, exactly, was speaking to her. The form was fuzzy in her vision, but the voice, though muffled, was unmistakable. "...Huh?" "Don't play dumb!" Peaches placed her hands on her hips. "Surely you know who left this!" The note popped out of Mandy's mouth, and she was free to go back to yawning at the same time that she shook her head, an "mm-mm" noise rattling about in her throat. Peaches' expression, coupled with the sweat dripping down her face, showed that she was having a hard time keeping herself from strangling her cousin. "Here, maybe if I read it to you it’ll jog your memory." She took the note and opened it, the drool that was on it miraculously not touching any of the words. To Peaches: I bet I can catch more prey than you! But if you think you can do better, then give it a shot. Anonymous She huffed. "Can’t Odd Squad identify it by the handwriting or something?" "Peach, pleazze...not zzo early..." "It's noon." It took a third yawn for Mandy to decide to reach for her drink, downing it in one go. "Look, are you gonna help me find who wrote this or not?" Mandy rubbed her head. "I dunno who wrote your lil’ note, but I have a splittin’ headache and I’m gonna need y’ t’ not shout in my ears…" That earned her a growl, although one that wasn't aimed at her so much as it was aimed at the entirety of the world. "Fine then, Anonymous! I don’t know who you are, but I accept your challenge! I’ll catch the most prey of any cat in Toronto! No, any cat in Canada! You’ll see!" Watching her storm out and slam the door behind her, Mandy gave an irritated groan, wanting to flop back down on the bed but resorting to swinging her legs over the side and getting up instead. Her headache only served to grow with every step she took, and she knew that if she wanted to have a peaceful day, something had to be done about it. At her desk, a fully-groomed and properly-dressed Mandy had finished the last of her aspirin dose, setting down the glass of water. "Aah...here's hopin' that works." she murmured, reaching for the batch of paperwork that had been left next to her computer. A loud bang startled the hybrid, making her yelp and jump up a little in her chair. Her knees collided with her desk hard enough to send the glass toppling over onto its side, which was, to her luck, completely empty. Blinking a few times, she slowly turned her head towards her cousin, who was bending over a metal bucket filled to the brim with all sorts of dead animals, some more brutally murdered than others. It made her stomach turn a little, even in spite of the massive amount of food she had eaten for brunch. "I...did it..." the catgirl wheezed out. "Peeeeeeach, what did I tell ya when I woke up? C'mon, I'm sufferin' here! I just took painkillers!" Mandy complained. "I caught all the...prey I could find..." "And you...put it in a bucket?" Peaches straightened up. "To put in the freezer!" Mandy narrowed her eyes. "The only time you are putting dead animals in the freezer is when I am a decaying corpse being eaten by the magpies." To her surprise, Peaches easily relented, giving an irritated sigh. "Fine. But still." She crossed her arms and gave a smirk. "I'd like to see little ol' Anonymous top that. They think they've got me beat, but oh-ho-ho no, not by a long shot." "Y’know, I’ve never really seen you as the competitive type." Mandy pointed out. "Although you definitely went a little crazy when you attended the last Burly Bears game with Momma and I. It almost unnerved Momma! And she showed up in a cheerleader uniform once! A cheerleader uniform! For the one who would rather wear skirts over pairs of jeans!" "I was branded as an outcast back in Vallea. Everyone thought I couldn’t do anything, not even fend for myself. Me living has proved them wrong, but…" Peaches shrugged. "I feel like rubbing a little salt in the wound." Already growing tired of the boastful talk, Mandy's attention moved back to her desk. "Mm. Well, you have fun with that. I’ll be over here tryna make a livin’. I’ve been fallin’ behind on paperwork lately…beats me as to why." Peaches picked up the bucket and held it out to her cousin. "You sure you don't want any prey?" "I-I'm good. Eating stuff like birds and mice isn't really my thing. And I had a big brunch, anyway." "Eh, suit yourself. Your loss." Suddenly, Mandy began to develop a horrifying feeling -- a horrifying feeling that Peaches would be coming to her desk every few hours ranting about the "Anonymous" written on the note, give or take some. And of course, that meant she could never truly get into "the zone" when it came to her work. Silently sobbing, she grabbed a piece of paperwork and began scanning it over, dreading the next time that Peaches would suddenly appear in front of her again. It was only an hour later that Mandy had finished her paperwork, entering the last of the information from the paperwork of Case #3,099,365 into the computer. "Finally, done." She tapped her head. "And my headache's finally gone away too!" As if on cue, her stomach chimed in to say its piece, giving a hearty growl. "And I'm hungry! Clearly all that food for brunch wasn't enough!" Just as she stood up, the sound of a jingling bell caught her attention. It could barely be heard by anyone else at her distance, but as she had two pairs of ears, her hearing was very much heightened so that the bell sounded like it was closer to her. Her gaze rested on an agent who was emerging from one of the hallways that flanked the double-doors, laughing about something she didn't really care too much about. Slowly, her pupils begun to widen, and her brain became overwritten with an animalistic instinct, one that would be far better suited for Peaches than her. She immediately sprung for the girl, landing in front of her and purring. The redhead glanced at the hybrid that was on her hands and knees in front of her. "Uh...can I help you with something?" A single happy meow was her only response. "I don't speak cat." the agent hesitantly remarked. "Maybe you should go see Dr. O?" Mandy's gaze became fixed on the bracelet made entirely out of bells that the girl was wearing. She poked at a single bell with a finger, giving a happy cry of elation that one wouldn't expect to come from a cat -- or a pony-human hybrid acting like a cat. The agent held out her arm. "Oh, you like my bell bracelet?" Mandy nodded in response, and she smiled. "I can tell. I love bells. The little jingles they make are always nice to hear." A bolt of inspiration struck her as she snapped her fingers. "Hey, you know, Bobby’s Big-Box Bells just opened up in town. He has lots of bells. You should go see him sometime!" Thrilled with the idea, Mandy gave a happy meow, shifting position so that her legs were sticking out in a V shape in front of her and her palms were resting on the floor. A second agent with dark skin and black hair came over, eyeing the scene with confusion. "Partner, what are you doing?" The redhead shot her partner a friendly smile. "This agent was admiring my bell bracelet." As she glanced at Mandy, the smile fell away, being replaced with a look of concern. "She, uh…might have Meow-itis or something. She keeps speaking in meows." As though not having noticed Mandy until now, the black-haired agent greeted her with a wave. "Hey, Mandy. So you like my partner's bell bracelet, huh?" Mandy scooched closer to the bracelet, not bothering to acknowledge the other agent outside of a small mew as her attention was otherwise turned to the accessory. "I understand. It's really pretty." That was the moment when Mandy chose to strike, lunging for the bracelet and clasping her teeth around the accessory. "H-hey! Let go!" the redhead cried out, trying desperately to wrench her wrist free from the hybrid's grip. However, with the bracelet as tightly attached as it was, it was clear that she wouldn't be getting off easy. Mandy's expression turned from excited to angry, her eyes narrowing as a growl came out of her. With the sudden mood switch came even harder tugs, which only served to hurt the other girl's wrist. "Mandy, stop! Don't hurt my partner!" "My bracelet!" From afar, Twilight and Rainbow Dash entered the bullpen, watching the entire fight go down with confused expressions. "What in the name of Celestia is going on?!" Rainbow, for her part, gave an apathetic shrug. "Nothing unusual. Just Mandy trying to eat a bracelet." "Come on, we have to stop her!" As both mares sprung into action and rushed towards the scene, Twilight took a mighty leap, landing in front of the combatants and turning around. "Everyone, stop!" With a great sense of timing, Mandy's next tug snapped the bracelet in two, breaking its circular shape and removing its grip on the redhead agent's wrist. The hybrid dropped the broken accessory onto the floor in front of her before being captured in a bubble of purple magic as she gave an angry yowl followed by an equally-angry hiss. The redhead stared at the bracelet for what felt like an eternity. "M-my bell bracelet! It's ruined!" she cried. "I used up all my earnings over three months just to buy that!" Rainbow gave a visible wince, while Twilight shot the girl an apologetic look before fixing her attention on Mandy, her gaze turning into one of concern. "Mandy, what's gotten into you? Why are you acting like a cat?" Instead of responding in English, Mandy responded in a flurry of angry meows, with the only sign of anyone being able to understand what she was saying being her frenzied gesticulations. "Uh, Twi? Can you translate?" Twilight gave a shrug. "Don't look at me, Rainbow. I don't speak cat." For a moment, she looked at the Creature Room, wondering if Fluttershy could help out, but was broken out of her thoughts by Mandy shaking her head. "Whuh-huh? What happened?" The hybrid's head whipped back and forth, and she pawed at the bubble in vain. "Why am I in a bubble?! Lemme out, lemme ooooout!" "You broke my bell bracelet!" yelled the redhead, thrusting an index finger at her captured coworker. "And now you're gonna pay for it!" "...I did?" The redhead blinked in bewilderment for a second or two. "What- yes! Yes you did!" She scooped up the bracelet in her hands, her body beginning to quiver with sadness and rage. "This was my favorite bracelet...and you and your...awful disgusting disease..." The dark-haired agent placed a supportive hand on his partner's shoulder, giving her an assuring smile. "C’mon, don’t get so distressed. I’ll help you buy a new one, partner. I have more than enough money to pay for it." Crumpling to her knees, the redhead bowed her head and began to cry, her tears staining the concrete floor. Her partner knelt down beside her, rubbing her back while giving some more encouraging words. Rainbow whirled on Mandy right then and there. "At least apologize to her, Mandy!" "B-but I don't know what I did! I..." Realizing there was no way she was going to be able to worm her way out of it, Mandy ceased her excuses and gave a resigned sigh. "All right, all right, I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did, or how I did it, but I’m sorry!" Twilight, satisfied with the apology, let the bubble burst right then and there, letting Mandy free-fall before the hybrid caught herself, spreading her wings and beginning to hover. Still, that didn't stop the alicorn from confronting her friend. "This isn't like you. Why did you break this agent's bracelet?" "I don’t know! I was going to get some food and then I heard a bell and next thing you know I was here!" "Maaaaaybe you just need some sleep." Rainbow suggested. "You have been complaining about getting a lot of headaches lately. And it doesn’t seem like painkillers are doing you any favors." Mandy bit her lip. She didn't feel tired, and the painkillers she had taken for her last headache had worked fine, but maybe she had been afflicted with oddness and didn't realize it, or she was having an off day. Maybe she was hallucinating this entire thing, and she was really in the Breakroom eating some food. She wasn't sure. A soft hum left her body as she mulled Rainbow's advice over. "At least pay for a new bracelet for this girl." Twilight said. "Oh, there's no need." "No!" The redhead interrupted her partner before he could, at least in her tear-ridden eyes, insist that he could pay for damages. "I want her to pay for it in full! 30 dollars! With interest!" "Interest?!" Mandy threw her hands into the air. "I'm not rich, ya know!" "Well then you shouldn’t have broken my bracelet! And I want it on my desk by end of week!" The deadline threw Mandy for a whirlwind. "End of week?!" All she could get out after that were stammers before her brain reminded her that all she was doing was digging a deeper hole, causing her to fall flat on the floor and have her body deflate like a popped balloon. If she had jinxed herself by wondering if Peaches was going to keep disturbing her... Well, she still jinxed herself. Just not with Peaches. Within the peaceful evening atmosphere of Olive's house, where the weather forecast played quietly as background noise, she and Otto enjoyed some fresh homemade brownies in an all-you-can-eat "Brownie Buffet Extravaganza", as Otto had called it. The plate that sat on the coffee table in the living room currently was full of brookies, which had quickly become their favorite pastry. The chocolate brownie mixing in with the chocolate chip cookie was nothing short of a delicious combination. As Olive stirred the batter for the third batch, this one of regular chocolate brownies, she heard a bang at the door that made her jump slightly, followed by a low muffled groan. "Someone's home, I'm armed, and do not think I won't apprehend you as an Odd Squad employee!" Silence. And then, a pitiful wail that became easily recognizable. "Oh, Mandy's at the door." Otto remarked, his tone neutral as he got up and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he found a pony-human hybrid lying face-down on the porch, her upper body that had been leaning on the door colliding with the floor like a snake that had somehow learned to twist a doorknob but had no limbs to actually walk inside. Another pitiful wail came forth, making Mandy's whole body ripple. "Mandy, come inside." said a resigned Olive, pouring the batter into the pan. "I experience enough wailing from the neighborhood cats." When Mandy didn't move after a few moments, Otto decided to drag her into the house by force, effortlessly propping her up on the couch like a life-size doll. However, her upper body quickly drooped forwards until her forehead was resting cleanly in her hands. "Uh, so, while Olive's busy..." Otto shot a glance towards the kitchen. "You seem troubled. Anything on your mind?" "Yeah I got somethin' on my mind. A headache. Tons of them. Either get me some painkillers or I'll find a butcher knife somewhere in there." Otto's eyes widened. Such empty declarations were certainly not like Mandy, but in a world where rules of anatomy and biology were turned on their heads, no one really knew what driving a knife through a brain could do to a human being, let alone a human being that had pony genes mixed in. "I'll...uh..." His gaze moved towards the kitchen again. "Olive, can Mandy have some of your painkillers?" "Medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Middle shelf." "All right, stay here, Mandy. I'll go get them." As Otto left, Olive moved into the living room. "In the meantime, do you want to tell us what else is on your mind? I'm sure you didn't come to my house just to mooch off of my medicine." She sat on the couch next to Mandy. "You don't usually get headaches. When you do, it's usually after you ram your head into something...provided you don't get knocked out first." Mandy didn't answer at first. She waited until Otto returned with some ibuprofen a minute later before she spilled all. "I was gonna go eat after a long day of work and I heard a bell jingling. Next thing I remember, I was trapped in a bubble by Agent Twilight and some other agent was crying about her bracelet being broken. Apparently I broke it and she wanted me to buy her a new one." "On purpose?" Otto asked. "Yeah, that's definitely not like you. How'd you break the bracelet?" An "oh, for odd's sake" slipped from Olive's lips, under her breath where no one could hear it. Luckily, Mandy was there to give him a gentle reminder in her stead, as she grabbed ahold of the bottle and conjured up a glass of water. "You're askin' me? I was out of it." Otto watched as she dumped two pills out, popped them into her mouth, and downed them with the drink. "Is it possible you're sick with something?" "Maybe. That agent did say I had a disease..." Mandy rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "But I’ve been feeling mostly fine aside from the headaches. And Peaches ramming a note from 'Anonymous' in my mouth this afternoon." Neither Olive nor Otto questioned the reasoning behind Peaches doing such a thing. That was as much of a fool's errand as questioning why peanuts were on top of the Empire State Building. "Tell you what, Mandy." Olive offered. "Why don't you sleep here tonight?" The hybrid perked up. "Really?" "Really! You know my house is always open to you whenever you need it. Watch a movie, have some brownies with Otto and I, and we’ll see how you feel in the morning. Sound good?" "That..." Slowly but surely, life returned to Mandy's body, from her eyes all the way down to her tail. "...is amazing-tastic! I'll take ya up on that! Thanks so much, Momma!" "Don't mention it." Olive moved the plate of brookies closer to the hybrid. "You're welcome to have some of these if you'd like. Otto and I are having a Brownie Buffet Extravaganza, so we're stuffing ourselves silly." The idea of such a...party? Contest? Whatever it was, it excited Mandy even more. "Ooh, I love brookies! Thank you!" Taking one in her hands and putting half of it in her mouth, her pony ears began flapping with how good the taste was. "Oh, it's so good! Did you make these?" "From scratch!" Olive said. "After many, many hours of scouring the Internet for recipes." As Mandy began reaching for her second brookie, her eyes widened slightly. "Oh! What about the girl’s bracelet? She wanted me to pay her back but I don’t have enough money to pay her…" "How much is it?" "30 dollars." Otto's jaw hung open for a few moments. "That much?! For a bracelet?!" Olive, however, was largely indifferent to the ludicrous price. To her, this was simply another chance to win over Mandy and make her see that she was the exemplary parent for her. "Don't worry. I'll give you the money." Mandy blinked. "You'd do that?" "Sure." Olive rubbed Mandy's back. "You didn’t mean to break her bracelet, right? If it’s not your fault then you shouldn’t have to pay for a replacement. I’ll cover it." "But-" "Ah ah ah. No ifs, ands, buts, or coconuts. I insist." Olive ignored the suspicious look Otto shot her. "And don't worry about paying me back, either." Fully convinced, Mandy stuffed the second brookie in her mouth so she would have a free arm to hug Olive with. "Aww Momma, you're the besht!" As she ignored the crumbs that spilled on her lap, Olive returned the hug for a couple moments before gently pushing Mandy away, giving a small laugh. "All right, all right. Why don't we pick a movie when the brownies cool?" Mandy swallowed her bite and went in for a third brookie. "Yeah! I'd love that!" Before settling down to watch the movie, Mandy had decided to teleport back to Headquarters to take a shower and go through her nightly routine before teleporting back to Olive's house. She already knew what would happen when she watched the movie -- it was the same thing that happened whenever she watched a movie at night. And of course, it was the same thing that she had managed to do only halfway into Love Means Many Things. The snoring and sleep-mumbling proved to be too volumetric and too detrimental to the movie-watching experience for Olive and Otto, so they decided to call things off early and go to bed. "I'll do the honors." Olive offered, scooping up Mandy in her arms and proceeding to carry her bridal-style up the stairs. "You can have the bathroom first." "Where are you gonna put her?" "Guest room." Olive gave a tired exhale. "I've had it blocked off because I've wanted to do some renovations on it, but it's in good condition to sleep in otherwise. And I don't think Mandy will care very much." As though she had heard her name through her slumber, Mandy woke up with a flurry of snorts and a tired murmur that couldn't be translated into any word in the English language. Her eyes remained half-lidded for a few moments, her body slightly bouncing up and down as she was carried up the last few stairs before it came to rest. She feebly reached a hand towards the bathroom and gave a plaintive moan. "Sorry, Otto!" Olive called. "Your spot's been claimed." Setting Mandy down, Olive watched as she slowly meandered to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. As her eyes glanced towards the cabinet that sat between her room and the guest room, she decided to mindlessly sort through it, if only to simultaneously keep an eye on Mandy to make sure she didn't fall asleep in the bathroom while also giving her privacy. Luckily, Mandy didn't fall asleep in the bathroom, and emerged five minutes later ready for bed. A noisy yawn left her as all she could do was mutter a "g'night" that sounded more like a farewell given by aliens. After Olive gave the okay to Otto for him to use the bathroom next, she opened the door to the guest room, where Mandy was struggling to climb into bed. "Mandy? You, uh..." She scratched the back of her neck. "You need help? Are you good?" "Love ya, Momma..." came the sleepy murmur in response, just before the hybrid flopped onto the bed and was knocked out. Olive heaved a sigh and made her way inside, righting Mandy from her vertical position on the bed and resting her head on the pillows. A quick pulling of the sheets over her and she was in a much happier state, though one couldn't tell from the snores she gave that could serve as good tornado sirens if weaponized. Then it hit her. She...did she just say... Tears involuntarily sprung to her eyes, which, for someone who wasn't too big on mushy things like giving goodnight kisses and buying cute toys, was surprising. She tried to recall how many times Mandy had actually said "I love you" to her, and shocked herself when she realized that it wasn't that many. Mandy was a verbal type, the kind of person whom you could place behind a podium and tell them to speak on whatever they wanted to, for however long they wanted to, and they would do it until their body gave up on them. She would always be willing to do anything for her family and friends, and to Olive, that was the best kind of love one could get. But having Mandy say "I love you" straight-out to a person or a pony who wasn't Bradley Beli was...well, pretty rare. And Olive wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. She felt a familiar warmth inside her heart, though. She barely heard the bathroom door open and close. She was too busy sobbing. "Olive? What's wrong?" Otto asked. "Why are you crying?" The Director turned towards her partner, her eyes becoming bloodshot. "Otto...she...she said she loved me!" Otto's brow furrowed in confusion. "Mandy does love you, though." "But she said it in words, Otto! Words!" Olive gripped her partner by the shoulders. "I-I can't even remember the last time she actually told me she loves me!" Now Otto was beginning to understand. Truth be told, he couldn't remember the last time Mandy had told him she loved him, either, though he was pretty confident it was because he didn't see himself as a father to Mandy more than a best friend figure. "People and ponies express love differently, you know. Mandy's no exception. Maybe, for all her gum-flapping and...impossible amounts of energy..." His pupils widened in horror for only a few seconds. "...she just doesn't think to say 'I love you' enough." A choked sob left Olive. "Yeah..." She gripped her shirt. "But it's just nice to hear it sometimes, instead of getting it in the form of a hug or a good meal. You know?" Not ever having heard Olive's backstory prior to Odd Squad, Otto had no idea what her parents were like, assuming she even had some. The way she talked about hearing the words "I love you", though, seemed to imply that there had been a lack of such a concept in her family structure. But he didn't feel like discussing the trials and tribulations of her family at such a late hour of the night. He gave an empathetic nod and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Look, it's probably really late. I'm done in the bathroom, so why don't you go wash up? I don't know where you put the extra sleeping bag, and for obvious reasons, I'm not about to go around your room looking for it." Giving an ugly sniffle, Olive wordlessly nodded and moved towards the bathroom. Otto watched the door close, then glanced towards the guest room. Only now was he aware of the noisy snores Mandy was giving off, followed by her garbled murmuring upon every exhale. Her left arm drooped over the side of the bed, while her right arm was splayed across her chest, her hand gripping the blanket like it would disappear if she let go. He couldn't help but give a warm smile at just how peaceful she looked -- which, really, was most of the time, but in Olive's guest room, it was more apparent. Maybe it was the change in bedding, or maybe it was the movie working its magic. He couldn't be sure. But what he did know was that watching her sleep was making him sleepy, and so he decided to wander about the hall as he waited. Eventually, both Olive and Otto settled down for the night, Olive in her own bed and Otto in a dark blue sleeping bag that sat right next to it. They went to sleep just as quickly as Mandy did, as the movie they had watched began to play a role in their own individual mental films. The sensation of a direly-needed bathroom break aroused Olive from her slumber. Giving a yawn, she swung her legs over the left side of the bed and stood up, taking a step over her snoring partner so as not to trip on him and wake him up. As she washed her hands, the sound of Mandy's snoring from behind the closed door tickled her eardrums. And then, suddenly, it stopped. Immediately growing concerned, Olive dried her hands, then walked there as fast as she could and opened the door. She quickly spotted a small lump moving underneath the sheets that certainly wasn't the shape of an 11-year-old pony-human hybrid's body, and practically lunged for it as she tore off the sheets. Her eyes widened. A...a cat? As she stared at the animal, she noticed it had its eyes closed, presumably in slumber rather than anything pertaining to an injury. Further inspection showed that the cat wasn't Peaches, either. Olive's feet took her backwards, straight out of the room, where she closed the door and then backed up further into her own room. Slowly, she knelt down and placed a hand on Otto, gently shaking him. All she got was a moan in response. "Otto! Wake up! There's a cat in my bed!" Otto rose to a sitting position. "So go put it outside or something. What's the big deal?" "No! It's not my bed!" Olive pointed to the railing that lined the stairs, her closest aim to the place she was describing. "The other bed, in the guest room!" "What?" Otto blinked. "Olive, you had a weird dream. Go back to sleep." "I wasn't dreaming!" Olive grabbed ahold of Otto's hand and yanked on it, causing him to rocket to his feet...and then stagger like a drunkard because he wasn't ready for his body to undergo such an action. "Come with me!" The girl dragged her partner the five or so steps it took to reach the guest room, opening it just a tad and holding her foot against the doorframe in a feeble attempt to block the cat should it try to escape. But the animal didn't do anything, and simply remained sprawled out on the bed, its eyes still closed. "See?" Otto rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes and peered inside. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw that his partner had been telling the truth. "All right, I believe you." he uttered. "But where'd Mandy go?" "I don't know, but we need to find her. Maybe she teleported in her sleep again!" "But she hasn't teleported in her sleep since we taught her to rein in her magic. Not unless she's sick with an illness, and all she did was complain about a headache." By this point, Olive's anxiety was shooting through the roof. "She could have a cat-related odd disease or something! One that- that made her turn into this!" Otto heaved a sigh. "Look. Don’t get yourself so worked up. It’s late. Why don’t we get some more sleep and maybe Mandy’ll return back here?" He smiled. "And if she doesn’t, we can always ask Peaches." "Peaches? Why?" "She can turn into a cat and back again. Maybe she'll have some answers." The cat on the bed suddenly yawned and jumped down, the bell around its neck making a pleasant jingling sound. Slowly it began to walk with eyes still closed, slipping past Olive as she moved her foot to make room for it. "Where's this cat going?" "Don't. Get worked up over it." Otto's voice edged into a tone of warning, his eyes slightly narrowing. "Get some sleep. I don't wanna have to cover for you double-time tomorrow." Olive opened her mouth to protest, but ultimately conceded with a sigh, her body beginning to ache with fatigue as it screamed at her to get back to bed. "You have a point. But I don't know how well I'm gonna be able to sleep with Mandy gone." The two Directors shuffled on back to Olive's room, with Olive staring at the cat for only a second more before she closed the door behind her. And that was when the unexpected houseguest decided to take action, albeit mechanically. With eyes closed shut, it slunk downstairs until it got to the small desk that sat on the far side of the room, where a few pieces of paper sat. Hopping onto the desk, it grabbed a nearby pen with its paw, its tip completely exposed, and got to writing. If someone had been around to witness it, they would, perhaps, be surprised at just how legible the writing was, even for an animal with opposable thumbs -- and even the letter in and of itself actually followed a coherent narrative for an animal who was, for all intents and purposes, fast asleep. Once the cat was done, it set the pen down and grabbed the paper in its mouth, then rushed for a conveniently-open window and dashed away. From there, it barreled into the nearest tube entrance, the tube system accepting it with open pipes despite it not wearing a badge, and it was taken to Precinct 13579's Headquarters. It stealthily moved about Headquarters with a clear set destination in mind, that being the door flap that led to the bedroom of what appeared to be a catperson, who was snoring away in bed. All the cat had to do was leave the note on the floor and dash out, its mind completely and utterly unaware of what it was doing even in spite of its bustling activity. By the time it got back to where it had started, its body began to feel tired, and it flopped over onto its side and fell still. As the sun began its ascent into the blue sky, Olive awoke once again. Her mouth opened to allow a yawn to pass, and she swung her legs over the side. To her surprise, she noticed that Otto wasn't in his sleeping bag. She began to wonder if he had, perhaps, left for his daily donut run, or maybe he was waiting downstairs for her so they could go on the daily donut run together. Whatever it was, she was sure getting donuts factored into the equation somewhere. But before that, there was one thing she had to check on, and that was whether Mandy had returned or not. A flare of panic began sparking in her heart as she hurried towards the guest room. "Zzo in today'zz zzpeech, I'm gonna talk 'bout th' effectzz 'f throwin' food away that'zz...that'zzzzzz..." The sleep-talk, coupled with thunderous snores that came before the "speech" could really get underway, brought relief to Olive. "Mandy, you're back!" she murmured, a warm smile crossing her face before she closed the door and began to make her way towards the bathroom. When she finished her morning routine, she came downstairs, her relief being overtaken by smells of something sweet and of something sour that she had somehow just noticed. "Otto! Mandy's back!" "Huh?" Otto looked up from where he had a nonstick pan in his hand. "She's back in bed!" "That's great!" A lingering silence fell over the area. Olive stared at Otto from across the living room, while he stared at her from his spot in the kitchen. Olive took initiative. "What...are you doing?" "Making breakfast! I got up and you were still asleep, so I figured I’d go ahead and surprise you." Otto responded, scratching the back of his neck. "I, uh…hope you don’t mind." Relieved that breakfast duties had been taken off of her hands, especially as far as Mandy was concerned, Olive shook her head. "No, not at all. Thanks!" Otto gave her a smile that all but conveyed a silent "you're welcome" before his gaze moved to the stairs. "Is Mandy up yet?" "Not yet. But that cat is gone..." Olive sighed. "Maybe we were dreaming." "Both of us having the same dream?" Otto turned the stove off and grabbed the spatula sitting in a wooden cup. "I know we’re practically siblings, but that seems unlikely. Like I said, we can ask Peaches about it." Olive mulled over the idea for a moment. "That's not a bad idea, actually. You did say she can transform into a cat willingly." A few minutes later, Otto had breakfast ready for two -- or rather, three, if one counted the extra plate filled with a completely indescribable number of pancakes. He sat down on the couch next to Olive and grabbed his plate. "Did you sleep well, at least?" "Kind of. I couldn't get my mind off of Mandy, but I was so tired..." Olive used her fork and knife to cut off a piece of pancake and put it into her mouth, relishing in the gooey taste of the syrup and the fluffiness of the pancake itself. Truly, when it came to making food, there were far few who were as superior as Otto was. As Otto swallowed his own bite, he perked up with an idea. "Hey, you think Agent Twilight might have something? She is a pretty smart pony. And she’s practically read every book in Precinct 13579’s library!" Olive reclined back onto the couch. "She might. I say that if Peaches can't figure this out, we should ask her." "Good idea!" Otto nodded. "Now c'mon, eat up so we can go get donuts and go to Headquarters!" "Okay, okay, don't rush me!" Only around noontime, when Olive and Otto had long left the house, did Mandy finally wake up. Her headache was still prominent, but it felt no more painful than a small pinch. Slowly she rolled out of bed, went to the bathroom, and trudged her way downstairs. "Momma, I'm hungryyyy..." she whined, hoping that if her footsteps didn't bring her mother's attention to her, then her voice would. But she found no response. The house was eerily quiet. As she made her way to the kitchen, a white piece of paper with writing on it on the coffee table caught her eye. To Mandy: Otto and I left for work, but we made you a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise and some breakfast before we left. I also left a couple bags of tea in case you still have a headache. Hope you’re feeling better! Love, Olive It didn't take a second for her mouth to begin watering when she laid eyes on the tall stack of pancakes. In another second, the stack and drink were both completely gone, with not a crumb or a drop to be found, and before even five minutes could pass, she had taken the tea and had begun booking it to Headquarters. As she bounced her way inside, vocalizing a tune she had made up completely on her own, she was stopped by her head ramming into a small piece of paper, which was connected to a hand that was, in turn, connected to an arm. "Mandy!" The hybrid put a pause on her cheerful ditty. "Oh, hiya, cuz!" She pried her head away from the paper, trying to read what was written on it but finding that it was backwards at her angle. "You, uh...got another note?" "Yes! Read this!" Grateful that it hadn't been shoved into her mouth this time, Mandy did as she was told, telekinetically grabbing the note, turning it around, and reading it aloud. To Peaches: One of these days we’ll spar together, but I want to test your strength first. I’ve already beat up three of the town’s stray cats today. If you think you can do better, hehehe, then give it a shot. Anonymous Tears filled Mandy's eyes. "No..." "Yes! It's the same Anonymous as last time!" A growl rumbled in the depths of Peaches' throat. "Apparently they don’t realize I’ve already beat up a ton of Vallean catpeople that have come through here…" Before the catgirl knew it, Mandy was wailing and crying into her chest, uttering near-gibberish about how "Anonymous" beating up cats was sad and how she would find who they were and how they would pay dearly and how she would probably send them to Neptune or something if she could. It was all one long sadness-infused tangent, and Peaches was too invested in finding and beating "Anonymous" at their own game to care all too much. Still, if she wanted Mandy off of her chest, she had to comfort her somehow. "There, there. I'm sure the cats are fine. Don't worry. This 'Anonymous' being probably didn't kill them." Peaches had to inwardly cringe at her pathetic attempt at comfort. "If you want, I'll go and find 'Anonymous' for you and kick their butt! How about that?" The proposal seemed to put a halt on Mandy's crying. She gave an ugly snot-filled sniffle as she pulled her head away from her cousin's chest. "R-really?" "Really! I'll avenge those cats', uh...injuries for you." Mandy gave a nod. "Okay! Just make sure you have fun, too." "Oh I'll have fun. I'll have lots of fun." Peaches' mouth began curling up into an ugly grin as she delved into a bout of evil snickering, and then began to walk away while tapping her fingers against each other in a classic evil villain move. Mandy, meanwhile, wiped the last of her tears away and focused on her desk, which was stacked high with two mounds of paperwork. Throwing the note into the wastebasket, she dragged her feet over and took a seat, grabbing the first paper from the very top of the stack and steeling herself for what she was sure would be a long day...again. Twilight trotted into Olive and Otto's office with her head held high. "Hi Olive, hi Otto. You wanted to see me?" "Yes. Something very odd has happened." The universal catchphrase was unisonant among both Directors, something they acknowledged with shared winks. "How can I help?" Olive decided to take the liberty of explaining the situation in Otto's stead. "We want to ask you about yesterday, with Mandy breaking an agent’s bracelet. She says you were there and you trapped her in a bubble." Twilight figured that was what she was being summoned for, and decided to launch right into her first-pony point of view on the events. "Yes. Rainbow Dash and I were just coming back from a case and we saw Mandy pulling at an agent’s bracelet with bells on it, acting like a cat. When we tried to ask her what happened, all she did was meow at us before she shook her head and spoke in English. She claims that she didn’t mean to break the bracelet, but this is Mandy we’re talking about. You two should know how she does a lot of things…irrationally." "I can attest to that." Otto agreed, raising his hand. Olive tilted her head. "She meowed at you?" Twilight nodded. "The agent thought she had 'Meow-itis', but I’ve never heard of that odd disease before. Is that a real thing?" "Not that we know of. Dr. O's never mentioned it." As Twilight's muzzle wrinkled in thought, Otto was also lost in thought, murmuring to himself as he tried to connect the dots between what happened yesterday and what had happened last night. It didn't take him more than a minute before he had his own eureka moment. "Oh my odd." Olive turned around to face him. "What is it?" "Partner, what if that cat we saw last night..." Otto gripped Olive by the shoulders, his eyes widened. "What if that was Mandy?!" If one listened closely to Olive, they could, perhaps, hear the gears whirring at top speed in her brain. She had been so tired that the cat in her guest room's bed being Mandy never even occurred to her. "What?!" was the first word she managed to get out, and then she stammered for a few moments before she was able to form words again. "N-n-no, there's...there's no way. Mandy doesn't have the ability to turn into a cat." "Hold on, Olive. Otto might have a point." The Director whirled on Twilight so fast that the alicorn was genuinely concerned she would get whiplash. All that flew out of her mouth was a "Huh?!" that sounded more annoyed than bewildered. "I'm no animal expert like Fluttershy, but I've noticed that Mandy has displayed a lot of feline behaviors ever since she underwent the transformation into a pony-human hybrid." Twilight explained. "She has a cat smile, for one." "I...b-but lots of people have a cat smile!" "In cartoons, yes." Twilight put on a mildly irritated expression, as though telling Olive to just let her explain. "But that's not the only cat-like thing Mandy has. She purrs whenever she's happy, she yowls whenever she gets startled...and that's not even getting into her relation to Peaches, who herself is a catgirl." The alicorn gave a soft exhale to clear her head. "I don’t know what’s causing Mandy to suddenly turn into a cat, but it seems she has that ability now." Now it began to fully sink in for Olive. Dread enveloped her heart. "Oh no. Don't tell me...she shapeshifts in her sleep?!" Slowly, her face became buried by her hands. "I can't believe it. Mandy can suddenly turn into a cat...my daughter is a cat..." Her mutterings became incomprehensible from there, and both Otto and Twilight could swear there was a curse word or two shoved in the vocabularic mess. Finally, after what felt like hours, Olive raised a finger and pointed it at Twilight. "Wait. That doesn’t explain why she suddenly went full cat, in her usual form, when she attacked the agent’s bracelet, though." "Cats do like bells, and the agent was wearing a bracelet with a lot of bells. Perhaps Mandy was attracted to them as part of her cat instincts." Twilight responded, the answer flowing out of her about as smooth as a stick of melted butter. Otto, giving a comforting smile, placed a supportive hand on his partner's shoulder. "Partner, we should talk to Peaches and Agent Fluttershy. If anyone can help us figure this out, it’s those two." "Fine. You do that." Olive brought her hands away from her face. "And when you're done, I'm going to be observing Mandy." Otto's gaze became fixed on the purple alicorn standing in front of him. "Thanks for helping us out, Agent Twilight." "Oh, it's no problem." Twilight smiled and waved a dismissive hoof. "To be honest, Mandy turning into a cat and back again is quite intriguing. I’ll have to see if there’s a book in the Odd Squad Library that explains more about it." "Don’t get your hopes up. There’s a lot of odd stuff that exists in this world, but a human shapeshifting into a cat and back again probably wasn’t one of them…" As he knew she was the historian of the duo, Otto's gaze moved to Olive, but all she did was give a noncommittal shrug that showed not even she knew whether humans turning into cats and back again was a recognized oddity or not. Twilight turned and began making her way out of the office. "Doesn't hurt to check, though." "All right." Olive heaved a sigh. "Otto, go talk to Peaches and Fluttershy. I'll hold down the fort here." Her eyes darted back and forth. "Er, uh, n-not...not literally." "Got it." As Otto saddled up next to Twilight, the mare shot him a friendly smile. "C'mon. Fluttershy should still be in the Creature Room at Precinct 13579." To both Otto's and Twilight's surprise, when they walked into the bullpen of the latter's precinct, they found Mandy in a completely normal state. Feet kicking rhythmically, pony ears swiveling to and fro, a bug landing on her nose that she scared off with a sneeze (no one could tell whether it was real or fake) before going back to filling out her paperwork. "She looks fine to me." Otto remarked. Ignoring his comment, Twilight's eyes caught a flash of yellow. Sure enough, Fluttershy had landed in the bullpen and was tucking her wings in. As she called the Pegasus's name, she trotted over, giving her own greetings to both agents and asking if things were all right with them. "Well...not really." Twilight pointed to the hybrid she and Otto had been eyeing moments before. "You see Mandy over there?" Fluttershy turned to look, and couldn't resist smiling at Mandy craning her head in what appeared to be an attempt to comprehend something that was written on the paper in front of her. "Mhm. What about her?" "She's suddenly shapeshifting into a cat and back again, and we don't know why." That made Fluttershy's gaze move back to the duo, though she wasn't as surprised as she should be. "I have noticed her acting like a cat…but I didn’t think she could transform into one!" If one looked close, they could see her cyan eyes shimmering with anticipation, the same anticipation she got whenever she found a new odd creature. "She’s not sick, is she?" "No, no, she's not sick. But we're hoping you and Peaches might have some answers." Otto looked around the bullpen. "Is Peaches around?" "I'm not sure. I've been in the Creature Room for most of the day, feeding and caring for all the odd creatures." Fluttershy responded. "But if you want, I can take a look at Mandy for you. It won’t be the same as a regular checkup from Dr. O, but it might help you get to the bottom of this." Otto and Twilight exchanged a look with each other, as though mentally asking if this was a good idea. With a smile and a nod, it became clear on what the answer was. "That would be wonderful. Go for it!" Twilight encouraged. Fluttershy gave them a smile of her own, then began to make her way over to Mandy, quietly so that she wouldn't spook the hybrid -- though she wasn't sure why she had to move quietly, exactly. "Um, Mandy?" With a stellar sense of comedic timing, the lead tip of the pencil in Mandy's hand broke off. "Aww, pickleferries! That's the third pencil I've broken so far!" In her frustration, she hurled the tool towards the hallway, not caring where it landed. "Stupid lousy paperwork..." "Mandy?" "Huh?" The hybrid turned. "Oh, Flitter-Flutter! Hiya! What's up?" Fluttershy smiled at the nickname Mandy had made up for her on a whim. "Would it be okay if I performed a checkup on you?" "A checkup?" Mandy rolled her eyes and gave an amused smile. "Don't tell me Dr. O's taking another one of his 'extended absences' again! Last time he did that he came back with at least thirty different animal bites and almost got himself sliced in two!" "I, um..." Fluttershy wasn't really sure what to make of Mandy's mini-ramble. Really, she wasn't sure what to make of half of her ramblings in general. For the sake of her sanity, though, she decided to move on. "N-no, nothing like that. But, um...we've noticed something..." She rolled her hoof about. "...off about you. And I want to help find out what it is." At first, Mandy looked about close to crying, as though Fluttershy was insinuating that she was flawed beyond belief and she took that personally. But her expression quickly changed into one of inquisitiveness. "Well, I have been getting these headaches recently...they're terrible things." She threw her arms out to her sides. "So by all means! Just don't, uh...make me take creature medicine or anything." "Don't worry, I won't." Fluttershy turned and began making her way towards the stairs that led up to the second floor. "Follow me." Mandy rose, and spotted Otto and Twilight also coming to join Fluttershy. "Oh, Twi and Otto are here too! Hi guys!" "Hi!' "Hey!" "They'll be supervising, just in case." Fluttershy explained. "Okay-dokay!" A minute later, Mandy was sitting on a table that Fluttershy had pushed out and had placed in front of a small structure of white rocks. "What's first?" "This." Fluttershy reached behind her back and pulled out a tongue depressor. "Say 'aah'." Mandy decided to go for a harmonious C note this time around when she opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, swinging her feet in an effort to create a kind of beat without any music playing. A single nod marked the end of that portion of the exam, as Fluttershy placed the depressor on the tall counter next to the table. "Now, I'm going to show you various toys. Just react as you normally would." "Okay!" The Pegasus disappeared to the back left corner of the room, and returned with a box full of small toys that were fit for all of the small odd creatures that resided in Headquarters. Wordlessly, she took out a plump-looking toy mouse and dropped it onto the floor in front of Mandy. "A mouse? I was expectin' something more like a ball or..." Her pupils contracted, and then widened so that her eye was more pupil and iris than actual sclera. She stared at the mouse with such intensity that any villain in its position would be squeamish after less than five seconds of eye contact. Her mouth hung open just a little, enough for a bug to find free real estate in it if they were so inclined. "Look, it's happening!" Twilight pointed out, watching as Mandy landed on the floor on her hands and knees and began eyeing the mouse curiously. Fluttershy nodded once, then pulled out another toy. "Next, a bell." She rolled the small bell on the floor. Mandy's pony ear flicked once at the noise, moved to follow it, and took the rest of her body with it, the only verbal sound she made being a happy meow. "And a spring." As the toy rolled across the floor, Mandy laid on her side, using her hands to pull herself towards it before it could disappear from her view. Another happy meow left her, but this time it was far longer than any cat could hope to meow. "Have you got all the information you need?" Otto asked. "Almost. But I want to try one more thing." Fluttershy stood up, spread her wings, and softly glided over to Mandy, lightly tapping her head twice. "Mandy? If you could snap out of it, please?" The hybrid gave a curious mew. "I'm your friend, remember?" Fluttershy smiled. "There's one more thing I want to check. But I need you to be yourself first, okay?" Right then, Mandy snapped out of it as she shook her head and gave a low groan. "Aw jeez, the headache's back..." "It's lovely to see you back to normal." Fluttershy said. "Are you feeling tired?" The question caught Mandy off-guard. She slowly rose so that she was sitting on her knees, rubbing her head in a futile effort to numb the pain that shot within it. "Kinda? Not particularly. Maybe just a smidge. Momma's bed was great but I think her mattress is due to be changed in-" "Well..." Fluttershy raised the volume of her voice just a little, in order to stop Mandy before she could get going. "The thing I want to check involves you going to sleep. Can you do that for me?" Mandy rolled her eyes. "Can I do that for ya? Of course I can do that for ya, I mean I dunno what I would do, I already have a massive headache and maybe some sleep will be just the fi-" Like someone had pulled the plug on her brain, her body slumped forward and landed on the floor with a hard thud. What followed was the sound of loud snoring that Fluttershy, for one, had come to expect. "Out like a light." Twilight's head tilted in confusion as she watched the slumbering hybrid. "Are we waiting to see if she'll turn into a cat?" Fluttershy nodded. "Mhm. Mandy has sleepwalked before, and she used to use magic in her sleep. So I think she’ll turn into a cat in her sleep as well." "Good call, because that's exactly what happened when she turned into a cat last night." Both Twilight and Fluttershy looked at him. Though the former had barebones details to go off of, the latter did not, and thus was the one to speak. "She did? What happened?" "She visited Olive’s house and the two of us slept over for the night. Olive saw a cat in her bed suddenly, and then the cat got up and began to sleepwalk. I don’t know where it sleepwalked to, though. I told Olive not to work herself up over it because she was getting anxious over Mandy being missing, but I saw her back in bed the next day." "I see." Fluttershy tapped her chin. "In that case, we should follow her if she sleepwalks again. For now, we'll have to wait." As it turned out, no one had to wait very long. Twilight clocked her mental stopwatch at a mere four minutes until Mandy's body began to shimmer with a soft ethereal yellow glow. "Fluttershy! Look!" The Pegasus turned around from where she had been skimming through the database to gaze at the bright light. Within seconds, the snoring came to an abrupt halt, and the light faded away to reveal a calico cat who had two orange spiral patterns on its right haunches. "Oh...my..." Fluttershy landed, but her wings didn't fold in right away, instead remaining splayed out so that they nearly touched the floor. "She turned into a cat!" Still in a snoozing state, the feline form of Mandy slowly rose to her four paws and began padding towards the counter that Fluttershy was at before. Otto's eyes widened. "She's sleepwalking!" "But where is she going?" Twilight asked, beginning to walk behind Mandy at a considerable distance in case she disappeared through a portal or a hole of some kind. But she didn't. Instead, she held up her head high, gave a few sniffs of the air, and then gracefully leaped up onto the countertop. Otto watched her move, her eyes never moving from her for even a single second. "Is that...paper? And a pen?" "She's writing something!" Twilight watched with utter fascination as Mandy gripped the pen in her paw and wrote on the paper. She couldn't see what, exactly, the feline was writing, though, even when she took flight to get a closer look. Once Mandy was done, she took the paper in her mouth, landed on the floor, and began hurtling towards the door. "Twilight, let her out!" Fluttershy ordered, her tone panicked in a way that was unusual for a shy pony. Twilight did as she was told, and the trio ran after Mandy as she went down the stairs and down the right-side hallway, catching the attention of more than a few agents and clients. "Where is she going?" was the only question that was uttered, and even then, no one could answer Twilight whatsoever. At least, not until Mandy stopped in front of Peaches' door and slid in through its cat flap. "She's going into...Peaches' room?" Fluttershy was the one who went after Mandy first, sliding in with ease and looking around the room. To her surprise, Peaches herself wasn't in right now -- it was just the Pegasus and Mandy, the latter of whom was leaving the note she had written on Peaches' bed before hopping down and taking her leave. Fluttershy quickly moved to grab the note before soaring after Mandy, motioning for Otto and Twilight to come along. When all was said and done and everyone was back in the Creature Room, Otto, Twilight and Fluttershy decided to take a look at the note while Mandy flopped down onto her side and fell almost still, save for the rise and fall of her stomach. "What does the note say?" Otto asked. Twilight decided to read it aloud. To Peaches: I see your strength is almost unrivaled. Almost. But there is one more thing I’d like to test you on: your ability to swim. It’s a common myth that all cats hate water, but do you think you can swim all the way around a pond? I can, ‘cause I love water! When you’re done, meet me at Precinct 13579. Anonymous Twilight blinked. "Mandy's been giving these notes to Peaches? But why?" "Maybe it’s a dominance display of who is the better cat. But Mandy isn’t aware that she’s writing these notes." Fluttershy sat down and tapped her chin a few times. "At least…I don’t think so." A bright ethereal light marked Mandy's transformation back into a hybrid, and from there the snoring and sleep-talking continued. Twilight couldn't help but become alarmed when Mandy began talking about stabbing cantaloupes and apples, but ultimately brushed it off as one of her usual non-sequiturs that didn't actually mean anything. Fluttershy grabbed a piece of paper from the countertop as well as another pen, and got to writing down all of the observations she had witnessed so far. "So what's the verdict, agent?" Otto asked. A soft hum was his answer at first, as Fluttershy finished writing. When she was done, she landed on the floor and gave him a smile. "If I had to take a guess, I’d say that Mandy doesn’t have a good handle on her new shapeshifting abilities yet. Someone will have to train her, just like we did with her magic and her flight." Twilight smirked. "And I happen to know of just the person for the job." The trio soon found themselves back at Peaches' room. Twilight, not expecting anyone to be home but still being courteous, gave three knocks on the door and called out, "Peaches? Are you in there?" To her and the others' surprise, a slurred "Coming..." came from behind the door -- which was rather odd, since they hadn't even spent a minute in the Creature Room discussing their findings. A messy-haired, eyebag-ridden Peaches slowly opened the door that stood between her and her guests, and she stared down at them. "Oh, hey, you three." A yawn interrupted her greeting. "What's up?" "Is now a bad time?" Peaches would have snarked at Twilight in response to her question if she wasn't so tired. "Eh, not particularly...I guess I could put the rest of my nap off..." Another yawn, coupled with a head shake to try and clear away her brain fog. "Why?" "May we come in?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Sure." Peaches stepped to the side to allow everyone to file in. "There isn't some big emergency, is there?" "No, not at all." Otto shook his head. "I'm sure you're aware of all the notes you've been getting recently? From Anonymous?" Peaches scoffed, some of her fatigue ebbing away. "Am I ever! I'm beating Anonymous at their own game!" She gave a snicker that sounded more befitting of an evil villain than of a catgirl like her. "Oh, I'm gonna crush them so hard...I'm gonna crush them into dust! I'll show them who's the better cat around here!" Otto ignored Peaches' mad boasting and put on a cool, confident facade -- the kind he used whenever he had information in a case to lord over Olive for all it was worth. "Well, what if we told you we know who Anonymous was?" "...Say what now?" "'Anonymous' is really Agent Mandy. Your cousin!" Silence. Peaches took a step back, then another, then another, until she was leaning against the bed. Her expression went blank as she tried to comprehend the truth bomb that Otto had just dropped on her, the rest of her prior exhaustion being wiped away in one fell swipe. The resulting yowl five minutes later made the door cartoonishly bend outwards towards the hallway just from the sheer volume and force of it. "A-a-are you...y-you're...Otto, this isn't...this isn't another one of your jokes?!" Peaches thrust a finger at him. "B-b-but how...t-there's no way, she...she was...she's half-pony!" "Mandy has gained shapeshifting abilities and shapeshifts into a cat just so she can deliver those notes to you in her sleep." Fluttershy pointed out. "Wh- wh- wh-" Peaches blinked rapidly. "But why?! Mandy’s never gotten competitive with me before! E-except for board games and all that, but not at stuff like this! A-and she can shapeshift into a cat like me?! What's her beef with me?! What does she want?!" "Mandy’s shapeshifting abilities are weak, and in order to help her get better, we’re asking you to be her trainer." Twilight explained. "It's probably what she would want, if she, uh...knew about all this..." That calmed Peaches down a little. In place of anger, confusion festered. "Me? Be her trainer? In turning into a cat?" "Since you’re the only other person here that has the ability, we figured you would be perfect for the role." Otto's gaze moved to Twilight. "Actually it was Twilight's idea, but...yeah, you get the drift, right?" Overwhelmed by the information, Peaches slumped to the floor, grasping her head in her hands. "I…w-well…a-as much as I’d like to, guys…I didn’t get this ability through training. All Vallean catpeople are born with the ability to turn into a cat and back, but we just don’t use it until we grow up a little." Disappointed looks settled on Otto's, Twilight's, and Fluttershy's faces as they moved their heads away and gazed at the floor. "However." They looked up. Peaches took a deep breath. "Mandy’s my cousin. She’s pretty much a catgirl by blood now. And as her relative and best friend, it’d be wrong not to train her." She gave a confident nod. "Okay, I’ll do it!" Cheers rung out within the room, as the trio high-fived (or, perhaps, high-hoofed) each other. "Where is Mandy right now?" "She's sleeping in the Creature Room." Fluttershy responded. "Got it. Just leave it to me!" Peaches' expression then fell. "But, um, one thing...does Oprah know about this?" "She's WHAT?!" "Yeah...you, uh...feel like adopting a cat?" Twilight gently nudged Otto for that little quip. "It's pretty much her transformation and the abilities that came with it all over again." Fluttershy placed her hooves together, her ears flopping downwards. "P-please don’t kick my partner out, Ms. O. She just needs to get used to her new ability. And I have confidence that she’ll be able to master it in no time." Oprah shook her head in an attempt to snap herself out of her state of shock. "Don’t worry, Agent Fluttershy. I have no plans to do that anytime soon. Mandy turning into a cat is far less dangerous than her using magic in her sleep, but…" "Just give me a chance." Now it was Peaches' turn to beg. "My cousin won't be causing any destruction on my watch." Oprah looked to each group member, then gave a pleasant smile. "Well, I couldn’t ask for better agents for the job. You’re free to go right ahead and train Mandy as you wish." She raised a finger. "And if you run into any snags, come to me. I may not understand all this myself, but I'm more than willing to help out in any way I can." "The same goes for me, Peaches." Fluttershy laid a hoof on the catgirl's arm. "Animals are my expertise, after all." "Of course! I'm gonna go get started right now." The loud growl of a stomach permeated the office. "Scratch that, I'll get started after I have some more prey from my prey pile." As Peaches left and Otto moved off to the side in order to call someone, Oprah made a grab for her fruit punch-flavored juice box and took a swig from it. "To think that Mandy would be turning into a cat..." She shook her head. "Heh, since she’s a pony-human hybrid, I thought she would turn into a pony." "She's not biologically half-pony, though." Twilight reminded. "Peaches is her cousin, so they're catpeople by blood." Oprah rolled her eyes. "Well I know that, Agent Twilight. My mind went back to that theory after I thought about it for a little." She raised an eyebrow. "Now, I believe you two ponies have some work to do?" Both Twilight and Fluttershy nodded and left, leaving only Otto remaining, who hung up his badge phone and clipped it back onto his chest. "All right. I've given Olive the, uh...good news? Bad news?" He shook his head. "No, no, definitely just news. Anyway, she won't have to spy on Mandy anymore." "Why did she want to spy on Mandy?" "Probably to do what Fluttershy did, see what's been going on with her." Otto sighed. "But I think Peaches has got the situation handled from here, so I'm gonna head back to my own HQ before Olive has my head." "Good call. Have fun!" "Thanks." As Otto left, Oprah resumed her drinking, giving a satisfied sigh after her next swig. With the juice box now empty, she tossed it behind her and pulled out a 96-fluid-ounce bottle of apple juice, popping open the cap and beginning her journey to the bottom of that bottle. Peaches swung open the door to the Creature Room and picked up Mandy, feeling something in her spine shift as she did so. She didn't think it was very good, judging by how heavy the hybrid was. "Ugh, what, are you eating rocks for every meal?" Peaches grunted. "Wouldn't surprise me...Pinkie would be the one to teach you about that." With an immense amount of effort, she shook Mandy. "Now c'mon, wake up! We’re losing daylight and if we don’t start training now then it’ll be a day wasted!" A loud snore, and then something Peaches could barely make out aside from the word "chocolate". "Wake up!!" A cry of protest. "No! Don't protest! We are doing this whether you like it or not! NOW WAKE UP!!" Slowly, Mandy's eyes creaked open... "Oh thank cattails." ...and then closed as she slipped back into a state of sleep. "You know, I'm starting to think Olive may have a point when she threatens to throw you onto the seal of the bullpen face-first-full-force." Peaches muttered. As a last resort, she took out a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink and thrust it into Mandy's mouth with the same intensity as her first note from Anonymous. "Mmuh...?" "Drink up, cuz." "Mm...?" Mandy took a few plaintive sniffs of the drink, then eagerly accepted it into her body with massive sips. Peaches removed the glass when the last of the liquid had been consumed, then waited. And waited. And waited. And wa- "No! I already told ya, th' IRS doezzn't call, it...you're...you're..." Mandy blinked. "Mmm..." As she set the hybrid down, Peaches dramatically gasped in a way that would put Rarity to shame. "It's alive! And with a bad case of bedhead!" Mandy slowly looked around. "Where are we? I thought we were in the Creature Room!" She gasped, and flung herself at Peaches. "Did I pass my checkup from Fluttershy?! Did I get an O? Pleeeeease tell me I got an O! It'd be bad if I didn't get an O! O's are the best!" "If you calm down then maybe I'd be in the mood to actually tell you." "Oh, okay!" Mandy pulled away from Peaches and let her tail begin wagging. "Spill it, sister! What's the haps, what's the beefs?!" Telling Mandy that there was something she needed to know was one thing. Telling her what that thing was that she needed to know was another issue entirely, something that caught up with Peaches as she stammered. "Haha...whoo, um, how should I say this..." Peaches bit her lip as she thought for a few moments, then shook her head. "No, no, I'll just say it straight. Cuz, you can change into a cat now." All Mandy did was stare at Peaches in a way that made her uncomfortable. She couldn't quite place what the stare was, whether it was one of bewilderment or of joy. Finally, after a few minutes, Mandy delved into her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "Ah, Peach...I always keep sayin' you'd kill as a comedian, and this just proves it!" "No, I'm serious! You turn into a cat in your sleep, and then you sleepwalk. You’ve been sleepwalking and writing me all those notes! You’re 'Anonymous'!" This only served to make Mandy laugh harder. "Stop laughing! Ugh, why didn't I get video footage..." "Oh, I think my lung...ahuh...I think it...egh...I think it just collapsed on me!" Suddenly, Peaches got an idea. Her gaze drifted to the box of toys that Fluttershy had left out, and she immediately dove for a crinkly ball that she held up in front of Mandy's face. The hybrid was entranced. The catgirl yanked the toy away and put it behind her back. "Huh?" Mandy blinked and looked around. "Where'd it go?" "Aha!" Peaches pointed, a grin crossing her face. "Why do you think you get distracted by toys made for odd creatures?" "Because those kinds of toys are fun, silly! I ate a dog bone toy once. Tasted like chicken. Not any better than the frozen stuff at the supermarket, though!" Peaches threw the toy into the box as discreetly as she could. "Whatever. If you don't believe me, then that's fine. Totally fine. I have ways to convince you." She smirked. "I'm going to help you harness and master your new ability. But you need to do exactly as I say." Mandy frowned. "This isn't gonna be like when you taught me to fly using my tail, is it?" "No, I've learned from that. Besides, this is different. I believe in you, a hundred percent. Are you with me, cuz?" "Ha..." Mandy's tail flicked about. "You're really committed to the bit, huh, Peach?" She stretched out her body. "All righty, I'll help you! It'll give ya good leverage when you use this skit at the next Odd Squad Talent Show!" "We agreed I wouldn't do another one of those again. Not after the mud incident." "Aaaaaah, don't be a sourpuss." Mandy pat her cousin on the shoulder. "This one'll kill with the folks. Trust me." She excitedly began bouncing for the door. "Now c'mon, let's get started!" Peaches knew she and Mandy had different goals in mind when it came to the training, and yet she still followed Mandy anyway, if only to rub the reveal in her face when it finally clicked in her brain. "Now, what did you dream about when you went to sleep during Fluttershy's checkup?" "Oh oh oh!" Mandy waved her hand in the air. "I was in the back alley of this super-neeshay restaurant!" "It's niche! It's pronounced 'neesh'!" Peaches sighed. "Just...just continue." "And I was diggin’ around in the dumpster lookin’ for food for some reason, when all of a sudden this man came out with a fish!" "A fish?" "Yeah! And so I asked him and I said 'Um, sir, I’m very hungry, may I please have that fish you’re holding?' And he gave me the fish, and I ate the fish!" Mandy nodded. "It was a very good fish, mm-hmm." "Were you in your usual form?" A snrrk sound left Mandy's body. "Look at this chubbawubba over here, askin' if I was in my usual form..." She playfully rolled her eyes. "'Course I was, silly!" Peaches opted to ignore her cousin's snide remark. "Hmm. Okay. And what have you dreamt about the past few nights? Anything that you think might be related to cats? What they do, what they eat…stuff like that." "Oh! I dreamed I was a cat a couple nights ago. I was in this really nice lady’s home! She fed me and gave me lots and lots of pets…and I slept in her lap! It was like a dream within a dream!" Peaches visibly winced. "M-maybe you shouldn’t be sleeping in your dreams...with this zany world, who knows what might happen…but still. Very interesting nonetheless." She glanced at the ceiling in thought. "So perhaps you turning into a cat might be tied to your dreams. Or maybe your thoughts?" "I have so many thoughts!" "Okay, so...try turning into a cat now." "...Whuh-heh?" "Think about being a cat. Doing whatever you want, so long as it's cat behavior." "Uh...well, okay, but I'm gonna need a cat costume if you're gonna do this part of the skit. Really helps to sell it." "Just think about being a cat!" "Thinkin' about bein' a cat!" With a big intake of air, Mandy held her breath and thought about all sorts of feline-related things. She thought of cats hunting their prey, of cats grooming each other to look absolutely perfect, of cats giving bi- Yeah no, she wasn't gonna think of that. As thoughts began flashing through her brain one after the other in a rhythmic sequence, her lungs began crying out for oxygen. Her face began to turn blue. She began to quiver as her body became affected by the sudden lack of air. Her closed eyes began leaking tears as she begged for someone, anyone, to give her release. "Mm...I don't think it's working." Mandy bent down on one knee. "You can breathe, cuz." The sound that was expelled from Mandy's body sounded like the dying but dramatic breath of a person who acted the same way they had gone out from the world. The hybrid took in as much air as she could and expelled it, the blue hue of her face fading away and being replaced with her usual tan-colored one. "Okay, so that didn't work..." Peaches didn't take even a moment to think, an idea already forming in her head. "I'm gonna see if maybe getting the hiccups would cause you to turn into a cat." For this experiment, both cousins decided to head to the Breakroom, where Peaches slammed down a whole tray full of food in front of an eager and hungry Mandy. "Big plate of food for you. Chow down! And make sure to eat some air." Mandy, of course, scooped up every last bit of food into her mouth with her volumetric tongue. "I love eating air." She swallowed. "Eating air's my favorite!" As she set the utensils down, Peaches stared at her, waiting for one of the many sounds that would mark a filling meal for a full hybrid. A minute passed. Mandy hiccuped. And...nothing happened. "Yes! Ohh, but it didn't turn you into a cat..." Mandy hiccuped again. A pop marked her sudden transformation back into a calico cat. If there hadn't been agents walking by and chatting with clients and coworkers, the silence would have been deafening. "...On Leo's whiskers." "I'm...I'm nak-" A pop, and Mandy was turned back into a hybrid. "Oona?" "I was naked..." "I'm going to Oona." "I flashed hundreds of agents..." "Come on." "Are we gonna go buy kitty clothes?" "No." "Please?" "Cats are always naked, Mandy." "...Oh." A hiccup, and then another pop. "Peach, can cats blush?" "An Un-Hiccup-inator?" Peaches clasped her hands together. "Please tell me Odd Squad has that gadget in their arsenal." Oona gave a scoff. "Of course I do! What am I, crazy?!" She raised a finger. "It does have a side effect, though." "Which is?" Hiccup-pop. "It, uh...makes you itch. For three hours." "For wha-" Hiccup-pop. "Three hours." Oona reiterated. "I don't know why...I'm still working out the kinks, but...it should work fine otherwise!" Peaches gave a nonchalant shrug as a reaction to that information. "Well, three hours is nothing. Lay it on us." Hiccup-pop. Oona took out the gadget, a small spherical little thing, and fired it at Mandy, encasing her in a warm green glow for only a few seconds before it died down. The trio all waited with bated breath. Peaches and Oona kept their eyes trained on Mandy for a full minute. The hybrid blinked. "Hey, they're gone!" And then she stiffened, an "urk" sound eking out of her. "Never mind...somethin' worse just came bitin' back!" As her cousin moved her hands around her body in futile attempts to relieve the itching sensations that had broken out practically everywhere that could be scratched, Peaches heaved a sigh. "Well, we'll have to live with it. Thanks, Oona." "No problem! Tiddly-ooh!" She gave a dissatisfied grunt. "That was terrible." Peaches grabbed Mandy by the collar and began hauling her away, her cry of "It's so itchy!!" going ignored by her but certainly noticed by other agents. Following Mandy going to Dr. O for some anti-itch cream that thankfully worked without any other side effects, she decided to break away from Peaches' experiments and go straight to the one person she knew would help her in figuring out why this was happening. She had already gotten the details of what she had done thus far from Peaches, but for the catgirl's flawless skill at changing forms, she wouldn't be able to help Mandy. Not to the fullest. "HAAAAARUUUUUKOOOO!!" she bellowed into the open area of the Magical Grasslands. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" The wind whistled to answer her, but it didn't carry the voice of the spirit guardian on it. Mandy frowned. "Huh. Maybe she's not here?" "Mandy." "I can hear her, but I can't see her..." "Behind you." It wasn't so much the voice that startled Mandy as much as it was the words themselves. She turned around with a loud yowl, her hair and tail bushing up as she sprung up a couple feet into the air. "H-H-Haruko! Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that!" "My apologies." Haruko responded, trying hard to fight the amusement that crept into her voice. "How are you doing?" "G-great..." Mandy stopped to catch her breath before continuing. "But, um, I kinda came to talk to you about something. Do you have a minute?" "Always. What is going on?" Slowly, Mandy crouched down to a sitting position. "I’ve…I’ve suddenly started turning into a cat." She picked at a blade of grass mindlessly. "It’s only when I’m sleeping a-and I can’t control it! Peach and I tried to come up with a few ways to help me master the ability, but…none of them worked." For dramatic effect -- though not that Mandy knew it -- Haruko took a moment to pause and close her eyes, reminiscing on what her mother had told her. Now she understood what she had been saying, about the "big change" Mandy was set to undergo. And now that she understood, she could feel the clock ticking and ticking, time passing with each minute, ever-closer to Mandy finding out her true origins. She just couldn't understand when. She had no set timeframe. She would have given Mandy one, if that was how fate worked. But rushing fate was something that was just not done. When Mandy was ready to discover where she really came from, that was her decision. Haruko had learned that a long time ago. But she forced herself to set the bigger issue aside and focus on the smaller one. "Mandy. Do you remember when I told you that Peaches is connected to you in more ways than one?" "Yeah. Why?" "I can say that this new ability of yours..." Haruko slowly opened her eyes. "It is because of that." That didn't make Mandy do so much as flinch. "But we're cousins! I mean of course I have the ability, we're related!" "But how the ability manifests in you is because of your strong familial bond with her. She can turn into a cat and back again." "Yeah, but she's had the power since she was born! I only just got it..." Her ears drooped. "...and I don't even know how to control it." Haruko gave Mandy a warm smile, placing a gentle paw on her knee. "I am sure that if you keep practicing, then you will hone the ability to shapeshift in no time. But I would suggest you have Peaches keep on mentoring you until you have complete control over it." A sigh. "I guess you're right...even if her ideas are a lil' silly." "But the bottom line is this." Haruko's tone dropped, becoming gravely serious. "Very soon, sooner than you could even think, you will find out your true origins. What happened to you. What happened to your real parents." She gazed into Mandy's eyes with ferocity. "You may undergo another big change, and it is up to you to be prepared for it. Your shapeshifting ability…it is only the beginning, Mandy." Mandy's mind didn't get past "sooner than you could even think" before she began to panic. She scooted a few paces backwards from Haruko. "M-my origins…don’t tell me…" She rapidly shook her head. "N-no! I haven’t spent enough time with my friends! My family! Gimme a timeframe, at least!" Haruko shook her head in a more milder manner in response. "It will come very soon. That is all I know. But if you are to beat King Ashero and the rest of Vallea…you must master this ability." What am I gonna tell them...what am I gonna tell them about me leaving them for good? It'll break their hearts...and if my real parents lock me up in...wherever they live... A moment of thought for if they were living out in the open or in a tent of some kind, instead of someplace with a far sturdier roof. But I have to tell them regardless. I can't keep this from them. It's... She bit her lip. It's cruel. It'll hurt to say it, but I can't keep it bottled up forever. She heaved a mighty sigh and stared up at the sky. "All right. Maybe I can’t change this…fate that’s set in stone for me. But the best I can do is master my shapeshifting." A pause. "You're right, y'know. You're right on all the fronts and the backs and the sides." Slowly, she rose to her feet. "Thanks, Haruko." "It is no problem." Haruko's warm smile remained on her face. "The best of luck to you, Mandy." In a flash of prismatic color, the hybrid was gone. When Mandy arrived back at Headquarters, it was dark, save for a few nightlights that had been turned on (Oprah sought to have them installed for the agents who didn't have built-in night vision) as well as places like the Lab and the North Control Room that had automatic dimmers. Upon looking around the place, she realized that no one was around. "Huh. Everyone must’ve gone home already. It’s gotta be really late…even though I wasn’t in the Grasslands for very long." As she walked, searching for any kind of life, her leg hit something hard mixed in with something sharp, and she stumbled backwards with a yelp. The sound of an "oof" followed by a corona dying down and an object clattering to the floor followed suit. "Oh!" Mandy blinked as she saw who she had bumped into. "Rarity, I-I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" "Just fine, darling." The elegant unicorn slowly rose to her hooves. "And please, don't apologize. It is quite dark in these hallways, even with the nightlights." As she lifted the object in her corona, Mandy eyed it curiously. "What is that thing?" "Oh, this? Just a little spool of white thread. I need it to complete an order for a client." "Who's your client? Oona?" "No, it's-" Rarity blinked. "Um...actually, y-yes. How did you-" "Call it a lucky guess." Mandy rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "Is that why you're staying up so late?" "Mhm. But I could ask the same question of you, darling. Where have you been?" "I was at the Magical Grasslands, asking Haruko for advice about my new ability." Rarity tilted her head in intrigue. "Ability?" "Yeah, I can turn into a cat now!" Mandy's smile upon giving the reveal quickly turned into a frown. "But it’s only when I sleep, and I don’t have a good grip on it yet even after training under Peach a little. So I decided to go to Haruko for advice." Though she knew next to nothing about Haruko, Rarity gave a nod. "I see." "But Haruko..." Mandy's voice cracked. "She told me...something else." "And what's that?" A sigh left Mandy's lungs. Should I really be telling her this? Haruko never said I couldn’t...but it would be wrong to upset Rarity, especially this late at night… The answer was instantaneous. No! Everyone deserves the right to know! If my time is coming “very soon”, as Haruko puts it…then I might as well. She straightened, a serious look settling on her features. "Gather the other ponies, and Momma, Otto, Peaches and Oprah tomorrow. I’ll tell you all then. Meet me in Oprah's office." Rarity couldn't help but express surprise as her friend's sudden change in demeanor. Still, she knew when she had something serious on her mind, and thus acted accordingly. "All right. If that is what you want." Worry reflected in her eyes. "But do try and get some sleep in the meantime. You look positively exhausted!" "Do I?" Mandy began touching her face, but found no sign of exhaustion that could be discovered through that sense. And as for the sense of sight, she didn't have a mirror handy, either. "I'll take your word for it, Rarity. I'll go to bed right after I have something to eat. You get some sleep too, though, 'kay?" "Of course." As the duo exchanged good-nights and parted ways, Mandy heaved a sigh that served to make her body begin deflating physically, the fatigue slowly but surely starting to settle in. "And I thought my shapeshifting ability was the only thing I was gonna hafta deal with...ya had to put another weight on my shoulders, didn'tcha, Haruko?" 2PM. Nearly everyone was packed like sardines in Oprah's office, with a few stragglers who were falling behind. "We're here!" Olive raced in with Otto in tow, letting go of him and watching him stumble and collapse on the floor. "Sorry we're late, Otto wanted to grab lunch first-" "I was hungry! You know I can't function right when I don't eat!" "No one can understand you when you're screaming into the carpet, partner." "Shut up." "Anyway, Rarity..." Olive's gaze fixed on the fashionista. "Why did you call us all here?" "Me? I did this on behalf of Mandy." Rarity had to bite her tongue to resist adding a "darling", as was her wont, because she knew Olive despised cutesy nicknames like that. "She said she wanted to talk to all of us about something." "Well, whatever it is, think she can hurry it up?" Rainbow moved her hoof along the couch she was sitting on. "I have Wonderbolts practice in a half-hour!" The sound of ascending footsteps grew closer and closer, causing everyone to look. Mandy's staggered flight caused her to crash into the glass door face-first, and then stumble into the room while she clutched her nose. "Oprah, you're real lucky your doorsh aren't shoft glash..." Her eyes slowly opened to meet the crowd of ten. "Shorry I'm late, guysh, my flight didn't go ash shmoothly ash I wanted it to go..." "Why didn't you just teleport here?" "I-" Mandy blinked once. Twice. Removed her hands from her now-bruised nose. Stared at her partner. "Huh. That prolly would've made it fashter." "What's going on, cuz? Is there an emergency?" "Ha...well..." Mandy rubbed her nose and smacked her lips, the latter being so she could speak in non-smushed-nose talk. "You could say that. Though it kinda depends on what you consider an emergency...like maybe..." She landed on her feet, tucked in her wings, and fiddled with her hands. "Like maybe a friend leaving for good?" Twilight agreed in firm nods. "I say a friendship problem certainly counts as an emergency." "Now hold on." Applejack, sitting on the right couch sandwiched between Peaches and Fluttershy, raised a hoof, and subsequently an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're thinkin' of quittin' Odd Squad now?" "No! H-hear me out for a sec, this is important!" The room fell silent. Mandy could feel ten pairs of eyes all bearing down on her. Twenty eyes didn't seem like much, but when the news was as hard to spit out as a hairball, it was a whole lot. Accustomed as she was to public speaking -- oh was she ever accustomed to the act -- the stares unnerved her, and she gave a shaky sigh before she spoke again. "So I dunno how many of you know this...but I can turn into a cat now." Mandy shrugged her shoulders, like she was expecting the audience to laugh at her or applaud or provide any reaction. In actuality, the only reaction she was given involved a few surprised glances, none of which were exchanged with her. "I went to Haruko to get some advice on how to control my shapeshifting ability…but what I got was something else." Mandy gripped the ends of her jacket. Grit her teeth together. Tried to think of happy thoughts. Had those happy thoughts squished. Tried to think of happy thoughts again. Became briefly happy that those stuck to her brain like glue. Opened up her jaws. "I know some of you know this already, too, but…sooner or later, I’m gonna hafta leave Odd Squad with my real parents. They’re gonna find me, and when they do, they’ll probably wanna take me back with them." Oh powers-that-be give me strength. I don't care what strength, just give me any strength. "...Turns out 'sooner' is...right around the corner. And I mean 'right around the corner'." That earned ten gasps that all chimed together in unisonant harmony. Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the one who spoke actual words first. "Y-y-you don't mean..." "Haruko said that my time will come 'very soon'." Mandy gazed at Fluttershy with sadness in her pure innocent blue eyes. "I’m gonna find out everything. How I got to Odd Squad in the first place. Who my real family is. Everything. This ability I have…it’s only the beginning, she says." Olive, meanwhile, was having her own crisis, right there on the couch of her former boss's office. Her mind flashed back to Starry Song's illusion, how Haruko had told her she needed to find her real parents and how Olive shouldn't stop her. But the more the Director thought about it, the more pieces came into existence from the fog that left them shrouded. Adults -- human adults, mind, not mares and stallions -- were wicked, awful creatures. They viewed kids as skeletons trapped in small bodies with brains equal in size to a pony's. There was, of course, plenty of evidence to the contrary, but if there was one thing Olive had learned, adults did not do so well with evidence that was set to prove them wrong no matter how factual it was. She was rather worldly for someone who looked like she was twelve, but any mention of "I'm millennia old" would get her laughed at straight yonder. She had seen adults all the time on the news, robbing stores and beating up innocent bystanders and transporting drugs she had no idea even existed until she had her mind tainted by the current events localized entirely within her town. More specifically, she had seen adults in jail for multiple counts of child abuse and kidnapping. "We have just received this important information regarding an abducted child. Mandy, last name redacted, is an 11-year-old white female with brown hair and blue eyes. Last seen wearing an Odd Squad uni-" No. She wouldn't think about that. "...with her biological mother, Igat Noname, 32 years old-" Nope. "...biological father, Noname Foundhere, that's noh-nah-may, 35 years old-" No. That was a hard, firm no. That last "no" flew out of her mouth as she shot up from her seat. She shook her head. "I'm not going to give you up just like that!" Otto wisely backed away. "Partner?" Olive marched up to Mandy, close enough that she could feel the puffs of air she exhaled from her nose. "I raised you for eleven years, Mandy. I found you, and I raised you. If I hadn’t, you would have been another victim of Odd Todd’s pienado massacre. I may not know what happened to your real parents…but for them to not go looking for you after eleven whole years?! It’s despicable!" She sighed and jerked her head away, her eyes closing. "But what else would I expect from a couple of adults?" "Partner!" That last cry came from an Otto who was fully aware there were six adults in the room with them, and was fully aware of their hurt and offended expressions. "Who cares what Haruko says? It’s not like her words are set in stone. You can change your fate. And fate says that you should stay here, with us." Olive grabbed Mandy's hands and clasped them tightly within her own. Her eyes shimmered with hope as the last two words danced softly on her lips. "With me." Mandy said nothing. All she did was stare at Olive with confusion and a very distinct lack of comfort. "You’re the light that keeps Odd Squad running, Mandy. We don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose you. Without you, I wouldn’t be the agent I am today." "Ugh, talk about cliche." Olive whirled around and glared at Rainbow so quickly that one would think she had somehow learned the Accelero spell. It was enough to shut the Pegasus up, at least, which was good enough for her. "Momma..." Hearing the endearing nickname made Olive turn back around. "It doesn’t matter what you choose. But I’m not giving you up to a couple adults who care so little about their kid they don’t bother to go looking for them until over a decade later. It's foolish." "But Haruko told me they’ve been searching! She could hear their hearts crying out in pain and everything!" "And how do you know that isn't just a new emotion she felt, say, oh...a couple weeks ago?" That brought Mandy to a standstill. She stammered, trying to come up with a coherent response, but nothing came out beyond bits of vowels and consonants that couldn't be formed into any English word. Olive fought hard to not let her smug side show. "I rest my case." "Olive, don’t you think you’re being a little possessive?" Oprah stood up and made her way over to the duo, her arms crossed. "I want Mandy to stay in Odd Squad too. But she’s her own agent. She’s free to make her own decisions." Twilight raised a hoof. "I agree with Ms. O. Besides, there’s no rule that states Mandy can’t help out Odd Squad even if she has to quit. And if she does go back to her real parents, what if they continue to let her be a part of Odd Squad?" "Like they would let her do that?" Olive snapped. "Mandy's my daughter, not yours, Sparkle. I raised her." "And Mandy's my agent, not yours, Olive. She's my second-in-command." "Family trumps work, Oprah. Always has, always will." Oprah squinted her eyes with a very audible squeaking sound. "You're being ridiculous." "No I’m not. I’m protecting her. I’ve been a better parent to her than her real parents could ever be." "Ah...Olive, if I may..." Rarity's head tilted. "Have you ever met her real parents? In-pony? Er, my apologies, in-person?" Olive's mouth hung open for a moment. However, she snapped right back to it. "Well…no, but…" Her tone turned into one of desperation, something that could be an easy tip-off to how vulnerable she was at the moment. "They didn’t look for her until now. Any loving parent would keep looking for their child for years until they found them. I would do that, and I’d expect any other parent of Mandy’s to do the same!" Peaches looked away, something that Olive noticed as she rubbed her arm and looked at the floor. "Back when Peaches and I had that fight with Starry Song, her singing got to me. The next thing I knew, I was in some kind of dark purple…realm, of sorts. And Mandy was a baby." And back to the crowd. "I heard this voice…who said that I should treat her as an ally and that Mandy wasn’t my real daughter. She told me that Mandy will try and find her real parents soon, and that I shouldn’t stop her…and that if I did stop her, she would grow to hate me." The fact that Haruko had never told Mandy this bewildered the hybrid. She didn't know the extent of what Olive had experienced when Starry Song had poisoned her mind, just that a voice had told her that Mandy needed to find her real parents. But for her to even pose the truth...no, the falsehood of Mandy hating Olive for not letting her find her real parents? It was inconceivable. Mandy couldn't stay mad at her Momma, even though she lived life with lemons and limes sitting in her body from the moment she had (mostly) stopped the pienado all the way past when she became a Director to... ...to... Wait. Maybe finding my real parents is better for me in the long run. The thought came on suddenly, but Mandy couldn't deny that maybe it held some merit. Her real parents keeping her locked up in the house so she became a depressed nerd with no job who spent about 20 hours a day fiddling about with electronics was a 50/50 shot. Her real parents letting her be free and do her job and be just slightly less of a free-range child was also a 50/50 shot. If one asked her, her chances of the latter happening were pretty good. Now Olive, on the other hand... "'Fail to heed these words…and perhaps it will shatter everything you hold dear to your heart.'" The words snapped Mandy out of it. "At the time, I thought it was some illusion that Starry Song planted in my brain. But now…" Olive stared at her hands. "I realize it was real. All of it was real. And perhaps it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to assume that the voice…belonged to Haruko." "Haruko spoke to you?" Olive willingly ignored her adopted daughter's request for confirmation. "But I’m not going to listen to her." She shook her head and straightened her posture, giving off a determined aura that was filled with indignation. "Mandy came to us for a reason. I raised her. I’m not just going to lose her after all this time we’ve spent together!" A scoff as she whirled on the rest of the group. "Don’t tell me you all care so little about her that you’re actually willing to hand her off to a couple of heartless adults?!" Peaches rubbed her forehead, a clear indicator that she was getting tired of Olive's attitude. "It’s not that we don’t care, Olive. It’s that we want what’s best for her. If she needs to find her real parents, or even if she just wants to, then we shouldn’t stop her. Haruko had a point. It would be stupid to disobey her." "For all we know, 'Haruko' is just some imaginary friend Mandy made up." "But you just said she was re-" "I was...appeasing to her whims." Olive shot daggers at Otto, enough to make him sit down and fall silent. It was a hastily-crafted excuse, but one that she felt got the job done. "After all, we’re children. It doesn’t hurt to have an imaginary friend or two. She’s not an exception to the rule, partner." "Olive." Twilight got off of the couch. "I know how much you love Mandy. But you’re being too overprotective of her. Whether Haruko is real or imaginary, she made a good point with what she told you. After all, she’s helped out Mandy tons of times." Her violet eyes moved to Mandy. "Right?" Mandy stood silent for a few moments, trying to absorb just what her mother was saying. Her heart hurt with how badly she was trash-talking Haruko, and she wanted to tell her that Haruko was real. But something told her that she wouldn't listen, and so she shoved that idea to the wayside, beginning to talk about the kitsune as though she were a real figure -- which she was, of course, but Olive didn't seem to think so, and she wasn't sure about anyone else. "Um...y-yeah! She has!" She put on an unsettling grin. "Haruko’s nice and sweet, don’t worry about her. Even if she does have elements for tails." Twilight's gaze rested on Olive again. "And I’m aware that Odd Squad agents don’t particularly like adults…or at least human ones." Her expression became unreadable for only a fleeting second. "But this is Mandy’s family. Surely you can make an exception for that." "A family that didn't go looking for her for over five years." "Maybe they were looking for a while, but gave up and accepted that she was gone. Or maybe they’re still looking and they haven’t found her. Haruko did say that she could feel their hearts crying out. They want her back." "Hold on." Both Olive and Twilight, as did the rest of the group, looked at Oprah. "I can empathize with Olive." Olive narrowed her eyes. "Empathize how?" "You and Otto are what I like to call 'living emotional crutches' to each other. You can’t function without him. He can’t function without you." This reveal, while very much true, made Otto recoil in shock. "I can function without Olive fine! But we're partners and-" "And truth be told, Mandy is also your living emotional crutch." Oprah continued. "You probably won’t admit it, but she is." Olive crossed her arms and jerked her head away. "I can live just fine without Mandy." "Then why is it you're so defensive about what is clearly reality? Why is it you're so defensive about her wanting to find her birth parents?" Olive's head moved back within a millisecond. In a twist of irony, she did the same thing Mandy had done before -- she lost an argument with someone higher than her. "I rest my case." Oprah took a big inhale through her nose, and with her brown eyes locked firmly onto Olive's own, she launched into a spiel that, in her eyes, would tear the other Director apart and expose every inch of her insides down to the last piece of artery. "You need to ease up on her, Olive. I don’t know if I need to bash it into your skull with Mandy’s hammer or my own two fists, but her finding her real parents is the reality that you will have to face. I accepted it back when Mandy took that vacation to the Magical Grasslands and was gone for what seemed like forever. I knew the day would come when she would ask about her real parents, and I have no qualms about her going to find them. That doesn’t mean I won’t try my hardest to keep her in Odd Squad, but I’m going to give her the freedom she wants and deserves. And I would suggest you do the same. Unless you want her to hate you, and we all know how she gets when she becomes hurt." The silence that fell in the room was as deafening as it was awkward. Nearly everyone was considering the weight and the accuracy of Oprah's words, exchanging glances and retreating into their own minds to form reactive thoughts. This, of course, included Olive, who just stared at her former boss with a look that no one could place. The tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes, however, was one of a few dead giveaways. Clearly, the verbal equivalent of "drop a grand piano on 'em and watch what happens, Sonny" had worked its magic...maybe a little too well. After five minutes of everlasting silence, she knew what she had to do. Five minutes was not a whole lot of time to think things over, but she was acting purely on a hunch. And when Olive acted on a hunch, one let her go on the highway and see how she came out in the end. There was no dieway. There wasn't even a alive-but-very-badly-injuredway. "Mandy." "Huh?" "Teleport me to the Magical Grasslands." The words were like a trigger that snapped everyone's attention back to the real world. Pinkie was the first to react. "What?!" "You're going to the Magical Grasslands?" Rarity repeated. "Partner, this is insane! You're not going to the Magical Grasslands!" "Yes I am." Olive glared at her partner again. "I'm going there to see if Haruko is real or not, and I'm going to get to the bottom of all this." "And just how d’ ya know Haruko’s gonna appear for ya?" Applejack asked, with a raised eyebrow. "She’s got a close bond with Mandy, not you. 'Sides, maybe she is just as imaginary as y' claim she is. Might be a waste 'f a trip." "I don’t care, Agent Applejack. I’m going. And if Mandy won’t teleport me then I’ll walk there myself." "And you’re just gonna leave your precinct in the hands of Otto? Without even asking him?" "Rainbow Dash is right." Otto stood up. "You may be the smarter one between the two of us, but even I know this is just a foolish idea." "Quit trying to make me change my mind. Whether it's a wasted trip or not, I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Olive glanced at her adopted daughter. "So, what do you say, Mandy? Will you teleport me, or should I get started on walking?" Mandy bit her lip. Haruko had allowed her to teleport to the Magical Grasslands, but she didn't know what the policy was on teleporting other people there. When she weighed the decision in her mind, she realized that Haruko wasn't the ruler of the Grasslands, and it was a real place that...well...she wasn't sure if any average Joe could get to it, but she assumed one could if they journeyed far enough. She sighed. "I’m not makin' any guarantees on anything. Whether you’ll see Haruko, whether you’ll meet the clan she used to be a part of, or whether you’ll get the answers to the questions you have. But…I’m not gonna stop you." The hybrid lit up her horn, encased Olive in a brilliant rainbow-colored glow, and made her disappear in a bright flash of light. Another silence fell over the room. "Wow. That happened a lot faster than I thought it would." The soft, wow-Fluttershy-is-really-out-of-character-this-round-isn't-she declaration went over everyone's heads like a lead fart. "Well, I think I sent her to the right place." Mandy scratched an itch on her arm. "Haruko did say I could teleport there, but she didn’t say anything about me teleporting other people there…" "Mandy, I'm so sorry-" "Save it, Otto. Don't apologize." Mandy held a hand up. "I’ve been through eleven years with your partner to know what she’s like by now. Even if her words are…very very dumb." She sighed. "I’ll admit, I do wanna see my real parents. I don’t remember anything about them, but…I wanna see them again. And…I wanna bring Peach, too!" Peaches looked around the room, as though there was another Peach in the room with her. When she realized she was the only Peach around, she pointed to herself. "Me?" "Yeah!" Mandy's tail began to wag gently. "Maybe my real parents will welcome you into the family. Even if you are a catgirl. And if they don’t…" Her smile grew bigger. "We’ll still have each other. And the ponies. And Otto. And Oprah." She paused. "Yeah, I think I got everyone." "D'aww, come here, you." Mandy launched herself at Peaches, tackling her and pulling her right into one of her usual death-by-spine-injury hugs. "You're not mad at Olive?" Mandy paused. Took some time to think about it. And then made her decision. "Naaaaah! Overprotectiveness is a natural trait for a parent to have, even if it sometimes causes them to make…weird decisions. Once Momma meets Haruko and gets things straightened out, she’ll be fine! Trust me!" She pulled away from the hug and let Peaches go. "Now Peach, can we continue more of your training? Please? I wanna get this shapeshifting skill straightened strout!" "'Strout' isn't a word..." Peaches rolled her eyes amusedly. "But sure. C'mon." "Yay! But no more hiccups." "Oh cattails no. I've learned my lesson from that." "Thanks for comin', guys!" was the last call from Mandy before she and Peaches left the group, and subsequently the office of the former's boss. Otto exhaled. "Well, I should get going. With Olive gone, I'll need to run the precinct on my own for a while...and I'd better get started now." "You're free to call me if you need anything." "Thanks." Otto waved Oprah and the rest of the group off before leaving through his old boss's personal tube. "Well, that was something." Rainbow remarked. "Anyway, I gotta go too. See ya." And then there were six. "I didn't think Olive was so overprotective of Mandy like that." Fluttershy said. "But I'm happy that Mandy's okay with things." "But what if she's not?!" Pinkie threw her hooves into the air. "What if she’s hiding something deeeep inside, and she’s really all sad but won’t admit it ‘cause she wants us all to be happy, and then the truth comes out and we become all sad, and then the sadness expands and expands until it reaches the entire town, and then the world?!" Rarity shook her head and sighed. "Darling, I will always love you, but I do have to question your train of thought sometimes..." "Regardless of whether Mandy’s being truthful or not, all we can do now is wait and see if Olive can patch things up with Haruko. Assuming she actually exists." Twilight looked towards the glass doors. "And what if 'Haruko' is imaginary?" Applejack asked, with a distinct amount of skepticism that showed she didn't believe in the kitsune's existence. "Or she shuts Olive out? What'll we do then?" "I don't know, AJ." Twilight solemnly shook her head. "I don't know." The five ponies still remaining all left right then and there, leaving only Oprah in her office all alone. She went over to her desk, grabbed her juice box, and took a sip. Although she was numb to it, a single tear began its descent down her face. The teleportation had Olive in the unfortunate position of landing on her rump. Hard. On dirt and grass. "Oww..." She rubbed the sorest part of her body as her gaze began sweeping the area. A few seconds of that made any and all pain disappear in an instant, being in awe of just how expansive it was. She knew it was just a regular old field, of course, but something about it made it far different than just some field one would see when driving about in the boonies. It felt freeing, like stepping into a place that suddenly healed you with magic. An angelic choir sounded from somewhere. "Holy jackalopes..." the Director murmured, as the wind began to ever-so-slightly pick up. "Am I sure Mandy didn’t kill me with that teleportation blast? Because this place looks like He-" She stiffened. Growled. Angrily shook her head. "What are you doing, Olive? You came here for one thing…" As she rose to her feet, she began walking forward, not completely aimless but still seeking navigational help all the same. "Haruko! Are you there? Please, come out! I-I know I’m not Mandy, but I’m close to her, at least! Isn’t that enough?" Olive waited and waited until she decided that she was right. Of course, said waiting period only took about fifteen seconds. "Knew it. All along, Mandy was talking to a hack. Haruko’s not real, she’s just a figment of a child’s imagination! Fuh, some all-mystical being…I know it's Odd Squad but just where does Mandy get these ideas?" "You." Olive stiffened again. A soft but strangled gasp left her body. "T-t-t-that voice...it...it couldn't be." "We meet in-person at last...Olive." The Director turned around, to find the being whom she could finally put a voice to. She had seen nearly every oddity in the book, but perhaps none could have prepared her for the sight of what laid before her. She took a step back. And another. "No…there’s no way. You’re imaginary. You’re just Mandy’s imaginary friend! And because I’m close to her, the idea seeped into my brain…so now we share an imaginary friend." It was a stupid theory, the more she thought about it. "I can assure you, I am very much real." "D-d-doubt it." "If you wish to doubt my words, then touch my fur. You will find that I am not born from imagination, nor am I a hologram. I am a real being." She took a step forward. Then another. Then another. And then she stopped. "Y-you're not gonna tear my hand off or send me to another realm or anything, are you?" A head shake. Olive squeezed her eyes shut, decided to bite the bullet, approached Haruko, and stuck her hand out. Contact was reached. Her body was overtaken with a feeling of weightlessness, like she was on the moon. Most of her cares and worries began to slowly melt away. It was a feeling she probably hadn't felt since she was a baby. "Your fur...it's like a cloud." she murmured, her gaze moving to Haruko's extra limbs. "And your tails...they're made up of every existing element." She pulled back. "Mandy didn't just imagine you. You're...you're real!" "I am." Haruko said, in a way that conveyed she really wanted to give Olive a good dose of "I told you so" but had to have an air of professionalism. "But what, exactly, did you come here for, Olive? I would imagine that you did not make such a harrowing journey here on your own. Mandy teleported you here, did she not?" Olive nodded. "Yes. Right." She twiddled her thumbs. "You and I need to have a talk. About what you told Mandy earlier. About her real parents." As though she was expecting everything, from the arrival to the conversation -- which she was, much to Olive's ignorance -- Haruko stood up. "Come with me. We will find a more comfortable place to discuss this matter." Olive followed the kitsune, taking in the sights, one thought echoing within her determined mind. Don’t worry, Mandy. Whatever happens…I won’t lose you. I…can’t…lose you. S1E32: Mother's Little HybridThe breeze flowed through Olive as smoothly as butter, taking her corkscrew-shaped ponytail with it. She reclined against a sizable hill, watching as Haruko gazed at the sky. "What are you looking at?" "I am just thinking." A pause. Olive picked up a blade of grass and mindlessly examined it. "Olive." Haruko lowered her head and turned it around to stare at the Director. "What do you remember about rescuing and raising Mandy?" Olive's expression turned into confusion, as though wondering what kind of question Haruko was asking -- surely it was purely rhetorical, as she knew about how Mandy was raised. But the girl supposed it wouldn't hurt to give a little refresher, and so she set the blade of grass down to make eye contact. "Everything. I was there for the first time she ever walked, the first time she said a word, the first time she was able to feed herself...and I did it all with only barebones knowledge of how to raise a child." A sad smile danced on her lips. "At first I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. But I couldn't, I wouldn't, just give up Mandy for adoption. There was something about her..." Haruko raised an eyebrow during the pause Olive brought to the table. "...something about her that warmed my heart. I was always known as a nobody, just a shy agent-in-training who was as run-of-the-mill as anyone else. When I helped to stop the pienado, I became tougher, stronger, more hard-hearted. Mandy helped me bring out my compassionate side. My, uh...maternal instincts, if you will." Olive stretched out her legs. "Even though I'm..." Another pause. Haruko remained silent and watched as Olive rolled her eyes around in thought. "I...think I'm an only child. Or maybe I'm not. I'm not sure." Olive shook her head. "B-but I digress. We're not here to talk about my past." As much as Haruko wanted to divert the current subject to that exact topic of discussion, she refrained. "I see." She turned the rest of her body around to face Olive. "It is just as I had thought. You are a very kind person, one who would love Mandy until the very end of your life." Her eyes grew steely. "However, your intentions as of now are rather misplaced." "Huh?" "Recently I have watched as you dote on Mandy to the measure of overprotectiveness." Haruko said. "All under the pretense of..." There was a lengthy pause, one that the kitsune put in place in order to allow enough room for Olive to answer. But the girl wasn't exactly getting the drift. "I...um...w-well..." Olive blinked. "I-it's to prove to her that I'm the right person to raise her. And not the adults that have forgotten about her." A scoff, as the words began pouring from her brain to straight clear out of her mouth. "I've cared for Mandy for eleven years. When she went missing, I worried for her safety around the clock. I tried to find her through any and all means possible. I can't..." She grit her teeth. "I can't say the same for her real parents." "Olive, please, heed my words." Haruko placed a paw on Olive's knee. "I have been listening to the feelings of Mandy's real parents for a long time now. They may not show it on the outside, but they cry every day, waiting for their beloved daughter to return to them. They want to find her." "Then why not look for her?!" "Some cannot simply drop every aspect of their lives to look for their loved ones. It is not how things are done." Haruko shook her head. "Mandy's real parents likely have other commitments, other things in their lives that take up their precious time. Precious time that, if freed, would most certainly be used to find their daughter." "So are you saying you've never even met them?" Olive asked. "You're basing this off of some hunch?" "No. I have the power to sense the true feelings of humans. That is how I know." Olive opened her mouth to fire off a witty retort, then quickly closed it as she realized that she really wouldn't put it past a creature who was odd -- even in the most ostensible sense -- to possess such a power. "So I was wrong, then. They've really been searching for her? All this time?" "To the best of their abilities." All Olive could do, after staring at Haruko for a full minute, was bury her face in both of her hands as she began to regret everything she had said just minutes before. "As it stands, I am the only one, aside from Mandy's real parents, to know of her origins, a life far before Odd Squad." Haruko settled into a lying-down position. "If you would permit me to do so, I would like to tell you the story in its entirety. Perhaps then, you will develop a new perspective on this situation." Olive looked up. Shook her head. Gave a meek nod. Parted her jaws to murmur three little words that would change her life as she knew it. "Tell me everything." Annabelle and Kieran. They were a young couple in their twenties, living happily in Toronto and just trying to make honest livings. Annabelle was someone who preferred to live among the elites of society, and certainly acted like it, even if her dreams were rather far-fetched. She was a very kind person, always willing to help others in need and promising to become one of the members of the "nice rich" group of people that seemed to be lacking in the world. Kieran, on the other hand, was far more laid-back, preferring to take things easy. He was a businessman in sales through and through -- a temporary job until he could find something better -- but on his off time he embraced laziness as though he were an expert in it. As they say, opposites attract, and they were no exception. Until one day, when Annabelle decided to buy a pregnancy test on her way home from work as the manager of a health and beauty shop. It was purely in secret, as she had suspicions but didn't want to alarm Kieran. What was also a secret was that she had always wanted a child, the small sphere of snow that would snowball into what she hoped was a growing family that would thrive for years to come. She had dropped hints of it to Kieran here and there, but he never picked them up. The results shocked her, the night she took the test. "Um...Kieran, sweetie?" "Yeah?" "I...have something to tell you." "Honey, what's wrong?" "I...I think I might be..." A pause. The test clattered to the floor. Kieran looked at the test, then at Annabelle. "D-did you...what..." "I did. I...we're...Kieran, we're going to have a baby!" To her relief, Kieran gave a hearty laugh. "That's amazing, Anna! Do you know how long I've wanted a child?" "I thought...I thought you would be angry..." "Angry?" Kieran rose from his spot on the couch and hugged his wife. "No, no, of course not. Having a child, it would be a dream come true for me. A chance to grow our little family, to bring new life into the world..." Annabelle giggled. "Then I'm happy you're happy, Kieran." Nine months went by as Annabelle and Kieran did everything they could to prepare for their new baby -- or rather, new babies. They bought only the highest-end baby furniture, the highest-end toys, and even the highest-end baby food. With the savings Annabelle had acquired over the years she had worked, she splurged. She wanted her babies to grow up in a happy and healthy environment, one where they would be loved and welcomed forever. The babies were beautiful. They had shrill and strong cries, ones that could shatter even the toughest of glass panes. Doctors had remarked that they were two of the healthiest babies they had ever seen in their long careers. Annabelle and Kieran were happy for their new children, but naming the babies proved to be an issue -- one that would have far more consequences in their relationship than one would think. "We don't want to name them just yet, Dr. Burke." Annabelle said. "Why not?" Kieran smiled. "We want to take the time to pick unique names for our lovely daughters. Something they will treasure forever." The expression on the face of Dr. Burke was unreadable. Still, he nodded. "I understand. We will give you two weeks to decide." "Two weeks?" Annabelle asked. "B-but, why, that's not nearly enough time!" "We need to prepare the birth certificates for the babies as well as new medical records. We will fill out everything but the names, but we need them as soon as possible within that timeframe." Kieran nodded. "I understand." Annabelle shot him a disappointed look. "Kieran!" "Anna...I love you. I truly do. But we have to think about this." Kieran held his wife's hands in his own. "What lives do we want our little girls to lead?" "Wh- what do you mean?" You see, Kieran had dreams for his daughters. Ever since he had heard of the organization, he had wanted them -- his future children in general, really -- to join Odd Squad, to let them go and fight the oddities that cursed every corner of the world. He wanted them to be free in that regard, with him watching them and supporting them from the sidelines. Annabelle also knew about Odd Squad, from Kieran often telling her about it and how wonderful it was. Unlike Kieran, however, she was opposed to such an idea as sending her children to join the organization, citing the fact that she didn't want them to be put in danger every day with all sorts of odd creatures and villains running around. Where before they had hardly ever gotten into so much as a single argument, Annabelle and Kieran fought about this matter long before she was discharged from the hospital, to the annoyance of the doctors, nurses, and other patients. They fought about Odd Squad, about the dangers it posed, about the benefits it offered. Soon, Annabelle grew to despise Odd Squad and all that it stood for, while Kieran fell in love more and more with the organization. It was Kieran who made the first move in giving the names of his newborn children to the hospital. Hearing that Odd Squad took in kids who didn't have O names and altered their names so they began with the letter spurred him to name his daughters Felicity and Peaches, which the doctors put on the birth certificates as their legal names. Of course, he did this in secret, far from the prying eyes of Annabelle -- but when she went to the hospital with names of her own only a week later, she was denied. "W-what? What do you mean 'denied'?" "Your husband came in and offered us names for your babies. We put them on the birth certificates a week ago. It's official." "But I- I had a name of- I wanted- Allegra! Mercy! I wanted to name them Allegra and Mercy! And that...that bastard..." "Ma'am, I'm really sorry. But if you want to change your daughters' names, you'll need to have both done legally through Name Change Application forms like everybody else." Annabelle had much restraint, enough to avoid throwing a fit. She stormed out, drove home as fast as she could, and slammed open her front door to confront her husband. "KIERAN!! You named our daughters without my consent?!" "W-what?" "I just went to Toronto General and they told me you named our daughters. You named them, had them put the names on the birth certificates, and now...I-I'm...do you know how hard it is to change a name in Toronto? The wait time for just their response form is ridiculous!" "At the rate you were going, I had a feeling you were going to just leave them without!" "What?! I would never! The hospital requires names for the babies!" The argument dragged on and on, soon delving into nothing but shallow and worthless fallacies. And all the while, not a single soul noticed little Felicity crawling her way out of the house, having been situated on the living room floor moments before. She made her way to the front yard, to the oak tree standing tall and proud within it, to the tube system that lied just ahead of it. "Fine! Fine!! You know what? Fuck you! I'm leaving! I never wanted to live here in this...shitty old building that you couldn't even bother to renovate, let alone live in with you!" "Oh, so you're gonna leave? What about our daughters?" "You can keep them! If they want to join Odd Squad so much, then I refuse to even call them my daughters!" Annabelle stomped out the door and right down the steps. Kieran leaned his body outside. "I'll file the divorce papers first thing tomorrow morning!" "Yeah, you better, you son of a bitch!" "Swearing is pretty unbecoming of a proper lady!" "Shut the fuck up!" As Annabelle walked away and Kieran went back in, a sudden feeling washed over him. A feeling that sickened him to his stomach. A feeling that no father should ever have to face. In that moment, he realized that his daughter was gone. He turned the house upside down and inside out looking for her, but after many hours, days, weeks, months of searching, he never found her. He tried asking around town, filing missing child reports, everything that he could possibly do to get Felicity back. Eventually, he woke up one day, went looking for her, and simply gave up. He became resigned to the fact that his daughter was gone forever. On the worst days, he became resigned to a theory, the theory that she was hurt in some manner, or completely dead. "Ever since then, for eleven years, he has been living in regret, anxiety, and despair. But deep within him is a little spark of hope -- hope that his daughter will one day return to him, happy and healthy." Olive stared at the ground, numb to the tears landing on the blades of grass like droplets of rain. "If you let Mandy find Kieran again, Olive, you would be doing a good thing for all involved parties." Sob after sob made the Director's body quiver. "D-d-did- I k-k-k-" "Kidnap Mandy?" Haruko shook her head. "Of course not. Had you not rescued Mandy that fateful day, she would have passed unceremoniously, in a way I am quite sure she would not want to go out." A wail that sounded more akin to that of a dying animal than that of an anguished human forced its way out. "Where Annabelle had declared her intentions to leave her child in the care of whom had effectively become a single father, you have stepped up in more ways than one." Haruko closed her eyes. "Please, Olive, do not cry." "B-but I...I raised..." Olive swallowed some saliva that had stuck to the roof of her mouth, and tried to take steady deep breaths to regulate her emotions. "I raised Mandy for eleven years, thinking she didn't have any loving parents. But she did. S-she did..." She grit her teeth. "She had...a loving father. A loving mother. A loving couple, broken up by...a name change...!" Haruko simply tilted her head. A bitter laugh slipped from Olive's lips, a few more tears falling as a last hurrah. "Marriage is a funny thing, huh? You have someone who's crazy about someone else propose with a big fat ring, have a big ceremony with all their friends and family and an officiant, move in together, and...they're expected to stay together for life." She rolled her drying eyes. "For a couple to be broken up over something as insignificant as the legal name change of two babies makes no sense. But I suppose it's all about perspective." Her chocolate-brown gaze moved to Haruko. "Is it possible that Annabelle and Kieran weren't the happy couple you thought they were, even before the whole name change thing? I mean, how do you even know what happened, anyway?" For a minute or two, Haruko didn't answer, instead closing her eyes in contemplation. When she opened them again and made eye contact with Olive, her stance and gaze were rigid. "Because I was the spirit guardian of Annabelle." Olive's eyes widened. Her jaw hung open for a moment as her mind fixated on two things -- what a spirit guardian was, and how Haruko came to be Annabelle's. After debating on what question to ask first, she decided to bite the bullet and pick one at random. "What's a 'spirit guardian'?" "Just as I once did with Annabelle, my job is to guide Mandy throughout her life, to be a shoulder to lean on while also giving her advice." To Olive, that answered hardly anything. So she moved on to her second question. "Okay, so how did you become Annabelle's spirit guardian, exactly?" "Mandy is but the most recent being in need of my guidance." Haruko responded. "My help extends far through ancestries, both hers and mine." "So your grandmother helped Mandy's grandmother...your uncle helped Mandy's uncle...so on and so forth? Is that it?" "You could say that, although our family members do not line up. We Elementals live quite a long time, after all." Now Olive's mind was swirling with more questions than answers. This whole ordeal was like a difficult case with leads that reached into the twenties as a rough estimate, and she forced herself to get back on track. She wanted to learn more about Haruko, but from what she had heard, the kitsune seemed trustworthy enough in both her words and her demeanor. "Okay. Tell me more about how you were Annabelle's spirit guardian." Haruko smiled at the memories. "I had looked after Annabelle from childhood. She was a warm and kind spirit, who had big dreams and everlasting generosity even in spite of her rather horrific home life." Olive opened her mouth. "Out of respect for her, please do not inquire about it. I prefer to not share details." Disappointed but understanding, Olive closed her mouth and simply gave a nod. "I watched and guided her as she grew up, year after year. Where she hardly had anyone to rely on, she had me. We were like best friends." "Hold on. You were best friends?" Haruko sadly nodded. "Unfortunately, several months after she divorced Kieran, she...developed cancer. Which she did not survive." A soft gasp left Olive's lips, more as an instinctual reaction than anything else. "Oh my odd..." "To my luck, I was able to save her spirit before it was allowed to disappear into the stars above. She now roams the Grasslands as a kitsune wielding the power of fire." This made Olive perk up considerably, even though she had questions about how, exactly, Haruko saved Annabelle's spirit. "So does that mean she's around here somewhere? Can I meet her?" Haruko looked around the area, her expression one of hesitance. "I am not quite sure she would appear for an employee of the organization she had once vehemently despised..." She looked at the sky. "And she does not roam freely around the Grasslands as often as I do." "Please, try." Olive begged. "If I talk to her...it would help. A lot. I would be able to...I-I mean, as mothers...except she gave birth to Mandy, not me, obviously..." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just...y-you probably understand what I'm saying. Hopefully. Oh odd, I can feel my stress rising..." "I understand that this is a lot to take in. And under normal circumstances, I would encourage you to stop if you feel you are getting overwhelmed." Haruko blinked. "But I feel that the more knowledge you have, the more you will be able to care for and help Mandy as she grows." The kitsune closed her eyes and called out the name of whom had now become one of her brethren. No response. She tried again. Still no response. The wind whistled as it rushed through, moving the blades of grass to the left and sending a few loose dandelion seeds scattering. Materializing from the dim stars in the bright blue sky right then and there, within a haze of gloriously warm yellow light, was a kitsune. Pearly-white in color, her nine tails shone with the heat and the brightness of burning flames, each seemingly crafted from fire itself. Her yellow eyes shone brightly as they landed on the duo that sat before her. "Haruko? You called for me?" "I did." Haruko gestured to the girl next to her. "Annabelle, I would like for you to meet Agent Olive. She is an Odd Squad agent who-" "An Odd Squad agent?!" Annabelle's lips curled back into an ugly snarl. "Haruko, I thought I told you I did not want to associate with such filth! That organization took away my daughter and corrupted her so that her mind became filled with nothing but the most gastly poison!" Olive blinked. Huh. From the way she talks, I'd think she was Rarity reincarnated. Though I don't associate the mare with the element of fire...and obviously she's not dead. "Annabelle, please, do try to hear me out." Haruko pleaded, trying to keep her voice calm but not doing so well at making sure her tone didn't edge into desperation. "Olive is Mandy's adoptive mother." The other kitsune closed her eyes and jerked her head to the side. "I will have nothing of it!" Finally, Olive decided it was her turn to speak up. "Annabelle?" She reached out a tentative hand. "I know I'm an Odd Squad agent...no, an Odd Squad Director. I've run Precinct 73955 for a long time now." Biting her lip, she refrained from throwing in the tidbit that she would never leave Odd Squad, because, while it was true, she didn't want to anger Mandy's real mother any further. "But I raised Mandy for eleven years, in both your stead and Kieran's. I gave her all the love and care and attention I could give her, even though I didn't know anything about raising a child. I was, after all, only twelve years old...and physically, I still am." Annabelle's right eye creaked open to a half-lidded state. "I think you'll be happy to know that Mandy is a very well-adjusted individual. She's a little...weird...likes to scoop me up in bear hugs, shake me like a blender, and she can eat and sleep like the devil..." A chuckle came forth. "But she's brightened up my life, and that of everyone else, considerably. Odd Squad really wouldn't be the same without her." Olive scratched an idle itch on her arm. "Um...i-is...Mandy okay? As a name? I...heard the entire story from Haruko, and she mentioned you wanting to name her Allegra." A pause. And then Annabelle gave a sharp exhale through her nose. "Yes. It's of Italian descent, like my grandfather was. It means joyful or lively." She tried to resist giving a smile, but it became clear she was losing that battle. "I wanted her to grow up to bring life to a room at any moment with her exuberant personality. I had hopes for her to become as stylish as I had wanted to be, to succeed where...where I had failed...where...!" Her body began to shake. Neither Olive or Haruko said anything for a full minute. "Mandy is very stylish." Olive attempted to assure, an uneven smile gracing her face that she hoped Annabelle didn't notice. "In fact, she grew up with a fashion designer. A pony from another world known as Equestria. Her name is Rarity." Her smile slowly grew more genuine as she spoke. "She is the most generous soul you could ever meet, always putting others before herself. And like you, she too is a proper lady." Olive made sure to use present tense instead of past tense, in order to avoid upsetting Annabelle anymore. "Mandy works on clothes too, although she, um...does it more as a hobby than anything else. B-but she enjoys it, really!" Annabelle stopped shaking and fell still, her head bowed down. Although no one could see it, a small smile graced her lips as she thought of all the other wondrous things her daughter could be up to. Within those thoughts, she came to a decision. No...she came to many decisions. At once. "I see." Her head became raised again, and she made eye contact with Haruko. "Haruko, would you happen to know...exactly what happened to my daughter after she..." The sentence wasn't finished, but Haruko nodded anyway. "Certainly. Olive and I would both be more than happy to tell you the story, Annabelle, if you so desire." "Please." For the next few minutes, Haruko and Olive both reiterated the story of the horrific pienado incident and how Mandy had been found and rescued, with Olive filling in the gaps that Haruko had missed from spotty points in her memory of the events. They watched as Annabelle reacted in horror, relief, and joy as she got wind of her daughter having nearly been killed and then having been saved by someone she had treated with disdain only a short time ago. And then, sensing that the floodgates had been opened and things were improving, Olive decided to go a step further. She began telling stories of her experiences in raising Mandy, from taking her to all sorts of places to the trials and tribulations of potty-training to experimenting with all sorts of foods in an effort to find out which ones she liked (which, really, were all of them), and so much more. Hearing these anecdotes raised Annabelle's spirit considerably, though it was clear there were even more troubling things on her mind. "You feel upset because your time with Mandy would have been cut short due to your cancer diagnosis, don't you?" Olive's question was so specific that Haruko couldn't help but widen her eyes, even more so when Annabelle gave her answer. "I...y-yes." Clearly, Annabelle was just as surprised as her former spirit guardian. "I understand now that even if my daughter hadn't escaped, she would have grown up without a mother to care for her." Her sad gaze rested on Olive. "So in a way, perhaps her meeting you was...a stroke of fate?" Even though Annabelle edged her words into a question, Olive blinked a few times, having not considered that angle when it came to Mandy suddenly appearing from nowhere and then being rescued from harm. Slowly she nodded. "Maybe it was." "If it helps, Annabelle..." Haruko raised a tentative paw. "Why not travel outside of the Grasslands to meet Mandy yourself?" Annabelle shifted. "You know I haven't been outside of the Grasslands since I died, Haruko. It...it hurts too much." She squeezed her eyes shut. "What if I see Mandy? What would I even say to her? You...you've seen her many times, and so you're used to her. But me? I simply wouldn't even know where to start." Haruko exchanged a sympathetic glance with Olive before giving a warm smile to Annabelle. "Even though you are no longer human, Mandy will recognize you. I am sure of it. And if it is conversing with her you are worried about..." A soft chuckle bubbled forth. "I can assure you that she will have that more than covered." "Oh definitely. Once Mandy gets going, it's hard to stop her." Olive amusedly rolled her eyes. "Her personal record for 'Longest Public Speech Given' clocks in at about four hours. And she only stopped there because she was overdue for her daily nap." Olive's words served to ease Annabelle's worries, but also made her more and more curious as to how her daughter had grown up. She put on a brave smile. "I'll take both of your words for it." A deep breath, and she rose to a standing position. "All right. It's time for me to move forward. If I am being quite honest, staying within one place for ten years has not done many wonders for my mental health." She glanced at Haruko. "But, um, one question...can others...see me?" "Not outside of the Grasslands, unless you wish for them to. Even I cannot be seen by anyone other than Mandy when I traverse around." Annabelle nodded. "I see. In that case, Haruko...I would like for you to lead me to Mandy. You know her well, after all." "Hey!" "A-and you as well, Olive, of course!" Annabelle issued a bout of meek laughter to the Director. "Lead the way, both of you." As Olive and Haruko both stood and began their journey towards the border, where the Grasslands met the rest of the world, Olive couldn't help but wonder if there was something she forgot. Oh wait, now I know! I got here by teleportation. I have no idea where I'm being taken. But if I can get to the real world, surely there's a tube nearby that leads to 13579...and if there is, I can take Haruko and Annabelle with me. Problem solved! But even in spite of that realization, something within her gut told her that wasn't it, and so she was forced to have the gears in her mind turn as she continued to walk. Peaches and Mandy had decided to continue training in Trillium Park, in order to have more room than the stuffiness that Headquarters sometimes brought. "Mandy?" The hybrid blinked, but didn't turn her head back to a straight position from where she had it angled to her left. "Huh?" "Is there something I'm not seeing?" Peaches looked behind her. "You keep looking behind me, or to the left, or anywhere but at my face." "I'm...w-well..." Mandy blinked again. "I keep seeing this man. Around. It's like he knows me or something." She shook her head. "Ahh, it's prolly nothin'. Let's get back to the transformation teachings!" But the more Mandy went around town, the more she saw the same person. One second she would look, and the next second he would be gone, usually by way of a tree Mandy passed or by way of a car that drove by. It made chills go up her spine, and created an uneasy feeling in her gut. She had about half a mind to go to Oprah and demand that she do something about it, simply because she was about the closest thing Toronto had to a police chief. Finally, after hour upon hour of feeling utterly creeped out by how many times she saw him doing things around town, she decided to confront the man head-on. In spite of Peaches telling her not to soar into oncoming traffic, Mandy did so anyway and tackled the man, sending both combatants tumbling to the ground. "Awright, who do you think you are?! All you've been doin' is followin' me around town all day and starin' at me! If ya wanna talk to me then you'd better do it now before I send your butt hurlin' across the equator, you hear?! I'm in the middle of somethin' important so you'd better not waste my time with meaningless chitchat!" All the man could do in response was stammer and throw up his hands. "Mandy! Stop harassing him!" Peaches called, making sure no cars were coming from both lanes before freely jaywalking. "And get off of him, you're ruining his shirt!" "But Peeeeeeach, this guy's been a big old creepazoid all day! If he wants to talk to me then talk to me! What's the big deal?!" "You don't know his story!" Peaches sighed and grabbed Mandy by the torso. "Sir, let me apologize for her behavior. She's a little energetic and tends to act on impulse..." She tried to free one of her hands to help the man up, but couldn't, and so she was forced to settle for a smile. "Are you okay?" "I-I'm..." The man rose slowly to his feet. "I'm fine." He brushed off his shirt and his pants. "I should apologize as well. It's just that...she reminds me of someone I knew." He looked up. Stared into Peaches' eyes. If it weren't for the pedestrians and the vehicles passing by them, ponies and people alike, the minutes-long silence would have been deafening. The sensation of a thrashing Mandy brought Peaches back to reality. "Mandy, stop. If I set you down, promise not to tackle this guy again." "Okay, okay, but I think your hand's crushin' my spleen!" Sighing, Peaches set her cousin down onto the ground and went back to gazing at the man. "I'm sorry, do I...know you?" "I'd know those faces anywhere." Peaches tilted her head. "Mind elaborating?" "You're Peaches and..." The man paused for a few seconds. "...Mandy?" Ignoring the pitiful moan of a Mandy whose body was in the process of re-forming a spleen, Peaches nodded. "I am...and she is..." she hesitantly responded. "Can we help you?" "Ha...well, I might as well come out and say it. Please, try not to freak out." Of course, in the mental home of Peaches, all of the red sirens and warning signs were sounding. She braced herself for what was to come, gritting her teeth and trying to steady her breathing. "I'm your father." A final wheeze from Mandy as she looked up at the man with bugged-out blue eyes. Peaches had the same reaction, only more verbal. "...What." "I'm your father. Both of yours." More silence. Mandy being Mandy, she decided to crack the tension with an icebreaker. "...C-can I have fries and a DNA test with that, please?" The man simply furrowed his brows in confusion. "Please, I know this is sudden, but I'd like to invite you both to my house for a drink. We can get things straightened out there." "Can I see your criminal record?" "Mandy!" Peaches, momentarily free from the shock she had been experiencing, elbowed her cousin. "Don't be rude!" "Whaaaaaat? We don't know this guy, Peach! For all we know he could kitnap us! Kidnap us! Kit-kidnap us!" "I...Mandy, no. I'm...I'm getting this feeling. A feeling of familiarity." Peaches clenched and unclenched her hands a few times. "I think we should follow him. Besides, we could use a break from all the training we've been doing." Mandy's mouth pinched inwards. "Fine. But maybe, just maybe, I won't save you if he decides to do whatever bad thing he's gonna do to us. Maybe." Something told the man that his daughter, as...strange as she was, wasn't about to be easily swayed into believing the truth -- which was rather understandable in his eyes, given what he had just told them. "If you would just follow me." he urged, beginning to walk away. A curious Peaches and a very hesitant Mandy followed suit. About twenty minutes of walking later, and Peaches, Mandy, and the man stood in front of a tan-colored one-story house, right in the middle of a community that, to all of them, had the feel of a tight-knit neighborhood. "Please, come in." The man approached the front door with keys in hand, unlocking it and opening it. "Feel free to sit anywhere you'd like." Mandy was the first to zip on up and examine the house's interior, only after thoroughly examining the exterior and taking pictures. She began to snap photos of the interior as well, keeping her eyes squinted and not paying attention to the man and Peaches walking in. As Peaches got settled in a recliner and the man sat on the couch, the latter glanced at Mandy. "Are you sure you wouldn't like a chair?" "Don't bother me, I'm takin' pictures." Peaches heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Privacy is a lost virtue on you." "So's trust, clearly." "Uh, so!" The man clapped his hands together. "I might as well start by introducing myself. My name is Kieran, and I've been living here in Toronto for...pretty much all of my life." He gestured to the area. "I only recently moved into this home after my wife and I divorced." "You're divorced?" Peaches asked. "What happened?" Kieran's eyes moved from side to side. "Um..." He twiddled his fingers. "Before I get to that, perhaps I should repeat myself. I'm your father, Peaches. I'm...also Mandy's father." Now the shock began to push its way forth in Peaches again. "I-I'm sorry, this...it's just hard to believe. We're cousins." "No, more than that. You and...Mandy are sisters." Kieran smiled. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to Mandy's name. She wasn't always called that, you know." "Oh?" "Oh!" Kieran got up with a lot more effort than it should have taken a man of his age to get up, giving a hefty grunt. "I'm so sorry, where are my manners? I forgot to ask you two if you'd like something to eat or drink. I have some cheese and crackers in the kitchen, and I have all sorts of drinks too." "I'll take some cheese and crackers. And just water is fine." "And for you, Mandy?" "Get me whatever, I'm busy!" The voice came from somewhere inside the house -- Kieran placed it as being in the bathroom. A few minutes later, some cheese and crackers, along with three glasses of water, were set on the table. Peaches eagerly went for a piece of cheese and a cracker, popping it into her mouth. "Is it good?" Peaches nodded. "Good." Kieran took a deep breath. "Anyway, as I was saying, Mandy wasn't always called Mandy. And you...you weren't always called Peaches." Luckily, Peaches took the time to swallow her snack before she spoke. "I...r-really? You don't say!" She put on a lopsided grin. "Uh, what...what were our names, exactly?" "You were going to be Mercy. And Mandy was going to be Allegra." Peaches' mouth turned into a frown as her nose wrinkled. "Mercy?" She blinked. "I, uh, think I'll stick with Peaches. Mercy is...well, it doesn't really sit with me. Though I guess it fits with the naming theme of Vallea...somewhat..." Hearing the name of the town made Kieran's eyes widen, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Mandy came storming into the living room, grabbing a few slices of cheese and a few crackers in her telekinetic field. "Mandy, where are you going?" "To Toronto General, cuz." "And why are you going there?" "I want to see if Kieran..." Mandy spat out the name with as much venom as she could pump into it. "...is really my dad or not. If I can get ahold of some info, then-" "You could just look it up online." Mandy paused. Considered it for a moment. Then nodded. "All right. Then I'm goin' back to Odd Squad." "Nonsense!" Kieran waved a hand. "I have a computer in my bedro-" Within five seconds, Mandy was in and out, laptop bag in hand. She quickly set up the device, turned it on, and got to work punching the keys into a search engine, Peaches sitting beside her on the couch. "Ah, yes. 'Birth, Marriage and Death Records in Ontario', less'see..." Mandy clicked on the search result and promptly groaned when the first thing that popped up was a link to The Ontario Name Index. Still, she clicked on it, punched in Kieran's first name as well as the year he was born and his location once she retrieved it, and waited. After about five minutes, his name popped up. "This you?" Kieran studied the result. "Yeah, that's me." Mandy clicked. Read the result. Widened her eyes as one particular thing caught her eye. KIERAN CURRENTLY SURVIVED BY: Felicity, Peaches (daughters) There was more beyond that, but her brain forced her to stop before she got past the "survived by his daughters" bit. Her mouth ran dry as she flashed back to the nightmare that the Dream Weaver had planted in her brain. That woman, holding her baby tight, leaving her to go to a fancy party...the Dream Weaver telling her that it had been dug out from the darkest depths of her mind. At the time, Mandy hadn't believed her. Why would she, when she had twisted her mind to make Olive and everyone else enemies who had brutally assaulted her? Who was to say that the illusion of that woman and her baby wasn't just that, a kind of twisted version of who Mandy's mother actually was? But now...Mandy knew. That particular illusion was no mere illusion. It was real, right down to the name. She had been watching herself in infancy. She read the text on the computer over and over again, unable to comprehend it. It wasn't just the fact that she had realized the man sitting next to her was really, truly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, her real father -- it was the fact that she had realized the catgirl sitting next to her was really, truly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, her sister. We were never cousins. We were never cousins. We were never cousins. All this time...she's been my...m-my... She looked from Kieran to Peaches and back again. Peaches in particular looked to be in a similar amount of shock from what was displayed onscreen, though she still looked like she had a head on her. Mandy's, however, had metaphorically rolled on down to The Lone Star State and set up a house to retire in. My name...my name's not even Mandy. It was really Felicity. I...w-what...who... Slowly, the hybrid glanced down at her hands. Her breathing came in quick bursts, a sign that she was just on the edge of having a panic attack that could only come about as a reaction that most people would have. A shame Mandy wasn't "most people". With her eyes rolling up in her head, she slumped forward, her head colliding with the table before it, along with the rest of her body, hit the floor and bounced a little ways like a basketball on the last fringes of its life. "Oh God!" Kieran quickly knelt down. "A-are you okay?!" "She'll be fine." Peaches said, breaking her concentration to gaze at Kieran. "She just fainted from shock." "I'll put her in my room." As Kieran scooped Mandy up, gave a groan as he underestimated how heavy she was, and carried her to his bed, Peaches rubbed her head as her mind began swirling with thoughts -- about how her name had been Mercy, about how she was Mandy's sister, about how her memories of growing up in Vallea had lined up with the realization that King Ashero had lied about her true origins. She felt a headache begin to grow, and she took another cheese-and-cracker snack in an attempt to try and lessen its pain. She was so deep within her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Kieran walk into the living room, mouthing words that she didn't understand. "Huh?" "Oh, I said I just laid Mandy down. Do you know...how long she's going to be out for?" "Who knows." Peaches said hurriedly. "But forget about her. I need to know more about...all this. I want to get things straight." "Okay." Kieran sat down next to her. "Why don't I start from when my wife was pregnant?" Peaches nodded, and Kieran began to explain his side of things. I had always wanted a child to call my own. I wanted to grow the family, to have a fresh face around the house. But most of all, I wanted a child that I could send to Odd Squad -- the organization I had heard about, the one who saved the world on a daily basis and protected all of us from harm. I wanted a child that could do the same thing, a child that I could be proud of. I tried dropping hints of this to my wife, but she didn't seem to realize it. Eventually, she took a pregnancy test and...I found out I was going to be a dad. I was more than overjoyed, especially when I found out that she was growing two new lives inside of her. We went all out in buying stuff for you and your sister, the highest-quality stuff we could afford. The nine months of waiting was pure agony, even more so when we came to the collective decision that we wouldn't name you two right away because we wanted to pick out the best names. I remember being there, the day you were born. Hearing you and your sister's shrill cries after those of my wife had died down was incredible. Dr. Burke, who had been treating us, approved of our decision to not name you on the spot, but told us we would need to do so within two weeks. That was more than enough time for me, because it gave me the opportunity to really think of the lives I wanted you two to lead. I knew my wife disapproved of Odd Squad and the kids who worked for it. But that didn't stop me. We had disagreements that ended in truces...at least, up until you two were born. After that, we argued constantly. My stress levels rose. Neither one of us changed our minds -- instead, we only kept sticking by what we said, even when we went to drop you off in Vallea. Finally, I had enough. Before the two-week deadline was up, I went to the hospital and gave the doctors your names, Felicity and Peaches. They put it on the certificates and made it official, and I thought that even though I hadn't told my wife, that would be the end of it. Until I had been relaxing on my day off from work and heard the door slam open. It was one of the worst arguments I ever had with my wife, but I don't have any regrets about what I said. She had procrastinated on giving the doctors names, and when she left, she didn't even stop to think about you two. I, however, looked for Felici- er, Mandy when she disappeared, and I looked constantly. When I wasn't at work or dealing with the aftermath of the divorce, I was looking for her. One day, I woke up, prepared myself for another day of sales, and convinced myself that Mandy was never coming back. She was dead, and that was it. I was waiting for a knock on my door that never came. I remember falling into a deep depression after that, and my doctor prescribed me antidepressants. That's what I've been holding onto all these years. "Wait, wait." Peaches held a hand up. "What was that? After 'we argued constantly'?" "We dropped you off in Vallea." Kieran paused to taste the name on his tongue. "Do you...not remember?" Peaches shook her head. "I...n-no. I mean...yes?" She blinked. "I was fed lie after lie by King Ashero about my origins. It wasn't until I eavesdropped on him and his idiotic assistant that I learned the truth." Her eyes began to water. "So the couple that dropped me off...that was you and your wife?" "Yes. Believe it or not, some of my ancestors are catpeople, and I had heard about Vallea from them." Kieran closed the laptop in an effort to save the power of the built-in battery. "So when you were born, I decided to leave you there, in order to give you a better life that Toronto could not." He frowned. "It seems that didn't pan out the way I expected, huh?" Peaches sighed. "Not in the slightest. I was mocked, bullied and ostracized by all of the townspeople." she reiterated. "And then, when I was exiled under the guise of finding out who burned the town down, I met Mandy, and we became friends." She stopped and tapped her chin in thought. "Or I guess...'reunited with Mandy' would be a better way to put it." "Vallea burned down?" "Yeah. The damage was pretty bad. But I'm willing to bet they've rebuilt a lot of it by now." The conversation came to a lull as Kieran absorbed the information. After a few minutes, he nodded. "I see. I'm really sorry that happened to you, Peaches. You don't deserve that." "Oh, don't worry about it." Peaches waved a dismissive hand and smirked. "Ashero will get what's coming to him eventually. I, for one, am hoping it'll be by Mandy's hands." Kieran nodded in agreement. "Believe me, my ancestors were told enough bad things about Ashero. It's time he goes." Right then and there, the conversation died down again, and stayed that way for far more than a few minutes. More than one glance was shot towards the bedroom. "So, uh...why don't you tell me what you've been up to all these years? I'm sure you have lots of stories to share." Peaches perked up at the opportunity, eagerly nodded. "All right. When I ran into Mandy for the first time in years..." "She WHAAAAAT?!" The angry bellow shook the castle walls, but did not do so much as rattle the guards, who stayed as firm and as rigid as ever. It did, however, rattle the multicolor-haired catgirl standing before her leader. "She...she went with this man. Said that he was her father." A loud creaking sound produced a groan that bounced throughout the room. "I cannot believe it. She found out about her origins!" the tyrant roared. "Oh, I should have killed those humans while I had the chance...!" "Um...King Ashero?" "What?" The catgirl flinched. "S-should we...kill...Peaches?" "Absolutely not. You...peasants killing Peaches is forbidden." Ashero gave a derisive snort. "She shall be killed by my paws and my paws alone." "I...see..." Ashero fell silent, contemplating his next move. The air only grew more and more ominous for the next minute or so as his mind swam with ideas. "All right." He slowly opened his eyes. "So perhaps Peaches has figured out her true origins. But there is still the matter of her treachery at hand. If we can kill her, absolutely nothing of value will be lost." A smirk began to form. "And that poor pitiful half-breed, all of her pathetic friends, will be grieving, in such vulnerable states that it will be easy to capture them and kill them all." "B-but Your Majesty, I thought...we were just killing Peaches and Mandy." Ashero's eyebrow raised. "Did you not hear my announcement yesterday, Rine?" His smirk flipped upside down. "My goals have shifted. If we are to capture and kill Peaches and Mandy, we mustn't stop at just them. We mustn't stop at just Olive and Otto." His eyes narrowed. "We stop at all of them. Those tiny horses, that bun-haired brat. All of them need to perish from this world, for the safety of me and my subjects!" Rine shivered. "And of course...how could I forget?" Ashero's furry tail-tip flicked. "Dare I say we have two new contenders to deal with?" "Y-you mean...Peaches' parents?" "Yes." Ashero grinned. "If we can eliminate them, then Vallea will finally be at peace." As his rip-roaring malicious laugh echoed through the quarters, ideas began forming in his mind for just how, exactly, he was going to take said parents down. The solution was, of course, right in front of him. The solution was sent out almost immediately without question or hesitation. The solution would get the job done, and he knew it. After all, to not get it done would result in swift and painful execution, and none of his fellow townsfo- subjects wanted that. If he were so inclined, maybe, just maybe, he would oversee the execution himself, right in Toronto. Olive wasn't really sure how long it took to get to Precinct 13579 from the Magical Grasslands, mainly because her mental stopwatch had died unceremoniously about a quarter of the way into the journey. But she supposed that didn't matter, given that she had already bounced from the precinct to Trillium Park with no sign of Mandy. "Oh, is this her favorite park?" the sparkling celestial form of Annabelle asked, looking around at all of the people and ponies hanging out within it. "It looks just as lovely as I remember it." "Huh. Oprah said she and Peaches were here." Olive mused. "Maybe they moved somewhere else." Haruko closed her eyes, not saying anything for a few moments. "Are you thinking about something, Haruko?" "No. I am attempting to feel for Mandy's current state." A soft gasp left her maw. "She is...she..." And then, they closed again. "Ah. She is at peace now." Annabelle sharply jerked her head towards Haruko. "What do you mean, she is at peace now? She wasn't at peace before?" "She was in a state of unconsciousness. But I can..." Haruko paused. "I can sense that she is alive and asleep." Olive's eyebrows furrowed. "How...if someone faints, they can't just go from..." She blinked. "But Mandy can. Of course. Only Mandy." "What?!" The word was practically a scream, befitting of a mother who had lost her child once and didn't want to lose her again. "What happened?!" "Mandy fainted. From there, she transitioned from being unconscious to being asleep. Like..." Olive bit her lip. "Like someone opened up her head and poured a big bucket of dreams in it, I guess?" "But why did she faint?" Annabelle looked around, desperate for an exit. "Ohhh, we simply must find her! I must know she's okay!" "Annabelle, please, do calm down. Panicking will not help us find Mandy." Haruko urged. "Perhaps it is possible that some of the citizens have seen her." Olive shook her head. "Better idea. Have you heard of a little device called a 'cellphone', Haruko?" Which was, of course, the easy way out of the entire predicament, as Peaches managed to pick up after only four ringback tones. "Um...hello?" "Peaches? It's Olive. Where are you right now?" "I...uh...it's a little hard to answer right now. Why?" Olive shot a wink at Annabelle and Haruko before continuing. "We're trying to find Mandy and we don't know where she is. She was with you, so we were thinking maybe you could help us out." "Oh." Peaches gave a breathy anxiety-filled chuckle. "Um, and why are you trying to find her, exactly?" Olive felt the sweat bead form, and then felt it roll down her face. "If I tell you, it's going to be in-person and when you're sitting down." A pause. "Yeah, you know what? Same here." Peaches' laughter sounded almost unhinged and forced, like someone was literally beating the laughs right out of her with a club. "We're, uh, at The View Pointe. It's a little community of apartments. 12 Bellow Avenue." "If you let Mandy rent an apartment, then you and I are going to have words." "She's not getting an apartment!" Peaches sighed. "Just...come here. There's a lot to discuss." The catgirl hung up, leading Olive to snap her badge phone closed and clip it to her suit. "Haruko, you wouldn't happen to know where Bellow Avenue is?" A moment of thought. "It sounds rather familiar..." "Or The View Pointe?" And then a nod. "Ah, yes. I remember passing by that at some point." "Great! Lead the way!" As Annabelle, Haruko and Olive walked down Bellow Avenue, the former couldn't stop the nervous aura that began to radiate from her. "Are you nervous, Annabelle?" Annabelle moved her head towards Haruko, who had saddled up beside her. "Perhaps a little. I'm more than willing to take your word and that of Olive's about Mandy being quite a conversationalist, but my anxiety hasn't completely left me." She looked straight ahead. "I just feel like something is going to happen, and I can't tell what, exactly." "I see." Haruko nodded. "In whatever case, Olive and I shall be by your side to support you." "Thank you." Reaching 12 Bellow Avenue was an easy feat, especially when the numbers plastered on the fronts of the apartments were all made out of red LED lighting. Olive decided to take the liberty of ringing the doorbell. It was a rather long ten-note tune, one that echoed through the ears of everyone, but even its pleasantness didn't remove the awkward tension that came from waiting. And waiting. And waiting. The door opened, though neither Peaches nor Mandy were on the other end. "Oh, M-Ms. O! Er, sorry, I mean...uh...w-whatever your name is." "Just Olive is fine, sir." "Right. Anyway, how can I help you, Olive?" "Well, I'm here with Ha-" She stopped. Blinked. Looked to her right. And came to the sudden realization that the man standing in front of her couldn't see neither Haruko nor Annabelle. "I'm here alone..." Olive mentally slapped herself for how weak that amendment was. "...to get a few people I know. Peaches and Mandy." "Oh! Yeah, I have them right here. Please, come in." Olive did so, and was immediately met with a view of Peaches sitting on the couch politely, giving her a smile. "Olive! Oh, you made it." Peaches stood up. "I was worried you wouldn't find us." "...I have a GPS built into my tablet. Also I've lived here for longer than you have." A pause. "Really now? Aha...ha..." Peaches put on a lopsided grin. "Um, anyway, I figure you want to see where Mandy is." She glanced at the man. "Ki- I- I mean Dad...is it okay if I give Olive a peek into your room?" "Go ahead." Peaches had actively avoided slipping up, but it was made quite clear that Olive had noticed -- and not that the catgirl knew, but so did Haruko. Annabelle, on the other hand, simply stared at Kieran in wordless shock, her mouth running dry as she became at a loss for what to say. With her standing rigid, Haruko, Peaches and Olive decided to head to the bedroom. A loud muffled snore pierced through the door. "How many decibels is that?" Peaches asked. "Well, if I had to venture a guess..." Olive paused. "I'd say it's almost equal to a jet plane taking o-" She paused again. Turned around. Looked through the entire room. Laid eyes on Kieran. Proceeded to glance at the door to the bedroom and at Kieran, struggling to decide what to tackle first. Ultimately decided to go for Mandy first, if only to alleviate some of the shock she was feeling. Heaving a sigh, Olive opened the door, and was immediately met with what was perhaps one of the most undignified portrayals of a sleeping Mandy she had ever seen. The hybrid, lying stomach-side down on a pillow, had given a hearty goodbye to a majority of the sheets, her body sprawled out and positioned in a way only befitting that of a chalk outline of a contortionist. The snores she gave were wall-cracking, though surprisingly not in the literal sense, as drool poured from her mouth and onto the bed. And to the trio's relief, she was in her usual form. "She hasn't shapeshifted, has she?" Olive asked of Peaches. "Nope. She's been like this since she fainted." "And exactly why did she faint?" Peaches blinked. "Ahh...um...it's related to that thing I have to tell you. If you could sit on the couch?" "Mmmrrrrrr...Momma, I love you..." Olive stared at her daughter, then looked at Annabelle. Going by the way she was still watching Kieran in shock, she didn't seem to process Mandy's sleep-talk, which was a shame because if the Director was being honest, she would have liked to see her reaction. Still, she closed the door and moved towards the couch as Peaches instructed, taking a seat beside her. "Kieran- uh, Dad?" Peaches glanced at the man. "There's someone you should...um...meet. Personally." "Hi. Kieran, right? You must be Mandy's...real...father." Olive wore a lopsided grin as she stuck her hand out. "I'm Olive, Mandy's adoptive mother." Haruko watched with concern as the pair shook hands, the awkwardness and tension between them getting under her fur more than she'd care to admit. "So you're the one who's been taking care of my daughter all these years, huh?" Kieran said. "It's nice to finally meet you." "Likewise!" Silence, until a shimmering noise brought everyone's attention to Annabelle. "Kieran?" came the soft voice. "Can you see me?" Going by the man's shocked expression, it was obvious he didn't need to give any verbal answer. Regardless, a single name slipped from his lips. "A-Annabelle?" "Oh my God." Annabelle's eyes began to water. "I-it's...it...I can't believe it." Just as suddenly, her eyes narrowed. "Why do you have my daughters?" "You mean daughter? Singular? Because we dropped off one daughter." Kieran's eyes narrowed in kind. "You abandoned the other one." "And you let her escape!" "But look who's taking care of her!" Annabelle stammered. "Y-y-yeah, well...she did a fine job...but still!" "Look, all you need to know is that I saw Peaches and Mandy around town and thought they looked familiar. So I invited them to my house for some food and drinks, and I told them the truth." Kieran explained. "I told them that I was their father." "And what of their mother?" Kieran had no rebuttal to that. He glanced at Peaches, who was staring at both of them wordlessly -- whatever Annabelle had done to reveal herself to Kieran had worked on the catgirl as well, but it was unclear how, exactly, she was taking the news of a kitsune being her mother. Annabelle gave a hmpf noise. "I thought so. Did you also tell them they were sisters?" "...Yeah." This got a groan. "Well! Then I suppose I shall have to take the liberty of telling them the other truth myself, hmm?" As Annabelle approached Peaches, the catgirl felt behind her for the couch, and exhaled in relief when her rump met the cushion. "So...y-you're...my mother?" "Yes. I am your mother, as well as Kieran's ex-wife." "So you're the one who dropped me off in Vallea?" Annabelle nodded. Peaches gripped the end of her skirt, looking down at the floor. She wasn't sure what to say first. "I am not a kitsune." Annabelle assured, or at least tried to. "Unfortunately, I am also not alive. I...had a rather arduous battle with cancer." Peaches lifted her head and stared into the green eyes that were full of remorse and sadness. Her own eyes became filled with the same emotions. "I'm so sorry." was the only thing she could say. "Thank you." Annabelle looked at Olive and Haruko, the latter of whom couldn't be seen by Peaches. "With Olive's and Haruko's help, I have been able to begin moving on. I want..." Her mouth ran dry for a minute. "I want to spend all the time with you that I can. You and Mandy both. While I am able to appear to you." Haruko opened her mouth to tell her the whole deal surrounding that kind of power, but closed it a second later, not wanting to ruin the moment. "And as for you..." Annabelle turned to Kieran and sighed in defeat. "I suppose continuing our spat even through my death is a rather fruitless endeavor. I'm still unhappy that you went behind my back to give the doctor names for our daughters that I never approved of..." She closed her eyes. "But there is no changing them now." "Actually..." Olive chimed in. "Mandy's juggling three different names now." "And it was her realizing that she had been named Felicity that made her faint to begin with." Peaches added. "I don't know how she's going to feel if she realizes that she has a third name. And I don't know which name she's going to choose to keep." She gestured towards the laptop and the table it sat on, which had been moved to the left end of the couch. "So it looks like you and Kieran are going to have a form to fill out." Everyone's gazes moved towards the door of the bedroom. Kieran's moved to the clock after a minute. "So when is Mandy going to wake up, again?" An hour later, Mandy stumbled out of the bedroom, a yawn slipping from her mouth. "Mm, wow, was that a good sleep! That bed feels so nice and homely. Best rest I've ever gotten!" She stared at the group that had gathered in the living room. The members of said group stared back. "Y'know, if ya wanted to have a party, the least you could've done was invite me." "Mandy?" Annabelle took a few cautious steps forward. "It's...is it really you?" Mandy glanced at the kitsune that had stopped at the end of the couch. She tilted her head. "Yeah? Who're you?" "My name is Annabelle. I'm your mother." A pause as thick as cake batter hung in the room. Mandy took a step back. "Y-you...you're..." "I am also Kieran's ex-wife. Unfortunately deceased." Mandy wasn't sure how to respond. She settled for a bite of her lower lip. "Please, don't be alarmed. I only wish to talk." The shock that radiated throughout Mandy's body pushed itself aside to make room for dread. Oh. Right. I was looking up Kieran online and then I saw I was named Felicity...and I... She looked at her hands. What happened to me? "You fainted." Peaches responded, having heard Mandy's thought being voiced aloud. "And then you fell asleep." Mandy's eyes drifted to Olive and to Haruko, staring at her with concern. And then she looked at the strange kitsune who called herself Annabelle and claimed to be her mother. If she was being honest, it was starting to become overwhelming. Too overwhelming. "Please, sit on the couch. I have much I would like to discuss with you." Wordlessly, but still very much wanting to cry, Mandy trudged towards the couch and sat. She watched as Annabelle moved to do the same. "Kieran...is this really your wife? Is...is this really my mother?" The question had slipped out without the hybrid's consent. Regardless, the man already had an answer. "Ex-wife, yes. We were married for five years." Mandy buried her face in her hands. "Mandy?" Haruko came and sat on the other side of the hybrid. "I do not know if you received the full story from Kieran, but I would like to tell you it regardless. I have already told Olive, and of course I feel you have every right to know as well." She placed a gentle paw on the hybrid's knee. "This is all very overwhelming for you, is it not?" She didn't answer for a minute or two, just stared at Haruko like she didn't comprehend the question. She supposed answering it would be better than running off to cry and holing herself up in her room like she wanted to and inadvertently worrying everyone, and perhaps talking to Haruko would relieve her of her worries. She nodded. "I sympathize." Haruko slightly tilted her head. "Perhaps you were not quite as ready to find out your true origins as I had thought you were. But setting that aside..." She smiled. "I would like for you to know that you have options, Mandy. You have the freedom and autonomy to choose from those options. And of course, I am here to help you if you need it." Something in her spirit guardian's words -- Mandy wasn't sure what -- opened up the floodgates in her brain that cut off communication with her mouth. "It's just so surreal, I mean Peach is my sister and Annabelle's my real mom and Kieran's my real dad and them breaking up because of a name change and I don't know if I'm ever gonna get to be around Momma again because they prolly want me to come live with them and maybe they'll take Peach back too but I really don't wanna go and I wanna stay with Mommaaaaaa!" The sound of a pitiful wail filled the room, but quickly became muffled as Mandy buried her face into Haruko's chest and cried. Even in the kitsune's sparkling form, she still had substance to her that allowed Mandy to seek physical comfort in her instead of phasing past her. With this power, she wrapped a paw and a leg around Mandy's back, allowing her to cry for as long as she needed to. No one said anything. Annabelle and Kieran exchanged worried glances, while Olive and Peaches moved to hug and comfort Mandy. "I don't wanna go..." "And you do not have to." Haruko murmured. "If you wish to stay with Mo- er, Olive..." A small blush crept on her cheeks for a moment. "...then you are more than welcome to." A hiccup, and then a sniffle. "R-really?" "Really." Olive smiled. "You're a part of Odd Squad, Mandy. You're a part of me. I'm not gonna cast you out just because you found your real parents." Peaches' heart began to warm, as her own worries about the future began to slowly ebb away. Had she let them fully consume her, she would have been no better off than Mandy, but thanks to her more mature sense of self, she still stood. "Me being your sister, Annabelle and Kieran being my real mom and dad, me being abandoned in Vallea...it all comes as a great shock to me too. I mean, who'd have thought?" She gave a soft chuckle. "But then I realized something. All that just means we can be closer than ever." Mandy took in a broken inhale of air, lifted herself up, and stared at Haruko. The frown, however, remained on her face when she looked at Annabelle and Kieran. She had no idea what was going through their heads, and it scared her. In actuality, both of their hearts were hurting from how tormented their daughter was, how distraught she was over having to make so many decisions, how they would have to give her up and let her lead the life she had come to know and love. The same went for Peaches, as well, though she didn't seem as worried as her sister. "Mandy..." Kieran spoke up first. "I'd...we'd...like to ask you a question." Annabelle smiled. "What would you like to do?" Six words. Six words that granted Mandy all the independence she could ever want. She had been asked the question quite a few times, though that was usually when she was bored or when she was given a choice of cases instead of having one seemingly at random plopped into her hands. Now, it came with the context of "in the midst of my real family being uncovered, what do I want to do with my life?" What would she choose? Did she want to continue living and working at Headquarters, just like she had been? Did she really want to live with her parents, and continue to work for Odd Squad? Did she want to retire and live a peaceful life with her parents? The third option made her shudder in fear. No way that was happening anytime soon. Maybe when she got gray hairs, creaky joints, and a cane, but that was a long ways away. The second option seemed more plausible, but something residing innately within her made her feel weird about it. Like it wasn't normal. Like it was a crafted fantasy of what adults thought Odd Squad agents did when she knew none of it was true. The first option... She glanced at Peaches. At Olive. At Haruko. She wanted to stay with all of them. She wanted to live with them. She wanted them to come to her wedding, her childbirth, her funeral. They had loved her, and she had loved them. She couldn't just say goodbye to them. A painful lump formed in her throat as her gaze came to rest on her real parents. "D-do you promise you won't get mad? No matter what?" "We promise." Annabelle assured. Mandy looked deep into her eyes. She looked at Kieran's, even through his nodding head. They both told her one thing. They were being genuine, through every word and every syllable. She tried to swallow the lump. It remained. Tears began to fill her eyes again. She tried to blink them away. "O...kay. Okay." She sniffled, and made as much eye contact with both of them as her two eyeballs would allow without drifting out of alignment. "I..." A comforting hand rubbed her back. She didn't bother to look back to see who it was. "I want...I want to keep living in Odd Squad." Silence. Though to her, it might as well be the ominous equivalent to deathly screeching. She waited for them to say something. Anything. All they did was look at each other in a way she couldn't describe. It sickened her. "Whatever you wish." Annabelle said. "If you want to live in Odd Squad, then you're more than welcome to." Kieran added. The nausea went away, slowly but surely. Relief began flowing through her. "Y-you...do you mean it? The truth? The whole truth?" "And absolutely nothing but the truth." Kieran gave a pleasant smile. "Just make sure to visit us often. Say...once a week?" "I-it's just...Odd Squad's always been my home. It's where I was raised and it's where I grew up. It's...I can't imagine..." "Mandy." Annabelle took a step forward. "You don't have to justify your decision. Whatever you choose to do is just fine with us." She took a few more steps forward, hopped up onto the couch, and raised a paw to wipe her daughter's tears away. Surprisingly, the act of doing so worked the same way anyone would wipe someone else's tears away, instead of phasing right through Mandy. "Please, do not cry, sweetie. It hurts me to see you cry. To see tears stain this beautiful face...the face of my little girl..." Mouth going dry, Mandy gave a shaky gasp. Such talk, the words like "sweetie" and "honey" and all the nicknames parents gave their children, was rare for her to hear, in part because Olive wasn't the maternal type. She was the type to vomit in her mouth if an adult so much as called her "dear". Over the years, Mandy hadn't really minded it, because Olive expressed her love in many other ways to make up for it, but hearing the words from her birth mother made her realize just how much of a deficiency she had growing up. Annabelle had asked her not to cry. Mandy did so anyway. She cried, and scooped up Annabelle in a hug, burying her face in her fur like she had done with Haruko's and sobbing. It warmed her heart to hear the words now. She couldn't see it, but Annabelle's face morphed into one of surprise, and stayed that way for a few moments before she closed her eyes, smiled, and brought a leg up to wrap around Mandy's backside. The pair stayed like that for several minutes. Kieran, Peaches, Haruko and Olive all watched with pleasant smiles on their faces. Finally, when Mandy's body quaked with the last sob, she pulled away and dried her own tears. "I..." She swallowed some saliva that had stuck to the roof of her mouth. "I'm sorry, i-it's just..." A sniffle. "...those words you used, I..." A hiccup. "I never heard them." Annabelle blinked and gazed at Olive. "Never?" "I-In my defense..." Olive held her hands up. "When I rescued her, I didn't know anything about being a mother. I had to look things up on the Internet, read all sorts of books...and..." She awkwardly shuffled her feet. "I'm not really...the type to enjoy being called 'sweetie' and all that. But I loved her all the same, in my own...special way?" The look in Annabelle's eyes was unidentifiable, but her words did most of the talking when it came to her emotions. "I see. Each and every parent has their own ways of raising a child, I suppose." A warm feeling overtook Mandy's back, and she turned to the window to find the sun setting. "Oh, it's getting dark already. What time is it?" Olive pulled back her sleeve to check her watch. "6 o' clock." She looked up. "We should get going. Odd knows you don't want to miss dinner." "Wait!" Mandy stretched out a hand. "Do me a favor?" "Hmm?" "Go back...go back to Headquarters and tell Oprah that..." Mandy squeezed her eyes shut, the brevity of her decision weighing in her mind. "Tell her that I'm staying here for a week. I'm taking another vacation." Peaches' eyes widened at the proposal of her cousin -- no, her sister -- taking another vacation. "Another one? What for?" "Because I wanna spend all the time I can with...Mom and Dad." The words tasted weird on Mandy's tongue. "I can't do that if I'm working for most of the day." She glanced at said mom and dad. "Is...is that okay with you two? Will there be room?" Kieran smiled. "Of course! It's a two-bedroom house, so I can set up the guest bedroom for you to sleep in." "Can I stay too?" Peaches offered. "I...um..." Her glance at Mandy was brief. "Actually, uh...yeah, I'd like to spend time with you two as well." The sweat on the catgirl's face was obvious. However, no one seemed to have caught on, and if they did, no one said anything. "Sure!" Kieran glanced at the other bedroom, which was located next to the one Mandy had slept in. "You two can share a room." "All right! Roomies!" Her energy having suddenly been brought back, Mandy threw her hands into the air. "C'mon, Peach, I gotta go pack! You gotta go pack! We gotta go pack!" "Haha...yeah...yeah I do." Peaches' eyes bulged, her gaze growing into a thousand-yard stare. "Yeah I do..." This out-of-character moment was one that most everyone in the room did pick up on. Still no one commented. Peaches and Mandy quickly said goodbye to Olive, Haruko, Annabelle and Kieran and rushed out of the house to the nearest tube entrance. Olive was the first to react with a sigh. "Something's up with Peaches." She got up. "I'd better go see what it is." "And Annabelle?" Haruko eyed the other kitsune. "I believe it is time we leave for the Magical Grasslands. I would like to make it back before dark." "Huh? Oh! Yes." Annabelle chuckled. "When we get back, perhaps you can answer some questions about this...form?" "Of course." With that, Olive, Annabelle and Haruko all left, leaving only Kieran alone in his own home as he gave a happy sigh and moved towards the kitchen to get started on cooking dinner. Unfortunately for Olive, she wasn't quick in making it back to Precinct 13579's Headquarters, meaning that she couldn't talk to Oprah about Mandy's impromptu vacation and then talk to Peaches. It had to be the other way around, and the Director could only hope she could talk to her senior in the department before she left for the day. For now, though, she decided to get ahold of Peaches before she and Mandy left. She peered into the catgirl's room, where she had a lot more than just one suitcase packed. Olive counted three on the bed alone, all of them appearing to have come from Rarity. "Peaches?" The catgirl, with hair and tail sticking straight upwards and completely bushed, gave a startled yowl as she turned around, jumping a foot or so into the air and staring at who had disturbed her. "O-Olive! Don't do that!" "Sorry, sorry." Olive gave a meek smile. "Can I come in, please? We need to talk." Peaches hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right. It's not fair that I have to keep this bottled in, anyway." "HelloImdonecanwego?!" Mandy's skid let her land straight in the pathway of the doorway. Leaning to her right with two suitcases in her corona, she frantically waved. Both Peaches and Olive exchanged a glance, as if asking who had to be the one to break Peaches' issue to Mandy. "Not...yet." Peaches, as nervous as she was, took initiative. "Before we go, we need to talk. Come in here and close the door." Mandy was confused, but still did as she was told. "And drop your suitcases." She did, right on the floor. "Good. Now sit." She did, right on the floor, with a big fat grin on her face. "Good." Peaches and Olive sat on the bed, the former clearing her throat. "I...I have something to tell you, and please, don't get mad...or sad..." Mandy pulled out half of a chicken sandwich from hammerspace and began chewing it in anticipation. A heavy sigh left Peaches. "I think I want to stay with..." She sucked air through her teeth -- like Mandy, she found it hard to spit out the names. "...Mom and Dad. On a permanent basis." Mandy's expression didn't change. She swallowed her sandwich bite and then promptly stuffed the rest of it in her mouth. Olive and Peaches leaned forward a little, and waited. "...Sorry, I was starin' at the wall. What'd you say?" Olive audibly groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. Peaches did too, but hers was more quiet and resigned. "I think I want to live with..." Again, she found it hard to say the names. "...Mom and Dad." She held her hands out. "N-not a definite, but...just as a sort of trial run." An eye twitch. A mouth twitch. And then the jaws parted. "YOU WANNA ABANDON FREE REAL ESTATE?!" Mandy clung to Peaches' legs. "No, even worse! Even worse than abandoning free real estate! Y-you're abandoning me?!" "Not for good! It's just..." Peaches sighed. "I don't think this was really meant for me as a permanent place to live. Now that I actually have a permanent place to live..." She wrung her hands together. "And it's with my actual parents, to boot!" "B-b-but-" "And no, this doesn't mean I'll be leaving Odd Squad. I'll still come back and hang out with you guys all day every day." Peaches tried to give an assuring smile. "Even you. Besides, that tube entrance we went through was practically right across the street! So whenever you need me, you can just go through there." Tears pooled in Mandy's eyes. She began to blubber nothing but gibberish. And then the waterfalls came. Olive was the first to grab two umbrellas, open them, and hang one right over her head, remarking under her breath about how it was going to be a long, long night -- for her, and for the other two girls. "Yeah. It's sudden, I know, but-" "BOSS!! Tell Peach she doesn't hafta go! Get the police involved! The FBI! The CIA! The President of the United States! Prime Minister of Canada! Chancellors! Governors! Mayors!" "Ignore her, Oprah." Olive rolled her eyes. "So what do you say?" "Of course. It'd be downright criminal to not let Mandy visit her real parents. Just tell her to stay safe and to not get into any trouble." "Mhm." With a scowl, Olive turned around, phone still to her ear. "Mandy, quit caterwauling or I'm going to tape your mouth." "But Peach is leeeeeeeaviiiiing!" "She already said it's not permanent!" "Wait, Peaches is leaving?" Oprah asked. "Give me the details." "I...uh..." Olive cleared her throat. "Well, she hasn't decided, but she wants to stay with her real parents and live with them permanently. She'll still come to Odd Squad to help out, though." "Ah. Well, as long as she comes back to help, then whatever she decides to do is fine by me." "Thank you!" Peaches called, over the sounds of Mandy's pathetic whining. "Have a good rest of your night." Olive said. "You too." As Olive closed her phone and put it on her chest, she heaved a sigh. They were nearly to Kieran's house, but the journey took far longer than it should have due to Mandy's complaining. The hybrid screamed, whined, kicked, but both Olive and Peaches opted to ignore her. By the time they arrived five minutes later, she had collapsed in a fit of wailing. Neither Director nor catgirl needed to knock on the door to get Kieran's attention. The man's attention was already brought by his crying daughter. "Oh my God, Mandy, what happened?" Kieran helped the hybrid to her feet, giving a yelp when she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest. He glanced at Olive and Peaches. "Is she okay?" "She's fine." Olive assured. "Peaches...she, uh..." "I want to stay with you and...Mom..." Peaches wondered how long it would take until she was used to the names. "...as well. On a permanent basis, I think." Kieran's eyes widened. "A permanent basis?" "Yeah. I've been living in Precinct 13579 for a while now, but now that I have a place I can actually call home, with my real parents...I think I want to live with you." Peaches gave a meek smile. "If you'll have me." "Sure, of course!" Kieran nodded. "Like I said, I have two bedrooms, so you're free to take the guest one. I'll have to get it set up for you." "Thanks. Can we come in?" Kieran didn't answer Peaches' question right away, trying to swivel around so he could go inside but finding it hard to do so when he had over one hundred pounds of human squeezing him. Still, he persevered and eventually succeeded, placing Mandy's feet on his own and waddling away. "Yes. Come on in." He smiled at the Director. "You too, Olive." "Really?" Olive blinked. "I don't want to be a burden or anything..." "Nonsense! Come join us for dinner. I made some fettucine alfredo with broccoli and chicken. Trying something new after living off of frozen meals and junk food for months." Deciding to take the offer, Olive walked inside with Peaches in tow, the latter closing the door behind her as she dropped her suitcases. Mandy did the same. "Have a seat in the dining room, you three. I'll bring out dinner in just a sec." Kieran glanced down. "Mandy, uh...can you get off of me, please?" A mournful, high-pitched, muffled scream left the hybrid. Not quite knowing what to do and simply running on common sense, Kieran rubbed her back. "Hey, it's okay. Aren't you hungry? I bet some food will make you feel better." As one could probably expect from a hungry hybrid, Mandy's face moved away from Kieran's body. A few choked sobs left her, and she gazed up at her father with shimmers and tears in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded. "Attagirl." Kieran tried to lift Mandy off, but the sedentary life hadn't been kind to him, and so he didn't move her any more than a couple inches. Luckily, what he lacked in strength, Olive made up for in...well, strength, as she lifted Mandy off of his feet. "To the dining room!" A few minutes later, four bowls of piping-hot pasta with steamed broccoli and pieces of chicken were placed in front of three very hungry girls...and one man, because Kieran was hungry too and he had made the meal for himself with leftovers to spare for at least a day or two. As everyone dug in, they began to feel a sense of warmth and happiness that could only come from a full stomach filled with warm food. Peaches, who was done with her food, watched as her cousin -- no, her sister, she had to get used to that -- ate her food in a most melancholy manner. Normally she would attribute it to her not wanting to display her usual eating habits in front of Kieran, even if he was her father, but she knew exactly what was on her mind. "Mandy, can we talk?" Olive paused mid-bite. Slurped up the rest of her noodle. Chewed, swallowed, and then reached for a napkin to wipe her mouth. Kieran did much of the same, only without the napkin. Both of them stared at Mandy, who was staring at Peaches in turn. "Sure." she said, hopping off of the chair and moving away to a more private area. Peaches decided to use the guest bedroom, which looked about as pristine as one of a parent who had been putting it in upkeep for when their kid eventually decided to move back in with them. "Look, I'm gonna cut right to the chase." Peaches said. "I know you're upset about me moving back in with Dad. And Mom, too." She paused to take a moment and mentally congratulate herself on ascending to a family-title basis without hesitation. "But I'm going to say this one more time, and I want you to really listen." She grabbed Mandy by the cheeks. "It's not permanent. All I'm going to do is stay here for a week, with you. Then I'll make my decision. Okay?" Mandy looked away, not saying anything. "I'll still come and visit Odd Squad, all the time, every day. With finding Vallea's culprit off of my to-do list, I have a ton of free time. We can hang out together, kick oddness in the butt, kick villains in the butt..." Peaches smirked. "We'll still see each other. I'm not going away for good." Mandy bit her lip. "You and I both know that Precinct 13579 was never going to be a permanent place for me to stay. I'm glad that Oprah offered me shelter, and I'll always be grateful to her for offering such kindness to me when I was in need. But I was always a guest. I don't work for you guys. I could never work for you guys. My name doesn't start with an O. You, Twilight, and the others are exceptions to the rule. So are the other ponies who do double-time in Equestria and Toronto." Peaches paused. "And if I'm being honest...being an Investigation agent isn't really for me. Neither are any of the other departments." A pause. "Do you understand me?" That caused Mandy to look up. She gave a resigned nod. "Good. Now, cheer up, won't you? You being sad makes me sad." Peaches let go of Mandy's cheeks and began heading for the door. "Let's go finish dinner. I need a bath." Mandy didn't follow right away. Instead, she watched as her cou- her sister left and headed straight towards the hallway that led to the dining room. Her eyes became glazed over, and a tiny bit of color got sapped out of her, leaving her looking ever the slightest tinge of gray as she too headed for the dining room. The rest of the night was spent with Peaches, Mandy and Kieran all watching TV. No one really wanted to go out and do anything except take a lazy night in. As Peaches returned to the guest bedroom from the bathroom after having been the final person to use it, her gaze fell upon a Mandy that was lying rather still. Knowing that it was strange she wasn't snoring or sleep-talking, the catgirl threw back the sheets and got into bed. "Peach." The monotonic, fatigue-addled voice caused a few hairs to pop out of place. "I'm going home. Back to Odd Squad." Slowly, Mandy slid out of bed and got to her feet. Peaches watched the act with concern. "I...are...why? You're not staying here?" "No. I've...come down with something. I'll just go back and have Dr. O check me out in the morning." "You mean the afternoon?" The lighthearted quip fell onto the ground like an anvil, going completely unanswered as Mandy picked up her suitcases in her corona and headed for the door. Peaches bit her lip. Something was wrong. She didn't know what, exactly, but something was wrong. "Mandy, wait, I-" The door opened and closed. Peaches muttered a curse under her breath as she angrily flopped down into bed, knowing that she couldn't confront her sister -- finally, she got it right -- without waking up her father. Sleep eventually managed to claim her after a few minutes, but it certainly wasn't without claiming the regret that resided in her heart. Meanwhile, back at Headquarters, the same fate could not be said for Mandy. After the transformation, she had never underwent a sleepless night in her life. Beforehand, sure, but afterward, not so much. It just didn't feel right to have a being who loved sleeping suffer from an illness that prevents sleep. And yet, here she was, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. She had strung up small pretty white lights in her room, something soothing to fall asleep to that wasn't light blaring into her eyeballs. But she still couldn't sleep. She tossed, she turned, she counted time sheep, and nothing worked. She even tried playing a movie in her mind, but even that didn't work, as she stayed awake for the entirety of its runtime. To keep her mind occupied, she decided to roam around Headquarters. Drink a nice warm happy glass of milk. Stress-eat to induce postprandial somnolence. Internally cry because all the food she ate gave her a terrible stomachache. Walk around Headquarters some more. Read a book. Do some extra work to get a jump on the next day's caseload. Lie flat in the snow that adorned the Fluffy Snow Room. Nearly get eaten by a Venus flytrap twice her size. By the time she had landed in the bullpen from teleporting to random places -- it was clear she had run out of things to do -- the lights turned on. They weren't usually super bright at such a high elevation, but with her eyes bloodshot from a lack of sleep, they shot clear into her eyes, causing her to yelp and rub them furiously. Agents began to filter into Headquarters for the day. Chief among them was the big chiefaroni herself, suitcase in tow that was full of her lunch. "Mandy? What are you doing back here? I thought you..." Oprah trailed off. Her lower jaw hung limp as she scanned Mandy up and down, taking in her unkempt appearance, her unusual change in coloration, and her dour half-lidded expression that seemed permanent. "You...you're gray!" Oprah rubbed her eyes. "You still have some color, though...but yep, you're a little gray." She tilted her head. "Did you get any sleep last night?" "No." That made the Director do a double-take, but it didn't startle her enough to prevent her from turning around and trying to flag down a Doctor. "Olaila!" She frantically waved. "Over here!" "Huh? Oh, Ms. O!" Olaila, clad in the same navy shirt and pants and teal coat with lanyard that Dr. O himself wore, broke away from the crowd and moved over to her boss. "Good morning! What's going on?" "Are you seriously asking me that?" Oprah shunted Mandy forward. "Look at Mandy. She's gone gray. Her hair and tail have gone straight, straighter than I've ever seen Pinkie's hair. And she didn't sleep at all!" "My, that's alarming." Olaila examined the hybrid, moving all sorts of limbs about. "Mandy? What's going on?" The hybrid simply turned. Olaila sighed, knowing that prying an answer out of her newfound patient was going to be next to impossible. "Well, I can say with certainty that she doesn't have Monochritis. This looks to be a simple case of depression." She scratched her cheek as she ran through treatment options in her mind. "Situational, not clinical." "Is there any way we can help her?" "Prying out the cause is the only way. And she's not keen on giving it up." "Hold on. I know you're the Doctor here, but let me give Olive and Otto a call. They always have unorthodox solutions for this kind of thing." Sure enough, both Directors got to Headquarters in five minutes flat. Within those five minutes, Mandy had retreated to her room, but that didn't stop Olive from barging into the room through the door that the hybrid had carelessly left unlocked. "Mandy, what happened to you? Did Annabelle do something? Did Kieran do something?" Her frantic eyes locked on Olaila. "And you...you said this is depression?" "Situational depression. Not clinical. Clinical is more chronic and can last for a long time. Situational depression subsides when the event making the affected depressed in the first place passes." Everyone stared at the lump under the bedsheets that was, without a doubt, a depressed Mandy. "She hasn't fessed up to what's bothering her?" "Not in the slightest. I've tried asking her a few times, but no dice." Olive cracked her knuckles. "All right, Otto. Let's go work our magic." Together, the two Directors moved towards the lump, lifting the blanket up and sticking their faces under it with nothing but smiles on their color-filled faces that greatly contrasted with Mandy's own -- even if she had her back to them. "Hey, you!" Olive greeted. "What're you doing back so early? We thought you were on vacation!" "I was." Mandy rustled slightly in bed. "Now I'm back." Otto blinked. "But it's only been a day." "Has it? I hadn't noticed." Both Directors exchanged surprised glances. "Look, I know you haven't gotten any sleep..." Olive smiled. "But why don't we do something fun today? Whatever you want." "No." Mandy rolled over onto her right side, her eyes slightly narrowed. One look at them and both Olive and Otto could tell that the blue hue had faded from them. "Now can you please leave? Both of you are getting on my nerves." Olive frowned. "Are you sure? We really don't like seeing you like this." Silence. She sighed and pulled her face out of the blanket. "C'mon, Otto." "What?" The co-Director did the same. "We're just gonna give up? Like that?" "Mandy's stubborn. She wouldn't give us the reason why she's so depressed if we gave her a lifetime of food." Olive stood up. "We'll try again tomorrow." Oprah and Olaila shared a worried glance between each other, but ultimately resigned to following Olive and Otto on their way out, closing the door behind them after giving brokenhearted glances towards their coworker. The next seven days were torture for Mandy. Sleep eluded her, being so far out of her grasp that she couldn't reach it even if she tried her hardest to. She stress-ate her way through the day, but miraculously never gained a single pound. She began to experience hallucinations, the little voice in her head telling her that maybe, just maybe, running away for a third time didn't seem like a bad idea. She holed herself up in her room, only stopping her explorations throughout Headquarters when her bones and muscles didn't even allow her to get up. About the only thing keeping her remotely alive was her sense of hygiene. While she was able to, she still bathed herself and brushed her hair, if only out of a sense of habit more than enjoyment and because she couldn't handle all the complaints she would receive if she didn't. She neglected her work and let it pile up, even when most of it was outsourced to Pinkie. On Day Seven, everyone -- including Olaila and Peaches, once the latter had gotten wind of what had happened -- tried one last time to get her to cheer up. They knew that if Mandy went even one more day without sleep, it would kill her. "Mandy?" Olive peered in the doorway that led to Mandy's room, the door having been knocked down by her and Otto when they had tried to access the room and found they had been denied access. "We're coming in." "You should be going out." "Not happening." Olive made her way inside with everyone in tow. "We're all worried about you. This behavior isn't like you. Something happened, and I, for one, am not leaving until we find out what it is." Mandy had no rebuttal to that. All she could do was curl herself into a tighter ball as she heard the sound of footsteps and hoofsteps. "Well, if you won't fess up, then it's time I fess up." The familiar voice caused Mandy's eyes to widen, but her doing so led to her left eye beginning to twitch. Or at least she thought that's why it was twitching, anyway. "Mandy, I know why you're upset. You're mad at me, aren't yo-" A gray tail shot out and wrapped around the neck of the voice's source, lifting it up into the air and strangling it. The source hacked away, its black tail waving furiously as a sign of panic. Immediately everyone pounced to save the source, pulling it away from the tail's grasp and allowing it to take a few deep breaths of the air it had taken for granted just moments before. The tail was yanked back into the lump of blankets, and in exchange, part of an angry, tear-stained face popped out, teeth bared and eyes twitching out of sync every second to the point where there was no second where they weren't. "You motherfuckers." Not ever having heard Mandy swear in full before without being stopped, everyone fell silent, save for the source whom the hybrid could see was Peaches, still grasping at air. It wasn't just her swearing that surprised them, though -- it was also her voice, which was low, gravelly, and slightly slurred. "I thought I told you to get the fuck out of here. But you little shits just don't listen." "Mandy, we need to talk." "DID I PERMIT YOU TO SPEAK, YOU PATHETIC RUNT?!" Twilight was shocked into silence again, her eyes wide as she stayed put, not daring to utter even a single breath. "My problems...my problems don't lie with you." Mandy's head stuck straight out, exposing her frizzy hair, her shrunken bloodshot eyes, and her reddened face. No one wanted to know what the rest of her looked like. Her gaze locked on to one person in the group in particular, and when it did, she thrust out an arm, a hand, and with that, a finger. "They're with it." Eyes began to lock on to the target of Mandy's unbridled rage. Said target was quick to recoil, taking a step back and clutching a hand to the part of her shirt that covered her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted. "You would rather live with pwecious little Mommy and Daddy than with me? The first friend in your never-life? The one who's been about as close as family could get all this time?" Slowly, Mandy slid out of the blankets, her body as lithe as a snake as she slithered towards Peaches. "If I knew you hated me that much, I never would have tried to befriend you in the first place. I would have killed you with my hammer and left you to rot out in full view of innocent people and innocent ponies alike." Everyone knew that Mandy, being without sleep for several days, wasn't in the best state of mind at the moment -- thus, what she said could be dismissed as falsehood and empty threats. That didn't mean the air of shock couldn't hang around in the room, however. Mandy ran a finger along the underside of Peaches' neck. "Don't you remember? When you found me annoying and wanted nothing to do with me? When a simple little note changed all that and made you realize that you needed a good support base if you didn't want to die before your fifties?" she spat. "Now that our parents have come back, you want to abandon me. Abandon Odd Squad. Your friends. Your family. You want to leave all that behind..." Her pony ear flicked wildly, causing her to pause for a few seconds before she gained her bearings. "You want to leave all that behind for them?" Peaches couldn't muster up the energy or the will to respond. Anxiety had her in a threshold. Similarly, no one else moved a single muscle, watching the chewing-out unfold. "Oprah could have easily thrown you out onto the streets. She could have easily made you homeless. But she offered a helping hand and let you stay here. And now you want to disrespect her and throw all that away for some adult that popped up out of the blue and decided to drag us to his shitty little neighborhood apartment home." Mandy gave a derisive snort. "How pathetic and ungrateful. I expected better. But perhaps it would have been best if I had lowered the bar." Hurt began to reflect in Peaches' eyes as she came to the conclusion that, regardless of Mandy's mental state, she was mostly right. Peaches never once considered the weight of her decision in regards to Oprah, or Twilight, or Olive, or anyone. She wanted so badly to be with her parents that she was blind to everyone's reactions, everyone's emotions, everyone's thoughts and feelings. She didn't stop to think about how she would be giving up everything she had been offered, tossing it away in the trash like it was worthless junk that she didn't need anymore. She wasn't even sure if she had said her true thanks to Oprah for what she had done. Expressed her gratitude for having stayed here. She had taken it all for granted, hadn't she? Within the mess of emotions she had found herself in, she found it hard to remember. As she gazed into Mandy's eyes, she could see that they too were full of hurt. Hidden behind blood vessel after blood vessel and those shrunken gray irises was hurt. The hybrid was suffering. The words Peaches had told her before hadn't even sunk in, and now she was paying the ultimate price for it. She couldn't solve the issue by appealing to Mandy's health concerns. No one could. So she had to take an alternate route. Taking a deep breath to qualm some of the anxiety swirling in her body, she spoke. "Growing up in Vallea, I had no supportive parental figures. The two catpeople who were tasked with raising me only did the bare minimum, things that would be passable by society and not lead to execution at the House of Torture." Peaches could feel the looks of confusion just from uttering the name of the place, but she tried to ignore them and press onward. "If I was a healthy catperson, it would allow them to keep up appearances among their friends. That was how they saw it." Glances were exchanged throughout the group, many of pity. Mandy's expression did not waver. "So when we finally found Annabelle and Kieran, I was thrilled. I would finally have more of a supporting, loving family. First I had found my sister, and now I had found my parents. It was a dream come true." Peaches' smile turned into a frown. "It's like I said. Living here was never going to be permanent. I'd planned for permanence, but all I'm really doing here is sapping up essential resources." She glanced between Oprah and Mandy numerous times. "Think about it. I'm not a client, not of yours or of anybody else. I'm not an employee, even though I've helped you guys solve cases and helped fight bad guys and creatures. I'm not a creature that is cared for in the Creature Room by Ocean or Fluttershy. I'm just a guest that is staying here thanks to the hospitality of an Odd Squad Director and their second-in-command. Nothing more, nothing less." Oprah blinked, an unreadable expression crossing her face. "I figured you knew that, Mandy. I figured you had accepted that I would one day be gone. Not back to Vallea, mind you -- Ashero would have to drag me there himself -- but not in Odd Squad, either. Did you really think otherwise?" Mandy hung on to every word, and didn't need a second to pause and think about them. Her eyes somehow became more twitchy than before. "Of course I did! You, of all people, should know what it's like to find a member of your own family! To find someone who you share an actual bond of blood with! To have someone..." She huffed out a sound that could only barely be called a laugh. "...someone who you could see as a sibling! Someone to call a best friend!" The hybrid curled up her hands and formed fists within them. Slowly but surely, tears began filling up the space where her eyes resided. As they stung her eyes, she blinked rapidly, and every blink sent a tear or two rolling down her face like leaves in a lazy stream. "Being an only child...it sucks. It fucking sucks. I've learned to live with it, but..." Mandy glanced at the ponies. "Not even Twilight, or Pinkie, or any of the other ponies are my sisters. Biologically speaking, it'd just be weird and awkward." She shot them a pitiful look as the tears kept rolling. "I don't know what they are, in all honesty. I...I don't consider them as friends. More like acquaintances." "Then why don't we change that?" Shocked glances were sent Twilight's way as she stepped forward, a small smile on her maw. She had to guess that the majority of them were the result of her running the risk of talking with a crazed, dazed pony-human hybrid with severe sleep deprivation and a case of situational depression. But she didn't care about that. "Why don't we each all set aside a day to hang out with you? You could do what we like to do, and we could do what you like to do. That way, we can get to know each other better and be friends instead of just acquaintances." Twilight explained. "Would you like that?" Voices began playing in Mandy's mind, unintelligible whispers she couldn't make out. She figured they were probably telling her not to trust Twilight, but she opted to ignore them. Her adrenaline was still going strong, but every inch of it she lost was replaced by a small moment that showed she was weakening, whether that was the twitching of an eye or a stray hair that popped out of place. She nodded, the faintest hint of a smile forming on her face. "Yeah. I would." "All right. So now that's one issue settled...let's move on to the other." Peaches took another deep breath, placing her hands on Mandy's shoulders and looking her square in the eyes. "As you know, I spent the week with Dad. He's a nice guy, though he's pretty lazy and sluggish..." She rolled her eyes in an amused fashion. "But I think he makes a great father to me and you." A disinterested Mandy stared, in such a way that she was indirectly telling her sister to get to the point already. "Anyway, I've...decided that I really do want to live with him and Mom permanently." Mandy opened her mouth to speak. Peaches quickly shot her index finger forward and against her lips to close it. "I'll still come see you, just as I have all throughout the week." Peaches lit up with an idea. "In fact, how about this? I could go to Odd Squad and be with you and everyone else during the day, and have a place to return to at night." She paused for a moment. "I'd probably take a few days off here and there to hang out with Dad -- he's really lonely without Mom being there, been in pretty rough shape ever since she died -- but for the most part, I'd still be with you just as much as I was before." The tears began to roll faster down Mandy's face. "We're sisters. I don't ever wanna be apart from you. I won't ever leave you. I'll be by your side, in life and in death." Peaches wrapped Mandy up in a tight hug. "I love you, Mandy. I love you so, so much. More than you could ever know." The words stuck like glue to Mandy's brain. Her mind, as sick as it was, flashed back to a memory she knew was no falsehood, of when she had asked everyone if they loved her and they told her they did, and she believed it because they all expressed their love in different ways. But even if someone expressed their love through nonverbal means...it was always nice to actually hear it. It warmed Mandy's heart whenever she saw a parent give an "I love you" to a child, but that warmth would often get replaced by jealousy and nauseating sickness as she realized that no one had ever really said the words to her. If they did, she certainly couldn't remember them. Her body began to tremble. Having little support, it began to collapse on her like a demolished building, bringing her to her knees and then to her stomach as she buried her face in her forearms and began to sob. Peaches knelt down and scooped her sister into her arms, offering her chest as a more suitable area to cry on than a simple little forearm. Mandy took it willingly, wrapping her arms around her and sobbing as loud as she could. Olive stepped forward. One step, two steps, and then wrapped her own arms around Peaches and Mandy in a hug. Everyone else was quick to follow suit, to the point where, aside from the hovering Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, it was just one big ball of hugging agents. Slowly but surely, Mandy's depression began to wither away, like a demon's possession visibly wafting from a living being. The warmth of so many bodies up against her made her anger and hurt and adrenaline all die off, being replaced by a feeling of severe drowsiness that caused her eyes to droop. "We love you so, so much, Mandy. More than you could ever know." The unisonant declaration was the last thing she heard before she slipped into unconsciousness, being launched into her own personal dreamland within a millisecond. The cosmic forces had finally deemed her worthy of the need known as sleep, and all with a warm smile on her face that showed the words of her family had stuck. Peaches winced as the sound of loud, raucous snores -- which very nearly rattled and shook more than a few objects in the room -- reached both pairs of ears. Others had the same reactions, but Olive, Otto and Oprah couldn't pull their ears forward the same way the ponies could fold their ears downwards, and so they broke free of the hug to use their hands as mufflers. Peaches stood up and moved to put Mandy to bed, covering her with the bedsheets and watching with a tender expression as she turned on her right side. Her body shuddered as a wave of purple magic washed over her, and she turned to see Twilight's horn lit. "Anti-magic spell." the alicorn explained, once Peaches stepped out of the room and closed the door so Mandy's snores and sleep-talk were muffled. "Let's not forget what happened the last time Mandy suffered from sleep deprivation. Granted, this bout was involuntary..." She took a moment to think. "...but do we really want to chase her all around Headquarters and all around Toronto again?" A flurry of "no's" met her in response. "So what does the spell do, exactly?" Peaches asked. "For seven days -- that's when I calculate she'll wake up -- Mandy can't use magic. She also can't fly. The spell will wear off after that." "So seven days...one for each day she didn't get any sleep." Olive nodded. "You've got this figured out, Twilight." "Of course. I didn't get this far in studying Mandy's sleep habits just to be lacking in the preparation department." Twilight responded, with nary a lack of pride. "I've tried many anti-magic spells on her. She hasn't broken through a single one." "Okay...so how about a volume spell?" Oprah asked, pointing towards the door. "Because I don't feel like getting reports from agents thinking there's a monster in there." "Well, I could. But I have a better idea." Conjuring up a small blank sign, a marker, a small piece of string, and a plastic hook with two strips for securing, Twilight got to work. She applied the hook to the door, wrote on the sign, wrapped the string through the two holes at the top of the sign, and adjusted it onto the hook. "There." Rarity took a look at the sign and read it aloud. Hiya! This hybrid is currently busy sleeping -- please do not disturb! All inquiries meant for me should be directed to Ms. O. Love and superflytacklehugs, Mandy "Hm. You certainly have nailed her speech pattern down well." Twilight polished her hoof on her chest. "The only issue I have is how 'superflytacklehug' got into her vernacular...though with how she hugs, I suppose that checks out." "That'll deal with things." Oprah nodded. "Thank you, Twilight." "Not a problem." Twilight glanced at her partner. "Come on, Rainbow Dash. We've got paperwork to do." "Of course we do. When do we not?" In spite of Rainbow's protesting, she went to leave with Twilight, the pair disappearing around the corner. Shortly after, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie left as well. "As for you two..." Oprah looked at Olive and Otto as she began to walk away. "If I were you, I'd give Mandy a bath sooner rather than later. Her muscles gave out on her back there. She doesn't even have the strength to stand, much less engage in basic hygiene stuff. And I don't know when she took a shower or a bath last." A soft exhale left her lips. "She'll need to eat and drink, too." "Hey now. Who's the doctor here, Ms. O?" Olaila raised an eyebrow at her departing boss before she made eye contact with the other two Directors. "I'll get an IV started that will provide her with ample food and drink. The last thing I want is for her to choke to death as she eats and drinks in her sleep. Be right back." It was clear that the Medical department assistant had read up on Mandy fairly extensively, and so no one questioned her judgment, instead nodding and watching as she left. "I'll make a mental note that we need to come back for Mandy later." Olive began to walk away. "Let's head back to Headquarters, Otto." She didn't get more than a few steps before she took those same steps backwards. Otto watched her curiously as she laid a hand on the doorknob. "On second thought, you go ahead. I have...things...to do." That earned her a cock of an eyebrow, but ultimately Otto gave a smile and began heading in the same direction she had been going. When he was gone, Olive opened the door to Mandy's room and stepped inside, immediately making a beeline for the bedbound hybrid. She took a moment to observe -- Mandy was muttering something unintelligible, but Olive could make out words like "love" and "family" and "pineapple". Clearly, she was having a dream that had meaning, a dream involving both her adoptive family and her real one. And pineapples, though she wasn't sure where those fit into the equation. Olive grit her teeth. Grinded them. Slightly narrowed her eyes. Gave a few uncomfortable grunts. Let out an exhale, bent down, and kissed Mandy on the forehead. "Have a good sleep, okay? Never forget how much I, and everyone else, love you." She stroked the hybrid's hair. "My sweet, sweet Mandy." Something inside her stomach turned, making her nauseous. She left the room as slowly as she could, closed the door, and began to gag. Had she not gone to the Bathroom at her own Headquarters prior to coming to Precinct 13579's Headquarters, she probably would have had something to throw up. But nothing came, and she was left with the sickening nauseousness that followed her as she walked to the tube lobby. It would take a while before she adopted cutesy terms into her vocabulary. She knew that. But she also knew that Mandy was a being who thrived not on any "tough love" variant of parenting, but one on freely-expressed love, bordering on frequent affection. She needed to be told "I love you", and she needed to be called "sweetie" and "honey" and "darling" and all of those little pet names, lest she grow into a corrupted Odd Squad agent and join the ranks of those like Odd Todd. Olive had kissed Mandy on the forehead, reminded her of how much everyone loved her, and called her "sweet". It made her physically ill, but it was a good start. She had taken that first step, and she felt proud of herself for doing so, holding that pride for as long as she could. As predicted, Mandy had awoken within a week's time. On Day Seven -- or Fourteen, if one counted all the days of sleep deprivation -- her eyes creaked open, and she let what little light there was pour in. A mighty yawn left her, causing her body to shudder, and almost immediately she felt a sort of pang on her lower half. Heaving a sigh, she tried to swing her legs over the side of her bed, but doing so took the rest of her body with it, and she collapsed onto the floor. A groan left her as she slowly got up, noticing a pole wheeling away from her. Her pony ears moved towards the sound of the door opening, and a rather familiar voice speaking. "Oh my gosh, Mandy! What happened?" Olaila rushed over and knelt down beside the hybrid. "Did you fall out of bed?" Mandy could only groan in response. "Well, either way, it's nice to see you awake. Let me help you up." "Bathroom..." "Ah, so that's where you were trying to go?" Olaila smiled. "Come on, then. I'll take you there." Mandy graciously took the offer of the assistant's hand, grabbing it as hard as she could -- which wasn't saying too much -- and hoisting herself up. From there, Olaila walked with her to the Bathroom and removed her IV, then stood outside the door and listened as Mandy tried to perform the usual routine, hearing murmurs that she couldn't really make out. Eventually, the hybrid decided to take an impromptu shower. As Olaila couldn't go in -- she knew Olive and Otto would let her, but she wasn't as close to Mandy as they were and her patients had a right to their privacy -- she decided to continue listening, her hearing alert for any signs of a fall. The second there was one, she was quick to rush in and turn off the water. "Oh dear. Muscle degradation, I bet. They haven't really been used in a week, after all." Olaila murmured. "Mandy, are you okay?" A low groan split the air, echoing in the small room. Mandy didn't move. "Stay still." Olaila grabbed the towel that hung on the bar next to the shower and wrapped Mandy's body in it, not caring about whether she saw the hybrid naked or not. When her body was securely wrapped, she was lifted out of the shower and onto her feet. "Okay. Let's go back to your room. I should help you get dressed." Lucky for both Olaila and Mandy that dressing the latter went largely without incident. It still felt awkward to Olaila to dress her patient -- back when she was an Investigation agent, it really wasn't every day she made house calls to elderly and disabled clients who needed help with such a thing -- but she got Mandy dressed in her usual suit in all but ten minutes. "There you go! You're all clean, dressed, and ready to go." Olaila declared. "Now, I've taken you off of the IV, so you should be plenty full. And with your Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, you should have lots of energy, which includes the healing of your muscles. How are you feeling?" Mandy smiled. "Better. A lot better. But also really regretful. I need to make amends." She blinked. "One thing, though...why can't I use magic in here?" "Twilight put an anti-magic spell on your room so you wouldn't sleepwalk or use magic in your sleep. It should wear off soon." "Hopefully." Mandy sighed, and then perked up. "Oh, I have an idea." "Oh?" "I should throw a party, a big 'I Love You and You Love Me' party! It's the least I could do after everyone snapped me out of it." She shook her head. "No, no, that can come after. Right now, I need to head back to Dad's house." "A good idea. I'll head back." Olaila headed out. "See you later, Mandy. And best of luck!" "Thanks! And...uh...thanks! For taking such good care of me!" "It's no problem!" With a quick dart out of her room and a quick feat of teleportation, Mandy arrived right across the street from Kieran's house. She didn't even need to think about what to say as she looked both ways and made her way across. She knew Peaches was here. She had to be. Even though she said she would be in Odd Squad for most of the day, Mandy had a gut feeling that she was here. Taking a deep breath, she knocked five times on the door. It opened. "Mandy?" "Hi...uh, Dad. Can...can I come in? We need to talk." "So that's what happened?" Kieran blinked. "Mandy, I-I'm so sorry. If I had known you were so distre-" "Save it." Mandy held up a hand. "I think I've come to terms about Peach deciding to live with you and Mom now. Wow, it's gonna feel weird callin' you two that..." She gave a soft chuckle. "But if she wants to live here, then she can live here. I think she'll make good on her promise to visit me." "Of course!" Peaches called, from where she was situated in the kitchen doing dishes. Mandy glanced at everyone in the room. Her real mother and father, and even Haruko, Olive and Otto, were all here beside her. It warmed her heart, and allowed her smile to grow bigger. "And just so you know..." She glanced at Olive and Otto, with an extra glance at Peaches. "I love you guys too. You don't know how much I needed to hear those words. And how much I still need to hear them." "Well, it's our fault -- no, it's my fault you never heard them." Olive rubbed her arms. "You know how I'm not one for terms of endearment. But I'll try to improve, little by little. For your sake." "I'd like that." The pair hugged, much to the comfort of Haruko, Annabelle, Otto and Kieran as they watched with smiles. "Dad? Mom?" Mandy broke free and turned to her real parents. "My vacation starts now. I'd like to hang out with you two and get to know you a little better, and maybe you'll get to know me a little better too." She touched her pony ears. "Like for one, you're probably curious about why I don't look entirely human, aren't you?" "If we're being honest, sweetie...yes, we are." Annabelle gave a quiet exhale. "We just didn't want to bring it up because we thought it was a sensitive subject for you." Mandy scoffed. "Not really. It still stings a little, but I don't mind talking about it. Why don't I tell you guys the story?" Said story took exactly fifteen minutes to tell -- Otto had timed it. Kieran and Annabelle went from surprised, to shocked, to saddened, to smiles as they absorbed every bit of Mandy's tragic tale turned good. In the midst of it, Mandy had rushed to the bathroom to spruce up her hair and tail using Kieran's hairspray, which, despite being for men, worked like a charm in restoring both to their natural curly states. She also found the time to raid the refrigerator for some food, as the IV nourishment she had been given was wearing off. "That's quite a story." Annabelle remarked, not sure how to start reactions off. "I'm very sorry that happened to you, Mandy. It must have been quite heartbreaking, having your family and your home turned against you in such a terrible manner." "It was." Mandy took a bite of the BLT she had found, which, unbeknownst to her, were Kieran's leftovers from the previous night. "But I made up with Clementine now, and I've been living happily in Odd Squad for a long time!" "Good to hear." Kieran said. "Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't you tell us what you'd like to do?" "Ooh, ooh, amusement park, amusement park!" Mandy kicked her legs wildly. "Oh, it's been so long since I've been to one of those! And I'm sure Peach hasn't even been to one at all." "Sad but true." "See?" Mandy got down on the floor and clasped her hands together. "PleasepleasepleeeeeasecanwegoI'vealwayswantedtogoMomma'salwaystoobusywithworkandamusementparksaren'therthi-" "All right, all right, don't get too excited." Kieran laughed. "I'll be happy to take you both." "Yes! Chalk one up for ol' Mandy!" Mandy leaned into Olive's face. "You, however...go tell Oprah I'm gone! Have her move everything to Pinkie and whatever other agents she has." She gripped her by the shoulders. "I need this. I need to go on rides. I need to feel the wind on my face. I have been in a coma for a week. I need this. I need it more than money. A house. A car. A stable retirement without debit. A coffin. A funeral. A grave." "You're going off on a tangent again, Mandy." Olive pushed her adopted daughter away from her and stood up. "We'll go tell Oprah right now." Her eyes caught Otto's crestfallen expression. "Otto, we have work. We'll have to go another time." "Aww...can't I call in a sick day?" "No." Olive grabbed him by the wrist. "Let's go." Everyone exchanged goodbyes as they watched the two Directors leave the house, having some good chuckles at Otto's protests the second the door closed. Kieran gave a grunt of pain as he turned to his bedroom. "All right, I'll go and get ready. We leave in about fifteen minutes." "Okay!" both girls said. Annabelle opted to sit on the couch. "Are you comin' too, Mom?" Annabelle blinked at Mandy. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I am invisible to most, so unfortunately I won't get the same gratification of rides and such as you three..." She smiled. "But it would be a good way for me to see life outside of the Magical Grasslands." Overjoyed, Mandy leaped into the air and threw her hands up. "Yeah! Family outing! Family outing!" Haruko exhaled. "I suppose it also would not hurt for me to come as well, if you all will have me." she said. "Like Annabelle, I cannot get the same thrills as those of yours, but I would like to accompany her in the event that she happens to get lost." "Yeah! Family outing with Haruko! Family outing with Haruko!" Sure enough, fifteen minutes passed, and the family of four, plus Haruko, were in the car and on the way to Fantasy Fair. It was at the very first stoplight that Peaches decided to get something off of her chest. "Okay, I can't hold it in anymore. The word is 'debt', Mandy. 'Debit' means something different." Mandy rolled her eyes as she looked out the window, cracking a smile. "Ah, thank you, O Wise Feline Dictionary. Whatever would we do without you." Peaches simply gave a sigh that quickly formed into a chuckle. The first day of Mandy's vacation was, in a single word, adventurous. Throughout the time she had spent at the Fantasy Fair, she, as well as Peaches, had gotten to know Annabelle and Kieran on a deeper level, what they enjoyed doing, and even what their own childhoods had been like. She could see the hurt in Annabelle's eyes as the hybrid waved at her from atop rollercoasters and play structures, but Haruko was there to give her comforting words. What was even better, Kieran had decided to treat everyone to Shmumber King afterwards, where Annabelle and Haruko were allowed to eat even though they couldn't feel hunger nor fullness, and Mandy could put her voracious eating habits on fine display. By the time the group returned home, it was nightfall. Mandy had taken a well-earned shower while Peaches had gotten to cleaning herself in her cat form. Annabelle and Haruko had already returned home. And Kieran was fast asleep in the bedroom, snoring away. Once she was done drying her hair, Mandy trudged to the Bedroom, closed the door, and slipped into the right side of the bed with a satisfied sigh. She glanced over at Peaches, who was eyeing her curiously. "So? Did you have fun?" "Yeah I had fun!" Mandy threw her hands into the air. "Mom and Dad are great. I'll always love my Momma, but it'll be nice having my birth parents around. Even if one of them is...uh...dead." "You know, I expected you to grieve more when you got wind that Annabelle had died." Peaches blinked. "But I guess Olive filled the maternal void pretty well, huh?" "She sure did. And I can always see Annabelle whenever I want to, if I just go to the Grasslands. Maybe I'll even see her tonight! Wouldn't that be funny?" Silence filled the room. Peaches had expected to hear snoring any second now, but either Mandy just wasn't sleepy despite it being nighttime or she was actively trying to stay awake. "Anything you want to do tomorrow?" the catgirl asked. "I dunno...I tend to think of stuff I wanna do on the fly." Mandy responded, just before she was interrupted with a yawn. "Right now, though? I just wanna sleep. My bones feel tired. They somehow feel more tired than when I was sleep-deprived." With a weak chuckle, she turned onto her left. "G'night, sis." Peaches smiled, let her eyes close, and turned onto her right side. "Good night...sis. Sweet dreams." Both girls' dreams were filled with all sorts of fun times they would have with their parents, and with each other, as newly-discovered siblings. Truly, it was a new era in both of their lives, a time of happiness that could only come from the reunification of a family that was meant to be together. They hoped things would stay that way for a good long while. Author's Note This effectively serves as the "season finale" of The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy, folks. As such, this is where this fic will end and the next one will begin. I had debated keeping the story together so all three "seasons" would be in one fic, but decided to split it off. After this chapter is published, though, there will be a few side stories I want to get out of the way, some of which I don't want to cram into a single chapter of a single story. Chapters in this fic may be edited for spelling and grammar checks or revised entirely because they are garbage ~~which, really, is a lot of these, now that I'm looking at it~~. And of course, there's the matter of my non-TAoPaM work, Solar and Lunar. Still working on the final chapter of that one at the time of writing and I should have it up hopefully soon. To those who have read this far, thank you! This has been a passion project for me for a few years, even if it isn't strictly an MLP work. This universe is fun to build and expand on and I hope you guys look forward to what I have in store for it next. S1E1: The Familial Surprise"Mm...hmm..." The girl examined the gadget with a squint, giving it a couple taps to make sure the screws were tightened correctly. "Mmm..." "AGENT MANDY!" "Wah!" Oprah's shout caused the girl, known as Agent Mandy, to fumble with the gadget, nearly dropping it in the process. Her blue eyes shifted towards her boss, standing right beside her with a stern look on her face. "M-Ms. O! I mean Oprah! Uh, y-you gave me kinda a bit of a scare, there..." She chuckled sheepishly, setting the gadget down on the desk where she had been working. "No time for chitchat. People are being turned into large acorns and are being scattered around Trinity Bellwoods Park. I'm putting you on the case, so go to the park immediately!" "Righty, will do!" With her horn alight, she teleported away in a bright rainbow-colored flash. Once she got to the park, she began to look around, flicking one of her pony ears in curiosity. "Weird. She said the park, but...I don't see any acorns." She giggled and snorted. "That silly Oprah, she gets worked up about the funniest of things!" Just as she was about to head back to Headquarters, a loud rustling noise from nearby caught her attention. Before she could identify its source, however, the sound stopped. "Coulda sworn I heard some sort of rustling..." And then the noise came back. "There it is again!" Her eyes scanned the area until she spotted a rather large bush. Holding her breath, she slowly advanced towards it. Gah, jeez, don't let it be some kind of rabid animal or- A large figure leaped from the bush, standing on four...well, Mandy couldn't really call all of them legs. It was two arms and two legs, kind of like a stance kids would take before going on all fours up a flight of stairs. The figure, whom Mandy could see shapeshifting into a medium-sized black cat, hissed, causing her to take a few steps back. "W-whoa!" She blinked a couple times, and then gasped as she realized what she was looking at. "Kitty! Or, uh...at least I think that's a kitty. You sure you're not disguised?" "I'm not disguised as one, you idiot, I am one!" the cat spoke. "How da-" Her going on offense was immediately hampered when she got a better look at who she was speaking to. "No...that can't be...the ears..." Mandy fiddled with the two pony ears that sat atop her head. "Oh, these old things? Well, I can te-" "The tail..." She swung her curly, poofy light brown tail, ever swirling like chocolate ice cream in a cone and adorned with a medium-sized red bow, around her, grabbing it with her two hands. "Wait, what's wrong with my tail?" "And even the hair!" Mandy's hair was of the same color as her tail, and just as curly, too -- only it also had a forelock which she used as a third hand sometimes. It looked like it was almost at a cheated angle when sitting next to her pale white alicorn-length horn. "Whaaaaat, do I look recognizable to ya or something?" "You..." Mandy scoffed. "People know me from all over town, you're nothing new-" Within a second, she had a cat on her face, clawing and scratching her. She took a couple stumbles back as she tried in vain to pry the cat off. "Hey, hey, get off! I can't see!" Her shout was muffled, but in spite of this, her unexpected opponent was refusing to listen, continuing to scratch her face. The pain from the attacks didn't seem to faze Mandy, though, as she lit up her horn and attempted to remove the cat by magical means. "Get...off!" With a snap, the black cat went flying off, landing on her feet and giving an angry yowl. "Man, you're...one feisty kitty, aren'tcha..." Mandy touched her face with her index finger and pulled it back, only to find blood. Likewise, her face was streaked with blood from the scratches she had received. "Great, I'm bleeding..." She winced in pain, feeling like crying right then and there as she pulled a tissue out from her back and tried to wipe the blood off. "You aren't laughing now, are you?" the cat taunted, seeming to take great joy at having seriously wounded her opponent. "Oh, you can talk!" Mandy said excitedly, before blinking twice. "Wait, why am I surprised?" The cat groaned. "Let me tell you a little something." She shapeshifted into a human form. Mandy took note of the yellow dress adorned with a V pattern near its base, the black cat ears and tail, and the yellow band that she wore around her left arm. Her blue eyes burned with a fiery malice, and her long black hair bounced as she slowly marched towards Mandy. "My name is Peaches. You destroyed my hometown. You hurt so many innocent civilians, including my leader. And I...am going to make you suffer dearly." Peaches had expected this...alien to flinch, perhaps cower in terror or run away. But instead, she merely tilted her head in confusion. "Don't act innocent with me! I recognize you clear as day!" "Aww, did I gain weight again?" Mandy tried to eyeball her stomach. "I thought the flying was s'posed to make me lose weight!" Peaches couldn't help but give a growl of frustration, but it stopped right quick when she saw what Mandy was pulling out of her back. "Anyway, I don't remember a thing about whatever you're talkin' about! But if your face doesn't have a reservation with my hammer, then I'm happy to schedule one for ya!" Is...is she threatening me?! Peaches eyed the weapon that Mandy was holding. Short but sturdy in both its base and its head, it looked like a powerful weapon, and it definitely looked like Mandy wasn't afraid to use it. Nonetheless, however, she wasn't about to miss this chance to point out the idiocy in how "remembering burning down a town" correlated with "I'll attack with my hammer". "You're as much of an idiot as I thought." she deadpanned, silently hoping that her snark wouldn't earn her a well-placed hit on the cheek. Lucky for her that her supposed opponent wasn't the "fight first and ask questions later" type. "Yeah, I get that a lot! But what I lack in smarts, I make up for in style and power!" "Your style looks horrifically tacky. Why are you wearing a suit?" "'Cuz I work for Odd Squad! The bestest organization around, ready to fight oddness at a moment's notice!" Mandy giggled and then snorted. "Guess that includes you, 'cuz I haven't seen you around here before!" "That's because I'm not from here." Peaches explained. "I'm from Vallea, which is a town far, far away from here." "Oooooh! Whaddo they got there?" "Apes. But they're not so big." she deadpanned once again, including an eyeroll with her snark this time. "Ohhhh, so you're the odd one outta the bunch!" Mandy began to giggle at her (very terrible) pun. "I was being sarcastic. Exactly how intelligent are you?" "Apparently not intelligent enough to burn an entire town down to the ground...owwn!" Mandy winced at her bad rhyming this time around, but quickly did an emotional 180 and gasped as she came to a decision. "Now that you told me about yourself, let me tell you about myself!" "Oh cattails...please, no..." Peaches buried her face in her hands, wondering exactly why she wasn't walking away from this eccentric anomaly by this point. "Tough like rock, sweet as candy, I am known as Agent Mandy!" She took a bow. "Agent 57, at your service! Nice to meetcha!" "Yeah, nice to meet you." "I'm the funnest, most happiest pony-human hybrid agent you'll ever meet!" Mandy bounced in a circle around Peaches. "I love fighting oddness, sleeping, eating, and making friends, of course!" Peaches suddenly found her lungs being squeezed dry of every last bit of air, and her gaze shifted to Mandy as she leaned closer to her ear. "I also bite." The catgirl barely recognized Mandy's excited giggle as she could feel her face beginning to turn blue. Oh jeez...this is how I'm gonna go, huh? Death by...pony...ugh, whatever this thing is. "Aww, c'mon, ya gotta put a smile on your face!" Mandy edged the corners of Peaches' mouth upwards, much to her chagrin. With what strength she had left, she attempted to wriggle free, but to absolutely no avail. "Oh, jeez, all righty then, I'll letcha go." Noting how she was basically killing her supposed new friend, Mandy let go of her, allowing her to take a couple mighty gulps of air in. "S-sorry about that!" Peaches looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped dead when she took a closer look at her almost-killer. "Wait. I...I recognize you, actually." "You do?" "Y-you're...you're Aunt Kimi and Uncle Derek's child. And that means...we're cousins!" "Hooooold it!" Using her magic, Mandy made a cup of water appear in an instant. She guzzled it and proceeded to do a hearty, self-inflicted spit take. "We're what?!" "We're related!" Related?! Ya gotta be kidding me! Mandy's face lit up as bright as the sun. I finally have some more family! Just as soon as her face lit up, however, her expression turned to one of hesitation. "Wait, wait. Nonono. I-I don't know a Kimi or a Derek!" "They're a distant bunch." Peaches said, dismissively waving her hand. "Either way, this is great news! I hafta tell Momma!" "Tell who?" Peaches didn't quite get an answer to that question, as Mandy grabbed ahold of her once more and teleported away with her. A girl of about 12, clad in a purple shirt, a navy-blue jacket and navy-blue pants, finishing her glass of water and setting it down on the table. A boy of about 11, clad in a purple button-down shirt with a popped collar secured by a purple tie, a navy-blue jacket and navy-blue pants, messily eating a cookie while doing paperwork. The girl sighed. "Otto, you're getting cookie crumbs all over the papers again." "Shorry, Olive." Otto said, swallowing the piece of cookie that was in his mouth. "I've been trying to make crumb-less cookies for a while now, but my recipe isn't perfect yet." A flash caught their eyes and they looked up, only to find Mandy suddenly standing directly in front of them with a groaning Peaches in tow. Immediately, Mandy let go of Peaches and rushed right over to Olive and Otto's shared desk. "Momma, Momma, looklooklook! I have a cousin!" Olive blinked as she watched Mandy's tail wagging back and forth furiously. Of course, when I'm in the middle of paperwork, Mandy always finds it fit to come along and disturb me, she thought. Last week it was her in a spider costume... Sighing, she remarked, "That's nice, Mandy, but I'm kind of in the middle of something right now and we-" She stopped as she took a closer look at exactly what the pony-human hybrid dragged in. "Who's that?" Otto asked, taking the words clear out of his partner's mouth. Mandy took a large gasp of breath and left her mouth open as though she was about to say something, but opened her eyes and stopped. A look of confusion slowly crept on her face as she laid her gaze on Peaches. "What's your name again?" "Peaches..." the catgirl woozily said. "And can you warn me before you do...whatever it is you did?" "Sorry!" Mandy giggled and pushed her cousin to the forefront. "This is Peaches, my cousin!" "Cousin?" "Yeah!" Mandy nodded furiously in response to Olive's question. "To some Aunt Kimi and Uncle Derek. Distant bunch." "But you two don't look anything alike! You have black hair..." Otto pointed at Peaches. "And you have brown..." He pointed at Mandy. "And you two are of completely different species!" "Genetics are a funny thing, partner." Olive shrugged. "So Peaches. Are Kimi and Derek, uh...part of your...species?" "Kimi is a catgirl, like myself. Derek is human." "Ohhh..." Olive and Otto said in unison. "That would explain it." "Look, see? I have a new playmate now! Oh, we're gonna have so much fun!" Mandy couldn't help but bounce up and down with excitement. "Don't forget your Odd Squad duties." Olive smiled as her eyes followed the movement of Mandy. "Naw, I won't!" Mandy gasped as the realization of what she had come to the park to do in the first place hit her. "Actually, while I'm here, have either of you seen any giant acorns in Trinity Bellwoods Park?" "We've gotten reports on those, actually." Otto tried his damnedest not to laugh. "Did Oprah send you to find them?" "Yup! But I haven't found them yet..." Otto gave a loud exhale through his nose, and he couldn't fight back the smile on his face any longer. Olive gave a groan and an eyeroll before she said, "Over by the cliff face." Otto burst into laughter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, so did Mandy. "Ahh, I knew that's where they were! Well, n-not really...I just got a bit sidetracked. Here!" She addressed her newfound cousin, pushing her further forwards to the point where she nearly did a faceplant onto the desk. "Why don't you socialize with these two, and I'll be right back!" Just as Peaches opened her mouth to protest, Mandy was gone with another magic teleportation flash, causing her protest to be resigned to a heavy sigh. Olive smirked. "A handful, isn't she?" "How can you two stand her?" Peaches asked, her tone one of sheer disbelief. "She's really...annoying, and loud, and...the complete opposite of what us catgirls are!" "Well, you're not wrong!" "Otto! Have some consideration!" In that moment, Olive felt like slapping him, but instead settled for flicking him on the nose. As he clutched it in pain, she shook her head and sighed as she swiveled her chair around to face Peaches. "I guess now's as good of a time as ever to introduce ourselves. My name is Olive, and I'm a co-Director of this Odd Squad Precinct, 73955. This is Otto, my partner and other co-Director." "Hi..." Otto shot Olive a dirty look before making eye contact with the catgirl. "Peaches, right?" "Um...yes." Peaches tilted her head. "What is 'Odd Squad'? What's a 'Director'?" "Odd Squad is an organization that fights oddness in any form." Olive explained. "Whether it's flying goldfish..." "Odd villains..." "Or any other oddity. That's what Odd Squad is there for." Oddness? Peaches' brain began to hurt. The concept was so foreign to her, but then again, she didn't really think about what was odd or what was normal too much. "Odd Squad has precincts stationed everywhere on the planet. Except for Moldova...nothing odd really happens there." Olive blinked. "Oh, and to answer your other question..." Otto cleared his throat. "Odd Squad is comprised of many different ranked departments. I think there are about twenty?" "Twenty ranks?!" Peaches chuckled. "What, are they all named after the Greek alphabet?" Olive and Otto shared a look with each other, as though asking each other how this catgirl knew about the Greek language, let alone the concept of the Greek alphabet. "No, no. Most of us are familiar with the main departments: Management, Investigation, Security, Medical, Science, Transportation slash Maintenance, and Creature Care. And the Big Office as well, of course." Olive explained. "So since you two are Directors, that means you're in...Management?" "Right!" Otto nodded. "We Odd Squad Directors keep our precincts running, assigning cases to our agents and making sure everything runs smoothly." "And are you required to wear those outfits?" Unlike her previous comment directed at Mandy's outfit, Peaches' tone of voice was one of curiosity. She couldn't deny that their dominantly-purple outfits looked much fancier than Mandy's. "Yes, they're standard wear for Directors. I'm the exception, though. Most Directors who are girls wear a skirt, but I made a specific request to get pants." "After a lot of fighting." "Ugh, tell me about it." "Well, if it's any consolation, both of them are far less tacky than Mandy's. The purple and navy colors really blend well together! And your necklace..." Peaches pointed to the necklace that Olive was wearing, studded with two rows of indigo and violet beads. "It's wonderful!" At this compliment, Otto did a playful eyeroll and a nonchalant shrug. It's like she's a human Rarity... "Uh, thank you!" "What department is Mandy in that she has to wear such unnecessary formal wear?" "Unnecessary?" Olive didn't get an answer to her question, as Otto rushed over to where a convenient diagram was sitting on an easel. "These are the eight main departments and their symbols." He pointed one by one to each symbol. The first one was rather elaborate -- it was a white circle with a gray decagon inside, and then a disco ball with triangular panels inside of that. Peaches knew that this logo was most likely for the Big Office, since it definitely sounded like an important position and had an important symbol to boot. Next was a violet octagon with violet triangles surrounding a solid violet octagon inside of it. Going by the color, she guessed that this was the symbol for the Management department. The next one was similar to the Management symbol, a red hexagon with red trapezoids inside of it and then a red hexagon inside of that. Peaches was at a loss as to what department this one represented before she remembered that Mandy had been wearing a red tie, and was most likely in the Investigation department. Otto pointed to the third symbol, a blue pentagonal padlock with five blue trapezoids surrounding its keyhole. Yeah, something tells me this place isn't known for its originality, Peaches thought. Definitely Security. The fourth symbol was similar to the Security symbol -- no surprise there -- with its teal diamond shape as though someone had rotated a square, along with four long teal trapezoids surrounding another solid diamond in the middle that was adorned with a radical symbol. Peaches wasn't sure what this symbol was for at first, until she finally figured out that it was for the Medical department. Next was a symbol that looked like a green flask, with three long green trapezoids inside of it. Unlike the other symbols, the trapezoids didn't surround any triangular shape. Peaches tilted her head. "It's the logo for the Science department." Otto pointed out. She nodded, and he moved on to the next symbol, which looked like a yellow lightbulb. Inside of the circle at the top were six trapezoids with curved bottoms that surrounded a solid yellow circle. "Is that supposed to be Maintenance?" "And Transportation, yes." Olive nodded. "Though that's not really apparent. The Maintenance part of the department came long before the Transportation part did." "Huh." was all Peaches said in response as her eyes laid upon the final symbol in the set. It looked like the eye of a reptile, with a thin oval shape in the middle of the solid orange circle meant to represent its slit pupil. Surrounding the orange circle were six green trapezoidal shapes with curved ends, similar to what the Maintenance and Transportation symbol had. It all sat perfectly inside an orange circle that filled Peaches with a strange feeling of warmth. "A department's ranking is determined by the number of sides each symbol has. Like, the Big Office is a...uh..." "Decagon, Otto." "Right, a decagon!" Otto gave a sheepish laugh. "Which has ten sides. The Management department's symbol is an octagon, which has eight sides, so on and so on." This is a lot to take in...but at least it's a good distraction from Mandy. Peaches gave a soft exhale and rubbed her forehead. "So is Mandy ranked below you guys or what?" "Technically, yes. But she's her precinct's Director's second-in-command, so I guess she's on equal footing with us." Olive shrugged. "I dunno. Oprah's explained it to me so many times but I still can't make sense of it." "How does that work? You guys have seconds-in-command?" "It depends on the precinct." Olive explained. "If you want to know more, you'll have to ask the Director at Mandy's precinct. She can take you to meet her when she comes back." As if on cue, a bright rainbow-colored teleportation flash marked the pony-human hybrid's return. "Speak of the agent." Mandy placed a single hand on the desk as she began wheezing and hacking as though her lungs had given out on her. Peaches noticed that her hair and tail were slightly ruffled, and her angel-like wings were matted as well. "Why don't you take a rest and I'll get you some water?" Olive offered, standing up and heading over to the drink bar situated on the right of the office. "Yes...please..." Mandy wheezed out, slowly moving to the couch and plopping on it, beginning to pant like a dog. Otto tilted his head. "Hey, uh, Olive..." "Hmm?" "Did you notice that Mandy has scratches on her face?" A bolt of shock went rocketing through Olive's body with such ferocity that she nearly dropped the water pitcher she was holding. The cup she had been filling began to overflow and water spilled on the countertop. "Partner, take it easy! Go help Mandy, I'll clean up the water." It didn't take all of three seconds before Olive speed-walked over to where Mandy looked as though she was about to die of thirst, nearly bumping into Otto in the process as he made his way to the drink bar. "Mandy, are you okay? You look like you've bled!" Olive gently touched Mandy's cheek. Peaches widened her eyes as the agent didn't seem to show any signs of pain, and instead went from being dehydrated to being perfectly fine in a millisecond. "Aww, Momma, I'm fine! I did bleed a little, but the bleeding went away!" "Otto, when you're finished, can you go to Dr. O and ask him for some antiseptic?" "Sure." As he finished cleaning up the mess and grabbed the cup of water, he made his way over to Mandy and gave her the cup before quickly departing the office. Peaches watched him go, a guilty look beginning to form on her face. "Here, drink some water." Mandy did as she was told, drinking the cup eagerly, the tip of her tail flicking up and down as she relished the cold sensation that filled her mouth and soothed her throat. "Um..." Peaches spoke, scratching the back of her head. "I was the one who hurt Mandy." "What?!" "I attacked her because I thought she was the person who destroyed my hometown." The catgirl bowed. "I'm really sorry." She wasn't exactly sure what Olive was feeling. Inside, Peaches could see that she was hurt and a little angry, and she internally braced herself in the event that a fight would break out. But the rest of her face held a trace of understanding. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a sigh left Olive's lips. "It's fine. Just so long as she isn't dead." The sigh of relief that Peaches had been holding in finally made its way out. "What happened to your town?" the Director asked. "It was attacked. Someone came into town and began burning houses down, hurting many catpeople who were inside. I wasn't around at the time, but I got wind that it resulted in many lives taken. Our king tried to identify the culprit with witnesses' accounts, but...we never found them. And they had the same body shape as Mandy." "That's quite unfortunate. I'm really sorry that happened." Olive yanked the cup that Mandy was now eyeballing out of her hands. "But I can assure you, Mandy would never do such a thing." "Nope!" Mandy chirped. "I told ya, I never visited a Vallea!" "I'm back!" Otto greeted. "Brought some cotton balls too." "Ah, thank you!" Olive took the bag of cotton balls and the bottle of antiseptic liquid from Otto and got to work, taking out a cotton ball and pouring some of the liquid on it. "This may sting, Mandy, okay?" She dabbed the cotton ball on some of the scratches that lined Mandy's cheek. To Peaches' surprise, once again, the pony-human hybrid began to giggle, and her tail began to flick again. "It stings and tickles!" she exclaimed. "You want me to get bandages too?" "No, these are fine." Olive waved a hand dismissively. As the girl that Mandy had so lovingly called "Momma" continued to clean up her supposed daughter's wounds, Peaches felt conflicted about the being she had attacked. How can she stay so happy all the time? Even when she's injured, she still has a smile on her face. Only King Ashero was like that...able to take hit after hit and never let his smile fade... She didn't hear Olive telling Mandy she was done, nor did she hear Mandy saying she was going to take her cousin to meet more people. All she could do was stare at this anomaly of a living being, who didn't feel much pain and seemed to be in a state of eternal happiness no matter what happened to her. "Don't overwhelm her, okay?" "I won't!" Peaches snapped out of her trance and shook her head, noticing that Mandy was grabbing ahold of her arm. "Now hold on, I'm gonna teleport again!" Before she could say anything, the duo was gone in a flash of magic. "She seems nice." Otto commented, heading back to his desk and taking a seat in his comfy office chair. "Yeah. But a catgirl in Toronto is..." Olive paused. "Well, I've never seen a catgirl around here. And I've never heard of 'Vallea' either. Have you?" Otto shook his head. "I just hope Oprah's as accepting of her as we are." The two co-Directors quickly attempted to get back to work, but neither one of them could help but stare at the spot where their mysterious guest once stood. In a flash of light, Mandy and Peaches arrived at the former's intended destination. "And voila! Welcome to Precinct 13579, where I work, live, breathe, eat, sleep, and do everything my species is s'posed to do!" "Whoa..." What met Peaches' eyes were agents in all sorts of departments, phones ringing off the hook, and many, many different oddities, ranging from dinosaurs to people clad in plaid to rainbows in buckets. It was almost too much for her to handle, given how Vallea was a relatively peaceful place. "There are so many...odd things!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Well no duh!" Mandy rolled her eyes. "Mandy?" The duo turned to their right to find an alicorn approaching them. With violet fur and a purple-and-pink mane and tail, she looked rather regal, and Peaches had to resist bowing just on instinct. "Agent Twilight! Hi!" Mandy waved. "Where've you been? We've all been worried sick about you!" Twilight chided. "I've been battling acorns in the park!" Mandy chirped. "Or...uh, well...not really battling, more...turning people back from acorns." "Who's this?" "This is Peaches, a catgirl from Vallea and my cousin!" "Wait, you two are cousins?" Twilight tilted her head. "We come from a distant aunt and uncle." Peaches explained as she wondered how many times this particular tidbit was going to bear repeating. "And...you have the ears of a cat? And the tail of a cat?" "Oh, yes!" Peaches nodded. "All catgirls have those features." "Interesting." Twilight smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Peaches. I'm Agent Twilight Sparkle, an Investigation agent of Odd Squad Precinct 13579. Everyone just calls me Twilight, though." "So you're of the same ranking as Mandy?" "Yes." Peaches nodded again in understanding before she let out a soft gasp. "Hey Mandy, why don't you take me to your Director? Oprah, was it? I have a question for her." "All righty, follow me!" The pony-human hybrid took off towards the staircase that laid on the left side. Peaches, just now realizing that there was a second floor, followed suit. "See you later!" Twilight called before heading off towards what appeared to be a laboratory. "Knockity-knockityyy!" Mandy called in singsong as she poked her head into the office upstairs. "Oh come on, just who i-" Oprah, who sat at a desk at the back of the small office, looked about ready to throw down and take names, crumpling up her artwork slightly in the process. Upon seeing who was addressing her, however, her expression immediately relaxed. "Oh. Mandy, welcome back. Did you solve the case?" "Yup, aaaaaaand I made a new friend! Meet Peaches, my catgirl cousin!" The catgirl took a couple hesitant steps forward, feeling a shiver run down her spine. "Uh, hi. Are you...in charge here?" "Yes, I am. Come and have a seat on this couch." As Oprah pointed to the couch that sat to Peaches' right, the catgirl made her way over little by little and sat down, noticing how sticky the cushion seemed to be. Likewise, Mandy bounced her way over to the couch and took a seat next to her newfound family member. "My name is Oprah. Or Ms. O, if you wanna refer to me by my title." The girl went over to the other couch and sat across from Peaches and Mandy. "I am the Director of Precinct 13579." Peaches said nothing in response, instead taking in the sights of the one sitting across from her. She looked identical to Olive, with her two-rowed necklace, her purple shirt underneath her navy jacket, and her purple Converse shoes. However, unlike Olive, she wore a navy skirt as a bottom instead of pants. "Psst! Introduce yourself!" Mandy nudged Peaches, which seemed to snap her out of her observational trance. "Um...my name is Peaches. I'm a catgirl hailing from the faraway town of Vallea. Through our aunt and uncle, Mandy and I are also blood cousins." "Aunt and uncle?" "I know, we don't look related." Peaches explained to Oprah. "Aunt Kimi was a catgirl, while Uncle Derek was a human." "Huh." "I came here looking for the person who burned down my town, and...I initially believed it was Mandy. But it wasn't her. It was someone else." Peaches sighed. "I'm...sorry for harming one of your own." Oprah's eyes widened. She glanced at Mandy and squinted slightly, her mouth beginning to twist into quite the malicious frown. "Just forgive her! It was an honest mistake." Mandy waved a hand dismissively. "Besides, I came back alive, didn't I?" Oprah shifted her gaze from a rather-embarrassed Peaches to a calm Mandy, back and forth, unsure what to make of this situation. After a half-minute of thinking about it, she sighed. "All right. I'll assume it was a case of false identity, then." "Thank you." Peaches smiled. "Oh yeah, I meant to ask. Exactly what role does Mandy play in your...what is it called...'precinct'"? "Mandy is my second-in-command, my most trusted agent. Has been for a while." "But she is still in the Investigation department as an agent." "Yes." Oprah nodded. "Mandy goes out into the field and solves cases like other Investigation agents do, and serves as a sort of substitute leader when I'm unable to lead for any reason. She is...the heart of the precinct." "The heart?" "Mandy brings such joy here with her antics. Always having a smile on her face, always comforting us and saving us when stakes are at their highest. She's one of the best agents I've ever had." Peaches tilted her head. Weird. I expected her to be tougher than this. It's strange...no, it's odd to see her touched by whimsy for this...thing. "Glad ya think so, boss!" Mandy's horn lit up, and a juice box floated from her hammerspace spine. "Here, have some juice!" "Thank you." Oprah took the juice box. "You're welcome to have some as well, Mandy, of course. You too, Peaches." "Um...I'll have to decline. But thank you." Peaches glanced at Mandy, who pulled another juice box out and got to drinking. It was quite a shame to her that now, she had two mysteries on her hands -- who attacked Vallea, and exactly who or what Mandy was. By all means, she acted completely human, but Peaches couldn't shake the feeling that there was something...alien about her that she couldn't place. "So you're more powerful than I thought..." the catgirl mused. "But yet you didn't harm Vallea." "Nope!" A heavy sigh escaped Peaches' lips. "So the search continues." she mused. "Oh!" Oprah glanced at her wristwatch. "It's already 5:00. How time flies." "Oh no...I'm not gonna have anywhere to sleep. Vallea's too far away for me to return back by nightfall." And King Ashero told me never to return until my mission was completed...that too. "Well, I see you're good friends with Mandy..." "Yuparoonie!" "Well, I...wouldn't say friends. More like acquaintances." A bout of nervous laughter left Peaches' lips. "Tell you what." Oprah offered. "Why don't you stay here, in Headquarters?" "Here? Are you sure?" "Sure I'm sure. Mandy can help you get acquainted with some of the other agents here, and fix up a room for you." "I-I couldn't possibly stay here!" Peaches shook her head. "I don't really take advantage of free hospitality..." "I insist, Peaches." Oprah held up her hand. "Any friend of Mandy's is a friend of mine. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want." "I, um..." "Just say yes!" Mandy nudged her cousin again. "All right." Peaches sighed. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to have a comfortable place to stay while I search." "Looks like you have a new roommate, Mandy." "Yay!" "Follow me. I have a room you can stay in." Oprah got up from the couch and took another sip of her juice box as she headed for the glass double-doors. Mandy eagerly followed suit, bouncing up and down. Peaches watched them leave and begin descending the stairs, shaking her head once more before following them. Peaches gazed upon her new room, her eyes widening as she took in the sights of her new bed pushed up against the back-left wall, the nightstand that sat next to it, and the blue paint that covered the walls. "How do you like it?" Oprah asked. "It's...really cozy and inviting." The words danced on the catgirl's lips as she eyed a shelf that sat high above, and a nice plush carpet that was spread out onto the floor. "Down the hall and to your left is the Bedroom. That's where Mandy and the ponies here sleep." "Wait, you live here?" Peaches turned to Mandy. "Yep! For as long as I can remember." "And there are other ponies?" "Yep!" "Agents Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all work here in Precinct 13579. I'm sure you'll see them around...if Mandy doesn't introduce you to them first." Peaches nodded. So there are five more that look just like Twilight? The alicorn mare had seemed friendly enough, but who knew what the other five would be like. It made her nervous just thinking about it. A yawn escaped from Mandy. "Aww, jeez...I missed my naptime and everything! And now I'm hungry." She looked up at Peaches. "C'mon, Peaches, why don't I show you around town?" "U-uh, maybe that's...not such a good idea." She put her hands up. "I don't think people here are familiar with the sight of a catgirl...especially not one like me..." "You could just say you're cosplaying or dressing up or something." Mandy shrugged. "Maybe..." Before Peaches could debate any more on the matter, a yawn escaped her. "Why don't you rest up. I'm happy to make you something!" As much as the catgirl wanted to say yes, a realization hit her like a truck. Her eyes scanned Mandy up and down, with her beaming smile and her bouncy curls. But something was missing. "You...you're not...you!" "Whaddya mean?" "You're not...bouncing around and squishing my cheeks and pulling me everywhere!" Peaches waved her hands in the air to accentuate her statement. Mandy scoffed. "Aww, c'mon. I'm very hyperactive, it's true. Sometimes I just get super-excited, especially when meeting someone new!" Yeah, no duh, Peaches wanted to snark in response, but kept her mouth shut and continued to examine Mandy instead. For some reason, it never really dawned on her that the pony-human hybrid had a long horn and a pair of wings -- she had forgotten to ask about them in the whole debacle -- but now that she noticed them, they looked...weird. "What is it?" "Why do you have...a tail? And ears? And wings? And a horn?" "Oh, all these?" Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "I got them when I defeated a Hydracops at sea. Like, a big sea monster!" Peaches tilted her head. "I dunno why it happened, and I did have a rough time with them, initially..." A downtrodden look crossed Mandy's face for a split second. "But I'm better now! I can clean floors super-fast, and fly, and, and, I can do magic!" The catgirl sighed. "I never should have suspected you to begin with. The person that attacked my town didn't have any of those." "D'aww, don't beat yourself up over it, silly kitty!" Mandy waved a hand dismissively. "Now, whaddya want to eat?" "Well...some fish would be nice." "Any specific kind?" "Tuna?" "Got it! Be right back!" With a few leaps and bounds, Mandy was gone from sight, and Peaches took the opportunity to let another sigh exit her system, feeling her body begin to deflate. "Darling, why do you look so sad?" A soft and velvety voice broke her out of her fatigue, and she quickly turned around, giving a surprised yowl. What met her view was a unicorn mare with near-blinding-white fur and a mane of indigo, with striking blue eyes. "Oh! Did I startle you, dear? Terribly sorry." Peaches had a ton of questions about this mare, who donned the same top half of the Investigation agent suit that Twilight wore with the badge to match. Chief among them would have been about her accent, if not for her brain making her spill out another question first. "Y-you're another...pony?" "Mhm!" The mare nodded. "The name is Agent Rarity. I, um...assume you've already met Agent Mandy?" "We're, uh...actually cousins." "Cousins?! Goodness, you two don't look anything alike!" Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin. "But then again, the same can be said for Pinkie Pie and Applejack..." "Well, um...m-my name's Peaches, if you want to know." "What a lovely name." Rarity's eyes drifted to the catgirl's ears and tail. "Oh, and I love the cat-ears headband and tail attachment you have. Very chic! Is it a costume?" "They're real. I'm a catgirl. Part human, part cat." Rarity blinked in response to this news. "My, you are quite fantastical, aren't you?" she mused, continuing to look Peaches up and down. "What do you do here? Do you solve cases?" Peaches asked. "Oh, well, yes, of course." Rarity explained. "I fight oddness here, and also run my very own boutique here in Odd Squad! I make all sorts of fashionable clothing -- dresses, jackets, anything and everything you can think of!" A small smile crept upon Peaches' face. "I also have three other boutiques in Equestria that I have the most generous ponies running." She's into fashion...like me? Peaches didn't think it was possible. Everyone used to shun me and laugh at me because I made clothes...but here's someone that does it for a living...and is apparently very successful! Her eyes shimmered, and she made a mental note to talk to Rarity more in-depth later. For now, though, one question loomed over her. "What is Equestria? Is it a land full of horses?" Rarity nodded. "Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, among many other creatures -- we all live there." Before Peaches could ask another question, her eyes caught the sight of a blue-furred Pegasus mare with a rainbow-colored mane and tail flying onto the scene. "Hey, Rarity, you mind if I get my spare suit from your boutique?" "Not at all, darling! The door is open." As the mare began to take off, she suddenly spotted the tall catgirl standing in front of Rarity. "Oh, hey! You must be new here. Client?" "No, I...I'm sorta staying here for a bit." "Cool. The name's Agent Rainbow Dash, by the way." "I assume you're a Pegasus?" "The fastest around!" To show off, Rainbow Dash did a few loop-de-loops in mid-air. "And you're a unicorn." Peaches pointed to Rarity. "Indeed!" "There y'all are!" A voice, while warm and welcoming, brought nothing but more confusion for Peaches. The source quickly revealed itself to be an orange pony wearing a brown hat, her blonde mane and tail secured by red hair ties. "Mandy's been tellin' me there's someone new 'round these parts. Welcome to Odd Squad!" A myriad of questions rolled in Peaches' head. "I'll assume you're an...Earth pony?" "Right! Name's Agent Applejack. Pleasure to meet ya!" "Uh, hi...I'm Peaches, Mandy's cousin who hails from Vallea. Distant family." She ran a hand through her hair. "Just how many ponies are there around here, again?" Peaches asked aloud. "It's just the six of us." Rarity responded. "Well, not if ya count Mandy." Applejack pointed out. "What do you mean?" "Not sure if she's told ya this, but Mandy's known as a pony-human hybrid. Part pony, part human. So I reckon that would make seven of us." She is? Peaches thought. Maybe she mentioned it and I just wasn't paying attention. "Yeah, plus, she's an alicorn!" Rainbow's voice brought the catgirl out of her thoughts, and she blinked. "A what-corn?" "An alicorn." Rarity held up a hoof. "You see, when a pony has wings and a horn, that makes them an alicorn. And usually, when you become an alicorn, you become a princess!" Peaches went completely slack-jawed. A princess?! So does that mean...was I just talking...to royalty?! She had to admit that she didn't know any princesses -- despite her hometown being run by a king, he was the only ruling authority as far as she was aware. But if Mandy was anything like King Ashero, then she was a princess only in name, not in professionalism. "Now, now, partner, don't go overwhelmin' her." Applejack put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I guess..." Peaches shook her head. "I just need some time to think about all this." "Well, why don't ya tell us a bit about where you came from?" Applejack asked. "Oh, I come from Vallea. It's a wondrous town that is populated by catpeople, like myself. We have a king, King Ashero, who keeps it running, and we-" A singsong "Hellooo-ooooooo!" marked the return of Mandy, much to Peaches' relief as she internally sighed. "I brought you your fish! Nice fresh tuna! Dead tuna!" An awkward smile crossed the hybrid's face that Peaches couldn't quite comprehend, noting that the smile was aimed at Fluttershy, whose eyes slightly widened. "Thank you." The catgirl took the metal bucket from the magical grasp of her cousin. "Um...if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone tonight. Just to think." "Aww, you sure you don't want a sleeping buddy?" Mandy tilted her head. "I know being in a new place might be scary for you! And I've got a spare sleeping bag!" "I'm fine. In fact, I'll, uh...start right now. Thinking, I mean." "All right." Mandy shrugged. "See you tomorrow, 'kay?" The four mares, along with Mandy, left the doorway of their guest's new room as she closed the door. "I must say, darling, your cousin is rather...different." Rarity tilted her head. "Like the flip side of a bit!" Applejack piped up. "Aww, c'mon, guys, she was just feelin' a lil' overwhelmed." Mandy frowned. "Plus, she, uh...kinda suffered a bit of a devastating loss." "Huh?" Now it was Rainbow's turn to tilt her head. "She's been trying to find the person who destroyed her town and hurt the people in it. She thought I was the culprit at first!" "But I don't recall anythin' about you goin' to a Vallea." "My, that's simply awful!" "Exactly!" Mandy sighed. "I just wish there was a way I could cheer her up." "If anyone can do it, it's you!" "Yeah, you always make us laugh, sugarcube!" Rarity moved to touch Mandy's arm with her hoof, gazing up at her with the blue eyes she had come to love. "I'm sure with a little more time, Peaches will come to laugh, too." The unicorn mare's words touched Mandy, but she couldn't help but wonder if this was something more suited for Pinkie Pie. But Peaches was her cousin, after all, and it was practically her obligation to make her feel welcome. "Of course!" She brightened up. "I'm not ever gonna stop trying! I'm gonna make her happy if it's the last thing I do!" The loud and low growl of a stomach interrupted the mood, and it didn't take long before everyone's gazes pointed at Mandy's stomach. She gave a sheepish chuckle. "Uh, maybe after I eat." As nighttime fell across Toronto, the beds in the Bedroom were mysteriously empty. That is, all except for Mandy's. The hybrid laid askew in her bed, sheets ruffled up and laying at the bottom of the bed, the snores emanating from her loud enough to knock down part of the Hoover Dam. As she exhaled, she muttered incomprehensible nonsense, and a trail of drool fell from her mouth. Meanwhile, Peaches, being mostly nocturnal, was still awake, eating a fish from the bucket she had been brought -- on a plate, of course, because she wasn't that uncivilized. She set the plate down, sighing and retreating into her thoughts. So Mandy wasn't the one who destroyed Vallea. But if it wasn't her, then...just who was it? Tears began to prick at her eyes as she remembered what her king had said to her before she left. "Peaches!" A catperson with a lion's mane and a slender tail bore his icy green gaze down upon one of his subjects. In his hand, he wielded a staff, a long stick which took on the shape of a candy cane, but had a collar and a bell attached to its center. He wore a rather illustrious but royal uniform, or so everyone thought -- it was hidden behind a dark cloak that enveloped all but his lower arms and hands. "I trust you to find this individual and bring them back to Vallea for justice. Do you understand me?" "Yes, Your Majesty." "You leave first thing in the morning. And do not return until you have found them!" His voice was booming and authoritative, echoing intensely throughout the throne room. It chilled Peaches to the bone, although it wasn't like she would tell him that. What else chilled her to the bone was the order that she couldn't go back to Vallea unless she had the culprit in tow. She was aware that Vallea wasn't exactly the nicest place for her to stay, but for her to be barred from entering unless she had the culprit? It was absurd. By all accounts, she should have called him out on it. But she didn't. That would have earned her a swift and severe punishment, and one that she did not want. "Yes, Your Majesty." Like a broken record, she uttered the three words that would punctuate her exit as she turned and left the room, attempting to hold a confident air until she was out of sight of the king. And it was only then that the tears began to fall. It was a horrible memory. I can't even go back home...if I do, I'll risk the wrath of King Ashero. I could be exiled from the town! Or worse... She didn't want to think about what "or worse" meant, even though she already knew quite well what it meant. She felt tears running down her face, but couldn't bring herself to wipe them away. Instead, she gave a shaky sigh. The least I can do...is try to get some sleep. I would go searching for the culprit now, but I haven't slept all day...mmm... Her body weighed down by fatigue, she got up and set the plate and bucket on her new dresser that was lined up along the back wall, then collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes, the tears still coming. A flurry of knocks at the Bedroom door marked the arrival of one pink pony who was rather upset over the events of yesterday. When she didn't receive an answer, she used her expendable forelock to turn the handle and open the door, immediately racing for Mandy's bedside. "Mandy! Mandy, wake up, it's urgent! Wake up!" She got no response. The hybrid was still fast asleep, having turned onto her side with her right arm drooped over the side of the bed. And naturally, she was still snoring away, as loud as ever. The pink pony's mouth scrunched up, just before a growl and a cry of frustration came forth. "Wake. UP!" "Pinkie Pie, give her some time!" As Pinkie turned, she spotted a yellow Pegasus pony with a lengthy, light-pink mane and tail poke her head in the doorway before entering the room. "Mandy doesn't wake up right away, remember?" "Fluttershy, there's a new guest here and I wasn't told about it! Do you know how horrible that makes me feel?!" Pinkie complained. "Umm...well, no, but...let Mandy introduce us to them first. Twilight and the others already met them last night." A snort caught the mares' attention, and they watched as Mandy slowly opened her eyes, parting her jaws to let out a noisy yawn and a couple "mmm's". What followed was the sound of a bone pop that made Pinkie visibly wince. "Ahhh, that's better! Sometimes the old spine needs a poppin'." She shook her head and allowed her vision to bring into focus the two ponies that gazed back at her. "Oh, hi...what're you doin' here...?" "Partner, you brought someone new here and you didn't tell me?!" Mandy grabbed a smoothie glass filled with her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise -- a rather sugary concoction made up mostly of chocolate milk -- off of her nightstand and sipped it clean within seconds. "Aww, Ponka, relax. Just lemme..." A yawn interrupted her words. "...wake up n' I'll take ya to her, mkay?" "We'd love to meet her, if you don't mind." "Sure!" Mandy hopped off of the bed and shook her body out in an attempt to fully wake herself up. "Happy to! Just lemme get dressed first." A few minutes later and the trio were walking down the hallway, with Mandy fully dressed in her Odd Squad uniform. "So she's your cousin?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. "Yep. Distant family. Suuuuuuper-distant." As soon as they arrived at Peaches' room, Mandy knocked thrice. "Hey Peaches, you in there?" she asked, although the question didn't matter since she opened the door anyway without waiting for a response. What she found was Peaches in her human form, fast asleep with the sheets covering her as she elicited soft snores. "Ehehe..." Mandy closed the door gently. "I, uh, forgot. She's probably nocturnal." Fluttershy couldn't resist the opportunity to give a playful eyeroll. "C'mon, I'll tell ya about her over brunch!" Mandy chirped, hopping away as the two mares followed suit. A long pink tongue snaked its way over a stack of chocolate chip pancakes. Once it did a complete circle around the neatly-placed stack, its eccentric owner pulled the stack completely into her mouth, chewing it and relishing the taste for only a few moments before swallowing and giving a satisfied "mmm!" "So her name is Peaches, and she's a...catgirl from a town called Vallea?" Pinkie asked, picking up her own mug of hot chocolate and sipping it. "Essentially!" "She sounds like a nice person." Fluttershy pointed out. "She is!" Mandy nodded. "But...she's been trying to find who wrecked Vallea for a while. It's been bugging her a bit." "Oh." Suddenly, Mandy gasped as she got an idea. "I've got it!" She blinked. "Well, actually, no. I have two plans." "Two?" Pinkie and Fluttershy asked in unison. "I know cats like solitude, but something about Peaches...hmm." Mandy tapped her chin, struggling to retain some sense of coherency. "Is there something wrong?" Fluttershy blinked before taking a sip of her own drink, some herbal green tea. "I feel like maybe she has a bigger history with Vallea than I realized, and..." The hybrid paused, her eyes widening just before she let out a groan and let her head make impact with the table, causing the mares' cups to jiggle slightly. "We're here to listen, Mandy." Fluttershy coaxed. "It's just so complicated! Like, I feel like...Peaches may be an outcast." Pinkie and Fluttershy both exchanged a glance with each other, the former looking more worried than the latter as she asked, "An outcast?" "Yeah, like...maybe she's...well, she's not happy! I just..." The hybrid sighed. "I dunno. My brain's mush!" "Well, ya did just meet her!" Pinkie waved a dismissive hoof. "Maybe you just need some time to warm up to her!" "Just get to know her a little more. I'm sure you two will be friends in no time!" "If anyone can do it, it's you, Mandy!" The girl remained slumped on the table, taking a couple seconds to let her friends' words sink in. Sure enough, her next sigh became a sigh of relief. "Of course. I'll try my best! But first..." She glanced at her desk and giggled. "Gotta get some work done!" "Allow yours truly to help!" Pinkie set down her now-empty mug and hopped off her seat, quickly making a beeline for her partner's desk. "Gladly!" As she watched them go, a small but sad smile danced on Fluttershy's face, her eyes shimmering as she silently wished that Peaches would be all right. As much as she wanted to interfere, she didn't want to intrude, and instead made a mental note to be a helping hoof for the catgirl should she ever need it, when the two met, of course. With a stack of papers strapped to her back, Pinkie began to make her way down to the File Room, staggering a little bit before she managed to find her footing and walk straight. Mandy sighed. "Glad I had Pinkie to help with all that paperwork. With her helping out, it was a lot more efficient then I thought it was gonna be!" she said aloud, standing up from her desk and extending her body upwards in a well-needed stretch. Just as she returned to her regular position, however, a yawn made its escape. Her eyes widened in surprise before a knowing smile crept onto her face. "And now, to enact my plan. The only one I have, of course." With her mind freer, she was able to get her thoughts together, and had come up with the perfect plan to ease Peaches' worries and make sure that she would befriend her. Quickly, the hybrid snatched a piece of copy paper and gripped a pen in her magical grasp, cracked her knuckles, and got to scribbling. Once that was done, she put the pen back and allowed her magic to take hold on the paper before bouncing off to her next destination. As she bust open the Bedroom door, she caught sight of Twilight and Rainbow Dash, surrounded by books and in deep conversation about...well, it was about the Daring Do book series, but it was a conversation that she couldn't care less about. She made a quick beeline for her nightstand's top drawer, set her note down, opened the drawer, and moved her hand around in an attempt to find something. Her expression quickly turned from pleased to unamused, however, when she couldn't feel her fingers grasp her intended target, and let out a growl before jumping and somehow managing to put her full body weight on the dresser without breaking it, squirming her way inside. Almost the entirety of the top half of her body was now inside the drawer, including her face, her back legs kicking freely and her tail wagging back and forth slightly. By this point, both alicorn and Pegasus mare had stopped their conversation and stared at the sight with confused expressions. "I don't even wanna ask..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Mandy, what are you-" "You shush! I'm looking for something!" A gasp. "Ooh, found it!" And then, a couple seconds of futile struggle. Back legs waving furiously, tail beginning to develop stray hairs, and a pony-human hybrid who had found herself at the mercy of when a complete lack of physics can become a detriment. "Are you stuck?" Twilight asked, trying to hold back a laugh. "No!" A few seconds passed. Back legs falling still, tail drooping to the ground, and a pony-human hybrid who had found herself in a situation that she had deeply regretted getting into, but couldn't get out of on her own volition. "...Yes." Rainbow snorted, and then belly-laughed. Twilight, giving a sigh, only needed to light up her horn and smoothly (well, mostly smoothly) drag Mandy out, noticing that the thing she was holding in her hand was a stuffed toy leopard. "Thank you." With her feet on the ground and the magical aura being released from her, she glared at Rainbow Dash. "And stop laughing, Rainbow. What I'm doing is very important." "And what are you doing?" Twilight asked. "Tryna make Peaches feel better!" the hybrid explained. "I figured I could give her this old stuffie of mine to cuddle with while she sleeps. It always helped me when I was little." "It's nice that you care so much about her." "Well, she's my cousin, Twi! I can't not!" Mandy said. "And now, I must go!" In a blur, she nabbed the note and quickly left the room, leaving Rainbow staring after her in confusion. "Where were we?" Rainbow swiveled her head to Twilight, blinked a couple times, then said point-blank, "I completely forgot." The door to Peaches' room opened just enough for Mandy to wriggle her face in. Her blue eyes scanned her surroundings and quickly fell on the sleeping Peaches, who had switched positions and was now facing the back wall. Using her magic, the hybrid levitated the toy and the note into the room, setting the note on the nightstand and the toy in just the right position behind Peaches. She squinted as she adjusted the toy, pivoting it so it faced the same way as Peaches. Once she was satisfied, she pulled her face out of the doorway and closed the door as quietly as she could, her usual cat smile growing wider as she knew her plan had already been carried out. All she had to do now was wait for the results. Peaches' eyes slowly opened. From looking out the window, the sun appeared to be setting. A yawn escaped her as she turned around to the other side... And quickly found two big beady eyes staring back at her. Startled, she yowled and promptly fell off the bed. "Oww! Ohh..." She reached an arm upwards and used her retractable claws to cling to her bedsheets as she hoisted herself up. "Lucky I wasn't in cat form..." she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and trying to get a better look at what monster had climbed into bed with her. "A...toy?" She picked it up and examined it, giving it a few sniffs for good measure. It looked clean and in good condition, but it certainly wasn't hers -- she was a little too old for plush toys. Her eyes drifted to a piece of white paper on her nightstand. Picking it up, she read it aloud. To Peaches: One of my biggest motivators in life is to make others happy. I know something’s on your mind, and I wanna let you know I’m here for you whenever, wherever. If you need help searching for whoever destroyed your town, I’m your agent. But I’m not just an ally of yours, I’m your friend. And friends help each other. I hope that you can be mine as well, and maybe, you can open up to me about whatever’s buggin' you. For now, I thought Fluffy, my stuffed leopard toy, would help you sleep and take your worries away. Hope you don’t mind. Yours truly with hugs and love, Your cousin, Mandy The catgirl read the note over and over again. She flipped the paper to make sure nothing was written on the back. But the messy scribbles, while messy but somehow legible, were unmistakable. There was no doubt that it was written by Mandy herself. Are these...her true feelings? "She...she wrote this..." Did she really...want to be friends? King Ashero...he...never said anything about me hoping to make friends or anything. And he was so straightforward...and why me, even? Why not some other catperson? Why did he pick the one reject of the village to go on such an important mission? Her eyes widened. Unless...he did it for some other reason! She flung open her door and looked up and down the halls, but there was no sign of life. She could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes again, but made no effort to wipe them away, and instead, she let them cascade down her face. "I...perhaps..." The door closed. "Perhaps it's...time..." Her voice cracked. "Time to...time...to talk." It was those five words that caused her body to run on autopilot. She walked towards the bullpen, eyes darting to and fro as if looking for something. From her lack of attention, she bumped into Oprah, giving an "oof" of surprise. "Whoa! Oh, it's you." Oprah blinked. "Are you okay, Peaches? How are you doing here in Odd Squad? Enjoying it?" The Director didn't get a coherent answer to that question, and instead, she found herself bearing witness to a horrifying scream, and then grabbed and embraced, by a now-fully-sobbing Peaches. "T-take it easy!" she said, resisting the urge to squirm her way out of this impromptu hug. Luckily, it seemed that she didn't need to do that, as Olive and Otto came running into the bullpen from the Lab. "What the heck was that?!" Olive exclaimed. "Is everything okay?!" Otto quickly spotted Oprah and made a move for her, yanking her out of Peaches' grasp -- not that the catgirl seemed to care, as she continued to cry. "Peaches, come on up into my office, okay? It's gonna be okay!" That didn't seem to help, as Peaches went from outright sobbing into unintelligible blubbering, her nose beginning to run in the process. Olive and Otto could only stare, still bewildered by what was happening. "Well don't just stand there, help me!" Oprah snapped, and as if on instinct, the two co-Directors helped to guide Peaches into Oprah's office. Which didn't really help. It seemed like hours before she seemed to be nearing the tailwind of her outburst, even though Oprah had told Olive and Otto that she hadn't been crying for long. With snot and tear stains on her dress, she didn't look like the most dignified catgirl in Vallea at the moment. "Wait, what's that in her hand?" Otto's eyes widened, and he went to grab the paper from Peaches' hand. "It's a note!" "What's it say?" Olive asked. Otto read it aloud, causing Peaches to give a loud agonized wail. "Peaches does seem very aloof. I guess Mandy just really wanted to bond with a family member." Oprah mused. As she shook, Peaches took shaky breaths, gripping her dress tightly as the tears stopped falling. "Got some tissues for you." Oprah offered, reaching behind her back and pulling out a small box of tissues. Eagerly, the catgirl snatched some and cleaned herself up, blowing her nose and trying to compose herself. "I..." Ears folded down, Peaches attempted to string together a coherent sentence, but couldn't find the words. Luckily, she didn't need to, as Otto piped up with, "Where'd you find this note?" "It was...on my nightstand." She gave another shaky sigh. "I...I've been so distant from Mandy, because...she and I, we...we're so different. She's hyperactive, and annoying, and maybe she's not all that intelligent..." Olive gave an angry "Hey!" "No, no...she told me herself. But..." Peaches sniffled. "I-is it okay if...I confide in you?" Oprah nodded. "Of course." "We're friends of Mandy, after all!" Otto piped up. "You can trust us 100%." Olive smiled. "What's on your mind, Peaches?" "I...y-you see, I'm...an outcast. I never fit in with the other catpeople of Vallea. I was teased constantly, a-and I never really had any friends growing up. I was essentially...a loner. And when our king sent me away to find out who burned our village, I felt like I was a part of something bigger. Like he was giving me a chance to prove myself and make me a hero." A fire began to settle in her heart, one that was so hot it almost gave her heartburn. "But I realized...he did it to exile me from Vallea." She took another tissue and blew her nose before continuing. "It was never to make me a hero. It was never because he trusted me. Even though the culprit is still out there, I...I spent countless months thinking I was doing good for Vallea. That I could find the culprit and get fame and respect." She blinked. "B-but...when I met Mandy for the first time, and I got to meet all of you, I realized..." For the first time in what seemed like forever, she smiled. "You all are the first ones to ever be genuinely nice to me." The trio shared smiles of their own, feeling their hearts touched by their new friend's story. "We're in no way malicious, Peaches. We may have our bad apples..." Oprah winced. "But a large majority of us are kindhearted. And we'd be more than happy to be your friends if you want." Peaches sniffled once more, her heart no longer consumed by fire but instead soaring with happiness and relief. "I would like that. Very much." "Don't be afraid to come to us too, if you need anything!" Otto pointed out. "Yeah, we're all happy to help you." Olive nodded. "W-well, in that case...our king, he told me that...I couldn't come back to Vallea until the culprit was caught. And after realizing that he exiled me, I...I thought it over, and..." Peaches scratched the back of her neck. "I still want to search for the culprit as best I can." She blinked. "Can I still stay here?" "Of course. As I said, you can stay here for as long as you want." "Thank you. Please, let me repay the favor, at least." "Well, I think there's a certain someone who would love a new friend." Olive smirked. "I think I know who you're talking about." Peaches said knowingly. "But I'm not sure where she is..." A loud smack sound interrupted the mood, and the group swiveled their heads to find Mandy squished up against the door. "Oww! That'sh my noshe...and I'm not payin' for any shurgery!" "Speak of the agent and she doth appear." Oprah playfully rolled her eyes. As Mandy walked into the room rubbing her nose and wincing in pain, she spotted Otto snickering, and then taking a big inhale as he opened his mouth and raised his finger. "If you shay anything, Otto, I'll have your head indented enough to play golf with it." The co-Director knew better than to give a witty answer to a threat like that, closing his mouth and settling on a sly smirk. "Oh, there you are! What's up?" Mandy asked Peaches. "I, uh...I found your note. And I want to say thanks." Peaches rubbed the back of her neck. "See, as distant as I was...you're the first real friend I've ever made." Olive, Otto and Oprah were quick to shoot the catgirl looks of suspicion. "T-technically speaking." She chuckled nervously. But I'd love to be friends with you, if you're still offering." If looks could kill, the look on Mandy's face in that moment would set a record for the fastest murder time in existence. Stars formed in her eyes, and perhaps one of the biggest smiles she had ever made crept its way onto her face. "Really?!" Olive scrunched down and braced for impact. "Superflytacklehug!" In the time it took to blink, Peaches suddenly felt a hard force ram into her and tackle her to the ground. She then found herself being lifted up and squeezed once more, feeling the air go right out of her lungs. "Don't kill her..." Olive sighed. "It's nice to see them getting along. I think Peaches is gonna love it here." Oprah smiled as she watched Mandy let go of her cousin and allow her to regain her breath. "Now, why don't I go and make you somethin' to eat? And tomorrow, I can take ya around town!" "I'd love that!" Peaches nodded. "Can I have that tuna again, though? It was really good!" "Hey, I'm one of the best cooks around here and I'm not lettin' ya forget it!" Mandy winked. "C'mon!" As she bounded away, Peaches began to follow, but stopped to give the trio a wink before heading out. Likewise, they all smiled as they watched her head off with her new friend, knowing that having a catgirl, of all species, come into the life of Odd Squad was going to bring some interesting adventures indeed. Author's Note And voila. The thing I've been working on for 4 years has finally come to fruition in a public medium. And I couldn't be happier! As I've stated before in one of my blogs, The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy was my first actual MLP and Odd Squad crossover project that floated around in a bunch of Google Docs as I typed and re-typed the scripts. It was originally a way to get my creativity out, but as I began to flesh out the world and the characters, I decided to turn it into a full-on fanfic for the masses to see. Again, I'm not aiming for professionalism with these -- this is more something I'm doing for fun. But that doesn't mean I'm not making an effort. Mandy and Peaches are just real fun characters to write, y'know? I hope you all enjoyed this regardless of the disclaimers, and I hope you enjoy the other "episodes" I have in store. I have about two "seasons" planned, but I'm not sure about a third one. We shall see! S1E3: My Dream is Your DreamThe sound of beeping was the only constant in the dimly-lit operating room, where three surgeons huddled over a sedated patient. "All right, what do we got?" "Patient needs surgery to remove the liver and put in a new one." "Sounds easy enough." The first surgeon looked around the room. "Where's Mandy?" "U-um..." A quiet voice spoke up. "Here, but-" "There's no room for error." the first nurse said. "You will be working with the other surgeons to remove this patient's liver." "I-I-" Mandy, dressed head to toe in medical garb, looked terrified, and stumbled over her words. "L-look, I-I don't even have a doctor's degree! All I have is, uh...a hammer." "We are facing a shortage of healthcare workers right now, and you want to opt out?" "B-but if you kill a patient, it's...not gonna be pretty. And that's me being generous." Mandy's eyes then fell on the one thing she didn't want to see: the patient's liver, in all its squicky glory. She couldn't stop herself from gagging and coughing, trying her damnedest not to puke inside of her mask. "Get in there and insert the IV." the first nurse ordered, not seeming to care about her fellow surgeon and how she didn't particularly like her current circumstances. "Th- th- th-" Mandy's legs began to feel like Jello, and wobbled like it too. "The IV?!" "Yes. Insert it into the wrist here." A gulp came forth as the hybrid contemplated asking why the IV needed to be inserted when the patient already looked sedated as it was, only for her to set that aside, not wanting to risk the consequences that might come about as the result of the chilling natures and attitudes of the other three surgeons. Using her magic, she took the IV needle and gently, ever so gently, placed it in the crook of the patient's wrist, slightly wincing at the shared pain. "Good. Now, we wait." "Um, don't you put the IV in and then wheel them to the operating room?" The question tumbled out, but it didn't stop the other three surgeons from staring at her with their piercing, cold gazes and their twisted expressions of rage about to boil over. "I-it's just a suggestion!" Mandy said, although she knew her halfhearted excuse wouldn't forgive her blunder. "We are a high-tech facility, the most renowned hospital in the world. We know what we're doing, Mandy." the first surgeon said, her voice holding absolutely no trace of niceties within it. A groan from the patient briefly broke the tension, and the three surgeons quickly turned their attention back to him. "Vitals are steady." the third surgeon said, gazing at the screen above the bed where the patient laid. "Now, I will do the honors." "Oh no." came the squeaky voice of Mandy as she folded her ears down and shut her eyes tight in a worthless attempt to block out the disgusting squelching noises. She gagged. "Look, I-I can eat a lot of food and not throw up, but a person's insides tend to gross me out..." "Is that so?" The first surgeon turned to her. "Then how about you remove the rest of the liver?" "R-r-removing...?" Mandy's eyes widened, and she vigorously shook her head. "N-no, I couldn't. I can't. I'm sorry, but death by surgery is not something I endorse. And I'm not gonna be responsible for this!" The sound of a heartbeat emanated from somewhere, but she didn't bother to take the time to locate its source, instead coming to a horrid realization. "This is a nightmare. An absolute nightmare! And I want out!" "It is very hard to get fired from this facility." the second surgeon said. "Dr. Price won't like this report, Mandy." the third surgeon added. "Let me out!" The hybrid ran towards the double doors, slamming them open and booking it down the hall. She passed nurses, doctors, surgeons, and all sorts of hospital staff, all of whom gave her the same icy glares. Even the patients were no exception, as they gazed at her with hurt looks on their faces and tears in their eyes, as though wondering why she wanted to quit and supposedly leave them to suffer in their pain and misery. "C'mon, let me out of here! I don't wanna be a surgeon! I wanna be an Odd Squad agent!" Her feet took her to a large window overlooking the city. She opened the window and used the last of her lung power to scream out a simple, echoing plea: "LET ME OOOOOOUT!!" "Let me out...let me out..." Mandy tossed and turned in bed, her face contorted into a mix of pain and terror. As if on cue, the door to the Bedroom opened, allowing Peaches to see what was going on with her cousin. "Mandy?!" The catgirl quickly raced to her bedside. "Mandy, wake up! Wake up!" "I DON'T WANNA BE A DOCTOR!!" The six words, brought forth by one of the loudest and most powerful voices in the entire precinct, marked the awakening of the shaken and rattled hybrid, with sweat dripping down her face and rapid breathing also marking her exit from one of the worst nightmares she had ever had (which, granted, was not saying very much, given how she hardly ever had nightmares). "Were you having a nightmare?" "I...it was horrible." Mandy's voice was shaky, and likewise, her body began to quiver. "I-I was a surgeon, and...and they asked me to remove someone's liver..." Peaches opened her mouth to ask another question, but the sound of footsteps managed to catch her attention, and she turned to look at the doorway as Oprah made her way inside. "What's going on? I heard screaming!" "Mandy had a nightmare!" "It was awful!" Tears began to prick at the hybrid's eyes. "I, I was gonna remove someone's liver a-and they were pressuring me to..." From the way her eyes were beginning to develop enough water to put swimming pools to shame, Oprah knew what was coming, and threw her arms open as she made her way over to her. "All right, give me a hug." That was the trigger for Mandy to start bawling like a baby, hugging Oprah and crying as hard as she could into her chest, her body wracking with heaves of sadness. It was lucky for the Director that the hybrid wasn't planning on flooding the entire Bedroom with her tears, instead fighting to utter out words within only a few minutes. "Th-th-the thing is...I-I don't usually have these dreams..." "You don't?" Peaches asked. "Normally, Mandy dreams of a vast variety of things. She doesn't usually have nightmares." "Hmm..." Peaches thought. "Now that you mention it, I've been having weird dreams as well. I usually dream about chasing mice, playing with yarn, you know, typical cat things. But lately, I've been dreaming of...flying. I've had wings attached to my back and everything." "I've seen this before." Oprah pried Mandy off of her chest, wincing at her tear-soaked navy jacket. "Let's go to Dr. O. He'll help straighten us out." As she and Peaches left the room, Mandy, still visibly shaken by what had transpired, slowly got out of bed and followed suit. After a long series of tests, questions, and reassurances sent Mandy's way, Dr. O arrived at a conclusion. "Mm-hmm, just as I suspected. It's Sleep-Transfer-itis." "What?" Mandy tilted her head. "It's an odd illness that mostly pops up in places where people work closely together." "So is it a vice-versa thing or...?" Peaches asked. "Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't." "Sometimes?" Oprah groaned. "Well, that makes it a little harder to pinpoint than last year..." "Wait, you had this last year?" Peaches stared at Oprah incredulously. "Olive, Otto, me, Oscar, we were all involved. Luckily, that means we're all immune now. Right, Dr. O?" "Right." "So how come Mandy's not immune?" "I haven't gotten it. Neither have the ponies, for that matter." "If my predictions are correct, however..." Dr. O turned and grabbed his clipboard, which had some notes scribbled on a piece of paper. "This year, Mandy will have to be the one to solve it." The dumbstruck look that crossed Oprah's face, if weaponized, would have leveled the entire town. Likewise, Peaches also looked surprised. "M-me?! Why me?!" "You have the most control over your sleep and dreams. Your brain is controlled by a central...hub, of sorts. It primarily controls your magic usage while you sleep, as well as your sleep cycle." Dr. O explained. "According to my reports, the transformation you received while battling the Hydraclops may have altered your brain in a number of different ways, including how it handles your sleep." He smiled. "Which is why I entrust the task of curing everyone to you, Mandy." "B-b-but curing everyone?! That seems like such a huge responsibility!" "Well, if my agents don't get enough rest, I don't see productivity rates rising around here. No pressure." By this point, Mandy had gone from being traumatized to straight-out hyperventilating, only minus the classic brown paper bag. More stray hairs began to pop out of place from her hair and her tail. Peaches rolled her eyes. "Great, now you've made her even more panicked. Nice going, Oprah." "You'll do fine." Dr. O reassured. "All you have to do is go around and ask agents about their dreams. When you find a connection between two agents, have them tap foreheads with each other to transfer the dreams." As much as Mandy wanted to say she would try her best, her hyperventilation refused to stop, and she kept right on going for the next several minutes. Peaches and Mandy roamed the hallways, the latter still looking a little traumatized from both her nightmare and the responsibility of saving...well, not everyone in the precinct, but a large majority of agents, most likely. "Don't look so high-strung." the catgirl assured her cousin, before her face lit up and she snapped her fingers. "I have an idea. You said that you and the ponies haven't gotten sleep-transfer-itis, right?" "Right..." "So why don't we ask the ponies if they've had any strange dreams?" Mandy's mood did a complete 180. Her face lit up as well, and she gasped. "That's not a bad idea! And I know exactly where we can start!" A couple minutes later, the two girls were at the door of a rather spacious room that was covered in leaves and vines. Mandy knocked thrice, then opened the door. "Hello? Fluttershy?" "Hmm? Oh, hello, Mandy!" The yellow Pegasus waved. "Come in and close the door. You'll let a creature loose." "What is this room?" Peaches asked, stepping inside and looking starstruck at her surroundings. She took note of what appeared to be a set of wooden cellar doors, two double-doors, and a desk with a computer and a keyboard with papers stacked on top of it. Running around the room were creatures, most of them small but all of them very odd in both nature and appearance. "This is the Creature Room. It's where some of Odd Squad's creatures are kept. Agent Fluttershy and Agent Ocean run it." Mandy explained. "When I first heard that Precinct 13579 had a Creature Room, I knew I couldn't resist going to work there!" Fluttershy giggled. "Ocean is a wonderful agent to work with. He knows so much about all kinds of creatures!" "Fluttershy, have you been having any odd dreams lately?" Mandy asked. "Odd dreams? Well, um...I have had this one consistent dream where I'm designing clothes. And it's such a wonderful dream, too!" The Pegasus blushed. "But, um, I'd rather be with the animals. Er, um, creatures." "Hmm...so you must have Rarity's dream." Mandy mused. "Peaches, can you go fetch her?" "Sure. I would, if I knew where she was." "She might be in her boutique." Fluttershy pointed out. "Okay. I'll, uh...I'll find it, I'm sure." Peaches chuckled nervously before leaving the room. As the catgirl roamed the halls once again, she quickly found out that most of the rooms had changed. It seemed like it took her forever just to find the boutique, and that was only because Rarity had decorated it with flowers to make it a standout from the other odd rooms. "Come in, darling!" Rarity called in singsong once she heard five knocks on the door. "Hello?" "Oh, Peaches, what a lovely surprise!" Rarity turned away from her sewing machine, her cup of tea levitating besides her. "Is there anything I can help you with?" "Yeah, uh...have you been having any odd dreams lately?" "Odd dreams, you say?" The unicorn tilted her head. "Well, I did have a dream last night about caring for all sorts of odd creatures. It was horrible...some of them were quite...unhappy with my efforts." She gave a small sigh. "It's rather strange, too. I normally have dreams that are more fashion-related." "Hmm." Peaches nodded. "Would you mind coming with me to the Creature Room? Just for a brief moment." Rarity took a sip of tea. "Of course, darling. Is something the matter?" "There's been an outbreak of Sleep-Transfer-itis. Mandy and Fluttershy both have it, and it seems like you have it too." "My, that sounds awful! Let's leave right away, then!" Rarity turned her sewing machine off, set her tea down, and immediately bounded for her boutique door, Peaches following suit. A "ding" noise sounded as Rarity and Fluttershy touched foreheads. "Well, we've gotten that resolved." Mandy gave a sigh. "Now, we just have to ask the rest of the ponies." "And find out who has my dream!" "Why don't we go ask Pinkie next?" Peaches's gaze drifted towards the door. "Where is she?" "I think she's out on a case right now..." Mandy took a moment to think. "Maybe Applejack?" Her extensive hearing range picked up on the sound of a very familiar but very faint whistling sound. "Oh, speak of the pony!" As the Earth pony farmer was making her way into Headquarters, dirty hooves and all, her ditty was interrupted by a cry that both sounded and felt all too familiar. "HEY, APPLEJACK!" "Huh?" She glanced up towards the source of the sound. "Oh, howdy there, Mandy!" The hybrid quickly took flight, swooping down into the bullpen and landing in her co-worker's path. "Have you been having any strange dreams lately?" "Now that ya mention it..." Applejack tapped a hoof to her chin. "I remember havin' a dream these past few nights about me throwin' a party. But I was terrible at it!" She sighed. "Bakin' was easy enough, but keepin' everyone entertained? I just couldn't do it!" "Ah. So it's likely you have Pinkie Pie's dreams, then!" "Pinkie Pie's dreams? Why's that?" The Earth pony scoffed. "Why, I have dreams about farmin', not parties!" "Sleep-Transfer-itis. It's, uh...a bit of an outbreak goin' around." "Oh." "If you see Pinkie, make sure to ask her about what dreams she's been having. If she has your dream, then touch foreheads with her, okay?" "Got it!" "Thanks, Applejack!" Once the news was relayed to her coworker, Mandy went back to the Creature Room and confirmed her cousin's suspicions. Lucky for her, Peaches offered to keep working on helping others reclaim their dreams while she got some paperwork done, which she profusely agreed to. As the hybrid left, however, Fluttershy couldn't help but watch her with a worried expression on her face as she nuzzled an odd creature. "She seems worried." "Mandy had a nightmare about being forced into performing surgery on a patient. It was a bit, uh...traumatic for her." Peaches sighed. "I don't know if she can solve this in a single day. If she doesn't, she could have a similar nightmare tonight." Fluttershy didn't say anything. As much as she wanted to help Mandy, right now, she was at a complete loss for just how she could help her. For all the years she had spent with her, she had little to no idea how to cure her nightmares and calm her down after having one. Meanwhile, down in the bullpen, Mandy unclipped her badge phone and pressed the 1 key. "Go for O." "Hi, Momma." "Oh, hi, Mandy! What's going on?" "Um...can I, maybe...stay at your place tonight?" "Funny you ask that, because I was going to ask you if you wanted to come over!" Olive chuckled. "I've been dying for your homemade mac and cheese for a while now. I'd have Otto's, but you know how he fumbles it." "Really?" Mandy's eyes shimmered. Did an opportunity just play into my hands? she thought, finding it hard to stem the excitement growing within her. "I-I mean sure, I can make it for you! And show you how to make it and all that, sure!" "Great! I'll be home around 8, so feel free to stop by then." "All righty! See ya then!" As she closed the phone and clipped it back onto her suit, the hybrid gave a satisfied and relieved sigh. This has to work. Nothing makes me feel happier and safer than being with Momma. If anyone can help me through a nightmare, it's her! A loud scream pierced her thoughts and made her hair and tail both stick straight into the air in surprise. Her head swiveled towards the automatic doors, where a sobbing Pinkie Pie raced inside. "Partneeeeeeeer!" "Pinkie, what's wrong?" "It's awful! I, I, my-" "Hey, hey, take a chill pill and calm down!" "My dreams of partying! They're...no mo-o-ooooore!" Mandy rolled her eyes. "Ah. A dream problem. Where've I heard that before?" "For the past few nights, I've been dreaming about apples! And then when I dream about apples I think of Applejack, a-and maybe it's a good dream, I dunno, but I want my dreams of parties baaaaaaack!" Pinkie started to wail, tears streaming down her face as her cries of anguish echoed throughout the bullpen. Mandy, well aware of the irony in having one of her own partners cry in much the same way as her, let out a heavy sigh and kneeled down to the pink pony's level. "All right, it's okay, Pinkie." she soothed. "Look, there's been an outbreak of something called Sleep-Transfer-itis. It's been switching everyone's dreams around." Pinkie ceased her wailing, and quickly downgraded to just sniffles and choked sobs. "Really?" "Really really!" Mandy nodded. "Now, why don'tcha go find Applejack? She has your dream. When you two find each other, touch foreheads, 'kay?" Pinkie gave a loud sniffle and used her hoof to wipe away a few more stray tears, standing up and turning towards one of the side hallways by the double-doors. "I'll do that. Thanks, partner." "No prob! Tell me how it went! And stay positive!" The hybrid watched her equine co-worker leave for the left hallway, glad that nothing disastrous came of her wailing and that nothing disastrous came from her complete 180 in mood. Still, it did leave her prone to complaining. "If only finding who has my dream and whose dream I have was so easy." She sighed. "This thing's so overly complicated!" "Tell me about it." Once again, the hybrid's hair and tail went straight up as she was startled by the voice of her boss, standing right behind her. This time, however, it was accompanied with a yowl that sounded similar to a cat's. "O-Oprah?!" "I've asked most every agent present today about their dreams. None of them have had Sleep-Transfer-itis, so it must just be between you and the ponies." The Director exhaled. "Thank goodness. I don't know if we could've handled another widespread outbreak." Mandy couldn't help but give a worried whine. "Are you worried about having another nightmare?" "If I hafta be honest?" Mandy nodded. "Yes. I've never had nightmares that terrifying! And I don't want them again!" A heavy sigh forced its way out of her. "I'm planning on staying over at Momma's tonight. She wants me to make my homemade mac n' cheese for her." "Good. Maybe she can help you if you have another nightmare." "I'm hoping so...who would have such atrocious dreams, anyway?" Oprah simply shrugged in response to that question, uttering a sound that sounded like "I don't know". "Anyway, maybe I can take my mind off of all this with some paperwork." "Are the ponies cured?" "Rarity and Fluttershy are. And Pinkie and Applejack should be cured by now...or, uh, soon, hopefully." Mandy's gaze briefly flitted in the direction of the left hallway where Pinkie had left. "I haven't seen Rainbow Dash or Twilight." "I put them on a difficult case. They should be back soon." "Better late than never, I suppose." Mandy's face then lit up with an idea. "Can you give an order for them to stay here? A-and the other ponies too? Just so maybe some Doctors can monitor their dreams and see if they're cured." "Not a bad idea. I'll do that." Oprah nodded before turning on her heel and walking back up the stairs towards her office. "They should all be around! Somewhere!" Immediately after the Director became out of earshot, Mandy let out a groan, rubbing her forehead in exhaustion. About a half-hour later, two of the latest victims of Sleep-Transfer-itis walked into the bullpen, manes and tails matted and bags under their eyes. "Aww yeah, that was one of our best cases yet!" Twilight gave a tired sigh. "Can't say I disagree, partner." Her gaze drifted to Mandy. "Hi, Mandy." "Hi. There's been an outbreak of Sleep-Transfer-itis here in Headquarters. Everyone's been swapping dreams. Have either of you had any odd ones lately?" "Oh, I already figured mine out." Twilight explained. "It was O'Donnell, in the Tube Lobby. We swapped dreams." "Great! So you're cured?" "Yep!" "Wait, did you say odd dreams?" Rainbow asked. "I've been having those! I'm a cat for some reason, and I keep having this weird urge to hunt mice. Like, there's hardly a time when I'm not hunting!" She winced at the thought. "Ah! So you must have Peaches's dream then, and she has yours!" Mandy cleared her throat. "Touch foreheads." "What?" "You heard me." Rainbow's eyes widened, and her head swiveled to Twilight, who nodded but looked confused since Rainbow was there when she saw her and O'Donnell touch foreheads. Nonetheless, however, the rainbow-maned Pegasus looked wary. "Why do we need to touch foreheads?" "It'll transfer your dreams. Just do it to Peaches." "Uhh...all right." Within a few seconds, she was gone, taking flight and heading down the right hallway. "Do you have Sleep-Transfer-itis too, Mandy?" Twilight asked. "Unfortunately yes. I had a terrible nightmare of me performing surgery on a patient. But I don't know the first thing about surgery! And they tried to force me into doing it!" The hybrid gave a shaky sigh, not wanting to keep on reiterating the story more than she had to. "I'm hoping to stay at Momma's house tonight to figure out the problem. I just want my normal dream back!" Twilight nodded in understanding. As much as she wanted to help Mandy out, she figured she had it under control, and decided to leave the situation be for the time being. "Well, I'll wish you luck. I'm going to go study in the Odd Squad Library a little bit and take a little break." "All right! Have fun, Twi." "Bye." The alicorn headed in the same direction her Pegasus partner went, only keeping her hooves on the ground instead of dangling them in the air. Mandy watched her go, then got back to her paperwork, thoughts beginning to worm their way into her mind. I really do need this resolved. Dr. O said I was the person who could cure everyone. But how can I, when I can't even cure myself? I don't know whose dreams I'm having, or who has my dreams. And I don't want another nightmare. She sighed once again. Staying up isn't really an option either. I'll just fall asleep anyway... Her thoughts were interrupted by Rainbow Dash flying back into the bullpen. "All right, I've got my dream back and Peaches has hers." Mandy could only listlessly stare at her. "Uh, Mandy? You alive in there?" "Huh?!" The hybrid blinked. "Oh. Hehe. Sorry, Dash. I was lost in thought." "Ah, don't worry about it. I was just saying that Peaches and I are both cured now." "Great! Glad to hear it." Rainbow couldn't help that Mandy's tone of voice sounded superficial, but she chose not to comment on it. Instead, she watched as the hybrid eyed the clock. "J-jeez! It's 7:30 already?!" "Yeah. Time flies, huh?" "Apparently so! I have to get to Momma's house?" "Olive? Why?" "I'm sleeping over there tonight. Or, uh, hopefully. I-I mean she's gotta, she's my adoptive mother, I mean sacred hospitality, right?" Rainbow looked a bit concerned at the bout of nervous laughter that slipped from her friend's lips. "Uhh...I guess?" "Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot. Ms. O's gonna give an executive order for you and the other ponies to stay here, just to see if the Sleep-Transfer-itis has gone away for good." "Sure, I can stay here for the night. Can't defy the chief's orders!" "Thanks, Dash." Mandy stood up. "I'm gonna get ready. Lucky that I got most of my paperwork done, with a few stray papers still left to go." I can't let her go on like this! Rainbow's brain screamed at her, and it was that thought that spurred the Pegasus to take action. "You seem a lil' stressed, Mandy. Somethin' buggin' ya?" "I...well, yeah..." Mandy kicked the floor with her shoe. "I kinda had a nightmare because I have Sleep-Transfer-itis, and...I don't know whose dreams I have, but...I don't want another nightmare." "Is that all?" Rainbow chuckled. "Relax! My tip for falling asleep and having awesome dreams is simple: just close your eyes, and think about stuff!" "Uh...I already do close my eyes and think about stuff." "Yeah, but if ya really get into it, you'll conk right out! Works every time for my Wonderbolts dreams!" Mandy wore an incredulous look, but gave a shrug. "'Really get into it', huh? All right, sure, why not. It's worth a shot." "Awesome! I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat, have a good night, Mandy!" And within a few seconds, the Pegasus was already well on her way to the Breakroom, leaving Mandy no room to even say goodbye. Still, she gave a scoff. "The mare's way outta touch..." Five loud knocks at the door startled Olive and nearly made her drop her book. She got up from the couch and raced for the door, only to slip and trip on the carpet. "Ooh, that didn't sound too hot..." Well no duh, Mandy, she wanted to snap, but forced herself to bite back her words. Getting on her feet, she slowly walked the rest of the way to the door, unlocking and opening it and giving an exhale. "Sorry about that. Tripped on the carpet. It happens." "Aw, no prob!" "Come on in." As Mandy made her way inside and closed the door, a sense of warmth and familiarity immediately overtook her, and a small smile made its way across her face. "Thanks for coming, Mandy." Olive said, making her way over to the kitchen. "As I said, Otto's mac and cheese isn't perfect. It, uh..." She scratched her neck. "He just adds some really odd stuff to it." Mandy shrugged. "Eh, that's Otto for ya." "Could you teach me how to make good mac and cheese, maybe?" "Well duh, that's why I'm here!" A bout of unnatural laughter bubbled forth. "Wanna start now? My tummy's rumbling!" "Sure!" And that was how Mandy found herself feeling like she had her own cooking show on daytime television. Through careful instructions, she and Olive were well on their way to making mac and cheese that, while not perfect, was pretty good. "See, the important thing is that you can't let go of the fork." Mandy explained as she used her magic to stir the pot full of uncooked pasta. "It isn't a one-and-done thing. You hafta keep stirring it!" "Ohh...maybe that's why every time I cook pasta, it gets clumped up." "Yeah. It happens. Clumped-up spaghetti's the worst of the bunch!" Olive slid the small bowl full of melted cheese that she had previously set aside across the counter. "I have the cheese sauce we mixed." She snapped her fingers in realization. "Oh, we need bowls!" She moved to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed a ladder to access the pantries, shuffling various dinnerware items around as she tried to find the bowls and muttering to herself how much stuff she had for just one person. Mandy, meanwhile, became lost in thought, mindlessly stirring the bowl with her magic as assurance overtook her. Maybe if I'm with Momma, I won't have any nightmares! Oh, what am I saying? It's inevitable. Sleep-Transfer-itis doesn't seem like an on-and-off kind of disease. But why did Dr. O pick me to cure it? Just 'cause I have a different brain? "Mandy?" The utterance of her name broke her out of her thoughts. "Hmm?" "I, uh, think the macaroni's done." Peering into the pot, Mandy could see that indeed, the noodles had grown a sizable amount, and looked to be al dente. "Oh!" A bout of nervous laughter. "Yes, yes, my bad. Can you get me a strainer?" "Sure, one second." Olive bent down and opened the cabinet directly below her, fishing around for, and eventually hooking out, a large strainer. She placed it in the sink while Mandy poured the pot's contents into it, watching the steam billow from the metal sink as though it was molten lava that had spewed from a volcano and hit land. "Now, add the cheese sauce." The noodles were poured back into the pot, allowing Olive to do as instructed and pour the cheese sauce in. "And now, we stir." It didn't take long for the smell of the cheese mingling with the noodles to hit both the girls' noses. "Smells good." "I can almost taste it!" A few minutes passed before the mixing was complete, and the meal was ready to serve. Olive noted that it certainly looked a lot better than Otto's odd concoctions -- which wasn't too much of a surprise to her, given how good of a cook Mandy was. "Aah-mmm!" Mandy's tail wagged as she took a bite from her bowl and tasted her creation. "It's good, isn't it!" "Delish!" As the two girls ate their dinners in the living room, Olive asked, "Hey, why don't you stay over tonight? It'll be a fun bonding thing. We can play a game or two, tell stories..." It was exactly the invitation Mandy had hoped for. She gasped and nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love that!" "Great! Now, how about we watch a movie? Your pick." As the hybrid swallowed her bite, she took a look at the stack of movies that was neatly organized on Olive's coffee table. She thumbed through them until she got to one in particular, which had a picture of a large, sprawling, green-leafed tree on its cover and a person gazing up at it. "The Tree of Tomorrow. Looks interesting." "That one? All right then." Not even halfway into the movie, Mandy's eyes began to droop. The sounds emanating from the television became nothing more than pure muffled gibberish to her. A soft "mmm" marked her awakening and prevented her face's near-collision with the arm of the couch. "You've been trying to stay up, haven't you?" Mandy's eyes widened, and she swiveled her head towards Olive, giving her a look of concern and sympathy. She gave a sheepish chuckle that she hoped was genuine. "Maybe. This movie's super-intriguing." "To me, not really." Olive shrugged. "But staying up certainly isn't like you, Mandy. What's going on?" Oh pickleferries. "U-um, well...i-it's nothing of your concern, really..." "Are you sure? Your voice sounds a bit...strained. You haven't been wearing yourself out, have you?" "No, no, not at all! It's just that..." Ugh, think think think...how am I supposed to convince Momma I'm fine? If I tell her I'm having nightmares then she'll panic, but if I don't tell her, then who am I supposed to tell? Maybe I can kinda...I dunno, ease into it. With a really really dumb question. Once I do that, then I can divert the subject...stellar social skills! "Did I ever have nightmares?" She could spot Olive's hand close to her shoulder, before the Director jerked it away and waved it dismissively. "Oh, you had them all the time before you transformed. I'd know, too, because it left you a wreck the next morning. That's why you had Fluffy to chase away the bad dreams." Fluffy...? Yes, she remembered. A stuffed leopard toy that Olive just happened to pick up at a local plant nursery while on a case, it became the hybrid's most beloved toy growing up, and she never went anywhere without it. Even after she got a little older, she couldn't bear to part with the toy, and it remained in one of her nightstand drawers, waiting for the call to action when she was upset or wasn't having the best of dreams. Olive's eyes widened as she had mentally tried to find the answer as to why Mandy was asking what was quite an obvious question, then immediately realized. "Oh no. You haven't been having nightmares, have you?" Oh pickleferries! "W-well, it's...mostly controlled by an illness. Um..." Don't you dare say it! "What was the Sleep-Transfer-itis outbreak last year like for you?" "You have Sleep-Transfer-itis?!" Aaaaand there it is. Nice going, dum-dum. Mandy buried her face in her hands and gave a nervous whine, bracing herself for the barrage of words she knew Olive would hurl at her -- how did you get Sleep-Transfer-itis, who did you get it from, why aren't you taking better care of yourself? But instead, Olive sighed and rubbed her forehead. "The outbreak of that illness last year was...hard to handle. The previous Dr. O worked hard to get rid of it. Me, Oprah, Oscar, Otto, we all got it. But it took quite a few days -- and a few awful nights -- to get all of our dreams back. It's amazing that you and the ponies never got it, but...I guess now..." "We've all gotten it. Even Peaches was affected!" Mandy grabbed her tail and hugged it close to her body. "But see...Dr. O entrusted the task of curing everyone to me, a-and Peaches and I worked together to get the ponies' dreams back...but mine is..." "What was your dream?" "My dream?! Momma, it was a nightmare!" Mandy gave a ragged sigh as she reiterated the story to yet another person. "I-I was in a hospital, about to remove some guy's liver, a-and these surgeons were pressuring me to do it even though I had no idea how to perform any kind of surgery! It was terrifying! A-and no matter what I did, I couldn't get out..." All Olive could give as a reaction was a wide stare and a couple blinks. She could feel her heart wrenching inside, just from seeing her adopted daughter go through so much pain because of an illness that she was forced to cure. It made her want to help right then and there, even though she couldn't. "Oh, Mandy...I'm so sorry." She pulled the hybrid into a tight hug, which she gratefully returned. "I just don't wanna have that kind of nightmare again! And that's why I...I was trying to stay up." "Well, if it helps..." Olive broke free of the hug. "Why don't you sleep in my room tonight? I was going to set up stuff on the couch for you, but-" "I think that would help." Mandy gave a small smile. "You got a stuffed animal I could squeeze, too?" "I might have one. But no guarantees. After all, you know I'm too old for them now." Olive grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. "Come on, let's go get ready for bed. And I call dibs on the bathroom first." Both girls got off of the couch and made their way upstairs, a pit of worry settling in Mandy's stomach as she knew that, in spite of her reassuring talk with Olive, it was time for her to face the inevitable, to dive back into the hostile world of Dr. Price and the coldhearted medical staff he had under his control. She feared it. But no matter what she did, no matter what magic she used or what odd anomalies existed, there was no way to avoid it. She had to face it head-on. The hoot of an owl pierced the night sky. Nearly every house on Cypress Way had its lights out. Two girls, sleeping in the same room, were both in different dreamlands. One was softly snoring in her bed, her mind being coddled by the cosmic forces that led it it through a heavenly dreamland filled with all sorts of unusual oddities. At that moment, she was dashing on clouds, with a swarm of adorable and harmless spider-cat kittens following her and eliciting happy mews. She felt as light as air, free from all of her worries and strife for a single night. The other was in her sleeping bag, not loudly snoring and drooling and talking in her sleep like she usually did, but rather, giving soft moans as her mind was gripped in the thralls of a poison -- a poison that traveled through the film that made up her own personal movie and consumed it. It was time for the other one to face her nightmare once again. Only this time, she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Inside of the hospital's administrative offices, she faced Dr. Price. A doctor with an extensive history of practicing in the medical field, well-evidenced by his array of trophies, diplomas, and other such awards and certifications. His green eyes pierced through people in a way that left most of them chilled to the bone. "Dr. Mandy." "U-um, yes? That's me." "Some of the other surgeons have filed a combined negligence and refusal report with me. Is it true that you refused to perform surgery on a patient?" "Yes, it is." "May I ask why?" Mandy cleared her throat. "I did not wish to risk injuring or killing a patient under our care, sir. I-I'm not a doctor. I have no medical knowledge." She closed her eyes. "And I'm resigning." Dr. Price raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?" "I am resigning from my position." A sigh left Mandy's body. "I don't belong here. If I kill a patient it will likely mean this hospital will face lawsuits, and...I can't be responsible for that." "Our hospital has not faced a lawsuit in 31 years, Mandy." Dr. Price narrowed his eyes, his gaze getting more and more intense with every second that passed. "If you quit then it will be the end of healthcare. People will no longer be able to go to doctors for health needs. They will have to care for themselves!" A flurry of concerned murmurs was what Mandy's ears picked up, and she swiveled to find a slew of medical staff behind her -- surgeons, doctors, and nurses most of all. She could hear their judgements and feel their stares, and she couldn't help but shiver slightly. But she did not waver. She clenched her fists. "I'm...not afraid of you." She reached behind her. And, for the first time since she had graduated the Odd Squad Academy, she did not grasp what she was intending to grasp. "M-my hammer! It's gone!" She blinked. "B-b-but...this is a dream..." "This is reality." Dr. Price stood up. "This hospital is mandated and overseen by the city council and the national government. They have passed a rule that states there are to be no resignations of any employee from this facility for whatever reason, as it maintains a 0% firing rate and a 0% resignation rate. If you feel so inclined as to...dishonor this rule, Mandy..." The hybrid could feel her heartbeat quicken as she realized that she didn't have her main weapon to fight with. But once again, she did not waver. "Dishonor nothing." she spat. "I refuse to let anyone die under my care because of my negligence. My resignation will be for the greater good!" Dr. Price said nothing in response. Instead, he slowly raised his hand. The sound of a quick fingersnap. "Put her under sedation." "No." One surgeon and one doctor each stepped forward and grabbed Mandy's forearms, hoisting her up a little ways into the air. The screech that emanated from her was much like that of a cat when threatened. "No! Let me go!" Out of sheer desperation, she attempted to light up her horn, a wave of relief briefly washing over her as she created a hemispherical force field that pushed her opponents back while also allowing her to teleport away in a flash. She teleported to a hallway she didn't recognize, taking a few moments to recollect herself and regain her bearings. Her brief period of calm didn't last for long, however -- a series of rhythmic stomps caught her attention, and her head swiveled to her left to find more medical staff standing in lines of five and advancing towards her, each of their footsteps matching in perfect sync and perfect harmony. "Oh no. They're coming in lines." Her head swiveled to the right, only to be met by the same thing. "And behind me!" She looked up at her horn. "I still have my magic." Her wings spread open and flapped vigorously, allowing her to gain lift. "And I can still fly!" In the heat of the moment, she flew up high and waited until the two approaching armies were close to each other, then let loose a battlecry as she fired a huge magic blast from her horn. She couldn't see the result, and could only hear the zapping and crackling sounds of leftover magic. What met her vision when she did open her eyes, however, was all the medical staff lying on the floor in various degrees of pain, none of them seeming to be dead but some of them seeming to be in immense pain going by the screams and cries they elicited. "I'm sorry. I don't want to kill anyone. You're not a threat. B-but...it was for my own safety." Before she could take off and attempt to find an exit from this deranged asylum that dared to call itself a hospital, the sound of footsteps caught her attention. "Mandy!" She knew that voice. She hated that voice. "No! If you sedate me in a dream then who knows what'll happen?!" She quickly teleported away once again, landing at another hallway with a large window that allowed a bird's-eye look into a city she didn't recognize. Attempting to open the window and failing, she gave a shaky sigh. "Let me out! Please!! I have doctors and nurses and surgeons chasing after me, wanting me to stay, b-but I can't! I don't know the first thing about surgery, or being a doctor!" With tears in her eyes, she took a deep breath and cried out to the unfamiliar sky that she could not reach. "WHOSE DREAM DO I HAVE?!" The echoes that followed made her want to curl up and admit defeat. Waking up on her own volition from this torturous concoction brewed by her mind was something outside of her control, and if this place had more staff than Odd Squad had throughout the course of its history thus far, then she would be caught no matter how hard she tried or how far she ran. But, like a serendipitous lightning bolt, a thought struck her. "Wait. The previous Dr. O, she had Sleep-Transfer-itis, but the new Dr. O...has he had it?" Her eyes shimmered. It was the breakthrough she had been waiting for, a breakthrough that would end her torment and Dr. O's. She banged on the window with her own two fists, not caring what attention she got or what happened to her. "Let me out! I think I got it!" With a loud gasp, her eyes flew open and she bolted upright in her sleeping bag. Almost immediately, her gaze shifted to Olive, who kept snoring away and turned onto her other side as a sign of any reaction to her adoptive daughter's sudden awakening. Feeling her legs shaking, she stood up and quietly exited the bedroom, making sure to close the door behind her and keep her voice low. "I can't go on like this. I have to see him. Now!" She gave a soft exhale. "Here's hoping I remember his street address..." In her mind, she attempted to visualize her location, but could only imagine what Olive's bedroom looked like -- everything meticulously organized and placed, from the bed to the cabinet to every personal item of hers. Regardless, however, she tried teleporting anyway, and disappeared in a bright rainbow-colored flash. She soon arrived in a dark room, only illuminated by the moonlight much like Olive's room was. Right away, she noticed that, in what should have been obvious from the get-go, Dr. O's bedroom was nothing like Olive's at all. Using the tip of her horn as a makeshift flashlight, she looked around, making sure she wouldn't bump into anything. A soft moan broke her concentration, and her head swiveled to the left, where Dr. O was fast asleep in his own bed. "Hmm...could it be...is he dreaming about...?" As she carefully made her way over to him, her ears met the sound of muttering that she couldn't understand. "Huh?" "...out of the meadow..." She gasped. "He has my dream!" And then, within a second, her face fell. "But what will transferring dreams do to him if he's asleep?" All she could do was stare as she tried to figure out whether it was worth the risk. She certainly didn't want to harm Dr. O, but if she touched foreheads with him, the rest of the night would be a breeze for her -- no downing fifteen glasses of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise to stay awake, no falling face-first onto the sidewalk and falling asleep in the middle of an engaging conversation, and best of all, good dreams. And after all, didn't he say to cure everybody? Surely that would include myself...and him. Giving a determined exhale, she spread her wings and slowly made her way over to Dr. O's bed, hoping that the frequent, hummingbird-like flapping sounds her flight made wouldn't wake him up. As Dr. O gave a small "mmm" and rolled over onto his back, his eyes slowly opened, only to find a large, airborne, blurry figure staring at him. "Hiya! Ya mind if we trade dreams?" She touched foreheads with him, and a "ding" sound could be heard confirming the dream switch. "Thank ye thank ye! Sweet dreams!" With a bright rainbow-colored flash, she was gone -- not that Dr. O cared, of course, as he went back to sleep within seconds, his brain not even bothering to try and comprehend what had happened. She arrived back outside Olive's bedroom, fighting the urge to loudly celebrate and instead settling for a relieved sigh. "Knew I was able to solve it! Ooh, he's gonna be so proud when he wakes up!" Giggling, she entered the room once more and got snug inside of her sleeping bag. A loud yawn escaped her, and she used up the rest of her energy to give a "G'night, Momma!" before falling back asleep. 7:30 in the morning. Birdsong split the sky and brought a nice welcome to the people of Cypress Way. Which, of course, included Olive, who also got the song of a doorbell as her wake-up call. She awoke with a small "mmm", a stretch, and a yawn. Her brown eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlight that poured in her window, and she slowly eased into full consciousness. With her legs swung over the side of the bed, Olive got up and rubbed her eyes, only to promptly trip on something hard and bash her face into the floor. Instead of tossing and turning and moaning and groaning, Mandy had fallen back into her regular sleep habits, loudly snoring and muttering incomprehensible gibberish in her sleep, with her tail thumping on the ground like that of a happy dog's. As Olive looked back, she noted that the hybrid also had a wide-open cat smile stuck on her face, which led her to one conclusion. "Huh. Maybe she managed to find out who had her dreams. Hopefully." The sound of the doorbell echoed through the house again. "Hold on, I'm coming!" She quickly scrambled downstairs and opened the door, only to find a fully-dressed Otto with a donut in his mouth and a bag full of donuts in his hand. "Hi, partner. Did I wake you?" "Yes...but it's okay. I needed to get up anyway." Another yawn managed to escape her. "Oh, you brought donuts?" "Of courshe! I've been to Junio'sh Donutsh sho many timesh that the shtaff know me by name now!" Otto boasted. Olive merely rolled her eyes in a playful manner, wondering if he thought that was his biggest achievement of the day so far. "Come in. And did you bring plain?" "Uh, yeah, of courshe. I'm not a villain." Otto snickered as he stepped inside, making sure to wipe the soles of his sneakers on the welcome mat before taking them off. "Just have a seat on the couch. I have to go get ready." "Okay, but hurry up before all the donutsh are gone!" "Don't you dare." Otto let out a loud and raucous laugh as he took a seat on the couch and finished eating his donut before digging around in the bag for another one. As Olive went through her morning routine, she couldn't help but think of Mandy. It would be wrong to leave her here...but Oprah's going to get upset if she doesn't come into work. Maybe I should bring her. She set the thought aside for now, putting on her red tie and her navy jacket. A distant thump caused Otto's head to swivel towards the stairs, and a few seconds later, Olive came stumbling down. "I-I'm here!" she called, landing at the bottom of the stairs with all the grace of the Noisemaker. "Sorry, I, uh...fell over my guest." "Your guest?" "Yeah, remember? I told you Mandy was coming over?" "Oh yeah! She still sleeping?" "Obviously." The two Directors shared a hearty chuckle. "But I might have to make a pit stop at Oprah's precinct on the way to work. It's been hit with a Sleep-Transfer-itis outbreak." "Sleep-Transfer-itis?! That precinct had an outbreak of that last year!" "I know. But now it's between the ponies, Peaches, and Mandy." "Ohh." Otto took a bite of the donut he had fished out of the bag earlier. "The ponies and Peaches were cured, but Mandy's been plagued by nightmares and hasn't been cured yet. At least as far as I know..." Otto swallowed. "Well, how was she this morning?" "She seemed fine." Olive shrugged. "I guess that means...maybe she cured herself?" She moved her gaze upstairs. "Anyway, let me grab her. It's about time we head to work." "You want help carrying her?" "I've got it." Otto fished another donut out of the bag, a plain one with nothing on it, and held it out to her with nary a word spoken. He put on a knowing smile. "Fine. Breakfast is served, and breakfast will be eaten." "Yay!" Mandy was soon relocated from Olive's bedroom to one of the couches in Oprah's office. Of course, she hadn't woken up, and continued to snore and sleep-talk away, but amusingly, she was still in the pajamas that Olive had lent her. "I'm really sorry, Oprah." Olive said, having explained the situation regarding why Mandy was late for work. "Don't be. Mandy's been very troubled with Sleep-Transfer-itis as of late. If she is cured, then Dr. O will tell us." "Ms. O?" On cue, Dr. O himself poked his head into his boss's office. "So sorry I'm late, but I couldn't help overhearing...and you'll be happy to know that Mandy is cured." The face expressions of the trio had enough happiness in them to power at least thirty Lilliputian cities. "She is?" Oprah asked, not bothering to fight the excitement that crept into her voice. "How can you tell?" Olive tilted her head. "I was having the same dream about meadows that I've had for the past few nights. But in the middle of the night, I was woken up by someone who said...something, and then touched foreheads with me. I couldn't really distinguish who it was, but they left about as quickly as they arrived. When I went back to sleep, I had my usual dream of working as a doctor." Olive's mouth hung open as she tried to formulate a question along the lines of "how did I sleep through that" or "were the nightmares that bad", but nothing came out. "Ms. O, I told Mandy that she would be the one to cure everyone because she is the one who has the most control over her sleep and dreams. And...I think she's done it. She's stomped out the second Sleep-Transfer-itis epidemic." "But how do you know if Mandy's dreaming about meadows?" "If she were having a nightmare, wouldn't she be tossing and turning?" Olive gasped. "I think you might be on to something, partner!" "If you want your suspicions confirmed, then allow me." Dr. O reached into his hammerspace spine and pulled out a tablet and an electrode pad attached to a cord and plug that looked like what one would see on a pair of headphones or earbuds. He placed the cord into the headphone jack and the pad on Mandy's forehead, then got to typing. Within seconds, a holographic screen came up in the view of everyone that showed the current dream of the hybrid -- rolling around in the grass that made up a very expansive meadow, laughing, staring up at the sunny skies and enjoying the feel of a butterfly sitting on her nose. It was quite a change from her previous dream, and the trio couldn't help but smile. "And just as I suspected. Her dreams have been restored!" Sighs of relief filled the room. "Hey, what's that device?" Otto asked. "My tablet?" "No, the wire." "It's a sort of brain scanner. Oona made it for me some time ago. When the electrode pad is placed on the patient's forehead, it allows the person with the tablet to access the patient's brain activity." Otto looked fascinated by the tool, his eyes shimmering as he watched the Odd Squad Doctor take the pad off of Mandy's forehead, disconnect the cord from the tablet, and place it and the tablet itself back in his spine. "I'll take my leave. Have a good day." Olive, Otto, and Oprah left him with a chorus of goodbyes. "I'll let Mandy sleep. She's had a rough couple days, and she could use the rest." Just as Otto was about to throw an addendum into Oprah's comment, Mandy ceased her snooze sounds and woke up. "Mmm..." She let loose a yawn. "Couldja keep it down? I'm tryna sleep..." The sound of peeling caught the hybrid's attention, and she tried in vain to release her arm from the sticky grip of the couch she was laying on. "Nngh..." A louder peeling noise, which Oprah winced at, knowing full well why the couch was so sticky. "Momma, you have one heck of a sticky sleepin' bag..." "Uh, about that..." Otto sheepishly chuckled. "You're in Oprah's office." "Otto?!" Mandy's eyes widened. "Jeez, Momma, if ya wanted t' invite Otto over, you coulda asked me first..." She blinked twice. "Wait, where am I?" Oprah groaned. "Once again, for $400, can we put 'you're in my office' on the board?" Mandy only blinked again. "Mmkay...?" "And I admit, maybe I should get those couches cleaned sometime...way too much juice was spilled on them." With a yank of her arm, Mandy released it from the couch's grip and gave another loud yawn. "Imma probably nap for the whole day...that dream about meadows..." She gave a small happy smile, closing her eyes as she thought back to the dream that she had. "Hey...exactly how did you cure yourself, anyway?" Mandy blinked twice. "...What?" "Y-you know what, never mind." Olive waved a hand. "Go to bed, Mandy." "Ahh, the four words I love to hear." As the hybrid let out another loud yawn, she teleported away, surprisingly not taking the couch cushions with her in the process. "We have to head back to HQ, but we'll stop by later and see how Mandy's doing." Olive said. "Good luck!" Oprah waved as she watched Olive go through her old boss's tube entrance, followed by Otto a few seconds later. Once she was left alone, she gave a sigh and decided to search around her own HQ for cleaning supplies so she could finally clean her couch (and save her skirt). Just as Mandy had said, she had slept for the entire day, not waking up once to go to the bathroom or eat. It was made quite clear to everyone that her two nightmares had sapped a lot of energy from her, and so, she was left alone for the rest of the day. As Rainbow Dash quite literally soared into work the next morning, however, she found Oprah hard at work in the Breakroom, food dishes of all sorts scattered about the table and the boss herself hard at work stirring some kind of batter. "Hey, boss! You're here early." "Ah!" Oprah whirled around and growled. "Agent Rainbow Dash, we have discussed this. Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to scare me?" Rainbow touched her neck with her hoof. She knew, all right -- she knew all too well. Even worse when Spitfire and a few other Wonderbolts happened to comment on it and recommended that she take a few days off from training to recover. "S-sorry." she said. "Uh, what are you doing?" "I got here early to make food for Mandy. She still hasn't woken up yet, but it's six in the morning. Knowing her, it'll be any minute now." The Pegasus tilted her head, opening her mouth to ask what Oprah was talking about before her eyes widened. "Oh." "Her stomach was growling something fierce, too...I thought it would destroy the entire Headquarters!" Rainbow began to get terrifying flashbacks of the time that actually happened -- indeed, Mandy had been so hungry, and the growls her stomach gave out were so loud, that it caused a couple rooms in Headquarters to collapse to the point that they were completely unusable. That was how everyone learned yet another lesson about the pony-human hybrid: just like any animal, she had to be very well-fed, lest a person, object and/or place pays the price. Oprah took another sip from her juice box. "This juice is the only thing keeping me going. I'm never taking Pinkie Pie's baking skills for granted ever again." A dinging sound from the oven caught her attention, and she quickly took out what appeared to be a casserole of some kind. "Green bean casserole?" Rainbow said, eyeing the dish and starting to feel a little hungry herself despite already having had breakfast. Oprah sighed. "That should be plenty of food for her." "Well, if she doesn't eat it, you could hold a feast?" Rainbow halfheartedly suggested, knowing just as well as her boss that Mandy would gobble everything up within minutes. "Haha. Very funny." Oprah deadpanned. "Just make sure to get your paperwork done. You didn't turn it in yesterday." "Will do!" Oprah nodded before going upstairs and into her office. Sure enough, by the end of the day, Mandy had demolished every single dish on the table. It was a miracle to most anyone how she didn't end up eating the dinnerware itself. She had also gotten a sizable amount of paperwork done, much to Oprah's surprise when she was informed of a wobbling stack awaiting her in the Filing Room. Since the hybrid was feeling a lot better, she decided to go out with Peaches and hunt for the Vallea culprit. "I'm proud of you. You managed to stop the second spread of a disease. That's not something a lot of people can attest to." Peaches said, as the two were walking in a more metropolitan area of the city. "Yeah! I can't believe I was so nervous. It was easier than I thought!" Mandy frowned. "But I really don't like being thrown into the forefront as some kind of magicky curey person thingy." "Magicky what?" "I should throw him off a cliff..." "What?! Who's 'him'?!" "Maybe steal his medical supplies..." "Are you talking about Dr. O?" "Eat everything...in his refrigerator." Mandy stopped walking and gave a happy smile, as if talking about robbery and murder of a person that did little to nothing wrong was completely normal for her. Peaches, on the other hand, only shot her a look of confusion and worry. The pair stood on the sidewalk for a few moments as people and ponies alike passed them by, some bothering to look, others moving along. "Anyway, I'm hungry! Let's go get some mozzie sticks!" With a giddy laugh, Mandy took off running, leaving Peaches to stare at her before her legs finally made the connection to her brain and ran after her. Yeah, she's a weird one for sure. But in a way, I've become endeared to her -- and faster than I thought. Maybe that's a good thing...? The catgirl exhaled. We make a good pair. I'm lucky to have her as a friend. But I wonder if she views me as more than a friend. I wonder if she sees me as...a sister. Yeah. I'd love a sister! Smiling, Peaches continued her chase of Mandy, her heart warming up but also bound by uncertainty as the thought lingered in her head. In a large stretch of meadow-like land, a kitsune with seven tails, each representing a certain element, sat looking at the sky. Her chest became filled with familiarity, warmth, and realization, and she placed a paw to her chest. "Agent Mandy...when you will meet with me is only in the hands of fate. It may be soon. It may be far into the future. But when the time comes..." She stood up. "I hope that you will accept me as your spirit guardian, just as your mother did so long ago." S1E16: The "Die" in "Diet"In the Bedroom, Rarity watched as Pinkie peered under her bed, raising an eyebrow when she watched the party pony's body slowly slide under it until it was halfway there. Clouds of dust kicked up, and the unicorn had to fight the urge to sneeze. "Honestly, Pinkie Pie..." She shook her head. "I just cannot understand why you don't clean under your bed. There must be so much dust under there!" "Oh, there is!" Pinkie responded. "Sometimes, I like to sniff it to get sneezes out! You know, when they try to come and you always feel like you have to sneeze, but it doesn't come, so you have to go around making weird faces -- it's the worst!" Rarity was certainly not one to question Pinkie's method of relieving the urge to sneeze. "I'm quite sure they have a Dust Room for that, you know." "They have a Dust Room?" Pinkie's back hooves scrabbled along the floor as she laughed and snorted. "Why didn't I think of that?!" "Um, anyway, darling...what exactly are you looking for, again?" "A gadget I have to return to Oona." Clattering ensued as Pinkie's hoof moved around under the bed, shifting various objects around that Rarity couldn't see. "She's been on my case about it for weeks!" "I see. Mm." Rarity's mouth pinched inwards before she spoke again. "Well, I normally don't like to get my hooves dirty, but perhaps I could help you look?" "Oh, that would be great, Rarity!" Pinkie responded, before she emerged from under her bed. "Hmm, doesn't seem to be under here. Let's try Mandy's room next!" "Why Mandy's room?" "Stuff always gets lost in there!" Pinkie waved a hoof before making her way out of the Bedroom. "Don't worry, I'm sure she won't mind." "Y-yes, well, it's...not that..." Rarity trailed off as her friend dipped out of view. A sigh escaped her as she followed suit, closing the door behind her. As the two mares made their way inside, none of them were all too surprised to find Mandy asleep, snoring and sleep-talking away as she became oblivious to the world around her. Strangely, the smell of bacon was also present, though they didn't pay it any mind. They began to poke around as politely and as quietly as they could, not finding any trace of the gadget Pinkie was looking for. A rumbling noise caused Rarity to hit her head on the underside of the cabinet where she was searching, and she rubbed her head as she emerged and backed up. "Odd...I could have sworn I heard the sound of something rumbling just now..." she murmured. She certainly didn't feel hungry, and if Pinkie were hungry, she would most definitely have said something. The noise came again. "There it is again!" "Ouch!" came a yelp from the other side of the room, as Pinkie waved her reddened hoof about. "Something wrong, Rare?" "Shh. Be quiet for just a couple seconds." Neither one of them dared to make so much as a single sound. And then the rumbling noise came forth. "Ohh, that sound!" Pinkie chuckled. "It's just Mandy's stomach." Rarity blinked. "Is that all?" "Yeah! I mean, I'm not hungry. Are you hungry?" "Er, w-well...no, but-" "See?" Pinkie said. "I recognize Mandy's stomach growling when I hear it! Just like how Owen can recognize people by their hiccups, I can recognize people by the growls of their stomachs." Rarity rubbed her forehead. She had to admit, that particular skill of Owen's was one that she would never understand, and the same certainly held true for Pinkie's similar skill -- although, at least for Pinkie, she could chalk it up to "Pinkie being Pinkie". Who knew what was running inside of Owen's head. "It's quite a shame she doesn't wake up when she's starved." Rarity mused, in an attempt to clear her own head. "One would think that with her...insatiable eating habits, she would be awake the moment the smell of food hit her nose." Mandy's face contorted into one of upset right then, and her snoring and sleep-talking ceased to exist as her eyes slowly opened. "Zz' that bac'n I zzmell...?" "And a good morning to you as well, Mandy." Rarity smiled. "There is some bacon on your nightstand, I believe." "I made that!" Rarity shifted to Pinkie, who was peering into a small mousehole. "Yes, Pinkie, we're quite aware." she said dryly. Mandy sat up and eyed the bacon with intrigue. Still, when she only ate one slice that took her a few minutes to eat, it was cause for alarm for Rarity. "You're...not scarfing down your food like you usually do, darling. Is everything all right?" "I'm fine!" Mandy set the plate down and chugged her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. "I'm just not very hungry. Besides, I'm kinda in a rush, anyway." Echoing laughter brought both girls' attentions to Pinkie, who now had her face thrust into the hole and was moving her head around. "You? Not hungry? That's a first!" She laughed. "You're always hungry!" "We heard your stomach growling quite loudly. Are you sure you don't want to eat?" "Positive!" Mandy flung the covers off of her. "I just ate something last night that still isn't agreeing with me. Now, uh...you think you two mares can leave so I can get dressed?" "Oh! Yes, yes, of course, we'll-" "Found it!" Pinkie pulled her face out of the hole and came out with a small hexagonal gadget. "I dunno how it got in there. Thanks for letting me look, partner!" Rarity didn't have the time to even say that she and Pinkie let themselves in, as the party pony was already bouncing away. Sighing once again, she gave Mandy her goodbyes and slipped out the door. The hybrid looked at her plate of untouched food in a forlorn manner, before she slowly got up and trudged over to her wardrobe closet. Pinkie's words about her always being hungry stuck in her brain like glue, and she grit her teeth as pain shot through her stomach once more. Still, she found it fit to ignore the cry for help. She was almost too used to it to let it faze her. Almost. Rolling a pencil about on her desk, Olive glanced at the clock on the wall. 3:30, only a half-hour after she had asked Mandy to stop by her office. Otto's cleanup of the office deterred her attention slightly, but part of her began to worry that Mandy had gotten in trouble and needed help. Sure enough, Mandy came sprinting up the stairs a few seconds later, dressed in a yellow T-shirt and cyan-colored shorts. A red-and-white headband was around her forehead, and her hair and tail were both tied up in two puffs. "Well, look who finally sho-" Olive blinked as she watched Mandy droop down, hands on her knees and panting heavily. "Did...did you run all the way here?" "Yeah..." Mandy took a few swigs of the water bottle she was holding in her hand, a satisfied sigh leaving her as her thirst became quenched. "And why are you in workout clothes?" Otto asked, tucking the duster away on a hook that sat on the far right wall. "Decided to go to Formation Fitness, just to get a workout. Exercise is great for the physical and mental health of a person, y'know!" As Olive opened her mouth to respond, Mandy's stomach growled, causing her to raise an eyebrow out of curiosity. "Clearly I need to stop eating egg rolls." Mandy muttered, setting the water bottle on the table. "I'll be right back!" With her horn illuminated, she was gone in a flash of light. "Well...at least she's here, right, Olive?" Otto chuckled, his smile turning into a frown as his partner didn't respond. "Olive?" "Did Mandy look a little...pale to you?" The question caught Otto off guard, and he blinked. "Kinda. She might be putting on a few pounds. That would explain why she went to Formation Fitness...and why she ran all the way here." Olive gave a soft hum. "Hate to say it, but Mandy has been looking just a bit chubbier than usual. But it doesn't explain why she looks so...sickly." "No big deal, she had some bad food." Otto shrugged. "I've looked worse than that when I've had bad food. Remember when we were forced to eat those egg salad pizzas? How we threw up all over Oprah's carpet?" Olive gave a heavy shudder. "I never want to relive that again for as long as I live." "Yeah, me neither." "I'm back!" Mandy chirped, bounding up the stairs and into the office once again. "Sorry it took me forever and a half. Those egg rolls...blech, I'm not eating those again." She smiled. "Soooooo, what didja need?" "Oh! I, um..." Olive blinked, forcing herself to stay focused on the task at hand. "I wanted your help with Omi, actually. He and I, we just can't seem to come to an agreement." "Omi? Your head chef?" "Yes. He has a habit of intentionally overcooking or undercooking food for agents that he doesn't like. When they complain about it, he just doesn't replace their food and instead tells them to make their own food at home." "Well that's rude!" Olive nodded in agreement. "I tried speaking to him on the matter. Otto as well. He refuses to listen to either one of us." "He threatened to quit!" Otto rubbed his arm and looked at the floor. "And he insulted my meatballs..." "So what do you want me to do?" Mandy asked. "Help him..." Olive rolled her hand about. "...work out his issues. You eat a lot, and you cook and bake and all that. You should be able to work things out with him." Like with Pinkie's comment earlier, Olive's comment stuck in Mandy's brain like glue. How much was "a lot", really? Was it too much? Who was to say. All she knew was that it stung. It really wasn't supposed to, given how often she took insults in stride and even fired back with witty retorts of her own -- but it stung either way. Perhaps it was because Olive had been the one to lay the smackdown this time around. "Mm...I'll see what I can do, but...I'm not makin' any guarantees!" "Oh, thank you so much, Mandy." Olive sighed. "He's down in the Breakroom right now." "Good luck!" Otto waved as Mandy left the office. "You'll need it." "Yeah, thanks." came the slightly-disheartened reply, as she trudged down the stairs and began thinking further about Olive's comment, finding herself unable to push it out of her head. Only one agent was currently in the Breakroom, poking away at a piece of fish that looked like it had been thrown back and forth over a fire several times and haphazardly thrown onto a plate. "Um, Omi?" she said, raising her normally-soft voice. "This fish looks a little...undercooked." "Mm." Omi didn't even flinch, as he continued to clean the refrigerator doors. "Well, perhaps you shouldn't have insulted my choice of fish." "I'm sorry. Can I have something else?" This innocuous question earned her a scoff from Omi. "If you don't like it, then you can make your own fish." "But...but I don't know how!" "You have the World Wide Web at your disposal. I'm sure you can find a few recipes for fried fish. Or if you're really desperate, the Shmumber King is located right in the center of town." By this point, the agent looked close to either having a panic attack or just outright crying. She wasn't sure which one would come first, and she didn't want to find out. "Omi, I didn't have time to bring a lunch today and I'm really busy, I-" "Hey!" The chef swiveled around in a sharp motion. "This isn't a place to discuss your life story with me. Eat, or get out." That did it. The agent got up from the table and began sobbing, her little legs taking her as far as they would go as she abandoned the fish she had refused to eat. "Hey! Omi!" The chef's hazel eyes flicked towards Mandy, who, to his surprised, looked quite frail. Frailer than he had ever seen her before. "Ah, Agent Mandy. Devourer of Odd Squad kitchens across the globe with her incredible appetite and her love of food." He bowed. "Nice to see you again, although I must say, you have put on a bit of weight..." A "tch" sound left the hybrid, followed by a soft whine. "Y-yeah, well...look, I'm not here for casual conversation. We need to talk." "Talk? About what?" Not a minute later, and Mandy had reiterated the details of what Olive and Otto had told her to Omi. "So I insulted Mr. O's meatballs. Big whoop." Omi rolled his eyes. "Half the time he makes them, he eats the meat before it's cooked!" Mandy set aside the fact that Otto doing that was dangerous, filing a note away in the back of her brain for later. "This isn't about his meatballs!" she snapped, before giving a heavy sigh. "Look. Why do you shoo agents away who critique your food? Why do you intentionally mess up dishes for agents you don't like?" "Why do you want to know?" "Because it's wrong!" Mandy jabbed a finger in the direction the other agent had run in. "I know what you did to that agent a minute ago and I saw it with my own two baby-blue eyes! I-" The loud sound of her stomach crying out in hunger stopped her tirade. She grunted and fiercely clutched it, gritting her teeth while sending a message to the organ to stop making so much noise. The harder and louder it growled, the less she found herself able to ignore it, and this fact was well on display to any agent who was watching. Which, of course, included Omi, who raised an eyebrow and gave a soft "hm" of curiosity. He got up from his seat and moved towards one of the spherical refrigerators that hung on the wall, grabbing his rag and resuming his work on cleaning the door. "Seems like you're hungry." He stopped, and turned. "But you're more than just hungry, aren't you?" Mandy's eyes widened. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing." "What?" Omi tucked the rag away in his pocket this time, and grabbed the plate of undercooked haddock that had been pushed aside. "This is the undercooked fried fish I tried to give to that agent. Does it look appetizing to you?" Mandy's mouth began to water. Undercooked it may be, and dangerous it was to safely consume, but to her, it still looked good. Despite this, however, she retained her common sense, and furiously shook her head. "No! That stuff can kill me if I-" Her stomach cried out again, like a pet begging its owner for food. This time, the pain was fierce enough to where she gave a sharp cry of pain in response as she clutched it. Omi's expression was cool and collected. "I will give you this fish to eat, and only this fish to eat. Under one condition." "You're trying to strike a deal with me over raw fish? Are you insane?!" "You tell me what's going on and why you're starving yourself." No...he knows. He knows! Dread was the only thing that Mandy felt. She didn't want anyone to know that she had been starving herself -- although the evidence would have made itself known either way, she had wanted it to remain secret for as long as she could, mainly because she knew what would happen. He's gonna try feeding me a whole bunch of stuff, isn't he? He works in the Food and Beverage department, of course he would, why are you asking such a rhetorical question, Ma- "Ohh, come now, Mandy." Omi said, noticing the petrified look on her face. "Just by looking at you and distinguishing the type of growls your stomach has been giving off, it isn't hard to connect the dots. I didn't get this job by kissing the feet of the previous Mr. O, you know." Mandy tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. "If you confide in me...then I suppose I can tell you the reasoning behind my actions." Omi raised an eyebrow. "So. Do we have a deal?" It was time for a retreat into her own thoughts, now. Okay, so maybe he won't feed me a whole bunch of food. Her gaze flicked to Olive and Otto's office. But what if he tells them? Then they'll stuff me silly like a Thanksgiving turkey, and then...and then... It'll be free reign for them to scold me about how much I eat, and how much weight I've gained. And it'll be free reign for everyone else, too. She looked into Omi's eyes. Cold and collected, but also with a small sense of warmth to them that let her know he wasn't all bad. He reminded her of Oksana, in a way, with her standoffish demeanor but warm passion for her work and for the agents she served. Maybe all Food and Beverage workers were like that -- who knew. She had no experience in the position to speak so confidently on that. Forcing herself to return to reality, she nodded. "All right." Her stomach growled again, causing her to clutch it harder. "I suppose I can tell you. But I have a condition of my own I'd like followed." "Which is?" Mandy leaned in close. "You don't tell another living, breathing soul about this. It stays between us." "Fine by me." Omi nodded. "Perhaps your story will be more interesting than the one that agent tried to give me before. I'll be washing some dishes while you talk." As he got up and moved towards the utility sinks, Mandy took a deep breath, and closed her eyes as the memories began to come back to her. "People have talked about my eating habits since I first got transformed into a pony-human hybrid. How I eat so much and yet I don't gain much weight." Her ears picked up the sound of water running. "I never used to eat this much before I transformed, and I don't know why I love to eat, but...it's long been the topic of conversation among some agents." The first memory that surfaced was one that had taken place around Thanksgiving last year. No big family feast had taken place like the year before, but rather, everyone resolved to mix things up and spend Thanksgiving their own way. For Olive and Otto, that meant doing a small celebration with Mandy. But unfortunately, things did not go quite according to plan. As the Director duo ascended the stairs towards their office and opened the door, their eyes bore witness to a rather hideous sight. Crumbs, napkins and other garbage littered the coffee table and the floor it sat on. Dirty plates were stacked high. A drink or two had spilled on the table, creating a mess. And in the midst of it all sat a Mandy with a distended stomach, a face full of crumbs, and a feeling of sleepiness that anyone who knew her knew too well was the beginning of a food coma. "Mandy..." Olive blinked. "Y-you ate our entire Thanksgiving meal! Including the 30-pound turkey!" "And the five-layer cake we made!" Otto pointed out, his voice carrying an edge of disappointment. "Yeah, and it was a good meal too..." Mandy purred contentedly. "How can any single human being devour an entire feast in the span of five minutes?!" "Took me a little bit to work on the turkey, but I made good work of it!" Mandy chirped in response to Olive, patting her stomach. "That...that was supposed to be a meal for all three of us." Olive hung her head and sighed. "Guess you and I are gonna have to do something small, partner." "I guess I wouldn't mind making something simple, like a pizza..." "In the meantime, Mandy..." Olive placed her hands on her hips. "...we're leaving you to clean up this mess. Honestly, don't you ever think of anything besides food? Can't you have a decent, well-rounded meal like the rest of us?" Olive jabbed a thumb at her partner. "Not even Otto eats the way you do, and you and I both know how much he loves food!" Otto blinked in surprise for a moment, somehow both expecting and not expecting Olive to compare Mandy to him. "Wait until the weight gain settles in. I speak from experience." he remarked, rubbing his own stomach, that of a little pudge. Olive took a deep breath. "Let's just...go and make the pizza. I need to de-stress before I lose my top and do something I'll end up regretting later." Mandy watched the partner pair leave, the brunt of their words finally hitting her in full force. She glanced at the mess she had made, then to her stomach, and back again, before a soft whine and a few tears began bubbling forth. The next memory resurfaced. "Applejack, I didn't eat your pies!" "It had to have been you, Mandy!" the farm pony exclaimed, thrusting a hoof towards her coworker. "You're the only one who's able t' eat multiple pies in one sittin'! I was gone for only five minutes and I come back to an empty wagon!" Mandy's gaze flicked to the wagon in question, completely bare with not even a single crumb on it remaining. "What about Pinkie Pie?! She can eat tons of them!" "She has the day off today!" Before Mandy could fire off a retort, Rarity arrived on the scene. "Applejack, what's going on?" she asked, tilting her head. "Oh, Rarity!" Applejack placed her hooves on the unicorn mare's shoulders. "Rarity, ya gotta help me. Mandy ate all one hundred of my pies!" "The pies you were planning to hand out to the townsfolk at the festival?" "Yup! And she ate every last one of 'em!" Mandy could feel Rarity's gaze boring into her. It was like a knife that pierced her heart. "But I didn't!" she exclaimed. "I already had lunch, and it didn't involve any of her pies!" She could feel tears beginning to pool in her eyes. "Rarity, please, you have to believe me. The townsfolk love Applejack's pies. I know she was planning to hand them out. I would never eat them no matter how hungry I was!" It was quite clear that Rarity was torn. Her gaze moved to Mandy, then to Applejack as she struggled to determine which side she would take. The more she thought about it, though, the more she realized that Applejack might be right -- Mandy might not eat her pies unless she was just that desperate for food and nothing else was available. Her hunger was limitless, and she had a penchant for sometimes eating stuff that wasn't even edible to begin with, to boot. It pained her to have to go against a friend and take another friend's side, but Applejack was the Element of Honesty, known for telling the truth and hardly ever spitting out a lie. "Darling...as much as I'd like to believe you, I have to take Applejack's side here." Mandy's eyes widened. "What?!" "The only other agent who could eat that many pies is Pinkie Pie, and she's not here." "W-w-what if it were other agents who got hungry? A-and then they ran up to the wagon while Applejack was gone and snatched the pies?" This desperate retort got a snort from Applejack, and a pitiful look from Rarity. "It's well past lunchtime. I'd imagine most everyone has eaten." Tears were falling down Mandy's face, now. She took a step back, her legs quivering. "Rarity...y-you really don't think..." "If you want to make it up to my partner, you should apologize and make more pies with her." "There ain't no way in the name of Celestia I'm makin' any more pies with that glutton!" cried Applejack, stamping a hoof down to emphasize her words before giving a mighty huff and turning towards the steel double-doors. "I'm headin' back to th' farm. Least my family has more decency than you!" Mandy slumped to the ground. "If you'd like, darling, I can help you make some more pies and pass them out." "That would be just dandy, partner. Thank you." Applejack smiled at Rarity, before her smile quickly turned into a frown as she shot daggers at Mandy. "And as for you..." Mandy was too shocked to speak, and stared dead-ahead. "Don't even think about takin' any of my apples -- from here or from Equestria! Celestia knows you'll just eat all of 'em straight off the trees!" "APPLEJACK!!" came the ferocious and desperate scream that caused a few heads to turn. From there, Mandy launched into blubbering that was near-unintelligible. "Don't you try and gain my sympathy!" Applejack snapped. "You ate those pies, and you know it!" The pitiful look returned to Rarity's face once again. "C'mon, Rarity. How's about you help me?" "Oh, I would, but I haven't the slightest idea on how to make a pie..." "I'll teach ya!" "Lovely!" Rarity giggled softly. "Let's go." All Mandy could do from there on in was watch them go. She buried her face in her hands and cried like there was no tomorrow. Sorrowful wails escaped her, and some agents stopped to provide their comforts and shoulder her pain. But to her, it wasn't good enough. She remained saddened for the rest of the day, avoiding Applejack and Rarity at all costs. She even swore off apples that day, and vowed to never eat a single food that had been touched by the fruit ever again. "I used to take the comments in stride. I tried to not let them get to me. But it became evident that they were getting to me." "How so?" Mandy lifted her head up. "I'd have this recurring nightmare of agents telling me how I eat so much. How I'm so overweight. How I wasn't like this before I transformed, and wondering what had happened that caused me to develop such a large appetite." She exhaled. "It haunted me for a long time, and...it still does to this day. Because people keep on making comments about my weight. Yelling at me for eating things I shouldn't. Teasing me for gaining a mere couple pounds." Omi picked up a dirty plate. "So what would make you happy again?" "If people could just...not bring up my eating habits so much." Mandy's voice edged into a soft whine. "See, it's one thing to bring it up a couple times, even as a joke, and I'm fine with that! But when it happens all the time..." "All the time?" Omi turned around. "What, you can't go a single meal without someone pointing out your eating?" "Not every single meal...but a lot of them." Mandy sighed. "All these comments, they're weighing me down..." "Hm. That seems to make sense. I would imagine most people's self-esteem would be crushed by such comments." Omi resumed his dishwashing. "So why are you starving yourself, then?" "I don't want to eat if people are just going to make fun of me for it." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "Lately people have been talking about how I put on a couple pounds, and..." "You don't like it." "No." Mandy's eyes began to water. "I just wish people would let me eat and accept me for who I am. Even if I do eat whole Thanksgiving feasts and have a large appetite." She grit her teeth and raised her head. "I’m still a competent agent! Isn’t that enough for them?!" Omi took a moment to digest the information given, working on washing the final plate in the sink. Once it was placed in the drying rack, he turned off the water and turned around to face Mandy once more. "Mandy...you've confided in me. So now, I'm going to confide in you." Mandy blinked slowly. "That was the deal, was it not?" "Well, y-yes. Go ahead." Omi took a seat across from Mandy, and gazed into her slightly glassy and slightly bloodshot eyes. He took a deep breath before he laid his confession out on the table. "The reason I've been doing what I'm doing is because...of Oksana." "Oksana?" "Yes." Omi nodded. "You know her, right? She was Precinct 13579's sole cook?" "Uh-huh." "Oksana and I were good friends before she left." A smile formed on Omi's face. "We would exchange recipes, share cooking tips, and she would even offer her supplies for me to use." "The diamonds? The rose petals? All that stuff?" Mandy had to wonder just how rare the items that Oksana had sought out really were -- talk around Headquarters had led her to believe they were rare, and she made the grueling journey to get them in part because of that. The other part was, of course, because she was dedicated to her job and the agents she served. "Oh, yes." Omi nodded again. "Oksana may be emotionless and stoic on the outside, but she has a heart of gold on the inside." Mandy couldn't help but smile a genuine smile for the first time in a while. "Aww, that's so sweet!" "But." Omi raised a finger. "Despite her efforts to get the supplies, agents would often reject the food because it wasn't 'perfect'. Too undercooked, too overcooked, etcetera." His expression darkened. "Many of them complained, and even though they knew what effort she put in to get what she needed to make good food, they didn't care. So long as they were fed, that was all that mattered in the end." "So what happened?" "She and I sat down and had a conversation. She asked me if the agents at my precinct would often reject my food and ask them to make something else. Now, since I don’t do what she does in traversing far and wide for items and ingredients, I couldn’t quite emphasize with her as much as I wanted to." Omi said. "But when she asked me that question, it made me realize something. How I had agents asking me about Mr. O and his cooking skills, and some especially bitter and cold-hearted ones who wanted him to fire me so he could take my place. It was like a lightbulb had gone off in my brain." Mandy's eyes widened. She couldn't deny that the Food and Beverage department was perfect for Otto, but she just couldn't imagine him as an Odd Squad cook. Maybe it was because he would most definitely eat the food the second it was finished being prepared. Or maybe it was because he had gotten increasingly good as an Investigation agent. "When I expressed my concerns to her, she gave me a suggestion." Omi exhaled. "If agents hated my cooking so much, then they could make their own food. She told me that as an Odd Squad cook, I shouldn’t bow down to the whims of agents -- that it was sort of like giving a child food that they want when they won’t eat their vegetables. You eat what you’re offered and that’s it." Faulty logic, if one asked Mandy. Still, that didn't stop her from sparing at least a few shreds of sympathy. "So I'm guessing agents started to complain?" "Boy, did they ever. Even Mr. and Ms. O spoke to me about it." Omi chuckled. "But I didn't care about the criticism. I brushed my bosses off. And I just kept putting as much passion as I could into my dishes." "You sound passionate." "Oh yes. I've been cooking ever since I was little. It's my favorite thing to do. That's part of the reason why I jumped at the chance to get into the Odd Squad Academy." Mandy tapped her chin. "So what would get you to go back to how you used to offer food to agents?" "To be honest, I feel like the only people who could do something are Mr. and Ms. O themselves." Omi sighed. "If these kids weren't so picky...perhaps they could see how much passion I have." "Maybe you need to offer broader food options." Mandy suggested. "Try three foods every day, served to agents. And in the meantime, I can convince Momma and Otto to have the agents be nicer to you, have them recognize your talent and passion!" "That's not a bad idea." Omi's expression brightened, and he nodded furiously. "You're Ms. O's adopted daughter, no? Perhaps you can try and talk to them." "I'd be happy to!" The loud sound of Mandy's stomach growling cut into the conversation, making itself known for the first time as though wondering if talk time was over and it was feeding time now. She clutched it again and grit her teeth. "Here." Omi got up and went to the fridge, taking out a brown paper bag and rummaging through it until he pulled out a big red Pink Lady apple. "You can have the apple from my lunch." As he set it on the table, Mandy eyed it hungrily. Her mouth instantly began to water, and she very nearly started drooling before she came back to her senses. "A-are you sure?" "I know it's not much, but...consider it thanks. For helping me out. And an apology for, um..." Omi scratched the back of his head. "Insulting you about your weight earlier." Every single muscle inside Mandy was telling her to eat the apple right away and leave no piece, no peel, no drop of juice behind. But she held off just for a few more seconds. "Does this mean you'll be a little more open-minded about giving food to agents?" "If Mr. and Ms. O can help their agents not take my skills for granted, then yes." Omi made a "go on" motion with his hand. "Now go on, eat your apple. I promise no one's looking." That was the only prompt she needed. Mandy eagerly took the apple with her tongue and ate it in one fell swoop, core and stem included. An "mmm" sound left her as she felt her body physically deflate, and a sigh left her when she swallowed. "It's been so long since I've had proper food..." "How many days have you been starving yourself?" "Only a few. But it's not completely 'starving'." Mandy said. "I've been eating little things here and there in secret, so I don't collapse and faint. Like that apple, for example." Omi wrinkled his nose, not finding the heart to tell Mandy that an apple wasn't necessarily a small thing. "Mandy, if I may give you a word of advice?" "Hmm?" "Just like how I want Mr. and Ms. O to recognize what I do...perhaps you should tell everyone about how their comments are hurting you. Make them realize that you are a good agent in spite of your eating habits." Omi tilted his head. "You’re the second-in-command of Precinct 13579, no? They have to listen to you." Mandy blinked. "I mean, I suppose I can, but I don't know if they're willing to listen to me..." "You just have to make your voice heard. Put some passion into it. Like what I do with my cooking." "Passion..." Mandy closed her eyes, thinking for a few moments before a smile formed on her face. "Yeah! I have tons of passion!" She chuckled. "Thanks, Omi." "It's no problem at all." Omi returned the smile eagerly. "I have a feeling we are going to become the best of friends, Mandy. You're always welcome in the Breakroom anytime." "Really?!" "You're a respected agent in Odd Squad. It would be downright criminal of me not to give you some hospitality." "Oh, thank you." Mandy could feel her eyes start to water again. "It means so much to me." "Don't think anything of it." Omi waved his hand dismissively before beginning to walk away. "Now, I'm going on break. You should get back to HQ and tell 'em what you think." Feeling renewed, Mandy hopped out of her seat and began starting for the steel double-doors. "I will! See you later, Omi!" As Omi watched her go, he couldn't help but let his smile grow bigger. His heart, once bitter and cold, now was enveloped in warmth. It was oft a side effect of Mandy's enthusiasm and good cheer, but one would be surprised she even had enthusiasm and good cheer to begin with in her current state -- Omi himself included. "That Mandy...what a sweet kid. I hope she'll be all right." As Mandy arrived back at her own Headquarters, waves of empowerment coursed through her. She never realized how much she needed to hear Omi's words, but she was most definitely grateful for them, and it almost took her mind off of how hungry she was. Key word being "almost". Her stomach growled once more, yet another desperate cry for food the same way baby birds chirped for worms. "Hey, I gave you an apple. At least appreciate that." she said, pounding her stomach to silence it as she walked through the steel double-doors. "Now, time to get back to work and-" "Surprise!" The sudden cry nearly made Mandy jump clear out of her suit and her entire skin. Instead, she stumbled backwards, falling on her rump as she let her jaw drop and stared at the sight that laid before her. All of her friends were smiling, each holding a delectable dish that would make any chef start drooling. Behind them stood a table with a wide array of food that looked like it could feed an entire small town. It was the dream of any hungry person, and under normal circumstances, Mandy would have bowled down every last one of her friends and gone right to town on demolishing every last foodstuff. But these weren't normal circumstances, of course. "We prepared this huuuuuuge feast of food for you!" Pinkie chirped, oblivious to Mandy's shocked expression. "We noticed how pale and thin you've been looking recently, and you told me you weren't feeling well, so we made some stuff that's perfect for bugged tummies!" Olive smiled, holding out several slices of toast on a plate. Deep in the bowels of Mandy's disturbed mind, her vision of the scene twisted. What was a genuinely kindhearted attempt at helping a friend get better became a genuinely coldhearted attempt at force-feeding a victim. Olive's expression, in turn, went from warm to malicious. "But don't eat too much. We don't want you to gain more weight, after all." "Don't even think I pitched in t' help ya!" Applejack marched forward, her plate of apple pie now completely gone. "After you ate my pies, why would I?" "We're just looking out for your health, Mandy." cooed the sweet but poisonous voice of Oprah. And then, everyone began marching forward. "Now eat. Eat. Eat!" they began to chant, the word "eat" resounding through the warped space the more they chanted it. Mandy began moving backwards, although she didn't get very far, and her back immediately made contact with the door. Her eyes were wide, and her hair and tail were both bushed up like that of a cat. She felt her stomach churn away. "No! I don't want to!" "But you must!" came the unisonant cry, as plate after plate was thrust into her face. Her stomach growled once again, this time loud enough that she could have sworn the room shook just a little. Everyone looked around in surprise, the smiles fading from their faces for only a single fleeting moment before they returned. Mouths opened to reveal row after row of teeth, jagged and sharp like a shark's. The choir singsonged. "Now open wiiiide..." Mandy began to hyperventilate, now. "Leave me alone!" "You must!" "Stop!" The smiles faded once again. Everyone leaned back, taking the food with them. Stares of disapproval was the next hivemind emotion to be put on display. "All right then." Oprah huffed. "If she refuses to eat..." She reached behind her back, and pulled out a fork that was nearly bigger than her. A toothy smile accompanied her next words. "Then we'll shove it down her throat." Rainbow seemed thrilled at this prospect as she rubbed her hooves together. "Let's fatten this puppy up!" "Then we can have all the food we want without her in the way!" Rarity declared. Mandy went paler. So pale that her skin looked about as white as a sheet of paper. Anxiety and dread held her heart in a vicegrip. A very, very small part of her realized that this wasn't what was actually going down in reality, but it was nothing but a mere tiny voice in a sea of voices that made up her conscience. All the hybrid could hear was laughter after that. Pure, mocking laughter. She vividly remembered having a nightmare like this, once. A nightmare where everyone was out to get her and make her life miserable. She took pride in the fact that it was just a dream, and in the real world, her friends loved and appreciated her. But this was the real world. Her friends were bullying her, jeers and taunts flying from their poisonous mouths while they chased that dominance high for as long as they could. "S-stop it!" she cried, to no avail as the laughter grew more intense and she covered her eyes. "Mandy, please. Listen to your co-workers. Your friends. Your family. They just want to help." Mandy's head snapped up, and she looked around for the source of the ever-familiar voice. "H-Haruko?" "I will be waiting for you in the Magical Grasslands." Whatever hope she had left completely died in that moment. I thought Haruko was gonna save me from this...this torture! S-she's here...she was here...but now... Oh Haruko, come back! "C'mon, Mandy. Don't you want something to eat?" In contrast to the harsh tones of the others, Peaches' voice and expression was calm, soothing, inviting. She held out some banana bread, freshly cooked and ready to be eaten. For all intents and purposes, she was the only good guy (er, gal) in this situation. But Mandy was too anxious and too weak to be rational like that. Her vision began to blur, leaving the shapes of her friends as complicated smears. "Leave me alone!" came her shrill and cracked cry, before she used what was most likely the last of her magic to teleport as far away as she possibly could. She arrived on the city streets, deep in the heart of downtown Toronto. As she landed on her stomach with an "oof" noise, she tried to process what was around her. People and ponies alike stared at her, but otherwise kept to themselves as they walked by. A boom. And then another boom. And then, the streets became alive with the sounds of panic. Mandy could hear feet and hooves drumming on the ground as everyone began to soar past her. The sound of lasers making impact with various objects and buildings mixed in with the sound of screaming and yelling was hell on her eardrums, but she didn't care. "A loose laser chicken...!" she tried to call out, as she slowly rose to her feet and allowed them to guide her to safety. Her voice was nothing more than a soft rasp, leaving it completely unheard amidst the hysteria. She felt like her limbs were made of gelatin...and thinking about that just made her more prone to start eating them. But even she knew, in spite of her hunger, that she needed her limbs to live. She only tried eating them once or twice before for the occasional random bit, anyway. "No...I'm losing speed..." Her feet moved slower, slower, slower. She could feel her eyes gradually beginning to close, and her stomach growling with more sadness than before. Suddenly, she was brought back to reality when she tripped on something hard. Her body careened forward until she tumbled onto the sidewalk and came to a stop directly in front of a crosswalk sign. "Walk sign is on to cross. Berry Avenue, walk sign is on to cross..." The booming sounds grew closer. In Mandy's blurry vision, a figure consisting mostly of white made itself known. It advanced closer and closer to her, flashes of red emanating from its head as it made small clucks. M-my vision...I can't see anything... Numbness shot through Mandy like a bullet. She could hardly feel a thing, now. Even the pain that had been festering inside of her stomach was starting to go away, little by little. Mustering up what power she had left, she sent it straight to her horn, and fired a thin rainbow-colored laser. A complete and utter miss. I can't...I'm slipping... Her head slumped to the ground. I...don't want to...be fed anymore. But I...I want to live... The sound of distant panicked voices, although so dull she couldn't make them out, stuck in the back of her mind. No...d-don't feed me...please...I want to... Her eyes fully closed, and the world became silent. When Mandy next opened her eyes, she was met with a view that was starting to feel familiar. Too familiar, if one asked her. All she could see were four blobs hovering above her, a white ceiling sitting above them. Mouths were moving, but no sounds came out. Worried expressions were put on, but those seemed to be just mere fronts to fool people. In spite of Mandy's circumstances, however, she was well-aware of one thing. I'm...alive? But how? Only a small dose of feeling rushed back to her body, and it was then that she felt the existence of an oxygen mask on her face. And...needles in her inner arm. No...this can't be. There's...there's no way! She tried to will herself to yank the needles out. She put every ounce of strength she had into it. But it wasn't much, and she could barely feel herself move. They fed me. They fed me, and these... evil things are acting so concerned. Like they aren't even trying to fatten me up! Her body, aching and stiff, tried in vain to lash out. She tried to punch and kick with all her might, thrashing about like an angered wild bull. A hand was placed on her shoulder, forcefully pushing her down. Without even thinking, she opened her mouth and clamped it down. A scream rocketed through her eardrums for all of three seconds before it began dying with a whimper, and then continued dying with words that she couldn't make out. Good. Now I can at least fight 'em off! She tried to smirk, but it looked more like the attempt at a smile of someone numbed up on novocaine. Finally, after a minute or two, she slowly stopped thrashing, the energy she had gained being completely spent. Her body fell still, and her eyes began closing once again. No...don't let me slip away again! I feel weak, but I need to get out of here... It was involuntary. Her mind was plunged into the darkness once more, and she was forced to allow fate to guide her to where she needed to go. "Mandy." Mandy's eyes slowly opened. "Mandy, can you hear me?" Her eyes opened fully. She glanced around the area she was in, trying to collect her bearings. It took her quite a bit to realize exactly where she was, but when she did find out, her heart became filled with joy. "The Magical Grasslands!" she squealed, her head moving back and forth. "Haruko? You here?" "I am here." The majestic kitsune stepped out of seemingly nowhere, her green eyes shimmering with the same warmth, hope and happiness they did before. Mandy cried, although she couldn't feel the tears cascading down her face. "Haruko!!" she cried, lunging for the kitsune and enveloping her in a mighty hug. "Oh, I-I thought you abandoned me back there! I got so scared, and, and I-" "Shhh." Haruko raised a paw to Mandy's mouth. "Come and sit by me, and we will talk." Mandy eagerly did as she was told, sitting on the grass and staring up at the sky, with its endless splash of blue and its clouds that seemed to shape themselves into whatever she wanted them to be. "Mandy." Haruko began. "I can sense your distress. Your hunger. Your suffering." A pause. "I saw your twisted fantasy. How everyone was approaching you, wanting you to eat and trying to force-feed you. But you refused." She glanced at Mandy. "Why did you refuse?" Mandy didn't answer that question. She practiced a tactic of avoidance -- staring at the sky and distracting herself with all the clouds in the air. "You may confide in me. Remember, I am an ally. It is just you and me." Something told her that her tactic would not work any more than it already did. Haruko was much too smart for something like that, and she knew it. Gritting her teeth, she took a moment to compose herself, then took a deep breath before she spoke. "When I first got my wings and tail and horn and all that, I developed a larger appetite. I could eat a small salad and still be hungry for three larger ones. No one knew why this change happened -- a pony-human hybrid is a new and weird species. But even though some people got used to it over time, others kept on bringing it up. Berating me for my eating habits. Yelling at me for eating entire Thanksgiving feasts in one go." She sighed. "At first, the comments didn’t faze me too much. But as time went on, it felt like people were always bringing up my eating habits. I would get stares and comments, and...it nicked away at my self-esteem until the tipping point." Haruko nodded once. "And what was the tipping point?" "Lately people have been saying how I put on a few pounds. Even my own mother has been saying it, and...it spurred me to stop eating." Mandy said. "But I went to visit Omi, the chef who works at my mother’s precinct, and...he gave me some words of advice. About how I should tell everyone about my feelings and how I should put passion into it to make my voice heard." She paused. "But..." "But?" "I’m afraid that...no one’s going to listen to me. No matter how hard I try. They’ll continue to berate me and yell at me and bully me and critique how I eat..." Mandy couldn't finish. She buried her face in her hands, feeling the tears pulled from her eyes make her hands wet in the process. Choked sobs left her as she completely broke down, the comments from all of her friends playing in her head once more. She has been getting a little chubbier... You really can pack it away, huh? Take it easy, there! You don't want to get too fat. She honestly wasn't sure what was worse in that moment -- the comments themselves, or the bringers of the comments. She hadn't been thinking rationally the whole time, and apparently, she wasn't going to start now. Tears continued to fall as she let out sob after sob, wail after wail, and all while Haruko was watching her with that patient gaze of hers. Although she would never show it, the kitsune felt pain deep inside her heart. Pain that Mandy was only a mere eleven years old, and yet she was going through this, suffering from these hurtful comments that wore her self-esteem down to almost nothing. Pain that she had been so distraught over the constant comments about her weight and eating habits that she had resorted to starving herself just to make them stop coming. Pain that all of this had led to her near-death. Finally, after Mandy had calmed down a little, Haruko spoke her next words of wisdom. "But it does not hurt to try." Mandy's head lifted, and promptly swiveled over to her. "Huh?" "It does not hurt to make an effort, Mandy. Try to put Omi's advice to good use." All the hybrid did was blink, half-confused and half-despaired. "From what I understand, eating is a part of who you are. Everyone must eat, but to you, eating is a very special thing. It is not just something you must do to heal your body, mind, and soul. It is a time to bond, to laugh, to share." Mandy listened to her words, slowly digesting each and every one of them. "I would imagine how you eat, and how much you eat, is quite humorous to your friends and family..." Haruko, in one of her rare moments of faltering, paused to try and amend her words. "But it should not be the only thing they notice about you, of course. You have other qualities that make you wonderful and special. I am sure they are well aware of that. They just need a little reminder." Somehow, Mandy doubted that. A "tch" sound forced its way out of her, her gaze growing steely. Haruko placed a paw on her knee. "Be yourself. Express your feelings. They will understand, Mandy." Her gaze grew warm. "Believe in them. Believe in you." Mandy rested her head on her knees, the whistling of the wind providing a blanket of comfort as she retreated into her own mind to think. Maybe Haruko's right. My friends are reasonable people. Er, reasonable...agents? Yeah, that's a better universal term. If I just communicate with them, they're bound to listen! After all, that's what Fluttershy tried to do in regards to my sleep, and they listened then. Who's to say they won't listen to me telling them about their comments and how much they hurt me? I have enough self-advocacy skills to back me up if they try to fight back. Rationality slowly began trickling back into Mandy's brain. For the first time in a while, a genuine smile formed on her face. "I suppose...it doesn't hurt to give it a shot." She stood up with a huff. "Okay! I'll make my voice heard and tell them exactly how I feel!" Silence lingered across the area as she looked around. "Uh, if I can get out of here, that is..." "Just wait." Haruko said. "Your departure from the Magical Grasslands will come in time. And before you go..." Materializing from complete thin air was a hamburger on a plate, three juicy beef patties and three hot buns tall. It looked like the glowed-up food she saw in fast food commercials all the time, and she had to wonder if it was real. "Please, do enjoy this. I realize you are not experiencing this in the real world, but I do hope you appreciate it all the same." Mandy's mouth instantly began to water. Without any hesitation, she scooped up the burger whole with her tongue, sending it into her mouth and straight down her esophagus. A happy squeal left her, even though she couldn't feel hunger nor taste nor a sense of fullness in her current state. It just felt good to eat food again -- the mere action of it was enough to excite her. "Oh thank you, Haruko! I'm feeling so much better now!" "It is not a problem." Haruko's ear flicked. "I believe it is time to go now." Sure enough, Mandy had begun slowly floating, her body ascending to the great blue sky above. She turned her head around, her eyes growing wide with alarm. Haruko held her hand until she was out of reach, watching her slowly disappear into the dark void, the endless...well, limbo between the waking world and the Grasslands. Mandy felt sad that she couldn't enjoy any more of that delicious food, but the hope in her heart still kept her happy for the most part. Yes...I'll tell them everything. I'll pour my feelings out to them. They have to listen to me! They're my friends, and friends always listen to each others' concerns and worries! That same feeling of warmth washed over her, and she slowly closed her eyes, allowing herself to be taken to reality once again. The beeping was annoying. Mandy had been to the Medical Bay more times than she cared to admit, and yet, the beeping sounds would always annoy her. A soft moan very nearly formed into an irritated growl as she slowly opened her eyes. All she could see was the same white ceiling and the same blinding light as before. Nothing really new there. However, there was one thing she noticed right away. She was stronger. Her stomach had finally quieted down, its pleading cries for food having been answered. She wasn't as strong as she normally was, but it was definitely a big improvement over how she felt when she first woke up. How long was I out for? She honestly couldn't tell. For all she knew, it could have been years. Decades, even. Centuries. Outright millennia where guinea pigs ruled the universe. Odd Squad was funny with time travel like that. It could totally happen. The sound of footsteps broke into her thoughts. Her ears swiveled towards the source of the sound. "Mandy! You're awake!" She could hear the voice clear as day. She could see the figure the voice belonged to. It was all so clear to her now. "Dr. O!" she called out, her voice deeper and more raspy than it usually was, much to her surprise as her eyes widened. Her change of voice was but a mere fly compared to the elephant in the room she wanted addressed. "What happened?" "Well, from my understanding..." Dr. O tapped his chin. "Someone brought you in. They said they found you laying unconscious near a crosswalk sign, with a laser chicken about to attack you." Mandy bit her lip. She only barely remembered what had happened after her friends had tried to force-feed her. It was such a blur to her, no doubt a result of the weakness that had overtaken her body. "Who..." "They wished to remain anonymous." Anonymous? Mandy fought the urge to scoff. Honestly, not to brag, but...I'm a legendary Odd Squad agent, they saved me, and they want to remain anonymous? That's insane! "We had to perform intravenous feeding. IV feeding, for short." Dr. O continued. "The shock and hunger you had experienced caused you to fall into a two-week-long coma." Mandy glanced at the needle embedded in the crook of her arm. As with a lot of kids her age, she absolutely despised needles. Before, every time she received a shot, she had to cling on to Olive while she comforted her and pat her head and fed her the same "this won't hurt a bit" bull that Dr. O did. And then she got a lollipop, which took all of her worries away. Of course, she matured, and she wasn't as scared of needles now as she was before. Maybe it was how many times she had landed in the Medical Bay teetering and dancing on the edge of death that eased her fear slightly...? The second part of Dr. O's explanation hit her. "I was out for two weeks?" "Yes. Luckily, your vitals became stable rather quickly after you were fed." Dr. O glanced at the beeping computer by Mandy's bedside and skimmed through the vitals displayed. All of them seemed rather solid. "And it looks like they're plenty stable now. Let me go ahead and remove the IV, okay?" Mandy eyed him as he placed one gentle hand on her arm, and used the other hand to slowly pull out the needle. Her ear flapped in response to the pain as she simultaneously winced. And there's another reason why I hate needles... she thought bitterly to herself, wondering why fate had to make her come here often enough to where she could probably legally declare it her second home. "How do you feel?" Dr. O asked. Angry. Hurt. Tired. Sad. In pain, so much pain. You wanna spin a wheel and see if ya come home with the grand prize? Mandy wanted to snap. But in spite of her sour attitude, one thing stuck out in her mind like a sore thumb, and made her feel a rush of emotions that she couldn't describe very well. I don't feel hungry. All I feel is...emptiness. She stared at the ceiling for a few moments, trying to recall Haruko's words in her mind. All she could really imagine in that moment, though, was the hamburger she had. It was so big and so juicy...it felt so filling and so freeing just to eat it without anyone judging me for it or wondering how many pounds I'm gonna gain from it. I wish I could remake it again. I'd go to Shmumber King or ShmumDonald's or something but they couldn't dream of making that monster of a burger. And if I make one here, someone's bound to notice. Slowly, she got up from her bed. The sensation in her body was so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time, and she wobbled as she tried to find her footing. "Can I be discharged?" "Yes. Just make sure to come back in a week for a followup checkup." Mandy nodded before she made her way out of the Medical Bay, rubbing her head furiously as she struggled to put the pieces of what had happened together in her head. As empty as I feel right now...some good old-fashioned sleep will help me clear my mind. The next day, almost everyone was crammed into Oprah's office. Oprah herself, Olive, Otto, Peaches and the ponies were all mingling in casual conversation as they awaited the arrival of the one who had summoned them. "I'm here!" Rainbow called, soaring into the office and leaving a rainbow streak behind that she could hear at least a few agents react in awe to. "Sorry it took me so long. What's going on?" "Mandy wanted to see all of us to discuss something." Oprah explained. "She said it was, and I quote, 'urgent and important and if you don't come I will personally drag all your butts over to Oprah's office and force you to listen with the aid of a magic spell Agent Twilight taught me.'" Twilight merely shrugged as eyes fell on her. "Maybe it has something to do with the feast we prepared for her." Fluttershy suggested, a worried tone to her voice as her gaze remained fixated on the glass double-doors. "We were all just trying to look out for Mandy's best interests! Oh, the poor thing hasn't eaten in so long, I figured that having a bunch of food set out for her would fill her tummy right up!" Rarity remarked. Ascending the stairs in that very moment was the hybrid of honor herself. She took a deep breath, so deep that she could feel her lungs about to burst from how much air she sucked in and expelled. "It's now or never. Just gotta remember...passion." she muttered to herself, sending a prayer to whoever above that the conversation with the ones she called her friends, the ones she had grouped together as being her family, would go over well. Her foot hit the top step. "Agent Mandy. Glad to see you're feeling better." Her eyes opened, her vision darkened by the sunglasses she had on. "Yeah, we thought you were gonna be blown to bits by a laser chicken!" Pinkie cried out, which earned her a heavy nudge from Peaches. Mandy exhaled. "Well, it's lucky I didn't, huh?" The bitter and rough edges of her tone, lacking any sort of her usual cheeriness, was cause for alarm for everyone in the room. The hybrid really wasn't surprised at the number of worried expressions that were aimed right at her, but perhaps that was because she didn't really care. "Whoa, what's going on with you?" Rainbow asked. The sunglasses, seemingly there just for aesthetic purposes, came off. "Why don't I get right to the point." Mandy remarked, before she took an inhale and spewed out in one single breath, "I don't like the way you all have been obsessing over my eating habits." "Obsessing over your eating habits?" Otto wasted no time. "Why do you think we-" "Because every time you see me eating, you just have to bring it up!" Mandy snapped, her mood doing a sudden 180 as the rage that she had kept at bay for so long made her inch ever closer to the boiling point, word by word and sentence by sentence. More confused expressions, which led her to perform mockeries of, to the others' surprise, no particular characters at all. "'Oh wow, look at how many cakes she's eating!'" Her eyes gained shimmers in them briefly. "'Don't you ever think about anything other than food?'" This one was addressed at Olive specifically, and Mandy made sure she knew it by giving her a glare that could cut through and destroy an entire steel plant. "'Oh, it's amazing how she hasn't put on any weight!'" A "yeah, right" scoff left her. She clenched her fist and ceased the mocking. "Do you think I wanted this to happen? Yes, I have a large appetite. But it came as part of a package deal with my transformation! Do you really think I can help it if I eat so much?! DO YOU THINK YOUR COMMENTS MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER?!" Their visible flinching made her want to put on a sadistic smile that even Todd would have drawn the line at in his villain days. Fluttershy, in particular, looked close to crying, but Mandy paid her no mind. Wanting to dispel her anger, she gave a huff. "It's one thing to bring up my eating habits every once in a while. I'm fine with that, really, I am, but...when it happens all the time, every time I eat, it becomes less of a joke or a 'haha, so funny' moment and it becomes more harmful than you think it is. And I'm sick of it!" Her voice cracked with that last sentence. She hadn't meant for it to crack, but the sadness that lingered in her heart had made it do so without her consent. And with that emotion came tears that slowly began to move forth as she continued. "The reason I looked as pale and sickly as I did was because...I was starving myself. I didn't want to eat if everyone was just going to make stupid comments about it." Mandy's gaze flicked to... "Applejack, remember that time you thought I ate all one hundred of your pies? The ones you were gonna give out to the townsfolk?" And then, to... "Momma, Otto, how about the time I ate your Thanksgiving dinner meant for the three of us because I was starving, and you yelled at me for it? Do you really think that made me feel any better? To be scolded for something I can't help?" Applejack lowered her hat in shame, while Olive and Otto both exchanged guilty and heartbroken looks. None of them felt like responding, instead opting to just listen and wait until Mandy ended her ranting tirade and gave them the floor. "And let's not forget what's been going on recently -- how you all keep on bringing up my gaining a couple pounds. Don't you have any sympathy? E-empathy, even?!" Her gaze moved to Pinkie, the one in the group who was known for her insane eating habits, and then to Oprah, the one in the group who was known for her insane drinking habits. The blue eyes that once signaled innocence now signaled rage and hurt, and both mare and child knew this as they avoided eye contact. "I've been at a healthy weight for years. Even if I do eat a lot, I work it off by fighting oddness and getting good rest and- and flying around all over the place! Seems a lil' nitpicky bringing up my weight in particular, don't you think?" The vibes of pure guilt hanging about in the room was thick enough to be cut with an industrial-grade knife. Mandy waited for what seemed like days as no one seemed to muster up the gall to respond to her. Her expression twisted into an ugly grimace. "Unbelievable. Not one of you can explain yourselves? At least say sorry for what you've been doing?" She scoffed. "I nearly died! If that anonymous person...pony...thingie-whoever hadn't saved me when they did, I would've been prey for a laser chicken. Then you wouldn't have a pwecious target anymore. Wouldn't that pain your hearts just so?" Still no response. Mandy had at least somewhat expected some kind of "don't mock us" clapback or something along those lines, and part of her wanted such a clapback to come along so she could really bring her nastiness out to play on her stage, but nothing came. "Then I guess that's it. I've said what I've needed to with as much passion as I can muster." She turned around and headed for the door, only swiveling her head back once to spit out a final bludgeoning sentence. "There's nothing left to do now but leave you to think about what you've done." Well, I did it, Omi. Haruko. I spoke my true feelings to them with all the passion and spirit I have. And yet, nothing happened. All they want to do is fester and rot in silence and guilt, without even trying to make amends. Thank you for the advice, but... She trailed off. The thought lingered in her mind as she placed her foot on the first stair, and then the other foot on the second one. "Mandy, wait." Her eyes opened. Although she refused to turn around, Olive was in the doorway, arm outstretched in what she had to admit was a rather dramatic fashion. "I...I had no idea...we had no idea you were feeling that way. We thought you could take it. You take almost everything else, you're so resilient." A smile crossed Olive's face, but disappeared in the blink of an eye. "But...to be honest, I think we'd be feeling the same way if someone always commented on our eating habits too. Isn't that right?" Nods met her inquiry, which irked Mandy slightly and made her a little jealous that Olive was easily able to garner a reaction with her spiel and she couldn't. What did Olive have that Mandy didn't? "Me, I'm just happy you're alive. We thought you died out there with that laser chicken about to attack you." Her voice cracked. Mandy raised an eyebrow as tears began to fall. "I...I should have...I should've listened to my own daughter, and...and I should've thought more about your feelings, and..." Mandy watched as the Director slumped to the ground and buried her face right into the palm of her hands. Her body quaked and shivered, and it didn't take much deducing to figure out that she had progressed to outright sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" came the pleading apology, right before a wail came forth that would have been eardrum-splitting if it weren't muffled by hands. Almost immediately, Otto was at his partner's side, rubbing her back in an effort to comfort her as partners did. "I'm sorry too, Mandy." Mandy blinked as her gaze flicked to Oprah, who stood up. "If you don't want us to comment on your eating habits so much, then we won't. Right, agents?" Murmurs of agreement filled the hybrid's ears. She ascended the steps and moved back into the office. "You were acting so much like your usual self just a couple weeks ago, I didn't even notice there was something wrong with you!" Rarity placed a hoof on her chest, a warm smile gracing her lovely face. "Darling, if ever anything is troubling you, anything at all, I am always available to listen." "Don't be afraid to tell us anything that's on your mind!" Otto smiled as well. "That's what we're here for, as your friends." "We're all here for you, cuz." Peaches, now. "Always remember that." Mandy wasn't quite sure to make of this situation. On the one hand, her bitterness slowly began to ebb away, and was replaced by a similar feeling of numbness from when she was in the Medical Bay. The smiles began to warm her heart more on pure instinct than anything else, although she couldn't deny that seeing them made her want to smile too, just because she could. On the other hand, it certainly seemed like everyone was sorry, but time and time again with this ragtag group of children and mares and catgirls that all bore the excuse of "you're just so unpredictable" had shown her that maybe they just couldn't be trusted to handle her with care. From the incident with Natsu to her sleep-flying around town, she didn't really feel comfortable with trusting them with something that, frankly, was just basic common sense. You just don't comment on how people eat their food. You don't comment on their weight, either. The stupidest foal in existence knew that much, but these kids and fully-grown mares -- fully-grown mares! -- didn't. Why would I forgive them for something that should be common sense, I wonder. She reached behind her back and produced a tissue, thrusting it in front of Olive. "Your nose is running. Have a tissue." she plainly remarked, watching as Otto took it and handed it to his partner for her to blow her nose in. A mighty sigh left her as she settled on an acceptable answer. "As much as I'd love to accept all of your apologies...a lot has happened over the past two weeks. I just...need some time to process it all." And with that, her final hurrah was laid on the table. She descended the stairs, fully this time, not bothering to listen to any of her co-workers anymore. Her eyes briefly laid sight to the Breakroom, and for a moment, she contemplated eating something of merit. But her head was aching...no, if she was being honest, her entire body felt like that wannabe villainess who called herself "Mega-Pain Jane" and just complained about body aches all the time, as adults did. So, she trudged on back to her room to get some more sleep, and hopefully clear her head a little bit. Maybe, just maybe, she would meet Haruko again and try to make some sense of all this. Unbeknownst to her, however, Oprah was already on her way down the stairs with a spring in her step, with Peaches' question of "Oprah? Where are you going?" barely even fazing her. The girl dug into the fridge of the Food Storage Room, half of her body being consumed by the appliance as she took dish after dish out, throwing them onto a nearby table and caring very little if their appearances got ruined. "Oprah!" Peaches called as she made her way into the room. "What are you doing?" "Putting out some food for Mandy in case she gets hungry." Peaches blinked. Certainly didn't flinch on that one, huh? she thought, as some kind of a pastry was flung onto the table next. She studied the wide array of food that was already placed on it, fighting the urge to just snatch up a dish for her own dinner later that evening and not have Oprah notice. And then she realized. "Is this all stuff from the feast?" "Well, I can't just let it go to waste." Oprah remarked, pressing her Converses against a shelf as she strained and struggled to pop her body free. When she did, she landed on her back, kicking up a few clouds of dust. Peaches side-eyed her as she got up on two feet once again. By all accounts, she was acting normal. However, Peaches couldn't help but notice the sad and guilty edge to her words. It was abundantly clear that Mandy's words had pierced her right through the heart, but she would be odd-damned if she put on a show of tears that could flood the Mississippi River now. "Hey. Are you...feeling okay?" came the tentative question, as the catgirl tread carefully around Oprah to avoid getting an angry growl in response. "I'm all right. I just need to unwind with a juice box." And out came the kiddie alcohol. Fruit punch was the flavor this time around, with a straw already stuck in it and bearing a bit of juice within its transparent cylindrical shape. Oprah eagerly took a mighty sip, an equally-mighty sigh leaving her as she eyed the drink with a look that Peaches couldn't place. Before the catgirl knew it, she was using the Teleport-inator to zap all the food away. "I-" Oprah was leaving. "W-wait, Oprah, hold on!" Peaches feebly called, giving an irritated huff after a few moments and following her. Later that evening, Twilight and co. returned from spending a night out on the town of Ponyville. All of them were exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to get some good rest. "Oh, thank Celestia. Mandy ate something." Twilight remarked, as she approached the Breakroom table and was pleasantly surprised to find that nothing was on it, not even a single crumb. All that was there was a couple dishes. "Well that's a relief." Fluttershy elevated herself to examine the table from up in the air, a warm smile crossing her maw. "I was really worried about her." The sound of the automatic steel doors opening caught the mares' attention. Six heads swiveled behind them to find Olive and Otto approaching, the former being comforted by the latter. "Oh, hi Olive, hi Otto!" Twilight waved. "Are you two still upset over Mandy?" "'Upset' is a bit of an understatement." Otto rubbed Olive's back. "She was crying into my chest as soon as we got back into HQ." Most anyone could see Olive's reddened and bloodshot eyes, and within them, most anyone could see the absolute hurt she was going through. Perhaps she felt guilt for driving Mandy to nearly die, or perhaps she felt sadness at seeing her daughter at such a horrific point in her life. No one really knew, and Olive didn't look too keen on sharing her thoughts at the moment. "Ohh...I'm so sorry, darling." Rarity moved forward and placed a hoof on the girl's knee. "We know how much you love Mandy." "I miss when she was all perky and happy and energetic, just like me!" Pinkie piped up. "Now she's all frowny-faced..." "I just wish there was a way to make her happy again. To really show how sorry we all are." Twilight's statement was met with resounding murmurs of strong agreement. And then, silence fell. Of course, it wasn't complete silence. With agents and clients alike all milling about in the bullpen, complete silence could never be achieved. But that didn't mean the feeling of culpability and heartache didn't hang over their heads like a huge thick cloud. "Mandy?" Fluttershy's ever-so-soft murmur made heads perk up, and then promptly turn. Standing in the entryway to the right hallway was the hybrid herself. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her hair was a complete and utter mess, and her wings looked to be slightly smaller if one looked closely enough. It looked like she had just rolled out of bed after plucking a few feathers from her wings out of rage and then falling asleep crying -- and not that they would know, but that was exactly what she had done. "Hi." The greeting sounded...small. Alarmingly small. Mare and child knew that regular old Mandy would not settle for just a simple stony "hi". No, the regular old Mandy would settle for a "hiya" or a neat little catchphrase she invented on a whim. "Do all of you...have a minute?" The question sounded small, too. Like a child who asked their parent for permission to go to the bathroom or to eat a cookie from the cookie jar. Peaches in particular opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, not sure whether to answer her cousin's question first or remark on her scruffy appearance. Just as the mares and the two Directors nodded, the sound of someone panting grew closer and closer. "Oprah." Mandy gave a simple polite nod. "Can you...can all of you sit down, please?" Everyone did as they were told, gathering around the Breakroom table to hear what their friend had to say. "Is something wrong?" The question slipped free from Peaches' lips before she could stop herself. She bit her bottom lip, hoping she didn't just throw herself clear into the fire. "No, nothing's wrong, it's just..." Mandy grit and ground her teeth together before a sigh eked through, squeezing through the gaps in her teeth and making a soft whistling sound. "As I said, a lot has happened over the past two weeks. And since you guys are all open to me venting to you, then...I might as well, right?" Pinkie took notice of the smile that graced her partner's face. It definitely wasn't genuine, she knew that much. But she also couldn't place the emotion the smile held within it. If Mandy was giving her a challenge, she was definitely on the losing end. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice everyone else had given their agreement. She, too, chimed in with a single nod. Mandy took a deep breath. "So Momma. Otto." Her dull gaze became fixed on the dynamic duo. "I fixed the issue with Omi, first of all. He wants the agents of your precinct to not be so picky about their food options, to recognize the talents and the passion he has for cooking. I'd suggest you work on that." Otto didn't respond outside of a nod. "Second." Mandy continued. "I visited Haruko again. Like Omi, she gave me advice on what to do in regards to starving myself, and she said that eating is...a part of me. It's who I am. It's more than just a basic human function. It's special to me." She rubbed her arm. "And...like I said, it's fine if you guys poke fun at it every once in a while, but just...don't do it obsessively, 'kay?" Nods and murmurs of agreement filled the area. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Mandy pressed on before she could get even a single sound in. "I don't know why I have to tell you guys something that should be basic common sense. You'll always be my family, but...you honestly suck on the friendship front." Mandy gave a soft breathy chuckle, the unidentified smile making a return before fading away again. "Even you, Twi." Twilight blinked, feeling a blush creep along her cheeks. "We are but children, full of naivete and blind to the cruelties of the world. Such of which we will prolly forever be immune to, drifting in the sea of immortality as we go about our daily lives throwing ourselves on the front line to protect the world we call home, while dealing with our own disgusting vices and our own horrifying sins that make us unique humans and unique equines all around..." Mandy had begun to aimlessly wander at the beginning of her nonsense musings, and it wasn't until she caught the eye of everyone staring at her confusingly that brought her to a stop. "Sorry...got a lil' cynical for a second there. Guess I should try to cheer up, huh?" As if to answer her, her stomach let out a loud grumble. Mandy gave a sigh, reached up to the top of her head, and began to unzip herself from head to toe. It was a rather grotesque display to the untrained eye, but to her friends, it was nothing more than just a simple surprise. The disguise fell away to reveal a Mandy that was much brighter in both personality and color. Her blue eyes held life again, as did her hair, her tail, and her wings. Aside from her thinner-than-usual stature, she looked every bit like the person she had been before all hell broke loose. "Feast food, feast food!" she chanted, pumping a fist into the air. "Giii-mme some feast food!" "In the refrigerator, sugarcube." Applejack's words were all that Mandy needed. Within seconds, the hybrid had half of her body stuck in the fridge that stood tall on the ground, feet waving wildly as she greedily munched on food after food. All the while, everyone watched with warm and grateful smiles on their faces. "Olive? You okay?" Otto asked, noticing his partner and the tears that cascaded down her face. "She's eating again." came the murmur, soft and quiet. "She forgives us." "Of course she does. Mandy tends to hold long grudges against people who hurt her, but she always ends up forgiving them in the end." Otto smiled. "Although she does have a point. We were pretty stupid to start commenting on her eating habits and her weight the way we did. It's rude." The fridge began to rock violently, now. The top part of it, the freezer, was now open for access, although Mandy didn't plan on getting to it until a little later. "You enjoying yourself in there?" Peaches called. "I hope you are. You deserve this feast!" "Shure!" Mandy chirped back, her mouth full of one disgusting meat conglomerate. "And thank you!" "Can I have some?" "Not on your life, shishter!" The fridge tipped over. Olive, immediately forgoing her tears, jumped up on pure instinct and lunged. Mandy landed square on her feet, bent her knees to the point where her legs nearly buckled out from under her, and leapt in one swift movement, turning the fridge right side up and continuing to munch away on whatever food she had found in there. Olive blinked as she laid there on the cold and dirty floor for a few moments, wondering exactly what had transpired and why she was laying on a cold and dirty floor to begin with. She watched Mandy's tail wag furiously and listened to the sounds of a hungry hybrid completely and utterly mauling a refrigerator, slowly getting up and returning to her seat as she watched the show continue to unfold. It seemed like forever before Mandy had finally made her way to the freezer. Her stomach had, to the others' surprise, a very noticeable bulge, and she could certainly feel herself start to grow sluggish and drowsy. Never mind the fact that she had just woken up from sleep -- eating a ton of food absolutely never failed to send her into the after-dinner dip. "I bet ten bits she's gonna eat the entire fridge and then go right to sleep!" Pinkie chirped, raising a hoof and rapidly ringing a service bell that had suddenly appeared in front of her. "And that's ten bits from each of you!" Oprah decided to entertain her energetic equine of an agent. "Pinkie Pie, do some currency exchange calculations, would you?" "Sure!" Pinkie tapped twice on the smartwatch that adorned her wrist -- certainly not a gag exclusive to her; every agent in the Investigation department wore one as part of a push by Odd Squad to keep up with society's technological advancements. She hummed as a picture of a bit and then a picture of a Jackalope Coin popped up next to each other, along with an equation at the bottom that showed a conversion rate of one bit to one Jackalope Penny. It was exactly the rate she thought of, and she tapped the smartwatch twice to close it again just as quickly as she had opened it. "Ten Jackalope Pennies, ma'am! Or ten cents." "Only ten cents?" Oprah chuckled. "You don't want to go higher?" Olive shot her former boss a glare that could send the Shapeshifter packing. "Hmm...okey-dokey! Ten Jackalope Bucks!" "That-a-mare." Olive buried her face into her hands and groaned. The sounds of Mandy eating in the freezer began to slow down with every minute that passed. No one could even make sure if she was done or not by the time she hit the back. Her tail slowly ground to a halt, as did her flailing feet. Once she came to a dead stop, Twilight lit up her horn, allowing her magical aura to encase her friend's body. With immense effort, she pulled Mandy out and turned her over to let her co-workers gaze upon what would be the bad ending of a contestant in an eating contest. The hybrid, with eyes completely closed, had a peaceful smile on her face, her arms tucked by her sides and her hands folded downwards, like that of a T. rex's. Her stomach had grown so big that it was actually peeking out of the suit, a feat that O'Q probably would have admired just for the sake of boasting about how well he designed the suits for durability. "I believe our friend has reached postprandial somnolence." the purple alicorn declared. "Ha!" Pinkie pointed, then rang the service bell repeatedly again. "Ten bits! Er, ten Jackalope Dollars! Pay up!" With collective sighs and groans, everyone laid their $10 bills on the table in front of her. "Ahhh...smell that $90 of postpram...post...somnam..." Pinkie faltered. "W-whatever it's called." "Food coma, Pinkie." "Yes! Thank you, Twilight!" Pinkie took the wad of cash and shoved it into her mane for later usage. Twilight took flight, beginning to head towards the hallway. "I'll go and put this one to bed. She's eaten enough of her share. Now it's time she sleeps it off." As the group watched the alicorn turn the corner with a sleepy Mandy who muttered "Thankzz f' th' feazzt...", they exchanged relieved glances. "Yep, everything's definitely back to normal." Peaches remarked. "Although Oprah, you might wanna restock that fridge." The Director scoffed. "Nonsense! Do you really think I would have a fridge of 13579's entire food supply just so Mandy can eat it all? What an..." She broke out into huffy laughter. "What an absurd notion." "Wha..." "That fridge -- the same one you saw earlier -- is from the Food Storage Room. I helped Olly drag it up here so I could put the food from the feast in it. There was debate about putting a fridge in here when the Breakroom was made, but no one could make it work." Oprah shrugged. "So we had to settle for the spherical wall ones instead." Peaches' brow furrowed. She supposed the wall fridges did add a bit of odd class to an already-odd workplace, although she couldn't deny the space in them was rather small. She wasn't quite sure how a hundred agents, if that, were supposed to fit their lunches. Did a majority of them hit up fast-food places? Or were their other fridges in Headquarters somewhere? Nonetheless, she pushed the question aside for now and settled for a smile. "I see. Good to know." With the fun having ended, everyone got up to return back to their usual activities. Olive, with a mighty sigh, got up and began walking the same way Twilight had gone. "Partner? Where are you going?" Olive stopped and turned. She stared at Otto for a few moments, her now-normal chocolate-brown eyes boring into his own ones, before she cracked her knuckles and gave a soft chuckle. It was clear to her that she knew exactly what she had to do for the rest of the day, and every inch of her shimmered with the prospect of a challenge. A smirk settled on her face. "Someone's gotta make Mandy dinner." S1E29: Is There a Doctor in the House?Mandy getting hurt wasn't really an uncommon sight. The hybrid was very accident-prone, and by this point she was sure most of her bones had been broken at least once. To put it in perspective, most agents hadn't broken half of the bones she had once over, let alone twice over. She always got confused at the ones who somehow never had any bones broken at all, and bragged about it like everything they had was made of gold. She figured it was just a matter of time before they joined the Broken Bones Club, and the bragging was just them stroking massively inflated egos. Luckily, this time around, she hadn't broken any bones. But she had received some pretty nasty injuries, and the pain was making her lose her second wind. As she limped into the bullpen, a groan rattled in her throat. Pinkie, working at her desk, was quick to notice the new arrival. "Partner?" She got up and galloped over. "What happened to you?" "Got beat up pretty badly by a rogue laser chicken." Mandy winced in pain, but still managed to put on a smile. "Their laser blasts can pierce skin, y'know that?" Pinkie's expression was nothing short of worry as she examined the gaping, bleeding leg wound on her partner's left leg. "You should go see Dr. O!" "I would, but last I heard, he was out." Mandy's head moved from side to side. "And there don't seem to be any other Odd Squad Doctors around, either." She shook her head. "I'll be fine. It's nothing a couple bandages can't handle." "And some painkillers!" Pinkie watched as Mandy's horn lit up, making a roll of gauze suddenly appear and land into the hybrid's hand. As she bent down to wrap the gauze around her leg, she couldn't help but give a cry of pain as the bandage touched her throbbing wound. "Wait, let me help!" Pinkie offered, taking the roll in her hooves and unraveling it. Mandy simply nodded. "Be gentle, 'kay?" "Aww, it stuck to my hoof!" Pinkie whined, as she waved her hoof back and forth in a vain effort to get the gauze off. It took a few minutes before the baker was able to fully patch up her partner's wounds. Though the pain still persisted, it wasn't nearly as bad as it was before, and Mandy was at least able to stand without feeling like she was getting crushed by a multi-ton construction vehicle. "There ya go!" Mandy took the roll from Pinkie's hooves and gave a sigh of relief as she tucked it away behind her back. "Thanks." "So why aren't there any Doctors?" Pinkie asked. "If someone gets hurt then who's gonna help them?" Truth be told, Mandy didn't have a good answer to that question -- she was no Doctor, nor did she work in the Medical department. "I'm not sure..." "Agent Mandy! In my office, now!" "And up I go." Mandy rolled her eyes, though it wasn't out of annoyance so much as it was out of amusement. "Thanks again, Pinkie." "No problem!" Pinkie began to trot back to her desk. "Oh, and make sure to ask Ms. O about the lack of Doctors!" "Will do!" Ascending the staircase that led to Oprah's office wasn't really an easy feat. It seemed like every time Mandy raised her leg to put her foot on a stair, the pain shot through her body like a laser from a gadget. Still, she persevered -- after all, if the pain got really bad, there wasn't any harm in raiding the Medical Bay for some extra-strength painkillers. Or just getting them from Olive, now that she thought about it. "You wanted to see me, Oprah?" Mandy called as her left foot hit the top step, giving a sigh of relief that now all she had to worry about was the flight downwards. "Yes." Oprah watched as Mandy made her way inside, then gestured to her guest. "As you can see, Dr. O is here as well. Dr. O?" Mandy's expression lit up. "Dr. O!" She flung herself at the Head Doctor, or at least flung herself at him as much as she could without reaching a ten on the pain scale. "Oh thank odd! Look, I-I just want some painkillers, please, I'll take anything, it hurts so so bad and-" Dr. O held a finger to Mandy's lips. "Glad to see you too. But I can't just prescribe painkillers without see-" He stopped and had himself a good look at Mandy's covered wounds, where the blood from some of them had seeped into the gauze. "Oh. I see. Those don't look good. Well, in that case, I'll be happy to get you some." Mandy gasped. "When we're done here." Her face fell. She began to pout as she climbed off of him and slunk back to her position behind Oprah's desk. "Anyway..." Dr. O straightened out the uniform that sat under his teal lab coat. "As you might have noticed, I’ve been consistently busy between my Maintenance duties and my Medical duties recently. It seems that business has picked up." Dr. O gave an irritated sigh. "Not unlike the Maintenance department…" "So Dr. O is looking for an assistant to help him out when he's not around." Oprah finished. "We were wondering if you had someone in mind." Almost immediately, Mandy shook her head. She knew of no one who wanted to go into the Medical department and become a Doctor, in Precinct 13579 or otherwise. "Not that I can think of! But..." She tapped her chin. "Maybe you should do an announcement of sorts? Tell agents that you’re looking for an assistant and if they have any recommendations, or want to volunteer, then they can come to you!" Dr. O and Oprah exchanged a look between each other, silently pondering the suggestion. After a minute or two, Dr. O nodded. "That's not a bad idea. Let's do it." "Perfect." The trio made their way out of the office and onto the second floor of the bullpen. As Oprah took her spot on the stool she used to bolster her height so she didn't look like a small child yelling into a golden banister, she cleared her throat. "Attention, agents!" Almost immediately, agents began gathering in the bullpen, muttering inquisitively over what their boss had to say. "Dr. O has an announcement he would like to make." With that, Oprah stepped off of the stool and let Dr. O take the stage. "Uh, yes." He adjusted his lanyard before speaking again. "Recently I have been very busy with both my Maintenance duties and my duties as an Odd Squad Head Doctor, and because of that, I am now opening a spot in the Medical department for someone to become my assistant. If any of you have any recommendations for agents who would like to be my assistant, or would even like to recommend yourself, please stop by my office." This got the crowd excited, as whispers and murmurs were passed around like candy. One of the agents in the crowd who was the most excited was Sweetie Belle, as she stared up at Dr. O with sparkles in her light harlequin eyes. "I'll be naming someone in a week. So please, don't hesitate if you've ever wanted to become an Odd Squad Doctor. Thank you!" Dr. O stepped off of the stool, but his eyes, as well as those of Oprah's and Mandy's, caught Sweetie Belle pushing her way to the crowd. "Dr. O!" she called, giving a few grunts as she kept pardoning herself and giving apologies to the agents she had shunted out of the way. When she finally got to the front, she sighed, then looked up at the trio standing above her. "Dr. O, may I be considered?" Oprah blinked. "You?" As did Mandy. "You?" "Of course, Agent Sweetie Belle." Dr. O nodded. "But I must warn you. Being an Odd Squad Doctor is not an easy task." "I'll do whatever it takes!" "Dr. O, darling!" The sweet and silky, easily recognizable voice followed one mare as she too made her way to the front. She hugged her little sister almost in a protective manner. "Surely you're not going to go through with this?" she asked. "Sweetie Belle is just a young filly!" "Stop intruding, Rarity!" Sweetie snapped, wrestling free of her sister's grasp. "I want a change of pace, and being a Doctor sounds like the perfect job for me!" Rarity's expression twisted into anger, then into frustration. "Hmph! Well, if you so insist." She turned on her heel and began trotting away. "But do not come crawling back to me when you fail." The words were spit with utter venom that pierced Sweetie's heart as she watched her sister leave, though she didn't dare cry in front of her fellow co-workers. Oprah turned away from the crowd to face Mandy and Dr. O. "What's been going on with them?" she asked. "Agent Rarity's been slacking on cases lately, according to Agent Applejack. It's not like her." Mandy heaved a sigh. "Sweetie Belle’s been talking about becoming an Odd Squad Doctor for a couple weeks now. When Rarity got wind of the news, she wouldn’t have it. Since then the two have been arguing nonstop!" "Well, fillies are children, are they not?" Dr. O posed. "And Sweetie Belle is an agent of Odd Squad just like anyone else. So of course I'll consider her for the position." The filly in question hopped up and down. "Yay! Thank you, Dr. O! I'll do my best!" Oprah sighed. "Sweetie’s a very valuable agent. She’s really skilled on the field, although her gadget-handling needs work. If she wants to try her hand- uh, hoof at being an Odd Squad Doctor, then I won’t stop her. What about you, Mandy?" Mandy's tongue partially stuck out straight from her mouth as she thought the proposal over. "You do have a point, boss." Her pony ear flicked. "I'll allow it too!" "All right then." Dr. O nodded. Sensing the meeting was over, the crowd began to slowly disperse, as agents went back to whatever tasks they had been doing beforehand. "Now..." Mandy waggled her eyebrows at the Head Doctor. "About those painkillers..." "Follow me into the Medical Bay." Willingly ignoring Dr. O's disgruntled response, Mandy gave a cry of "Oh, happy yay!" before following him, humming a ditty as she did so. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to help before." he apologized. "I'm not sure where all the Doctors went..." "Aww, don't worry about it! Lucky for you that you're hiring an assistant!" As Dr. O slid the door open and headed towards the cart that sat in the corner, Mandy watched as he rustled through a collection of pill bottles. Pharmacist she was not, but she couldn't help wondering if he would benefit from having an actual pharmacy somewhere. After all, if a Hospital Room could be built, why not a Pharmacy Room? "Now where is it...I could've sworn..." Dr. O's muttering became incomprehensible. "Aha, here they are." He walked back over to Mandy and placed the bottle in her hand. "Take those as directed. It should help alleviate your pain." Mandy glanced at the label. It didn't take her more than two seconds of reading before she popped two pills into her mouth, chewed them, and swallowed them. Surprisingly, they tasted like cherry-flavored gummies. "Aah...thanks, Dr. O!" "Not a problem." The Head Doctor smiled. "Go and rest. I'll have a Doctor check up on those wounds as soon as I find one that's free." "Got it!" Mandy's pony ears only barely missed the sigh Dr. O gave as she headed out of the room. She read the pill bottle over and over again, and by the third time, something became apparent to her. ODDPRAZOZENE Take one (1) pill once daily until pain subsides, with or without food and/or drink. Refills can be provided ONLY at Precinct Head Doctor's discretion. For refill inquiries, please visit the Odd Squad Academy. DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN DIRECTED. Taking excess medication may cause dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and/or in extreme cases, permanent loss of senses. A churning feeling began swimming in Mandy's stomach as it gurgled. Her vocal pitch dropped by several degrees as only two words could be eked out of her. "Oh no." As Sweetie Belle made her way through the bullpen, she saw her partners, who rushed to meet her. "Hey, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom greeted. "We saw ya earlier!" "Yeah! Are you gonna become an Odd Squad Doctor?" Scootaloo asked, her purple eyes shimmering. Sweetie nodded. "Yup! I'm gonna study all I can and be the best Doctor ever!" "That's great! Maybe you can practice on us when we get hurt!" Apple Bloom rubbed her front leg -- a frequent spot for injuries due to her rambunctious antics. "Riding on my scooter and doing cool tricks is super awesome! But it can hurt sometimes." "Don't worry. You two will be my first patients. Promise!" Sweetie assured. A frown settled on Scootaloo's face as she posed her next question. "How did Rarity handle the news?" Sweetie heaved a sigh. "Not too well." Her tone dropped to one of anger. "She tried to stop me. Again." "She should just leave you alone." "Yeah, you're your own filly, Sweetie Belle." Bloom concurred. "If you wanna be an Odd Squad Doctor, then go be an Odd Squad Doctor!" This lifted the unicorn filly's spirits. She gave a chuckle. "Thanks for the encouragement." Her posture straightened and she turned so that her side faced Bloom and Scootaloo. "All right. I'm off to the Odd Squad Library to study! Meet back up with you later!" "Bye!" Scootaloo waved. "Good luck!" Sweetie galloped down the right-side hallway as fast as her hooves would take her. Bloom sighed. "I wish Rarity and Sweetie would stop fightin'." she said. "They've been doin' it for the past couple weeks and it's really startin' t' get on my nerves." "Me too." Scootaloo nodded in agreement. "But I hope Sweetie gets to be Dr. O's assistant!" "And we'll cheer her on no matter what!" As both fillies high-hoofed each other, they gave an elated cry of, "Cutie Mark Crusaders for life!" A frustrated Rarity made her way through the halls. Although she tried to make her gait ladylike, she couldn't help but stomp in a similar manner as Applejack when she was upset. "That Sweetie Belle! She has been doing just fine as an Investigation agent, and now she wants to become a Doctor?!" The fashionista gave an indignant scoff. "Well, perhaps I can try and convince Mandy to stop her. After all, she is very...persuasive." By sheer coincidence, Rarity's hooves took her straight to Mandy's room, exactly where she needed to go. Not bothering to question it, she used her magic to grip the doorknob and open the door, whereupon she found the room completely empty. "Dare I say, how odd...she's not here." she mused. "Normally she would be taking her afternoon nap around this time..." "Rarity?" The sudden call of her name nearly made the mare jump out of her fur. She turned to her right to find Applejack trotting up to her, a disappointed look in her features. "Hm? Oh, Applejack, it's you." "Why're ya botherin' Mandy?" the farmpony asked in an accusatory tone. "Is this about Sweetie Belle again?" "Yes!" Rarity's eyes held pleading. "Applejack, I simply can't let Sweetie Belle become an Odd Squad Doctor. It's far too dangerous for her!" Applejack's eyes went half-lidded. "Do you know what Doctors have to do?" Rarity continued. "They do...mm...rather icky work. Helpful, indeed, but I simply can’t bear the thought of my poor Sweetie Belle becoming enamored with becoming...mmm, uncouth!" Without missing a beat, Applejack responded with, "Didja ever stop t' think about how Sweetie Belle's her own pony and can do what she wants? She wanted t' join Odd Squad and ya didn’t stop her then." "Because being a part of Odd Squad is a wondrous experience and I thought it would build character!" Applejack's muzzle wrinkled. With what emotion, Rarity couldn't place. The groan she gave, however, cemented it as being something of annoyance, at best. "That is it! I've decided!" Rarity raised a hoof and stamped it onto the ground. "I'm going to make sure Sweetie stays an Investigation agent." "And just what're ya plannin' t' do?" "I'll have her shadow Dr. O. She can see all the disgusting things he does on a daily basis. Perhaps that will discourage her!" "Well count me out." Applejack turned. "I may be your partner, but I ain't gonna help ya in any 'f this. And that's that!" Rarity watched her leave, a pout on her face for only a few seconds before it was replaced with a small smile. "Well then, I'll have to go at it alone." She exhaled. "First thing tomorrow." Nudging her way into Mandy's room, she quickly made a beeline for her nightstand, opening the second drawer and peeking inside. "Ah, I knew Mandy had some paper in here." she muttered, grabbing some in her corona along with a pen before closing the drawer. As she placed the paper on the nightstand, she began to write a note, making sure to do it quickly but not so quickly that her hoofwriting became sloppy. "And done." She set the pen down and giggled. "By the end of the week, Sweetie won't want to do so much as go into the Medical Bay anymore!" With that thought in mind, she left the room, being sure to close the door behind her. Mandy hugged the wall as she walked from the Bathroom to the bullpen. Lucky for her that what came out of both ends -- yes, to her misfortune, it was both -- wasn't all too bad, but she did feel like she needed a shower afterwards, and so, that's just what she did, making sure to clean every inch of her body. What was the name of that stuff? Odd...odd what...? She reached behind her back and pulled out the bottle. Oddprazozene. Yeah, that's a mouthful. Her stomach growled again. She wasn't sure whether she had to relive the horror in Round 2 or if she was just hungry. "Hey, Agent Mandy!" The hybrid blinked, struggling to keep her vision steady as a white blur with purple and pink tufts ran up to her. The voice was unmistakable, at the very least. "Hey, Agent Sweetie Belle." She put away the bottle and waved with her free hand. "Are your wounds doing okay?" Sweetie asked, having noticed that her coworker was wearing bandages. "Yep. Pain's gone away now...for the most part. Just some tummy pain." Mandy managed a weak smile on her paling face. "Um, w-while I have you here...how do you feel about shadowing Dr. O?" This made Sweetie tilt her head. "Shadow him?" "Yeah. Get a first-hoof look at what he does. It might help you..." Mandy lurched. "...in studying to be a Doctor." "That sounds great!" Sweetie said. "But are you sure it wouldn't be bias?" Mandy tried to laugh, but ended up coughing about halfway through her fourth one. "No, silly. You're watching what he does. You're not training under him." She rolled her eyes. "If ya wanted to be biased, you'd be tryna win him over with gifts and stuff." Sweetie tapped her chin. "That's a good point." she mused, before she made eye contact with Mandy. "Is he available right now?" "Last I saw he was...but we should go and check." Mandy's stomach gurgled again. "I need to go see him myself, actually..." "Yeah, about that, are you okay?" Mandy shook her head. "Your back can't support a hundred-plus-pound hybrid, can it?" Sweetie's eyes widened. She blinked, as though realizing that Mandy's question was stupid to ask but still being surprised by it anyway. "No...but I can lean against your legs to help you walk, if that helps?" Mandy simply nodded, and the unicorn filly took her position against her left leg. Together, the pair went down the hall slowly, with Sweetie having to right Mandy quite a few times as the hybrid kept hugging the wall. Eventually, they made it to the Medical Bay, where Sweetie took the liberty of opening the door. "Dr. O? Are you busy?" Sweetie called, watching the Head Doctor clean the half-pipe-shaped cot. "No, but I'm just about to be." Dr. O said without looking up, gesturing to a man with furry arms who gave a sheepish wave. "Did you need something?" "Y-yeah..." Mandy took out the bottle from hammerspace. "This...'zone' you gave me...it, uh...m-made me sick." Dr. O finally looked up from his cleaning. It didn't take a second before his eyes widened. "Whoa. That's...uh..." He struggled to find the right words. "...not good. What, uh...symptoms have you had?" "Diarrhea and vomiting." Mandy's eyes narrowed. "Both ends. At once." "Oh. I'll have to make a note of that." Dr. O bit his lip and turned to his oddness-stricken patient. "Sorry, sir. If you wouldn't mind waiting outside for a few moments?" "Sure." The man made his way past Mandy and Sweetie and stood right outside the Medical Bay. "Close the door, Sweetie Belle." Dr. O instructed. Once the unicorn filly did as he said, he shook off his surprise and got down to work. "Are you still sick, Mandy?" As if on cue, the hybrid's stomach rumbled. She managed a weak nod as her legs began to shake. "All right. That's a long-lasting, fast-acting medication, and it should be fully out of your system in about a week. In the meantime, I want you to rest in bed until your symptoms subside. No going out, whatsoever, for anything. Follow the BRAT diet for food and drink consumption." He walked over to the corner of the Medical Bay, where a small sign sat on the floor. He pointed to each of the food items listed on it in turn. "That's bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Other plain foods, like crackers, will also help you." Reaching behind his back, he pulled out a small bottle full of pink liquid that was easily recognizable. "And here's some Pepto Bermol. I know you can't stand the taste, but I would suggest taking this as directed." His voice peaked on "as directed", as though knowing exactly what Mandy's problem was in taking medication -- which was true. "If your symptoms persist, come see me again." "You sound like a farm...uh..." Sweetie tilted her head in thought. "Those ads for medication. Yeah. You sound like those." She chuckled. "Did you get that, Mandy?" Mandy gave another weak nod. "Oh! One more thing." Dr. O raised an index finger. "Make sure you stay hydrated. Water is, of course, an excellent choice, but nearly any liquid will do. Juices, sodas, all that." He put the Pepto Bermol in front of Sweetie, who took it in her corona, and then he put the sign back in the corner. It was then that Mandy's knees entirely gave out. With Dr. O's back turned, Sweetie could only watch in horror as her coworker slumped to the ground, slowly but surely. "D-Dr. O!" came the terrified squeak. "Mandy? Mandy, hold on, okay?" "What's-" Dr. O turned. His eyes widened and his face tried to pale, but something in him prevented the latter from doing its thing. "Mandy!" He glanced at Sweetie. "Sweetie Belle, we need to get her to bed, now." "I- b- but..." Sweetie peered out of the Medical Bay towards Oprah's office, wondering if she should warn her. Ultimately, though, she decided that helping out Mandy was of a bigger priority -- after all, if Dr. O was here, everything would surely be fine. "She's still breathing. If we can get her to bed, then she should be okay." Dr. O bent down and lifted Mandy up, surprised by just how light she was. He had picked up Mandy more times than he thought he should have throughout his lifetime, but he still got a dose of "wow, she's really light" almost every time. As the pair left the Medical Bay, Dr. O turned his head towards his patient, looking at the situation with worry. "Just hang tight, sir. Once I'm done with this patient in a few minutes, I'll be right with you." The man nodded, and watched as Dr. O and Sweetie lugged Mandy down the stairs and through the bullpen, passing by all sorts of agents who seemed confused as to what was going on. Due to Sweetie's magic not being fully developed yet, it was a struggle for her to lift Mandy into bed. But with the help of Dr. O, she was eventually able to do it. Mandy's breathing was labored. Sweat was dripping down her pale face, and some of her hair became matted with the stuff. For all intents and purposes, she looked like she was sick, and it wasn't all that far from the truth. "Sweetie, can you take her jacket and shoes off?" Dr. O instructed. "Once you're done, administer the Pepto Bermol." Sweetie began realizing something. All of the stuff Dr. O was doing, ordering her to do this and that and the other thing, had to be Medical department training. Even though she hadn't inquired about having him train her, it seemed that he was going ahead and using this medical crisis as a learning opportunity, which was a good thing in her eyes when she discounted the fact that Mandy was the one who was sick. Using her magic, she tore off the hybrid's jacket and shoes, then levitated the bottle of Pepto Bermol in front of her as she took the plastic cup and cap off and began reading the instructions. "One dose every half-hour as needed for diarrhea and nausea." she read aloud. As she squinted, she poured the liquid in the cup until it reached the exact amount of 15 milliliters, then put her front hooves on Mandy's bed to boost her height as she held the cup to her mouth. Dr. O helped to raise Mandy up enough so that she could drink the liquid safely without choking. "All right, give it to her, Sweetie. Pour it into her mouth. Little sips..." Sweetie did as she was told, inching the cup further and further towards Mandy's mouth, inch by inch. To her surprise, the hybrid was swallowing the liquid, though it was clear she needed to cough. The filly took the cup away from her and allowed her to do so, and it was then that the hybrid began hacking. "I know it tastes bad." Sweetie assured. "But you'll feel better if you take all of this! Um..." She tapped her chin. "Oh! How about some water?" "Good idea." Dr. O nodded. "Sweetie, go and get some. I'll finish up here." The filly didn't need to hear any more. Her hooves took her out of Mandy's room and down the halls as fast as she could, tearing past agent after agent until she got to the Breakroom. There, she dug through the stand that held all sorts of assorted snacks, aiming for the bottom-most half-circle bin that contained bottles of water. Barely questioning the convenience of said bin containing water of all things, she grabbed a bottle and rushed back to Dr. O and Mandy. "I got it!" she cried out. "I got the water!" "Good." Dr. O set the Pepto Bermol down on the nightstand. "Give it to Mandy." Sweetie opened the bottle and floated it over to Mandy, who took it in shaky hands. "Here! This will help get the yucky taste out of your mouth!" It was then that the unicorn filly noticed that Mandy's eyes had become glassy. Not by much, granted, but enough to be noticeable to anyone who knew her well and had gazed into her eyes long enough to know what them being full of life and joy and innocence looked like. Sweetie was immediately concerned, of course, but all she could do was watch to see how Mandy felt. The hybrid's stomach gurgled again. She took a few sips of water. "A little more." At Dr. O's urging, Mandy shook her head. "Why not?" Sweetie's voice edged into a whine. "It'll..." Mandy's voice, by contrast, became raspy. "Worsen it." "Worsen what? The nausea? The vomiting? The diarrhea?" Dr. O smiled, shook his head, and held a hand up. "Don't answer that. Any water is better than no water. Keep sipping." A few more sips, and Mandy was satisfied. She handed the bottle back to Dr. O, who took the cap from Sweetie's grasp and screwed it back on. Having nothing to hold on to, Sweetie's magic died down as she stared at Mandy intently. "See if that stays down. If it doesn't, we'll go for another dose." Dr. O placed a comforting hand on Mandy's shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing. Diarrhea and vomiting happens to everyone. This will pass." Sweetie's eyes widened in awe as she watched the Head Doctor provide all sorts of comforting words to his patient. Mentally, she began scribbling down notes, although she figured that "being nice to your patients" was less of a mindblowing fact and more of a given that was just plain common sense. "Sweetie Belle?" The filly blinked as she snapped out of her stupor. "Yeah?" "Go relay the news to Ms. O. Tell her that Mandy's sick. Once you're done with that, call Olive and Otto and relay the news to them." Sweetie nodded and began heading out the door once again. "Oh, by the way..." She turned around. "Thanks for your help. I have to say, with a little more training, you would make a fine assistant." In that moment, she felt like soaring into the air. Maybe doing a victory dance or two. Maybe running around squealing her little head off. But that was the old Sweetie Belle. The new Sweetie Belle was more mature now, and as such, she was above such things. Still, she couldn't help but let the excitement get to her. "Really?" Her eyes shimmered. "Thank you so, so much, Dr. O! I-I mean, you're welcome! I mean...ohh, darn it..." She sighed. "Never mind. I'll go make those calls now." She awkwardly made her way out of the room, mentally slapping herself for her social slip-up in front of someone who could very well end up being her boss-under-a-boss-under-a-boss. She didn't dwell on it for very long, however, as she lit up her horn and encased her badge phone in her corona, opening it to punch in the numbers 6-3. Olive, of course, came in a flash the second she got the news, popping up right behind Sweetie and scaring the filly. As did Otto, who only came with her so he could be the more sane one of the duo and keep his partner in line, while also helping out Mandy. "Sorry for coming up here so suddenly, it's just that when you have a daughter who's horribly sick you wanna provide the best for her as in drop everything and rush right over you know?!" Olive spat out without taking a single breath. Sweetie just stared. "Uhh...hi to you too, Olive. And Otto." She put on a nervous grin. "Mandy's in her room. She just had some Pepto Bermol. I have to go talk to Ms. O, so if you want to go in, go ahead. Just take it easy." The filly watched as Olive quickly darted into the room, with Otto following as he mouthed an "I'm sorry" to his fellow coworker. Sweetie, for her part, simply gave a smile before rushing towards Oprah's office, whereupon she gave her the news that Mandy was sick and told her that she was unable to work until she felt better. Oprah understood completely, and while she was too busy to check on Mandy at the moment, she told Sweetie to give her second-in-command well wishes. By the time Sweetie got back to Mandy's room with a large trash can in her corona, the hybrid was laying down. Her cheeks were a bright red, and she was heaving ragged breaths even in spite of the wet folded-up cloth on her head. "Hand me the trash can." Dr. O ordered. Sweetie did so without a word, and he placed it beside Mandy's bed. "How is she doing?" she asked. "She developed a fever. 101, as it stands. Which isn't a listed side effect of the medication..." Dr. O glanced at Mandy. "...but with how she is, unexpected side effects shouldn't be put out of the question." The hybrid's stomach growled again. Sweetie knew what that growl meant. It was a growl of betrayal, a growl that, in Mandy's words, was like "a tiny mini-me pounding on the walls of my tummy, screaming its head off 'til it's blue in the face and at least five years older." But the filly knew that Mandy wasn't up to eating at the moment, and so, she decided to keep her suggestions of such to herself. "For now, we should let her rest." "Wait!" Sweetie pointed at Mandy's bandaged arm. "What about her wounds? Could you check those?" "Her wounds?" Dr. O looked at where the filly was pointing, then his face lit up with realization. "Oh! Her wounds! Ah, y-yeah, those, um..." He reached for her arm. "Would one of you mind getting me some antiseptic rinse and some bandages?" "I will!" The unisonant cry from both Director and Investigation agent made both human girl and equine filly do double-takes. They glanced at each other for only a moment before the fur (metaphorically) began to fly. "Do you even know where the antiseptic rinse and the bandages are, Sweetie Belle?" "Of course I do!" Sweetie yelled. "I've been helping Dr. O since before you guys came!" "And Mandy is my daughter. I don't need your inexperienced hooves touching her!" Olive fired back. "I'll get the stuff Dr. O needs. You stay here. Keep Otto company or something." Before Sweetie could object, the girl was already striding out of the room. The filly turned to face Dr. O with an indignant huff. Otto shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. Olive's been like this since Mandy came back from her vacation in the Magical Grasslands. She's been protective of Mandy before, sometimes even overprotective, but...never like this!" "Thanks, Otto. But I didn't expect her to understand the situation anyway." "What situation?" "I'm looking for an assistant to help me out in the Medical Bay because the work in Maintenance has been piling up again." Dr. O explained, as he began undoing Mandy's bandages. "Sweetie Belle offered herself up as a candidate." "Ohhh." Otto nodded in understanding. "So are you helping him out here?" "Unintentionally." Sweetie said. "I was talking to Mandy about me shadowing Dr. O to see what he does and stuff, but when we went to the Medical Bay to ask him about it, she collapsed." Otto's eyes widened. He fixed his gaze on Dr. O. "How'd this happen?" Dr. O gave a sigh as he put the bandages on the floor. "Medication overdose. She took two pills when she was supposed to take one." "And...exactly what did you give her pills for?" "Pain." "For the wounds." Otto nodded again. "Gotcha. What was the medication?" "Oddprazozene." As Sweetie wondered what Otto had to gain from asking all these questions aside from knowledge he could pass on to Olive, the Director's eyes went half-lidded. "She didn't read the label of the bottle all the way through, did she?" "Nope. And if I'm being honest, I wouldn't put it past her." "Ugh, Olive's gonna rip her a new one when she finds out..." Otto muttered under his breath, though it was audible enough for Sweetie to hear. His voice returned to normal on his next words. "Can I help you take those off?" "I'd rather do this myself, but thank you." From there, Otto and Sweetie could only watch as Dr. O took off each individual bandage. In particular, the gash on Mandy's arm was deep, almost like a pool of nothing but the color red. It made Sweetie's stomach turn just looking at it, though she reminded herself that if she was going to be an Odd Squad Doctor, she had to get used to looking at nasty stuff like that. Olive raced in when Dr. O began working on the last bandage, wrapped around the base of Mandy's tail. "I'm back!" she called, raising each hand to show the antiseptic rinse and bandages, as well as a bag of cotton balls just in case. "Oh, Olive. Thank you. Bring the stuff here, if you will." Dr. O gave Olive a smile, and the girl walked over to give it to them. Sweetie could have sworn she shot her a smug smile, the kind of smile Otto described when he talked about her being too overconfident in her decisions. It made her blood boil, and she bared her teeth in retaliation. Dr. O silently began working on cleaning Mandy's wounds. Sweetie decided to watch eagerly, her brain absorbing every action he did. Olive watched too, if only to make sure Dr. O did it right. Five minutes later, he was done. Mandy was all patched up, and the only thing left to take care of was her vomiting and diarrhea. "Mandy?" Dr. O gently shook his patient by the shoulder. "I'm going to give you one last dose of Pepto Bermol, okay? Then we'll leave you alone." "But I'll still be here, just in case you need anyth-" "Then we'll leave you alone." The words from the Head Doctor were sharp and stern. They were also enough to get Olive to shut up, as she adopted a guilty expression that Sweetie wasn't buying for a second. Mandy swallowed, and managed a simple weak nod -- an easy sign that she hadn't fallen asleep yet. "All right. Let me sit you up." Dr. O placed a gentle hand on Mandy's back and slowly but surely lifted her up, the cloth falling in front of her. "Sweetie, get me the Pepto Bermol and pour another full dose, please." The filly did as she was told, sweeping the bottle in her corona and dumping another 15 milliliters out into the small plastic cup that came with it. Once that was done, she floated the cup over to Dr. O. "Here you are. Don't bother lifting it." Dr. O held the cup to Mandy's lips and began pouring it in. She began to drink it in little sips, her hand reaching for the cup in an attempt to try and hold it herself but Dr. O gently pushing it down as a silent reminder not to push herself. She coughed again. Sweetie was quick to reach for the bottled water before Olive could even take a step. "Thank you, Sweetie." Setting the plastic cup on the bed, Dr. O took the bottled water, unscrewed the cap, and held it up to Mandy's lips to allow her to drink it. She did so eagerly, taking more sips, bigger sips this time around. When Mandy was satisfied, she stared at the cloth. "I'll get you a new one." Dr. O picked up the plastic cup and set it on the nightstand, next to the Pepto Bermol that Sweetie had placed there. "You three, keep an eye on Mandy." Agreements were shared among the trio as the Head Doctor walked out. Olive was quick to get right to it. "You unicorns and your magic." She scoffed. "For a filly, you're quick on the draw." "I have good teachers." Olive chuckled derisively. "I'm sure." She made her way over to Mandy, who had flopped back down onto the bed. "Mandy? Are you okay?" "Don't make her speak!" Sweetie snapped. "Can't you see she's not in the mood to talk?" "Be quiet, Belle. The adults are talking." "You're a child!" That retort came from both Otto and Sweetie in unison. Olive willingly ignored it. With great effort, Mandy's horn lit up in an array of colors. From its tip, a wisp of multicolored smoke weaved its way up until it formed a ghostly figure of its owner that floated in midair without the use of wings or a tail. "Hiya!" It waved. "What's up my marshmallow peeps?!" It pointed at Sweetie. "Especially you. You're very 'mallow." Olive's eyes shimmered. "Mandy!" She reached out to touch her adopted daughter, only to be surprised when her hand phased through her. "Can't touch this." it said. "I'm a spooky ghost. All spooky-spoo-spoo. I'm only a projection. I..." It smirked. "...will be Eraser's mind." Stares. "Mandy's mind. I'll be Mandy's mind. Ahem. Waxing lyrical, as it were." Olive stared at the projection with desperation. "What's wrong with you?" "Momma, if I had to answer that question, we'd be here all day." It rolled its eyes. "But I assume you're asking about...that." "Yes!" came the unisonant cry from the trio. The projection sighed. "Long story not-so-short, I got wrecked by a laser chicken and needed painkillers so I didn't feel like a multi-ton truck rammed into me and sent me flying to Michigan." It rubbed the back of its neck. "So Dr. O gave me painkillers. I took two, 'cuz, y'know, I was metaphorically dyin'...but apparently you were only supposed to take one." Its eyes closed. "I'll spare ya the details of what happened next. Just know that, uh...stuff came outta both ends. At once. It was awful." Olive outwardly cringed in disgust. As if to chime in with a piece, the real Mandy's stomach growled with ferocity. "I'd advise ya don't let that get any louder than it already has." the projection said. "We don't want another repeat of The Fall of the Ruins 'Redacted Year." Sweetie's head was spinning. Somehow, this projection of Mandy was even zanier and nonsensical than the original, which was saying quite a lot. She sat down on the floor and rubbed her head with her hoof as a headache began to form. "The...The Fall of..." Olive shook her head. "Sorry, I, uh, don't believe I was present for that. Mind elaborating?" "Simply put, my stomach has the power to bring down an entire ancient ruin. The sheer force of my insides moving and the sheer sound they make when they do -- with the help of getalsis, or whatever it's called -- can cause walls to crack, structures to shift, and floors to split into two." The projection of Mandy closed its eyes. "And before you ask, no, you don't need to run around screaming until your lungs dry up like raisins. Those things happen only when I'm at the 'if I don't eat food within the next five minutes then I will die' level of hunger, and that hardly ever happens 'cuz I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want!" "Even if it's not edible..." "Silence!" Mandy jabbed a finger at Otto. "Don't think I didn't hear that! I may only be a spooky-spoo-spoo but I still have ears." "So what can we give her?" Sweetie asked. "Dr. O said crackers. Can she eat those?" "Crackers? Yeah! I can eat ten boxes of those bad boys!" The projection threw its hands into the air. "But, uh, just gimme a few. I don't have much left in me, but with me, ya never know." Otto glanced to his right and found Olive gone. He, nor Sweetie, needed to guess where she had run off to, and instead, they got to work on helping Mandy snack on her crackers that Sweetie herself had managed to successfully conjure up. "Uh..." Sweetie rubbed her leg. "While you're here, can you...at least tell me if I did a good job?" "You did excell-rific!" the projection chirped. "You'd make a great assistant, Sweetie Belle. With a lil' sleep, I'll be right as running rain!" "Got a clo-" Dr. O's announcement was halted by him coming face-to-face with the ghostly form of Mandy. "Ah. Mandy. I see you're...feeling...better?" He glanced at the whole form of the hybrid, who could only manage to stare at him before she flopped back into bed. "Or not. What's going on, exactly?" "I, dear sir-oh-sir, am Mandy's mind given a conscious form! You can call me..." The projection faltered. "Uh...w-well, how about Candie? Sounds similar enough to Mandy. And to be honest, she already thinks about candy at least five times every day." Dr. O didn't say anything, instead staring at the projection that sat in front of him with a look of confusion. "Ugh, whatever. Just put the cloth on me! I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cold water!" Olive pointed. "Is that supposed to be a reference?" "Maaaaaaaybe?" Candie wiggled her eyebrows. Dr. O, not wanting to get involved in the craziness, walked over to Mandy and put the cold cloth on her forehead. Her body shivered for a few seconds before it ultimately fell still, save for her chest and stomach rising and falling as she breathed. "Oop, my time's comin' to an end." Candie announced, with a flourish of its opaque hand. "Mandy can't dream if I'm not stuffed in her squishy brain!" "You mean spongy?" Candie squinted. "Not funny, Otto." It waved. "I'll be seeing ya guys on the flip side! Or maybe the dip side! The flip-n-dip side!" Before anyone had a chance to open their mouths, the bottom end of Candie's form began snaking towards Mandy's horn, swirling around its indents before the rest of the form followed suit. A bright light shone for only a few moments before it died down. Otto, Olive, Sweetie and Dr. O looked at Mandy. There, on her face, was a warm and pleasant cat smile. Her eyes were closed, and she turned over onto her left side as she began to snore through her nose. The flecks of happiness in Olive's eyes were inching close to diabetes-inducing. "She's finally asleep!" she cried out, which earned her hearty shushes from the other three awake beings present in the room. Dr. O began gathering up his supplies. "Sweetie, can you help me carry some of this stuff up to the Medical Bay?" "Sure thing!" chirped the filly, renewed with motivation and hope from Candie's words as she began taking stuff with her magic. "Well, seems like our work here is done." Otto firmly grabbed Olive's hand. "Let's go back to HQ, Olive." "But..." "Mandy will be fine. I'm sure Dr. O or one of the other Doctors will check up on her as needed." Otto glanced at the Head Doctor. "Right?" "Of course." He glanced at Sweetie. "And by the way, before I forget, Sweetie Belle..." She looked at him. "You're more than welcome to shadow me if you wish. Consider caring for Mandy today your training, on an official measure." Now it was Sweetie's turn to get excited. She was sure her joy meters could surpass Pinkie Pie's in that moment. The puzzle pieces were falling into place for her now. "Oh my Celestia..." she breathed, before she nodded furiously. "Yes! Thank you, Dr. O!" Olive couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Normally she would be happy for Sweetie, but when the patient she was caring for was Mandy, it was a whole different rodeo, and she didn't trust any amateur doctors around her, Odd Squad or otherwise. "And thank you, you two." Dr. O's gaze moved to Olive and Otto as he scooped up the old cloth in his hands. "Admittedly you might not have helped all that much, but any help is better than none." "No problem!" Otto responded with a smile. Olive, remaining silent, managed a weak smile of her own and a single nod. "Dr. O, what should we do with the trash can?" Sweetie asked. "Keep it there. You never know what'll happen with Mandy." Sweetie took all of the things she had gathered out of the room, with Dr. O following suit. Otto followed too, but stopped in the doorway when he felt a lack of a presence next to him. "Olive." No response. "Olive." "What? Can't I be with my own daughter?" "Yes, you can. But not when she's sleeping." Otto turned, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We have work to do back at Headquarters. Our agents are waiting for us." "I just want to make sure she'll be okay." "She'll be fine." Otto reached behind his back and pulled out a small bottle of chocolate milk, which he unscrewed the cap of and then took a sip out of. "We took care of her." Olive stared at him. "You didn't do anything." "Don't play that game with me." A tch made its way out of Olive. "So. Are you going to stay here, or are you going to go back to Headquarters with me?" "I think the answer's obvious." With a sigh, Otto tucked the milk away behind his back for later consumption, stepped towards Olive, picked her up effortlessly, and walked out of the room with the same urgency as if he were carrying groceries home. Olive, being the polite Director she was, did not fight back right away. Instead, she waited until she was out of Mandy's earshot to begin throwing a fit, pounding on Otto's back and screaming at him in protest like she was a littler kid. Mandy, for her part, didn't hear a thing. Her mouth did, however, fall open, allowing the snores to grow more clamorous in volume as Candie led her through dreams of hot dogs and planets. Throughout the day, Dr. O had two Doctors periodically check on Mandy, taking her temperature and gauging her dreams to make sure they were stable (and for research too, as an added bonus). Sure enough, Candie's claim of Mandy needing just a little sleep to get better was true, and even when asleep, both of them could feel strength being restored to the latter's body. Olive, however, couldn't stay away. She had tried feeding Mandy in her sleep, making her drink in her sleep, even bathing her in her sleep, and all she had on her list of accomplishments was the third one, where she figured that Mandy had somehow grown enough so that she no longer was oppositional when being cleaned in her sleep. That, or she was just too tired to fight back. She wasn't sure which one it was. Even so, she checked up on Mandy more periodically than periodically. It seemed like every time an Odd Squad Doctor was in there, Olive was watching them, watching her with unblinking chocolate-brown eyes, unintentionally terrifying them but not enough so that they couldn't do their job effectively. She watched, just to make sure that Mandy wasn't harmed. She watched, just to make sure that Mandy was safe and protected while she slept. It wasn't until the next day that Mandy awoke, at noontime just as her internal clock rang its alarm. Her movie of playing in a large puddle of mud and getting herself dirty from head to toe ended, the credits rolled so that she stopped snoring and talking, and she slowly opened her eyes. A tall figure towered over her, though not by much. Due to her drowsiness, she couldn't tell who or what it was. It was probably a who, though, because it spoke, and whats didn't really speak. "Rise and shine! Good morning!" That was enough to scare Mandy into backing up, whereupon her head collided with the wall and she let out a cry of pain as she clutched it. "Oh crumpets!" the figure cried out. "A-are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you! Shh, shhhhhh, it's okay, I've got you..." The figure squishing Mandy's head against her chest only seemed to make it hurt more. But at the same time, it was also kind of...comforting. Warm. Maternal. Like her dream of being swaddled in Olive's arms as she suckled on a chocolate bar, the warmth overtaking her body and allowing her to fall into a deep, dream-filled, eternal sleep... "Hey, silly!" The figure shook her out of her daydream, then pushed her away from its body. "Don't fall asleep! You just slept for a whole day!" Mandy groaned. The words were just gibberish in a language that was gibberish to her, but she was also complaining because her heat source had been given to her and then had been taken away. Also because she was sure that it was a school day and she really didn't feel like going. The figure reached for the nightstand and grabbed a familiar plastic cup filled with brown liquid that was topped with a funky-shaped straw. A swirly straw, Mandy thought it was called, though she forgot its actual name. It held out the cup and smiled. "Here, drink this! It'll perk you right up." A wafting scent filled Mandy's nasal cavities right then. Buttery, gooey, and hot, slowly approaching warm with every minute that passed. It made her stomach growl, and made her forget all about going to school. "Ah, you're drooling!" The figure pulled out a tissue from...somewhere and dabbed it on Mandy's face. "I guess you want food, huh? That'll help too." It reached for the tray that sat on the nightstand and grabbed a plate of something tall, holding it in front of Mandy. "Here. Some waffles! With extra syrup, just how you like it! Otto and I made them special for you." Mandy, of course, immediately went for it. Slowly but surely, her neck comically stretched towards the plate of waffles and she let her volumetric mouth descend on the stack vertically. Before the figure knew it, she had the entire stack in her mouth, her lips resting on the plate. She stayed that way for about ten seconds. "Uh, Mandy? Unless you're kissing the plate, you can eat the stack." The hybrid didn't need a prompt from the figure, and she wasn't trying to make out with a plate, but she took the stack in her mouth regardless and shoved it all to one side, allowing her cheek to bulge similar to a squirrel's. She chewed it for a minute or two before she swallowed, gave a cry of elation, and let her tail wag. "Oh, you like it! Good." The figure set the plate down on the tray and grabbed the cup. "Here, do you want a drink?" Feebly, Mandy grabbed at the cup. Once it was placed in her grasp, she took a few eager sips, then bigger ones, then she resorted to pouring the rest of the contents into her gaping mouth. With a satisfied "aaaah", she dropped the cup on the floor. As the waffles and the chocolate drink met the acidic contents of her stomach, her vision became clearer and her English comprehension began piecing itself back together. Now she knew who the figure wa- A sensation hit her, right down where it hurt the most. She slid out of bed on her stomach and snaked her way to the door, where her head once again met a hard surface and her vocal cords once again rattled to produce a cry of pain. The figure didn't need to question this latest strange behavior. It got up and opened the door. "I'm sure you know where the Bathroom is." Mandy quickly slithered there as fast as her lithe body would move. A minute or two later, she returned to her room on two feet this time around, rubbing her head with the hand she now had free. She opened her mouth, took an inhale to warm up her voice, and spat out a "Mornin', Momma!" Olive turned to her and smiled. "How are you feeling?" "So much better!" Mandy's tail wagged. "My tummy doesn't feel all gurgly, I feel cool as a cucumber, and...and..." Her face fell, quickly followed by her body as it slumped over. Concerned, Olive reached out a hand. "What's wrong?" "I hafta go to schooooool..." Mandy whined, lifting her body up and throwing herself at Olive. "Momma, I don't wanna go to school! Can'tcha call Headmaster O and tell 'em I still feel sick? Pretty please?" Olive laughed and rubbed Mandy's head. "I hate to tell you, but you don't go to school anymore. You graduated from the Academy ages ago, remember?" This revelation was met with a confused stare that slowly morphed into a happy one. "Ohhhh! Yeah yeah, I did! Ahh, thank odd, 'cuz I really didn't wanna go there today..." "Well, you may not have to go there..." Olive pointed at the open door. "But you still have work." Mandy simply stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry of frustration. "I think Pinkie Pie might be waiting for you in the bullpen. Why don't you go talk to her and see what's up?" "I guess..." "Attagirl!" Olive patted Mandy on the shoulder. "I'll step outside and let you get dressed." A few minutes later, as the pair made their way into the bullpen, alive with its usual hustle and bustle, Mandy pouted. She really didn't feel like doing work either, but at the very least, it was far more enjoyable than going to school. "Mandy." Strangled yelps left both girls, with Mandy's hair and tail sticking straight up and Olive taking a few steps back. Standing in front of them was none other than Rarity, her azure eyes half-lidded as she stared at her coworkers with apathy. "R-Rarity?" Mandy recovered first, smoothing out her hair and thrashing her tail in desperate attempts to restore them to some semblance of normalcy after she had just brushed them. "Jeez, don't scare us like that!" "Well, I tried to talk to you earlier, but you weren't in the room. And then you fell ill." Rarity's tone made it sound like the latter in particular was more of an inconvenience for her than anything else, but held enough "I'm sorry you had to go through that" within it that made Mandy nor Olive question it. "Do you have a minute?" "Sure." "Alone?" Mandy blinked. She turned towards Olive. "Er, Momma, you don't mind...?" "Oh, of course not. I have to get back to HQ anyway." Olive began heading for the automatic doors. "I'll check up on you in a few hours, okay?" "'Kay!" Mandy waved her off, then turned back to Rarity. "What's up, Rare-Rare?" "It's about Sweetie Belle." Rarity moved her head from side to side to make sure her younger sister wasn't around. When she found the coast was clear, she made eye contact with Mandy again. "Don't tell me you're going along with this silly notion of her becoming a Doctor?" "Silly notion?" Rarity waved a dismissive hoof. "Perhaps you are unaware of how dangerous and messy being a Doctor can be -- after all, you've never worked in the position." Mandy's pony ear flicked in confusion. "What-" "Anyway, I want you to convince her to remain an Investigation agent!" Rarity slammed her hoof down onto the ground. "There is no way my Sweetie Belle is becoming a Doctor. They do good work, but they’re so...undignified!" Now it was Mandy's turn to let her eyes go half-lidded. "So what, you expect 'em to wear tuxedos and fancy dresses to work?" The hybrid's deadpan statement fazed Rarity a little. "W-well no!" she hastily attempted to backtrack. "But they could be a little cleaner..." Mandy heaved a sigh. "Rarity, Sweetie is her own filly." She blinked. "Er, child. Whatever." She shook her head furiously. "The point is, she’s allowed to do what she wants. If she wants to be a Doctor then you have no right to stop her." "But I'm her sister! And I have seniority in this precinct!" "Both are true. But both are not excuses!" Mandy didn't bother to point out the subjectivity of the second statement. "In fact, if my memory serves me, Sweetie just got set up for shadowing with Dr. O. She’s going to watch what he does and expand her knowledge further." Unaware that Dr. O had discarded the letter she had written when he had treated Mandy, Rarity recoiled with a dramatic gasp. "How dare you! You...you ruffian!" "Don't talk to me that way!" On and on, both mare and child argued, spitting out counter after counter, sprinkled in with a few insults. "WILL YOU TWO CUT IT OUT?!" The bellow made both of them stop, and turn their gazes towards the upset and frustrated face of their boss. "I'm trying to do important paperwork and I do not want to be bothered, you hear me?!" They stared. Exchanged glances. Continued their staring. Oprah growled, low and loud enough to reach their ears, teeth bared in a snarl. "W-w-we're goin'!" "Yes, yes, right away!" Hastily, Mandy and Rarity made their exits, ducking into the left-side hallway by the North Control Room to continue their conversation. "As I was saying, Rarity..." Mandy began, not being up to arguing anymore. "I support Sweetie becoming an Odd Squad Doctor. There's nothing wrong with her wanting to expand her knowledge of other departments." "But-" "And you two are sisters, aren't you?" Mandy raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you stick up for Sweetie no matter what she does? Like true sisters?" Rarity opened her mouth to fire off a retort that was hopefully complete this time, but ended up closing it. She wanted to tell Mandy that she had no business speaking about sisters when she was technically an only child, but like her, she was in no mood to argue any longer and threw the point in the trash. "I..." "Think about it." Mandy turned. "I'm off to get some food for the Breakroom. Those waffles were good, but they were like eating pebbles. Definitely not filling enough." All Rarity could do was watch her go, a frown on her face as she became deep in thought. She wasn't sure where she went after that, her hooves and the rest of her body running on sheer autopilot. Peaches, returning to the bullpen from having cleaned herself in the comfort and privacy of her own room, shapeshifted back into her humanoid form as she approached her cousin. She had had a lot of time to think ever since said cousin went to the Magical Grasslands, and coupled with a lot of crying sessions, it made her come to a decision. No longer would she look for the culprit who burned her town down. It wasn't that she didn't care for the townsfolk -- for how much they harassed and bullied her, she did have a soft spot for them. But out of spite for King Ashero, she didn't want to play into his hands any longer. Her search efforts had all turned up fruitless, anyhow, and all she really wanted to do was be surrounded by the friends and family she loved. She never wanted to lose them, not now and not ever. If Ashero wanted to find his culprit so badly, he could keep doing what he had been doing in his attempts to capture her and Mandy. "Hey, cuz!" She waved, her smile turning down into a frown when she spotted the bandages covering Mandy. "What happened to you?" Mandy didn't bother to look up from her paperwork. "Laser chicken fight. Nothin' too serious." "The bandages say otherwise." Mandy slammed the pencil down onto the desk and glared at Peaches. The catgirl didn't so much as flinch. "Why so down?" "Sweetie Belle and Rarity have been fighting nonstop over the former wanting to become an Odd Squad Doctor." Mandy's ear flicked. "Rarity doesn’t want her to. She thinks that the job of being a Doctor is too messy." "Well...she's got a point." Peaches shrugged. "Don't they do surgeries and stuff?" "They do surgeries, and they help agents and townsfolk with both odd and non-odd illnesses." Nodding a silent thank-you for the refresher, Peaches continued. "And Rarity's only against it because it involves getting dirty?" Mandy had to take a moment to sit on that one. "Well...I guess she’s probably concerned for Sweetie’s safety too." Her expression brightened. "But Odd Squad isn’t what I’d call a safe place. There’s dangerous stuff around every corner! That’s what makes it exciting!" Peaches playfully rolled her eyes. "For you, maybe." Mandy sighed. "I just wish Rarity would see that Sweetie has a lot of potential. She does do well as an Investigation agent, but there’s no harm in trying other departments." She gasped in realization. "She could even be in both! Like Dr. O!" "What did Oprah say?" "She was fine with it. But Rarity just won't have it." A pause fell over the two girls. Mandy closed her eyes in deep thought. After a minute, she opened them, and gazed at Peaches with ferocity. "Cuz, if I went into the Medical department, how would you feel?" Unexpected as the question was, Peaches didn't need more than a second to answer. "Well, I'd be happy for you, of course. You're part of my family. It'd be wrong if I didn't support you in what you did." She tilted her head. "And what about me?" "I'd support you too!" Mandy began rocking back and forth in her chair. "You're allowed to do what you want. You're your own person." Her pony ears folded down. "If only Rarity saw that about Sweetie Belle." Peaches gave a soft hum of thought. "Why don’t you take Rarity to the Medical building at the Odd Squad Academy tomorrow? She can see what Odd Squad Doctors do and maybe she’ll learn a little something." Slowly but surely, Mandy's expression lit up. A big intake of air flooded into her lungs with one big gasp. "Oh my odd, that's a great idea! Ha, why didn't I think of that before?!" Peaches smirked. "You're welcome." "Thank you!" "You're welcome." "Thank you!" "You're welcome." Peaches gave a chuckle. "Now, don't you have work to do?" "Course I do!" Mandy fiddled with the bandage on her arm. "For one thing, I need to get better. If any more Doctors see me like this they’ll either think I’m a mummy or I direly need surgery." "Uh-huh." The word spilled out with doubt. "Well, I'm going to go for a walk. You want me to bring you some fish if I catch any?" "Sure! If you can cook it." "I'll try my best." As Mandy watched Peaches go, she sighed again before musing aloud. "Tomorrow...I'm gonna make Rarity see that being an Odd Squad Doctor isn't so bad. Maybe then, she and Sweetie will stop arguing!" The next day had Mandy racing into the Odd Squad Boutique, putting a blindfold on Rarity, and marching her around town with hardly a word. If Rarity tried to self-correct herself, Mandy would re-correct her with the aid of magic that surpassed her own by a fairly sizeable margin. "Honestly, Mandy..." Rarity complained. "If you're going to surprise me, then make it quick. I have quite a few orders for clients that I need to fill!" Knowing that Rarity would continue to complain if Mandy took too long, the hybrid resorted to teleportation to get them where they wanted to go, and soon they found themselves on the walkway of the Medical building on the Odd Squad Academy campus. "All righty...aaaaaand take off the blindfold!" Rarity did so, and was immediately met by a sizeable building. It was diamond-shaped in appearance, though not shaped like one of the diamonds in her cutie mark and instead shaped more like if someone slightly rotated a square. It was a lovely shade of dark teal that she could admire, and it blended well with the lighter-colored lab coats of the Odd Squad Doctors that passed to and fro. People and ponies alike, all wearing the same garb, passed by them, coming both to and from the building. "What...is this place?" she breathed. "Medical building on the campus of the Odd Squad Academy." Mandy explained. "This is where all future Odd Squad Doctors go to train. It also serves as a handy-dandy nurse's office!" She blinked. "Or, uh...a hospital, maybe? A regular doctor's office?" Rarity's awe was sapped away in a second. Not by Mandy's rambling tangent so much as the theories that began to form in her mind about why she had taken her here to begin with. "Hm. You don't say." Mandy ceased her tangent and pointed to the entrance and exit doors. "C'mon, let's go inside!" Rarity watched as her hybrid friend bounced her way towards the door, giving greetings to everyone whom she recognized. Hesitantly, she followed, if only out of Mandy's persistence more than anything else. The pair stepped inside, where Rarity could see a front desk that was wide enough to stretch nearly the entirety of the room. Sitting at it were three receptionists, all wearing the same Odd Squad Doctor attire that Dr. O had back at Precinct 13579. Rarity supposed they were scheduling appointments, handling scripts for prescriptions, and doing other things one would normally get taken care of at a doctor's office, but also discussing classes, students, and the like. "As you can see, there are a lot of Doctors here." Mandy gestured to the front area. "And I'm gonna show you what they do." "If this is about Sweetie Belle, I can assure you-" "Agent Mandy?" The voice made both Mandy and Rarity turn around. Approaching them was an illustrious-looking unicorn, who had an orange-yellow coat and a dark orange mane and tail. Her cutie mark was of a bright yellow sun that was sitting above a small puddle of water. Mandy gasped. "Rising Dawn!" She waved the mare over. "Oh, it's so good to see you! I didn't know you became an Odd Squad Doctor!" "Yeah, just last week!" Dawn smiled. "It’s tough, but I’m so happy the Director of Precinct 33291 chose me. Mr. O’s a kind soul, but he’s such a klutz…" She shook her head, and it was then that her green eyes caught the eye of the unicorn who was with Mandy. "And is that Agent Rarity?!" "Yes, it's me, darling." Rarity answered, more out of a reflex than anything else. "It's great to see you!" Dawn leaned a little closer. "You know, I heard you were going to open up a location in Toronto. Has that happened yet?" Rarity, for her part, forced herself to change her tone into something more pleasant. "Not yet. I've been rather...preoccupied as of late." "Well, when you do open it, I'll be one of your first customers! You have my word!" "I was going to show Rarity around the Medical building. See, her sister, Agent Sweetie Belle...she wants to move from the Investigation department to the Medical department. But Rarity…" Mandy's head and eyes shifted to the left, where she saw Rarity turned towards the doors and trotting to the exit in a very typical ladylike fashion. Putting on a rather devious version of her usual cat smile, Mandy extended her tail and let it snake around the mare's stomach and back, then picked her up and plopped her right by her side again, much to her chagrin. Once the deed was done, Mandy's tail returned to its usual length, twitching a few times. "...doesn't approve. She thinks being a Doctor is too messy and dangerous." Rising Dawn, who had watched the act with nothing but indifference as someone who knew Mandy well, put on a small frown. "Well, it’s true that it can get a little messy sometimes. And helping agents and clients who are diseased isn’t exactly the safest task. But it’s super rewarding! You get to save lives, and help those who are sick get better!" "Investigation agents do that exact same thing!" Rarity countered, even though her brain told her that it wasn't true in the slightest. To amend this, she added, "We save lives too!" Dawn shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not sure. I'm not an Investigation agent!" Rarity simply gave an exhale through her nose. "I know Sweetie Belle is your sister, Rarity, but maybe it’s best if you let her choose the path she wants? I don’t know her personally, but she sounds like a responsible pony. Old enough to make her own decisions, maybe!" At this, Rarity jerked her head away with an indignant "Hmph!" "That's what I've been tellin' her." Mandy shook her head. "But she won't listen." "Why does Sweetie Belle want to change departments anyway?" Dawn asked. "The Dr. O of Precinct 13579 needs an assistant. So he’s going to name one in a week and he encouraged anyone with recommendations to come and see him. Sweetie offered herself up, and ever since then, her goal to be a Doctor has really ramped up." Dawn nodded, then fixed her gaze on Rarity. "Have you two tried talking things out? Peacefully?" Rarity bit her lip. "W-well..." "I wouldn't say 'peacefully'." Mandy rolled her eyes. "They've been arguing for the past couple weeks." "Hmm..." Dawn tapped her chin and fell silent for a few moments, a look of disappointment settling on her face. "I wish I could help you out more. I don’t have any siblings. But Rarity, maybe you should support Sweetie in her decision. I bet she would do the same for you if you wanted to go into the Medical department!" Mandy's eyes widened as she remembered her conversation with Peaches from yesterday. As she opened her mouth to reiterate it to Rarity, however, the sound of hoofsteps on a tiled floor made itself known, and she turned to find the unicorn heading for the doors once more. "I...am going back to Headquarters." Rarity's head turned, and she squinted at the hybrid who had brought her to the Medical building to begin with. "This has been a rather lovely experience, Mandy." Mandy's mouth remained open as she watched Rarity go. However, she didn't use her tail, her magic, or any other means to bring the mare back, instead watching as she went from a walk to a trot down the forecourt that lied in front of the building until she became completely out of sight. "Well there went that plan. Ka-blooey. Right in my face." Mandy heaved a sigh. "Thanks for the advice, Rising Dawn." "Aww, it's not a problem!" Dawn waved a hoof. "While you're here, would you like me to take a look at your wounds?" Mandy blinked, as though having forgotten that the wounds were there for a moment. "Ah. Ya noticed, huh?" Dawn giggled. "Nothing gets past this mare's eyes!" She turned. "C'mon, there should be an exam room open." "Great!" Both mare and child began making their way towards the right door that flanked the front desk, catching up on their lives in between questions regarding pain levels and any vaccines Mandy might have missed at her last appointment. As soon as Mandy got back, she went into her room. Although she had to wait 15 minutes for any side effects of the Loraloafen vaccine to kick in, she couldn't help but feel the teeniest-tiniest twinge of lethargy when she got back. She hoped it wouldn't turn into anything severe -- she didn't want to go through that again -- but it did put a tiny chip in her energy that she decided to recover by reading in her room. What didn't help her lethargy, though, was the fact that there were a ton of things weighing on her mind, things that she hoped she could resolve by way of a random chance in the form of a bright-eyed, white-coated filly. "Mandy, Mandy!" The hybrid glanced to her left to find Sweetie Belle in the doorway, a bright expression sitting on her features. "Oh, Sweetie Belle!" She waved. "What's up?" Sweetie raced in. "I just wanted to say thank you so so much for letting me shadow Dr. O. It’s been really helpful! I’m learning a lot!" "Glad you're enjoying it!" Mandy chirped. She set the book down on the table in front of her. "Y'know, if you wanted to know more about being a Doctor...I could take you to the Medical building at the Odd Squad Academy. I know a pony there named Rising Dawn who just became a Doctor last week. She’d probably love to teach you some things!" "Really?!" The voice was almost high-pitched enough to classify as a dog whistle. "I'd love to go!" "All right! Let's go tomorrow. I'll meet you there around...1PM!" "Sounds great! Thank you!" Sweetie breathed a happy sigh. "I really appreciate you doing all this for me." "D'aww, don't mention it! Anything for a friend." As Sweetie turned around and began leaving the room, Mandy extended a hand. "Oh! Um, Sweetie..." The filly glanced at the hybrid. "Before you go, can we..." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "...talk?" "Sure." Sweetie turned back around again. "About what?" "Your sister." Any happiness Sweetie had was sapped out of her right then. Her ears folded downwards, and she put on an upset expression. "Oh. Her." As Mandy got up from her seat, she used her magic to close the door for some privacy. "C'mon up on my bed." Sweetie did so, taking a seat right next to Mandy. The hybrid heaved a sigh, steeling herself for what she considered to be a heavy topic of discussion. "I'm not gonna hold anything back, Sweetie Belle." she said. "I’ve been trying to get Rarity to be more open about you wanting to become an Odd Squad Doctor. But it hasn’t been working." "I hate how she has to intrude on my life all the time!" the filly cried out. "I'm not some little foal, I'm a growing filly! Why can't she realize that?!" Mandy took a moment to let the cry ring into the otherwise-silent air. She flopped onto the bed. "Do you remember when you first came here, to Precinct 13579? How you wanted to be an Odd Squad agent just like your sister?" Sweetie did the same. "Yeah...Rarity told me about Odd Squad and what it’s like. She fights all sorts of dangerous oddities. Laser chickens, blobs, the giant purple worm that spits beach balls...a-and I know it’s dangerous! But-" "You accepted the risk and we let you into Odd Squad anyway." "Yeah!" "Might come as no surprise to you at this point, but Odd Squad isn’t exactly what I’d call the safest organization. Heck, I’ve had surgery done on my heart twice because of how strange this world and its people are." Mandy rubbed the part of her chest where her still-beating heart, and all that was included, lay. "One wrong misstep, one wrong fire of a gadget, one wrong move against a villain...it can lead to an agent’s untimely death." "And that's fine by me." The rough, determined tone made Mandy blink a few times in surprise. "Huh?" "As long as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are by my side, we can do anything!" Sweetie shot a leg up. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Mandy couldn't help but smile at the filly's enthusiasm. "Well, it’s nice that you’re brave. Bravery’s a good virtue to have as an agent!" Her gaze shifted to Sweetie. "It’s also a good virtue to have if you’re a Doctor." A pause lingered in the air for only a moment, punctuated by Mandy beginning to fiddle with her hands. "Look...something's been gnawin' at me the past few days. And I'm pretty sure it's not the Venus flytrap in my tail." Mandy's tail quivered for a few moments. "It’s not that I don’t want you to become a Doctor, and I’ll support you no matter what, but...you’re a really good Investigation agent. Oprah’s been singin' her praises about you ever since you decided to join Odd Squad." She closed her eyes. "You've said you wanted a change of pace, but...maybe you should consider if moving departments is your definition of 'a change of pace'". "But I’m tired of getting the same small cases every day!" Sweetie snapped. "I want to get bigger cases. Things like fighting Hydraclops, laser chickens, and dinosaurs! But every time I ask Ms. O, she tells me I’m not ready yet!" She began gesticulating wildly with her hooves and legs. "I’ve been a part of Odd Squad for months! Why can’t I go on the cases that you and the others get to go on?! It’s not fair!" Although Mandy could barely see it, her eyes began to water. "I thought that becoming a Doctor might get Ms. O to see that I have potential too, but instead she thinks of me as some tiny foal!" "Sweetie, that's not true. Even in spite of Oprah obsessing over you when you first joined Odd Squad." Mandy smiled. "I know her. She does her best to serve this precinct. She sees the potential in every agent. Every agent she meets, she makes them feel special, because she sees what each one of them is capable of." "Well she doesn't see any potential or capability in me!" "Yes she does." Sweetie shot up. "No she doesn't!" "Yes. She does." Mandy's tone was soft, insistent, and firm at the same time. "She saw potential and capability in me, and look where I am." "You're a special case!" "No I'm no-" Before Mandy could finish her retort, she blinked. "Actually yeah, never mind, you make a good point there." Sweetie's declaration was like a cry to the heavens. "I'm going to become an Odd Squad Doctor, no matter what anyone says!" Mandy's response was just as quick. "And what if Dr. O doesn't choose you as his assistant? What if he chooses someone else entirely?" A long pause. Sweetie was reduced to stammering, trying to form a counter and being completely unable to. She stared at her hooves, feeling like steam was pouring from her ears. Luckily -- or perhaps unluckily -- she had Mandy to voice what she herself could not, and she did it in a way that was nothing but smug. "Someone didn't think that far ahead." A scream of frustration left a red-faced Sweetie as she sat up, hopped off of the bed, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Mandy, in response, simply let out a sigh of exhaustion. She had gotten a lot of things off of her chest, but none of them had seemed to help Sweetie and none of them had brought the relief she was so direly hoping for. If anything, it only made the whole situation worse, and for the rest of the day, Mandy had regret churning away in her mind. Any happy mood she still had left had been blasted into the depths of the bad place, and it was most definitely keen on staying there. Day 4 of 7. Mandy was slowly becoming mentally and physically drained. As she lay on the ledge of the fountain that adorned the walkway of the Medical building at the Academy, with her right arm and leg drooped over the side, she let out a heavy sigh, her body quivering down to the last hair in her tail. She mindlessly stared at her reflection in the water for what felt like hours, her brain retreating into the darkest depths of her skull. "Why the long face, Mandy?" The familiar voice made the hybrid perk up and move her head to the right. Walking up to her with one pant leg rolled up and a bandage wrapped around her left leg was the Big O herself, who had on a friendly smile. "Big O!" Mandy blinked in surprise. "What're you doing here?" "Just heading inside the Medical building for a checkup. Got a nasty bite from a Clackreex on my leg a couple weeks ago and the Doctors are going to check to see if it healed." Mandy's eyes drifted to the bandage. "Ouch. Clackreexes are nasty things..." She shook her head. "Though I can't sympathize. I've never been bitten by one." "Lucky you! It hurts." The Big O took a seat next to Mandy. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" "I'm waiting for someone. We're gonna go take a look inside the Medical building." "Oh? And who's that?" "Agent Sweetie Belle. She wants to become an Odd Squad Doctor." Mandy scratched her cheek. "When Dr. O announced an opening for an assistant, she began to...well..." Her tail twitched. "...go for it, I suppose?" "Oh, I've heard about her from Oprah's reports!" The Big O nodded. "She's a good agent. Very skilled on the field. And her gadget-wielding is unlike that of any unicorn I've ever seen before!" Mandy sighed again. "Try telling her that. She and I had an argument yesterday. She thinks that Oprah doesn’t see potential in her because she keeps giving her small cases to do. But..." She gazed into the Big O's eyes. "You and I know Oprah. She sees what each agent is capable of, and uses it to inspire them to go out and kick odd butt." "That's true." "It's just...if I hafta be honest with you..." Mandy curled her body up tighter, wrapping her tail around her right side. "I don’t think Sweetie’s fit to become an Odd Squad Doctor. It’s not where her talent lies. She does best in the Investigation department, but I just can’t get her to realize that. And Rarity, her big sister, is against her becoming a Doctor because it’s dirty and messy and dangerous." She rubbed her head. "It’s just all so much for me to handle…" The Big O didn't speak for a few moments, in order to fully absorb and understand the situation. When she spoke again, it was with warmth and confidence. "Perhaps I'm not the person you should be talking to." "Huh?" "Have you tried talking to Dr. O?" Mandy's mouth hung open. Even after her spat with Sweetie, talking to the Head Doctor had never crossed her mind. "Well...no..." "If you have a talk with him, he might have some advice for you." "That's..." Mandy gasped. Her eyes shone with renewed hope. "A really great idea! Why didn't I think of that?!" She grasped the Big O's hands in her own. "Thank you so much, Big O!" The head honcho laughed. "It's not a problem!" Mandy's badge phone ringing threatened to ruin the happy moment. "Ah, sorry. Lemme take this." she excused, unclipping her badge phone and holding it up to her ear. "Agent 57 speakin', how can I help ya?!" "Mandy?!" came the sound of a familiar Southern drawl that sounded frantic. "I-it's Apple Bloom! We really need your help!" A loud roar threatened to shatter all four of Mandy's eardrums into utter oblivion. The Big O's eyes widened in surprise as she watched the hybrid move her pony ears about and attempt to clean out one of her human ones with a free pinky. "What are you doing?" "I'll explain when ya get here! Just please hurry!" Mandy shot up on her hands and knees. "All right, I-I'm on my way! Stay safe!" A muffled, high-pitched scream could be heard over the phone. It didn't take her a second to realize that it belonged to a certain orange-furred Pegasus filly. "Oh pickleferries." was all she uttered as she snapped the phone shut. "I know that roar anywhere." the Big O began, waiting to speak again until Mandy changed her position so that she was sitting on the fountain. "It's a Thertis." "A what?" "They’re sphinx-like creatures. They used to be extinct a long time ago...or so it’s written in the Odd Squad history books." The Big O idly kicked her feet. "But they’ve made a resurgence in recent years. They’re incredibly dangerous. One swipe from their claws hits you and you start turning into a Thertis! And they have bites that can poison you." To say Mandy fell backwards into the fountain would be a huge understatement. It was more like she thrashed about on the ledge in shock before she did a tandem dive into it back-first, and all completely accidentally. "Mandy!" The Big O peered into the fountain, which had a basin that was just a few feet deeper than most fountains. "You okay?" The hybrid emerged, spitting out a small stream of water and coughing. Every inch of her body was soaking wet. "I've..." Another cough. "...fared better." Although the Big O offered her hand to help Mandy out, she waved it off, opting to slowly climb out herself until she was laying on the ground. "Shield yourself. I'm gonna shake." The Big O blinked in confusion. Mandy got to her feet, and shook her body out like a dog after a bath. Water droplets flew everywhere, and all the Big O could do was shield herself with her hands as she gave a yelp of surprise. When Mandy was done, she sat back down on the ledge and worked on emptying the water out from her shoes. "So how do I defeat this Thertis?" she asked. The Big O began squeezing out water from her sleeves in vain. "Best way would be to use the Shrink-inator on it." She glanced at Mandy. "Or I guess in your case, a shrinking spell." "I don't know any shrinking spells!" Mandy lamented, punctuating her complaint with a sigh. "Thank odd you know about them. I would've been charging into battle unprepared." "If you do manage to shrink it -- what am I saying, of course you will -- capture it and take it to Ocean and Fluttershy back at your Headquarters. They’ll handle it." Mandy put her right shoe on her foot and stood up, wincing at the uncomfortable feeling of her damp socks. "Thanks, Big O. For all the advice." "No problem!" The Big O stood up as well and began to circle the fountain, heading for the doors of the building. "Wish me good luck on my examination." "Good luck! Bye!" Mandy quickly teleported away. The Big O stopped her walking for a minute and turned towards the spot where Mandy had been. A seed of worry began growing in her heart, and she let out a small exhale. "Stay safe, Mandy." Oprah's calm, quiet atmosphere had been just that. It was a rare moment of peace, where agents didn't barge in and hound her with all sorts of requests about paperwork and cases and why Joe from Nantucket didn't understand that he had the wrong number. Unfortunately, that didn't stop any agent that decided to teleport in. Which is exactly what Mandy did, as she landed on Oprah's desk and terrified the girl badly enough to send her toppling backwards in her chair with a mighty yelp. As Oprah rubbed her now-aching back, she opened her eyes to identify who had disturbed her tranquility. "M-Mandy?!" "Oprah. Where did the Crusaders go?" Mandy's voice was low, almost ominous in nature. However, for someone as experienced and rugged as Oprah, Mandy's unusual tone was small fries. "I sent them to Fairway Avenue a while ago to help out a cli- aaaaaah..." She grit her teeth as pain began radiating all over her back, her fingers beginning to twitch. She could only eke out a single word after that. "W-why?" Under normal circumstances, Mandy would have asked if her boss was okay, and then maybe offered her some spare painkillers. But the hybrid had more pressing things on her mind than saving someone she knew would come out okay in the end, however heartless it made her. "Forget it. You're not gonna be of any help, 'specially when you can't even form one sentence!" she snapped, lighting up her horn and teleporting away. Slowly, Oprah got on two feet and glanced outside of her office, hoping to flag down a passing agent. "A-Applejack!" she spit out, waving her hand as frantically as she could. Which, really, wasn't all that frantic, but it was enough to catch the farmpony's attention. "Ms. O? What's wrong with ya?" Applejack took a few steps inside. "Get me..." Oprah swallowed a lump of saliva that was sitting in her throat. "No! Wait..." She moved about as slow as a turtle, not wanting to allow her spine the luxury of popping, because one of the caveats of being over a hundred years old was that once your spine popped, you were over and done with for the rest of the week. Applejack, for her part, patiently waited for her boss to finish her sentence, putting on a look of concern. "Help me with...this chair." Blinking, Applejack trotted over to Oprah's desk, heading behind it and glancing at the tipped-over chair. "Sure thing! Just leave it t' me." All it took on the mare's end was her grabbing the seat of the chair with one hoof and grabbing the back of it with the other, resting on her back hooves, then lifting it up, an action that took less than a minute. "There ya go. Have a seat." Oprah shook her head. "I'm..." She ambled towards the coffee table. "I'm just...I need..." "T' rest?" Applejack finished. Upon receiving a nod from Oprah, she smiled sympathetically. "I see. You just go right on ahead and rest, boss. I'll see if I can find a Doctor for ya." She glanced at the rack of juice boxes that sat to her left. "Ya want a juice box before I head out?" A nod. Applejack, knowing she couldn't reach that rack by standing on her own two hind legs, decided to jump and grab one, beaming when she managed to catch a pineapple-flavored one in her hooves. It wasn't apple-flavored, of course, but she didn't care much about the flavor right now -- not when her boss was suffering. She trotted over to the coffee table and set it down. Right then, a loud pop resounded within the room. Silence fell. Oprah began to quiver and whimper, in a display of what she would have constituted as weakness that Applejack hadn't seen before. The farmpony could swear she saw tears brimming in the Director's eyes, though she wasn't sure. What she was sure she saw, though, was her jaws slowly parting. The agonizing scream was piercing enough to make most any agent in the bullpen stop whatever they were doing and glance worryingly at the office that sat above them, and at the pony who had made a hasty retreat from it and flew into the Medical Bay as fast as her hooves would allow. Within five minutes, a Doctor had set Oprah up with some ice, some painkillers, and some orders to rest and not move unless she was accompanied by a Doctor. They even gave her a call button like what hospital rooms had, much to her chagrin as she kept muttering about how embarrassing this all was, especially since it was in full view of one of her agents -- that is, up until she had asked said agent one question. "Are you free for the rest of the day?" "Sure! I've gotten all my work done. All I need t' do is check up on the farm back in Equestria." And that was how Applejack found herself the not-so-willing servant of one injured Director, a job she would have "until I get better". Her boss's words, not hers. Mandy's teleportation took her right to where Fairway Avenue met Hill Road. Immediately she could hear townsfolk clamoring, screams and yells flying through the air as Torontonians all ran and flew for their lives. Even within the din, though, she was easily able to spot the odd creature that three fillies had decided to fight. Her pony ears drooped. "Oh my chocolate-covered cheesecake." were the only words she could utter as her eyes laid upon the Thertis on the other side of the street. The Thertis looked much like a naked mole rat in appearance, bearing the paws of a snow-white rabbit, the teeth of a shark, the tail of an alligator, and floppy ears that nearly touched the ground that wouldn't be too out of place on a cocker spaniel. On its back were large fairy-like wings that Mandy had to assume were either for decoration or, odd willing, flight, and on its head were a set of sharp horns that looked about as sharp as syringes. As it turned to face Mandy, it let out a loud screech that broke the glass of the windows in the building behind her. The hybrid quickly scrambled out of the way, using her own wings to shield herself from any flying glass shards that got sent her way. "That's a Thertis?!" she cried out, her voice quavering. "I-it's...ginormous!" "Mandy!" The cry of a familiar filly snapped the hybrid out of her shock. Shaking her wings out in a desperate effort to try and dislodge any loose shards, she quickly made a beeline for the other side of the road. "Scootaloo!" she called, sliding up next to the Pegasus filly who hardly had a scratch on her. Her hoof was shoved through a handle of a bulky gadget that the hybrid didn't bother to recognize. "You and Bloom both are gonna have a lot of explainin' to do when this is all over!" "If we get out of this alive!" Mandy didn't have the time to tell Scootaloo that was going to be a definite. "Where are Bloom and Sweetie?" "They're still fighting that thing!" Sure enough, off in the distance were the two fillies themselves, dodging swat after swat from the creature. Apple Bloom raced behind it, screaming in what Mandy could easily identify as blind panic -- she had no idea what she was doing, as it were. "Do either of you have the Shrink-inator?" Mandy asked Scootaloo. "I don't! And neither do Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle!" Mentally, Mandy ran through the inventory in her hammerspace spine. While massive enough that counting every item within it would lead to her death in her hundreds, she was still able to search her memories and recall signing out the Shrink-inator from Oona, or at least her iteration of the gadget. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she glanced at Scootaloo. "Okay, I've got it! I'm goin' in!" she declared. "C'mon and help me!" The filly nodded, chasing after Mandy as she dashed towards the Thertis. It gave a loud roar as it saw the pair approaching, and seemed to grow more irritated when they stopped in front of it. Apple Bloom ceased her panicked screaming, her body flowing with relief when she saw who had come to her and the others' rescue. "Mandy!" "Awright, I dunno what you are or where you came from, but I'm about to make you go extinct." Mandy reached behind her back and yanked out the Shrink-inator. "Again!" With quick reflexes, she pressed the black activation button on top and fired a green laser beam at the Thertis. It shrunk, but not by very much, and the attack seemed to cause the creature pain more than anything else as it gave a piercing roar. "Yeah, that'll show ya!" Mandy taunted, a smirk settling on her face. The Thertis recovered from its bout of pain and leaned in close to the hybrid, giving a shattering screech that made her give a short scream of her own and wince in pain. When she tried to raise her arm to go for another shot, she found her entire body paralyzed. "Mandy!" Sweetie cried, racing to the front of the battlefield. "Sweetie!" In spite of her condition, Mandy tried to move to no avail. "Take this gadget...nngh...and use it on that creature!" The unicorn quickly scooped up the Shrink-inator in her sap-green corona. "Got it!" Just as she was examining the gadget to find its activation button, however, a paw slammed into her body with enough force to send her flying with a piercing terrified scream. Her small body hit the ground once, then twice, then again before it slid on the ground. The glow of her horn flickered and died unceremoniously, the gadget clattering to the ground where it had once been. "Sweetie Belle!!" Mandy's scream was just as piercing and just as terrifying. A series of rapid breaths left her as she desperately tried to move, but while she did so, it was painfully slow. "Apple Bloom, go help Sweetie Belle!" The yellow-coated filly nodded, rushing in the direction where her partner had flown. Scootaloo, placing her entire trust in Mandy, decided to stay put, awaiting her orders and hoping to help her out as one of two agents who were still in commission. "She's probably bleeding..." Mandy shook her head, at a speed that was only slightly slower than her usual. "No, there's no time for that!" Her paralysis wore off fully right then and there, and she made a mad grab for the gadget before the Thertis could step on it and shatter it. It turned its attention to her, growling before letting out a loud roar laced with spittle in between its teeth. "Ha! Your rampaging ends here!" Mandy boasted, only a second before she fired another laser beam. This one lasted much longer, and caused the Thertis to begin shrinking, along with providing it a considerable amount of pain. With four pulses, each separated by two seconds, the creature eventually was turned into something no bigger than a mouse, and the small angry roar it gave was far more cute than menacing. "All right, Mandy!" Scootaloo's wings buzzed as she floated in midair for a few seconds before her hooves touched ground again. Mandy conjured up a magical bubble to place the creature in. "Now you're safe." she murmured, ignoring the protests it gave. "Sweetie Belle! Wake up! Sweetie Belle!!" Apple Bloom's desperate pleas brought Mandy's attention back to the other pressing task at hand. "Is she conscious?" she asked as she rushed up to the injured filly and her partner with Scootaloo in tow. "I-I'm not sure!" Bloom responded, her eyes thick with tears. "Lemme listen." Mandy waved the filly off and knelt down, turning Sweetie over on her back and placing her pony ear on her chest. Her eyes widened in surprise as the sound of a heartbeat made itself known, one that sounded unusually healthy. She lifted her head up and quickly examined her, noting that she had a large amount of bruises and gashes on her. Some gashes, including a few on her head, were actively bleeding. "She's got a pulse. But she needs medical attention, badly." "We should get her to Dr. O's office!" Scootaloo suggested, Bloom shooting her a look of "thanks for stating the obvious". "Even better than that. You two, huddle close to me." Mandy grabbed Sweetie in her arms, while Scootaloo and Bloom each took hold of a forearm. With a bright flash, the group, creature included, was gone, and they materialized again in the Hospital Room. Dr. O, who had been cleaning up the room, set down his medical equipment and his rag, turning around. "Mandy? What's this?" "It's Sweetie Belle." Mandy responded, trying to keep panic from working its way into her tone. "She needs to be treated, stat!" "What happened to her?" "She took a nasty hit from a Thertis." Dr. O blinked. "A what?" "A sphinx-like odd creature. It hit her with its paw." "I see." Dr. O grabbed the filly from Mandy's arms and looked her over, his lips pursed tightly into a frown. "Her injuries look serious. It'll take some time to treat her." "Can we stay and watch?" Bloom asked. Mandy shook her head. "Apple Bloom, that's not a good idea. Let's leave Dr. O be. He'll know what to do." "But Sweetie-" "And you two are gonna tell me exactly what happened once I give this creature to Ocean and Fluttershy!" Mandy began marching out. "Now let's go." As soon as Mandy made the delivery, she ordered Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to explain themselves. "Well, Ms. O assigned us t' this woman’s home on Fairway Avenue, and we were goin’ there, but on the way Sweetie Belle was complainin’ about how we never get any big cases to solve. Then we saw this huge creature across the street, and Sweetie Belle ran towards it. We were gonna go too, but we saw the woman we were s’posed to help callin’ for us, and...we decided t’ ignore her." Apple Bloom rubbed her leg. "So we went off to fight the creature, but I guess we were in over our heads." Scootaloo added, her tone not holding back with its shame. Mandy glanced the two fillies over. "None of you got swiped by its claws or bitten?" "I didn't." "Me neither." Scootaloo gazed deep into her senior's eyes. "We're sorry, Mandy." Mandy heaved a sigh. "I can't believe it. Now Sweetie's dragging you two into her issues." she muttered, running a head through her hair. "Are we in trouble?" Bloom asked. "Can't say for sure. It's not in my job description." Mandy shook her head. "But I know who can tell you if you're in trouble." Neither Bloom nor Scootaloo needed to look at where Mandy was pointing. Exchanging a worried glance, they trudged over there themselves, with the hybrid following suit. "You did what?!" Bloom winced. "We're really sorry, Ms. O." "We promise, this'll never happen again!" Oprah, reclined on the couch with numerous pillows supporting her ice-pack-strapped back, groaned. No one knew whether it was from pain or annoyance. "You three need to know your limits. Do you know why I send you on small cases?" "Because we're too inexperienced?" Bloom tilted her head. "No, not that." Oprah bit back another groan. "Combating small things like blobs is the first stepping stone in fighting the larger and more dangerous oddness that lurks. As the months go by, I’ll give you bigger and bigger cases. It’s all about training, bettering yourselves, and having patience." "Wish Sweetie Belle understood that..." Oprah's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "What are you talking about?" Mandy stiffened. She hadn't expected Oprah to hear her, though her having exceptional hearing wouldn't be putting it past her. "She and I had a little...argument the other day." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "She thinks that because you send her on small cases, you don't see any potential in her." "Oh that's a load of sh- aaah!" Oprah's body seized. She grit her teeth, sucked air through them, and released it in one big sigh as she relaxed her body in an effort to alleviate the pain that shot through her back. A minute later, she was composed again. "That's not true! I see plenty of potential in Sweetie! I know she's a very capable filly." "Glad to hear it, boss." Mandy smiled. "Now say it to her face, when she's better." Oprah growled. "But I can't believe she would be so reckless as to rush into danger like that. I thought she knew better!" She glanced at a worried Bloom and Scootaloo. "Look. I know you two were just trying to help your partner. You did good out there, and it was lucky that Mandy got there in time to save you." "Does this mean we're not punished?" Bloom asked, with just the tiniest bit of hope. Oprah fixed her with a thoughtful gaze, as though wanting to lay out her punishment right in front of her. Ultimately, though, her gaze, along with the rest of her expression, softened considerably. "Yes. You two are good to go." "All right!" Scootaloo did a hoof-pump. "But as for Agent Sweetie Belle..." Oprah's head moved towards the door as much as it would allow. "I'm going to have a long chat with her." "Good. She needs it." Mandy nodded. "And as for the woman you were supposed to help, you're still on that case, so go and help her." Bloom and Scootaloo nodded, and quickly dashed out. Silence fell in the room. "Soooo, uh..." Mandy rocked back and forth on her feet. "What happened to you?" "You. You happened to me." Mandy blinked. "Huh?" "You teleporting onto my desk scared me enough that I fell over, and now I'm out of commission for a week." Oprah snapped. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to go to the Bathroom with a Doctor standing right outside the door? Or have a Doctor escort me to my own home and offer to become a temporary live-in nurse?" A tongue stuck out. A pony ear flicked. And then a cheerful innocent "Nope, and nope." Oprah sighed. "Mandy, when you get to be as old as I am, your physical features may rarely change, but you aging body will actively fight against you." She struggled to adjust her position on the couch. "Even a simple fall can leave you badly injured enough where you can't do anything for weeks." "Okay, but there's no 'when'." Mandy pointed out. "I'm not immortal." That earned her a squint. "I'd strangle you if I wasn't couch-ridden." came the indignant grumble. "I should make you my servant and have you wait on me hand and foot." "But you have assistants for that." Mandy's finger jabbed towards a red button that sat on Oprah's stomach. "And you also have a belly button. Hospitals have that for calling doctors, you know." Oprah's eye twitched. "I made a funny!" "I don't give a rat's butt if you made a pun out of what my umbilical cord used to be attached to or not." Oprah's expression turned into an ugly grimace. "You're missing the point." "Which was?" "Don't. Teleport. Into my office anymore!" The words were practically a scream. "Have some common courtesy! Even Twilight and Rarity trot in through the doors!" "Usually." "...What." "There was that one time where Twilight teleported into your office to share a book she found in the Odd Squad Library. And Rarity did the same thing, but she wanted you to try on this ugly-looking dress." Mandy smiled. "I remember that one fondly. Never did I think a human could puke so much!" Angrily, Oprah grabbed a pillow and placed it under her head. "Assistant?" "Yes, boss?" Mandy's eyes widened at the assistant who had popped out of seemingly nowhere. "Put off all work, hold all calls, and get me a blanket. I'm going to sleep." "Right away!" The assistant rushed off, and returned only half a minute later with a fluffy purple blanket, which she draped over her boss. Said boss began taking her shoes off. "Thank you." she murmured, before snuggling deeper into the couch. Mandy watched the assistant head for the desk. "You shouldn't go to sleep angry, y'know." "Shut up." Oprah's annoyance was punctuated by a yawn. "Leave me alone and let me sleep, okay?" Mandy opened her mouth, as though wanting to point out how she, and other agents, never let her sleep, but closed it. Instead, she resigned to a sigh and a shake of her head. "All righty. The hippochrisee is laughable, but all righty." She turned to leave the room. "Have sweet dreams." When Oprah couldn't hear Mandy's footsteps anymore, her body truly relaxed. Her back was still achy, but the ice that was wrapped around her had- "Hey, do you know where Rarity is?" The high-pitched voice made the ache shoot from about a five to a one hundred right quick, taking Oprah's mood with it. "In her boutique in Headquarters, now shut up and let me sleep already!" "Okay, thanks!" Footsteps retreated again. The doors closed again. And Oprah, pissed off as she was, tried to get to sleep...again. It's going to be a long, long day. Inside the Odd Squad Boutique, Rarity sat at her inspiration desk in the way back, sketching out potential designs for a new line while humming a Soundcheck tune. Naturally, Otto was the one who had gotten the band stuck in her head, and normally she would be mad if their music didn't help her concentrate. With her talent and dedication, her new line of music-themed clothing was going to turn out great. Her ears faintly picked up on the sound of a door opening and a bell ringing. "Hmm? Who is it?" "Hey, it's me!" "Oh, Mandy!" Rarity called. "Is something the matter?" "Um...y-ya could say that!" Mandy twiddled her fingers. "It's about Sweetie Belle." "What about her?" Rarity asked, an ever-so-small pit of dread beginning to form in her gut. Silence. But just as Rarity was about to ask again, Mandy spoke. "She got severely injured in an odd creature attack. By a Thertis. She's being treated in the Hospital Room right now." Rarity gasped. Immediately she flew out of her chair, knocking her sketch paper to the floor as she soared past Mandy and out the door. She only barely heard the hybrid's cry of "Rarity, wait!" as she dodged agents and creatures alike in her journey to the Hospital Room. What she saw when she got there and flung open the door was a rather horrific sight. "Sweet Celestia! Sweetie Belle!" Rarity held a hoof to her mouth upon seeing her sister lying down on her back in the cot, eyes closed and completely motionless. "Wh- i-is she going to be all right?!" "She should be." Mandy said, coming up behind her and peering inside. Rarity grit her teeth together. "Ooh, I knew becoming a Doctor was too dangerous for her! And now look what happened! She nearly died!" "That's not the case, Rarity!" Mandy yelled. "You haven't even heard the whole story!" "Then what is the whole story, Mandy?" Rarity glared at her coworker with icy eyes. "Certainly this was due to her disturbing fascination with becoming an Odd Squad Doctor!" "No, it's not!" That exclamation caused Mandy to leap into the air. Realizing she needed to approach the situation calmly, she took a deep breath and planted her feet on the floor before continuing. "See, Sweetie and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were on their way to a client’s home. According to Apple Bloom, Sweetie was complaining about not getting any big cases, so when a Thertis -- that’s a big sphinx-like creature thought to be extinct -- when that was spotted, Sweetie ran towards it. And so did Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. The three were fighting it on their own and would have been killed if I didn’t help them in time!" Mandy shook her head. "It was never about her wanting to become a Doctor. Sweetie has issues that go far beyond that. Hasn’t she talked to you about believing that Oprah doesn’t see potential in her?" Rarity's eyes widened as the full story was unraveled for her. She rubbed her leg. "Well...now that you mention it, she did bring it up once...but I suppose I was so busy that I tuned her out." "We'll have to see if this experience will make her change her mind about becoming an Odd Squad Doctor." Mandy's tail wagged back and forth slightly. "But I did give her some words of advice." "You did?" Mandy nodded. "She’s good in the Investigation department. It’s where her true talent lies. But she wants a change of pace, and I dunno if changing departments is really what qualifies to her as 'a change of pace'. She wants bigger cases, but...Oprah said it herself. She and her friends are gonna start out with small cases, then as the months pass, get cases that are tougher and tougher to tackle. It’s all about..." Mandy put on a small smile and did jazz hands. "...patience." Rarity couldn't argue with that -- she could attest to the same thing when she became an agent, and the same went for Applejack. She sighed. "I see." She stared into Mandy's eyes with worry. "But what if she gets chosen to be a Doctor?" "We'll have to find that out in a couple days." said Mandy, with a shrug. "I can't make Dr. O pick her, but...for now, you should keep an eye on your sister and make sure she'll turn out okay." "Oh, I hope so!" Mandy spread her wings and began to hover. "I'm gonna go get some work done. I'll be at my desk if you need me." Rarity watched her go, then turned back to the Hospital Room. "Sweetie Belle...please be okay." she murmured, telekinetically closing the door and plodding down the hallways. By the time she had gotten back to the Boutique, she had lost almost all inspiration, and decided to hold off on sketches for her new line until her sister was better -- all except for one she began to draft, which depicted a three-layer purple-and-yellow dress adorned with musical notes. Rarity kept the image in her mind and vowed to begin making it for Sweetie as soon as she felt able to. The next day came and went. Sweetie was improving, though it was clear she had a bit of a ways to go until she was completely healed. Rarity, of course, fretted, and when she went on cases with Applejack, the farmpony could tell she was easily distracted and had to do most of the heavy lifting in her stead. About the only beneficial thing that happened was that Mandy had finally gotten her bandages off, her wounds having nearly healed. And so came the day before Dr. O's big decision. Mandy was, of course, snoring away in bed, oblivious to Rarity slamming her door wide open with a frazzled mane and tail and an equally-frazzled expression. "Mandy!" Rarity rushed to the hybrid's bedside and grabbed ahold of her shoulder with magic. "Mandy darling, wake up! Come quickly!" A snort, and then a sleepy groan. "Zzo tired...leamme alone..." "Mandy, please!" Rarity's voice edged into a whine that wasn't as high-pitched as her usual ones, but was enough to annoy at least someone in the vicinity. "It's about Sweetie Belle! You simply must see her!" Mandy simply turned onto her left side with a moan, pushing Rarity away with her tail before giving a contented sigh. Rarity knew she wasn't there yet, but she was close. Still, she gave an irate growl as she grabbed Mandy's fluffy blanket in her corona and yanked it off of her. "Agent Mandy, it has been at least a couple days!" she snapped. "Come and see my sister! It's the least you could do!" That did it. With a "Wh-hzz-bl-huh?!" Mandy was awake, her head swiveling towards the white blob that stood in her room and her arm flailing wildly at it. "Z-zztand back, intruder! I-I'm armed!" "Mandy! It's me, Rarity!" the white blob assured. "I simply want you to come and see my sister. Can you do that?" Mandy yawned. "Can't I go back t' zzleep...?" "It's 12:30, darling." A groan. Then, a corona encasing a glass full of liquid, followed by one sleepy hybrid drinking it down to the last drop. "Are you coming or not?" Rarity asked, trotting in place as she began to grow impatient. Mandy swung her legs over the side of her bed and stared at the unicorn with half-lidded eyes. "Y' expect me t' change in front 'f ya?" Rarity's eyes widened. "Oh! W-well, certainly not." She nervously laughed and began making her way towards the doorway. "Just meet me at Dr. O's office when you're ready." As Mandy watched her go and closed the door, she let out another yawn and rubbed her head. "Jeez...that mare's got issues..." About fifteen minutes later, Mandy was done with her wakeup routine. She had moved slower than usual due to her body still being achy from the party she attended last night -- and she couldn't deny that it was one of the best parties she had ever been to, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, of course -- but moving slower was better than not moving at all, she supposed. She moved her glittery silver bow about in her hair, adjusting it until it felt right. "At least my bow's in position. Finally." she remarked with a sigh. When she got to the Hospital Room, she found Rarity staring intently through the window on the side of the door. "Hey, Rarity! What's goin' on?" "Ooh, good news!" Rarity said. "Sweetie is finally better!" Mandy's expression lit up. "Thank odd!" She stared through the window as well, watching as Dr. O said something to Sweetie that, for all her sharp hearing, she couldn't pick up on. "What're they talkin' about in there? Looks serious." "I'm not sure." Rarity saw Sweetie hop off of the cot. "Ooh, here she comes!" Both girls backed away as the door slid open, revealing the filly in the flesh. While still having a few bandages plastered to her face and sides, she looked to otherwise be in good health. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity lunged for her and hugged her tightly. "Oh darling, I'm so happy you're better! How are you feeling?" "Um, Rarity-" "Ah, don't say a thing. I'll treat you to lunch. Your choice!" "Rarity, I-" "And after we have lunch, we can work together on some projects, how about that?" "Rarity!" Sweetie wriggled free from the other unicorn's grasp and forcefully pushed her away. Dr. O emerged. "Sweetie has something she'd like to say." A pause hung in the air. Rarity and Mandy both fell silent, staring at a nervous-looking Sweetie. "Rarity...while I was being treated by Dr. O...I was thinking. About how I want to become a Doctor. About what you and Mandy said to me. About the fight with the creature. And...and…" The filly squeezed her eyes shut. No one said a word for a few moments. "I don't wanna become an Odd Squad Doctor anymore!" The declaration rung through the entire bullpen. Agents looked up for only a moment, but otherwise returned to their tasks and duties. Rarity's eyes widened, as did Mandy's and Dr. O's. "B-b-but Sweetie Belle, you were so passionate! You were studying so hard! What happened?" Rarity asked, in a tone that demonstrated genuine shock rather than anything superficial. "Actually it was Mandy that got me thinking." Sweetie looked at the hybrid. "She said I should consider if going into another department would be a good change of pace for me. And she said I’m doing great as an Investigation agent with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. I turned down her advice at first, but after thinking about it...I realized that she was right." Mandy's head tilted. "I was?" Sweetie made eye contact with Dr. O next, giving him a grateful smile. "Dr. O, thank you for treating me. You and the other Doctors are really great, and I love that you help so many agents here!" She shook her head. "But being a Doctor isn’t for me. My destiny is to be with the other Crusaders, kicking odd butt and helping other people and other ponies, not healing my coworkers." A frown danced on her features. "Is it possible I could be taken out of the running for being your assistant?" Dr. O nodded. "Of course." With that taken care of, Sweetie turned to the other two girls. "Rarity, Mandy, I'm sorry. I should have listened to both of you earlier." "It's all right, darling. So long as you're safe." Rarity looked at the ground. "And...I suppose I should apologize as well. It was wrong of me to try and stop you from achieving your dreams." And then, back at Sweetie, with a smile. "Sisters should support each other, no matter what the endeavor!" Mandy, trying hard not to cry, squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to prevent any tears from falling. When she opened them again, her gaze landed on Sweetie. "Are you doing okay after the attack?" "Yeah. I was in a lot of pain." "She had quite a few broken and bruised bones and some internal bleeding. I would imagine she got hit pretty hard. Regardless, she can’t go on cases until she gets better." Dr. O explained. Rarity put a supportive hoof on her sister's shoulder. "It's for the best, darling. Once you get better, then you can show Ms. O more of your incredible potential!" "Oh yeah!" Mandy perked up. "Speaking of Ms. O, Sweetie...she told me yesterday she wanted to see you." The happiness got sapped out of Sweetie quickly, causing her to give a disheartened "Oh..." "Rarity, why don't you go with her to the office?" Mandy suggested. "I dunno if she's available, but it doesn't hurt to check!" "Of course. Come along." Sweetie watched Rarity take a few hoofsteps, then reluctantly followed, her ears folding downwards out of nervousness. Dr. O gave an exhale. "So. Tomorrow's the day." "Huh?" "When I choose my new assistant." It took a minute for what Dr. O was saying to click in Mandy's head. "Oh! That's tomorrow!" She rubbed the back of her head. "Ha...it's been such a wild week." Her tail began bobbing up and down. "Have you decided who you'll pick?" "Not yet. I'm going to put the candidates through a series of medical knowledge tests. See what they know. Then I'll choose." "Oooooh, sounds exciting! You can count me there!" Mandy faltered. "I-I mean...y'know, I hafta be there, I'm Oprah's second and all...but yeah, I'll be there!" "Glad to hear it." Dr. O's eyes widened. "Oh, I meant to ask you this earlier but I completely forgot. Do you mind being my guinea pig tomorrow?" Mandy's face fell. "Aww, that's the fifteenth time someone’s asked me this year! Bein’ a guinea pig is horrible! They’re cute, but...they’re really not my type of pet…" "No, no. I'm not talking about a guinea pig, like the animal. I'm talking about a test subject. For the assistant choosing." Dr. O explained. "My assistant will need to know how you function both physically and mentally, and what better way to put their knowledge to the test by using you, yourself, in the flesh as a patient?" The clarification made Mandy feel a little better, though not by much. She trusted all the Odd Squad Doctors in regards to her health, because she knew what they were doing. But when it came to an agent in a different department entirely who was willing to be a Doctor...that was a different story. Still, she figured Dr. O wouldn't do anything too drastic, but wanted to make sure. "You're not gonna make me hurt myself, are you?" "No. But we will look through your medical file." Dr. O smiled. "So what do you say?" "Well...you do make a good point...and I guess it could be kinda fun, if you're just makin' 'em do small stuff." Mandy sighed. "All right, I'll do it." "Great! We begin at 10AM tomorrow." Mandy's eyes widened. "Awww, I gotta wake up early?!" she whined, bonking her head against the window and letting her body slump to the ground. Dr. O was, of course, indifferent, his smile never wavering. "If you fall asleep, it'll give the candidates more of a challenge." His expression lit up with an idea, then a second later, returned to normal upon axing said idea. "Ugh. No thanks." Mandy slowly rose to her feet. "The last time I fell asleep in front of a crowd I woke up to a ripe juicy tomato lodged in my mouth while tied above an open fire. That...that was terrible. Never again." Dr. O watched her shudder, his expression changing to one of concern and worry as he wondered just what, exactly, led Mandy to nearly become roasted on an open fire. Ultimately, though, he shoved it to the wayside. Mandy got herself in weird situations; he knew that much. "All right. Well, see you then!" Mandy waved and watched him duck back inside the room, closing the door behind him. She dragged her feet towards the bullpen and watched the life go by, ruffling her hair. "Well this should be fun." she muttered, just before her pony ears perked up and swiveled towards the direction of Oprah's office. Curiosity overtaking her, she went upstairs, ducked behind the jutted-out portion of the wall that sat just before the office, and peered inside, listening to the muffled conversation between Oprah and Sweetie with Rarity as a chaperone. "What you did wasn’t okay, Sweetie Belle. You ignored a client in need and focused on a different odd issue entirely -- one that was out of your control, instead of calling for backup." "I know. I'm sorry." Sweetie apologized. "It won't happen again, I promise!" "It better not." Oprah adjusted her position on the couch. "As punishment, I am putting you off the clock." "Off the clock?" "For a month, you will not be allowed to solve cases, whether alone or with the other Crusaders, under any circumstances. If you disregard this punishment then I won’t hesitate to extend it until you comply. Do you understand?" "Yes. I understand." "In addition, you are officially out of the running for becoming an Odd Squad Doctor and moving to the Medical department. You’ll remain an Investigation agent as you always have been." Sweetie nodded. "That's fair." "Thank odd you or the others weren't killed." Oprah exhaled. "Now go and rest up." "Thank you, Ms. O." The two ponies turned to leave. "Come now, Sweetie." Rarity said. "You may use my bed in the meantime." With nothing else left to see, Mandy descended the stairs and began heading for her desk. When she got there, however, she was interrupted by Apple Bloom and Scootaloo making their way up to her. "Mandy!" Bloom called, waving a hoof. "How's Sweetie Belle? Is she doin' okay?" "I'd say she's doin' fine!" Mandy chirped in response. "She, uh...she's out of Dr. O's office. He ordered her to rest up so her injuries can get better." "What a relief!" Scootaloo remarked, placing a hoof on her chest. "Oh, uh, you two should be aware that she's 'off the clock' as well." Bloom tilted her head. "Whaddya mean?" "Simply put, she can't solve cases, whether by herself or with you two, for a month. Oprah punished her with that." "Sounds pretty harsh. But it'll give her plenty of time t' rest up!" "Yeah! Apple Bloom and I can handle cases for a while." Scootaloo nudged her partner, who gave her a smile. "We just got back from battling a rampaging kiwi!" "With arms and legs and everythin'!" Bloom added. "It was so cool!" "And did you eat it?" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Duh, of course we did! I didn't know kiwis could taste so sweet!" "They ain't better than apples, though." Mandy smiled. "Well, that's good to hear. Don't forget that Dr. O's choosing his new assistant tomorrow. Even if Sweetie's not going to be in the running, you two should come anyway." "Huh? Sweetie's not gonna be a Doctor?" "Nope. Oprah forbid her from becoming an Odd Squad Doctor." Scootaloo seemed disappointed by this news, but ultimately gave a nod. "Fine. I guess we'll come." "Yeah, I wanna see who Dr. O's gonna pick!" Bloom agreed, with a more enthusiastic set of nods. "Apple Bloom! Scootaloo! In my office, now!" As the two fillies said their goodbyes to Mandy and booked it up the stairs, the hybrid turned back to her desk, took a seat, and began to get started on her paperwork. She couldn't deny that she was excited to find out who Dr. O was going to pick, even if she was a test subject for the competition that had to wake up early. That excitement kept her going throughout the day, all the way until bedtime. "May I have your attention, please?" The murmuring among the crowd of agents gathered in the bullpen stopped. A proud Dr. O stood on the seal, surrounded by a raised stage and two booths hidden behind curtains. "Last week, I announced that I was looking for an assistant to help me out in the Medical department. After much consideration, I am proud to announce that I have narrowed the choices down to three candidates, whom are as follows." He cleared his throat. "Agent Orit, from the Science department!" From off to the side walked a Scientist whose brown hair looked like he rolled out of bed without bothering to brush it. However, his smile was rather charming to those that interacted with him. He waved to the applauding crowd before taking a spot on the stage. "Agent Olaila, from the Investigation department!" Next to make her grand appearance was a girl with long strawberry-blonde hair, secured with a red bow at the top. She, too, waved to the applauding crowd before going to stand next to Orit, exchanging a wave with him. "And last but not least, Agent Oswell from the Security department!" It took a few seconds for Oswell to come out, but when he did, he did so with his hands and arms grasped tightly around him. He walked slowly, not bothering to acknowledge the crowd and offering up a nervous lopsided grin before he nervously gave a wave to his other two fellow competitors. As the applause died down, Dr. O turned to face the stage. "Now. I will pose three questions to you. Your job is to answer them correctly. Understand?" The unisonant cry of "Yes!" rung throughout the area. "Then let's begin!" The crowd erupted into excited applause. One could get excited just from being in the hallways, the vibes were intense. A few Doctors brought a large silver table to the stage and set it down. They then reached into their own respective hammerspaces and pulled out all sorts of medical tools and ingredients, from liter jars that were older than old to leaves from some of the precinct's most exotically odd plants to fluids from some of the precinct's most exotically odd creatures, and everything in between. "First of all, I'd like you to mix up the correct antidote for a patient that has been sprayed by the Flapperflorp plant." Dr. O pointed. "Aaaaand go!" Immediately the three contestants got to work. Orit and Oswell stumbled behind the ever-efficient and ever-speedy Olaila, who began measuring out ingredients and mixing them like it was complete second nature to her. The crowd collectively cringed when Oswell managed to break a beaker, with the three Doctors who had performed the setup for the contest shaking their heads and facepalming in disapproval. "I've got it!" Olaila said, holding up her mixture. "One cup of green tea, one cup of Squanzo Bonzo tears, and one cup of bay leaves!" "That is correct!" The crowd applauded, and Olaila blushed with joy as she took a bow. Orit and Oswell, ever the good sports, applauded as well, before they wished each other the best of luck in the next competition. "Now, for the second challenge." Dr. O announced, only barely listening as the Doctors batted cleanup and got things ready for the final competition -- the second one would require no tools whatsoever. "Each of you, pick three diseases from the list shown in front of you." With three separate dings, three scrolls dropped down from the air, dangling in front of the contestants. "Your job is to tell me what treatments are available for those diseases. When I call on you, give your answers. Go!" Each contestant scrolled through the extensive list, which contained a host of diseases of both the odd and normal kinds. The Doctors fixated on Oswell in particular, whose knees were knocking together. Clearly, he wasn't as accustomed to public speaking as Orit and Olaila were, who approached the list with more confidence. "Ooh, this is so exciting!" Pinkie murmured from where she was standing beside Peaches in the crowd, trying to resist trotting in place. "Yeah, I wonder what they're gonna pick." Peaches' tail wagged back and forth as she eyed the contestants with excitement. Dr. O waited for a minute or two, then pointed at the first contestant. "Oswell!" "Y-yes!" "Please state the name of your diseases and what treatments a patient can receive for those diseases." "Um...okay." Oswell took a deep breath and watched as the scroll rolled itself back up and disappeared. "Allergies, like those to pollen and pet hair, can be remedied with...with..." His eyes widened. The crowd looked on nervously, unaware that the Security agent's nervousness was due to their heavy stares. Still, he pressed on. "With allergy medications. Um...s-stomach aches, which can be caused by things like gas or viruses. Depending on the cause of the stomach ache, patients...can take various things, like supplements, and...um…" Another pause. The Doctors exchanged looks. No one knew what emotions the looks had. "Um...t-they...they can...they should chew their food slowly. And vomiting, which can be caused by...u-u-um...motion sickness or food poisoning." "Good." Dr. O nodded and set his sights on the next contestant. "Orit?" "Oh! Uh..." Orit cleared his throat, blinking in surprise as he saw his scroll roll up and disappear. "Uh, I’d like to start off with chicken pox. It’s caused by a virus and the disease can simply progress through your body. Pneumonia, which is caused from standing out in bad weather for too long and inhaling germs and can be treated by taking antibiotics. And float-itis, which can make you float and is treated by eating something heavy to balance your weight, like pound cake." "Good." Dr. O turned to the next contestant. "And finally, Olaila." The girl nodded with confidence and began. "I’d like to start with Lyme disease, which is a tick-borne illness. If you have Lyme disease, the best course of action is to take antibiotics which can come via intravenously or by taking them orally. Next is cellphone tooth, which can be caused by consumption of a badge phone and turns your tooth into a cellphone, and can be cured by making a call on a cellphone the usual way. And finally, measles, otherwise known as rubeola, a highly contagious virus. Um...measles doesn’t really have a tried-and-true treatment, but people can either get vaccinated against measles within 3 days of getting it, or they can get these protein shots. I think they’re called “immune serum globulin” or something like that. If the patient in question is an infant." Silence fell. The crowd, the Doctors, the other contestants, and Dr. O all stared at Olaila with awe. The only word that was uttered from his mouth was a simple "Good!" which got the crowd riled up, cheering and applauding as best they could. "Wow, Olaila's pretty good!" Twilight remarked. Applejack smiled and nodded. "Tell me about it. She's got some whip-smarts, I can tell ya that much." When everyone fell quiet, Dr. O spoke again. "And finally, for the last competition, I have a special guest to help me out. Please give a warm welcome to Agent Mandy, from the Investigation department!" From the steel double-doors came an ever-energetic Mandy, bouncing up to the stage as she took in the crowd's raucous cheers like a sponge to water. She leaped up into the air and did a few spins before gracefully landing on her feet in front of the other contestants and topping it all off with a flourished bow. "Hiya, folks!" "As I'm sure you're all aware, Mandy is a pony-human hybrid, and her body functions a little differently from most humans and most ponies." Dr. O gestured to the three contestants. "I would like for you three to each examine her to the best of your ability. You are free to do whatever you like, as long as it’s nothing drastic. And please, do keep it short." He pointed to the silver table next to the metal chair. "Your tools are located on the table next to Mandy. Olaila and Oswell, please step into the soundproof booths over there. I’ll come get you when it’s your turn." Both contestants nodded and hopped off the stage, each giving the final remaining one a thumbs-up before ducking into the booths and closing the curtains behind them. Mandy took a seat in the metal chair, shivering at how cold it was. "Orit, you're up first." "All right." Orit approached the hybrid and exchanged a smile with her. "Okay, so this is a physical." He glanced at her wings. "Um...great wings you got there. May I feel them?" "Sure!" Mandy chirped, spreading her wings wide. This got a few murmurs from the crowd, particularly from those who weren't all too familiar with the hybrid's wingspan. As Orit gently felt the feathers on her left wing, he tilted his head. "You can fly with these?" "Sure can! They're very durable." "Uh-huh." Orit began to put a little pressure on the wing, glancing at Mandy nervously to make sure he wasn't causing her harm. To his relief, she was as happy as she could be. "And have you been doing wing exercises, by any chance? Building up their strength?" Mandy blinked. "Oh. I, uh...never thought of that, actually." "Why don't you contact Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight about those?" Orit suggested. "They might have some good tips for you." "Will do!" Orit nodded. "All right. For the final thing, I'm going to test your reflexes, okay?" He grabbed a reflex hammer from the side table. "Just relax." He knocked each of Mandy's knees twice, flinching as he saw her feet kick out in the same way they would if she was on a swing. "Can you do it again?" she chirped. "Ah...n-no." Orit gave a nervous laugh as he put the hammer down. "And that's it! You're all set. Feel free to come see me with any questions, okay?" "Yep yep!" The crowd applauded as Orit stepped off of the stage and went towards the booths, glancing back at Dr. O to see who he was going to pick next. "Oswell? Come on up." The Security agent and the Scientist traded places, with the former giving the latter a "good luck" before he slipped into the booth. Nervously, Oswell slid up to the stage, giving a meek wave to the crowd before his eyes fell on Mandy. Every inch of his body locked up. Mandy looked friendly and approachable, but in his eyes, she looked about ready to eat his head off if he took one more step towards her. In his anxiety-ridden mind, he saw her with red irises, sharp teeth, and equine ears curled in such a way to resemble devil's horns. The hybrid frowned and tilted her head. Just as she opened up her mouth to speak, however... "I-I'm sorry! I concede, I concede! I-I-I can't!" Oswell darted off of the stage and went down the hallway, much to the surprise and confusion of the audience as well as Mandy, Dr. O, and the Doctors. "Well that was a thing that happened, huh?" Mandy quipped, like she was a comedienne on stage at a show. "I, uh..." Dr. O glanced at Mandy. "All right, then. We accept Oswell's, uh...resignation." He made his way over to the booths. "Olaila? Why don't you come on out?" The last contestant strode out of the booths, garnering a round of applause from the audience that was less than enthusiastic due to what Oswell had done. The girl didn't flinch, however, and instead made her way over to Mandy. "Hi there, Mandy! How are you feeling today?" Mandy stretched her body out. "If I'm bein' honest, a little tired." She exhaled. "Waking up earlier than usual isn't for me." "I see. And have you been getting enough sleep?" "Yeah!" Mandy chirped. "There are times where I wake up in the middle of the night though, usually from some weird dream I had or if I'm hungry or I need to go to the bathroom, stuff like that, but I'm always able to get right back to sleep after." "Mm." Olaila grabbed a tongue depressor. "Can you open your mouth and give a big 'aah' for me?" Mandy complied. Befitting her tendency to flair things up, her "aah" was in a gorgeous B note that stretched on even long after Olaila removed the tool. "Mandy? You can stop now." The hybrid closed her mouth, leaving her tongue sticking out. "And, uh, pull your tongue back in for me, please." The tongue went back in. "Now, we're almost done, okay? I'm just going to check your heart real quick." Olaila reached for the stethoscope. "Try to relax." As Olaila put the earpieces in and placed the tool's bell on Mandy's chest, her eyes widened in shock. "My...goodness, that's...normal!" She stared at the beaming Mandy. "I had expected it to be faster!" "Really?" Mandy tilted her head. "I feel just fine! It is a little scary being up here and getting checked on with all these lovely folks starin' at me..." She gave a meek wave. "...but I'll live! I've been through so much worse." "You certainly have." Olaila removed the stethoscope and set it down on the table, then reached for a syringe that held nothing in it. "How do you feel about shots?" Upon seeing Mandy's eyes widen, she chuckled. "Not a fan, huh? That's okay. Truth be told, I'm not fond of them, either." She glanced at the Doctors that stood off to the side. "One of you wouldn't happen to have a painting, would you?" The Doctors exchanged shrugs. One of them reached behind their back and pulled out a sizeable painting that took her and the other two Doctors just to hold. "Wonderful. Thank you." Olaila turned back to Mandy. "Look at the painting, okay? This syringe has nothing but air, so don't worry, I'm not injecting some weird virus into you or anything." She began looking at her patient's arm. "Take deep breaths, and relax." Mandy bit her lip, but ultimately forced her body to relax and turn towards the painting. "Three, two, one..." Mandy's hair and tail bushed up, as it usually tended to do whenever she got an injection. She bit back a sharp yelp. "And we're done!" Olaila reached over and grabbed a small square patch of gauze and a bandage, placing the gauze on the spot where she injected Mandy and taping it with the bandage. "There you go, all patched up!" No response. Mandy's gaze was fully fixated on the painting. "Ah, you three can put the painting away now." Olaila waved them off, before moving her hand up and down in front of Mandy's face. "Mandy? I have a reward for you! Don't you want a lollipop?" Still no response. Even though the Doctors were struggling to get it back into hammerspace, Mandy still stared. Olaila rolled her eyes and laughed. "Ah, I see what this is. This is an extra challenge, isn't it?" She winked at Dr. O, who looked just as confused as about half of the crowd. "All right, I accept." Cracking her knuckles, she pulled out a tablet and tapped on it a few times. When she held it up to Mandy's face, a butterfly was flying about on the screen. The hybrid's eyes moved away and became fully fixated on the butterfly, as though it was dragging her in with an alluring trance. All she was missing was the spirals in her eyes for a true hypnotic effect. "That's it. Right this way." Olaila murmured, slowly moving the tablet until Mandy's head was facing the entire crowd. She glanced at the side and found the ON/OFF/SLEEP switch on the tablet, then flicked it to the SLEEP setting. "Hey, where's the butterfly?!" Mandy whined. "Aww, it was so pretty and everything!" The crowd oohed and aahed. Olaila tuned them out. "Mandy? I asked you if you'd like a lollipop, and I'll ask you again. Would you like one, as a reward for being a good patient?" "A lolly? Really?!" Mandy nodded furiously. "Oh, Momma never lets me have lollies anymore! She says I steal too many from the banks." She could feel saliva beginning to build in her mouth. "What flavors ya got?" "Oh, I have every flavor you can think of. I always carry around several lollipops. Sort of as an apology prize for clients I'm unable to help." Olaila reached behind her back. "Name it, and I'll pull it out." "Cherry!" Olaila blinked, having thought Mandy would go for a more exotic flavor. "Okay, well...cherry it is!" She pulled out a small cherry lollipop. "Here you are." "Ooooh!" Mandy began tearing into the food like it was a Christmas present. "Thank you!" Her tail wagged back and forth as she stuck the lollipop into her mouth, happily sucking on it. Olaila turned to face the crowd and bowed. "That concludes my checkup. Thank you." The crowd began applauding. Dr. O did as well, a rather elated look on his face. "Very good, Olaila!" He waited until the noise died down before he cleared his throat and continued, only barely registering Orit emerging from his booth. "Now, I will announce the 'winner', so to speak." He adjusted his lanyard. "The agent who will be my new assistant is..." A drumroll sounded from somewhere. No one needed to guess the identity of the agent in the metal chair who had conjured up a drum set for the suspenseful flair. "...Agent Olaila!" The decision was rather predictable, but that certainly didn't sway the crowd any. Cheers and applause erupted to the point where, if it got any louder, a cinder block or two would be set to come loose. Olaila's eyes widened as she looked at the crowd, then to Dr. O, then to Mandy, then to Orit, who was also applauding her and giving a nod that truly showed how much of a graceful loser he was. "Oh my gosh...I was actually chosen!" she exclaimed. "Hey." Orit walked up to her and held out his hand. "You did a great job. Best of luck to you." "Th-thanks!" Olaila responded, slowly taking the hand and giving it a few firm shakes. "You did great too, Orit. This was fun!" Dr. O was the next to offer his congratulations, with Olaila uttering another round of thanks. Once again, he waited until the cheers and hollers had turned down to murmurs, and then completely died down to nothingness. He gestured to Olaila to speak, giving her a reassuring smile. "Um..." Olaila nervously cleared her throat and tugged on her collar. "Ever since I became an Investigation agent, I started to wonder if my skill lied in solving cases. But through failure after failure, I began to realize that this department wasn’t the right one for me. I tried to see if there were other departments I could fit in, but...none piqued my interest. So when I heard that Dr. O was opening up a spot for a new assistant, I decided to go for it. And I realize that I was never meant to be an Investigation agent. I was meant to be an Odd Squad Doctor." She straightened up and smiled. "I’m proud to have the chance to work alongside Dr. O and heal the agents of Precinct 13579 and the clients that they come across on a daily basis. Thank you." A few agents in the crowd began chanting the new assistant's name amidst a flurry of cheers. Dr. O quieted them down with a hand gesture. "I'd like to extend thanks to Agents Oswell and Orit, as well as everyone else who volunteered. On behalf of the Medical department, I wish you all good luck in your future endeavors!" The crowd applauded once more before agents began to split, heading off in different directions. "Hey!" came a shrill voice, followed by a "Pardon me, 'scuse me, nngh!" as a white filly darted in between agents. Finally, she got to the front of the stage and paused to catch her breath before she flung her head upwards to look at the agent in the position she had once yearned for. "Olaila!" "Hmm? Oh, Agent Sweetie Belle!" "Congrats!" "Thank you!" Olaila hopped off of the stage. "Um..." Sweetie rubbed her leg. "And good job out there. Your story's kinda similar to mine, actually." "It is?" Sweetie nodded. "See, I wanted to become an Odd Squad Doctor because I wasn’t sure where I fit in. And I wanted a change from being an Investigation agent. I thought being a part of the Medical department was a good choice, but...it wasn’t. My talent isn’t healing other agents. It’s solving cases and kicking odd in the butt!" She sighed. "I guess you could say that I had the opposite problem you had." Olaila smiled. "Well, I'm glad you found your place here, Sweetie Belle. And I can see you're a little wounded." "Yeah. I got into a fight with an odd creature a couple days ago. But I'm getting better." Sweetie tenderly touched the bandage on her cheek. "I know I'm supposed to be resting, but I really wanted to see who the new assistant was gonna be. And I think you'll do great!" "I sure hope so! I'm gonna try my best!" Olaila rubbed Sweetie's head. "I hope you try your best too." "You know I will!" The pair exchanged hearty laughter. Sweetie felt the happiest she had felt in quite a while, her heart being lifted with joy like that of a sweet treat made out of whipped chocolate. "Sweetie Belle, darling!" came a familiar silky voice from the right-side hallway. "Come now, let's get you back to bed, all right?" Sweetie turned and gave a sigh. "Gotta go. Hopefully I'll see you around!" "You certainly will. Get better soon!" Olaila watched the filly dart off towards her sister, only becoming faintly aware of a tapping on her shoulder after a while. "Oh, Dr. O!" She smiled. "I assume I need some additional training before I officially switch departments?" "Yes. We start first thing tomorrow. Be prepared and rest up." "Will do!" Olaila gave him a wave as he left, yelping in surprise when she felt her stomach being squeezed and her being hoisted into the air. "Olaila!" The high-pitched voice was unmistakable. "Congrats to you!" "Ah, t-thank you, Mandy!" Olaila coughed. "But maybe you could, um...p-put me down?" "Oh, right. Sorry!" Mandy complied. "So how'd you get so good at treating me?" Olaila gave a bemused smile. "Surely Dr. O told you he was going to have all the candidates look through your medical file?" A pause. Mandy blinked. Let her tail twitch in thought. And then the realization settled in. "Ohhhhh." She nervously laughed. "Forgot about that!" Olaila laughed too, only her laugh was more out of amusement. She rubbed Mandy's head, causing the hybrid's tongue to stick out. "You're a real handful, Mandy. I think I'm gonna really challenge myself when it comes to you and your care." "Yeah you are!" Mandy bounced up and down. "You treating me...it was kinda like how Momma used to treat my wounds and give me checkups and stuff." Her expression turned into one of pure bliss as she landed and began swaying from side to side dreamily. "That same motherly touch...so soothing..." "I've heard that before." Olaila exhaled. "Anyway, I'm gonna head off. I've got training tomorrow, and I'll need to study all I can!" "If you have any questions, ask Oprah!" "Got it." Olaila waved. "See you around!" Mandy gave her enthusiastic goodbye to the new assistant. Inside the Bedroom, Rarity had finished tucking Sweetie into bed and was heading for the door. "Rarity, where are you gonna sleep?" Sweetie's words were a tired slur, and her half-lidded eyes reflected the same feeling. "Don't worry, darling. I'll find something." Rarity murmured. "You just get some rest." "All right." Sweetie's words were punctuated by a yawn as she snuggled deeper into the sheets. Rarity couldn't help but let her smile grow. "Sweet dreams, my little Sweetie Belle." Her words were a mere whisper as she left the room and closed the door behind her, and her heart swelled with joy as she thought to herself just how lucky she was to have such an outgoing and, dare she say, sweet little sister. A few seconds later, she opened the door back up again, and levitated a small purple-and-yellow dress adorned with all sorts of musical notes towards her nightstand, where it would sit until its recipient woke up from her slumber.
S1E2: The Edge of the RainbowA tiny human made her way across the bullpen, trying her hardest to avoid the flurry of footsteps and hoofsteps and wingbeats that attacked her from every angle. When she reached what appeared to be a red pedestal, she stopped and leaned on it to catch her breath. However, not even that provided her any respite, as she found herself standing in a puddle of some kind of clear liquid -- never mind the fact that some had fallen on her head from somewhere. The low rumbling she heard every few seconds didn't help to ease her worries either. Shaking herself free of as much of the liquid as she could, she backed up and looked upwards, only to find that the liquid, and the supposed owner of the red pedestal, belonged to a rather...odd-looking human, who appeared to be fast asleep and drooling. She quickly caught sight of an agent waving from afar and decided to sprint for him, hoping he could help this client break free from her predicament. On the other side of the bullpen, the automatic doors opened, and Olive and Otto walked in. "So where did Oprah say to bring that book again?" "Up to her office. I like to take the scenic route, though." "Ah, I see. Understandable." Both of them ceased their conversation when they spotted Mandy, completely passed out on a mess of papers that cluttered almost every inch of her desk. "Washington State'zz th' capital 'f Russia..." was all she said in her sleep before she went right back to snoring. A confused look crossed Otto's face. "No, it's not." "Well, she never was very good at history." Olive sighed and walked over to Mandy, placing a hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently. "Mandy? Hey, wake up, sleepyhead." As usual, there was no response from the pony-human hybrid -- Olive's attempt was about as useless as a pebble that was thrown at a house in an attempt to knock it down. The snoring continued and didn't falter for even a second. Otto opened his mouth to speak, but Olive raised a finger. "Give her a few seconds." That seemed to be the cue. Mandy snorted and jabbed a finger towards nothing in particular. "If you're buyin' then I'm not zzellin', Bianca Zzoto!" The look of confusion that crossed Olive's face as she tried to figure out who "Bianca Zzoto" was could kill a man or two if it were weaponized. She took a step back, in the event Mandy decided to choose violence when she woke up as well. Lucky for her, Mandy didn't feel like choosing violence today. She blinked and yawned. "Wait, you're not..." "What are you selling?" Olive asked, a playful smirk forming on her face. "For your sake, let's hope it's sleep aids." "Fall asleep at your desk or something?" "Tired enough to be drooling, apparently." Olive winced as she followed the drool trail up from the floor to where Mandy once had her head and was now cleaning her face with a tissue. "S-sorry, guys...I pulled an all-nighter last night tryna get some gadgets fixed..." A loud yawn interrupted her. "...n' then I was doin' some paperwork n' I guess I fell asleep..." She looked around the room. "What time 's it?" "About...11:00 in the morning. Usually you sleep until noon." Otto looked at the watch Olive had on her wrist, which prompted an eyeroll from her, not understanding why her partner wouldn't buck up and get his own watch like she had been telling him to do for months now. "Mm...just gimme a sec." A flash of magic brought a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink into existence, and after a couple sniffs to make sure it didn't smell funny, the pony-human hybrid happily and gratefully drank it within a few seconds. After a satisfied "aah" and another yawn, she pointed at the book that Otto was holding. "So whazz' th' book for?" "It details the legend of the Toronto Rainbow." "The Toronto what?" "The Toronto Rainbow." Olive explained. "It stretches across the entire town of Toronto once a year. Legend says that there's a secret surprise hidden at its edge." "Like a pot of gold?" "Maybe. No one's ever discovered the surprise before." "Can I see the book?" "Sure." The book became caught in Mandy's magical rainbow-colored aura as she quickly flipped the pages. Her eyes moved just as fast, to the point where both Otto and Olive were wondering if she was even absorbing any of the information in the book. Her unintelligible murmurs, however, seemed to answer that question for them. "I can't believe it!" "What'd you find, Mandy?" Otto asked. Giddy laughter was given to him in response. "This is it. I'm gonna get into the history books! I gotta take notes!" A notebook and notepad were suddenly conjured up into existence. Once that step was completed, she pulled sharply down on her forelock, causing a pencil to be propelled up into the air and caught by her magical aura as well. She then got to scribbling. "I hope that tail doesn't fly off the way she's wagging it." Otto said, noticing her tail wagging back and forth furiously in a similar vein as that of a happy dog's. "It won't. She's just really excited. Maybe she found something in the book." "No duh. She did say she was gonna get into the history books...whatever that means." Otto tilted his head. "But how did she get the pencil from inside of her hair?" Olive pinched the bridge of her nose with her two fingers -- her variation on the facepalm. "Have you not learned never to question stuff like that yet? Especially around here?" "And finito!" Mandy got up from her seat and placed the book in Olive's hands. "You can have the book back" was the last thing she said before she walked away with her notepad in tow, humming a simple but happy ditty. "O...kay. Let's, uh...get this up to Oprah." Olive, still confused about what exactly had just transpired, began making her way towards the set of stairs leading up to her fellow Director's office, Otto quickly following suit. Peaches walked down the hallway, attempting to familiarize herself with all the doors. It was a rather jarring experience, going from the simplistic townhouses of Vallea to the high-tech, weirdly-shaped doors of Precinct 13579, and even after a tour of the place, she was still attempting to find her way through Headquarters. Still, she couldn't ignore the sound of Mandy's cries of effort, and she quickly raced towards the Bedroom, where she found Mandy digging deep into one of the drawers of her nightstand. "Hey. What's going on?" After a few moments of attempting to grab the item the hybrid was looking for, she yanked it out. Peaches easily identified it as a compass, although it was rusted in some places. "Oh hey! I thought you were sleeping?" Peaches shook her head. "I may be nocturnal on instinct, but I've been trying to adjust my schedule so I can hang out with you guys more. I'm not all cat, after all." "Glad to hear it!" Mandy giggled. "I'm gonna make history today!" "How's that?" "Momma and Otto told me of the Toronto Rainbow. It's an old Odd Squad legend! The rainbow stretches across Toronto once a year, and it has a special surprise waiting at its edge!" She hopped up and down. "I'm so excited. I'm gonna try and find it!" "I don't know..." Peaches scratched the back of her neck. "What if there's really no surprise at all? And how do you know today's even the day the rainbow will appear?" "There's a specific day of the year detailed in the book. I know for a fact it's today. I took notes and everything." Mandy nodded. "And if there's no surprise, well..." She giggled. "I'll have the adventure! You wanna come with?" "Thanks, but I think I'll go and try to search for the culprit who burned Vallea down. Tell me all about it when you come back, though, okay?" "I will! See ya!" With a flash of teleportation magic, the hybrid was gone. I just hope she doesn't become too heartbroken if there isn't a surprise at the end of the Rainbow, Peaches thought, leaving the room and continuing her walk around the hallways. Mandy teleported onto the sidewalk of Park Street. "Hmm...now the question is, where to start..." she mused, looking around at her surroundings to try and get a feel for where she was. She then snapped her fingers. "Ah, I know! I can ask some of the townsfolk! Maybe there are some long-time Torontonians here who can help me!" Her first stop was at the home of one Mrs. Mac, a kindly fruit vendor who often set up shop in the park. She knocked on her door, her usual cat smile settling onto her face as she waited for the door to open. "Oh, Agent Mandy! How wonderful to see you!" Mrs. Mac smiled. "How are you doing, dearie?" "I'm great!" Mandy chirped. "But, um, I'm wondering if you could help me with something." "Anything." "Do you know about the Toronto Rainbow?" "The Toronto Rainbow..." Mrs. Mac tapped her index finger on her chin as she thought. Just as quickly as she began to think, however, she shook her head. "I've never heard of it." "Aww..." Mandy's ears folded down. "Well, thanks anyway, I suppose." "Oh, it's no problem at all. Might I trouble you for some fruit? I know how much you love to gobble up my stand." Mrs. Mac giggled. "I have all kinds of fruit. Business wasn't great today." The hybrid's eyes shimmered, like a predator that had found its prey. And that was how Mandy wound up with one of each fruit in Mrs. Mac's current inventory. Which, of course, she didn't mind so much. As she popped a whole banana (minus the peel, of course) in her mouth and swallowed it, she landed on the doorstep of her next stop, putting the rest of the fruit away in her hammerspace spine for later snacking. She knocked on the door, and waited. A man wearing a gray uniform opened the door, his expression one of annoyance as he realized who was standing in front of him. "Agent Mandy..." "Thaaaaat's me!" Mandy punctuated her appearance with jazz hands. "Hiya, Janitor Jerry." "Hello." Jerry grumbled. "You've come to mess up my house, now?" "Nope! I've come to ask you about the Toronto Rainbow!" "The Toronto Rainbow...let me think...I haven't heard of it." And just like that, he slammed the door in Mandy's face, marking another Torontonian who hadn't heard of the Toronto Rainbow. With a sigh and an eye roll, Mandy took to the air once more and mentally scrolled through her list. It didn't take her long to choose and locate another Torontonian who had been in the city for a long time...mostly because she was hungry, and this particular Torontonian happened to own a restaurant. The tinkling of a small bell indicated that a customer had walked inside. "I'll be with you in a minute!" she called. "Okay-dokay!" Debbie instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Mandy, and a small smile came across her face as she laid the final bag of flour she had onto a stack of four flour bags. Giving a huff, she stood up. "Well, look who it is. Are you looking for another free pizza?" "Hiya, Delivery Debbie! And I'll take a free pizza, if you're offerin'!" Debbie couldn't help but laugh as she turned towards her stack of deliveries. After thumbing through them for a few seconds, she pulled out a pizza box with the last name "Jefferson" on it. "Here. This guy canceled his order, unfortunately. He said he wanted Indian food instead." Mandy could feel her mouth watering as Debbie opened the box. Sitting right there, right in front of her, was a large pepperoni pizza, just beckoning her to take a bite. Or two. Or as many as it took until there was nothing edible left to eat. The hybrid couldn't resist. She immediately dove for the pizza, downing numerous bites at once. Her stomach growled in happiness as the food went into it, and she wagged her tail in happiness as well. "I'm glad you like it so much. Couldn't let such a great pizza go to waste!" Debbie winked, but her smile quickly turned into a frown when she saw that Mandy was paying little to no attention to her at all. Giving a shrug, she watched the hybrid finish up the final slice. "Thank you, Debbie! Ah, you don't know how much I needed that...I was so hungry!" "When are you not?" Debbie laughed. "Anything else I can help you with today?" "Hm? Oh, yeah!" Mandy nodded. "Do you know anything about the Toronto Rainbow?" "The Toronto Rainbow?" Debbie tilted her head. "Mm...it does sound familiar, but I can't recall." Mandy sighed. "Guess that's another one down..." A small burp made its way forth. "Pardon." "You're excused. Sorry I couldn't be of much help. But I do wish you the best of luck in finding it!" Debbie smiled. "It sounds interesting." "Thanks." Mandy's ears folded down. "And thanks for the pizza, too." "It's no problem. I'll be sure to call you if any more customers happen to cancel their deliveries today, okay?" "Sure." Giving a small, unsatisfied "mm" noise, Mandy turned and left the shop, the little tinkling of the bell above the door doing nothing to lift her spirits. About an hour passed as she went to the houses and businesses of Torontonians she knew had lived in Toronto for a long time, asking about the Rainbow. Each and every time, she got an answer along the lines of "never heard of it", and with each and every time, she began to lose more and more hope. Maybe I should just retire for now. Go back, take a nap. She had to admit, she was starting to feel a little sleepy, and she wasn't getting much accomplished on her mission. Just as she contemplated finding the nearest tube entrance, however, an idea struck her like a bolt of lightning. There was one Torontonian she seemed to have forgotten about. "Aha! Maybe the Mayor has something! He's the head of the town, after all!" As Mandy opened the double-doors and entered Town Hall, she spotted a white pegasus with a white mane and blue streaks sitting at a large desk. "Oh, Mandy! It's wonderful to see you!" the pegasus said, waving a hoof at the newest visitor to Town Hall. "Icy Song! Lovely to see you too!" Mandy bounced over to the desk. "How's life been for ya?" "Pretty great! Reunited with my cousin recently!" "Oh, that's wonderful to hear!" Mandy opened a mouth to speak. No wait, what am I doing? I'm here on a mission, not to chat! She shook her head vigorously. "I, uh, wanted to ask you something! Do you know anything about the Toronto Rainbow?" "Unfortunately I don't." Icy Song shook her head. "Would Mayor Mackelmore know?" "Hmm...he might, now that I'm thinking about it. Anything specific you wish to learn?" "Um, well, specifically, I wanted to know about where its edge is, but any information would help!" "Sure thing! If you want to have a seat on that bench, darling..." Icy Song pointed to a long bench that was situated to Mandy's left. "I'll be right back." "Thank you!" With graceful wingbeats, Icy Song took off, and Mandy made her way to the bench and took a seat. This shouldn't take super long. The Mayor's gotta be in, he never leaves this place! the hybrid thought, a sigh leaving her body as she tried to situate herself on the bench, wincing every time it gave a loud creak. As it turned out, retrieving the information wasn't as simple as she would have liked it to be. It felt like hours had passed, and she had grown so tired of waiting that she had shifted into a laying-down position and contemplated taking a nap. But even though drowsiness was beginning to set in, she resorted to continuing her reading of the newest Wolves of the Wilderness book that had come out last month. "Mandy?" "Hm?" She perked up and blinked a couple times, trying to locate the source of the voice that had called out her name. Glancing into the air, she spotted the descending form of Icy Song, and a smile spread across her maw. "Oh goodness...were you waiting long?" "No, no, not at all!" Mandy tucked away her book, giving a bout of nervous laughter. "Um, what's up? Did you find anything?" "Yes I did! The Mayor has an entire book on the Rainbow, as a matter of fact." Icy Song explained. "It seems that the Rainbow is a big event for the town. The day after it appears, a festival is held to celebrate the Rainbow's symbolism of peace and equality among Torontonians." Stars formed in Mandy's eyes, and her tail began to wag. Now this is what I signed up for! she thought, feeling more excited by the second. "Anything else?" The pegasus nodded. "According to ancient legends, there is a rumor that if one sees the Rainbow, it will grant them good luck for all eternity, and even immortality if they spot it more than once." Immortality? Well I don't need that...but good luck? That I could soooooo use! Mandy nodded excitedly, but her smile briefly turned into a frown as a question formed in her head. "Wait. How does Mayor Mackelmore have a book on the Toronto Rainbow? Last I heard, it was an Odd Squad legend!" "It is. But Odd Squad just so happened to share their findings on the rainbow with the Mayor of Toronto a long time ago...er, not Mackelmore, but, um...what was his name...Megginson, I believe?" Icy Song tapped a hoof to her chin. "Yes, I believe it was Mayor Megginson. Odd Squad shared their findings on the rainbow with him, and he recorded it in this book!" "Ohhh..." I didn't even know there were other Mayors. But then...do they have immortality? And if they do, how do they have it? How old is the longest-living Mayor? Her thoughts were interrupted by Icy Song mouthing something to her that she couldn't hear. In response, she simply tilted her head. "I said, why are you so intrigued about the rainbow, Mandy?" "Oh! Uh, well, I hoped to find it myself! It's supposed to show up today." Icy Song gasped. "Oh sweet Celestia, I had forgotten. The Mayor did mention something about it showing up today." She shook her head and chuckled at her blunder. "Well, I wish you good luck in finding it!" "Thank you, Icy Song! See you later!" "You'll be seeing me at the festival!" the pegasus called after the hybrid as the latter left the building in a hurry. Mandy took to the sky and began looking around. "Hmm...if it's supposed to stretch across Toronto...now where would I find a nice open field?" she mused. As if on cue, an open field came into view. "Aha! High Park!" Her excitement growing by the minute, she quickly sped down and began to glide along the ground to find a good spot to watch the Rainbow that would let her leave her mark on history. After quite a few minutes of searching (and lots of confused stares), she finally found an open spot in the park, a hill near some cherry blossom trees that didn't obscure her view of the sky too much. She landed and folded in her wings, lying down on the soft grass. "Now this is an open space! Now I can see the Rainbow from here!" she chirped aloud, keeping her eyes on the sky. She waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited... And...waited. "But it may be a while, I suppose..." A yawn forced its way out of her. "Guess I can catch a nap in the meantime. Mmm..." Her eyes involuntarily closed, and her ears picked up on the sound of birdsong as she drifted into dreamland once again. The sound of hoofsteps brought Oprah to attention as she spotted her six equine agents making her way up to her, worry written in all of their expressions. "It's no use, Ms. O. Mandy isn't anywhere in Headquarters." Twilight said. "It's not like her to stay out of Headquarters all day and not tell anyone where she's going or what she's doing." Oprah glanced at the steel double-doors behind her. "Where could she have gone...?" "Who was she with last?" "I'm not sure, Fluttershy. Olive and Otto came here and delivered the book on the Toronto Rainbow to me, and..." She trailed off as a realization hit her dead-on. As Otto powered a now-repaired gadget down, Olive handed a book to Oprah. "Here you are." "Thank you, Olive. It's good to know that this book will be in safe hands in my Trophy Room." "Well, it's a good thing it's going to the Trophy Room then, huh?" Otto said, almost absentmindedly as he examined the gadget in his hands. "'Cause Mandy was certainly interested in it." "Huh?" "She was writing a bunch of notes and looking through the book. She said something about 'making history', but who knows what that's about." Oprah sighed. "If I know Mandy -- and I know I do -- she's gonna try and find the Rainbow." "That's a near-impossible feat to do." Olive explained. "She may have perseverance, but if she doesn't find that Rainbow, it's gonna be a huge letdown for her." "Doesn't the Rainbow appear once a year, anyway? Today probably isn't even the day." Otto shrugged. Of course, it was Otto's comment that did Oprah in. "Well, I'll let her go either way. It'll build her character and teach her a life lesson or two." "A life lesson? What life lesson?" "How not to set your bar too high for things. How you should take your time and do your research before going on a grand adventure. How to look before you leap. Pick one, Otto, any one." "Well, it's all fine by me. She's your agent." Olive said. "We'll see you later. If she happens to come back, wish her good luck for us, will you?" And with that, the two Directors turned and walked out of Oprah's office. "She's trying to find the Toronto Rainbow!" "What?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "But that's impossible! No one's ever seen it!" "That may be true...but it doesn't stop her from trying." Oprah sighed. "Agent Rainbow Dash, Agent Applejack, Agent Rarity, go find Mandy." "We're on it, darling!" Rarity nodded, waving her hoof to Rainbow and Applejack in a "come here" motion before the trio exited the bullpen through the steel double-doors. "What about us? Can't we help?" Pinkie asked. Oprah shook her head. "Three ponies is enough for now. Go back to your regular duties. The others will find her." "Are you sure?" "Positive." Fluttershy blinked. Pinkie opened her mouth to protest, but Twilight touched a hoof to her chest. "Pinkie. Have faith in our friends. They'll find her and bring her back. Don't worry." The pink party pony looked longingly at the steel doors for what seemed like hours, but she nodded in resignation. "Okay." The word danced on her lips, and she gave a sad smile to Twilight and Fluttershy before heading off down the hallway, head hanging low. Both alicorn and pegasus exchanged worried reactions before galloping off after their friend, hoping they could cheer her up and continue to ease her worries. Oprah, meanwhile, marched to Mandy's desk and took a seat in her chair, a sigh leaving her body as she looked at the steel doors the same way Pinkie had, sending a silent prayer that Mandy would come back safe and sound, and with good news about the Rainbow to boot. Odd forbid she doesn't find it... Mandy had completely sacked out in the park, eliciting her usual loud snores. This time around, however, she had a crowd. Not a crowd that was watching her, mind -- a crowd that was watching the Toronto Rainbow in all its glory as it appeared in the sky like a welcoming beacon. Its colors shimmered with the help of the sunlight, creating a beautiful sight that caused many people to whip out their phones and cameras and start taking pictures. It seemed like most everyone in the area was watching the Rainbow...all except the one person who had big dreams of seeing it to begin with. Said "most everyone" included Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who made their way into the park. "Look! The Rainbow!" Rarity remarked, causing the other two mares' gazes to swivel in the direction of the sky. "Whoa..." Dash's jaw dropped. "It looks amazin'!" Applejack remarked, her eyes shimmering just as bright as the seven-colored spectacle itself. "C'mon! Maybe if we follow the Rainbow, we'll find Mandy!" Dash suggested, sounding quite confident as she took flight in the path that laid straight ahead. Rarity and Applejack, likewise, followed suit, keeping their hooves on the ground and following their rainbow-maned friend. In the area of the park with the cherry blossom trees, a young brown-furred colt was making his way up to Mandy. He glanced up at the Rainbow, then back at Mandy, and began to shake her shoulder. "Umm, miss? Can you wake up?" Of course, not even the request of a strange colt was enough to rouse the hybrid, and she continued to snore. "Please wake up!' Her snoring was immediately cut short, her eyes slowly opening to take in the figure that was in her line of vision. With a sleepy "mmm" and a loud yawn, she rubbed her eyes. "Who's buggin' me..." she murmured. And then her eyes drifted to the sky. And they shimmered with every single color of the Rainbow. The only reaction Mandy could elicit was a shocked gasp as she stared at the airborne spectacle with awe. "It's so beautiful!" the colt said, sitting down next to Mandy and watching the sky. "It truly is..." The words danced on her tongue. "I've finally found it..." Another gasp. "I should take pictures!" Luckily for her, an Odd Squad-branded camera was conveniently stowed away in her hammerspace spine. She quickly whipped it out and snapped three pictures, making sure to steady her aim so they wouldn't come out blurry. "This is one for the history books indeed!" she exclaimed, but the excitement began to fizzle out. "And I nearly missed it 'cuz I was asleep..." "Glad I woke you, huh, miss?" Mandy's gaze swiveled to the colt sitting beside her. "That was you?" "I didn't want you to miss this!" Before he could say anything more, he was scooped up into a hug, and gave a small surprised "Oh!" "Thank you. You don't know how grateful I am!" She set him down. "Imagine if I had missed this. I went on this adventure with the intention of making history. And now...I've made it." "If we hurry, maybe we can see what's on the other side!" he suggested. "Sure!" She nodded. "C'mon, hop on my back. I'll give ya a ride!" "A-are you sure?" "Positive! Ya just gotta hold on tight!" The colt hesitated for a few moments, but ultimately climbed onto Mandy's back, wrapping his legs around her neck to keep himself secure. "And away..." She extended her wings and began ascending. "...we go!" "Whoa!" With a loud whoosh, the hybrid and the colt both sped off down the pathway that was lined with cherry blossom trees, on a search to find the treasure that supposedly laid at the very tail-end of the Rainbow. "Y-you fly fast, miss!" the colt said, his voice wavering with both surprise and anxiety as he felt the wind blow on his face and ruffle his brown mane. "Oh, I can go much faster than this! Hold on!" Flapping her wings harder and faster, Mandy accelerated, skillfully dodging the people and ponies walking down the pathway. After a few minutes, the pair emerged into another open section of the park. "You're not afraid of heights, are ya?" "Nope!" "Good, 'cuz I'm gonna go even higher!" The hybrid angled her body upwards as she began ascending until part of the park looked much smaller than it appeared to be. Likewise, the colt held on for his dear life, attempting to make sure he didn't plummet to the ground while also making sure he didn't choke her. She then hovered in midair as they looked around in the sky for any sign of the surprise, now that they were at the end. "I don't see any surprise..." the colt said. "Me neither. Let me get closer." Mandy slowly descended, aiming towards a patch of grass with bushes laying about all over. She landed and folded in her wings, allowing the colt to hop off of her back as well and spot the end of the Rainbow where it touched the grass. "This seems to be the end, but...there's no surprise." "I can't see anything either." The colt felt tempted to touch the Rainbow, but decided to hold back and resort to looking in the bushes instead, not wanting to be a willing test subject in regards to the question of whether it was dangerous to touch or not. "Lemme check underground." Mandy took her forelock and used her index fingers to style it into a corkscrew shape. Sure enough, it magically turned into a drill, and with a mighty leap, she began to dig a hole and search where the colt couldn't. "Whoa! Cool!" he remarked, his amazement quickly broken upon hearing the sound of approaching hoofsteps. "Hmm?" "Over there! The end of the Rainbow!" As Rarity pointed towards the patch of bushes, she, Applejack and Rainbow Dash quickly raced over to where the colt was standing. "Howdy there!" "Oh, hello, miss!" "We're looking for someone around here." Dash gestured with her hooves. "Tall, has poofy brown hair in kinda a ponytail with a red bow, wearing a suit like ours?" "Hmm..." The colt eyed Dash's suit. "Oh! She's right there!" The trio looked towards where he was pointing. "In the ground?" Applejack asked incredulously. "She's helping me look for the surprise." "The surprise?" Rarity tilted her head. "Well, I don't see any surprise 'round here, but we need t' find her. She's been missin' for a long while now, and our boss wants her back." The sound of distant whirring caught the trio's attention. "What's that sound?" Dash asked, beginning to hover just to play it safe. The whirring noise grew closer. Rarity and Applejack, identifying the sound's source as being in the ground, stumbled about, trying to find a safe place to stand so they wouldn't get thrown airborne themselves. "Hup!" Another hole marked the exit of a dirt-covered Mandy, holding a rather large box in her hands and making a rather graceful landing. "I think this might be it. Or maybe it's just normal treasure. Who knows." Her gaze drifted to where Rarity and Applejack were both exhaling sighs of relief, and she gasped. "Rarity! Applejack! Rainbow Dash! Hi!" Immediately rushing over to them, she dropped the box and scooped them all in a tight hug, leaving all of them fighting for air. "We're...happy to see you too, darling..." Rarity managed to wheeze out, feeling her consciousness begin to leave her body. Luckily, Mandy set her down before she could commit murder with the white unicorn mare as an unwitting victim. "What're you all doing here? Are you looking for the Rainbow too?" the hybrid asked. "We came t' bring ya back to Odd Squad, Mandy. Ms. O's been worried sick about ya!" Mandy's eyes widened, and a gasp left her. "Oh no. I didn't tell her where I was going!" She smacked her forehead with the lower part of her palm. Knew I shoulda called her, but I didn't think about it...me and my stupid brain! She sighed. "I'm sorry. I just got so wrapped up in finding the Rainbow and making history, and..." "Don't worry about it." Rarity rested a hoof on her arm. "Yeah, as long as you're safe!" Dash said, attempting to resist performing an annoyed eyeroll. Mandy kneeled down and opened the treasure chest. To her surprise, the treasure didn't shimmer brightly like all the other treasures she had seen on TV, but what she found in the box was interesting either way. "Ooh!" she remarked, her horn becoming wrapped in a rainbow-colored magic aura as she pulled out a small note. "What's it say?" Dash asked. "'If you have found this treasure chest, you have found the surprise at the end of the Toronto Rainbow. Long ago, a few thieves robbed a local bank numerous times, each time getting away and remaining unidentified. Rumor had it that they were going to profit off of the money and buy the town for themselves. But one day, before going to the bank to rob it yet again, an angry mob formed in front of it, blocking entry. They chased the thieves out of town and barred them from ever coming again. But, not wanting to lose their profits, one of the thieves returned in disguise and buried the money in a treasure chest, which they then buried at the very edge of town. Since then, no one has ever found the treasure chest nor the bank’s money...until now. If you find this, please return to Town Hall so it can be returned to its rightful owners.'" The ponies all looked inside the treasure chest. Sure enough, there lay several sacks full of money, each one of them tied up carefully. "So this money was stolen?" Dash dug her hooves through the sacks, attempting to find any other treasure that might have been buried inside. "Pretty much. At least according to this note." "If'n I were you, I'd return it, Mandy. It's only right. That money's been missin' for years!" Mandy snorted. "Pff, what'd you think I was gonna do, AJ, keep it? C'mon, that's immoral!" She chuckled. "Besides, I don't need money to be happy. I have you guys, and Odd Squad!" Rarity, Applejack and Dash all smiled warmly. "Let's head to the Mayor's office!" "Can I come with you?" the colt asked politely. "Sure! You know the deal, right? Just climb on my back and hold on!" Once again, he made his way onto Mandy's back, gripping her neck with his front legs. Dash couldn't help but let her smile grow bigger. She looked she wanted to make a snarky remark, but held back. Grabbing the chest with her magic, the hybrid took flight, heading past the end of the Rainbow to the newest tube entrance with the three mares following suit. Icy Song looked at the treasure chest and the contents that were inside it, her eyes widening as she simultaneously listened to Mandy's tale of how the chest and the money was found to begin with. "Oh goodness...the Mayor will be very happy to hear that!" the pegasus said. "Thank you." "Aww, it's no problem!" Mandy giggled. "But that means a new surprise will probably have to be planted there." "Something more...meaningful." Dash pointed out. "And somethin' not stolen." Applejack added. "Well, you did find the treasure, Mandy. So you are welcome to bury anything you like there as a surprise!" This time, it was Mandy's turn to widen her eyes, and in addition, she went completely slack-jawed. M-me? Bury a surprise? But... She struggled to find the words to respond to Icy Song. I-I don't even know what to bury! How am I- "She says 'thank you', darling." The hybrid blinked a couple times as she was snapped out of her thoughts. "U-um, yeah! Thank you!" "It's nothing. See you all at the festival tomorrow!" "We'll be there!" Applejack called, waving to Icy Song as the pegasus took off towards the second floor of the building. The colt began to head for the doors. "I should be going home now. My mom and dad are probably waiting for me." "All right! Thanks again for alerting me to the Rainbow. I dunno what I would've done if I missed it." "It's no problem, miss. Goodbye!" The group all said their collective goodbyes as they watched him leave the building. "Now that this is all over, let's go back to Odd Squad before Ms. O worries even more, shall we, darling?" Rarity asked, beginning to trot towards a nearby potted plant before taking a graceful dive into it and disappearing in a flash of blue light. Dash and AJ followed suit, as did Mandy, once she was done staring at the treasure chest. Back at Precinct 13579's Headquarters, Olive was nervously pacing back and forth in the bullpen. "Olive, it's okay. We'll find her." "It's not like her to run off like this, Otto! I'm her adoptive mother. I have to keep her safe!" Not this again, Otto thought, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands. "Mandy can hold her own out there, you know. Don't think she's-" "What? Been killed?!" Olive whirled around to face her partner. "Otto, Mandy may be powerful, but she can't 'hold her own' forever! For all we know, she could be in the hospital, or-" "Right behind you!" "Or right behind me, or dead, or-" Olive stiffened. She blinked. And then she turned around to find a very familiar and welcoming face. "Mandy!" Immediately, Olive lunged for a hug, wrapping her arms around her adopted daughter's torso and squeezing her to the point where she was the "chokee" instead of the choker. "Choking...choking...nearly...out...of aaair..." Only a few seconds later, the hybrid was put down and allowed to breathe. "Where have you been?! Oprah's been turning her Headquarters upside down looking for you! Literally, at one point!" "I'm sorry! It's just that I was looking for the Toronto Rainbow, and you guys won't believe what I found!" "Agent Mandy!" The hybrid's hair and tail stuck straight up in shock as she heard the all-too-familiar and all-too-angry voice of her boss, and the all-too-many stomps that indicated she was descending the stairs. "You ran off without telling me?!" "O-Oprah! Look, i-it was an honest mistake, really, j-just hear me out!" "All right, then. Fire away, bigshot." Oprah squinted, her eyes full of nothing but hatred and malice. Next to "I give indirect death threats to people I hate" Oprah, "my eyes will cut you like a knife and certainly not literally" Oprah was one of the scariest versions of Oprah. "Well...I essentially stopped a robbery." Oprah's eyes widened. Her mouth went full scrunch. And she belly-laughed. "Stopped a robbery, oh, that's rich! Oh wow, that's- that's not even Odd Squad's job!" Oprah collapsed to the ground, her body racking with heaves of laughter as she pounded the floor with her fist. "How'd you go and stop a robbery?!" "If you must know..." Mandy rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Then sit down and I'll tell you all the story." Everyone did as they were told, barring Oprah, who was still in her fit of laughter. "...so I returned the chest to the Mayor!" "Mandy, that's really sweet." Olive smiled warmly. "And completely selfless!" Otto said. "Aww, it was nothing! Keeping money that isn't yours is wrong, no matter how much it is. And whoo...it was...a lot of money..." Oprah, who had ceased her laughter sometime in the midst of her agent's story, tilted her head. "So the surprise at the end of the Rainbow was really a treasure chest full of money?" "Yup! But the Mayor's secretary said that I can bury anything else there I like as a reward! A replacement surprise!" "Did you have something in mind, darling?" "I may have a little something...berightback!" Quick as a flash, Mandy teleported away. An uncomfortable pause settled in the bullpen. "Ah, she'll be back in five." Olive waved her hand in a dismissive motion. "Minutes, or seconds?" Otto asked. "Well, either way, I am quite glad Mandy was able to find the treasure." Rarity smiled. "With a little help from a friend, of course." "I guess that's what she meant when she said she was going to 'get in the history books'." Otto mused. The sound of footsteps alerted the group to someone's arrival. However, it didn't take long before the sound was traced not to Mandy, but to the human form of Peaches, who let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes. "Hey, everyone. We having a meeting?" "No. Mandy came back." "Oh!" Peaches straightened up. "Did she find the Toronto Rainbow?" "Sure did!" Dash nodded. "And, she found this super-cool treasure!" The catgirl's eyes widened before she breathed a sigh of relief. "That's a relief. Before she left, I tried to warn her about not feeling too upset if there was no surprise, but she told me she was in it for the adventure. Seems like she didn't have much to worry about." "You got that right!" The sudden appearance of someone behind her made Peaches whirl around and give an aggressive yowl before unsheathing her claws and attempting to bring them down on her supposed attacker. Luckily, her attacker was much more agile. "Whoa! Hey, hey, no touchie of the forelock!" she complained, holding it against her head. "Well maybe don't scare me like that?!" Peaches yelled. "Sorry! It just brings me such glee to pop up behind people and spook 'em." Mandy giggled. "So what was the surprise you buried?" Oprah asked. Mandy walked over to the group, and with her horn alight, she conjured up a framed photo. "This photo." "A photo?" Otto asked incredulously. "Not something like gold, or anything valuable?" This question caused Mandy to crack up in her usual giggly, snorting way. "Aww, Otto, you don't get it, do ya? This is valuable! Look at it!" She levitated the photo towards him. "It's a photo of all of us! Me, you, Momma, Oprah, the ponies. It's from that time we all took a day off and went to the beach!" Otto glanced at the photo. He had remembered that day -- the day where Mandy showed off her ability to ski on water with nothing but her bare feet, Fluttershy made her own pony-sized sandcastle, and Oprah fought a shark that got a little too close for comfort and lived to tell the tale. To him, it had just been a day off, but looking at the smiling faces of him and all his friends, something stirred deep in his heart, and he couldn't help but smile. "Why'd you bury it in the ground, though?" he asked. "Friendship's the greatest treasure of all! Twi taught me that." The alicorn gave a small chuckle, feeling proud that Mandy had taken a friendship lesson of hers to heart. "See, if someone else finds, it, then maybe they'll be inspired by friendship too! And they'll go and make friends, just like how I'm friends with all of you!" Olive gave a satisfied sigh. "That's my Mandy." "Now how's about we get some work done, huh? I wanna go to the festival tomorrow with everyone! Whaddya say, boss?" "Well..." Oprah thought for a moment. "It is a momentous occasion for the town. It'd be weird if Odd Squad didn't attend." She cleared her throat. "I hereby declare a day off for Precinct 13579 to attend the festival!" This resulted in the eruption of cheers from the group, and the eruption of cheers from agents who had been walking by and overheard the news even though they had no idea what their boss was referring to. "Will you two be coming?" Mandy asked Olive and Otto. "Sure. Our assistants handle a lot of our work when we're gone, anyway." Otto grinned. "Plus, I never turn down a good party." "Great! 'Cuz I might be speaking there!" "How do you know that?" "Ah, call it a hunch." Mandy patted Olive's shoulder. "See ya later!" With a few happy bounces, she headed for the right hallway, happiness settling in her heart as she began to grow excited for the festival. "Agent Mandy of Odd Squad Precinct 13579 has returned a valuable gift to our fair town -- a treasure chest containing hundreds of thousands of dollars, all stolen from the Toronto Elite Credit Union. It was stolen by a group of thieves over 100 years ago, and it has not been found since. Until today." As Mayor Mackelmore spoke to the large crowd of people that had gathered for the festival, happy and excited murmurs rippled through, with some people spotting Agent Mandy herself making her way up to the stage. "While searching for the Toronto Rainbow, Mandy stumbled upon the treasure chest. Instead of keeping the money all for herself, she performed a selfless deed and returned it to the town where it belongs. In exchange, she has buried a special surprise that will re-emerge at the next showing of the Rainbow." People and ponies alike began to grow excited, with chatter ensuing over what the treasure Mandy had left was and where it was buried. "As thanks for returning what was rightfully ours, this Rainbow Festival will be held in honor of her, and in honor of what good she has done for Toronto over the years!" The crowd erupted in applause, both in clapping hands and happy hoof-stomps. Mandy made her way to the podium and took over. "Thank you, Mayor Mackelmore. Please, have fun at the festival and party it up!" With excited cheers and murmurs, the crowd separated, and everyone went their own separate ways. Mandy, meanwhile, took flight and soared through the area until she located Olive and Otto. "Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you'd be speaking." Olive remarked as she flagged her down. "I expected a whole big speech, though, not two small sentences." "Hey, less talkin' and more partyin' for me! It's one of Pinkie Pie's greatest lessons." Mandy shrugged. "But anyway, I gotta thank Icy Song for letting me speak at the festival to begin with. She recommended me to the Mayor as a guest speaker as soon as the money was returned." A hesitant look crossed her face. "Also she, uh...tried to get me a job at the credit union...much to my refusal." "Miss! Miss!" The trio's heads all swiveled to the left, where they saw the colt running up to them and waving his hoof in the air. "Oh, it's you!" Mandy smiled. "Hiya!" "Hi! I-I just wanted to, um...thank you for the adventure we had. It was fun." "D'aww, no problem!" Mandy waved her hand dismissively. "If anything, I should be thanking you! If you hadn't woken me up when you did, I never would've seen the rainbow to begin with! Heh, guess my love of sleeping kinda became a detriment..." "Well, can we...maybe, um..." The shy colt rubbed his right leg on his left one, shifting his gaze to the ground. "Be friends?" The mere mention of the word "friends" caused Mandy's face to transform into an expression that would indicate to most anyone that she was about to rocket into the sky in excitement. Luckily, Mandy wasn't that type of hybrid. "Friends?! Yes yes yes, absolutely!" "Oh thank you, miss!" "But if you wanna be friends, my first rule is: don't be so stinkin' formal!" "Huh?" "Agent 57, at your service!" Mandy cleared her throat. "Or you can call me by my actual name, Mandy. No need to refer to me as 'miss', silly!" The colt chuckled. "I'm Rocky Road. But, um...most ponies call me Rocky." "Rocky...I like it!" Mandy giggled. "Nice to meetcha! Oh yeah, and this is Olive and Otto. They're co-Directors of the Mississauga Precinct." Both Rocky and the two Directors exchanged waves. "Oh, um, one other thing, mi- um, Mandy. That thing we did, where I rode on your back...that was really cool. See, I-I've always wanted to fly, but I can't, because I'm a unicorn." Rocky put a hoof to his horn. "Well, self-levitation's not an easy feat. I haven't mastered it yet. But I can lift these two boogers up" She gestured to Olive and Otto, then leaned in close to Rocky's face. "Only for so long, though. They're, uh...really heavy." "Hey!" came a unisonant protest. Rocky gave a small smile. "Would it be too much to ask if we, um...if you gave me more rides like that? It's super-fun! Um, i-if it doesn't bother you." "Pff, nonsense, you kiddin' me?" Mandy playfully rolled her eyes. "I carry both humans and ponies on my back all the time! Watch!" She bent down, reached an arm backwards, and patted her back twice. "Climb on my back, Momma!" Giving a knowing smile to Otto, Olive did as she was told, situating herself on Mandy's back the same way one would ride a regular horse. Once she was situated, the hybrid took flight, spreading her wings and flapping them until she was airborne. "Aww, but I thought we were too heavy?" the co-Director teased. "Can it, Maestro." Olive snickered as Mandy descended, allowing her to hop off. "I'd love to give you rides, Rocky! And of course, you're welcome at Odd Squad whenever you wanna stop by, too." "Really?" "Really really! I'm sure Oprah wouldn't mind you comin' for visits every once in a while." "That sounds great! Thank you so much!" "Rocky, honey, could you come here, please?" came the distant call of someone who was no doubt Rocky Road's mother. "Oh! My mom's calling me. I should go." "All righty! Have fun at the Festival, okay?" "I will! Bye!" As Rocky ran off towards the direction of the call, the trio gave their goodbyes and watched him go. Mandy gave a sigh. "Sweet colt. I like him." "He'd make a good Odd Squad agent." Otto mused. "Now...whaddya say we go and enjoy the rest of the festival?! Who's with me?!" "Sure!" "Like I said, I never turn down a good party like this!" The rest of the festival went along smoothly. Songs were sung, new friendships were made, games were played, and of course, Rainbow Dash couldn't miss a chance to try her own hoof at recreating the whimsy and the wonder of the Toronto Rainbow, although it didn't go as well as she had liked. By the time the agents returned to Odd Squad, they were wiped out from all the fun and games. "Oh hey, you're back!" Peaches swiveled around in Mandy's desk chair. "How was the festival?" "Awesome!" Mandy's tail began to wag. "It was soooo much fun!" Murmurs of agreement rippled among the group and echoed her sentiment. "Well, I'm glad you all had a good time. Sorry I had to leave early. I had this gut feeling that the culprit who burned down my town was in Toronto, and I turned over every rock in the city just to look for them." "That's okay! As long as you had fun while you were there!" A yawn suddenly let loose from Mandy's throat. "But just so you know, I'm claiming the shower first. I'd eat, but I really just want to melt away in a bathtub right now." "Yeah, you look like a wreck." Peaches snickered. "Go ahead." With a sigh, Mandy began to trudge her way down the right hallway, her posture more slumped than usual. "We should head home too. Mandy started yawning, so we decided to escort her here to make sure she didn't suddenly collapse in the middle of a crosswalk." A horrified look crossed Olive's face for a moment, making Peaches wonder if her cousin actually did fall asleep while crossing the street. "And we're going to go back to Equestria, through the portal. Unless you need us for something, Ms. O?" "You're fine, Agent Twilight. You all have had a long day of fun. Go home and rest up for tomorrow." With a nod, Twilight and the other ponies exited through the steel double-doors. "We'll still see you tomorrow for lunch, Oprah?" Olive asked. "Wouldn't miss it. Enjoy the rest of the night, you two." Olive and Otto then left, bringing the number of the group down to a measly two. "Peaches, mind bringing me a juice box?" "Hm? Uh, oh! S-sure. Any kind of flavor? And where do you keep your juice boxes, anyway?" "Breakroom. And fruit punch. I'm in a fruit punch mood." It didn't take the catgirl long to find a whole spherical bin full of juice boxes located exactly where Oprah had described, and she quickly ran over and grabbed the first fruit punch one she saw. As she walked to Oprah's office, though, one question still weighed on her mind...a question that had been bothering her all day. "Whuh-huh? What're you askin' me?" Peaches groaned. "For the tenth time now: exactly what did you mean when you said you were going to 'make history' in finding the Toronto Rainbow?" Mandy blinked once, and then twice, as though not understanding the question. And then, her eyes widened as it finally sunk into her tired, burned-out brain. "Oh! Well, I kinda wanted t' be th' first Odd Squad agent to find th' Rainbow...but then that didn't pan out, so I decided t' become th' first pony-human hybrid t' find th' Rainbow!" She grinned. "Plus, I did find th' treasure. That too!" Peaches could only stare incredulously as a loud yawn parted from Mandy's jaws. "Now, it's sleep time for me...see y' tomorrow, mkay?" Her head hit the pillow, and the daily parade of earth-shattering snores and unintelligible sleep-talking immediately got off to its grandiose start. "But I-" Peaches shook her head. "The first pony-human hybr- what?!" She didn't get much in the way of a response. Sighing, the catgirl turned and left the Bedroom, making sure to close the door behind her before making her way to her own room. Yeah, she made history all right...for being the Most Confusing Person. She flopped onto her bed. But I guess I can't fault her. She had the adventure, and she found the treasure at the end of the Rainbow. That sounded pretty cool. An unsettling thought then wormed its way into her head. Am I really just going to be looking for the culprit throughout all the time I spend here? Everyone's been so nice to me...and how do I repay them? By leaving a festival early to chase after an elusive criminal. A festival that my own cousin spoke at, no less! Maybe it would be for the best if I stopped... Her ears folded downwards. No. King Ashero is going to like me when I find this culprit. I'll be known as a hero. I'll finally get the respect that I want, that I need, that I deserve. He'll have to apologize for exiling me, too. Bring me back into the town. Ha...wouldn't it be funny if he made me his successor? A small smile crept onto her face, and she closed her eyes. After all...a catgirl can dream.
S1E4: Peaches Goes Under The RingThe early thralls of the afternoon meant different things to different agents. For some, it meant more work that needed to get done, more cases that needed to be solved, more oddness to beat. For Agent Mandy, it meant more work that needed to get done, more cases that needed to be solved, more oddness to beat, and more sleeping time as a reward. With her suit hung up on the row of coat hooks that sat on the other side of the room, the hybrid was busy with her afternoon nap, letting out her usual loud snores and nonsensical gibberish. The door opened, and Twilight hobbled her way in. Bloody wounds covered nearly every inch of her body, and her leg appeared to be broken. She was an absolute wreck from head to hoof, and felt like it, too. A series of "ow's" came out with every step she took. "Mandy...nngh...I need help. Wake up." Although the alicorn knew her attempts would fail, she was so desperate for her help that she tried anyway, to no avail. She sighed. "Come on, plea- OWW!" Her body rippled as she gave a ragged exhale, gritting her teeth from the pain that skyrocketed through her splayed wings. Her legs began to wobble. "Mandy, please...my wings..." It was right then that the hybrid ceased her sleep, waking up and giving a mighty yawn. "Can't n' agent nap n' peaces...? Mmm..." she said, before her blue eyes could see Twilight a lot clearer. "Wah! Is that blood?!" Mandy immediately scrambled away from her, falling off the bed in the process and landing with a hard thump on the floor. "Am I bleeding?! Wh-" She felt her entire body. "No, no, no cut there, no cut here, I'm intact, I feel fine..." As she heaved herself back onto the bed with a relieved sigh, her gaze moved across Twilight once again, allowing her to get a better look. "Twilight! What happened to you?" "P-Peaches happened..." Peaches?! Whatever trace of fatigue Mandy had was immediately dissipated by the alicorn's answer. There's no way she did this. Why would she attack Twi like that? Her mind whirling with questions, she grabbed Twilight in her magic aura. "We hafta get you to Dr. O's immediately! C'mon!" Before Twilight could tell her that she already tried that and that he wasn't in, she was out of bed and speeding towards his office like an agent running away from a Skunkbat. It only took a few seconds for Mandy to race to the Medical Bay and start pounding on the door. "Come in!" The bang of a sliding door made Dr. O jump, and the view of an out-of-breath pony-human hybrid met his vision. "Oh, Mandy. How can I..." He trailed off when Twilight was brought into view. "Oh no." "Hi, Doctor...can you..." Mandy shook her head. "Can you fix Twilight up?" "Of course. Set her down here." She did as she was told, setting the princess down on the slide that led to the bullpen and functioned as a makeshift medical exam table. "These cuts look exceptionally deep." Dr. O observed, gently touching them and feeling Twilight wince in pain as he did so. "I have to go and find Peaches, but please, help her as best you can!" "I'll do my best." Mandy quickly dashed out of the room and headed down the stairs as fast as her feet would carry her. "Peaches! Peeeeeeeacheeeeeees!" she called, panic being the emotion that settled in her heart as she tried to find her cousin to get the details on what exactly happened to Agent Twilight Sparkle. "Agent, watch out!" A quick stumble and a flap of her wings sent Mandy careening not into Oprah, but directly over her head. Not that that did anything -- it only allowed her to collide with the ground face-first. "Are you okay? What's going on?" "It's-it's Peaches! Twi came to me all wounded n' stuff and she told me how Peaches attacked her! I need to find her, now!" "I've been getting reports all day about her attacking people and animals and destroying various objects. Some described her as..." A horrified look settled on Oprah's face. "...going feral." "But for her to be this aggressive...she was hardly like this when we first met!" Mandy grit her teeth together. I'm a pony-human hybrid and I haven't once exhibited the aggressive behaviors of a pony! If they even have aggressive behaviors, that is...but all Peaches did was attack me like a cat usually would, and I was able to speak to her and stuff! Now she's... It pained her to think about, and she mentally slapped herself to try and regain focus. "Agent Ocean and Agent Fluttershy might be able to do something about her if she's captured and taken to the Creature Room. I'm entrusting you with that task, Mandy." "Of course! I'll put myself in the path of any danger if it means saving my cousin and my friend! Do you have any leads?" "The last report I received came from the park. She may be somewhe-" Mandy lit up her horn and was gone in a flash before Oprah could even finish her sentence. And likewise, she arrived at the park in a flash. The sound of screaming immediately filled her ears. Ponies and people alike dashed back and forth, the area in an obvious state of chaos. An Earth pony from far away managed to spot Mandy, ceasing her running and waving her over. "Agent Mandy! You have to-" She was cut off by the sight of her savior being slammed to the ground, and then brutally attacked. "Agent Mandy!" All the hybrid could feel for the next few seconds was pain. Raw, sheer, excruciating pain. Fabric was being torn to shreds by claws and teeth, two layers of clothes being torn off just to dig into human flesh and open up the floodgates for blood to gush out like a dam holding water back. A scream ripped from the agent's throat. Loud, desperate, and agonizing, it caught the attention of every human and every pony in the immediate vicinity. The scream activated something in her brain -- something that told her she needed to take action now, or she was going to die. Her attacker was promptly levitated and secured in a magic bubble, where she had nothing to attack but the empty air around her. Mandy shivered in pain. Blood stained her suit, weaving its way through the threads of the fabric to create a color most fittingly reminiscent of a bruise. "Mandy!" The mare that had called her earlier raced over to her. "Please, get up." "I'm...fine." The contrary was quite obvious, but the mare didn't dare argue, instead stepping back and allowing her to get on her feet. A shake of her head, and she was (mostly) back to normal again. "Everyone! Rest assured, I have captured the attacker and will promptly be taking her to Odd Squad!" Cheers erupted throughout the area, cries of gratefulness and thanks ringing out amongst them. "If you're injured, please get an ambulance and go to Toronto General Hospital! They'll treat you there!" The cheers turned into chants, all of them shouting her name in unisonant rhythm. But as much as she was grateful for them, it was when she turned around that the cheers became echoing and hollow. Her face fell, her eyes widened, and shock was the next emotion to overtake her beating heart. Peaches, in her human form, was the attacker in question. Her eyes, once blue and full of good and innocence, were now a deep crimson red and full of nothing but unstoppable rage and hatred. Her claws, sharp like knives, were out in full force. Screams, hisses, and yowls parted from her jaws that were muffled due to the bubble's material. Tears welled up in Mandy's eyes. Whether they were tears of sorrow or tears of rage, no one knew for sure. All she could do was stand there and stare at the bubble she was holding in her magical grasp, the pain from her wounds becoming nonexistent, like an injection of anesthesia rocketing through her bloodstream. Before the tears could fall, she vigorously shook her head. No. I can't cry. Not now. I have to help my cousin. With her horn shining brighter, she used a portion of what magic she had left to teleport back to Headquarters. What had been a relatively peaceful day in the Creature Room for Fluttershy was quickly interrupted when the sound of a door being thrown open made them jump. "Ocean! Fluttershy! I have a dire emergency!" Her eyes drifted to what their fellow agent was holding with her magic. "G-goodness! Is that Peaches?" Fluttershy asked. "Yes. She's gone entirely feral. Oprah instructed me to bring her here to you. Please, you have to help her!" "We'll do all we can." Fluttershy flew up and examined the trapped Peaches at a distance, immediately noting her red eyes and her aggressive behavior. "If you're gonna help her, get some protective wear. Look at what she did to me!" Mandy turned, exposing the wounds on her back, many wide open and bleeding profusely. The Creature Room Director gasped at this sight, both at how bad the wounds are and how Mandy seemed to be just fine despite the wounds needing dire treatment. "We should have something. What has she done?" "Better question is, what hasn't she done?! Biting, clawing, scratching, she's probably killed someone along the way!" Fluttershy went into a hidden passageway. The sound of a beep was heard as a tall cage slowly moved its way forward. As she emerged from the passageway, she punched a few numbers into the keypad beside the lock, which allowed it to open. "Levitate her inside here." "You better be quick." Mandy did as she was told, moving the bubble inside of the cage. "Three, two, one." Her magic released. Just as Fluttershy locked the cage, Peaches rammed into it with all of her body weight, causing it to shake slightly. "Okay." The Pegasus exhaled. "Let me call Ocean and inform him of the situation." As she removed her badge phone and placed a speed-dial call to her fellow Creature Room Director, Mandy contemplated going over to the cage -- maintaining a safe distance, of course, but just enough so that she could talk to Peaches. Before she could make a decision, however, her friend was done with her call. "Just leave everything to us. You should go and get your injuries patched up." I'm fine. Forget about me. My cousin is first and foremost. No. If these wounds get infected with some odd virus, then I'll have a bigger problem on my hands. If I'm struck with an odd disease, I won't be able to help Peaches. Sighing, Mandy gave a nod and a "good luck" before making her way to Dr. O's office once again. Her hair and tail were both in various states of disarray. She hadn't bothered to get a new undershirt nor a new jacket. She had a one-track mind, and no one was going to sway her from it. Her fingers went to work on her keyboard as she typed all sorts of searches into Oddle, from the reasonable ("how to take care of an angry and upset family member") to the outrageous ("is my cousin possessed and if so how can I help her"). Her eyes bored into her screen, absorbing every bit of helpful information she could find. She was so focused that she didn't even register the steel doors opening, nor register the sound of familiar voices. "Watch." Otto smirked. "We'll get Mandy to settle this, then we'll just see who's right in this argument, partner." "Oh, you know I'm right." The gazes of Olive and Otto drifted to the agent in question, muttering something unintelligible as her face was pressed up against her computer screen. Her tapping foot, twitching tail, and flapping ear were all causes for alarm for the duo. "Otto, don't you dare even make so much as a slight breeze. She's gonna explode." Olive said. "Mandy?" No response. "Mandy." Still no response. "Food's on the table? We cooked you a feast? Uhh, go take a nap!" Otto's suggestions got no response, either. Without another word, Olive marched over to Mandy and slammed her hand on top of her head, yanking it away from the computer and pivoting it towards her and Otto. It took the hybrid a moment to register what was going on, but once she did, she screamed. "M-M-Momma! A-and Otto! What are you doing?! Don't interrupt me, I'm on important family business!" "Dear odd, you really are high-strung!" Olive's gaze drifted to the bandages that wrapped around Mandy's upper torso, and her eyes widened. "And what happened to you?" "Peaches happened!" Mandy inhaled. "She’s gone completely feral and I don’t know what happened but all of a sudden she’s attacking people and ponies-" A deep inhale. "-so Ms. O sent me out to find her and once I did she attacked me and tore into my back so I left her in the care of Ocean and Fluttershy and now I’m trying to find out why she’s gone feral!" As much as the duo tried to hang onto every word Mandy said, they got lost right near the end, and only exchanged confused glances with each other. "Um, well, if it helps any..." Olive scratched the back of her neck. "To my knowledge, Odd Squad has nothing on the history of catpeople. Assuming that's what you're looking for, of course." Mandy took another deep inhale. "Nothing on Vallea, either." She exhaled, which turned into a groan of defeat. "She's in the care of Ocean and Fluttershy, you said?" Otto tilted his head. "They're the best of the best when it comes to caring for creatures! I'm sure they can set her straight. Don't worry." "I guess..." Mandy exhaled. "But I'm still worried. She wasn't like this last night..." "What happened last night?" "Well, she decided to take me to the lake so she could teach me how to fish like a cat...unfortunately, I was pretty bad at it, for obvious reasons." "And then you hook it like this!" With a simple yank, a fish squirmed on Peaches's claw, desperate to get free. "Hmm." Mandy looked down at her hands. "But I don't have claws. Maybe I could do it with my hands?" Her gaze was focused on the water, still and blue but certainly not without traces of life. It took a while before the unmistakable shadow of a fish came close, but when it did, she lunged, using both her hands to try and grab it. Unfortunately, when she pulled her hands out, it slipped right out of her grasp and fell back into the water unharmed. She let out a groan. "Sorry. I probably should have seen the obvious." Peaches gave a sheepish smile. "Once we caught some fish and had dinner, we decided to take a fly through the park. It was Peaches's second time riding on my back, but she wasn't used to it yet, so I had to be super-careful. The poor thing was hugging me the entire time!" Feeling the cool air on her face, Mandy smiled as she flew through the dark night sky. "This is quite strange!" Peaches shouted at the top of her lungs. In response, Mandy only did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "Ya don't hafta yell, silly!" She used her pinky finger to clean out her right ear. "I can hear ya juuust fine." "O...kay." Peaches said, her voice back down to its normal volume level. "How long have you been doing this?" "Mm. It's been a while. Like I said, my spine got stronger after I transformed and stuff!" "Yeah, about that...how did you transform, anyway?" "Well, once the ponies and I beat a Hydraclops out at sea with the help of Oscar and a few other agents, we came back to land. All of a sudden I started glowing. It was weird, ‘cuz it felt all warm and cozy like a nice hug!" Mandy wrapped her arms around herself to illustrate the gesture. "And then I felt this weird sensation, like something was on my forehead and back, but I couldn’t tell what it was! And then all of a sudden I floated on down to the ground, looked in the water, and lo and behold!" She chuckled. "I had a horn, and wings, and my hair was different too! It was the strangest thing!" She sighed. "It did take me a while to get used to my new...appearance, and abilities, but I’m better now." A simple "huh" was all she got as a reaction from Peaches, not quite understanding the story even after being told of it the second time. She supposed that if she got to hear it in full, she would understand the course of events a lot better. But before she could ask her cousin for the whole story, a loud yawn escaped her. "We're gonna hafta head back soon. I'm getting sleepy...and I don't wanna sleep-fly again!" Mandy scoffed. "That happened to me once, it was so weird. I found myself two cities over the next day!" Oh, great. So she sleepwalks too, Peaches thought. And with her sleep being as unpredictable as it is...ugh, no, I'm not going to even bother thinking it. The catgirl cleared her throat. "Why don't we, uh...head back now, actually? I'm starting to get pretty tired myself." "Okey-dokey-lokey! Hold on tight!" "Whooooooaaaaa!" Mandy quickly descended towards the nearest tube entrance, not paying any attention to the fear that was written all over Peaches's face. "I haven't seen her since then. Or, well, I did...just today. I haven't seen her be normal since then." Olive nodded, but didn't spend any time thinking about Mandy's story -- the answer was clear as day to her. "Look, it's like Otto said. Have faith in Ocean and Fluttershy. They can tame any creature..." "And any animal." "No matter how feral." For a moment, the hybrid looked betrayed, as though expecting the Directors to give more useful advice. But deep down inside, she knew that they were right, and also knew that they could help very little with the current situation. "Yeah...but I don't know if they're familiar with catgirls. I-I mean you said it yourself, Momma, Odd Squad doesn't have any history on them!" Tears began to well up in her eyes again. "I just don't know what happened...to the sweet and kind and outcasted cousin I once knew." "I wish we could help more." Olive murmured, the words slipping out subconsciously. "Hey, Peaches is part cat, right? And she has cat-like behaviors. Maybe something aggravated her!" "Domestic housecats don't go around attempting to destroy every little thing, partner. Not...usually." The trio simply stood in silence, not saying anything, but instead, thinking about what to do next. And then, another idea settled in Otto's brain, this time more helpful than his previous ones. "Maybe it was the work of a villain!" Mandy perked up. "You think so?" "It's the only reason I can think of as to why Peaches is suddenly acting like this." Otto shrugged. "Worth a shot!" the hybrid chirped, already sounding more confident. "I don't wanna sit around doing nothing! I wanna help my cousin, even if it kills me! And I think I'll start by looking for a viable villain!" "Wordplay!" Otto grinned. "Nice!" "If I may give you another piece of advice...don't get worked up over this?" A growl from Mandy made Olive quickly backpedal. "B-bad choice of words, um...I-I mean it's nice that you're concerned for your cousin and all, but what I meant to say was...don't let the stress get to you!" Mandy blinked, then smiled. "D'aww, don't worry! Positive outlook, am I right or am I right?" Normally, this would have put Olive and Otto at ease...if it weren't for the sad, grief-stricken chuckle the hybrid gave before she walked away. "I'm concerned for her." "She's going to overwork herself, isn't she?" "Oh definitely." Olive nodded. "Have you seen Mandy when she gets really upset?" "Yesterday, she scorched my taco with the flames she gave off from her hair and tail..." Otto sighed. "It was a good taco, too. From that new taco place downtown." "We should help with the search. After all, who knows what Peaches is capable of?" Olive shuddered, briefly thinking of a scenario where Peaches broke free and mauled both Ocean and Fluttershy to complete shreds. "But there's no villain that specifically targets catgirls. Most of Odd Squad's villains have a pattern in who or what they attack." "Very true." Olive snapped her fingers. "I have an idea. Let's go to Ocean and Fluttershy and ask them. Maybe they have some information!" Otto eagerly nodded, and the duo took off for the Creature Room. Ocean gave an exhausted sigh, running a hand through his curly black hair. He had to admit, Peaches wasn't one of his easier creatures. He felt like taking a nap, but knew that he still had work to do. A few knocks at the door caught his attention, but before he could answer, the door slid open to reveal Olive and Otto. "Hey, dudes!" He waved. "'Sup, Ocean?" Otto winked. "How's Peaches doing?" "Ohh, kitty girl?" Ocean pointed at the cage, still and silent. "She's doin' fine. Took a loooot of ukulele-playin' just to get her to settle down, but she's asleep now." "May we see her?" Olive asked. "We're trying to help Mandy figure out why she turned feral." "Sure, dudes, c'mon in and make yourselves comfy! Oh, and close the door behind you." Facepalming at his mistake, Otto moved and quickly slid the door closed. "Over here!" Ocean motioned with his hand as Olive and Otto followed him to the cage. As the two Directors peered in, they saw Peaches softly snoring away. "She looks uninjured." Otto remarked. "How has taming her gone so far?" Olive asked. "Shy horse has been a huge help in keeping her calm, but sometimes her ideas don't work. Which is weird, 'cuz she's always been able to tame creatures and animals and stuff. Even her...uh...'Stare' didn't work out!" "Stare?" "Mandy told me about that." Otto explained. "It's an ability Fluttershy has that, according to her, she rarely uses. It helps to control creatures and animals and make them follow her command." "Ah, yes, how could I forget?" Olive shook her head and chuckled. "Good reason why Oprah put her in charge of the Creature Room." She didn't even get to finish her second sentence before Otto had turned his attention away from her and looked at Peaches. "Otto, what are you looking at?" "There's something attached to Peaches's waist! It looks like some sort of..." Otto squinted. "...golden ring?" "Oh yeah! Shy horse and I can't get that thing off no matter how hard we try! It's on super-tight." Olive moved over to the cage and examined the object for herself. Indeed, it was a golden ring that gleamed every once in a while and was gripped tightly around Peaches's waist to such an extent that the Director had to wonder how the catgirl didn't seem to show any signs of internal damage. "You two may be on to something. Maybe that ring is the reason why Peaches is acting feral!" "If that's true, then who put it on her? Enough to be that tight?" Otto wondered. "I'm not sure, but whoever did...it might seem to support my hunch that a villain is behind this." Olive ran to the door. "We have to inform Mandy!" Just before she could open it, however, a low growl came from behind her. Her entire body stiffened with fear, and she became too terrified to look back and see what was happening. "P-p-partner..." Otto and Ocean could only watch in horror as a dark shadow slowly rose behind their fellow co-worker, the shape of it easily recognizable. "Run, dudes!" Olive, suddenly being released from her paralysis of fear, flung the door open and sprinted out. But it came at the cost of the feral catgirl knocking her down by sinking her claws into her legs first. "Partner!" Otto immediately snapped out of his own horror hypnosis and rushed to help his partner. "Otto, help! HELP ME!!" Olive cried, wincing from the pain as she felt the claws of her attacker completely penetrate her arteries and veins. As Otto stood in front of Olive and bent down to grab her arms, Peaches let out a loud yowl that was much deeper than her usual yowls. It almost would have chilled Otto to the bone, if he weren't running on the fuel of adrenaline. He pulled on Olive's arms, hoping that Peaches would release her grasp on her legs, but while his goal was achieved, it only served to cause more injury. The force of Peaches letting go caused him to yank Olive upwards, the claws running deep inside and deep down her legs before they were released, then caused him to take a tumble over the guardrail that lined the second floor. On a last-minute whim, he stretched out his legs to secure himself on the lower part of the guardrail, leaving both him and Olive dangling upside down. Olive was on the verge of hyperventilation by this point, and all she could give was a weak and feeble cry of her partner's name. Tears streamed down her face, but were carried upwards and plummeting towards the ground due to gravity. "I-I'll handle things here!" Ocean said, a hurt look on his face as he knew that he had to get Peaches back under control, and doing so wouldn't leave him free to save neither Olive nor Otto. The Creature Room door closed. Otto knew he was going to lose his grip soon -- he didn't have the same athletic strength Olive did, and it was his height that had put them in such a lucky situation. His partner cried out his name again, and he had to resist crying himself. A squeaking sound as his legs began to lose their grip further. And then he couldn't hold himself up any longer. "No!" He closed his eyes, expecting the worst and hearing nothing but the sound of Olive's scream piercing his eardrums. Only five seconds later, he felt a warm sensation. "Huh?" Opening his eyes, he saw himself surrounded by a rainbow-colored magic aura and lowered to the ground, along with Olive. However, she quickly careened into him, being unable to stand on her own two feet. The pair glanced over at their savior -- one Agent Mandy, looking rather exhausted as her horn shot out a few sparks of magic. "Mandy...saved us." The words danced on Otto's lips, the adrenaline in him dying down as it was replaced with awe. "W-what? How?" "She stopped us from falling. With her magic!" "But..." Olive winced. "She can't lift us up with her magic...she's been trying for years!" "It took what magic she had, and some incredible willpower...but she saved our lives, Olive." A pool of blood began to form around Olive's feet. Her Converse sneakers, already a shade of light red, were now darkened. LIkewise, the ankles of her navy-blue pants were darkening with blood as it seeped through the fabric. "My legs..." Olive choked out a sob of pain. "Let's get you to Dr. O. Quickly!" Mandy watched as Otto scooped up Olive in his arms and bridal-carried her up the stairs. She had watched and listened to the entire conversation, in spite of her exhaustion. Did Peaches...did she hurt Momma?! She vigorously shook her head. No, no. It's like Momma said. It's the work of a villain. I'll find out who did this and make them pay dearly. She made her way to the Lab. "Oona!" "Wah!" Gadgets clattered to the floor, some breaking into a myriad of pieces, others remaining perfectly intact. "Sorry." "No, no, it's fine!" Oona waved. "What can I do ya for?" "Would you happen to have any info on villains that might have moved to Toronto recently?" Oona smirked. "As it just so happens, my dear agent, there's a villain database that we keep here. I have my own one right here in the Lab! It's, uh...more broken often than not, though." A villain database?! Wha- how even- when- is she- A flurry of questions rocketed through Mandy's brain, but she set them aside for now and nodded. "Anyone you're looking for in particular?" "I need a villain that targets felines. Or, uh, any creature and any animal. Or any creature or any animal. Really, anyone who has the ability to turn anyone aggressive with the snap of a finger." Mandy blinked, realizing the literacy of her statement. "Literally or metaphorically." "All righty, let's see here..." Digging under the countertop, Oona pulled out a keyboard (and not the one with all threes for the keys) and got to typing. As was expected of someone who did a hyper-specific search in a search engine, only a few results came up. "There's not many villains when you narrow it down to that much, but there is one. Cherry...Moriarty?" Mandy eyed the images that came with the result. They showed a woman with red hair adorned with cherry decorations and a sparkling red dress with a black belt attached to her waist. What shimmered in the center of it and served as the buckle was a gold-colored cherry, surrounded by a golden ring. Her teeth were a near-blinding white, and her expression in the mugshot taken of her held no traces of regret. "She's a fashion designer situated in Toronto whose overall goal is to create a line of servants to help her with her work. She does this by hypnotizing various people to do her bidding using golden rings that she attaches to their bodies." "Do the rings make them aggressive?" "There's a report from a hypnotized agent's partner who was able to save him." As she typed, a rather lengthy report came up, and Mandy read it aloud. "Agent Orin was hypnotized by Cherry Moriarty, who managed to attach a ring on his arm while fighting her. As a result, he was ordered to attack his own partner, Agent Ordell, and affix a ring to him as well. But Ordell refused to be “ringed”, as he calls it. He tried to convince Orin of the fun times they had together, and their friendship and partnership. The two had very positive chemistry, and all it took was a few reminders for Orin to break free of the hypnosis. Together, the two beat Cherry Moriarty, and set her in her place. Once Ms. O found out about it, she ordered Security agents to destroy Cherry’s lair and all of the golden rings she produced." Mandy blinked. "But...she's back." "She's back?!" "Yes, and she's targeted Peaches. She must have hypnotized her somehow. But...if that ring made Orin aggressive, maybe..." The hybrid thought back to when she was attacked, and what she saw when she was able to get up on her feet again. Although she could feel the shock that ricocheted through her at the time, there was one detail that she happened to notice. "There was a ring around Peaches! I remember seeing one when I trapped her!" She nodded vigorously. "There must be a connection. Cherry Moriarty somehow targeted Peaches, put a ring around her waist, and made her aggressive. But since she's a catgirl and not fully human, the ring must have some adverse effect that made her more aggressive than usual...that made her go completely feral!" "Mandy!" Fluttershy flew into the Lab as fast as her wings would carry her. "I saw Olive with blood dripping down her legs! Is she all right?" "I don't know." Mandy shook her head. "Dr. O should be treating her. But I think I found out who put that golden ring on Peaches. The reason why she attacked Momma in the first place!" "The ring...you mean the one that Ocean and I can't get off?" "Yes!" Mandy grabbed hold of the hovering Fluttershy and pulled her closer. "I want you to find the other ponies and meet up in the bullpen." "Why?" "I want Cherry Moriarty dead." Fluttershy broke free and backed off as she saw Mandy combust into flames that wrapped every inch of her body. As she spoke, the hybrid's voice only served to get more deeper and become more reverberating. "I want her to cower for mercy at the behest of Odd Squad. And I want her GONE FROM THIS WORLD!" The cry of the hybrid's desire echoed throughout the bullpen, and several agents took notice, some looking alarmed by their coworker's sudden change in both attitude and appearance. "R-r-right away!" Fluttershy quickly flapped her wings and took off towards the hallway at about the same speed she came into the Lab. The flames sizzled down, and Mandy returned to normal. "Thank you, Oona. I can't express enough of my gratitude. Remind me what your favorite sweet treat is?" "U-um...R-Rocky Road ice cream?" Oona's voice was higher-pitched than it normally was. For someone who wielded a mallet and certainly wasn't afraid to use it, she drew the line at making Mandy burst into flames, and didn't say anything more at the risk of angering her again. "Perfect. I'll make that for you later. Right now, I have a catgirl to save and a villain to kill!" With a flap of her wings, Mandy soared out of the Lab, Oona watching her go and exhaling a very long and very pent-up sigh of relief. The door to the Creature Room slid open once again. "Ocean!" The room appeared empty. "Ocean?" "Sorry, dude! I was updating the creature database and I got distracted. Be out in a minute or two!" Hearing his laid-back voice, albeit from far away, allowed a wave of relief to wash over Mandy. "Oh, thank odd. I thought you were dead! Can I see Peaches?" "Why?" "The golden ring around her waist is a result of Cherry Moriarty's heinous misdeeds. She's trying to turn Peaches into one of her servants, and the only way to turn her back to normal is if she's able to recognize me." Mandy sighed. "It's a risk, but one I'm willing to take." "Sure! She should be in the cage. I had it secured super-extra this time, so don't worry." It was then that the question of "how did she escape in the first place" re-formed in Mandy's head, and as she went over and examined the cage, she saw that the bars were just wide enough for Peaches to slip through...in her cat form. Of course. I didn't think she would be sane enough to do that, but I guess I was wrong. Peaches snarled and hissed at her, although she made no effort to throw her body against the bars again. Mandy kneeled down. "Peaches." A hiss. "Where did you go? Where's my friend?" A growl, and then a low threatening yowl. "Remember when we first met? It wasn't that long ago...but you were so passionate in finding out who destroyed your hometown. You thought it was me. But it wasn't me. And you were so hardheaded. You didn't open up to me until I left you a note detailing just how far I was gonna go to befriend you." Peaches gave another yowl, although Mandy noted it seemed less fierce and less threatening than the previous one. "I don't really remember anything about Aunt Kimi and Uncle Derek. Really. After all, the only family I know is Odd Squad. They raised me after I found myself in one of their Headquarters." The yowl downgraded to a growl. "Peach? Can...can I call you that? Can I call you Peach?" And then, to a softer growl. "Peach...I'm gonna find who did this to you. I’ll make them suffer dearly by my hammer’s will." Mandy clenched her fists. "But first...I wanna make sure you’re okay. I wanna know more about you, and I wanna help you find the person who burnt your town down. I wanna go up to your King, and tell him how great you are!" Her throat began to close as she began to choke up. "I want you to see the wonders of Odd Squad with me, to help the agents here thrive!" A sniffle. "We have so many more adventures we hafta go on!" It was then that the hybrid began to sob, tears dripping on the ground as she shut her eyes tight, remembering the fun times she had with Peaches that, while few and far between, were still cherished memories to her. "P-please...if there's one thing I wanna do, right now..." She choked out another sob. "It's to get that ring off of you! I-it must be hurting you, it looks so tight..." She collapsed, going from kneeling to laying on her side a quivering and shaking and tear-soaked mess. She felt like letting out a scream, in that instant -- a scream of rage, of misery, of pain, a scream that would be in memoriam of all the adventures that would never come to pass. But instead, she resigned herself to pounding her fist on the floor with as much strength as she could muster, breaking her hand be completely damned. "Why...why couldn't have it been me. Why couldn't it have been me who had gotten attacked by that vile...that vile...degenerate. Why not me. WHY NOT ME?!" The shaking she was doing soon had the emotion of rage greeting sadness and blending together to make a rather destructive harmony all throughout her body. She grit her teeth as she went to war with it, trying to keep it at bay for now, for the sake of Ocean and the creatures he took care of. "I love you, cuz." The shaking stopped. The rage was immediately placed on the back burner. Mandy sat up and stared at the caged catgirl, who had just told her something extraordinary. Her eyes, full of fear and confusion, turned from red to blue. "I love you. As a family member, and as a friend. And I always will, forever and ever." Peaches grunted. "This ring...I feel like my organs are being crushed..." "Don't move, okay? D-don't move!" Mandy got up and attempted to punch in the same four numbers that she had seen Fluttershy punch in earlier. The code allowed the cage to be unlocked, and the hybrid walked right in, not caring about if Peaches would suddenly switch back or even if she was still in a trance. "I'm gonna try and get it off of you with all of my magical ability. It'll hurt, but stay strong." Peaches nodded, and watched as Mandy's horn lit up and attached to the ring. The two girls struggled greatly with the magical object, Peaches moving back to make it easier on Mandy and Mandy channeling every single ounce of strength and energy she had into removing it from Peaches's waist. The ring developed a small crack. Mandy could hear a cry of pain from Peaches. An even louder crack sounded, and the next thing the hybrid knew, she was lying flat on her back, completely exhausted and heaving out massive puffs of air. Her horn sparked once more, and the ring clattered on the floor behind her head. Peaches shook her head vigorously and rubbed it, as though she had a headache. "Mandy? Wh-where am I? Are you okay?" "I'm fine...my magic just shorted out." The hybrid waved a finger nonchalantly. "You're in the Creature Room." "The Creature Room?" Knowing that she had to get rid of the ring -- who knew what it was capable of? -- Mandy quickly rolled over onto her stomach and stood up. From her hammerspace spine, she pulled out her hammer. "Stand back, this could get messy!" she called, letting loose a battlecry as she swung the hammer high above her head then brought it back down directly onto the ring, which disintegrated a few seconds upon impact. "That...should take care of that." "I feel so...woozy..." Peaches stumbled out of the cage that had once housed her, only to start losing her balance. "Whoa!" "Let's get you to Dr. O. You shouldn't be doing anything in your state." The catgirl nodded as she leaned on Mandy's shoulder, the hybrid giving her goodbyes to the still-absent Ocean before leaving. Only a minute later, the pair left the Medical Bay. "Hey, Dr. O gives very strict orders!" Mandy shrugged in response to Peaches's groan. "If he says you should rest, then you need to rest." "But...what are you gonna do...?" At this question, Mandy gave a raucous noblewoman's laugh. "Moi? Why, I'm going to find who did this to you and make them suffer, of course!" She smiled. "For you...cuz." Peaches gave a tired chuckle. "I like that nickname." "Glad you do!" As Mandy helped Peaches into bed, a mischievous smile formed on her face, and she patted her shoulder. "Get some sleep. Lil' ol' Mandy's got things covered." Peaches noticed her cousin's tone of voice went from reassuring to taunting near the end, but said nothing about it, instead closing her eyes as she heard the door to her room close. "Mandy! What took ya so long?" The hybrid was surprised to find the ponies (save Twilight, who was absent) all gathered in the center of the bullpen, apparently having waited quite a while for her. "Sorry, Applejack! I had to help Peaches break free of her hypnosis." She gave an exhale. "And I'm proud to say that I've managed to do it!" "She's not aggressive anymore?" Fluttershy asked. "Nope!" "That is wonderful news, darling!" Rarity smiled. "According to my research, the ring was placed around her waist by Cherry Moriarty, a local fashion designer who wants to hypnotize people into becoming her servants." Just as quickly as it formed, the smile faded. "How dare she!" "To break someone out of the hypnosis, you have to share a deep bond with them and have positive chemistry with each other. If you can remind them of the good times you've shared with them, it helps them to break free. And that's what I did with Peaches." "But doesn't that mean Cherry Moriarty is still on the loose?" Pinkie asked. "Yes. And I'm enlisting you six to help me find her. Are ya in, agents?" All of the mares gave various murmurs of agreement, determined looks settling on their faces. "Perfect. Let's roll out, ponies!" As the group raced for the steel double-doors, Mandy made a quick pit stop at the North Control Room to ask Owen where Cherry actually was. Lucky for her, he was keen on giving her an answer this time around, which she was grateful for. She followed the ponies to the Tube Lobby. Time to twist Cherry's world upside down. As soon as Rainbow Dash arrived at the park to round out the group, Mandy barked out an order. "All right, spread out, all of you. I want Cherry Moriarty destroyed, whether it's by your hooves or my hammer." "Right!" came the unisonant cry of the Mane Six before they darted off in different directions. This, of course, left Mandy free to explore the area of where she was now by going airborne. To her surprise, it didn't take very long to find Cherry, as the hybrid found her within minutes, tormenting poor Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus whimpered, her wings locked up tight enough to prevent her from flying away and her anxiety too high to become nothing but a sitting duck at the mere sight of the woman in front of her. "Now stay still, horsie, and let me-" A blur passed by her vision so fast that the villainess wasn't sure whether her eyes were playing tricks on her or not. "Huh?!" As Fluttershy was set down onto the ground, she opened up her mouth to give Mandy thanks, but closed it when she saw that Mandy had other priorities at the moment than exchanging words of gratitude. "You're not taking my friend. Not if I have any say in it!" "And just who are you?" Her gaze drifted to the golden badge her opponent wore -- just like that of the Pegasus she was about to attack. She gasped. "Odd Squad?!" "That's right! I'm an Odd Squad agent just like the 'horsie' you tried to hypnotize!" Mandy's body became consumed by flames once again, her voice growing deeper and more reverberating. "And I'm here to kill you." Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she quickly made her escape while she still had the chance, not caring whether Cherry spotted her or not. "Ooh, such tough talk from such a pint-sized agent!" Cherry taunted. "You'd be perfect for my newest fall line. I can use that tail of yours as viable fabric! Imagine...everyone lined up to grab the first exclusive clothing made from the skin and fur of Agent Mandy, the most popular agent of the whole organization!" "You touch my tail, and complete darkness is the last thing you'll ever see." Cherry didn't waver, and only chuckled at what she thought was an empty threat. "Well, if you think you're so brave, come on and take me on! I'll hypnotize you, just like I did with that silly little catgirl!" "Gonna hafta catch me first!" With a flash of rainbow light, Mandy was gone. And in another flash of rainbow light, she appeared right behind Cherry, hammer in hand. It was a direct hit to the back, one that sent the woman stumbling forward as she gave out a grunt. "How dare-" "Oh, I can inflict more damage! Much more!" The flames around the hybrid grew more intense, as did the echo in her voice. "You hurt my cousin, and for that, you'll spend the rest of your life...in hell!!" "Never!" With ease and dexterity, Cherry fired two sewing needles that, as stupid as such a weapon was, looked a lot thicker than regular sewing needles. Because they were so easy to spot, Mandy was able to dodge them with just a few simple steps. "Ha! Ya missed! Now it's my turn! I'm gonna leave you nothing but a husk of your old self!" Forgoing the hammer entirely for this round, Mandy spread her wings and took to the sky, letting her horn be encapsulated by her magic. Once she stored up enough power, she fired a laser blast that would be a spectacle to the naked eye, but absolute torture for whomever was hit by it. And torture it was -- Cherry let loose cries of agonizing pain, feeling tears prick at her eyes from how piercing it felt. Far away from the makeshift battlefield, the five ponies sat, quickly joined by a terrified Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! You all right?" Applejack asked. "I-I'm fine...C-Cherry was about to hypnotize me before Mandy saved me!" "Oh no. She's crazy upset again, ain't she?" "I don't blame her." Fluttershy sat down next to her farmpony friend. "Cherry did hurt her cousin. We should probably let them battle it out." "I do agree, darling." Rarity remarked, watching the battle rage on in both awe and fear. "Even I know not to mess with Mandy when she's all fired up like that." Rainbow had to bite back laughter from the unintentional pun she made. "Still, shouldn't we rush in and help if she needs it?" "Definitely. But I think ol' Mandy's got this one covered, Pinkie Pie." AJ patted her friend on the shoulder. The battle between Mandy and Cherry waged on for what seemed like hours. It was steel versus steel, neither adult nor child willing to back down and be defeated so easily by their sorely-underestimated opponent. Finally, one of the deciding blows was made. Using her magic, Mandy effortlessly swung her hammer directly into Cherry's face with enough force to send her careening quite a ways across the park. The only thing that stopped her impromptu flight backwards was a tree that she collided into, causing her to slump to the ground. It was quite a miracle, at least to Mandy, how the villainess's spine didn't seem to suffer any sort of injury from the incident -- but this was Odd Squad, where human anatomy played by a completely different set of rules that defied all conceived notions of biology. Ever so slowly, the hybrid made her way over to her fallen opponent, her footsteps ominous and looming. She spun her hammer in her hand as though it were a yo-yo, her teeth bared, blood splattered all over her body. One would easily mistake her as having just stepped out of a horror movie -- at least, that's how it appeared to Cherry. After a minute or two, she stopped in front of the woman that had defied her. "P-p-please..." the villainess begged, not getting another word out before a wave of violent coughing overtook her. "When you can't stand on your own two feet, that is when I will concede." Mandy pivoted her head and spit in the grass, the saliva tainted with blood -- whether it was her own blood or Cherry's, she didn't care. "Now you know what the punishment is for hurting my cousin. And if you don't have the brain of a rock from the 1900s, you will not try this stunt of stupidity again. Understand?" Cherry continued to cough. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" "Y-y-yes! Yes!" Mandy exhaled. "Then let's get this over with, shall we?" Tears spilled from the villainess's eyes as she watched her opponent do the worst. "No..." The word was nothing more but a mere whisper on her bloodied lips, her body seizing up with fear as she knew this entire battle was a one-way ticket to death. "Aww, don't cry, little servant of odd." For a brief second, a sympathetic look crossed Mandy's face, but it quickly faded away and was replaced with unbridled rage once more. "It makes the pain worse." A distant but loud bang pierced the sky, making the ponies jump up in surprise and start looking around for the source of the sound. "Did she just do what I think she just did?!" Applejack asked. "I think so!" Pinkie responded, her voice cracking, although no one called her out on it. Fluttershy took to the sky to get a birds-eye view of what was going on. And what she saw made her nearly drop out of the sky in shock. "Wait. She missed!" "You're right, Fluttershy." Rainbow descended from the sky, where she had also gotten an aerial view of the situation. "Did she do that on purpose?" "Knowing Mandy, most likely!" Rarity nodded. The hybrid wiped blood off of her face, again not caring whether it was hers or Cherry's. "You are very lucky I am granting you mercy, Cherry Moriarty." She gripped the handle of her hammer tight, holding it steady. The head of it was wedged all the way into her opponent's mouth to the point where she was fiercely choking and struggling to breathe. "But the next time you dare lay a finger on my cousin, or on anyone from Odd Squad, you have already signed your own death wish, and I will be your sole executioner. Do you understand?" Understandably, all the hybrid got in response to her threat was a series of choking noises, Cherry's face beginning to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. "ANSWER ME!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Cherry nodded, but that didn't help her current situation any -- on the contrary, it made it worse, as the pain in her jaws only got more intense. Finally, with a mighty yank, Mandy freed the head of her hammer from Cherry's mouth, pulling out a few teeth in the process. The scream of pain the woman gave in reaction to her pulled teeth didn't concern Mandy any, and she merely watched as the teeth landed in the grass. "M-my teef..." It was at this point that Cherry's tears of fear turned into tears of both fear and pain. Her mouth now looked akin to that of a smoker who had missing teeth from one too many cigarettes, and since she was an adult and not a child, those teeth were now gone permanently -- a rather fitting price to pay, Mandy thought, for what she had done. The hybrid's flames died down, and she returned to normal once again. "Get that checked out by your dentist. And don't put it on my tab." As a final victorious act of showmanship, she took her hammer in her hand, spun it around like a yo-yo, and threw it up into the air. From there, she grabbed its handle with ease and made a pose reminiscent of a magical girl about ready to kick some serious villain butt. "She's coming!" Rainbow Dash remarked, landing and sitting right next to her friends, all of them lined up neatly in a row like soldiers awaiting their next command. "Follow her orders and do what she says, y'all. She's our higher-up, after all." Sure enough, Mandy approached the group, her gaze holding no positive emotions within it but no negative emotions either. "Go back to HQ. I'm heading to Momma and Otto's precinct to check up on them. Agent Applejack, can you check up on Peaches for me, please?" The farmpony nodded. "Of course, sugarcube." "Thank you." "Let's go, darlings." Taking charge in the absence of Twilight, Rarity led her friends to the nearest tube entrance. "There's gotta be some magic left..." Mandy muttered to herself, allowing her horn to light up so she could teleport away, leaving Cherry to be someone else's problem -- Odd Squad villain she may be, but as far as the hybrid was concerned, she couldn't care less about her fate. Inside of their office, Otto was helping a wheelchair-bound Olive patch her wounds up. "Oww!" she cried, gripping the handles of the wheelchair as she winced at the pain. "S-sorry! I'm being as gentle as I can, but these bandages are already soaked with blood." Just as he was removing the last of the bandages, a bright flash emanated from behind him, and Mandy appeared. "Mandy!" Olive's voice was full of relief and delight, and she had to fight the urge to run up and hug her adoptive daughter. "What happened to you?" Otto asked, his voice full of concern as he eyed the hybrid and the blood she had still on her. "Long fight with Cherry Moriarty. Long story short, she won't be making any golden rings or hypnotizing anyone anytime soon." Reaching behind her back, she yanked out a clean washcloth, which she used to clean the blood off of her face. "How're your legs, Momma?" "It's the worst pain I've felt in a long time." Olive sighed. "Since the pienado attack, even." "I'm changing her dressings now." "Lemme help you!" As she grabbed the roll of gauze that sat on the coffee table beside Otto, she asked, "She was put in a wheelchair?" "Just for a few days, so I can be off my legs and let them heal." For a brief moment, Mandy wanted to ask how the duo got up to their office, but then she remembered they had elevators like her own precinct. She stretched the gauze out. "Otto, grab onto her hand." "Why?" "If it hurts, she can squeeze it." Nodding, Otto did as he was told, taking his hand in Olive's. She gave him a grateful smile, a silent "thank you" for letting it be an impromptu stress ball. A minute later, Mandy had taped the last of the gauze around Olive's legs, even going so far as to design it in bow shapes to give it a little touch of class. "Okay, she should be all set!" Otto gave an awkward smile, feeling pain of his own from Olive gripping his hand tight enough to break a bone -- which it would have, if she were doing it at her full strength. "Make sure you help her with whatever she needs, okay?" "Of course...ah, Olive, let go, she's done!" Like a blood pressure cuff, the Director slowly released her tight grip on Otto's hand, allowing him to break free of the hand-holding and make sure it was all right. "Are you gonna be okay?" she asked Mandy. "Yeah. I hate when villains get in the way of my afternoon nap...such a bother..." The hybrid sighed. "And the adrenaline's wearing off too." "Why don't you head back to Headquarters?" Otto suggested. "Was just gonna do that." Mandy said. "Rest up, okay, Momma?" "You got it, Dr. Mandy." A tired chuckle left Mandy's mouth before she left through the Directors' personal tube entrance. The sound of her tube delivering an arrival made Oprah perk up and shift her attention from the work. "Oh! Welcome back, Agent Mandy." she greeted the arrival. "Thank you." Mandy sighed. "You will be happy to know that I've defeated Cherry Moriarty, the villainess behind Peaches's going feral. I, uh...m-may have gone overboard..." She scratched the back of her neck. "But she won't be hypnotizing anyone else anytime soon." "And is Peaches un-hypnotized?" "Yep! She's asleep in her room right now as per Dr. O's orders." "All right." Oprah nodded. "Hopefully she makes a full recovery soon." "The ring Cherry put around her waist has also been destroyed. I made sure of it." Mandy said. "Would it be possible to have Security agents pinpoint if she's made a new lair?" "From what I've heard from other agents, she has no lair. Not since I sent Security to destroy it." Mandy blinked. She almost wanted to bust out laughing. No lair?! Then how did she expect to build a fashion empire?! Even Rarity had the wits to build a boutique to operate out of! She managed to keep her mockery inside her head, however. "Oh, yeah, um...Olive was hurt by Peaches. She got attacked and got huge bloody gashes in her legs. The Dr. O here told her to stay off of her legs for a couple days." Oprah's eyes widened. Such an event happened...and she hadn't heard it. Regret washed over her as she thought how she could have saved Olive from Peaches had she been there. She made a mental note to check up on her fellow Director later. "I will admit, it's quite terrifying to think of Cherry being capable of doing that. Or, well...not directly, but...y-you get it, I'm sure." She waved a hand. "If you want the full report, I can have it in by 5." "No need. Take the rest of the day off, Mandy." "From what I've been hearing, you've been through a lot. And you look like you're gonna fall asleep standing up, which, let's be honest...your loud snores aren't conducive to my work." Like a trigger that was just pushed, Mandy yawned. "Y' just had to say it, didn't ya?" "Go ahead. You can file the report tomorrow." "Thanks!" Another yawn left Mandy's body as she turned and walked out of the Director's office. After a few seconds passed, Oprah's eyes widened in realization. She leaped out of her chair. "And make sure you clean yourself free of the blood! That's hard to get out of an Odd Squad suit, you know!" "Uh-huh, got it!" On her way to the Bedroom after a well-deserved shower, Mandy peered into Peaches's room, only to find the catgirl snoring away. "Yeah, she's not gonna wake up for a while." she said, closing the door just as quickly as she had opened it. Letting out another yawn, she entered the Bedroom and quickly got changed into some comfy pajamas, then leaped into bed as though returning its welcoming hug. "And neither...will I..." As soon as her head hit the pillow, she began to snore, her first words of sleep-talk being "G'night, Peach" before it devolved into her usual random gibberish.
S1E5: Agent Pinkie Pie, Odd Squad Party Planner"Everything but the bagel?" The sly, high-pitched remark was a direct hit towards Peaches, who blushed red with embarrassment and looked about ready to chop her cousin's head off. Eventually she conceded, letting out the air she was holding in and bowing her head down. "Everything but the bagel..." "Peeeeeeeach..." Mandy rolled her eyes. "How are ya gonna help us out if you can't even catch a bagel with legs?" "Hey, it had teeth too! It tried to bite me!" Mandy merely scoffed. "Yeah, okay, sure. Shouldn't you be-" A loud slam and the sound of rustling papers snapped both girls' attention over to the source: Pinkie Pie, looking completely ragged and with a large stack of papers on her back. Her legs wobbled a little under the weight, which didn't go well with her unkempt mane and tail and the bags under her eyes. Peaches gave a loud yowl at the sudden noise, her tail completely bushed up. "What the..." Mandy, utterly confused, levitated the papers off of Pinkie's back on near-instinct. "Pinkie? Are you okay?" The ultra-happy party pony gave a tired sigh. "I'm fine!" "You sure? Ya look exhausted!" "Nah, don't worry about me, partner! Thanks for helping me with the papers! You can take 'em down the File Room." Mandy set the papers down on her desk -- a bad idea, but one she didn't pay much mind to. "Uh...o-okay! No prob! Uh...have fun, I guess?" "Thanks!" With her relieved of her load, Pinkie trotted like she was walking on air, humming a tune as she went down the left hallway. "That was...weird." Peaches tilted her head. "Tell me about it!" The steel double-doors opened, and in walked Rarity and Fluttershy. While Fluttershy didn't show any signs of emoting outside of her usual expression, Rarity had a smile on her face that, to Mandy, at least, almost looked relieved. "Hiya, Rare!" Mandy gave a friendly wave, her warm cat smile forming on her face. Instead of giving a "hello, darling" back or even striking up a conversation, however, Rarity's expression turned rigid, and she gave her a look that was a mix of pity, upset, and regret. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, shot Mandy a similar expression, but more on the pity and regret side. The hybrid felt a chill run up her spine. Her hair and tail stuck straight up. "What? What's wrong? Why are you so scared?" Peaches asked, not understanding the look that both mares had given her cousin. "I-I...Rarity's...and Fluttershy's...they..." Mandy swiveled back around in her chair, facing her computer screen and clicking rapidly on the computer mouse. "I don't wanna talk about it..." Peaches, while not convinced, didn't say anything further. A couple hours later, Mandy, having set Rarity's and Fluttershy's weird looks to the side, was called to Olive and Otto's precinct for help interrogating a rather nasty villain. Her name was Underwater Ulanda, a master of the deep seas who was known for stealing valuable items and putting them at the bottom of various bodies of water. How she survived the crushing pressure was anyone's guess -- all she wore was a typical blue scuba-diver suit, complete with red-and-white life jacket and blue snorkel set. But she was caught by Odd Squad and was about to bear witness to one of the worst punishments she had ever been given. "You will tell them what they want to know." "Never!" Flames encapsulated Mandy's body once more, causing the flanking Olive and Otto to back up. Not that the flames could hurt them, of course, but they certainly didn't expect Mandy to go full "flame mode" that quickly. "You will tell them what they want to know." "Hah! Like your flames scare me?" Ulanda scoffed. "I'm Underwater Ulanda! I can douse those flames in a snap!" "Aww, and what're you gonna do, drag me to the bottom of the ocean?" The hybrid slowly but surely pulled out her hammer from her hammerspace spine, twirling it like a yo-yo a couple times. Ulanda's face immediately fell. "A-a hammer?!" "What'd ya think it was?" Mandy then slammed her hands on the table, causing Olive and Otto to give a unisonant yelp of surprise. "NOW TELL THEM WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW!!" "Or else what?" Ulanda fired back, trying to keep the quaver in her voice steady. Mandy levitated the hammer and placed the head of it against Ulanda's chest. "Or let's just say...there will be a skeleton at the bottom of the ocean. And it will not be mine." Between the flames, the threat of Mandy bashing her brains in, and talk among villains of Mandy having actually bashed brains in before, Ulanda didn't want to take a chance. Her gaze flicked to Olive and Otto, still surprised by Mandy's sudden outburst but giving the villainess stern expressions nonetheless. A guttural growl from Mandy did her in. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you! I-it's hidden on the bottom of the town's outdoor pool!" "Which one?" "A-Alex Duff!" Mandy blinked twice, her face contorting into one of disgust as though remembering a horrific incident at the pool. But she shook her head and cleared the thought. "Thank you. Momma, Otto, is she free to go?" "Yes." "Definitely." Ulanda gave a growl of defeat and slunk further into her chair. "And hopefully, you've learned your lesson!" Just as Mandy was about to continue her scolding, her badge phone rang, and she got up and left the interrogation room to take it. "'Scuse me, gotta take this!" She opened up the phone and pressed the green button. "Mandy speakin', how can I help ya?!" "Umm, Mandy, darling? It's Rarity. Um...you wouldn't happen to be available now, would you?" The hybrid's face brightened. Rarity? Great, I can ask her about that nasty look she gave me earlier! "Well, I'm at Momma and Otto's HQ. Just finished up an interrogation! I'll be right over!" "That's...lovely, darling..." Rarity said on the other end of the line, her voice sounding tired. "Is something wrong?" "Oh! Nonononono, nothing's wrong! I-I just happened to, er, stay up all night last night sewing a sort of, mm, new Odd Squad Investigation suit for O'Que and I want you to be the first to try it!" Ditz she may be, but that didn't mean Mandy couldn't be suspicious of Rarity stumbling over her words. "Uh-huh." she said. In response, the unicorn mare only gave a bout of nervous laughter. "All right, look, I'll be there shortly." With that, Mandy snapped the phone shut and clipped it back onto her suit. "What's going on with Agent Rarity?" "Beats me, Otto." Mandy sighed as she stepped back inside and tucked her hammer away in her hammerspace spine. "She gave me a really chilling look this morning when she arrived back at my HQ with Fluttershy. Like...it's the kind of look she gives when she sees you and knows you've committed a fashion crime! A-and Pinkie came in with a huge stack of papers on her back..." Ulanda bit her tongue, suppressing the urge to snap at her interrogators and tell them to take their personal conversation elsewhere. Olive, meanwhile, ran her hand through her hair, looking rather distressed. "Momma? What's wrong?" "Hmm?" "You seemed kind of, uh...lost in thought." Mandy gasped. "M-my interrogation techniques didn't scare you, did they?!" She groaned. "Honestly, I'm sorry, I just get so caught up in the moment and-" "No! It's not that." Olive shook her head. "I-I'm fine, Mandy, honestly." Mandy blinked twice, but unlike with Rarity's front, she believed Olive in only a few heartbeats. "Okie-dokie! I'll head back to HQ now. Have fun, and feel free to call me back if ya want another villain in the hot seat!" With her usual laugh-and-snort, she was quite literally gone in a flash. She quickly arrived at the doorstep of Rarity's personal boutique in Precinct 13579, giving three knocks at the door. Muffled crashing and banging sounds ensued, and then a muffled "Come in!" from the fashion designer. Slightly growing more suspicious, Mandy opened the door and peered in. "Rarity?" "Oh! Hello, darling! I-I didn't expect you s-so early!" Rarity replied, nervous sweat beads forming on her otherwise-flawless face as she gave the hybrid a grin she thought was convincing. Unfortunately, her prospective model didn't see it that way. "I said I'd be here shortly." she said, a suspicious tone to her voice as she tilted her head. "D-did you?" Rarity launched into another bout of nervous laughter. Mandy squinted. "Yes. I did." "O-oh! Yes, um, if you want to take a seat right over there, I-I'll be right back." Rarity gestured to where a cyan-colored three-seater couch sat. Mandy blinked, knowing that cyan as a color didn't exactly mesh well with the dim colors of her friend's boutique -- although not a fashion designer herself (at least not full-time), she knew that much. Why does she even have that couch? she thought. Maybe she had an off day and went to some junkyard? Or maybe this is part of the ruse... She opened her mouth to ask Rarity about the furniture item, but the mare was already speed-trotting away towards the back rooms, leaving her to simply sigh and flop down on the couch. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it felt like she was sitting on a slab of rock -- hard, uncomfortable, and something that one would reasonably find at a junkyard. But the hybrid would cope with it. She had bigger issues at hand. At least a half-hour had passed. At least. Mandy didn't know exactly how long it had been. Mainly because she had waited for so long that she had taken to falling asleep, her head resting against the bottom of the arm of the couch while her right arm and right leg were slung over its front. Her usual loud snores and loud sleep-talk echoed through the boutique, which would usually alarm Rarity and then leave her in a state of embarrassment that she had left her model waiting for so long. However, she had a good reason for leaving the hybrid waiting. Deep in the back of the boutique, the elegant unicorn mare was in talks with her shy Pegasus friend, letting her know of Mandy's suspicions and discussing a future course of action. "Fluttershy, I don't know what to do, we can't just tell her!" "Mandy has always been one to, um...overreact to news..." Fluttershy's eyes widened as she recalled her version of three separate events to back up her claim. Typical day at Odd Squad. Nothing out of the norm. Just a big group of friends having a rainy-day picnic inside the Sunny-Day Picnic Room. Chatter and laughter was abound. The air was lively and festive. Mandy in particular was right in the middle of sipping her apple juice when the craziest news she had ever heard in her entire life hit her like a square punch to the face. "I'm having babies!" A not-so-discreet disposal of the contents of her mouth, directly in Fluttershy's face. The chatter and laughter died down in an instant, like someone had invoked the "record scratch in response to a murder" cliche. Apple juice dripped down Fluttershy's face, partially soaking her mane and leaving her in a state of surprise. Half of the party's guests looked at the pink equine bearer of the news, standing in the doorway with just about the biggest grin one had ever seen on her. The other half stared at Mandy as she lowered her head, folded her ears down, and blushed in shame. With her wings bandaged, Mandy struggled to hang a decorative piece of ribbon in Oprah's office. Her toes were the only thing gripping the ladder -- that, and Otto holding it as firm as he could as he watched his co-worker attempt to hang the piece. Enter Rainbow Dash, making her usual showy entrance with a grin splitting her face. "I just got into the Wonderbolts reserves!" That was the trigger for gravity to take over. Mandy lost her grip, sending her body careening over the top cap and plummeting face-first downwards. She couldn't help but scream, knowing she couldn't do a thing to stop herself. The sound that occurred when her face slammed into the desk was indescribable, but one thing both Otto and Dash knew for sure was that it was painful. As in "share the pain and wince accordingly" painful. The hybrid's body, in its usual cartoonish way, stuck straight up for a few seconds before it flopped to the floor as limp as a ragdoll, her face staying right where it was. She stayed like that for well over 10 seconds. "Are you okay?" Rainbow finally broke the silence. "I fink I broke a few teef...my nofe...and my fin." Her teeth, her nose, and her chin, Otto and Rainbow deduced. Neither one of them went to get Dr. O, instead doing internal cringes at the sight of such an uncomfortable and embarrassing landing position and the wonder of the pain the hybrid must be in. And of course, to add more insult to injury... "Hey, are you two done ye-" Oprah stopped dead in her tracks, blinked, and tried to survey the situation. "Never send a broken-winged hybrid to do a winged hybrid's work, huh?" All Mandy could do was let out a long, painful, and suffering groan. The final incident Fluttershy remembered happened in the thralls of summer just this year. Being hit with slow workflow left Mandy plenty of time to work on gadgets that neither Olive nor Otto had the heart nor the patience to bring to Odie and pay the low, low price of hearing him talk incessantly about whatever topic he had on his mind. Repairing a gadget, of course, was exactly what she was doing, taking a welding gun to one that she had been given. The steel doors opened, and in rushed Olive, basketball in one hand and paper in the other. A big smile sat on her face, perhaps one of the biggest she had ever given. "Mandy, Mandy!" she called, rushing over to the hybrid. "Guess who just got into basketball camp?!" Instead of responding, however, the sparks from the welding gun she held grew more intense, in both sound and appearance. Her grip on the tool appeared tighter than usual. "...Mandy? S-slow down, don't-" The gun was turned off. A few moments of silence. And then the gadget erupted into flames. Through the shocked gasps and screams, Olive immediately sprung into action, reaching behind her back and pulling out a Fire-Extinguish-inator that looked like a regular fire extinguisher, but was more white-and-blue in appearance and not red. With a bright flash, the fire was dissipated, only a billow of smoke left in its wake. "Mandy, what were you thinking?! This is why adults always say kids should never play with matches and lighters. It's the one piece of advice they've given that's actually helpful." All Mandy could do was let her whole body shake in response. A removal of her helmet showed that she was crying, her eyes bloodshot as she gazed at Olive. "What's wrong?" "DON'T GO-O-OOOOO!" Mandy cried, flinging herself at Olive and clutching her like her life depended on it. She began to cry even harder now, her usual waterfalls of tears staining the floor as she let out a pitiful, heartbroken wail that shifted agents' attention from the remains of the fire to her. "It's only for the summer! L-look, I love Odd Squad, but I need time off for myself too, you know?!" This statement only served to make the wail increase in volume. The steel doors opened again. "Hey, partner, did you get that gadge-" "What is that awful sound?!" A pause. "Oh, jeez...Mandy?" Oprah slid down the slide that adorned the second set of stairs leading down from the second floor, shaking her head as she observed the situation. The second her shoes hit the floor, Mandy broke away from Olive and clutched onto her instead. "Oprah, i-i-it's awful! Horrible! I-I don't...I-" "What's-" "Momma's leaving Odd Squad for basketball caaaaaaamp!" came another pitiful wail, as the Director's chest was the next closest thing that Mandy could cry and scream into. "You? Leaving Odd Squad?" Olive sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm going to a basketball camp for the summer. I'm not staying at the campsite, but this one seems to think I'm dropping my livelihood for it." An even louder and more pitiful wail sounded. "I've got this." Oprah held a hand up, and then pulled Mandy closer to her before rubbing her back. "It's okay, Mandy. Olive's not leaving Odd Squad. She's going to basketball camp. That just means she'll be leaving for part of the day, and then coming back. It's only for the summer..." Olive and Otto could only watch as Oprah put on the sickeningly-sweet facade that only her opposite in the mirror could pull off well, soothing Mandy with words of relief and assurance. As they watched, they noticed Mandy go from trying to flood the bullpen, to sniffles and a runny nose, to eyes slowly drooping as she struggled to stay awake. "You poor thing...you haven't had your afternoon nap, have you?" Oprah tilted her head. "Go to sleep. I'll take you to bed. And if you want, I'll get the address of Olive's basketball camp so you can go and see her, okay?" The position Oprah took when attempting to pick up Mandy was spine-breaking. Her legs wobbled as she leaned back in an arch, and it took her a couple minutes to pivot herself towards the Bedroom (or what she thought was the Bedroom, anyway) and begin making her way there, Mandy beginning to loudly snore as she gave up the fight. When the Director came back, she was still in the same position. "Well, I've done it. Mandy's asleep. Hopefully when she wakes up...nngh...she'll come to her senseeeeeeees..." Whatever air she had in her lungs wheezed out of her on the very last word. "You need help?" "No, I need two horses and a golden winged chariot." Oprah attempted to snap, although the delivery fell flat since her voice sounded like she was having an asthma attack. This was Otto's cue to help Oprah straighten up, wincing when he heard a loud popping sound. The Director took a few gulps of air. "Thank you. I needed that." "I didn't know your back got all crooked like that. Isn't that for the elde-" "Shut it, Olive." Oprah glared. "It's your turn to give thanks." "Thank you." Olive sighed. "That's the last time I interrupt Mandy when she's in the middle of work." Her gaze drifted over to the gadget that had been set on fire, now partially melted. "I'll have to take that to Oona, I guess." The trio gave heavy sighs over what had transpired, all thinking the same thing: Golden rule of telling Mandy news: make sure her hands are empty, she has free time, and she's in just the right mood. "Yes. That is why I'm so concerned!" Rarity said. "If she finds out what Pinkie Pie is doing and where she is now, who knows how she'll react?!" Fluttershy decided to divert the subject just a tad. "We promised to help Pinkie, Rarity." "Ohh...I do know that we can't go against his orders, but...it feels so wrong to keep this a secret from Mandy! The two are partners, for Celestia's sake!" The snoring suddenly stopped, and the two mares could hear a few snorts. "Vanquizzh the bizzcuitzz and file the landzz!" A pause, and then the snoring continued. Both Rarity and Fluttershy let out sighs of relief. "Oh thanks Celestia, it's just her sleep-talking again." Fluttershy tapped a hoof to her chin. "Ms. O may know something. Didn't he tell her?" "Why of course he told her, darling. She's an Odd Squad Director. She was at the meeting, remember?" Fluttershy nodded. "Perhaps we should see her advice? She is Mandy's higher-up." "Hmm..." Rarity took a few moments to think. "That's not a bad idea. Let's go to her office!" The two mares began to head for the front room, and subsequently, for the door leading to the hallway. "Wait!" Fluttershy called. "What'll we do about Mandy?" The hybrid hadn't shifted position for the entire conversation, loudly snoring away with a trail of drool falling from her mouth and puddling onto the cushion in front of her face. Rarity couldn't help but instinctively cringe in disgust, before realizing that the couch was one she was planning to give away soon, anyhow. "Oh, she'll be sleeping for quite a while, don't worry. You know how she loves to sleep." the unicorn mare said, confidence bolstering her voice as she walked out of her boutique with Fluttershy in suit. "So. Mandy's catching on, hmm?" "I'm afraid so, darling." "I don't know if the Big O will appreciate you two helping Pinkie. He did say that anyone who helps her will only slow her down, and they may face consequences, too." "But we're her friends!" Fluttershy protested. "It's only right that we help her out." "Very true..." "Erm, Ms. O, I must ask...has there really been an increase in party-related cases in Toronto?" "No. That's what confuses me." Oprah responded to Rarity's inquiry. "As you two probably know, we do have cases involving birthday parties, which I send Pinkie and Mandy on, if possible...but they are few and far between." She sighed. "Still, I can't go against the Big O's word whatsoever. It's viewed as immoral. If he says that there has been an influx of party-related cases in Toronto, then we have to take his word for it." Fluttershy looked particularly hurt by this reminder, folding her ears down and shifting her gaze towards the floor. "Still, my-" Rarity cleared her throat. "Our concern is with Mandy." "We all know that Mandy is very unpredictable. It's hard to tell how she'll take the news. She could be enraged and snap at the Big O, or worse..." Oprah shuddered. "Or she could simply be fine with it and decide for herself whether to go against the Big O's word or not." "I think she might be more upset that we've been lying to her...so the former seems very likely." Rarity said, although she knew her predictions meant nothing. "Tell you what. Why don't I have a talk with Olive and Otto? We can discuss how to handle the news and handle her." "Olive and Otto?" Fluttershy tilted her head, then her eyes widened in realization. "Ohh. Your usual methods don't work on her." "Unfortunately not. But they know how to handle her better than anyone else here. If anyone can stop her from going out of control, it's them." "That sounds like a wonderful plan, darling!" Rarity smiled. "Where is she now?" "She's asleep in my boutique." Now it was Oprah's turn to smile. Her smile, however, held more confidence and assurance within it than Rarity's. "Good. Feel free to return to your regular duties for now." "Thank you." Fluttershy nodded. She and Rarity hopped off of the chairs they were sitting on, heading out of the office. However, she couldn't stop thinking of Mandy, and her heart became wrapped in anxiety as she briefly contemplated telling Mandy the news, for the sake of their friendship and for the sake of her emotions. However, the weight of the Big O's words pushed on her mind, and she decided that she didn't want to run the risk of being fired from Odd Squad. Both mares entered the boutique once more, finding Mandy still fast asleep on the couch. That is, until she stopped snoring suddenly and her eyes began to open. A yawn and an "mmm" escaped her, and Rarity and Fluttershy took the chance to scuttle to the back as fast as their hooves would carry them. "Rarity...? Zz'that you?" Mandy sleepily groaned. "How long did I zzleep for...?" It was only a few seconds before her brain snapped back to reality and she realized what she had come there for. She gasped. "The suit! Rarity!" No answer. "Rarity?" Still no answer. "Agent Rarityyyyy?" Mandy called, in singsong this time. "Hmm? O-oh! Yes, darling, so sorry, I was lost in thought." Rarity made her way to the front room. "What can I help you with?" "The suit?" "The suit?" "That you made for O'Que? That you wanted me to model?" "Oh!" Rarity nodded. "Yesyesyes, just putting on some...final adjustments! One second, darling." She gave a nervous smile and zipped to the back. Crashing and banging noises ensued, causing Mandy to give a long, irritated sigh before magically conjuring up a Shmumber Geographic magazine and flipping through it. "Thank you two so much for coming over." "Oh, it's no problem! Our assistants usually have everything covered." Olive waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, our precinct is mostly self-sufficient." Otto added. "What's going on?" Oprah sighed. "I really didn't want to tell Mandy the news, but she's starting to get suspicious." "Of the Big O and his announcement?" "No!" Oprah blinked. "Well, actually, yes. But it's moreso about Agent Rarity. She's been lying to Mandy about making and modeling a suit for her to try on in order to cover up the fact that she's been helping Agent Pinkie Pie with her duties. The Big O did mention that anyone who helps Pinkie would only slow her down and possibly receive personal consequences handed to them by him." Both Olive and Otto exchanged concerned looks with each other. Oprah sighed before continuing. "As you know, we Odd Squad Directors have a moral code to uphold, and that means following the Big O's rulings no matter what. He knows what's best for the organization, after all." Olive didn't make eye contact with Oprah after that, instead staring at the back wall that sat ahead of her. After what seemed like months of waiting, she got up. "Um...pardon me, Oprah. I'm just going to...run and use the bathroom real quick. If that's okay." "Oh, no problem." As soon as Olive exited the office, she booked it downstairs and ran towards her destination. I have to find- A collision with another human being stopped her thoughts in their tracks, and her eyes laid upon Mandy, who was rubbing her head in pain. "Mandy!" "Momma!" Mandy's eyes sparkled. "Oh thank the jackalopes, ya hafta help me!" "Whooooaaa!" Without warning, the hybrid grabbed ahold of her adoptive mother's arm and began soaring down the hall with her in tow. Olive struggled to keep up, her feet trying to find some semblance of grip on the floor so she could walk normally. "I've just about had it with Rarity's stalling! Maybe you can help her finish her stupid suit!" Mandy ranted. "I've been waiting for hours! I don't even wait in line this long at the supermarket!" As the pair reached the boutique, Mandy opened it, much to Olive's horror. "Mandy, wait-" "Rarity! Show yourself and your creation!" Mandy extended a finger towards the back area. "Your time is up! I'm done waiting!" Fluttershy's eyes were reduced to pinpricks. All she could do was stare at Rarity, her jaw completely dropped. "Oh dear." was all the unicorn mare could say, her ears folding down and her body going rigid. She could hear a frantic cry of "Mandy, wait!!" from Olive, but she knew that the Director's attempts were completely futile and braced for the worst. "Here, have a seat. We need to talk." "But Rarity-" "Now." Immediately, Mandy marched over to the couch and took a seat. "You mentioned that Pinkie had a stack of papers on her back, right?" "Yes, I did!" Mandy nodded. "The stack was ginormous! A-And Fluttershy and Rarity gave me the dirtiest looks, I-" Before she could say anything further, she was silenced by Olive putting a finger to her lips as she sighed. "Mandy...we've been hiding something we shouldn't have from you, and I'm sorry." The hybrid blinked. "You- y- what?" Rarity shamefully stayed in the back room, her cheeks a bright rosy red as she peeked at the duo on the couch. "I...I lied. I never did have a dress ready for you, darling. I was hiding something bigger." "What 'something'?" "Well..." Rarity bit her lip, not wanting to say it. She looked at Olive with nothing but worry in her eyes, hoping the girl would have more confidence than her. Olive gripped her pants tightly and squeezed her eyes shut as she took a breath. "Pinkie...she was promoted by the Big O!" Mandy was rendered in a state of shock. Her eyes scanned Olive up and down, up and down, over and over again. She blinked twice. The news didn't seem to click with her at first. Until it did. And both Rarity and Olive braced themselves for impact. "She WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" The scream could be heard all the way into the hallways and out to the bullpen, where numerous agents took notice. "She was named the official Odd Squad party planner because the Big O has seen a surge of party-related cases!" Olive blurted out further, before she sighed and attempted to recollect her bearings. "Only us Directors were aware of it, but given how Pinkie is Rarity's and Fluttershy's friend, it was only a matter of time before they found out too." "You were asleep when the Big O came here for a meeting and made the announcement, darling." Rarity explained. "Of course, we couldn't wake you, so we figured he would pass you by. I suppose not, if his forbiddance of anyone helping Pinkie Pie is any indication..." Mandy ran a head through her hair. "W-why didn't anyone tell me this before?! Pinkie Pie is my partner! I think I have a right to know if she was promoted, even if I was asleep when it happened!" "It's because you've never been able to take news well." Olive said. "We didn't want you to go after the Big O or anything, and-" "Take news well?" Rage flashed in Mandy's eyes. "You think I've never been able to take news well?! I've taken news plenty well! Are you insane?!" Typical day at Odd Squad. Nothing out of the norm. Just a big group of friends having a rainy-day picnic inside the Sunny-Day Picnic Room. Chatter and laughter was abound. The air was lively and festive. Mandy in particular was right in the middle of sipping her apple juice when the craziest news she had ever heard in her entire life hit her like a square punch to the face. "I'm having babies!" Mandy stopped drinking, swallowed what was in her mouth, and gasped. "Wowee, babies?" She got up and broke away from the hustle and bustle as she bounced her way over to the pink news delivery pony. "Congratulations, partner! Is it a boy or a girl?" "They're both twins! A boy and a girl!" Pinkie responded. "Ooh, Mr. and Mrs. Cake are gonna be soooo happy with their new foals!" The smile immediately faded from Mandy's face as she did a double-take. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her two fingers. "What?" Mandy sighed. "Phrasing, Pinkie." "Huh?" The hybrid chuckled. "You made it sound like you were having babies, not the Cakes you're working for." Finally, it all came together for the pink pony. Her eyes widened in realization. "Whoops! Hehe...sorry!" "But hey, give them my congrats!" "I will!" Pinkie slipped past Mandy in order to share the news with other partygoers, making sure she specified that she wasn't the one who was going to be a new mother. To Mandy's relief, they were all very receptive of the news and gave their extended congrats accordingly. A rattle of the ladder Mandy was standing on made her perk up in alarm. "Otto, stop shaking the ladder, wouldja?" "Shorry!" he said, through a mouthful of sandwich. Mandy was about half-tempted to tell him to put down his culinary delight -- or at the very least, use her prehensile tongue to snatch it out of his hands -- but bit back her tongue. She needed to get this star decoration hung up, after all, and without the ability to use her wings, plus its anti-magic properties preventing her from levitating it at close range, she needed all the focus and luck she could get. Before she could channel her focus and luck, however, Rainbow Dash hovered her way into Oprah's office. "I just got into the Wonderbolts reserves!" "Wah!" Mandy held on for dear life as the ladder rocked back and forth, Otto attempting to stabilize it. She let out a nervous laugh. "D-Dashie, that's wonderful! But, uh, we're kinda...busy right now." "Oh." Dash blinked upon surveying the situation. "My bad! You guys need help?" "Please. With these wings bandaged up and someone not being able to hold a ladder firmly..." "I'm trying!" "...I could use some help!" Dash nodded and made her way over to the top of the ladder. She effortlessly grabbed the decoration and began putting it up. "So, the Wonderbolts reserves, huh?" Mandy asked. "Yeah! It's the next step after the Wonderbolts Academy!" Dash gave a wistful sigh. "One step closer to me becoming the best Wonderbolt Equestria's ever seen!" "Good for you! I'm sure you'll do great!" Mandy giggled. "Y'know, you really hafta convince them to do a show here sometime. Mayor Mackelmore would love it!" "Sure! Spitfire might be able to arrange something." "Yay!" Once the decoration was applied, Dash and Otto helped Mandy get off of the ladder. "All set. Looks kinda nice up there." "Yeah. If only she didn't get a decoration that blocks magic..." "Huh?" "Nothing, nothing!" Mandy gave a bout of unconvincing laughter. "Thanks soooooo much, Dashie!" "Aww, no prob! Anything for a couple friends!" Mandy took the opportunity to snatch the rest of Otto's sandwich with her tongue and pull it into her mouth. "Hey! I wasn't done eating that!" "That'sh for not holding the ladder shteady! When I feel like climbing a ladder and have magical shafety meashuresh, then you can eat all the food you want and not hold it." Otto simply rolled his eyes in response. The bullpen was full of agents running around with odd problems and getting work done. This, of course, included Mandy, who was hard at work on fixing a spherical gadget, using a welding gun to mesh two parts together. She was so focused on her work, in fact, that she barely heard Olive enter the bullpen, clad in the basketball gear of the local Burly Bears multi-sport team and with a basketball and a paper in her hands. "Mandy, Mandy! Hey, guess who just got into basketball camp?!" The welding stopped, and Mandy lifted up her helmet, turning off the gun and setting it down before blinking at Olive in confusion. "Oh, hi, Momma! What're you doin' here?" "I...I just got into basketball camp, Mandy." The hybrid gasped. "Really?!" She flew out of her chair and enveloped Olive in a tight hug. "That's amazing! Now you can really show Coach Roberts your schtuff!" "Yeah..." Olive coughed. "B-but..." Another cough. "Not so hard?" Mandy set Olive down and let out one of her usual giggle-and-snort laughs. "How long is it gonna be?" "The entire summer. I'm lucky it's during the afternoon hours. Things can get pretty crazy at my precinct in the daytime, and I don't think the Big O will let me take a vacation from Odd Squad for an entire season." "D'aww, I'm sure Otto can run it on his own!" "Yeah, he can, but he tends to, uh...go a little bit crazy...with the food-related stuff, at least." "Well, I can keep him in line for ya, if ya want!" "Would you?" "You would!" Mandy paused for a moment. "Er..." She shook her head vigorously. "I would!" "Oh, thank you, Mandy." Olive smiled. "You don't know how much going to this basketball camp means to me, even if work does kind of mess with the schedule..." "Don't mention it!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "Go and be the bestest basketball player ever!" With that matter resolved, the hybrid could resume her work. She sat down and finished what she was doing with the welding gun, completing the repairs on the gadget in only a minute. "And voila, your gadget!" Mandy levitated the finished product. "Be careful, though, it's, uh, kinda hot near the middle." "Oh, thanks!" "No prob!" As Olive left Headquarters, Mandy sent her off with a wave before beginning to hum a tune as she got to work on her next gadget that needed repairs. "You're an idiot if you think I can't handle news well. You've seen me before, I'm perfectly fine!" "Okay, okay, y-you've made your point!" Olive was seated as far away from Mandy as she could, throwing her hands up in defense. "RARITY! GET YOUR FLANK IN HERE, NOW!!" The unicorn suddenly found herself being lifted in a magical aura that certainly didn't look like her own, or like Twilight's. Her heart began beating ever faster now, dreading what hell the hybrid was going to rain down upon her as she was dragged to the front. "What is it with those looks you and Fluttershy gave to me? How dare you unnerve me like that?! I thought something was wrong with me and yet here you are-" Mandy took a moment to pause, letting Rarity's hindquarters go in the process. It was only just a moment, and the second she stopped shaking her head, she resumed. "N-never mind about that, you're gonna tell me exactly what is going on with Pinkie and what in the name of odd is happening! NOW!!" "W-well, I, well..." Rarity, quickly turning around, attempted to find a reasonable explanation. She knew Mandy was far from dumb, and wouldn't accept a lie handed to her on a platter -- another lie on top of an entire hamburger of lies. And so, she forced herself to tell the truth. "Pinkie has been feeling rather stressed about her new duties, and-" "Hold on, Rarity." Olive said. "Let me start from the beginning. I'll recount every detail, here and now. The entire truth." Rarity nodded, and allowed the Director to speak. "So the Big O decided to visit our precinct and hold a meeting..." Everyone in the precinct, lined up in two perfectly equal rows, got down on one knee and held a fist gently to their foreheads, the ponies making do as best as they could with their legs and hooves. Most any Odd Squad agent knew exactly what the pose meant, and to most any Odd Squad agent, it was a time to hone their actions and make sure everything they did was meticulously perfect. The Big O was arriving. A boy of about eleven, he stood tall and proud, wearing a white button-up jacket embellished with two silver epaulets and silver accents and white pants with raised white lines running down the front of each leg. His white shoes, streaked with blood-red lines just above the soles, completed the powerful uniform he wore. "Please rise." he called. The agents stood up accordingly and turned their attention towards him and the two assistants he had flanking both sides of him. "Recently, I have been alerted to a rise of cases in Canada relating to the topic of planning parties. It seems not many agents of Canadian precincts know a lot about such a topic...but there is one." His gaze bore down on Pinkie. "Agent Pinkie Pie, beside me." Pinkie glanced at her friends, who gave her nods and urged her to go ahead. She swallowed her nervousness and took tentative hoofsteps towards the Big O until he and her were standing side by side. "Agent 94, also known as Agent 'Pinkamena Diane Pie', or Agent Pinkie Pie for short..." He glanced down at her. "I am hereby promoting you to the position of Odd Squad's official Party Planner Agent." Pinkie's eyes widened. She could barely register the claps and hoofstomps other agents were giving her. "You are to travel across the entire country of Canada, solving party-related cases when and where they arise. You will work directly under me, reporting to me daily and receiving missions and assignments as necessary." the Big O explained. "From here on in, you will no longer be an Investigation agent at Precinct 13579, and you will no longer be working under Oprah. From here on in...you will be working for the head of the entirety of Odd Squad." Even louder applause erupted from the agents. Pinkie's reaction didn't change, and she barely noticed the smile the Big O had which, if one looked close, did not appear to be genuine. "Would you like to say a few words?" "Huh? O-oh!" The question snapped Pinkie out of her shock. "Um, yes! Uh, t-thank you, Mr. Big O, sir! It's an honor, really!" She smiled. "I hope to help Canada with all of its party cases! Just leave it to ol' Agent Pinkie Pie! I'll work as hard as I can and make Odd Squad proud!" "And me." "And you, Mr. Big O, of course!" "Just 'Big O' is fine." he corrected, before turning his attention back to the crowd. "This promotion will go into effect immediately. I would also like to advise that this position is strictly solo. Absolutely no help from anyone..." His gaze swept through the agents, as though he was looking for someone, then his expression soured. "...will be permitted. Helping Pinkie with her new job may result in personal punishment from me." He bowed. "Thank you." As he turned and walked out the doors, his two assistants also bowed before following him without a single word spoken. "Well, you heard him, Pinkie Pie. You start tomorrow." Oprah patted her on the back. "Good luck." "Uh...t-thanks!" Pinkie grinned, although she knew it was a fake smile. She just couldn't bring herself to give a real one -- not after what the Big O said. "Come on up to my office." Oprah began making her way up the second floor as the crowd dispersed. "I have some casework you can handle..." "Pinkie seemed fine with it at first, but it became clear that she was overloaded. Working for the Big O is an honor that a lot of agents hope to earn, but it comes at a deep price." All Mandy could do was stare, completely slack-jawed as she wasn't sure what to feel. Her thoughts were a sticky conglomerate of nonsensicality. Pinkie Pie...she took on this promotion...what would have happened if she had said no...why didn't she at least come to me? ... I know why. That last question's rhetorical. I shouldn't ask that. She buried her face into her hands, trying hard not to cry. "Mandy, can I confide in you?" Only the hybrid's eyes poked out from the spaces between her fingers. "C-confide in me?" "I..." Olive grit her teeth. "I don't think what the Big O's doing is right!" Rarity's eyes widened, and she held a hoof to her mouth, as though Olive had just spoken of sin. Although she didn't know it, the Director might as well have. "Our precinct rarely gets any party-related cases. And Oprah told me that you and Pinkie usually handle what few party-related cases Precinct 13579 gets. Is that right?" Mandy nodded. "It's just that...going against the Big O...it goes against everything they teach you at the Academy. Everything that you learn upon being promoted to the Management department and becoming an Odd Squad Director. It's like a moral code." And yet he decided to let Pinkie handle her new position on her own without help from her friends?! What kind of messed-up ruling is that?! her brain screamed. He's got these Directors tied up in string, controlling them like puppets, making them live by some baseless ideals and making them think he's soooooo smart and knows all the answers. She scoffed. Well he doesn't. I can't believe the Big O is grossly incompetent, but to this degree? If you ask me, he should be fired. Blasted out of Pinkie's party cannon and gone from the entire Milky Way! When she came to, she saw Olive and Rarity both staring at her, concern written on their faces. She blinked. "What?" "Well, Mandy...you've got spirit." Olive gave an awkward smile. Her eyes widened as she realized that her stream of thoughts went all the way down to her throat and clear out of her mouth. She immediately clapped her hands to her mouth. "I-I meant it in a good way!" Olive corrected. "It's in a good way." "Okay, then I have an addminus...add...addid..." "Addendum?" "Yes." Mandy nodded at Rarity. "Momma, why do you have to follow what the Big O says? Just because he's your higher-up, that's it?" "Well..." "Sometimes, leaders aren't always right. They make mistakes just like any human being or pony does! And sometimes, they do things that are immoral. But that doesn't mean ya hafta go through with it!" Mandy jabbed a finger in the center of Olive's chest. "It's up to you to figure out what's immoral, and what's right. Like for example, I know that you know you don't think what the Big O is doing is right. And you're right!" She let out a forced exhale through her nose. "And I don't think what he's doing is right, either! Somethin' fishy's goin' on, and it's not 'cuz I'm cookin' fish for Peaches again!" Both Olive and Rarity gave warm smiles, but the smile soon faded from Olive's face as she asked, "You're not going to attack the Big O, are you?" This question caused Mandy to erupt in a fit of laughter, laced with just a twinge of rage and insanity that neither mare nor human child picked up on. "Attack him...Momma, you're funny!" She sighed. "No, no! The Big O may be incompetent, but I'm sure he had good intentions!" Her expression then darkened. "But if he didn't, I'll make him pay. Dearly. With lots and lots of interest." Olive attempted to swallow the lump in her throat, but it didn't work. The same nervous grin remained plastered onto her face. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about Mandy, Olive." Rarity said, resting a hoof on Olive's shoulder as Mandy picked up her ringing badge phone. "She'll sort all of this out, and without any awful bloodshed." "I hope so..." The mare shifted her gaze to Mandy as she clipped the badge phone back onto her suit. "So exactly what are you going to do, darling?" "I'm gonna take my partner and we're gonna resolve this situation together! And after that...Oprah and I need to have a little talk." Mandy sighed. "I really really wish you guys would just tell me these things, though! Just 'cuz I'm hyperactive and silly and maaaaaaybe a little dimwitted, that doesn't mean ya hafta keep things from me!" She folded her ears down. "It hurts my feelings, y'know?" "We do apologize for not telling you sooner." Rarity said. "I promise that if I ever have a problem on my hooves involving you, or a secret that you should know, I shall confide in you about it!" "Me too." Olive nodded. "No more secrets between us. Unless they're surprise birthday party secrets." "Of course! The bestest kind of secrets!" The door to the boutique opened, and the trio glanced at their latest guest. "Hi..." came the tired voice of the scraggly pink pony. She appeared more ragged than before, her straight mane, straight tail and messy coat all a darker shade of pink and her white outfit in various states of disarray. Her blue eyes, once full of life, were now bloodshot and glassy. "Heya! You, uh, look tired. More tired. Very more tired than usual." Mandy pointed out, getting off of the couch and making her way to her partner. "What did you want to see me for...?" "Well, Pinkie, I've found out your secret. You've been named Odd Squad's official Party Planner Agent, huh?" Pinkie's eyes widened. She glanced at Olive and Rarity, who only gave her apologetic shrugs. Her eyes began to water, and she began to quiver as she became reduced to a broken mess of tears and emotion. "Ye-e-eeees! And it's exhausting! I, I don't know why I bothered to take this job! I-it's so much paperwork and, and I barely have time for ANYTHING E-E-EEEELSE!!" It was then that the once-exuberant party pony was reduced to wails that one would think Mandy would give when she was sad. The hybrid kneeled down and ruffled her mane. "Shh. Say no more! Hop on my back!" Pinkie sniffled. "W-where are we going?" "To the Big O's office, silly!" Mandy chirped. "We're gonna get this all fixed, you and I." Pinkie wordlessly climbed onto Mandy's back, her forelegs wrapping around her partner's neck. "Hang on tight!" And with that said, both partners were gone in a flash of bright rainbow-colored light. The pair appeared high in the sky, overlooking the Odd Squad Academy. Six buildings each correlated to the six main symbols of the organization, all surrounding the Management building in the center. From a little ways off, the Big O's building was seen. It was tall and circular, and the roof appeared just like the decagonal logo of the Big Office department he was in. Mandy quickly soared towards the building, making sure to go at a steady pace for her passenger. "Okay-dokay, and we are here!" Pinkie opened her eyes, and took in the view of the office that she had been to before, but still looked marvelous no matter how many times she looked at it. "Are you sure you can get this resolved?" "Positively-rutely!" Mandy chirped. "C'mon!" The hybrid landed and allowed Pinkie to hop off of her back before heading inside the building. As was expected from someone of the highest rank within Odd Squad, the office looked as though it was just built. From the walls, to the uniforms agents wore, to the floors, everything was plastered in white, grey and silver finishes. Even the windows were sparkling clean. It was quite a contrast from the rustic and dirty appearance most Odd Squad Headquarters had. Mandy had been to the Big Office before, but she couldn't help but marvel at its beauty every time. "Halt!" The loud cry made Mandy and Pinkie both jump a little as they spotted an assistant walking towards them. With blonde hair and green eyes, he looked to be around the Big O's age, but lacked the silver epaulets and grey belt around his stomach that Mandy's and Pinkie's glorious leader had. "Identify yourselves." Mandy twirled. "Tough as rock and sweet as candy, I am known as Agent Mandy! Agent 57, at your service!" Pinkie's eyes widened. She shook her head and moved a hoof under her chin as though telling her partner to cut it out, but she either wasn't paying attention to the equine or she refused to listen. "I'm second-in-command of Precinct 13579, yessireedoo! Oprah's agent!" The assistant looked Mandy up and down, noting that her ears and her tail were rather unbecoming of a human, let alone a human who was an Odd Squad agent. At first glance, it looked more like the Shapeshifter attempting to be slick, or a shapeshifting creature assuming a form. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I have the badge, don't I?" Mandy said, a smug air to her voice as she unclipped her badge and showed it to him. For a split second, he wanted to tell her off. Tell her that she's a freak of nature who doesn't belong here. Use the Reveal-inator on her and- ...Wait. The Reveal-inator. Yes, that was it. He reached behind his back and fired a cyan-colored ring at Mandy, which turned white before pivoting on its side and moving down her body, scanning her for any impurities in her form. While for most this process tended to slightly hurt, Mandy simply giggled. "It tickles!" she cried out, giggling as she did a small jump. The Reveal-inator revealed absolutely nothing. The assistant grit his teeth and stifled his rage before continuing. "Very well. What is your business, Agent Mandy?" The hybrid stopped giggling and cleared her throat. "I wish to see the Big O about a rather urgent manner concerning Agent Pinkie Pie, here." As Pinkie gave a sheepish wave, the assistant looked her over with disdain...or...well, whatever emotion he was displaying. It wasn't nice, she knew that much. "Ah, yes, the 'party planner pony'." The assistant turned. "Right this way, then." The pair followed him eagerly, eyeing the many assistants that worked at the Big Office, as well as the decals and fliers strewn on the walls for various events and reminders. Only a few minutes later, the assistant was knocking on the double doors of the Big O's office. "Big O, sir? Agent Mandy and Agent Pinkie Pie from Precinct 13579 are here to see you." came the muffled voice as the Big O ruffled through some paperwork. A devious smile formed. "Send them in." "Thank ye thank ye!" Mandy called as she and Pinkie stepped inside, the assistant merely rolling his eyes as the door closed behind them. "Ah, Agent Mandy. Greetings. I've been meaning to talk with you." "Likewise!" "Have a seat, if you will." The Big O gestured to two chairs that sat in front of his desk. It was then that Mandy realized the setup was almost the same as in Oprah's or Olive's and Otto's offices. How it took her this long to realize that, she had no idea -- but nonetheless, she and Pinkie each sat down, with the former helping the latter up onto the chair. "Now, first things first." The Big O's eyes became steely. "I understand you were not at the meeting I had held at, and for, Precinct 13579. Would you care to explain?" Mandy smiled. "Yes! I was asleep." The Big O blinked. "Asleep?" he asked, his tone a mix of incredulity and disbelief. "Yep! Nothing gets in the way of me and my afternoon nap. Common knowledge and all that. My deepest apologies, sir." An eye twitch. A grinding of teeth. It was clear that the Big O wasn't too keen on accepting "well, I was tired" as an answer, not to mention her breezy attitude towards him...it made him want to hurl. But no matter. He had one more agent to address. "And Agent Pinkie Pie. How are you holding up in your new position?" "Well, that's kiiiinda what we came here to talk about. You see..." The Earth pony ran a hoof over the engravings in the chair. Silence fell across the room, and both children stayed quiet as she tried to work up the nerve to finish her sentence. "I can't do the job!" The Big O blinked once. Twice. And then his eyes widened. The realization hit him like a slap to the cheek. He dug his freshly-trimmed fingernails into the desk as best he could. "What?" "It's been very stressful a-and I've been having Agent Fluttershy and Agent Rarity help me and I can't do my regular agent work and my party-planning work in Equestria at the same time and...and..." Pinkie broke out into quivering sobs, burying her face in her hooves. The Big O had to fight to keep his quivers of rage at a minimum. He wanted to snap at Pinkie. He wanted to let her know exactly what value she had to him. But he stifled all his negative emotions. As the leader of Odd Squad, he had gotten good at doing that, and he certainly wasn't planning on faltering now. Instead, he merely raised an eyebrow. "You've been receiving help? I thought I said no one was to help you, did I not?" Pinkie sniffled. "Y-you did, but s-sir...no one pony...no one anyone can handle that much work on her own! It's impossible even for me, and that's saying a lot!" Another sniffle. "So I'm sorry...but I'm gonna have to quit!" "Quit?!" The Big O stood up, his chair nearly colliding with the back wall as it was pushed back. "No no no. There are far too many party-related cases in Canada for you to just quit. And aside from that, you did not object to the job." "But that was before I knew what I was going to get into-o-oooo!" The wails from the pink party pony only served to increase. "Big O, sir, please. Take it easy on my partner." Mandy said, pulling Pinkie into a tight hug. "Agent Mandy, I don't think you realize just how dire this situation is. Every case is important to solve in order to combat oddness. Even the ones related to parties." "But there's no way you can put a single agent in charge of every single party-related case in Canada! You heard what Pinkie just said, no one can do all of that!" Whatever facade Mandy had been putting on for the Big O, if any, was slowly crumbling away. In its place stood a hurt, confused, and angry Odd Squad agent who dared to question her higher-up's actions and decisions. "Are you defying me, Agent Mandy?" the Big O said, his expression and tone relatively calm and cool as a contrast to the hybrid's flaming-hot rage. "Because if you are, then I will be more than happy to grant the rank to you." "M-me?!" Mandy shook her head. "Nuh-uh, I'm sorry, but I will have to refuse, thank you very much!" Pinkie turned up the volume on her crying, to the point where the usual waterfalls of tears gushed out of her eyes and made large puddles on the floor. The Big O sighed. "Assistant, please get a mop and bucket." "Right away, sir." The assistant flanking the Big O's left immediately scurried out of the room in search of the items. "If you are going to be nothing but a nuisance, Agent Mandy, then I am going to have to ask you to leave." the Big O said, his tone of voice on the tipping point of sheer rage. Too bad for him that Mandy was still persistent. "No! I'm not leaving until this is resolved! Even if your assistants have to drag me out!" The Big O opened his mouth to speak again, but he was interrupted by Mandy combusting into flames. "You're pushing my buttons, sir. And trust me when I say that you don't want to see me mad." The door opened, and a third assistant peered in, holding a few sheets of paper in his hands. "Sir! Reports just came in. The party-related cases in Zambia are growing faster by the minute. You need to assign someone to handle them, ASAP!" Mandy's flames died down, and the Big O paused his rage to stare at his assistant. The only one who didn't cease what they were doing was Pinkie, still wailing away. "Am I interrupting something?" Mandy cleared her throat. "May I see that report, please?" Without waiting for an answer, she levitated the papers over to her and skimmed through the first page. Which was all she needed. "WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" The scream was so loud that a flock of startled birds took to flying away from their resting spot in the surrounding trees. "Sir, you've been making a critical mistake this entire time?!" Confusion was the only emotion written on the head honcho's face. "There are hardly any party-related cases in Canada. They're all in Zambia!" By this point, Pinkie had calmed down and was reduced to sniffles once more, only barely hearing the news. She glanced from Mandy to the Big O and back again. "Let me see." The Big O took the papers from Mandy's telekinetic grasp, and skimmed through them. Six papers, all detailing various party-related cases happening in the Republic of Zambia -- a small country that was nowhere near Canada. He wasn't sure what to feel. His expression went from rage, to disappointment, to calm. Half of him wanted to be stuck-up and petty and refuse he was wrong. The other half, however, wanted to keep up the facade. "Oh. Oh my goodness, you're right." he said, feigning surprise. "You've put my partner through strife for nothing?!" Mandy screamed at him, her face beginning to turn red. He simply cleared his throat. "Agent Mandy. Agent Pinkie Pie. My deepest apologies go to you both." Mandy growled, but gave a small huff of defeat, buying the apology at face value. "That's all right. All I ask is that you demote Pinkie back to her Investigation department position at Precinct 13579." "Very well." He glanced around the room. "I hereby demote Agent Pinkie Pie of the Big Office back to her rank and role as an agent in the Investigation department at Precinct 13579. Effective immediately, she will no longer be the designated agent for party-related cases in Canada, and is to resume working under Oprah for all cases in the Toronto area, and surrounding areas if the need arises." "And may I make a suggestion?" Mandy asked. "You elect multiple agents in Zambia to handle the party-related cases there. Not just one." "I will take that into consideration." The Big O wiped off some dust that had collected onto his sleeve. "Thank you both for stopping by." "Thank you for demoting me!" Pinkie gave a happy sigh and wiped away the rest of her tears, a wave of relief washing over her. "Yes, thank you, sir. We'll be on our way." "Have a good day!" Pinkie chirped. "You as well." As the pair left the office, the second assistant came running in with a mop and broom, meticulously tidying up every last drop that Pinkie had left behind. The Big O let out a sigh, took a seat, and sank back into his chair. "She's not good enough." he mused aloud. "That pink horse isn't a good workhorse. Too...jittery. It would be like riding a bike with unsecured training wheels. I'll have to secure another pony..." All his assistants could do was listen, neither one of them daring to say anything. "Assistant!" came the familiar bellow, and the second assistant turned just as he was about to exit. "Get me Osend. I need to send a letter to King Ashero, and I want it out by day's end." The assistant nodded and made his way to the hallway, mop and broom in hand. The Big O grabbed a piece of scrap paper and a pencil, and got to writing. Dear King Ashero, It has been quite a while since we have last spoken. But, I do write this letter with good news attached, so do keep reading. Just a few minutes prior to writing, Agent Mandy came into my office with her Odd Squad partner in tow, inquiring about demoting said partner from a position I had created. From my interactions with her, it seems that she is very quick to anger, and will assume a new kindled form -- that is, her body will become wrapped in flames that do not seem harmful on close contact, but cause her to receive an increase in power. It has been known that rage can consume people's minds and cause them to behave irrationally, sometimes putting them at grave disadvantages in a variety of situations. I believe this may work to your advantage if you wish to secure her and kill her along with her catgirl friend, so please take it to heart. In addition, Mandy seemed rather protective of her partner and did not wish to see her hurt by my actions. I do seem to recall several stories where an Odd Squad agent was driven to the brink of insanity upon seeing their partner seriously injured or killed in front of them, so perhaps hurting the ones she loves is the key to making sure you deliver proper retribution. For both her and Peaches, of course. I am finalizing my own plans at this time, and my wish is that you are doing the same, if you have not done so already. I will keep you updated on any further research and developments. Yours truly, The Big O, Head of Odd Squad Letting out a victorious exhale, he resumed his paperwork, and soon allowed the letter to be taken by his traveling assistant to where it needed to go. I have been unopposed ever since I became the Big O. One horribly-mutated freak of nature will not be enough to bring me down, no matter how hard she tries to threaten me. The poor little thing. I suppose I will have to try and tame another pony in her little friend group to be my workhorse...but who? The question sat in his mind as he set his main focus on his paperwork. Whatever finalization he had of his plans could wait until later. Mandy and Pinkie decided to take the long way to Headquarters, with the latter riding on the former's back once more. Pinkie gave a long tired sigh. "I'm so, sooooo happy we got that resolved!" she said, trying to fight the fatigue that crept into her voice. "I'm happy you're happy, partner!" Mandy chuckled. "Now we can go back to being partners again! I knew that the Big O was stupid, but I didn't think he'd be so stupid that he'd actually mix up countries!" She laughed in her usual giggle-snort way. "Well, now we can go home and-" The sound of loud snoring startled her, and she couldn't help but stop flying. As she swiveled her head back, she found Pinkie completely sacked out and drooling up a storm. "Huh. Weird that I'm not the one falling asleep this time." Mandy remarked, before giving a sigh. "Just hang tight, Pinka-Ponka. We'll be back in no time!" She decided to perform a softer flight this time around, soaring towards the nearest tube entrance as quickly and as quietly as she could. Only five minutes later, Pinkie was resting in her bed, still snoring away, covered by a pink blanket decorated with balloons and party streamers. The headboard had an engraving of her cutie mark on it, as did the other beds with their respective owners' cutie marks and fitting bedding. "You relax. Lil' ol' Mandy's got everything covered!" Mandy said. "I wonder if that should be my catchphrase...anyway, sweet dreams!" As she left the room and gave a happy sigh, she came nearly nose-to-nose with Olive, who only said one word of greeting. "Boo." Mandy yelped, and her hair and tail stuck straight up into the air. "M-Momma! N-not so loud, you'll wake Pinkie!" "Oh! Is she sleeping?" "Yup! Fell asleep on my back on the way home, the poor thing." Mandy gasped. "Ooh, ooh, I hafta tell ya about our visit to the Big Office, c'mon!" "So it turns out that..." Mandy laughed and snorted. "The entire thing was a mix-up! The Big O mixed up countries!" She collapsed into a fit of laughter. "Ah, I knew it." Olive rolled her eyes. "As I said, our precinct rarely gets party-related cases, and so does yours. I figured something got mixed up somewhere along the line." "Aww, well, at least everything's fine now! He demoted Pinkie as soon as he got wind of the news!" Mandy let her tongue out to play as it wrapped around the large burger that sat on one of her many plates and retracted into her mouth, taking the entire thing with it. The hybrid chewed and swallowed the burger, her tail wagging happily. "Well, it's nice that you two are able to return to being partners again. You should probably tell Oprah." "Oh, I heard everything." Once again, Mandy yelped, and her hair and tail stuck straight up as she swiveled her head around to see the Director herself. "You dared to do what was right, Mandy, and I'm proud of you for that." "D-d'aww, stop, you're making me blush!" the hybrid said, straightening out her hair and tail by respectively running her wings across it and using her magic to re-style it. "As a reward, I'll give you and Pinkie the day off. I'm sure you two could use it." Mandy gasped, clearly delighted by the offer, but it was only a second later that her face fell as she squinted at Oprah. "Boss...shouldn't the lesson I taught Momma and Rarity be sticking with you, too?" "Huh?" "Sometimes, leader figures aren't always right, and they can make mistakes like regular human beings do! You shouldn't put your bonafide trust in 'em, 'cause sometimes those mistakes can be fatal." she explained. "You and I both know the Big O is terribly idiotic and-" "He is not!" "Then how do you explain the mix-up? With two countries that aren't even near each other?" Oprah clenched her fist. Son of a bitch, she's got a point...as much as I hate to admit it. "He can't be relied on all the time. He is a child, after all." Oprah growled, nearly getting into an attacking stance before giving a defeated sigh. "I suppose that's true..." "Look, why don'tcha sleep on it?" Mandy grabbed the other burger on her plate with her tongue and ate it, shunting the plate next to the large stack of other dirty plates that she had cleaned off. "I'm gonna go for a walk in the park to work off all this food!" She got up and patted Oprah on the shoulder twice. "Think about iiiiiit..." Before the Director could fire off another rebuttal, the hybrid was already leaving through the steel doors, leaving her to think on her words. "She's not kidding around." Olive chimed in, but Oprah chose to ignore her and left for the Bedroom. Inside, she watched Pinkie as she slept, giving a sigh. Was Mandy right? Is the Big O really that incompetent? And if he is...should he even really be in charge? After a few moments, she shook her head. No, no, don't think such thoughts, Oprah. Going against the Big O goes against your moral code as a Director. Disobey him and you could lose your position...for the second time! Memories began to flood her mind. Painful memories that she didn't want to dig up again. She tore her gaze away from Pinkie and clenched her fist, fighting the urge to punch the wall. But I wonder... The final thought wormed its way into her head. She couldn't bring herself to finish it. It was the final straw for her, as she left the Bedroom and closed the door. She needed some juice.
S1E6: An Odd Squad GalaMandy was an agent of very little fashion sense. Aside from her Odd Squad uniform, she didn't really pay too much attention to what looked good on her. In essence, she could wear shorts and Ugg boots, together, out in public and not bat a single eye at someone telling her how hideous she looked. So perhaps it was rather ironic that she had some knowledge of sewing and making clothes. She had Rarity to thank for offering to teach her -- after all, she had nagged her often enough and had been the mare's model so many times that she might as well start getting paid for it. On her off time, when she wasn't napping or eating, she was trimming hems, drawing up designs as legible as she could make them, and grabbing unwitting agents to use as impromptu models. Rarity had to admit that Mandy's approach to entering the fashion industry was rather...unusual. It wasn't like she was actively trying to make it in the industry, of course, but if she were serious about designing, she would be laughed at by most any of the elite. Still, she let Mandy do her thing, guiding her as needed and critiquing her on her works. During an hour of free time the hybrid had obtained, she had set up in Rarity's Odd Squad boutique, sewing a rather complicated hem together on an Investigation suit and humming the theme song to, what else, the Odd Squad TV show. She was so deep into her work that she didn't hear Applejack enter the boutique and call out her name. She did, however, feel her chair being tilted back, so that she was upside down and nose-to-nose with the farm pony. "Oh, hey, Applejack! Didja need something?" "Yes, I did." Applejack let go of the chair and allowed Mandy to return to her upright position. "As ya know, Ms. O's puttin' together a gala to celebrate her leadership, and she, uh...wants t' see ya. Says it's mighty urgent." "Urgent..." Mandy scoffed. "I'm sure it's not that bad. She thinks having no fruity ice cubes at her juice bar is an urgent issue! But...I'll go and see her now." "Wait! Before ya go, how's my suit comin' along?" "Fine! I'm waiting for Rarity to get back, though...could you tell her I'm busy with Ms. O if you run into her?" "Sure thing, sugarcube. Good luck." "Won't need it!" Mandy called, bouncing out of the boutique and clearly not worried by anything her boss would happen to throw at her. Which, thankfully, was nothing of major concern. "Wow, I can't believe you're throwing another party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, a big grin on her face as she placed her front hooves on her boss's desk. "I know, Pinkie. I don't know what I was thinking, making that announcement. There's this sort of..." Oprah waved her hand, trying to find the right word. "Air. Tension. It's rubbing me the wrong way." "Aww, don't worry! That's why you made the right choice hiring me for the party planning committee!" "I didn't hire you. You came up to me and demanded you help me." Oprah deadpanned. "Eh, same thing!" "Hiya!" Mandy strode in. "You called me?" "Oh, Mandy, thank odd. You remember that announcement I made about me putting together a gala, in honor of my leadership?" "Um, yes? What about it?" Mandy gasped. "You're not cancelling it, are you?! Ohh, I had a nice dress picked out and I still need to put sequins on it, and, and the other dresses-" "Agent!" Oprah bellowed. "I'm not cancelling the gala. I want you to help me set it up." She glanced past Mandy, to the bullpen area that her office overlooked. "See...ever since I made the announcement, there's been tension in the air. I can feel it. It's not good." "Well, to be fair, boss, the last time we had a celebration in honor of your leadership, Otis, Olympia and Oona almost wrecked the future by going back in time, remember? Of course people are gonna panic!" She did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "They don't want that to happen again! As Twilight Sparkle says, 'Time travel is not something to be messed with.'" "Rest assured, I've asked them to not do any time-travel-related stuff this time. And I'm locking up all of the time gadgets we have as a safety precaution. But I don't know if that's why everyone's so tense." Oprah sighed. "I know the announcement itself got mixed reactions too...like a lot of agents were concerned about something." "Hmm." was all Mandy could say in response. "Well, I'm sure everything can be fixed, easy-peasy!" Pinkie chimed in. "We just gotta loosen up some nerves around here!" "I really want this gala to go off without a hitch. It's in three days, but that's not a whole lot of time to prepare..." Oprah shook her head, regretting not making the date a week ahead at the least. "Aww, c'mon! With Pinka-Ponka and I, we can get this place ready for showtime by tonight!" Mandy boasted. "That's nice, but I set it three days ahead to gauge agent reactions. As I said, a lot of them are tense." The Director glanced at Mandy. "It wouldn't be too much if you and Rarity helped to make a dress for me, would you?" "Of course not, boss!" Mandy conjured up a pencil and a small notebook, opening it to a random blank page. "Any specific design?" "I'm thinking purple..." Oprah began, listening to Mandy as she scribbled. "Maybe some medium-sized sequins...sparkly, not twinkly. There's a difference. Maybe a flower crown would be nice...oh, and short sleeves, nothing poofy...a couple purple necklaces, and a flower brooch. In purple." "Ah!" Mandy nodded. "Something like this pique your interest?" She flipped the notebook around. Oprah squinted at the messy drawing of her that her agent had made, with none of the features she had asked for even depicted. There was a reason why she wasn't the best artist in the precinct -- her drawing of a human girl looked less anatomically correct than the figures on women's restroom signs. "That's barely legible, Mandy." "Eh, I tried." The hybrid shrugged. "Don't stick strictly to it. I'll be flexible. Just give me a dress with those features. That's all I ask." "Okay!" A pause, and then Mandy blinked twice. "Wait, what were they again?" A long sigh escaped from Oprah as she rolled her eyes and leaned back into her chair. As Mandy roamed the bullpen, she muttered to herself in a way that was incomprehensible to anyone that just so happened to listen. She was gazing at the list of features Oprah had given her, sketching all sorts of ideas to try out. A thump made her give a cry of "oof!" in pain, and her mouth scrunched up. "Oh!" Olive blinked. "Sorry, Mandy, I didn't see you there." "Aww, c'mon, who-" The hybrid shook her head and got a better look at who had bumped into her. "Oh hi, Momma!" Olive found herself being lifted and crushed in yet another one of Mandy's tight hugs, the air from her lungs wheezing out. "H-hi!" She coughed. "D-don't...don't...air...air...air...!" Finally, she was put down, and allowed to refill her lungs. "Hey, have you noticed the air's kinda tense around here?" "How would I know..." Olive gave another cough. "You squeezed almost all of it out of me!" "I'm sorry! But you know how I looooove hugs!" "Yeah, well...to answer your question seriously, kind of. Everyone's avoiding Rarity the most, it seems." Mandy's face fell. "Oh no. If Rarity's having a fashion crisis, no one tell her! It won't be a pretty sight! I can attest as a witness!" "She looked fine, but everyone kept shooting her wary looks. Like she was the worst Odd Squad villain to ever hit the streets!" The comparison made Mandy laugh and snort a little. "Rarity, a villain? Ha! Aah, that's a laugh, Momma!" "Anyway, I stopped by here with Otto -- he had other business to attend to -- to ask if you wouldn't mind sewing a dress for me? I could do it myself, of course, but I need a bit more expertise beyond sewing Burly Bears uniforms." Ah, yes, Mandy had completely forgotten that Olive herself was quite the seamstress, even if only in one kind of clothing. It always seemed to escape her -- mainly because Olive never really brought it up. She gave a sigh. "All righty, guess I'm playin' Rarity! And if I'm playin' Fashion Mare, I gotta look the part!" With her horn alight, her brown curly tail changed from the style of Pinkie Pie to that of Rarity. Her wings took care of her Pinkie Pie-styled hair, as she spread them out and used its feathers to make one swiping pass through her hair, instantly changing her hairstyle. This change was rather common for Mandy, as she had gotten good at styling her hair and tail and making slick impersonations of all five of her equine friends that would make a killing at any comedy night. Of course, this wasn't just limited to the Mane Six -- she could imitate Olive, Otto and Oprah as well, with just a little touch of magic to style her hair and change her clothes. The hybrid cleared her throat. "Now, darling, I simply must ask you..." she said, putting on her best Rarity accent that, if one hadn't met Rarity, would fool them into believing that accent and that voice were part of the real deal. "What kind of dress do you prefer?" Olive could only stare wordlessly for a few moments. She was well-familiar with this stunt of her adopted daughter's, but that didn't mean she liked it. Mainly because she thought it was rude and inconsiderate...and because Mandy could never seem to nail the impersonation of her accent. Finally, words spilled out. "Mandy, what in the name of odd are you doing?" "Ah-ah-ah." Mandy shook her head. "I am not 'Mandy', darling, I am Rarity, and you shall" -- she tapped herself on her head with each following word -- "address me as such!" A full-body feeling of cringe settled in Olive's body. "Now, what kind of dress do you wish to have at this wondrous gala, darling?" The feeling only got worse on the "darling". Olive hated being addressed by cutesy words like that. It made her sick. It made her want to hole herself up in the bathroom and puke all of her organs out but her heart and brain. Still, she forced herself to stay steady. Mandy never did keep up impersonations for very long, anyway. And adults were far more frequent offenders. "Okay, well, nothing too fancy." She watched as Mandy conjured up her notebook and pencil again and got to scribbling. "A simple gray dress, maybe with a waist bow, waist ribbon, whatever you call it. A flower as a hair decoration, doesn't matter which one." "Yes?" "That's it." Mandy blinked once, and then twice. "That's it?" "That's all I want." "Hm. Rather simplistic. Although you aren't one for high-end fashion." Mandy shrugged. "All right then, I shall get started on your dress and have it done by the gala!" "Thank you Ma- er, Rarity." Olive glanced behind her. "Where is Rarity, anyway?" "Oh, she's off doing...well, actually, I'm not quite sure where she went." Mandy unclipped her badge phone. "Let me call her and see, darling." The hybrid opened her phone and pressed 9-1 for Rarity, and it only took six rings before voicemail kicked in. "Hello, darling! You've reached the one, the only, Rarity! I am not available to come to the phone right now, but you are more than welcome to leave a message after the beep! Hmm-hmm, thank you!" A beep sounded before Mandy closed her phone and put it back onto her suit. She sighed. "It seems like she is not answering her phone. Quite a shame, really." "I wonder where she is. As far as I know, it's not like her to miss work..." Olive mused. "Maybe she had a big order to fill at the Carousel Boutique?" This only earned her a laugh. "Oh, darling, Rarity can handle both her boutiques and work. She's such an efficient pony!" Mandy glanced behind Olive. "But I do agree. It certainly isn't like her to be absent, on today of all days..." It was then that Olive had had enough of the Rarity charade her daughter was putting on. In her eyes, it had been going on for far too long, and she much preferred the real Rarity's voice over whatever pale imitation this agent was trying to do. So she decided to fight fire with fire. "Darling, I do appreciate your...efforts to find Rarity, but I simply must tell you something!" she declared, in the best imitation of Rarity's voice she could muster. "Oh, anything, my dearest mother!" Olive smiled warmly at Mandy, in that way the hybrid loved and cherished. And then her expression soured. "CUT THE RARITY ACT!" Mandy's eyes widened. She blinked twice. She wasn't sure how to react. Finally, a scoff danced on her lips, just before she took a deep breath, held it, and returned her tail and hair back to their normal curly states with a loud "pop" sound. "Jeez, Momma, you're no fun!" "And don't call me 'darling'". Mandy's mouth scrunched up, and she muttered something under her breath that Olive could barely recognize except for the term "fun-ruiner". Just before the Director could respond, however, she heard the steel double-doors open and the sound of her partner. "Hey, Olive, I just spoke to Twilight. She's concerned for Rarity, said she left in a hurry as soon as Oprah made her announcement but hasn't been able to get in touch with her all day!" "Neither have I!" Mandy remarked, before her ears picked up on the sound of two agents having a conversation. "This gala's going to be horrible!" one agent exclaimed, a blond twin-tailed girl with black rimmed glasses. "Why's that?" her partner remarked, a dark-skinned boy with curly black hair. "Remember the last time Ms. O held a party?" The first agent groaned. "Agent Rarity simply had to ruin it with her showy outfit!" The mention of Rarity's name made Olive's attention and Otto's attention snap to the duo. "Wasn't the outfit 'casual wear required', anyway?" "Sure was! But nooooo, Rarity simply had to outshine everyone!" the first agent lamented. "She does it at every single party. Like she thinks every time, it's a competition for Best Costume! This isn't Halloween, man!" "And now there's a gala..." The second agent looked away distantly, his expression one that Mandy couldn't recognize. "The last time Ms. O held a gala like this, Olympia, Oona and Otis went back in time and caused a horrible butterfly effect! Tons of agents here have talked about it." The first agent sighed. "Granted, Rarity wasn't involved, but it was still pretty disastrous! Time travel's tricky stuff..." "I agree." The second agent nodded. "At least Ms. O's gonna lock up all the dangerous gadgets during this gala..." "Which leaves us with one more issue: Agent Rarity." the first agent said matter-of-factly. "So what do we do?" "I don't know. Maybe Ms. O will realize how dangerous Rarity is at parties and...exclude her from the gala?" "Well, maybe we can try and convince her. Let's go!" The second agent bolted for the stairs, his partner quickly following suit. Mandy watched them go, a flicker of concern darting across her face. "Well, that answers all my questions!" was all she had to say in response to the conversation she had unwittingly eavesdropped on. "I do remember Rarity having very showy outfits, but I didn't realize it was such a problem for people. Oprah never said anything about it to us." Olive mused. "She hasn't said a thing to me, either! All she did was ask me to make her dress and put me on the planning committeeeeee..." All Olive and Otto could do was stare as Mandy looked like her brain had blue-screened and needed a reboot. "Pickleferries, the dresses!" she finally cried out. A quick "gottagoseeyoulaterbye" marked her swift exit, as her wings took her down the right hallway towards Rarity's boutique. "Mandy wait- and she's gone and why do I even bother." Olive groaned and sighed. "So what are we gonna do about Rarity?" "Rarity has common sense, Otto. Maybe she realizes that her outfits are causing issues at parties." "Clearly she doesn't, if she's continuing to do it!" Otto said. "Maybe we should tell her." "But we don't know where she is!" Olive racked her brain, trying to figure out where she would be if she were a white-furred unicorn mare who lived a double life as an Odd Squad agent and as a fashion designer with four boutiques. But she didn't get very far before an idea formed. "Ah! Why don't I look around town for her? You can ask the other ponies about her whereabouts." "Sounds like a plan! Catch up with ya later!" Otto nodded, before heading for the hallway on the right that flanked the steel double-doors of the bullpen. Olive, likewise, headed for the double-doors themselves, coming up with a plan on how to cover the most ground in Toronto in the search for one little pony. Before Mandy could even attempt to start working on Oprah's or Olive's dress, fatigue had gotten the better of her, and she had slipped into an impromptu slumber right at the (thankfully nonfunctional) sewing machine. The door to the boutique opened, and its potential customer glanced up at the tinkling bell that marked her arrival. "Oh, Rarity installed a bell for this thing. Hm." Peaches remarked, fighting the urge to bat it a couple times, send it careening downwards to the floor, and play with it for several hours. Instead, she closed the door and glanced around. "Mandy? Hey, cuz, you in here?" Loud snoring flooded her ears, and she made her way to the back area. Sure enough, a quick swivel of her head to the right, and there was Mandy, sleeping without a single care in the world. Under her wrist were two pieces of paper with drawings on it. "What are these?" Peaches grabbed the papers and scanned them. "Dress orders?" She glanced at Mandy. "Oprah and Olive...for such a prestigious event like this...is she taking over for Rarity?" Something in her mind asked the questions of "how does Mandy know how to sew" and "how often does she sew" and "is she even any good at making clothes in the first goshdarn place", but she pushed them to the side. She had known the hybrid long enough to know that making clothes was probably something she did for kicks more than anything else, regardless of skill. "Well, the least I can do is finish these dresses for her. Sure, the gala's in three days, but she's a busy hybrid." Peaches mused aloud, before scanning the area. "Come to think of it, where's Rarity?" Sure enough, out of pure convenience, the entrance door opened again, the sound of the bell echoing throughout the place as not a human, but a pony made her way in. "Hey, Rarity? You in here?" Rainbow Dash called, before her gaze settled on the only other awake being in the entire room. "Oh. Hey, Peaches." "Hey, Agent Rainbow Dash." Peaches waved. "What's going on? You're looking for Rarity too?" "Yeah. I wanted to know if she could make me a dress for the gala, but I haven't seen her all day. Thought she was in here. Or I guess I could just ask Mandy." As Dash flew in, a look crossed her face, her eyes boring into the sleeping Mandy. "Ooooor not." "Oh! I was, uh, gonna take over sewing duties for her, actually." Peaches rubbed Mandy's back. "The poor thing's gonna wipe herself out before the gala even starts, and she already has dresses for Oprah and Olive on backlog!" Dash blinked. She certainly didn't pin Peaches as the type to make her own clothes, and she had to sit on that piece of information for a few moments before responding. "Well, would you mind, then? Rarity's usually our go-to mare when it comes to stuff like this." "No, I don't mind! I've got a lot of time on my hands. And some amazing sewing experience." Peaches lifted up part of her yellow dress, pointing to the red V-shaped band that wrapped around her waist. "Did you know I hand-stitched this dress myself?" "Really?" "Yep! But, uh, no one really cared for my designs. Catpeople aren't really about looking fancy, you see." She cleared her throat. "Um, but I digress. Would you mind showing me around this place, in exchange for making you and the others dresses? I haven't really been in here too much to know what it looks like." "Sure. Follow me and I'll point ya to what ya need." "Great!" Peaches began to follow Dash, but then stopped. "Wait. Rarity won't mind if I use her supplies, will she?" "She does get a liiiiittle touchy, but she isn't in here right now, so, uh...I guess not?" Peaches shrugged. "Works for me. Lead the way." A few hours later, the bell rang again, and two more potential customers walked in. "Rarity has a bell here?" "Would that make it...a doorbell?" Otto snickered at his own joke. "Okay, okay, you can have that one." Olive rolled her eyes. "Mandy? You in here?" "In here!" came the distant voice of Peaches. Both Directors couldn't help but exchange looks of confusion. "Is that Peaches?" Otto asked, before he and Olive headed for the source of the sound. What both their visions met was a workspace that perhaps even Rarity herself would let her jaw drop to the floor at. Supplies littered almost every single inch of the table that bordered the room, and a bunch of papers with all sorts of designs that branched off from Mandy's own drawings were hung up like they were food orders in the kitchen of a bar. On the right, Peaches was hard at work, the sewing machine whirring away as she was applying a hem. "You can sew?!" Otto asked, the words tumbling out of his mouth without any thought. "Yep!" Peaches turned off the machine and smiled at Otto. "Sewed this dress of mine, and I can certainly sew yours, Olive. In fact...I'm already done! It's over there." Olive followed the fingerpoint over to a white hanger that was attached to the knob of a cabinet. Situated on the hanger was a stunning and vibrant gray dress, with everything Olive had asked for. The only thing missing was the flower hair dec, but she figured either Peaches didn't know how to make those, or she wanted to leave something for Mandy to do. Maybe both. "I can't necessarily fit it on a mannequin because there are no human mannequins around here, but you're welcome to try it on! I made it according to Mandy's notes." Olive gave a simple "thank you" before taking the dress and rushing towards the fitting room, one of two rooms that lied just ahead of Peaches. "Where's Mandy?" "Sleeping, over there." Peaches directed Otto towards the snoozing hybrid further back in the other room. "I'm guessing she was overdue for naptime." As if summoned, Mandy exited the room and came towards the duo, giving a loud yawn. "Hey, any 'f ya seen th' zzewin' machine? I need it t' sew Momma's drezz..." "Oh! Hi, cuz." Peaches smiled. "I'm helping you with making the dresses, so I borrowed the sewing machine. Rainbow Dash came and asked me to make her dress, and since I knew you were going to wear yourself thin with eight dresses, I decided to help you out!" "Eight?!" Otto glanced at the slips of paper. Sure enough, some of the slips had depictions of his fellow equine friends in various dresses -- no doubt drawn by Mandy, given the hornwriting. The hybrid gave a loud yawn, conjured up a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, and guzzled it down. A satisfied "aah" left her lips, and her usual cat smile returned to her face. And then the whammy hit her. "Wait, you can sew?!" "Yes! Hand-stitched this dress myself!" Mandy, completely bug-eyed, looked at the dress. Precisely hemmed and trimmed, clean, with a smooth color and a nice design...and it came from her cousin. Maybe learning all this stuff from Rarity wasn't a bad thing after all, she thought. But maybe I should have learned from Peach instead! "D'aww, cuz, you didn't have to do that! I-it was my naptime, anyway." she said. "I did finish Oprah's dress, though! And one for Rarity, as a treat." "Perfect!" Peaches clapped her hands together. "Maybe it can serve as an apology for me using all of her items." "Oh wow!" The exclamation caused the trio to turn their heads towards the direction of the fitting room, where the door opened and Olive stepped out. Otto's eyes widened, shocked by the sight of his partner wearing perhaps the fanciest clothing he had ever seen her wear. His mouth ran dry, and he found himself unable to say anything in response. "It's exactly what I asked for, waist ribbon and everything!" Olive smiled. "Thanks so much, Peaches!" "No problem! I do have to advise you not to wear it until the gala, though. Preserve its beauty and integrity a bit, you know?" "Oh, of course!" Olive's smile slowly faded when she spotted Mandy, who went completely slack-jawed. For a minute or two, she struggled to find the words to say, and struggled even harder with the urge to not try her hand at putting makeup, lipstick, and other such cosmetics on her. "Momma, it's...beautiful!" she cried out, stars forming in her eyes. "Nice to see you too, Mandy." Olive said. "I know you didn't make this, but thank you for taking my desires into considera- ohhh no. Nonononono-" And before the Director knew it, she was being drawn into another one of Mandy's tight hugs, the threat of death by asphyxiation rearing its ugly head yet again. "It's so beautiful and you look sooooo stunning and you're gonna be the belle of the ball and that giant waist ribbon is such a plus and-" Mandy's gums quickly stopped flapping when Olive held up her entire hand to her lips. "Don't wrinkle the dress. Or you're going to have to make me a new one." "Sorry! Sorry." Mandy set Olive down, then her face lit up and she snapped her fingers. "Ooh, the flower dec!" She moved towards the countertop on the other side, her eyes scanning the area for where she put the decoration she had spent a good fifteen minutes making. Finally, she found it buried in a mess of papers and thread spools, and she levitated it towards Olive, fastening it to one side of her hair. "Voila! And a mirror." She conjured up a mirror next, for Olive to see her reflection. Olive's chocolate-brown eyes shimmered. She delicately touched the decoration, wondering how the gardenia on top of her head looked so...good on her. It was like a pop of color amidst the drab, and it brought back memories -- memories that made her want to cry. Memories of... Of... ...She couldn't remember. Maybe it was because she didn't want to remember. But she had dressed up like this only a sparse few times before. She felt the memories swirling around in her brain. But it didn't matter now. She could reminisce on her past later if she wanted to. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Mandy." "No prob!" A sad smile danced on her face, just for a moment, before she made her way back into the fitting room to change out of the dress. "Hey, Mandy." Otto interrupted. "Haven't you decided what you'll be wearing?" "Ahh, don't worry about that, Otto. I have it all planned out! Just gotta add sequins." Mandy smiled. "It's hanging in the Bedroom. Protected." She narrowed her eyes. "By invisible lasers." Peaches shot her an incredulous look. "For a dress." "I take no chances!" All the catgirl could give in response was a mighty sigh before she resumed her work. "In the meantime, I better go get started on the other ponies' dresses!" "Aha...here's an idea." Peaches stopped her work again. "How about you and I split the other five dresses? I'll finish Rainbow's, and I can take...hmm..." She stopped and glanced at the design concepts. "Pinkie's. I'll welcome the challenge." "Then I'll do Twi's, Fluttershy's and AJ's!" Mandy chirped. "I just gotta finish Oprah's dress first!" And with that, the hybrid bounced away, just as Olive stepped out of the fitting room, dress in hand. "All right, I have the dress here. Is there anywhere you want me to put it?" "Hmm..." Peaches scanned the room again, looking for something high up where not a lot of dust would get on the clothing. It didn't take her long to find a coat rack near a clustered stack of mannequins. "Aha! Over there, on that hook. Otto, can you create a label for it, so Rarity will know it's Olive's?" Otto nodded and quickly left the area, hoping to find some labels, or at least a label maker of some kind. He had been in Rarity's boutique before, and so he knew his way around the area for the most part -- good luck for him. Peaches, meanwhile, resumed her work once again. "Oh hey, Momma! I forgot to ask ya, how'd the search for Rarity go?" "Huh? Oh!" Olive chuckled. "I got so sidetracked by Peaches, I forgot that's what I came in here for. Unfortunately I couldn't find her. Otto couldn't find her, either. He said that none of the other ponies had seen her, not since this morning." The sewing machine stopped. Mandy heaved a sigh and was about to retreat into her thoughts when the sound of the bell tinkled through the shop again. "Yeeeeee-eeeeeees?" she called in singsong. "Oh good, you're here." Oprah closed the door and made her way over to Mandy. "Hiya, boss! What can I help ya with?" "Two agents just came up to my office and educated me on the 'dangers' of bringing Rarity to the gala. They want me to exclude her from it. That's what I want help from you for!" You goose-laden dum-dum. Of course Oprah would seek you out the second those two agents communicated with her about Rarity. Mandy took an inhale. "In hindsight, boss, not inviting Rarity to the gala might be a wise choice. I overheard a conversation from those exact agents about the last party Precinct 13579 held. How Rarity ruined them with her unique fashion choices." "I will admit, I didn't notice the chaos of the last party. I was away at the time. Did she do anything like that at previous events?" "Looking back on it, she has always stood out with her outfits, but...I didn't know it bothered people!" "You and me both. But barring her seems like a stretch." Oprah sighed. "You know I love Agent Rarity, Mandy. She's one of the best agents of the precinct, always bringing her all to cases and assignments and adding her own little twists of flair. But she's an agent who often can't miss a chance to show off." Her eyes became reduced to pinpricks as she whispered, "I still see that horrifically bedazzled uniform in my nightmares..." "Must be showing off for a really long time if no one can find her." Mandy said. "Momma and Otto went searching, but they couldn't find her no matter who they asked or what they tried." "That's not good. I'm worried she may have gone missing or something." "Maybe she went back to Equestria?" Olive shook her head. "Rainbow Dash already went across Equestria. Or so she claimed. No dice." Rarityyyy...I know you're a fashion designer, but ya gotta have self-restraint! Mandy's brain screamed. She wanted to badly to put it into words. She wanted so badly to teleport Rarity to her and say it straight to her face. But it was a thought that had to stay in her mind, unfortunately. "That aside, how's my dress coming along?" Oprah asked. "Well, I'm almost done with yours. I, uh...kinda fell asleep in the process. Lucky I shut the machine off! Would've been a disaster otherwise..." Mandy gave a nervous chuckle as she clutched her scalp. "Keep it up, and let me know when you're done. I'm going back to my office. I need a juice box." "Okay! And, um, boss?" "Hm?" "You might want to consider letting me help you out at this gala. I made a dress and everything!" Mandy nodded. "I can help keep Rarity under control." Oprah's expression went dour, and she raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're not gonna go crazy too?" This question, however, was dismissed with a breezy laugh. "Oprah. This is a gala. I know better!" "Mhm." The Director gave a sly smile, then turned and headed for the door. "See you later." "Bye!" The sound of the bell tinkling marked Oprah's exit, although it didn't cheer Mandy up like it did all the other times it rang. She swiveled around in her chair and restarted the sewing machine, Olive looking on in worry as four words danced simultaneously on their lips. "Rarity...please come back." Over the course of three days, Precinct 13579 had given up. Not the fight, of course. Odd forbid. The world would end then. They had given up their search for Rarity. In spite of Odd Squad's modus operandi of perseverance, there are only so many tries you can pursue before you become on the brink of collapsing and giving up. Agents had hit that point, believing that Rarity had got AWOL without telling anyone. Still, when the gala went underway, the air was somewhat lively, with just a twinge of anxiety and upset lingering. Lights emitted from a large disco ball that melodically spun around the room, making the bullpen look more like an easy trap for a mare with a keen eye for design -- which wasn't its intent, but would be great if it did trap a mare with a keen eye for design. "I wonder when Mandy's going to get here." Olive mused, sitting at a nearby table with Otto, who happily finished sipping his drink of sparkling apple juice. "She did say she wouldn't be late, but the gala's already starting!" "At least the other ponies are here. And they look so regal!" Indeed, the Mane Five were willing attendees at the gala, all sporting the dresses that Peaches and Mandy had teamed up to make them. They hadn't gone for overly fancy -- not like Rarity's designs for the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot -- but they were enough to turn heads. The ponies were all huddled together, conversing about something that neither Olive nor Otto could hear. "No Rarity, though." "No..." Olive sighed. "I just hope this gala goes off seamlessly." Lucky for her, fate was out to try and prove her wrong, just this once. The double-doors opened, and in walked someone that made almost every single guest do a double take. "Is that Mandy?" "She looks so..." "Refined!" "Beautiful!" "Like a...princess!" Clad in a golden emerald-studded tiara, with her brown curly hair styled into a tight bun reminiscent of Oprah's, with makeup and lipstick adorning her face, was none other than Agent Mandy. Her rainbow-colored dress, plastered with silver sequins that shone when the light hit them in just the right spot, brought some color to an otherwise normally-dull aesthetic. Her curly tail was straightened and swooped down into a small curve at the end, and of course, it was adorned with a big, red, butterfly-shaped bow in the middle, with her bun sporting the same bow to secure it to her head. On her feet were a pair of high heels, silver in color, that clicked when she walked in a way that she adored. She certainly looked like a princess, and intended to make her entrance with that in mind. As Olive and Otto stared, they snapped back to their senses enough to realize that she was approaching them and quickly arose from their seats, respectively curtseying and bowing. "Your Majesty." Mandy giggle-n-snorted. "Hey now, no formalities! Not for this princess." Olive straightened up and looked behind Mandy. "Peaches isn't with you?" "She's coming. Aaaaany second now." Olive and Otto immediately exchanged glances with each other, as if to say, "Who's gonna top this?" The answer, of course, was walking through the door and turning heads at that moment. Gasps rippled through the area as agents became entranced by Peaches's stunning cyan-colored dress, which wasn't as flashy as Mandy's, but it was enough to pin her as an easy standout for more than just being a catperson with unique ears, claws, and a tail. "Whoa." Otto blinked. "Glitter?" "Peaches, you look amazing!" Olive exclaimed as the catgirl made her way over to the trio. "Oh, it's nothing, really..." "When you showed me your dress, I didn't think you had a whole ensemble planned!" "Mandy and I had a sort of...fashion challenge when making the dresses for everyone." Peaches glanced at Mandy's attire. "And I think she won." "Darn right I did!" "Rarity's not here, though..." Olive mused aloud. "Maybe she stayed away from the gala this time." Peaches responded. "Doubtful." Mandy said. "Rarity wouldn't miss an event like this for the world!" "Attention, everyone!" A loud cry from the second floor made everyone's heads swivel towards its source. Oprah was dressed at nowhere near the level that Peaches or Mandy had achieved, but with her gold clothing and accessories, it made her look stunning nonetheless. "Welcome to the Jackalope Gala!" she began. "I am hosting this gala in honor of my many years of serving as the Director of Precinct 13579. I am proud to have seen this precinct make strides in defeating oddness wherever it may be, with agents never giving up the fight. "I will admit, my past stint as a Director was very disastrous. I wish not to go into details, for those uninitiated, but regardless, those days are well over now. Since I became Director again in 1983, I have led this precinct through thick and thin, and I have remained loyal to Odd Squad since I first became an agent here even in spite of the events that unfolded. It is thanks to all of you that I have been able to continue leading, and I wish for many more years of leadership -- for all of you, and for future agents!" Applause erupted through the crowd. "However, despite my strong leadership, there has been one person who has always been by my side. One of my best agents, who has been the heart of this precinct, always bringing her best to every single case and every single fight, and managing to lift the spirit of Odd Squad as a whole when all hope is lost." Oprah smiled. "I would like to call up my second-in-command. The one, the only...Agent Mandy!" This time, cheers accompanied the applause as the hybrid stood up and took a bow before making her way towards the left staircase. The clinking noises her heels made were radiant and sounded almost like the impact of a hoof on the floor, but they were barely heard above the roar of the crowd. After she hugged Oprah, Mandy cleared her throat. "Thank you, everyone! I am proud to have served as Ms. O's second-in-command for many years, and I hope I can continue to serve as such throughout many more years! I hope you'll all have fun at this Jackalope Gala tonight! Be kind, 'kay?" The crowd applauded once more, and then dispersed. Mandy walked down the stairs with grace and headed back to the trio. "Wow, Mandy...that was an amazing speech!" "Eh, it was kinda impromptu! I didn't wanna go into a whole spiel or anythi-" Mandy's words were interrupted by the sound of the double-doors opening, indicating another guest. The reactions of agents, however, quickly turned from joyful to sour. "Oh great, it's her." "Who's that with her?" "Looks like...a bunch of ponies?" Trailing behind the guest were four ponies, dressed in fancy clothing that could certainly place them on equal footing (or hoofing, perhaps) as Mandy and Peaches. The head of this group was a strikingly-brilliant stallion, with a white coat and an azure mane. Befitting of his name, he also wore pants to go along with his dashing tuxedo. Three other ponies followed suit, one a unicorn with a gavel for a cutie mark, one with spectacles resting on the bridge of her nose, and the other wearing a rather extravagant hat with a design of a swan adorning its top. "I don't recognize those ponies..." Olive tilted her head, listening as the crowd had their eyes pinned on the new arrivals. "Whoever they are, they sure look fancy!" Otto remarked, his tone having just the slightest twinge of jealousy. "Rarity!" "Hm? Oh, Mandy, darling!" The unicorn mare made her way over to the group, her plus-ones all following suit. "How lovely to see you! Do you like my dress?" She turned, exposing a shining, near-blinding dress studded with layers of blue and diamonds at its ends that Mandy could have sworn were real...or at least as real as Equestrian diamonds were. The hybrid took in the rest of her friend's appearance -- her neat bun, her diamond-studded golden tiara, and the blue bow that sat atop her dress that looked akin to a small pair of butterfly wings. But why was she obsessing over her appearance when there was a bigger issue at hand? "I had it sewed just for this momentous occa-" "Rarity, where were you these past few days?! Everyone's been asking about you, a-and I had to pose as you, and I even made some of the others' dresses for you!" Mandy could feel the stares of the crowd boring into her as she practically shouted, but didn't bother to address them. "I even made one for you, and you didn't even bother to pick it up! Instead you're wearing..." A series of scoffs bubbled up from her throat. "What, one from an Equestrian boutique?" "Yes." Rarity nodded. "But you see, I wanted this gala to be one of the most historical in all of Odd Squad! After all, Ms. O has been a Director for many, many years, and it would be wrong for this gala to be one of those plain old boring events like in the past." "Is...is that why you...the flashy outfi-" "So I invited some close friends from Canterlot to attend!" Rarity giggled. "Oh, they do so enjoy fancy galas like this." "Did you even get Ms. O's permission?" Peaches asked, although she was nearly dead-sure she knew the answer. "Mm, well...Ms. O doesn't necessarily doesn't have a set guest list, you see. But she does seem to be a very open-minded person, especially when it comes to events like this." Olive and Otto both stifled a giggle. "Open-minded"? Try explaining why she's refused to hire ponies into her precinct! "Rarity...this event is for Odd Squad agents, not your stuck-up Canterlot friends!" Mandy could spot Fancy Pants and the others looking rather offended, and she shot them apologetic looks before continuing. "Do they even know Ms. O?! Do they even work for Odd Squad?!" "Ooooh, well, no!" Rarity blinked. "But when I told them of the event, they absolutely begged me to come! And I simply cannot say no to them. It would leave such a mark on Odd Squad." "Pardon us, Rarity." Fancy Pants and the others made their way forward. "Are these some of your human friends you've told us about?" "Oh, yes, yes! This is Mandy." "Nice to meet you." "That's Olive and Otto." "Hi!" "Hey." "And this is Peaches." "Greetings." The Canterlot denizens looked each person over, muttering various words of praise -- no doubt about the outfits. "It's simply wonderful to meet all of you." Fancy Pants nodded. "My name is Fancy Pants. This is Swan Song..." He pointed to the mare with the swan hat. "Silver Frames..." He pointed to the mare with the spectacles. "And Golden Gavel." He pointed to the only other stallion of the group. Everyone exchanged friendly hellos. "I must say..." Silver Frames remarked. "This seems like quite the gala." "Oh, yes!" Mandy said, setting aside her beef with Rarity for now. "Um, it's our boss's...uh...w-well, she's led Odd Squad -- that's the organization we work for -- for a long time, and this gala is in honor of her!" "I see. May we meet her?" the mare asked. "Um...see, she's very busy right now. Talking." Sweat beads began to form on Mandy's face, and Peaches could swear she saw her cousin visibly shaking. "P-perhaps I can introduce you to her later?" "That would be wonderful." Fancy Pants nodded, apparently oblivious to Mandy's anxiety as he turned to the other guests. "Now, let us go and get acquainted with some of the other humans here, hmm? I, for one, would simply love to meet them all!" "Yes, of course, of course!" Golden Gavel said. "Let us go!" Swan Song cheered, before the group departed with Rarity in tow as she waved at an on-the-verge-of-an-anxiety-attack Mandy. Howcouldthisgetanyworseonoddhowcoulditgetanyworse- Just as Peaches, Olive and Otto were about to ask Mandy if she was okay, it got worse. "Oh, there you four are!" Oprah waved. "Mandy, that was an amazing speech you gave. Even if it wasn't much of a speech." All the hybrid could do was let her mouth open itself and let out a series of ungodly noises from her throat that no one would ever think someone of her species could make. "Are you all right?" The noises continued, then coalesced into something that could best be described as either an inarticulate yell, or a long gasp being sucked in with harsh force. "She's- mmph!" Any comfort Olive was willing to give was quickly silenced by Mandy holding a hand to her mouth. In an effort to save face, the hybrid conjured up a glass of water and quickly chugged it, giving a satisfied "aah" and a big grin as a way to say "all righty, pipes are cleared". "You're not getting sick, are you?" Oprah asked, a worried expression settling on her face. "I know you looked fine when you gave the speech, but many odd illnesses can progress quickly. The last thing I need is another odd outbreak, let alone one during the gala!" Mandy didn't say anything, just let the grin turn lopsided out of nervousness. Go and tell her, you moron! If you don't, she's gonna find out eventually, and then she'll punish you and she'll probably kick Rarity out and she'll- "Oprah...Rarity arrived at the gala a few minutes ago." She snapped out of her thoughts. It took every single inch of willpower she had not to strangle the source of the voice with her tail. "Agent Rarity arrived?" Oprah looked behind her. "Where? Where?!" "Um...about that." The noise Mandy made was somewhere in between a long slow wheeze and a soft squeal. She didn't know if it was happening to her physically, but she could mentally feel her body beginning to deflate, and any semblance of rationality or thinking had gone out her ear and was flying off to another needy person. "Over there." Peaches pointed to where Rarity and her guests were chatting with two agents, both of whom looked visibly uncomfortable. "Rarity...wha..." Oprah blinked. "Wh-who are those ponies?!" "We don't know, but she says she brought them from Canterlot to attend this gala. Apparently, word got around." Olive explained. "So that's where she's been these past few days?!" Oprah's voice was a shout, although it attracted the attention of hardly anyone. "Out gallivanting in Equestria, telling everyone about the Jackalope Gala, instead of working?!" If Mandy wasn't shaking before, she certainly was now. Sweat cascaded down her face, threatening to ruin the makeup she had spent hours just putting on. Villains, break in here and take me away from here. Abduct me! Capture me! I don't care, she's gonna punish me and it's gonna sting like a gajillion Staticbees! "I will admit, I didn't prevent anyone from coming, pony or human. But I thought Rarity would have enough common sense not to bring guests!" Oprah scoffed. "No one has ever brought guests to past events unless they're parties!" She got a good look at Rarity's outfit. "And what is she wearing?! She looks like she's trying to outshine me in fashion!" "You're pretty much right on the mark with that last bit." Otto gave an eye roll. "Those ponies can't be here. As...refined as they may seem..." Oprah sighed. "I am limiting this gala to Odd Squad agents only!" And with that declaration, she marched off to deal with the gala crashers. A pause lingered in the air, and then Mandy completely snapped. Next thing she knew, Peaches was getting a nice hearty smack to the cheek. "Ow!" "You IDIOT! You absolute IDIOT! Now everyone's gonna blame me! They're gonna think I made Rarity bring in guests, but I didn't! I didn't bring guests in and- mmph!" Now it was Mandy's turn to have her mouth plugged by a hand. By Olive's hand as payback, in fact. "Mandy, stop! You're ridden with anxiety. You're not thinking straight!" "Momma, don't you get it?!" Mandy snapped, throwing Olive's arm down. "These agents come to both me and Oprah for support. If she suffers, I suffer along with her. If agents hate her, then they will most certainly hate me as well." Peaches could only blink for a few moments before words came tumbling out. "Cuz, that's the stupidest logic I've ever heard! You and Oprah aren't one in the same. You're different people in different positions!" "If I don't take action then I will be seen as a failure! Agents will hate me! My position at Odd Squad will be no more!" It was now Mandy's turn to receive a "you're acting stupid" slap, one given by Peaches herself. "Mandy, calm down! Just...calm down." Olive said. "Look, Oprah will handle the situation. It's her gala." The slap was what made the hybrid snap out of it. She took a deep breath. "Y-you're right!" A bout of nervous laughter slipped its way forth either way, though, as she rubbed her cheek. "You're right. I-I'm fine! I'm fine." Otto had to bite his tongue so the words "no, you're definitely not fine" weren't said. "Well, I say! If we are not welcome at this gala, then I do suppose we should take our leave!" The sound of Fancy Pants's voice caused the group to turn their attention towards the stallion, looking rather offended as he began to make his way towards the steel double-doors. Upset murmurs from the crowd lingered overhead. "Fine! Take Rarity with you!" The upset murmurs quickly turned into angry shouts with just those five words, spoken by an agent that no one could see. "M-me?!" "Rarity, don't go with them. That's an order!" Oprah bellowed, following the Canterlot elite through the bullpen while keeping her piercing brown gaze on her agent. "Rarity? If you do not wish to come with us, dare I say, it would hurt your social standing in Canterlot." Fancy Pants remarked. "Considering you own Canterlot Carousel, ponies might stop buying your clothing." The unicorn mare's eyes widened. For all the time she had once spent with Fancy Pants, she certainly hadn't thought of how her boutique and her business would be affected. She glanced at Oprah, then at Fancy Pants and the others, and back and forth again. "Rarity..." came Oprah's voice, through gritted teeth. "Is Oprah really making Rarity choose?" Olive asked, although the repeated chants of other Odd Squad agents to "get her out, get her out" made her question rather rhetorical. "Oh cattails." "Those agents aren't looking too happy!" Otto tacked on. "They're gonna riot, they're gonna riot!" Mandy panicked. "I hafta get out there!" "Mandy, don't!" The hybrid ignored Olive's cry, instead running as fast as her high heels would allow her to go...which only ended in disaster when one of her heels snapped off, sending her tumbling to the ground. A pain began to rocket through her leg, and it didn't take her long to deduce what had happened. "Oww, my ankle!" she cried out, pulling herself up as she gazed backwards at her wings. At least I can still move... "EVERYONE STOP!!" The echoing cry made everyone, even Rarity and her guests, stop and look at Mandy, hovering in midair with her right foot hanging completely limp. "Ms. O, are you really making Rarity choose between going back to Equestria or staying here?" "These agents don't want her here, Mandy. Rarity's only intent was to show off and that's it!" "Wh- now, that is simply not true!" "Then how come you were missing for three days straight? I've been worried sick about you, and so have Peaches, Mandy and the other ponies! Not one of them could find you! All because you were gathering up some other ponies from Equestria to attend the gala when I thought I had implied this was strictly for Odd Squad agents!" "But it was all in good intention! I-I wanted this gala to be special for you, Ms. O!" Rarity cried out. "After all... Odd Squad and Equestria are connected, no? It would do you some good to connect with some Equestrian natives." That was the boiling point for the Director. Her face began to turn red, and her expression twisted into one of rage that most every agent was familiar with. Mandy landed on her feet, the pain seeming nonexistent to her as she watched her boss let it all loose. "I don't want Equestrian natives in my Odd Squad! I am happy with my precinct the way it is, and I don't need some...some..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "...prissy ponies to change it!" This earned her a collective gasp from Rarity and her guests. The other Mane Five, likewise, looked hurt as well. "Well!" Fancy Pants slammed a hoof down. "I think it is safe to say that we will not be returning here again! We are leaving!" His other guests agreed, giving disgruntled murmurs as they shot Oprah killing glares and followed the stallion out the doors. Rarity's eyes began to fill up with tears. "M-Ms. O-" "Go." A pause. "But-" "What are you waiting for? GO!!" Rarity sniffled. She looked at all of the guests, most of whom nodded in agreement with their boss. She looked at Mandy and her group, all giving sympathetic looks. And then she looked at her friends, who were wearing looks of disapproval. The looks she hated the most. With that, the mare took off running, sobbing loudly and dramatically as she went through the double-doors. "Rarity, wa- aah!" As Mandy began to take off after her, she promptly fell on the floor again, forgetting that she had an injury. The pain came back, and she grit her teeth. Olive was quick to race over to her. "Mandy, are you okay?" "My ankle's sprained..." "Keep your weight off of it for now." Olive urged, helping Mandy to her one good foot. "Fly instead." "This gala is over." came Oprah's voice, sending a ripple of concerned murmurs through the crowd. "But at least Rarity's gone!" one agent called out. "Oh, we were so worried she was going to outshine you again, boss!" The murmurs turned into sounds of agreement. "Really?" Mandy said, her expression turning into one of disgust as she hovered above the group. "Maybe it's true outshining Ms. O was Rarity's intent, or maybe it's not. I don't know. It still doesn't give you a right to go against her!" She scoffed. "Has anyone even tried just talking to her and addressing their concerns with her?" As expected, a lot of the answers were something along the lines of "no" or "I never thought of it". A growl burst its way forth from the hybrid's throat. "Ms. O-" "Don't." The Director gazed towards the stairs. "I'm going to be alone." Wordlessly, the crowd watched as their gala star ascended the left staircase, her heels clinking on the metal with a sound that everyone could hear now. When she reached her office, she opened the door, then slammed it closed as hard as one could get with a glass door without it breaking into a million pieces. A concerned collective gasp then followed. "I'm disappointed in you. All of you!" Mandy said, watching as the agents turned their attention from their boss's office to her. "Odd Squad is supposed to be about teamwork. Working together to achieve a common goal. Well here's some logic for you: teamwork doesn't work when all of you gang up on someone else!" She narrowed her eyes. "The least you could've done was talk to Rarity and tell her that her outfits are too flashy. She probably would've listened if you did that!" A scoff. "But noooo. You had to shoo her out when the time was right. Some pathetic lot you all are." To accentuate her point, she flew down to a table filled with assorted cups and a punch bowl, and slammed her fist on it. "Fashion designers know where to draw the line between being fashionable and being a show-off! I should know, I AM ONE!!" Her angry gaze swept the room. She didn't take in the others' concerned and startled reactions, instead hyperfocusing on one particular agent. "You." "M-m-me?" "You're one of the agents I saw the other day, talking about Rarity and how she acted at previous events." The girl's eyes widened. "You listened?!" "Well, we were standing right there and you happened to walk by with your partner. These pony ears aren't just for show, ya know!" The girl looked like she was on the verge of crying. "I-I'm sorry." "Don't tell it to me, tell it to the pony you hurt!" After her gaze swept the room for any sign of her partner, it stopped on Olive. "Momma!" "Yes?" "Take this agent, find her partner and Rarity, and have both of them apologize to her. Now. Make sure they settle their differences." "Right!" Olive obeyed, if not on instinct, then because she knew Authoritarian Mandy was not a Mandy you wanted to mess with on any given day. "As for the rest of you..." Mandy's gaze softened. "You heard our boss. Go home. The gala is over." "Sugarcube..." Applejack's disheartened voice briefly broke the hybrid out of her sad stupor. "We'd like to help with cleanup, if we can. I think Rarity just needs some time to herself. To talk with these agents about their concerns n' such." "I have no problem with that." Mandy said. "Rainbow Dash, can you get some gauze from the Medical Bay for my ankle, please? It's sprained and it's gonna get infected if I don't stay off of it." "Yeah, sure." The Pegasus quickly soared up to Dr. O's workplace, finding it still lit and making her way inside. "Let's move!" Two claps were given -- a signal, albeit a rare one from Directors, for agents to begin moving on their assigned tasks. Whatever they were doing after that, however, Mandy didn't care about. Her entire body began to ache with sadness. All the work I did...all the work everyone did...and for nothing. Three days were spent planning this gala...and for nothing. And it's all because of that stupid,[i/] arrogant...mare-ogant...ha... She took a deep breath. Pun aside. I shouldn't get mad. I'm not gonna stoop to these agents' level. Let them work it out amongst themselves. Maybe then, Rarity will see the error of her ways, and things will be fine again. Be that as it may, though, there's one thing that's undeniable. "This gala was a disaster." "Don't beat yourself up over it, cuz." Peaches said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault." "Yeah, it was just a misunderstanding." Otto said. "I know, but...I really wanted this to go off without a hitch for Oprah. She's done so much for this precinct, and for Odd Squad. To have this gala ruined, it's...a disgrace to her!" No one gave a rebuttal to that. The group stayed silent for a while, until Mandy snapped her fingers. "Ah! I have an idea!" "What is it?" Peaches tilted her head. Mandy smiled. "What kind of cake flavor does Oprah like?" Otto caught on immediately, and nodded. "Now that we can do!" Long after having cried her eyes out, Rarity sat in the back of her Odd Squad boutique. Mascara streaked down her face in an artistically gloomy way. Her dress had been taken off and thrown on the cyan couch that she still had to get rid of. She looked to be a mess all around -- surely a prospective villain who just needed to jump off the slippery slope. Three knocks at the door. "Rarity, can we come in?" It was Olive's voice. A pause, and then the door opened, the little bell tinkling its familiar tune. "Rarity? It's Olive. I've brought someone who has something to say to you." The mare summoned up what anger she had left to give a "hmph" of protest. She didn't know whom Olive had brought, but that didn't mean she was so keen on turning herself around and scaring them with her horrid appearance, allowing them to mock her further. "Rarity? We, um..." The sound of a boy's voice. "We've said some really awful things about you that we shouldn't have." "See, me and a bunch of other agents...we all think that the outfits you wear to parties and stuff are too...well...they make you seem like a showoff." Rarity lifted her head, her expression contorting into one of upset. The girl continued. "And we know you're a fashion designer, and you take pride in your work, but we'd appreciate it if you perhaps, um...maybe toned it down with your outfits?" A pause lingered in the room. Rarity's expression turned into one of a softer upset. She stood up and gave a soft inhale. "All I wanted was to make this gala special for Ms. O. I never meant to steal the show for myself with my outfit, but..." She bit her lip. "Part of what I love in being a fashion designer is having creative freedom. Perhaps I...do go overboard with my outfits, but when I do, it is only out of love and passion for what I do for a living." Olive could see the two agents gritting their teeth, no doubt feeling massive regret now that they were aware of just how much Rarity loved her job. "I'm terribly sorry for what I've done, but please...do try to understand." The boy opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word in, Olive spoke in his stead. "You know, Rarity, part of the reason why you and Mandy work so well together on making clothing is because Mandy doesn't usually go overboard with creating outfits like you sometimes tend to do. Key word being 'sometimes', of course..." She rolled her eyes. "But why don't you consult her if you ever feel like something you make might not be fitting for an event? Or just in general? After all, she is a fashion designer as well. She just doesn't do it for a living like you do. But it's a fun hobby for her." Her face brightened. "Peaches as well. And me. I can only sew up Burly Bears uniforms...but Peaches? She sewed that yellow dress she wears herself. One of the reasons she was a pariah of Vallea was because of her love of fashion. I'm sure she would love to help you out if you would just extend a hoof to her." Rarity wanted to snap at her right then and there. Tell her that she didn't need her worldly Odd Squad Director advice. Why was she even apologizing anyway, when she wasn't telling Rarity to haul flank? But deep down inside, she knew she was right. Why did she have to drag Peaches and Mandy into this, tho- "Believe in your friends, Rarity." ...Oh. Maybe that was why. She thought back to all the fun times she had with her friends. I grew up with Mandy, the little doll. Ever since she was a baby...she's never had a mean bone in her body for anyone but nasty villainous ruffians. A pain stabbed her heart as she thought back to the gala. She wanted this gala to be perfect, too, perhaps. She even made outfits together with Peaches. And I just ended up ruining it...for what? Just to bring a couple guests from Canterlot who didn't even know Ms. O? I didn't just let Ms. O down. I let Mandy down, too. She's my friend. Why did I do this? And Peaches...I admittedly have not known her for very long, but she's so nice. Would it be too much of a stretch to say that this was her very first party she ever attended? Perhaps. Any way you slice it, all I did was mess things up for her. And Olive...the dress she's wearing is so stunning I simply must wonder if she's lying to me and she made that herself. It is the perfect dress for her. But I only ended up ruining the gala for her too. Thoughts swirled around in her head like a slop stew of every food imaginable. She began to cry again, feeling her nose clog up and something wet streaming down her face. But before she sent herself into another crying fit, she uttered out, "I...suppose I could do that." "Wonderful!" The girl stepped forward. "I'm really sorry for saying all those things, Rarity. Mandy was right. I should have come straight to you instead of talking behind your back." "I'm sorry too." The boy nodded. "From now on, I'll talk to you if there's an issue between me or my partner." Rarity stood up. The agony of a meltdown was coming, and she couldn't stop it. She needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. "I just...think I need to be alone for the night." "We'll respect that." Olive nodded. "The other ponies are helping with cleanup in the bullpen, so feel free to contact them if you need anything, okay?" She received only a soft "mmm" in response. "And don't go near Ms. O right now. She's..." Olive winced. "Not happy. To put it mildly." That tidbit didn't matter to Rarity. She wasn't going to see Ms. O anyway. That would be a fool's errand. Besides, she had some crying to do. She quickly speed-trotted past Olive and past the agent pair, opening the door and closing it. The sound of running hoofsteps were heard going to the right -- no doubt the mare was heading for the Bedroom for some alone time. "Is she gonna be okay?" the boy asked. Olive nodded, although it wasn't one of her usual confident nods. "You two did the right thing. Once she reflects on our words, I'm sure she'll be fine. Now come on." She made her way towards the door. "You can help clean up in the bullpen." The two partners exchanged glances with each other, as if telling each other that they weren't sure if their senior's words rung true, but followed her out the door nonetheless. Oprah set the flower crown she had made herself and worn to the gala down on her office desk. She contemplated taking off her dress as well, but realized that she wasn't wearing anything under it. Odd forbid some agent wandered in and found her naked...she needed to spare herself the embarrassment. A knock at the glass door nearly made her jump, and she swiveled her head to find Peaches and Otto entering the room. "Hey, Oprah!" Peaches waved. "Otto and I brought you a cake! You know, as a present of sorts." The three-layer chocolate cake was set down on the table. Oprah had to resist gawking. And how do you think I'm going to eat all of that? Not to mention, chocolate isn't even my favorite flavor! Still, her mouth watering spoke words of the contrary. She shook her head. "I'm not hungry right now, Peaches. But thank you." "You still upset over the gala?" Oprah sighed, her tired brown eyes fixating on Otto. "I'm not upset over the gala so much as I'm upset with...Rarity." The dryness in her mouth was only made worse by the name dancing on the edge of her tongue, like a poison. "She brought her haughty little pony friends to the gala and didn't even tell me!" "I'm sure she didn't have malicious intent behind it." Peaches said. "I will admit, I don't know Rarity as well as the two of you do, but from what I do see, she's very loyal to Odd Squad." "Then how do you explain all the other times she supposedly outshone me?" Oprah snapped. "Now I see those two agents weren't lying to me when they talked about barring her from the gala." "I guess you could say she got a little carried away." Otto scratched the back of his neck. Peaches nodded in agreement. "It's just...this Jackalope Gala was meant to be a celebration for me. For my leadership. I didn't want it to turn disastrous like this." The Director heaved a sigh and made her way over to the couch, taking off her bracelets and necklaces next. "I should have clarified." "Hm?" "The blame's on Rarity, and on me. I didn't clarify that only Odd Squad agents were allowed to attend. And as a result...this is what happened." "Not that that would have stopped her..." Otto remarked. "But as a suggestion, do you feel like...talking to Rarity? First thing tomorrow? You can sleep on it tonight." "Good idea!" Peaches nodded. "If you two talk it out and take the time to listen to each other, you can both apologize and this whole problem can be fixed." "It's-" She stopped herself from instinctively saying "a bad idea", instead exhaling slowly. "Not a bad idea, I suppose. But I don't know if Rarity will even want to see me again." "Tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start!" Peaches chirped. "Just trust us, Oprah." The Director had to resist the urge to remark on when Peaches turned into Mandy -- the wisdom she gave sounded awfully familiar. She glanced from her to Otto and back again, finally giving a resigned sigh. "You're right. Both of you. I can't brood over this." She stood up. "It's like...this has left a hole in my heart. And if talking to Rarity is what'll fill it back up again...then it's what I have to do." Peaches and Otto exchanged smiles. "Now, why don't you have some cake? I know you said you weren't hungry, but why not have some to cheer you up?" Peaches said, turning around and walking towards the doors. "We're gonna go downstairs and finish cleaning up in the meantime." "Have a good night!" Otto waved as he turned on his heel and made his way out the door, Peaches following suit and leaving Oprah alone in her office once more. She looked at the cake. She felt hungry now, even though she had a lot of juice at the gala. "Talking to Rarity...perhaps that will fix everything." She huffed. "Perhaps. Maybe." She closed her eyes. "Hopefully..." Cleanup hadn't taken terribly long, but between it and the events of the gala, it still left Mandy wiped clean of energy. After using the bathroom, she limped back to the Bedroom in her pajamas, her legs feeling like they were made not out of blood and bones and whatever else legs were made out of, but pure lead. She entered the room and glanced at the clock, which read 9:00 AM. A yawn wracked her body. "I could go for two more hourzz..." she muttered, slipping back into bed and allowing her eyes to close as her head rested on the pillow. "Mandy!" Her eyes snapped awake and she perked up. "Huh?!" Her head swiveled back and forth. "Where's the fire?! I didn't do it, I'm innocent!" Her gaze then landed on Rarity, who was nothing more than a blurry white-and-purple shape in her line of vision. "Oh...Rarity, look, lazzt night wazz a dizzazzter n' I just need zzleep..." "No no, you simply must come now! Come, come!" If Mandy had enough energy, she would let out a muffled scream straight into her pillow. Instead, she simply buried her face in it. Rarity squinted, then gave a resigned sigh and lit up her horn. Next thing Mandy knew, she was on the floor, the ankles of her pants being dragged by this disturbance of her peace who just so happened to be a friend of hers. She let out a faint cry of protest, being the only way she could actually protest since fatigue left her bogged down enough for physical protesting to be off the board. The duo entered Rarity's boutique, where Oprah was standing and talking to both Peaches and Olive about a conversation that Mandy didn't care to understand. "See, Ms. O and I, we...we had a little talk about last night. Ms. O believed that the best course of action was to make up with me." Rarity explained a few minutes later. "And..." "We want to apologize." For a few moments, Mandy didn't respond. Her mind had almost completely shut down. But she knew that she couldn't leave without answering -- and even if she did, these four would just hunt her down and disturb her again, anyway. So she used only a small bit of her energy to give out short responses. "For what?" "You're my second-in-command, Mandy, and you have been for a long time. Even if you haven't been around since the second time I became a Director, this gala was supposed to be special for you. And...I'm sorry it had to get ruined like this." "Mm. Z' okay." "Oprah and Rarity already apologized to us." Olive explained. "They've made up. To Peaches and I, that's all that matters." A suggestion popped into Mandy's head. "Hozzt 'nother gala..." Rarity's eyes widened. She glanced at the other three girls. "Host another gala, you say...that wouldn't be a bad idea." "I agree." Oprah nodded, and once she saw Olive and Peaches nod in agreement, she declared, "Then it's settled. Next week, we'll host another Jackalope Gala! No conflict, no interruptions, and a fun time for all of Odd Squad!" Rarity, Olive and Peaches all let out various cheers. Mandy, on the other hand, was too tired to cheer, and could only settle for a pumped fist. "Oh, while I have you here, why don't I look at your ankle?" "I don't think her sprained ankle is on the list of Mandy's priorities right now, Olive." A sad and pitiful moan left the hybrid as her face rested on the floor. "Cuz, go to bed." Immediately, the hybrid perked up. Her eyes shimmered. Her horn lit up, and she teleported away without another sound uttered or another word spoken. "Wh- wha- I'm- what did you do that for?!" Olive cried out. "She's hurt!" "Did you see the way Rarity dragged her in?" "Well, she wouldn't come in any other way, darling. She's much too heavy to carry on my back. I can't practice feats of self-levitation like Twilight can. And none of you were willing to get her." The other three remained silent. "Anyway, the point of the matter is, me and Ms. O are good again. And now, if you will be so inclined to please leave my boutique so I may work on my dress for the next Jackalope Gala, that would be wonderful." "Can I help?" Peaches asked. "Oh, of course, darling. Olive, you as well. I'd like to teach you the more finer points of sewing than just running needles through fabrics of maroon and white." Olive shrugged. "By all means. It would help with Otto's ripped suits that he somehow manages to complain about at least once every month." "Wonderful! Please, do grab another sewing machine from the back room, if you will." Olive nodded and headed to where Rarity pointed. "A juice box for your efforts?" Rarity swiveled her head to find an apple-flavored juice box being held in front of her face by a smiling Oprah. "Ms. O, darling, you've...never offered me one of these before!" "I know. But this time is special." "What's the occasion?" Her smile grew wider. "Friendship reunion." Rarity, Olive, Peaches and Mandy all worked overtime on making dresses for the other ponies and for themselves. It was hard work, considering Olive's many messes and many mistakes, but the group got the work done, and were proud of what they had created. The second Jackalope Gala, unlike the first one, went smoothly. Everyone had fun, and Rarity even got a chance to debut her new plain-and-simple-but-still-very-fashionable dress to the surprise and delight of everyone. After many hours of dancing, socializing, and eating, agents began to clean up. Mandy had been tasked with cleaning up the Breakroom, and was scrubbing the table in an attempt to get one particular sticky juice stain out. "Hey, Mandy?" "Hmm?" "You know the cake Otto and Peaches brought to me a couple days ago?" "Yeah. What about it?" Mandy asked, not bothering to turn around. "They said it was your idea, and I just wanted to say...thanks. But I'm not really a big cake person." Oprah made her way over to the fridge and took the cake out, which had a slice missing but was otherwise intact. "You can have it." Any focus that Mandy had on her task was completely lost, dropped into the abyss of the Volcano Room and being incinerated by the lava below. Scrubbing the table be darned, there was a huge cake just waiting for her! A gift, from the best boss in the world! "You're going to eat it in one bite, aren't you?" Oprah deadpanned, noticing the wide grin on her agent's face. "Don't mind if I do!" With her tongue quickly wrapping around the foodstuff and pulling all three layers into her mouth at once, Mandy chewed thrice, and then swallowed. Oprah, in spite of having seen this feat before, stared, completely dumbstruck. "You didn't even taste it!" "Aww, I know! But I can always make another one. You know that." The two stood in silence for a long time. Mandy blinked. "Actually, I'm gonna go make another one." Oprah simply rolled her eyes and chuckled, walking away as Mandy began to take out supplies to whip up another cake with.
S1E7: The Art of Animalistic DeceptionThe sound of a bell rung nearby. Citizens went about their daily lives, the sound signaling that it had hit noontime. However, the bell had no impact on Mandy, who was in the midst of a fight with Astral Thunder, a Pegasus stallion that, surprisingly, hadn't put up much of a fight. Receiving his due punishment for dropping fillies and colts into a polka-dotted pool of his own creation because "polka dots look cool on ponies", and having physically harmed the sole adult mare exception, he had a hammer resting on the fronts of his teeth. "You're fun. But let's make this quick, shall we?" Astral coughed. "Please..." "Lemme guess, you got a wife and kids?" Mandy opened her mouth wide as she shoved the hammer ever so slowly into his teeth until he was forced to open his mouth. "Yawn. Heard that way too many times before." He began to hack. Mandy took a unique twist and bent the handle of her hammer downwards, hearing something crack but not having the heart to investigate what it was. "You're an idiot. Thinking you could harm my partner, have you no shame?" He was choking now, his eyes reduced to pinpricks but still full of fear. Mandy wasn't sure exactly what spurred her to give up in that moment. Maybe it was her stomach growling something fierce, or maybe it was her moral judgment winning over. But she dropped the ball anyway. "Go, you pathetic equine." She slid the hammer out of the stallion's mouth, and he took a few moments to engage in some heavy breathing. "Go!" With a round of coughs, he staggered away, his wings drooping downwards and nearly touching the ground. "AND GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" came the final warning, although she knew he really couldn't go any faster than the speed of a juice-withdrawal-addled Oprah. She held up her hammer and examined it. "You poor thing, you're in need of a sharpening! I'll have to see what I can do back at HQ." With that said, she took to the skies, hoping to spot a nearby open tube entrance so she could return home. With her belly full, Mandy could return to work. Or she could, if there weren't banging noises from nearby disallowing her from getting into the groove as she filled out O-136 form after O-136 form. The sound of a screech didn't help either. "Oww! Geez, Pinkie, can you stop?!" Mandy snapped, folding down her ears and glancing at the source. "Huh?!" Said source was certainly not Pinkie -- it was a rather small and spherical creature, with big oval eyes, a small mouth with razor-sharp teeth, and something on the bottom of the sphere that Mandy could only describe as being a pair of shoes. It chirped at her eagerly. "Wh...what are you? Haven't seen a creature like you around here before..." It gave a curious chirp. "Oh, there you are, little guy!" Fluttershy entered the bullpen, hovering over to the creature and picking it up in her hooves. "Thank you for finding him, Mandy." "Oh, hiya, Fluttershy!" Mandy greeted. "I didn't really find him...I mean I kinda did, but he probably just came here." "That means he must like you!" Fluttershy giggled. "What is this thing, anyway?" "His species doesn't have an official name yet, but agents tend to call them Toddle-bees." Toddle-bees? Mandy blinked. Weird name, but it certainly isn't the weirdest... "They're not native to this town. Ocean is doing more research on it." The creature gave a happy chirp. "Would you mind watching over this sweetie for a little while?" "Why's that?" "A Toddle-bee doesn't get along well with other creatures. It can be mischievous. You have enough energy to handle babysitting it." Mandy narrowed her eyes. "What am I, a chopped-liver energy machine to you?" she deadpanned. "I just got back shredding a villainous pony who harmed Pinka-Ponka." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Either way, whatever. I'm happy to watch over it for ya." "Great! Thank you. I'll come back for it later, okay?" Mandy nodded, and the creature gave a happy "goodbye" chirp as it watched Fluttershy soar off towards the Creature Room. She glanced it over and smiled. "You really are an adorable little thing!" she cooed. "Can't be any more adorable than me, though!" The creature tilted its head. "C'mon, I gotta go over to Momma's and Otto's precinct to make a delivery!" Chirping happily, the creature found itself placed on Mandy's shoulder as the hybrid got up and bounced through the steel double-doors. Olive was hard at work, scribbling on papers and muttering incomprehensible words to herself. She even had a pair of glasses on, just for the professionally aesthetic purposes. Otto, meanwhile, was sitting on the couch, letting out a loud yawn as he scrolled through the week's edition of The New Shmumber Times. Luckily for the latter, there was someone arriving who would cure his boredom. "Hello-oooooo!" Mandy called in glorious singsong, pushing a cart full of suits from almost every single department into the office. "I brought those suits you wanted, Momma!" "That's nice." the girl murmured, not even bothering to look up or properly acknowledge Mandy. "She's been busy all day." Otto exclaimed, seeing Mandy's confused expression. "I'll take them off your hands. Thanks for bringing them here." "Ah, no problem!" Mandy waved a hand dismissively, before a sudden chill ran up her spine. She glanced at her right shoulder, and sure enough, the creature that had been perched on it was gone. "Wah! Wh-where's the Toddle-bee?!" "The what-bee?" Mandy ignored Otto. Her gaze swept the room, and something green and stumbling caught her eye as it made its way towards Olive's desk. A gasp left her lips. "No!" She quickly used her magic to levitate the creature and gently move it back towards her. "No no, don't go near Momma!" she scolded. "She's...she's not a pretty sight to behold when she gets taken away from important business." Its face contorted into one of anger, before it let out the same screeching noise that had annoyed her earlier. Olive perked up, and Mandy marked her swift exit in one bright rainbow-colored flash. The Director's gaze moved from the spot where the flash was located, to Otto, and back and forth again. Her brow furrowed, then with a sigh, she wordlessly returned to her work. Internally, Otto breathed a sigh of relief, going back to reading his newspaper. By the time Mandy had arrived at the Bedroom, the creature had resigned to simply growling at her. "All right, look, you can't run off like that! I know you're a troublemaker, but when I'm babysittin' ya, there's no trouble that's gonna be caused. Not on my watch!" Its mood quickly went from anger to sadness on the flip of a coin, and she soon found herself staring at puppy-dog eyes, brimmed with tears and sparkles. She grit her teeth, and then shook her head vigorously. "No! I'm not gonna be fooled by cute puppy eyes! Only I can make cute puppy eyes!" she declared, before a feeling of whimsy overtook her and her voice softened. "It's the only way I can get Momma to make her delicious strawberry pie..." The Toddle-bee watched with a knowing smile, mentally taking notes -- the way to distract her was with strawberry pie made by her mother. Whoever that was. Whatever that was. Either way, it would make a good tip to have on reserve for when it did its thing. A yawn interrupted the hybrid's fantasy before she capped it off with a tired sigh. "All this work's made me kinda sleepy. You wanna join me for my daily nap?" It chirped happily as if to say "yes". "Weird. You don't look tired." A look of realization settled on her face. "Ohhh...you love to sleep, don't you?" A nod. "All righty, then! Lemme go and get my hammer first, okay? Stay there, I won't be long!" With a mighty flap of her wings, she soared out of the room, and the creature cooed in thought. It wasn't quite sure of its surroundings, or really, who this girl was that had adored it so. All it knew was that it was someone else to cause trouble for. And it would relish in the chance for as long as it could. A few minutes later, the door closed as Mandy returned with hammer in hand. "AndI'mback!" She sighed. "This head still feels rubbery. Gonna hafta ask Odenbacker to check that out later...again." The creature tilted its head. "All right, to bed with you!" Mandy ordered, extending her arms upwards in a stretch before telekinetically taking off her shoes, and then her navy jacket. She then made her way into bed, the creature climbing the nightstand next to it in order to get a better view. After examining the bed further, it decided that the best place to sleep would be with the only heat source within it, and so, it snuggled under her arm. She gave a satisfied sigh. "You know, I kinda like you. Why don't I give you a name?" It gave a tired chirp, the heat from her body already getting to it and ruffling its fur. "Hmm...how about Coco? That's simple enough!" A pause. "But I don't know if you're a boy or a girl...mm..." She closed her eyes to think, and then they flew open only a mere few seconds later. "Hey, how about Natsu? Do you like that?" Another chirp was her response as the creature, now dubbed Natsu, waved the small stubs it had for arms and hands in a happy motion. "Good!" Mandy yawned again. "Now why don't we get some sleep, mkay?" She closed her eyes once more, using her magic to flick the light switch downwards. "G'night, my little Natsu..." In the darkness, Natsu smiled a rather mischievous smile as it closed its eyes. Oprah and Twilight were booking it down the hallway, nearly slamming into each other every time they sharply turned a corner. "I can't believe someone made the volcano in the Volcano Room erupt!" "I hope the damage won't be serious!" "It will be if the lava seeps out of that room, agent!" Peaches opened the door to her room, only to find human child and full-grown mare barreling towards her at near-top speed. "What's going on?!" Oprah slowed to a speed-walk. "The volcano in the Volcano Room erupted. It wasn't supposed to do that for four more months!" "What?!" "We have to get Mandy and inform her of the situation. Her and Agent Twilight's magic can stop it!" Peaches wanted to question how that plan would work, exactly, but her brain made her head nod and her legs go along with the duo to the Bedroom without the question being asked. Only a minute later and the door flung open like the FBI was fitting to raid. "Mandy. Mandy, wake up, it's an emergency!" Oprah said, marching over to the hybrid's bed and shaking her vigorously. "I already told y' I don't wanna go t' th' fezztivul..." came a sleepy murmur in response before the earth-splitting snores continued. Oprah growled, gripping Mandy's arms tight enough that she couldn't care less about whether she was going to break bones or not. "C'mon, just this o-" Her gaze drifted to Natsu, who was wide awake and giving curious chirps as it wondered who these three new creatures were. "What is this thing?" Twilight stepped towards Mandy's bed and examined the creature. "I have no idea." "Peaches, did this come from Vallea?" the Director asked, her tone cautiously optimistic as she tried not to give in to the creature's cuteness that it was so very obviously displaying. "N-no! We don't have any creatures like that!" "Oh, I remember!" Twilight perked up. "That's a Toddle-bee. Fluttershy told me she and Ocean are doing research on it. She left it in Mandy's care in the meantime." Oprah's head slowly turned towards Twilight, an incredulous look on her face as she pondered how and when her second-in-command became a certified creature-sitter. "It seems to have an attachment to her..." she said, watching the creature purring as it hopped on Mandy's shoulder and rubbed her neck. A few moments passed before she perked up, suddenly remembering why she had come into the Bedroom in the first place. "But never mind that!" she declared, shaking her head. "If Mandy won't wake up, then we'll have to handle this ourselves. Come on!" As she set Mandy back onto her bed, she and Twilight both made their way out the door. Peaches began to follow them, but stopped and turned to look at the sleeping hybrid, who readjusted herself, yawned, and turned over onto her other side so she faced away from the door. "You sleep too much, cuz..." Peaches sighed, reaching for the doorknob and closing the door behind her. Natsu was then left with a lonesome feeling. Its "creature-sitter" or whatever the dark-skinned one had called it was asleep, and all it could do was go through the knowledge it had recently obtained. Sleeps too much... Human-cat and 'Mandy' cousins... Wise horse... Sleeps... Sleeeeeps... Alien 'creature-sitter' sleeps very much a lot... Must plan. A rather sinister-sounding chuckle emanated from the creature as it bore another mischievous smile. A few hours later, Olive roamed the halls, her arm clutching her stomach as she winced in discomfort. "I can't believe I missed dinner!" She stifled a growl. "And it isn't like Omi would make anything edible to eat..." A loud grumble of her stomach caused her to clutch it harder, feeling even more nauseous than before. She opened the door to the Bedroom. "Mandy? You in here?" Her gaze fell on the hybrid, still snoring away with one arm draped over the side of the bed. She sighed. "Sleeping again. Of course." Just as she was about to exit the room, a chirping sound caught her eye, and she glanced at Natsu, waving its stubby little hands at her in glee. "Oh? Who are you?" Natsu didn't give an answer to her question -- just gave a worried chirp as it poked Mandy. "Oh, you're worried about Mandy, aren't you?" Olive chuckled. "She sleeps all the time. She could sleep for her entire life if she could. And it's not really easy to wake her up, either." She blinked. "What an understatement." "I'll take the entire zztock 'f banananana-applezz!" Olive widened her eyes, clearly not expecting this latest awakening non-sequitur. "Aww, no banananana-applezz...?" A tired scoff left Mandy's body, before she blinked and allowed her vision to adjust to the dark figure standing in her room. "Momma!" "Hi, Mandy." Olive waved as the hybrid gave a mighty yawn. "Who's this little guy?" "Oh, that's Natsu. He's a Toddle-bee!" "A Toddle-bee?" "It's a new species that Fluttershy and Ocean are doing research on..." Another yawn interrupted Mandy. "Geez, what time is it..." Her vision settled on the digital clock she had beside her bed. "It's 7:00?!" "Yeah-" Olive's stomach rumbled, and she clutched it again. "You, uh...you feelin' okay?" "Well, in the midst of my..." Olive cleared her throat. "...important paperwork, I missed dinner. Haven't eaten much all day. It wouldn't be too much to ask if you could whip me up something, would it? If you have the time." "Sure! Whaddya want? Anything you prefer?" "A simple salad would be nice." "Great! C'mon!" Mandy slid out of bed, Natsu taking its usual position on her shoulder as she bounced out of the room, with Olive following suit. A few minutes later, bowls surrounded the Breakroom table, and leafy greens sat in a big maroon-colored mixing bowl along with a large fork. "So how long do you have to take care of Natsu for?" "I'm not sure, actually." Mandy responded. "Reach for the mixing spoon in my tail?" Olive glanced at her tail and found a large brown mixing spoon with its handle sticking upwards. Not bothering to question why such an item was positioned that way to begin with, she dug into the tail and pulled it out like it was an easy pull of a sword from a stone, handing it to her with a simple "Here." "Thankies!" Mandy chirped, levitating the spoon and dipping it into the mixing bowl. With both utensils, she got to work mixing the variety of leafy greens and veggies together. "It's a rather...small creature." Olive mused, eyeing Natsu as it sat on the table, seemingly trying to preen itself with no luck. "MANDY!" "Huh?!" The hybrid jumped a little as she looked up from her work and saw a rather pissed-off Oprah marching towards her, her dark skin aflush with red in more than just the lava smeared on it. The Director sighed. "Finally, it took you long enough." "Hiya, Oprah!" Mandy smiled, and then paused as she blinked twice before cheerfully asking, "What took long enough?" "The volcano in the Volcano Room erupted today. It wasn't supposed to do so for another four months." Oprah spit to the side and coughed. "I wanted you to be informed and, oh I don't know, help us?" This only earned her a chuckle and a snort from Mandy. "You don't need to rely on me for every little thing, boss." she said, grabbing another head of lettuce and a knife before using her telekinesis to begin chopping it. "It took forever just to stop the lava from flowing out of the room, Mandy." Oprah said, her tone clearly exasperated and filled with fatigue. She sighed again. "Look, I know how much you like your naps, and believe me, I know how angry you get when you don't have at least one a day..." Her voice dropped to a mutter. "I still have a burn mark or two from the last time." And then it went back up to normal volume. "But this time around was some of the worst timing!" "S-sorry! I...well, it's just..." Mandy scrambled to come up with a wordy excuse, even though her reasons for not helping her boss were completely justified. "I've been caring for lil' Natsu here, and" -- she chuckled throughout her speech -- "you know how lil' tiny creatures are." "No, I don't." Oprah rolled her eyes. "Do enlighten me. Who's 'Natsu'? What is 'Natsu'?" "A Toddle-bee! Fluttershy and Ocean asked me to look after it for a while so it doesn't disturb the other creatures." Mandy sighed. "But it's quite the troublemaker." Natsu's expression contorted into offense, and it gave a short growl. "In a good way, silly!" Mandy assured, as the creature's expression returned to normal. "Hmm. Odd. I haven't seen a Toddle-bee around here." "This town isn't their home." "Oh." Oprah blinked. "Well, that aside-" "I'm sorry!" Mandy blurted out, before clearing her throat. "Er...I'm sorry." "No, no, you're right." Oprah waved a dismissive hand. "We do tend to rely on you for major disasters, but in truth...Agent Twilight had it mostly covered. I was hoping you two could combine your alicorn magic to resolve the issue, but Twilight's magic is stronger than yours." For a split-second, Mandy seemed to take offense to that. Her eye twitched, and she looked like she wanted to say something. But she just shook her head and focused on dumping the chopped lettuce into the mixing bowl, then stirring everything together once again. When everything was mixed, she poured some salad into one of the bowls on the table and offered it to Olive. "Here ya go! One salad!" "Thank you." Olive said. "You don't know how grateful I am." "D'aww, no problem! I might just make something myself! I am getting a little hungry." Leaning down, Mandy opened a cabinet situated close to the floor and began to rummage for more cooking supplies. "Shouldn't you feed the Toddle-bee too?" A bang as Mandy's head collided with the top of the cabinet. Her tail bushed out like a cat's. "Oww! Pickleferries!" the hybrid cursed. "You okay?" Olive asked, her tone having just a tinge of worry. Mandy groaned. "Aside from a headache, yes..." She pulled herself out, levitating a plate and setting it on the table. Her eyes widened in realization, and she gasped. "Oh no. I don't even know what Toddle-bees eat!" Olive and Oprah both exchanged knowing glances and eye rolls. "Oh no oh no oh no...where's Fluttershy?! I have to find Fluttershy!" And in a flash, the hybrid sped off. Out came the unisonant "Off she goes again." For the next few minutes, Mandy sped back and forth through the bullpen, calling out Fluttershy's name in the hopes that she would answer. It was entertaining to the two girls for a while, but sooner rather than later, it became only entertaining for one, as Olive went back to heartily eating her salad while Oprah had a juice box and watched the chaos go down. The double-doors opened, and Fluttershy made her way over to the two girls, missing Mandy by a far margin. "Hi, Olive! Hi, Ms. O!" "Agent Fluttershy. Welcome back." Oprah greeted. "Thank you!" Fluttershy exhaled. "Feeding all of those creatures was a lot of work." A loud whoosh stopped her from saying anything further. Her mane and tail billowed towards the breeze, and she straightened up in shock. "Goodness! What was that?" Olive sighed. "It's Mandy. She's looking for you." "For me?" Natsu gave a curious chirp and made its way to the edge of the table to look at its primary caretaker. "Oh, hello, little guy!" The Pegasus giggled, grabbing it and allowing it to rub on her cheek as it purred happily. Finally, Mandy seemed to notice what the yellow-and-pink blur was that she kept passing. Her eyes widened. "Fluttershy!" "Mandy, I- oh!" "Fluttershy you have to help me I don't know what to feed Natsu and if I don't feed it it'll die and I can't let a creature die 'cuz I did it to some plants once and it wasn't a good thing but I need you to tell me what to feed him and- urk!" Although initially surprised by the hybrid throwing herself onto the floor in a begging position, Fluttershy was able to stop her before she went too far by way of a hoof to her lips. "Mandy, you look so stressed! Calm down and I'll tell you how to feed-" A pause. She blinked twice, remembering that Mandy hadn't called the creature by its species name. "Wait, what did you call it?" "Natsu! I, uh, gave it a name." The Pegasus smiled. "Ohh, you're so attached to it already!" She giggled. "The Toddle-bee likes to feed on strawberries. That's its favorite. A majority of its diet consists of strawberries." Mandy tilted her head. "Strawberries?" "Yes. But they also eat other foods that humans and ponies can eat. They tend to eat very little, though..." "Ooooh, great!" The hybrid took the creature from her Pegasus friend. "Whaddya say, Natsu? I'll give ya a bite of my dinner!" A happy chirp was her response. Only a few minutes later, and a pot of mac and cheese with chicken was ready for the hybrid and her new pet to consume. "Aah. Mac and cheese with chicken coated in Italian seasoning and paprika. My favorite!" Mandy took a big bite, chewing and relishing the taste. Natsu gave a curious chirp that raised in pitch at the end, as though it were asking a question. "Oh, sure! Here." Mandy placed the rest of her culinary delicacy into another bowl, moving it towards the creature and telekinetically sticking a fork in it. "Half-and-half!" Natsu eyed the dish with suspicion, then with curiosity, before it took the fork and ate a piece of chicken. Its face began to light up with joy, having never tasted such a delicious food before. It almost ranked it above strawberries...almost. "You wouldn't mind keeping Natsu for a little while longer, would you, Mandy?" Fluttershy asked. "Ocean's still doing some research on Toddle-bees." "Shure!" Mandy swallowed her bite. "I'd love to!" "Wonderful! Thank you!" Fluttershy sighed. "You don't know how grateful I am to have a friend like you." A blush crept into Mandy's cheeks before she continued eating her dinner. "I'm going to go take a shower, so if you need me, just knock." Fluttershy hovered towards the right hallway. "See you all later!" A chorus of goodbyes from the three girls marked her departure. "Oh! How's your salad, Momma?" Mandy asked, noticing that Olive was nearly done with her own meal. "It's good." The Director sighed. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't made this for me. I already told you about Omi, but my fridge is bare and I have no energy to go for a supermarket run tonight." "Aww, it's no prob!" Mandy took another bite. "But really, you should go shopping tomorrow." "I would, but I've been working on a difficult case all week. It's becoming a bit taxing." "Why not have Otto help you with the cashe?" "Not his expertise." "Hmm" was the only thing Mandy said in response before swallowing her bite and eating another. Natsu's cheeks bulged, and it let out a small belch. "Pardon you, you shmall shilly!" Mandy swallowed and giggled, before going full hypocrite and scarfing down the rest of her meal. "You're really becoming attached to that thing." "I know! It's kinda like having my own pet!" Mandy said in response to Oprah, before her expression faltered. "Only, uh...it's an odder pet." "Well, I trust Agent Fluttershy to know what she's doing," Oprah shrugged. "If she trusts you to watch it, then I don't have a problem with it." Plus, maybe it'll teach you a little more about responsibility, she wanted to add, but decided to leave that addendum out. "Thanks, boss! Natsu's really a sweetie!" In response to this compliment, the creature gave a few happy chirps, and Mandy couldn't help but giggle. "C'mon, whaddya say we wait for Flutterbutter to get outta the shower? In the meantime, I can read you one of my Wolves of the Wilderness books!" Natsu seemed rather thrilled at this idea. It nodded and flapped its stubby arms in anticipation, sparkles beginning to form in its eyes. "All righty, let's go!" Mandy scooped up the creature and placed it on her shoulder before standing up and heading for the right hallway. "See you gals later!" "Bye!" "Don't be late for work tomorrow!" "I won't!" And with a couple bounces, the hybrid was off to her next destination. However, it became clear that something was on Olive's mind going by the worried look on her face, and Oprah couldn't help but notice. "Something wrong, Olive?" "I don't know...I just feel like something bad is going to happen with that creature." "Like what?" "Like maybe it'll turn on Mandy or something. It can't be completely cute and innocent." "Hmm." Oprah had to admit, she knew little about creatures, but she was no stranger to those that put on a show of adorableness and then tried to kill someone in some way or another -- heck, that was the whole schtick of the Centigurp species, only minus the direct harm to others. Still, this creature wouldn't sway her. After all, she had allies on her side. "Well, if it does turn sour, I'm sure Mandy has it covered." "I wouldn't be so sure." Olive wore a concerned look. "You and I know her best, Oprah, but she still continues to surprise us. Remember that party we threw her last year where she refused to eat the cake and we didn't know why?" "You turned banana bread into a cake and somehow put ketchup on it thinking it was meatloaf." "What..." Olive stared at her, completely confused. "That's an entirely different situation. And Otto who did that, not me." "If that's what you have to keep telling yourself to fall asleep at night." Olive rolled her eyes. "Anyway. We didn't know it, but she said that she was weaning off of cake because the sugar was bad for her." Oprah snickered. "That didn't last!" "Nope. But who knows how Mandy will react if Natsu turns on her?" "Let's just ride this out, Olive. It'll be nice to teach Mandy some responsibility in creature-sitting." Oprah sighed. "Feels so good to get that out of my brain." Olive chewed and swallowed another bite of lettuce, this time more absentmindedly. "You mind if I take this to go? I can return the bowl tomorrow." "Sure thing." "Thanks." Olive got up and began making her way towards the double-doors. "Good night." "Good night!" The smile stayed on Oprah's face for just a little while longer, then it collapsed into a soft sigh as she rubbed her temples. Yeah...perhaps her words have some merit, now that I think about it. Nighttime fell on Toronto, and by extension, it fell on Precinct 13579 as well. Headquarters was dark, nary a single soul roaming the rusty and archaic place that many creatures and agents called home. As all of the ponies were in Equestria, Mandy had the Bedroom all to herself. She was loudly snoring and sleep-talking away, Natsu by her side. However, it wasn't asleep at all. Why would it sleep when it had bigger things on its mind? A knowing smile settling on its face, the small creature jumped from Mandy's bed and began flapping its tiny, stubby hands, allowing it to gain lift and fly over to the Bedroom door to open it and let itself out. From there, it took on another form vastly different from its own -- a form resembling that of the very "creature-sitter" who had practically adopted it as her own, right down to every single hair on the top of her head. In this new form, it could move far easier and allow it to perform its deed of destruction. Not once did it stop to question the morality of what it was about to do. Not once did it stop to question why it was doing this when the alien "creature-sitter" had been so nice to it and treated it like...ah, what had she called it? A "pet"? Yes, a "pet". It merely ran on instinct, and nothing more. This was what its species was meant to do. Morality and justification be damned. It arrived at the bullpen. Such a nice and empty space, nary any noise. No one around to spot it or call it out. Perfect for what it was about to do. With a mischievous grin and a sinister chuckle, it raised its foot. The muffled sounds of banging, crashing, crumbling, and creaking went completely unnoticed by Mandy, who simply yawned and turned over in bed. Peaches threw the Bedroom door open with her entire might and quickly rushed over to her cousin's bedside. "Mandy! Mandy wake up!" Surprisingly -- although the catgirl had no room for that emotion at the moment -- Mandy stopped snoring, gave a snort, and let her eyes slowly open as she lifted her head up. "Mmmwha..." "The entirety of the bullpen is wrecked!" "Mmm'zzz nizze..." Mandy yawned and let her head rest on the pillow. "But izz way t' early in the mrrn..." "It's ten in the morning!" "Noon..." Peaches squinted and repressed a growl. "Don't make me prod you with a claw. Or several." "But I'm zzo tired..." With a loud shing noise, Peaches readied her claws. However, Mandy didn't notice and gave a loud yawn. "Look, if izz not important, can I go back t' zzleep?" The catgirl could only give her cousin a look of sheer and utter confusion, tinged with disgust and anger for good measure. "What are you?" she asked, the question dancing on her lips in a near-whisper. "Mkay, Imma go back to zzleep..." "No, don't go back to sleep, take a look at the bullpen!" Her words were lost on Mandy, who was right back to earth-shattering snores and sleep-talk that was in a whole 'nother language that Peaches didn't even understand. If I strangled her, would anyone notice, I wonder. Leo help me. A twitch developed in Peaches's eye, and as much as she did want to strangle Mandy right then and there, she settled for a frustrated cry and a slammed door to mark her departure from the room. "Let me guess, it wasn't a success?" Oprah smirked. "No rhyme intended." "No. But do I have permission to throw her off a cliff? For scientific purposes?" "No." "Darn." Peaches scoffed, watching as agents gathered around toppled steel beams, desks chopped in half, and all sorts of technological devices destroyed, giving cries of concern as they cleaned up the mess. "Who could have done this?" "The only ones who stay at Headquarters overnight are you, Mandy, and the ponies. But it's unlikely any of the latter would cause any damage..." "If I may make a suggestion?" Peaches said. "Why not...um...what did you call it? 'Interrogate' them?" "Interrogate them?" "They may not have done anything, but it's better to be safe than sorry." Oprah sat on the idea for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. You go and find Agent Twilight. I want to interrogate her first. She's usually found in the Odd Squad Library. If she's not there, she's probably in Equestria." "Got it." Peaches made her way through the crowd of agents and eventually made it out of the bullpen to seek out the Princess of Friendship. Just as Oprah gave a heavy sigh and was about to give further directions to her agents, two familiar faces made their way through. "Oprah, we-" Olive's gaze drifted towards the bullpen as she made her way towards Oprah, and she gasped. "Holy macaroni..." "What happened?" "I'm not sure." Oprah shook her head. "I came into work not too long ago and found the bullpen like this." "So this is what you were talking about on the phone earlier..." Olive murmured. "It's worse than I thought it was!" "Do you want us to help you clean up?" Otto asked, completely taken aback by the mess. "Please. I need to interrogate Mandy and the ponies." "Why them?" "They're the only ones that stay overnight in Headquarters. I know they're good agents and they would probably never do anything like this, but they're the only leads we have right now." Olive tore her vision away from the mess, the gears turning in her head as she mentally ran down a list of possible suspects. She didn't have to get very far before an idea began to form in her head. "What about that creature Mandy's caring for? That Toddle-bee? Could it have done something like this?" "Doubtful. It's way too small." "But Fluttershy and Ocean don't know much about it!" Olive fired back. "Maybe it has some sort of power that can destroy everything around it or something?" Oprah met it with a scoff. "Again, doubtful. I wouldn't let Mandy have a creature like that if it had that power." Olive gave an exasperated sigh, her options having been completely exhausted. "Don't worry about it, partner. Let's just go and help clean up." "Right." Olive nodded, before her face lit up in realization. She reached into her hammerspace spine and pulled out the bowl she had eaten out of last night, now empty and completely washed. "And, uh, here's your bowl, Oprah." "Thanks." The Director took the bowl and waved her two former agents off as they began to strike up conversations with various agents and get to work. Just as they left, however, Peaches arrived with Twilight in tow. The alicorn now had the chance to witness the damage for herself, and just like the others, she was shocked. "Sweet Celestia!" was all she could say, her eyes the size of saucers. "Agent Twilight Sparkle." Oprah greeted. "I'm going to need you to follow me to the Interrogation Room." "O-of course! Right away, Ms. O!" "Peaches, can you help the others with cleanup?" "Sure thing." With a nod of thanks, Oprah led her agent up the left stairwell and into the first interrogation room that sat at the right of her office, while Peaches followed the lead of Olive and Otto and asked around. A couple hours later, as cleanup had progressed steadily, Olive decided to take matters into her own hands. Oprah may think it's innocent, but she forgets that I speak more than a language of snark. I speak a language of sniffing out deception. Depending on the writer of the episode, of course. She marched straight to the Bedroom and didn't bother knocking, instead opening the door and laying her eyes on Mandy. The hybrid was, of course, still asleep, and cuddled up against her was Natsu, back in its original form and sleeping away with soft snores of its own. Squinting, Olive made her way over as quietly as possible -- not to avoid waking up Mandy, of course, but to avoid waking up Natsu so she could take it by surprise. "We muzzt populate th' Brer cheeze coloniezz...!" Thank you, Mandy, for putting a dent in my otherwise near-flawless plan. The Director grit her teeth together as the hybrid's head flopped back onto the pillow, and she went back to snoring and mumbling. The non-sequitur had disturbed Natsu, who slowly opened its eyes and blinked at the newcomer to the room. It gave curious coos before a small yawn interrupted it. "Natsu." The name was said with as much intensity as a can of flat soda, but with far more suspicion. Olive watched it for a moment, then decided to make her move, picking up the creature with her bare hands. Much to her surprise, it squirmed about, giving soft whines as it tried to free itself from her grasp. "Huh? H-hey!" she cried out, instinctively gripping onto the creature like it was a slippery fish that was simply dying to get back into the sea. The fight didn't last for long, though, and she resigned to placing it back on the bed, where it promptly rubbed up against Mandy and purred. "So you don't like to be held..." She squinted her eyes, examining the creature up and down, scrutinizing its every single action, waiting for it to expose itself as the culprit behind the wreckage. After a minute or two, though, she sighed. I feel silly, interrogating an odd creature like this. Maybe it's not native to Toronto, and maybe it's not recorded in Odd Squad history as an odd creature, but why would it destroy Odd Squad when it doesn't hold a vendetta against it? Still, that doesn't mean it's off the hook. I've learned my lesson already. The creature turned and tilted its head at her. "Maybe Oprah's right. There's no way you would do such a thing. You're too tiny. Even your feet are too tiny." Olive said. "And even if you did have the power to destroy the bullpen, you would have used it to destroy Mandy first. A long, long time ago." Natsu gave a happy chirp as it watched Olive turn on her heel and head for the door. "Look, I'm only leaving you because we're still cleaning up the bullpen. Okay?" Olive let her voice drop to a rather terrifying baritone. "But don't you dare hurt Mandy, or it'll be your life on the line. Got it?" A curious chirp, this time. "Yeah, okay. Have fun." The second the door closed, and the second Natsu thought it was safe, it gave another sinister chuckle and glanced back at Mandy, whose sleep-talk reflected the situation at hand in a rather eerie but foreshadowing manner. "Don't let 'em get away...mmm..." With everyone's efforts, the bullpen was cleaned up in no time, although it was made abundantly clear that Olo, the head of the Glue department, would need to work overtime on repairs. Oprah had gotten through interrogations of the entire Mane Six, with no results. Not one of them confessed to doing it. In fact, all of them claimed they didn't do it. It was a similar story with Peaches. "None of the ponies did it. Neither than you. I don't understand." Oprah said, taking a mighty sip from her juice box as she made her way through the hall. "Could it have been a villain?" Peaches inquired. "No. This Odd Squad HQ has security measures to prevent villain break-ins, and Security agents improve it regularly." Peaches wasn't quite sure about that. She remembered Owen and how difficult he had been in the few times she had conversed with him. Still, she set the thought aside. "The only agent we haven't asked is...Mandy." Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. "N-no! There's no way my cousin did it!" Oprah shot her an incredulous look. "Unless...she did it in her sleep?" "Mandy doesn't sleepwalk. N-not usually." Oprah said, hastily throwing in an addendum as she recalled a few times where Mandy did sleepwalk in some manner. "But...she did used to fire magic lasers in her sleep when she first transformed. It was disastrous." "She doesn't do it anymore?" Oprah shook her head. "We trained her to limit her magic to the waking hours. Since then, she hasn't caused any magic-related disasters in her sleep, apart from the rare few 'struck by an odd disease' moments." "But could the problem crop up again?" Peaches asked. "I admit, I don't know much about Mandy's sleep, but maybe all the stuff you described could occur when she's in a deep sleep." Immediately realizing how contradictory that was, she sighed. "It's such a confusing thing..." "A shocker to hear that from you, since you're part-cat." "A majority of catpeople have very simple sleeping habits. At most, we'll mimic running in our sleep and then fall on the floor if we're on an elevated surface." Oprah couldn't really attest to how Peaches slept, so she kept her mouth shut. It didn't stay shut for long, however. As the duo arrived at their destination, they opened the door and found the entire room in almost as bad of a state as the bullpen once was. Beds were broken and turned over, the large clothes cabinet laid face-open on the floor, and debris covered every inch of every object. Most striking of all, however, was the floor itself, which had a similar dent and similar cracks to the bullpen's floor. Both Peaches and Oprah stood, jaws agape. "Wh...what...what happened?" "The entire Bedroom is wrecked!" Oprah's voice was practically a scream. "Hiya, boss!" They shifted their gazes towards the person approaching them. By all means, it appeared to be Mandy, awake and alert and covered in debris. They noticed that Mandy's bed, much like the others, was bent and broken, although whether that startled her awake or not was unknown. "Mandy, what happened here?!" were the words that greeted the hybrid in response. "Oh! Hehe...um...that's my bad. My bad entirely." Mandy scratched the back of her neck. "I was tryna practice a new magic spell Twilight taught me, but I guess here wasn't the best place to do it." "Gee, ya think?!" Peaches sarcastically snapped, giving an eye roll. "We're not the richest organization, agent. The cleanup here is going to be costly!" "I know!" Mandy's voice pitched into a whine, then dropped back down. "I'm really sorry. Whatever punishment you think is right is what I deserve." Peaches tilted her head slightly, an uneasy feeling beginning to form in her stomach as she tried to recall if the Mandy she knew was so quick to ask for punishments when she did something bad. Oprah, in the meantime, gave a heavy sigh and made her decision. "I'll resign you to my office for a week so I can keep an eye on you. You'll also have to sleep there while the Bedroom is fixed." She winced as Mandy's bed finally reached its breaking point and collapsed. "I'm not sure if there's even a gadget in the entirety of Odd Squad's existence that can reverse the damage done here..." "Okie-dokie!" "In the meantime, you can come with me to be interrogated." "Why? What's going on?" "The bullpen was struck by some disaster last night and was nearly demolished. None of the ponies nor Peaches are guilty. The only one we haven't asked is you." Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "D'aww, I can already tell ya I didn't do it!" "Regardless, you need to be interrogated anyway. Come on." "Okay!" "Peaches, can you assist with cleanup of the Bedroom?" The catgirl snapped out of her thoughts with a "Huh?", glancing behind her to find Oprah and Mandy about to leave. Only having barely heard the question, she gave a half-hearted nod, which seemed to please the Director as she exited the room with Mandy. She poked her head out of the Bedroom and watched the duo round the corner. Another crash sounded from behind her, but she didn't bother to check out its source, instead burying her face in her hands as she struggled to make sense of the situation. Cleanup on both rooms had lasted well into the sunset hours. Everyone was exhausted and sat around the Breakroom table, knowing there was still a lot of work to be done but feeling too tired to continue at the moment. A yawn sounded from nearby, but most everyone was convinced it was one of their own. A cheerful and high-pitched "Hiya, everyone!" proved them wrong. Olive, one of the few who actually had some energy to spare, sat up and turned to greet the voice. "Hi, Mandy." she said, noticing Natsu perched on the hybrid's shoulder and giving a happy "hello" chirp of its own. "Oooooooh, I sense some negative emotiooooooons!" Mandy called in singsong, making her way to the side of the table. "C'mon, c'mon, don't be shy, confide! What's goin' on?" She immediately regretted asking that question the moment she felt the hostile air lingering above the table like a dark cloud. "You should know what's going on. You were there." Peaches remarked. "Don't play innocent, Mandy." "What?" "Remember? The Bedroom and the bullpen were wrecked today?" Mandy gasped. "They were?!" Her head swiveled towards the bullpen, which looked mostly clean save for a few spots that still needed cleaning. "It looks mostly...fine." A crash of a steel beam, the sound of which resounded through the space. "Key word being 'mostly'." "What, do you have amnesia or something?" "No?" Mandy tilted her head in response to her cousin's question. "I remember all of you! How could I have amnesia if I remember all of you?" No one had the heart to tell her that wasn't how amnesia worked. Pinkie, however, did have the heart to speak next. "Are you sure you don't have some odd disease that warps your brain or something?" she asked, her tone grating. "Last I checked with Dr. O he said I was healthy!" "She's tricking us." "Huh?" "Mandy, didn't Peaches and Ms. O come and get you earlier for interrogation, only to find the Bedroom destroyed?" Twilight asked, her tone just as irritated as Pinkie's. The hybrid blinked twice. "I don't think so. I was asleep!" The haze of hostility grew thicker and thicker. No expression of happiness, pleasure, or any positive emotion of the sort was among the faces she saw. She felt like running a little bit, just a little bit, but her feet remained rooted to the ground. "W-why are you all looking at me like that? T-t-turn those off, guys!" A bout of nervous laughter left her lips. "Y-you're scaring me!" "Are ya denyin' that ya wrecked the Bedroom?" Applejack said, squinting her eyes. "'Cuz as far as I'm aware, you admitted to doin' it! Least that's what Ms. O said." "Quit lying to us, Mandy." Oprah's tone of voice was a rather haunting mix of fatigue and chilled anger. Her piercing brown eyes cut through Mandy like the sharpest knife in existence. "You were there when the Bedroom was wrecked. Peaches and I both saw you. Denial isn't the way to go about this." "B-but I'm not denying anything! I-I didn't know the Bedroom was wrecked 'til you just told me, just now!" "I also gave you a punishment for you to stay in my office for a week. Do you want me to extend it?" "W-what?" Mandy's brain became more and more confused with each and every single sentence her friends uttered, so much so that she was reduced to stuttering, not being able to come up with a proper rebuttal. "Just accept the punishment, Mandy." Even Fluttershy?! Not even she's... She almost felt like crying in that instant. Why's everyone turning on me? What'd I do? Normally everyone would be happy to see me, but they're so angry! I'm...what do I do?! Natsu gave a worried chirp and glanced at her, as though sensing her worried thoughts. Finally, she gave a shaky sigh. Her voice quivered. "F-fine. Whatever. I'll accept responsibility for all of it. I-I don't know why you guys won't believe me..." Still the same angry faces. "I didn't do any of this. I have no knowledge of any of this." She could swear she felt a tear roll down her face right then and there. An idea began to take form -- a desperate one, but one she was willing to try no matter what. "Twi, do you have the ability to search memories?" "I do. But I refuse to help someone who can't own up to her actions in proper." Twilight sighed. "I thought you were better than this, Mandy. You always take responsibility for your actions. So why aren't you doing it now?" Mandy opened her mouth to speak, but Olive butted in before she could say a word. "Both the Bedroom and the bullpen have similar damages. Like they were caused by the same people." A look of sheer disappointment settled on her face. "I didn't raise you to destroy Odd Squad. Why would you do this?" "B-but I didn't..." The hybrid clenched her fists together in an effort to stop "do it" from following the words she already said. Stop trying. No matter what you say, nothing is convincing them. This has to be a bad dream. A vivid dream...but a bad one. Or maybe this is just some silly prank? Super-Duper Early April Fool's Day is around the corner after all. But regardless...if Twilight won't stick to my plan, then I'll do it myself. She left the group, and they all watched as she walked over to the Lab with a purpose, a drive, a need for one gadget in particular. "Where's she going?" Rainbow asked. "I'm not sure, darling..." "To think Mandy destroyed the bullpen..." Otto said, his tone not laced with iron-clad hostility but laced with shock instead. "She was fine when we saw her yesterday. So what happened?" Whatever responses were laid on the table in response to Oprah's question went unnoticed by Mandy, who levitated a gadget off of one of the racks that had a circular upside-down bowl for a head and numerous wires sticking out of it. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Oona. I know you're still improving on this gadget, but I have no other choice. Please forgive me." As she made her way back, gadget in hand, Natsu gave a curious chirp. "Oh, Natsu. Don't worry. I'll fix this. You'll see." she assured, giving an uneasy smile. The chatter at the Breakroom table died down as Mandy approached the group once more. "This is a gadget Oona is currently working on. The Memory Reflector. It has the power to project a person's or pony's memories to anyone and everyone that just so happens to see them." She put on the helmet. "So I'm gonna show you mine. My legitimate memories." Taking the remote in her hand, she pressed the green Play button, and with a whirring noise, a screen was projected into the air, in full view of the entire group. All Mandy could do was close her eyes and hope this would work. The group was treated to a first-person view from Mandy herself, fast asleep in bed. One detail they were quick to notice was that the room was dark, indicating it was nighttime -- perhaps the night before, they theorized. As Mandy snored and sleep-talked away, Natsu, barely in view of the camera, gave a worried chirp. In a twist of the plot, it then transformed into a being that everyone in the group was well familiar with. The voice, high-pitched and full of good emotions, was undeniable. "Don't worry! Just let me take care of everything for you, silly!" Everyone, including the real deal herself, watched in rather disturbing fascination as Natsu extended its arms and grabbed ahold of Mandy. The camera angle shifted, with the right half of the lens obscured by Natsu's body while the left half showed the view behind it. With its target in tow, the disguised creature moved towards the door, and exited the room with ease. The real Mandy's eyes quivered with a flurry of mixed emotions as she watched the next events unfold. With the hybrid still fast asleep, Natsu made its way to a room with a gray and rusty door, and an equally gray and rusty handle to go along with it. With a mighty creak, the door opened, and the creature set its caretaker down in a sitting position on the floor -- why that exact position versus just carelessly throwing her in there as though she were a toy being left to rot for decades, who was to say. "Now, stay in here, okay?" Natsu giggled. "Ah, who am I kiddin'. You won't wake up for hours! It's perfect!" It perfectly emulated Mandy's giggle-and-snort laugh, right before it closed the door to the room and the camera view met total darkness. Any hostility that might have hung over the group had been dissipated, instead being replaced with shock and horror. Fluttershy, in particular, looked like she was about to go as pale as Rarity's fur, her expression twisted into one of betrayal and fear. Silence hung over the group for what seemed like hours, as the only sound was Mandy's snoring and sleep-talking. But the sounds of muffled destruction, met with surprised gasps, quickly drowned it all out. The real deal's entire body was quaking now. Part of her had half a mind to rip off the helmet and throw it to the floor, but another part of her told her that the plan was working and she should keep going, no matter how deep the revelations got. Wordlessly, she fast-forwarded the video until light began to peek from the crack separating the bottom of the door and the cement floor. She pressed Play when her brain had found a good spot. "But could the problem crop up again? I admit, I don't know much about Mandy's sleep, but maybe all the stuff you described could occur when she's in a deep sleep. It's such a confusing thing..." "A shocker to hear that from you, since you're part-cat." "A majority of catpeople have very simple sleeping habits. At most, we'll mimic running in our sleep and then fall on the floor, if we're on an elevated surface." Silence, and then the sound of a door opening. "Wh...what...what happened?" "The entire Bedroom is wrecked!" "Hiya, boss!" Almost everyone in the group went pale. Likewise, the body of the real deal began to quiver. "Mandy, what happened here?!" "Oh! Hehe...um...that's my bad. My bad entirely. I was tryna practice a new magic spell Twilight taught me, but I guess here wasn't the best place to do it." "Gee, ya think?!" "We're not the richest organization, agent. The cleanup here is going to be costly!" "I know! I'm really sorry. Whatever punishment you think is right is what I deserve." "I'll resign you to my office for a week so I can keep an eye on you. You'll also have to sleep there while the Bedroom is fixed." The sound of something collapsing, which no one could make out. "I'm not sure if there's even a gadget in the entirety of Odd Squad's existence that can reverse the damage done here..." "Okie-dokie!" "In the meantime, you can come with me to be interrogated." "Why? What's going on?" "The bullpen was struck by some disaster last night and was nearly demolished. None of the ponies nor Peaches are guilty. The only one we haven't asked is you." Another authentic-sounding giggle-and-snort laugh. "D'aww, I can already tell ya I didn't do it!" "Regardless, you need to be interrogated anyway. Come on." "Okay!" "Peaches, can you assist with cleanup of the Bedroom?" "Huh?" That was all in the way of dialogue. Mandy's discomforted "mmm" was the last thing anyone in the group heard, along with footsteps that punctuated the exits of Oprah and Mandy. Or...Natsu, now. An odd creature with unknown roots in Odd Squad's history, known for acting sweet and innocent, but hiding a nasty and manipulative trait under the mask. And indeed, it had watched the video with all the whimsy of a child watching a Saturday morning cartoon -- all smiles, eyes glued to the screen as the events of its own doing unfolded in sickening glee. Mandy pressed the Play button once more to pause the video. She glanced from the pale-stricken group, to Natsu, and back and forth again. A chill ran throughout her entire body, right down to the tip of her tail. "N-N-Natsu...you..." Her mouth suddenly felt dry. "So that's why I woke up in the Storage Room..." Natsu, attempting to prey on the stupidity it sensed from her, gave a sad chirp. Unfortunately, it was a horrible judge of character -- she wasn't going to go down without a fight. "Don't play innocent with me!" Mandy's body became wreathed in flames, her voice gaining its usual reverberating echo. "I thought we were friends and this is what you do to me?!" The creature squinted, and then screeched. "Don't screech at me! These agents think I'm the one who wrecked the bullpen and the Bedroom, but it was you, wasn't it?! It was all you!" A downgrade, this time to angry chirping. Mandy's voice, however, upgraded to a piercing yell. "No! Your reign is over! You'll become nothing but a pancake when I'm done with you!" "Mandy, don't hurt him!" Fluttershy got up and quickly grabbed Natsu, not wanting to get involved in the spat but still feeling an instinctual need to protect the creature even in spite of what it had done. "Fluttershy..." Mandy said through gritted teeth and tranquil anger. "I'm gonna give you five seconds to put it down..." She reached behind her back and slowly pulled out her hammer. "...so I can kill it!!" "W-wait, don't!" Fluttershy said. "I-I'm sure Natsu had a good reason-" "And what good reason's that, instinct? Yeah, I'm not buyin' it!" "Mandy, calm down!" Not even a second after Otto had uttered those three words, he had begun to regret them when the hybrid slowly turned to face him in a way that would make any prospective psychopathic murderer openly weep. "Ohh no" was all the Director could say in response as he internally prayed for his life to be spared. "And you. All of you." Whatever color failure the rest of the group had gone through was less prominent now, color slowly returning to their faces. Oprah narrowed her eyes and got ready to shield the others should her agent go on the attack. Mandy slammed her hand on the table. "You think you can just frame me and get away with what you want, huh?! Is that how you choose to treat me?!" She tore her badge off of her suit, taking part of the fabric with it and creating a small hole that showed her white button-up undershirt. "Then in that case, I quit!" This elicited a gasp from everyone at the table. "Mandy, don't-" A hand grasped firmly around Olive's neck before she could get another word in edgewise. She could feel herself losing air, but luckily for her, the hand moved down her chest and grabbed ahold of her jacket instead. She was then pulled towards Mandy so the two were nearly nose-to-nose. "Don't try anything funny, you pathetic excuse of an agent. You're my own mother, and you dare think I'm the one who destroyed the bullpen and the Bedroom?" The hybrid growled. "You saw it yourself. It's that stupid Toddle-bee. It was the one that did it. Do you see, or will you have to pay the price in your own flesh and blood?" Olive's face went pale again. Immortal she was, but Odd Squad's weird anatomical rules didn't stop her from dying at her own daughter's hands. And with Mandy's skill and intelligence in combat, how she died could go any number of ways. Would her heart get torn out? Would she be de-boned and flayed, put on display like a nice piece of fish at the grocery store? Or would she die by more conventional means, like a knife through her neck or a slam on her head from a hammer? In the midst of her contemplation, she decided to try and save face. "M-M-Mandy, w-we're sorry! All of us, we're sorry!" she cried out, her vision becoming blurry with tears as she could feel her heart beating rapidly and her brain began playing a movie of her entire life over twelve-or-something years. Mandy didn't kill her, of course. She never killed. Not even in her most rage-fueled moments. But what she did was just as bad. Her hand clasped the hammer, tighter and tighter until her knuckles began to turn white. She raised it above her head. Olive felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack, she was breathing so fast. "Sorry...ISN'T GONNA CUT IT!!" The hammer made impact with the table, Olive scrambling out of the way and diving to the floor before it made impact with her as well. The table completely buckled, sending the Mane Six, Oprah, Otto and Peaches all tumbling down with it as their chairs wobbled and fell. Amidst the sounds of fear, Twilight decided to take charge. "Mandy, please calm down!" "I don't think any of us are gonna get her t' calm down, Twilight!" Applejack said. "She's gone insane!" The sound of sizzling, like fresh meat on the grill of a barbecue, resounded as the flames died down and Mandy returned to her usual form. A long pause as the sounds of fear went away, downgrading to simple fearful looks as everyone tried their damnedest to distance themselves from the hybrid. "Mandy? Are you-" Oprah narrowly avoided ducking and dodging the attack of her agent's hammer as it swung her way and collided with the wall before clattering onto the floor, smoke rising from its handle. Instinctively, she placed a hand on her head, wondering if any of her strands of hair were out of place. One thought echoed through the group like a hivemind: Is it over? Are we spared? No one said anything, or did anything, for a good long while. And then, Mandy's face went from sheer raw anger to pure sadness. The kind of sadness pulled from a person when a beloved relative or pet of theirs passes away. The kind of sadness pulled from a person when they're told they have an incurable disease and have only a mere few months to live. The kind of sadness pulled from a person when they realize they have become the victim of betrayal by an entire group of people -- people they once viewed as friends, but were now no more, all because of the blame game. The hybrid sniffled. She shut her eyes. A pause. And then she broke into a loud and anguished wail, tears streaming from her eyes and staining the floor in cascading waterfalls of confusion, fear, and hurt, before running down the hallway from whence she came and turning the corner. "Is everyone okay?" Oprah asked, the shock wearing itself down with the assistance of instinctual authority that took over the Director. "We're fine, for the most part." Twilight stood up. "I-I'm fine...just a little shaken." Olive murmured. "Natsu is fine, too." Fluttershy said, scooping up the creature in her hooves once more. It looked visibly surprised and even just a tiny bit fearful, no doubt from the entire ordeal. The Pegasus sighed. "I shouldn't have kept it with Mandy at all." "Get a cage for now and leave it in my office." Oprah ordered. "I'll have Security agents take it back to its rightful home first thing tomorrow morning." "Oh! Yes, that's right. I didn't share the research that Ocean and I found, either..." "Do it tomorrow. I'm more concerned about Mandy right now." As Oprah bent down to pick up the hybrid's hammer, she winced and waved her hand, realizing it was still very hot to the touch. "So she didn't destroy the Bedroom and the bullpen after all." Olive remarked, embracing Otto in a hug as he rubbed her back. "It was Natsu. My suspicions were right." "Yes." Fluttershy sadly nodded. "Toddle-bees love to cause mischief, but some have a particularly mean streak to them, like Natsu. It shapeshifted into Mandy and posed as her in order to cause trouble." "And we've paid the price for it." Twilight buried her face in her hooves. "I feel awful!" Pinkie chimed in. Like Olive, she too was being comforted by a friend -- Rarity, as a matter of fact. The two mares were hugging each other and coming to terms with what they had done with tears in their eyes. "You and me both, darling." the unicorn mare said, fighting to keep her voice steady. "We should have listened to Mandy from the start instead of jumping to conclusions and blaming her for the messes!" "Well..." Otto broke free of Olive just for a moment to help lift up a chair. "It cost us a table. Or, uh, it cost you guys a table, anyway." "We have a lot of apologizing to do." Murmurs of agreement met Oprah's unfortunate realization. "We should wait until Mandy calms down a little bit." Peaches advised. "The last thing I want is a broken bone. Or fifteen." "Very good idea. In the meantime..." Rarity broke free of Pinkie's embrace and rose to all four hooves. "I shall go and get a broom and dustpan to clean up this debris." "And I can help agents build a new table!" Applejack nodded. "Er, if that's all right with you, Ms. O?" "Of course, Agent Applejack. Thank you. You too, Agent Rarity." Olive bent down and touched the handle of Mandy's hammer, picking the item up with her hands and noting just how lightweight it seemed to be. "Mandy's hammer handle seems to have cooled. The least I can do is bring it back to her." "Uhh, did you not hear what Peaches just said?" Rainbow Dash lifted up another chair and put it back to its usual upright position. "Yes. But by giving it back to her, it gives me an excuse to talk to her." "Why? It's not like she wants to see anyone right now. Besides, she tried to attack you!" "I made a mistake by telling her to stop, and she nearly tried to kill me for it. As scary as it is, that's all there is to it. Mandy has absolutely no kill count to her name, and she never will." Olive scoffed. "I'm not afraid of her, Rainbow Dash. I'm her adoptive mother. I know her best. And a talk from her mother is just what she needs." "Well, at least you know where she is." Otto piped up, pointing down at the floor. Sure enough, a trail of liquid led from where Mandy was standing to where she had fled. "Works for me." Olive gave a nonchalant shrug. "If anyone needs me, just, uh...follow the trail of tears." She walked down the hallway, hammer in hand. She didn't even get to round the corner before her ears picked up on the sound of muffled sobbing. Face buried deep into the pillow and body covered under blankets, Mandy cried. Every ounce of her energy was taken and placed towards her grief and sorrow. She didn't care that she was laying on a bed that had been broken in half, nor did she care that she was laying on a bed that had been broken in half and was located in a room full of dust and other debris. All she wanted was to be alone with her thoughts. "How could they...? Everyone...everyone...betraying me! They all think I'm some great villain...like I wanna ruin Headquarters!" For a brief moment, the visual of agents drawing gadgets in battle stuck in her mind. The barrels of the machines all pointed at her, the faces of angry children filled with pent-up rage and ruthlessness, as she, in all of her fashionably odd attire, wore a look of fear. From out of her peripheral vision, a beam shot- She couldn't think of it anymore. She violently shook her head, and let her sadness be replaced by anger. "And Natsu...how dare..." A choked sob forced its way out of her, which delved into a loud wail as the teary waterfalls came forth once again. Outside of the room, Olive mentally ran through her options of what she could say to Mandy that wouldn't hurt her further. "Olive, wait!" She turned, only to find "Peaches?" "I know you're closer to Mandy than I am, but...I want to help comfort her, too. And, uh...maybe you can cover me if she attacks you?" The Director couldn't help but chuckle at the last part. "All right. Let's go." As the duo reached the Bedroom, Olive took initiative and knocked on the door. "Mandy? It's Olive. Can we come in?" "No! Go away! I don't wanna see you, or anyone else!" "C'mon, just let us in. Please?" "Why would I let in someone who thinks I'm a villain? Who frames me..." Mandy's voice broke again. "...for something I didn't dooooo!" And the wailing continued. Both girls exchanged guilty looks with each other, before Olive opened the door. They had to admit, seeing Mandy laying askew on a broken bed and sobbing into a pillow that looked pretty clean was rather surprising. But they had bigger issues on their mind. "Mandy...we never meant to frame you." Olive said, as she approached the hybrid. "We jumped to conclusions and we shouldn't have done that. It was Natsu's fault. It shapeshifted into you and tried to get you into trouble. And it fooled us good." Mandy stopped her wailing to respond. "You guys think that just 'cuz I'm a lil' dimwitted that I'm the one who ruined the rooms. Do you really think I would do anything like that?!" "Well- hey!" Olive began to utter out a response, but the next thing she knew, she was trapped in a magic aura and hovering just inches from Mandy's face. "Look me in the eyes and tell me honestly! Tell me the truth!" "N-no!" Olive sighed, choosing to set aside how Mandy was able to easily lift her when it took almost every ounce of her magic to do so previously -- high emotions, she figured. Or the writer screwing around with continuity again. "No. You would never wreck the bullpen or the Bedroom. Not on purpose, anyway." Mandy set her down, feeling her throat close up again. "If you're tryna get me to come back, forget it. I don't wanna work for people who think that I'm a culprit of something I obviously didn't do." She sniffled and let her voice rise into high-pitched anger. "You've lived with me for years. You raised me, Momma! And yet you think I destroyed the bullpen and the Bedroom on purpose, without even checking for evidence?! A real Odd Squad agent would think things through and not make assumptions!" "Look. We made a mistake. A grave mistake. We're all sharing the blame. Me, Otto, Peaches, Oprah, the ponies. We all take responsibility for what we did. And we're all sorry." Peaches stepped forward when her name was called, having allowed mother and daughter to work the issue out without a "newbie" family member like her interfering and possibly making things worse. Olive sighed. "But we know you're not just upset about that." "Natsu was...it was like a pet to me! A close companion! T-to think it just wanted to cause trouble, it..." Mandy couldn't finish that sentence. The face of that wretched being was etched into her wired mind in a way she didn't like, and she desperately wished that she could perform brain surgery on herself, that she could use some pliers to severe the connections between her and the creature so she wouldn't even know it was an actual being that existed in her world. "You cared for it well." was all Olive could say in response. "And now, it's...it's gone!" "Well, it's not 'gone' gone, but it can't stay here. You told me yourself -- it's not native to Toronto. I'm sorry." That sent the hybrid into another crying fit. Olive, however, not wanting to see her stain her bed further, pulled her into her chest. "Just let it out." she soothed, as the hybrid's cries turned muffled. Peaches' eyes widened. "I can't believe how much she has in her." "Oh, Mandy can cry for a long while. We've set records." "Really? What's the top record?" "An hour." The catgirl's jaw dropped. This girl...she drinks that much water...in that body... how even?! ...Wait. Maybe I shouldn't question it. It's Mandy. And this is Odd Squad. Jeez, you'd think I'd know by now! Mandy's sobs had downgraded to mere sniffles, and she pulled her head away from Olive's chest. "You okay now?" the Director asked, patting her head. Her only response was an "mmm" and the loud growl of the hybrid's stomach. "Here, why don't I make you something?" Olive arose from the bed. "It can be thanks for the salad you made me yesterday. And it's close to dinnertime anyway." She smiled. "What do you want?" "Anything..." Mandy murmured. "Okay then, I'll surprise you. Oh!" Olive pulled something out of her hammerspace spine. "And I brought back your hammer. You, uh...left it in the Breakroom." Mandy didn't respond to that comment. All she did was listen to the hammer clattering on the floor as Olive set it down. "Hang tight, okay?" Peaches watched Olive go, then turned to face Mandy. "Sorry I didn't say much, cuz. I didn't really want to interfere too much...changed my mind and all that. But just know that I'm sorry, too. I'm rooting for you to pull through!" No response. With a sigh, the catgirl made her way out and down the same path that Olive walked. "You think she's done, or just getting a third wind?" she asked once she caught up with the Director. "I think she's done for the most part. But she's still very resentful." Olive ran a hand through her hair. "You might not know this, Peaches, but if someone hurts her, it's not something she takes lightly. And this is no exception." "So she holds really long grudges?" "Pretty much." Peaches' brow furrowed, then her expression relaxed. "Oh. Actually, that makes sense." she remarked. "Maybe some food will cheer her up this time? She does like to eat." "Maybe. You good at cooking?" "Mmm...I'm mediocre. Not really the best, but I'm not one to make edible things that can kill a row of catpeople." "Ah, no worries, I'll teach you. Follow me." Wondering what idea Olive had in mind, Peaches followed her as the duo rounded the corner and headed for the Breakroom. After informing those that had been cleaning up in the Breakroom of Mandy's current state, Olive and Peaches got to work making a dish that Mandy was sure to eat. As much as others wanted to check on Mandy and comfort her, Olive advised against it, saying that Mandy just wanted to be alone. Finally, the meal was done. Olive took the honor of delivering it to the downcast agent, and instructed Peaches to help clean up the rest of the Breakroom. A knock on the Bedroom door three times would have fazed Mandy in any other circumstances, but didn't even make her so much as move a muscle this time. "Mandy? It's Olive again. I brought your dinner." came the muffled voice that she knew all too well. "Some nice fried chicken. I know how much you love chicken." Her stomach rumbled again, and all she did was give a sigh as her adoptive mother came inside. "I figured you weren't in the mood to come out, so I'll just set it on the nightstand. Just make sure to return the plate and the silverware, okay? You know how Olly can get when a plate and silverware have gone missing." Olive couldn't resist giving an exasperated eye roll. Slowly, Mandy shifted herself and moved closer to the plate. Taking a few tentative sniffs, she took a bite of the chicken, no silverware needed, like she was a wild animal sniffing to see if her prey was poisoned. Her tail began thumping on the bed, although the smile didn't return to her face nor did her usual energy return to her entire body. "Oh good, you like it." Olive breathed a sigh of relief. "Peaches helped me with it. She's a surprisingly apt cook. I don't know why she told me she was mediocre." A crunch as Mandy took another bite made her wince slightly. "Maybe we made it too crispy, though." An awkward silence hung in the air. The only sounds were from Mandy chewing away at her chicken. "W-well, um..." Olive scratched the back of her neck. "Look, I talked to Oprah. She said that you can sleep up in her office while repairs are being made to the Bedroom. Is that okay with you?" In any normal circumstance, Mandy would probably snark "you said that already" or innocently ask "okay, but am I still punished?" But this was no normal circumstance, of course. Mandy only gave a simple, monotonic "mmm" in response. "I'll take that as a 'yes', then." Olive sighed again, this time growing tired and exasperated of being in the same room as whatever depressing air this hybrid was emitting. "Segueing into the main point...try and cheer up, okay, Mandy? No one likes seeing you like this, and we know you're hurt. We just want you to be back to your happy and energetic self. And if I'm being honest, I feel like a dark cloud is looming over my hea-" A rumble of thunder startled her. Sure enough, there was a nice fluffy dark cloud, hanging over her head. "Oh. Beautiful. Just what I need. Odd Squad's metaphorical take on depression. All I need is an agent to play the role of therapist and I'm all set." she snarked, immediately regretting doing so even though snarking didn't make her depressed. She frantically waved her hands in an attempt to shoo the cloud away, but a laser blast stopped her attempts right quick. She glanced at Mandy, with the last of the chicken breast in her mouth, the light on the rings on her horn quickly dying away. As soon as she saw Olive looking at her, she avoided eye contact. "Thank you, Mandy. Much better." The hybrid, having finished her meal, slowly got off of the bed and began rummaging through the cabinet that had fallen on the floor. From there, she found her pajamas and her rainbow-colored bath towel that had pictures of cats weaved into it. "Oh, going to take a shower, huh?" Mandy finally made eye contact with her. Her expression was one that Olive couldn't identify, but one that chilled her to the bone nonetheless. She left the Director with a soft huff, taking her clothing and towel with her. "Jeez...she's taking all of this harder than I thought." Olive remarked. "And giving us all the silent treatment." Slowly, ever so slowly, an idea began to form in her head as she glanced at the empty plate. "Aha! I have an idea! It'll be perfect." She picked up the plate and the silverware. "And I'm sure it'll get Mandy back to her old self!" A grin split her face as she strode out of the Bedroom once more, taking a left. "Now, just add the cherry on top!" Stretching her arm as far as it would reach, Olive did as she was told, nearly stumbling and falling into the foodstuff itself. The girl sighed. "Ah, Pinkamena Diane Pie. You've done it again." "I know." "One of the best and largest cakes you've ever made." "I know." "There's a reason why you're the best baker in Ponyville." "Darn straight." Both mare and child admired the masterpiece. A complete seven-layer cake, with seven different flavors, sitting on Oprah's coffee table while the Director in question could only gaze at it. "Did you forget the note?" Olive scoffed and laughed. "Noooo, of course I didn't. Oprah, you talk silly things sometimes, why would I forget a crucial part of my own plan? I have the note right here." She reached behind her back and produced a small paper, opening it and reading its contents aloud. "Shmumbeez-its, milk, bleach, and frozen macaroni and cheese." Oprah had to really fight to not laugh. The same went for Pinkie. Olive groaned, rolled her eyes, and went fishing in her hammerspace spine again, finally pulling out what she had wanted. "Ah, here we go." she remarked, once she scanned the inside of the folded-up paper. "This is it." Pinkie scanned through the note and nodded. "Perfect!" "Now, when Mandy wakes up, she'll see the cake and the note, and she'll come to us and we'll make up and everyone will be happy again!" Olive said matter-of-factly. "But how is she going to get into the office and not see either thing?" Olive's eyes widened. "I, um...w-well...s-see, maybe she'll be so tired, she, uh...misses it?" she tried, giving a nervous grin and a half-hearted shrug. "Don't even bother." Oprah snickered. "I think I know how this plan is gonna work out. Just leave the rest to me." Olive simply buried her face in her hands, Pinkie leaping up and patting her back in support. As Mandy was wordlessly guided into the office, Olive watched in disappointment but also intrigue. The hybrid was blindfolded, unable to see even an inch ahead of her. She sat down on the couch at Oprah's insistence. "Now, here we go..." Oprah undid the knot on the blindfold. Mandy's eyes opened. She looked at the cake, in all its delicious chocolate, seven-layered glory. Her mouth began to water, although she tried her damnedest not to make it obvious. One sniff, two sniffs, and then a cautious bite. Olive couldn't help but feel offended. Does she think we're trying to poison her? Mandy's eyes began to shimmer, and then she began to eat the rest of the cake in her usual speedy fashion. "She likes it!" Pinkie cheered. "Although, how could she not? She eats almost everything." During her last bite, the hybrid caught wind of Olive, Oprah and Pinkie, gazing at her with happiness but concern flickering in their eyes. She swallowed, and gave them a look that Olive couldn't identify before sharply turning and settling into a laying-down position on the couch. "Uh..." Olive gulped, trying to pick her words carefully. "We're glad you like the cake. We made it just for you." "Mmm..." "W-why don't you, uh, s-sleep on what I've said, hmm? I really do mean every single word. We want you back to normal." Olive walked over, took the note, and slid it in front of Mandy. "Here, read this." The hybrid, giving a mighty sigh of annoyance, opened the small paper and read the text inside. All three girls could swear they saw Mandy perk up slightly, but she quickly slumped back down and set her head on the couch. "I was expecting her to say something like, 'Oh, you would do this for me? Thank you soooooo much!'" Pinkie said. "But I guess she's still mad at us..." Oprah sighed. "Just let her sleep. There's nothing we can do now." Olive felt like crying right then and there, but she forced herself to stay steady. "Right. We tried." "And trying and failing is better than not trying at all." Oprah finished. "Go home, you two. Make sure you rest up for tomorrow. I have to stay here and finish up." Pinkie nodded and made her way out the double doors, her mane deflating slightly as she did so. Olive, likewise, did the same. "Have a good night, Mandy" were the last words she said to the hybrid for the day before she trudged down the staircase on the right. The loud snores emanating from Mandy were proof enough that this act of treachery and betrayal didn't cause her any trouble sleeping. Still, Oprah sought it fit to drape her purple blanket over her and leave her be once she cleaned up her office and shut things down in Headquarters, not bothering to hide the sadness buried deep inside her any longer as a few tears streamed down her face. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as she closed the glass double-doors and walked away from her second-in-command. Somehow, the dish that held the cake had made its way to its new destination under Mandy's cheek. As the hybrid snored, cake crumbs either littered her face or littered the floor. Although Oprah passed by her more than once, the pan stayed where it was, Oprah not daring to move it lest she trigger Mandy into waking up and risk her getting even angrier at her. Around noontime -- or at least what her circadian clock thought was noontime -- Mandy woke up. Her eyes slowly opened, and her jaws parted as her body shivered with a loud yawn forcing its way out of her body. "That's niiiiice..." she murmured, as she looked around for her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. Seeing a glass-shaped object filled with a brown something in her line of vision, she snatched it and drank it all without a second thought. An unsettling feeling came over her. Her face suddenly felt itchy. Her nails quickly got to scratching, and she noticed cake pieces falling on the pan below her. "When did that get there..." she murmured, before her face lit up in realization. "Oh. Yeah. They gave me a cake and a note...what did that note even say?" Dear Mandy, On behalf of Pinkie, Oprah and everyone else, we're really sorry we accused you of destroying the Bedroom and the bullpen. I hope you know that we love you no matter what, and that we realize now it was Natsu who is the true culprit. (If you're wondering where it is, Security agents took it back to its natural habitat this morning.) Pinkie Pie and I made you this cake as a way of stacking on to our apology, so to speak. Hopefully you enjoyed it. Or will enjoy it. I dunno, it came with the cake. Anyway, please accept our apologies. I really don't know what more I can say to make it up to you. ...Oh. Wait. I probably can. I love you, Mandy. And I always will. Forever and ever. Keep continuing to surprise us. Like you just did. Love (disclaimer: I would never end a letter like this but I didn't puke so that's something), Olive Mandy's eyes began to water. Her throat began to close up. These words barely fazed me yesterday...because I skimmed over the note. I was too upset to keep reading, and all I could register was the cake. But now... Is this what they really...? And Natsu really is gone... "No!" Mandy sat up. "I shouldn't cry over Natsu anymore. Why would I, when it betrayed me? It's nothing more than a pile of filth!!" With a mighty swat, the pan flew off of the couch and collided with the back seats of the other couch in the room. She gave a shaky sigh. "Killing an odd creature is cruel, Mandy. You're not gonna feel satisfied if you kill it. Just...let go of it!" She tried to smile. "Remind yourself of the happy things. Like Momma, and Otto, and Oprah, and Peaches, and the ponies, and Odd Squad!" The smile, however, quickly faded. "All Momma wants is to see me be happy...she doesn't want me to hate her forever like this. And neither does anyone else. And...they all apologized for framing me, at least." Mandy closed her eyes to think. And then, a few seconds later, she sat up with a determined huff. "Okay! Gotta cheer up, starting now!" She blinked. "Wait, where's Oprah? Why's she not here? She's always he-" Three knocks on one of the glass doors made her hair and tail bush up as she gave a yowl. "Don't scare me like that, you-" She stopped and blinked as she saw exactly who it was at the door. "Cuz!" Peaches opened the door... -- "Wait, wait- ulp!" -- and soon found herself a victim of near-death by asphyxiation. "Oh, am I happy to see you!" "C-can you..." Peaches coughed and sputtered. "Put me down...?!" "Sorry!" Mandy set her cousin down as instructed, allowing her to get a few gulps of air in. "What're you doing here?" Peaches gave a relieved exhale. "I came by to check on you. Oprah's busy with some affairs involving Olive and Otto right now-" "Where are they?" "W-well, they're in the Odd Squad Warehouse-" "Greatseeyoulater!" And that was that, as Mandy whizzed right past Peaches without another word spoken. "Mandy, wait!" Peaches called, although she knew that it was hopeless. All she could do was give a mighty sigh of exasperation and leave the scene, her deed already having been done. Dinosaurs of all kinds, from T-rexes to pterodactyls, used every inch of their strength to ram into the double-doors leading into the Dinosaur Room. As Olive and Otto fought to keep the doors shut, Oprah was busy punching numbers into a keyboard that laid on the right door. "It's no use! We've tried every possible combination!" Oprah shouted. Otto opened his mouth to remark about how out-of-character that was for his former boss, for her to give up instead of putting every ounce of her strength into securing some of Odd Squad's most prominent and most dangerous creatures, but Olive spoke up before he could get a word in. "Don't say that! We have to keep trying! If we don't lock these doors, all the dinosaurs are gonna escape!" In a cartoonish fashion, the steel doors bent outwards as though ready to break. And then they burst open. The trio stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the floor. Almost immediately, they bundled together, taking out their shields upon seeing the dinosaurs advance towards them. All of them braced for impact, feeling their lives pass through their brain like a movie stuck on fast-forward as they squeezed their eyes shut. "Whooooo's hungry?! I know I am!" Olive's eyes snapped open. The first thing she saw was a blur of something rainbow-colored zip by her and head into the dinosaur room. "I'll be riiiight back!" came a familiar voice, as the rainbow-colored figure closed the door with some kind of magical force and sealed it with the sound of screeching metal. "I know that voice..." Oprah breathed, opening her eyes and lowering her shield. "Is that..." "Mandy?!" Otto finished her sentence, opening his eyes and staring at the closed doors completely bug-eyed. His dazed stupor didn't last for long, however, as he quickly shook his head and got up, tucking his own shield away behind his back. "Where'd she come from?" "I don't know." Olive did the same. "But we should tru-" A series of banging sounds and shouting ensued. The shouting was in a language that no one, not even Oprah, could understand -- it was all equal to the same gibberish as the sleep-talk Mandy uttered. After a few minutes of tension, a bright flash indicated the return of Mandy, completely dazed, confused, and missing a tooth or two. All she could let out was a long, quivering "aaa" sound, like she was trying to say something but was too stunned to do so. "Mandy, are you okay?!" Olive immediately rushed right over, catching the hybrid in her arms as she toppled forwards. "What happened to you?" No response, except for the stretched-out sound. "Her pajamas are ripped." Otto noted, eyeing some slash marks on her clothing. "Whatever those dinosaurs did to her in there, they roughed her up pretty good." "No injuries, though..." Olive breathed a sigh of relief. "Pretty miraculous." Oprah chuckled and gave a lighthearted shrug. "But would you expect anything less from Precinct 13579's second-in-command?" Mandy shook her head and closed her mouth, blinking a few times. She grit her teeth and rubbed her head. Feels like my magic backfired into my brain... ...Wait, is that a thing? I thought Twi mentioned it was a thing, oh on odd it's definitely a thing isn't i- "Mandy?" "Hm? I'm okay..." The hybrid attempted to stand up, but began falling backwards before regaining her usual stance. "That was close." "You saved us." "I did?" "And the door's sealed too!" "Is it?" Mandy turned to look. "Oh." "How did you even find us all the way down here?" Otto asked. "Talk about a deus ex machina." Mandy slowly waved her hand. "No it's not. Peach told me where you guys were. I came down here for another reason, but when I saw you guys in trouble, I couldn't not save you." The trio exchanged glances, and then exchanged happy sighs. "So why are you here, then?" Olive asked, before her face lit up in realization. "Wait. You're speaking to us! Does that mean you forgive us?" "Yeah...I skimmed through your note last night, but I read it for realsies this morning and it hit me." Mandy chuckled. "It's nice that you all care so much for me. And I'm glad you apologized. Thank you." "How are you feeling about Natsu?" Oprah asked, treading lightly in case Mandy felt like taking a spin of the Wheel of Violence Upon Others. "Oh, that lowlife? It can go rot away for all I care. I'm not gonna be worried about it anymore." Oprah placed a hand on her rapidly-beating heart and gave a small relieved huff. "Do I still hafta sleep in your office for a week, though, Oprah?" "Well, yes, until the Bedroom's repaired. But it's not going to be a punishment." The Director shrugged. "Really, I keep forgetting that all the traditional punishments don't work on you. Keeping you in my office is a reward." "Yup!" Mandy cracked her knuckles. "Now, I believe Peach said you guys had some affairs you needed to handle. Why don't I help ya?" "Sure." Olive nodded. "We could use the help." "First thing you should do is invest in a better lock for those doors." Mandy made her way over to the doors and knocked thrice. "My magic will hold for a while, but not forever!" "We were trying to use the combination on the keypad to lock it, but we forgot what the combination was." Otto explained. Curiously, the hybrid took a look at the keypad, which only displayed the row of dots lit up in red. She squinted and pressed the 7 key, then the 4 key, which caused the row of dots to flash green. "Doors locked." came an automated voice. Oprah felt an emotion bubbling forth that she couldn't even begin to describe. "How did you even-" "After we ditched the six-keyed keypad for the more universal one with all the numbers and every basic mathematical symbol, I had a feeling you didn't bother changing the code, Oprah." Mandy rolled her eyes. "Really, I don't know how you struggled with this for so long. There are only so many combinations that add up to 11 one can think of!" As she gave a hearty laugh, Olive and Otto bit back a groan, as did Oprah. "Aaaaanyway, I'm really really hungry. Whaddya say we all go and get breakfast together?" On everyone's agreement, the agents began heading upstairs to clean themselves up and grab some food, not noticing a small dark figure emerging from the shadows and perching on the boxes. It tilted its head, then ran away.
S1E8: On a Tail and a WishAt Cedarvale Park, people and ponies alike were carrying on with life, talking and laughing, some having picnics while others had playtime. Peaches was also carrying on with life. Only she was on a mission. Her tail spun like the rotor of a helicopter as she flew through the park at a steady pace, looking to and fro and down at her map of the town for any sign of the monster, the ugly being that burned her town down to a near-crisp. Where could they be? There has to be someone here...but what if they aren't in this town at all? A rustling sound came from afar, but she was too lost in her thoughts to notice it -- and perhaps that was a good thing to the cat that came sliding from the bush, who eyed her intently while trying to stay hidden. "What if..." Peaches said aloud, continuing her flight across the park and retreating into her thoughts. So that's her. That's the catgirl King Ashero is looking for. The cat smirked. Oh, she looks so ripe for picking right now...but the King told me to just observe. A real pity, too. But I can't disobey him. Otherwise it'll be my life on the line. Sighing, the cat -- or more specifically, the catperson in cat form -- made her way across the park, hiding in various bushes while also keeping an eye on the one who was now branded a Vallean criminal. Nearby, Mandy met with a client, who told her about her odd problem of parts of her body looking like that of a lobster's. "Hmm...seems like the problem is that you're turning into a lobster. But don't worry!" the hybrid said, noting the panicked look on the woman's face and immediately taking out a gadget from behind her back. "I have a Un-Lobster-inator for ya!" Firing off the gadget made it emit a multicolored beam that surrounded the woman and turned her mutated body parts back to normal. "Oh...oh! I'm back to normal!" The woman sighed in relief. "Thank you, Odd Squad!" "No prob!" Mandy chirped. "And, uh, might I suggest you eat less lobster? 'You are what you eat' has a more..." She cleared her throat. "...literal meaning in this world." "I will keep that in mind! Thank you again!" "Have a great day!" Mandy saw her latest client off with a wave, before she turned and began heading back the way she came. As she looked off to the side, however, she managed to bump into someone head-on, giving an "oof" in response. "Hey, watch whe-" Mandy gasped, her upset dissipating as she saw just who she had bumped into. Or rather, as she saw just what the person she had bumped into was doing. Peaches landed on her own two feet with all the poise and grace of someone of her kind, her tail ceasing its rotation. "S-sorry, Mandy!" she said, holding up the map in her hand. "I've been trying to find who destroyed Vallea and I was reading this map I marked, but...I guess I wasn't watching where I was going. My bad." She had expected Mandy to give some kind of response. Instead, the hybrid stared at her intently, big stupid grin on her face and tail wagging like an excited puppy who'd just been gifted a tennis ball for its birthday. "Wow. That tail's, uh...really going, huh?" Peaches tilted her head. "What's got you so excited?" "You can fly?!" Mandy practically screamed, as more than a few people and ponies looked towards the duo. "Omigoshomigoshomigosh you can fly!" She capped off this realization with a bout of giddy giggling. "Oh. You noticed, huh?" "And you can do it using your tail?! I've never been able to do it using my tail, I mean believe you me I have tried, but sometimes I just can't get my big ol' body off the ground, y'know what I'm sayin'?" Mandy chirped. "This is so great, I can't believe you can actually fly using your tail, I mean-" It was at this point that Peaches had tuned Mandy out as best she could. All she could do was watch as her cousin's gums did enough flapping to break away from her mouth and extend past the ionosphere and go all the way up into space where the Moon was. Exactly how long can she go without taking a breath? She internally groaned. If I let her have her way she's gonna be jabbering on about my tail and my flying for- "Can you teach me?!" The question jerked the catgirl completely out of her thoughts. She blinked once, twice, and then a third time as she tried to comprehend what she was just asked. She looked Mandy up and down repeatedly. "Teach." "Yes!" "You." "Yes!" "How to fly with your tail?" "Ye-e-eeees!" Mandy's tone at this point was practically begging, which didn't help the weird looks Peaches could feel herself receiving. "You're going to keep asking until I say yes, aren't you?" A nod, and more giddy giggling. She knew she was going to regret it, and yet, she gave a heavy sigh of resignation anyway. "All right, fine. But you'd best know what you're going to get into. Flying with your tail is no easy feat. And I will not go easy on you just because we're cousins, got it?!" "Yes, ma'am! Ready when you are!" "All right then, follow me." Peaches turned on her heel. "We're going to need to find some empty space, away from people." As she walked away, Mandy eagerly followed, bouncing along behind her. It took quite a long while to find an empty space, much to Peaches's chagrin (or perhaps, relief). The park was packed, and whatever space there was certainly wouldn't work for someone like Mandy, who was bound to accrue lawsuits galore just from severely injuring someone with the stunts she was about to pull. Luckily, the duo managed to find a nice clear space, more on sheer luck than anything else. "Now." Peaches snapped her fingers twice. "Produce a hula hoop." Mandy's expression twisted into confusion... "Produce a-" ...and then into realization. "Ohhh!" She giggled before reaching behind her back and taking out a hula hoop, complete with a "ding" sound. "Like this one?" "Perfect. Now use it like you would use a normal hula hoop." Cue the hybrid shaking it like it was a maraca. "Cha-cha-chaaaaaaa!" she cried out, having fun with the swishing sound the beads inside the hoop made. Peaches stared. She stared with perhaps one of the most confused expressions ever recorded on a catperson, let alone any person. Somehow, she wasn't surprised, but "shake it like a maraca" wasn't the first thing she thought of when it came to "okay, I see your order and raise you disobedience". A sigh forced its way out of her. "Around your waist, cuz." Now the hybrid got the idea. She lowered the hoop until it was waist level, then got to spinning. "Wheee!" She let out a giggle. "This is fun!" "See how the hoop is spinning around your waist? It acts sort of like a propeller." Peaches explained. "Now take the hoop off." "But why?" Mandy tilted her head. "This is so much fun! I could do this forever! Help trim the ol' waist, y'know?" Her expression lit up. "Hey, you think this could help me shed a few pounds? I know I've been exercising as much as I can, but you know what they say, all the cake you eat goes to your hips and-" "MANDY!!" "Yes?" Peaches did Olive's version of the facepalm, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Look. I know you're excited. But could you at least try and listen to me?" "Oh! Right!" Mandy giggled, stopped spinning, and picked up the hoop. "Talk away, sensei!" "All right. As I was saying." A smile returned to Peaches's face. "Balance the hoop around your tail, and spin." Mandy became confused again, tilting her head as the gears inside of it tried to visualize what Peaches wanted her to do. Good thing (for the both of them) she managed to get it only a few minutes later. The whirring sound of a helicopter accompanied her spinning tail as it allowed her to gain lift, albeit in a pretty awkward position. Still, it didn't stop her from giving an elated "wheeeeee" and a giggle the same way a kid thrown into the air by Mom or Dad would. "Mandy, don't go up too high!" Peaches warned, although by the time she finished her warning it was beginning to be too late. "Look, I'm going up into space!" Mandy cried. "Lucky I got my space helmet on me!" A simple reach behind her back, and a space helmet decked in gold with an interior lit blue materialized. Mandy happily placed it on her head as it made a "pop" noise from the action. "To space I go!" "Mandy, no, don't..." Peaches stifled a growl as her hand, reaching behind her back, came up empty. "Why can I not get gadgets from behind my back like she can?!" she shouted to the heavens, mentally kicking herself for not asking Oprah about that ability the first time she saw an agent do it. "Mandyyyyyyy!" Her cry went unanswered as all she could do was watch her cousin become a speck in the sky. Thanks to gravity -- the one rule Odd Squad couldn't get rid of or modify -- Peaches didn't need to do much when over 150 pounds of weight came crashing down on several minutes later. "Okay. Seems you've mastered tail-flying with assistance..." Peaches gave a shaky sigh, rubbing her still-sore arm. "Now, how about doing it without the hoop?" "Okay..." "Just spin your tail like you did with the hoop." "Mmm..." The slightly-scruffed Mandy eyed her tail, nice and brown and curly and messy and probably completely incapable of providing her any sort of lift. Still, it didn't stop her from trying. And miraculously, it worked. "Oh, I'm doing it! I-" A loud crack sound put an end to that, as she came plummeting down to the ground once again, her tail in the shape of a lightning bolt. Perhaps Peaches's first thought should have been "she has bones in that thing?" But far be it from her to question how pony-human hybrids' tails worked -- or question Mandy in general. "I guess I forgot to add 'iron out the kinks in your tail' to the list..." A groan of many mixed emotions was the catgirl's only response, along with an outstretched hand. Mandy's third attempt came shortly after, and this time, she showed that her skill had improved slightly as she got into an easier position and was steadily gaining lift. "I did it!" "Great! Now try to go to the same height as..." Peaches looked above her, and pointed. "...that branch, there." Mandy glanced at her target -- which wasn't too high up -- and got to work. She kept her tail moving at the same speed, although she could feel it beginning to ache. She couldn't bear to look down, not wanting to falter and descend towards what was surely a situation that would make her look even messier, even though she had her wings still. "Keep going!" Peaches called. "The propeller will lift you up as you go." "But how do I go faster?" "You don't!" Mandy's eyes widened. "What?!" "It's gradual!" Unbeknownst to her, Mandy's tail had started spinning faster, which didn't end well when it finally collided with the branch that had been her target. Peaches could only wince as Mandy's body, like a yo-yo, spun at rapid speed around the branch itself as she gave a panicked cry. The disastrous feat only lasted a few seconds, but what Peaches saw was equally as unpleasant and lasted much longer. Mandy's tail was now fully wrapped around the branch to the point where her rump was nearly touching it. Her eyes spun around in their sockets, and a couple birds perched on her head as though mocking her and her even dirtier appearance. Somehow, she had performed the human equivalent of shoes tied to electric lines. "Nngh...Imma be sick..." Perhaps what was more painful than Peaches having to witness the sight was the thought of how she was going to get Mandy down -- especially since she wasn't exactly the most skilled catperson at climbing trees. Still, she tried. And luckily, they say fourth time's the charm. ...Wait, or was it the third time's the charm? "Let's try moving forward and backward. Try to move forward." Peaches instructed. "Just place pressure on the front of your tail as you spin." Both girls found this to be far more pleasant than simply moving upwards. Mandy made her way across the sidewalk, her tail spinning at a steady pace as her face lit up. "Hey, I'm doin' it!" she called, waving to her cousin. "Nonono, keep the tail straight!" Peaches responded, noting that Mandy's tail was bending all sorts of different ways, like light breezes from many different directions touching a single flower. "It's all about the force!" "How do I move faster?" "You don't!" Mandy's eyes widened. A weird and uncomfortable feeling of deja vu settled inside of her. "Huh?!" "It's graduaaaaaaal!" Peaches called in singsong, but by then it was too late. Mandy's backside collided with a brick building, an old and long-abandoned fort that parkgoers loved to explore. A pair of unicorn ponies eyed her curiously, watching as she slid down to the ground. By this point, Peaches had exhausted all of her options. She was about ready to throw in the towel, and if she had a towel to throw, she probably would. But she didn't, so instead, she resorted to sighing and burying her face in her hands, feeling like having a long cry with tears full of exhaustion and frustration. Back at Headquarters, things were relatively quiet, meaning Olive, Otto and Oprah could take ample opportunity to have dinner together. In the midst of their gathering, however, a knock on the door came forth and Twilight poked her head in, her magic securing a broken and worn-down gadget in midair. "Oh! My apologies. Am I interrupting?" "No, no!" Olive waved her hand dismissively. "Come on in, agent." The alicorn took the opportunity to make her way in, making sure the door closed behind her so no one else would come interrupting. "What's going on?" Otto asked. "I wanted to give this gadget to Mandy for her to repair, but I haven't seen her since this afternoon. Have any of you seen her?" "I sent her on a case a while ago." Oprah explained. "If that's the case then shouldn't she-" A round of coughing interrupted Olive's question. The group turned their gazes toward the glass doors, knowing that none of them was the source of the sound. Slowly, ever so slowly, a battered, bruised, and completely-worn-down Mandy limped up the stairs. Her one good leg wobbled when it stood still like someone had poked a thing of Jello. Her hair and tail were matted and had hairs sticking out of them in a way that reminded Olive in particular all too well of her own messy appearance after beating a vortex she and Otto had accidentally caused. Her suit was torn in a few places, exposing her white button-down undershirt -- and some tears exposed straight skin. She looked like she had just survived an animal attack after being on the losing end. "Mandy! Are you okay?" Olive's tone was panicked. Instinct made her jump up and rush to her side, aiding her the rest of the way up the stairs. "C'mon, you can do it." "Oww!" This long painful drawl was interrupted by a round of coughing. "Are you sick?" Oprah asked. "I don't think she's sick." Otto responded. Twilight helped Olive guide Mandy to the couch, letting her lay down before she let out another round of coughing. "Oh my odd, your tail is bent!" Olive carefully examined her adopted daughter's tail, which was bent like a lightning bolt in a more severe way than before. "Here, have some juice." Oprah hastily grabbed a full juice box from the table, stuck the attached straw into it, and gave it to Mandy to drink. Eagerly, the hybrid took a few sips, feeling the tickle in her lungs start to go away. A cough kicked off her explanation. "I...I wanted to try and fly the way Peaches does..." "Peaches doesn't fly." Twilight tilted her head. "Yeah she does...with her tail." Everyone's eyes widened. They weren't sure what to ask about first -- why Mandy's voice was so gravelly, or how Peaches could fly with her tail. Ultimately, though, Oprah decided to go with "Peaches can fly with her tail?" "Yeah...and I wanted to learn too, but..." Mandy sniffled. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I CA-A-AAAAAAN'T!" Using her own wing to shield herself, Twilight quickly shoved Olive out of the way so she could avoid being splashed by the waterfalls of tears that gushed from Mandy's eyes. They arched higher up than usual, to the point where the waterfalls looked like really tall candy canes. The alicorn mare then conjured up a rather large umbrella from her hammerspace spine, wide enough to handle four. "Good idea getting an umbrella, Twi!" "I take no chances." Twi responded to Otto's praise. "The last time Mandy cried like this, it flooded an entire Interrogation room!" Oprah's eyes widened, knowing that Mandy wasn't so keen on letting up anytime soon. "Okay, everyone out! Out! Let's move!" she ordered, shooing everyone out of her office with swift motions of her hands. As soon as everyone was out, she closed the door and watched her agent continued to go at it. "This is crazy. We're never gonna find out what happened to her if she doesn't stop crying!" Otto's voice was nearly a whine as he ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever happened must have been horrible if she's like this." Olive peered inside, then her head swiveled to the Medical Bay as she contemplated getting Dr. O. "Mandy's quite unpredictable, though. This sob-fest could last for the rest of the day, or it could end in a minute!" Just as Oprah was about to throw in an addendum to her words, Peaches came bounding up the stairs. "Guys!" "Peaches!" Otto greeted. The catgirl's gaze caught her distraught cousin. "Oof...Mandy's taking it rougher than I thought. Did she tell any of you what happened?" "Part of it. She said that she wanted to try and fly the way you do, but she can't for some reason." Olive shrugged, setting her question of how she could fly with her tail aside once more. Peaches gave a heavy and tired sigh. "Mandy saw me flying with my tail earlier today and became enamored. Like, I haven't seen her be that obsessed over anything since she made the world's biggest cherry pie." "To try and get into the Odd Squad Book of World Records?" "That's the one." Peaches nodded at Twilight. "Anyway, she wanted me to teach her how to fly with her own tail, and I did, but...she just can't get the hang of it. She just kept falling and hurting herself over and over...until..." Her eyes widened as she remembered what had gone down. By the time the sun began to dip down into the horizon, the catgirl couldn't count on a single hand the number of attempts Mandy had made to fly in spite of Peaches's lessons. Nor could she count them on a single hand and the claws on said hand. Whatever made her keep going, she wondered. Was it the trait of perseverance that every Odd Squad agent seemed to have? Was it for the goal at the end of finally being able to fly in a unique way? Or did she have a death wish? Who knew. "Cuz, you're a wreck. There's no way you're gonna fly in this state. Not with your tail the way it is!" Peaches pointed at it. "Look at it! It's completely crooked!" Mandy's spinning tail slowed to a soft whir, and then it completely blew out on her, allowing her to land straight into a bush. A groan of fatigue and defeat followed suit. "Give it up!" "N-never!" Mandy emerged from the bush, clawing her way out of it and getting farther and farther with every word spoken. "I...wanna...fly...with my...tail!" "We are of two different species." Peaches explained, her tone growing irritated and grating. "I can fly with ease because my tail is lighter, and fits my body. Your tail is big and poofy. It's like Pinkie Pie's tail." Mandy slowly got to her feet. "Pinkie...she can...fly..." "She's...ehh, how do I put it..." Peaches made a circling motion with her hand as she thought of a good word to call her friend. "...a unique anomaly. And that's being generous." "I'm...not...giving...up..." "Mandy, stop. You're being foolish." "Tomorrow...tomorrow...I'll try again." As Mandy walked, she didn't get very far, walking about as slow as a heavy drunkard before collapsing onto the ground. Peaches opened her mouth to try and protest again, but she didn't get a chance to. "I'm not giving up!" And just like that, Mandy was gone in a flash thanks to teleportation, leaving Peaches to only give a sigh as the soft breeze ruffled her hair. "She really wants to fly with her tail, huh?" "Weird. She never expressed interest in flying with her tail before." Olive glanced at Oprah. "Although we did teach her how to fly with her wings when she first transformed." "Has the reality hit her?" Olive and Otto exchanged glances with each other as the latter asked, "What reality?" "She's never going to be able to fly with her tail. Never, ever, not in a million years. Not in the way I do. Look at it." Peaches gestured towards Oprah's office as the partner duo took a look at Mandy's tail. "Her tail is far too big. She wasn't born with one like Pinkie and I were." "It was one day. Rome wasn't built in a day." Oprah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yeah. Just try again with Mandy tomorrow." Twilight added, tilting her head in confusion. "No, no, neither of you are getting it." Peaches buried her face in her hands and sighed. "Look. You don't have tails. W-well, I mean, Twilight has a tail, but she doesn't use it to fly." "That's true..." "Mandy wasn't born with a tail either, and now she wants to fly like I do." Peaches scoffed. "I can't even go into the air that much! At most, I hover a short distance off the ground! That one wants to go up into...into space with it!" "Then why don't you try adapting?" Peaches wasn't sure what she was more flustered by -- Oprah's suggestion, or her calm tone of voice. "Huh?" "If Mandy can't fly your way, maybe you need to find a style of flight that'll work for her." "What? No!" Peaches blinked. "It's already been established. Pony-human hybrids can't fly! It's the basic law of nature!" Olive and Otto tore their gazes away from Mandy to glance at Peaches, hoping that Mandy wasn't picking up on any of the conversation. Both of them knew the doors were almost soundproof, but both of them also knew that Mandy had a rather heightened sense of hearing for someone with two pairs of ears from two different species. "Besides, she's a terrible student. She keeps going off-track and fooling around when she's supposed to be learning!" This bit was met with collective sighs. Olive, Oprah, Otto and Twilight all knew that described Mandy as a student down to a T -- multiple testaments from multiple teachers and students at the Academy could prove that easily. "I'm..." Peaches huffed. "I'm going to go and clean myself." She turned and began heading back the way she came. Digesting the information they'd been given, Oprah, Twilight and Otto's first collective action was to fix their gazes on Olive, who adopted a concerned expression. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" "You're Mandy's mother." "Adoptive mother." "Surely you can help calm her down!" "Plus, you're her friend. As the Princess of Friendship, it's only right that you calm her down and help her out." Olive gave a long defeated groan. "Fine...if I must." Gripping the door handle tight, she walked in, straight from the middle of nowhere into a raging fire, and closed the door behind her. Mandy was still going at it, although the teary waterfalls had dissipated and she was now sobbing much quieter than before. Making sure not to step in any puddles, Olive made her way over. "Mandy? Peaches told us all about what's going on. Do you really want to fly with your tail that much?" The hybrid sniffled. "It j-just looked like a cool trick, and..." She sniffled again. "I wanted t' impress you guys!" Olive blinked. That's it? She doesn't want to use it to stop villains? Or to solve a really hard case? Huh. Didn't see that coming. Still, she pressed forward. "You don't have to impress us. You carrying us on your back while you use your wings to fly is a cool feat in and of itself!" She chuckled. "Rainbow Dash can't do that. Neither can Fluttershy, or Peaches." Mandy opened her mouth to respond, but a hiccup came out of her instead, and she shifted position on the couch. "You're not gonna give up, are you?" "No! I-I wanna fly! I wanna fly using my tail!" Damn it. Should have known she wouldn't go down so easily. Olive grit her teeth, realizing that no amount of pep talk would be able to sway Mandy. But then, she got an idea. "I remember seeing Pinkie Pie fly with her tail at one point. Why don't you ask her?" Mandy lifted her head up. "P-Pinkie?" "Sure! If Pinkie can fly, maybe you can too! She can help you find a different way to fly. After all, you two have similar tails!" Another hiccup, and a sniffle. "I guess...whatever I'm gonna do to fly with my tail!" Satisfied that she had come to a happy solution for her daughter, Olive's smile grew a bit bigger. "For now, why don't you stay off of it? It looks like it got fused with a bolt of lightning." "Mmm..." "It's almost 7." the Director remarked, glancing at her watch. "Want me to make you something? I can't imagine you'd be up for making something in your condition." Mandy, growing tired from both her crying session and her lack of energy, yawned. "Some...mmm...stir-fry?" "Daring today, aren't we?" Olive chuckled and began to head for the door. "All right, stir-fry it is. I'll surprise you." "Sounds good...thanks..." Olive's gaze moved away from Mandy and met three surprised faces, up against the glass and expressions filled with surprise. Giving a sigh and a shrug, she exited through the other door. "Whoa, you're good, partner!" Otto was the first to pry his face away from the door first, his eyes shimmering with just a twinge of jealousy. "Mother's intuition, what can I say?" Olive shrugged. "Now, do you know how to make stir-fry?" "Like heck I do!" "Good, you can teach me." "Great! Let's go get started!" Arms wrapped around each other in a show of friendship, the partner duo descended the stairs. "Mandy's really dedicated to this whole flying thing, huh?" Twilight said, glancing at Oprah. "You and I both know she gets fixated on certain things. Sometimes to an...obsessive point." Oprah responded. "She won't stop until she learns how to fly with her tail." "But what if she can't?" "I would have to drag the Big O in to set her right." Twilight's eyes widened at this response. Bringing in the Big O seemed like a rather big jump just for a person who refused to accept "no" for an answer to the question of "can I do such a seemingly impossible thing?" She had to wonder why Oprah couldn't stop her -- she was the next governing authority of Precinct 13579 after Mandy, after all. But the alicorn was interrupted before she could get another word in. "Come on. Why don't we go for a walk? You seem tense." The alicorn snapped out of her shocked stupor and nodded. "But don't you have to stay here and run this place?" "As I always say, it's important we do good things for ourselves. HQ will be fine for a bit." "All right. Let's go." The duo left the same way Olive and Otto did, going down the stairs and chatting away about where they would like to go on their walk. There was no more energy that Mandy could gain. There was no more energy left over that could be salvaged by her, either. So, as a result, she crashed only a few minutes after everyone had left. Olive and Otto made their way up the stairs, each of them struggling to balance a somewhat large pot full of the meal they hoped would at least fill their friend's stomach up. Not halfway up the stairs and they started to think about taking the elevator instead, but going back down was just as dangerous as going up, and so they resolved to keep going. Olive freed her hand and opened the door, the raucous sound of Mandy's snores filling the room. Her arm and leg were draped over the front, her head cradled in the nook of her other arm, her body rising and falling with each noisy breath. "She's asleep!" Otto's eyes widened. "I figured she would fall asleep. She couldn't even stand properly." The duo set the pot down and watched Mandy sleep for a little bit before Otto broke the silence. "She doesn't sleep-eat, does she?" Olive's eyes reduced to pinpricks. Like a movie on fast-forward, she went through several instances where Mandy did, indeed, eat in her sleep. At one point she even tried to eat the entire Earth before Odd Squad managed to stop her...although the details were a little fuzzy on that one. "If you jinx it, Otto, then odd help me..." she uttered through gritted teeth, keeping an eye on Mandy to make sure she wouldn't suddenly lunge for the pot or anything. Luckily, the hybrid seemed to be in too deep to do anything like that. "Tail-fly...spin, spin, spin..." she mumbled, before she went right back to snoring. "Is she dreaming about flying with her tail?" "Nah, she's probably dreaming about sending a villain far far away by spinning their tail and flinging 'em." Olive snarked, coupling it with an eyeroll for good measure. "Okay, well, I'll pretend I didn't hear that snark, thank you." Olive grabbed ahold of Mandy's shoulder and shook her gently. "Mandy? Wake up, we have dinner for you!" A couple snorts followed. "Mmm...five more minutezz..." "Come on, now. It's your veggie stir-fry!" Defeated, Mandy extended her arms in a stretch and gave a loud yawn, wincing when a loud pop sound emanated from her back and a shot of pain went ricocheting through her body. "Nngh...really, zzpine? I'm eleven, not 89..." "We made it just for you!" Otto encouraged. In response, Mandy's stomach rumbled. "Heh..." The hybrid shook her head rapidly to clear the fogginess from her brain, then rubbed her eyes. "That's nice..." "Were you dreaming of flying with your tail?" Olive asked, as Mandy conjured up a bowl and telekinetically scooped some stir-fry into it. "Oh, I was!" The hybrid took a big bite and relished the taste as she chewed, giving a big smile before swallowing. "Hopefully Pinkie has some tricks up her sleeve. She can fly with her tail, so I believe I can too!" "Well, I believe in you, if that helps." "Thanks, Otto!" Olive glanced at her partner, her expression filled with worry for only a second. As Mandy continued to eat, both Directors were equally surprised and nonplussed at how fast she was chewing and swallowing the food. One could argue it was like she wasn't even tasting it -- but in reality, she was savoring every single bite. "Jeez, you're pretty hungry." Olive reached behind her back. "I guess it's lucky we made you a cake for dessert." A "ding" sound accompanied a nice, fluffy, delicious three-layer chocolate cake that she set down onto the table. Mandy's eyes widened. She had to resist the urge to let her jaw drop and let the large mushy chewed-up piece of veggie stir-fry she was eating fall out of her mouth. She swallowed, let out a gasp, and then stretched an arm out towards the cake before shaking her head. "Nono! Nono. Lemme finish my stir-fry first. Chocolate and stir-fry...they, uh...don't go well together." She clutched her stomach, as though remembering a rather painful time she did, indeed, eat chocolate and stir-fry together. It didn't last long though, and Olive and Otto watched as Mandy forwent the bowl and went straight for eating out of the pot, her tail wagging happily as she ate the last few bites. "Aah, that's better!" she chirped, after swallowing her final bite. She opened her mouth to speak again, but instead of words, a belch forced its way out instead. "Pardon!" Olive playfully rolled her eyes. "Now lemme at that cake!" Otto's eyes, meanwhile, held a twinge of jealousy as Mandy lunged for the cake, pulling a big bite into her mouth. "D-don't choke!" "Choke?" Mandy glanced at Olive with her mouth full and her face smeared with chocolate. "I don't choke, what're you talkin' about?" A few chews, and then a swallow. "Mmm...chocolate, my favorite!" Both Olive and Otto shot each other a knowing smile -- of course they'd made it a chocolate cake. Chocolate was Mandy's favorite kind of cake. No surprise there. What also wasn't a surprise was the way she used her tongue to scoop up the rest of the cake and eat it in one big bite, chewing for a little bit before swallowing. "Aah...thanks, guys! I mean, I dunno how you had time to bake a three-layer cake, but I'm gonna need all the energy I can get for tomorrow!" "Ah, it's nothing, really." Otto waved his hand dismissively. "We figured you'd be hungry enough to eat both dinner and dessert in one go. Though I wish you ate the cake first..." Olive gave him a playful nudge. "Anyway, we should be heading back now. Gotta handle our nightly duties. Stay safe and get better, okay?" "'Kay! Have fun!" "We'll try." As the trio exchanged goodbyes, they both went out the same direction -- only Mandy was making a beeline for the kitchen, dishes held in her telekinetic grasp. Olive and Otto, meanwhile, watched her from the balcony outside Oprah's office before making their way downstairs. "All right, dish." Olive glanced at him. "Huh?" "Something about Mandy is bothering you, isn't it?" "N-no!" Olive gave a disbelieving scoff. "What makes you think that?" "I know my partner well enough." he responded. "It's about her flying, isn't it?" Knowing better than to argue with Otto, Olive gave a defeated and weary sigh. "Yeah. It's just...I don't understand her fixation on flying with her tail. She can fly with her wings perfectly fine. Why does she need to do it with her tail?" Her gaze became distant as she stared at the back wall of the bullpen. "I know she told me she wanted to impress us, but why? She already impresses us. Every day, she impresses us. Just yesterday, she managed to get the highest score in Fantastic Light Revolution on 'Prominence' just by using her hands. Her hands! Not even her feet, her own two hands!" "Well, it's like you always say. Mandy continues to surprise us. I'm sure she has her reasons for wanting to impress us by flying with her tail." "But what if she can't, Otto?" Olive asked as they walked through the Trophy Room connecting the bullpen to the Tube Lobby, a desperate tone to her voice. "If she can't fly with her tail no matter how much training she gets, then it's going to break her heart!" Otto sighed. "You have a point there, I guess." The duo spotted O'Donnell, the cheerful red-headed tube operator on duty, waving at them. It took quite a bit of willpower to try and give a genuine wave back. "Hey Olive, hey Otto! Heading back to your office?" "Hi, O'Donnell." Olive greeted. "And yes, back to our office." O'Donnell nodded in understanding. "Preparing to squishinate!" she called, as Olive and Otto each entered a tube. She began pressing a few buttons on her computer, followed by the two buttons denoting the first and second tubes that they were in. "Squishinating!" And just like that, with a bang and a boing, they were off, making their way through the tubes without a single word spoken. While Otto felt calm wash over him despite being squished and tossed around, Olive couldn't help but feel worried about Mandy. She felt unable to relax in the ball like she normally was, and shut her eyes tight as she let the ball guide her through the tubes and around all sorts of obstacles. Finally, the duo landed inside their own Headquarters -- a perfect landing on both feet, without any stumbles. "Hello, Mr. and Ms. O." the tube operator on duty, O'Chance, greeted. "Welcome back." Giving him their thanks, they made their way towards the bullpen, the tube lobby doors opening to reveal a similar Trophy Room to Precinct 13579's own. "I just hope Pinkie really does have something up her sleeve..." Olive muttered to herself. "I'm sure she does. Just give it time." Otto responded, overhearing the assurance. He pat his partner on the back twice. "C'mon. Why don't we grab a bite to eat ourselves? I'm starving!" As he made a beeline for the bullpen and then the Breakroom, Olive could only stand at the entrance to the bullpen and watch him go, the emotion of worry still having a vicegrip on her brain. A heavy sigh left her before her stomach let out a grumble, as though ordering her to get some food. She complied, making her way over to the Breakroom herself. When next Mandy opened her eyes, air swept over her. Although it was far more than a breeze. "Oh, I'm falling, heh." She closed her eyes and let the freeing sensation of falling take her over...but then the reality set in. "I'm falling!" She waved her arms up and down frantically, her heart beginning to race before she realized that she could fly. "Wait, my wings!" As she tried to open them, one thing became hauntingly apparent. Fear formed as a ball in her stomach. "I-I have no wings! W-where'd my wings go?!" The ball grew bigger. "I can't fly-y-yyyyy!" she screamed, making her voice as loud as she could on the off chance someone -- human, pony, even a passing villain -- heard her and would try to save her. As she began to allow her brain to play a movie of her life, her eyes widened in realization. "Wait...I have my tail! Maybe it can save me!" And then her expression fell. "B-but...I couldn't fly with it..." A quick glance downwards at the fast-approaching ground affirmed that "Nngh...I don't have a choice!" As she stretched out her tail as best she could to make sure it didn't crack again, she gave a sigh. "Here goes nothing!" Quickly, she angled her tail the same way Peaches taught her, and spun it as fast as she possibly could. All the while, a scream left her lungs as panic began to settle in, her body fully ready to accept its fate at the hands of a very premature death. Even when the air stopped beating against her, she continued to scream. It wasn't until a few seconds later that her scream died down, and she opened her eyes, letting out a small gasp at what she saw. "M-m-my tail! It saved me!" Sure enough, she was hovering only a few inches from the ground -- only one more second and she would have likely had performed the anatomically-astounding feat of her head recoiling into her body in what was sure to have been a bloody and gory mess. Her tail, instead of being angled upwards, was now below her, providing her much needed lift as it whirred away. She flipped her body right side up and landed on the ground, expecting someone to rush up to her and ask if she was okay, maybe get some details about what had happened. But no one came. It was her, all alone. She took a few heavy breaths to try and recollect herself. "That was... It was what? Intense? Death-defying? A horrifying reality check? "...real. Really real." No it wasn't. You're too important to die by just falling and going splat. If you're going to die, then you're going to die creatively, with honor, and with no regrets. The inner voice came on suddenly. And it got deep, in a way that made her uncomfortable. She furiously rubbed her hair in a futile effort to put it to rest. For odd's sake, this nightmare turned into a good dream. How often did that happen in her lifetime? "Okay, I'm 99% sure this is a dream." she said, her tone becoming melancholy. "I can't do this in real life. Not in the way Peach can..." She stood there, in the cold, empty park, feeling like crying. But she wasn't about to go down yet. "No! You just have to work with Pinkie! She can help you!" "Are you kidding? That was some of the worst tail-flying I've ever seen!" She looked up. She knew that squeaky, high-pitched voice. After all, it was the only voice that sounded identical to hers. "Pinkie!" she cried out, feeling like crying just at the fact there was another living soul here, even though her expression was less than welcoming. "Oh, thank odd! Wish you could've come earlier, but I'm sure you had something to do back in Equestria or here in Toronto or whatever, and maybe your 'Princess Luna' helped you dreamwalk or something so it's perfectly understandable that-" A loud, guttural growl shut the hybrid up quickly. "No! You're not understanding me! Your posture was off, your spin was off, everything was off!" A scoff before her partner continued. "And how in the wide wide world of Equestria do you expect to listen to me when you couldn't even listen to Peaches?!" Mandy could swear she heard her heart shatter -- and in this dream, it certainly was anatomically possible. "Pinkie! I need you!" she called, her tone desperate and pleading. "There's no way I can fly with my tail without your help!" "Forget it! I don't wanna teach someone who's a lost cause!" Pinkie snapped. "You're better off using your wings, can't you be happy you have those to use?!" "Pinkie-" Before Mandy could respond, the sound of crumbling earth filled her ears, and she glanced down to find the ground cracking and falling underneath her. The ball of panic returned and grew in size substantially and quickly as she began falling once again, Pinkie's expression of anger being the last face of a living being she saw. Unlike the first time, she was now falling in darkness. She couldn't see anything or feel anything aside from the air pushing up against her. She felt just as lonely as she did before, only the loneliness was amplified by what she was sure was a dark recess of her mind, which contained nothing but sheer silence. "Maybe...could I..." She glanced back, her eyes shimmering with hope. Maybe, if she could save herself with her tail, she could save herself. Except her tail wasn't there. And neither were her wings. "Wh...where's my tail?! And my wings! I can't flyyyyyyy!" The final word in her haunting realization merged into a high-pitched scream full of despair, anxiety... And defeat. Of course. She didn't know self-levitation yet, and at this point, she wasn't sure she wanted to try. She let her body go limp, knowing that there was nothing she could do to save herself, nor was there anyone around who was willing to save her. She was a lifeless being, plummeting through the air at breakneck speeds, awaiting the release of death to set her free. But that didn't stop the tears from spilling and curving upwards all the same. "Nyaah!" As she immediately woke up and shot straight up, Mandy's lungs rapidly took in and pushed out air as she glanced at her surroundings. The feeling of falling caught up with her, and her brain began to realize that she was in a sitting position in bed. She sighed. "Oh good, my suspicions were right. It was a dream." Silence was the only thing that met her ears. Lots of light flooded the room, indicating that it definitely wasn't sunrise. "Weird. What time is it?" she muttered, glancing at the clock beside her. "1:00?" She groaned. "I overslept by a whole hour..." Throwing off her sheets and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she grabbed ahold of her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink and began taking eager sips, her mouth feeling rather dry. "I just hope Pinkie's up for teaching me how to fly with my tail..." she spoke aloud, before hopping off and setting down her drink before heading for the bathroom to get ready. By the time she got her suit on, Headquarters was bustling with activity. Not that it wasn't bustling before -- it was after noontime already -- but to her, it seemed more active than usual. It didn't take long for her eyes to spot Pinkie, sitting happily at her desk. Her expression didn't have a trace of anger within it, and in fact, she looked rather happy as she did paperwork. Still, that didn't make Mandy any less wary as she approached the pink mare nervously. "Hey, partner!" Pinkie called, spitting out the pencil she was clutching in her mouth. "You're a bit off the ball today! I tried to wake you at noon so we could go and kick odd butt, but you just refused to wake up!" She didn't see me tossing and turning? Mandy tilted her head. Was I even tossing and turning? Saying "help me" or something in my sleep, even? Or did I, and she just ignored me? "Hey, Pinkie." came the melancholic reply, as Mandy walked past her with her posture completely slumped. Just try! The least she could do is say no! "Pinkie!" "That's my name, don't wear it out!" It's now or never! "I have a favor to ask you, and I'm really really reeeeeeeally hoping you'll say yes!" "Sure, what is it?" Pinkie tilted her head. "You can fly with your tail, right?" "Sure can!" "Can you maybe teach me?" Mandy fiddled with her thumbs. "I...tried with Peach, but...it didn't go over so well." She inhaled, and waited, shutting her eyes tight so she wouldn't be met with the same angry reactio- wait, was that a gasp she heard? "Are you kidding?! I'd love to! Anything to help out a partner, amirite?" Her eyes slowly opened. There, right in front of her, was a pink Earth pony mare, blue eyes sparkling, pearly white teeth showing in a big grin. She almost couldn't believe what she saw. Well, whaddya know. Before she knew it, she was tackling Pinkie, sending both of them careening to the floor. "Thank you thank you thank you! You're the best!" "Don't mention it!" Pinkie squirmed free of the hybrid and stood up. "C'mon, we can start right now!" "Yes, please!" Only a few minutes later, the duo were at the park. Mandy didn't recognize the part of the park they were in as any part she had visited with Peaches before, which was, perhaps, a good thing. She spilled everything to Pinkie about her first lesson with the catgirl, and about her failures. "All right, so from what you told me, Peaches has taught you the basics." Pinkie sat down. "Spinning with a hoop, learning how to fly without the hoop, all that jazz." Mandy nodded. "So why don't we start with direction stuff? Spin your tail." She did as she was told, letting her tail whirl about like a propeller as she angled it upwards and began drifting along the sidewalk. "Okay...so how do I steer? And if you say 'it's gradual'..." Pinkie giggled. "No, silly! You have to give your tail repeated pushes in the direction you want to go! And stick your hands out!" Mandy had to admit, she wasn't sure about that last part. But she stuck her hands out anyway, making sure to apply pressure to the front of her tail so she could move. "Ha, I'm moving!" she exclaimed, before she blinked twice in confusion. "But how do I stop?" "Put your hands down!" came the simple response. Something inside Mandy thought it took a lot more than that, and so in addition to putting her hands down and letting them droop towards the ground, she moved pressure off the front of her tail and tried to stabilize it so she was still. "Huh. This is...easier. Far easier than I thought." "Okay, now land!" Mandy flipped her body right side up again, like an hourglass being turned over, and placed her feet on the ground. "Ha, it worked!" She began bouncing up and down. "It worked, it worked, it worked!" "Hold on a second! We're not done yet!" Pinkie announced, trotting over to Mandy's side. Mandy blinked twice. "Say what now?" "It seems you aren't really skilled at flying upwards with your tail...so we'll try flying downwards instead!" Flying downwards? How would one fly do- ohh. Mandy rolled her eyes, if not for her own lapse in thinking, than for Pinkie's weird wording of what she wanted her partner to do. "Y'know, I actually had a dream about that, so this might work out in my favor!" she said. "Angle your tail down." Mandy glanced behind her. "My tail is down." "Mm...a little more than that!" The tail went down. "More..." Further down. "More..." Even further down, to the point where it looked like Mandy had it between her legs. "Perfect! Now spin it, and jump!" As her tail spun like a propeller, Mandy jumped into the air and fell back on it, watching as dirt and bugs and flowers blew every which way. Man, it feels so weird in real life versus in a dream, she thought. But it's also kinda cool! If I could do this in real life...then maybe I have a chance! "Spin it faster! It needs to be able to support your weight!" Pinkie explained. Mandy did as she was told to, and upped the speed. Unfortunately, doing that didn't quite go as planned. "That's it!" "This feels a little too faaaaaaaaast!" Soon, Mandy's body was spinning just as fast as the propeller, until she collapsed on the ground with an "Oof!" As Pinkie approached her, she noticed that some of the hairs on her partner's tail were horribly bent out of place, and her eyes spun around in their sockets as she could swear she saw dancing jackalopes around her head. Eventually, she had to bring up a white flag -- "TOO DIZZIFIED, PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER" -- and that was enough convincing for Pinkie to not ask the rhetorical question of "are you okay?" Once Mandy snapped to her senses, she and Pinkie tried again. And again. And again. But no matter how hard the hybrid tried to follow Pinkie's directions and advice, she just couldn't. It wasn't that she wasn't interested in what Pinkie had to teach her -- that would be silly, of course she was. It wasn't that she was terrible at following directions -- sure, she got distracted a lot, but she understood even the vaguest of orders and followed them as best she could. She made every effort in trying, and still failed. Which happens sometimes. That's just how life goes. Still, that didn't mean she was just going to accept that reality at face value. Not for this. "It's weird! You can't fly with your tail up or down!" Pinkie observed, a couple hours later as the duo sat on a park bench. Mandy sighed. "There's just too much of a weight tisrarity between us!" Pinkie didn't even try to make a joke about how Mandy uttered a nonexistent word that just so happened to coincide with her friend's name. To her, this was serious business. "I'm really sorry, partner." she murmured. "I wanted to help, but..." "No, no. It's fine." Mandy's voice slightly cracked, and she sniffled as she felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "Are you okay?" "It's just...I wanted to fly with my tail 'cause...I wanted to impress everyone!" Mandy was on the verge of tears now. "But if I can't fly with my tail..." She began to sob. "...then what can I do-o-oooooo?!" "Aww, there are tons of things you can do!" Pinkie said, trying her best to reassure her partner. "You can fly with your wings, and I can't, 'cause I don't have wings! And, you're supermazing at fighting oddness!" "Anyone can fly with their wings and fight oddness!" Mandy snapped, tears beginning to pool down her face and spill onto the ground at her feet. Her throat began to close, and she desperately tried to reach for air as she spoke. "I wanted something unique to me! A way to fly that only I had!" Pinkie witnessed her partner break down, burying her face in her hands and crying her eyes out. She wasn't quite sure what to do. On the one hoof, she wasn't sure if anyone else could use their tail to fly like she could -- Fluttershy seemed capable with that long tail of hers, but who was to say. And that wasn't getting to the commonality of flying with your tail to begin with that Mandy didn't seem to realize. On the other hoof, her comfort tactics weren't working, and she needed to try a different approach. "Mandy-" "And I thought if Peaches could teach me..." Mandy sniffled again, noisier and definitely sounding more snot-filled than the last time. "...then maybe I could have a skill all my own! Instead I'm as commonplace as anyone else! My tail's nothin' but a big mass of fur hanging down!" A big mass of fur, just hanging down... Pinkie knew for sure that wasn't true. Not only had she dug into Mandy's tail for objects she needed on more than one occasion, but her own tail was the same way as Mandy's -- an alternate dimension full of odd things that, if they were converted to money, would make Odd Squad the wealthiest organization in the galaxy. It was more than just fur that hung down from the rump. She knew that. It was just a shame her partner didn't. "Tails can do great things! And yours is amazing, partner!" she said. "I-I mean, you got yours battling a Hydraclops, and-" "J-just forget it! Go home, Pinkie!" The mare took a few stumbles backwards, falling off of the bench in the process. "I'm never gonna be able to fly with my tail, and that's it!" Mandy's words, a desperate plea buried underneath sadness and pain, was practically a scream. She stood up, extended her wings, and was gone with a mighty flap. "Mandy, wait!" Pinkie called, but even she knew that the hybrid couldn't hear her -- nor did she want to hear her. She gave a soft whine of sadness, watching until Mandy was a mere speck in the sky before lowering her head and trudging back to the nearest tube entrance, knowing that there was nothing more she could do that would really help in the long run. As she flew, Mandy buried her head in her hands. "I can't believe it. I really can't fly with my tail! Peaches was right...she was right! I, I can only fly with my wings!" In that moment, she felt like screaming. She felt like wanting to punch or strangle something with her tail as a weapon. As almighty as her tail was, to such a point where it could do both of those things, it just wasn't strong enough to do the one thing she wanted it to do. She could scoop up objects and ponies with it, but she couldn't fly with it. She could get anything she wanted from inside of it, but she couldn't fly with it. She could use it effectively in combat, swinging it to deflect attacks or using it to dodge...but she couldn't fly with it. And she hated it. "I thought flying with your tail was supposed to run in the family..." Her hands were balled up into fists. "INSTEAD I'M JUST A BIG FAT FAILURE!!" A loud crack put a hold on her upset venting. A "Wah!" came out of her as her left wing began working overtime to keep her afloat, flapping even harder but still keeping the speed of a hummingbird's wings. "W-what happened? Did I break a bone in my wing?" Mandy said, glancing back behind her and finding her wing limp. That answers that, I gueeeeeeeee- ohhhhhhhh. As anyone airborne would tell you, glancing downwards is a rookie mistake. One that Mandy, an experienced flier, just made. "T-that looks...really high up!" she squeaked, shutting her eyes so she didn't have to keep looking at the ground below. Her wing began losing speed, moving slower and slower, as her heart began to race. She waved her arms frantically, hoping cartoon physics (or really, even no physics) would work its magic and she could speed-run in the air towards solid ground. "No! M-must...must keep...my wing!" She tried to flap her one good wing, to no avail -- it was tired and needed a rest, even if it put her at a disadvantage. She began falling, the harsh mistress of gravity delivering some retribution to the one who had opposed it many times over. On odd, it's just like my dream...only worse! she thought, seeing no people nor ponies nearby who could catch her fall. She couldn't even see any Pegasi, which was rather weird for a cloudless day like this. As she kept plummeting towards the ground, she made a horrid realization. "This is it. This is where I die!" she screamed, before her eyes widened. "In that case, better start writing my last will and testament!" Her horn lit up, and in popped a piece of paper and a fancy quill pen. She immediately grabbed it and got to writing as fast as her hands would go. Meanwhile, down on the ground, Olive and Otto were taking a leisurely stroll, with Olive doing some bird-watching in the process. "Do you see it?" "The bird-rat, or the rat-bird?" Olive said. "Because I don't see either." "It has to be around here somewhere!" Otto sighed. "Agent Oarno said she saw it but couldn't catch it. And she said it was in this area!" "Relax, partner. We'll find it." As she swung the binoculars up towards the sky, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "No way." "No way what?" All she could do was hand the binoculars to him. His jaw dropped, too. "OH ODD!" The two kids took off running like they had just finished a sugar binge. They sprinted across the park with all the grace and speed of Usain Bolt, artfully dodging people and ponies alike who were all confused as to why two Odd Squad Directors were running and looking up at the sky. Otto reached behind his back and yanked out a gadget. "Tarp-inator!" he called, right before aiming it into the air ahead of him and flipping the switch on the small device. Sure enough, a folded tarp appeared, and he quickly jumped to grab it before using every ounce of his dexterity to unfold it. "Nice going, partner!" Olive called without turning around, beginning to put on some more speed. Otto followed suit, and since he had longer legs, he was able to match Olive stride for stride. Whether they would get there in time, though...he didn't know the answer to that. "Y'know, there was a reason I was afraid of super-tall heights when I was a littler kid...and this might be the thing that spooks the fear back into me!" Mandy uttered, to no one in particular but herself. "If I live!" As she teleported her last will and testament out of existence, she gasped. "Wait...my tail! My dream! I...I saved myself using my tail, but...could it actually work in real life?" A few blinks, and then a furious shake of her head. "No, don't be stupid, Mandy! Of course it wouldn't!" She looked down again and immediately did a 180. "But I don't have a choice! It's use my tail, or die trying!" The second option scared her more than she would have liked to admit, but she set her fear aside for now. She angled her tail downwards and spun it, just like Pinkie and Peaches had taught her. She spun it with all her might and all her speed, all while squeezing her eyes tight. She could feel something wet on her face, but she was too scared to identify whether it was tears or a few stray drops of rain. "Momma...and everyone else..." "Mandy! We're coming!" "I'm so sorry...but this is goodbye." Her mind began retreating into itself, as though sensing death. All she saw was black. She didn't know much about death, except that she should be seeing nice heavenly skies right about now. Maybe a golden gate, with an angel there to test her and see if she was worthy of getting in or worthy of descending to "the dark fiery place". But no matter what, it was just darkness. For some reason, the sound of her whirring tail still filled her eardrums. And then, the sound of a gasp. Was that my gasp? she thought. I can't really recognize screams and gasps and hiccups and all that like Owen can... ...Wait, how am I thinking right now? Why aren't there any golden gates or clouds or angels? Did they lie to me about the afterlife? "Open your eyes!" ...Momma...you're here too...here in the darkness with me. But how? Did you die as well as me? Has age finally caught up with you? Or was it some nasty villain? Ohh, I hope not. My life isn't a life worth living if a villain hurts you and I can't get revenge on them! "What are you doing, playing peekaboo?" Ha, ha, Otto. Dead people don't play peekaboo. You should know, because you're dead too. Aren't you? "Look at her tail! It saved her!" ...Saved me...? So...I'm not... Slowly, her eyes opened. Her head swiveled around, taking in the faces of Olive and Otto, who were looking at something below her in awe. "You're flying with your tail!" Otto's eyes shimmered. "That's so cool!" "I am?" Mandy tried to glance below her, but only succeeded in doing a flip before falling face-first onto the grass. Her tail sputtered out before laying flat on the ground. "Can you do it again?" Otto asked, his grin about as world-splitting as Pinkie's grins usually were. "I..." Mandy spat out a chunk of dirt and wiped her mouth. "I dunno. Can you drop me from the sky again?" Before anyone could move, she added, "Don't! Don't. I thought for sure I was gonna die! I thought I was already dead! Don't make me relive it!" "What happened?" Olive asked. "Why's your wing bent?" Those words were like a trigger. A trigger for pain to course through Mandy's wing again. She winced slightly. "I'm not sure. I heard a crack, and then it became completely non-functional." Olive knelt down on the ground and tenderly touched the feathery wing. "Doesn't seem like any bones are broken." she observed. "I'd say it could be a pulled muscle, but I doubt it. Then again..." She chuckled. "I'm no Doctor." "We should still get her to one, though." Otto helped Mandy to her feet. "Let's head back to her HQ and have Dr. O fix her up." As the pair walked to the nearest tube entrance, Olive followed suit, tilting her head as she tried to make sense of exactly what had happened. "Ah. Just as I suspected." "Am I dying?!" Dr. O shot Mandy a rather disturbed look, one that was more unsettling than her own. "No, you're not dying." he said. "Simple case of bone-popping. In this particular case, it was your wing. But the pop was strong enough to disable your wing temporarily." "Sooooo like when I crack my spine, then? Just without the whole 'temporary disabling' thing?" Another disturbed look. "You...could say that, yes." he muttered, as though he was dealing with a patient who had broken her spine before and just didn't seem to care. "Anyway, just give them a rest for a day or two and you should be good to go." Mandy sighed. "Oh thank odd. I thought it was broken!" "And we thought you were dead, but that didn't happen, did it?" Olive said, her tone teetering on the verge of panic. She gripped Mandy's arm tight enough so that the hybrid had to try and wrench her arm free the second she felt pain. "The only thing is...I had a last will and testament written out and everything!" Back came a written piece of paper, detailing Mandy's possessions and who would get them and whatever stuff was on there that adults typed or wrote on. Olive could only blink as she read the paper. "This just says 'I want to avoid death, because death isn't cheap, and I also want to fly with my tail'." she observed. "This isn't a last will and testament. You're eleven. Why would you even need one?" "Have you seen where we work?" Mandy deadpanned. "She's got a point." Otto shrugged. Mandy took the paper from Olive's hands and teleported it out of existence again. "Anyway, if I'm good to go, then I'm gonna eat. And I'm gonna eat a whoooole bunch! Gotta get set for training tomorrow!" "You can already fly with your tail." Otto pointed out. "Don't pass it off as some 'survival instinct' thing. You can do it. The only reason you failed was 'cause we pointed it out to you and you looked." Mandy looked unsure. "C'mon, just try!" She gave a few wags of her tail. I guess...if it were really survival instinct, I would have done it faster when I was falling. Not carefully angled my tail and carefully spun it at just the right speed. Slowly, her tail began to whir. Her mind ran through a checklist of both the helpful Pinkie's lessons and the not-so-helpful Peaches' lessons. She bent her knees, and then jumped. Perfect landing. The whir of her tail still going was proof-positive that it worked. "You did it!" Otto cheered. "Looks just as cool as the first time!" Mandy sat up, her body feeling scrunched, like she was doing an intense sit-up. But that didn't matter. She was used to the feeling. And right now, she felt like crying. "I can really fly with my tail!" Her blue eyes got stars in them. "Aren't you guys impressed?!" "Very!" Olive nodded. "I knew your tail was a hammerspace magnet, but I didn't think it was capable of flight like that!" She smiled. "Those lessons from Pinkie paid off, huh?" Pinkie? Oh odd, Pinkie! Mandy leapt to her feet, her tail winding down. "I have to find Pinkie!" she shouted, before bolting out of the Medical Bay without any sort of goodbye given to Olive, Otto, or Dr. O. She tore down the hallway like she was escaping the grasp of a villain, her eyes darting every which way, just looking for pink -- the one color any agent used to identify her partner. Unfortunately for her, there was no pink to be found. Aw, pickleferries. Don't tell me Oprah sent her on a case... Talks with passing agents proved to be fruitless as well -- almost none of them knew where Pinkie went. The ones who did only told her that they had seen her hours, days, even weeks ago. "Partner!" she called. "Please! Don't avoid me! I wanna talk!" It was only seconds after her public plea was given that she realized one of the best people to ask. "PEACH!" "Nyah!" The cat form of Peaches skittered off the bed, a thump marking her impact with the floor. "I need your help finding someone!" "Take a number." Peaches muttered, a shimmering light emanating as she turned back into her more humanoid form. "It's important! Where's Pinkie?!" "Pinkie? Like I know?" "You hafta know! You lurk everywhere!" "No I don't." Peaches pulled herself up and sat on the bed, glaring at her cousin. "Why do you want to see her?" "'Cuz I hurt her feelings and I hafta apologize!" "Oh, so typical friend fare?" "Yes, typical friend fare! She's prolly all hurt and never wants to see me again!" Mandy got on her knees to beg. "Please please pleeeeeease tell me where she is!" "I just told you, I don't know." Peaches rolled her eyes. "And stop begging. You're hierarchically superior to me. It makes you look pathetic." "Hierarchy, schmierarchy! What matters is that I find my partner and make up!" Mandy countered. "Do you at least have an idea of where she is?" Peaches' eyes slowly drifted to Mandy's chest. She gave a nonchalant shrug. "I dunno. Isn't there some way to reach her?" "How? I can't even find the mare, what makes you thi-" "Your badge phone, genius." Mandy felt the right side of her chest, and sure enough, there was her badge phone, sitting pretty. "Oh. I, uh..." Her brain scrambled for an excuse, but couldn't come up with one. "Never mind!" was all she could spit out before she unclipped the phone and punched in 9-4. A ringback tone. And then another. And then another. And then ano- "Hiya! Pinkie Pie speaking!" "PINKIE!" The scream was loud enough to make Peaches fold her ears down in response. "Partner?" "Please, please come back! I need you! I, I need to talk with you! I'm so sorry! I just learned I can fly with my tail! It's, I'm-" "Slow down! I'll be there in a minute!" And then she hung up. The phone slid from Mandy's hands and collided with the floor. All she could do was bury her face in her hands. Peaches, meanwhile, had her eyes widened. She can fly with her tail? Really? ...No, there's no way. I trained her with everything I had and her attempts failed. Surely she's just delusional. Surely she's just imagining a scenario where she did fly with her tail to compensate for her lack of such an ability. Still, she couldn't help but get the feeling that Mandy was being legitimate. After all, not even she was so willing to keep up an illusion over something as trivial as this. Right? Mandy picked up her phone, clipped it back onto her suit, and wordlessly turned to leave. "Cuz, wait!" She turned around. "Is...is it true? Is it really true? You can fly with your tail now?" A look settled on Mandy's face -- one that was dark, one that was slightly hurt, and certainly not one displaying a positive emotion. All she did was turn back around and leave the room. Peaches bit her lip, and then heaved a sigh, flopping backwards onto her bed. Maybe the others might have had a point... Only a few minutes later, Pinkie met with Mandy, who told her of the entire situation and then promptly began crying. "Really? That's awesome!" Pinkie said. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! Now we can be flying buddies!" She began using her own tail to stay afloat alongside her partner, although unlike Mandy, hers allowed her to sit vertically instead of laying down horizontally. Mandy sniffled. "Yeah...b-but I'm really really sorry! I didn't mean to run away like that, but I just grew so mad and frustrated and I...I just..." "D'aww, don't worry about it!" Pinkie waved a hoof. "I understand. I probably would've been the same way if I were in your shoes. It's great that you're so passionate about this!" "Passionate?" "Yeah! You stopped at nothing to fly with your tail, and when the chips were down, you went for it!" Pinkie's smile grew bigger. "Kinda like when I wanna bake something really really hard, but I just can't do it, but I keep at it and then I do it!" Mandy couldn't help but start to smile herself. "Like the mega-cookie you baked last week?" "Uh-huh!" "Or the seventy-layer cake that spilled all over Toronto that took forever to clean up?" "Yup!" Mandy sighed. "Y'know, sometimes I wonder if we were just twins separated at birth." "Maybe!" Pinkie shrugged. "Or maybe it's just the Odd Squad way of perseverance that spreads across every agent." A pause as Pinkie rubbed her forehoof. "But, um, since I helped you...you think you could help me?" "Sure! What's the dealio?" "Just a couple cases Ms. O assigned me to. They're really difficult, though." "Say no more! I'm in!" Mandy cracked her knuckles. "With me by your side, there's nothing we can't handle." "...cliche." "What?" "Nothing!" Mandy playfully rolled her eyes before she hopped back to her feet and made her way over to Pinkie's desk, the Earth pony following suit. "And that's the last of the dust!" Mandy declared. Her declaration was met with an eager round of applause from Olive, Otto and Oprah. "For all the things your tail does, never once have I thought to use it as a duster." Oprah remarked. "But it works surprisingly well." "How'd you even get the idea to use your tail as a duster anyway?" Otto asked. "When Pinkie gave me her lessons, I saw dust and dirt fly up and all sorts of stuff go everywhere! Plus she's used it as a duster herself before." A mischievous grin spread over Olive's face. "Think you can do my house this weekend? It badly needs a dusting...unfortunately, I haven't found a duster that actually picks up dust." "Sure! But I'll warn ya: exploitation of my ability is not in the parental contract." "What parental contract?" "The parental contract that says I'll move out of Canada and to the United States if you exploit my ability, silly!" Olive blinked, but then sighed, knowing better than to question Mandy's crazy statements. From the corner of her eye, Mandy spotted a familiar pair of blue eyes staring at her. Part of her happiness died down as a frown formed on her face. "What? What is it?" Otto swiveled his head around. "Oh, Peaches! Hi!" "Hey." came the soft greeting as the catgirl carefully made her way over. "What's going on?" "Mandy was showing off her tail. Again." Oprah rolled her eyes and smiled. "She can dust stuff with it now." "Can she?" Peaches blinked. "That's...nice." The air in the Trophy Room fell silent, in an awkward way that neither Olive nor Otto nor Oprah liked. All the two cousins could do was stare at each other, one with an icy glint in her eyes and another with a regretful one. Finally, Peaches broke the tension with a sigh. "Look, I know you're upset at me. And you have every right to be. I shouldn't have been so hard on you." she said, avoiding eye contact. "Oprah was right. I needed to adapt to your tail and find a different method of flight for you to perform. Instead, I pushed you too hard and then gave up on you without even granting you any kind of a second chance. A second chance of which went to Agent Pinkie Pie, who taught you well." Mandy raised an eyebrow. "Peaches?" Oprah piped up. "You are aware that Mandy nearly died today?" "Huh?" "Her wingbone popped, and she nearly fell to her death. What saved her was her own tail." Peaches could only stare at Olive. Her jaw dropped slightly as she tried to process this new piece of information that almost didn't feel real to her. Questions swirled around in her head -- how exactly Mandy saved herself with her tail, was she okay, how did Olive and Oprah know of the situation -- but nothing came forth. "And you said I couldn't. Imagine if that were true. I would've died!" "Look, I'm sorry, okay?!" Mandy's eyes widened, not expecting this sudden outburst from her cousin. "You don't need to...you know...keep rubbing it in." Peaches nonchalantly kicked the air. "I'm sorry. I was a terrible teacher. This lesson would have been a great chance for us to bond even more, and I blew it. Guess I'm just not as tolerant of you as I should be, huh?" Mandy shook her head. "I'll shoulder part of the blame. I should have listened to you better. But you know me and my scattery skittery scuttery brain." "No, no, this was my entire fault. You don't need to shoulder any blame." "But why can't I shoulder some blame?" "Because you didn't do anything wrong!" "Yes I did!" And back and forth, the girls bickered, butting heads and shoving each other back and forth while Olive and Otto merely rolled their eyes and looked on. Oprah, on the other hand, got tired of the "outhumbling each other" competition rather quickly, and reached behind her back to pull an airhorn from her hammerspace spine. Immediately, the room went silent at the loud, annoying and grating sound of the tool. "Would you two knock it off?!" Oprah snapped. "Just make up and move on already! We came here to see Mandy's tail clean a room, not to see her and her cousin arguing about something you're going to laugh about in a decade's time!" Mandy exchanged a look with Peaches, then snorted. "Okay, okay, fine. I forgive ya, cuz." "Good. Now, let's go get some dinner." "I'm in!" Mandy waved to the trio. "I'll see you guys later!" Olive and Otto grew tense as they watched them leave, then when the doors were closed, they let out a unisonant sigh. "Truly a dynamic duo." Olive remarked. "Yeah, tell me about it. But at least there's no more hard feelings!" "And we can all move on with our lives. As the forces up above intended." Oprah moved towards the doors. "Now, if you two will be so inclined...we have a juice-drinking party on our hands." Otto tilted his head. "Since when?" "Since right now." Oprah smirked. "Let's go." Not usually ones to pass down such a rare opportunity when neither of their signature drinks were juice, Olive and Otto smiled and followed her lead. Peaches couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because she was a crepuscular creature by instinct, and it was the dead of night. 10 PM, to be specific, but that didn't really matter to her. Although, now that she thought about it, there was one thing lingering on her mind that she had to get off her chest. Maybe that was it. Letting out a sigh that slowly morphed into an irritated groan, she got out of bed and walked over to the door, swinging it open. Sure enough, there was no activity in the halls, and the only sounds she could hear were the ones of various idle tech in the bullpen, faint but most definitely there. She made a right and stopped in front of a room whose door resembled a bed, with a patterned white sheet covering most of it and a couple pillows at the top. Swiveling her ears, she tried to listen for the sound of snoring, and heard some that wasn't coming from her intended target. She couldn't identify whose it was, but she assumed it was one of the ponies. Three knocks on the door. "Mandy? It's Peaches. You awake?" "Aw, c'mon! I was just-" A muffled growl came forth, and Peaches suddenly felt like turning around and heading back. But the resignation that she wouldn't be able to sleep until this got resolved won over, and her feet stayed rooted in place. The door opened with Mandy on the other side of it, clad in her rainbow-colored PJs with cats on them and her blue nightcap with a white fuzzy ball on the end of it that looked tattered. She had bags under her eyes, and a yawn escaped her as she sleepily stared at Peaches. "Whaddo you want?" Peaches peered into the room and found the source of the snoring -- one Twilight Sparkle. Why she was staying in Odd Squad and not Equestria, who knew. She didn't care too much to ask why, instead fixing her gaze on Mandy. "I forgot to tell you earlier, um..." She scratched the back of her neck. "No 'um's'." Mandy murmured. "Make it quick. I need sleep." Oh, did Peaches have to bite back a witty comment for that one. Something along the lines of "when do you not?" or "do you really need to, though?" But she refrained, and instead, she gave a small smile. "I'm really happy you came out of the whole 'wingbone-popping' incident alive. Really, I-I don't know what I would've done if I lost one of my first real friends. You and your tail are both really something special." Mandy blinked once, and then twice, like a sleep-deprived college student struggling to understand their professor's complicated lecture. She yawned again, this time pulling tears from her eyes that she wiped away. "S' that all?" she said, trying to smile but lacking the physical capability to. "Y' got any more obvious pieces 'f wisdom or can I finally sleep?" Peaches chuckled. "Just something I needed to get off my chest. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I should get this load off of my shoulders." "Mm. Have y' tried milk?" "I'm lactose-intolerant, remember?" Mandy's eyes suddenly opened all the way and then her irises and pupils both shrunk to pinpricks, as though having flashbacks to the time where she found out that exact fact in the messiest way possible. Peaches had bad memories of it too -- her digestive system waged war against her that day, and she didn't want to relive it. "A-anyway, I'll get to sleep, don't worry about me." Peaches gave a nervous laugh and waved her hand. "You should sleep too. H-have a good night, okay?" Feeling her appetite for breakfast the next day suddenly killed, Mandy slowly closed the door as Peaches hastily made her way back to her room. She shook her head violently, trying to get rid of the memory her cousin had implanted into her head and replace it with good memories instead. The feat worked as she flashed back to Rarity's birthday party, where she and Pinkie Pie were chosen to be co-party planners. Having a potential dream lined up now, she returned to bed and immediately conked out, snoring and incomprehensibly sleep-talking away. Peaches, meanwhile, got back into bed herself. Much better. Now, I'll be able to sleep with no worries. And sleep she did -- like Mandy, she too fell asleep in an instant, the quiet air in the room lulling her into deeper and deeper slumber, all while she wore a smile on her face.
S1E9: A Fool and His Assistant"Big O, sir?" "Yes? What is it?" "It's almost time for you to leave for Precinct 13579." "All right. Just give me ten minutes." "Of course, sir." An exhausted sigh escaped the Big O's lips. It had been a long and busy day, full of paperwork to do, agents to meet, and plans to make. As much as he wanted to take a vacation, however, he had something more important to take care of first. He looked over the letter on his desk one more time, with its sloppy penmanship but show of importance by stationary alone. Dear Big O, I am pleased to hear you are doing well. Likewise, I am very much the same. Much like you, I have been furthering my own plans in the capture and subsequent punishment of Peaches, sending out catpeople to spy on her and gather information that will be useful for others in concocting and acting on plans to deliver justice to the one who should never have been brought to Vallea to begin with. I must say, I am quite surprised that she has managed to make a friend, let alone discover that said friend is also a family member. Unfortunately, I do not have any answers as to whether Peaches had any sort of family -- she was left alone at the border of Vallea with no family to speak of. Still, when one is an outcast with no value to their village, I suppose any friend they make would be considered family. Now, I suppose I should get on to 'the meat of the matter', as they say. After much consideration, I have decided that Agent Mandy should also be taken into custody for her role as an accomplice in helping Peaches. Capturing her should be rather easy on your end, I imagine, but -- and I do hope that I am not stating the obvious here -- please do exercise caution. For everything you have told me about that wretched rabid dog, neither you nor I have likely seen what she is truly capable of. Peaches is useless in combat, but Mandy is not a catperson like the rest of us Valleans, and thus, she does not fight in the same way we do. Since you both are of the same organization, however, I have full confidence in your abilities to capture her and bring her back to Vallea. When you do capture her, one of my subjects will be more than happy to take her back to Vallea for you, if you do not wish to make the journey yourself. I will be taking your advice to heart and working diligently to capture her on my end. As for your own plan, I am afraid I cannot provide much useful advice. No equine has walked into Vallea during my long reign, and I do not know enough about the six ponies who have so boldly asserted themselves as Mandy's friends to assist you in their seizing. However, like Mandy, they may be more powerful than they let on, so please exercise caution with them as well. I am confident you will succeed, just like how I am confident that I will succeed. Do not stop, do not falter, and do not collapse at the hands, the paws, and the hooves of the weak. Best of luck to you. Yours truly, King Ashero of Vallea It was a rather lengthy letter, he had to admit. But his own letter had been somewhat lengthy as well, so perhaps he couldn't blame the King for standing toe-to-toe with him. He ended his reading with a smile on his face, giving a satisfied sigh as he knew the King had his own matters taken into his own hands with care, tactic, and smarts. The same went for the Big O himself, of course. He would be nothing but a fool otherwise. He grabbed another piece of paper off to his side and finished writing what was on it. Only a minute later, his response letter was complete, and he read it over. Dear King Ashero, I had figured you would not know anything about the equines who roam about here. Thank you for responding honestly; it is much appreciated. I am happy to say that I have enough research gathered on Mandy's friends in particular to finalize my own plan and set it in motion at the time of this writing. As for your determination that Mandy should be taken into custody, I am more than happy to capture her for you and deliver her to you personally -- with Peaches in tow as well, of course. I have gathered enough information on her to capture her handily and will aim to do so by end of day, although I will most certainly heed your warnings. Thank you for taking the time to respond to each and every one of my letters. It is wonderful getting in touch with you. Best of luck to you as well. Yours truly, The Big O, Head of Odd Squad "Big O, sir!" "R-right, right, coming!" he called, a huff escaping his lips as he walked to the door and eyed one of his other assistants seeing him off. "You. Get Osend to deliver the letter that is on my desk. Left-hand side. I want it out by today's end." "Yes, sir." The assistant nodded and went in the direction opposite from her boss to fetch his traveling assistant once again. "Now, if you would be so kind as to lead the way." With that matter settled, the Big O could begin his journey towards Precinct 13579, his two bodyguard agents flanking him as he mentally ran down the plan to capture Mandy and take her on her own journey. Her journey to her ever-so-sweet demise. Oprah sprinted down the hallway, nearly colliding with a couple agents who were walking by. Unfortunately for her, none of those agents was the agent she was looking for. "Where is she, where is she?!" she muttered, skidding to a halt besides the Bedroom door and flinging it open as she gazed around. A growl rolled in her throat as she slammed the door before making a complete beeline for the other room that was the most occupied in the hallway. Peaches jumped a little ways into the air as she swiveled her head towards Oprah to the sound of a slamming door, blinking a couple times. "Oprah, what's wrong?" "Have you seen Mandy? The Big O is coming here today and I need everyone to be ready for his arrival!" Her tone was nothing but pure panic -- something rather out-of-character for the normally-collected Director. "On that note, Mandy should definitely be ready...I don't think he liked it when she missed his last arrival." "Last I saw her, she said she was going to take her daily nap." Peaches said, realizing that Oprah didn't have any sort of juice box in her hand. It had to be a weird sensation for someone so addicted to them like adults addicted to those "IAP" things or whatever they were called, but she supposed Oprah was too panicked to notice. Oprah groaned. "Of course she was. Did she say where?" Peaches blinked again, a confused look settling onto her face. "Mandy sleeps in more than one place?" "Uh, yeah, did you forget?" Oprah rolled her eyes. "Mandy can sleep practically anywhere. Standing up, laying down, on another human being or in a factory." "Those seem like two very big differences." Note to self: get Mandy checked out for...ah, what was that illness called? 'Narcolepsy'? Yeah, that. I know her brain's wired differently, but really... "Okay, well, the point of the matter is, I want her by my side so she can greet the Big O when he comes. Do you know where she's napping?" "She said it was some place called the Not-Princess Room?" Peaches shrugged. "Whatever that is." "Oh! Like the Princess Room, but without the robot princesses." Oprah shook her head. "Ha. I should've known. Thanks." Before Peaches could even ask her what the Princess Room was, or even what robot princesses were, Oprah was gone, leaving the catgirl nothing short of confused as she just stared at the doorway, hoping the Director would magically pop up again and give her a couple explanations. When Oprah flung open the door to the Not-Princess Room, the hybrid wasn't found anywhere. "MANDY!" No response, something that Oprah realized would happen only mere seconds after she called out her second-in-command's name. "Ugh, who am I kidding, she's not gonna be able to hear me. She's asleep!" Rubbing her forehead in a futile effort to ward off the beginnings of a headache, she marched forward and began looking around for any signs of Mandy. As she got closer, she could hear her drowsy voice as she talked in her sleep, intersected by repeated raucous snores in a weaving pattern of slumber. Oprah didn't bother to listen too intently to Mandy's sleep-talk -- really, it was all just silly non-sequiturs and incoherent gibberish that came about as the result of whatever weird dreams her brain decided to concoct. All the Director used it for, at least in this situation, was for location purposes. After what seemed like hours of searching, she spotted her, off in the distance and situated comfortably in a hammock secured between two trees. Her body was just slightly bigger than the hammock, but of course, she didn't mind. "Yes! There you are!" Oprah sprinted over as fast as her legs would carry her, a relieved sigh escaping her body. "Finally...why are you all the way here?" Her answer came in the form of another snore, followed by a "The zzcrewdriver hazz three notchezz..." "Screwdriv-" Oprah shook her head rapidly, her brain scolding her for letting Mandy's sleep-talk get to her when she already was well-accustomed to the contrary. "I don't care about your sleep-talk or whatever weird and odd dreams you're having! Wake up, there's an emergency!" Helping her out was a cowbell and a drumstick, which she banged together as many times as she could until her arms got tired. No matter how much she did it, though, Mandy refused to stir, her snoring and sleep-talking continuing forth. Another growl came forth. "WAKE UP!!" she cried out, before throwing the cowbell and drumstick with all her might. Perhaps, had Mandy been awake, it wouldn't have come as a surprise to her that Oprah had a throw that would have made Major League Baseball pitchers weep in jealousy and regret -- the items flew some distance away, and then a rumbling sound came forth that she didn't care enough to identify. "Just..." She sighed. "Forget it. I'm not gonna drag you out to see the Big O while you're asleep. But you're probably gonna miss out on something big, and I'm not gonna tell you what! So don't go complaining about secret-keeping like the last time!" She knew Mandy probably couldn't hear her, and yet she still said what she said anyway. It didn't matter now -- she could always turn her attention to everyone else in her precinct who wasn't aware of his arrival. Besides, she still had to make the announcement anyway. She turned on her heel, walked towards the door, and slammed it closed. "Cheese bread!" Mandy snapped awake and pushed herself upwards, blinking as her vision tried to adjust to the real world. "Mm...could've sworn someone was here..." She stretched. "Mmm, ah well!" A yawn came forth. "Nothin' like catchin' up on a few more Z's..." And with that, she was knocked out again, going back to her usual loud snores as a soft breeze blew like a lullaby easing her into dreamland. The announcement was made. The red carpet was rolled out. Everyone was preparing for the Big O's arrival, fists on foreheads and elbows on knees and bowing as best they could. The double-doors opened, and in he walked, flanked by his two bodyguards. His gaze looked around expectantly, and then it soured. It didn't last long, however, as the cool expression returned to his face. "Please rise." Everyone did as they were told. "I would like to start by saying that my reasons for coming here do not involve the entirety of the precinct. As such," He cleared his throat. "All of you, barring Oprah and Agent Twilight Sparkle, are free to depart and resume your current activities." This was met with murmurs, some confused, others surprised. Still, it didn't stop everyone from moving away and going back to what they were doing, especially when the Big O's gaze turned steely and demanding. "Oprah. My greetings to you." "Greetings, Big O. It's nice to see you again." Oprah stepped forth with a polite smile on her face. "And you as well. How has Precinct 13579 been faring?" "Just fine, thank you." The Big O nodded. "I might as well cut to the chase." He cleared his throat. "Recently, I have received reports from clients about one of your agents. Agent Twilight Sparkle, to be specific." He glanced at the alicorn mare, who blinked a couple times in surprise. "From what I can tell, she is a terrific agent, am I correct?" "Oh, yes. Twilight is one of my best agents. Always punctual with paperwork and getting things done efficiently. Very organized and certainly very capable of fighting oddness." Oprah praised, causing Twilight to blush slightly. "Hmm. So it seems these reports live up to the hype. Absolutely nothing has been said by you that hasn't already been said on any report I have received." The Big O nodded. "Oprah, I would like to promote Agent Twilight Sparkle to the role of Big O's Head Assistant. Meaning that she will be one of my top assistants, working alongside me at the Big Office. She will no longer be an Investigation agent of Precinct 13579, and as such, she will no longer work under you." Oprah's eyes widened. Of all the news she was hoping to receive today, "your agent's been promoted" certainly wasn't one of the headlines on the list. Even though she knew she couldn't say no, her brain short-circuited and she began to stammer. "Oh! Um...I see. I...w-well, it's a weighty offer, and-" "I'll go." Both Oprah and the Big O glanced at Twilight, who held a look of confidence as she took a few steps forward. "I'm more than happy to take the promotion, Big O, sir." "Oh, wonderful! Thank you." "Um, Ms. O...just a question I have. Could I still stay here? In the Bedroom?" "Stay here?" The words danced on the Director's lips as her brain continued to short-circuit, not fully grasping exactly what was happening. Still, that didn't mean it was completely dead, and she was able to answer her now-ex-agent's question. "Oh! Y-yes, of course, Twilight." The Big O's eyes narrowed. "Oh, thank you. It's much appreciated." "We leave now." Twilight's head swiveled towards her new boss. "N-now?" "Yes. We have a lot of training to go over. Unless you wish to...decline the promotion?" "No, no! Of course not. I'll..." Twilight turned around and gazed out at the bullpen. She saw no sign of her friends, but her heart was filled with sadness either way, knowing that she would have to leave them for good without telling them of the promotion -- or without them being there to witness it for themselves. She grit her teeth, and then gave a resigned sigh. "We can leave right now." "Good. Come along." The Big O turned and began heading out, his bodyguards following suit. "It was good to see you, Oprah." "Y-you as well, Big O. Best of luck to you and to Twilight." As the alicorn mare followed, she stopped in the doorway to take one last glance at her old boss, in all of her juice-addled, ridiculously strong, steel-plated-but-gold-hearted glory. Something in her felt like crying right then and there, but she used her willpower to keep moving forward, only leaving her with a soft sigh before she walked away and the doors closed. Somehow, deep within her brain, Oprah had retained only a faint knowledge of what had happened. She couldn't grasp it before, but that was because it was just so unbelievable. It was the equivalent to a wife telling her husband that she was pregnant, and then running away to South America with absolutely no warning, no preparation, and no straight reasoning whatsoever. She slumped to the floor, on her knees in what would have been a show of patheticness at any other point in time. "What have I done?" she whispered, the noise of the bullpen drowning her question out. A familiar high-pitched humming noise brought her back to reality, and she blinked as she saw Pinkie Pie trot towards her. Shaking her head, she waved. "Pinkie!" "Hmm? Oh, hi, Ms. O!" Pinkie greeted. "What's up?" "Have you, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy meet up in my office, now." "Sure thing! I'll go find them!" Pinkie re-routed and went from going through the double-doors to going down the left hallway that flanked it instead, resuming her humming. Oprah watched her go, slowly getting to her feet and letting her hand curl into a tight fist. I can't believe...I can't believe I just let Twilight out of my grip like that. I haven't just lost a friend -- I've lost a valuable agent. And there's no getting her back. Not unless I want to be fired. Again. Sighing, she began ascending the left staircase towards her office, pulling a much-needed juice box from hammerspace and beginning to sip it eagerly before slipping inside and closing the door. A few minutes later, the Mane Six minus one were gathered, each in their own chairs and facing their boss at her desk. "Thank you all for coming." "No prob!" Dash said. "What did ya need, sugarcube?" "Agent Twilight was recently promoted by the Big O to the position of 'Big O's Head Assistant'. Which means that..." Oprah swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat. "...she will no longer be working in this precinct." All five ponies gasped, their eyes widening in shock and surprise. "T-T-Twilight? N-no longer w-working with us?!" "But we're her friends, darling!" "Didn't the Big O say anything like, I dunno, all of us being his assistants?" "No. He specifically said Twilight." Oprah said, in response to Rainbow's query. "And you just let her go?" Applejack asked, with a slight accusatory edge to her voice. "I didn't have a choice!" Oprah buried her head in her hands. "It's in a Director's moral code to follow whatever orders the Big O gives, no matter how moral or immoral they may seem. If we disobey those orders, we risk getting fired." She sighed and lifted her head up. "I've led this precinct for decades. I don't want to risk losing my job!" Pinkie frowned. "Sometimes we need to make sacrifices to save our friends, boss! And-" "I'm not finished!" The pause that hung in the room was deafening. It was deafening in a way Oprah hated. She wished she could veer off-topic, but she didn't want to leave her equine agents out of the loop about any part of the situation. "Twilight...she..." She tried to swallow another lump that had formed in her throat, but it only grew bigger in response. "She wanted to go. She took the position willingly." Everypony exchanged glances with each other. "And...she didn't even say goodbye?" Fluttershy asked. "No, but I'm sure she's open to phone calls. You're welcome to call her anytime you wish. And...I'm sure you all will convene in Equestria from time to time." Oprah had to fight hard to prevent her voice from cracking. "I can't believe it. Twilight, gone, from the precinct!" Applejack blinked. "Wait! Who will I have as a partner if Twi's gone?" Dash asked. "I'll have you work solo for the time being, Rainbow Dash, until I can find you another agent to work with." "Me and her, we worked so well together...I didn't think I'd ever experience the feeling of an agent losing her partner..." Dash folded her ears down. "And it feels awful!" "Your friends are here if you ever need support. And I'm always here if you have concerns." Dash sighed. "I guess...we can only hope that Twilight's doing well at her new job..." "Could we maybe...visit Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her next question. Oprah shook her head. "I'm not sure how the Big O would feel about that. To play it safe, I'm going to deny visitors." She felt tears forming on the edges of her eyes, and didn't bother to blink them back. "I'm really sorry." "Does Mandy know about this?" "She's taking her daily nap." Oprah responded to Applejack. "She doesn't know about any of this." "We should tell her!" "No!" Oprah stood up and reached over to plug Pinkie's mouth. "If Mandy found out, she could go after the Big O. And that would mean me and her would both lose our jobs. I'm sure none of you want to lose Mandy, nor me." Murmurs of agreement rippled across the office. "If there are no further questions, then you may all return to work. At the very least, try to adapt without Twilight here. A suggestion from me to you." By this point, the ponies were on the verge of tears. Oprah herself had already crossed that threshold, although she didn't dare admit it even in spite of the obvious evidence. After the ponies gave her halfhearted thanks, they slunk out of her office, heads down and expressions full of sadness and hurt. "It's so hard to believe...Twilight, just gone from the precinct...taken by the Big O." Rarity mused, once she and the others were outside. "How could Ms. O just let her go like that?!" Dash cried out, feeling like punching or kicking something but finding no object where she could perform either action safely. "I don't know, sugarcube. But at least we can still meet up with her in Equestria." Applejack nodded. "It ain't the end of the world that she's gone from here!" "Yeah! We can have weekly meetings and stuff, and chat about life, and ooh, ooh, throw awesome 'Hi-Twilight-Welcome-Back-For-The-Week' parties!" Pinkie bounced up and down and giggled, in spite of her dour mood just a minute beforehand -- not too surprising, given her Element. "Yes! Just because Twilight is gone from this Odd Squad precinct certainly does not mean she's gone from Odd Squad!" Everyone looked at Rainbow Dash, who was the only one that still had an upset look on her face. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess..." "We understand if'n ya need time to mourn, Rainbow Dash." Applejack said. "Losin' a partner's a mighty big deal." "It is." Dash glanced at the first floor of the bullpen below. "I'll be...around, if anyone needs me." She sped off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her in her wake. "Y'all should leave her be for now." Applejack stated, to murmurs of agreement from the others. "Still not sure why Ms. O doesn't want us t' tell Mandy, though..." "Mandy can be a little...hot-headed." Rarity gave a small sigh. "Yeah! Don't you ever notice how she bursts into flames whenever she gets super-duper angry? Every agent knows not to make her super-duper angry, even me! And she's pretty strong, too..." Applejack sighed. "I s'pose you two are right. If Ms. O wants us to keep Twilight's promotion a secret, then we should honor that." She made her way towards the staircase on the right. "C'mon, y'all, let's get back t' work." Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy all followed her, their moods lifted a little by her encouraging words. Still, sadness floated about in their hearts as they struggled to understand the reasoning of the situation, and the reasoning of their friend in why she took the promotion to begin with. Having awoken from her nap, Mandy roamed the halls, rubbing her head in a futile attempt to clear the sleepiness from it. Unfortunately, she wasn't seeing where she was going, and ended up colliding with a body that made an "oof" noise, just like she did in unison. "Cuz!" Mandy looked up and smiled. "Heya! Glad I found ya, have you seen Twilight? I wanted to return a book to her that I borrowed, but she hasn't been around." "No. Have you checked the library?" "I tried every place I could think of. I even tried Olive and Otto's precinct!" "Maybe she's in Equestria?" Mandy's expression brightened, and she snapped her fingers. "Ah! Ahh, I really do have the brain of a raisin." She shook her head, not noticing Peaches's knowing smirk that showed she agreed with her statement. The hybrid unclipped her badge phone from her suit and opened it. "I'll just call her!" After pressing the numbers 1-9-0 and receiving a few ringback tones, a familiar voice picked up. "Hello?" "Hi, Twi!" Mandy giggled and snorted. "Hey, that rhymed! Anyway, I have a book here that I wanted to give back to you. Are you at Precinct 13579 right now?" "Oh! N-no, I'm...in Equestria! Yeah, in Equestria. At the Castle of Friendship. Just...cleaning it." Twilight's nervous tone was completely lost on Mandy. "Ohhh!" She laughed. "Thank odd! I thought you were, I dunno, on some perilous quest without me or something." "No, no, I'm-" "Twilight Sparkle, get off the phone and get back to work! Now!" "Oh! That's Spike, I gotta go, bye!" Before Mandy could get another word in, a dial tone met her ears. She slowly closed the phone and put it back on her chest. "What did she say?" Peaches asked. "She's at her Castle of Friendship in Equestria! That's her home there." Mandy explained. "She's cleaning it along with Spike." "Spike?" "Her dragon assistant!" Peaches blinked. She didn't even know Twilight had an assistant, let alone one who was a dragon. It sounded kind of cool, now that she knew about it. She made a mental note to ask the mare if she could meet Spike someday -- surely, since dragons were a prominent creature in Odd Squad, he would fit right in with little to no issue. "Well, at least you know where she is." she said. "Maybe you could just...leave the book on her desk?" "Eh, not a bad idea. I did want to apologize to her for eating her lunch the other day, too, but...I guess that can wait. Thanksies!" She bounced away, and Peaches waved her off. "No problem. Bye, cuz!" she called, before her hand slowly lowered as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Thinking she was just hungry, she began to make her way to that Fish-in-the-Pond Room she had heard so many rumors about. Olive glanced over Mandy's shoulder at the gadget that laid in front of her, just as the hybrid raised her hand up into the air. In her hand was a hammer -- not one she used to go into combat with, but a typical nail-in-a-wooden-plank hammer that she intended to use to destroy a rather pesky gadget once and for all. She lowered the hammer with as much speed as she could, and her eyes widened when the head flew clean off and landed on the floor with a thud. She blinked. So did Olive. The two girls just stared at the head in complete silence, like someone had walked in and announced they murdered at least 19 men and had their 20th on backlog. "That's..." Mandy leaned back and flopped in her chair. "That's the third hammer I've broken! How durable are these things?!" "They have to be durable. They go through a lot of wear and tear." "That was a rhetorical question, Olive." Mandy deadpanned, throwing in a glare at her mother for good measure. She snatched the Hammer-inator from the desk and conjured up another copy of the tool. "Okay, attempt number 4! Outta probably a million!" Just as she was about to try and hammer the gadget again, the steel double-doors opened, and in walked Twilight, who caught Olive's eye just from the blinding-white jacket she was now wearing. "Hey, Agent Twilight's back!" the Director remarked, although Mandy didn't bother to look up. That is, until another bang of her next hammer sent the head of the tool curving upwards upon hitting the gadget. Mandy's face went pale. She grit her teeth and clutched the handle of the hammer as hard as she could. "YOU STUPID FLIMSY HAMMER!!" she cried to the sky, throwing the tool as hard as she could and listening as it collided with the wall that framed the right hallway. While normally Olive would have scolded Mandy for nearly giving some poor agent a concussion, she had other things on her mind. "You look really ragged. Are you okay?" she asked Twilight. The mare gave a shaky sigh. "I-I'm fine!" she tried to reassure. It was then that Mandy spotted the latest arrival to the bullpen, and gasped. "Twilight!" She hopped back into her chair and rolled her way over to her friend, examining her up and down. "Jeez, you look like a wreck!" "I'm fine!" Twilight waved a dismissive hoof. "Really, I am, it's just...been a long day." "Well, why don'tcha rest up a lil', have some dinner, and we can talk about it!" "No, no, that's okay. I...think I just need some time to myself." Twilight gave a small smile. "But thank you for the offer, Mandy." "Okay!" Mandy waved Twilight off as she headed past her and Olive and went down the right hallway. "And nice Big O cosplay, too!" "Weird. Twilight isn't usually this exhausted after work." Olive observed. "And what's up with the Big Office outfit?" "I know, right?!" Mandy turned. "That cleaning she did must've taken a lot outta her, especially for that big of a castle!" "Huh?" Olive tilted her head in confusion. "Oh!" Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "Twilight spent all day in Equestria cleaning the Castle of Friendship. It's a biiiig castle, I hear. Bigger than this place, even!" "I doubt that." Olive smirked. "But that's understandable. It's hard to balance Odd Squad and princesshood, I'm sure. But...does she normally have a Big Office outfit stashed away for cleaning purposes?" "Maybe! Rarity could've made one on the fly for her. For an authority boost!" "Yeah, I don't think that's it." Mandy only shrugged in response. "Do...you want a new hammer?" Whatever happy mood Mandy had was squashed upon hearing this question. She heaved a heavy sigh. "No, but if you wanna use that super-strength of yours to repair one, that'd be a huge help!" Olive glanced at the hammers on the floor, and then at the gadget, which didn't even have so much as a dent in it. "Yeah no, you know what, ask Oona to handle this one." "Done!" In just a few swift movements, Mandy grabbed the gadget and blindly tossed it over her shoulder as hard as she could. Unfortunately, she bopped Oona on the head with it as evidenced by her irritated "Ow!" coming from the lab. "S-sorry!" Olive called, more out of instinct than anything else. "Okay, anyway, I'm starved!" Mandy chirped, making it clear that whatever order Olive was going to give her to apologize would be lost on her. "You wanna go get dinner? My treat!" "Sure." "You have any place in mind?" "There's a new one that opened up recently...Seaside Oriental, I think?" Mandy gasped, her eyes sparkling at this news of a new restaurant in town. "Ooh, I'm in! Meetcha there at 7?" "You got it." "Yay!" Mandy watched Olive head for the double-doors. "See ya then!" "Bye!" As the Director walked away, the hybrid gave a satisfied sigh before grabbing some paperwork, not feeling the urge to repair or destroy any more gadgets today no matter how much Oona pestered her about it. "Mandy..." Her hair and tail stuck straight up. She slowly turned around, a creaking sound like that coming from a door making its way forth. There was Oona, gadget in hand and a very angry look on her face. "I-I-I can explain!" "It better be a good one." Over in the Breakroom, Twilight sat down with her own meal, a small cheese pizza with some apple juice. She nibbled on a slice absentmindedly as she glanced around the bullpen. Aside from Oona aggressively talking to Mandy about something, collar grabbed and all, nothing seemed to be all that out of place. Sighing, she thought back to earlier in the day, when the Big O had delivered her yet another blow -- as if promoting her and taking her away from her friends without giving her a chance to say goodbye to them first wasn't enough. She was situated in his office when she received the order. "Starting today, Twilight Sparkle, I am banning any use of flight or magic on the premises. All of these... ponies around here are extremely detrimental to Odd Squad as an organization. But, they would fare fine as domesticated horses. After all, they were domesticated thousands of years ago for a multitude of things." The Big O side-eyed Twilight. "Besides...I'm sure you're well-aware that unicorns are an edible delicacy among many?" Her mouth had run dry, and something in her prevented her from speaking out against such a ludicrous law and such a preposterous plan. "U-um...y-yes, sir. I'm well-aware." she simply responded, feeling like she had somehow regressed back to the pony she was before she met all of her friends. "Very good." The Big O smiled. "In addition, I am banning you from returning to...ahh, what's that other world you call? 'Eh-quess-tree-uhh'? Yeah." He cleared his throat. "You will not be allowed to return there as long as you are working under me. Understand?" Her brain screamed at her. Say something, you foal! Equestria is your home! You have friends there! You're royalty there! He can't just do this to you. He can't just strip you of everything and everyone you hold dear! But a part of her, the part that feared what the Big O would do to her if she refused him, won over. There was no using her smarts or her common sense to outwit him -- something had told her he would just match her action for action. There was nothing she could do but practice blind obedience. "Yes, sir." "Very good. So you will do as I say and follow my orders, unless you want to face punishment, understand?" Twilight gulped. "Yes, sir." "Very good. Now, I shall give you a tour of the premises. Tomorrow, you start working as my assistant." The Big O stood up and walked towards the automated double-doors that lined his office. "Come!" Like a dog, Twilight immediately hopped off of her chair and followed him, but couldn't resist the soft sigh that forced its way out of her body. "Twilight?" Her head lifted at the sound of Fluttershy's voice, but for some reason, she couldn't find her friend. "Twilight?" Still no sign of her. "Twilight!" That was the cue for the alicorn to come back to reality. She blinked, giving a small hum as she did so, and found Fluttershy staring at her with concern. "Oh! Hi, Fluttershy. What's up?" "Um, I just...wanted to say, welcome back. We didn't think you'd be coming back..." Fluttershy pawed at the ground with her hoof. "We all miss you." The last sentence was like an arrow through Twilight's heart. "Ms. O told me I could stay here even while working at the Big Office." she responded, trying her damnedest not to cry. "How was your first day?" "I'd..." She could feel her throat closing. "I'd rather not talk about it right now." "Oh...okay. I understand." Fluttershy smiled. "We were talking earlier about meeting in Equestria once a week...just to catch up. If you want to, that is. And Rainbow Dash is really heartbroken about losing you as a partner." she explained. "I hope you're happy at your new job." Sweet Celestia, Fluttershy, please don't make me start crying...not here! She swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in her throat, but it came back with a vengeance. All she could do was nod. "I-I have to get going and do some paperwork, but it was good to see you!" Fluttershy waved her goodbyes as she took to the air towards her desk. "Y-you as well..." The words were nothing more than a whisper as she watched the yellow Pegasus go, and she tried to take another bite of her food to no avail -- the pizza didn't taste appetizing anymore. Not with her clogged nose blocking her sense of taste. Knowing there was no way to stop it, she let the tears fall, burying her hooves in her hands as she cried and cried, hoping no one would spot her and try to comfort her. Mandy and the Big O met weapon-to-weapon, the former's hammer and the latter's sword-like gadget clanging together before they separated. "You won't get away with this!" came the reverberating voice of a Mandy aflame. "Get away with what?!" the Big O snapped back. "I strive to make Odd Squad a place for kids and ponies alike!" Leaving her hammer for the time being, Mandy took to the air and charged magic in her horn. "That's a lie!" she called, before firing off a series of laser beams that made impact with something that produced a banging sound. She gave a "ha" of triumph as the smoke cleared and she took in the sight of the bruised and battered child who had once been her boss. "It appears...we are at an impasse, Agent Mandy." he rasped, holding his singed weapon tight even in his current state. "You don't even have a developed brain yet." Mandy rolled her eyes and swooped back down to the ground to pick up her hammer, choosing to remain airborne. "After what you did...you..." She grit her teeth, unable to complete the sentence for a time. Far off to the side, everyone -- Olive, Oprah, Otto, Peaches, and the Mane Six -- were all watching the fight with concerned looks on their faces. "You conspired with Vallea's king to get rid of me, get rid of Peaches, and get rid of our friends!" "Equine friends." the Big O corrected. "And so what if I did? It furthered both his goals and mine. Catgirls like Peaches do not belong in this world, anyway." "You're wrong!" Mandy's voice was practically a scream. "This world is home to many different creatures! From Ginormice, to Centigurps, to Daves, and even to ponies! There's no reason why a catgirl can't fit here!" A foul taste began to form in her mouth, and she turned her head and spit off to the side in an effort to alleviate it. "You're just biased." "Biased?" The Big O let out a hearty laugh at this bold claim. "Against whom?" "Anyone who isn't human. LIKE MYSELF!!" The last two words of Mandy's sentence echoed throughout the expansive room. Peaches' eyes widened, as did Twilight's. "Mandy, stop this!" The hybrid's head swiveled towards the one who had so boldly spoken and so boldly stepped forward. "Don't tell me you're staying by his side?!" A glare formed in her eyes. "Are you biased as well...Oprah?" "That's Ms. O to y-" Oprah's words were immediately cut off by her neck being held in the weight of magic, first being gently caressed by what felt like a pair of hands before turning into a thick beam that held it in a vice grip. She felt herself be levitated into the air, and futilely kicked her feet as though that would bring her back down to the ground. "I refuse to work under someone who has any sort of prejudice!" Mandy asserted, her magical grip on Oprah loosening. This caused her to fall on her butt with a pained grunt, Olive and Otto tending to her and making sure she was all right. Her neck was red, almost to the point of a rash, but Mandy couldn't care less. Instead, she had her sights set on her opponent. In one swift move, she teleported him to the wall on the other side of the room, took her hammer, and rushed over to him just in time to ram the head of the weapon into his mouth before he even had a chance to lift up his weapon. As was expected of someone who fell victim to such a cruel finishing move, he began to choke, feeling like his jaw was about to snap clean in two. "'All are equal. All belong.'" Mandy recited. "This has been the modus operandi of Odd Squad as far back as I can remember. And as long as I live, it will hold true!" The Big O had no witty response to her assertion. Mostly because the choking noises he was making grew fiercer as the head went deeper into his mouth. "Scum like you doesn't deserve to walk the earth. There is no punishment..." She took a deep inhale. "...THAT IS WORTHY OF ALL YOU'VE DONE!" She didn't need to ram the head down further. The Big O's body succumbed to his injuries, both from the hammer and from the fight overall, as he stopped choking and slumped to the ground like a ragdoll. The hammer slid free from his mouth, covered in spit in a few places. "Big O!" Oprah called out, purely on instinct if nothing else. A move that proved to be a very bad idea...and one that sealed her fate. The flames around Mandy grew more intense. "AND YOU'RE NEXT, AGENT 58!!" she called, her voice gaining even more of an echo as she pointed the hammer directly at the one who had also been her boss once upon a time. Her feet took her across the ground. "No...please, no-" A bloodcurdling scream was the last thing anyone heard before the view went completely dark. Twilight woke up and flung herself upright in bed with a gasp, her eyes reduced to pinpricks as she glanced around the room to try and reorient herself. She was in the Bedroom, and around her were the rest of the Mane Six, sleeping peacefully in their respective beds. The alicorn mare, breathing heavily, spotted Mandy, who was also fast asleep in a world of her own. Whatever reaction she might have had to Twilight's sudden awakening was null and void -- she kept snoring and sleep-talking away without so much as a single movement. Twilight kept her gaze on her co-worker and friend for a long time as her mind's gears began to turn. She's going to fight the Big O. I just know it. And she's going to kill him. The sigh she had pent up made its way forth. But should I tell him? Or should I stay silent? she thought. Whatever I do...I run the risk of me getting fired from Odd Squad! Her head swiveled back and forth, and then her gaze landed on the Bedroom door. She grit her teeth together and magically pulled the sheets off of her. I can't...I have to tell someone! And I know just who to tell. Five minutes later, she had reiterated her dream, as well as her findings on the first day on the job -- plus the news of her new job to begin with -- to the one person who would reasonably be up at this hour of the night. "Wh...you mean, King Ashero..." "Yes." Twilight nodded. "It's a vivid dream, but I fear that it may come true if Mandy finds out about me." She put on the best begging expression she could muster. "Please don't tell her. If she ends up killing the Big O then it could spell disaster for Odd Squad as an organization, and I don't want that to happen!" Peaches only barely heard her friend's request, her eyes glazed over in both shock and deep thought. "I can't believe that the king of my home village is conspiring with the Big O..." she murmured, before letting out a hum of thought. It only lasted a few seconds before she piped up with a request of her own, her eyes returning to normal. "Do you think you could ask the Big O about it tomorrow?" "The conspiracy with King Ashero? Or my dream?" Twilight asked. "Because I could do both, if I manage to reach him again. Which I probably will." "In the meantime, I'll have to find out why they're teaming up...maybe it's to get to me somehow, but why? If the King already exiled me... Twilight tilted her head in response, causing Peaches to blink and then vigorously shake her head. "S-sorry, Twilight. I don't mean to make this all about me, but this is something that affects both of us, and-" "Oh! No, it's fine, Peaches." The mare smiled. "I know how stressful this revelation must be for you." Peaches nodded. "I'll have to sleep on it. Devise a plan." she mused. "But your secret is safe with me. No telling Mandy. But can I at least tell Oprah?" Twilight gave a relieved sigh. "Yes, you can. And thank you. I'm going to head back to bed and try to get some more sleep." As she moved towards the door and exchanged goodnight wishes with Peaches, she let her gaze linger on the catgirl for longer than usual before she left the room. Something told her that Peaches would now be the unlucky soul who wouldn't have a restful night, and she felt a pang of guilt for venting to her when she didn't ask for it. Still, she was a friend...and friends were usually open for venting, weren't they? She was the Princess of Friendship; this was supposed to be a rhetorical question. So why didn't she have an answer? She entered the Bedroom once more and climbed into bed as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake up any of the other ponies. Her body felt heavy, but her brain refused to shut off, and she slipped under the blankets with a heavy sigh, closing her eyes and trying to think of memories she could string together for tonight's feature film. The next day came rather quickly, although the air was noticeably different. The steel double-doors opened, and in walked Peaches, who Mandy spotted as she sipped some juice. "Oh, hey, Peaches! How's it..." She didn't get to finish her sentence, as the catgirl outright ignored her and trudged up the left staircase to the second floor instead. "Huh. Whatever she's up to, it seems like it's urgent!" Mandy gave a nonchalant shrug and sipped more of her juice before turning back to her paperwork. Oprah didn't even have to look up from her own activity of coloring in a picture of a robin to know that someone was entering her room, punctuated by the sound of one of her office's glass doors forcefully being pushed open. "Slamming doors open doesn't work with mine." she remarked. Her guest didn't care. "Oprah, we need to talk. Now." Not five minutes later, and Oprah was given the news about Twilight's dream and the talk she had with Peaches last night. "What?!" She blinked. "You think the Big O is conspiring with your village's king? And Mandy's gonna kill him?!" "Twilight saw evidence of the conspiracy when she was at the Big Office. And Mandy killing the Big O came to her in a dream. She said it was very vivid. And considering King Ashero isn't exactly what you'd call a good king, I think what she said may hold some truth." "Ha! The day Mandy bests me in battle is the day I might as well retire." Peaches slammed her fist on Oprah's desk. "That's not my point!" she yelled. "My point is that Twilight working with the Big O will only spell disaster." "If Mandy is told." Oprah held a finger up. "But she doesn't know about any of this, does she?" "Well, no, but-" "So she doesn't have to know." Peaches' expression contorted into one of confusion and disgust. "Hold on. Have you not said in the past that you must obey the Big O's orders lest you get fired? Don't tell me you're taking his side?" "Nooo, no!" Oprah quickly asserted. "Just because I follow his orders doesn't mean I agree with what he's doing. But why would King Ashero be working with him to get to you, instead of just coming here and attacking you directly?" "The King has always been a coward. He sends catpeople out to fight for him and do his bidding rather than do anything himself. It's probably why he didn't take the helm in finding out who burned Vallea to the ground -- that, and he wanted to get rid of me." Peaches rolled her eyes. "If I had to venture a guess, I'd say he's working with the Big O so he can carry out his plans for him." She blinked twice. "Er, assuming the Big O is someone who actually does things himself?" "Depends on the situation, mostly, but he is very competent. And he isn't afraid to do things himself." "He's probably going to have the Big O relay his actions either directly to me...which is silly...or through Twilight first. Much more plausible." Oprah could only give a thoughtful "hmm" in response as she struggled to comprehend the entire situation. "I did ask Twilight to get more details, so maybe we'll find out more stuff later on. But that's all I got." "I can't believe it. For the Big O to do something this wild..." Oprah shook her head. "I'd like to be alone for now, Peaches. Just to clear my head and get my mind off of this for a little bit." "Perfectly understandable." Peaches nodded and turned on her heel. "I'll leave you be." With a weight off her shoulders, she left the office in higher spirits than before. "King Ashero...working together with the Big O." Oprah made her way over to the juice bar and grabbed a box, sticking a straw into it and sipping it as fast as she could possibly go. "What an unlikely pairing." The sound of squeaking interrupted Otto's snacktime. He watched as a tomato slid out of his BLT and fall straight onto his plate before he picked it up and ate it whole. He didn't need to look to identify what the sound was -- the sounds of effort were a dead giveaway. "Whoa, hey!" Otto swallowed his tomato. "You want help bringing those in?" "Issat a rhetorical question?" came the tired response, intersected with panting as the pusher of the rack tried to regain her breath. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." With a sigh, Otto got to his feet and grabbed the other end of the rack, pulling it across the shared Director's office with ease. "Geez, you don't know how long it took me to sew all these!" the visitor remarked, flopping onto the couch with a tired groan, her face dripping with sweat. "I think you're just out of shape, Mandy." "Shut up and get me some water! Please!" Otto happily obliged, heading over to the "water bar" and grabbing a bottle of fresh water. Smirking, he pulled his arm back and threw the bottle, where it hit his intended target square in the face. "Oww! Not at my face, you numbnut!" she snapped, grabbing the bottle and taking a few generous sips of water. "Hey, Otto!" Olive greeted, making her way into the office with a small stack of papers. "I got that paperwork from Odie. Apparently there's a gadget missing here?" "Oh. Yeah, it's probably the Paper-inator. Some agent borrowed it, hasn't returned it." Mandy narrowed her eyes. "Uhh, helloooo-oooooo? What am I to ya, chopped liver?!" Olive glanced at the girl who had wound up on her couch, and gave a laugh. "Hi, Mandy." "Hiiii!" came the happy chirp in response. "Brought those suits you wanted. Took me a loooong while to sew 'em, but Rarity was willing to help me out!" "Oh! I meant to ask last night," Olive said. "How is Rainbow Dash handling the...um...loss of Twilight? I know she hasn't been around as much, and the two are good partners..." "When I saw her, she looked pretty down in the dumps, but wouldn't give me any details. Although...I did hear her muttering 'Big O' over and over again..." "The Big O?" Otto made his way over to the other couch. "What's he got to do with this?" "Beats me. Maybe Twi was lying and that's where she came from yesterday! But it wouldn't explain why she looked ragged..." She blinked. "And why lie about going to the Big O's office?" "Have you seen her today?" Olive asked. Mandy shook her head. "Uh-uh. It isn't just Dash that's acting weird, though, it's all the ponies! Like, I asked Pinkie today if she wanted to join me for lunch. Suuuuper-common activity, right, just a partner-to-partner thing! But she declined!" She folded her ears down. "She never declines lunches with me! Kinda tore my heart a little..." "Something's going on." Olive declared. "If everyone's acting shifty, it should be a cause for alarm." "Yeah..." Mandy took another swig of her water bottle, a happy sigh escaping her as her thirst was quenched once more. "Can't anything be normal in my life-" -- she spotted Olive and Otto opening their mouths -- "and don't answer that, that is a rhetorical question!!" The two Directors gave a unisonant disappointed "aww". Mandy gave a groan. "That's it, that's it! I've made up my mind!" She stood up. "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this faster than I can do an imitation of a pony!" Olive immediately narrowed her eyes. "If you do one, Mandy, I will see to it myself that you are thrown off the second floor and onto the seal. Face-first." she growled, her tone becoming grating. Whatever hostility she brought towards her daughter was, of course, brushed off as she simply laughed. "Aww Momma, you're such a jokester!" A snort came forth. "I wasn't planning on doing one, silly, it's an expression!" "Thank the odds above." came a mutter. "Aaaaaanyway, the suits are sorted by department. And don't tear them. Toodle-oo!" With that, the hybrid bounced out of the office, taking the water bottle with her. "I wanted to see an imitation of a pony!" Otto complained, much to Olive's protest as she shut him up with a low growl. When Mandy got back, she was stuck in between watching the Mane Six whenever they walked by, and doing her paperwork. She had to admit, though -- doing the former was a nice break from the monotonous activity of the latter. As she filled in another Form O-135, her ears caught the sound of the steel double-doors opening, and her eyes caught a flash of yellow. She turned her head to the right, and who else did she see but Peaches. "Cuz!" she cried out, getting up from her seat and giving a relieved sigh. "Jeez, I've been pony-watching so much that it's refreshing to see a human face!" She bounced over to Peaches, her cat smile growing wider and wider. "How's my faaaaaaavorite catgirl, huh huh huh?!" "I'm...fine." Mandy's smile faded as she took in Peaches' behavior -- her avoidance of eye contact, her folded ears, and her tired posture. Something was up with her, but what, exactly, was something that Mandy couldn't place. "Cuz, what's up with you?" the hybrid asked. "You're acting aloof! I-I mean you've always been a lil' aloof, but now you're more aloof than usual! It's like..." She gave a whine, like a dog begging for treats. "I'm being avoided!" "Avoided?" Peaches blinked, and then shook her head. "N-no, no, of course not! I-I, it..." This is why you really can't hide stuff from this girl. She's persistent. If I lie to her, it'll be like thrusting a piece of clear glass into her face. She tried to think fast. I have to come up with some excuse, some kind of diversion that will change the track of her mind. Her expression brightened as an idea began to take shape. "T-tell you what? Why don't we go out, right now? We can...go for a fly, maybe. I still need to get used to riding on your back." This seemed to be a step in the right direction. Mandy gasped and nodded. "You're on! And I know exactly where we can go!" "Oh?" "Yeah!" With her horn alight, Mandy teleported her and Peaches to a city sidewalk. Peaches stumbled around a little bit, not expecting Mandy to teleport at all. Before she could say anything, however, the hybrid chirped, "C'mon, let's fly!" "Okay..." the catgirl said, still a little woozy as she climbed onto Mandy's back. "Let's fly..." She didn't get a chance to reorient herself, as Mandy was already flapping her wings and taking off, a loud and high-pitched "wheeeeeee" sound splitting the air. Soon, the intended destination came into view. "Are your eyes closed?" "Yup!" Swooping down, Mandy made a perfect landing on her own two feet, not noticing the harsh looks others around her were giving her. "And we're here!" As Peaches hopped off, she slowly opened her eyes to find a sleek and circular white building. "Huh? What's this place?" she asked. "C'mon, follow me!" Mandy chirped, marching forward and not bothering to answer Peaches's question. The catgirl had to admit that she had never seen this building at all, but the air alone was enough to make this a "I'm going to visit this once, and only once" kind of place. She felt unnerved, but her feet allowed her to follow her cousin towards what she could assume were the front doors. "Halt!" came a booming voice, just a mere second after Mandy had pushed open one of the doors. Her gaze swiveled towards a girl with black hair in twintails, dressed in the same white outfit she had seen other agents in the building wear. She narrowed her piercing hazel eyes. "Who are you?" "Agent Mandy, of Precinct 13579." the hybrid introduced, as Peaches came up beside her. "This is Peaches, my cousin. We're hoping to see a fellow assistant of yours. Twilight Sparkle?" Immediately, the girl's expression softened. She gave a surprised gasp. "Oh, Agent Mandy, what an honor! My name's Oriella." Looking around for anyone who might be overhearing the conversation, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't take you to Twilight, but I'd like to discuss something private with you, outside. Follow me." Both Peaches and Mandy exchanged surprised glances, but did as they were told, following Oriella out of the building and towards a large fountain that sat smack-dab in the middle of the walkway. "Is this part of our flight?" Peaches asked Mandy, her voice low. "Uh-uh." Mandy shook her head. "I dunno what's goin' on!" "Where even are we right now?" Mandy giggled and snorted, taking care to make it quieter than usual. "You don't know? This is the Big Office!" Peaches' entire body went rigid. It was a miracle her legs were still moving, but her brain had otherwise completely shut down. "Wh...the B-B-Big Office?!" "Yeah! See, all the ponies have been acting super-duper strange lately, and Twilight's been gone from work soooooo much recently! It's not like her!" Mandy exhaled. "So I intend to find out why!" "No..." She's gonna find out, dear Leo, she's gonna find out and then what? Then what?! "No, Mandy, you can't!" Her raised voice was enough for Oriella to stop and face the two girls, watching as they conversed with a confused expression on her face. "Huh? Why not?" "It's..." Peaches clenched her fist. I can't tell her! If I do...it's gonna spell disaster for the Big O! But it's not like I can lie...not with her... She flashed back to a time when Mandy had told a crowd of eager agents how her cousin often flicks an ear when she lies, much to their amazement as she boasted that -- and Peaches could quote this accurately from memory -- "no lie gets by me", followed by a noblewoman's laugh that haunted her for weeks afterwards. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't have a choice. Mandy killing the Big O be damned -- it was inevitable, and no one could stop it. "Twilight is working for the Big O!" The shout was more than enough for a few assistants to look towards the duo, although they didn't say anything, presumably because Oriella was with them. Oriella herself, in fact, only served to get even more confused as to why Peaches was stating the obvious to Mandy, but decided to let them iron out whatever kinks they had. Mandy's blue eyes reduced to complete pinpricks. You might as well have told her Otto took the joke from when he and Olive were promoted completely seriously and marrying Olive, she was so floored. "T-T-T-Twilight...Twilight got promoted?!" she cried out, glancing at Peaches' face for any sign of her expression turning more lighthearted. Maybe she would burst into laughter and explain how she was just kidding. Or maybe she would say sure, Twilight got promoted, but not to the Big Office...really, what were the chances that Pinkie Pie would get promoted by the Big O himself, then Twilight? They had to be slim. Slim as a sheet of paper from the Shmumbermart. Her face fell slowly, ever so slowly, after a few moments. The realization slowly dawned on her. "You're dead serious!" Peaches could only respond by burying her head in her hands. "Why did no one tell me?! I feel like I have a right to know these things as second-in-command, y'know! And what did I say about keeping secrets from me?!" Peaches began to tremble, now. Quiet sobs wracked her body as she collapsed to the ground on her knees. "Cuz?" It was at this point that Oriella figured she should intervene, even though she knew this was likely more of a personal issue she had no business butting her way into. "Are you two all right?" she asked, making her way over to them. "I'm fi- whoa!" Mandy didn't get to finish her sentence before she felt herself being pulled into the grasp of her cousin, who hugged her tightly. Only three words danced on her lips in a quiet whisper. "Don't kill him..." "Kill who?" Mandy rubbed her head. "Nngh...my head's spinnin' more than a top! Just tell me what's goin' on! You've gone this far!" "I'll tell you what's happening, Mandy." Oriella piped up. "It's true. Twilight Sparkle was promoted to the role of Big O's Head Assistant a couple days ago. But...the Big O doesn't treat his assistants well. I speak from experience as one of them." "What do you mean?" "I've been his assistant for years. I've served by his side and carried out his orders both big and small. But he..." Oriella stared at the ground. "He isn't the nicest boss I've had. And he isn't a nice boss to Twilight, either." "What did he do?" Mandy tilted her head. "Well, for one, he...banned magic and flying from here." Oriella glanced at Mandy's folded-up wings. "And he also banned Twilight from returning to Equestria." "What?!" Mandy's cry was nearly a scream. "Why?!" "He's always had a hatred towards ponies. When ponies first arrived in Toronto, he took an immediate dislike to them. He said that the world of Equestria and its inhabitants were freak shows of nature, that they don't belong in sharing a world with Toronto. He allowed ponies to enroll in the Odd Squad Academy, but he would 'block out' any precinct that hired them and wouldn't provide any supplies or services for those precincts. He would...disown them, in a sense." Mandy was so taken aback by this explanation that she was forced to repeat both of her questions. "What...why?! Ponies and humans live in harmony here! They can be great Odd Squad agents! Twilight and her friends are living proof of that!" Oriella continued. "When the Big O found out about Twilight and her friends staying at Precinct 13579, he planned on blocking out the precinct, but saw something in Twilight particularly during her time at the Academy. He did still hate ponies, of course, but realized that they were still horses deep down -- after all, ponies are just small horses. So he decided to tame the ones he deemed fit." "Tame them?" Mandy blinked. "Like use them for horseback riding and stuff?" "In a sense, yes. To replace the little cars that we have." It didn't matter what Oriella threw at her. Mandy wasn't making any heads or tails of this situation. She knew the concept of riding horses -- she'd be lying if she didn't say she used to try and ride the Mane Six when she was little -- but taming Equestrian ponies for this purpose seemed...weird. After all, Toronto had regular-looking horses too, and what was wrong with using those horses for the things humans had domesticated them to do for centuries? Why the ponies of Equestria? Unless there was something more to this. Something that she was missing. She glanced towards Peaches, still distraught, and decided to hold off on her questions to her, instead turning her attention back to Oriella. "But why? Seems a lil' contradictory, to hate ponies and yet want to use them for such a mundane task." "Well, it's only the ponies that weren't unicorns. Any pony that was one...would be eaten." Mandy suddenly felt sick, in a way that only matched that time when she drank a whole bottle of Shmumbotussin and was vomiting in the bathroom for hours, because she almost never got that sick. Her mind flashed to Rarity, on a silver platter, being gazed at by the Big O and all of his assistants, forks and knives in their hands as they made jabs about how she looked like a tasty marshmallow...it was terrifying to think about. "H-h-he's gonna...eat Twi...?" "No. Twilight's an alicorn. So he wants to tame her into being a regular horse." "That's..." Mandy shook her head vigorously to cleanse the horrible imagery of Rarity about to be eaten from her mind. "That's awful! That's not the kind of regime that Odd Squad should have!" "Cuz, wait!" Mandy glanced at Peaches, who stared at her with bloodshot eyes. "The Big O...he's been conspiring with the king of my village. King Ashero." Ohhhh, well, this day just couldn't get any stinkin' worse, could it?! You got any more wild n' crazy info you wanna throw at me, world?! Mandy's brain screamed at her in a fit of frustration. The emotion she was actually feeling, however, was entirely different. "The same king that kicked you out...he's working with the Big O?! Why?!" "I have no idea. Oprah and I talked about it, and...we think that he wants to use the Big O to further his own plans." Peaches explained. "See, the king is a coward. A pathetic coward, at that. He sends those he leads to do his dirty work for him, without getting his own butt off of the throne. It's partly why he sent me away instead of finding who burned down Vallea himself. So he wants the Big O to carry out his own ambitions." If it weren't for her innate curiosity keeping her afloat right now, Mandy's brain would have completely and utterly shut down. Absolutely nothing Peaches said made sense. What plans? To find out who destroyed Vallea? I don't think the Big O really has the time to be goin' on some crazy search party for some random culprit...and I don't think he'd send his assistants to find the culprit for him. ...No wait, maybe he would. He's a busy kid. There has to be a gajillion assistants in there. He can spare a few. Her mind was swimming with questions, but she chose to focus on a simple one. "How did the King even get in contact with the Big O?" "Th-that's not really important." Peaches responded. "Furthermore...Twilight had a dream last night, about the Big O and you fighting. It was really vivid, she said. And in it, you..." Her voice began to crack. "You killed him!" "I what?" "Y-you took your hammer, and rammed it so far down his throat...and you killed him. And then..." Tears began to spill. "You turned on Oprah, for calling out his name..." The breath was taken clear out of the hybrid. She wasn't sure what to say. She thought back to her battle with Cherry Moriarty, and how she had spared her life. Am I so violent that people think I'll kill villains without hesitation? Her own tears began to come forth, and spilled onto the ground. She knew she had to say something, but only one thing came out. "C-cuz-" "You wouldn't really do that...would you?" The question came from Oriella, who gazed at the hybrid with concern. "The Big O is more powerful than he might appear to be. If he really wanted to, he could kill someone." Mandy began to choke up. Like Peaches, she too collapsed to the ground, her eyes becoming glazed over. "I wouldn't..." She glanced up at the sky, cloudy and depressing -- fitting for someone who now felt like she was just a mindless killing machine when it came to those she opposed. If she had a kill count, she would be chastised and outcast. But she was the most beloved agent of the organization. And no person would love an agent of Odd Squad with a kill count. The words came out before she could stop herself. "Cuz, I don't kill! Ever!" She sniffled. "At most, I...I seriously hurt those who have hurt my friends. I make them suffer. I teach them a lesson about what happens to those who dare cross the path of those I care for most. But I never kill!" Her final four words echoed into the air, with some assistants turning their heads to look. Once again, none of them bothered to intervene. The echo lingered for what seemed like a long time, as Mandy now began to sob, every inch of her body quivering. Peaches and Oriella could only watch, their hearts aching as they wanted to help her, but didn't really know how. Luckily, they didn't need to -- Mandy stopped herself after just a few minutes. She stood up and gave a mighty sniffle. "ENOUGH!" she called out, before taking a few footsteps towards the building once more. "I'm..." "What are you gonna do?" Oriella asked, her eyes widening. Mandy's gaze turned rigid, steely, and hard. "I'm gonna go confront him myself." was all she said before she began marching the rest of the way without a second glance. "Cuz, no!" "Peaches, stay behind. It's an order!" Mandy barked, although her sharp and serious facade started to crumble when she choked up and added, "FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!" Her walk turned into a run, and both girls knew there was no way to persuade her to turn around. "Oriella..." Peaches stayed on the ground, gazing at the Big O's assistant with her bloodshot eyes. "Call Precinct 13579." Oriella nodded, and hastily unclipped her badge phone to make the call. Assistants were startled by the sound and the sight of Mandy thrusting open the doors and sprinting down the hall. Some of them even stumbled and fell. "Halt!" one of them called. "There's no time!" Mandy called back, not bothering to see who had tried to stop her. No, she was a hybrid on a mission, now. Her wings spread, and she went from her feet being on the ground to her feet dangling in the air as she soared down hallway after hallway. Finally, she reached his door. And she slammed that sucker wide open as loud and as commanding as she could possibly make it. The Big O didn't even flinch, instead looking up from his paperwork with a small "hm?" Mandy landed and folded her wings in. "Big O." Her venomous greeting was either completely lost on him, or he just didn't care. "Oh, Agent Mandy. Fancy seeing you here. To what do I owe the..." His mouth curved into a smile. "...pleasure?" "You promoted Agent Twilight Sparkle to the role and rank of 'Big O's Head Assistant'. Do I have that right?" "Yes. I must say, it was quite a shame you weren't there." "Mm. Yes. Quite a shame indeed." This smug socksucker's gonna play hard-to-get-under-the-skin, huh? Mkay. Two can play at that game. "Now, I must ask you. Is it true..." She straightened her posture and pointed at her leader. "...that you are working with King Ashero of Vallea?" The Big O's eyes widened, certainly not expecting Mandy to figure that out. Still, his shock wore off after only a mere couple seconds. "King Ashero? Vallea?" He scoffed. "I must say, for a dimwitted equine abomination like you, you have smarts. I might as well come clean, then." A long while ago, Mandy would have been insulted at being called dimwitted. Nowadays, she had been called that so much that the insult -- whether used in a lighthearted manner, like with her friends, or used in a mocking manner, like the Big O just did -- barely fazed her. She blinked, and waited. "See, I took in Twilight Sparkle as my assistant so that I could eventually tame her to be my workhorse." The Big O sighed. "Getting around as a child in an adult's world is just so incredibly hard to do these days, and those little toy cars simply won't do. So, it has been my personal goal to transform those tiny equines that litter Toronto into workhorses that can ultimately help Odd Squad become a better place to work." "So what about King Ashero?" "He had goals, and so did I. He wants to capture and bring one of his own back to his village for their failure in finding who razed it, and I want to help Odd Squad which just so happens to house one of his own...and something more." Now it was Mandy's turn to widen her eyes. It was one thing for King Ashero to kick her cousin out, but it was another thing entirely to want to force her to come back just for not having found who destroyed Vallea. She's in danger. Peaches is in danger. And that means...Precinct 13579 is in danger! Momma and Otto's precinct, too! I have to do something! No. Not right now. If I can defeat the Big O and take him down, then I can do something. Peaches is fine, she's out there with Oriella. She's fine. "He wants to bring Peaches back to Vallea?" was the question she settled on asking. "Hmm?" The Big O tilted his head. "Seems like you really do know who he's looking for. This will be wonderful news for him! I'm sure Odd Squad will benefit well from losing a mutated equine agent -- surprise surprise, he wants you back as well!" He wants Peaches...and me? Why me? Did he figure out that we're family? So many questions swirled about in Mandy's mind, but she was forced to shunt them off to the side. In the event that she needed to battle the Big O, she needed her mind clear. Oriella's warning wasn't one she was going to take lightly. Still, there was one question she wanted to pose. "Then why didn't you fire me when you had the chance? You have the power to control all of Odd Squad, and yet, you let me stay. Why?" "Because you were a human." Mandy took a deep breath. "Let me...rephrase." She cleared her throat. "When I became a pony-human hybrid, why did you let me stay?" "You are an alicorn, are you not? The same race that Twilight is?" "Yes..." "I had initially planned to tame you as well. But, unlike with Twilight, I needed to do more research on you first." The Big O's gaze bore into her. "Because you, Mandy, are an abomination, a mutated human being. It's unlikely you could ever be tamed into a full-bred workhorse." He smiled. "But I had hope. Hope that perhaps, one day, you would reveal your true equine form to the masses and stay in that form as a more comfortable option. Then...you could be tamed." "You're never going to tame me. I'm human just like you!" The Big O merely laughed at this. "Not anymore you're not! That transformation you went through proves otherwise. You have pony blood in you now." By this point, Mandy wasn't fazed by what her boss's boss was saying. Words tumbled out of her without her even thinking. "Don't you understand what 'hybrid' means? It's a mix of two things. I am a mix of a pony, and a human being. And I was born a human!" She scoffed. "I'm more human than pony, anyway. Even if I have pony blood in me, I can't transform into one. And even if I have pony blood in me, that doesn't mean I'm just a pony, or just a human! It's possible to be both! And Peaches...she's a catgirl. A mix of a cat, and a human. And she's human just like me!" She didn't bother to bring the fact that Peaches shapeshifted often into the discussion. "You have such a black-and-white viewpoint that it clouds your thinking. You refuse to have any sort of moral standards! You want a regime where humans thrive, and ponies are their meek and weak subordinates." She pulled her hammer from her back and slammed the head of it onto the ground. "Well I refuse to let that happen! As long as I'm alive, I'll never let you go through with your stupid plan." "Hmm. Quite a disappointment. Even in spite of your monologue." The Big O shrugged. "No matter!" He pulled out his own weapon from his back, a medium-sized gadget that looked similar to a laser gun. "It's lucky I had my assistants make this all-purpose gadget in order to protect myself. Absolutely no mutated being in existence can survive this baby." Whether it was from being referred to as a "mutated being" again or it was from the Big O just casually shrugging off her words, Mandy was fed up with him. Her body became engulfed in flames -- the form that most of her enemies feared, but that her newest enemy was completely indifferent to. And then, she snapped. With a mighty, almost primal roar, she dashed towards him, but teleported before she got more than halfway to him. "Aww, now isn't that sweet. All bark and completely no bi-" He heard a chomping sound, and then felt a searing pain in his left shoulder. A yell left him as he swung his body around, trying to get her to release her grip on him. However, Mandy was persistent, and each swing only allowed her to sink her teeth deeper and deeper into him. "Let go of my shoulder!" he cried out, feeling like he was being mauled by a rabid dog. A couple of assistants who had heard the chaos came rushing into the room, and gasped when they took in the sight of what was happening, immediately backing up and resigning to just peeking inside. "Harder!" Mandy could feel blood begin to tickle her taste buds. The quivers of the Big O's body delighted her in a rather twisted and sadistic way, and she began to apply more pressure, hoping she would reach bone, or better yet, some kind of nerve that would disable his entire arm. Who knows -- she didn't really know much about the logistics of the human body. Finally, she decided to let go when she had failed in hitting a nerve, leaping backwards and levitating her hammer towards her so she could grasp it. "Ha, I should equip my hammer with a bite feature!" she said, turning her head to the left and spitting out some metallic-tasting blood. The Big O clutched his shoulder in pain, his body still trembling. Unfortunately, that left him open to Mandy's attacks, as he found his gut suddenly being slammed with the blunt force of a hammer, sending his body careening towards the other side and colliding with a wall to the extent that it became slightly dented. He slumped down to the floor, one eye closed despite it not having been injured and giving small pained grunts. "C'mon." Mandy taunted. "Oriella said you were powerful. She said you could kill someone if you wanted to. I guess those were bold-faced lies!" A laugh escaped her as she twirled her hammer around in her hand like a yo-yo once again before making a complete beeline for the Big O like it was a Black Friday sale and she really wanted that 48'' TV. "Your reign of terror ends today, kiddo." And with that, she performed her finishing move. Unfortunately, the Big O wasn't down for the count, and despite his choking, he managed to grab ahold of his gadget and fire it. It was a direct hit, one that let Mandy have a taste of her own medicine as she went soaring across the room. Her body hit the floor once, twice, and then rolled a little bit before coming to a dead stop. She could hear her hammer clatter on the floor as well, although where it was, she didn't know. Heaving a sigh, the Big O slowly stood up, shaking his body vigorously as if all of his wounds were just ones of flesh. "Nothing more than a dent!" he said. "Can't say the same for you, though. Quite typical of a mutated being. They always end up weaker than their healthier counterparts." "Stop spittin' up fertilizer..." Mandy, with a tremendous amount of effort, began to stand up. "'Cause I'm not done yet, either!" Once she was on her feet, she ran. She grabbed her hammer and ran at the Big O, with no set attack in mind. All that was flashing through her brain was: Bash his face. Make him suffer. Walk away a winner. Fifteen minutes later, Oprah and the ponies arrived at the Big Office. The same went for Olive and Otto, who received Oprah's message in turn. "I can't believe you cracked and told her!" Oprah said to Peaches as the group (plus Oriella) ran through the halls. "I'm sorry, I didn't have a choice! I'll explain later!" Peaches responded, beginning to book it so that she was ahead of the group, like it was a track-and-field race and she was going to be the winner. As a couple assistants were leaving a nearby room, they were startled by a sudden cry of "It's over this way!" from Otto, causing them to give their own cries of surprise in response. The sound of a laser blast caused Oprah to dig her heels into the floor, coming to a stop directly in the doorway of the Big O's office. She made her way in, as did the others, but everyone decided to remain pressed up against the wall, noting that, based on the small dots and splatters of blood and their locations, it was a generally small battlefield. Still, that didn't mean a lot hadn't supposedly happened within those fifteen minutes. Both Mandy and the Big O were bloodied and badly beaten. In those fifteen minutes, they had exchanged blow after blow with their weapons, each one delivering more wounds than the last. Neither one of them had expected their battle to go on for hours -- or at least, that's how long they thought they were battling for -- but one thing was made abundantly clear: it was all going to end soon. Mandy charged up her horn for another mega-blast of magic. She reared her head upwards and then fired, sending the Big O stumbling backwards a few steps before collapsing on his knees. "Down on your knees. Like a subordinate." Mandy chuckled, either not caring or not noticing that the tip of her horn was starting to blacken. "Funny twist of irony, hmm?" "You're dead, Mandy." "It's been a long battle, Big O. I'd like to see you try and kill me!" She grabbed her hammer and twirled it around in her hand again. "Nothing gets past my hammer. Nothing at a-" Her boast was immediately cut off by a blast of magic aimed right at her hand, sending her hammer flying backwards and colliding with the floor. She clutched her hand in pain, her eardrums picking up on the sound of her weapon clattering to the floor once again. "Her hammer!" The words were only but a whisper on Peaches' lips as her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. "Mandy likely doesn't have much magic in her as it is. She's in a weakened state. If she's going to keep fighting, it has to be with her hammer." Oprah mused. "But the Big O's weakened too, right?" Rainbow asked. "Right, but..." "The Big O may be powerful, but he's still just a kid. The fact that he's withstanding all of this is...honestly incredible." Oriella remarked. "I had no idea Mandy was such a competent fighter." "Trust me, my partner's taken down tougher foes than this one!" Pinkie boasted. "The big chiefaroni is nothin'!" The group watched as Mandy extended her tail until she was able to pick up the hammer with it. It was a power that was certainly common, with Pinkie possessing similar prehensility in her own tail, and it was a power that was very well-known by agents, especially with Mandy's frequent comedic antics. The Big O could only watch as the hybrid's tail delivered her own weapon back to her. "What..." "Oh, this?" Mandy let fly a mighty noblewoman's laugh as she showed her enemy her gift. "It's my prehensile tail! Agent Pinkie Pie taught me how to use that skill. You know, one of the ponies you so badly wanna tame?" She threw her hammer up into the air, the Big O watching it spin and spin before gravity took over and she caught it in her hand again. "So anyway, we'll make this quick. There's one thing I ask of you." "No...she's gonna kill him..." Peaches took a step forward. "Resign." Peaches blinked. A guttural growl rumbled about in the Big O's throat, easily heard by Mandy. "And why...would I do that?" She pointed her hammer towards him. "Because I can send you flying to the next galaxy." She winced as a metallic taste stung her tongue again, and she spit off to her left before continuing. "You underestimate me, boss. I'm not just your average rinky-dink agent. I have done far worse to villains and particularly nasty agents alike, so you'd best take this opportunity to heed my words." The Big O grunted in pain, squeezing his eyes tight. Although he wouldn't admit it, the rush of adrenaline was slowly wearing off, and all he could feel was some of the worst pain imaginable. "Face it. You can't fight anymore." Mandy, by contrast, still had adrenaline flowing through her veins, her brain refusing to let her quit until her enemy had rightfully conceded. For one final attack, the Big O aimed his gadget at Mandy and fired. A miss, although it grazed her hair bow. She rushed over to him as fast as her wings would carry her, grabbed his arm, and twisted it with enough force to break at least one bone inside it. In response, he gave a cry of pain. "Don't try anything funny!" the hybrid warned, baring her teeth and becoming almost nose-to-nose with him. "Oprah...she's gonna kill him." Peaches murmured, feeling her legs begin to shake. "Hold on." the Director advised. "The place is a wreck. Both fighters are on their last legs. Let Mandy and the Big O work this out." "But why, darling?" Rarity asked. "This is their fight. We shouldn't get involved until the timing is right." All Peaches had in response to that was a soft whine. She felt utterly helpless, and wanted to help...but at the same time, she placed enough faith in Oprah's judgment to follow her lead. Swallowing the small lump in her throat, she looked on as a bystander, not noticing that a hefty crowd of assistants had gathered outside the door. Another blast of alicorn magic sent the Big O's way caused his body to once again start flying towards the other side of the room in what was a case of near-deja vu. A scream left him that was immediately cut off when his back collided with the dented wall, as he remained in a standing position for a few moments before landing on his feet, stumbling about like a drunkard, and collapsing onto the floor. Mandy's horn began to sizzle, like someone had put a fresh steak on a hot grill. "I'm giving you an out and yet you still try to fight? Pathetic." she spat, not noticing that she too was stumbling. The Big O's eyes slowly opened, although his vision was hazy, and Mandy was nothing more than a blurred figure. "Stop this. I don't want to fight anymore." the hybrid rasped. "Your regime is nothing but harmful and will bring Odd Squad down to its knees. I'm not going to allow that to happe- aah!" The adrenaline was now starting to wear off for Mandy. She was only faintly aware of her bloody wounds and her broken bones -- although which bones were broken, she wasn't too sure. Her legs began to wobble whenever she stood still, which wasn't for longer than two seconds as she continued to stumble around the room. "Please. We're both injured. If we keep going like this...one of us is going to die." More pain rocketed through the Big O as he gave a low growl in response, his eyes only showing defiance. "All I want is for you to resign. And while you're at it, tell me what King Ashero is planning to do." Oriella blinked. "She's...sparing his life?" "Mandy's always been a pacifist like that." Otto explained. "She never kills." "F-fine!" The Big O grunted. "Fine. He's...he wants to take...Peaches and you...back...for failing...to find who...burned Vallea down." "And what will he do with us?" "Don't...know..." A pained huff left Mandy's lungs. "Of course-" She was interrupted again by another bolt of pain, to which she let out a hearty cry, gripping her arm tight. Her horn began to shoot out loose sparks of magic. "My magic's completely drained..." She sighed. "Just resign. Odd Squad will go easy on you if you resign from your position as the Big O." "N-neve- aah!" A gushing sound filled Mandy's ears, although she wasn't sure whether she was imagining things or not. Her vision started to grow hazy, but she could see that her enemy's left arm was spewing out blood at a rather fantastical rate. "Blood..." she whispered. With a wobble, down went the second contender on her knees. "J-just resign...we can't fight anymore...we're both badly injured..." she wheezed, feeling her eyes slowly starting to close but some unknown equal force fighting to keep them open. "She's going to die!" Olive's voice was practically a scream, although she didn't care who heard her or what happened. Oprah went to restrain her before she could rush over to Mandy and ruin the chance for the fight to conclude in a proper manner. "Pinkie, Fluttershy, find Twilight. Free her if you have to, and bring her back to Headquarters." The two mares nodded and quickly dashed off, dodging the large crowd of assistants (who were giving confused murmurs) as best they could. "I can't believe it...this is where Mandy's life is gonna end!" Otto remarked, feeling tears start to prick at the corner of his eyes. "Rainbow Dash, fly over to the Academy and get the Odd Squad Doctors. Now!" Rainbow nodded at Oprah's next command, speeding off and leaving a rainbow trail behind. "What about us, darling?" Rarity asked, gesturing to her and Applejack. "Stay here." "Fine!" came the final cry from the Big O, followed by a grunt. "I'll...I'll..." "Resign...!" Mandy coughed. "Oh good..." A few more pained breaths, a mighty exhale, and with another collapse, she went from kneeling to lying down, her hammer loosening from her grip. Her eyes began to close, for good, now. The force that was making them stay open had mysteriously vanished. She gambled with the pain that throbbed all over her body to give a few parting words, her mouth forming into a smile. "Thank you...for making the right decision." She could have sworn she heard Olive cry out her name before she lost consciousness. Mandy's eyes slowly opened. Her view was that of a white rectangular-tiled ceiling, a bright light illuminating the room. "Oh thank Leo, she's waking up!" ...Peach...? She tried to sit up, but a bout of pain stopped that in an instant. She grit her teeth together, but it didn't stop a small, high-pitched cry of pain from eking out. "Don't sit up just yet." urged a voice that she could identify as belonging to Oprah. "You must be in a lot of pain." "Where's...the Big O..." she wheezed, her lungs still feeling constricted. "The Big O is resting up in the Medical building of the Academy." Olive spoke, now. "He's in pretty bad shape, but he's expected to make a full recovery." Dr. O, hunched over a jar of cotton balls, turned around. "Mandy took some bad hits during her fight with the Big O." he explained to the group. "It will take her a few days to reach a functioning point in her recovery." "Just as long as she's not dead!" Olive said, holding a hand to her heart. "According to my analysis, she experienced a 'power-strain blackout'. Once her magic went, she began to gradually lose energy until she eventually collapsed and fainted. Adrenaline was a major factor in keeping her going, but once it wore off, that was it." "Will her magic ever be restored? Fully?" Oprah asked. "Not for a few more days, which is why I'll be keeping her here for today and monitoring her magic levels as she rests in the Bedroom beginning tomorrow." That's right...I'm in a hospital bed. Dr. O's office. I'm back home. Mandy could see now that Olive, Otto, Peaches and Oprah had all come to see her, but there were no signs of the ponies anywhere. "T-Twilight..." she rasped. "Twilight is fine, Mandy." Olive smiled. "Rest assured, we'll tell you all the details when you get better, all right? For now, I'm just glad you're okay." Mandy tried to smile, but she couldn't. Instead, her eyes began to involuntarily close again as a soft hum left her. "Thank you, Dr. O." "You should be thanking Agent Rainbow Dash." Dr. O explained to Olive. "If she hadn't alerted the Odd Squad Doctors, we never would have been able to get Mandy any treatment, and she likely wouldn't have even survived the fight." Oprah couldn't resist giving a smug smile for being the one with the quick commanding skills. "Come on. Let's give Mandy and Dr. O some breathing room." She beckoned Olive, Peaches and Otto to follow her out of the Medical Bay. As Olive closed the door, Otto asked, "So who's gonna be the new Big O?" "I'm not sure. Many of the assistants I spoke to tell me they want Mandy to be the new Big O, but..." She glanced down at the ground and awkwardly rubbed her forearm, falling silent. "You don't want to let her go." Olive murmured, an understanding smile settling on her face. Oprah's eyes widened, and she gazed at Olive for a few moments before shaking her head and giving a bout of nervous laughter. "No, no, I-I don't mind, really, I mean she's free to do what she wants, and..." Olive and Otto both gave her skeptical looks. "All right, fine, I don't want her to go." Oprah conceded. "It's just that...Mandy's been the heart of this precinct for as long as she's been an agent. When times were tough, Mandy helped pull us back up. She's helped us so much, and she's one of my best agents in part because of that. And if I lose her...I don't know who will be a more worthy second-in-command." Peaches flicked an ear. "Why don't we let Mandy herself make a choice when she recovers? Odd Squad can still mostly function without a Big O." Her eyes widened slightly, and she absentmindedly scratched her cheek. "Uh, I-I'm sure." "I guess..." "Hey, look on the bright side. The Big O is defeated, and his plans are effectively squashed into the ground too." Otto said, before his expression brightened and he snapped his fingers, an idea forming in his head. "Why don't you take advantage of these days of Mandy's recovery to alert other precincts of what went down?" "Yeah! Otto and I plan on doing just that when we get back to our own precinct." Olive nodded. "It'll be nice to spread the word." "That's not a bad idea. It would be weird for only us to be in the loop on what happened. I'll go do that now." Oprah began making her way towards her office just a couple doors down, but not before snatching a fruit punch juice box from hammerspace and beginning to guzzle it like mad. "I hope she'll be all right." Peaches mused. "Ah, she'll be fine." Otto waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, Oprah always tends to bounce back from most situations eventually. Everything will be fine in no time!" In spite of Olive's encouragement, however, no one could deny the fear that was clawing at their insides and securing a vicegrip on their hearts. The fear that Mandy might leave them, to ascend to a higher position for the sake of the organization that was the only family she ever knew. Surprisingly -- or perhaps unsurprisingly, given who this was -- Mandy made a relatively quick recovery. Just like Dr. O said, she got better in only a week, although it was clear her broken bones and her wounds needed more time to heal than that. She gave a soft moan as her eyes opened once again, this time her vision meeting a different white ceiling with star and moon stickers plastered on it. Her moan turned into a soft hum as she began to regain consciousness, recognizing exactly where she was. The Bedroom, after all, was one of her most frequented places. "Ugh, my head...what even happened..." she murmured, her gaze sweeping the room as she ran a hand through her hair. Her bow was gone -- a sensation that felt weird to her since she wore it every day and every night, from the time she woke up to the time she went to bed. The door opened, and Dr. O walked in. "Hmm? Oh, you're awake!" A relieved sigh escaped his lips. "With your sleeping habits, I assumed you'd be knocked out for a month, at least." Mandy started to say something, but the second she opened her mouth, a yawn interrupted her. "How are you feeling, Mandy?" "Well, I have a headache..." "Here, take these." Dr. O reached behind his back and pulled out a small cup with two round white pills inside of it, "and here's a glass of water." Mandy took the pills without hesitation, tossing them into her mouth and drinking the entire cup of water. She gave a satisfied sigh when she was finished. "Other than that, are you feeling okay?" "For the most part..." "According to diagnostic reports, your magic is now completely restored. In the future, try not to strain yourself so hard." Dr. O smiled. "Well, in all fairness, the battle did last a long time. Like, really long!" "I'm sure." Dr. O gestured towards the door. "Now, I believe there are some agents who wish to see you." Mandy gasped, feeling 99% correct in knowing who the "some agents" were. "Take me to 'em!" she chirped, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and wincing when a bolt of pain shot through them. Much to her surprise, they weren't broken during the battle -- a result of the Big O aiming well above her legs for all of his attacks. Her gut area and chest area, on the other hand, as well as her left arm, didn't fare off so well. Her arm was in a well-wrapped cast with a support brace, while gauze was wrapped tightly around her stomach. She looked like she completely half-assed making a mummy costume. Grunting, she followed Dr. O out of the Bedroom, excitement flowing through her. "Dr. O's taking a while..." Olive heaved a sigh. "Aww, don't worry." Otto reassured, his mouth stuffed full of pancakes. "He'll be out shoon, I'm shure!" Sure enough, as soon as he swallowed his bite, Dr. O emerged from the hallway and met the group of nine in the Breakroom. "Hi, guys! Sorry for the long wait." Trailing behind him was none other than Mandy herself, who gave a meek wave. "Mandy!" came the joyous unisonant cry, as everyone quickly gathered around her like paparazzi gathering around an out-and-about celebrity. Of course, unlike most paparazzi, the group took extra care not to aggravate her wounds. "C'mere, you!" Olive scooped up her daughter in a ferocious hug. Oh odd, is this what it feels like when I hug people?! It was a question she had asked before, but for some reason, it only existed as a brief thought before flying out of an ear. Olive's hugs, however, could easily rival hers. She began to choke, pain rocketing through her body again. "Ow, M-Momma, not so hard...choking, choking, no air, much pain!" "Oh! Sorry!" Olive gave a sheepish smile as she set Mandy down. "I'm just so happy you've gotten better!" "We all are." Mandy's head swiveled towards Oprah and Twilight, the latter of whom approached the hybrid in a surprisingly stable state and gave a smile. "Twilight! Oh, you're okay!" Mandy smiled. "Thank goodness. I was kinda slipping into unconsciousness, but I coulda sworn I heard somethin' about chains and cages..." It had been a faint memory at best, but both words were etched into her mind. Her eyes widened, the smile faded from her face, and she gasped as she came to a realization. "You weren't..." "I was." Twilight sadly nodded. "The Big O had me chained up in a magic-proof cage until he could 'domesticate' me. Luckily, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy came and rescued me, and they told me about your fight with the Big O." She sighed and took a seat on the floor, burying her face in her hooves. "It was awful being his assistant. He banned magic and flying, and he didn't let me go back to Equestria at all!" "Well, I gave him the what-for, so he won't be messing you anymore! It's a Pinkie Promise!" Mandy eagerly went through the motions. "I don't know what I would have done if I had stayed as his assistant, or what would've happened to me, but...it was like I couldn't speak up, unless I wanted to lose my job." Twilight gazed at her friend with hope shimmering in her violet eyes. "Thank you, Mandy. You saved me." "Aww, no prob! What're friends for?" Mandy smiled and knelt down as the pair exchanged a long hug, Twilight making sure to avoid touching her bandaged arm in the process. "Mandy?" Oprah piped up. "After the battle, I spoke to the Big O's assistants about finding a replacement for him, and...a lot of them want you to step up." "Me?" The hybrid broke free and stood back up, wincing slightly at the strange sensation that briefly rocketed through her legs. "I'll admit, I really don't want you to leave. You've worked in this precinct for a long time, and I know it's practically like a home to you. But after thinking it over, I've realized that it's ultimately your decision. And I won't stop you if you do decide to become the new head of Odd Squad." Mandy blinked. She looked from Twilight to the rest of the group, all giving her looks of pity and sadness. They might as well have just flexed their archery skills and shot arrows at her heart, the looks were so piercing. It almost made her want to cry. But leaving Precinct 13579...it was a laughable prospect. Becoming the leader of every single Odd Squad precinct on the entire planet Earth...that was even more of a laughable prospect. And so, she laughed. Her lungs ached after a few seconds, no thanks to her still-broken ribs, but she let her body ride her through the motions of laughter as she tried to imagine herself as the Big O, dealing with agents and oddness and sending the organization into complete and utter chaos on the first day. Whatever sadness came with the thought of leaving behind the agents who were essentially her family was easily trumped. "Huh? What's so funny?" Oprah tilted her head. Finally, with a snort, Mandy pointed. "Ahh, Oprah, you're funny!" She downgraded to snickering. "What makes you think this tail's headin' out that door for good? I don't wanna be the Big O!" Straightening up, she wiped her tears away. "All that responsibility of every single precinct in the world on my shoulders...it's terrifying to think about!" Oprah's eyes widened. "So you're...staying here?" "Yup! Bein' an Investigation agent's what I love to do the most, and Precinct 13579's where I love to do it, so that's where I'm stayin'!" Sighs of relief rippled through the group. Oprah, however, looked about ready to cry. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that." Her voice was a near-whisper, and it was only on the last word that tears began falling down her face. "Oprah, you're...you're crying!" "I know." She stepped forward and enveloped Mandy in a hug, which surprised her but still left her open to accept it and hug her back. "Wait. Who's gonna replace the Big O if you're not gonna step up?" Otto asked, just before Olive nudged him in an effort to get him to stop ruining the mood. Luckily, Mandy didn't care too much. A knowing smile formed on her face. "I may have a likely candidate in mind!" "With all that being said, it is with pleasure and joy that I pronounce Oriella as the new Big O of Odd Squad!" Cheers and claps erupted from the audience to such an extent they were almost deafening. Still, once she was zapped with the Big-O-inator gadget and her assistant uniform was transformed into that of an agent in the position of Big O, Oriella marched forward, taking her spot at the podium as Mandy moved off to the side. She looked out over the audience, at the view of the walkway that lined the Big Office's entrance, and smiled. "Thank you!" She cleared her throat. "I-I've served as the Big O's assistant for a long time, and like other assistants, I always followed his lead because it would mean that I would lose my job otherwise. When I told Mandy the truth about him and saw her fighting him to protect Odd Squad, I knew exactly how bad my...no, our boss had become. His goals would not benefit our fair organization, and it certainly didn’t fit our modus operandi of 'all are equal, and all belong'." Her head swiveled towards Mandy. "I want to thank Mandy for that. And I promise, as long as I am the Big O, I will work to make Odd Squad a rightful organization, a fair organization, one that treats humans and ponies of equal measure! Now let me hear you say it!" "All are equal, and all belong!" the crowd roared, before going into another round of eardrum-shattering cheers and applause. Oriella stepped off of the podium and rushed over to hug Mandy -- perhaps her ten-millionth hug today. The hybrid didn't know; she stopped counting. "Thank you, Mandy. For not only saving all of us assistants, but the entirety of Odd Squad. You are always welcome at the Big Office anytime as long as I rule." "I'll take you up on that whenever it's needed!" Mandy chirped. "And as long as I live and breathe, we can be bestest friends forever!" "It's a deal!" The two girls shared a hearty laugh, although it was easily drowned out by the roar of the crowd below them. Later in the evening, Mandy had resolved to get some paperwork done instead of staying in bed, relying on painkillers to ward off any pain, either from walking or otherwise. It was quite unfortunate for her that she was left-handed, but her having a horn she could use telekinesis with was something fortunate to counteract it. "Hey, Mandy?" Peaches approached her from where she had entered the bullpen through the steel double-doors. "I...need to apologize. For thinking that you were going to kill the Big O." She sighed. "I understand now that you never kill anyone. You're just not that kind of person." A wink. "You're a mean one with the hammer, though. Now that I can admire." "Mmm..." Mandy stretched her arm upwards, wincing but not flinching upon hearing her spine pop. "Uh-huh, sure, but do you have a massager for my back?" Peaches rolled her eyes, not bothering to ask if her cousin had heard anything she just said. "I'll get you one later as a gift." "Make sure you get one from the bath shop store, pwease? The good one where the nice lady lets me smell all the stuff inside!" Mandy chirped. "They have the best massagers! And some goooooood massage chairs..." "Duly noted." Peaches felt a warm sensation in her chest, although whether it was Mandy's good mood rubbing off on her or her happy fantasy of using a massage chair was anyone's guess. "Oh, and there's something I need to ask you. About King Ashero." That snapped Mandy back to reality. She blinked and then took a swig of juice. "Fire away! My four ears are open!" "What was the Big O conspiring with him about?" Mandy's face fell. "Oh, that. He..." She didn't say anything for a few seconds, instead fidgeting with her fingers and looking down at her lap. Those few seconds were painstaking for Peaches, and she was about to snap at Mandy for her to get on with it before she spoke again. "He wants to...take us back to Vallea. For not finding who burnt it down." The catgirl's heart stopped. Her pupils and irises both shrunk to the size of thumbtacks. "W-what? But...I haven't even been searching for that long! Toronto's only one of the first locales I've visited! Does he expect me to find the suspect in a matter of months?!" "The King also knows about me, too...I guess the Big O wanted to capture me when he defeated me, but that didn't happen." Mandy vaguely remembered something Olive said...something about the Big O having come out of the entire scuffle alive and being treated. It scared her slightly. Even with how powerful she was, she had to keep a watchful eye out for her surroundings -- who knew what the Big O was going to do when he fully recovered? Would he continue trying to capture her? Would he give up the fight? She didn't know. It was that unpredictability that scared her. Her eyes began to well up with tears as she made eye contact with Peaches. "Cuz..." "Yeah?" "I'm gonna protect you. No nasty king's gonna take my cousin away!" Mandy declared. "You deserve to find out who destroyed your town. So I wanna help you, as best I can!" As she blinked, tears began to roll down her face, but she paid no mind to them. "I feel like I've already reiterated this, but I'm doin' it again, baby! Whoo!" "You don't have to do that." Peaches shook her head. "It was my town that was burned down, after all." "Hey, the more people and ponies the better! Besides, I can fly higher than you, and it's always best to search from really really high in the air." Mandy gasped. "And we can travel! Traveling buddies!" "Okay, 'traveling buddies' may be a bit much." Peaches waved her hand. "I still have to get used to your back!" "No time like the present!" Mandy hopped off of her chair and spread her wings, leaning downwards. "Hop on! Besides, this chapter's long overstayed its welcome. We gotta do somethin' cool to end it, the thing's gonna be nearly 20,000 words!" "What?" "Just hop on!" "Okay..." Hesitantly, Peaches did as she was told, hoisting herself up onto Mandy's back. "Now clutch onto my neck! I go really really fast!" Mandy chirped. "That's how Momma fell off the first few times. Didn't bode so well for her..." Peaches was hesitant about this, too -- she didn't want to aggravate any of Mandy's wounds, and so, she tried to grab her shoulder blades. "Is this good? Does it hurt?" "Yes, and not any more than a pinchy-winchy!" Mandy's wings began to flap. "Oh cattails." "And away we gooooooo!" A yowl echoed through the bullpen and carried throughout the Trophy Room and the Tube Lobby. "I told you, I go fast!" Mandy called, laughing as she made her way towards the emergency stairs. The kitsune heaved a sigh as she laid her head down onto the grass. What a strong fighter. One who is willing to go to whatever lengths are needed to protect her friends and her family, even if it kills her. I must get into contact with her soon. Vallea's attacks will only grow stronger and stronger. Now more than ever, she needs me to guide her. Her gaze drifted towards the sky, with its white rolling clouds. But I must be careful. If Vallea spots me, too, then it will all be over. I cannot allow that to happen. Mandy...please, stay strong and stay safe. I am coming for you. I promise.
S1E10: Cutie Mark Crusader Odd Squad Agents, Yay!Pinkie laughed and snorted as her eyes fell upon what was placed on Mandy's desk. Mandy, on the other hand, was not so receptive. There, sitting on a plate, was some weird and disgusting brown conglomerate of food that she had only seen once when she went to some New York precinct and met the Director there who was a master of making food that looked just like that. It was shaped like gelatin, and didn't have much of a smell to it -- at least, nothing she could sense. She wasn't surprised it didn't erode the plate on contact. "This thing?" "Yes!" Mandy looked towards Otto and then back again. Wincing, she slowly extended a finger towards the gelatinous edible object and poked it, her stomach doing flips as it wobbled. I have to tell him, don't I... She buried her face in her hands, only letting her eyes peek out. It was lucky that she hardly had anything in her, and rarely anything made her overly nauseous -- she would have been voted "The Agent Least Likely to Get Carsick, Ferris-Wheel-Sick, or Airplane-in-Space-Sick" by Odd Squad Magazine if such a category existed. Otto's cooking, however, was on another level. It was the stuff of nightmares. Finally, wanting to relieve the tension in the air, she sighed. "Er, Otto...if I hafta be honest with you..." She couldn't stand to look at the food anymore, and made eye contact with him. "I think you should stick to eating food, and not...making it?" Otto's eyes widened. "What?" "Momma wasn't kidding when she said meatballs were your strong suit. This looks like it can kill me the moment it enters my tummy!" "Just try it!" he urged. "You'll like it. You eat everything else!" Mandy's mind was screaming "no" at her, but her body was telling her that yes, she needed food. And there was food right in front of her. One bite wouldn't kill her. ...No wait, it probably would. Immortality only goes so far. She groaned. "Okay, fine. But if I get sick...I'm coming to yooooour hoooouse!" she called in singsong. "Fine, whatever, just eat it!" Pinkie excitedly clapped her hooves together, a grin settled on her face. Taking a deep breath, she quickly snatched the spoon, scooped up a piece, and shoved into her mouth in only a few swift movements. Some people had tiny bands in their mouths that would be killed by this food -- if not by large bites of it, then by its contents. She had taste buds that were far sturdier and began to scream when the piece slid across them in a most unnatural manner. Her hair and tail bushed out and stuck straight upwards. Somehow, she managed to swallow her piece, feeling it slide down her esophagus and head towards her stomach, with acids inside of it that would hopefully disintegrate most of the bite for good. She coughed...no, that wasn't an accurate description. She hacked. She hacked like what every pet owner's nightmare was right before their pet started to throw up. Her body heaved and heaved, either trying to force the bite down or force it back up and out. "Partner!" Pinkie put her hooves up on the desk, looking for something Mandy could swallow. When nothing presented itself, she resorted to reaching into her mane and pulling out a two-quart bottle of apple juice, using her forelock to screw open the cap and pop it off. "Here, Otto, give this to her!" Otto, still shocked by what he was seeing, hastily grabbed the bottle and shoved it right into Mandy's mouth. Immediately, the taste of the juice began to wash away the horrid taste of whatever he had just made, and she eagerly grabbed the bottle in her shaking hands and drank it all. Pinkie and Otto could only stare, the latter with a look of utmost disbelief and the former with a look of surprise that her partner was pretty much chugging the thing. "B-but I baked the recipe to a T! I don't get it!" Otto exclaimed when Mandy was nearly done with the bottle. A few more swigs, and she set it down, giving a mighty sigh. "Yeah?" She side-eyed him. "Momma said the same thing about your chocolate creme pie!" "It was good!" "You idiot, it dented her pie server! Pies aren't supposed to be hard!" The two agents faced each other with growls rumbling about in their throats. Mandy, however, had something else rumbling about, and she covered her mouth as a mighty belch came forth. "Pardon." she said, although she didn't take her eyes off of Otto. The sound of the automatic doors opening put a brief halt on the duo's hostility, and they, along with Pinkie, turned to see Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash walk into the bullpen, along with three fillies standing next to them. "Hey y'all, gather 'round! We got some ponies we'd like y'all t' meet!" Agents in the bullpen began to approach the group, noticing the new arrivals and murmuring amongst themselves. Mandy, Pinkie and Otto made their way forth as well. "This is Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash introduced, as an orange Pegasus filly with a feather-shaped purple mane and tail stepped forward. "She kinda looks up to me as an older sister." "And this is my sister, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity went next, pushing a unicorn filly forward who had white fur and a mane and tail that was half violet and half pink. "And this is my sister Apple Bloom." Applejack glanced at her younger sister, who made her way forward. She had yellow fur and a red mane and tail, complete with a pink bow that was larger than Mandy's own. Mandy glanced at the flanks of each of their fillies -- they all had their cutie marks. Yeah, I remember Dash, AJ and Rarity telling me that their sisters had gotten their cutie marks a while ago...and they're all similar to each other, too. As the three fillies gave their greetings, the crowd's murmurs grew excited. Agents introduced themselves eagerly and began shaking hooves and hands. "Agent Applejack and Agent Rarity have sisters?" Otto asked. "Yeah, they've brought them up before, but I've never actually met them." Mandy explained, before she turned to the crowd and made a sweeping motion with her hands. "Part the way, please!" she called. Agents did as they were told and gave the group some breathing room. "So you three fillies are these mares' sisters, huh?" she asked, turning around to face them. "Yeah!" Scootaloo said. "Well, not an actual sister, but Rainbow Dash and I have a bond that's totally like sisters!" "You're Mandy, right?" Sweetie Belle tilted her head. "Yup! Agent 57 at your service! Nice to meetcha!" Mandy chirped, gesturing to Otto. "And this is Otto. He works at the Odd Squad precinct in the next town over from here." "Odd Squad precinct?" Apple Bloom's expression brightened. "Our sisters told us all about Odd Squad!" Sweetie Belle's did, as well. "Yeah, and we'd really really like to join!" Rounding out the enlightened expressions was Scootaloo, ending her sentence as she gave a big toothy grin. Mandy responded with a nervous chuckle. "Um, w-well, I can't help you with that, unfortunately. But I know someone who can! Be right back, okay?" Spreading her wings, she quickly soared up to the second floor and poked her head into Oprah's office, wondering how the Director hadn't heard the commotion before realizing she had an earbud in. "Oprah?" "Hm?" Oprah took her earbud out. "Oh, Mandy, hi. What's going on?" "Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are here with their sisters, who want to join Odd Squad." "They do?" "They seem like very nice fillies. I'm on board with sending 'em to the Academy!" On the word "fillies", something in Oprah's brain clicked. Her face lit up like that of a kid who was told they just won a lifetime's supply of candy. "Let me see!" Her voice was practically a squeak, a rather drastic change from the steely voice she usually had. She quickly scrambled out of her seat, forgetting all about her music player, and followed Mandy downstairs. "You three brought your sisters?" she asked as she descended the staircase. "We sure did, Ms. O!" Applejack nodded. "This here's my sister Apple Bloom, and that there's Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They're the Cutie Mark Crusaders." "Who are you?" "My name is Ms. O. I'm the head of this Odd Squad precinct, 13579. I heard you'd like to join Odd Squad." Oprah smiled. "In that case, I'd love to have you join!" "Yes!" Scootaloo cheered. "However, you need to go through training at the Odd Squad Academy first. You'll learn about our organization and how to combat oddness. Are you up for it?" The fillies each gave excited cheers of agreement. "Wonderful!" Oprah could feel the excitement growing within her. "Agent Rarity, Agent Applejack, Agent Rainbow Dash, please take them there posthaste and have them enrolled." "Of course, darling." Rarity nodded. The trio ushered the three fillies out of the bullpen, all of them talking excitedly amongst themselves. When the automatic doors closed, Oprah giggled. "This is so great! I can't thank you enough, Mandy!" "Huh? What did I do?" "You let me meet these three wonderful fillies, of course! They're going to be amazing additions to Precinct 13579, I just know it!" Mandy gazed at Otto and Pinkie, who both gave her confused shrugs in response. Neither one of them knew what was going on with Oprah. "Ooookaaaaay, who died and gave you their happy pills?" was the only question the hybrid could ask right now, feeling utterly confused herself as to why her boss was acting so out-of-character. All said boss did, though, was giddily laugh again, and then turn on her heel as she went back up to her office. Mandy took an inhale. "What?" The sound of a yawn cut into her dazed stupor, and she turned her head towards the right hallway entrance to see Peaches emerge, rubbing her eyes. "Jeez, it is still daytime...?" she murmured, before her eyes caught the sight of her cousin. "Oh, hi, Mandy. You look a little...lost in thought." "Hm?" Mandy blinked and vigorously shook her head. "Ahahaha, no, no, I'm not lost in thought! See, the sisters of Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity came by and wanted to join Odd Squad. So Oprah accepted. They're on their way to the Academy now." "That's good. It'll help boost the numbers a little bit. Why so concerned?" "'Cuz Oprah was a little too...giddy for my taste." Mandy twiddled her fingers about. "Like real talk, I haven't seen her that happy since Shmumbers came out with the limited-edition Jumbo Jivin' Juiceboxes!" She shuddered. "It's so unnerving...she never smiles like that." "Well, if it makes you feel any better..." Pinkie trotted up to her partner, Otto following behind her. "I can do a certified Pinkie Pie Smile Analysis, Brief Edition!" "S-sure, I guess." "Hmmm..." Pinkie stared at Oprah's office and squinted, the gears in her anomaly of a mind clicking and turning. Finally, she came to a conclusion. "Ah! Okay, so her smile was totally legitimate. Waaaaay outta character for her, but legitimate! She's super-duper happy about this!" "Why?" Otto asked. "Agents being picked to join her precinct are pretty routine. What's so special about Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo in particular?" "I dunno." Pinkie shrugged. "Maybe she just had one too many juice boxes?" "She doesn't really get like that when she's had one too many." Mandy shook her head. "Maybe she's just excited about having new agents?" Peaches offered. "I'm sure the excitement will wear off after a while." "Maybe. Hopefully." Mandy continued to gaze up at Oprah's office, a hefty sigh escaping her as she hoped her cousin was right on the money. At around 9:00 in the morning the next day, Mandy's sleep was disturbed by the Bedroom door slamming open so hard that one would be surprised it didn't come off of its hinges. Well, there was an attempt at disturbing her sleep, anyway. One that failed spectacularly. "GUESS WHAT TODAY IS?!" came the cacophonic cry of one charged and crazy Director, splitting grin a mile wide and brown eyes sparkling with glee. Instead of her usual Director uniform, she had on a grey shirt with the Odd Squad seal on it and grey sweatpants, complete with purple hoodie (the Management department symbol sewed on her left, of course) and a whistle hanging from a sparkly purple necklace -- the perfect outfit for training. A snore was her only response. "It's time for you to watch me train the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" She rushed over, yanked the sheets off of Mandy, and grabbed ahold of her ankles. "Come, come!" Mandy could feel something on her body being grabbed, but it wasn't like she had any energy to spare in trying to instinctively attack whoever was grabbing it. She gave a soft moan as her body hit the floor and was promptly dragged across it, out of the room and at the complete mercy of Oprah. A few minutes later, the hybrid was positioned upright in a chair, still asleep and still giving raucous snores. The room that Oprah had taken her to was a gym of some kind, complete with weights, punching bags, and a boxing ring, where the Crusaders were located. "Now, the first thing you'll learn is how to use gadgets." Oprah reached behind her back and pulled out one, coated in a particular substance that made it have a frozen appearance. Littering the gadget were designs of various snowflakes. "See this one?" The fillies nodded. "This gadget is called the Freeze-inator. Can anyone guess what it does?" "Uhh, it freezes stuff?" Apple Bloom guessed. The other two fillies had to resist rolling their eyes at how obvious the question was. "Right! I should have taken out a harder gadget, huh?" Oprah chuckled. "Now, each of you try and use it on those three statues." The Crusaders looked at the statues. They were small, only about as tall as them, but they all depicted Oprah in various poses. Eagerly, Apple Bloom took the gadget from Oprah's grasp and began fumbling with it, not used to holding such a bulky object in her hooves. Still, she did her best, and successfully froze one statue. "Whoa." Sweetie Belle breathed, touching a hoof to her own horn as she began to feel rather jealous that she couldn't do crazy magic like that. She and Scootaloo each had their turns, with Scootaloo finding it no less easier than Apple Bloom to grip and use the gadget due to her small wings (meaning she couldn't use them as an extra set of fingers) while Sweetie Belle had an easier time due to being a unicorn who could wield the power of telekinesis. "Gadgets are how Odd Squad agents solve cases." Oprah explained. "There are 10,000 of them currently in existence, but Scientists are always building more." "Huh. So Scientists are the ones who build gadgets?" Apple Bloom asked. "Yep, and they often build other useful devices too. If ever you have a gadget issue, go to them." "That's so awesome!" Scootaloo got stars in her eyes. "It is, isn't it?" Oprah pretended that the Pegasus filly's comment also referred to her joining Odd Squad, and that made her smile more. "Now, let me show you a few of the more frequently-used gadgets. Once I give you a tour of Headquarters, we'll head out onto the field to try them out!" The Crusaders were so busy cheering that they didn't notice Mandy topple backwards in her chair upon giving a mighty snore, scratching her tummy as her slumber continued on. About an hour-and-a-half later, the group returned, feeling exhilarated. The fillies each looked a little worse for wear, but that didn't stop their enthusiasm any. "Okay, now that you're familiar with some gadgets..." Oprah wiped off some stray grass that was caked onto her knee. "Let's give you three a personalized tour of Headquarters!" "Yeah!" came the unisonant cry as the trio rushed for the door. Apple Bloom, however, was hesitant when she reached it, and turned around. "Wait, what about Mandy?" she asked. "Ah, forget about her. She'll be fine." Oprah waved a dismissive hand, glancing at the hybrid and giving a bemused roll of her eyes before following the fillies out the door. Before she did, however, she made sure to turn the lights off. "Zzquare's fittin' n' round cracker..." Mandy sleepily murmured, the sound of her own snores and sleep-talking being the only noise in the room. The darkness aided well in letting her slip deeper into sleep, and from then on in, not even the sounds of a nuclear explosion could wake her up. Peaches, Otto and Olive walked through the hallways, calling out Mandy's name for any sign of her. Peaches' heightened sense of hearing and smell also lent themselves well to the search, although neither one of them was particularly helpful. "Ugh, where could she have gotten off to?" Olive asked, opening her mouth to call out her daughter's name again before she was promptly shushed by Peaches. "Wait, I hear something!" the catgirl said, straining her ears and picking up on a faint rumbling sound. "This way!" She ran, and both Directors eagerly followed her as they snaked through a couple more hallways. Finally, they reached their destination -- a room with a painting of a weight and a pair of boxing gloves on its red door. Peaches hadn't seen this room before, but Olive and Otto both recognized it well as the aptly-named Gym Room. The door was opened, and what met their visions was absolute darkness. Or, well, what met Olive's and Otto's visions were absolute darkness. Peaches had another ability on her side, and she could easily pinpoint Mandy even without it. "I hear her." she said. "It's so pitch-black in here!" Otto remarked, flicking the light switch up and down repeatedly only to find that nothing was happening. Whatever had happened to the lights after Oprah and the fillies had left was a mystery. "And the lights don't work." "No problem! I can see in the dark. Stay there." Peaches reassured. She stepped inside, easily spotting the shape of Mandy lying on the floor amidst everything else in the room. At one point, she heard bugs skittering, and found that some of them had made their way onto Mandy's body -- no doubt mistaking her for a corpse that was ready to be consumed. But the rise and fall of the hybrid's stomach, plus the strident snores and silly sleep-talking she was giving off, warded a lot of them away. Peaches gave a soft moan as she picked Mandy up in her hands, nearly collapsing from just how heavy she was. Which was saying quite a lot, given how generally lightweight she actually was. "Cuz, why are you here? It's so dark...were you sleepwalking or something?" All that answered her was, of course, more snoring and more gibberish. "C'mon, let's get you back to bed." Something tickled the catgirl's nose, causing her to sneeze. "Mm, all this dust..." she murmured, shaking it off of her hand and making a mental note to have someone sweep the room. Olive and Otto made way for the duo, closing the door behind them as they walked out. "Why is she covered in dust?" Olive asked, surprised that no dust bunnies (literally or figuratively) had called Mandy's suit home yet. As if on cue, Mandy snorted, and she gave a mighty sneeze of her own. Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment. "Look, she's waking up!" Otto's comment was met with a loud yawn as Mandy stretched her body out. Peaches had to fight to not to let her slip out of her grasp. "Hi there!" Olive gave a friendly wave. "Where 'm I...?" Mandy lifted her head up and narrowed her eyes. "Peach...?" "Hi." Peaches smiled. "We found you in some dark room-" "The Gym Room." Olive pointed out. "Right...the Gym Room." Peaches' brow furrowed in confusion, not understanding what this precinct needed a Gym Room for. "Anyway, we found you there and we were going to take you back to the Bedroom..." "Really?" Another loud yawn escaped Mandy. "Didn't even noti-i-i-" Her nose wrinkled and she sneezed again, sniffling as she raised her arm. "N' I'm covered with dust..." "Why don't I go see if the washer's open? I'll stick your suit in the wash for you!" Otto offered, moving to help Mandy take her jacket off. "Otto, maybe it would be best if we got her a pair of shorts, too...and if we did this in the privacy of the Bedroom?" Olive said, hoping her partner would pick up what she was implying. "Oh." He blinked. "Ohhh...right. Sorry." Taking a couple steps back, his face began to flush and he gave a nervous chuckle. "Moving on...do you want me to make you breakfast, Mandy?" To Olive's surprise, Mandy shook her head. "Mm-mm. Today's a sleepin' day for me..." "Mandy? Denying food?" Otto chuckled. "Wow, I never thought I'd see the day that happened! Talk about odd!" "She rejected your abomination from yesterday. Which was food, right?" "I-" Otto stammered. "S-shut up, partner." "Mandy, you're not really planning on sleeping all day, are you?" "Will Oprah even let you do that?" Peaches tilted her head. "Go ask her..." Mandy yawned again. "Talked m' four ears off all last night m'bout the Cutie Mark Cruzzaderzz..." "The Cutie Mark Crusaders?" "That's the collective name of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They're Applejack's, Rarity's, and Rainbow Dash's respective sisters." Otto explained to Olive. "Uh, well, Rainbow Dash isn't really Scootaloo's sister, but...y-you know what, it's complicated." He waved his hands. "Anyway, they want to be Odd Squad agents, so they're attending the Academy." "Not anymore...they're trainin' under Oprah now..." Yet another yawn left Mandy's body as her eyes began to droop. "Why? Were they kicked out?" Olive asked. "Who knows. Oprah was acting really happy, though. Like, she was gushing over the fillies. Or so Mandy tells me." Peaches remarked, absentmindedly scratching her cheek. "Hmm...maybe she had second thoughts about sending them to the Academy and wanted to train them herself?" Olive offered, although she couldn't really make heads or tails of her old boss's new mentality on this whole issue. "Wait, if Oprah trains the fillies on her own, will they still be accepted as agents?" Otto asked. "I...don't know." Olive had to admit, for all her knowledge on Odd Squad, Otto's question stumped her. Both of them had attended the Academy, and she knew of no loopholes otherwise. "Agents are picked at the Academy by Directors themselves, and are promoted that way. But if a Director takes it upon themselves to train agents..." She trailed off, her mind beginning to swirl with so many questions that she felt like she was on the verge of a headache. "Why don't you go and ask the Big O?" Peaches asked. "You can do it while Mandy's sleeping." Sure enough, Mandy had fallen back asleep, no doubt from a combination of all the talking and her already-existing fatigue. "Hey, that's a good idea!" Otto nodded. "C'mon, partner, you can go ask! I can watch over the precinct for you while you go to the Big Office. How about it?" Relieved that they had come to a solution, Olive nodded. "Sure. The last thing I want is for Oprah to get in trouble." The trio began walking towards the Bedroom to put Mandy to bed. Upon arriving there, however, they found Fluttershy, who was rummaging about in a toy chest that sat against the wall on the other side of the room. "Oh? Hello, everyone!" Her greeting was eagerly returned. "I'm trying to find a small bell. Do any of you have one?" "What do you need a bell for?" Peaches tilted her head, trying to fight the urge to drop Mandy and go crazy looking for one herself. "Just to calm a creature. It loves the sound of ringing and tinkling bells." "I think I remember seeing one in the bottom of that toy chest you're looking in." Peaches said. "Let me help you find it. Just...keep it away from me. You know the deal with cats and bells, I'm sure." Fluttershy gave a soft giggle as the catgirl set Mandy down on her bed. She then made her way over and bent down, pushing all sorts of items out of the way in the search for a bell. Olive took initiative in getting Mandy's suit off, making sure to use her body as a makeshift privacy screen. Otto, likewise, decided to help Fluttershy and Peaches with their search. Only a minute later, Olive had put the sleeping hybrid's outfit in the shared wardrobe closet and had dressed her up in a grey shirt and navy shorts, both emblazoned with the Odd Squad seal. "All right, let's get you to bed." With ease, she carried Mandy over to the bed and laid her down in it, but not before removing the blankets and sheets first. Once that was done, she pulled them over Mandy, and couldn't help but smile as the hybrid gave a loud yawn that concluded with an adorable squeak, indicating she was quite happier in bed than sitting upright in a chair or laying down on a dirty floor -- as most anyone would. "Sweet dreams, okay? Rest up." Olive soothed. "You know, that little squeak when she yawned was pretty adorable." "Can it, or I'll smack you into yesteryear." she playfully said to her partner, who gave a bout of sheepish laughter in response. "Here, I found one!" Peaches pulled up a medium-sized jingle bell. Almost immediately, her pupils widened to be the size of saucers, and her mouth slightly hung open as she became entranced by one of the most wondrous sounds she had ever heard. Somewhere deep inside, she was beginning to feel thankful that Mandy had never thought of putting bells in her hair or tail, even at Christmastime, because otherwise she would have been following her cousin around like an excited puppy waiting for their owner to throw the stick already. "Oh, that's perfect! Thank you." Fluttershy took the bell and tucked it under her wing, quickly trotting away with it so it was out of Peaches's sight. The catgirl watched her head towards the Bedroom door with the same hypnotized expression on her face, her focus completely on the bell that her friend had so willingly made disappear. "How are the fillies doing?" the Pegasus asked Olive and Otto. "Wait, how do you know about them?" Olive asked. "Oh, I know them very well. I foal-sat them once, as a matter of fact." Fluttershy smiled. "They're such sweethearts!" "No, don't, go n' train 'em yourzzelf...!" Any response either Olive or Otto were going to give was interrupted by Mandy's sleep-talking as she raised her head off of the pillow. Just as quickly as she did that, though, the head went right back down, and the cacophonic snoring continued. "Mandy's still asleep?" Fluttershy tilted her head. "Oprah kept her up late last night talking about the fillies. I'm going to the Big O's office to get answers on if Oprah can train them herself so they can become agents." "That's a possibility?" "Apparently. I don't know the details or the logistics behind it, though." Olive shrugged. Fluttershy gave a soft hum as she tried to make sense of the situation. Ultimately, though, she chose not to ponder about it too much -- she trusted Oprah enough to know what she was doing. "Well, I suppose I'll take this bell back, then. Thanks for helping me find it, Peaches!" "Whuh-huhzz?" Like the snap of a finger, Peaches broke out of her trance. Her pupils returned to normal size, and she brought her hand up to her mouth to wipe away some drool that had begun its descent down her chin. She shook her head and blinked a couple times. "Oh, uh, w-where's the bell?" "I have it. Don't worry." "Oh. Well, good! Have fun with it! I, uh..." Peaches moved towards the door. "If you're leaving, Fluttershy, I'll just, uh, follow you out." Otto, not understanding why Peaches was being so dodgy about something that was natural instinct for her, wore a look of confusion. Olive, on the other hand, rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face as she bit her tongue in order to hold back a witty comment. Still, Peaches acting suspicious didn't stop them from moving towards the door as well. "Let's give Mandy some room, partner." Olive urged, keeping an eye on Peaches as she made a right down the hallway. "Sweet dreams!" Otto gave one last wave and a smile before he closed the door, following his partner as she took a left. Olive didn't really know what to expect when she arrived at the Big Office. It hadn't really been too too long since Oriella was made the new Big O, and a little seed of doubt about her experience weaved its way through Olive's brain. Still, she held optimism, and made her way inside. To her surprise, she got rather far -- normally, the second she opened the door, an assistant would be telling her to stop and would then ask her for identification. However, this time around, the door closed behind her and she took a few footsteps before she was spotted. "Hello!" an assistant greeted, a pleasant smile on his face as he made his way towards her. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She blinked. Oh, wow. These assistants are much nicer than the previous Big O's. Must have come with Oriella becoming the new Big O. Naturally, she took this as a good sign that Odd Squad was in much better and much safer hands. She cleared her throat. "My name is Olive, I'm an Odd Squad Director at Precinct 73955. I'm wondering if I can ask the Big O a question regarding agents-in-training?" "Sure thing!" The assistant nodded. "Her office is right this way, if you'll just follow me." As the duo walked, Olive took note of how shiny everything looked -- not that it wasn't already shiny to begin with, but now, everything, from the walls to the windows, were even shinier. Other assistants even gave her polite looks and friendly smiles as she walked by, which she was all to happy to return. Everything looks so clean and inviting. Quite a massive change from the old Big O for sure. A haunting feeling suddenly began to loom over her. But what Mandy said in her sleep..."go and train them yourself"... She blinked, and shook her head. No, no, don't be silly. It was just another one of her weird dreams. Don't think anything of it, Olive. It doesn't mean anything in the long run. "We're here!" She was jolted out of her thoughts suddenly by the assistant, who was facing the door that she felt like she was at only yesterday. "Huh? Oh!" The assistant opened the door. "Big O? There's an Odd Squad Director by the name of Olive here to see you." "Bring her in." Olive made her way inside. "Ah, she's available. Go right on in!" "Thank you." "It's no problem! Have a nice day." "You as well." As Olive waved the assistant off, she made her way inside. Almost immediately, her gaze drifted to the spot where Mandy and the previous Big O had battled. The walls had since been fully repaired, and the ugly scene had overall been cleaned up. There were no major changes to the room aside from that, and similarly, there were no major changes with Oriella's appearance -- she still wore her black hair in twintails, with two hairbands marked with transparent cubes securing them in place on her head. "Oh, Olive! Good to see you." Oriella greeted as Olive closed the door. "How's your precinct faring?" "Just fine. Everything's in working order." Olive gave a friendly smile, approaching the desk and allowing her body to relax in a way that it just couldn't do when she was speaking to the former Big O. "Wonderful!" Oriella clapped her hands together. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?" "Well, you see, it's not my precinct that needs help. It's 13579." "Oprah's precinct?" Oriella blinked. "Is it in danger?" "No, no, it's not in danger." Olive gave a lighthearted chuckle at her slightly-panicked expression. "See, Oprah recently got introduced to three fillies, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She allowed them to become agents at the precinct if they went through the Academy, but something happened and they're not attending the Academy now." She scratched the back of her head. "I think...she's training them herself." "Training them herself? In the ways of fighting oddness?" Olive was relieved that she wasn't the only one confused by whatever loophole Oprah had either found or created out of thin air. If it were the latter, it would certainly explain things. "Mhm. I don't really know what happened that they weren't admitted to the Academy, but she's becoming their teacher and plans to make them agents herself. I'm just wondering if...that's allowed? The last thing I want is for her to get in trouble with you because she broke some hidden Odd Squad rule or something." In spite of her confusion, Oriella laughed. "Olive, please. Don't be so high-strung. Oprah won't get in trouble, I promise." She sighed. "Although, it's funny you mention that Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo weren't accepted into the Academy. Assistant?" She flagged down a passerby carrying a small stack of papers. "Bring me yesterday's Odd Squad Academy reports, if you will?" "Of course." The assistant made her way inside, placing the papers on her boss's desk and heaving a small sigh. "Thank you. Now, let me see here..." For the next minute or so, Olive watched as Oriella muttered to herself, all of it completely unintelligible. A few times, her expression turned into one of disappointment as she thumbed through and scanned every single paper, but then turned into an expression that could best be described as "ah, well, I figured as such". Finally, she flipped through the stack until she got to a specific page. "Ah, yes, right here. It says that all three fillies were denied admittance due to the Academy reaching its full capacity of students." "What?" Olive stepped forward. "I'm sorry, may I see that?" Oriella pushed the paper forward and allowed Olive to read it. Sure enough, right next to Apple Bloom's, Sweetie Belle's and Scootaloo's names, one "DENIED" each was written in big black letters. "As it goes." Oriella shrugged. "There's always that one time of year where it gets a large influx of students." "Huh. So that's what happened." Olive internally breathed a sigh of relief -- if not for the fillies not causing so much trouble that they'd get kicked out on the same day they were admitted, then for Oprah not causing the fillies to get kicked out on the same day they were admitted. "So can Oprah still train them herself and have them become real agents, then?" "Mhm!" Oriella nodded. "However, I will need Oprah to come to the Big Office first thing tomorrow for an anti-oddness proficiency evaluation before she can begin training. Otherwise, she won't be qualified to train the fillies." "Makes sense. I'll let her know as soon as I get back." Olive bowed. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with me." "Olive. Straighten up. With me, you don't need to go through any formalities." Olive did as she was told. "I...s-sorry. I'm so used to doing this with the old Big O...guess I'm still getting used to you." "You're not the only one. Would you like a cupcake before you go?" Oriella offered, pushing a plate of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes that Olive had somehow missed. "No thank you. I had a big breakfast." "All right. Have a good day, okay? Do no odd!" "Likewise." For the first time since she became Director, a wave of friendliness, peace and welcome washed over Olive. She left the Big O's office with a smile rather than a frown. It was a refreshing change of pace for sure -- although she couldn't imagine if she'd feel quite the same way had Mandy become the new Big O instead. She closed the door and made her way out, feeling reassured that Odd Squad was in good, strong and capable hands. Oriella's got some leader experience for sure. Even if she was just one of the Big O's assistants. Mandy, you did a good thing, picking her. I'm so proud of you. On her way back, Olive got to thinking about something else Oriella had told her. So Oprah has to do an anti-oddness proficiency evaluation, huh? Ahh, she'll ace that easy. But...will she actually go? Or will she be too busy training the fil- The sound of a groan cut into her thoughts. A groan that sounded very familiar...too familiar. She upped her gait to a speed-walk, kicking herself in the butt for not being completely fine-tuned to what each groan meant -- one of her many failures as a foster parent, she supposed. As she got closer to the source of the groan, she could hear an equally-familiar voice. "And we're gonna have so much fun together! I mean, have you ever seen more adorable ponies?!" A laugh followed, something completely unusual for the voice's origin. I haven't heard that kind of a laugh since the one she gave when she wanted to win a Jackie...and that was an "I may need professional help and a trip to a psych ward" kind of laugh. Olive shuddered. What is happening? "Such childlike innocence, I rarely ever see it anymore! I mean, you're old, and Olive and Otto are practically, like, centuries old now, and a majority of my agents are old too. Even Twilight Sparkle and her friends are full-grown mares! I just wanted some good old childhood antics, the whimsy and the wonder and the nostalgia that comes with it...and I've finally found the ones who can make it happen! Can you believe it?!" Another bout of that unhinged laughter nearly made Olive forget about the gushing preceding it. Her mind only had one question. Did...did Mandy and Oprah have a personality switch? Mandy, sitting at a desk inside of a large spacious office decked with two couches and a coffee table, took a sip of her juice box. Her brown hair was tied up into a bun, with her bow gone completely. She wore the Odd Squad Director's uniform for girls, down to the skirt. "Aah, juice! Nothing I love more than relaxing with a good juice box and no anarchy going on outside." She stretched in her chair and closed her eyes, putting in some earbuds and picking "Love in a Million Ways" by Brittany Gomez from the playlist stored on her ShmumberPod. This, however, allowed her to drown out the screams and shouts going on just outside. Desks were overturned, support beams were falling, and agents were running for their lives like the apocalypse was coming. In the midst of it all was Oprah, boasting Mandy's hairstyle (and her tail and ears, for some reason), bow included. Her brown eyes shimmered, and she took off like a rocket, bouncing off the walls again with a bout of maniacal laughter. "It's no use! We can't stop her!" Twilight cried out, using her magic to shield her friends as best she could, but soon finding the effort fruitless. "Ruuuuuun!" The crazed laughter continued as the ponies ran for their lives, going where every other agent was going -- out the steel doors and fighting for tube rights. Anything to escape to the outside world and avoid the wrath of the monster within their ranks. Nngh...yeah no, I don't want to think about it. Olive's eyes widened as the realization of what Oprah said hit her. "Wait, did she just..." With a twitch of her eye and her fists balled up, her speed-walking grew more intense. "Ohh, it's going to be so nice having those fillies around, working to fight oddness with the same innocence that Odd Squad was made fo-" Oprah felt a few taps on her shoulder, and turned around with a smile on her face. Unfortunately, she didn't get a single word in edgewise, especially when her opponent was a very furious Olive. "You dare call Otto and I 'centuries old'? We're both far younger than you by a landslide, how dare you call us old!" "Olive?!" Oprah scrambled backwards, to the point where her chair nearly fell over. "I-I'm so sorry, I-I-I didn't mean super-old. I meant...uh...old as in twelve years old compared to the Crusaders' young age! Yeah! Y-you're...you're...you, and..." Olive squinted. "For one, we're nearly 100. I look twelve, I'm not actually twelve. For another, your sad attempt to save face doesn't help the fact that I'm still hurt." Before Oprah could respond, Mandy gave a moan. She had her head down on the table, clearly in some kind of distress. Strands from both her hair and tail were sticking out and skewed in every single conceivable direction, and there was a strange smell emanating from her that Olive knew all too well as the "bathtime neglect" smell. "Mandy? Are you okay? You look exhausted! And...incredibly filthy. You smell like it, too." Olive had to fight hard not to gag and puke. With a grunt, the hybrid pulled herself up and got off of the chair, grabbing Olive by the wrist. "Just come with me..." "You'd better join us for our training this evening, Mandy! The Crusaders really wanna see you in action!" "Uh-huh..." Olive could have sworn she saw Mandy deflate a little right then and there, but it was rather hard to tell since she was in motion. As the Bedroom door closed, Olive took in Mandy's face. It looked sunken. Bags under her eyes, said eyes nearly soulless, and bow turned vertically...somehow. It was like Olive was looking at something she didn't want to be -- an adult living the repetitive monotonous life of going to work and going home, every single day. It was far worse than what she looked like when she had been turned into an adult. (Granted, she was turned into a 21-year-old, but that didn't mean being an adult sucked any less.) "Soooo...what's going on?" "Please." Mandy grabbed Olive by the shoulders. "Please tell me you have earplugs." "Earplugs? What for?" "Oprah has been talking my four ears off all day. I remember I was last in someone's arms, and then I fell asleep, and then I woke up in some dark room. It was so dark that even with my horn lighting the way, it was hard to see. So I went to the Breakroom to get something to eat, but then Oprah came, sat down, and started talking about the fillies. All three of them. Endlessly." "Again?" Olive rolled her eyes. "For Pete's sake, doesn't Oprah have assistants she can flap her gums to for hours on end?" "Yeah, she does...but I guess I'm a good listener." Mandy shrugged. "You remember when Otto made us sit through a two-hour nutrition lecture of irony because he thought Odd Squad wasn't 'feeding him properly'?" Olive blinked twice. "I still have nightmares. Terrible nightmares. Soul-sucking nightmares." "Now change the subject to the Crusaders." "Well, I guess that crushes my theory as to you switching bodies...I don't think Oprah would be dedicated to a 'I'm so tired, give me release' bit this intense." All of a sudden, Mandy flew down onto her knees and clasped her hands together, like she was praying to an oracle (which, really, was the highest religious power in Odd Squad). "Please, Momma, I can't take any more! If I hear anything, anything, about those three fillies one more time, I'm gonna..." Olive tilted her head, deciding to entertain the idea. "What are you going to do?" "I..." Mandy thought for a moment. If one looked close, maybe they could see smoke coming out of her ears. Maybe. "I'm gonna throw myself into the ocean and drift away to one of those cool islands in the distance that you see all the time but you wonder 'hmm, can I really get to it and live there?' but then you realize you can't so you come back home!" Olive really didn't have the heart to tell Mandy that for one thing, she already did that, and for another, it was her dream to do that with every single island in existence. She sighed, trying to figure out how to remedy this situation, and then settled on an idea. "Didn't Twilight teach you how to cast a force field? It was one of the first things she ever taught you after your transformation...the memories." A smile spread across her face briefly before she got back to the task at hand. "Why don't you just use that?" "I could, but noise still gets in and out." "So find a way to make it soundproof. I'm sure there's some modification Twilight could teach you." Olive could tell that Mandy wanted to fire a witty retort, but knew that she would do so and miss in spectacular fashion, so she refrained. "Look, I'll take anything at this point." "I'll see what I can do to help you. In the meantime, though..." Olive's nose wrinkled. "You should go and take a shower. Because-" "I stink? Yeah, I know. I didn't wanna take one this morning because..." Mandy waved her hand. "You know what would've happened." "Yeah. Yeah, I do." Olive sighed. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on Oprah so she won't bother you." "Thank you." Mandy moved over to the wardrobe closet and opened it, taking out a fresh Odd Squad Investigation department uniform. "And if you don't hear from me after a half-hour or so, I've drowned." Olive watched as Mandy moved about as slow as molasses -- certainly not with the same speed she usually had. Poor Mandy...Oprah really has to consider her thoughts and feelings in all of this. I'm sure she's happy that she has three potential new agents, but- Wait. Hold on, did she just say she was going to drown?! Immediately, she decided to stick around and stay outside of the Bathroom door, just to be safe. Or at the very least, get one of the ponies to do it. Her badge phone sounded the familiar Odd Squad theme tune, and she unclipped and opened it promptly. "Go for Olive." "Olive? It's Otto. There are two agents here who are having an argument and I can't stop them no matter how hard I try!" She would have jumped on her partner for making some silly excuse to make her come back to Headquarters because he needed help with a menial task. She really would have. But the sound of arguing in the background was enough to convince her that he was being truthful. "I'll be right there!" she assured, before promptly hanging up. Well, it looks like I'll have to find someone else to watch Mandy. There's no doubt she's going to fall asleep in that tub. Sighing, Olive pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil from behind her back, and got to writing a note. "Mandy, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. I'll be back as soon as I can to check up on you, okay?" "Mm..." came the sleepy murmur. Olive shouldn't have taken this as a sign that she was okay, but she did anyway for the sake of Otto, her precinct, and whatever two agents were arguing about who-knows-what. After all, he wasn't necessarily the best at stopping arguments, and he could use someone unbiased. She hastily left the note on the nightstand and rushed out without another word. Sure enough, Mandy had fallen asleep in the tub. Luckily, Olive was able to find someone -- or somepony, rather -- to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't die by way of drowning. After about an hour, Mandy emerged from the bathroom, a yawn escaping her as she glanced over at her friend. "Thanks f' helpin' me there, Dash..." "Don't mention it." Rainbow smiled. "Though if you want my advice: bathe in cold water. It'll help keep you awake." "Cold water isn't so conducive to relaxin', y' know." "Maybe not to you. But I love a cold bath or shower every now and then." Rainbow stretched her legs. "Just call me if you need me, okay? Good luck with Oprah and the Crusaders. I hear they're becoming a handful." Before Mandy could even utter out a goodbye, the Pegasus had already taken off, and all she could do was trudge on back to the Bed Room. Her body became weighed down, as though it knew exactly where she was and it knew exactly what she wanted it to do. Before she could actually do it, though, her gaze drifted to a white piece of paper on her nightstand. "A note...?" she murmured, picking it up and reading it aloud. Sorry I had to leave abruptly like this, but there was a problem back at my office. Hope you have (or had) a good shower. I promise to stop by later with earplugs for extra protection. Four of them, not two, of course. - Olive She sighed. "Typical Momma." Setting the note down, she stuck her head out the door and called out Twilight's name, in the hopes the mare was wandering the hallway. "You called?" Mandy immediately fell to the floor, using one hand to secure the towel wrapped around her body and the other to move backwards towards the wall on the adjacent side of the hallway. Standing in front of her was the mare herself, eyeing her with confusion. "Wh- I- who- she-" "Sorry. I'm still getting used to the whole 'pop up suddenly out of nowhere' thing. Though being an alicorn with teleportation powers certainly helps!" Twilight took Mandy in for a moment, and her eyes widened. "Are...are you..." "NAKED UNDER THIS TOWEL?! YEEEES IIIII AAAAAAM, WHAT MADE YA GUESS THAT, WISEMARE?!" Twilight's face began to turn a color that Shmumbola factory workers would have spent a good six months trying to find a name for. "Oh gosh, I-I'm so sorry, I had no idea!" She moved out of the way. "Please, by all means...don't let me stop you. I won't peek." "For odd's sake, Twi..." Mandy got up. "We grew up together all the way from babyhood, sure. But that doesn't mean you hafta sneak up on me when my only article of clothing is a towel!" "Look, I had no idea-" Twilight stopped herself, and resigned to giving a sigh. "Just get dressed. I'll wait outside." Both pony-human hybrid and mare switched positions, with Mandy heading straight for the wardrobe closet while Twilight made her way outside and sat outside the door, trying to make her face turn back to the color it was supposed to be. After a couple minutes, Mandy was dressed in her usual cat-adorned PJs, throwing the towel onto her bed. "Okay, you can come in now." Twilight hesitantly peeked inside. When she saw the coast was clear, she breathed a sigh of relief and made her way in. "Um, so anyway...sorry about that." she apologized again. "What did you need me for?" "I'm not sure if you know about the whole dealio with Oprah and the Cutie Mark Crusaders..." "The CMC? They came to Odd Squad?" "Yeah. They wanted to join, so Oprah decided to have them go to the Academy. Something happened, though, and they're training under her now." "Huh. I guess they got wind of all the talk of Odd Squad back in Equestria." Mandy blinked. She had to wonder exactly what talk Twilight was referring to -- what were ponies there saying about her, she wondered -- but she set that aside. "The problem is, she adores them. Way, way too much. I dunno the whole dealio with that, either...something about 'childlike innocence' and 'nostalgic whimsy'...but it's driving me up the wall. Not literally." "How so?" "She keeps talking to me about them!" Mandy threw her hands into the air. "At least Momma has the decency to talk about other subjects besides the Burly Bears whenever they get a win. Oprah, on the other hand, sees the three fillies once and that's it. That's all she can talk about." Twilight slowly nodded in understanding. "So you want me to get her to stop talking about them?" "Well, no...I mean if you could, that would be nice, but no." Mandy said. "See, I had this dream where she kept begging me to train them for her. I kept refusing her, but she wouldn't listen. Finally we decided to fist-fight...and I lost." She rubbed the back of her neck. "She got me good in just a couple blows." Twilight had to resist the urge to comment on how Mandy had the weirdest dreams of anyone she knew, inside of Odd Squad and outside of it. "So I had to train the fillies all by myself." Mandy sighed. "Nightmares are still such foreign territory to me...I hardly ever get them. And I think this one was caused by Oprah dragging me to who-knows-where. So I want you to teach me how to create soundproof force fields." "But you already know how to create force fields." "Soundproof. Force. Fields." Mandy slowly repeated. "Please. If I can learn how to do that, then maybe I can stop having nightmares so much...and I can stop waking up in weird places." "Well, you already know the basics." Twilight explained. "What sort of force field were you hoping to create?" Mandy let out a slow hum as she thought, then perked up. "One that can fit over my bed, of course. But if you touch it, you get electrocuted!" Twilight opened her mouth. "But! There's a lil' secret door you can go through, that shows up when the shield shimmers every once in a while. That will take you inside the shield, see? And you won't get electrocuted!" How...how much thought did she put into this? Twilight wondered. She understood Mandy's request, but she had never been approached with a request by a unicorn (or another alicorn, in this case) to help them make a specific force field before. Still, Mandy had quite a ways to go with her alicorn magic, and Twilight supposed this was just another step towards progress. "Um...well, it's quite simple, really. You remember what I taught you about teleportation? To just visualize where you want to go and let your magic do the rest?" "Yeah?" "It's the same thing with force fields." Mandy's jaw dropped. "Force fields come in all shapes, sizes, and power levels, Mandy. All you need to do is imagine a force field in your head-" "A-a-a-" "And let your magic do the rest." Mandy slumped to her knees, her arm raised and her finger pointed straight at Twilight as her brain had to do a hard reset. She stuttered, she stammered, but no matter how hard she tried, she was absolutely incapable of speaking the English language. Twilight's smile remained on her face as she sat on the floor, knowing it would be a fair bit before she would snap to her senses. "I...y-y-you mean...all this time...all these people, all these ponies, barging into the Bedroom, trying to wake me up...and all I had to do was use magic for five seconds?!" she screeched. "W-why didn't you tell me this sooner?! Do you know how many times I could've used somethin' like that?!" "Yeeeeah, that's my fault. I'm sorry. But I wanted to take things slow with you. Force fields aren't something to be trifled with, especially in battle." "Okay, fine, but still...when were you planning on telling me this?" Twilight's expression became shifty, and she suddenly avoided eye contact with Mandy. "Answer the question, Sparkle." "E-eventually!" Mandy groaned and hung her towel up on the coat rack next to the wardrobe closet. "Fine. Let's try it out, then." Laying on her bed, she lit up her horn and tried to visualize the force field she wanted to have. Something strong, to keep Oprah out...a simple, static-electricity-that-makes-the-hair-go-up shock wouldn't do. No, she needed something bigger, something powerful. Something that, if Oprah touched it, it would be a one-hit KO. Five seconds later, a force field materialized. Pink-purple in color, and crackling with lightning. "Can you hear me?!" Mandy called from inside the magic field. When all she got in response was a mouthed word from Twilight. A satisfied smile settled on her face, not noticing Twilight's shocked and concerned expression. "That's great, Mandy..." the alicorn said, when the force field disappeared. "But maybe something that isn't so infused with lightning would work better." "But I wanna keep Oprah out! That's the whole point!" "Do you really think she's so dumb that she'll come back for more after getting shocked once?" "No, but she's persistent. She'll try again and again and again and again and aga-" The sound of Mandy's badge phone ringing cut into her words. It took her a few moments to remember where she had put it, but she eventually found it on the nightstand. "Mandy speakin', how can I help ya?!" "Mandy? It's Olive. I forgot to tell Oprah that the Big O wants her to stop by the Big Office tomorrow for an anti-oddness proficiency evaluation, to see if she's eligible to teach the Crusaders in the Academy's place. Could you tell her for me?" Mandy groaned. "Do I have to? Being around Oprah is..." She blinked as an idea came to her. "Wait, never mind, I'll do that!" "Thank you. See you later!" "Bye!" Twilight watched as Mandy closed her phone and set it back on the nightstand, then conjured up a small slip of paper and a pencil. "I can just write her a note!" "And how do you know she won't come to you asking you about it?" Mandy scoffed. "Twi. It'll be so straight and to the point that she won't need to come askin' about it." She got to scribbling on the slip of paper, then a minute later, she sighed. "And done! This way, I won't have to face her and play the game of 'When Will the Gums Fly Outta the Mouth?'" Twilight just tilted her head. "Aaaaanyway..." Mandy turned around. "Thank you so so sooooo much, Twi! Oh, you're the best! Finally, I can get a good night's sleep without being bothered by my brinnocently brinsensitive boss!" "Those aren't wo-" "Thank youuuuu!" Mandy was already shoving her out the door by magical means. "Now to do some book-readin'!" Before Twilight could get another word in edgewise, the Bedroom door closed. Huffing in confusion and disappointment, she decided to head on back to the bullpen to finish up her work and get back to the Castle. Absentmindedly chewing on a nacho from a small paper basket, Mandy used her horn to turn the page of her latest book, Old Rabbit's Book of Practical and Particular Pussycats. She began to feel sleepy by the 30th-or-so page, although she still had quite a bit of energy left. The Bedroom door opened, and she immediately flew off of the bed, drawing her hammer from her back and giving a low growl. "Whoa, whoa, relax, it's just me!" Mandy blinked, and then gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank odd. I was gonna whack Oprah if she even thought of barging in here. Hiya, Momma!" "Hi!" Olive waved. "Didn't she mention that she wanted you to attend some sort of training tonight?" "Yeah, but as you can see, I'm kinda underdressed for the occasion." "Even if you're underdressed, you certainly look a lot better than you did when I last saw you." Olive smiled and pulled something small out of her back, which was wrapped up in a tiny box. "Anyway, I bought some earplugs at a nearby everything-you-could-possibly-and-conceivably-sell store I passed by when I went out for a walk. It's really a shame the Scientists haven't thought of inventing an Earplug-inator yet...gotta ask Odie about that. Or Oscar, the next time I visit him." Mandy took the box eagerly and opened it, eyeing the earplugs inside. "Thank you!" she chirped, applying one to each ear. "Say somethin'!" "Uh...strange, weird, and especially odd!" Olive screamed, as loud as she could make it. Mandy didn't even flinch, instead continuing to wear her big silly smile. Olive moved to take the earplugs out of Mandy's ears. "Wow, they work perfectly." she said. "How'd it go with Twilight?" "Great! She, uh...w-well..." Mandy twiddled her thumbs. "She taught me how to make more powerful force fields...which was simple...and something I coulda used A LONG TIME AGO!" She raised her voice at the end so it would echo out the door, just in case the mare in question happened to be trotting by. "Aaaaanyway...yeah. So I'll have a double layer of protection!" "That's exactly what I bought the earplugs for." Olive winked. "Now you can get a good sl-" The door suddenly slammed all the way open, and a familiar face bust in. "GUESS WHO'S READY FOR SOME TRAININ'?!" "Well, I can assure you that none of us are." Mandy rolled her eyes, a pit of dread beginning to form in her stomach. "Too bad so sad, 'cause you're coming with me!" Olive watched as Oprah moved towards Mandy and aggressively dragged her wrist. Something clicked in her brain right then and there as she witnessed her former boss go completely off the rails, and she decided to speak up. "Okay, I've had enough. Oprah, stop this. You're being irrational." Oprah stopped and turned. "Irrational?!" "Yes. Haven't you ever once, just once, thought about how Mandy feels about...whatever it is you're doing? I'm sure she doesn't appreciate you dragging her out of bed and forcing you to watch the Crusaders' training." "But Oliiiiive..." Oprah whined. "These fillies have to learn from the best of the best, and no one is the best of the best like her! It's not my fault if all she does is sleep and eat all day." "Hey! I do actual work too, y'know! Why do you think I'm employed here?!" "Because you were raised here. But also, to train these adorable fillies, of course! Ohh, they're gonna make their sisters so proud!" "Oprah. Look. I know how passionate you are about making the Crusaders into agents. But you're bringing down Mandy's health to do it. Can't you have some empathy just this once?" "But I do have empathy! For these fillies!" Oprah began to sway back and forth, her brown eyes shimmering. "Oh, how I long to be a child just like them, even if just for a few hours! It would make my heart soar more than swimming in the vast blue waters of the ocean!" If Oprah's blatant misuse of the concept of empathy didn't get Olive, the giddy laughter she heard certainly did. All she could give was a look of sheer confusion as her mind tried to make sense of the situation. Childhood innocence...is that why she's acting like this? Because she wants to be a kid again? She is millennia old...I don't think she's been a 'kid' kid since...last century, I'd bet. When she was running that fruit stand with Yucks. "Look, fine! Fine." Mandy sighed. "I'll attend the training tonight. On one condition." She held her finger up. "You let me sleep in my own bed for once!" "Mandy, you always sleep in your own bed!" The hybrid groaned as she realized her boss was right. "Let me rephrase that. You let me wake up in my own bed." "Why? You can sleep anywhere! And you always get a good night's sleep, don't you?" Oh, how Mandy was absolutely tempted to whip out the list of every time she didn't get a good night's sleep. She was only eleven, but the list was pretty expansive, and it was growing all the time. Still, that didn't mean Oprah's comment wasn't offensive to her. "W- does that even matter?!" She was set aflame, her voice gaining that reverberating echo once again. "For odd's sake, Oprah, have some respect! I shouldn't have to work under someone that refuses to have even a little bit of empathy for her other agents! I bet you're so stinkin' enamored by those three fillies that you refuse to even help your own agents! If we were all falling to our deaths and could only save one of us, you'd save all those fillies single-smeggin'-handily, wouldn't you?!" "Mandy, calm down!" Olive said, trying to diffuse the situation before Mandy decided to upgrade from verbal spats to physical punches. Luckily for her, the hybrid complied. The flames fizzled out and she returned to normal, breathing heavily and glaring at Oprah with icy blue eyes. The room fell silent for a brief moment. Oprah was surprised at Mandy's sudden outburst, her eyes growing wide. Olive had thought that maybe, just maybe, she would reconsider her words, apologize, and the rest of the night would go smoothly. Unfortunately, her fate of the day had dealt her a bad hand of cards. Oprah smiled. "You know, I never noticed how terrible you look when you're angry." That was it. That was the trigger. Mandy's eye twitched. And then she whipped out her hammer. "All right, that's it, you're goin' down!" "Mandy, Oprah, both of you stop this!" Olive clutched Mandy, wrapping her arms around her chest and lifting her with minimal effort. "Mandy, go to Oprah's training. And Oprah, have some empathy for Mandy. You're being a terrible role model for the fillies!" "Nonsense!" Oprah giggled. "Conflict is a natural part of Odd Squad, and it happens all the time!" She gasped. "In fact, I should get them to witness this! Stay here, I'll be right back!" The Director quickly dashed off before another word could be spoken. Mandy gripped the handle of her hammer tighter as Olive set her down. "She's starting to get on my nerves...and my nerves can only take so much..." she muttered through grit teeth. Olive's gaze drifted to a purple book that sat on the floor. "What's this?" she asked, picking it up. "Was this here before?" "No. It's not mine. Maybe Oprah dropped it on her way out?" Olive hesitated. "Go on, open it!" "Mandy, it's wrong to read other people's diaries. You, of all people, should know that from the last ten times I caught you reading mine!" "No one's watching!" Mandy shrugged. "Oprah's too infused with happiness about the Crusaders to get angry over a silly thing like an invasion of privacy. Read what's inside!" Damn it. She has a point. Olive shut her eyes, then tore open the book to a random page. By some crazy happenstance, it just so happened to be one of the most insulting entries in the book -- and one of the most recent ones. "Today I had the honor of meeting three wonderful fillies: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They arrived at Precinct 13579 with their sisters looking to become agents, and they’re just the sweetest little things! I will admit, my precinct has lots of agents, but a lot of them are old and no longer have the whimsical child-like innocence that these fillies have. They’re so small and cute, it makes me wonder why I didn’t just promote one as my second-in-command sooner! I’m working on training them myself, and I’m employing Mandy to help me. Thing is, she’s incredibly lazy, and she sleeps so much that it’s hard to get her to do anything. If she keeps this up, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I want her to help me train the fillies, but it’s kind of hard to do that if she’s sleeping all the time! Maybe I should promote the fillies as my second-in-commands instead, when they become agents. They seem to be a lot more efficient for sure, and with my office usually in a state of being busy, I could use the extra help! They truly appear to bring such joy to the precinct, and to Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash too. I’ll have to think about it! "Anyway, I'm mostly writing this by the seat of my skirt. But if Mandy's not around, then who do I have to talk to? She's so tolerant, letting me talk about the fillies all the time. I appreciate her for that! I just wish she had more drive and motivation, you know? The fillies have it, for sure. They may have their cutie marks, but they help out other ponies like nobody's business! "Hmm. Perhaps Mandy's growing old too...it wouldn't surprise me. Who knows what that transformation did to her? She's probably 80 or something by now. Well, with all that being said, it's bedtime for me. See you tomorrow, diary!" The room fell dead-silent. Olive lifted her head up and blinked, re-reading the entry twice, thrice, frice (yes, it was a word in Odd Squad's dictionary) to make sure she was reading it correctly. Mandy slumped to her knees. Her hammer fell out of her hand. Tears began to pool at the corners of her eyes, and her ears folded down as the gravity of Oprah's words hit her. "She...she..." Her eye twitched again. "HOW DARE SHE!" Olive backed up as Mandy let out a loud and anguished roar before she was set aflame again, her eyes holding the same spark of hurt and malice they did before. Sweetie Belle was the first to enter the Bedroom, her hooves rushing there the second she heard the roar. "What's going on?" "Agent Mandy?" Apple Bloom flanked her. "Ms. O, what's happening?" Scootaloo was the final arrival, her eyes wide with shock as her vision met an enraged Mandy. Finally, the Director herself arrived. She looked rather indifferent to the Mandy in flames...until she saw exactly what was sitting next to her. "My diary!" she cried out. "M-M-Mandy's on fire!" Sweetie Belle squeaked out, with all of the bravery she had sapped out of her. "D-don't worry!" Olive tried to reassure. "This is just something Mandy does when she's very, very upset. I-I think you three should leave and-" "No! They need to stay and see what happens when you make Mandy very, very upset." Oprah entered the room -- a bad move, given how Mandy's flames seemed to intensify with every step she took, but a move she didn't care about. That is, until Mandy charged. As soon as she made contact with Oprah, the pair began fist-fighting each other, exchanging blows and cries as they tangled and moved around the room in a two-man ball. Mandy was going all-out, treating Oprah like she treated any villain that made her mad enough, making sure she had no opening. Oprah, for all her skills in combat, wasn't able to hold off Mandy for long. She relied on the hybrid's predictability in magic, to which there was none in existence now -- it was a completely physical battle. "Break it up!" Olive shouted, moving about to try and find an opening where she could nab Mandy once again. The Crusaders looked on fearfully. "Should we help 'em?" Apple Bloom asked. "Uh, h-help 'em stop fightin', I mean." Before any of the fillies could respond, Rarity came rushing in. "Darlings, what's going on?" Her head swiveled to the fight, and she gasped. Oprah managed to stop Mandy by holding a hand against her face, using her strength to hold her back. "Mandy, why are you doing this?" she yelled, any semblance of her overly-sweet personality gone as she felt bruises begin to form. "You know why! Just look in your diary!" "My diary?" "You wrote some really hurtful things." Olive explained. "Like how you wanted the fillies to be your second-in-commands instead of Mandy, how you called her lazy...you even said that all the agents of your precinct are old! Just like you called me and Otto old!" "What?!" Rarity exclaimed. "Ms. O, we are certainly not old!" "Now hold on, what's all the fuss in here?" Applejack asked, making her way into the room next. "I'm here!" Rainbow followed a second later, her eyes widening when she took in the scene. "Whoa, what's going on?" Olive turned to her. "Take a look at Oprah's journal entry." Rainbow snatched the book from Olive's hands and had herself a read. Slowly, as she read its contents, she lowered herself down to the ground and held it up for Rarity and Applejack to read, too. Even the Crusaders wanted in on the action, trying to lean over their sisters' bodies to read the entry. "What?!" was all the blue Pegasus could exclaim when she was finished. "Sugarcube, how could ya say such hurtful things about us?! Not only about all of us, but about Mandy!" Applejack's nostrils flared. "I thought ya knew better!" "I'm gonna make you PAAAAAAAY!!" Mandy screamed, finally employing her magic to grab Oprah and send her careening towards the Bedroom wall. Once her body made contact with it, bands of magic wrapped around her wrists and legs, securing her in place. However much she struggled, and however much strength she put into it, she couldn't break free. Mandy twirled her hammer in her hand and pointed it at her. "Explain yourself, or the skull goes boom." "L-look, I-I'm sorry!" Oprah stammered. "It's true. I did write all of those things. But don't deny that it isn't true! You do sleep a lot, and you do eat a lot. But...maaaaaybe you aren't lazy all the time." "All the time?!" Oprah sighed. "All I wanted was for you to help me train the fillies, Mandy. You can be a great role model for them. Plus, you grew up with Twilight and the others. They cared for you. You can bring such joy to Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but...not if you sleep for most of the day." Mandy grit her teeth, not wanting to delve into the topic of her sleep right now. It was rather complicated, given that there was a lot left unexplored about how she slept, and she had thought Oprah knew that. Apparently not. She's received how many lessons on it, and she still hasn't learned? Is her brain a sponge or did all the effects of that juice she drinks finally go to her brain? She shook her head vigorously, setting that issue aside. "Okay, fine, but what about calling all of us old? Even if we're under the age of twelve, we're still children. Excluding the mares!" she snapped, upon seeing Oprah open her mouth to interject. "Children under twelve are the defining base of Odd Squad. What, do you want all of us to be young as Orson so we can still have that 'whimsical childlike innocence' you so desire?" She huffed. "From what I understand, the fillies are just as old as Olympia and Otis. So what're you gonna do with 'em, ignore 'em?" Oprah blinked. "W-well, no, but-" "And one more thing we should address." Mandy slammed her hammer down onto the ground, producing a loud banging sound that frightened the Crusaders and sent all of them cowering behind their sisters. "You trying to get rid of me as your second-in-command. Do you know how long I've served under you, Oprah? Do you know how deep my loyalty runs for you?" Rainbow blinked. Oprah's eyes shimmered, although with what emotion, no one could say. "I'll always be loyal to Odd Squad. And I've always been loyal to you ever since I became an agent." Mandy turned. "But you're losing me." "Mandy..." "If you don't want me as your second-in-command, then maybe I should take the firing." She narrowed her eyes and looked at Oprah. "At face value." "Mandy, don't! We need you." Oprah tried to fight off tears. "I need you." "Clearly you don't." "But I do!" Oprah sighed, her voice shaky in a way that Olive had only rarely seen when she was an agent. "Look. What I wrote in my journal, and how I've been acting...I've made a grave mistake. I just got so swept up in how adorable the fillies are and having three new agents that I got carried away. And...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have written those things about you, or about anyone else." She shut her eyes. "Olive was right. I should have had more empathy for you, especially since you've done the same thing to me before...especially when you got Fluffy." A small smile flickered on her face for only a moment before it dropped like a clear hot potato. "I should have taken your feelings into consideration, and I didn't." Mandy listened to each and every single word her boss said. She wanted to take it all into consideration and respond, but a realization ticking in Olive's brain interrupted that first and foremost. "Oprah, riddle me this. However rhetorical it sounds." she said, her voice soft. "If you don't want to hire more ponies into your precinct, then why did you take on Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle so willingly?" Oprah blinked. Mandy slowly turned towards her adoptive mother, like she had just been told she had a deadly incurable disease, but didn't say anything, instead allowing her boss to answer. "Aside from the fact that they were children, and that they were fresh blood...I felt I had an obligation. To Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack." Oprah made eye contact with them. "I didn't want them to get upset with me for not hiring any of their sisters. So I took them all on when they asked." Now that that question was answered, Mandy could go ahead with hers. "You...don't want more ponies in Headquarters? Why?" "I don't want to talk about it." Oprah turned her head away. Mandy looked at Olive. "Sorry. I'm not telling you either." was all she said, giving an apologetic shrug. The hybrid sighed. If she doesn't wanna talk about it, then I guess I can't force her...but man, is it gonna be itching at my brain until it gets answered! "I-if it's any consolation, Mandy..." Sweetie Belle cautiously stepped forward, wrapping her front legs around one of her sister's front legs, now, instead of her back leg. "I think you're pretty cool. And...I wanna get to know you more." "Same here!" Scootaloo stepped forward confidently. "Our sisters have told us a lot about you, and we'd love it if you could train us!" Apple Bloom smiled, stepping forward to stand beside her friends. Mandy's flames died out. She wasn't quite sure why -- she still felt a little angry and hurt -- but she supposed the Crusaders' words had touched her more than she knew. "That's kind of you to offer. For your sakes...I'll take you up on that. However." Her gaze moved back to Oprah. "I'm not gonna tiptoe around this issue. Your boss really did make a grave mistake. A whole slew of 'em." Oprah grit her teeth. "So let this be a lesson for you three." Mandy said, without making eye contact with the Crusaders. "One, don't push me over the edge. And two, if either one of you ever gets promoted and becomes an Odd Squad Director, never, and I mean never, backstab your own agents. Got it?" The fillies all gave nods and murmurs of agreement. "Good. Now, Oprah..." Mandy gave a exhale. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to skip out on tonight's training. If you really want me to help you train them that badly, then we're going to have to spend some time apart. Mainly for my sake, so I can get some sleep." Fatigue slowly, ever so slowly, began to creep up on her now, and she had to bite back a yawn. "Y-you're not resigning?" Mandy didn't answer that. Instead, she levitated the diary over to her, flipped to the page she had read, and tore it out before throwing the book onto the floor. "Tear out every last page of your trash-talking diary, and stop talking smack about your agents, unless you want an empty precinct." she said, her voice icy in a way that sent a chill running down Oprah's spine. "I'll be training the fillies tomorrow, all by myself." The magic bands around the Director's wrists and legs went away, and she landed on the floor, stumbling about a little bit but managing to find her footing. A yawn managed to escape Mandy, and her eyes widened briefly before she continued. "Now, if you'll pardon me, I'd like to sleep. And don't even think about waking me up." She narrowed her eyes as she made eye contact with Oprah. "Twilight just taught me how to make stronger force fields. One touch of mine will send ten thousand volts running through every single inch of your body. Ten thousand volts that not even you can handle." Oprah could only watch as Mandy moved towards her bed and began fluffing her pillow. "Mandy..." "Oprah, leave her be." Olive urged. "It's clear that she's hurt. She doesn't want to talk to you right now." However much she wanted to butt heads with Olive over what was plainly and simply the truth, she refrained. Her head swiveled towards the fillies as she rubbed her wrist. "Agent Rarity, Agent Applejack, Agent Rainbow Dash, teach your sisters everything you know about Odd Squad. That'll cover their training tonight." "Oh, and one other thing, Oprah." Mandy turned. "The Big O wishes to see you at the Big Office tomorrow for a mandatory anti-oddness proficiency evaluation, to see if you're eligible to train the fillies and have them become agents that way." I'll probably have to take one too, now that I think about it... she thought. "I know. I got your note." Oprah nodded. "Thank you for letting me know. It'll be my first stop in the morning." She started to walk out the door, and then paused. "Good night, Mandy." And then she left. Rarity was the first one to break the silence. "I simply cannot believe our own boss would say such horrid things!" "Now, now, Rarity. She realized what she did and apologized. And it certainly seems like she feels just awful about it." Applejack reassured, rubbing her partner's back. "That doesn't make what she said any better!" Rainbow scoffed. "How could any boss do that to their own employees? I mean, calling us 'old' just because we don't have any childlike innocence? That's so..." She grit her teeth, struggling to find the right word, but nothing came out. "And just look at how she treated Mandy!" Rarity said. "Wanting to promote Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo as her second-in-commands instead. Doesn't she realize that Mandy has done a fine job serving the precinct by her side?" "All right, y'all, calm down now. Believe you me, I'm mighty upset about what Ms. O said, too. But let's give her a chance to sleep on it. She already apologized." "But Applejack, darling-" "Mandy took the words right outta our mouths, Rarity." Applejack nodded. "There's nothin' more that needs t' be said. C'mon." She urged Apple Bloom out the Bedroom door, following her younger sister's lead. "See ya tomorrow, Mandy." Apple Bloom waved before she left with Applejack. Rarity and Rainbow Dash exchanged worried glances, but figured that their friend's advice held merit, and decided to leave the Bedroom with their own sisters in tow. "Have a good night, everyone!" Sweetie Belle said, leaving with Rarity by her side. "See ya." Scootaloo was the last to go with Rainbow Dash, climbing onto the mare's back and hitching a free ride home. As Mandy teleported her nachos into a random trash can, Olive sighed. "This spiraled way out of control. Are you okay, Mandy?" "I'm fine." Mandy brushed off some dust from her PJs, which had become dirty as a result of the scuffle between her and Oprah. "I just need some sleep." "All right. Well, if you need anything, I'm just a call away, okay?" Olive began to leave. "Have a good night." "You too." As soon as the Bedroom door closed, a pent-up sigh finally came out. Mandy buried her face in her hands. Immortality really is a blurse. On the one hand, as long as nothing kills us physically, then we're fine. We can never die of old age. But on the other hand...when you're millennia old like Oprah, you long to be a child again. And the Cutie Mark Crusaders were shining examples of who she was, who she wanted to be, and who she never could be, not ever again. Her mind drifted to another topic as she snuggled under the sheets. Am I really that expendable? To think she could just replace me in the snap of a finger...even if she says she needs me, she could always just toss me away and replaced with someone she deems more worthy. How much does she really 'need' me, anyway? She felt tears prick at her eyes. With her horn alight, she set up her new force field, just as Twilight had instructed her. I guess...I can only hope she apologizes and makes up for her actions. Somehow. There's no use dwelling on silly-millie "what-ifs". I should get some sleep. Her eyes closed, and she let the fatigue she had kept at bay for so long overtake her. Mandy opened her eyes and yawned as a new day dawned upon her. Her eyes flicked to the clock, which read 12:19. Only nineteen minutes late, which wasn't too bad -- and she was still in her own bed, too. She lit up her horn and lowered the shield, leaving her bed free to access again without the fear of electrocution. A sigh left her body, and she levitated her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink over to her, sipping it. A knock at the door interrupted her. "Come in." The door opened, and to her surprise, it was none other than Oprah. She poked her head in briefly, then decided to walk in when she figured the coast was clear. Mandy set her empty glass to the side, another yawn escaping her. "Hi. Um, about last night..." Oprah began. "I tossed out my diary, just like you wanted me to. And I thought about what I did all last night." She sighed. "It was wrong of me to have such a lack of empathy for my own second-in-command. Not only that, but it was unprofessional as well." Mandy tilted her head and listened further. "I respect you, Mandy. You, and all that you do for this Squad. I never want to replace you, ever, and I don't have any intention of doing so, whether it's with the Crusaders or someone else. I just...wanted you to help me train them..." Oprah's voice began to crack. "...so they can become great agents, like their sisters. That's really all I wanted." Mandy's eyes widened as she saw a tear roll down her boss's face, then another, and then another. "Are you...crying?" "I'm sorry!" the Director cried out, burying her face in her hands. "For everything I did, for everything I wrote...I'm sorry for it all!" Mandy blinked. She watched Oprah sob, and with each sob she did, the feeling of hurt slowly washed away. "I-I know you must hate me still, for what I did." Oprah looked up. "And...I wouldn't blame you if you wouldn't be up for co-training with me at all. Not as a team...and not as friends." Is she guilt-tripping me? What a lowball move. But then again, those are real tears...and it's not like her to guilt-trip with malicious intent. The room fell silent for what seemed like hours. Mandy gripped the fabric of her pants as she thought. Finally, she sighed. "Well, you do seem remorseful. And as long as you promise to have a little more respect for me and your agents..." "Pinkie Promise!" Oprah went through the motions earnestly. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" "Then I suppose I can accept your apology." Wordlessly, Oprah scooped her into a tight bear-hug. "Okay, okay, we get it!" Mandy laughed. "Ya don't hafta hug me so hard!" "Thank you." Oprah released her grip and gave a sniffle before wiping away her tears. "So what do you say? Once I get back from my anti-oddness proficiency evaluation, you want to get started on training the fillies?" "Oh, I'm one step ahead of ya!" Mandy chirped, her mood instantly brightened. She hopped off of the bed. "I can go ahead and train 'em while you're doing that. And maybe I can come with you to your evaluation and take one of my own, too!" "Good idea. You can catch up with their sisters on what they learned last night." "Sounds good!" The sound of a rumble put a brief damper on the mood -- a sound that Oprah and Mandy knew all too well. The former's gaze drifted to the latter's stomach as she laughed. "Just, uh...lemme have lunch first." "You got it. See you in a bit." Mandy eagerly waved Oprah off as she left the Bed Room. Giving a satisfied sigh, she moved towards the wardrobe closet and took out a fresh suit, feeling livelier and full of energy again, much better than before. Before leaving for the Big Office, Oprah had taken the time to catch up with Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, as well as the Crusaders, gathering them in her office to apologize. "Again, I'm really sorry. I don't know what came over me when I met you three fillies for the first time." Oprah blinked. "But I see a lot of potential in you. You're gonna be good agents." All the ponies exchanged smiles with each other. "I'll be putting out a mass apology to everyone else, as well, in an announcement later on. It's the least I can do." Oprah took a sip of juice. "Now, I'd like you all to meet in the Gym Room. I'm off to the Big Office for my anti-oddness proficiency evaluation." "What's that?" Apple Bloom asked. "It's a test to see if I, as an Odd Squad Director, am eligible to train you so you can be promoted to the Investigation department when the time comes. Mandy will be taking the same test, as well." Oprah explained. "Don't worry, it shouldn't take long." "Oh, yes. We haven't met the new Big O personally yet, have we..." Rarity mused. "I'm sure you will. Any human -- and any pony -- is welcome at the Big Office now, after all." Oprah took a deep breath and moved towards her personal tube, where the wooden automatic doors opened to reveal it. "Agent Rarity, Agent Rainbow Dash, Agent Applejack, if you'd like to train the Cutie Mark Crusaders further while you're waiting, please feel free." The three mares nodded. "Squishinating!" Oprah called, and with a crump, a boing, and a whoosh, she was off towards her destination. "Looks like everythin' is just fine n' dandy again." Applejack said. "This place has a Gym Room?!" Rainbow's eyes shimmered. "Oh man, if they ever get an Open Sky Room...now there's something I could visit the new Big O for!" "Rainbow Dash, darling. Surely you know the rooms here change every so often, with some exceptions, of course. I say, if you want an Open Sky Room, then you must make an Open Sky Room!" "There you go again with your crazy wisdom." Sweetie Belle chuckled. The six ponies walked away, the fillies chatting excitedly about their training while their sisters chatted away about what kind of training they were going to receive next. "Now, Agent 57. State your name." "Mandy! Agent Mandy!" "Good." The assistant wrote her name down on the clipboard he held. "And you, Agent 58?" "Oprah." "Good." The assistant then wrote Oprah's name down. "You will begin the test by stating Odd Squad's operations statement." "We are an organization run by kids that investigates anything strange, weird, and especially odd!" Mandy chirped in unison with Oprah. "Very good." The assistant let out a soft hum as he wrote the results down. "It says here that you both wish to go through Odd Squad's Director-to-AIT Training, is that correct?" "Yes. Mandy and I wish to be co-trainers for the Cutie Mark Crusaders." "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?" Mandy and Oprah nodded. "All right. Now." The assistant set the clipboard down on the table next to him. "I will be bringing a host of oddities into the room, one by one. Your job is to defeat them using the gadgets you have on you, as well as teamwork. You cannot defeat them by physically attacking them, nor can you defeat them by..." He glanced at Mandy and struggled to find a good word. "Erm, your...otherworldly magic." "Alicorn magic. It's alicorn magic." Mandy said. "Right, yes. Um..." He turned to the other assistant standing in the room. "Oleisa, if you would be so inclined as to bring the first thing in?" "Yes, right away." A minute later, Oleisa returned with a large white albino mouse. Oprah and Mandy were both quick to notice that this was a Ginormouse, but slightly shrunken so it could reasonably accommodate the size of the testing room. Oprah gave a knowing smirk. Mandy's pupils enlarged to the size of saucers, and she gave an unnerving, face-splitting grin. "Let's do this!" "All right. Now, let's move on to gadget usage." Rainbow took charge, guiding the Crusaders in the boxing ring in a way that certainly wasn't unlike that of Spitfire. "Apple Bloom, you're an Earth pony. That means using gadgets might be a bit harder for you, compared to a Pegasus or a unicorn. Try using this Sweater-inator." Apple Bloom took the gadget in her hooves as she was offered it. She looked it over, finding that it was shaped funny -- certainly not for her hooves. Or any hooves, really. She nearly dropped it as she tried to position it in a way that felt comfortable to her. "Press that tiny red button on the top." Hesitantly, the filly did as she was told. A bright blue beam of light shot out of the gadget's front, producing a gray human-adult-sized sweater. "There ya go!" Rainbow cheered. "That might be hard to do in battle, though..." Applejack, sitting off to the side with Rarity, bit her tongue in an attempt to avoid snarking a witty retort at her friend. Both of them were taking turns teaching the Crusaders about different gadgets, and now, it was Rainbow's turn once again. "Run to that door and back, and then fire the gadget as fast as you can!" Apple Bloom wanted to protest, but seeing her sister gave her a little boost of confidence, and so, she did as she was told once again. Sliding through the elastic borders of the ring, she took a deep breath, hopped off, and rushed to the door as fast as her hooves would carry her. She struggled to hold the gadget firm in her hooves as she was running, but decided to try something unique, using her teeth to grip a small arch that stuck out from the gadget's top. It was much easier for her this way -- less risk of tripping and falling, and less risk of taking a swing and a miss at an enemy. When she got to the door, she spun around as fast as she could, took the gadget in her hooves, and fired it into the air. Another sweater materialized, this time one in a color that Rarity could not even begin to describe, and it fell to the ground. "Whoa...did you just use your mouth to carry the gadget?" "Uh, w-well, I just-" "That's so awesome!" Rainbow's eyes shimmered. "You got the hang of that quick, kid!" Apple Bloom blushed as her gaze drifted to Rainbow, and then to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who were also watching her with admiration sparkling in their eyes. Rainbow cleared her throat to direct attention to her. "When you all become agents, you may get a unicorn or Pegasus as your partner, someone that can help you use gadgets. In the meantime, you can consider that a test run. An awesome test run!" She flew over to Apple Bloom. "How'd you figure out to use your teeth like that?" "When ya work on the farm long enough, ya pick up a few skills." Apple Bloom shrugged. "Thank Applejack for that one!" "Eatin' apples require strong teeth!" the farmpony called. "I raised her right!" Rarity giggled at her partner's enthusiasm. The door opened, nearly sending Apple Bloom careening as she hastily moved out of the way. "Hi, everyone." "Hiya!" "Oh! Mandy, Ms. O, darlings!" Rarity greeted. "How did the test go?" "Oh, I passed, of course." Oprah gave a nonchalant shrug. Mandy's eyes shimmered, tears pooling in them. "Aw shucks. Ya didn't pass?" The hybrid sniffled. "N-n-no...they said, they said I got too distracted...I failed one...I..." Her speech delved into unintelligible blubbering as she collapsed to the ground in a fit of sobbing. "How could you not pass?!" Rainbow cried out. "You were raised in Odd Squad! You know every oddity in the book! Who do I have to yell at to make sure-" "Now now, Dash. I'm sure the Big O had her reasons." Applejack said. "Mandy tried her best. That's what matters." Oprah, instead of comforting Mandy, looked rather confused at her sudden outburst. Even moreso when she went from sobbing to gut-busting laughter. "Darling?" "Oh, I got you all good!" Mandy rolled onto her back, her legs flailing back and forth as she gave out laugh after laugh. All six ponies just stared at Oprah. "She passed. With flying colors." she explained. "But I didn't know she had this trick up her sleeve." "Come on, Mandy! Don't scare us like that!" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Mandy stopped laughing after a few minutes, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "Ahh...I'm really sorry. Guess I'm just in a funny mood today!" "When are ya not?" Applejack muttered. "Aaaaaanyway...whatcha been learnin'?" "I was just teaching Apple Bloom how to use gadgets." Rainbow proudly explained. "She figured out to use her teeth instead of her hooves if she's in battle!" "It's really not that special, Rainbow Dash..." Apple Bloom absentmindedly kicked the ground with her front hoof. "Yeah it is!" Mandy spoke up before Oprah could. "I figured your hooves would make it hard to hold gadgets that are specifically designed for human hands. I'll hafta ask Oona to make some adjustments!" "Changing the subject..." Oprah interjected. "I was planning on making you, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo partners." The three fillies' eyes widened. "Really?" Sweetie Belle asked. Oprah nodded. "From your sisters' accounts, it seems you three work very well together. Even your cutie marks are the same. And far be it from me to speak professionally on the topic of cutie marks, but I don't think that's something you see every day." "You mean..." "Yes. A three-way partnership is completely unprecedented for Odd Squad, but I couldn't just split two of you off and send the other one to be with another agent. Once you're promoted and officially partnered up, you'll be the first trio in Odd Squad history." A moment of silence hung over the room. Then, the room echoed. It echoed with the sound of excited squeals and cheers as the fillies hugged each other and hopped up and down excitedly. Likewise, the three mares also gave excited cheers as they hugged and laughed. Oprah let them get their excitement out before she continued. "But that isn't to say you don't have a long way to go. You'd better be ready..." She nudged Mandy. "Because we're both going to bring our A games. And we expect you to do the same." "Darn straight!" Mandy chirped. "Just work together as a team and never give up, and you'll be fine!" "Of course we will!" Scootaloo jumped up into the air, her tiny wings briefly providing her lift before she landed on the ground again. "You can count on us!" "We'll be the best agents Odd Squad's ever seen!" Apple Bloom said. "We won't let you down!" Sweetie grinned and began trotting in place, unable to contain her excitement and eagerness. A few minutes later, Oprah urged the fillies to take a short break. They were now conversing amongst themselves, while Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack did the same. Oprah herself, along with Mandy, took a seat on the edge of the boxing ring. "You know, they're well on their way to becoming good agents. And...I'm really glad that we're training them together." Oprah said, taking a sip of her juice. An "aah" sound came out of Mandy as she finished chugging some water from her water bottle. "Yeah! We make a gooder than good team, you and I. Let's-" She was cut off by the sensation of a body being wrapped around her. Sure enough, it was Oprah, her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection in "A hug? Another one? Usually you save those for super-duper emotional occasions!" The hybrid sighed. "But all right, if that's what ya want..." She hugged Oprah back. It was a rather touching moment...that is, it would have been if Mandy didn't feel like her body was slowly getting crushed in a meat grinder. "Okay...maybe not so tight...need air...need air..." she squeaked, trying to wriggle out of the hug. Luckily, Oprah set her down the second she heard her agent's protests. "Now, after this...why don't we go for a bite to eat? My treat." "Oprah, you don't have to-" "I insist." Mandy blinked, and then shrugged. "Well, okay. There is a diner that just opened that I wanna try..." "It's a done deal." The two girls shared a laugh before sighing and hopping off of the boxing ring, approaching the fillies. "All right, let's get back to work!" "Who wants to learn about agility?" "I do, I do!"
S1E11: Under A RestIn the world of Odd Squad, the concept of sleep is a very fickle thing. It can vary between people and ponies who have all sorts of different sleeping habits, and especially among those who were afflicted with oddness, both chronic and temporary. Odd creatures -- ponies excluded -- are even more susceptible to this, although the topic of their sleep patterns is left for those in the Creature Care department to follow. As for the agents whose job it was to eradicate oddness? Adults had their theories. "They dream of oddness!" some said. "Surely they have dreams just like my little Bobby." others said. No one really knew for sure. One of the more modern depictions of an agent's dream was a hastily-edited Shmumotoshop job done by Olive, of a dream she had one night where she was a centaur on an island, surrounded by numerous oddities. Some thought of it as a deep and introspective look into the mind of an Odd Squad veteran who had risked her life to save the world and had thrown herself into the fire for years, especially since an uninhabited island with clownfish playing guitar, lemons with monarch butterfly wings, and sundaes with baby legs was completely unheard of within the organization's history. Others, namely the more skeptical ones, chalked it up to her being Mandy's adoptive mother. But really, who was to say. Olive's mind could be an anomaly all its own, and no one would ever know but her. Not even Otto. But for all of the inner workings of Olive's mind, there was one agent who had such a confusing form of operations that not even Olive herself could comprehend it. She had gotten the phrase "you continue to surprise us" thrown at her so much that it was like a mandated catchphrase she got paid by the syllable to receive. Mandy had relatively normal sleep habits. Like most any other human child, she went to bed at the same time each night and woke up at the same time every day. Her brain wouldn't have even made the least experienced neurologist bat an eye. Of course, that wasn't to say she didn't have sleep issues from time to time -- sometimes the occasional nightmare woke her up and left her unable to get back to sleep, or falling ill put a damper on her dreams. But as far as obstructive sleep apnea or somnambulism went, that, along with other sleep disorders present in children, was nonexistent. The key word here, of course, is "had relatively normal sleep habits". The Mandy of the present was an entirely new being when it came to sleep. Although she still went to bed at around the same time every night -- outside circumstances pending, of course -- she began to sleep more often. Loud snoring and sleep-talking became a commonly-heard sound. And she could attest to more than one case of somnambulism, in both flight and on foot. At the insistence of many, Odd Squad Doctors ran tests on her to try and figure out what was wrong with her. The results were, for a lack of better word, puzzling. By all accounts, Mandy was a happy and healthy 11-year-old girl who, prior to her transformation into a pony-human hybrid, had good sleep habits and no chronic sleep issues. She had all the excitability and energy of a 25-pack of rechargeable batteries, even with her sleep issues. But no one could pin anything down. It got to such a point where there was debate about taking her to Toronto General Hospital and having them run tests on her. But there was also debate from the other side regarding concerns of the hospital refusing care to her, which won in the end. This was an Odd Squad problem, and it would stay an Odd Squad problem. As such, Doctors couldn't get a handle on Mandy's sleeping habits. To this day, they still can't. Instead, they resigned to using her as a willing test subject for Doctors-in-training, and left the topic of her sleep alone. It was almost like a taboo subject, with it being allowed to be brought up but with no one able to give any one clear answer. Mandy herself, on the other hand, knew very well about her current sleep habits. She knew what she needed for a good night's sleep, and she expressed her needs well. There were only two problems -- not everyone was so keen on listening to her, and sometimes, she set her sleep needs aside for higher priorities, like work or helping a friend out with an issue. Which brings us to this story. The story of a time when Mandy's sleep habits proved to be dangerous and detrimental to not just Odd Squad, but to nearly the entire town -- and how one pony brought relief to both her and everyone else, with one simple solution. ...Okay, two simple solutions. 2:00 in the afternoon. Agents were milling about, some with clients, others carrying large stacks of paperwork. But curiously, one agent was absent...one agent that Oprah was easily able to pinpoint. She marched through the hallways, her stance rigid but firm. She sipped an apple-flavored juice box, something that kept her anger in check and her sanity along with it. Finally, she arrived at her destination. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Right there in her line of vision, sleeping peacefully in her own bed, was none other than Agent Mandy. Snoring and sleep-talking away, with an invisible, but active and soundproof and very much electrified, force field that had a sheen running down it every few seconds. "Oh, good. Figures I'd find you asleep in here." Oprah resisted the urge to snark, instead using the sheen to identify the one spot in the force field where she could enter without getting severely electrocuted. A sigh left her as she gazed down at her sleeping second-in-command. "Now, how to get you to wake up...after all, work's gotta be done around here." Her being lost in thought left her blissfully unaware of Mandy's face contorting into one of unease and the soft moan she gave in tandem. She laughed. "Who am I kidding? You don't wake up for anything." She turned around. Mandy's horn lit up. The next thing Oprah knew, she was sent careening out the door and colliding front-first with the adjacent wall. Her heart was beating fast, and she wasn't sure what to focus on first. The fact that she somehow didn't get electrocuted? The fact that her bones were somehow intact and she wasn't seriously injured? Or the fact that Mandy had used magic in her sleep? Who knew. All she cared about was getting out of her predicament. With a groan, she pushed against the wall with as much force as she could muster, and it wasn't until that much effort that her body was released from the wall with a popping sound. She stumbled around for a few moments before she found her footing, giving another sigh. "What...happened?" she mumbled, rubbing the front of her aching head and making a mental note to pop two of that special brand of aspirin she kept in her desk when she got back to her office. "There're zzo many zzquid juice boxezz n' this computer, I'll take 'em..." was her only response, as Mandy went right back to snoring. Her horn's magic had died down, something that brought relief to Oprah. Relief that was squashed by her struggle to understand exactly what had just transpired. Was...was that Mandy's doing? But why? She doesn't attack people in her sleep...much less use magic! Oprah vigorously shook her head, wincing as the ache returned with a vengeance. And something about squid juice boxes...? She eyed Mandy, still asleep with a smile on her face, even though her shield was no longer active. Exactly how Oprah had survived getting electrocuted was just one question out of many that could fill a list expanding the distance of the entire world, and then some. Gah, I can't think! Clearly. She sighed. Forget her sleep-talk. I need a new juice box. One without squid. Eyeing her spilled juice box, she gave a scoff and made her way back to her office. Her entire body ached something fierce along with her head, now, and she just wanted to make the pain go away by any means necessary while also thanking those higher-ups in the sky that she didn't die or get seriously injured from the attack. As she rounded the corner, she made out the sound of a familiar voice. "So all of a sudden I hear, 'People love eating peanut butter toothpaste strips!' I go upstairs to find that it's Mandy, in my bed, fast asleep!" A pause. "But that's not the worst of it." Another familiar voice resounded as Oprah approached its source. "What was the worst of it?" "She drooled on one of my pillows." "Oh." Oprah made her presence known, clutching her arm as it began to throb and gritting her teeth. "Whoa, Oprah, what happened?" Olive's eyes widened. "Assistant! Get me a juice box!" Oprah called, as loud as her voice could make it. She didn't care who heard her, really -- the juice would numb the pain she was feeling, easy. Her head swiveled back to the Director duo, as she uttered the name of the culprit. "Mandy." "Mandy?!" came the unisonant cry. "I was trying to wake her up because, you know, it's 2:00 in the afternoon and she overslept, but when I turned my back on her, she laser-blasted me out of the room like I was some sort of villain! For odd's sake, I collided with the wall! You should see the dent in it now!" Oprah's voice was nearly a scream, and she thrust her index finger towards the direction of the right hallway. "And then she said something about squid juice boxes..." "Normally I'd chalk that 'squid juice box' thing up to whatever weird thing Mandy said in her sleep, but that sounds...oddly specific." Otto snickered at the unintentional pun, which earned him a harsh "Otto..." from his partner. "Now look at me! I'm a mess, I feel achy...this is horrible!" Olive chose to ignore the whining for the most part. "Well, we all know it's impossible to wake Mandy up. Believe me, I've tried." The screams and cries of agents could be heard as everyone in the precinct ran around and about, like a group of bumbling idiots. If one listened closely enough, some could be heard screaming words like "fire" and "we have to get out of here" and "we're gonna be taken to burn". One agent, however, was not running. With megaphone in hand, she loomed over another agent who was fast asleep in her bed, drool descending down her chin as she snored away. Taking a deep breath, the agent with the megaphone raised the item to her mouth and threw every inch of lung power into her voice. "MANDY, THERE'S A FIRE! EVERYONE NEEDS TO EVACUATE, NOW!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!! WAKE UP!!" She might as well have told Mandy the sky was blue, because all she did was stretch and roll over before she resumed her slumber. The agent's eye twitched. Her brain had a moment of utter failure. "Oh, for the love of-" "In hindsight, that was a bad idea." Olive blushed. "'Bad' is an understatement." Oprah growled, an icy-cold edge to her voice. "All right, well, if you're done remembering stuff..." Otto cracked his knuckles. "I don't want to call myself a hero, but I got this." Olive's eyes widened as she remembered the last time Otto said that, and how disastrous it was. However, this time, he seemed to have a sturdier plan in motion as he made his way over to the Lab. "What's he doing?" "Beats me." Oprah gave a shrug. The assistant arrived with the juice box Oprah had requested, and she happily took it in her hands and gave it a sip, making sure to throw in a "thank you" as the assistant walked away. The trio met up in the Bedroom only a minute later, feeling grateful that Mandy's snoring wouldn't cut into anything they tried to say now that she had put up a new shield. Otto held up a helmet that was illuminated green on the top in certain areas, with white wires similar to that of a landline phone attached to it and spreading in all four directions. Surrounding the helmet were blue dots arranged in a pattern. "This is a Dream-inator helmet. It allows anyone to see the dreams of whoever is wearing the helmet." "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Olive nodded. "If we see what Mandy's dreams are, maybe it'll provide us with some answers as to why she attacked Oprah." "And why she keeps saying nonsensical stuff in her sleep." Oprah blinked as two pairs of eyes turned on her. "What? Just because I don't care about what she says doesn't mean I'm not curious about it." Sighing, Otto went inside of the shield, immediately noticing that Mandy's snores seemed louder than usual. Not by much, and he couldn't tell for sure, but to him, they were definitely louder. He held his breath and attached the helmet to her head as carefully as he could, keeping a close eye on her horn so he could book it at the first sign of its illumination. Luckily, Mandy didn't feel like attacking him for this latest nuisance in her slumber. Unluckily, she did feel like putting a halt on the nuisance in another way. Her head raised off of the pillow and slightly leaned to the right, and as she did so, the helmet fell to the floor with sparks shooting out of it, Otto quickly moving out of the way. "I can uzze th' zzcrewdriver t' clean the dizzhezz..." she mumbled, before her head hit the pillow and she resumed snoring. Otto buried his hands in his face, but not before sneaking a peek at the girls outside of the shield. Olive simply rolled her eyes, while Oprah looked about ready to fire off some ever-so-witty snark. And snark she did, the very second Otto stepped foot outside with broken Dream-inator in hand. "Got any more smart ideas, Einstein?" All Otto did was sigh in response. "Guess that idea was a bust." "Hey, Mandy, I need to-" Peaches' sudden entry was hampered by her gaze sweeping the room. Almost immediately, it landed on Olive, Oprah and Otto, who blinked. "Am...I interrupting something important or what?" "Peaches!" Olive said, amping her voice to show off her oft-used nice facade. "We need a favor." "Oh? Uh, sure, I'm happy to help with whatever! What do you need?" "Dig your claws into Mandy, would you please?" Peaches glanced at Mandy, and then at Olive, and back and forth again. "You want me to what?" Before Olive could reiterate, Otto waved his hand at her and took the reins. "We tried to look into Mandy's dreams to see why she isn't waking up, but..." He held up the destroyed helmet. "Ouch." Peaches said, looking the gadget over. "Anyway, to answer your question, I tried that a week ago. See, Mandy decided to eat my bucket of fish before she fell asleep, and I got so upset that my cat instincts took over and I attacked her." A brief flicker of anger made its way through Olive's eyes, but it didn't last for very long. She figured she could get mad at Peaches for attacking her daughter later. Right now, she was in a state of shock. "And she didn't even stir?" "No! She just kept on snoring, without a care in the world!" "At this point, I could sic a villain on her, and she'd still be fast asleep. Heck," Oprah snorted. "She could probably beat them singlehandedly in her sleep." Peaches opened her mouth to speak again, but something bright from inside the shield caught her eye. She barely had time to shout the word "Duck!" before sending all three agents tumbling to the ground, just as another blast of magic soared over their heads and collided with the still-dented wall. "What is happening?" Olive asked in disbelief, gazing at Mandy with confusion written on her face. "I hope it's not sleep-itis..." Oprah muttered. Otto, getting another idea, rose to his feet and dashed out the door, calling, "I'll be right back!" "Where's he heading off to in such a hurry?" Olive could only give a puzzled grunt and a shrug in response to her former boss's inquiry. The group got their answer a couple minutes later, when Otto returned with Dr. O in tow. "Okay, I'm back! I got Dr. O to do a medical analysis on Mandy!" Olive blinked. "We've really got to get our brains in check." she remarked to Oprah, who nodded her head in agreement. "No, no. Both of your brains are in check. His is not." Dr. O jabbed a thumb at Otto. "Mandy's sleep has been an unresolved mystery for a long time. That isn't to say I won't try my best with her current predicament, but please, don't be surprised if not much comes out of it." "Just try your best." "I always do, Ms. O." Dr. O cleared his throat. "So, from what Otto tells me, Mandy has been using magic in her sleep again, correct?" "Yes. She can't seem to wake up for anything. We're worried she might have sleep-itis, or some other odd illness." Oprah explained. Dr. O gave a hum of thought. "Well, to rule out odd illnesses in a patient, an analysis must be done. You don't mind, surely?" The group shook their heads. Dr. O pulled out electrodes, his tablet, and some wires out from his hammerspace spine. He tucked the wires and electrodes under his arm before beginning to tap on his tablet. "I will say, though...we haven't had a sleep-itis outbreak in years. Do you know of anyone else who is like this?" Oprah shook her head. "No, it's just Mandy." Another hum of thought came forth. With the sound of whirring and soft beeping, a holographic image was projected into the air, showing nothing but static. As Dr. O set the tablet down, he got to work on connecting the wires and the electrodes to it. He plugged one end of a wire into an electrode, and then the other end into a headphone jack in the tablet, repeating the process once more for the other set. Once that was complete, he confidently strode into the shield Mandy had produced and attached the electrodes to her head, all while she was blissfully unaware and continuing to snore away with her mouth curved upward in her usual cat smile. Once preparations were complete, he got to performing the analysis, tapping a button on his tablet conveniently marked as such. Instead of static, now, there was coding -- lines and lines of it, running down the screen as though someone were typing random letters and numbers at a rapid-fire pace. He couldn't help but bite his lip in both anticipation and worry, and he held his breath as he waited for the results to show. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they showed. "Sleep-itis test results on AGENT MANDY: negative." an automatic voice resounded, as the words appeared on the screen. He exhaled, a soft breathy laugh escaping his lungs in tandem. He walked back out of the shield, but not before removing the electrodes, unplugging the wires, and shoving both sets of items behind his back again. "Well, it doesn't look like she has sleep-itis. But as I'm sure you know, I can't exactly pinpoint the cause, either." "How's that?" Olive slightly narrowed her eyes. "Mandy is a very complicated patient. Her brain is wired differently than ours, thanks to the transformation she went through after battling the Hydraclops. Of course, that affected her sleep." he explained. "Her brain has a central...mm, how do I describe this...a central hub, of sorts, which controls her magic and flight usage while she is asleep as well as her sleep cycle. The transformation altered her brain in several ways regarding the realm of sleep. Unfortunately, us Odd Squad Doctors can't figure out exactly what those alterations are. All we've been able to figure out is that her brain has that central hub that has control over her sleep cycle -- which, mind you, is mostly similar to that of regular human beings -- and prevents her from using both magic and flight in her sleep." "So is the hub just not doing its job, then?" Oprah asked. "I don't think it would just slack off on accident. Mandy meant to attack me. There's no doubt about it." "Who's to say." Dr. O shrugged. "Not even I have the answer to that. But I doubt she has an odd illness, let alone one that would either change the hub or corrupt it in some way so it couldn't do its job or functioned incorrectly. So we can rule that out." "Hold on. Mandy's a human being. She's the same species as-" "Was. She was the same species. Now she's been given a new classification in addition to that same species." Dr. O held a finger up to interrupt Olive. "She has pony blood in her now, as well, not just human blood. And we don't know too much about ponies' sleep habits to come to any solid consensuses yet." As Oprah opened her mouth to speak again, her badge phone rang. Growling, she picked it up. "Go for O." A flurry of screams and one flustered voice met her on the other end of the line. "Oprah, I've got kids here who are waiting to see Mandy- hey!" "Oh?" Oprah blinked. Mandy didn't tell me she was meeting up with Professor O and a bunch of kids. What's this about, now? "I-I'm sorry, Professor, but Mandy isn't, uh...feeling well." She held the phone away from her ear as crashing and banging sounds began to come through as clear as day. "Oh! Oh my, oh, hey, don't do tha- oww!" Ragged breathing. "They're getting a little upset!" And then the sound of the zap from a gadget, followed by a scream. The looks on the rest of the group's faces spelled absolute confusion, even moreso when "We want Mandy" became a chanting request from the kids. "I'm sorry! Mandy can't make it!" Oprah shouted. "Tell her to work through her sickness and I'll see her in a bit!" A dial tone quickly put an end to that conversation, and Oprah snapped the badge phone shut without another word, putting it back on her chest where it belonged and scratching her neck. "Um...that's my bad. Please don't ask. I don't know a thing about this-" "And we don't either!" Olive and Otto simultaneously interjected. "Moving back to the topic at hand..." Peaches turned to Dr. O. "Is there any way you can wake Mandy up?" "Speaking from experience, I don't think that's a wise idea. Have you ever heard the phrase 'don't wake up a sleeping giant'?" Dr. O explained. "It means that something isn't dangerous unless it's provoked. Waking up Mandy would cause her to get mad, and we all know how angry she can get when something or someone disturbs her sleep." Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the room, followed by an "I can attest to that" from Oprah. "So what can we do, then?" Peaches tilted her head. "All we can do is let her sleep, and hope she wakes up soon. I'm really sorry." "It's...fine! Totally fine!" Oprah gave an awkward smile. "I-I'm sure this precinct can manage without her for a little while." The nervous laughter she gave didn't seem to attract any potential customers to her ruse, as Olive, Otto, Peaches and Dr. O all shot her incredulous looks. "I'll be on my way, then." Dr. O exhaled. "What's next?" And with that, he left the room to the tune of a chorus of goodbyes. Inside the shield, Mandy was oblivious to the entire conversation. She continued to sleep without a care in the world, turning over onto her left side and moving her hand up and down as she went through the motions of a dream. What also went through the motions of a dream was her tail. Relatively short but easily extended for comedic purposes whenever the need arose, it snaked across the floor slowly, like a monster in a horror movie ready to grab its next unwilling victim. As it turned out, said unwilling victim just so happened to be Olive. The wind got knocked out of her as her body collided with the floor. Before she could even ask what was going on, her body was dragged back to the shield. A flurry of "no's" shot out from the girl's mouth as she helplessly scrabbled with her fingers. Otto tried to lunge for her, but by the time his body hit the floor, it was too late. "Help m-" In she disappeared. Into the shield, or more specifically, the shield's door. "Olive!" Oprah cried out, mentally firing a string of curses as she moved to rescue her fellow Director. She didn't get very far before she figured out what was going on. The tail wrapped around Olive's body, and gripped it with all the force of a crab's pincer on the bridge of a nose. "Wait, I'm not a stuffed animaaaaaaa..." She coughed, feeling the air being sucked out of her. The sight of Otto's mouth moving caught her attention, but she couldn't make out a thing he was saying. Her eyes began rolling up into her head, and she screamed in the hopes that someone, anyone, would hear her. She didn't care if it was Otto, or Oprah, or Peaches, or someone else entirely -- as long as she was heard. Her scream was cut off by the tail wrapping its way up her chest and then up her face, obscuring her mouth in the process. Fear was the only emotion that settled in now. She began thrashing about in an attempt to free herself, not caring about the electrocuted shield. Mandy, of course, was still oblivious, continuing to snore away without so much as an ear twitch. All the trio could do outside of the shield was watch in horror, reacting appropriately even though they know Olive nor Mandy could hear them. "Mandy, stop!" "It's no use, Otto! Whatever Mandy's doing in her dreams, she's doing in real life!" Peaches said. Olive managed to maneuver her body enough so that Mandy's tail obscured the bridge of her nose and the bottom half of her vision, making sure to take in as much fresh air as her lungs could handle. "Mandy, would you stop?!" The snoring stopped, and what resounded in its place was a low and angry growl. "Oh, well, don't get mad at me!" The trio watched as Olive began screaming something at Mandy while still struggling to free herself. Any worry and anger they had dissipated slightly. "Is...is she fighting with a sleeping Mandy?" Peaches asked, blinking and rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Yeah. Yeah she is." Oprah deadpanned in response. "Get...back here!" came the sleepy cry of Mandy, as she rolled off of the bed and collided with Olive. As one might expect from a somnambulist, her fighting skills certainly weren't as good as when she was awake, and every punch she tried to make missed by several hairs. Still, that didn't mean Olive didn't try to defend herself. Peaches made her way inside the shield. "Break it up, you two!" she called, going for Mandy's tail and prying it apart so Olive could get free. "You hound-dog cur! I'll zzhred you to bitzz...!" Mandy said, swinging her fists randomly as though she believed luck would allow her to land a hit. Oh, how the Mandy of the waking world would have laughed at her pathetic attempts...but that would cause something far worse than Mandy's destruction in the midst of slumber. A timetastrophe. Which no one wanted to bring on. Oscar was still attending therapy from the last one. "Can't you just switch to a good dream or something?!" Peaches snapped, half out of confusion and half out of frustration. Her request was long forgotten now, and she began to regret even asking Mandy for it in the first place. Wings opened. Peaches and Olive scrambled backwards. Wings gave mighty flaps. The shield disintegrated and faded away. Which left Mandy with an easy means of escape as she went right back to her usual snoring-and-gibberish routine. No one said anything. All they did was silently watch Mandy go out the door, arms and legs drooping towards the ground like wilted flowers. They weren't sure what was going on with her at that point, but there was one priority that stuck in their minds. "Olive, are you okay?" Oprah asked, rushing over to tend to the girl. "Yeah, for the most part..." Olive gave a small cough. "Makes me wish we still had the Dream-inator helmet." "We have to follow Mandy. If she keeps acting out her dreams like this, it can spell destruction. Not just for Odd Squad, but for the entire town!" "Then let's go!" With that, the group rushed out the door as fast as their legs would carry them, all in the pursuit of one troublesome somnambulist who, really, only had one reasonable request. Peaches was hot on the trail of Mandy, faster than any of the agents. The chase took them through Headquarters and into the aboveground world, emerging somewhere in Cedarvale Park. "Mandy, get back here right now!" Peaches cried out, debating using her tail to provide her with a little more speed but realizing that her tail was built for casual flying and not high-speed chases. "Mandy, if you come back then I'll ma-" A bright burst of magic blinded her vision. And then Mandy disappeared. Peaches stopped in her tracks, catching her breath before growling. "CUZ!!" she called to the sky, even though she knew Mandy was gone and couldn't hear her. Huffing, she rushed back to the group. "Guys, we have bad news!" she called. "Mandy teleported!" The other three agents stopped in their tracks right then, giving a unisonant "What?!" "I don't know where, but we have to find her, and fast. If she's outside of Headquarters..." Peaches didn't feel like finishing the sentence. Oprah got into authority mode. "Olive, Otto, spread out across the town. Peaches, you as well. If you can, make sure to get a good aerial view. If Mandy's flying, we might be able to catch her in the sky." "What about the ponies?" Olive asked. "I'd contact them if they all weren't away in Equestria right now." Oprah shook her head and muttered, "Terrible timing..." "C'mon, partner. Let's go find Mandy." Otto said, gesturing to his left. "I go that way, you go that way?" "Sure. As much ground as we can cover." Olive smiled. "Let's go." The two Directors ran off in their respective directions, keeping their eyes on the sky but making sure to look on the ground as well. Peaches ran off as well, going straight ahead without another word spoken. This left Oprah free to go in the direction she came from, so everyone was scattered. For what seemed like hours, everyone searched. Whether it was with gadgets, calling out Mandy's name, or asking around, very few leads were given -- and those leads went stale quickly, either due to Mandy changing directions or her simply being too fast for anyone to catch up to her. Who knew, really. Olive took a seat on a nearby bench, regretting not bringing a water bottle. She had never been too keen on using the water fountains littered around the park, but she was starting to feel thirsty enough that she might just consider using them. "It's no use...I've looked everywhere." she said, giving a sigh. "At this point I wouldn't be sur-" A nasal snore cut into her thoughts. Her eyes widened as she looked left to right, finding no one sleeping nearby. Another snore. This time, it sounded from behind her, and she got up to look, her heart beating quickly out of fright and shock. Slowly, ever so slowly, her eyes drifted up the tree. There, on a branch that shouldn't even hold her weight under the most realistic of circumstances, was Agent Mandy, looking like she had somehow landed on it with her four limbs drooping downwards and decided to take a nap. "Oh...my odd!" Mandy stopped snoring, her expression contorting into one of discomfort before her horn became illuminated once more. Before Olive knew it, a laser blast was fired in her direction, and she barely had time to dodge it as bits and pieces of dirt flew upwards from the ground at the point of impact. The Director surveyed the damage, then glanced at Mandy. "Mandy, please, don't! You never do this!" She blinked in realization. "W-well, I mean, you do sleep in random places..." She shook her head. "Ugh, whatever, that's besides the point!" She didn't notice a small crowd of people and ponies gathering below her as she declared "I'm climbing up this tree!" and gripped the trunk, using her hands and feet to guide her way upwards as fast as she possibly could. "Oh thank Celestia, it's Odd Squad!" one Earth pony mare remarked. "Maybe they'll stop Agent Mandy's rampage!" another unicorn stallion said. "I sure hope so!" came a rather distant voice from a man in the back of the crowd. Olive's hands began to chafe. She could have sworn a splinter or two was stuck somewhere in them. "Jeez, how'd you get so high up?!" she muttered. Although she knew that was a rhetorical question, it didn't stifle her frustration any less, and she continued to climb. Finally, she arrived at the branch Mandy was sleeping on. The thing was, she had no idea how she was going to get her down from the tree. She grit her teeth, the gears in her mind turning until she settled on an idea. She wrapped her legs around the tree further, making sure that they had a good grip on the trunk so her hands could be free. "Okay...now, if I scoop you up like this..." She extended her arms out until she grabbed ahold of Mandy's torso. "Nice and gentle..." she urged, beginning to lift the hybrid upwards while listening to the cheers of the crowd below her, like she was rescuing a cat from a tree. Mandy stopped snoring. A groan rumbled about in her throat. Her horn lit up again. Olive immediately set her back down on the branch, an "oh no" leaving her lips as she knew exactly what was about to happen. Magic was fired into the air every which way from Sunday. The crowd went from cheering to giving startled screams as everyone began running for their lives, not wanting to get hit with any stray lasers. Olive, trying hard to keep her grip on the tree, moved every which way in an attempt to dodge the lasers. "Mandy, stop, it's me! Your adoptive mother!" she called out, trying to figure out her next course of action. "Please, wake up!" With the rapid flapping of her wings, Mandy began to take off again, going back to snoring as she did so. Olive let out a scream of frustration as she pounded the trunk with her fist. She felt like crying in that moment, the frustration, fatigue, and upset slowly getting to her with every attack Mandy made and every escape she made after it. Why is this so hard?! It was easier to get Mandy to come back home when she wandered off as a toddler! That's it. No more messing around. If I can't get her through physical means, then I'll have to resort to gadgetry. Before she could even whip out a gadget from behind her back, however, Mandy teleported. The bright rainbow-colored flash was equal to the flash of a camera for Olive as her pupils contracted. Giving another scream, she covered her eyes with both hands and rubbed them furiously, not noticing the grip her legs had on the trunk was loosening as they attempted to flail about. The next thing the Director knew, she was falling. She couldn't see it, but she could certainly feel it, going by the air pushing against her backside. Yet another scream left her, this time one of fear rather than one of frustration or shock. Within the snap of a finger, her body suddenly felt cradled in the arms of someone. "Gotcha!" Olive shook her head furiously, her vision coming back as she saw who had caught her before she could hit the ground and suffer from more injuries than she would have liked to suffer from today. "Otto...?" "You okay?" "I'm...fine." She put both feet on the ground. "Can't say the same for my hands, though." "Let me see." Oprah took one of Olive's hands and examined it. "They look red, but I don't see any splinters..." A pause as Olive waited for her former boss to complete her sentence. But said boss was looking at something off into the distance. "What? What is it?" Olive asked, before swiveling her head in the same direction and letting herself go slack-jawed. "Is that..." "A force field?" Peaches completed Otto's sentence, striding up to the trio in her cat form and shapeshifting back into her regular form as she nodded. "Yes it is. And it's huge." Sure enough, ponies and people were screaming and running, whether it was due to how huge the force field was or it was due to the crackles of lightning that came off from it. As the group ran towards the force field's source, one thing became apparent. "Mandy put up a force field...to claim the entire park for herself?" Olive asked. "Seems like it." Peaches responded. "She's sleeping on a cloud! How is she even resting on it?" "Mandy is an alicorn, which means she has the powers of all three pony types, including the abilities of the Pegasi to walk on clouds." Oprah explained. "And lay on them, too." Peaches nodded in understanding, although she couldn't deny she was confused as to why Mandy was doing what she was doing in laying on a cloud and not someplace else, or just continuing to fly. "Guys, if Mandy keeps this up, she's gonna kill someone eventually. And I'm sure your precinct doesn't want that, Oprah." Otto said, an edge of urgency to his voice. Oprah shook her head. "I don't get it. Mandy's never done something as extreme as this. Not even when she sleepwalked, or...uh, 'sleep-flew'. Why is she doing it now?" Her head turned towards the direction of the portal, which she knew was nearby, and she growled. "If only those ponies could get here sooner rather than later..." Olive perked up as she realized something. "The portal. The portal to Equestria! It's in the park!" "So?" "So." Olive grabbed Peaches by the shoulders. "That means the ponies might not be able to get through!" "Oh no." Oprah had to bite her tongue to make sure a swear didn't slip out instead of the word "no". "We have to get to the portal. Follow me!" On the outskirts of the park, the group ran, each one of them keeping an eye out for the elongated portal that separated Equestria from Toronto. Luckily, due to how big it was, it wasn't too hard to find within the confines of the force field -- the problem was its current position within said confines. "Wait." Olive came to a stop. "The portal...the force field...the portal wasn't affected!" "But it goes straight through." Peaches pointed out. "Which means-" "If the ponies come back, they'll be trapped inside!" Oprah let out an exhale and began massaging her forehead as she tried to think of a solution. "Can't we break the force field ourselves?" Otto offered, giving a nonchalant shrug as though his solution was a perfectly easy one and he wasn't sure why everyone was making a big stink of the whole problem. "We can try, but Mandy's force fields are pretty sturdy -- perhaps moreso if she's asleep." A steely look formed in Oprah's eyes. "We'll all need to work together. Whether it's by physical force or magical force." She, Olive and Otto all tapped the middle button on their jackets, which coated them in a brief white shimmer. Peaches, on the other hand, was at a complete loss, lacking such a feature on her own dress that had no buttons or any magical properties to speak of. Still, this didn't discourage her, and she figured that she could help another way that wasn't using brute force. "Electricity protectors." Oprah explained when she caught Peaches' confused expression. "This way, we won't get shocked if we touch the force field." "Uh...huh..." "All right, ready?" "Ready!" came the unisonant cry, before the agents rushed into the force field head-on. Peaches didn't move. All she did was stare at the force field. Now how in the name of Leo am I going to be able to get inside that thing witho- Her thoughts were cut off by her suddenly disappearing in a flash and re-emerging inside of the force field. "Sorry about that. Good thing we had this Teleport-inator handy!" Otto smiled, helping Peaches to her feet. The noise inside the force field was almost pure deafening silence. It was so silent that one could hear the sounds of their breathing if they listened closely enough. It would have greatly unnerved everyone if Mandy's loud snoring wasn't a constant that, for the first time since the chase began, they had come to appreciate. "N-no, zztop...zz-zo tired...zzo noizzy...mm..." muttered Mandy, as she rolled over on the cloud she was laying on with her pony ears folded downwards. One could note that her distress was quite clear throughout the entire ordeal, with her frequent movement and her displeased face expressions. Unfortunately for her, the four children who were trying to get her to come back to Headquarters weren't too eager to listen... The Mane Six met up in another area of the park, none of them noticing the giant force field nor the silence that accompanied it. In a way, the silence seemed to be a sort of unintentional "welcome back" gift that everyone could appreciate. "Well, I'm glad we've all gotten the things done in Equestria that we need to." Twilight sighed. "Now let's head back to Odd Squad!" "Hold on." Rainbow stopped the group, pointing a hoof up towards something in the sky. "Is that Mandy sleeping on a cloud?" The other ponies glanced up, but before either one of them could say anything, a loud bang echoed from somewhere, causing Fluttershy to give a shocked squeak as the fur on her back bristled. "Hey, it's Olive and Otto!" Pinkie pointed to where the two co-Directors were throwing every inch of their combined body weight at the force field, stumbling backwards when their attempt failed and shaking their heads furiously before gearing up to try again. "And Ms. O! Peaches too!" Applejack extended her own hoof outwards, gesturing towards her boss and the catgirl herself, who were using gadgets in futile attempts to destroy it. The electricity generated by the field shot back towards the gadget Peaches was holding, and she dropped it with a loud yowl as she scrambled back to avoid getting electrocuted. Everyone watched them go at it for a few moments, wondering exactly what was going on. "Erm, darlings..." Rarity swiveled her head from side to side as her eye caught exactly where she and the others were located. "I believe that is a force field they are trying to break." Twilight gave a soft hum in response, her gaze flicking from Mandy to the other group, watching them go at it. It wasn't until a few seconds later that her current location clicked in her brain. "Wait, what?!" she screamed, her head whipping back and forth as she came to the horrid realization that she, too, was trapped in the force field. Electrifying but eerily silent, save for the sound of snoring which just now made itself apparent to her. "Twilight, can ya deactivate it somehow?" Applejack asked, moving to touch it before Rainbow silently pulled her hoof away as she shook her head furiously. "I don't know, but we have to try. They can't keep this up for much longer." Twilight watched as Olive and Otto stumbled on their feet and then promptly collapsed to the ground, jackalopes hopping in circles around both of their heads as Oprah shook her head in exasperation. "Let me give it a try, y'all!" Applejack stepped forward. "I got some mighty kickin' power in these here legs." "What did I just say?!" Rainbow brought a hoof to her face. "Me too! We Earth ponies are super-duper strong, after all!" "Pinkie!" "Doesn't hurt to try, Dashie!" "All right, then. Just one moment." With her horn alight in raspberry, Twilight let her magic wash over her and her friends as they shimmered the color of raspberry briefly. "Now that we're protected against the electricity...give it a shot! All you got!" Twilight shouted, rhyme completely unintended even though it got a snicker out of Pinkie all the same. From afar, Peaches' eye caught the ponies bucking the shield with all of their might. In the case of Twilight and Rarity, they had resorted to using magic, although their attempts were completely ineffective. "They're kicking it!" "'Bucking' is the correct term, but yes." Oprah watched the ponies for a little bit before making eye contact with Peaches. "It looks like they're trying to get free." "It's a good thing, too." Olive said, her voice wobbling as she slowly sat up and shook her head. "I think even my bones are tired." "Same here..." Otto raised a hand into the air from where he was laying flat on his back, the jackalopes still hopping about above his head. The combined efforts of ten were just what was needed to bring the force field down. It cracked and then disintegrated in a huge poof of magic, much to the relief of everyone. Cheering sounded off somewhere in the distance that no one recognized. With the force field gone, the two groups could meet at last. "Are you all okay?" Twilight asked. "We're fine." Oprah sounded rather confident in that statement, even though Olive was busy tending to Otto and helping him to snap out of his dizzified state. "Just what is going on, anyway? Why was there a force field surrounding the park?" Rarity tilted her head. "It's Mandy." Olive stood up as Otto returned to consciousness. "She's been sleepwalking all day. We've been chasing her around Headquarters and around town trying to stop her!" Fluttershy looked at the cloud, where Mandy was still snoring away. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her snoring was still the most prominent noise of the scene -- not that it entranced the yellow Pegasus, but it did get her thinking about something. "You mean she still hasn't woken up?" Rainbow asked. "Not since this morning." Olive sighed. "Neither one of us knows a thing about what's happening or why she's doing this. She's sleepwalked before, but not to these extremes. We thought it had something to do with her dreams, but...who knows?" "The Dream-inator helmet broke when we tried using it on her." Otto added. "She's been attacking us in her sleep, too. Otto even got Dr. O to run an analysis on her and he can't even figure out a cause!" Oprah threw her hands up in exasperation. Fluttershy's attention was elsewhere, but her eardrums fully absorbed every single word of the combined explanation. She continued to look at Mandy as though she was the oddest thing in the world, a memory surfacing in her brain. "You don't have to stay up, really!" Fluttershy said, her tone on the edge of pleading as she gazed at her partner. "I have to." Mandy responded, bags under her blue and rather bloodshot eyes. Her jacket was off, and her hair was completely messed up. She looked like she was on the verge of collapsing, right in the middle of the darkened precinct that only had two agents in it. "I took this off of that precinct's hands, and it's myyyyy..." A yawn interrupted her. "...moral duty t' finish it." "But you've barely slept at all this week!" Fluttershy's voice was a cry amidst mostly silence, and she went from standing on the ground to hovering in the air. "You have to get some sleep! We've all seen what happens when you're sleep-deprived!" "Nonsense..." Mandy's eyes drooped. "I'll knock myself out doing this if I have to. But I can't let Mr. O down." Down came the yellow Pegasus towards the ground, and in came her wings, folded tightly against her body as she fixed her partner with a look of sympathy. "Mandy..." she said, as she tried once more to make her partner see reason. An attempt that ended in failure. "No ifs, ands, or buts! Not even coconuts! I'll be pullin' an all-nighter, and no one can stop me!" Having exhausted all the reasonable options she could think of, Fluttershy turned around and trotted down the left hallway, stopping just once to swivel her head towards Mandy. Her mouth opened, but no words came out, and she resigned to leaving her partner in her state of decrepitude as she made her way down the hallway, trying to fight back tears. Another memory surfaced, this time one of talking to Nurse Rainbowheart, a kindly Earth pony mare who worked as an Odd Squad Doctor at the Academy. "Many studies still have to be done, Fluttershy, but one thing is clear: if Mandy goes without sleep for too long, bad things can happen." "Like what?" "She could start to sleepwalk, and act out her dreams." "Any sort of dream?" Fluttershy tilted her head. "Yes. You, and the other agents, need to keep her under control. With how much magical power she has, she could threaten the entire town!" Before Fluttershy could respond, the memory warped. She found herself sitting upright in her own bed, her head turned to her left as she spied Mandy resting her head on her pillow. However, it wasn't so much what the hybrid was doing that dug under her fur. No...it was what she said. "I'm fine." She yawned. "Now...Imma just sleep...no noise, just sleep..." And she was out like a light, snoring away and completely immune to the movement of the outside world and its inhabitants. Except she wasn't immune. Not to Fluttershy, she wasn't. Just like the hybrid herself, the Pegasus, too, knew about her friend's sleep needs, and she was more than accommodating. After all, her Element was Kindness. It would go against her Element to cruelly deny Mandy the sleep she so desperately craved and needed. She would let Mandy bunk at her cottage every night if the risks and the consequences didn't outweigh the benefits -- the least of which was how she would appear to the creatures of Equestria, and more specifically, how she would appear to the ponies of Ponyville. Fluttershy certainly hadn't thought she would need to remind others of what should have been so painfully obvious, though. But perhaps she sorely overestimated them. Maybe... Maybe they just needed a good old lesson in kindness. Before she could ponder on the situation further, the memory faded away, and was replaced by a new one. One from just a few hours ago, as a matter of fact. "All I want is some peace and quiet! That's it! And no one's willing to give up that quiet so I can sleep!" Mandy cried out, sitting on her bed with Fluttershy hovering in front of her. "I-I mean really, Fluttershy, I can sleep anywhere. And it's nigh impossible to wake me up when I am asleep. But Odd Squad's such a noisy place that it's impossible for me to have any sort of impactful rest!" She sighed and gently touched one of the pony ears that sat on her head. "I swear, these ears have made my hearing a little more sensitive than before...can't test that, though." "I thought you could sleep through loud things, though." Fluttershy commented. "You can't?" "I can only do that when I'm super-duper tired. It's weird, but it's like..." Mandy scratched her head. "Even though I'm asleep and dreaming, I can hear distant noises and voices too. It's kinda hard to explain, but I really don't like it." Fluttershy took a moment to think. "All right. Um...how do you feel about white noise?" Mandy's eyes widened. If one of those huge light bulbs she had seen on that guy that worked at a place that made the things had appeared over her head, it would complete the entire "eureka moment" ensemble. "Yes...yes!" She nodded. "Yesyesyes, white noise! That's it! Things like ocean waves crashing, or fans running, or rain falling, or jungle sounds! That's what I need! If I had something like that, touched with just a liiiiittle pinchy-winchy of magic, I could drown out all the noise!" This got Fluttershy thinking, and soon, she too came up with an idea. "Then how about I find a room just for you, where you can have some peace and quiet if things get too noisy for you? I can put white noise in there, to help you sleep better." "You'd do that?" Mandy's voice was a squeak, and she lunged towards Fluttershy to hug her. "Oh, Fluttershy, thank you! It'd mean so much!" She pulled away. "A room all my own...I never got to experience it like all the other kids my age. But now it can become a reality!" Fluttershy smiled. "I'll go get started. Do you have anything specific in mind?" She had both expected and not expected Mandy to whip out an entire paper list of things she wanted in her new room. But she did, and Fluttershy read it all. Most of the things were pretty reasonable -- thank Celestia, because she wasn't sure if "a giant slide made of chocolate" could fit in the room she was about to create. Just as she left the room, she was brought back to reality. She knew what needed to be done. All she could hope for was that the others would be more understanding than they were now. Fluttershy's wings spread, and she took to the skies. "Hey, Fluttershy, where ya goin?" Pinkie asked. The Pegasus didn't respond, instead continuing her ascent without so much as acknowledging Pinkie. "Is she going to see Mandy?" Olive watched Fluttershy head up, up, up, all the way to the cloud where Mandy was sleeping. "I don't think Fluttershy's gonna be able to wake her up." Peaches said. The group of nine all watched their friend do her thing, feeling completely confused as to what "thing" she was doing. "Hi, Mandy." Fluttershy said, making her voice as soft as she could muster -- which, for her, wasn't too hard of a feat. "Um...the room you wanted...it isn't finished yet, I'm afraid. I'm still working on adding a few more things. But in the meantime, I have a fix for you." She rustled around behind her back and pulled out two pairs of nice fluffy pink earmuffs, with hearts embedded on the outsides of the cushions. "Earmuffs. Rarity made me these, but I don't use them very much since I have a pair of my own." She smiled. "So I had Oona tweak them just a little bit, to make them fully magical and soundproof. They'll stay nice and snug on your ears. Both pairs of them!" Mandy's snoring ceased for just a moment as she felt a warm sensation on the top of her head. It ran through her entire body, and whatever cold she had been feeling before when she was in the air dissipated. "Thankzz..." she murmured sleepily. Fluttershy giggled. "It's no problem. Now, don't tell the others, okay? I'd like for them to learn a lesson in respecting your sleeping habits, even though you brought this on yourself..." Her smile faded away, and she sighed. "Please don't overwork yourself, Mandy. I appreciate you doing a favor for the Mr. O in Colorado, but know your limits, hm?" She swooped back down to the group, who were all eagerly awaiting what she had to say. "You didn't get Mandy to wake up." Twilight stated matter-of-factly. "No." Fluttershy shook her head. "But I think she deserves to have a good rest." "But she's gonna attack people and destroy things just to do it?!" "Not if I stay with her." Fluttershy raised a hoof to silence her boss. "I'll make sure she doesn't destroy the town. Besides, I'm a little weary from taking care of the animals back at my cottage, and I could use some rest myself. Just leave Mandy to me." Everyone exchanged concerned glances. Still, their trust in Fluttershy trumped any other emotions they were feeling. Oprah sighed. "All right, then. You're her friend, Agent Fluttershy. Do what you need to." "Of course." She turned and began flying back up to Mandy again. "I'll see you all back at Headquarters, okay?" "Uh, Fluttershy?" Rainbow blocked her path by hovering in front of her. "Are you sure you wanna do this?" "Yeah, Mandy's mighty strong." Applejack added. "What if she blasts you and hurts you with her magic too?" "I'm sure she won't. And even if she does, I'll stop her." Twilight had flown up to her, now. "All right. We believe in you." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the rest of the group. "Thank you! I'll do my best." With Rainbow Dash moving out of the way, Fluttershy once again continued her flight, everyone watching her go. "Let's head back." Oprah said. "The least we can do is hope for the best." "I sure hope Fluttershy will be okay." Peaches remarked. "She and Mandy are friends. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Otto waved a dismissive hand. "Come on. Let's go relax and unwind back at HQ." Olive's suggestion was a good one, and everyone followed her to the nearest tube entrance, tired from the day's events thus far. "Quasi-des!" cried Mandy, who lifted her head off of the cloud and jabbed a pointer finger into the air before she flopped back downwards and continued her raucous snoring. "It's lucky Oona was able to make a third pair of these." Fluttershy remarked, reaching behind her back and pulling out another set of magically-modified earmuffs that looked quite similar to her own. She placed them on. "Now, there will be peace and quiet." She hummed softly to herself as she found a spot on the cloud for her to relax next to Mandy. "Have a good sleep, okay?" With that, she rested her head on the cloud and closed her eyes, letting herself drift off into her own personal dreamland. It was sunset by the time Fluttershy woke up. She was grateful that she hadn't somehow slept into nighttime, but rather, just on the cusp of it. Still, she was surprised that she had slept for this long. She parted her jaws to let out a yawn just before the sound of snoring that wasn't her own reached her ears. "Goodness, you really are wiped out!" she exclaimed, before glancing at the ground below her. "Maybe I can move this cloud back to Headquarters by using the emergency staircase." Her eyes widened as she realized just where said staircase was. "I just hope I can make it across town." Conjuring up a rope from her hammerspace spine, she tied it around the cloud, and around Mandy's body as well. She gripped the end of the rope in her teeth and began to flap furiously, surprised that the cloud was actually moving at a decent speed that wasn't either slow as a snail or a complete dead stop. "My...goodnesh...you're heavy!" she said, before a sigh escaped her. "All right, Fluttershy. You just have to put shpirit into it. Here...we...go...!" And with that, she began flapping her wings furiously once again towards the direction of the other side of town, making sure to put everything she had into it. By the time she made it back only fifteen minutes later, she was exhausted. She probably would have been able to go for another nap if she weren't thirsty and hungry. "We're...back!" She panted as she pulled the cloud and Mandy into the bullpen, her gaze sweeping the area. "And it looksh like we're not the last agentsh here." she observed, noting that a couple agents were still at their desks. "Now come on, let'sh get you all washed up." Before the Pegasus could move, however, Twilight came walking into the bullpen from one of the hallways that flanked the room's steel doors. "Oh, Fluttershy, you're back!" the alicorn said. Fluttershy dropped the rope in her mouth briefly. "Oh, Twilight, thank goodness! Can you please help me out? Mandy needs a bath and she's much too heavy for me to lift on my own." "Sure thing." Twilight responded, letting her horn glow alight and her magic aura wrap around Mandy's body to untie her and lift her off of the cloud. "If you can get her in the tub, that would be great! I'm going to stop by, um..." Fluttershy tried to think of a good excuse to form that would be able to fool her friend. "...the Bedroom first, and, um, put this cloud in there." Twilight tilted her head. "Why are you keeping it?" "In case Mandy wants to sleep on it again." Fluttershy was surprised at how easy that answer came out. And she made a good point with it, too. Twilight nodded. "Okay, sounds good. Meet you in the Bathroom, okay?" "Mhm!" Fluttershy watched as Twilight took Mandy with her until the two were out of sight, then she let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding in. That was a close one, she thought. If I can gain enough distance between Twilight and I, then I can put this cloud in Mandy's new room without her knowing. She picked up the rope in her teeth again and began moving, although she moved far slower than usual. She felt grateful that Rainbow Dash was the speedier one in the group, because if she were flying slowly like this, it would be an immediate cause for alarm for everyone that just so happened to notice her. But no, it was the shy one instead, the one that liked to take things easy. There would be no suspicion here. Still, she couldn't help but let a little seed of doubt roll about in her brain. Are Twilight and the others really going to learn the lesson I want them to learn? Maybe I should tell her... She blinked and shook her head. No! This is something my friends need to learn on their own. A little dose of kindness, empathy, and common sense, that's all. With a determined expression on her face, she headed towards the new room with the cloud in tow, a question beginning to form of "just how bad could washing a sleeping Mandy and getting her clean be?" The answer to that was "harder than one would think". Both Twilight and Fluttershy found out that Mandy had some kind of weird aversion to being bathed in her sleep, which didn't give either of them much luck in washing her. Eventually, Twilight had to resort to good old-fashioned alicorn magic just to keep her still long enough so she could be cleaned. After a half-hour of fighting, complaining, and inadvertently making the Bathroom into one big water park, the two mares emerged with Mandy in tow, their fur ruffled from drying themselves off with towels that they had resorted to wrapping around the hybrid. Dressing her in pajamas was a far easier feat, and took only a minute or two. "All right. It was a struggle..." Twilight shook some water from her hoof. "But Mandy is all clean and dressed now." As she took out the earmuffs from behind her back and placed them on Mandy's ears, the hybrid sniffed the air around her, and then sniffed the bed. Immediately recognizing it as a familiar place, she laid down on it, continuing to snore away. "Thank you." Fluttershy smiled. "Um, would you also mind keeping an eye on her? I, um..." She scratched her cheek. "I should probably go and check on the creatures before I wash up myself." "Of course! Take your time. I've got the whole night." Those words brought comfort to Fluttershy, and she left the Bedroom with a happier and more upbeat gait than her usual one. She was so relieved that she nearly managed to bump into an agent's leg because she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. "Twilight?" Olive poked her head in. "Oh, Olive! Otto!" "Hi!" Otto waved. "We figured we should check up on Mandy before we returned to our precinct." He looked around the room. "Where's Fluttershy going?" "To the Creature Room, to check up on the creatures. We got Mandy all washed up and dressed." Twilight sighed. "I really don't know how you do it, Olive." "Huh?" "We spent longer than we should have in the Bathroom just getting her clean. Mandy really doesn't like being bathed-" "She doesn't?" Olive blinked. "That's absurd! I caught her taking a two-hour-long bath in the Pool Room's Jacuzzi once because she felt the bathtub in the Bathroom wasn't big enough!" "No, she-" "She wanted to work in a bath products store because she loved the smell of the soaps." Otto pointed out. "Guys-" "And lest we forget Duckzilla? That giant rubber ducky she loved taking into the Bathroom with her when she was little?" Olive smiled. "I should see if she still wants it. It's at my house, for...some reason..." "GUYS!" Twilight exclaimed. "Mandy doesn't hate being bathed in general. She hates being bathed in her sleep." Olive and Otto exchanged a glance. "Ohhhh. That makes more sense." they said in unison. They examined Mandy up and down, and it was only then that one thing became apparent. "How'd she get two pairs of earmuffs?" Otto asked. Twilight turned around. "I'm not really sure. I thought it was something that Fluttershy did, or it was just something Mandy did herself, so I didn't really question it." She squinted, realizing that the earmuffs looked rather familiar, but she couldn't place how they were familiar. "If it were Mandy, she probably would have gotten a pair of her own by stealing it. And then Oprah would be called." Otto mused. "True." Olive nodded. "She does look more peaceful with them on, though." Lying on her back, Mandy kicked the air with her legs in the midst of a dream, as though she were responding to Olive -- perhaps in the dream itself, or perhaps she had heard her in the real world. Who knew? "Well, who doesn't like a nice cozy pair of earmuffs?" "It's springtime, Otto." Olive deadpanned. "So? If there's one thing I've learned from Agent Rarity, it's that any fashion can be the new hottest style if you deem it so, no matter what the season is!" "That just goes to show how little you know about Rarity. From me to you..." Olive patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Never become a fashion designer." "Olive? Otto?" The two Directors turned their heads towards the newcomer to the Bedroom, giving warm smiles when they saw it was someone familiar. "Hi, Fluttershy." Olive greeted. "How was your nap with Mandy? She didn't cause any explosions or anything, did she?" Fluttershy giggled. "No explosions. Mandy was fine. I think by tomorrow, she'll be well-rested." Otto's expression brightened. "You mean she's gonna wake up tomorrow?" "Well, I can't say for sure." Fluttershy shook her head. "But just in case she does, I'd like to sleep with Mandy for tonight. I think she likes having a friend to sleep with." Her tone almost rose to one that would give implications the trio was doing something wrong, but even she knew that none of them would be so keen on sleeping as much as Mandy did just because she wanted someone with her when she slept. After all, that was what Fluffy was for -- or at least, that was one of the things it was for. "Now, I'm going to go wash up." Twilight's eyes widened at this statement, but Fluttershy ignored it. "Don't you two have your nightly duties?" Otto blinked. So did Olive. "Crumpets." was the first word out of the girl's mouth, as she grabbed Otto by the wrist and headed for the door. "Thanks for the reminder Fluttershy gotta go see you later and all that jazz." "Hey, hey, not so tight!" Otto tried to protest, to no avail. He resorted to giving a "Bye, Fluttershy and Twilight!" as he was dragged out the door. Twilight waved as she watched them go, then fixed her gaze on her equine friend. "I was going to call dibs on the Bathroom, you know." "Sorry." Fluttershy shrugged. "But there's a lot of hard work and exercise that goes into taking care of both creatures and animals." "I know. But I thought your Element was Kindness." Twilight ran a hoof along the floor, fixing Fluttershy with a look of mock pity before she laughed and waved her hoof at her friend. "Go on and relax." Fluttershy couldn't help but give a chuckle herself before she began heading for the Bathroom, eager to take a bath and unwind after her rather eventful day. As she left, Twilight looked around the room. "Huh. I wonder where that cloud she said she was going to leave in here is...?" "Now, it's just down this hall..." With legs wobbling and a pony-human hybrid slung over her back, Fluttershy walked. She didn't even try to fly, knowing that she would just plummet back down to the ground within seconds. Carrying ponies on her back was more Rainbow Dash's thing, anyway. She rounded a corner and came to another hallway lined with rooms of all kinds. She didn't really pay attention to too many of them, though -- there was one she was eyeing in particular. As the sound of creaking filled the air, she stopped. Her body stiffened as her cyan eyes shifted to the left, just in time to see a door marked with an array of numbers next to her move along the wall. The other doors quickly followed suit, breezing past her like someone had put a quarter in a slot machine. Her mane and tail billowed in the breeze the movement created, and it was then she realized that she had only ever gotten to witness the changing of rooms in Precinct 13579 only a few times in her life. Each time had been more magical and whimsical than the last, and this was no exception. Her gaze became fixated on one door in particular that didn't seem to move at all, yet doors moved behind it with ease. This was her destination, and a smile formed on her face. My plan worked. The gadget I used is making it stay in place. After about a minute or so, the hallway fell still again. New doors, and new rooms, had completely replaced the old ones. Fluttershy exhaled and gave a breathy chuckle as she continued to walk once more, eyeing the rooms with a glimmer of curiosity. Once she arrived at the door she wanted to go through, she stopped. It was a plain white door with a raised inner border, completely unpainted. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the handle that she had perfectly installed at the height of an average pony (with another one just above it, for humans), and made her way inside. The room, big enough to accommodate a party of fifty, was very nearly full with everything Mandy had asked for. The bed that had once sat in the Bedroom was now in the far-right corner of the new room, although it had been repurposed so it was now a bigger, queen-sized bed made out of a cloud, similar to the bed Rainbow Dash had in her Cloudominium back in Equestria. Everything that was in Mandy's nightstand had been moved to clear storage boxes that were tucked in open spaces in a horizontal cabinet and labeled accordingly, although her old nightstand had been moved to the new room and placed beside her bed as a makeshift table. A new wardrobe closet sat next to the cabinets, with every article of her clothing moved from the old closet to the new one. A large oval-shaped rug sat on the floor. Fluttershy had put blood, sweat and tears into crafting the room, and excitement bubbled within her as she began to grow excited for her friend to see it when it was fully complete. "It's very nice, and it's soundproof!" the mare pointed out, making her way over to the bed. "Plus, I made you a cloud bed. I know how much you like soft things." She used every ounce of her strength to shift Mandy to the floor and lift her into bed, then promptly landed beside her, tucking her wings in and smiling at the sleeping hybrid. "Mm..." Fluttershy yawned. "Good night, Mandy. Hopefully, I'll see you in the morning, fully awake and rested." Planting a kiss on the hybrid's forehead, the Pegasus snuggled up to her friend and drifted off to sleep once more, the sound of said friend's snores lulling her deeper and deeper into her own personal dreamland. Although the room was dark, Mandy's internal clock knew when it was time for her to get up. Similarly, it also knew when she had gotten enough sleep to where she could reasonably function. She gave a snort as her eyes slowly opened, her jaws doing the same to let a yawn through. "Wow, how long did I zzleep for? Feelzz like a week..." she muttered, before she felt the air in the room change. "And where 'm I...?" After she conjured up a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise and drank it, her horn slowly lit up, a small sphere of magic resting on its tip to provide much-needed light. It was then that she answered her own question. Shock completely overrode her exhaustion. She looked from left to right, at everything in the room. It felt so familiar, and yet, so strange at the same time. A grin slowly, ever so slowly, made its way across her face. As Olive, Otto and Oprah were walking through the bullpen, an elated and muffled scream reached their ears, which made Olive choke on the sip of water in her mouth. "What was that?!" Otto's head immediately swiveled towards the sound. "I know that scream from anywhere." Oprah's voice was a mix of relief and concern, and she immediately began booking it towards the source of the sound. Luckily, she didn't need to go far, as Mandy quickly got in her way and made her dig her heels into the floor before she could crash into her. "Guys! You hafta come see this, quickquickquickquickquickquickquick!" The hybrid grabbed her by the wrist and began dragging her along. Olive and Otto followed, and absolutely none of them protested, if not out of confusion, then out of the usual "just Mandy being Mandy" resignation. The door opened, and Mandy used her illumination magic to find the light switch, ignoring Fluttershy's protests of "Mandy, don't!" What Oprah, Olive and Otto were greeted with was, perhaps, one of the most splendorous bedrooms they had ever seen. All of them couldn't help but feel jealous as their gazes swept the area. "Ohhhh..." Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves. "Mandy, I didn't want-" "Fluttershy? What're you doing here?" Mandy blinked, only now just realizing her friend was in the room. She gasped. "Did you make this?!" "Um...w-well, it's...I need to do some explaini-" "This is my room?!" Mandy's voice was practically a squeal. "Oh my gosh, it looks amazing! You got everything I asked for!" She paused. "Except for the desk and the computer. Oh, and the buffet bar. And one of those exercise balls to roll and roll on!" "Mandy, if you would just-" "So, you guys like it? Huh huh huh?!" Mandy bounced up and down, completely oblivious to the trio's shocked expressions and dropped jaws. "It's my new room! Fluttershy made it for me!" Oprah blinked once, and then twice. Her eye twitched. And then she walked over to the bed. "I'm...this is...you...you decided to turn one of my rooms, in my Headquarters..." She put her face close to Fluttershy's. "INTO THIS?! WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!" Normally, Fluttershy would have crouched in fear against her boss's wrath. But confidence was flowing within her, and it came forth in a huge burst. "I'm sorry, Ms. O. But you didn't think Mandy not being like every other child in town and not getting a room all her own would go unnoticed forever, did you?" she asked. "She wanted this. I didn't do this on my own." Oprah swiveled her head towards Mandy. "But why?!" she screamed in disbelief. "Because she wants many, many nights of sleep. Specifically, a good night's sleep where she isn't bothered by anyone who barges into her room and tries to wake her up. Why do you think she uses force fields now? Because she needs quiet in order to be able to sleep properly. I did all of this so you, along with the girls, could learn a lesson in kindness and empathy." Olive slumped to her knees as a memory throbbed in her brain. Not one that was painful, mind, but one that was very, very vivid. "Mama?" Olive looked up from her magazine. "What is it, Mandy?" The five-year-old girl, clad in brunette pigtails, hopped up and down slightly while tugging at Olive's jacket. "Why can't I get my own room like all the other kids?" "We talked about this. Oprah doesn't particularly like when agents claim one of the rooms in her Headquarters and use it as their own. If I asked her about getting you your own room, she would shoot me down. No matter how many times I asked, and no matter what I did to try and make her change her mind." "But I want my own room!" the girl whined. "I know. And maybe one day, you'll get it. But you're happy bunking with the ponies, aren't you?" Mandy dragged the tip of her shoe along the floor. "I guess..." Olive ruffled her adopted daughter's hair. "Here. If it'll make you feel better, why don't you write down a list of what you would want in your room? And someday, maybe we can make it all a reality." This pleased Mandy, who immediately rushed off and came back with a piece of paper and a pencil in tow. "Okay!" She began writing down all sorts of things -- anything and everything that came to mind. Olive watched curiously, her eyes widening at some of the more... fantastical stuff Mandy wrote. Finally, she handed her completed list to her Mama. "Here you go!" Olive read it over. Every single word became stuck in her brain. As much as the sourpuss in her wanted to break the news to Mandy about some of her stuff not being feasible, she restrained herself. After all, the girl was only five. "This is a wonderful list. I'll hang it on the fridge at home, okay? That way, I'll always remember it." "Yay!" Mandy reached over and wrapped her arms around Olive. "Thank you so much, Mama! You're the best!" The hug startled the Director, but it also broke her heart a little -- to deny such a young girl what was an essential part of childhood felt downright criminal, even if the circumstances couldn't be helped. Still, she had a long life ahead of her, and she knew that someday, Mandy's wish would come true. No matter whose hands -- or hooves -- it was by. "Olive?" Otto calling her name barely fazed her. Her eyes slowly, ever so slowly, began to water. She glanced at everything in the room, her heart twisting as though someone was squeezing every last drop of blood out of it. Finally, she couldn't stop herself anymore. She cried. "If you want to deny Mandy what should be her right to have as your second-in-command, then I hate to say it, Ms. O, but you're selfi-" Fluttershy paused her words to glance at Olive, her eyes widening. Otto instinctively bent down and rubbed her back in a comforting manner. "Olive, what's wrong?" A mighty sniffle became his answer, followed by actual words. "How could I not have given Mandy her own room? Why couldn't I just go against Oprah's wishes? It's been eleven years...eleven years of a childhood keystone she didn't have!" she said. "Instead, we put her in with the ponies. And she hated it. She hated it!" As her body racked with each heavy sob, Oprah looked on with an expression of regret and pity. She bit her lower lip and glanced at the floor, immediately recalling a time when she had chewed out Otto for making a Soundcheck Room without her permission but had gone ahead with it because she, too, was a Soundcheck fan. Minutes went by in agonizing near-silence. Fluttershy and Mandy both watched as one agent cried, another one comforted his partner, and another one looked incredibly guilty. Both mare and child exchanged looks, until the child spoke up. "Momma...I never hated bunking with the ponies." Olive's eyes widened. She looked at Mandy, rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wipe away the tears. "What?" "As much as I reeeeeeally would've loved having my own room, sleeping with them was like having a sleepover with friends every single day! Only if the friends were...you know, people you grew up with...y-you get it." Mandy waved her hand. "Why don't you all sit down and let's discuss this?" Oprah lifted her head, blinking at Mandy as though she had somehow been forced out of a daydream. She slowly moved towards the bed, where Fluttershy hopped off to allow her to sit. Olive and Otto soon followed, the latter guiding the former to the bed as they took a seat next to Oprah. All of them felt how softer the bed was compared to Mandy's old one, but chose not to comment on it for the time being. Mandy opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Oprah took the floor. "Can I start? There's something I'd like to address first." she asked, raising her hand. "Mandy, you're on the hook." "What hook? I don't see a hook! I'd think there was one through me if I could see it!" Mandy exclaimed, whirling around and around in circles and attempting to feel her backside. "It's an expression. It means you're responsible for something." Otto explained. Oprah grit her teeth, figuring out the best way to break the news to Mandy before she decided to go with blunt honesty. "You sleepwalked again. Or sleep-flew, I should say." Mandy's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything in response. "You blasted me out of the Bedroom and sent me colliding with a wall. We tried putting the Dream-inator helmet on you to see if you were having some weird dream that was causing you to act out, but you destroyed that too. Dr. O ran an analysis on you and pinpointed that you weren't sick, but not even he could help you." Oprah's tone became more and more accusatory with every word. "We followed you to Cedarvale Park, where you nearly killed Olive..." "I-" "I'm not done!" Oprah snapped. "Then you erected a force field around the entirety of the park, which took the combined effort of us and the ponies just to break. And after that..." She glanced at Fluttershy. "Fluttershy was able to calm you down, somehow. If it weren't for her, you would have killed someone." She squinted. "But you got pretty damn close." Mandy only glanced at Fluttershy, who was all too eager to share the story of her role in the adventure. "Twilight and I worked together to bathe you and dress you...bathing you was the hardest part." She rubbed her leg. "And then you were peaceful for the rest of the night." Before Mandy could say anything in response, Fluttershy gripped her by the shoulders. "This is why I told you not to overwork yourself, Mandy. Your sleep suffers because of it, and then things like this happen. You hurt innocent people and innocent ponies without even knowing it." "But I do! I do know it!" Fluttershy hovered backwards slightly as Mandy pushed her away. "Didn't I tell you? All I wanted was peace and quiet so I could sleep well! But no one is willing to give me peace and quiet! It's all 'we gotta wake Mandy up for this' and 'we gotta wake Mandy up for that'..." "What are you talking about?" Otto tilted his head. "We try to wake you up sometimes, but generally we leave you alone." "You don't understand. So let me help you understand." Mandy's gaze bore into Otto. "All of you know that I'm impossible to wake up during sleep. My dreams can be odd and complex, or they can be very simple. And this isn't the first time I've sleep-walked or sleep-flown anywhere." Oprah opened her mouth, and it was Mandy's turn to interrupt. "But!" she exclaimed. "In the distant back of my mind, I hear voices. Noises. Of agents, and of ponies, and of people in general. It's like that really bad itch on your back you can't reach unless you wanna become a bear for five seconds." She touched her ears. "I believe it has something to do with these pony ears. Double the ears, double the hearing." "I thought you could sleep through loud things." Oprah tilted her head. "Do our voices bother you that much?" "That's what I said!" Fluttershy nodded. "I can only sleep through the noises and voices when I'm super-exhausted, which doesn't happen much." Mandy shrugged. "I really don't remember attacking you guys or heading into town. All I wanted was to get away from the noise and find somewhere quiet to sleep. I guess my brain treated you as disturbances." "But why do you stay asleep, then?" Oprah asked. "If you hear noises, shouldn't that wake you up?" "Yes. If I was a normal person." Mandy scoffed. "But I'm not a normal person. Not anymore. I'm a pony-human hybrid now!" "What?" "My brain knows I still need sleep, so it keeps me asleep while also trying its best to get rid of the disturbances that try to wake me up. Of course, that doesn't really happen every night...sometimes I wake up when you guys shake me or whatever. It just takes me a while!" Oprah glanced at Otto, who stared at Mandy with a rather confused look on his face. Fluttershy digested this information, and took a moment to think. "So is that why you gave us a hard time when Twilight and I tried to bathe you?" "I...can't really say." Mandy scratched her head. "If you guys were making a lot of noise, though, my brain probably reacted to it." "Hold on." Oprah stood up. "This all came about because you overworked yourself too much? How'd that happen?" "Funny story..." Mandy twiddled her fingers together. "I was working on this super-difficult case for the Colorado precinct, 'cuz they were stacked to the brim with work and I happened to pass by Mr. O on the streets of Denver, do not even ask why I was in Denver, it's a long story, but I decided to take the case off of his hands. I've been living off limited sleep for a week, and it kiiiiiinda bit me in the tail. I overestimated the difficulty of the case." Oprah had about a million questions about her agent's story -- really, she had a million questions about how her agent's body and mind worked in general -- but figured that getting them all answered would take months. She sighed. "Ahh, abusing your body by denying its needs. Been there, done that...felt that..." A shudder overtook her body. "But certainly not for someone like you. I admire your work ethic, Mandy, but if you think there's a case you can't handle, don't be afraid to say no, okay?" "Yeah, I've learned my lesson! I think I'll just stick to Canadian cases from now on." Mandy smiled. "But I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone, not maliciously! I just wanted peace and quiet when I sleep." "Is that why this room exists?" Otto asked. Mandy nodded. "Fluttershy offered to make me a room with white noise in it. That noise is the only noise I can tolerate when I'm asleep. It influences my dreams sometimes, too!" "That makes sense." Otto mused. "I use white noise to help myself sleep, and I'm human. You were originally human, and now you're half-human. So white noise would help you in the same way it helps me, maybe." "Well, Mandy...if you want peace and quiet when you sleep," Oprah smiled. "I'll be more than happy to accommodate it. Starting with this room." Mandy's eyes shimmered. "You mean..." "You can have it. It's all yours, to do whatever you want with. Right down to the door." Oprah nodded. "One of the cons of being immortal is forgetting bits and pieces of childhood. Having your own room is one of the best parts of it. I don't want you to miss out on that while you're still young." Her expression darkened for only a brief moment before she returned to smiling. "And on behalf of Otto, Fluttershy, Olive, and the others, we're sorry for trying to wake you up. If we knew you just wanted silence, we wouldn't have bothered you at all." She shook her head. "I'm sorry for even trying to wake you up to begin with. I started this whole mess." She took Mandy's hands and cupped them in her own. "So let me make it up to you. Fluttershy, I'd like to help you with decorating the rest of Mandy's room. Let's make it one she'll never forget." "Me too!" Otto raised his hand and frantically waved it. "This bedroom's gonna be the coolest one in the world once I work my magic on it!" Everyone glanced towards Olive, who had turned around and was facing the wall, holding her knees close to her chest. The smile disappeared from Otto's face. "Olive?" "I didn't even know all of that about you, Mandy." Olive's voice was a near-whisper. "All this time, when I tried to wake you up...I didn't know how bad that was for you. I treated you like I would treat any other human being...when you're not just a human being. What kind of mother am I if I can't even figure out the wants and needs of my own child?" Mandy tilted her head, a concerned expression settling on her face before she rolled onto her bed. "Momma, I'm a weirdo!" "Don't say that!" Olive instinctively cried out, a worried edge to her voice. "You're not a weirdo." "But I am a weirdo!" Mandy kicked her feet into the air. "My brain works really funny when I sleep, and it works funny in general. I eat more than humans could ever eat. And hammerspace covers more than just my back, it covers my hair and tail too!" she chirped. "But I like being a weirdo. We're all a weirdo in some way or another! And..." She lowered her feet and glanced at Olive. "Parents can't know everything about their kids. It's like you always say: I continue to surprise you. And that's a good thing, right?" Olive blinked, pondering Mandy's words for a moment before a small smile began to form. "Yeah. Yeah, it is a good thing." "The transformation changed me in soooooo many ways that not even I know about yet!" Mandy rolled onto her stomach. "But maybe, while we discover those ways...maybe I'm just a cute lil' unpredictable surprise! And that's the super-fun part!" She drew a finger across her bedsheet. "All you need to do is love me, care for me, and support me, just like a mother would. That's all I want." Olive's eyes widened. She pulled her knees away from her chest and extended them, to the point where Mandy could see every speck of dirt on the shoes she was still wearing (not that she minded them on her bedsheet, of course). Tears began to pool in her eyes, and she reached out to pull Mandy close to her next. "I do. I do love you. I do care for you. And I'll always support you, no matter what." Olive hugged her tighter, the tears streaming down her face. "You have my complete and utter word." "Do it!" Olive chuckled and went through the movements. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." The two girls embraced each other in a long hug as Oprah, Otto and Fluttershy looked on with smiles across their faces. "Now," Olive got off of the bed. "I'll help Fluttershy decorate your room, too. Just say the word, and I'll spoil you rotten." Mandy shook her head to get the water out of her hair, then her smile turned into a full-fledged grin. "Flutterbutter, give 'em the list!" The rest of the day was completely devoted to letting Oprah's other agents handle cases while she began to put the finishing touches on Mandy's room. The day after, she called a day off, and construction continued. Mandy herself had taken to painting the doors in a variety of colors that, while they didn't clash together well, she personally enjoyed. The others -- including the ponies, once they had gotten wind of the news and gotten a stern lecture from Fluttershy -- had taken to putting in and adjusting items that Mandy had on her list. "I must say, darling, as much as I would critique on the horrible design of this room..." Rarity remarked, looking around the room. "It's so Mandy." "I agree." Twilight nodded. "It's going to be weird not having Mandy sleep with us, though." "Mm. Perhaps not for me." Rarity said. "If I'm being quite honest with you, I never was a fan of Mandy's inharmonious snoring." "Didn't you say you got used to it?" "Yes. I had to. I couldn't just tell Mandy to stop snoring." Twilight playfully rolled her eyes. "Hey, girls!" came Pinkie's greeting as she rolled in on a blue exercise ball. "Look what I found!" "An exercise ball?" Twilight tilted her head. "What does Mandy want that for?" "To roll around on, silly!" Pinkie hopped off of the ball, watching as it rolled and struck Otto in the back of the legs. "They're really fun! You should try one sometime!" "Yeah, no thanks. I think I've seen enough horrors from when Ms. O replaced all the chairs in the bullpen with them..." Twilight ruffled her wings furiously. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash examined Mandy's new bed. "You said this was inspired by my bed, Fluttershy?" "Oh yes. Clouds are known to be very soft, so I added another layer above the mattress, so it would feel like Mandy is sleeping on a cloud." Fluttershy explained. "And I also made sure she wouldn't eat this one." "Still can't believe she's the only one I know who eats clouds." Rainbow said. "Though she does love cotton candy..." "It's nice and roomy, too. Instead of a twin-sized bed, now she has a queen-sized one." Fluttershy winked. "Gadgetry is wonderful, don't you think?" Rainbow had to wonder what gadgets her friend used to turn a twin bed into a queen one, but chose not to ask about it. "Yeah. It looks pretty neat." "Daaaaaaaash! Sister! Help me!" "Long live the queen." Mandy gave a cry of distress. Rainbow sighed. "Gotta go." With slow wing flaps, she made her way over to Mandy, who was grasping the top of the door like it was a cliff face she was about to lose her grip on. Over in the left corner, Applejack was staring at a list. "Now what's all this, again?" "Toys." Olive explained. "I never really bought Mandy all that many because I myself was never interested in that kind of stuff. But I tried to make a list of every toy she would like." "And just how am I s'posed t' pay for it?" "You earn bits from Sweet Apple Acres. Most places here take bits, don't they?" Applejack scanned the list again, and sighed. "Look, I'll try, sugarcube, but I ain't the richest pony in the world. I dunno if I'm gonna be able t' get her all these toys..." "That's fine. Just buy what you can, and we'll save the rest for her birthday." The farmpony stared at Olive, not sure why she was so nonchalant about her bits -- maybe because the bits weren't Olive's to spend. Regardless, Applejack nodded and left the room with the list in tow. "So it says here that if you clap a bunch of times, it turns the white noise on?" Otto blinked. "Why 'a bunch of times' instead of...I dunno, twice?" "'Cuz doing it twice is trademarked! I'd get sued!" Mandy threw her hands into the air. "Now, watch and learn!" Looking upwards, she began to clap like she had just seen her friend put out a wonderful performance on stage. The sound of ocean waves crashing on the shore began filling the room, and when the sound reached her ears, she stopped. "Uh..." Otto looked at the ceiling. "How about we compromise and say...clapping three times turns it on and off?" Mandy made a scrunchy-face. "But then it's not fun!" She scoffed. "Fine. Make it three. Take away its whimsy. Be a stinky old fun-ruiner." Otto smiled as she stuck her tongue out at him. He fiddled around with the dials on the remote he had in his hand for a few moments, then looked back at Mandy. "Try it now." Clapping three times turned the ocean sounds off. "Look..." Otto smirked. "The only reason I suggested you clap three times and not a million is because..." He leaned in close to Mandy's ear and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Doctors say that if you clap too many times, your hands fall off." Mandy gasped and backed away. "No! Not my hands! I love my hands! I need them! They're organs! They're limbs! They're important! I'm never gonna clap aga-" She caught Otto's sly teasing expression before he took off running. "Awwww, c'mon! Get back here!" With how big the room was, the duo running didn't deter construction all too much. For the most part, everyone ignored the chase and kept on working as though nothing was happening. It was the endgame, and they were going to put as much effort as they could into making the room look neat. By nighttime, the work was complete. The room was decorated with stickers and almost every item on Mandy's list, with the approval by Mandy herself for everything. She couldn't wait to sleep in it -- the past couple days had her bunking on Oprah's couch, because "the first time in a new room is special!" There was just one more thing she had to do. "Keep your eyes closed, Peach!" "All right, all right, they're closed. You're lucky I'm a catgirl." As the two cousins walked through the hallway leading to Mandy's new room, Mandy assisted a blindfolded Peaches in where to go, with the latter feeling the air with her hands to make sure the former didn't try to ram her into a wall or anything. "Okay, stop!" Mandy ordered, before she opened the rainbow-colored door that led into her new paradise. "Now gimme a sec to undo the knot here..." She magically grabbed ahold of the knot that kept the blindfold in place, squinting as she attempted to undo it. "You want help?" "No, I...think...I got it!" Mandy's expression brightened as the blindfold was successfully untangled. "Thank goodness, too, 'cuz I was gonna start yankin' on your head! Now open your eyes!" Peaches did as she was told. A gasp forced its way out of her without her even knowing. In addition to the stickers, a whole host of items had been added. Next to the wardrobe closet, there was now a large desk and a sewing machine, in case Mandy wanted to sew but Rarity's boutique was closed. An exercise ball sat up against that, large and blue, and perfect for rolling on. In the corner that sat to Peaches' left, there was a large bookshelf with a myriad of books, including all ten books in the Wolves of the Wilderness series. As she walked further into the room, she took a look at the wall that was on her left, where a bunch of posters of meadows were hung. "This...I'm..." Peaches shook her head vigorously. "That's funny, I thought it was going to be more...extravagant. You said you had a whole list full of stuff." "I did!" Mandy said. "But didja think there would be all kinds of crazy stuff on it?" "To be honest? Yes." Peaches deadpanned. "What kind of crazy stuff did you have in mind?" "Oh, you know...an all-you-can-eat buffet. A slide made of chocolate that builds itself back up every day. A trap door for villains. Huuuuuuuge bass speakers. A DJ portal." "What's a 'DJ portal'?" "A portal for DJs, silly!" Mandy nudged Peaches. "Aaaaaanyway, how do ya like it?" "It looks nice. Definitely fits you." Peaches peered past Mandy to gaze at her bed. "Did you get a new bed, too?" "Not really. It's my old one, but I expanded it to be a queen size so I can roll around on it!" "Uh-huh." Peaches gave a bemused smile. "Well, if you're happy with it, that's what matters. I...can't really speak much on the matter. I never had my own room." Mandy took in so much air in one big long gasp that Peaches half-expected her body to inflate like a balloon. "Whaaaaaaat? The bestest cousin ever, not have her own room?! Blastphilly! That can't stand! It can't even sit down! I forbid it!" "You mean blasphemy?" "That's what I said!" "You said 'blastphilly'." "Yeah! Blastphilly!" Peaches groaned. "Do they not teach English at the Odd Squad Academy? And if not, can we write to someone about that?" "Anyway!" Mandy ignored her cousin's question and jabbed a finger into her chest. "We're gonna rectify that, you and I." She conjured up a piece of paper and a pen before leaning back on her spinning tail. "Start writin', sister." "I'm...sorry, what am I writing?" "What you want in your new room, of course!" Mandy pulled out a can of Dr. Shmumber's from behind her back, opened it, and took a swig. "Go on. I got alllll night." Peaches had to bite back another groan as she looked at the paper that was handed to her. All it said at the top was "PEACHES' ROOM TO-DO LIST". Silence filled the room. "You're not going to let me leave here until I fill out this list, are you?" Another swig of soda. "Right on the money, kiddo." Sighing, Peaches took the pen in her hand and got to writing. She couldn't deny that having her own room that was extravagant as Mandy's seemed interesting...maybe she could make it just as big as hers. Maybe.
S1E12: Fickle LoveOlive and Otto made their way into the bullpen of Precinct 13579's Headquarters, chatting away. "Look, all I'm saying is that Lady Bread really shouldn't be going to the park if she doesn't want to get eaten." "Yeah, but ducks shouldn't eat bread, Otto. It's bad for them. Besides, knowing her, she'd just turn them all into loaves of bread out of revenge." Otto shrugged. "Eh, fair point, I guess." As they broke eye contact with each other, their gazes both landed on an agent sitting at her desk, staring up at the sky with her fists on her cheeks, completely oblivious to any and all happenings surrounding her. A rather goofy smile sat on her face, and her eyes were half-lidded. "Okay, I've seen Mandy staring off into space before, but this is new." Otto said, utterly confused. Olive squinted. "Don't tell me those are..." Sure enough, "those" were a slew of small pink hearts, floating up into the air a little ways before popping like balloons. "Yep, they are." A mischievous smile formed on her face as she strode over to the hybrid. "Maaaandyyyyy!" She nudged her as a sly tone crept into her voice. "Who's the lucky person, huh?" "Only the greatest pop star in history..." came the wistful response, Mandy not even bothering to make eye contact with either Olive or Otto. Otto gasped, stars in his eyes as he exclaimed, "Soundcheck?!" "Bradley Beli." Mandy stretched out her body and broke her concentration, and as she stared at the two Directors, they both noted she had hearts in her eyes. "I've got a ticket to his concert, and you couldn't pay me enough money to miss it." Olive's eyes widened. "Ohh, now I know who you're talking about. That's the guy that travels all around the world and performs concerts and helps out charities and stuff. I've heard of him." "How does that make him any different from Soundcheck? Or literally any pop star ever?" "Because he's so dreamy..." Otto just rolled his eyes. "Wait. You have a crush? On Bradley Beli?" Olive asked incredulously. "Yes!" Mandy nodded. "Can't you just imagine the wedding? It'll be so grandiose, so magical...I'll be striding down the aisle, clad in the most gorgeous wedding dress I've ever created...and you guys'll be my guests of honor!" "In Odd Squad, 'magical' is a grandiose understatement of an adjective." Olive snarked. "We'll live together in a biiiiig, spacious house!" Mandy gasped. "And maybe even have children!" Olive's body stiffened. Mandy sighed. "It's my biggest dream of all to be his girlfriend, and eventually, his wife. He's super-sweet too!" She stood up and pulled Otto closer to her. "Did you know that he's donated to over a hundred charities worldwide? That's a lotta charities! And a lotta money!" She waved a hand. "And his music, oh, it's far superior to Soundcheck by a mile!" "Hey, you take that back!" Otto exclaimed, pushing her away. "Soundcheck is awesome!" "But it's true! Bradley writes a lot of personal songs. Y'know, stuff about his life? Has Soundcheck ever written any songs about their lives? Or do they just write silly little cookie-cutter love songs?" Otto opened his mouth to object, but closed it and settled for a growl when he realized that Mandy was right -- a majority of the boy band's discography was love songs that followed the same cut-and-print formula. That didn't mean he didn't enjoy every last one of them, though. "One day, I wanna perform a song with him. It'll be the best thing ever!" She closed her eyes, took an inhale, and began to sing a song from Bradley's rather extensive discography. "If I was to express my love to you, my dear How would it be projected in- mmph!" "You are not having children! Ever! Don't even think about it!" Olive snapped as she held a finger to Mandy's lips. "Aww, but Momma..." Mandy lowered Olive's arm. "The greatest feeling to any mother is to have their child announce you're a grandma!" "No, because it makes me sound old, and I'm not old!" Olive scoffed. "For Pete's sake, I still look like I'm 12! When my body ages 30 or so years, and when your body ages 30 or so years...then maybe I will reconsider." "And when's that gonna happen, hmm? When the author decides to stop updating this fanfic?" Mandy rolled her eyes. "Anyway...you guys wanna attend the concert? It's gonna be great!" "It'll be a hard pass for me." "Nah." Otto shook his head. "Consider it payback for you saying that Bradley Beli is superior to Soundcheck!" "As I said, I speak the truth." Mandy shrugged. "Ah well, if you guys don't wanna, that's on you!" She did her usual snort-and-giggle laugh. "Guess I'll go by myself!" "As long as you two don't end up married by the end of the night." "Love is a process, Momma." Mandy waved her hand. "Ya can't just fall in love and get married and live happily ever after in one night! Not in real life!" She giggled and snorted again. "That's silly-willy talk!" "In storybooks, though, not so much." "Well yeah, that's the basis of 68% of fairy tales." Mandy nodded at Otto. "Who knows about the other 32%, though. Tried and true!" She stretched her body out again and let out a satisfied sigh. "Anyway, did you two come here for anything?" Otto nodded. "I have a lot of broken gadgets and Odie's off today. Think you can fix 'em?" "Sure! And maybe I'll install some extra precautions, too. If Odie won't do it, then I will! Gimme gimme!" It took a few minutes for Otto to give her every single gadget he had broken. There were more than she was expecting, and it got to the point where the pile of gadgets towered over her desktop computer. "Ehe...thank you!" Mandy scratched the back of her head. "Didn't expect ya to have this many, though..." "You should see what he breaks at his house." "Hey!" Otto whirled around and turned on Olive, who only snickered in response. Giving a defeated sigh, he faced Mandy again. "Olive and I are gonna head back to our precinct, but if you wanna stop by and deliver those when you're done with 'em, that would be great." "Consider it finito!" Mandy waved the duo off, then turned back to the pile of gadgets. She would have normally felt utter dread at how much work she had to do, but a bigger priority was weighing on her mind at the moment. "Bradley Beli...I will make you mine! Somehow! I don't know how yet, but somehow!" Over in Grange Park, Bradley Beli's stage was being set up. Hammers pounded nails into wood, metal was being put into place, and everyone was working hard. However, unbeknownst to them, someone was watching in the bushes from afar. Striking against the shrubbery with her red-clad clothing and her tall hairdo marked with a heart-shaped hair deco was Laura Lovebloom, a dangerous villainess who aimed to have the market cornered when it came to the concept of love. Unfortunately, not everyone was so open and so receptive to her advances. A growl rolled about in her throat. "Three months without finding anyone who wants to play Matchmaker. It's too much! If I want to keep my status as a villain, I need to find someone to work my magic on, and soon!" As her eyes scanned the area, it didn't take her long to spot one particular girl dressed in Odd Squad attire and decked with funky-looking hair and a tail, hopping along the grass and humming a little ditty to herself. "That girl..." Laura whispered, filing through the memories in her brain as a familiar feeling overtook her. She knew the girl from somewhere, but from where, exactly, she wasn't sure. Until a minute later, it hit her like a truck. Her memories took her to a scene she hardly recognized. It looked to be the top of the CN Tower, though. Or maybe some other such tower. She didn't know. What she did know was that she had a hammer pointed straight at her face, and it was only then that the puzzle pieces began clicking into place. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder! And I think your absence won't make our hearts go yonder!" She would have cringed at the terrible rhyme if it weren't for the crippling fear ricocheting through her body. "N-no, please! You don't understand, I-I have-" "A wife and kids?" The girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah, it's the same story from every villain." "P-please." Laura's voice was shaky. "I've heard stories of you leaving villains on the brink of death, a-and I don't want that!" "Then maybe you should've sat your butt down somewhere and re-evaluated your life by asking if villainy was really the career choice ya wanted to go with." The girl's tone was dead serious, lacking any of its usual cheerfulness. "And besides, forcing others to fall in love against their will is more of a crime than anything! Love is a process. You can't be married in a single night! That's not how love works!" Laura bit back a growl, as well as the urge to insinuate otherwise. The girl huffed. "If you promise not to commit any more odd felonies, then I suppose I can let you go. But!" "Hm?" "Try this stunt again, and your face will actually meet my hammer." The girl narrowed her eyes. "Got it?" "G-got it!" Laura vigorously nodded. "Then leave, before I change my mind." No one needed to tell Laura twice. She quickly stood up and hobbled away on her one good leg as fast as she could. The pain was the least of her worries -- all she needed to do was to get away from that monster. That monster who, while giving her an inadvertent time-out, had given her a wonderful opening once the time-out wore off. "She spared me..." Laura chuckled and pulled her heart-shaped wand out seemingly from inside the bush. "And that was her mistake." Her gaze drifted to the stage next. "But does she even have a crush on anyone?" Her eyes immediately fell on a group of three, who were walking towards the back of the stage. A blonde man and a brunette woman were flanking someone who certainly looked important, as he struck up a conversation with them that Laura couldn't hear. A sinister smile crossed her face. Her wand began charging up with magic. "Bingo. Looks like someone needs a little love from good old Laura Lovebloom." "Hi!" Mandy chirped as she approached the stage. "Can I help you guys get ready?" A dark-haired boy of about 14, who was assisting in assembling the floor of the stage, looked up. "Hm? And who might you be?" "My name's Agent Mandy, and I work at this town's Odd Squad!" the hybrid greeted. "I'm a big, big fan of Bradley Beli, but I also love to meet new people, too!" The boy chuckled. "That's nice. My name's Lewis Webb. I'm Bradley Beli's friend." Mandy's eyes shimmered. "Nice to meetcha!" she chirped. "Do you travel with him?" "Oh, all the time. We've been all over the world." Lewis stood up, his expression brightening. "And you know what? I bet he'd love to meet you. Bradley just can't go without meeting at least one Odd Squad agent in every place he visits. He loves Toronto especially. It's where he grew up, you know." Mandy's heartbeat began to quicken. The shimmer in her eyes grew more intense. "Wow, really? That's so cool!" she said, struggling to stifle the squeak that was beginning to rise in her voice. "If he wouldn't mind, I'd love to meet him too!" "All right! I'll see if he has some free time on his hands right now. Why don't you help with the lights in the meantime?" Lewis pointed to a small cluster of stage lights that sat in the corner of the stage's platform. "Sure!" came the enthusiastic response, as Mandy flew over to the lights and began studying the metal structure that surrounded the stage so she could learn how to put them up properly. Her tongue stuck out as she realized that she didn't really know how to put up stage lights, but before she could ask Lewis for help, he was already gone. She gave a big huff and took a light fixture in her hands before swooping up into the air with it and searching around for something to attach it to. She didn't get very far in only a few minutes, as every attempt she made to hang the fixture ended in failure. "Hello?" That voice. That silky, swooning voice that could only come from a human who was made to attract love. Mandy knew it all too well. A big grin formed on her face almost immediately. Her heart was beating so fast that it was a miracle how she wasn't dead (or, perhaps, one would think that it was just her average heartbeat given her hyperactivity). She slowly hovered down to the ground with the fixture in hand, setting it down and turning to face the one who had addressed her. Black hair. Quite the tall stature, for being a teen of 15. Clad in a simple white T-shirt and blue jeans, with sneakers to complete the entire ensemble. Emerald-green eyes that had just two small warm flecks of that unknown color no one could identify. It was like someone got crayons and colored Mandy in love. She could feel sweat beginning to drip down her face. Keep your composure, Mandy. Keep your composure! Yes, your crush is speaking to you for the very first time ever in existence, but don't lose it around him! Just...act casual. Totally casual! "Hi!" she forced out, like an actress that had just been handed a script and was told to read it in the most stilted way possible. "Y-you must be Bradley Beli!" "I am. And you're Agent Mandy, of Odd Squad?" "You got that right! It's such an honor to meet you!" It took a heck of a lot of willpower just for Mandy to make her hand stick out so Bradley could shake it -- which he did, eagerly, while also giving a slightly puzzled expression at her stiff dialogue and reactions. "Likewise." Bradley nodded. "I've heard of your feats from others in neighboring towns. They sure love to talk about you!" "Aww, well, it's nothing really..." Oh my odd, stop blushing. Stop it right now. "I'm super-duper popular, but really, I just wanna kick odd butt for as long as I can! And, um..." She dragged the toe of her foot along the ground. "I really love your music. It's so cool how you sing about your personal life in addition to love songs!" Bradley responded to this with a laugh that Mandy could best describe as "like fresh warm honey on a piece of toast that's made just right". He's laughing, he's laughing! Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out, your efforts are gonna be wasted if you freak out, don't freak out... Her brain simply kept repeating the three words over and over again, like the mantra of an insane person. "Thank you!" Bradley said. "I appreciate Odd Squad being such a fan of my music." Mandy opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could even say a word, a bright red beam hit her. Another bright red beam then hit Bradley in rapid succession, leaving both of them staring off into space for a few seconds. The sound of approaching footsteps did nothing to deter their attention, as a young woman donning a casual business dress and a young man donning a business suit made their way up to them. "What was that?" the woman asked. "Mr. Beli, sir, are you all right?" the man asked, waving his hand in front of Bradley to try and make him come to. And he came to, all right. The sound of romantic music swelled from somewhere no one could identify. "You know...I've always had a crush on you, Mandy." Bradley said, his voice almost a whisper as he looked into Mandy's eyes. Mandy gasped. "You have?!" From her little hiding spot, Laura quietly cheered. "Yes! Yes yes yes, it worked!" She pumped her fist into the air and giggled. "Now, they'll fall in love, and stay in love...forever!" A malicious chuckle left her before she shook her wand, her smile falling. "Ugh, but my wand's magic is all spent. Better go recharge it." Giving a huff, she left her shrubbery spot of hiding and meandered off, not noticing Lewis's fixed gaze on her. "So..." Bradley got down on one knee, pulled a small box out from behind his back, opened it, and posed one of the most exciting questions Mandy could have ever gotten in her life. "Will you marry me?" That seemed to snap Lewis's attention back to the situation at hand. "Brad, no! What are you doing?!" "Who is that girl?" Naomi tilted her head. "Agent Mandy. She works for Odd Squad. She offered to help us set up for Brad's concert tonight." Naomi felt a little uneasy all of a sudden, now that she knew who the girl in the impromptu relationship was. "Lewis, we heard two zaps coming from over there, but I don't see anyone." "I saw someone. I couldn't make them out too well, though." "Yes!" An elated cry from Mandy put a halt on the conversation. "Oh yes, Bradley, I will marry you!" She squealed and promptly trotted in place. "This is the happiest day of my life!" All Lewis and Naomi could do was exchange odd glances, with Mark's own confused expression being added to the fray. "Finally, my dream will come true...I'll finally get to spend some time with the man I love!" And just when the trio didn't think things couldn't get any worse...things got worse. Bradley and Mandy became engaged in a long and passionate kiss, absolutely full of genuinely romantic intent. Their eyes slowly closed, and the PDA went on for a lot longer than anyone would have liked to. Even some of those who were working on the construction of the stage had to avert their eyes out of discomfort. "I can't believe it..." Lewis shook his head. "Bradley wasn't like this just a couple minutes before!" Mandy pulled away from Bradley and sheepishly laughed before she gasped. "But wait! What about your concert tonight?" "I'll postpone it." Collective horrified and shocked gasps rung throughout the area. "Mr. Beli, sir, you can't!" Mark stepped forward. "It's far too soon to just postpone!" "I've made up my mind, Mark. The concert will be postponed." Bradley gazed at his assistant with green eyes that had become icy, and certainly lacked the warmth they had just seconds prior. His gazed flicked to- "Naomi, please set up the RV to accommodate a special guest." "A...special guest?" "Yes. I'd like Mandy to move in with me, as we will travel around the world together. We will get married here in Toronto, and then be on our way shortly after." Naomi went slack-jawed. She wasn't sure how to respond to this query -- whether it was with a "yes, sir" or with active pushback. Luckily, Mark was there to take up the latter option. "Mr. Beli, sir, I don't think this is beneficial for you or Mandy. You're a traveling musician, and Mandy has her own job here, working for Odd Squad. Are you really planning on making her travel around the world with you, at the cost of her employment?" "She can work remotely, I'm sure." Now it was Mark's turn to go slack-jawed -- only this time, it was for just how smooth the answer flowed out of the boy. He wasn't even sure if Odd Squad had a remote aspect to it, but he knew now wasn't the time to dwell on that. "Mark, Lewis, let's respect his wishes." Naomi placed one hand on each of their shoulders. "If this is what Mr. Beli wants, then we should honor it." Lewis bit his lip and went silent, but let out a sigh just seconds later. "All right." "We'll get the RV ready for you, sir." "Thank you. And as for you," He pointed to the construction crew. "Please disassemble everything on the stage." "When would you like to postpone the concert to, sir?" Naomi asked. "Hmm..." Bradley tapped his chin in thought. "Make it about a week from now. Mandy can take the time to pack her things and move into the RV." A heavy sigh forced its way out of the assistant. "As you wish, sir." Bradley nodded, watching the trio leave before he turned back to Mandy. "Now...what do you say I treat you to dinner? Your choice." Mandy let out a whimsical giggle. "I'd like that a lot. And I have just the place in mind." Arm in arm, the newly-engaged couple walked away, looking every bit like two people in love. Both of them had been shot through the heart by the bullet of love, but instead of the bullet going through the hearts, it split apart and extended a red string that tied both hearts together. It was made quite evident that no one could pry one person away from the other even with the strongest power tool in existence, and both Mandy and Bradley liked it that way. For the next couple hours, Mandy felt like she wasn't just walking on Cloud 9 -- she was living on it in an entire ShumMansion. While on the other hand, Lewis, Naomi and Mark were all coming up with a plan, deciding on one thing they knew had to be done. "We have to call Odd Squad." Mandy soon returned to Headquarters, belly full and in much higher spirits than usual. A yawn racked her body. "Jeez, it's been such a hectic day...better tell Momma and Otto where I'm going, too." she murmured, already formulating a plan in her head for how she was going to break the news to them. "Hey, cuz." Peaches greeted as she walked up to the hybrid. "How was the concert?" "Hmm?" Mandy tilted her head. "What concert?" "I heard some pop star named Bradley Beli was having a concert, and you were going. Did you go?" "Oh!" Mandy giggle-and-snorted. "The concert was postponed." Peaches' gaze drifted to Mandy's right hand. There, on her fourth finger, sat an engagement ring, with a translucent diamond sitting atop a sterling-silver circle. Unaccustomed she was to weddings and the like, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had went down. "I-is that...is that...w-w-what I..." "He proposed to me..." came the dreamy response. Peaches took a step back, going completely bug-eyed. It was a wonder how the eyes didn't fall clear from her head, she was so shocked. Still, she knew she had to say something in response, and say something in response she did. "HE WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Hoofsteps quickly came thundering into the bullpen, and six ponies all gathered around the duo in alarm. "What's goin' on?!" Applejack asked. "Look at what's on Mandy's finger!" Peaches practically screamed, taking Mandy's hand and thrusting it towards the farmpony. Rarity burst forward, lightly flank-checking Applejack as her azure eyes got stars in them. "Is that...a wedding ring?!" she squealed. "Wow, you got married?" Pinkie smiled. "Congrats, partner!" Twilight wasn't as receptive of the news, taking a step or two backwards. "I...I can't believe it." she uttered. "H-how...how did you...how even..." "Aww, well, I'm not married yet!" Mandy chirped. "The wedding's soon. In the meantime, I'm moving into his RV and I'm gonna travel with him aaaaaaall over the world!" "B-b-but that means you'll be leaving Odd Squad!" cried Fluttershy, feeling tears beginning to form in her eyes. At this, Mandy simply scoffed. "Nah, I'll still be working here! I'll be remotely working!" "I can't believe I'm saying this, but..." Rainbow Dash gripped Mandy's shoulders. "I really don't want you to go!" "Dash, I'll still come back. Now c'mon, you guys can help me pack!" With that, Mandy turned on her heel and began walking down the hallway towards her room. Peaches slumped to the floor. She wasn't sure what to be more shocked by -- the fact that an 11-year-old girl somehow went from "I have a crush" to "heck yeah, marriage" in the span of a day, or the fact that her cousin was actually getting married to some rich celebrity. It was almost too much to bear for her, and the realization that kicked in didn't help matters. "Oh no." "I know! I feel the same way!" Twilight threw her hooves into the air. "W-well, yeah, but...how's Olive's gonna take the news?" The reactions of Pinkie and Rarity went sour right then and there, their expressions darkening as they realized that Peaches raised a good point. "If I know Olive, she definitely won't be happy." Rarity mused. "Yeah, I overheard her talking to Mandy about the concert today." Rainbow piped up. "She didn't want her to get married." Peaches sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Well, Mandy's our second-in-command. If she really wants to get married to this 'Bradley Beli' guy...then we should honor it." "What's Ms. O gonna do when she finds out?" asked Pinkie Pie, a worried edge to her voice. "I don't know. She may just pry them apart by force. Which would end tragically." Applejack took off her hat and held it to her chest. "Then I s'pose all we can do is hope for the best." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group, sharing her sentiment. As nighttime fell, Olive and Otto had gathered at the latter's house for a sleepover, talking about a wide variety of subjects, from what was on the news at the moment to strange happenings they had seen. "Thish chicken parmeshan is delish!" Otto said through a mouthful of the stuff, sitting on the couch and using old sitcom reruns as background noise. "Glad you like it!" Olive called from the kitchen, setting the last of the plates from the sink into the dishwasher and closing it for the time being. The tinkling sound of a doorbell rung through the house. Olive tilted her head as she made her way to the door. "Who could that be at this hour?" "Olive, it's only 10 o' clock." Otto said, before he took another bite of his meal. Olive opened the door, stepped a little ways outside, and was met with a Mandy that was surprisingly calm...perhaps a little too calm for her liking. "Mandy?" "Hi!" "Why are you here?" Olive asked, before she perked up in realization. "Oh! How was the concert?" "The concert got postponed." Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway...I thought I should let you know that I've decided to move in with Bradley Beli." "Move in with him?" Olive blinked in utter confusion, before the sight of something shimmering caught her eye. Slowly, her gaze drifted to Mandy's hand. And her body very nearly met the ground. "Uh-oh." muttered Otto to himself. "Olive?" "Otto." Olive said, her voice and body both about as stiff as boards. "Come here and look at what's on Mandy's finger." Otto quickly shoved another bite of chicken Parmesan into his mouth and made his way over to Mandy. His eyes widened as he immediately spotted the engagement ring sitting pretty on her hand. "Hooooolyyyyy jackalopes." was all he could say initially, feeling thankful that he had swallowed his bite before he looked at the ring. He took Mandy's hand in his own and began thoroughly examining the ring. "Is that what I think it is?" "Bradley proposed to me. And...I said yes!" Mandy gave an excited squeal as her pony ears began to flap with as much intensity as the ears of Dumbo. Otto's head began to hurt. "How...what?" "He asked me to move into his RV until the wedding. And then, and then, we're gonna travel across the world together!" Mandy began bouncing up and down, now, a bout of giddy laughter leaving her. Otto would have responded aptly if not for his keen eyes spotting the violently shaking body of his partner, still slumped in the same position she was when she first laid eyes on the ring. Immediately, he backed away, knowing full well what was about to happen. And sure enough, Olive rose to her full, albeit short, height, her brown eyes burning with intense fire. "I TOLD YOU NEVER TO GET MARRIED!! I SAID THAT, DIDN'T I?!" she screamed. "AND NOW YOU'RE GONNA RUN OFF WITH SOME FAMOUS POP STAR WHO PROPOSED TO YOU AND-" "Okay, okay, l-let's take this inside, the neighbors are gonna get upset!" Try as he might to diffuse the situation, Otto's interference did absolutely nothing except put a damper on the conversation as he dragged Olive inside, Mandy following suit as she closed the door behind her. A beat, and then the screaming continued. "I REFUSE your marriage! I WON'T LET IT HAPPEN, YOU HEAR ME?!" "Olive, calm down!" "No, Otto." Olive whirled on him, her tone dropping and turning from fiery to eerily icy. "I told Mandy not to get married by the end of the night, and now she has a ring on her finger!" A strangled, choked sob forced its way out of her as her voice began to crack. "How else can you explain it?! How?!" Mandy and Otto, both rendered in a state of shock, could only watch as Olive slumped to the floor again and began sobbing. Normally, Mandy would be by her mother's side, hugging her and comforting her. But as she was still under the effects of a villain's magic, her response was a little more skewed than that. "Momma...I love Bradley. You know that." She blinked. "I'm not a little kid anymore. You have to respect my life decisions." "She makes a good point, Olive." Otto said, kneeling down and placing a hand on Olive's shoulder. "Mandy is eleven. She's old enough to make her own decisions now. If she wants to get married and travel the world with Bradley Beli, then we shouldn't stop her." If Olive wasn't so distraught, she probably would have snarked at Otto something along the lines of, "Says the one who inquired about us getting married when he first became a Director." But instead, all she could do was lean closer to the floor and begin slamming her fist on it, over and over and over again, until she was sure the bones in her hand would break. Mandy bit her lip, unsure of what to say. She twiddled with her thumbs for a little bit, before deciding to go with the universal fix of "I'm sorry." Olive stopped banging her fist on the floor. Her body was still shaking, but it was less with rage and more with distress and sadness. Still, that didn't mean rage still festered inside of her. She gave a big sniffle before she uttered her next words, holding the same icy tone as before. "Get out." "What?" "If you're going to marry Bradley..." Olive slowly rose to her feet, her hands balled up into fists. "Then I won't call you my adopted daughter anymore." Mandy blinked. "Wh- are you-" "Disowning you." Otto got to his feet and took a step backwards. Far be it from him to know what the word meant, but it sounded bad, and that was all he needed. "Olive, stop. You're not thinking rationally." "I'm her mother, Otto, not you. And I refuse to let her be married." Olive's bloodshot brown eyes bore into her partner as she gave a heavy sigh. "But if she wants to disobey me, then that's her choice. Let her suffer the consequences of it." "You're taking a leap that isn't needed." This backtalk earned Otto a hearty slap on the cheek, causing him to take another step backwards. "Ow, hey!" "Both of you. OUT!!" The reverberation of the word "out" very nearly shook the entire house. It was like Olive had somehow employed the Royal Canterlot Voice despite not being an alicorn nor someone from Canterlot. It shocked Otto and Mandy to the core, and they began shuffling their way out the door, Mandy close to tears while Otto looked forlornly at his half-eaten chicken parmesan. "AND STAY OUT!!" came the final warning, before the door closed with a hearty slam. Otto and Mandy stood and stared at the door for a long time -- completely solid, with the only windows being at the top that would have gotten Otto's butt kicked further if he so much as looked through it for a second. The tears finally threatened to come forth for Mandy. "Momma..." she whispered, before she quickly wiped away the liquid in her eyes. "No. I shouldn't be sad. I'm with the one I love!" "That you are." Otto soothed, placing his hands on Mandy's shoulders. "You're your own person, Mandy. I know you have a crush on Bradley Beli, and if you wanna marry him and travel with him...that's your choice." Sadness began worming its way into his heart, and his grip on her shoulders tightened as the heftiness of the situation plowed into him. Still, he felt compelled to ask the question that had been weighing on his mind. "But you're not leaving Odd Squad, are you?" "No, I'm not. I'm staying with Odd Squad. I'll be working remotely." Mandy explained. "But after the wedding..." "I really hope you don't move. What's Oprah gonna say?" Mandy's eyes widened. She had forgotten all about Oprah entirely. "I don't know. I...I don't know how she'll take the news. Prolly not well." "I'll tell her for you, then." "You will?" "Mhm." Otto nodded. "First thing tomorrow." "Oh, thank you, Otto!" Mandy cried as she lunged for Otto and embraced him in a hug. "You're the best." "No problem." Otto smiled. "Have fun with Bradley, okay?" "I will!" she chirped. "Thank you again." Breaking free from the hug, she turned and spread her wings before taking to the skies. Otto could have sworn her wings were glowing in a brilliant white, like they had been kissed by the moon, but he figured he was just seeing things. As soon as Mandy became nothing more than a speck in the sky, though, his own tears came forth. He collapsed to the ground in a fit of sobs, with nothing but the sounds of the night accompanying him as he buried his head in his hands and became filled with anxiety as to just how he was going to face Olive tomorrow. An hour later, Mandy had gathered up her things from HQ and placed them in three large suitcases, meeting Bradley at his RV, parked just outside the entrance to the park. "Huh?" Bradley poked his head out from the kitchen as he heard the sound of someone entering. "Oh! Hi there, Mandy. I didn't think you'd come." "Hi. S-sorry I scared you." Mandy scratched the back of her neck, the suitcases levitating alongside her. "Turns out I don't need a week to pack my things. I got most of it right here." "Great!" Bradley smiled as he approached the hybrid. "I've already set a location for the wedding. It'll be in a few days. I just need to set it up." "A few days? But Bradley, that's barely enough time for me to pick out a wedding dress!" Mandy said. "And I don't think a wedding is something you can set up on your own..." "Nonsense. Just leave it to me." Bradley said. "First thing tomorrow, after you're done with work, that is. We'll go shopping for a dress then." The effects of the spell overwrote any other rationality Mandy had about the timespan of the wedding. "Sounds wonderful." she murmured. "Let me show you to your bedroom." As Mandy walked through the RV, she noted how shiny everything seemed to be. She supposed Bradley was one of those people who liked to keep his place clean -- good for her. Still, it was her first time in an RV, and it felt vastly different from a house. It was smaller, although this particular RV could accommodate two bedrooms with ease, it seemed. The door that sat next to the small kitchen opened to reveal a pretty decent-sized room, complete with a queen-size bed. Part of her wondered how such a room was even possible, but then she remembered what world she was in -- a world that was home to vehicles that contained a lot more stuff on the inside than it did on the outside, because screw physics. "And I call the shower first." Bradley chuckled before heading to the bathroom that sat directly across from Mandy's new room. "Okie-dokie!" she chirped, before throwing her suitcases down onto the bed. Instead of unpacking, though, she resorted to laying on the bed instead, using the remote on the nightstand to turn on the TV and allowing herself to float away in the meaningless noise. It's a new time in my life. I have a fiance, and I'm getting married. It's a dream come true! She sighed. But Momma...she...she disowned me! She rolled over onto her front, the sound of water running in the distance doing nothing to break her concentrated thoughts. She could feel tears well up in her eyes again, but forced them to go away as best she could. The near-silence in the room lasted for a good long while. Fatigue washed over her, and she turned around to face the TV, now, instead of the headboard. "I'm sorry, Mo- Olive." Mandy bit her tongue, the name sounding foreign as it danced and twirled about in her mouth. "But Otto is right. I'm my own person, a big girl who can make her own decisions. It's time you understood that...no matter what consequences you wanna throw at me." With that, she went back to mindlessly watching TV, forcing herself to stay awake until she had access to the bathroom. The next day, Mandy dragged her feet into Headquarters. She hadn't slept very well -- aside from the pain of Olive disowning her, she didn't want Bradley to be weirded out by her strange sleep habits -- and so she felt more drained of energy than usual, her hair and tail deflated slightly in a manner akin to her partner's whenever she got upset. Due to the effects of the spell, however, this lack of energy did nothing to deter Mandy. She didn't end up sleepwalking, and she certainly wasn't about to develop temporary narcolepsy just out of one bad night of sleep. Clearly, it had somehow altered her brain regarding sleep, but it wasn't like she knew that nor did she care. "Hiya, partner!" Pinkie greeted, making her way up to the hybrid. "Why do ya have such a frowny-face?" "Olive disowned me last night." The fact that Mandy had called Olive by her actual name and not by "Momma" flew right over Pinkie's head. She gasped. "She did?" A couple confused blinks followed. "Wait, what's 'disowned' mean?" "She told me that I wasn't her adopted daughter anymore." Mandy murmured, her voice cracking slightly. "Well that's not true! You'll always be her adopted daughter!" "Try telling her that." Mandy gave a soft sigh. "Have you seen Oprah?" "Yeah, she's upstairs in her office!" "Thanks." Her feet took her past Pinkie Pie and up the stairs to Oprah's office. The staircase felt like an insurmountable mountain, and she felt like collapsing on just the third step. Still, something in her knew that Oprah would be more upset if she were told of the news later instead of now, and Mandy figured she might as well get it over with. When she reached the top, she gave three small knocks, causing Oprah to look up from her painting and give a "come in" hand gesture. Mandy obeyed, and walked into the office. "I heard Bradley Beli proposed to you last night. And...you accepted." Mandy's eyes widened, and she took a step back. Oh my odd, how...how did she... No, wait. Otto said he was gonna tell her for me. Why am I surprised? With that realization in mind, she nodded. "Y-yeah. I love him so, soooooo much! He's such a sweetheart. The wedding's supposed to be soon!" "Well, I'd love to go, if you'll have me." Oprah gave a small smile. "And if you plan on having it on a boat, I can even be the officiant." Mandy blinked. "Really?' "Yes." Oprah said. "I didn't know it was a duty Directors had until a few years back." "Uh-huh...well, it's something to consider." Mandy gave a nonchalant shrug. "But, um...you're not mad?" "Why would I be?" "Well, when I get married, I'll have to leave Headquarters and work at Odd Squad remotely. Bradley wants me to travel with him around the world!" "I'll cherish what time I do have with you, then." Oprah said, her tone completely cool and her emotions being completely unwavering. "Honestly, it's not worth freaking out over. Not until you actually do move away." Mandy squinted, trying to find some kind of sweat bead on Oprah's forehead that would be an easy tip-off of her words not being truthful. But whatever gambit Oprah was playing, she wasn't about to let her guard down and reveal it so easily. "You sure about that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Oprah calmly took a sip of juice from a grape-flavored juicebox. "Did you expect me to have a meltdown like Olive did last night?" She chuckled. "Please, Mandy. I'm more civilized than that. Adults tell stories of little girls growing up and getting married to the person of their dreams all the time. It's such a dumb and cliched stereotype in this day and age -- boys can have aspirations like that too, of course -- but that doesn't mean we girls can't have wishes of finding our lovers and getting married and waiting for death to pull us apart." Mandy's nose wrinkled. "Are you just describing your own dreams?" "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not." ...Yeah okay, I'm not getting into a fight with her about romance logistics today. She huffed. "Well, I didn't think you'd be this calm, but...okie-dokie! Thanks for being so understanding. I'll, uh...be downstairs if you need me, I guess." It was only when she turned and began leaving the office did sweat begin dripping down Oprah's forehead. She waited until Mandy had descended the stairs enough so she was out of sight before she breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, you can come out." Two relieved sighs filled the office as Naomi and Mark poked their heads out from under both couches. It was a wonder how they even got in there, and an even bigger wonder how they were able to get out. "So sorry about that. I wasn't expecting her to come." "It's quite all right." Naomi brushed off some dust from her skirt. "So you are Naomi and Mark, correct?" "Yes. We're Bradley Beli's assistants." Oprah nodded as the woman continued. "Bradley certainly wasn't as...love-stricken as he was yesterday, but it was like he changed, somehow. It's a little hard to describe." "Before he began to fall in love with Mandy, we heard two zaps coming from somewhere nearby when we were setting up for the concert. But we couldn't find anyone." Mark explained. "Bradley's friend, Lewis, said he saw someone, but he couldn't make them out well enough for us to provide an accurate description." Oprah's eyes widened. "Two zaps? Has to be the work of a villain." Naomi exchanged a glance with Mark. "You figured it out that quickly?" "I will admit, I'm not a love guru. I am, however, an expert in knowing when something odd is a villain's doing." Oprah stood up from her chair and began heading for the doors. "Follow me." Mark and Naomi were hesitant, but still followed the Director regardless, sending silent prayers to whomever-up-above that she knew what she was doing. Once the trio arrived, Oprah cleared her throat. "This is Ozlyn, one of Precinct 13579's Security agents." A girl sitting in the chair beside them swiveled around, her kinked brunette twintails bobbing along with her movements. Her dark hazel eyes laid eyes on the duo, and she smiled. "Hi! Nice to meet you!" Mark and Naomi introduced themselves, and Oprah got right to explaining. "This precinct just so happens to store a villain database with every known villain, their skills, and their powers. Ozlyn, can you search for a villain with love-based powers?" "Sure thing! Just give me one sec..." Ozlyn spun back around and quickly tapped on the small screen that sat next to a large white lever. She then grabbed ahold of the lever and moved it about, scouring through a list of options based on the qualifications she was given. "Oh. There are quite a few of them." she mused, beginning to read one villain's entry. Oprah scrunched her mouth for a moment before she turned back to the two assistants. "Mark, Naomi, do either of you know anything else about what happened besides the zaps?" "Not that I can recall..." Naomi shook her head. "Ms. O, darling?" Rarity interjected, approaching the group with a guest by her side. "I've brought someone who says he wishes to see you." "Hi, my name's Lewis. I'm a friend of Bradley Beli's." Lewis waved. "You're Ms. O?" "Yes. But please, call me Oprah. 'Ms. O' is a title reserved for agents, not clients." Oprah smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Lewis." "Likewise." Lewis's gaze flicked to Naomi and Mark, who both looked elated to see him. "I wanted to come with Naomi and Mark, but Bradley had me busy setting up for the wedding." "You were there when Mandy and Bradley got zapped?" "Yes. I remember seeing a faint figure in the bushes." Lewis tapped his chin as he took a moment to think. "Please don't take my words at face value, but...the figure was tall, thin...she definitely had a tall hairdo with something that looked like a heart in it. And she was dressed in red." Ozlyn moved through the database, and gasped. "That narrows down the search! The only villain I could find who fits that description is one by the name of Laura Lovebloom." The group took their time reading the entry. NAME: Laura Lovebloom THEME: Romance FREQUENTED AREAS: Toronto, Ontario, Canada DESCRIBED AS: Tall, beehive hairdo, always clad in red WEAKNESSES: Magic wand is one-time-use only; needs frequent recharging Laura Lovebloom is known as one of the most dangerous villains in Odd Squad history. Wielding a magic heart-shaped wand, she casts a powerful love spell on two people to make them fall in love with each other, with the effects being amplified if either one person has a crush on the other, and/or both people are in love with each other. The spell can lead to disaster very quickly, especially in regards to how it is broken, which can cause heartstrings to tear to the point of hospitalization. This has led to the deaths of approximately thirty (30) people and counting, and it doesn't seem like Laura has any intent of slowing down. + Read more "Laura Lovebloom?" Oprah tilted her head. "Odd Squad hasn't heard from her in months. Why is she resurfacing now?" "If this 'Laura Lovebloom' did this, shouldn't we confront her?" Naomi asked, a twinge of rage and desperation to her voice. "Even if we did, she can't reverse the effects of her magic." "So how do we get Mandy and Bradley to break up?" Lewis asked, keeping an eye on the screen. His eyes widened as an answer came to him within seconds. "It says here that for them to break up, they must have an argument and one of them must shout..." Ozlyn wrinkled her nose. "'I want a divorce'"? "It seems fitting enough." Rarity gave a shrug. "In Bradley's and Mandy's case, even moreso." Oprah added, before she sighed. "We have to break them up soon. If they get married, Odd Squad will never see Mandy again. And it's likely that you three will never see Bradley again, either." "How's that?" Mark asked. "Think about it." Oprah said. "Bradley Beli may love his music, but Laura Lovebloom has him on a one-track mind. He could potentially drop his music career and retire. And you two..." She pointed at Mark and Naomi. "...would be out of a job." Naomi's eyes widened to be the size of saucers. "I-I hadn't thought of that!" "Me neither." Mark shook his head. "We've been working for Bradley for so long, and have been to so many places on his tours...I don't know what I would do if that was all taken away from me." Lewis, despite not having his employment at stake in this ordeal, took in the information, and was just as surprised as Bradley's two assistants. "Please, Oprah, is there any way we could..." He paused to think. "...maybe cause an argument to form between Bradley and Mandy?" "It's the only choice we have." "The effects are strengthened by how much love the victims have for each other. Even if it's just one-sided." Ozlyn reminded. "If you're going to cause a rift in Bradley's and Mandy's relationship, it has to be good." Naomi barely heard Ozlyn's other words. The only thing that stuck in her mind was the first half. "Bradley...has a crush on Mandy?" "Other way around." Oprah made a twirling gesture with her index finger. "Mandy loves Bradley very much, as well as his music. Even mentioning his name will make her swoon. I don't really know how it all started myself..." She scratched the back of her neck. "But either way, that means whatever Laura Lovebloom did to her and Bradley will be hard to stop." "We have to do something!" Lewis cried out. "Bradley's been my friend ever since we were babies. I know Mandy loves him, but I can't watch his music career that he's built up be destroyed because of some rogue villain. Even if she does crush on him..." He clenched his fist, feeling utterly conflicted and confused even though the explanations were relatively simple. "Um, if I may, darling...I think I might have an idea." Rarity moved to stand next to Oprah, tapping her arm a couple times to get her attention and clearing her throat. "If there's one thing I have learned in the time I have spent in Canterlot, it's that relationships can go sour very quickly, especially if it's due to a misunderstanding. If we stir up some conflict between Mandy and Bradley, it might be just enough to get them to break up!" Oprah sat on this for a few moments, her brow furrowing before she nodded. "That's not a bad idea, Agent Rarity. But how exactly do we do that?" Rarity gave a sinister chuckle. "By dipping into the old boring cliche barrel, of course. Are any of you fans of romantic movies?" Once Mandy had some free time on her hands, she and Bradley agreed to meet at Bridal Cultural to start looking at wedding dresses. To their surprise, the store had quite the selection, and finding a dress that suited Mandy wasn't necessarily an easy task, even though she wasn't too picky. Bradley held a small dress up that had a belt with a rose attached to its center, with the top half being lace. "How about this one?" Mandy examined it closely, looking at every inch of lace on it. Her mouth scrunched up before she shook her head. "Too plain. I'm not looking for anything chic and magnonfiquique..." She slipped into her Rarity accent on the last few words. "...but I do want something that'll turn heads." "Right. I'll keep looking. Why don't you have a look over there?" Bradley pointed to his left. "There's more stuff for girls down that way." Mandy nodded and began weaving her way through display after display of dresses, looking through them to see which one she liked. The sound of the doorbell above the shop briefly caught Bradley's attention, but he soon turned back to the display, only faintly hearing the conversation. "I'll be right there, okay, Cam-cam?" called a girl of about 14, wearing blond curls and nothing more than a lacy T-shirt and jeans. "Got it, hon." a boy, himself the same age, said, making his way to the right of the store. "Excuse me, but are you Bradley Beli?" That snapped Bradley out of it. His head swiveled to the left to find the girl staring at him, light admiration in her eyes but surprisingly not as much as a large majority of other girls. "Oh, y-yes, I am. Who are you?" The girl giggled. "My name's Kayla. I'm here with my fiance, Cameron. We're getting married in a couple months!" "Congratulations." "Thank you!" Kayla said, beginning to blush. "Um, but see, Cameron is a professional DJ. He loves to make music, and he would simply love to play something romantic at the wedding! But we're not sure what he should play, exactly, and I was hoping that maybe you would have some tips." Bradley listened, and then nodded, giving a soft chuckle. "Sure, I'm more than happy to give you tips. Come on over here and have a seat." He motioned with his hand for Kayla to follow her to where a bench sat in front of some displays, subconsciously flopping down into the seat as he just now realized how tired he was. He didn't have time to dwell on how long he had been here, however, as Kayla quickly made her move. She leaned in close to him, pulled his face towards hers, and puckered up without a single word spoken. It didn't take long for Mandy to find a wedding dress she had liked, and she immediately rushed back to where she had last seen Bradley. "Hey Brad, I found..." Her eyes widened. The hanger in her hand that held the dress slipped and fell onto the floor, making a clattering noise that made more than a couple people and ponies in the store turn their heads. She felt a rush of emotions course through her, and as much as she wanted to look away, her innate sense of curiosity forced her to keep looking. Deep in the thralls of a passionate kiss were none other than Bradley and some other girl the hybrid didn't recognize. Clearly, neither one of them had heard what she said, and went on to ignore her as they continued on their rather disgustingly enthralling, but perfectly fitting, PDA. Tears clogging up her vision was finally enough for Mandy to tear her gaze away from the awful sight. She felt a pain in her heart that she couldn't identify. "Just forget it." she muttered, leaving the dropped dress where it was and storming out of the shop. You knew what you were doing, and you knew it would hurt me, but somehow that still didn't stop you. Mandy slammed her fist on her desk and gave a heavy sigh as tears began dripping from her eyes onto the desk. "I can't believe it. Bradley Beli, cheating on me! And before our wedding!" She grit her teeth. "If I had known the boy I loved was so despicably inexplicably awful, I never would've said yes to his stupid proposal!" "What's this I hear about cheating on someone, darling?" The familiar and smooth voice made Mandy's head lift, and her eyes met Rarity's azure ones of curiosity. "Brad...the one I love more than anyone else in the world...he's cheating on me with some stupid girl he met at the bridal shop we went to!" "Oh, my, that sounds serious." Rarity said, trying her best to sound genuinely concerned. A devious look settled on her face as she trotted closer to Mandy and spoke quietly. "You know, I did happen to hear that he's not just cheating on you." "He's not?" "Oh no. He's been cheating with five other girls!" Rarity tutted and shook her head. "My, it's such an awful thing to do. But it's true. Bradley Beli is nothing but a filthy liar." Mandy became paralyzed. Her mouth hung open and quivered slightly as she tried to form words, but only ended up pathetically whimpering instead, her eyes shrinking to the size of mere thumbtacks. "It'll be all right, darling." Rarity soothed, laying a hoof on Mandy's knee. "Let me give you some advice on how to go forward, hm? All you have to do is talk things out with Bradley and-" "MURDER HIIIIIIM!!" The sudden 180 in mood, accompanied by Mandy combusting into flames, made Rarity stumble back and fall onto her haunches with a series of yelps. The flames seemed far more intense, and if Rarity were actually a marshmallow, she'd be completely charred and burnt within only a second or two. Heavy breaths followed the cry of rage, before Mandy's gaze swiveled towards the steel double-doors. "I'M GONNA MURDER HIM!!" she declared, before marching towards the doors and exiting through them, agents making sure to quickly get out of the way as they passed by. Rarity slowly got to her hooves and turned around, watching a couple shaken agents enter the bullpen and discuss amongst themselves what was happening with their coworker. The mare's reaction was rather similar, her heart still beating quickly as she could only utter two words in reaction to her friend's outburst. "Oh my." Bradley had eventually gone back to his RV after giving Kayla some advice, deciding to take the time to wind down and scroll through some news on his phone out of sheer boredom more than anything else. He felt a throbbing pain in his heart that he opted to ignore, thinking it was nothing serious. "Same old, same old." he muttered, reading a story about another robbery at a local convenience store that, surprisingly, wasn't done by an Odd Squad villain. The door slammed open suddenly, causing him to fumble with his phone until it collided with the floor and went sliding a little ways. He glanced at the sudden visitor. "Mandy! You're...uh..." "Bradley Beli." Mandy called, her echoing voice rumbling throughout the vehicle. "So you think it's okay to cheat in a relationship, don't you? Weeeeeell, lemme tell you: I don't know what's worse, people who lie, or people who think I'm stupid enough to believe lies!" "What? N-no, I didn't do that!" "Rarity told me all about it!" Mandy jabbed her pointer finger at him. "You filthy disgusting cheater!" "Mandy, please, if you'll just give me a chance to explain-" "Explain what, that our love isn't as pure as the blue sky?!" Mandy sniffled as she felt her throat beginning to close. "Bradley, I loved you! I, I wanted to get married to you! To sing with you! You said we were gonna sing together at the concert when we went on our date yesterday!" A small anguished cry eked out through gritted teeth. "But now that I know you're cheating on me..." Bradley glanced at his phone briefly, worried about what would happen if Mandy smashed it. But his love for Mandy was the main driving force of his life, after all. And grabbing his phone now would have bad intentions. "I would never cheat on you. Honest." "Then how do you explain that girl you were with at Bridal Cultural earlier?" "I was giving her tips on music for her wedding." "And then you kissed her?!" Mandy scoffed. "If you were just 'giving her tips', that doesn't lead into a kiss!" As much as he wanted to argue back, Bradley couldn't deny that Mandy had a point. Still, he was adamant about his version of events, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make Mandy understand it, and make her fall in love with him again. "The kiss was..." He hesitated as he gazed into Mandy's fiery brown eyes. He didn't know she could get so upset, and honestly, it normally would have terrified him. Normally, he was terrified to commit to a relationship with someone who had anger issues, and it seemed Mandy was one of them. Under the effects of the love spell, however, her anger didn't deter him all too much. He shook his head. "Never mind. It was wrong of me, and I'm sorry." Mandy gave a bitter laugh laced with poison akin to that of a Gila monster's. "Tell it to my tail." "Y-you're not going to call off the wedding, are you?" The question slipped out of Bradley before he even had a chance to react. Normally, Mandy would have said that yes, she was going to call off the wedding, why was she even getting married, all that jazz. Under the effects of the love spell, however, her anger just slightly dissipated. She gave a huff. "I'll...at the very least think it over. But I'm not staying here anymore. I'll be going back to Odd Squad." "Mandy-" "No ifs, ands, or buts, Bradley." Bradley blinked. "But what about the concert? And our music? I was going to have you sing at the concert with me!" "Yeah no. Not gonna happen. Cancel the concert." Mandy began marching towards her room. "You might as well pack up and abandon ship, budster." "'Budster'?!" He didn't get a response to his flabbergasted question of clarification, as Mandy ducked into her own room and began packing. All he could do was stare at where she once was and listen to the sounds of her stuffing her belongings into her suitcases. It didn't take her long before she was leaving the RV just as quickly as when she entered, suitcases in tow and levitating besides her. "Goodbye, Bradley." A crunch. Mandy's eyes widened as she backed up to see what she had stepped on. It sounded like glass, and so she became panicked, wondering if any had penetrated the sole of her shoe. She was close -- it was Bradley's phone screen, now with a huge spider-web crack in it. Her gaze moved from a shocked Bradley struggling to say something, to the phone, and back again. Her expression contorted into one of disgust before she huffed and left the RV without another word. "Mandy, wait, I-" The door slammed closed. A few minutes went by in complete silence. Bradley picked his phone up from the floor and gingerly placed it on the table, eyeing the huge crack in it. Getting it fixed, however, was the least of his worries right now. He sighed and laid his head on the table, his eyes closing as his heart throbbed with more pain. "Ohh...what have I done?" "Disowned her?!" "Yes." Oprah looked at Otto. "You didn't tell me this!" "So I butchered some details..." Otto rolled his hands in a rather odd gesture. "The bit about Olive disowning Mandy is what I knew would get you riled up, so I played it safe." Oprah groaned, and her attention turned back to Olive. "Olive, why? You are aware Mandy was attacked by a villain? She's under the effects of Laura Lovebloom's spell, she's not thinking straight!" "I'm aware." Olive simply remarked, ignoring Oprah's and Otto's raised eyebrows of doubt. "But as long as she has that engagement ring on her finger, and as long as she's still in love with Bradley Beli, I'm not going to call her my adopted daughter. It's as simple as that." Otto sighed. "I told you already, but let me tell you again in case you didn't understand me. You're not thinking rationally." "Yes I am." Olive blinked. "The answer's quite simple: we stop Laura Lovebloom before she can do this to other people and to other ponies. I'll at least help your agents out with that, Oprah. But my verdict stays." Oprah squinted as the gears in her mind began turning. Not a few seconds later and she came to a realization, blinking a couple times. "You've raised Mandy from the time she was a baby. You love her and cherish her just as much as you do Otto. Are you...are you forbidding her from falling in love?" Olive's eyes widened. All she could do was stare at her old boss for a few moments, jaw hanging open but no sound coming out. Finally, a single word was uttered on a wisp of air: "Forbidding..." "You heard her, partner. Mandy is a grown child." Otto blinked, and then shook her head. "However weird that sounds. But anyway. She is old enough to make her own decisions, including romance-based ones. If she wants to love Bradley Beli -- when she's not under some crazy weird love spell, mind you -- what's wrong with that?" He gazed into Olive's eyes. "Tell me honestly. What is so wrong with her wanting to love someone, and then wanting to marry the one she loves?" Olive wasn't going to lie. Otto's fierce expression, and his even fiercer gaze, terrified her. She took a step back, her mind briefly contemplating running away but the rest of her body refusing to obey. I'm a terrible mother. That one thought swam around in her head like a fish, and it haunted her. Try as she did to become a good parent from the ground up with no experience in raising children -- younger siblings, kids needing babysitting, or otherwise -- one of her worst fears was undeniably being a terrible parent. She knew Mandy loved her, but who was she to know whether the hybrid was telling the truth or not? For all she knew, she slapped on a mask when she woke up every morning and ripped it clean off before hopping into bed at night, because odd forbid her adoptive mother got mad. It was that very possibility that shook Olive to the core. As terrifying as pie was, in the grand scheme of things, it paled in comparison to being an inadequate parent. She had come to realize that over time. Suddenly, she felt a wave of terror. Terror that Mandy was in the thralls of some villain who had picked her as one of the game pieces for the latest round of Matchmaker. She wanted to get her back. She had to get her back. But she had to amend things with Oprah and Otto first. "You're right, Otto. I've been nothing but foolish, this entire time." She sighed. "It's just...Mandy's around my age. I haven't fallen in love, and neither have you. Or you, Oprah." Oprah tilted her head, trying to search through her memories and see if Olive was right. "I don't want her to grow up and leave me behind just because of some famous pop idol singer, that's all!" Otto laid a hand on her shoulder. "Olive, Mandy won't leave you behind. You're her mother. She'll never forget you. Even if she does fall in love with someone and eventually marry them, she won't forget all of the fun times she's had with you. And she'll make many more memories with you, too. With all of us, actually." "I suppose, but-" "She's not gonna be thinking of you now. Not after you disowned her. That cut into her deep." Otto sighed. "After you kicked us out of your house, she got upset and burst into tears, but stopped herself after remembering that she was with someone she loved." "That's understandable." Olive rubbed her arm. "I'm sorry for doing that, by the way. Even if I kicked Mandy out, I shouldn't have kicked you out too." "Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Mandy." Otto blinked twice and began looking around the area. "Where is she, by the way?" As if on cue, the steel double doors opened to reveal a Mandy that looked like someone that was fresh out of a house fire. All three agents couldn't resist giving collective gasps of shock. "Oh no." "Crumpets!" "T-that's not a happy look!" Otto said. The trio watched as Mandy whipped off the engagement ring she was wearing, and then threw it to the ground. With a loud bang from the head of her hammer, the ring shattered into pieces. Even the diamond adorning it broke. It all happened in just a few quick seconds. Silence ensued after that. No one dared say a word, at least not for a few moments. "You...did say you had a plan, right?" Olive whispered to Oprah. "Well, Agent Rarity had one, and she was gonna put it into place, she said..." "Whatever it was..." Otto gulped. "Looks like it worked!" Mandy began approaching them, even though her eyes were somewhere else. Olive and Otto tensed up, while Oprah's innate strength forced her to keep herself calm. "Olive, don't speak to her." the Director uttered to Olive through gritted teeth. "R-right." As soon as Mandy rounded the corner, everyone gave sighs of relief. "I can still feel my heart racing..." Otto said, clutching his chest as he went to go sit down on the platform that encompassed the end of the slide on the right staircase. Olive glanced at the object that was shattered. She knelt down to inspect it, letting out a gasp. "Hold on. Is this..." She eyed a few pieces of the diamond still shimmering. "This is! It's the engagement ring!" "It is?" Oprah sounded elated. "That means Rarity's plan worked!" She clicked her tongue. "Ha, and I thought it was gonna be overly complicated like all the romance dramas adults watch. My fault for putting her drama queen status so high on a pedestal..." "What was Rarity's plan?" Otto asked. "Well, if push came to shove, it was going to involve some complicated love triangle thing. But basically, she worked with two teenagers to fabricate a relationship where they were getting married. The girl wanted Bradley's advice for her wedding on behalf of her fiance, and then she kissed him so Mandy would think Bradley was cheating on her when she came across them." Olive scratched her head. "Is it just me, or does that plan sound like it has a lot of holes?" She didn't get an answer to her question, as the doors opened once again and three familiar faces entered. "Mark! Naomi! Lewis!" Oprah greeted. "Nice to see you back." "You too." Lewis looked at Olive, then at Otto. "Oh, you have guests?" "More or less. This is Olive and Otto, who co-lead another Odd Squad precinct nearby. Olive is Mandy's adoptive mother, while Otto is a friend of Mandy's." As Olive and Otto greeted the three newcomers to the precinct, Naomi, Lewis and Mark each introduced themselves. "You three will be happy to know that Rarity's plan worked." "Is Mandy free from Laura Lovebloom's spell?" Mark asked. "We went to check on Bradley earlier and he was feeling rather distraught, but I don't think his side of the spell broke." "Mandy's didn't, either." Oprah shook her head. "But I have a feeling she's on her way there. In the meantime, I've sent out a few agents to track down and take down Laura, so she shouldn't be a threat anymore." "Oh good." Naomi smiled. "This shouldn't happen to anyone else." "So all we have to hope for is that Mandy breaks free of the effects?" Olive asked. "Yep. But the only way she can do that is if she declares a divorce. And it has to be true from the heart." "Then maybe we should let things run their course." "Yes, exactly." Oprah nodded at Otto's suggestion. "Give it a day or two and let's see what happens. No one interfere with the natural order of events." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group. Oprah, Olive and Otto, however, couldn't resist staring at the hallway that Mandy had went down, not bothering to hide their concern in their gazes. Sure, they were confident in waiting, but with Mandy's unpredictability, it was hard to see how things would go, even if she was under a love spell from a villain. A yawn marked the return of Mandy to the waking world. Even though she relied on sleep to cure a lot of her ailments, the pain in her heart refused to go away. "Not even sleep can take my mind off of him." she complained, flopping back down into bed just as soon as she sat up. "What's wrong with me? It's almost like we're...magnetic." She shuddered and violently shook her head. "But I don't want to be! I don't even want to be affiliated with him!" Her body was already waging a war against itself. Here is where it upped the ante. Her attitude towards betrayal fought with the effects of the love spell, like healthy blood cells going after cancer cells. That, combined with her literal aching heart, only served to make her feel absolutely miserable. "But I love him..." He's so gorgeous...no wonder all the girls want him. "But I don't..." He hurt you. That should be reason enough. "But I love him..." You two were absolutely made for each other. Even your names sync up well. "Nngh, but I don't!" He cheated on you with someone else. No...he cheated on you with five other people. That's mega-levels of egregious! Mandy ruffled her hair. "Why is this so hard?! I love him, but yet, he cheated on me!" She could feel tears springing to her eyes as she rolled over onto her front, letting her chin rest on the pillow as she allowed them to fall and land on it, like drops of rain falling into the ocean. It was only after a few minutes that she realized something. Her brain began to formulate a plan on what to do next. "This is turning into a nightmare. An absolute nightmare! Olive disowned me, and now the love of my life decided to cheat on me with...with five girls I don't even know!" She gave a huff and sat up, giving an affirmative nod. "That's it. If I cut him out of the picture, it'll be one less problem. One less troublesome thing in my life. Let him have his stupid music career. Let him make all the rounds in the tabloids so they can turn a drama into a crisis. I'm not gonna be involved in it anymore." She threw the sheets off of her and made her way to the door, flinging it open. I know what I have to do. She took a deep breath, and then exhaled it as though she were trying to blow Bradley away in hurricane-force winds. "Bradley...you sick, despicable, and utterly vile being..." Mandy clenched her fists and lifted her head up high. "I WANT A DIVORCE!! AND I WANT IT NOW!!" The words bounced off of the walls. Her eyes slowly closed. She didn't care who heard, or who came running. She didn't even care whether Bradley heard or not. Since their hearts were still connected, he had to hear her words even if he was halfway across the world. Silence. No one came. No one responded, positively or negatively. She felt three snaps in her chest, each in rapid succession. Her eyes flew open as she gagged. And then she started stumbling. She didn't get very far before she fell to her knees, loudly and violently choking and gagging through gritted teeth while clutching her chest. With every gag, her eyes bulged out of her head, and the more she did it, the more the coils of pain wrapped tighter and tighter inside of her. Nearby, the door to Peaches' room opened. "Huh?" she remarked, before her head swiveled to her right. And her eyes widened. "Sweet cattails, Mandy! Mandy!!" Peaches rushed to her side, calling out to anyone who could hear it, "Someone call Dr. O, now! Medical emergency!" A cough forced its way out of Mandy, not made of mucus as much as it was made of pure blood. Somehow, she found it in her to give an agonizing and echoing scream of pain before she flopped down onto the floor. The next few minutes were a complete blur for her. I can't understand what they're saying...I just see a blue and a purple shape, and I feel a human hand shaking me... Wait...Rainbow Dash? Medical Bay? Did they find me? One sound that was prominent, however, was her heartbeat. It had gone from a normal RHR to about as slowed as one of a tortoise that had entered hibernation. I have something coming down my mouth...drool, most likely. ...Fluttershy. I'm not dying. I don't wanna die. Please don't let me die. Alicorns are supposed to be immortal, after all, right? Her eyes slowly closed. Wait...I'm being picked up...carried... Her heartbeat grew slower. This is it. This is where my life ends. Death not by descent from the sky, but by heart failure. With my last words being something about a divorce... She slipped into unconsciousness, into the never-ending black that marked her expiry from the world. "Mandy." Who's calling me? "I have been waiting for you." You have? Are you part of the afterlife? "Not necessarily." Then who are you? "Follow me and you will see." ...What's this warm sensation? It feels so familiar. This has to be the afterlife. If I stretch my hands out, maybe I can get closer... ...Sunlight! "Open your eyes." Mandy's eyes opened. It took her a little while to adjust to her surroundings, as well as adjust to how her body was currently positioned. As of now, she sat on the ground, legs splayed out in a V shape. What laid before her was, surprisingly, a meadow that she had seen often in her dreams. In the far-off distance, a red barn sat on the left, lined with white fence. Beyond that sat a curve in a road that looked freshly paved and painted, like no vehicle had ever touched it. Behind her was a large hill that rolled, dotted with white and yellow flowers galore, just like the rest of the meadow. Her body felt completely weightless, like she was in space with no gravity, but she couldn't float. Some mysterious force kept her body pinned to the ground -- whether it was gravity or something else, she couldn't tell. "Is this...beyond the gates of heaven?" she breathed, her words being swept away by a light breeze than ran through the area. "No. You are mistaken." Mandy's head whirled back and forth. "W-who's there? Who are you? I'm not in the fiery place, am I?!" A chuckle was her only response. Materializing from a mysterious haze was a gorgeous and regal-looking kitsune. Her seven tails seemed to be crafted out of the elements -- one out of fire, one out of earth, one out of lightning, one out of grass, and one out of water. The other two were trickier to pinpoint, as one looked like it was made out of the purple-and-white flames of magic, while one looked like a pink rotating drill that had gotten stuck in that position, with wisps of magic swirling around it steadily. Her green eyes were warm, friendly and inviting, and the same held true for the smile on her maw. "It has been far too long." came the voice, as soft as a cloud. "It is unfortunate that it took you almost dying for me to contact y-" "I'm dead?!" Mandy got to her feet and shook her head. "N-no, no, I-I can't be dead! I, I'm too young! I'm only eleven! I haven't even knocked out halfa my bucket list!" "Almost dying." the kitsune calmly corrected. "Rest assured, you are not dead." "Then how do you explain this place?" "Come and sit by me, and I will tell you." The kitsune took a seat on the grass, waiting for Mandy to sit down beside her. The hybrid reluctantly obeyed, only just now noticing that the feeling of fear didn't settle inside of her when she was panicking before. "This is a place known as the Magical Grasslands. It is a place of tranquility, of wonder, of peace." the kitsune explained. "Long ago, many mythical creatures lived in these Grasslands as a clan. But they are long gone now." She closed her eyes. "Including myself. I am nothing more than a spirit now, roaming the Grasslands." Mandy looked at her hands. "So am I a spirit now, too?" "It is hard to say." The kitsune gazed at her, a frown dancing on her maw. Mandy waited for her to elaborate further, but all she got was silence. She had a million questions laying on her mind, but she held out and instead shifted her gaze to the creature's tails. "So, um...you're a kitsune?" "Yes." The kitsune nodded. "My name is Haruko. I am part of a special breed of kitsune known as the Elementals. We have tails that represent one of the seven main elements." "But your tail has all seven." "Yes. It is very rare for an Elemental kitsune to have all seven elements in their tails, as when we reach a certain age, we must head off to join groups separated by each element. Those who have all seven elements are often outcast." Haruko gave a soft sigh. "Which...was unfortunately the case with me." "Oh..." Mandy blinked. "I'm sorry to hear that." Haruko smiled before she continued. "I eventually found my home with other mythical creatures who called themselves the Arcanes, and I lived there for the rest of my life before I passed away and became a spirit." "Wow." Mandy stared at the grass. "I...I didn't even know creatures like you existed. And I've seen a looooootta weird creatures!" A pause, before she asked another question. "Can you wield the elements and stuff?" "Elemental kitsunes who have an element in their tails can use that element as a power, yes." Haruko nodded. "As such, those with one element in each tail can also use all elemental powers. But I do not prefer to use mine." Mandy's mouth scrunched up. She was confused as to how Haruko protected herself, then, if using the elements was not an option. Still, one question weighed on her mind more than any other. "So why are you coming to me?" "You will find out in time." Haruko responded. "But for now, you and I shall be allies. If that is all right with you." "That's fine. But...why am I here?" Mandy gestured to the entire meadow. "If I'm not dead, why do I feel like a spirit? Even though my body's still skin and flesh and bone..." "You may consider this limbo between the stars and the waking world. Your spirit remains here while your body is healed." "Limbo..." Mandy gazed at the barn in the distance, and the fence, and the road. If this was actually limbo between life and death, it was a rather oddly-specific one. "Is this made just for me or something?" Instead of answering, Haruko changed the subject. "Mandy, are you aware of what happened to you?" "Um...I..." Mandy scratched her cheek, trying to remember. "I don't...really know. Last I remember, I was talking to Bradley Beli." "Who?" "Only the most handsome pop star in the world..." Mandy swooned. "I was gonna help set up for his concert, and then I actually got to meet him! It was the bestest thing!" She frowned. "But the next thing I knew..." A pause. Haruko tilted her head as she waited for Mandy to finish her sentence. "...I don't remember." Mandy stared at the grass below her. "It felt like I was doing something, but I wasn't in control of my body. Like I handed the reins to someone else entirely." Her breathing quickened, second by second. "Oh odd, what if I killed someone and I don't know it? What if I killed Bradley and I don't know it?!" Haruko placed a gentle paw on Mandy's arm. "Do not panic." she soothed. "Rest assured, Bradley Beli is fine. He suffered from the same affliction you did, but he will come out of this alive." "But how do you know for sure?" "Throughout these past two days, I watched as you prepared to marry Bradley Beli, and then subsequently suffered through an act of deceit and betrayal that led to your untimely breakup...and eventually, your harrowing medical crisis." Haruko explained. "So...you can travel from this place to the real world?" Haruko tried not to hesitate. "You can say that, yes." "And how long have you been doing it?" "A long time." Mandy made a scrunchy face. One thing was for sure -- Haruko, as much as she had a way with words, was also very cryptic in how she spoke and was careful in how she chose her words. Prying answers from her wouldn't be an easy feat. "And you didn't intervene?" "It is not my job to interfere with the course your life is taking. Not in that way." Haruko said. "You are not my puppet. As such, I have no control over what you do, where you go, or who you choose to be with. My only purpose is to give you advice, and to be a shoulder to lean on in times of dire need." "Advice?" Haruko nodded. "Even when you are attacked by a villain." "You're gonna say 'I have my reasons', aren't you?" "No. But it certainly is not a false assumption to make." Mandy sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples as she tried to fully absorb the information she was given. It was only when she opened her eyes again that she noticed Haruko had stiffened, her eyes wide for just a moment. "Haruko? What's wrong?" "I can sense your friends. Your family. It is time you went back home to them." "S-so soon?" Mandy said. "But I have a kajillion more questions for you! I'm-" It took her longer than it should have to realize that she was being air-lifted by a mysterious force, floating up into the air. Luckily, it was a slow process, and it left her with just enough time to silently hug Haruko. "W-will I see you again?" Mandy croaked out, through transparent tears without feeling. "Perhaps, in a dream. Or perhaps, in the real world. Only time will tell." Haruko held Mandy's hand as she floated higher. A gentle touch of her face and an examination of what was on her finger made her realize that she was crying, and that only made her cry harder. Who knew if Haruko's words held merit or not? For all Mandy knew, this was just some weird hallucination or dream she was having. Her brain was quite the weird bodily organ, after all, and in a world like Odd Squad, anything was possible. She looked upwards, at the blue sky that was beckoning her with its purity and elegance. Voices began to push forth, although they were hard for her to make out. By the time she looked back down at the ground again, Haruko wasn't even a speck anymore. Her spirit was lifted into the darkness, the Magical Grasslands gradually shrinking, more and more and more until it no longer became visible. A feeling of warmth overtook her, and she felt like closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. She curled up into the fetal position, and let the mysterious force take her spirit to where she could hear the voices more clearly. Something about her being alive, how she was going to be okay... I'm going to be okay? Mandy slowly opened her squished eyes. Light seared into them, and she immediately yelped in pain before rushing to cover them. "Oh, thank odd you're okay!" came the tearful voice of Olive, who immediately yanked her body closer to her for a hug. "We weren't sure you were going to make it." came the soft voice of Fluttershy, her expression full of concern as she saw Olive squeezing Mandy as tight as a prized stuffed animal. Slowly, the hybrid's eyes opened. The harsh light didn't attack them now, which meant she had ample opportunity to regain her vision and look at her surroundings. Sure enough, she was in her room, with pretty much everyone at her bedside -- the ponies, Olive, Otto, Oprah, and Peaches had all come to see her. And Dr. O was there too. She allowed Olive to let go of her, and a sigh left her lungs as she placed a hand on her chest. It was then she noticed her heartbeat, definitely not as resounding as it usually was. No...it was the opposite. It was...faint. Almost deathly so. I'm not healthy. I'm sick. I feel sick. Miserable. Depressed. Her gaze moved to what she was wearing. A full-length hospital gown encompassed her entire body. No wonder I feel so light. Curiosity got the better of her, and put a halt on everything but her current state of feeling and emotion. "What happened?" she asked, her voice dry and raspy as she stared at Dr. O. "You were under the control of a villain known as Laura Lovebloom." he explained. "To cut to the chase: when you shouted out that you wanted a divorce from Bradley Beli, it tore a few of your heartstrings, leaving your heart weak." Mandy stared at him with a pure look of confusion. It was a wonder how she didn't start drooling from how her jaw was only slightly unhinged. "Well, ya finally did it, Doc. You broke Mandy." Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves together. "Awesome work, I gotta say. Takes a lot to break her. I thought Pinkie would be the first one!" "She's sick, Rainbow." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Of course Dr. O broke her. If you're being serious, then his attempt -- not that you could even call it that -- doesn't count." Rainbow only gave a nicker in response. Dr. O sighed and continued with his explanation, with no regard to Mandy's reaction. "The good news is, we were able to perform surgery on you to repair the heartstrings. The bad news is, you'll have to rest up. Don't put strain on your heart for the time being." It was then that Mandy became faintly aware of a rather foreign sensation. Touching her chest again revealed that she had stitches in her, woven intricately like it was by the magic of Rarity herself. "You'll be bedridden for a little while. Unfortunately, that means you also won't be able to solve cases." "All the more reason to despite Laura Lovebloom's guts." Oprah chimed in. "Can't let her get away with putting my second-in-command out of commission." A smell hit Mandy's nose right then and there. It was...pleasantly good. Her eyes fell upon a bowl of what looked like fruit salad, sitting right on her nightstand along with a nice tall glass of water. Using her magic to levitate the items proved to be fruitless, as no magic came forth, so she settled on grabbing the bowl with her own hands and pulling it closer to her, doing the same with the glass. Something told her to drink the water first, and so, that's what she did, chugging the thing until it was completely empty. She marked her completion of the drink with a satisfied sigh, before setting the glass down on the nightstand and getting to work on the fruit salad. These are all heart-healthy fruits, aren't they? she thought. Not that it matters...I'll take anything at this point. Eagerly, she grabbed a slice of apple from the salad and ate it, relishing in its taste and giving a happy smile as she chewed the food. "In case you're wondering, that's a fruit salad chock-full of stuff that'll help your heart." Dr. O explained, watching as Mandy began scarfing down more and more of the salad the more her appetite returned. "Try to avoid any fatty foods, as, on the flip side, they can put a strain on your heart. I've put a list of foods you can eat on your desk." Mandy lifted her head from the bowl and stared at him, her mouth stuffed with fruit like a squirrel hoarding nuts for winter. She swallowed her bite, gave a single nod, and then went back to eating, Dr. O's words being nothing more than noise to her. "I don't think she heard a lick of what ya just said, sugarcube." Applejack pointed out. A minute passed, and Mandy was done with the fruit salad. She still felt ill with her heartbeat still being rather slow, and part of her still felt miserable, but her belly being filled had clicked on quite a few buttons in her brain. "Was it good?" Olive asked gingerly. "It feels like I haven't eaten in years!" Mandy squealed. "Man, who made that, 'cuz my full compliments go to the chef!" "That'd be me." Otto said, a smug air to his voice as he made his way forward. "I decided to expand my horizons past making meatballs." "And it surprisingly turned out good." Olive gently nudged him, which only earned her a scowl in response. "Seems like you're feeling better." Peaches, in her cat form, hopped onto the bed and settled on Mandy's legs. "At least in the mood sense." "Yeah...my head's still achy, though..." "Hey, Dr. O?" Another Odd Squad Doctor poked her head into the room. "There's a patient with Cabbage Head who needs to be seen." Dr. O gave a mighty sigh. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Just keep in mind what I told you. Doctor's orders." The crowd parted for him as he left the room and closed the door behind him. "Well, I guess now's a good of a time as ever to tell you about what happened, huh?" Peaches said. "You want the details, don't you?" "Everything. Starting from when I left after work." One by one, everyone contributed to the story. Even those who weren't there had gotten wind of the full story from someone else who was. Mandy went from joyous, to horrified, to relieved, and back again, all within the span of a couple minutes. "Jeez, I know I have a crush on Bradley...but I don't wanna get married to him yet! It was sooooo weird. I wasn't even in control of myself or what I was doing!" She blinked. "Is Laura Lovebloom caught?" "Yes." Oprah breathed a sigh of relief. "I sent agents out to capture her and bring her back here so she could receive proper comeuppance. Safe to say, they did so successfully." Mandy smiled, but the smile went away quickly when she saw Olive's expression darken. "Momma? What's wrong?" Olive grit her teeth, then a sigh left her before she spoke. "When Bradley proposed to you, and you said yes...you showed up at my house because you wanted to tell me you were going to move in with him. I saw the engagement ring on your finger, and...I overreacted." "Huh? How?" "I refused to let you marry him. And..." Otto put a supportive hand on his partner's shoulder as her body quivered slightly. It took a lot of willpower to say the next three words. "I disowned you." "Disowned?" Mandy blinked twice. "Wait, what's disowning?" "Put simply, I refused to call you my adopted daughter anymore." Olive said, her voice beginning to develop cracks as she continued. "Even when I learned the truth about what happened, I stuck to my word. Otto helped me see that I was being foolish, and that...the truth was..." Mandy tilted her head, concern settling on her face. "I didn't want you to fall in love and move on and forget all about me!" Olive blurted. "Mandy, I'm so, so sorry. Disowning you is something I'll never do again." If there was one thing Mandy wasn't prepared for, it was for Olive to come on up to her and suddenly declare that she was no longer her mother. The coils of pain re-emerged once again and slowly began snaking around her heart as the weight of the Director's words weighed on her. Silence befell the room for a minute or two. Mandy's eyes shimmered. "Do you Pinkie Promise?" "C-cross my heart...hope to fly...s-s-stick a cupcake in my eye." Olive moved her hand accordingly, not noticing that there was snot rolling down her face. "Here." Otto conjured up a tissue for her, and she took it eagerly, blowing in it with as much force as she could muster. Mandy smiled. "I'm glad you opened up your eyes a little." she said. "It doesn't matter who I love or who I marry. I'll never forget all of you. If you want otherwise, sign me up for a lobotomy." Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief at the fact her partner was now at a point where she could crack earnest jokes. "Wait." Mandy's eyes went wide. "W-where's Bradley? He...he has to be okay! Haruko said he was!" "He's in the hospital recovering. As it turned out, his heartstrings also got torn. But EMTs and paramedics rushed him to the hospital just in time." Oprah explained. "Who's Haruko?" "She's..." Mandy hesitated. A kitsune with seven tails that were all lovingly crafted from the elements that defined the universe...even in such a place as Odd Squad, she found it hard to believe. She probably wouldn't believe it if someone else had told her they saw the creature. And she was sure no one else would believe it if she told them, even with the organization's vast database of mythical and odd creatures. Still, she had to provide an answer. She had to segue out of this topic and into a new one. Lucky for her that her social skills stats were pretty good. "A friend." she concluded. "A nice friend that I met in a dream." A pause. About half the group leaned in, a silent request for elaboration. Silence. Clearly, Mandy wasn't about to give out any more details, proven by the confused look on her face. "Well," Twilight broke the silence. "She sounds...nice. Maybe we'll meet her someday. Right?" Her question was addressed to the group, who all gave non-committal grunts. Mandy fiddled with her bedsheet. "I guess Bradley's concert is off now. A hundred Jackalope Dollars wasted on a ticket for nothing. Hope I can get a refund, at least." "I'm sure you will. And if he decides to hold a concert, we'll all go." Oprah said. Mandy's eyes shimmered. "Really? I-I mean, you guys don't hafta come if you don't wanna..." "No, no, we insist." Oprah turned to the rest of the group. "Right?" Another round of non-committal grunts was her answer. It was only by the slightest narrowing of her eyes that the grunts turned into murmurs of agreement instead. "Aww..." Mandy felt her face become flushed with red, blissfully unaware of the fact that it didn't seem like anyone really wanted to go at first. "You guys really are the bestest friends in the whole wo-" Only a second after she extended her arms out in an I-want-a-hug gesture, she stiffened. Without another word, she funneled some power into her horn, feeling relieved that her magic was working again when she saw it light up. A simple "berightback!" marked her swift exit from the room in a bright rainbow-colored flash of light. As Peaches fell flat on her back from the light temporarily blinding her, everyone else exchanged looks of confusion, not knowing where Mandy went. A minute later, and Mandy returned to her original position in bed the same way she went out. "Sorry about that! Y'know what they say about nature and how it calls and stuff..." She gave a bout of nervous laughter. It was unanimous. Yeah, there's no doubt about it. Mandy's back to her old self. At least for the most part. "Ummm, so anyway..." Mandy scratched the back of her head. "Any 'f ya got any painkillers? I feel like I got pushed through a meat grinder and then packaged and then shopped through one of those lil' factories that make laptops ya see all the time in the commercials." "I can spare you some of my extra-extra-strength aspirin." Oprah said, raising a finger to accentuate her next point. "It's just as good as intravenous injection. Minus the needle." "I see your deal, and I raise you the answer of 'yes, please'." Mandy smiled. "And then I'll raise the question of if I can have a glass of wateeeeeeeerrr..." It was like someone had taken the batteries out of Mandy's back, in all of its cartoonish glory. The top half of her body slumped forward, and she suddenly fell silent. This was enough for almost everyone to start panicking. At this point, it was like all ten of them were a hivemind that moved about and thought things and felt emotions in complete and utter sync. It was uncanny, especially given how none of them were familial with each other by blood. "Whoa." Rainbow flew over and prodded Mandy with her hoof a couple times, more impressed than horrified. "Did she just die mid-sentence?" There was no response but deafening silence. "...Oh Celestia, she died mid-sentence." "Ooh, ooh, if we revive her, will you all finally admit that death is cheap in Odd Squad like I've been saying for years?" Pinkie asked with a sly look on her face. "Since when have you ever cheated death?" "Have ya met me?" Pinkie nudged Olive's leg. "Better question, have you seen where we work? Every day we come here and we cheat death. It's so crazy..." She grinned. "But it's fun!" Peaches was the only one who tuned out all the talk of Mandy suddenly dying. Rolling her eyes, she hopped off of the bed and turned back to her usual humanoid form, placing her hands gently onto Mandy's chest and slowly lowering her back into bed. Not a second later, a low but loud rumbling cut through the chatter. And then another, and then another. "Aww..." Dash moped. "She didn't die." "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight scolded. The group peered past Peaches to find Mandy asleep, the rumbling sounds coming forth as a result of her snoring through her nose instead of through her mouth. A smile forming on her face, Peaches tucked the bedsheets over her, allowing her to snuggle and get comfy before she continued with her slumber. With nothing left to see, the group left the room, taking the empty bowl and glass with them and making sure to close the door behind them. Two months later, Mandy received the good news from Dr. O. Her heartstrings had been fully repaired and she was no longer confined to her bed. It felt like an agonizingly long time, sitting in her room with nothing but a TV on a cart and the dream realm as her only company. If she had a bedpan and a personal maid then she could complete the whole sick-person-in-hospital trifecta. With a renewed spring in her step and a nice clean suit on her instead of that sickening hospital gown, she bounced into the bullpen, feeling as light as a feather. She made sure to wave at every agent that stopped to look at her, feeling relieved to see more unfamiliar faces every day as opposed to once a week (whoo boy, did she have to compromise for that privilege). "Mandy?" Her head swiveled towards the stairs where Oprah was approaching her. "Hiya, Oprah!" the hybrid chirped. "Seems you're back to your usual self." "Yep! Dr. O said I can finally go back to work!" Mandy breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing too, 'cuz I was getting kiiiiinda bored just being cooped up in my room all the time." "I'm surprised you aren't used to it, given how many medical crises you go through." The line was half snark and half surprise, and Oprah had to resist dipping it fully into the snark jar. "Anyway, Naomi just called me. She's stopping by with Bradley Beli in a few minutes. He recovered a couple weeks ago and he wants to speak with you." Mandy's eyes darted to and fro as she racked her memories. "Naomi is Bradley's assistant." "Ah!" Mandy snapped her fingers. "Thank you. I guess my brain went..." She blew a long raspberry. "...for a moment." The automatic doors opened, snapping both girls' attention away from the conversation and towards the new arrivals. "Oh, there they are now." Oprah approached them with a wave, and exchanged greetings with them. Mandy hesitantly followed suit, stopping every few steps when her eyes laid on Bradley Beli. Her heartbeat didn't quicken like it usually did. She didn't get that same ecstatic feeling she did when she first met Bradley in person. She still felt a romantic attraction to him, of course, but now she felt...awkwardness? Upset? Nervousness? She wasn't sure if there was even a word for it that she knew. "Oh, Mandy!" Naomi greeted. "It's so wonderful to hear you're doing better." "Hi, Naomi!" Mandy chirped, trying to sound as cheerful as she could. "I certainly feel better!" Her gaze shifted to Bradley. "And Bradley, you're looking adooooooor..." She pinched her mouth in, stopping herself from voicing her inner thoughts and instead giving a bout of nervous laughter. "Healthy! As always! Healthy!" Bradley laughed, in that soft and silky way that would have made Mandy melt if she were an ice cube. "Thank you, Mandy. I came here to speak in private with you." He looked around. "Is there anywhere around here we can, uhh...?" "Sure!" Mandy said. "There's a room that's super-duper quiet, perfect for private chats! Follow me!" While Naomi got to chatting with Oprah, Mandy led Bradley down the right hallway, bouncing all the way without even thinking of what he thought of her unusual manner of walking. It was just so instinctual to her, and by this point she had learned to block out any and all criticism of it, no matter who it came from. After turning a few corners, the duo arrived at a door that was lined with all sorts of toys. "C'mon in!" Mandy chirped, opening the door and finding it dark save for some white Christmas lights strung up on the walls. Toys littered the floor, although it certainly wasn't as much as what she was expecting. Once they grabbed a few chairs from nearby, they got to talking. "I...I'm not entirely sure what happened, exactly." Bradley began. "My brain...I wasn't thinking straight. It was like I handed control of myself over to someone else." "That's exactly what I said!" Bradley frowned and ducked his head down. "I'm really sorry about what took place. I didn't mean to do any of it." Silence. Mandy would have answered him off the bat, but for the sake of tension, she stayed quiet for a few moments until she spoke again. "Whaddya hafta be sorry for?" Bradley lifted up his head again and stared at her. "Huh?" "I'll admit, I wasn't in the right state of mind either." Mandy sighed. "Laura Lovebloom's magic is powerful schtuff. I wasn't even aware of what went on until someone else told me." Bradley nodded. "The proposal..." "The moving experience..." "Postponing the concert..." "Offering for me to travel with you across the world..." "Me kissing some other girl who wasn't even married..." "Me getting jealous that you kissed some other girl who wasn't even married..." "Us arguing..." "Me going back and destroying the wedding ring and declaring a divorce..." "Me having my heartstrings broken..." "Me having my heartstrings broken..." More silence. This time, it was broken by hearty chuckling. "Y'know, all that wasn't even our fault. It was Laura's. And she's off the streets now." Mandy said. Noticing Bradley looking away with a downtrodden expression, she continued. "Hey, don't feel so bad! We're okay now, right? And that's what matters!" Bradley couldn't help but smile. "True." he said. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to play in Toronto now. Or a host of other cities on my tour, for that matter." "That's okay!" Mandy chirped. "Just make sure to come back someday. I really, really wanna see you sing and play!" "I'll be sure of it!" Bradley chuckled. "Toronto is my home. It's where I belong. I can't not go without playing here on any tour." The goosebumps began popping up on Mandy's skin. Her heart swelled with joy. She was slipping into that lovesick feeling again, and she accepted it with full force. However, she no longer felt nervous in front of Bradley, and she certainly didn't become an anxious wreck whenever she interacted with him in person. No...she viewed him as a friend, now. A near and dear friend that she just so happened to have a crush on. And she didn't get nervous when she interacted with friends. "Thank you, Mandy." Bradley said, giving a small warm smile. "I hope that someday, we can get to know each other a little better. As our own true selves, and not under the influence of a villain." Without warning, he stood up and embraced Mandy in a hug. She was only one single command away from blue-screening. Her eyes went as wide as saucers, and she froze in place for a moment, her thoughts being the only thing still going as they had a conversation all their own. Ohmygoshhe'shuggingmethisisthebestdayever!! No, no...j-just keep your composure...don't lose it... Wait, wait, I have an idea! Why don't you confess to him?! Confess what? Your love, silly! Tell him how much you love him! Are you freakin' insane?! He's gonna be so weirded out! Nonsense! Doesn't hurt to try! You two have grown closer, now, after all. It wouldn't hurt! "Mandy?" Do it now! You may never get a chance like this ever again! Seize it! Capre la diez! Mandy blinked, and she shook her head, breaking away from the hug. "Whuzuh?" she muttered, before she took a step back. "What's wrong?" She could feel her throat close in a way that only asthmatics feared. Worse thing was, she was no asthmatic, but that didn't mean her breath didn't get caught in her chest anyway. "Are you feeling okay?" Sweat began dripping down her face. Her legs shook. She became a pure living embodiment of stage fright for a one-man show. She didn't have to look into a mirror to know that she looked like a blubbering, unintelligent, I-am-in-no-way-self-sufficient mess. Finally, after a couple more seconds had passed, she summoned up the will to take a deep breath. And in that deep breath, she gathered up the words she wanted to say and expelled them with all her might. "Bradley Beli, I love you!!" Bradley's eyes widened in surprise. Before he could speak, however, Mandy continued, knowing what he was going to say. "I've loved your music for a long time, a-and I've had a crush on you for a long long time, and I've wanted to sing with you for a long long long time! But then this whole skidoo with Laura Lovebloom got in the way and now it just feels kinda awkward 'cuz you proposed to me and stuff and I really don't want this feeling to go away just for something as silly as that and I really hope we can get together someday although I don't know if you're dating anyone or not so hopefully y-" A finger placed to her lips stopped her blurting. She looked into those eyes...oh, those eyes. She missed those eyes. They still held surprise at her outburst, but also held just a couple tints of warmth and understanding. Bradley slowly, ever so slowly, reached behind his back and produced a flower. Its five pink petals arranged ever so neatly, looking like construction paper but feeling ever real. Its filaments and anthers reaching towards the sky, up towards the sunlight so they could grow bigger and bigger. Its yellow stigma sitting perfectly in the center to wrap the entire ensemble of nature's gift together in one mesmerizing package. "I want to give you this." he murmured. "It's a flower I found. A cherry blossom." He gingerly placed it in Mandy's hair, making sure to align it so it didn't clash with her hair bow too much. Once he was done, he produced a mirror from his hammerspace spine so she could see his work. She gasped. Tears began to pool in her eyes, and the surprise only added to the excitement that rocketed all about inside her. He...he gave me a flower! Omigoshomigoshomigosh he gave me a gift! Is...does this mean he's falling in love with me, too? The tears cascaded down her face, now. "It's beautiful..." she breathed, gently touching it as she continued to be enchanted by her own reflection. "T-thank you so much!" "It's no problem." Bradley started for the door. "And by the way..." Mandy broke her concentration to look at him. "The next concert you and your friends attend is on the house." She very nearly dropped the mirror. She probably would have if she didn't have a death grip on the item. More tears fell, although she became numb to them. He opened the door and placed one foot in the doorway. "I have to leave now. But I'll see you sometime in the future. Sooner, hopefully, rather than later." He gave a wink. "Be strong, okay?" The door closed. Silence followed for a few minutes afterwards. And then Mandy took this opportunity to grab the nearest stuffed animal and scream in it. She excitedly trotted in place, her tail wagging hard with excitement. As much as she tried to stifle herself, though, it didn't last for long -- she began ricocheting off the walls like a pinball, knocking all sorts of toys and shelves down. Once she was done with that, she resorted to running in circles around the room, giddily laughing and feeling as light as air. After 15 minutes of nonstop excitement, she burst out of the room soaring, wings flapping as they took her through Headquarters and past all sorts of agents who got swept up in the good vibes she was giving off. Her brain re-formed itself from its liquid state it had been in when Bradley left, allowing her to have coherent thoughts and speak coherent words again. She squealed. "Oh my gosh, does he actually have a crush on me?!" And then she huffed. "Nonono, that's silly, how could he have a crush on me?" And then, a moment of pause. "But it's always possible that he could have a crush on me and not view me as some silly-willy fangirl and then we'd have to date and then fall in love and then marry and then buy a house and then have kids but wait a minute, I don't know the first thing about love but I kinda do 'cuz I was affected by Laura Lovebloom's spell but how would I even know if he's falling in love with me if he's going away, I mean it isn't like I can contact him or anything because he probably has a million other fans and I'm prolly just one of 'em, I dunno, this whole thing's crazy complicated but that's just how love is, right?" Unaware of her surroundings as she was, she had inadvertently wandered into a park, where all of her friends were sitting on a picnic blanket, enjoying lunch. They watched as Mandy continued to jabber on and on, pacing circles around them in some weird attempt to make a hole in the ground while they casually continued eating lunch. "Uhh...she's been going like that for several minutes now." Rainbow pointed out after a short while. "Maybe we should stop her?" "No, no. Let her go." Olive waved her hand before she took another bite of salad. "She'll tire herself out eventually." "-but I think he actually loves me 'cuz why else would he give me the flower, I mean does he really go around giving flowers to all of the girls in the crowds of all of his shows 'cuz I should research if he does..." "Well, there's Olive giving silly play-by-plays of every Burly Bears game..." "Hey!" "...and then there's Mandy going on about love." Rarity finished, a giggle rolling about in her throat as she ate another potato chip and continued to work on her crocheting. Olive merely scoffed and rolled her eyes at the subtle dig to her fandom of the best sports team in existence. It took an awfully long time for Mandy to realize where she was -- so long, in fact, that everyone had finished eating and were all busy digesting their food while making casual conversation. "Whuh-huh?" The hybrid tilted her head. "Why'm I out here?" "Snap back to reality, whoops, here comes gravity!" Pinkie rapped, waving her hoof. "Hiya, partner!" "You're in Cedarvale Park." Twilight explained. "We had lunch together." "And you didn't even invite me?" Mandy pouted. "Well, that's okay. I don't need you guys anyway." She turned her back on the group and flicked her tail. "I'm not even gonna play 'What's Different About Mandy' with you." "You have a flower in your hair." Mandy whirled around at the unisonant response. She didn't think the sounds of her friends' voices together was scary, but here? Yeah, it was a little creepy, she had to admit. Especially since they spotted what was up with her right away. Did the cherry blossom stick out that much? "H-how'd you know?!" she whined. "It's a pink flower in a brunette head of hair. I think the answer's pretty obvious." Olive said, giving a roll of her eyes. "Who gave it to you?" "Only the dreamiest person in the world, duh!" "My goodness." Rarity stood up and made her way over to Mandy. "Bradley Beli gave you that flower?" "He sure did!" Mandy hopped up and down. "He told me he'll see me sometime in the future, and he told me that the next concert of his that we attend is free! Free!" She grinned. "Now you all hafta go with me!" Silence. A majority of the group shared uncomfortable looks. Some looked like they were devising plans to get out of the event. "You know what?" Twilight stood up and exhaled. "I'll go. If anything, it'll be more research into what this world's music is like. I've never heard Bradley Beli's work." "So will I." Otto's jaw became unhinged as he watched Olive brush the crumbs off of her and stand up. "I'll admit, I'm not really a diehard fan of his music or anything...but I'll be open-minded and give him a chance instead of basing my opinion on first appearances." Otto stammered. Olive knelt down to close his jaw before she stood back up. "If Mandy's words are to be believed, he's not just another Soundcheck expy." A smug look settled on her face. "He's better." Two down, eight to go. Mandy looked at each of them eagerly, a big planet-splitting grin on her face. "Well, if I go...it'll be good to get away from work for a while." Oprah sighed. "Assuming the concert's at night?" "I dunno. There's no date or time yet." "Then if I can clear my schedule, I'll go." Seven, now. "I'd like to go." Fluttershy offered, standing up as well. "Maybe he can do a charity concert to help out the animals!" "Concerts really aren't my thing..." Rarity shrugged. "But what's the harm? It would be nice to enjoy some good live music." "Of course I'm gonna go with the bestest partner in the world!" Pinkie chirped. "If'n I get all my work done on the farm, then I'll go too." Applejack nodded. "The answer's obvious." Peaches smiled. "It'll be a good way to bond with my favorite cousin." "I'm your only cousin." "You don't know that." Mandy made a scrunchy face as she realized the catgirl had a point. Everyone looked at Dash and Otto. The former looked uncomfortable, the latter frustrated. Finally, the Pegasus broke the silence with a groan. "Fine...I guess I can give him a shot." she said. Mandy turned her back to the group and rubbed her face, then threw herself in front of Otto and put on the saddest and biggest puppy-dog eyes she could muster, giving a soft whine for the icing on the cake. Otto, in turn, grit his teeth, but not even he could be immune to this ploy of Mandy's for long, and his face lit up. "Awww...all right, all right, you win. I'll go. Just to prove Olive wrong." "You won't." "I will." Mandy squealed. "All right! The whole gang's comin' to the best concert they'll ever see! Soon! Hopefully!" She wrapped everyone into a tight hug, with the ponies on the inner layer, where they got crushed by the more heavyset humans (and catgirl). Coughing ensued, as well as sounds of protest for Mandy to set them down until she complied. With that matter settled, Mandy's attention shifted to another topic. It was lunch, everyone had eaten, but where was her food, she wondered. By the time everyone had snapped to their senses again, she had her body halfway buried in the picnic basket and seemed to be munching on something. "You'd better not be snacking on the tablecloth in the basket again." Olive said. "Nope, even better! A sammich!" Mandy replied, her tail wagging as she continued to eat. Everyone looked at Twilight, who simply responded with, "Cardinal rule of meals: always pack extra food in case Mandy swings by. Lots and lots of it." This was received with murmurs of agreement and some laughter as the group continued to watch Mandy go at it, knowing that free food was just one of the things that had made her day infinitely better. The other thing was, of course, Bradley's gift. She would cherish it for the rest of her life, no matter what it took. From afar, the spirit of Haruko looked on with a warm smile at what came forth as a result of Mandy's antics. Oh, Annabelle...you would be so proud.
S1E13: Oh, Dream WeaverAnyone who's worked in an office will tell you that paperwork is one of the most torturing and tedious things you can do during your shift. Mandy was absolutely no exception. She didn't mind paperwork. Really, it was all part of the job. That's what she was here for. And Oprah wouldn't really take a story about a huge squirrel being turned back to normal if she were told of it verbally. Odd Squad was an organization, and a lot of organization had paperwork in some form or another. But there came a point where she just became so bored with it. Paperwork was more fun with a friend, but Pinkie Pie was back in Equestria working a shift at Sugarcube Corner, and no one was around for her to make idle chitchat with. As she blankly stared at another O-135 form, one question stuck out to her. Is there anything else Odd Squad should know about this case?: Her gaze drifted to another section. Odd Problem: Star Flight was unable to fly because her wings felt like lead. After talking over the issue with her, we came to the conclusion that she was not confident in her flight abilities and needed to believe in the power of flight in order to fly. She Yeah, needless to say, Mandy couldn't finish that part. Professional author she was not, but she often liked the writing in her forms to be meticulous. She often held her writing in high standards as the second-in-command of the precinct. It was good to see everyone marvel over her use of the English language sometimes, to hear everyone remark on how someone who looked so dim-witted on the outside wield her best subject to her advantage. It was that ego she lived on. That sweet, sweet ego nectar. Her eyes became half-lidded, but it didn't stay that way for long, as something in the computer screen caught her eye. Half of a dark-skinned face, including a pair of eyes, peeked over the bottom and stared at her. "Oh fun. Another virus." Mandy said, a sarcastic edge to her voice while she reached for her keyboard that was stashed under her computer. "Last one tried to eat me alive. Maybe this'll be the one that'll get Oprah to finally mass-install antivirus software..." "They stole our plans." Sure enough, Oprah lifted herself up until her upper body was the most prominent thing on the screen. Mandy's eyes widened. She tapped the screen once, and then twice. Nothing happened. "Since...when can you go inside computers like that?" "Since forever." Mandy probably would have asked how she could go inside of computers like that, but something else caught her attention instead. "Okay, I'll bite the bait and go with my next question. What plans?" Instead of responding, Oprah ducked back down below the computer screen. Mandy waited with her breath held, seeing if she was going to come back up, but nothing happened. The hybrid bit back a groan and continued working on her paperwork. A few seconds later, the sound of slurping caught her attention. "Mm." She whirled around in her chair. "Are you going to elaborate?" Oprah swallowed her sip. "The Thrimes. They stole plans for the Dream-Thief-inator." "The Thrimes?" Mandy tilted her head. "You mean that villainous pantomime trio?" "Yes. But they're not alone. They've brought the Sandman with them too." "Okay, but he's the idiotic one, isn't he?" Mandy rolled her eyes. "All bark and no bite." "He can create deadly sandstorms, Mandy." Oprah slowly said, punctuating each word. "He isn't just an expert in the realm of sleep." "Hmm." Mandy tapped a finger to her chin. "So what does the Dream-Thief-inator do?" "It steals others' dreams and replaces them with nightmares." "So like the Dream Weaver's Bad Dream Machine." "Will you stop interrupting me?!" Oprah snapped, before she sighed and continued. "The Dream-Thief-inator, at its 'ultimate' power level, can strip victims of their emotions and feelings. The Bad Dream Machine doesn't have that capability." Mandy buried her face in her hands. "Oona, you just had to install a 'high' setting for the thing, didn't ya..." she muttered to herself. She shook her head as a realization came forth. "But how are they going to build it? I doubt they'll make it anything like what's outlined in Oona's plans." "No, but we're talking about villains who managed to build a silence ray and got..." Oprah pinched her fingers close together. "...thisclose to shutting up the entire planet Earth." "Ah, fair point." "I'm calling a meeting first thing tomorrow. Just to tell everyone to be on their guard." "Why not today?" "There's no way they can get anything like the Dream-Thief-inator built in a day." "The Thrimes had the silence ray up and ready in a day. Who's to say they won't have this gadget built in the same timeframe?" "The silence ray is their own creation. Oona's gadget plans are a bit complicated to follow, so they're bound to run into some trouble." Mandy felt conflicted. On the one hand, she doubted her boss's ruling and opinions on the matter and thought she was wrong, even with hardly any evidence to prove it. On the other hand, she wanted to place her trust in her judgment, as she had done so many times before for years on end now. Still, if the villains did come after her with the Dream-Thief-inator, she could fight them off. She did it before, albeit individually. She could do it again, this time with them as a group. "All right...if you say so." she responded, a hesitant tone to her voice. "I have to get back to work, so wouldja mind, uh..." Oprah looked at where her co-worker was gesturing. "Not even a goodbye?" She chuckled. "Fine, fine. I see you're busy. I'll leave you alone." She began walking away, and Mandy was free to go back to the utterly boring form she had to fill out. "Oh, and Mandy?" The hybrid looked up. "Antivirus software will be installed next month." "Oh, thank the odds." Deep in the thralls of a dark lair, four villains gathered together around one gadget that looked nearly complete. All it needed was a few final touches, which the villainous trio clad in black and white were furiously working on. "Duhhh, is it almost ready?" a large creature asked. He towered over the trio, though not by much, and his entire body was made of sand that looked almost wet in appearance. His eyes were crooked, as were his teeth. He looked to be the epitome of idiocy. In response to the creature's query, the trio nodded and then got back to work. "Ugh. This plan is doomed to fail." "Who said dat?!" Another figure stepped out of the shadows. The ring of thick arches she had around her waist, which were secured by a girdle striped with an array of colors, bobbed as she walked. One could mistake her as being an interstellar traveler just from the onesie she sported, which was dipped and covered in all sorts of astral designs and colors along with the arches. Half of the arches had silver rims while the other half had gold ones, and the swirl patterns embedded in them matched each color. The clothing she wore under the girdle overlapped, gold over silver, and were topped with respective beaded gold and silver epaulets as well. She looked to be half silver on the, half gold on the right -- and to complete the ensemble, her gloves matched each side, as well. The trio and the creature took in the appearance of this rather otherworldly person, completely stunned by her fashion choices. "I did, you lumbering idiot." the woman snapped, her eyes narrowing as she adjusted her poofy white cloud-like hair that illuminated with a soft off-white light. "You two aren't a perfect match for each other at all. When villains team up, they need to mesh together, work well together." She then muttered, "Believe me, I learned that the hard way..." The trio squinted in unison as they sat on her words. "You three, the Thrimes..." She pointed at the mime trio. "...can't speak. And you, the Sandman..." She pointed at the sandy creature. "...you're an idiot." "Am I not an idiot?!" The woman rolled her eyes. "Congratulations. You just made a coherent sentence by acting like a fool. Have a cookie." "Ooooh, thanks!" "I'm being sarcastic!" The woman took a deep breath, and continued. "Anyways. Have you even decided what your next course of action will be? Odd Squad is a very populated place, as you know. Are you planning to attack any precinct or any agent in particular?" The Thrimes moved over to a small desk, where they shuffled some papers around until they held up one in particular with the beaming, cute, and very recognizable face of an agent. "Agent Mandy. Known for beating villains within inches of their lives." She smiled. "Such a doll. Her love of sleep is almost unrivaled. I would be lying if I didn't say I didn't enjoy victimizing her the most." Her gaze flicked to the group. "That's who you're planning to use this ray on?" "Yeah!" the Sandman piped up. "She, uh, duh, she's done troubley-nothin'!" "You three are underestimating her." The Thrimes made shocked face expressions. The woman couldn't tell whether they were faking it as part of a mime act or not. "Haven't any of you ever interacted with Mandy? Or at least gotten into combat with her?" A lot of head-shakes. "Well, uhh, duh, there was one time, uhh, and she threw water on me, and, and, uhhh, she made me a sandilycastile!" "Uh-huh. I knew you four weren't good fits for each other." The woman sighed. "Well, since I'm such a nice villainess, why don't I give you some advice." She winced. "Ehh...and maybe some of my assistance." "We don't want your stinky assistance!" "Would you rather your plan fall to shambles, then? Or would you rather have it go off without a hitch? Your choice." The Thrimes didn't need to be asked twice. They all mimed the act of begging on their knees. "Well, uh, duhhh..." "Ah! Just as I thought." The woman giggled. "Now, I happen to know a lot about Agent Mandy. If you want to use this ray on her...you'll need to do it during the nighttime." The Thrimes, rising to their feet again, looked confused -- as did the Sandman, even through his derpy features. "Mandy may be a fierce battler, but she also sleeps for a majority of the day. At night is when she lets her guard down, when she'll be in too tired of a state to fight back. And, see, while she is a heavy sleeper regardless of the time of day, nighttime is her weak spot." "But, uh, ummm, dummm, what about those colorful mishmashows?" the Sandman asked, the Thrimes nodding in agreement as though asking the same question. "Colorful marshmallows...?" the woman uttered, only just slightly surprised she could understand the creature's broken way of speaking. Still, that didn't mean she felt frustrated by it, as she quickly snapped, "They're called 'ponies', you nitwit." The Sandman took a step back. She forced herself to take a deep breath. "Anyway. Yes, they are friends of Mandy's, but I don't think they'll be much of a threat. In spite of my...horrible lack of experience in dealing with them..." A bite of the lip as a wave of regret washed over her. "...I can deal with them easily. Regardless of them, I believe I can help you execute this plan live." Confused looks crossed the Thrimes' faces. "I mean while we're actually setting the plan into motion." That was better. They all nodded in realization. "So, what time are you planning to use this ray?" The Thrimes mimed out the number 10. "10 PM. All right, that's perfect." The woman clapped her hands together. "Meet me at Precinct 13579 then, and we can discuss what to do going forward. Believe me, you'll all be in my debt when this plan goes well." An evil chuckle rolled about in her throat. "Oh, Mandy...don't you worry your pretty little head. The Dream Weaver will help get you through the night." The chuckle turned into a hearty reverberating laugh that sounded for what seemed like hours upon hours. This time...this time, I'll get you. I'll leave you incapable of dealing with oddness for the rest of your life! As nighttime fell on Precinct 13579, five villains crept their way through the hallways, making sure to stay out of the prying eyes of any rogue agents and out of the prying lens of the security cameras stashed into seemingly every corner of Headquarters. They pushed the now-completed Dream-Thief-inator ray, which was rather huge and needed to be transported on wheels instead of being held in hammerspace. "Now, to my understanding, Mandy no longer sleeps with the ponies." the Dream Weaver explained. "She has her own room now, isolated from everyone else." "And, uhhhh, is that good news?" "What do you think, of course it's good news!" the Dream Weaver snapped, her voice at a whisper so she didn't wake anyone up. A heavy sigh left her. "But I digress. We only have one shot, so it must be executed well. Got it?" Nods all across the board. The group stopped in front of the multi-colored door, and slowly opened it. It made a light creaking noise, which didn't surprise them, and they decided to time the creaks with Mandy's snores just to play it safe. Once it was fully open, the ray was wheeled inside, its bulb pointed straight at her. The Dream Weaver, ignoring the sounds of the ocean that resounded in the room as white noise, poked her head out of the room, looking around and using her sense of hearing to see if anyone was nearby. Still dead-silence. "Okay, there's no one around. Charge it up." A few buttons were shifted upwards, and the ray began to charge up. It was rather noisy, moreso than the Dream Weaver expected, and she grit her teeth. "You had to make it noisy..." she uttered, before she noticed one of the Thrimes was giving her a thumbs-up. In spite of the noise, Mandy hadn't stirred so much as an inch. The Dream Weaver returned the thumbs-up and made her way to Mandy's bedside, a malicious smirk on her face. "Nighty-night, you dreamless, thoughtless, emotionless abomination." she said. "See you on the other side." The ray was fired, a bright blue illuminating the room as the beam was aimed right for Mandy's exposed ankles. From there, her whole body became bathed in a blue light. The whole ordeal was over within 15 seconds. The ray was powered off, and Mandy's eyes slowly opened until they got stuck at the halfway point, the innocence held within them entirely gone and becoming glassy. "Hurry, you villains, we need to make a break for it!" the Dream Weaver said, wheeling the ray out of the room as fast as she could while the Thrimes and the Sandman followed suit. Once she felt the group was, more or less, at a safe distance, the Dream Weaver let out the sigh she had been holding in. "Yes! I told you this plan would go off without a hitch." she said, her voice returning to its normal volume. The Thrimes mimed a sentence that would be near-unintelligible to anyone who didn't understand the art of pantomime. "It doesn't matter if I did all the heavy lifting! What matters is that we got Mandy!" she said. "Now let's get out of here, before someone catches us!" The sound of a foot hitting the ground that wasn't any of the villains' own caught their attention right quick. Slowly, ever so slowly, their heads turned towards the source -- and what an unexpected source it was. "Going somewhere?" "You!" came the angry shout, before the Dream Weaver stopped and blinked. "Wait, who are you?" "Peaches. Catgirl from Vallea." Peaches crossed her arms. "Now just what do you think you're doing?" A shrill cry from afar cut into the conversation. Everyone turned to look as Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Rarity rushed up, Twilight holding the emotionless Mandy in her magical grasp. Whatever smug confidence Peaches had in regards to taking the villains down was evaporated within the snap of a finger. Her ears and tail both drooped. Her body slumped. Her eyes shrunk so they were more sclera than iris and pupil. Mandy had about the blankest expression on her she had ever seen. She looked dead, even though she was very much alive. Any identity she had was sucked out of her, leaving her a complete and utter blank slate. "No..." Peaches whispered, a soft cry of despair dancing on a soft puff of air. She stayed like that for a good long time. Until she snapped. With a mighty yowl, she plowed past the villains and threw herself at the ponies, nabbing Mandy from Twilight as the alicorn released her grip on the hybrid. "Mandy. Mandy! Snap out of it! Please, snap out of it!!" Mandy's eyes moved towards Peaches. "Why are you holding me? Who are you?" she asked, her voice completely monotonic in a way that would put Pinkie's sister Maud to shame. "No!!" Peaches screamed, shaking her cousin. "Mandy, please!! This isn't you! Snap out of it!" "I do not know you. Set me down." "Darling." Rarity stepped forward and placed a hoof on Peaches' leg. "It's hopeless. Mandy has been robbed of all of her feelings and emotions. She's..." She shut her eyes tight. "...an empty shell!" An empty shell. Peaches looked into Mandy's eyes again. Those glassy, glazed eyes that once held life, innocence, and a sense of being. It was painful just to even make eye contact with her anymore. Still, Peaches hugged her close, her body shaking as she became on the verge of a breakdown. Before sadness overtook her, however, rage hip-checked it and sent it flying out of the room. "You." Her icy voice cracked as she slowly stood up and turned to face the villain group, holding Mandy close to her body. She extended an index finger towards the ringleader. "Who are you, and what have you done to my cousin?" The Dream Weaver didn't answer right away, instead scanning Peaches' face for any sign of familiarity. Yes...she remembered tormenting her once. She had been a rather unusual victim. But talk of her around the villain community got her curiosity piqued, and so, she had done her thing to the result of failure. But she and Mandy were related? That answered a lot of her questions. She giggled. "What a feisty kitty!" she taunted. "I can see how you two are related now. Both of you have the same spunk." "ANSWER ME!!" came the angry roar, claws unsheathing as the Dream Weaver became one step away from being the victim of an attack. "Ohh all right, fine. Since you really want to know." The villainess smirked. "My name is the Dream Weaver, and my area of expertise is the dream realm. I am one of the most respected villains in Toronto, just for my sheer abilities to twist dreams and nightmares to my liking." The ponies' eyes all widened. All of their minds immediately flashed to Princess Luna, who also ruled over the dream realm, but was firmly on the side of good now instead of evil. "So who are they?" Peaches pointed to the Thrimes. "And who's he?" And then to the Sandman. "Duhh, I'm the Saaaaaandmaaaaaan." came the dopey response from the latter. The Dream Weaver sighed and pointed to the trio. "And those are the Thrimes. We are ever so pleased to make your acquaintances, Peaches!" "I don't want to engage in casual conversation with filth like you." the catgirl snapped. "Return my cousin to normal." "Aww, now why would we do that?" the Dream Weaver taunted. "We villains have long since come to the realization that Mandy is the biggest threat, not just to our evil plans, but to our very existences! If she is left devoid of emotion, then she can't attack us! The cosmic forces can decide when it's our time to go, not her!" Peaches could only stare as the villainess delved into a bout of evil laughter. "Peaches, be careful!" Twilight called. "The Dream Weaver is a very dangerous villainess. Don't do anything hasty!" Twilight has a point. The Dream Weaver can shape dreams and nightmares as she wishes, and it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume she can put her enemies to sleep, as well. I don't have control over my sleep and dreams like Mandy does...which would put me at a serious disadvantage if I'm not careful. Peaches bit her lip as her mind ran through a list of options. It didn't take her long to settle on one she deemed fit. Wait, what if I...yes...yes! I know exactly what I have to do! She took a deep breath to expel her anger before she spoke. "Okay, then. Perhaps a deal would change your mind." "A deal?" "Yes." Peaches nodded. "See, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but us catgirls are a very rare find in Toronto. We don't come around here very often, I'm afraid. If you caught me, then you would have something that would truly leave a mark on the other villains' legacies." She stopped and backtracked. "No, no...your legacies." All five villains looked very intrigued. If one looked close enough, they could see their eyes shimmering just a little. "C'mon now. Surely I look tempting to you?" "Well duhhhh I dunno..." The Sandman squinted. "You don't look appephepatizing." The Dream Weaver slowly turned to face him with a disgusted look. "You're grossing me out, you disgusting twit." She turned back to Peaches. "All right. So what's the catch?" "You turn my cousin back to normal. And in exchange, you can have a more powerful capture of only the highest rarity." She smirked. "How about it?" The Dream Weaver took a moment to think, then looked at both the Thrimes and the Sandman. Both of them gave nods of approval, knowing that respect was one of the highest things a villain could achieve -- and they didn't have much, whether combined or individually. "You've got yourself a deal, pretty kitty." the Dream Weaver said. "But I must warn you." "Hm?" "Where I'm taking you is purely hybrid-proof. If it just so happens that your pathetic little cousin tries to rescue you...she won't be leaving alive." Oh, I love those odds. Peaches almost wanted to laugh, but settled for a smirk instead. Mandy will rescue me, no doubt about it. Besides, with her zany ways, she could probably cheat death singlehandedly. "I understand." "Heh. You've got gusto!" The Dream Weaver smirked in return, turning to the ray. "Thrimes, undo the effects on Mandy, if you please." While the pantomime trio got to work on activating the reversal setting of the gadget, the Dream Weaver rubbed her hands together. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to put you to sleep..." she murmured, before she pulled her hands apart and sent a cloud floating Peaches' way. In one swift movement, it swept her off of her feet, allowing Mandy to make impact with the ground. Slowly, Peaches' eyes closed. Mandy...please, save me. I know you will. Good luck. Once the Dream Weaver was sure Peaches was asleep, the cloud floated back to her and remained by her side, the soft snoring from her tickling the villainess's eardrums and making her smile. On the flip side of the coin, the Thrimes had the ray all set up, and with a few clicked switches, a bright red beam shot out of it and swirled around Mandy's entire body. Slowly, like liquid being poured into a glass, her eyes filled with the color blue, and the shine in them returned. "Duhh, shouldn't we get outta here before Mandy wakes uuuup?" the Sandman asked, tilting his head. The Dream Weaver rolled her eyes. "Lo and behold, it can think." she muttered to herself, before she turned to him and put on a great big smile. "Yes, yes, let's go. Chop chop!" Quickly, the group made their hasty retreat, Peaches floating by the Dream Weaver's side before they completely disappeared from view. "Mm..." The ponies backed up a step or two, eyeing Mandy as she squeezed her eyes shut, then slowly opened them. "What happened...?" "Oh, thank Celestia!" Rarity cried out. "Mandy, Peaches was taken by a group of villains. She offered herself up willingly as a capture to save you." "Y' don't say..." came the sleepy murmur as Mandy slowly rose to her feet. "We gotta get her back!" "Hold on, partner." Twilight said, using her magic to grab Rainbow by the very end of her tail before the Pegasus could go far. "We need to formulate a plan. The Dream Weaver said that wherever she's taking Peaches is hybrid-proof. That means it'll be full of traps." As Mandy tried to fully come to, she furiously shook her body out like a dog trying to get rid of as much water as it could. "Wha-huh?! I-I'm awake, I'm not late!" she cried out, before a blink brought her back to her senses. "Why do I feel like I'm missing something important?" "Your cousin was taken, Mandy." That woke her up. "Taken?!" she said, whirling on Rarity. "By who?!" "The Dream Weaver, along with the Thrimes and the Sandman." the unicorn explained. "If I had to make a guess, they tried to attack you while you were sleeping. Peaches made them take her instead of you as a sacrifice." "WHAT?!" came the scream, her eyes widening. "T-that's impossible! How do they...I-I mean, they can't...wha?!" "There's no time to worry!" Rainbow said, still fighting against Twilight's magic but failing. "We gotta save Peaches!" "The Dream Weaver said that wherever she's taking Peaches is hybrid-proof." Twilight added. Mandy thought for a moment. "If I know the Dream Weaver well -- and I'm confident I do -- she's probably taking Peaches to her lair." "And where's that?" Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh in response to Twilight's question, waving a dismissive hand. "Her basement, silly! Where else?" Everypony exchanged confused looks. "Wait!" Rarity perked up in realization. "What about the rest of the girls?" Twilight sighed. Of course -- leave it to Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Applejack to be in Equestria for the night and not in Odd Squad. Terrible timing, if one asked her, but it couldn't be helped. "We don't have time to get them. This is something that we'll have to do on our own!" "Then let's go!" Mandy led the way down the hall, Rarity, Twilight, and the now-released Rainbow Dash quickly following suit. By the time Peaches arrived at the Dream Weaver's lair, she was awake, much to the villainess's chagrin. She had gotten a personal tour of her rather luxurious two-bedroom apartment, which planted a ton of questions into her head she was forced to put aside for now. Eventually, she was taken downstairs into a dingy, dark, low-hanging room with a washer and dryer set up on the right, a large wood table with a chair on the back wall, and insulation everywhere. Eugh...basements in Vallea definitely don't look like that. She keeps her house clean, except for her basement, apparently. Peaches wrinkled her nose. But on the plus side, maybe there are some mice in here I can eat if they decide to starve me. "Have a seat." the Dream Weaver said, dragging the table out a little ways while the Sandman and the Thrimes carried the Dream-Thief-inator down the stairs. Peaches did as she was told, taking a seat in the chair and wincing at how rough it felt. She might as well have been sitting on a slab of rock. The Dream Weaver waved at the cloud to make it dissipate, then took a pencil and some paper out from her hammerspace spine, laying it on the table before she adjusted the lamp that was above the table so its snake-like extension kicked in and the light shone on the paper. "I believe you come from Vallea, correct?" Peaches stared at her. She wasn't expecting a question that had absolutely no relation to "write this thing" or "draw that thing". She blinked a couple times, becoming distracted by the villainess's white hair that was now lit up, like it was a glow-in-the-dark hairstyle. "Um, I...y-yes. I do. H-how do you know, exactly?" "Oh, we're all well-acquainted with Toronto and a few of its citizens. You, however, seem to be a new face." The Dream Weaver leaned in closer, just as the Sandman and the Thrimes approached the duo. "We're quite interested in you. And your cousin is quite the blabbermouth in battle." An annoyed "tch" forced its way out of Peaches. Of course. Mandy enjoys monologuing. No doubt she'd mention me at some point. She stared at the paper in front of her. "Um, so...what's the paper and pen for?" "Oh, nothing..." The Dream Weaver pressed her thumbs together. "I just need you to write down everything you know about Vallea." Everything?! Peaches stiffened. Oh no...they're gonna wreak havoc in my hometown, aren't they? And who knows if King Ashero is even prepared to deal with oddness like that! But then again...I could always lie. Isn't it common knowledge that villains aren't necessarily the smartest people? Because if so, then I could easily fool all of them. She closed her eyes for just a moment. I don't want to hurt Vallea. Mandy can take care of King Ashero, I'm sure. But if these villains get involved, they'll hurt more than just the King. A sigh danced on her lips before she picked up the pen and silently got to writing. The Dream Weaver smirked, as did the Thrimes and the Sandman. "Good girl." It was rather easy to find the Dream Weaver's apartment. After all, it was the only one that looked like something straight out of a dream, with its blinding-white...well, everything. Plus the tag inside one of the mailbox slots in the front yard that was marked with DREAM WEAVER. That too. Using her telekinesis, Mandy opened the front door, slowly and carefully. Her eyes scanned the living room for booby traps, her body relaxing slightly when she couldn't see any. "Okay. Try and keep a low profile." she said, her voice low as she made her way inside. The mares followed suit, keeping an eye out for any surprises. Sure enough, within just a few steps, two puffs of smoke appeared. One materialized a large structure with bright pink, dull pink, and blue-and-purple bowl-shaped glowing fixtures on its base, as well as six jagged lightning-bolt-shaped pieces that surrounded a glowing purple orb. The other obscured the rescue team, causing them to give startled cries and stumble about as they were temporarily blinded. Mandy coughed, her eyes watering and looking rather bloodshot as she looked around. "Rarity? Rainbow Dash? Twilight?" she called. "Where are you? I can't see you!" Her search was interrupted by a weird sensation in her head, like something had entered it, and she shook it off before she continued. She could hear coughs, cries of fear and worry, and her name being called, but she couldn't see anyone. Her eyes began to close involuntarily. "What'zz...happening...Raiiiiiii..." Sleep claimed her quickly, and she was reduced to a snoring mess within the span of a minute. Unbeknownst to her, the ponies had also fallen asleep, and they were sprawled out on the living room floor, snoring away and completely incapacitated. "Ah." The Dream Weaver smiled. "I believe our guests have arrived." Peaches looked up. "Guests?" "Mm, yes. Agent Rarity, Agent Rainbow Dash, Agent Twilight Sparkle...and of course, who else but Agent Mandy." She came for me. But something's wrong. "What did you do?" she asked, struggling to keep an innocent tone to her voice to mask her anger. "Just laid them down to rest for a while, that's all." the Dream Weaver said. "For Mandy in particular, however...that little ringleader will be receiving a special surprise from yours truly. Thrimes? Sandman?" All four villains looked at her. "Please keep an eye on Peaches for me. I have some matters to attend to." She became surrounded by a bright pink glow, and then, just as quickly, she was gone in a flash. Peaches got back to writing without another word, letting her thoughts do the talking for her. Mandy got put to sleep, didn't she? Along with the ponies. This villain is the biggest threat to her, without a doubt. But somehow...I'm confident she'll pull through. She has to pull through. For my sake. When Mandy awoke, she felt a warm sensation overtake her body. It felt welcoming, and so she stood up, her head beginning to ache. "Rainbow? Twilight?" she called out. "Rarity?" came the final desperate squeak, her eyes darting around for any sign of her co-workers within the purple-hued setting. "My dear sweet Felicity." The voice was smooth. Not in the same way Rarity's was, mind -- this smoothness sounded like something that came from an adult woman, not a mare. Mandy's eyes fell on a silhouette of such a woman. As thin as a twig, clad in a dress with long hair. Her figure was obscured by fog, the same way the view of the child she was holding was obscured. "You will grow up to be such a happy and healthy child." the silhouette murmured in between the baby's coos. "And with my spirit guardian by my side, we will be safe and protected. Don't worry about a thing." She set the baby down onto the ground. "Now, I must leave. I cannot be late for the dinner party." She gave a soft huff. "I'll be back soon." With the sound of clicking heels echoing through the space, she walked away, her silhouette gradually fading until it was no more. Only the baby remained now, giving inquisitive coos while reaching its small hands out in a futile attempt to call for its mother. Mandy watched with intrigue. She wasn't sure who "Felicity" was -- it certainly wasn't her name, and she didn't know anyone with that name, either. Still, something in her told her to pick the child up, and so she did, carefully moving through the fog while also keeping her ears open for any other sounds. Like the entryway of a door, she broke through the haze. Her eyes fell on the baby. It was a rather healthy-looking and slightly chubby baby, with a head of brunette hair that looked like hers. But it wasn't until she picked it up and cradled it in her arms that a wave of familiarity slammed into her. The baby gave happy coos, grabbing at Mandy's nose and moving it around. Mandy, however, was rendered in a state of shock. Why does this feel so familiar to me? This baby looks familiar...and that woman... Her voice sounds familiar. Who is she? Her being lost in her own thoughts left her immune to the sound of heels clicking as they got closer and closer. "Might I ask what you're doing with my child?" Mandy's eyes widened. She whirled around, and found the same woman standing behind her. With her strawberry-blonde hair, her sparkling black dress, and black heels, she looked every bit like a model who had stepped out of a fashion magazine. A rather mean model, if the angry expression on her face was any indication. "Oh! I-I'm so sorry, b-but you left her here a-and I thought..." Mandy stammered, sweat beginning to drip down her face. The woman's expression softened and became warm. "Felicity." she murmured. "How you've grown." Mandy took a step back, her eyes remaining in their widened state as her gaze moved from the baby to the woman and back again. Is...am I holding...nonono, this can't be me... The baby continued to give elated coos towards Mandy, gurgling and giggling while making mad grabs for her suit. It took a while before Mandy was able to give at least some semblance of a coherent response. "I, uh..." She cleared her throat. "M-my apologies, but my name's not Felicity. I'm Mandy." "Oh...you changed your name." The woman once again switched moods on a dime, becoming downcast. "But I thought you enjoyed the name Felicity?" "I- wh- my name's not Felicity!" Mandy reiterated. "W-who are you? Why do you have a baby that looks like me?!" The woman stooped to Mandy's height and looked her dead in the eyes. Her eyes held a sort of maternal warmth to them that flew completely over Mandy's head. Especially when she said her next words. "I'm your mother." Oh, did Mandy very nearly drop the baby in her hands. Her heartbeat quickened. Her brain began the process of slowly melting into a pile of mush, thoughts conversing all on their own while she stared at the woman for what felt like hours. M-my mother? Don't be ridiculous, Olive's your mother! Adoptive mother, thank you very much. So this woman's my...real... She's my real mother. The one who brought me into this world. This can't be. This is a dream. How can she be my real mother? Most Odd Squad agents are humans. Humans are brought into the world one way or another. She slumped to her knees, her shock leaving her paralyzed just enough for her to not notice the woman and the baby disappearing in translucent pixelated flecks. In spite of her eyes being wide open, she also didn't see the familiar form of the Dream Weaver materializing in the woman's place. "Won't this be some juicy gossip to tell everyone in the Villain League." The villainess chuckled. "I honestly thought the whole thing with your birth mother wouldn't be such a big deal. I suppose I was wrong." Mandy was still in a state of shock, unable to form any sort of response. She looked like she was in a state of suspended animation. The Dream Weaver sighed. "I already know what you're going to say before you're even saying it. 'This is all your doing, isn't it?' Do I have that right?" She smirked. "You see, I can pull dreams from memories buried deep under the sea of people's minds, as well as those that are floating on the surface of the water. As a special gift to you, I decided to go deep. Really deep. Twilight-zone deep." A chuckle slipped past her lips. "And it looks like I hit the jackpot!" Ever still, but listening now, Mandy's ears swiveled towards her opponent. And she took notice. "Mm, glad I don't have to repeat myself." Her lungs filled with air, and then she gave a satisfied sigh. "Now, with you and the rest of your rescue team out of commission, I can continue extracting every piece of info about Vallea as I can get from your feline friend." Mandy blinked once, and then twice. The shock slowly began to wear off as the taunts from the Dream Weaver sunk into her brain. What festered in shock's place was anger and confusion. "You inconceivable, low-lying, scum-of-the-earth thing." The Dream Weaver merely tilted her head, not fazed by this insult in the slightest. Mandy slowly got to her feet. "You dug into my memories, memories I didn't even know I had, to expose who my real mother is?" she asked. "Why?" "If I have to be honest, it was never my intention to dig up that specific memory." The Dream Weaver shrugged. "I just got lucky." "Lucky?" Mandy spat. "You have the nerve to call this vile act 'luck'?" "What are you getting so wound up for? I haven't even turned this dream bad yet." The Dream Weaver rolled her eyes. "Honestly, save your anger for when I actually do, hm? Which will be...right now." In a bright pink flash of light, the structure from earlier reappeared. The Dream Weaver made her way over to it, grabbed a pull cord that Mandy couldn't see before, and gave it a single yank, causing the bowl-shaped structures and the orb on top to start glowing intensely. Within seconds, the setting changed. What was once a purple void filled with fog was now the bullpen of Mandy's very own workplace. In a bright flash of pink light, agents from all kinds of different departments materialized. This is going to go bad. Very, very bad. She barely registered the Dream Weaver's evil laugh, instead remaining vigilant and lighting up her horn in preparation for battle. Suddenly, she felt a hugging sensation on her tail, like someone was squeezing it. And the next thing she knew, she was air-lifted and was face-to-face with a snarling Olive, along with Otto, Peaches, and the others. Her horn's magic died down, her eyes being reduced to pinpricks as she braced for the worst. "You are in so much trouble." The words came pouring out, laced with venom. Olive narrowed her eyes as she continued. "First of all, take off those accessories. What, are you going to the Toronto Cosplay Convention? Try to look civilized, for odd's sake." Using the hand that wasn't securing Mandy's tail, she effortlessly tore off Mandy's horn and wings as though they were apples from a tree. The pain shot through the hybrid, and she gave a scream, beginning to thrash about. She only barely registered a couple small streams of blood leaking from the hole that remained in her forehead. "Eugh, Olive, don't make us look at that!" Pinkie said. "Cover it up or something!" A sigh, and then a pulling of a roll of duct tape from a hammerspace spine. "Fine. Rarity, tear off two pieces of this tape and arrange them into an X shape, would you please?" Wordlessly, the unicorn mare did as she was told. The sound that was produced as a result of the tape coming apart from the roll was a horrific screeching sound that only made Mandy start screaming louder, using her hands to cover up her two human ears and letting the flexibility of her pony ears do the rest. "Stop." Olive held up a hand, causing Rarity's levitation to cease movement. "You can't put it on the thing when it's thrashing about like that." "Give it a couple whacks on the floor, partner!" Otto suggested. Murmurs of agreement followed suit. A malicious grin split the girl's face as Mandy felt her body being swung up into the air, and then felt it brutally collide with the floor. Painfully. Several times over. By the tenth go-around, the hybrid was shaking and whimpering, the air knocked out of her lungs. She felt her body being picked up again, but only barely reacted. The Dream Weaver, on the other hand, watched with intrigue, knowing that she and her machine were invisible to everyone but Mandy herself. "Aw, come on!" Oprah whined. "You stained the floor!" "Sorry, sorry. I'll clean it up when I'm done. Rarity?" The mare stepped forward, levitating the tape shape and securing it to Mandy's forehead. She gave a satisfied sigh. "And finished. That shouldn't be too much trouble anymore." "Good. Now can you clean the mess on the floor?" Oprah snapped. "I don't need my agents walking in here and thinking a murder was committed." "Would've been a much better idea, if'n ya ask me." Applejack muttered under her breath. Mandy tried to speak, but no words came out. Her lungs felt deprived of air. "Go away and become a waste of space in the Volcano Room, why don't you." Olive said. A word eked out. "Momma..." "Don't call me that." Mandy's eyes widened. Her gaze stared at Olive's expression, steely and emotionless. "Not after what shame you've brought on us, little miss horrid abominable freak of nature." With a hefty swing of the Director's arm, Mandy's body went careening through the air, then made impact with the floor and rolled before coming to a dead stop. She could barely make out the sound of retreating footsteps and retreating hoofsteps. The Dream Weaver laughed. "Oh, wow. That was quite something, wasn't it?" She gave a satisfied sigh. "Seeing your friends, your family, just beat you up like that. Not even I got that treatment in my school days!" Mandy slowly got up, hacking and coughing as she tried to register what, exactly, had happened within the past few minutes. "And lest I forget the funny thing..." The Dream Weaver raised an eyebrow. "My Bad Dream Machine was on one of its lowest settings." Mandy's body suddenly became aware that essential limbs were missing. Her back rippled, but no wings opened. Her fingers tenderly touched her forehead, but felt nothing that would indicate there was a horn, just something smooth covering something gaping. "That's riiii-iiiight." the villainess cooed in singsong. "You caused your own wings and your own horn to disappear. Just. Like. That. And there's absolutely no hope of getting them back, because your supposed 'tormentors' are long gone by now!" Just as she let loose another heinous laugh, Mandy looked in the direction Olive and the others had gone. Her eyes began to water involuntarily. How could Momma just...do that? How could anyone just do that?! First I meet my real mother, and then everyone decides to take away my wings and horn and assault me for no reason! And all of it...is her fault. The Dream Weaver tilted her head. "Oh? Is this it? Are you finally falling into despair?" she tittered with excitement. Her smile turned into a beaming grin. "Oh, it's about time!" Mandy watched as her tears dripped onto the floor. She didn't bother to look up when she heard the sound of footsteps. "Would you stop crying already? You're just asking for it." came the familiar voice. "Honestly, I can't believe I raised you to be so pathetic. Do you know how many times I've ever cried in my life?" She leaned closer. "Zero. Zilch. Nada." She topped it off with a raspberry. Slowly, Mandy's rage marched up to her heart and began forcefully pushing the sadness aside. "Now, if you want to be a good girl, you'll shut up, and stay shut up." She blinked. "Oh yeah, and don't bother asking about your cosplay accessories. Twilight disintegrated them." Mandy's body began to quiver, now. Olive began to mop the blood up from the floor. "Not that you would understand, but have I ever told you how you're just an unfortunate and unwelcome accide-" With a punch, Olive was unceremoniously cut off. The force behind the attack was so strong that it sent the girl onto her side, the mop clattering to the ground in the process. She blinked a couple times, trying to process what just happened. I'm not going to even give her room to breathe. A mighty roar echoed through the bullpen as Mandy swung her fist again and let it collide directly with Olive's cheek. The blunt force caused a couple teeth to fly out along with some blood. "Well that's not a nice way to treat your mother!" The Dream Weaver's taunt was lost on Mandy. Something snapped inside of her with that punch, and from there, the attacks got more and more brutal. She punched, she kicked, she bit, and she bashed with her hammer. She screamed, she cried, she roared, and she became engulfed in flames that incinerated everything and everyone within a fifteen-foot radius. Amidst the tears and wails of her opponent, she beat her up from head to toe. By the time she was done, Olive didn't even look human anymore. She looked like a grotesque shell of one, shuddering and whimpering and crying and begging for mercy that would never come. With a snap of her fingers, the Director's pathetic and pale replacement was gone in a flurry of translucent pixelated flecks. The Dream Weaver had watched the curb-stomp battle go down in awe. She was well-aware of Mandy's sheer raw power in battle, but certainly wasn't expecting this turn of events. "You." The villainess blinked innocently as Mandy whirled on her. "I'm destroying your Bad Dream Machine and getting myself out of here. You've committed horrible acts here today, and you won't be getting away for any of them." In the blink of an eye, the Machine was destroyed. All it took was a few pumps of power into the hammer's head to make it grow three times its size, and one hell of a mighty swing from one hell of a pissed-off agent. "Noooooooo!" came the anguished cry of the Dream Weaver, slumping to her knees. "What have you done?!" "You just saw what happened." came the plain and simple answer of Mandy, her flames dying down. "Gonna take ya a while to rebuild that, huh?" The setting began crumbling away. Mandy's eyes widened, and she jumped up into the air, only to come plummeting down to the ground, realizing just a second later that she didn't have wings nor did she have her horn. Eventually, what met the pair was sheer darkness. The eerie silence sent a chill down Mandy's spine. "Curse you!" the Dream Weaver spat. "I'm getting out of here." Conjuring up a remote from hammerspace, she pressed the singular red button on it, and Mandy rushed to grasp her arm before the Dream Weaver left her in a state she had been in before and certainly didn't feel like revisiting again. Mandy's eyes squeezed shut, and then slowly opened. They met the bright light of the kitchen, as well as a view of what looked like a living room in a house. "Oh, thank Celestia! You're awake!" Rarity sighed, extending a hoof. "Here, let me help you up, darling." "Jeez...we thought you were a goner for sure!" "Are you all right?" "Aside from my throbbing head? Yes." Mandy winced as pain began ricocheting through her forehead. "The Dream Weaver got into my dreams pretty good." "She got into mine too." Twilight remarked, the other two mares nodding in agreement. "It was awful." "There's a reason why she's one of my biggest threats." Mandy shook her head and sighed. "Anyway, enough chittychatty. We have to save Peaches, and quickly!" Together, the group moved quickly but cautiously through the living room and into the kitchen, more vigilant than ever before. It wasn't until they heard a muffled scream followed by a loud thump that they stopped dead in their tracks. "What was that?!" Rarity cried out. "That sounded like Peaches!" Rainbow said. "Duhhhh, stop tearin' up. We ain't done with you yet!" Eyes widened. Everyone recognized that voice. And even though its owner was as dumb as a bag stuffed inside of another bag, everyone feared that voice. Slowly, Mandy took her hammer out from behind her back. "Hammer, do your worst." she murmured, just before she booked it to the basement door like a person running last-minute to a store about to close. "Odd Squad, Odd Squad, stop right there!" she cried out, busting down the door with one mighty swing of her hammer and sending it careening down the stairs. The Dream Weaver had to nearly dive to get out of the way of the impromptu projectile that was sent weaving and soaring down the stairs. "Aw pooh, the cavalry arrived." said the Dream Weaver in mock surprise, before she waved a hand. "No matter. You got through my trap, but that doesn't mean we'll so willingly hand Peaches off to you." Rage began settling into Mandy again. "You will give me back my cousin or I will bash in your face so hard that every single anatatomincal piece of your head will feel it." "Oh, Mandy. You are just too predictable. I see it all the time whenever we do battle." The Dream Weaver shook her head and gave a mighty sigh. "Your anger issues tend to cramp your style. It causes you to make hasty decisions that ultimately lead to your losses." She tilted her head slightly. "Admit it. You haven't won every single battle with every single villain, now have you? You aren't much for a Mary Sue, if you ask me." Mandy's eye twitched once. And then twice. And then more and more. Her fists slowly clenched, her knuckles turning white as she bared her teeth. "And the word is 'anatomical', darling." A growl rolled about in her throat, and then she charged with a primal battlecry, hammer in hand. The Thrimes and the Sandman didn't see that coming. The Dream Weaver, on the other hand, saw it coming a mile away like it was an airplane descending onto a runaway in the dead of night. She lunged, making a mad grab for the hammer's handle. Using quick agility, she caught it with only a single hand, leaving Mandy shocked and wide-eyed. This made for the perfect distraction for the villainess, who yanked the hammer out of Mandy's hands and threw it backwards, letting it land amidst a maze of boxes with a clattering noise. The three mares all gasped in shock, as did Peaches. "My hammer!" Mandy cried out, immediately booking it for the boxes before the Dream Weaver used the power of offscreen teleportation to land in her path and stop her. "And that's that!" The Dream Weaver clapped her hands together. "With this basement negating any unicorn and alicorn magic..." She looked towards Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who all wore expressions of worry. "...you're defenseless." Mandy's pony ears drooped. The Dream Weaver cradled her neck in three of her fingers. "So what are you going to do, my little pony-human hybrid?" Mandy swiveled her head around. She looked straight-dead into the eyes of Peaches, who fixed her with a look of worry. Inside that gaze of worry, however, she also saw a glimmer of something else. Something else she direly needed right now, here in this moment with no powers available to speak of. Determination. She sighed. I can't leave Peaches alone. I won't leave Peaches alone. But it's impossible to get my hammer back through artificial means -- I can't float it back over here, and neither can the ponies. Using my tail's out too...I don't know where the hammer is. "What's wrong? Catgirl got your tongue?" The Dream Weaver snickered at her terrible pun. "In that case...Sandman! Fire up the Dream-Thief-inator!" "Uhhhh..." The Sandman eyed the gadget, the Thrimes looking completely unamused. "How does this thing go where again?" "Oh for Pete's sake, must I do everything myself around here?!" The Dream Weaver snapped, before she eyed Mandy with a look of surprise, as though not expecting her to overhear that. Regardless, she made her way over to the gadget. Mandy turned to face the mares. "Rarity, I hope you've brushed up on your physical combat skills, 'cause we're gonna need 'em." "Well, I am rather rusty, seeing as how I use my magic more than my bare hooves, but-" "Say no more." Mandy said. She had confidence in the mare, even in spite of her words to the contrary. Her gaze flicked to "Rainbow and Twilight?" "Oh, I'm pumped and ready!" Rainbow said. "Just tell us what to do!" Twilight said, marking her words with a nod. Mandy took a deep breath. "Twilight, I want you to assist Peaches. Get her out of the house and get her to Headquarters, far away from these guys." "Got it." "Rainbow Dash, Rarity and I will work on beating them to a pulp." "Um..." Rarity said, her eyes widening. "Should you be saying all of this in front of three mimes?" Mandy, Rainbow and Twilight whirled around. Sure enough, the Thrimes were standing right in their path, angry but devious looks on their faces. They began advancing on the group, slowly but surely, counting on their shock to last until they had a clear shot at catching them. "Well." Mandy snickered. "They're gonna regret they ever listened." Taking a step back and winding up her fist, she stayed poised, taking great delight in the Thrimes stopping dead in their tracks. With a mighty swing, the fist was flung forward and collided with air, sending the trio soaring across the room a little ways before colliding with the floor. Rainbow was absolutely dumbfounded. All she could do was stare in complete disbelief. "What was that?!" she finally said after a few moments. "That punch didn't even hit them!" "Which was my intent." "Huh?!" "See, Oprah and her former partner, O'Donahue, have both dealt with the Thrimes before. The way they defeated them -- which is, in fact, the only way to defeat them -- was by miming their own actions in battle. So you just have to do the same." Twilight nodded slowly, understanding what Mandy was saying even though she wasn't going to take part in the battle herself. Rarity did as well, although she was still a bit confused -- she wasn't exceptionally skilled in the art of pantomiming. "Oh yeah! Battling and defeating enemies without even touching them is super-cool!" Rainbow said, doing a few loop-de-loops in the air. The Thrimes slowly got to their feet, looking even more upset than before. However, Rainbow was quickly on that, swooping over to a Thrime and bucking the air, allowing him to collapse to the ground as though he was actually hit. The Pegasus's eyes shimmered, and a grin began forming on her face. "Oh, let me try!" Rarity trotted over, reared her legs back, and extended them in a mighty kick towards another Thrime, sending him careening with the ground once again. She turned around, surprised that the move actually worked. The only Thrime still standing eyed his colleagues with fear and worry. "Awesome job! You two handle the Thrimes. I'll handle the Dream Weaver and the Sandman." Rarity swiveled her head around. "You're going to fight them alone?!" "They have the unfair advantage over you! It's two to one!" Rainbow added. "I have to agree with Rainbow." Twilight said. "The Dream Weaver already got you once. Who's to say she won't get you again? Her odds are boosted with the Sandman at her side -- the one that can put people to sleep and create harsh sandstorms!" "Aww, Twily-wily, ya worry too much." Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "Trust me, I know what I'm doin'!" Neither mare needed to express their doubts. As silly and scatterbrained as Mandy was, she certainly didn't get the position of Oprah's second-in-command by kissing her Converse shoes and bribing her with dollar bills and bits -- they all knew that. "All right." Rainbow nodded. "Good luck!" Twilight, still possessing the power of flight due to an oversight on the Dream Weaver's part, made her way over to Peaches, who had been writing the entire time in a desperate attempt to keep up the ruse. "Hang on tight, okay, Peaches? I'll get you out." Peaches blinked and nodded wordlessly. "Just let me transform into my cat form first. My fur is black, it'll be hard to see me." With a bright flash, she transformed, and hopped onto Twilight's back. Together, the pair silently made their way up the stairs without being noticed -- the Dream Weaver and the Sandman were still working on the Dream-Thief-inator, while Rarity and Rainbow Dash had the Thrimes on the ropes, miming all sorts of things with their hooves to capture and subdue them. Mandy watched Twilight and Peaches go up the stairs, internally breathing a sigh of relief. Good. They'll get out safely. She turned to the maze of boxes on the other side of the basement. Now, all I need to do is enact my revenge. Slowly, she used her wings to gain lift, then began making her way towards the boxes, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of the hammer. It didn't take her long before she realized she wasn't going anywhere. And not only that, but her tail felt...caught on something. "Where do you think you're going?" Mandy's wings nearly stopped flapping for a minute. Pickleferries, I should've known they would be done with warmups eventually! Ah, how she wanted to slap herself for her reckless and plain idiotic thinking. "After your hammer, I see. My, you just keep playing into our hands, don't you?" The Dream Weaver tutted. "You're making the Sandman look like Einstein in comparison!" The Sandman, standing a little ways behind her, laughed sheepishly at her comment. Rage began overtaking Mandy again. "You will pay for what you did to my cousin, and to me." she said, before she combusted into flames again, her gaze searing into the Dream Weaver. "YOU WILL PAAAAAAAY!!" "Oh no, here she goes again." said the Dream Weaver in a response of mock concern. The more she taunted Mandy, the more enraged the hybrid grew. She lunged for her opponent, swinging her fist in a mighty punch. Unfortunately for her, the Dream Weaver caught it barehanded with nary any effort. "You never learn, do you?" The villainess scoffed. "You may have beaten me in the past, but your streak is ending today. And this time, since you destroyed my precious machine..." She reached behind her back and pulled out a long staff, the likes of which Mandy had never seen before. It was gold-plated, wrapped in a ribbon with an astral pattern and bearing a crescent moon on its top, adorned with moonstones. "...I'll beat you with my own two hands!" Mandy lowered her fist and stood slack-jawed. Where the heck did she get a staff?! Has she just had it on backlog this entire time for when her machine failed?! She had to admit, she didn't pin the Dream Weaver as a fighter with a staff...but then again, she didn't pin her as having a lair of a spacious basement in her own home, either. First time for everything, she supposed. Still, confidence flowed through her. She was absolutely hellbent on revenge. Just as she was for Cherry Moriarty, she was for the Dream Weaver. She scrapped the tactics and reasoning she usually employed in battles for the end goal of leaving the villainess a bruised, battered mess, begging for mercy and vowing never to hurt Peaches ever again. Yes...that would make this all worth it. Some would view Mandy as insane, and in a way, they were right. As of this moment, her mental health wasn't exactly in the best state, and it would worsen with each and every attack she made. But she didn't care. So long as Peaches was avenged, that was what mattered. Her not being physically harmed in any way -- or at least not in any way Mandy could see -- mattered not. "That's not 'with your own two hands'..." Mandy rolled her eyes. "But semanihantics. I don't care whether you have a staff or not." "Oh? You haven't seen what this staff can do." The Dream Weaver smirked. "Trust me, I've made many backups for my Bad Dream Machine over the years. As durable as it is, it's been broken by Odd Squad agents one too many times." So it's her Bad Dream Machine in a different form. Mandy blinked. But if she can't put me to sleep... Her eyes darted over to the Sandman, looking absolutely confused, between Peaches going missing and Rarity and Rainbow Dash still tussling with the Thrimes. And she can't. The Sandman is a non-threat. I can wrap him up and ship him off when our fight's over. She glanced behind her, and smirked. "Would you like a way to test your staff's power?" "By trying in vain to get your hammer?" "Mm, no." The Dream Weaver blinked. Mandy moved backwards, towards the maze of boxes. Her cat smile stayed plastered on her face the entire time, as though enjoying doing a little trolling with her enemy. Finally, she took flight, and charged. "By doing this!" Extending her two feet forward, she gave a mighty kick to the front of the Dream Weaver's body, causing her to go soaring to the other side of the room. Her body made two impacts with the ground before it began rolling on the second impact. "Weavoo!" the Sandman cried out. "Are you okay?" All he got was a groan in response. He turned on Mandy, and wordlessly began firing bright beams from his hands, which she was easily able to dodge -- in part due to his aim being absolutely terrible. "You'd be wise to stay out of this. My beef's not with you! My beef's at home, waiting to be eaten!" Mandy said, making her way over to the Dream Weaver as fast as her feet would carry her. Not fast enough, though. "Mighty kick you got..." The villainess slowly stood up and gave a cough. "But I'm not done!" "Bring it on!" For the next few minutes, a swordfight ensued -- the Dream Weaver's staff versus Mandy's next-best weapon: her very own tail. It deflected beams and straight attacks with ease, which surprised the villainess, as she had completely taken Mandy's tail out of the question when it came to how she battled. Giving a battlecry, Mandy decided that enough was enough and charged, sliding across the floor and using her tail as a blunt-force weapon to send her opponent to the floor once more. It wasn't much, but it was just enough. "Now's my chance!" she remarked, booking it over to the Dream-Thief-inator and launching her entire body at it. With the help of her tail, she dismantled the large gadget piece by piece, tearing off paneling and exposing loose wires that she easily snipped with the aid of the Scissor-inator. All the Sandman could do was stare in all of his idiotic glory as he was overwhelmed by two battles happening at once, as well as still trying to pinpoint where Peaches had gone. Wrapping her tail around the gadget's base, Mandy yanked on it, using her wings as a sort of motor the way she had seen Scootaloo using her scooter before. A snapping sound ensued, and the heavy gadget made its way towards the ground with a large crash, with Mandy falling forward as her tail let go. Before she could even utter a word, the gadget exploded, causing her to be sent towards the boxes, along with Rarity, Rainbow and the Thrimes. The Dream Weaver and the Sandman, likewise, were sent towards the table that Peaches once sat at, the force of the explosion sending them careening with the wall. Mandy's body rolled and rolled, and then came to a dead stop. She grunted. "Wasn't expecting an explosion...'specially not one like that..." she muttered, rubbing her head and surveying the situation. Both mares were getting to their hooves and going after the Thrimes to make sure they couldn't get away. The Sandman and the Dream Weaver both laid unconscious. Where the Dream-Thief-inator and its stand was, there was only a charred black patch. And Mandy...Mandy was where she was meant to be, by nothing more than sheer luck. Her eyes widened as she took a look behind her. Sure enough, the hammer she was seeking laid head-down in a box full of tinsel. She extended her tail and watched as it grabbed the weapon before it snaked back to her. I should work on honing my punches and kicks instead of using my tail as a lazy crutch...Oprah's prolly gonna rip me a new one when I tell her. She got to her knees and grabbed the hammer, twirling it around in her hands. But that'll be for later. I'm not done. Sure enough, her body was still in flames, her heart still wrapped in the coils of revenge. The Dream Weaver wasn't down -- Mandy knew that. She was unconscious, but she wasn't down. "Mandy, darling!" Rarity called. "Are you all right?" "I'm fine..." Mandy wiped her face. "A lil' beaten-up, but fine." "What shall we do with these Thrimes? We have them all tied up." "Take them back to Headquarters." Mandy remarked. "Throw them into the bullpen." Rarity nodded, grabbing the invisible rope in her teeth and pulling the Thrimes out of the basement with Rainbow's help. "Not you, Rainbow." "Huh?" "Tie up the Sandman." Mandy reached behind her back and produced some rope, which she threw to the Pegasus. "Lead him to the bullpen, too." Without another word, Rainbow flew around him in a multi-colored blur, and only a few seconds later, he was tied up and fully awake. "Lemme go!" he cried out. "Hmm...nah. Not a chance." Rainbow snickered. "Come on! Back to Headquarters!" "D'awwwww..." With both hero and villain on their way out, now it was just down to Mandy and the Dream Weaver, the latter of whom snapped awake and jumped to her feet. "You." she growled. "First you destroy my precious machine, and now you ruin my entire plan!" She raised her staff into the air. "Weeeell, we'll just see how you like it when I put you in a state of endless sleep!" "How's that?" Mandy chuckled. "The Sandman's long gone. Just admit defeat and let's get this dull fight scene in this dull chapter wrapped up already." With a scream, the Dream Weaver charged. So did Mandy. The swordfight continued, with Mandy having a proper weapon this time around. Blow after blow was exchanged. Neither side was letting up even so much as an inch. Every beam that the Dream Weaver fired either whizzed past Mandy's shoulders or missed her entirely. Likewise, Mandy was aiming for an opening where she could easily and skillfully perform her finishing move, but couldn't find any that wouldn't end with her missing a shot. She knew better. She couldn't afford a miss. Finally, after what felt like hours, Mandy threw aside the hammer in what appeared to be frustration. "Oh, are you finally giving u-" It all happened in a matter of seconds. With one swift kick, the staff was knocked clean out of the Dream Weaver's hands and careened towards the ceiling, where its handle got wedged in a long wood plank. The villainess went slack-jawed. Mandy won the fight. "You're pathetic." she spat, as the Dream Weaver began to choke and collapsed on the ground in a sitting position. "My cousin...she risked her life to save mine. She put herself in the face of danger to save me. And yet...and yet...you didn't use the Dream-Thief-inator on her." She narrowed her eyes. "You attacked her outright." Without waiting for an answer, her grip tightened on the hammer's handle. "Since she saved my life...then I'll save hers. By destroying the one person who caused her so much strife -- and who caused me much strife as well." The choking noises the Dream Weaver made had a sort of pleading edge to them, now, that Mandy caught on to. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY MERCY FROM ME, YOU VILE DISGUSTING BEAST!!" she roared, with such intensity that it ruffled the Dream Weaver's hair a little. The villainess's eyes widened, and Mandy could swear she saw tears in them. I should kill her. For what she's done to Peach...for what she's done to me...for what she's done to countless other people! Make her see that she can't get away with her actions! Mandy grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes tight, fighting off the insanity that was bubbling inside of her. But...but...it goes against my moral code. I don't kill. I don't have a heart stained black enough to kill my foe. ...I don't have a heart stained black enough to kill anyone. Not even if the person who I was saving asked me to. She slumped to the ground, keeping her grip on the hammer nice and firm. Her expression darkened, and the room became filled with near-silence. I'm just one slip-on-the-edge away from accidentally murdering someone. But what if I intentionally murdered the Dream Weaver, right here and now? How would Peaches react? She would scold me, wouldn't she... Momma would fear me... Everyone who wasn't Oprah would fear me. Suddenly, she didn't feel so confident anymore. She gazed at the Dream Weaver, her eyes looking tired and holding a glaze of sadness. "I will have mercy on your life. But only if you are taken into Odd Squad custody." Mandy said, not realizing how saddening her voice sounded. "Do we have a deal?" The Dream Weaver nodded, and Mandy yanked the hammer from her mouth, after which she coughed and clutched her throat. Wordlessly, Mandy conjured up another rope and began tying it around her opponent, knotting it up with a nice neat bow. "We're going back to Headquarters, you and I. And I don't want to hear a peep out of you the entire ride there, you got it?" The Dream Weaver nodded again. When the pair made their way outside, they found Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Twilight waiting in the front yard. "Hey!" Rainbow waved. "We brought those villains to HQ, and Peaches as well. Twilight insisted we go back and see if you needed any help." "Actually, yes I do." Mandy thrust the Dream Weaver forward. "Take this one to HQ. Put her with the rest of the villains. We'll deal with all of them in the morning." With magic available and free to use on the outside, Twilight and Rarity had a much easier time guiding the villainess to where they wanted to go. Working together, they made their way towards the nearest tube entrance, telekinetically yanking on the rope. "Aren't you coming with us, Mandy?" "I'll catch up." The hybrid waved off Rainbow, who simply gave a shrug and went to assist her friends. Mandy's gaze flicked towards the house. Without even thinking, her feet took her down to the basement again, where she saw the Dream Weaver's staff still in the ceiling, not having moved at all. She yanked it out, eyeing the weapon with curiosity but also regret. She knew this would be returned to the Dream Weaver once Odd Squad was done examining it and whatnot, and to be honest, the examination was better done sooner rather than later. The adrenaline and rage she had been feeling was wearing off. Her flames died down, leaving her a tired and achy mess. A tired and achy mess who had free reign to let it all out now that no one was here. She gave an anguished scream that slowly segued into choking sobs as she laid on the dirty, grim floor. Her mind began to replay a horrible memory, a memory of her suddenly snapping at one of her friends and ramming the head of the hammer down their throat...ripping it out with such force and such velocity that it left their jaw in a completely broken state, leaving them crippled... She had the power to disfigure anyone. Anyone she pleased, if they pissed her off enough. That included Peaches. I have terrible anger issues. The realization pushed its way to the forefront and provided Mandy with just a small bit of clarity. Maybe I should just give up fighting. Maybe I should just be like every other agent and have my weapon of choice be gadgets, rather than something silly like a hammer or my own limbs... ...No, who am I kidding. Those gadgets are dangerous. I could ruin my opponents' appearances in other ways, just with the gadgets' odd effects. Only one thing became apparent, now. I have to be more of a pacifinist. Towards my friends, and towards villains. The sobs continued to come for a very long time, echoing throughout the large space and reaching her eardrums. Time passed, as it did, but she didn't care about that very much. Footsteps made their way down the stairwell leading into the basement, followed by a set of hoofsteps. "All right, Agent Pinkie. Start looking around. We need all the clues we can get." "Righty-o, Ms. O!" came the cheerful response, as Pinkie bounded down the stairs and began scanning the area. Oprah, meanwhile, let her flashlight fall on what appeared to be a dead body. A body she recognized. "Agent Mandy?" Slowly, she approached the body, kneeling down and pressing her ear to the agent's backside. Her heartbeat grew steady when she heard the sound of air entering and being pushed out of a pair of lungs -- Mandy was alive. Glancing at Mandy's face, the Director saw tear stains that made their way downwards, from her eyes, to her chin, and then to the floor. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened. She cried herself to sleep. But why? Suddenly, Mandy's fingers began to twitch. Her teeth were clenched together as a groan rumbled about in her throat. "No...no! I'm not Felicity! Get away from me!" Pinkie lowered herself from the desk she was looking at, eyeing her partner with worry. "Mandy?" Both girls' heads swiveled towards the entrance, where Peaches stood at the top of the stairwell. "Oh cattails...what's going on?" "She's having a nightmare." Peaches was very much fazed by Oprah's response, and threw herself at Mandy's side in an instant. "Mandy, wake up! C'mon, wake up! Come back to us!" "No! I'm not Felicity! Why are you claiming you're my real mother?!" That stopped Oprah dead. Her eyes widened. "Real mother...?" she breathed. "It's...she's not..." Pinkie trotted over, eyeing Mandy with concern but also with intrigue. "Could Felicity be her real name?" Peaches grit her teeth and shook her head, violently shaking Mandy in vain attempts to wake her up. "Stop it!!" The cry made Mandy's eyes snap open, tears filling up within them again as she gazed at the one who was holding her, then at her partner, then at her boss. "What's going on? Why are you crying?" Those two questions became the trigger. Mandy buried her face in Peaches' chest and began loudly sobbing, blubbering about the nightmare that the Dream Weaver had sewn into her brain, how the nightmare had continued just now, and how absolutely guilty she felt. "I j-just wanted t' make sure Peach was okay!" Mandy sniffled. "Don't agents p-protect their partners with intense passion? Just like how Momma protects Otto, a-and Otto protects Momma..." She looked up at her cousin with her eyeballs quivering in their sockets. "Don't I do that for you, cuz?" Peaches opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't get a single word in edgewise. "I just f-feel like...like I'm too harsh on villains. Like I'm just one snap-of-a-twig away f-from actually murdering someone! Murdering you, or you, or..." As Mandy pointed to each of her friends, her gaze lingered on Oprah. "Or you!" Peaches again tried to speak, and failed. "I-I don't mean to kill anyone!" Mandy sniffled again. "It's just...I want justice t-to be served. I want villains t' know that when they mess with the people and ponies I l-love...then they get hurt." She gazed at her hands, watching through a blurred view as tears dripped down into her palms. "I...I lost control of myself. Adrenaline and rage took over..." She started giving out choked sobs again, struggling to say anything more. "Cuz." Peaches pulled Mandy close to her. "Don't feel so regretful. You did what you had to do in order to save me and stop the Dream-Thief-inator from being activated and used on anyone else. The Dream Weaver needed to be taught a lesson. And you...you gave her that lesson." This only served to elicit a wail from Mandy, nestling her face into Peaches' chest and continuing to cry. "If you hadn't fought like you did, I wouldn't be here. I would be robbed of my identity. Of my thoughts, my emotions, and my feelings. Seeing you fight the Dream Weaver without mostly using your hammer...it was impressive." Peaches smiled. "Odd Squad agents fight hard to save and protect the world from oddness. Even if they have to resort to more violent means to do so. That means you, too." She caught Oprah and Pinkie nodding in agreement with her, and she began to stroke Mandy's hair. "Don't ever, ever be afraid to fight, Mandy. You're one of the strongest fighters of this precinct. You took down the Big O even when you were on the brink of death. You beat him to a pulp, and you showed him what-for. That takes guts." Mandy wiped her tears away and gazed up at Peaches once more. "B-b-but...but am I...t-too violent?" "Not to me, you're not. And you never will be." Peaches said. "You're silly and weird, and your mental health is...questionable. But you have standards, even when fighting your enemies. Killing one of them is always a possibility..." She glanced at Oprah and Pinkie. "...but we won't hold it against you if it happens. Not now, not ever." Oprah blinked. For all the years she had lived, and for all the years she had known Mandy, she didn't ever consider her agent up and killing anyone. There were close calls, sure, and it was certainly a possibility -- but she wouldn't actually do it. Or, well, maybe she would. Still, death was not a new concept to her. It was as common as brushing teeth. "Of course we won't!" she said, putting on a smile. "Honestly, it's not like death in Odd Squad is uncommon. Even if it's by your hands. Or hammer. Or horn." "Yeah! If you kill someone, it'll be with good intentions!" Pinkie chimed in. Her cheery tone of voice elicited strange expressions from Oprah and Peaches, who both wondered why she didn't seem bothered by Mandy killing anyone. Mandy sniffled and hiccuped, wiping away the rest of her tears. "Y-you all mean it?" Three nods, almost in unison. This was enough convincing for the hybrid, who smiled. But just as quickly as the smile came forth, it quickly went away, and her expression darkened. "What's the matter?" Peaches asked, before she realized. "It's about your dream, isn't it?" Mandy nodded. "You're worried that your name is actually Felicity, huh? And that woman and baby you saw...it was mother and child. Your real mother...and you." Another nod. Peaches went silent. She didn't want to invalidate Mandy's memories or the dreams she had by saying they were false...but she also didn't want to say they were true. It was clear that Mandy enjoyed her life the way it was now, with her actual name and her actual life with an actual adoptive mother and an actual cousin and an actual family. She didn't want that to change. I have to choose my words carefully. She took a deep breath, and spoke. "Consider the possibility that the Dream Weaver was lying about pulling the memory deep from within you. She has power over the dream realm, after all. She can craft dreams and nightmares both, letting them go exactly according to her desires. It's always possible she created a situation with a real mother who loved you and protected you. But...in the event that it turns out to be real..." Mandy sniffled. "...that's a long, long way away." Oprah and Pinkie just stared, not saying anything and instead allowing themselves to listen to Peaches' words. "We don't have to find out the truth for years and years to come. Which just means that you have years and years to spend with us." Peaches winked. "That's more years than you think, by the way." Mandy's eyes quivered. "R-really?" "Really!" Peaches said. "I want to spend all the time with you that I can, even if it's for the rest of your life. Or my life. Definitely somebody's life." She chuckled. "You're a good person, cuz. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for fighting so hard, all for my sake." Mandy stared at her for just a couple moments. And then, the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile. "Aaaall right! Smile mission accomplished!" Pinkie said, pumping her hoof as she leaped into the air. "I love you so much, cuz!" cried the hybrid, embracing her in a tight hug. "I love you too." Peaches returned the hug eagerly. "Now, let's go home. No doubt you need a good night's sleep after this whole ordeal." "Hey, Peaches, before we go..." Pinkie trotted over to the desk and used her forelock to grip the paper that was still on it. "What's this?" "Oh, they wanted me to write down everything I knew about Vallea. Since I thought they were going to use the information to attack them, I decided to write down a bunch of fake facts to fool them." Oprah smiled. "Well done. I have to say, you handled yourself well, for being a willing captive." "It was tough going...but I pulled through." "Now..." Oprah picked up the Dream Weaver's staff, as well as Mandy's hammer. "Let's head back to HQ." With that, the group made their way out of the basement, with Pinkie making sure to turn off the lights and close the door behind her. When they arrived at the nearest tube entrance, Mandy stopped Peaches from going inside. "Peach?" "Yeah?" "I...I wanna sleep with you. Just for tonight." "You mean today." Peaches pointed to where the sun was beginning to rise. "You want to keep me safe, don't you?" Mandy nodded. "Of course you do." Peaches ruffled her cousin's hair. "All right. When we get back, let's wash up and sleep sleep sleep, huh?" Mandy took her cousin's wrist and yanked her into the tubes, their exit marked with the same bright blue flash as any other time an agent used the tube system. It was to absolutely no one's surprise that Mandy collapsed on Peaches' bed not even a minute after arriving back at Headquarters. Peaches, who had long gotten used to the sound of her cousin's raucous snoring by now, was also getting some well-deserved sleep on the floor of her room, having changed into her cat form since Mandy took her bed. Oprah, meanwhile, reiterated the story to Olive and Otto in the Breakroom. "You're kidding!" Olive blinked. "The Dream Weaver got Mandy?" "Wouldn't be the first time." Otto said, swallowing his bite of ham sandwich. "I don't really know whether Mandy has any memories of her real mother or not..." Oprah sighed. "And I don't know if her real name is actually Felicity or not, either." "I named her Mandy on nothing more than a whim. To think she has a real name, especially one like Felicity...it just doesn't seem..." "Plausible?" "No..." Olive rolled her hand about as she tried to come up with a word, but couldn't think of any. She shook her head. "Anyway, i-it's like Peaches said. We won't have to find out her true origins for a long time, right? So we should enjoy what time we do have with her. Spend as much time with her as we can, doing whatever she wants! Spoiling her rotten! Buying her all the food she can eat and all the toys she can play with!" Otto raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but otherwise said nothing in response. "Oh! You three." Oprah waved Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow Dash over. "I never got to thank you properly for your efforts in stopping the Thrimes and the Sandman." "Aww, it was nothin'!" "Yes! We put our all into rescuing Peaches from those ruffians, and we would do it again in a heartbeat!" Twilight nodded. "Even with the Dream Weaver's anti-magic properties, we were able to stop them easily. Using your technique, of course." "My technique?" "Mandy told us that the way to beat the Thrimes in particular was by miming our actions and using them in battle, saying that's how you defeated them once. I have to say, I was a little skeptical...but it all worked out." Oprah had to take a moment to think about what, exactly, Twilight was referring to. And then it dawned on her -- it was during O'Donahue's time as an infiltrator for the Thrimes. She nodded in understanding, mentally cursing the fact that her memory was apparently growing shoddy. "Ah, I see. Very well done." she said. Rainbow suddenly perked up, a look of horror settling on her face. "Rainbow? What's wrong, darling?" "We..." The Pegasus clasped her hooves to her cheeks. "We forgot the plans!" Oprah bit back a groan. Another thing she was kicking herself for -- she had been so focused on Mandy that she forgot about the plans entirely when she went to Pinkie Pie. And apparently Mandy had forgotten as well. "You three, go back to the Dream Weaver's house and look for them. Bring them back here when you're done." The three mares nodded and eagerly made their way out of Headquarters without a second thought. "Olive? What's going on?" "Huh?" Olive blinked, having been brought back to reality and having been oblivious as to the agents' arrival and departure. "I-it's nothing. I'm...just going to go for a little stroll. You should get back to Headquarters." She patted Otto's shoulder and then left, heading down the right hallway. "Great. She's gonna be worried about Mandy's real identity and real origins for weeks." Otto complained, going back to his ham sandwich. Oprah only looked at the direction Olive went in, a sigh dancing on her lips before a frown settled on her face. She was concerned for her former agent, sure...but a small part of her had confidence that Otto, being the best friend and crutch he was, would keep her well under control. Olive rubbed her forehead, struggling to make heads or tails of the situation. Mandy's real mother...a model who leaves her child, no more than a mere baby, behind, alone, for fancy dinners... And me...an Odd Squad agent who loves my adopted child and would protect her with my life...and has been, ever since she was a baby. It seems like an open-and-shut case to me -- Mandy should stay with me, forever and ever. But every human has to be born from someone, somewhere, in some way or another. And I'm not Mandy's real mother. Not by a long shot. Her feet took her to the door leading into Peaches' room. Her ears picked up on the sound of raucous snoring -- no doubt that Mandy was still fast asleep and roaming about in dreamland. Without thinking, her hand gripped the doorknob and turned it. Her head poked inside, and her eyes landed on Mandy. Fast asleep in her PJs from the previous night, position askew, and a trail of drool leading down her mouth to the bedsheet she was on. On the floor, the cat form of Peaches slept peacefully, not being disturbed by the sound whatsoever. Olive wanted so badly to wake Mandy up. To ask her to do something with her, anything she wanted to. Like it was her last day on Earth. But the hybrid needed her sleep. She knew that. She knew better. Sighing, she closed the door and rested her forehead on it, closing her eyes and letting herself wander in her own jumbled thoughts. I'm not letting Mandy go back to her real mother. It's been years. Why would she start looking for her now? Mandy deserves someone who will love her and care for her. She deserves... me. And only me. I'm the one who will give her what she needs to survive. What she needs to live a happy life. What she needs to be a good agent of Odd Squad. The sound of shimmering caught her attention, and her head swiveled to the right, where she saw the tip of a tail that appeared to be made out of grass and surrounded by a shining and sparkling golden light. However, it was only for a fleeting moment, and it disappeared so quickly that she had to wonder if she had imagined things. A heavy sigh leaving her body, she made her way back to the bullpen, a wave of determination washing over her as she made a silent promise to herself. A silent promise to spend all the time with Mandy she possibly could...before the opportunity slipped out of her hands.
S1E14: RarimenaJust a little ways inside the Odd Squad Boutique (name pending), Rarity was hard at work, humming a small ditty and hemming her suit together after having torn it earlier while on a rather difficult case. She had lost track of how many times her suit needed to be repaired -- she already had a list of complaints lined up to march right over to the Tailoring Department with when she had the time. As she was halfway done, an elated laugh, followed by a high-pitched "Whee!", whizzed past her door, breaking her concentration slightly. In spite of this, however, she didn't dare look up, and pressed onward with her work. The sound of galloping and raucous high-pitched laughter together made her eye twitch as she bit back a groan. Still, she forced herself to keep it together. She could not, would not, let all of her hard work come undone due to something as simple as a noise breaking through the barrier of her focus. Unfortunately, a noise did break through the barrier of her focus, although it was by her own volition. "Hey, hey, wait for me, silly!" came the voice, followed by another bout of laughter, which was accompanied with the sound of chattering creatures and bouncing noises. Rarity knew what was going on -- but that didn't mean she liked it. She made her way to the door and telekinetically opened it, identifying the owner of the voice rather quickly. "Agent Pinkie Pie, darling!" "Hold on, Rarity!" A Centigurp passed through the unicorn's field of vision, bouncing up and down with Pinkie frantically chasing after it. Finally, with the pink pony giving a mighty leap, she caught it in her hooves. "Gotcha!" Pinkie smiled. "Whaddya need, Rares?" "Would it be too much to ask you to keep it down?" Rarity asked. "I'm quite busy with work, and I wish to not be disturbed!" "Oh! Sorry! I'll try to be quieter." Rarity gave an exhale of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. "Thank you." she responded, before closing the door and beginning to make her way back to her workstation. She didn't get more than a few hoofsteps before her ears picked up the sound of chirping, followed by some light banging noises. Her eye twitched again, and it was quickly accompanied by a very angry growl. "PINKAMENA DIANE PIE!!" The cry made not just Pinkie, but the Centigurps that were still loose, turn their heads towards a unicorn whose face was as red as a cherry tomato. "I have just about had it with your antics!" Rarity snapped as she threw open the door. "It has been the same thing, every day, every time I try to get work done! And I simply cannot get any work done with you galloping about like a schoolfilly!" Pinkie blinked. "But the Centi-" "I do not care!" Rarity closed her eyes. "Ms. Pie, I hate to be so blunt, but..." She trotted over to Pinkie and thrust her muzzle into the party pony's face, winding up her lungs for a mighty yell. "TAKE YOUR NOISE SOMEWHERE ELSE!!" Before Pinkie could respond, Rarity was already back inside her boutique, slamming the door shut and walking away. "Goodness! Some ponies just do not understand common decency." She brushed the front of her suit and gave a sigh, allowing herself to calm down and tackle the situation head-on as she asked aloud, "How can I get Pinkie Pie to stop making so much noise?" Her mind flashed to a conversation she and Pinkie had, many years ago -- how Pinkie didn't like her dark side, and when she slipped into it, the "good" part of her became scared of the "bad" part of her. She had one too many bad experiences with her own personal dark side, and she resolved to stay as far away from it as she could. The idea Rarity had seemed silly in hindsight. Foalish, even. It was something far more suited for someone like Mandy to do. But the mare had to admit, Pinkie's straight hair was a rather gorgeous style...and Rarity herself had always wanted to try having her long hair short and straight, just for curiosity's sake. Smirking, her horn's magic levitated a pair of scissors and a comb, and once she had gathered her shower products as well, she booked it for the Bathroom and shut the door without Pinkie or the loose Centigurps ever being the wiser. This is going to work. It has to work. If it doesn't...there's simply no way I'll be able to get all of my work done! In the bullpen, Mandy had somehow secured a spot on Chopped. If "securing a spot on Chopped" meant "securing a spot for the record of the most innovative way to use a sharp knife". Try as she might, she couldn't slice open a gadget she had been trying to open in vain. "Any luck?" "No good." Mandy shook her head in response to Peaches' question. "At this rate I'm gonna hafta take a chainsaw to the thing. Go big or go home, baby!" The sound of chirping reached her ears, and as she spun around in circles, the chirping only served to grow louder. Finally, her gaze settled on Peaches, and she gave a frown. "Peach, what are you, a bird? Quit your chirpin'!" "Uh, that's not me." Peaches picked up a Centigurp. "It's these round fuzzy things attached to your tail." "Huh?" Mandy wagged her tail once, then twice, then wagged it as hard as she could, each to no avail. Eventually, she resorted to picking up one of the "round fuzzy things", nearly doing a double-take when she realized what she was holding. "Centigurps?!" she cried out, giving a groan of frustration while Peaches simply looked confused. "What are Centigurps?" the catgirl asked, watching her cousin sit down, pull her tail closer to her, and start with yanking the creatures off. "They're creatures that like spherical things and can multiply fast when exposed to light. They tend to escape and bounce all over the place 'cause some agent falls for their adorable purring and chirping." Peaches nodded, still a little confused but deciding to roll along with what Mandy said regardless. Her eyes caught Pinkie Pie approaching them, clutching a container tight to her body, her pupils and irises shrunken down to pinpricks as though she had just witnessed an unspeakable horror. "Partner! These yours?" Mandy asked, holding out a Centigurp. "Uh-huh..." came the murmured response. Mandy gave a sigh. "Don't tell me you opened the container..." "Uh-huh..." Peaches tilted her head in concern and confusion. Mandy, on the other hand, couldn't care less. "All righty! Be right back. Gotta turn all these Centigurps back into one." With that, she grabbed the container from her partner's grasp and moved towards the lab, where a ton of the fuzzy little things were bouncing about in the quarantine chamber. The ones on her tail chirped in protest, something that she didn't pay any mind to. "Hey, Pinkie...what's the matter? You look skittish." Peaches asked. "Rarity..." Pinkie dragged her hoof along the floor, dipping her head down low, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "She...she yelled at me..." "Yelled at you? Why?" "'Cause I was trying to catch all the Centigurps...and she straightened her mane and tail..." Peaches blinked. "Straightened her mane and tail?" "Like what I've done before." "You had a straight mane and a straight tail before?" Peaches scratched her head. "I'm a little confused." Pinkie only gave a sigh in response, before following it up with, "Just give Mandy my thanks, I guess. I'm gonna...go back to Equestria." She turned and began heading out the steel double-doors, catching the eyes of agents who seemed concerned that the pink party pony wasn't her usual cheery self. "Okay, have fun!" Peaches waved her off, then muttered to herself, "Huh. That was weird." "Hiya! I'm back." Mandy approached her cousin, hairbrush in one hand and big poofy tail in the other. Her head swiveled back and forth. "Where'd Pinkie go?" "She's returning to Equestria. She was acting...really weird." Peaches explained. "Said Rarity yelled at her because she was trying to catch the loose Centigurps, and she straightened her mane and tail like how Pinkie had it before." Mandy digested this information with a nod, and then a smile began forming on her face. "Rarity? Straighten her mane? And straighten her tail?" She burst into giggle-and-snort laughter. "The day Rarity straightens both her mane and her tail is the day Oprah might as well retire. She's always kept it in loose curls! Even as a filly it was a lil' curly!" A sigh escaped her. "Besides, she's busy with work. Hemming clothes and working on suits for Momma and Otto's precinct and all that. When's the mare gonna have time to straighten her mane and tail, huh?" Peaches didn't even try to protest Mandy's words. "Do they not have their own tailor?" "Oh they do. Every precinct has their own Odd Squad Tailor. We have O'Q. Lovely chap, nice and bright, pip pip, cheerio cheerio." Mandy said, slipping into a brief British accent on the last sentence. "Momma and Otto have Osiris. And believe you me, that kid is a god on the sewing machine." "So why is Rarity making suits for Olive and Otto?" "She's helping Osiris out, as a favor. There are a lot of agents in that precinct." A simple "mm" was all Peaches gave in response. She was still a little confused, but she chalked it up to her inexperience in making clothes for other people besides herself, although she could slightly understand why Rarity was helping out -- her Element was generosity, after all. The sound of approaching hoofsteps made both girls turn their attention towards its source. Sure enough, speak of the mare and she doth appear -- in an entirely new manestyle. Her mane had the same appearance it did when it was wet, only it wasn't actually wet at all, and was neatly brushed to only give off the appearance of such, being curled at the ends. The same went for her tail, which drooped down and touched the ground. Peaches was impressed. Mandy...not so much. "Hello-oooo! Do you two like my new look?" "It's great!" Peaches nodded. "You look amazing." "Why thank you, darling." Rarity's gaze flicked to Mandy. "And you, Mandy?" Mandy stared. Her eyes flitted just a little ways to and fro as she fully absorbed her friend's new appearance. She bit her lip. On odd, it looks hideous. Almost makes me wanna vomit. Almost. I can see why Pinkie had such a negative reaction to it...but she was just horrified by it. ...Yeah no, I am horrified. But I'm also disgusted. What is this? She reminds me of... Suddenly, flashbacks hit her like a battering ram. Flashbacks of her partner's flat mane and tail, and all the anger and upset that came with it. The many rumors of her psychosis when her mane and tail were in such a state didn't help matters. Still, she knew that she had to be a supportive friend, and forced herself to put on an act. "I-it's, uh...unique?" she weakly offered, giving a splitting unsure grin and a half-hearted shrug. "Is it?" Rarity fiddled with her mane. "Honestly, I really don't know of anypony with the 'wet mane' look...but it seemed to scare away Pinkie Pie, so it seems like it works!" She then poked the white-polka-dotted bandana that she wore around her neck. "I also added a bandana, to make the style really pop out. Could you tell me what you think?" Peaches eyed the accessory for a few moments, then smiled. "It looks nice! I think the red is a good contrast to your white fur. But I say experiment a little!" Rarity returned the smile, and once again looked to Mandy for her opinion. Oh my odd, Peach, stop being a yes-man! You're not the one tryna save face over here! "U-um..." The hybrid twiddled her fingers. "I-it's, um, well...y-your mane and tail are your business, and...you can do with them what you want." She's asking about the bandana, ya nitwit. "Also the bandana is...nice." "Ooh, I just knew you two would love it!" Rarity giggled. "See, I decided to spruce up the look after taking inspiration from your own wet hair, Mandy!" Mandy blinked. "What?" "Yes! It always looks so luxurious, so elegant. Especially when it's halfway dry! So fluffy..." Rarity began to blush slightly, but a quick couple shakes of her head restored the color to her face. "Anyway, I tried to copy that as best I could! I do hope you don't mind." "That's...nice, Rarity...but..." Mandy began to fiddle with her own hair, now. "As much as I'd love to keep my hair and tail wet, I'd much rather keep them dry. And with this fall weather, wet hair can stiffen up and become icky and crunchy and gross." She shuddered. "I can speak from experience." "Oh, I know that." Rarity waved a hoof. "That is why I am stopping by the store after we deliver the suits, to get some nice shampoo and conditioner in order to keep my new style in tip-top shape!" Mandy wasn't sure what to be more scared by -- the fact her friend was going to go out looking like that, or the fact that she was going to face people looking like that. "We?" "Oh! Yes, yes, I wanted to ask you." Rarity said. "Would you mind helping me deliver the finished suits to Osiris when I'm done with my current project?" "Huh? S-sure, I guess." "Thank you, darling! You are a lifesaver." She turned to leave. "I'll be here in my boutique if you need me. Ta-taaaaaa!" Peaches watched the mare leave, then her gaze landed on Mandy. "Mandy, you're quivering." Sure enough, the hybrid was visibly shaking. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. Her eyes were shrunk down to pinpricks. "I'm about to go into cardiac arrest..." she wheezed out, feeling suddenly aware of her heart racing a million miles an hour like she was in a dogfight in her personal plane. Knowing she had to snap back to reality, she shook her body out and let her head move towards the chainsaw that laid on her desk. "Um...a-anyway, we should-" "You operate that chainsaw the way you are now and it'll do more damage than my claws could ever do to anyone." Peaches said, grabbing ahold of her cousin's head and jerking it back around. "What's wrong, cuz?" Mandy had to take a few deep breaths to stabilize herself so she could give an explanation, reminding herself that Rarity was no longer here and she didn't have to look at...that again. "See, whenever Pinkie has her mane and tail straightened, it usually means she's sad. Other times, it means she's gone completely off the deep end. I remember one time, I was sleeping, and I woke up to find Pinkie leeeeeeeaning over me with her mane flat like she was gonna rip me to shreds. I might've broken every glass item Oprah has in her office with the scream I gave!" "Why was she sad?" "That..." Mandy's mouth pinched inwards as she tried to think. "...is a good question. Might hafta rack the ol' brain for that one." "So let me get this straight. You think Rarity straightening her mane and tail means she's gone off the deep end? Which is...going completely insane?" "Certainly seemed like it! I'll never get the word 'fashion' outta my head now!" Mandy gripped Peaches by the shoulders and got closer and closer to her. "And the worst part? And the worst part?" "What's the worst part?" "I HAFTA SEE THE MARE EVERY DA-A-AAAAAAAY!" Mandy slumped to her knees and began wailing. This, of course, attracted the attention of almost no one, save a few agents-in-training who hadn't quite gotten familiar with the concept of ignoring her whenever she did something crazy. "Look, I'm sure Rarity will realize what she's done and change her style back to normal." Peaches blinked. "You're overexaggerating, cuz. It's probably just one big joke between Rarity and Pinkie that you're out of the loop on." "No it's not a joke!" Mandy got back to her feet and then shook Peaches. "She's gonna turn on us!" "Okay, now you're acting hysterical." Peaches broke free from Mandy's grasp and grabbed her by the tail. "C'mon." Mandy immediately began to make a run for it. "H-hey, let go of me!" "Nope, c'mon. We're going outside. You've been cooped up in Headquarters all day. It's not healthy for you. A little fresh air will do you some good." Peaches began dragging Mandy with ease, not showing any signs of struggle, even as the hybrid's body fell to the floor and she began scrabbling at it in a futile attempt to escape. "No! Don't put me outside! I don't wanna go outside! We're in trouble, Peach, real trouble, that starts with T and ends with RARITY KILLING US ALL! We gotta stay here! PEACH, YOU GOTTA UNDERSTAND ME, WE'RE DEEEEEEE-" The automatic doors closed before Mandy could finish her proclamation. Some time later, after Mandy had been dragged around town against her will, she went with Rarity to give the suits she had so lovingly made to Osiris, a pit of dread rolling about in her stomach like a dung beetle rolling...well, dung. "We're heeeee-eeeeere!" Rarity declared, taking the cart from Mandy's hands and wheeling it through the hallway on the second floor. "I'm going to bring these to Osiris, all right?" "'Kay..." "Thank you for helping me out, Mandy. You're a doll!" The hybrid watched her go wordlessly, only giving a ragged sigh and a ruffle of her hair as she trudged to the one place she knew she could find reprieve right now. That, and hopefully some advice. "Who eats black licorice anymore?" "Hey, black licorice is good!" "No it's not! It's a charcoal version of red licorice!" Olive and Otto, with a bag of black licorice spilled out on their desk, butted heads, growling at each other. However, their conflict quickly subsided, and both Directors shared a hearty chuckle. "Help me please..." Olive's gaze moved towards the glass doors, where Mandy was stumbling in. "Mandy? You look like a wreck!" "What happened to you?" Otto chimed in. "Hold that question." Olive held a hand up. "Let me make you some tea." "Tea? I thought you were off tea." "On and off. I like it whenever I'm stressed and need to relax a little." Olive began making her way towards the drink bar. "I have a few bags left over here. Let me surprise you." Taking a coffee pot filled with hot water and a mug, Olive poured some water out and topped it off with a tea bag, making sure she didn't mess up any steps like she had done numerous times in the past. "Here. Drink this." she offered, as Mandy flopped down onto one of the couches. "It'll help calm you down." Mandy eagerly took the drink and took a giant swig out of it, smacking her lips a couple times to try and identify the taste before it clicked. "Aah...chamomile." she purred, her tail flicking about happily. "Now, why don't you tell us what's going on?" Olive urged next. "Rarity..." "Oh! Did she deliver the suits to Osiris yet?" "I would say that's why Mandy's here, partner." Olive blinked. "Oh." was all she said in response, before she shook her head in a futile effort to save her own skin. "Are you helping her out?" Mandy took another swig. "Yes. She asked me to." "Okay. So, uh...is...something wrong with her?" Otto asked, tilting his head. "Her mane's straight." "And?" A groan. "Kids these days..." "So this is about hair?" "Would you SHUT YOUR FOOD HOLE AND LET ME SPEAK, CHILD?!" Mandy very nearly threw the mug down onto the coffee table, but forced herself to take another swig to keep herself steady. Clearly, the tea wasn't a fast-acting kind of tea. "Do you two remember when you heard an ear-piercing scream and it broke nearly all the glass items in Oprah's office?" "Yes. And then your yelling at Pinkie that came out of it." Olive tenderly touched her ear, knowing that her sensitive hearing had given her absolute hell that day. "What happened there, anyway?" "Pinkie, with her mane and tail straighter than a wooden plank, was staring at me. On my bed. Just...staring. Like she was gonna destroy me." Mandy began flailing her arms about. "Do you know how scary that is?!" "I can think of at least six different times where you've done just that, Mandy. To me. In the wee hours of the morning." "That's not my point!" Mandy sighed in response to Olive's snark. "Let me rephrase...do you know what happens when Pinkie's mane and tail go straight?" "Oh, oh!" Otto raised his hand. "Doesn't it usually mean she's depressed or angry?" "Aaaaaaand lo and behold, one of these guys can actually think for themselves!" said Mandy to the reader, clapping her hands and letting loose a bout of belly laughter. Olive gave a groan in response. A final squeak came out of Mandy, and she sighed happily before continuing. "Yes, Otto, it does mean exactly that. Most of the time, though, it also means her mental stabilihillbilly...isn't stabile." "'Stability'. And 'stable'." Olive corrected. "I'll have to ask Santa Claus to bring you a dictionary this coming Christmas." "Yeah okay." Mandy waved her off. "Anyway, I fear it may be the same case for Rarity." "So what happened with Rarity?" Otto asked, a little less confused now but still struggling to understand what kind of point Mandy was trying to make. "Pinkie was making too much noise while Rarity was working because she was trying to catch Centigurps. So Rarity, in some sort of weird revenge plot thingie, straightened her mane and tail and deemed it her new style." Mandy sighed. "And you know how carried away Rarity can get with fashion sometimes." "So why don't Rarity and Pinkie Pie just make up?" "Beats me!" "Hmm..." Olive took a moment to think. "Maybe Osiris can help." Mandy took another swig of tea. "Your tailor? How can he help with hair?" "He may be skilled in clothing, but he may also have a few hair tips for Rarity to-" "Embrace her curls!" Olive shot her partner a look that just screamed "dead". Her eyes half-lidded, her lips pursed tight, her body stance rigid. "Thanks for finishing my sentence." she snarked. "Well, it's better than nothing." Mandy took her final swig of tea and set the cup down onto the table. "Thankies for the tea! And the advice!" "No problem. Remember, we're a call or a tube ride away if you need anything, okay?" Olive's expression went from annoyed to sweet, something that made Otto roll his eyes. Mandy nodded, got up, and went to leave, waving to the two Directors eagerly. She was so focused on giving goodbyes, in fact, that she almost didn't hear Rarity exiting the Clothing Room. "Oh, Mandy!" The mare trotted up to her, toying with her mane. "Osiris complimented my mane!" Sorry about that, Momma...what was that about Osiris maybe having a few hair tips? A sch sound forced its way out of Mandy. When ya find an actual hairdresser with actual taste, call me, huh? Realizing that Rarity was staring at her with intrigue, she broke out into nervous laughter. "D-did he now?" She pressed her thumbs together. "That's...nice, Rarity! Very nice!" This seemed to satisfy the unicorn. "I'm off to Lather Love now. Would you like to come with?" She might as well have asked the question of "would you like to die of second-hand embarrassment", because as much as Mandy was running low on shampoo and conditioner and needed to stock up, she really didn't want to be made the laughingstock of Toronto, being seen with a mare who had questionable mane and tail choices for somepony who worked in the fashion industry. "I think I'll decline. But have fun!" "All right. I'll see you later, okay?" Rarity skipped away, giving a hearty "Ta-taaaaaa!" in singsong to mark her departure. Mandy simply looked at her hands, one thought pushing its way to the forefront of her mind. That tea Momma gave me? Weakdrink. Utter weakdrink. Still, she wasn't about to go home empty-handed. Olive and Otto had given her advice, and aside from the risk of Osiris feeding her bad advice in equal measure, there was no possible way this could go horribly. He was a good kid, she was sure -- Olive and Otto hired him, probably, so of course he was good. Her lungs pushed out air as she gave three tentative knocks on the door. "Come in." came a voice. Silky, inviting, and with just a slight twinge of a British accent. Mandy opened the door and gave a wave to the brown-haired, hazel-eyed boy that was fixing up a few ties on display. "Hi. You're...Osiris, right?" "That I am." Osiris turned around. With his gray plaid vest, his white long-sleeve undershirt with well-made cuffs and a well-fluffed collar, and navy pants that looked similar to Mandy's own, he looked every bit like someone in the Tailoring department. "And you must be Agent Mandy, of Precinct 13579." Mandy blinked. "How did you-" She paused as she came to a realization before the question could even fully tumble from her mouth. "Ah, never mind. Momma and Otto must've told you about me!" "Indeed." Osiris cleaned some dust off of the Tailoring department symbol that adorned his undershirt in place of an actual tie. "What can I help you with today, Mandy?" "Um...do you know Agent Rarity?" Mandy asked. "N-not just in Odd Squad, just...in general. Outside of Odd Squad." "Why, as a matter of fact, yes." Osiris nodded. "I have heard talk of her throughout the town. People and ponies alike, all spreading rumors that she will be opening up a boutique here in Toronto to sell human clothing." He smiled. "She certainly has become popular for her designs. The suits she made in particular were stunning." Mandy's gaze flicked to the cart with the suits on it, tilting her head. Rarity? Opening up a boutique here? Wouldn't surprise me. But with that...style... She couldn't help but shudder slightly at the thought of her friend being review-bombed and eventually closing her new store, all because she didn't look presentable to too many customers. "Y-yes, well, see..." She twirled her fingers about. "While she was making the suits, my partner, Agent Pinkie Pie, kept on interrupting her work. She got fed up with Pinkie's antics and she changed her manestyle and tailstyle so it looks wet, but it's not actually wet. Like it's straight." "And is this a bad thing?" "When my partner has a straightened mane and tail, it usually means that any sanity she has is gone out the window. I worry that it might be the same for Rarity. She tends to be very...overbearing with her fashionista...ism sometimes." Osiris didn't bother to point out how "fashionistaism" wasn't a real word. "I see. So what is it you're hoping to accomplish?" "Well...I want Rarity to see that changing up her manestyle and tailstyle isn't going to get my partner to stop being herself. She was trying to catch Centigurps when Rarity was making the suits, and that's a bit of a loud activity. There are better ways to get someone to stop doing something than..." Mandy scoffed. "...changing your entire 'do! And I certainly don't want to be on the brunt end of whatever psychotic thing Rarity's cooking up." Osiris nodded and gave a soft hum as he thought for a few moments. "I must admit, I'm not good with hair so much as I am with clothing." Called it, Mandy thought, mentally giving an "I told you your advice was terrible" smirk at Olive and Otto. "But perhaps Rarity needs something else that she can be inspired by. Someone to rival her in style. Someone who can become the new go-to person for fashionable hairstyles, or so she believes." As he looked knowingly at Mandy, all she could do tilt her head. "And how will that help?" "If she feels that she is outclassed by you, it might just get her to crack." Mandy bit her lip. It seemed like a good idea, but one thing weighed on her mind. "I'm not sure...I mean, what if it just becomes a big ol' hairstyle battle? I top her, she tops me, and it just keeps on going until..." "Then you will need to take your entry in the first round a step further." Osiris placed a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "You work with Rarity on clothes, do you not?" "Yes, but-" "Then add some clothes to the mix. Something to make yourself stand out." Osiris smiled. "I have the utmost confidence in you, Agent Mandy. You can do it." For a moment, she almost wanted to ask Osiris for tips on what clothes, exactly, would make her "stand out". But something told her he wouldn't be so keen on giving that advice. For me, someone who doesn't know much about fashion, to do battle with Rarity, a mare that's well-respected in Equestria for her taste in fashion...it seems foolish. But if it'll stop her killing someone or going completely insane... She shuddered as she imagined Rarity dressing up everyone she saw in outlandish clothing. And then, a memory of her "Inspiration Manifestation" story came forth, as a haunting reminder of the possibilities that could ensue if she kept on going down the path she was on. Forget about the cons of it all. I have to do this. It's for the good of Odd Squad, for the town...and for the world. "It wouldn't hurt!" she said, settling on an answer. "Good luck." "Thanks." Mandy turned to leave. "Feels like I'm gonna need it." As she made her way back to her own Headquarters, ideas began bubbling forth in her head, moreso about her hair than about her clothing. The clothing was easy--she could sketch ideas and make them as she needed to, right in the comfort of her own room. The hair, though...not so much. She wore the same style every day and never bothered to change it up too often, aside from the occasional mockery gag. Suddenly, a realization came to her. Her eyes widened, and she was gone, teleporting away in a bright flash. Mandy's teleportation took her right in front of the Lather Love shop on Green Street. She would be lying if she didn't say that she loved haircare stores in general -- the scents alone were enticing. "There's gotta be lots of haircare stuff here!" she chirped, bouncing her way inside. An orange-yellow Pegasus mare with an orange mane was working the front counter, and gave Mandy a friendly wave. "Ah, Mandy, what a lovely surprise! Haven't seen you in a while!" "That's 'cause you guys were sold out of my hairspray last time!" Mandy said, making her way over to the counter. "Is your laser chicken wound doing okay, Honey Breeze?" "It's healing well, thanks to Dr. O's treatment! He's such a darling!" The mare held up her bandaged leg for Mandy to inspect, giving a lighthearted giggle. "Can I help you find anything?" "Oh, yes. See, I'm looking for something that'll make these curls bounce." Mandy toyed with her hair. "Specifically, new hairstyles are what I'm testing out." "Well, if it's new hair-" "Ooh, ooh, got anything that'll make my hair look like this?!" From hammerspace, Mandy levitated a drawing of a girl who had two corkscrew twintails on the side of her head. Of course, far be it from Honey to question where Mandy got the drawing, and whether it was hers or not. "Ah, the twintails!" She nodded. "Yes, yes, I can actually recommend you some hairstyle books if you want the-" "No, no! I have books on those! I just need haircare stuffs." Honey nodded again, emerging from behind the counter. "I see. In that case, follow me, and I'm happy to get whatever you need!" A few minutes later, Mandy was walking out with an absurd amount of bags that not even her own magic could handle. "See you soon!" Honey called. Mandy tried to give her goodbyes, but a pained squeak pushed forth from her lungs instead as the door closed. She refrained from collapsing onto the dirty hard ground. "Might've...gotten...too much stuuuuaaaaaaaahhh..." Shifting some of the weight to her hands only made things worse, as she nearly toppled over. "No matter...I'll make sure my hair's wild n' stylin' by tomorrow!" Gritting her teeth, she flapped her wings as fast as she could -- which wasn't saying much, given they usually went at a hummingbird's speed -- and took the bags with her to a tube entrance that, luckily for her, was right across the street in the entrance to an alleyway. By the time Mandy returned to her room, she couldn't fly anymore. She collapsed right onto the floor of her room, products spilling everywhere from their bags as she gave ragged breaths. "Why...did I buy...so much stuff?!" she yelled. It was bad enough her wallet had taken blow after blow -- now her wings felt cramped and tired from beat after beat of trying to support a body that had what had to amount to at least 150 pounds of haircare stuff attached to it. Everything from dyes, to hairsprays, to ties, to her own shampoo and conditioner that she had originally meant to buy. "Oh! I knew I'd find you in here, darling." Mandy slowly rose to her feet, finding Rarity standing in the doorway but not finding the energy to give even a simple "hello". Rarity's gaze drifted across the items that laid on the floor. She gasped. "Did you go to Lather Love too? Why, I thought you said you didn't want to go!" "I wanted to talk to Osiris first." Mandy explained, magically conjuring up a glass of water and chugging it. Rarity nodded in understanding, then levitated a bottle of shampoo and a bottle of conditioner that both had the label SPRITZ'S on it. "I bought the most fabulous shampoo and conditioner for my mane and tail! And some wonderful brushes too." Out came a couple hairbrushes. "Tomorrow, I think I'll freshen up this look even more! I simply cannot wait for you to see it, darling. It will be divine." "Yeah, I'm...sure it'll be divine..." "What's wrong? You sound so tired!" Rarity asked, seeing that Mandy's eyes were now half-lidded and she was now slightly swaying on her feet. "It's...just been a long day for me, that's all." "Mm, I see. I'll leave you alone then." Rarity turned. "Mind if I use the shower first?" "Go ahead." "Thank you, darling!" Mandy watched as Rarity left with skipping hoofsteps, humming a short but sweet ditty to herself as she did so. A sigh escaped her that morphed into a yawn. "Mm...better eat dinner 'fore I collapse..." she murmured, trudging off towards the kitchen while keeping a note in the very back of her mind to clean up and put away the stuff she bought later. It wasn't priority, however -- what was priority was getting food in her belly and getting washed up before she ended up falling asleep in a place that wasn't her bed. The door, as white as snow, creaked open. The mare, as white as snow, crept inside. Raucous snoring and unintelligible sleep-talking filled the room -- nothing surprising for the mare. Slowly, she made her way towards the bed, with the sleeping agent on it, and hoisted herself up onto it. Her four hooves dug into the agent's stomach, although it wasn't like the agent minded very much. She was in a state of very deep sleep, so much so that it didn't seem like she needed her white noise to help her out (the mare had to wonder whether a timer would be installed for that thing). With her horn alight in blue, the mare grabbed ahold of the girl's shoulder and shook it. "Mandy! Mandy, darling, do wake up, won't you?" It took several seconds, but the girl did wake up with a start. A snort put a dent in her snoring as she sat up, her eyes flying open. "Whozawha?! Bennington, if I've toldja once I've toldja 'm thousand timezz..." What met her vision was a mare she recognized, but a hairstyle that looked almost the same as yesterday. Her straight mane had a sort of sheen to it that gave it a glossy fresh look, as did her straightened tail. Said tail was tied up with a black hair tie in a high ponytail. Finally, Mandy (somewhat) snapped to her senses. A "NYAAAAAAAAH!" left her as she scrambled backwards, completely bug-eyed as she stared at the one who was directly on her. "R-Rarity, what are you doing?!" "Oh, I am sorry, Mandy. I didn't mean to frighten you. It's just..." Rarity gave a giant squee. "I wanted you to see my new manestyle!" Sleepiness began to settle in, now. Mandy glanced at the clock on her nightstand, which read 9:00. "I used a mix of manespray and water, and tied my tail up a little so it wouldn't drag so much. See?" Rarity turned, showing off her tail for just a few moments before she thrust her face into Mandy's. "Don't you think it looks positively stunning?!" One blink. Two blinks. Mouth hanging slightly open. Truly, such raw emotion could only come from a near-vegetable in a hospital bed. "Ohh, you don't have to say a thing, darling. You're speechless!" Rarity giggled. "Anyways, I just wanted you to see. I think I'll get to work on some clothing that will look tres magnifique with this new style of mine! Ta-taaaaaa!" And with that, the unicorn mare hopped off of the bed, skipped out the door, and let out a few excited jumps as her magic aura closed the door. A few moments later, Mandy was back on the sleeping game. Somehow, the "you need more sleep" switch clicked on in her brain, and she was going to get as much sleep as she could. Or at least, as much as she could before that white blob with the weird accent woke her up again. It wasn't until she saw Rarity around Headquarters a few times that she realized what, exactly, the mare had been trying to communicate to her. And that was her cue to hole herself up in the bathroom, with all of her hair supplies. Every last one of them. "Oho, Agent Rarity. This agent will not take this hair issue lyin' down. Not when it gives me terrible bedhead!" She cracked her knuckles, a mischievous glint to her eye. The first book of hairstyles flung open. "Let's do this." Water from the sink and the shower ran. The sweet smell of hairspray filled the room. And the suit was flung out of the door completely. From struggling to comb and tame her poofy curls ("How does Pinkie Pie do it?!") to consulting every single hairstyle book she had bought (yes, including How to Create Fabulous Twintails in Five Easy Steps), Mandy was ready to work towards a new her. A her that would wow people, make them turn heads, make them see who was really the hairy best boss around these parts. "Hair extension here, hair extension there, a little pinkery-doo!" she sang, applying bobby pins to her loose hair as she read the next step in her book. She had to admit, a lot of her time was spent running the hair dryer. The warm air it gave off felt especially nice on cold days, and she loved how it felt on her hair. But now, she had an actual reason to use it that wouldn't get her yelled at for it, and so, she dried her hair over and over as she experimented with different twintail styles. Meanwhile, Oprah went down the hallway, Olive, Otto, Peaches and Twilight following her. "So that's what's been happening?" "Pretty much." Olive sighed. "And all of this because Agent Pinkie Pie was doing nothing more than trying to catch Centigurps..." Oprah groaned. "This is going to turn out like the Jackalope Gala incident all over again if this keeps up." The sound of whirring caught the attention of everyone. Their heads immediately swiveled towards the Bathroom door. Just as Twilight opened her mouth to ask what was going on, a cry burst forth. "Et voila! Now this...this will be my most grand masterpiece yet! That'll put that ragged old mare in her rightful place!" And of course, in typical Mandy fashion, a bout of insane laughter topped it off -- laughter that, for Olive and Otto, almost rivaled Oprah's own insane laughter when she tried to win her first Jackie Award. Almost. "I'm not sure I want to know..." Olive said, her gaze drifting towards the suit that still laid on the floor. Unfortunately, she was about to know, as the Bathroom door swung open. Steam poured out of it like Mandy had just gotten out of the sauna, causing everyone to cough. With a mighty whoosh, however, the steam was cleared, and a new Mandy was revealed. A Mandy that looked absolutely hideous. Her hair was now loose in two brunette twintails that managed to reach the floor, and then some. However, loose hairs stuck out all over the place, the twintails themselves looked jutted out in ways that went far beyond looking like mere lightning bolts, and her hair overall was dyed in a complete myriad of colors that ranged from the simple to the extreme. Her tail was the same way, being separated into twintails and dyed all kind of colors while also sticking straight out from her body, like it had been flash-frozen. Both Peaches' hair and tail stuck straight up as she gave a hearty yowl, her eyes nearly bugging out of her own skull as she bore witness to the horrors of Mandy experimenting with hair. Oprah, likewise, turned a color that no juice flavor in existence could be reasonably matched with. "Oh my odd..." was all she murmured, her brown eyes shrinking to small dots. "Sweet Celestia!" Twilight's ears folded down, and she was forced to take a few steps back, using her wing to shield her eyes from the awful sight. "Mandy..." Olive was the most unfazed, and slowly stepped forward, taking a deep inhale before what came forth was "WHAT IN THE NAME OF ODD DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR?!" "It's the twintail look!" Mandy chirped. "Like what you see in anime all the time! Ya like?" Oprah audibly gagged. "Aww, c'mon. Is it really that bad?" "You tell us!" Peaches cried, taking out a mirror from hammerspace and thrusting it in front of Mandy. Within seconds, the mirror developed a spider-web crack in it that encompassed the entire thing. "Mm..." Mandy's mouth pinched inwards. "I guess it wasn't the perfect twintail look..." Her gaze drifted towards Olive, looking utterly floored. She looked like her brain was doing a complete and utter hard reset. Mandy gasped and made her way over. "Mommamommamomma!" She grabbed Olive's curly ponytail, yanking it towards her to get a better look and ignoring Olive's cry of protest. "Yes! This is perfect! Ha, I forgot ya had a lil' corkscrew! Hold on, gotta take pictures!" Olive went from floored to confused in just a minute, trying to comprehend what was happening while Mandy was snapping pictures of her hairstyle with a camera she had pulled from her hammerspace spine. "Perfecto!" Mandy grinned as she looked through the pictures. "If I can't make twintails, then I'll make corkscrew ponytails!" "ALL RIGHT, ENOUGH!" Oprah cried out, causing Mandy to stop as she stared at her boss. "Agent, what are you doing?" "Weeeeell..." Mandy took a deep breath. "I stopped by Momma and Otto’s precinct the other day, and I asked them for advice, so they told me to go to Osiris, their tailor, so I went to him and he told me that I could only rival Rarity in hair, so I had to get a whooooooole lotta stuff from Lather Love so I could style it, and then Rarity, bless her equine heart, scared me when I woke up with her new manestyle! So I knew I had to rival her somehow, and that’s what I’m doing now!" All she got in response were four blank stares as she inhaled and exhaled. "Well, you're not going to rival Rarity looking like that." Twilight pointed out. "What were you thinking?" Mandy shrugged and giggled. "I never think!" "Isn't that the understatement of the year." Olive snarked, rolling her eyes. "Cuz, look. Calm down, first and foremost. You're gonna wind up being as overenthusiastic as Rarity if you keep this up." Peaches took a deep breath, as though the advice was directed to herself as well as Mandy. "To put my opinion of you bluntly...you look like a train ran you over, immediately followed by three semitrucks. Each in rapid succession." That analogy seemed to stick in Mandy's head. She gave a pitiful whine, poking at one of her twintails. "Is it really that bad?" "Yes." Peaches responded. "You don't know much about hair, do you?" "Yes I do! I read all the books, and, and I spent a whole ton of money on hair supplies!" Five half-lidded stares made her revoke that comment right quick. "...No. B-but that's why I had to ask for advice!" "Well, I'm not a big old hair expert or anything, but if you're looking to rival Rarity in hair, you need a different style." Peaches explained. "And not corkscrews. She already has curls." "But I wanted twintails!" "A-and I can get you twintails!" Peaches reassured, slightly wincing at Mandy's high-pitched whine. "But if you let me help you, then you'll come out looking much better than...ehhh..." She pointed. "Whatever this is. What do you say?" "Okay-dokay, let's do it!" Mandy pumped a fist into the air. "Great!" Peaches turned to Olive, Oprah, Otto and Twilight. "Now, the rest of you, head into the bullpen. I want you to be surprised!" Everyone else exchanged curious glances and smiles, knowing that even though Peaches' knowledge in hair was lacking just as much as Mandy's was, she at least had a better grip on the concept of hairstyles. "Oh oh oh! I know what else I can do!" Mandy raised her eyebrows. "Are your...fashion skills up to par?" "Always!" Peaches winked. "Clothes make the agent." "Clothes are gonna make the agent! They're gonna make the agent the star of the show!" Mandy jabbed a finger at Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle! Get me my sewing machine! We're about to make magic!" The mare complied with only a single nod, heading in the direction of Mandy's room while everyone else made their way towards the bullpen, telling Peaches and Mandy that they couldn't wait to see what they had in store for them, for Rarity, and for the rest of the precinct. It didn't take long for Peaches to undo Mandy's work and get started on her own -- a lot less time than she had thought it would take. She cut, she washed, and she brushed to what she viewed as perfection. Mandy let her go through the motions, placing her full trust in her cousin. She worked diligently on an outfit for herself, with Peaches' advice on how to make it glamorous without looking utterly ridiculous. "Glad you bought hair dye." Peaches said, tossing a box to the side. "But why did you think you were going to need it?" "To be honest, I dunno why I bought the hair dye. I just grabbed whatever I could!" Peaches opened her mouth to ask how, exactly, Mandy could afford all the stuff she bought, but before she could get a word in edgewise, the hybrid teleported a small bottle into existence. "Sequiiiins!" she squealed, opening the bottle and beginning to apply them to her outfit. All Peaches did was sigh and playfully roll her eyes in response before she got back to work. Fifteen minutes later, and both girls were "Done!" Peaches held up a mirror for Mandy to eye her new hair. "Do you like it?" "My hair...it's soooooo coooool!" she exclaimed, toying with it. Her hair, now pink instead of brunette, was wrapped in long twintails that nearly reached the floor, secured by two hair ties with four circles each that mysteriously floated in midair around the ties themselves. The ends of the twintails curled upwards quite a bit, and the twintails themselves were touched with stripes of the seven colors of the rainbow in the middle. Her bow had been removed entirely, and her hair had been parted down the middle, creating short bangs that fell across her forehead. Her pink tail had the same stripes, and had her iconic red bow tied tightly around it. It was lined with sparkly multicolored ribbons that spiraled down it, creating a small trail just past its end. Peaches looked over Mandy's shoulder at the outfit she had designed. "You really took a theme and ran with it, huh?" "Yup!" Mandy grinned. "I had it in mind when I first tried doing my own hair!" "Well, why don't you put it on, and I'll gather everyone in the bullpen so they can see it, okay?" Mandy nodded, watching Peaches leave the Bedroom. She stared at the mess on the floor, knowing that she would have to clean it all up later but not finding the heart to complain about it. "Now this...this will make me the talk of the town!" Mandy gave an evil chuckle. "Watch out, Rare-Rare. You've got a new competitor!" Laughter, twinged with just a touch of evil, echoed throughout the halls, causing some agents to become started and look around for the source. "It's weird, but I haven't seen Rarity all day." Oprah said, glancing at the steel double-doors. "Maybe she went back to Equestria?" "Or maybe she's just in hiding 'cause she's afraid of Mandy!" Olive rolled her eyes. "Partner, I doubt she even knows Mandy's competing against her." "What's taking Mandy so long?" Peaches muttered to herself. "Doesn't take this long to put on a piece of clothing..." The sound of whooshing caught everyone's attention as a figure began soaring through the bullpen. Up and down the figure went, doing all sorts of acrobatics in what looked to be a truly fantastical outfit. Agents began gathering around, giving curious reactions as they watched the show in progress. "Oh no." was all Peaches could utter, her cat ears folding downwards as she did a facepalm. The figure soared right above the heads of the group, causing Olive to instinctively crouch low to the ground. "Ooh, showy!" Otto remarked, watching as fireworks began to go off. His eyes gained a shimmer in them as he became captivated by the show. With a few speedy midair somersaults, Mandy landed on the ground, hammer in hand. "My hammer will crush anything that stands in the way of normalcy!" She struck a pose. "I'm Agent Mandy!" This incredible display, which Oprah and the others all knew was done in the style of magical girl transformations, was met with raucous applause from agents, some of whom wanted an encore. However, instead of honoring those requests, Mandy made a mighty leap into the air and did a couple of cartwheels, followed by a few more midair somersaults before proudly landing on her feet. It was then that the agents could fully take in her entire outfit. She wore a pink-and-white bodice adorned with two logos of the Investigation department and her badge on the front, a frilly pink skirt with a cloud-like bottom layer, tight pink shorts underneath, and a pink choker with a golden emblem around her neck. On her feet were a pair of rollerskates, bedazzled with glitter and painted with stripes of every color imaginable, and blue bracelets adorned her ankles as well as her wrists. Her wings seemed more fluffier and looked far more angelic in appearance than they usually were. A spiky golden crown sat on top of her head with a sky-blue diamond embedded into the middle, and her face consisted of just a tiny amount of blush. Her golden spherical dangle earrings, as well as her painted pink-and-red nails, completed the ensemble. "S-she actually pulled it off..." Peaches uttered. "Have to agree with you, Otto. That's just a little too showy for my taste." Oprah dryly remarked. Lots of staring and jaw-drops ensued. No one said anything for a while. Finally, Peaches snapped to her senses. "Cuz, you shouldn't have made such a grandiose entrance like that. Your hair's gonna be all messed up!" "Nonsense!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "My hair's fine now, isn't it? And just look at the fabulous display I've put on!" Oprah suddenly had a juice box in her hand, taking a swig of it. "Well, if it's any consolation, you look stunning, Mandy." She smiled. "Thank you! But I'm not done." "There's more?" a despaired Peaches asked. "There's always room for more!" Mandy giggle-and-snorted. "Just wait 'til Rarity gets here!" Sure enough, speak of the mare and she doth appear. Or...perhaps not. The automatic doors opened, drawing the attention of the entire group, who waited with baited breaths for Rarity to step through and be surprised at Mandy's new design. Instead, the pony that came through the door was Pinkie Pie, in tears and heading for the hallway as she gave a violent wail. Rarity followed shortly after. "Darling, wait! I didn't mean to..." she called, knowing that Pinkie couldn't hear her but still reaching a hoof out regardless. She shut her eyes tight and folded her ears down as she tried not to cry. "Uh-oh." "I'm guessing Rarity and Pinkie tried to reconcile, and it...didn't go well." Peaches said, sharing a look with Olive. With her eyes still closed, the unicorn mare walked. "Goodness, the one time I try to talk to Pinkie Pie and she- oof!" Rarity opened her eyes and backed up, rubbing her head as she looked up to apologize to the agent she had bumped into. It was right then, when Mandy cleared her throat and opened her mouth, that the "more" part of her entire facade kicked in. "Oh! Agent Rarity! Whatever is the matter?" Oprah did a complete spit-take. Jaws dropped again. A "You. Have got. To be kidding me." slipped from Olive's lips. Rarity's eyes were shrunk to more than pinpricks. They were shrunk to the point where there was 95% sclera and only 5% pupil and iris. There is no way...everything...from her nails, to her hair and tail...she... Her mouth ran dry. Mandy is glamorous! Why, I didn't think it was possible, I... Ohh, what am I saying? Mandy works with me in the Odd Squad Boutique. Of course she would know a thing or two about fashion. But if I don't do something fast, my new style's popularity will soon be no more! No one will turn heads to look at the one, the only, Rarity! She violently shook her head and steadied herself. No, no. I must remain composed. Just...speak to her normally, Rarity. Surely you can manage that. With a polite smile, the mare snapped out of her thoughts. "Hello, Mandy." She sighed. "See, I had attempted to make up with Pinkie Pie regarding yesterday's...ahem...issue, but we got into a rather heated argument instead. Now she hates me even more!" "Well, if I may give you some advice...perhaps you should give up on your whole...mmm, what was the word, now? 'Schtick'? Yes, give up on that whole schtick of yours." Otto, Oprah and Peaches all saw Olive's dumbfounded expression. They all knew Mandy had a pretty good grasp on the English language, but couldn't help internally cringing at her faking obliviousness when it came to a word that certainly was in her everyday vocabulary. Rarity took a step back and gasped. "And give up this fabulous new look? Why in the name of Celestia would I ever do that?" She squinted. "Are you trying to de-throne me?!" In response, Mandy gave a raucous noblewoman's laugh that caught the attention of any agent that hadn't been paying attention to her show previously. "De-throne you? Why no, darling, that is certainly not my intent." Rarity wasn't convinced. She squinted harder. "Really now, have I ever steered you wrong?" "Yes, actually, you have." the mare deadpanned. Mandy cleared her throat. "Er, anyway. My point is that your look was originally created to drive away Miss Pie, correct? An...ah, what do they call it...'hoist by their own petard'?" "Hoist by their own petard?" "Yes, yes. It means to defeat someone using their own weapons or battle methods. In this case, you used 'Rarimena', as I so call it, against Miss Pie, whose full first name is 'Pinkamena' and whose mane and tail also go flat, to scare her away." Mandy explained. "And you also borrowed her...mmm...well, let's just say that your new style invoked some strong memories in her. Memories that she would not rather dig up." Rarity's shock died down slightly, enough for her to fully understand what her supposed opponent was saying. Guilt began to fester inside of her, and she mindlessly toyed with her mane. "I see. I suppose I got carried away with this whole new style, but...all I wanted was for her to leave me alone as I worked!" "There are better ways to tell someone to leave you alone than to take such dramatic measures, darling." Mandy soothed. "Simply sitting her down for a bit and talking things over with her would have likely worked out just fine!" Biting her lip, she muttered under her breath, "And saved us a good portion of time in this chapter..." "Ooh, now I feel so guilty!" Rarity whined. "Poor Pinkie Pie...I simply cannot imagine what stress she's under right now..." "Why don't you go talk to her?" "I think I'll do just that." Rarity gave a grateful smile to Mandy, then perked up with a gasp. "But this style!" "I would suggest you get rid of it. Go back to your old loose curls! Straight hair does not look good on you, darling." Rarity nodded. "Oh, thank you, Mandy. You are truly a wonderful friend. I don't know how I can ever repay you." She cleared her throat. "But, um...I can think of one way. Let me share a good piece of news to you, from one friend to another." Mandy blinked. "Drop the act! You are not fooling a single person nor a single pony!" And with that, Rarity sauntered off, down the hallway where Pinkie had rushed towards earlier. "Darn. And I thought I really had her goin'...but at least that's all resolved!" With Mandy's voice back to normal, everyone gave a unisonant internal sigh of relief. Olive, in particular, looked about ready to die before she was given sweet release. "Yeah, I don't have to hear your horrific attempt at a Trans-Atlantic accent anymore." she remarked with a smirk on her face. Mandy's eye twitched. Her mood did a complete 180 as she thrust herself at the Director. "You wanna say that to my face, Momma?!" "Hey, hey, take it easy! You know you wouldn't stand a chance against me." "Technology's evolving, Momma..." Mandy raised her hammer, twirling it about in the air before letting the head of it make impact with the concrete floor. "And so are my fighting skills!" "HEY!!" Oprah shouted. "No one is fighting in my precinct!" Olive and Mandy only gave a respective groan and scoff in response before they shared a smile. "We're still doing a 1-on-1 someday. Mark my words." "Positivi-rutely marked. With pleasure." Peaches watched as the agents who had been watching everything go down return to what they were doing before. "I guess all that's left to do now is to make sure that Pinkie's cheered up and back to her usual self." "Here's hoping that Rarity can make amends with her..." Otto remarked, trailing off as his gaze lingered on the right hallway. A loud yawn forced its way out of Mandy, and she rubbed her head. "Oh wowee, I'm overdue for a nap! Guess I should undo all this schtuff..." For the next few minutes, everyone watched in both amusement and pity as the hybrid began yanking on her hair ties to let her hair loose, only to find that they weren't budging so much as an inch. No one said anything or offered to help -- just watched her go at it using her hands and using her magic, to no avail. A moment of silence as Mandy slumped over, forfeiting the war with her own accessories and looking defeated to match. "Cuz, can you help me undo this hair?" Peaches bit her lip as she contemplated denying Mandy help just to be a troll (not in the literal sense, of course), but ultimately went with a playful sigh and a lighthearted rolling of her eyes. "Oh, all right. If I must." "Thank you." As Rarity opened the door to the Bedroom, she found Pinkie Pie curled up on her bed, her back to her. She didn't seem to be moving, and Rarity wondered if she had fallen asleep or was just moping around. "Pinkie Pie?" she said, a tentative tone to her voice. "I truly am sorry, darling. I never meant to scare you away or anything of the sort. Honest!" She pawed at the ground. "It's just that Osiris is an agent who simply craves perfection when it comes to his outfits, and I wanted to make sure the suits were perfect for him." Nothing happened. No noise was made. And then, Pinkie spoke, her voice cracking on every word. "All I did was what I was supposed to do...catching the Centigurps." She sniffled. "Is it my fault they're all so noisy?!" "N-no, not at all! When they multiply, Centigurps can be very loud creatures." "Not only that, but...but...even when I wasn't on a case..." Pinkie squeezed her eyes tight, remembering the horrible words Rarity had thrown at her after she had just done some simple paperwork. "...you yelled at me anyway!" "I know. And I shouldn't have." Rarity moved closer to the bed and climbed her way up, taking a seat on the end of it. "It wasn't just the Centigurps. But Pinkie, you need to understand when someone is working and needs quiet. Like...oh!" She straightened. "You know how upset Peaches can get sometimes when someone ruins one of her naps. She gets all hissy, like Opalescence!" Pinkie curled her body tighter. "Now how would you feel if you were napping and someone woke you up? Or if you were baking a cake and Ms. O pulled you away at the last possible second to give you a case? That wouldn't feel good, would it?" "I guess not..." came the mutter that Rarity could barely make out. "We are both in the wrong, darling. I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did, and I am very sorry. But please, do try to be respectful and understand when I am in the middle of work and when I am not." With no response after a few moments, Rarity hopped off of the bed. "I shall leave you alone to think about it, all right? I will be around, in either Odd Squad or Equestria. You can reach me with your badge phone." She couldn't fight the worry that crept into her voice as she made her way out of the Bedroom, making sure to close the door behind her. Slowly and involuntarily, Pinkie's eyes began to close until she was greeted by darkness. It was only a short while before she realized she was running. Her hooves took her across a dark and vast land, tinged with black and purple. The Centigurps that she was chasing provided a pop of color, although not by much. "Wait, come back! Please!" she cried out, extending a hoof towards the small furry bouncing creatures to no avail. Suddenly, an apparition of Oprah appeared in front of her, slowly beginning to circle her head as it spoke. "Agent Pinkie Pie, you need to catch those Centigurps! If you fail in your task, then you'll be kicked off the force!" Pinkie skidded to a halt, watching as the Centigurps bounced away, chirping their merry tunes of mischief. She tried to swat the ghostly figure away, and to her surprise, she did so successfully, as it vanished in a puff of blue smoke. Unfortunately, that was not the end of her troubles. A bout of sinister laughter rang through the space. It felt familiar to Pinkie, but how, exactly, was something she could not place. Her head swiveled from left to right, struggling to identify its source. "Who said that?!" she cried out, after a source did not seem to present itself. "I did, darling." came the chilling response of Rarity, who seemed to suddenly appear in front of Pinkie as the party pony looked away for only a second. She was sitting at a red desk with a sewing machine that had a piece of blue fabric inside of it. "I am trying to work, and I cannot be disturbed! Ever!" Pinkie tried to swallow the lump that had begun to form in her throat, feeling her legs quaking from the cold tone her friend had adopted. "So leave me be...if you know what's good for you." "W-w-wait, Rarity! Please!" Pinkie said. "I need your help catching the Centigurps, there are so many and-" "Help you?" Rarity delved into a bout of evil laughter that struck Pinkie like an arrow to her heart. "Why would I help you? Your noise would only... drive them away." Somewhere, the whine of a low string instrument played. Pinkie was too scared and too desperate to comment on it, let alone notice it. "Rarity!" "I need to get these ssssuits done for Osssirisss. Sssso do not disturb me!" The unicorn mare's horn flared. "Or else!" A burst of magic was fired at Pinkie, who gave a yelp of surprise and quickly rolled over to the side to dodge it. "Drat, missed. Oh well...there's always tomorrow." Pinkie didn't bother to get up, instead folding her ears down against her body as hard as she could and squeezing her eyes shut to block out the evil laughter that once again echoed through the land. "Pinkie!" The party pony slowly opened an eye, only to find a seemingly-in-the-flesh Oprah standing over her with an upset look on her face. Almost on instinct, she scrambled to her hooves. "M-Ms. O!" "Why are there Centigurps all over the place?!" "I-I can explain!" The sound of cracking reached her eardrums, and she watched as the world faded away, pixel by pixel. It began to horribly glitch as a result, in a way that she had only seen in the video games that Otto played. Oprah also began to glitch out and her words became muted, although her mouth was still moving. "W-what's going on?!" Pinkie crouched down to the ground and squeezed her eyes shut once more. "Let me out!" It wasn't until she felt a wave of peace wash over her that she opened her eyes. Immediately, her vision became flooded with white. It looked a lot more pleasant than the weird world she was in before, but that didn't mean she was so keen on taking it at face value. "Pinkie." Okay, maybe she would take it at face value a little. "Partner? Where are you?! We have to get out of here!" "Calm down. You're safe." Pinkie watched as her partner materialized in front of her. A small piece of her told her that this was most likely just a hologram or some other kind of magical projection of Mandy, but she didn't care, so long as she was here. Tears began to spring to her eyes. "Oh, thank Celestia! I'm so scared...Rarity, she- she tried to hurt-" "Shh. Say no more." Mandy knelt down and opened her arms, and Pinkie rushed right into them, nearly knocking the hybrid over in the process. Within the silence of light, the pair hugged for a long, long time, Pinkie crying her eyes out. "This feels nice..." she softly remarked, once her tears had mostly stopped coming forth. "Pinkie...you should listen to Rarity. In the real world. She's very sorry for what she's done." The mare blinked. "You heard that?" "I hear all and see all." came the simple response, before Mandy continued. "I had to go through quite a lot to get Rarity to realize what she was doing and cease it. I had to change my entire look, head to toe. It was a stressful time...but a rather fun one." Pinkie only gave a soft "mmm" in response. "She does have a point, though. You're both in the wrong. She apologized to you." Mandy smiled. "Can you find it in your heart to apologize to her? For her? For Odd Squad?" Pinkie's eyes began to water again. "For me?" A few moments passed, and then she went into another crying fit, this time her sobs becoming hysterical as she buried her face into Mandy's chest. "Shhh, it's okay. Let it all out." The sound of her own crying echoed through the empty space, which only served to make her cry harder. She stayed like that for a good long time, embracing the warmth of her partner's love and friendship and appreciating it with everything she had. Pinkie's eyes flew open, and she bolted upright in bed. Her head began to ache as she looked around to try and collect her bearings. "Weird...Mandy's not here?" she asked, giving a big loud yawn as she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. "Where is she?" Tumbling her way out of bed and somehow still managing to land on her hooves, she left the Bedroom and went down the halls until she arrived at the bullpen, where she saw Peaches eating a whole raw fish. "Hey, Peaches?" "Huh?" Peaches swallowed her bite and gave a friendly smile. "Oh, Pinkie, hi. What's going on?" "Have you seen Mandy at all?" Pinkie asked. "I wanted to talk to her about something." "She's asleep right now. Or she should be, anyway...but Mandy's definitely not one to miss a nap." Peaches chuckled. "Is something bothering you?" "Oh! No, it's...it's fine. It can wait. I'll just, uh..." Pinkie's eyes darted about until she found her desk. "Do some paperwork!" Peaches watched as the Earth pony mare hastily trotted over and grabbed a random piece of paper and a pencil, beginning to fill it out. Her head slightly tilted in confusion. "Okay, then. Have fun." she said, waving her friend off as she took another bite of fish and headed for the back of the bullpen. Something inside of Pinkie tugged at her right then and there. Before she knew it, her hooves were taking her down the right hallway, and no matter how hard she tried to resist, she couldn't stop herself. Eventually her hooves did stop, right at the doorstep of Mandy's room. She pressed an ear against it, not being surprised in the least when the sound of loud snoring reached her eardrums. I knew it. So she really is sleeping. But how did she get into my dream? She tapped a hoof to her chin. Usually Mandy's not so wise in my dreams! She's the funnerific hybrid she is in the real world! Finding the door ajar, she nudged it open just enough for her to slip inside. The room was dark, which certainly wasn't to her detriment when she could just reach inside of her hammerspace mane and pull out a flashlight. As she walked, she made sure to avoid the absolute mess of hair products that were strewn about, noting that Mandy certainly wasn't one to keep her room in such a messy state. She began to approach the bed where Mandy was sleeping in the position of a 180-flipped L, her head on the middle pillow and her back up against the left two pillows. Biting her lip, the mare briefly contemplated saying "screw you" to her own standards and waking the hybrid up, but ultimately decided against it. As she got closer, she felt something round and hard under her hoof, which rolled backwards and sent her careening to the ground, the flashlight falling loose from her forelock and clattering on the floor along with her. "Whuh-huh?!" Mandy awoke with a start, blinking and yawning. "Who'zz there...?" Oh, phooey. "U-um...it's me." Pinkie slowly got to her hooves. "I'm really sorry for waking you, partner, but I have a question!" "If izz a long one, I don't wanna hear it..." "Oh, it's not long!" Pinkie smiled. "What I wanted to ask is, do you have dream-walking powers? Like Princess Luna?" "Dream-walking...?" Mandy tilted her head as her jaws opened wider to let another yawn slip out. "'Courzze I walk in my dreamzz, y' expect me to move like a walruzz?" "No, that's not what I..." Pinkie heaved a sigh. "Never mind. Just go back to sleep. And when you wake up again, clean your room, okay? Olive's not gonna be happy if she finds it so messy." "Mmm-hmm..." came the sleepy murmur, quickly followed by the symphonic snoring and sleep-talking continuing as soon as Mandy's head flopped the pillow once more. As Pinkie picked up the flashlight and held it in her forelock again, she made her way through the room, being more aware of her surroundings this time around. She felt relief that Mandy didn't get too upset over being woken up -- the last thing she needed was to disturb what someone else was doing and have them get mad at her for it, let alone when that someone else was her own partner. She closed the door as soon as she was out, letting out another sigh. The gears in her mind began turning as she walked aimlessly through the hallway. Maybe I really did dream her up...but she looked and felt so real! She had to have been using some kind of cool alicorn magic! If only Princess Luna knew about her...or maybe... She stopped suddenly and perked up. "I know! I'll go and ask Twilight! She's the bestest when it comes to magic!" she declared, turning around and beginning her journey towards the Odd Squad Library, as a starting point when it came to looking for her friend. A couple hours later, Mandy was feasting on dinner in the Breakroom, deciding to settle on some chicken nuggets. Olive sat across from her, silently reading the latest issue of The Shmumbertimes. "Y' want one?" the hybrid asked, as she swallowed her bite of chicken. "I think I'll pass, thanks." As Mandy set the nugget back down onto the plate, her ears picked up the sound of approaching hoofsteps, and she swiveled her head around to find Pinkie and Rarity trotting side-by-side together and in good spirits. "So then he starts monologuing while I'm setting up my party cannon, and then I blast him! Wha-bam!" Rarity chuckled. "Oh, that is a wonderful story, darling. Good for you!" Pinkie's expression brightened when she saw Mandy, and she gave a furious wave. "Hiya, partner!" "Hi! Seems you made up with Rarity." "I did!" Pinkie giggled. "We're gonna have such an amazingly fun time together!" "Pinkie Pie and I thought we would do a little shopping on the town tonight." Rarity explained. "We've gotten all our work done, and we both have some free time, anyway." "Ooh! Have fun with that." Mandy said, a twinge of jealousy to her voice as she knew she couldn't attest to the same. "We will!" Rarity began to leave, heading for the double doors. "Now come along, Pinkie. We've got lots of shops to visit." "Whee-hee! Let's go!" With Rarity trotting away and Pinkie Pie bouncing giddily behind her, Mandy couldn't help but smile. "That dream-walking definitely helped..." Olive looked up from her newspaper. "What was that?" "Nothing! Just, uh, t-talking to myself!" A dubious look was shot Mandy's way. "Oh, don't give me that look." "Well, anyway..." Olive sighed. "I'm glad that Rarity and Pinkie made up in the end." "Because you didn't want me to whip out the Trans-Atlantic accent again?" "Your impression is horrible and you know it." "It is superior!" "It is inferior." Both girls squinted at each other for a long beat before erupting into laughter. "You gonna join them on their shopping night?" "Would if I could..." Mandy chewed on another nugget. "But I've got a ton of work to do!" She gestured to two tall stacks of papers that both looked about ready to topple over. Olive gaped. "Those two entire stacks?!" "Hey, being the second-top chiefaroo around here is a blurse. It's a real blurse." Mandy rolled her eyes. "And I lost some time with the whole Rarity and Pinkie shinangleafangle." Olive closed the newspaper and set it down onto the table. "Hey...I have a question." "Hm?" "What made you decide to go the magical girl route to upstage Rarity?" Mandy gained stars in her eyes as a whimsical expression sat on her face. "I've always wanted to be a magical girl! You can fly and do awesome magic and beat up bad guys..." "You can already do those things." "But I don't have the super-cool outfit to go with it! Or the super-cool hair!" Mandy complained. "Instead I'm stuck in a business suit with this blah hair!" "You could always change it. Nothing's stopping you." Mandy scoffed. "I like my nice poofy curls to stay as my nice poofy curls, thank you very much. I'm not changin' this hairstyle again anytime soon!" She paused. "Well, unless I wanna experiment again-" "No!!" Olive reached out a hand. "Don't experiment. I'm gonna have nightmares about that hairstyle. Both of them. For weeks." "All righty then, suit yourself!" Peaches approached the duo right then, a bottle of hairspray clutched in her hand as a growl rolled about in her throat. "Mandy...you want to explain why I tripped on this in your pigsty of a room?" Olive raised an eyebrow at the hybrid, who gave a nervous chuckle as her face became flushed with red. "...Oopsie?" More glares. Mandy gave a sigh, and then got up from her seat, nabbing the bottle from Peaches' hand and marching to her room without another word.
S1E15: Season's SneezingsThe amount of times Odd Squad agents have gotten regular, human-borne illnesses like the flu, chicken pox, and pneumonia, as opposed to odd illnesses like The Skips, lemurnemia, and Restless Moose Syndrome, would surprise you. The amount of times Mandy in particular has gotten regular, human-borne illnesses as opposed to odd illnesses would probably surprise you even more. Contrary to popular belief, these illnesses were hardly ever caused by her tendency to eat a lot of food -- she had an iron stomach which had about the same digestion skills as a god, and so, she rarely got food poisoning from eating too much. She was more prone to getting colds or strep throat, although the jury was out on whether she could get illnesses more commonly found in Equestria, like fur blight or pony pox, from being part pony. Regardless of all of this, however, one rule remained clear. When the all-enigmatic Mandy is put out of commission by something out of her control, panic. Olive soared through Precinct 13579 as fast as her feet would take her. She bumped into numerous agents and nearly tripped on some small creatures that were roaming about, but neither of those were much of a problem with her. Odd bless her athleticism. Once she reached her destination, she threw the door wide open and took in the sight that laid before her. Mandy, looking visibly pale, threw up into a bucket that Peaches was holding, her body rippling with each heave she took. When she looked up, Olive was quick to notice how dirty her face looked, how matted her hair was, and how glassy and tired her eyes were. "Olive!" Peaches sighed. "Would you mind emptying this bucket and cleaning it? And would you mind doing it quickly? Mandy's been puking every five minutes and I don't know how much she has left in her." Olive didn't answer for a few moments, but nodded when the pieces began falling into place for her. "S-sure, I can do that." she responded, moving over to the catgirl and taking the dirty bucket from her. "If you tell me exactly what's going on here." "Isn't it obvious? Mandy's sick." Peaches said, grabbing a tissue from the tissue box that sat on Mandy's nightstand and wiping her mouth with it. "She woke up this morning feeling absolutely terrible. Threw up all over the floor. Holed herself up in the bathroom for hours before I managed to convince her to come out." At that moment, Mandy's nose twitched, and Peaches instinctively grabbed another tissue. The hybrid sneezed three times just as Peaches held up the tissue to her nose. Olive blinked. "Okay, well...let me go clean this bucket and I'll get back to you." A few minutes later, she was back, armed with a clean bucket and another question. "Did Dr. O examine her?" Peaches nodded. "100.3 degrees Fahrenheit. He said this was just a case of the common cold with a side of vomiting. It should pass soon enough, although how soon is something he doesn't know. For all we know, it could be weeks, or it could be by tomorrow." Mandy began coughing into the crook of her elbow right then, seemingly looking more ill with each cough -- or perhaps it was Olive's mind playing tricks on her. She couldn't tell. Instinctively, the Director made her way to Mandy's bedside and shot her an empathetic look. "Hi, Mandy. You feeling okay?" A soft moan and a head shake was her only response. "Ohh, I know. But maybe if you get some sleep, it'll help you recover. How about it?" Another soft moan. Olive sighed and glanced at Peaches. "I guess her being sick leaves her unable to help out with Santa this year. Really a shame, too...she's been talking about it nonstop all month." Her face lit up with an idea. "Have you tried anti-nausea medication?" "Yes. She threw it up. Doesn't seem like she can keep water down yet." Olive's gaze flicked to a fridge that sat next to Mandy's nightstand. Curiously, she made her way over and opened it, where she was met with bags of ice. "That's for her forehead. I haven't been able to put a bag on her because she keeps throwing up." Peaches trailed off upon seeing Mandy grab the bucket and lean over it, mouth open and waiting for the next round of vomit to come. The two girls held their breath for forever. Nothing came. Except the loud sound of a stomach growling, followed by another soft and rather pitiful moan. "You're hungry?" Olive asked, a soft sigh leaving her. "I'm sure you are. But if you can't keep water down, you shouldn't be eating a whole bunch of food." Peaches nodded in agreement. "Peaches, go up to Dr. O's office and get some anti-nausea medication. Whatever works, but preferably one with the strongest dose possible. If she doesn't have anything left in her, it might work this time." The catgirl nodded and quickly sped out of the room. Mandy began to sneeze, and she used the crook of her elbow once more in order to prevent any of her germs from reaching Olive and making her sick. "Bless you." Olive said, before reaching a hand behind her back in search of something. It didn't take her long for her to come up with a dark bottle of Shmumber's Sleep Aid. Mandy squinted at the label as she read it, then forcefully pushed the bottle away. "Ap ap ap. Don't fight back. You're taking this whether you like it or not." Olive waved a finger. "You don't want to go to sleep because you don't want to miss out on helping Santa Claus this year. Do I have that right?" Mandy's mouth pinched inwards like she wanted to protest, but whatever energy she had to speak had been sapped out of her long ago, and so, she put on a resigned expression and nodded. "Thought so." Olive smiled. "Don't worry about a thing. Twilight and the others have things covered this year. You should stay here and rest." Another moan. "There's always next year! You can help out then." Olive said. "You don't have to help Santa every year. I know he likes seeing you, but I'm sure he won't mind if we tell him you fell ill and had to stay home and rest." Her expression brightened again. "Besides...if you rest now, Christmas will come so much faster." Despite Olive's attempt to push her to rest, Mandy wasn't having it. She swiveled her body away from Olive and crossed her arms, a dissatisfied grunt bubbling forth. "You don't want Christmas to come faster?" Olive blinked. "That's a first. Usually you try, and you fail, to pull all-nighters and then dive for your presents first thing in the morning at exactly 6:00. I know being sick doesn't really allow you to do that...not unless you're an utter fool..." She rolled her eyes as she thought of Otto and how he would probably do exactly that. "But think about it. You love Christmas. You love sleeping. This is the perfect opportunity for you." "Olive?" Olive's head moved towards the door, where Oprah entered with a worried look on her face. "How's Mandy?" "She's...well..." Olive twiddled her thumbs. "P-put it this way, Oprah. She's stopped vomiting." "Oh praise be." Oprah ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I was afraid she was going to vomit up her large intestine sooner or later." "...Why the large intestine?" "Trust me. You do not want to know." She was right -- Olive had no interest in knowing any more details, and took Oprah's answer at complete face value. She cleared her throat. "Um, anyway...Peaches is getting some anti-nausea medication for Mandy now. I told Mandy she should rest, but it doesn't seem like she's willing to do that...not since she'll be missing out on helping Santa this year." "I already called and explained the situation. He told me to give Mandy his well wishes and to get better soon." Oprah pulled a bag of coins from her hammerspace spine. "I didn't know the North Pole even had a well. News to me." Olive stared as her old boss dropped the bag on the sewing table, regretting not seeing that literal metaphor coming. "I'm back!" Peaches announced, holding up a small bottle. "This is about the strongest medication Dr. O has. If this doesn't work on Mandy then I don't know what we're gonna do." Reading the dosage instructions, she followed them to a T, and soon had a tablespoon of the medication ready to give to her cousin. Unfortunately, she knew all too well how catpeople felt about medication, and so it didn't surprise her too much when Mandy began squirming and turning her head away. Luckily, she had a tactic up her sleeve. "Mandy, Olive will die if you don't take this medication. She has a deadly illness and will die within the next 24 hours- aaaaand gotcha!" The hybrid began coughing, making a mad grab for the glass of water next to her but not being able to lift it due to her magic being shot as a result of her affliction. Peaches gave it to her, and she began chugging it. "Peaches..." "What? Look, I didn't want to force her to take it, but we catpeople are notorious for despising taking medication. Myself included..." Peaches rubbed the back of her neck. "Saying that you're dying was the only way for her to open her mouth long enough. I'm sorry." Olive sighed. "Well, whatever works." She held out her bottle of sleep aid. "This one next, if you please." Peaches examined the bottle. "'Shmumber's Sleep Aid'? Why does she need that?" "She refuses to go to sleep. This is what I used to give to her all the time when she had fits of insomnia prior to the transformation. Worked like a charm every single time." Olive placed the bottle in the catgirl's hands. "Just try it out!" A sneeze from Mandy caught everyone's attention, and the hybrid reached for another tissue as she blew her nose into it. Peaches looked her cousin up and down, and it was then that she noticed how puffy and bloodshot her eyes looked. She needed sleep, and the eyes were one of the main selling points. "All right. Stand back and watch me work my magic." Not a minute later, and Peaches had a teaspoon of Sleep Aid ready. She had to invent a different story about herself dying, but she got Mandy to take that tablespoon, and then another one. "Now, lay your head down on the pillow and let me get you some ice. For Pete's sake, I did not spend fifteen minutes hauling a mini-fridge of ice into your room just to let it go unused." Peaches gently pushed Mandy's upper body downwards, her expression becoming one of surprise when the hybrid willingly complied instead of fighting back. Oprah had a bag of ice already in her hand by the time Peaches turned around. "Thank you." the catgirl said, before laying the bag of ice down on Mandy's forehead and straightening it out. Ragged wheezing breaths left the hybrid as her eyes slowly began to close. "Whoa, that was quick." "Well, she's transformed now. The Sleep Aid probably affects her differently." Olive made her way over to Mandy and lightly patted her shoulder as an alternative to a kiss on the cheek, pulling the blankets up and over her. "You have sweet dreams, okay, Mandy? Get better soon." It was both weird and unsurprising to see Mandy not snore, instead having her mouth open to allow airflow while slightly wheezing. Still, she was fast asleep now, and that was all that mattered. "S-she's not gonna puke in her sleep, is she?" Peaches asked, taking a few tentative steps away. "No." Oprah asked, her nose wrinkling. "Mandy doesn't do that stuff. The anti-nausea medication should start working any minute now. Let's just leave her be and let her get some rest." To that, Olive and Peaches gave nods of agreement, and the three girls began exiting Mandy's room. Peaches gave one last worried look at Mandy, her frown morphing into a smile as she closed the door behind her. Unfortunately, sweet dreams weren't necessarily on the agenda for Mandy. Not this time. "Sensei, the answer is six!" Blue eyes struggled to adjust to the light as Mandy awoke with another one of her typical non-sequiturs. Her jaws parted and a yawn slipped through, followed by a few sniffs. Her eyes widened as she continued to sniff, making a surprising discovery. "Hey...I don't feel so stuffed up anymore! And I feel fine now!" She took a deep breath. "It feels so good to not feel like you're dying." Sneezing from outside of her room caught her attention. Three of them in rapid succession, and none of them hers, thank odd. Or so she thought. "Gesundheit!" she chirped. Another sneeze. "Wow, I haven't heard this much sneezing since the last time Peaches had a sneezing marathon." she mused. "Better go see what's up." She hopped out of bed and made her way out the door. It didn't take her long before an agent looking quite worse for wear passed her, tissue in hand. "Ethcuthe me." "Sure!" Mandy tilted her head. "Uh, hey, you all right?" The agent blew her nose. "I'm fine." Mandy blinked and watched her move away. "Uh-huh." she said, not sounding at all convinced but deciding to roll with it. "Well it's that time of year, everyone gets colds, common thing. I'd better check on the others." As she wandered the halls, she was met with a rather ominous sight -- agents leaned up against walls, some sitting on the floor, all of them looking terrible as they were armed with tissues that they blew snot into like nobody's business. The more of these agents she saw, the more confused she got. She wasn't sure if this was some prank everyone was playing, or if she was just imagining things. A bump into something hard knocked her out of her thoughts, and she took a few steps backwards. "Oof! S-so sorry, I wasn't watching-" "Mandy, you're finally all better." It took a few moments for Mandy to register what, exactly, she had bumped into. She took in the sight of none other than her boss, with her nose red, her eyes looking puffy, and her legs shaking. Her dark skin had paled a very considerable amount, and her tight bun had come completely undone so her long dark hair fell in light waves. "Oprah?!" Mandy shook her head. "Y-you're sick too?!" "Unfortunately yeth." "You should be at home resting, ya know! I can take care of things here." Mandy's eyes caught Olive and Otto approaching her next. Neither of them were looking as sickly as Oprah was, but they had all the telltale outwardly physical signs of someone who was battling a cold. Like the other agents, they too were armed with tissues. "Mandy! Tho nithe to thee you up and at it." Olive smiled, before a round of coughing made its way forth. "Partner, we have to get back to that meeting with Oprah, remember?" Otto said, blowing his nose into his tissue before quickly reaching in his hammerspace spine for a tissue box. "Yeah, yeah, I remember." Mandy's eyes went wide with shock. Sure, maybe the agents she saw were sick just by mere coincidence. But if Oprah was sick, it was an immediate cause for concern, and it was her appearance that made the hybrid less confident that this was just a mere prank. No...she was the one that was sick. And even though she wasn't in a state of wellness, she still recognized the agents who had taken care of her and what they said to her. "Wh- all of you, sick..." She stared for a few moments, watching as Oprah shifted her feet as though she was set to collapse. "S-surely I didn't get you sick...there's no possible way my cold can infect all the agents of this precinct..." She swallowed the small lump in her throat. "Can it?" "Aww, don't worry. We'll be fine. Dr. O checked uth all out and he thaid we were only at 99 and 100 degreeth." Olive waved a dismissive hand. "That's not a normal temperature." Mandy deadpanned. "Besides, Momma, you're the one who gave me flak for not resting and gave me a sleep aid! Don't be so hypocritical. Go home and rest." "If we go home, there'll be no one to run the prethi-" Another wave of coughing interrupted Olive. This time, however, the coughing was more violent in nature, to the point where the Director had to stumble to the closest wall to steady herself as she hacked away. "That's bad. That's 'I have lung boogers' bad. No one wants lung boogers!" Mandy peeked past the trio and was both surprised and not so surprised to see agents coughing, sneezing and sniffling away. It was like those 'chickenpox parties' she read about once on the Internet, where parents got their kids together to try and share chickenpox to achieve herd immunity -- only this was the common cold, herd immunity was certainly not the goal, and it almost looked like agents were meeting intentionally. "Wha...is everyone in this precinct sick?" "Yeth. What about it?" Mandy groaned in response to Oprah's question, pushing past her and emerging into the bullpen. "HEY EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!" No response. Not even a head-turn. "LISTEN UP!!" Still no response. "Oh for the love of..." Mandy thrust a hand behind her back and pulled out a megaphone that, if stood vertically, would match her height to a T. She planted it onto the ground, gathered enough air into her lungs, and screamed, not even flinching at the whining feedback noise she got. "EVERYONE GO HOME AND DO THE RIGHT THING!!" The cry blew a few papers around and caused Olive, Otto and Oprah to cover their ears, but otherwise had no effect on the sick agents, as everyone kept milling about. "GO HOME AND GET SOME RE-" Now it was Mandy's turn to cough. "Ah, geezaloo, forget it. They're like walking zombies." She threw the megaphone off into the distance to some unknown location, and made a mad dash for Olive and Otto. More specifically, she made a mad dash for the collars of their suits. "You two are coming with me!" she declared, beginning to drag the duo across the halls like they were nothing more than blankets. The fact that they seemed to be as light as air didn't faze Mandy in the slightest -- she had bigger priorities on her mind at the moment. She didn't really know where she was going with them. All she saw was a bed on a door, and that was it. She kicked open the door and threw the Directors into their own separate beds. "And you are staying in bed!" "Mandy, we're fine." "Can it with the hypocrisy!" Mandy snapped in response to Olive. "Now what was that stuff you put in my mouth...it was small, brown..." The next thing Olive knew, she had a hand rummaging through her hammerspace spine. "What-" "Gimme a sec, I'm rummygauging." Mandy shushed, squinting as she continued to search for the small brown item she was looking for. Otto's eyes widened as he heard the sound of loud crashing, followed by a cat yowling. Olive, on the other hand, couldn't help but snicker and squirm about. "That tickleth!" "Aha! Got it!" The item in question was Shmumber's Sleep Aid, in its ever-familiar brown bottle. "Nice to see my magic still works." Mandy said, eyeing the bottle that was caught in a multicolored field of levitation. Within seconds, she had conjured up two teaspoons and poured a little bit of the bottle's contents in each. "Now open your mouths." "But why- mmph." "How- mmph!" "Drink up. If it can send me to Dreamland, then it can work for you too." The teaspoons were teleported out of existence, and Mandy watched as Olive and Otto struggled with swallowing their sips before launching into a fit of coughing. And there's revenge for making me drink that stuff! she thought, as a smirk settled on her face. "Now, you should be knocked out shortly. I'm gonna go and see if there's anyone around here who isn't sick in this crazy fever dream." Sighing, Mandy left the Bedroom, not bothering to look back to make sure if Olive and Otto were staying in bed but deciding to place a magical lock on the door to prevent their escapes. "If only I could find the ponies...or Peaches. I wonder where they are." she mused aloud as she made her way to the bullpen. Part of her wanted to find Oprah and hurl her in the same room with Olive and Otto, but she figured the Director was long gone by now and didn't want to invoke her wrath. It didn't take her long to find Pinkie wandering about, holding up a tissue to her nose and squeezing her eyes shut. "Pinkie!" Mandy called. "Oh, thank odd, there you are. A-are you...sick?" "What doeth it look like?!" snapped the pink pony in response, her tone a level of anger that was hardly ever witnessed. Before Mandy could respond, the rest of the girls marched up to her, armed with tissues like all the others, with red noses, puffy eyes, and matted manes and tails. And none of them looked all too happy to see their friend. "Oh no." "You did thith to uth!" Applejack accused, thrusting a hoof towards the hybrid. "M-me?! What did I do?!" Pinkie joined the others. "You got that cold and you dethided to thpread your dithguthting germth to everyone here! And now they're all thick!" It was all too clear to Mandy now. As she heard the sound of vomiting coming from somewhere she couldn't identify, memories began to flood her brain -- memories of her stark refusal to go to bed and rest until she vomited all over the floor and was resigned to making the bathroom her home-not-so-far-away-from-home. The truth was, she was already starting to feel sick the day before, but didn't tell anyone and didn't keep it hidden because she certainly wasn't going to pass up a year to help out Santa Claus with his gifts and with oddness that affected him, his elves, or his workshop. "I...I did this?" "You motht thertainly did!" Rarity cried out, before letting out a sneeze into her tissue. Fluttershy was arguably in the worst state out of the group, her legs wobbling the same way Oprah's were, with her wings splayed out and nearly touching the ground.. "I...can barely...thtand!" Mandy could only stare and stammer. "The Big O ith coming by to thay thomething about the outbreak. And you better be there!" Rainbow said, shooting daggers at Mandy. "What?!" The hybrid took a step back in surprise. "I-is this really that bad? I-I mean it's just a little cold-" "It'th more than jutht a little cold." Twilight, on the contrary, stepped forward. "You put my friendth in danger! No...you put everyone in danger!" "T-Twi, there is no possible way my cold infected hundreds of agents in one-" The steel automatic double-doors opened with a loud whooshing sound, causing everyone's attention to be turned towards the newest arrival, one they were expecting. "The Big O!" came the unisonant but congested cry. Relieved murmurs followed suit as agents kneeled down in the typical greeting pose, and Mandy couldn't help but give a relieved huff herself as she made her way over with the ponies and got down in the same pose. Yes! The Big O will clear all of this up, for sure. If no one will believe me, she has to! "Please rise!" came the call, and almost immediately, agents began getting to their feet. However, many were slow to do so, and some even collapsed onto the floor and had to try again. "I have gotten wind that this precinct is going through an epidemic of the common cold, and-" The Big O took pause for a moment to let her gaze sweep over the gathered agents. "Odd. I expected a larger crowd." "Motht of the agenth who aren't in Invethtigation are gone, ma'am." Oprah piped up, two agents flanking her on both sides and struggling to keep her standing. "Gone? Where to?" "Toronto General." "The hospital?! For colds?" Mandy asked, her eyes growing wide as she ignored Oprah's coughing. "A lot of the coldth have developed into the flu." The flu...that would explain why I heard vomiting earlier. But I don't have the flu...unless I missed something. Mandy's head began to hurt, and she instinctively rubbed it in a futile effort to dull the pain. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that." the Big O said. "I also heard the catgirl that's staying with you, Peaches...she is suffering from pneumonia?" "Yeth." Oprah conjured up another tissue from her hammerspace spine and blew her nose into it. "Thee's been thick with pneumonia for a few dayth now." Mandy's gaze drifted towards her boss's wobbling legs, which seemed to be wobbling even harder than they were before. Oprah can barely stand. Why is she pushing herself like this? Suddenly, she began to regret not taking Oprah with her and forcing her to rest. Even if she got angry at her, it was better than her becoming even sicker. Mandy would have been willing to take that chance. Still, it wasn't like she could do it now, and so, she was forced to put the action as a mental sticky note in the back of her brain. And then, what Oprah had said hit her with all the brunt force it had. "PEACHES!!" came the worried cry, as she spread her wings and quickly flew up to the Medical Bay. Within seconds, she had thrown open the door and laid eyes on the weakened state of her cousin. Wires streamed from her body to a computer that sat beside her bed and showed her vitals. Her breathing was ragged but slow. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be in a state of sleep, even though Mandy knew that it was far more than just a state of sleep. The hybrid began to hyperventilate right then and there. Her heart beat a million miles an hour. "CUZ!! No!!" she cried out, before throwing herself at her bedside. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she clenched her fist. "Don't die on me! Don't!!" she screamed, before launching into a fit of sobs. "Y-you can't! I'm...I'm not..." Whatever English skills Mandy might have had were non-existent by that point. I can't believe it...I caused everyone to get sick here. Everyone including my own cousin. I'm Patient Zero. Patient Zero...it sounded so ominous, when she thought about it. The one who started it all, the one who would probably be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of agents, and all because she was too oppositional to make room for common sense. Down in the bullpen, the discussion continued. "So, I'd like to ask all of you. Do any of you know exactly who started this epidemic?" Silence met the Big O's question. "Anyone?" Confident hoofsteps made their way forward, one pink pony guiding her winged friend as they both wore steely looks. "Agent Mandy." The Big O glanced at Pinkie and Fluttershy, and tilted her head slightly. "Mandy?" "Mandy wath the one who got thick inithially." Twilight explained. "But thee dethided to puth through tho thee could thee Thanta." She raised a hoof. "By the way, Big O, it'th worth noting that Thanta himthelf ith also thick with a cold. Lloyd, hith right-hand elf, called and confirmed it himthelf. And Mandy did vithit him a couple dayth ago." "I see." was the Big O's response, as she gave a nod and digested the information. Her head swiveled towards the Medical Bay, and her eyes slowly opened. "Agent Mandy! By order of the Big O, I order you to come down here this instant!" Mandy perked up. A feeling of dread sat in the pit of her stomach, which only served to add to her anxiety. Still, she maintained a small shred of confidence that she would dig her way out of this sticky situation. And she held onto hope that her cousin would make it through her illness and come out alive. "Stay strong, cuz. Please do it for me." she murmured, planting a kiss on the catgirl's forehead before leaving the Medical Bay and soaring back down to the bullpen. "You called me, Big O?" "Yes. These agents here seem to be in agreement that you caused this epidemic." It was one thing for Twilight and the other ponies to accuse her of getting everyone sick. It was another thing entirely for everyone else to accuse her of the same thing. Worst part was, they had factual evidence to back them up, assuming they knew of what Mandy did prior to her getting sick. "No!" she cried, before shaking her head. "I-I mean yes! I mean-" "Silence!" The resounding cry nearly knocked Mandy off of her feet. "Mandy, you have proven yourself time and time again to be a valuable asset to Odd Squad. Because of this, I will allow you to testify before these agents here and now." Normally, Mandy would have made a quip on how this felt a lot like a court trial where she was the defendant and everyone was the plaintiffs. But the cold and icy aura that radiated from the Big O had finally gotten to her, and she refrained. "And...what happens if I...?" "Then you will be fired." Mandy's iris and sclera shrunk considerably. Sure, the punishment was fitting, especially if some agent happened to die as a result of her stupidity...but that didn't mean the Big O being willing to fire her wouldn't shock her. Her gaze swept across the crowd of small, upset, and very very sick agents. One thing became apparent in her mind right then and there. This is it. Everything rides on my testimony. If they don't believe me, my career's gonna end. I have to pick my words right! Slowly, she made her way to where the Big O had been standing, the glorious leader herself moving back and allowing her agent to take center stage. "U-um..." Mandy tugged at her collar. "First of all, I'd like to give my condolences to everyone. I hope you all feel better soon." Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and absolutely none of them were murmurs of intrigue or happiness...or any positive emotion, really. To Mandy, that certainly wasn't a good sign. "Heh. Tough crowd." she said, clearing her throat. "I-I know you might all be thinking that I was reckless and pushed myself too hard. And...you'd be right. I did." The murmurs died down. "I wanted to participate in helping Santa Claus this year so badly that I didn't listen to my body when I first started feeling sick. I didn't look out for my own health, nor did I look out for the health of others. I kept on pushing myself, and in the process...I infected tons of other agents." Mandy sighed. "What I did wasn't right. I should have gotten rest..." Her voice began to crack. "And because of it, now my cousin is suffering from pneumonia and about to die...!" By the time the tears came, it was clear that the anxiety got to her too much for her own good. She broke down, burying her face in her hands and sobbing. Her career was on the line, her cousin was about to die...it was almost like a nightmare that had come true. She wanted so badly to run away right then and there, but the little sliver of hope that lived on inside of her stopped her from doing so. And besides, she would have gotten in bigger trouble with the Big O if she ran, anyway. "I've infected all of you!" came the horrid realization, followed by a screeching and anguished wail as she slumped to the ground. "What ith going on?!" "What'th that noith?" Olive and Otto's arrivals did absolutely nothing to deter Mandy. She didn't feel like asking herself why the Sleep Aid didn't work, or how they escaped, or why they were still sick -- she had bigger issues. "I'm sorry!! I'm sorry..." She sniffled. "I know that what I did isn't reversible. But...I'd like to remedy this however I can. You name it, and I'll do it. J-just...please...don't be mad at me. It was never my intention to infect this place." With that, the testimony ground to a halt and ended. All the crowd could do was stare at Mandy sobbing her eyes out, although none of them wore looks of sympathy. Especially not the ponies. "You thure about that?" Mandy looked up, her gaze settling on Rainbow. Pinkie followed up with a bout of bitter and mirthless laughter. "You know, you're not muth of a comedian, Mandy. Do you really think..." She coughed. "...that thaying a few thimple wordth ith gonna make all thith go away?" "I think we would all be better off without you." Fluttershy chimed in, just before she sneezed and crumpled to the ground. "Your thilly little thpeeth didn't thange a thingle thing!" Rarity huffed. Like Fluttershy, she too punctuated her words with a sneeze that was in no way ladylike. "And now, you're payin' the prith. In karma." Applejack said, her green eyes piercing Mandy in a way that she had never seen in the farm pony before. Her breathing became slow and heavy. Twilight turned around. "Agenth of Prethinct 13579, wouldn't you agree?" A pause followed her question. And then, concerned murmurs, much to Mandy's chagrin. "My friendth are all correct." Twilight remarked, turning back towards Mandy. "You have proved, in thpectacular fathion, why the prethinct doethn't need you. Why Odd Thquad doethn't need you." The sick alicorn tentatively stepped towards Mandy. "'I'd like to remedy thith by doing whatever I can'? What a boring lackluthter thtatement. What maketh uth inclined to believe you?" "Twi!" Mandy cried out. "No, you have to understand! My words are honest!" A snort was her only response. "Well, the agents here have made their decision." The Big O sighed. "I'm sorry, Mandy. I have no choice but to fire you from Odd Squad. Hand in your badge." "But-" Mandy glanced from the Big O, to the crowd, and back again. It was made clear to her now that in this crapsaccharine world, absolutely no one was on her side. Her testimony had fallen on deaf ears, and she knew it. Essentially, losing her job meant that she was homeless too, but she didn't pay much attention to that fact. Heaving a sigh, she unclipped her badge and placed it in the Big O's outstretched hand, the tears falling harder now. "Now, stand on the seal, if you will." Like a programmed robot, she did as she was told, placing her feet smack-dab into the center of the seal and awaiting whatever further punishment the Big O had for her. It was then that the agent who once led her put on a wicked smile, something entirely unprecedented for her that was best suited for her predecessor. "Au revoir, Patient Zero." A lever that wasn't there before suddenly made itself known, and as the Big O yanked it backwards, the seal opened up within a second. Unable to catch her fall in time, Mandy was sent plummeting down into...well, it should have been the Dinosaur Room, but it seemed more like a bottomless pit, now. She let out a scream -- a scream of fear for where she was going to land, a scream of worry for her cousin on life support and stricken with pneumonia, and a scream of sadness for her friends who weren't so keen on forgiving her for her mistake. A mistake that, granted, could end in mass murder. Finally, something clicked in her brain, and she flapped her wings to gain lift. Unfortunately, they didn't do much of anything, and she was still falling at a breakneck pace. "Not even my wings are of any use he-" Harsh impact with the ground cut her sentence short. The wind was completely knocked out of her lungs as she landed on her back. She hacked and wheezed in an effort to scramble for air, but as she did so, her ears caught the sound of another person doing the same thing. It was Oprah. Coughing and wheezing, lying flat on her stomach, surrounded by agents who all expressed their concerns for her. Somehow, she managed to look worse than the last time Mandy saw her. Something clicked in her brain. I'm...back where I was before. She took in a big gulp of air and rose to her feet. "Oprah!" "Stay away from her, agent!" Something hard and lengthy slammed into Mandy's chest, and the next thing she knew, she was sent hurtling towards the steel double-doors, a loud slam marking her body's full impact with them. She slumped to the floor and became dizzified, eyes spinning around in their sockets as she saw dancing jackalopes circling her head. "Say whatcha will about the Big O...she sure knows how to leave a good impression on doors..." "There'th no pulthe." Fluttershy's soft but defeated voice snapped Mandy out of her stupor right quick. She shook her head and began to take in the sight that laid before her. Oprah laid deathly still. There's no pulse. There's no pulse. Oh odd, she's... "NO!! OPRAH!!" came the horrified scream, tears springing forth and beginning their descent down Mandy's face. She didn't dare move forward, for fear of the Big O knocking her back again, and instead, she settled for a feeble outstretched hand. How the mighty had fallen. Oprah, the one whom everyone regarded as a powerhouse when it came to strength, wits and intelligence. Oprah, the one who could somehow down more sugar with her juice addiction than even Pinkie Pie consumed in the span of a single day with the sweets she made, and yet she could still function like a normal human being. Oprah, the agent who had somehow, some way, lived to be millennia old, and yet what remained was her physical appearance of a mere ten-year-old child. Her time upon the earth had been met with a swift and premature end. And it was all because of Mandy. "That doeth it." Twilight stood up and jabbed a hoof towards the shocked and grief-stricken hybrid. "Mandy killed our leader, and thee hath no regret for it!" "Please!" "Get her!" Mandy could hardly get a word in edgewise. As the small crowd began to approach her in a slow and ominous manner, her body scrambled against the doors, and she tried to open them. Try as she might to get them to budge, her attempts fell flat. Her vision became blurred as her eyes filled with thick, ugly tears. She was in too much of a state of shock to defend herself, let alone go on the offense against the angry mob. The seal opened up again, without the use of a lever this time. One by one, agents were sucked into the looming black hole that laid within it. Even the Big O couldn't resist its pull. Mandy's body was subject to the massive force. She scrabbled at the cement floor to no avail, as gravity took over. She barely had time to ask herself why the objects in the bullpen weren't getting sucked in as well, before the room shrank and shrank before her very eyes. "I'M SORRY!!" were the last words that fell from her lips before her body was once again thrown into the abyss. It wasn't too long before her body was thrown into yet another setting, and certainly not the same one. As she landed on her stomach, the sound of agents sneezing, vomiting and coughing was the first thing she noticed, and as her eyes opened, she was met with a view of a room that she had never seen before. The only thing within it were two rows of ten beds, each parallel to one another, and all of them full of what she had to assume were patients. "I'm...in a room full of sick people?" she mused, slowly getting to her feet while also glancing at the ground every so often to make sure whatever cosmic forces were controlling this entire scenario didn't drop her into another bottomless pit again. "Oh! You must be Mandy." Mandy turned around, and came face-to-face with an Odd Squad Doctor -- not the warm inviting figure of Dr. O himself, mind, but a different Doctor. She had pale-grey hair and blue eyes that looked soulless, and her skin was unnaturally pale as well. "Y-yes?" Mandy tilted her head. "Who are you?" The Doctor didn't answer that question. Her smile morphed into a frown as she looked through the papers on the clipboard she was holding, then looked at Mandy. "Mm, wait, no. Wrong patient." Mandy suddenly found herself hoisted up by the arms. Two Doctors, each of their heights easily surpassing six feet, dragged her effortlessly to the door that looked to be streaked with blood. "Wait! W-whaddya mean, wrong patient? I'm not supposed to be heeeeeeeeee-" Her body being unceremoniously tossed through the door marked the abrupt end of her sentence. With its owner screaming, it went flying backwards through the air for what seemed like hours, until it tumbled about in the snow in a cartoonish manner. Only after inadvertently turning into a wheel for several seconds did she come to a complete stop, eyes spinning around in her sockets once more and the dancing jackalopes returning to her head for an encore. "Beatzz bein' thrown into a black hole againnn..." came the dizzified response, the cold barely fazing her as she struggled to keep up with what was happening. The sound of bells tinkling brought her back to her senses, and she began to take in the new setting she had found herself in. It was nighttime, a vast, snowy landscape with Christmas lights strewn up on lampposts and hardly a building to be seen. "Wait, I recognize this place. Isn't this..." Mandy slowly stood up, brushing the snow off of her pajamas and glancing behind her. "It is!" she squealed, spotting a house with a very familiar red-and-white figure emerging from its entrance. "And there's..." Her feet began to move. They took her across the cold white snow, the glorious contrast with the dark night. She didn't care whether Santa was going to pummel the heck out of her or not -- it was a familiar face that was actually an inviting one in this twisted fantasy, and she was going to seize the opportunity tenfold. It was a 50/50 chance, and she was willing to take it. "Santa!" she cried out, happy tears beginning to flow down her face. Said tears only came harder when Big Red himself threw open his arms, as though anticipating the gesture to come. "Mandy! Oh-ho-ho, it is so wonderful to see you again!" Santa Claus said, taking a few steps back when Mandy plowed into him and threw her arms around him. He could already feel his suit getting wet, no doubt from all the tears Mandy was shedding, and he allowed her to cry as much as she needed to. "L-likewise!" the hybrid squeaked out, wiping away her tears and sniffling to try and clear her clogged-up nose. "It's just so good to see a warm face for once...a warm face that's actually happy to see me!" "Oh?" Santa tilted his head slightly. "Why's that?" "Well...I-I have something to, um..." Mandy bit her lip as she struggled to find the right words. A breeze suddenly swept forth, causing her tail to bush up as the rest of her body shivered. "Why don't you come inside?" Santa urged. "It's much too cold for you to be out here." Mandy nodded, eagerly taking the invitation and making her way inside. Santa took a few moments to smile at the vast sight that laid before him before he closed the door. A few minutes later, Mandy was settled in a comfy chair with a warm cup of hot cocoa. Her tail flicked to and fro as she took a huge sip, relishing the taste. She didn't realize how thirsty she was until that sip, and she eagerly drank more. "Now, young Mandy..." Santa Claus settled into the chair across from her. "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" "Well...I've unfortunately come down with a terrible cold. It's left me bedridden for a day and a half." Mandy said. "And..." "And?" Mandy ran a finger along the outside of her cup. "I realize now that this is all some crazy dream, but-" "A dream?" Santa said, a bout of soft laughter bubbling forth. "Why Mandy, this is no dream." Fear shot through Mandy like a lightning bolt. She blinked. So all the stuff I experienced...was...what...that was real? I didn't really...they're not all... One part of her told her to try and wake herself up, to go back to the real world and see if everyone was okay. Another part of her told her not to waste her energy on something so fruitless -- she could hardly control when she woke up, and her efforts would do nothing. Her mouth felt dry, and she took another sip of cocoa. "It...it isn't a dream?" "Well...yes and no." Santa made a rolling motion with his hand. "You are in a dream, right now. But you are talking to the real Santa Claus." That brought a wave of ease to Mandy -- So the nightmares weren't real? -- but it didn't last for very long. She wanted to believe Santa, but she was still worried for her friends. Her family. She wanted to make sure they were okay. "How are you..." she started to ask, before her eyes widened as she came to a realization. "Oh. Yeah. Odd Squad." Santa chuckled. "So does that mean you're fine? Y-you're not sick or anything?" "Oh, not at all. I'm perfectly healthy." Santa said, before his smile turned into a frown. "However..." "Hmm?" "I do believe that you've been pushing yourself too hard." Ahh, there it was. That little dose of reality that decided to bite Mandy right in the tush. She had realized the consequences of her actions all throughout her nightmares, but didn't really give it too much thought with all the hubbub over the Big O's meeting and everyone getting sick and all that. "Normally I'd laugh that off, but after the nightmares I've been through...I'm inclined to believe you." Mandy sighed. "It's just...you know how excited I get whenever I help you deliver gifts to kids around the world. It's a rare experience. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. But..." She fiddled with her cup again. "I just hate to miss out on this year." "And why is that?" "It's another year I get to spend with all my friends and my family." Mandy smiled. "And...I can't spend it with them if I'm bedridden. S' not like any of 'em will wanna come near me." Santa nodded slowly, hanging on to every word. A sense of warmth rose from within him, and he put on one of the warmest smiles that Mandy had ever seen. "Mandy. You are a tender and warm spirit. You are the star on top of the Christmas tree that illuminates even the darkest of nights. You bring joy to every boy and girl on the holidays." he said, his voice as soft as a cloud. "I've seen it firsthand. The way you put your own little touch on presents. It makes the children so delighted." His smile grew bigger. "You are very selfless, and that is something I admire." A blush crept into Mandy's cheeks. "W-well, I-" "I believe it's time I give back." "Give back?" Mandy blinked, struggling to understand what Santa meant by those words for only a few fleeting moments, before it finally hit her and she widened her eyes. "Santa, y-you don't have to, really!" "I insist." From behind his back, Santa pulled out a scroll and a quill. "What would you like for Christmas?" Six words. Six words that made Mandy's child-like spirit go wild. Every year, she was asked the same question, and every year, she was all too eager to answer it. Everyone who knew her well had the common knowledge that her requests ranged from the utterly fantastical -- yes, even for this world -- to the plain and easy-to-get. But that didn't mean they didn't try to spoil her rotten and give her all the gifts she could ever want. She was ever so grateful to have such loving and caring people in her life who was willing to give a "buck you" to finances and splurge for one month out of the year. Still, she knew exactly what she wanted the most. She didn't need a single second to think about it. And this time, it wasn't a material object. "I...um, well...what I want is something that can't necessarily be obtained in a single day." Santa tilted his head. "Hmm?" "I want to spend as much time with my friends and family as I can. I want them all to be happy." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out a paper. "But, uh, while you're at it, I have a list." Santa eagerly grabbed the list and read it over. A warm and kindhearted smile spread across his face. "I believe this can all be arranged." "It can?" "Of course. You just have to believe it's true, in your heart." Mandy took the time to think. She was only a child of eleven years old, a child who had many, many years of life ahead of her -- perhaps more, if she somehow found out whether she could live for millennia like Oprah could or not. The same could certainly be said for her friends and family. Even Twilight and her friends were fit and spry enough to get plenty more decades in before the cosmic forces shuffled them all off of their mortal coils. No way she got them all sick. They were fine, surely. It would take more than a simple cold, and even the flu if it got to that point, to bring them down and make them stay down. Mandy held that hope deep inside of her, and treasured it for all it was worth. For the first time since she had descended into the land of dreams, a genuine smile made its way across her face. "You must cherish the time you have with your loved ones." Santa continued. "And if you believe with your heart that they are happy, then it will come true." "That's...really nice." Mandy murmured, feeling tears spring to her eyes but fighting the urge to let loose this time around. Santa stood up with a grunt. "Now, I must be heading back to the barn. Twilight Sparkle and the others are waiting for me." "W-wait!" Santa turned around. "Thank you. For finding the time to chat with me like this. I appreciate it." "Oh-ho-ho, it's no problem at all!" Mandy rubbed her arm. "Can we maybe...exchange a hug before you go?" "Why of course." With that, Mandy threw her arms around Big Red once more, hugging him as tight as she could. She almost felt like crying again. Almost. But she held back. Too much crying would make her tired, and she didn't feel like falling asleep in a dream so she could go deeper down the rabbit hole. "Good luck!" Mandy called, as she broke away. "Thank you! And merry Christmas!" Santa responded, before heading into the cold dark outdoors. Now, it was just Mandy, alone in the house. Her gaze drifted to the fireplace, and she watched the flames of the fire burn with intensity that not even she could match with her own fiery form. "Now how do I wake up?" She blinked. "Maybe I don't?" Her desire for a drink brought her gaze towards her cup of cocoa, which had surprisingly been left unfinished. It wouldn't stay that way for long, however, as she eagerly chugged the rest of it. Now, all she had to do was wait. Surely, with the hope that swirled about in her heart, she would wake up and find out the truth that had made itself so obvious to her. Mandy's eyes opened, and her vision met utter darkness. To her complete lack of surprise, she still felt sick. Her head ached, she felt nauseous (although it was probably from hunger, now), and it still felt like she had a fever. With tremendous effort, she was able to use enough of her magic to create a small bulb of rainbow-colored light that sat at the tip of her horn, and she had herself a look around. As her gaze moved to the nightstand, she saw a glass of water, a banana, a bowl of rice, a bowl of applesauce, and two pieces of toast, all neatly arranged. Laying on the toast slices was a small note, which she eagerly took and read. Mandy, I hope you're doing better. It looked like you were having a terrible nightmare, but I didn't want to disturb you, so I left you alone. On your nightstand, you'll find key components of the BRAT diet -- bananas, rice, applesauce and toast -- that should help your tummy feel right as rain. Remember to start out with the water, to test the waters of your stomach. (I'm sorry, that was a terrible joke. But I couldn't resist.) Pinkie Pie and I are having a Christmas get-together tomorrow at 7PM, and we've invited everyone. If you get better by then, please come and stop by. It'll be at my house, over on Cypress Way. And don't worry -- I'll give you your gift there, too. Eat well, rest up, and get better soon, okay? If you need anything, Dr. O is right upstairs. - Olive Of course. Typical of Mandy's mother to lay out stuff that should be obvious, like Mandy wouldn't know where her house was or wouldn't know to drink water to make sure her stomach could handle it first. As Mandy picked up the glass of water and took a few sips, relief washed over her. She knew something, now -- both Olive and Pinkie Pie were alive, and so was Dr. O. Perhaps it was a safe bet to assume that everyone else was alive, too, but she couldn't know that for sure. Not until she saw everyone else. Her pony ears swiveled about like satellite dishes, trying to pick up on the sound of sneezing or coughing or any noise that would indicate an agent was sick. No such sound presented itself, and she heaved a sigh that morphed into a cough of her own. Deciding to set her worry aside for now as best she could and hold on to that spark of hope in her heart, she grabbed a Wolves of the Wilderness book from her bookshelf and got to reading, waiting for the water to settle and allow her to make a judgement on whether she could progress to eating solid food or not. Sure enough, the anti-nausea medication had worked its magic. Mandy had finally graduated to eating solid foods. If only someone were around to give her a diploma. She hungrily downed the toast, the rice, the applesauce and the banana like she would never see the foods ever again as long as she walked the earth. Her stomach felt full by the time she was done, and she decided to take a bath to clean herself, from her toenails all the way to the deep insides of her mind. Baths were a nice way for her to think about things, after all, and with her having already gotten good rest, she wouldn't fall asleep in the tub and risk drowning like she had done so many times before. As she went down the hall, forcing herself to keep her legs steady so they wouldn't shake as a result of the remaining sickness, she passed one or two agents who looked healthy enough. None of them were armed with tissues or buckets, just with paperwork that needed to be filed or with an odd creature that needed to be properly dealt with. That brought her further relief, and set her mind at ease that maybe, just maybe, the dreams she had were really just dreams, like Santa said they were. The warmth of the water, soft and inviting, melted away any sickly feeling she might have had. Coupled with some nice Brittany Gomez tunes from her "classical and smooth" discography era, it made for one of the best baths she had ever taken in her entire life. She wasn't sure how much time had passed between going to sleep and finishing up her bath, but the clock now read 9:00. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the warm water had made her feel sleepy again, and as soon as she got dressed in a clean set of pajamas, it was back to bed for Round 2, Shmumber's Sleep Aid and nightmares excluded. The next evening, Olive's house was about the liveliest it had ever been. A total of fourteen guests had been invited, including Olive herself and Pinkie Pie -- a small party, honoring Olive's wishes and preferences of enjoying such parties instead of ones with a ton of guests. Thirteen of the fourteen guests had already arrived. No one needed to guess who was missing. "Hey, partner." Otto said, flopping down on the couch between the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Olive with a slice of cake in his hand. "You still waiting for Mandy?" "Yeah. I haven't heard from her all day." Olive's gaze stayed fixated on the front door. "When I went to check on her this afternoon, I found her sleeping, but Dr. O insisted she was getting better..." "Don't worry. It's like you said -- Mandy never turns down a good party!" Otto took a bite out of the slice. "Yeah, but I told her it would start at 7 and it's 6:45 now!" Unbeknownst to the two of them -- or to any of the guests, really -- Mandy was, indeed, at the front door. The cold wind blew relentlessly, giving off an eerie howl that she would have been terrified of, if it weren't for how cold she was. Her entire body felt tired, especially her feet, given that walking to Olive's house from the second-nearest tube entrance that wasn't her backyard wasn't an easy thing to do. "W-w-why aren't they a-answering t-the door?!" she asked, her body shivering as she felt icicles begin to form on both sets of ears. "I-I'm g-gonna freeze m-my tail off!" As much as she wanted to look inside through the top windows of the door, she couldn't find the energy to jump up and look. What she did have energy for, though, was something she considered a last-ditch resort. At the very least, it was better than trying to get herself through a window. Through the bumping sound of the music, a loud screeching wail from the other side of the door caught the attention of more than one partygoer, Olive included. "W-what was that?" Sweetie Belle asked, lowering her bowl of Christmas Chex Mix. Olive, forgoing any sense of fear, immediately lunged for the door, having a pretty good idea of what, exactly, the sound was coming from. As she threw the door open, she took a step back as her eyes laid upon a shivering, icicle-ridden Mandy, lying on the ground and looking feebly up at the one who had opened the door. "Mandy?!" came the Director's shocked cry. "W-w-what...l-let me get you inside, quickly!" She grabbed ahold of Mandy's shoulders and effortlessly pulled her inside, Rarity closing the door from her current position in the kitchen doorway. "Can you speak?" Olive shook her head furiously, regretting asking such a rhetorical question. "No, never mind that. We need to warm you up." Immediately, Peaches rushed over with a few blankets that had been sitting on top of the couch. As Olive took off Mandy's jacket, Peaches wrapped her cousin's body in the blankets to make a "hybrid burrito", as she had called it when she had found Mandy in the same shape of her own volition some time ago. As the minutes passed, Mandy slowly stopped shivering. A sense of warmth filled her -- both as the result of the hope she still had in her heart that her friends really were all alive and well, and the blankets feeling nice and snug around her body -- and she almost felt like drifting off to sleep. "Feel better?" Olive asked. "Very." Mandy purred in response. "I'm really sorry we left you outside. You weren't waiting too long, were you?" "No. But your tube entrance is broken. Had to walk all the way here!" Olive's eyes widened. "You walked?" "It was too cold to fly. My wings were frozen solid by the time I got to your door!" Mandy looked around at the partygoers, who were all looking at her with relief. A warm smile spread across her face as her next words danced on her lips with grace. "You're all alive." "Yeah! Why wouldn't we be?" Rainbow piped up, hovering above the crowd. "Y-you're not sick!" "We're all perfectly healthy." Olive said. "Aside from the occasional runny nose or sneeze that came about as a result of the cold weather, of course." Mandy attempted to wriggle free of her burrito, with Peaches assisting her until she was out and able to stand on two feet once more. And then she lunged. In one swift move, she had pulled thirteen people, including nine ponies, in a tight hug. The coughs and cries of protest did absolutely nothing to deter her from treasuring the moment. Santa...you really weren't kidding. Everyone's alive. No one's sick. My dreams...were really just dreams all along! After a minute or so, she put everyone down, allowing them to recollect their bearings. "Jeez, what's with you?" Oprah asked, cracking her neck. "You're acting like we're dead or you're never going to see us again. Did something happen?" All she got in response was a long slow whistle and an eyeroll. "I died?!" "Well, 'died' isn't really the right word...more like 'murdered'." "Wh- how- you- are you-" "Just let it out. We got all night." Mandy had gathered everyone in the living room and told the story of her adventure through the land of dreams, including meeting Santa Claus himself. "That would explain why he told us he had to do something important right before we headed off to deliver presents." Twilight said. "If the Sleep Aid is really that powerful..." Olive twiddled her fingers. "Maaaaaybe it was a bad idea to use it. It might have altered your dreams and turned them into nightmares." "Maybe!" Mandy shrugged. "But I'm feeling much better now. I'm just glad I didn't get any of you sick!" She shuddered. "Those nightmares were awful. Especially when Peach was on life support with pneumonia..." Peaches wasn't sure how to react to that bit of information. Part of her was surprised that Mandy's mind, as complicated and crazy as it was, had concocted such a scenario, but another part of her figured that it was just "Mandy being Mandy". "But for how scary those nightmares were..." Mandy rubbed her arm. "It made me realize something. Something that should've been obvious." The group stayed silent, watching and listening. "I pushed myself too hard. All I wanted was to help Santa with Christmas, and I didn't listen to my body when it was trying to tell me I was getting sick...a whole two days ago." Oprah's eyes widened. "You were sick two days ago?" Mandy sadly nodded. "I figured I could push through it...and that ended up being a very bad idea." "That's so typical of you to say." Mandy's gaze drifted to Pinkie, who gave an eyeroll. "You always work yourself too hard! It's best to take breaks every once in a while, so you don't get burnout." Mandy couldn't deny it -- her partner was right on the money. But the stubborn part of her resurfaced. "But...but my wish! I can't spend any time with any of you if I'm just rotting away in bed!" "Put it this way, sugarcube." Applejack said. "If'n you're dead, then ya won't be able t' spend any time with us anymore." Her quip was met with silence as everyone's heads turned towards the farmpony. Her blunt honesty didn't surprise anyone, but that didn't mean it didn't sound a little rude in their eyes. "Mm, well, that..." Rarity made eye contact with Mandy again. "And you're certainly not bedridden now, darling. You don't have an ounce of sickness in you." Mandy fiddled with her shirt. Both mares made very good points, she had to admit. She wasn't in bed right now -- she was at a party, with her friends. With her family. With presents, and food, and music. With warmth filling the entire household, top to bottom. With the knowledge that she wasn't one of those people who just sat in bed all day doing nothing. Yeah...every day I go to bed knowing I worked really really hard to stop oddness! And I'm proud of it! I wouldn't trade it for anything else! Even if I didn't help Santa this year, there's always next year. Maybe it's not the end of the world if I missed a year just 'cause I got sick. As long as none of my friends and family are sick, I'm fine. She sighed and stood up. "All right, I concede. Let's put this convo to the way-wayside..." She reached behind her back and pulled out a party cannon, with cat ears embedded on the wheels. "...and get this party started already!" All she needed to do was press the purple button on top of the barrel to set the cannon off, showering confetti on everyone. The music blared throughout the lower level of the house. Some partygoers talked, while others sung and danced. Others were moreso concerned with the food than anything else. In the kitchen, Mandy had gathered with Pinkie and Fluttershy, munching on some fudge pretzels. "And then..." Fluttershy said, giggling throughout. "...Blitzen fell in the snow!" Mandy erupted into laughter, clutching her stomach as she felt its sides begin to ache. "Oh, that's rich! Wish I could've been there to see that! I would take soooooo many pictures!" Before Pinkie could chime in, Olive walked up, carrying a huge stuffed bunny with fluffy yellow fur and a pink bow around its neck. In her other hand, she held a rather large present, and was clearly struggling with both items. "H-hey!" she said, setting the items down. "I got your gifts, Mandy. Took me a while to find them in the walk-in closet, but I got 'em." Pinkie rubbed the bunny's leg. "Ooh, it's so soft!" "It has to be." Olive hugged the toy close. "It's designed for Mandy to cuddle with and sleep with. Kind of...like a cloud, but in stuffed toy form." Mandy tilted her head. She couldn't understand why Olive was giving her an animal that felt like a cloud when she could just get a cloud from the sky, but the more she looked into the animal's green eyes, the warmer she felt. "It's cute! Thank you!" she chirped. "But maybe you should put it out of the way for now, so it doesn't get dirty." "Good idea." Olive said. "Open your other gift." As with every boxed present she received on Christmas (or really, any package addressed to her in general), Mandy performed her tried-and-true analysis on what could be in this box. She levitated it closer to her and began. Hmm...lightweight, doesn't really make much noise...did Momma give me an empty box? 'Cause it sure feels like she gave me an empty box! She tore the bow off and nudged the box open. Immediately, a barrage of bright multicolored lights hit her in the face, causing her to yelp in surprise and shield her eyes. Upon closer inspection, however, she found a set of wing covers, tailored to fit over each individual feather in her wings. Each feather on the covers was colored in a color found in the rainbow, as well as those outside of the rainbow -- turquoise, pink and gray, among others, were all seen. The glowing gift was truly a spectacle to behold. "Here, let me put it on you." Olive offered, setting the toy down and getting to work applying the covers onto Mandy's wings. Once she was done, she conjured up a mirror and held it up so Mandy could see her reflection. Shimmers formed in the hybrid's eyes as she sucked in air in such a way that it sounded like a squeal. "Oh my gooooosh, it's beautiful!" "It's that, yes, but it's also wing bling!" Olive smiled. "You always complain about your wings freezing up in the cold, so Rarity and I worked together to make these wing covers for you!" Mandy chuckled. "Jeez, if only ya gave me those before I left Headquarters!" "You didn't have your badge phone on you?" Mandy shook her head. "Didn't think to bring it with me." Her face brightened. "Oh! Pickleferries, I almost forgot! Where're you keeping the presents?" "Cubby by the door." Olive took the wing covers off of Mandy and took the plush toy. "I'll stick them in-" "No! No. I'll get 'em. I've got presents for everyone in there, anyway! Hang tight!" Only a couple minutes later, and several presents gathered together in a blob moved across the living room, caught in a rainbow-colored magical aura. Olive, Pinkie and Fluttershy both watched as she moved about the room, giving gifts to everyone, before she finally came back to the kitchen. "Et voila!" she exclaimed, giving the girls their gifts. "Sorry I couldn't get you any more, Pinkie. I wanted to get a whoooooole slew of gifts for you! But I'm not exactly the richest agent in Odd Squad..." Eagerly, the trio opened their gifts. "A new soccer ball?" "A box of Dough Must Go On brownie mix?!" "A pet fountain?" Mandy eyed the confused reactions with a grin on her face, nodding eagerly. "I tried to get you all stuff you liked!" Silence fell in the room. Mandy used the noise coming from the living room to ward off her nervousness, but that didn't stop the sweat from cascading down her face nor her grin from becoming wobbly as she awaited her friends' verdict. Olive's eyes shone in a way they did back when she was a young agent-in-training. "Do you know how long I've waited for this soccer ball, Mandy?" "Yes! A whole year!" the hybrid chirped in response. "You keep talking to Otto about it, so I decided to jump the gun and get it for you!" It looked like a normal soccer ball to the untrained eye. To Olive, however, it was one of the ultimate soccer balls on the market. Perfectly inflated, suited to the Earth's gravity, had a guaranteed 90% scoring rate in games...and was also insanely expensive. Her eyes began to water. "I...I don't know what to say..." "A 'thank you' is just fine." Mandy waved a hand before her gaze drifted to Pinkie, who wore just as big of a grin on her face as her partner did. "This brownie mix...I thought they discontinued it!" Pinkie turned the box over and read the back. "And it's only sold in Equestria, not Toronto! How'd you get it?" A bout of nervous laughter left Mandy's lips. "Um, c-can we just say that I have my ways and leave it at that?" "Sure!" came the enthusiastic response, much to the hybrid's surprise. "Ohh, thank you thank you thank you! I'm gonna make the bestest brownies in the entire world with these!" Mandy caught Olive's raised eyebrow, but ignored it and shifted her gaze to Fluttershy, who was observing the fountain. "It's...nice." A frown came forth. "Just nice?" "Just...nice." "Oh, you don't like it!" Mandy shook her head. "Knew I should've gone bigger but I just didn't have enough money for anything extravagant and you know how I love pet fountains and maybe you needed one I dunno so I decided to get one for you and please look I'm so sorry I just-" A hoof to her lips stopped her rambling. "Mandy, I do like it." Fluttershy smiled. "As it just so happens, I've been considering buying one. But I haven't had the time to shop around for one." Mandy's expression immediately brightened. "Thank you. Um...would you mind telling me where you got it? In case I need to buy more?" "The Super Pet Market!" Mandy responded, levitating the three gifts she still had in her possession towards the kitchen counter. Fluttershy nodded, and moved to take the fountain back to the cubby so she could grab it on her way out. "What are those three presents?" Olive asked. "Gifts from Santa!" Olive blinked. "Where are the rest?" "This is it!" Instinctively, Olive moved to place her palm on Mandy's forehead. "No, no. You're definitely not still sick. Odd." "'Course I'm not!" Mandy got to opening her first gift. "I just didn't need that much stuff this year. Next year, I'm gonna go big!" As the hybrid dug her way into the tall box, she came out with a complete set of golf clubs tucked inside of a black caddy bag. Pinkie eyed them curiously. "Golf clubs? Since when do you golf?" "All the time! I'm even in the Hall of Fame!" Olive and Pinkie's jaws dropped as Mandy showed them a picture of her posing next to a golden plaque. "I...y-you've told me you were mini-golfing. These are regular golf clubs." Olive took out a 9-iron. "You're aware of this fact?" "Doiii, Momma." Mandy rolled her eyes. "But the place I go to is a real, actual golfing place! With rolling greens and trees and sand traps and water hazards!" "A-and when do you...when do you find the time for this?" "When you're efficient enough, more time than you'd think." As Olive looked through the caddy bag, her expression soured. "I've always wanted to take up golf..." "Now's a good of a time as any!" Mandy blinked. "Or, well, I guess not...'cuz of the cold and stuff. But you should totally ask Coach Roberts to give you lessons!" Pinkie, her curiosity getting the better of her, picked through the next box, opening it and coming out with a rainbow-colored bow around the tip of her forelock. Mandy gave a happy squeal. "Ooooh, a new hair bow!" She took the accessory in her hands and examined it. "This'll be great for the collection!" "You only have the one bow." "And who said I only have the one?" Olive stammered as she tried to come up with a retort, but found herself being resigned to giving a heavy sigh, not willing to get into a spat with Mandy over something as trivial as hair bows. Mandy tucked the small gift away in her hammerspace spine, and went for the third gift, stored in a horizontal box. She tore it open, revealing a small statue of her and the others, which was engraved with "BEST FRIENDS AND A LOVING FAMILY UNTIL THE END OF TIME" on its base. "Ooooh, a statue of all of us!" Pinkie said. "It looks so cool!" "Now there's something I can spice up my room with!" Mandy took a few more seconds to admire it, then tucked it away in her hammerspace spine. She swept up the rest of the gifts in a field of levitation and moved them over to the cubby. "All righty, gift time over! Now it's time for fun!" Mandy threw her hands up and shuffled Olive and Pinkie to the living room. "Go dance your hearts out! You deserve it!" Both girls did as they were told, without another word spoken. As Mandy watched them go, the sound of tinkling bells caught her attention, and she moved over to the glass door that led to the backyard. Her gaze shifted up to the sky, where a full moon sat, and a shadow moved across it. "Is that...?" She took a pair of binoculars out from her hammerspace spine, and smiled. "It is." For what seemed like hours, she stared up at the moon. If the weather were nicer, she would have gotten a lawn chair and sat out there and watched its mesmerizing glow all night long. But alas, she had to settle for a glass door separating her from freedom. "Thank you, Santa. Thank you so much." The words danced softly on her lips, and as soon as Santa and his reindeer were out of view, she turned her attention back to the party and began making her way to the living room, not hearing the jolly cry from up in the night sky but keeping the sentiment in her heart all the same. "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!"
S1E17: Peaches and CreamThe desk was dirty. She had a job to do. She loved cleaning, when she was able to get in the zone and become completely lost in her thoughts. Lady Luck was certainly on her side today. Figuratively speaking. With rag in telekinetic grasp, she applied it to the desk and scrubbed furiously, gritting her teeth as she poured all her strength into it. She leaned to the left and then to the right, craned her neck up and then down, and the rage she had for cleaning this one damned spot began to hit the boiling point. After her energy was spent, she panted and lifted up the rag. "YOU SON OF A MOTHER-" "Hey, cuz!" She whirled around to find Peaches entering the bullpen, clearly in better spirits and with a big smile on her face. Her nostrils flaring, the hybrid's blue eyes seemingly glowed with anger as she became fixated on the one person who had disturbed her so. "Oh, in business mode, I see." Nothing. Just eyes growing narrower. Peaches swallowed a small lump in her throat. "Is, um...this a bad time?" An indignant grumble as the hybrid resumed cleaning, putting on a new coat of hydrogen peroxide disinfectant spray and watching it soak. Peaches really wasn't sure where to go from here. She knew her cousin was an absolute time bomb right now, and that even a single puff of wind was enough for her to fly into a rage. But she didn't really know how to diffuse time bombs...let alone diffuse a living one. And then she got an idea. A hasty idea, but still an idea nonetheless. She glanced downwards at a small four-legged odd creature. Every inch of its features looked like a rather interesting, but certainly not cursed, mix of a domestic canine and a domestic feline. Long whiskers, four ears, six eyes, five tails, and an unidentifiable number of legs Peaches was scared to try and actually identify adorned its body, and it panted happily. "OUT! OUT OUT OUT! GET OOOOOOUT!" came the primal scream, as the hybrid tried once again to rub the stain clear off of her desk. Her crazed mind could have sworn the stain was actively conspiring against her, not budging so much as a single inch. "Mandy?" Peaches walked over, forcing herself to remain calm and collected. "I can get that stain out for you, if you want." Mandy swiveled her head around again, and came nose-to-nose with the creature. She blinked. It blinked back, and gave a hearty "whuff" sound for an added touch. "I don't see how that thing's fur is any better than this heavy-duty, tear-free, went-to-Mayhem-Tools-all-the-way-in-the-stinkin'-United-States-of-Utah-just-to-get, had-to-pay-$120-just-to-buy, THE-GUY-HAD-TO-GET-IT-FOR-ME-ALL-THE-WAY-ON-THE-ROOF-OF-THE-STORE, DO-I-REALLY-NEED-TO-EXPLAIN-IT-ALL-TO-YOU CLEANING RAG, PEACH." Peaches' eyes widened at Mandy's sudden cold snap. Part of her was, of course, curious about what led Mandy to go to Utah to get, of all things, a cleaning rag from a hardware store just to clean what she had to admit was a pretty sizeable stain, but one that she didn't see the harm in keeping around until cleaning day rolled around. As clean as she was, she was no obsessive neat freak. "I never said I would use its fur." she said, before reaching behind her back and producing a sterile cup filled with yellow liquid. Mandy stared, her expression twisting into confusion and incredulity. "A pee cup. You're going to use pee to clean the stain?" "Yes." Peaches produced an eyedropper next, and with careful hands, she placed the creature down on the table, popped open the cup, and gathered up some urine. "Watch and learn." The catgirl squeezed the tip of the tool and let it hover above the stain. Within minutes, the urine was taking away the stain right before the duo's very eyes. Soon, all that stood was the bright red of Mandy's desk. Mandy's jaw dropped. Her gaze went from the creature to the desk to the rag and back again, as her eye began to twitch. An entangled mess of sounds were produced by her vocal cords and shunted forth into the world for everyone to hear. "Surprised?" Peaches chuckled. "This creature's pee can clean any stain on Earth. I found that out when she peed on a man's shoe, and it actually took off some coffee he had spilled on it." That. Is honestly. The most disgusting thing I have ever heard. But look at what it did! You've been trying to get rid of that stain for weeks, and all you had to do was have this odd creature piddle on it! Now it's gone, Oprah won't yell at you for it, and... And... Oh my odd... "I wasted $120 for nothing." Mandy slumped to the ground. The odd creature leapt down from the desk and immediately began licking her arm, to no avail as she adopted a dead look in her eyes. "120? In Jackalope Dollars? Yikes." Peaches winced. "And you used it too...guessing the return policy doesn't allow used rags to be returned, huh?" No response. Peaches expected flies to appear and begin buzzing over Mandy's dead corpse any minute now. She could have sworn she saw the girl pale just a little. "Aw, pickleferries. I got shuffled off the ol' mortal coil, huh?" The catgirl whirled around so quickly that her head would have nearly flown off of her body if she had moved it any faster. Standing behind her was another Mandy, who looked completely normal in every aspect. Any rage or shock she had before was utterly nonexistent. She moved over to her desk and examined it. "Oooh, cool, she got the stain out! Thank odd, 'cuz I've been tryna do that forever and ever and ever and it just would not come out!" Mandy giggle-snorted. "Now Oprah won't have my head for dinner tonight! She can have that Salineburied Steak frozen dinner in her fridge!" "How...what...how did- who is this?!" Peaches yowled, gesturing to the slumped-over Mandy clone that her supposed pet was now sniffing. "A clone." Mandy waved a hand, and winced. "I'll admit, I'm not at my usual strength today, so I got a clone to help me out with removing the stain. I've already tried doing it myself." "But timetastrophe rules-" "Do not apply to clones." Mandy wagged a finger. "They apply to alternate selves, cuz. Not to clones. I had to bend the rules of reality to make that one happen. Twenty looong, aching years and many messups 'cuz for some reason I had no hands and it's really hard to do things without 'em..." It was then that the hybrid turned around, and noticed exactly what was sniffing her supposed clone. Her expression probably broke at least one world record somewhere in the Odd Squad Book of World Records. "OOOOOOMIIIIIGOOOOOODNESS!" she squealed. The sound of glass breaking did nothing to deter her attention, and she threw herself to the floor to pick up the odd creature. "Lookitchu! Who's a cutie-patootie-woohooey? You are! Yes, you are!" Peaches violently shook her head, regretting having forgotten her lesson of "don't question 95% of what Mandy does". It was a lesson she had learned many times over, but yet, Mandy continued to invent new gags from out of nothing and she was still surprised at every single one of them to some extent or another. She smiled. "I named it Cream. I don't know what species of odd creature it is yet. Haven't had the time to go to Ocean and Fluttershy to have it examined." "I love this world." Mandy grinned. "'Cuz in this world, you can clone a dog and a cat and get a really really great result from it, instead of having it be some weird mushied-up thingie that looks ugly!" "And, uh...what other worlds are there?" Mandy suddenly grew shifty. "N-nothing!" she chirped. "There are no other worlds outside this fic. Absolutely none. Nada." Cream hopped up onto Mandy's lap right then, giving off sounds that were a sort of cacophonic blend between a high-pitched bark and a meow. "I'm...sorry, I don't speak your language." Mandy tilted her head and stared up at Peaches. "Translation, please?" "She says she wants to get to know you more." Peaches grinned. "She really has taken a liking to you." "Jeez, that might be a new record. 'Fastest Mandy-Likeness Conversion Rate'...nah, doesn't have a good ring to it." Mandy lifted the creature up. "Sooooooo is she your pet or something?" "It...um...y-you could say that...but a catgirl who can turn into a cat owning an odd creature as a pet seems a little awkward, don't you think?" Peaches scratched the back of her neck, wincing when her claws inadvertently came out and she nearly gave herself deeper wounds than what was needed. "It's more of a companion." "Mm." Mandy's mouth pinched inwards. "And how do you know it's a she?" Peaches simply shrugged in response to that question. "Well, whatever it is," Mandy blinked. "Please don't ask me to babysit it again. It's too soon after the whole Natsu thing, I-I really just can't." "Really? You sure? I could really use some help with taking care of it." "No." Mandy swiveled her head around. "Read my lips, cuz. N. O." "I-" Mandy conjured up a permanent marker and scribbled the two letters on her lips. "Read 'em again." Peaches groaned. "N-O. No." "Better." The hybrid took a baby wipe from the container on her desk and wiped her lips off before the marker could really settle in. Lucky for her that she had used the kind of permanent marker where the word "permanent" was nothing more than a cheap and scummy advertising tactic. She took the wipe, threw it in the trash, set Cream down onto the floor, and began to make her way down the right hallway. "Where are you going?" "To take a nap." Mandy's eyes were half-lidded, now. "Makin' a clone that's got more strength than you's not easy." A yawn slipped out of her. "Good 'noon." "Good...'noon...?" Peaches' brow furrowed. Far be it from her to question Mandy's English skills, but as confused as she was, maybe she had a point with this new term. It was the same way Olive and Otto conversed about why winter wasn't also called "fall" because of snowflakes falling from the sky, only at least Mandy's logic in finding a balance between "have a good rest of your morning" and "good night" made some sense. She glanced at Cream, who began panting eagerly. "You wanna go for a walk, huh?" Peaches said. "Well, all right. I wouldn't mind another round through the park. Come on." With that, catgirl and her pe- er, companion were out the steel double-doors. "Cream, wait! Stop running away from me!" Peaches, tired and mere minutes from falling on the ground and staying there, rounded another corner. Cream very nearly left her sight by the time she did, no thanks to her massive advantage in sheer legpower. Had she and Peaches not gone for another walk, the catgirl would have been able to catch her easily. As Peaches soared down another hallway, her eyes caught Cream suddenly go through Mandy's bedroom door like it was nothing. Her jaw dropped. "Y-you can phase through doors?!" she cried out, coming to a stop in front of the door and leaning down to take a couple gulps of desperately-needed air. Something unintelligible wheezed its way out of her -- perhaps it was the dread of what was to come that spurred the emotion of fear within her. Once she had steeled herself, she opened the door, and gazed upon the sight that laid before her. Cream was giving soft whuffs at a Mandy who was deep in the thralls of a dream and had a whole entire corner of her pillow stuffed into her mouth, completely drooled on and in the process of being chewed. The whuffs grew louder in volume with every second that passed. "Cream, what are you doing?" Peaches hissed through her teeth. "Mandy's asleep right now, she can't play with you!" Cream responded by jumping up onto the bed and giving plaintive mewls as she nuzzled Mandy's arm. This, of course, did absolutely nothing to stir the hybrid away from whatever food-induced dream or acid reflux nightmare she was having. "I'm sorry. But Mandy's next to impossible to wake up, and she needs her sleep!" Peaches made her way over and picked up Cream. "Trust me, she's not gonna wake up for a while." Mandy's mouth let go of the pillow right then and there with a "mah" sort of sound. She hugged it tight against her body, her feet kicking wildly as she let out her usual, how-to-level-an-entire-one-hundred-story-building-without-even-trying snores. Cream observed this rather strange occurrence, then dove into Mandy's tail and settled in, promptly making it her new bed. "You...want to stay with Mandy?" A couple yap-mews. Now it was Peaches' turn to get flashbacks to Mandy's time with Natsu. How it had slept with her, only to observe her and use her love of sleeping against her. She had to admit, she couldn't shake the possibility that Cream would potentially do the same. But surely she wouldn't maul Mandy or anything, right? She's been nothing but sweet since I've found her. And Mandy would stop her if she did try to hurt her. I know I promised Mandy she wouldn't have to babysit her, but...I have to keep looking for the culprit and I don't know how good this creature is at tracking. Forcing herself to retain her optimism, Peaches chuckled. "All right, if that's what you want." She moved towards the door. "In the meantime, I'll run to the store and get you some food, okay? How's about fish?" Cream barked rapidly, her tails all waving back and forth in various different directions with excitement. "Fish it is! Be right back." And with that, Peaches left the room, keeping a close eye on Cream up until she closed the door and couldn't see her companion anymore. Cream, as short as her many legs were, felt a sense of strangeness in them that she could not describe, whether in English -- which, for the record, she was unable to speak, as her species hadn't evolved that far yet -- or in her bark-meows. They felt rather weightless, and as she ducked her head into Mandy's tail, her eyes bore witness to something utterly fantastical. She couldn't describe it. For what it was worth, no one would be able to describe the innards of Mandy's tail, but even if she could speak English, there was no way she could even begin to put into words what she was seeing. It was a pleasantly chaotic mess of everything and nothing, a cosmic entity of its very own that would give Odd Squad a tougher time than any of the kid villains in its rogues gallery had given them over the course of several millennia. It was completely and utterly beyond comprehension of any single human mind the powers-that-do-be up there had ever crafted, something that transcended the very logic of oddness itself, the vast knowledge that agents had accrued since humans became a species. And yet, it was- The sight of another odd being for only a split-second caused Cream to jerk her head free and back away. She let out a sharp exhale through her nose, and shook her head as she sat on her rump. The adorable head of a divine being with falsehoods and the hairy, spindly legs of a reprehensible hellspawn flashed through her mind, although she wasn't sure if that was what she saw. She growled, shaking her head furiously in an effort to clear her mind. It was lucky she had the mental acuity that very few others of her species had -- had that not been the case, she would have quite literally torn Mandy a new one and would have kept on living with not even a single tiny shred of regret inside of her. Just as she came back to reality, she leaped off of the bed to avoid being crushed by 110 pounds of human. She blinked, and then swiveled her head back, to find that Mandy had rolled over and was scratching her tummy as she snored away. The nonsensical talk that ensued from her mouth was something that Cream had a hard time understanding at first, but she was able to make sense of it upon a closer listening. (An important mission. Take over the Joir de Vivre Kitchen, eat the poisoned food supply, and save the city of 'Pair-ee'.) (She is done, but there are still more kitchens in 'Pair-ee' to be devoured. Poisoned food or not.) (She wishes she had more of her, because the best thing about her is that there are so many of her to share the wealth with.) (...She has more of her now.) (They've gone to the Eiffel Tower, made of checkerboard cookies and dreams.) (Mouths open wide...) Cream straightened. She couldn't look at the sight of Mandy sleeping anymore nor continue to figure out what she was saying. For one thing, it was boring, but for another thing, she didn't want to see any more of her tail...if she could even call it that. It weirded her out just thinking of it now. She moved towards the Bedroom door and nudged it open, leaving as soon as she got the opportunity to and feeling relieved that her owner had only left it slightly ajar. With her not being confined to one room anymore, she was free to move about the 'quarters, so she decided to let her legs do the walking while her eyes took in the sights. As Fluttershy made her way through Headquarters, her vocal cords trembled with the loveliest of tunes. It was a melody of ten simple notes that she could have sworn she had heard somewhere before, but could never place. Still, to her, it didn't matter where it came from -- it was pleasant on the ears and put her in good spirits, and that was all that mattered. A force of a sensation in her leg brought her to her senses, and she looked down to find what was perhaps one of the most precious-looking odd creatures she had ever seen over the course of her career. Cream looked up at her and cocked a head out of curiosity before panting and wagging its tails. "I've never seen that kind of a creature before." Fluttershy mused to herself, before leaning down to examine it closer. "It looks like a mix of a dog and a cat." She had to wonder if Mandy had gotten some kind of a new pet, as the hybrid had been known for doing when she was a littler kid. Always grabbing "pets" (read: wild animals that animal activists would never recommend keeping as pets) off of the streets, Olive had to scramble to make sure everyone's rabies and tetanus shots were all kept up-to-date because it wasn't a night of fifty-five-degree weather without Mandy bringing home another Beauregard the Badger that eventually was let loose and tried to maul people. The Pegasus shook her head to free the thought. "Hello, little one. My name is Fluttershy." she cooed. "Would you mind if I took you back to the Creature Room? Oh, I'd love to study you!" Cream let out a series of bark-meows. "Wonderful!" Fluttershy scooped the small creature into her hooves. "Let's go." A happy bark this time around. Upon arrival, Fluttershy sat Cream down next to the database computer, where she sat patiently. "Now, I can analyze you." the Pegasus said. "Just let me input some physical attributes..." Hooves flew across the keyboard at a rapid rate. Cream watched the feat for a few moments before her eyes scanned the room she was presently in. Her ears picked up the sounds of many odd creatures, and she couldn't help but tense as she listened for the sound of her most prominent and most formidable foe. Nothing. She was safe. A sharp exhale left her nose as she turned back to the one who had picked her up, an odd creature in its own right with stubs and hair and some weird marking on her body that made it look nothing like the being who had found her originally. Fluttershy examined the computer, where many different species of creatures were listed. She frowned. "Hmm, that doesn't narrow it down too much." A sigh then left her. "If only Ocean were here. He would be able to help." Unfortunately, her partner-in-crime was on a break at the moment -- a rather unlucky break for her. As skilled as she was with creatures, she couldn't deny that Ocean had skills she didn't possess, and the same held true for the other way around. She straightened her posture as her mind churned out an idea... "Maybe I could go to the Big O!" ...and then shot down said idea within seconds. "But that would be a waste of her time. For something so trivial..." Cream tilted her head and gave a bark filled with worry. "I'm so sorry, little one." Fluttershy scooped the creature in her hooves again. "I wish I knew what you were, but...perhaps you're a new species that Odd Squad just hasn't discovered yet." Taking flight, she opened the door soared out of the Creature Room, making sure to close the door behind her. "How about I analyze your behavior and take some notes? Do you want to go to the Dog Park Room?" As Cream opened her maw to answer, a feeling of worry overtook her suddenly. Much like a human or a Technicolor equine with a gut instinct, she got the feeling that something was wrong with the one who had found her. "Are you worried about someone?" Cream tried desperately to wriggle out of her confinement. The automatic double-doors opened, and in walked Peaches, who held a small bag of freshly-caught fish in her hands. She quickly raced to Mandy's room as fast as her feet would take her, which left Cream with little opportunity to catch up with her -- she may have had more legs, but Peaches had far more of a stride. All it took was the slight loosening of Fluttershy's leg grip that allowed Cream to escape and begin chasing after its owner. "Oh! Wait!" she called, soaring after the creature with small wing flaps. Peaches managed to reach the door of Mandy's room first. She grasped the doorknob and swung the door open, giving very little regard to the room's two occupants. Or what she thought was two occupants, anyway. "Cream...I'm back..." the catgirl wheezed, dropping the bag of fish on the floor before she looked around the room. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She made her way to Mandy's bed, looking under bedsheets, under the bed itself, and even dipping a hand into Mandy's tail in case it just so happened that Cream had slipped in there. Nothing. She took a deep breath, and tried to use her senses. Mandy's reverberating snoring tickled her eardrums, but otherwise, she could hear no sign of Cream. A deep inhale allowed a flood of sensations to enter her body -- the scent of fish, her own scent, and Mandy's own scent that smelled in a way she could not describe, neither bad nor good. An intense and focused scan of the room with her eyes turned up nothing. And quite obviously, the senses of taste and touch were non-applicable. Peaches sighed, her entire body wracking with anxiety. "Cream...where could you have gone?" she pitifully mewled, as a knot slowly but surely began to twist and turn about in her stomach. Before today, she couldn't have attested to owning a pet, because to any normal person, it would have been weird for a catgirl who was able to turn into a cat to own another animal that was probably higher in the food chain. But now that she had Cream, she had become emotionally attached to it in a span of time that she certainly didn't think was possible. She wanted to love it and care for it like her very own, to give it a happy and healthy home where it could grow and thrive. A loud snore cut into her running thoughts. She turned around and bore witness to Mandy continuing her trudge through another few hours or so of slumber. Some gibberish fell from her lips that Peaches didn't even bother trying to identify -- she would have, just to entertain herself and maybe even drive herself a little mad in the process, but as far as she was concerned, she was a little too far gone in her stress at the moment to do such a trivial activity. The true battle of "should I or shouldn't I?" began. Cream was in the room with Mandy last. Surely she would know where the creature went. M-maybe she just...got up to go to the bathroom or eat a quick snack or something, and she noticed her and played with her a-and... ...No. Mandy doesn't wake up for any of that stuff. She's been asleep this whole time. But what if she was woken up by something, and she didn't go back to sleep right away? No, she would go back to sleep right away. Don't be silly, Peaches. I have to wake her up. She may not know where Cream is, but maybe she could help me lo- Are you crazy? You know perfectly well the consequences of waking Mandy up before her time. She'll be mad, sleep-deprived, probably destroy a villain or maybe even an entire town...the whole world, perhaps... Within the depths of Peaches' head, her cerebellum had already gotten to work. Her hands had started tentatively moving towards Mandy's shoulder. Inching closer and closer, like a predator stalking its prey, waiting to strike at the perfect moment. "Peaches?" A sharp exhale. The catgirl stopped and looked up at the doorway. Her eyes began to water. "Fluttershy? A-and...Cream!" The creature gave a few happy yaps, racing over to Peaches and bounding into her outstretched arms. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile as pet and owner were reunited, her heart instantly warming when she watched Cream lick Peaches' face. However, her cyan eyes caught Mandy shifting in bed, and before she could shush the pair, the hybrid sat up. "Who'zz been uppit n' dizzturbin' m' nap, mmm...?" came the sleepy murmur, as blue eyes found the trio but couldn't quite make sense of who they were or what was happening. "S-sorry, Mandy." Fluttershy took initiative, hovering over to her. "Peaches was trying to find Cream, her lost...um..." "Companion." "Companion!" The Pegasus smiled. "Yes, companion. We're really very sorry for disturbing you. We'll leave so you can get some more sleep, okay?" A large yawn caused Mandy's body to quiver, her vocal cords rumbling to produce a soft moan before her body's upper half flopped back onto the bed and the festival of snores and sleep-talking continued. Once Fluttershy, Peaches and Cream were out of the room, the former explained her reasoning. "I took Cream up to the Creature Room so I could examine it. I-I thought it was Mandy's pet, so I figured she wouldn't mind if I just took it and analyzed it really quickly while she slept...I didn't think it was yours!" Peaches nodded. "I found her..." -- she made sure to emphasize that pronoun -- "...roaming around in the park. She looked so lost, and something in me just compelled me to bring her back to Odd Squad. Did you find anything in your analysis?" "Not much." Fluttershy exhaled. "I was trying to figure out what species Cream is, but my search in the database didn't turn up anything, even after I inputted every one of her physical attributes." Peaches' ears folded downwards. "I'm really sorry, Peaches. I didn't mean to take Cream away, it's just-" "Don't worry about it." Peaches held a hand up to stop the butter-yellow Pegasus before she could really get going on the overapologizing, then her gaze moved to Cream. "Now, Cream, I brought some stuff back for you, including the fish you wanted. You wanna go check it out?" Cream's tails wagged, and she gave a few happy bark-meows. "Okay, okay, calm down! We'll go right now." Peaches chuckled. "Come on." "Um..." Fluttershy blinked. "Would you mind if I tagged along too? I'd love to do some more analysis on Cream and her behavior." "Sure thing!" Peaches said, grabbing the bag of fish that she had left on the floor. "Take all the notes you need." "Now, here's the fish..." Peaches didn't even need to bring a plate. All she had to do was throw a fish on the floor and watch Cream go to town in gobbling it up. It was no Mandy's technique of "teeth sliding and bone-exposing", but it was good food going in a happy belly. That was what mattered to her. "And heeeeere's a collar and leash for you!" Peaches reached behind her back and produced the items, both red in color. "That way, we can go for walks everywhere. How about that?" As Cream gave a few happy yelps, Fluttershy let her mind wander on one particular subject. Specifically, how Peaches felt about dogs, since she had to have gotten the "walk an animal on a leash" concept from somewhere, and cats being walked on leashes was a rather rare occurrence in Toronto. Was she scared of them? Did she enjoy their presence? Who knew. But since she felt comfortable around Cream, Fluttershy had to suspect that it was the latter. "I didn't think you were the type to have a pet, Peaches." The words came loose before she could stop them. She clapped a hoof to her mouth, her eyes widening as she mentally smacked herself for her social blunder. "You think it's weird, don't you?" Peaches sighed. "First Mandy, now you. There's a reason why I call it a companion and not a pet." "And...you're aware about Mandy and Natsu?" "Natsu was...manipulative, for sure. And it did cause us all a lot of strife. But Cream here is as sweet as can be!" That sounded a little too much like the auditory equivalent of a red flag for Fluttershy's liking. "Uh-huh." she said dubiously, before she forced herself to level her tone. "Well, I'd like to continue keeping an eye on it, if that's all right. For all we know, this creature can devour Headquarters in a day!" "If you want to do that, I won't stop you." Peaches ate a fish whole. "You are the co-Director of the Creature Room, after all. This is your job." Cream leapt up and frantically began licking Peaches' face, causing her to laugh. Fluttershy's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she watched the feat. Sure, Peaches was nothing like Mandy. She didn't hold grudges for ridiculously long periods of time or get swayed easily by villains' tricks or bawl over kittens she found on the street. But she was smart, and that was what was throwing the Pegasus off. I've never seen Peaches so...happy before. Not like that. It's like when...Mandy had Natsu. And I gave it to her to...care for... Surely, Cream isn't all sweet. Even Angel has his dark and manipulative side, after all. I have to study her more and see what tricks she has up her sleeve, if anything at all. "Fluttershy?" She blinked. Peaches was making eye contact with her. "Cream and I are going to go for a walk. You wanna come?" "Hm? Oh!" Fluttershy shook her head. "Yes, um, yes, I would. I'm sorry, I was just lost in thought." "No worries." Peaches waved her hand. "Let's go!" Cream gave a few yips as it happily trotted alongside Peaches, with Fluttershy taking flight and hesitantly following them. A hand rapidly shaking Mandy brought her clear out of her dream of eating the forbidden but edible snacks known as laundry detergent pods that strangely tasted like vitamin gummies. "Mmmmmwhaaaaaaaat?!" came the plaintive cry, along with arms frantically waving in a way that would put the Wacky Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Donkey to shame. "Wouldja people pleazze quit dizzturbin' me f' five' minutezz...?!" "Mandy, it's 5:00!" The hybrid had no desire to listen to the words. They all blurred together in one nonsensical conglomerate that she didn't want to spare any mental capacity just to understand. Her hands touched skin...something round and high in the air...and then they made their way to a pair of triangular ears that felt all too familiar. "...Peach...?" "Don't tell me making a clone took so much energy out of you that you had to sleep for four hours?" Peaches frowned. "From my understanding, the process of making a clone in Odd Squad is pretty simple and low-effort." A sleepy groan was her only response. "Wake up, will you? I want you to see the cool setup I have for Cream!" "Th' cool whazz-now...?" Peaches heaved a sigh. She reached behind her back, produced a tall glass of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise, and shoved it in Mandy's mouth. She watched as her cousin coughed and spluttered before taking the shaking glass in her hands and sipping it clean. "What'd ya hafta go and do that for?!" "Look, it's 5:00 and you look more worn-out than..." Peaches bit her lip. She couldn't finish that simile. "W-well, whatever, the point is that I have something to show you and it's very important." "So important you had to wake me up from my nap?" Mandy threw the covers off and rubbed her eye. "Do you even know what I was dreaming about? My brain doesn't suddenly just decide to make me gallivant on over to Paris and eat out of every single kitchen there, and then go to the candy shop and gorge on stuff 'til I'm sick!" "That just sounds like your everyday life." "No it's not, and you can shut up before I up your shut." Peaches had to bite back a snicker as she watched Mandy trudge for the door. "All right, let's go see this thingie you say is so important. And it better actually be important!" Only a few minutes later, it dawned on Mandy that what Peaches had wanted to show her was, in fact, not important at all. "Oh my garmonbozia." "I know." "You said this was important." "I know." "You lied to me." "...I know." "You're a sadistic being of nature, cuz." "...I know?" "And ya had to drag Flutterbutter into this?" "Okay, stop it." Inside of Peaches' room was a tiny round playpen for Cream, along with all sorts of toys littered around the floor. Clearly, the catgirl had spoiled her new companion rotten, and even someone as airheaded as Mandy could recognize that. As Peaches knelt down to play with Cream, Mandy took a seat next to Fluttershy, who was gripping a pencil in her mouth and scribbling something down on a piece of paper. "Partner, what are you doing?" Fluttershy scrambled backwards, her eyes growing wide as she dropped the pencil and the clipboard she was holding. "M-M-Mandy?!" "Hiya!" Mandy waved and smiled. "Sorry if I scared ya." "I-it's...fine." The Pegasus tried to bounce back, allowing her heart to slow its crazed beating as she got on her haunches once again. She eagerly took the pencil and the clipboard that Mandy had levitated over to her with a smile, setting them down onto the floor for the time being. "Did you have a good nap?" "Oh yeah..." Mandy purred. "I could've kept goin' if Peach hadn't woken me up! I stuffed myself soooooo silly..." Fluttershy watched as her friend began rocking back and forth. The hybrid entered a state of bliss, and the Pegasus was suddenly feeling a bit hungry herself. Still, she had a job to do, and filed away "get something to eat" as a small note in the back of her mind for later. Mandy suddenly snapped out of her trance and shook her head. "Soooooo what're you doin', again?" "I'm doing some research on Cream to find out what species she is." "You haven't found anything?" Fluttershy shook her head. "I analyzed her and tried to narrow down what she is using her attributes, but that didn't help much." She gazed at Peaches and Cream forlornly. "I wish Ocean were here. He'd probably be able to identify her species." Mandy bit her lip. As much as she wanted to bet on Cream being a simple cat-dog hybrid, she knew that in such a world as Odd Squad, there was hardly such a thing as a simple cat-dog hybrid. Animals like that were child's play compared to creatures like Hopinbobs, Centigurps, and Friggle Frogs -- and that wasn't even getting into the vast distinction between the two terms. No...this creature had to have a name attached to it, a name that defined its species and set it apart from the array of other odd creature species living on Earth. "What's wrong?" Mandy blinked. "Huh?" "You have a worried look on your face." Sure enough, Mandy did, indeed, wear a worried look. It had happened completely subconsciously, and she tenderly touched her cheek before she spoke. "Yeah. I-I'm just thinking. About Natsu. About how I thought it was all cute and cuddly, and how you had me look after it...until it turned on me." Her eyes briefly caught Fluttershy's own, widening in surprise. "A small part of me thinks that Cream...she may not be what she seems, either." Fluttershy nodded. "I understand. I've been having the same thoughts myself." she said. "Have you ever seen Peaches so happy about anything the way she's happy over Cream?" A few moments passed as Mandy tried to wrack her brain. Ultimately, though, she shook her head. "No. I mean she's definitely never been as happy as how I get about things..." Mare and child sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. They sat on the floor, watching their friend play with Cream like nothing bad was happening, like nothing bad would eventually happen, like they could just go about their daily lives and not have to worry about them at all. Such terrible naivete. They couldn't risk naivete. "Do you have a picture of the creature?" The question snapped Fluttershy out of her worried stupor. She glanced at Mandy. "No. Why?" "Either I badger Oprah and the Big O for answers, or nothing's gonna happen." That's right. Mandy is close with the Big O. How could I have forgotten? Fluttershy began mentally slapping herself right then and there, for thinking that going to the ever-benevolent Big O with a creature problem was a waste of time on both ends. In truth, she had no idea how long the Big O had been employed with Odd Squad, but even though Mandy had picked her for her kindness and assistance in stopping the previous Big O, she had to wonder if she had been picked for having some kind of longevity backing her up. "I'll ask them about the creature, and whatever I find out, I'll report back to you. In the meantime, if Ocean comes back, maybe you can talk to him about Cream and ask him if he knows anything about it!" Mandy chirped, feeling more optimistic now that she had a set plan. "Do you have a camera on you?" "I don't." Fluttershy shook her head. "Do you?" Mandy stood up. All she had to do was reach a hand inside of her hair and pull one out, a small black Odd Squad-branded digital one that had a slat at the bottom for producing photos similar to that of a Polaroid. "Always!" Fluttershy watched the antics of Mandy the photographer go down. The hybrid held her eye up to the lens and focused on Cream, who was holding a bulky white rope in her mouth. All it took was one second of her staying still for Mandy's itchy trigger finger to go off before she darted to the side and snapped a few more pictures. "Et voila!" The hybrid returned, levitating a photo of Cream to Fluttershy. "One for you and the rest for me!" "Oh, wonderful!" Fluttershy smiled as she looked over the picture. "Now I have something to put into the creature database! This is sure to help me narrow down Cream's species. Thank you, Mandy!" "D'aww, no prob!" Mandy waved a hand and began bouncing towards the door. "I'm off!" "W-wait, let me come with!" "I took so many notes on Cream's behavior. I can't believe it likes to eat everything on the ground. Even the ground itself!" "Like Daves, but they're cuter and they don't eat the entire planet!" As Fluttershy and Mandy roamed the halls, the former reached behind her back and pulled out a set of notes. "Would you, um...like a copy of my notes? To help you in asking about Cream?" Mandy took the papers in her magical grasp and scanned through them, not noticing Fluttershy's surprised expression as she wondered how, exactly, the hybrid could walk with her vision obscured and not bump into anything. "Ooooh!" Mandy's tail wagged. "Yes, I'll take these! They'll definitely help!" Fluttershy giggled, then straightened. "Oh dear. I should go back to Equestria. I have put the animals to sleep at home. The poor things must be so tired!" "Hey, what if you brought Cream to your house?" The question made the Pegasus nearly stop. It was a good thing she didn't, though, and a frown settled on her face. "I did talk with Ocean about inviting odd creatures from this world to my home. But he said they should remain here, since they're so unusual." Mandy nodded. She could certainly understand that logic -- Fluttershy's world had its fair share of odd creatures, but some of Odd Squad's might be downright weird even by Equestrian standards. "Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you later!" Fluttershy took flight and soared off, giving a "And good luck on your search!" before she rounded the corner. It took a while before Mandy began walking again. She read over the notes once, and then twice, to make sure she hadn't missed anything important. All that was there was how Cream reacted to the outside world and the strangers that lived within it, which wasn't all too helpful. Anyone who was anyone put on a nice front for strangers every time they went out. Mandy didn't -- she didn't really see the point in such a thing -- but she knew other people who did. And if Cream really had a nasty side, it would be shown right here in Headquarters. A feeling of exhaustion and stress encased Mandy's entire being as she made her way into the bullpen, where Twilight and Rarity had just entered. "Oh, Mandy! Welcome back!" Twilight waved eagerly. Rarity opened her mouth to issue a greeting of her own, but her smile faded upon seeing her co-worker in such a wretched state. "Is something wrong, darling?" "Wha?" Mandy blinked, and then her eyes widened, as though she had just come out of a trance. "I- n- no, nothing's wrong!" She gave a bout of sheepish, and hopefully convincing, laughter. "I-I was just lost in thought, that's all." As Rarity and Twilight exchanged confused glances, something inside Mandy snapped. Twilight was here. All-powerful, all-knowledgeable Twilight. Oprah? Big O? Who needs 'em, Twi could prolly outclass 'em in smarts! "Twilight!" The alicorn blinked, surprised by the sudden calling of her name and the sight of a human's index finger that was pointed right at her. She was too stunned to respond, instead staring up at the owner of the finger. "You've gotta be prof...pro...professor..." Mandy shook her head. "You know a lot about creatures! Read this and tell me if you know anything about this creature in particular!" With the notes still standing in midair, Mandy floated them over to the Princess of Friendship, where she took them in her own magic aura and read them. Rarity craned her neck to her left in order to read the notes along with her dear friend, her expression twisting from pleasant to displeased to outright surprise. Mandy twiddled her thumbs. Sweat began to pour down her face. As far as she was concerned, meeting up with Twilight was an opportunity. She didn't need to bug Oprah and risk getting yelled at, or go all the way over to the Big Office. She could speak to the smartest mare in Odd Squad and get the exact response she was looking for without all the extra work- "Hmm...I can't say I haven't." "Me neither." ...Or perhaps not. Mandy's body physically deflated, ever so slightly. What had she said about Twi being able to outclass Oprah and the Big O in smarts? Was she within the five-minute return window to give that statement back to the Jumping-To-Conclusions Store for a full refund? "It looks like a mix of a cat and a dog, though. Are you sure it's an odd creature?" Add another anvil to the pile of them that were already pushing on her spine and making it scream in completely unfathomable ways. "The thing eats dried cement, Twilight." came her voice, raspy and half-drained of energy. "It nearly ate through its own leash!" "It sounds pretty harmless to me." An eye twitch. "Uh, m-maybe not completely harmless!" Now it was Twilight's turn to sheepishly laugh as she waved her hooves back and forth in front of her, hoping to avoid whatever wrath might be coming her way. "I'm sorry I can't help you, Mandy, really. But Odd Squad has so many odd creatures for being around since the caveman times, and research on all those species takes time. I'm not even halfway through." "And for what it's worth, darling..." Rarity raised a hoof. "I certainly don't recognize this creature, either." A heavy sigh left Mandy's body completely open for deflating even further. She ruffled her hair, her anger beginning to dissipate. "Well, it was worth a shot, I guess...back to work I go. Thanks for nothin'." Twilight and Rarity watched the hybrid go with worried expressions before they left to attend to their own work, feeling bad that they couldn't help their friend with her issue. Although Twilight did make sure to file a note away in her brain to study and read more about what odd creature said friend was describing. Work had caused Mandy to temporarily derail her plans of asking Oprah or the Big O about Cream, and so, she decided to get as much done as possible to free up the next day. It was lucky for her that efficiency was one of her strongest traits, one that made her such a valuable asset to have within Odd Squad. Still, for some unexplained reason, when she had gone to bed that night, it was like she had taken one of the most fast-acting sleep aid drugs on the market. About half a bottle of them, if one bothered to calculate. Her deep sleep left her completely immune to the sound of the door opening, and the frantic "Mandy!" that came from the room's latest entrant. Said entrant wasted no time rushing over to Mandy's bed and shaking the hybrid awake, her black tail lashing to and fro. "Cuz, wake up! Please wake up!" Naturally, all Peaches got was a soft "mmm", an unintelligible grumble that told her that her cousin didn't want to be woken up, and then more loud snores that would make the most famous lumberjack in the country weep with envy. "Please! It's about Cream, I need your help!" Peaches' plaintive cries did nothing to sway the hybrid from her slumber. All that met here were more snores, unintelligible sleep sounds that ground into her brain like the inner workings of a coffee maker. By this point, she was getting a pretty solid workout in her arms just from shaking the hybrid back and forth in utter vain, although that amusing thought did nothing from stopping the tears that began to fall. "You've had enough sleep! Why don't you-" A growl cut into the catgirl's thoughts. Low, ominous, and certainly not coming from the deepest of her cousin's vocal cords. She swiveled her head to the source of the sound. Cream stood in the doorway, large off-white teeth bared in a show of aggression. "C-Cream! Cream, I-I'm so sorry!" For some unexplained reason, the creature did a 360-degree personality switch. Its aggressive demeanor switched to that of a scared animal on a dime, and she began yelping in fear as it scrambled away, as though Peaches had accidentally kicked her or stepped on some of her tails. "Cream..." Peaches' eyes grew misty as she leaned out the doorway and watched her new pet run down the hall and turn a corner. "Why does she hate me now? Why such a sudden change?" Aside from Mandy's snores, her musings went unanswered. She could feel her heart breaking in two, her brain allowing a memory to float to the surface about how the whole of Vallea had shut her out for years as though that would make a worthy comparison. In truth, that was just...well, not the truth. Years of isolation and bullying and abuse did not a worthy comparison to a friend suddenly hating her make, and she knew that. But that didn't mean the feeling of abandonment didn't hurt any less. She suddenly felt the same crippling loneliness again she felt when she first came to Toronto. After befriending everyone, she had vowed to never feel that same way again, and now that she did...she felt a sense of irrational paranoia infecting her mind. Without even thinking, she lunged at Mandy. The speech she gave was completely unintelligible as her hands curled up into fists and began pounding on her chest as though she was dead and needed to be revived. Tears began to make their way down their face, pulled by the ever-persistent forces of gravity and emotion. Peaches was so distraught in that moment that she didn't hear Mandy's ceasing of sleep sounds nor see her face turning into one of discomfort. And on that note, she certainly didn't initially feel Mandy's tail pushing her away towards the other side of the room as the hybrid turned over onto her left side. "NO!!" came the eardrum-splitting screech, as the catgirl scrambled back to her cousin's side. "D-don't leave me! The nightmares, the nightmares are so awful...so awful, and, and I can't be abandoned like that again, I just can't!" The lack of coherence in that sentence was something she probably would have laughed at in about twenty-or-so years if she looked back on it with the same optimism as Mandy. But she certainly didn't feel like laughing now -- not after recalling the sleepless nights she had back when she first arrived at Precinct 13579, which, she had to admit, hadn't really gone away even after her prolonged stay here. Sometimes, they still cropped up, and she couldn't stop them. Other times, they cropped up, and all she had to do was imagine Mandy or Pinkie Pie or some other exuberant character to brighten them up or even make them go away completely. She started shivering. The tears came faster now, until she felt like she had no more of them left to give. Her claws came out as they took ahold of Mandy's shirt sleeve, the sound of ripping doing nothing to sway her from her distraught moment. Something wet splashed against them, and she slowly opened her eyes to the color of red. Blood. I...did I just... If she did, Mandy didn't so much as give a groan. She was completely oblivious to the injuries, snoring and sleep-talking away as though nothing had happened. Peaches sheathed her claws. All she could do was stare at Mandy's exposed skin and watch the blood dribble down her arm like a haunting reminder. What is wrong with me? It was a question the catgirl hadn't been meaning to ask herself. But regardless, she already knew the answer. ...A lot of things. She had to wonder if Odd Squad offered therapy services. Surely they had to, what with these being children risking their very lives to fight things that could mark their premature ends. And if they did, surely a catgirl like her could attend therapy. Would she be classified as an odd creature? Did odd creatures even qualify for therapeutic services? Maybe she could ask Ocean or Fluttershy about it when she had the time. "One order 'f macadamia cheezze...!" Mandy sat up in bed, her eyes half-lidded as they struggled to adjust to reality. A yawn rattled about in her throat, capped off with a few lip smacks for good measure. Peaches' eyes widened, her previous thoughts running away from her mind and not bothering to stick there even with the most effort she could muster. She backed away, ears folded against the sides of her head as she grit her teeth and prepared for a verbal smackdown. "Wh'zz..." Slowly, Mandy's hand clasped her arm and pulled back. She squinted, she craned her neck, but for the absolute life of her, she couldn't put two and two together. Her other hand reached for her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. Peaches tensed up. Swig after swig after swig, and the glass was empty within just a few seconds. In three, two, one, and... "...Blood?" The sensation of pain hit Mandy like a train, and she clutched her arm. "Oww!" she cried out. "What..." Silence. Peaches could feel her cousin's gaze boring into her, and she knew she had to fess up. "L-look, cuz, I can explain!" "What? This was you?" Peaches searched her eyes. No signs of anger, but rather, just simple confusion with a twinge of drowsiness. She had to stop herself from being irrational and thinking the hybrid was going to break all family and friendship ties with her over something as silly as an accidental injury. But part of her told her that it was too late for that. "It..." She bit her lip. "I woke up this morning and tried to pet Cream, but she nearly bit my hand off...and then when I opened the door, she ran right out." Mandy blinked. "I tried to wake you up because I wanted you to help me find her, but you were dead asleep and I..." Peaches started to shake again. "I don't want to be abandoned again! I can't! It, it was my entire life, I never wanna go back to that, ever!" She broke down in tears. All Mandy could do was watch, rubbing her head and realizing that she might be far too early in the "I need to wake my entire being up" stage of her arousal to fully comprehend what was going on. Still, she got the basic gist of it, and threw off the covers. "Cuz..." She tilted her head. "What're you talkin' about? Who abandoned you?" Peaches didn't answer, just give a plaintive wail. Mandy held her close and rubbed her back, her own ears folding down along the sides of her head. "Look, I'll help you find Cream. I plan on asking around and seeing if I can identify her species, at the very least." Mandy said. "There has to be some explanation for why she suddenly became aggressive with you after you've been nothing but kind to her." This reassurance didn't help Peaches' fit of sadness all too much, and a few more choked sobs left her. "I really don't know who else abandoned you..." No, wait, that was a lie. Mandy did know. She had a pretty good idea. But unfortunately, discussing her cousin's life in Vallea under that utter slimy bastard who dared to call himself a king was only second on her list of priorities right now. "But once I get this whole Cream situation resolved, we can talk about it whenever you want. 'Kay?" Peaches swallowed a ball of saliva that had gotten stuck in her throat, then began wiping her tears away. She gave a simple small nod. "Good!" Mandy stood up. "Now, lemme just go get some brekkie first, and I'll get started! Why don't you hang around the bullpen for a lil' bit and converse? It'll do ya some good! Oooooor, use that super-awesome nose of yours to track down Cream! I believe in ya!" Peaches didn't even get a chance to answer before her cousin hopped out the door and down the hall towards what she had to assume was the Bathroom. With a shaky sigh, she, too, got to her feet, staring at the doorway for what seemed like hours. Yeah...she'll find out more about Cream. She has to. I just want Cream back with me...together again...I bought all this stuff for her, and now... She furiously shook her head. Now's not the time to get overly sentimental. I have to find Cream, and quickly. Grabbing a tissue from Mandy's nightstand and giving her nose a quick blow, she made her way out the door to start the search that she hoped really wouldn't take her a long time. After all, she could only take so much alone time before she broke. "Thank you!" "Not a problem, ma'am. You have a good day, now." "You as well." As Oprah waved goodbye to the deliveryman that had delivered a new stash of one thousand juice boxes, she got up to tear them open like Christmas presents and put them away. However, the sound of footsteps very nearly interrupted that activity. "Hiya, boss!" "Hi, Mandy." Oprah began prying open the first box. "Did you need something?" "Weeeeeell, I certainly didn't come here for a friendly chat!" Mandy giggle-snorted at her own comment. "See, you've lived a loooooong long time..." Oprah raised an eyebrow. "Do you know anything about this creature?" As Mandy reached into her hair and pulled out a photo of Cream, Oprah eyed it curiously. She tilted her head as her eyes narrowed, then tilted it the other way as her eyes narrowed further, and then her eyes widened considerably as she went slack-jawed. "Is...is that..." She took a step back. "It is! B-but I thought those just existed in Odd Squad folklore!" Before Mandy knew it, her boss was lunging for the box that she was trying to open before. She did it effortlessly, of course, and pulled out a juice box of a random flavor, sticking the straw into the top and taking a large sip. "Well? What is it?" "That, agent, is a Serpida." Mandy's nose wrinkled. "A Serpida?" "It's an odd creature that is a mix of two animals." Oprah explained. "They look and act friendly, but once they spend a couple days with someone, their view of them becomes warped." "Uh...warped how?" "A Serpida's most formidable enemies are spider-cats. When they spend enough time with a person, they will lash out at that person and attack them because they think they're a spider-cat." "But if they're enemies, don't they attack each other?" "Yes." Oprah nodded. "Serpidas will attack the person they've bonded with. It's led to many incidents and many hospital visits to boot. As well as...many casualties." Her eyes grew slightly misty. "Smaller Serpidas deal less damage due to their size, but still pack quite a punch." A sigh racked her body. "An agent I knew was a victim of a Serpida’s attacks. They took it home, bonded with it like it was their pet, and it turned on them a couple weeks later. At the time, I didn’t believe them when they told me. Serpidas were only known to exist in Odd Squad folklore tales. But this picture…" Mandy held it out for Oprah to examine again. Silence filled the room for a few moments. "Where is this Serpida?" "Peaches has it. I dunno where she found it, but she took it home and...I guess she's been caring for it." "For how long?" "I...I don't know." Mandy scratched her head. "I only found out about it recently. So did Agent Fluttershy. She's been making notes of Cream's behaviors -- Cream's what Peaches calls the creature, see -- and she's put them into the Creature Room's database." Oprah suddenly gripped Mandy by the shoulders. "You have to warn Peaches of what's going to happen. And you have to get her away from Cream before it's too late!" Ignoring the pain that was rocketing through her shoulders at the moment from Oprah gripping them too hard, Mandy bit her lip. It's me and Natsu all over again...only at least Cream attacking Peaches seems to be instinct. Still, maybe the stars aligned in the shape of "no one in Odd Squad is allowed to keep odd pets" for a second time...and now my cousin's gonna be slaughtered by that thing she calls a pet. Ohh, if only I'd just slacked off on work yesterday...now I know why Cream was so aggressive towards her. Oprah's right -- I have to find her and warn her! Her mind only barely registered Oprah's lips moving in what she was 99% sure was her signature "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" catchphrase, but her feet had caught on nonetheless. Before she knew it, she was running downstairs and through the steel double-doors, nearly tripping and falling a few times as she headed for the tubes. After a tumultuous tube ride that ended with her stomach slamming against ground a few times, Mandy decided to take flight and begin her search. Unfortunately, she forgot that Toronto wasn't what anyone would call a "small city". And she was only in the suburban part of it. "She could be anywhere in this city!" she lamented, not even bothering to stop the groan that tumbled from her lips. "And I didn't even get the picture back from Oprah...when will she give her a badge phone already?!" It felt like days before Mandy was able to find Peaches and Cream, and even then, she was confident it was just due to Lady Luck shining down on her once again. She swooped down as quickly as she could with mighty beats of her wings. "PEEEEEEEACH!!" "Huh? Nyaaah!" Peaches soared to the ground just as Mandy flew over her. Cream, likewise, gave a couple scared yelps as she scrambled backwards at the sight. "J-jeez, Mandy, don't divebomb me!" the catgirl snapped as she got to her feet, brushing dirt off of her dress. Unfortunately for her, Mandy was in no mood to listen to that. "It's, he, I, was, it, is-" "Whoa, catch your breath first! What's going on?" Mandy took a couple gulps of air into her lungs. "Cream is bad. She's a Serpida. You have to get rid of her!" Her voice was practically a scream, her arms having about the same density as overcooked pasta noodles as she waved them around frantically. "Get rid of Cream?" Peaches tilted her head. "Why?" Mandy grabbed her cousin by the shoulders. "She'll attack you soon! She thinks you're a spider-cat! A-and when Serpidas think you're a spider-cat, they'll maul you and shred you to bits n' pieces n' kibbles n'-n' bits!" Peaches blinked. For a moment, Mandy was confident her cousin would listen and work out a plan to get rid of Cream somehow. After all, she was the smart one between the two of them. Surely she wouldn't just dismiss her words as some weird ramblings or the talk of someone completely and utterly insane -- Mandy could be insane to some, but she wasn't "shoo-in for the latest opening at the psychiatric ward" insa- A laugh pierced her eardrums. "Cuz! Are you overdue for your nap or something? You're speaking in crazy!" Mandy's heart dropped at least ten stories. Maybe twenty. Elevators would weep at how fast her heart dropped, and it didn't even have a kill count yet. "No, I'm not, I'm being legitimate!" "Look. Cream is a sweetie. I know she was being really mean and elusive this morning and she tried to bite me, but we made up now! She was just having a bad day, that's all." "She's beginning to turn on you!" Mandy slightly shook Peaches. "It's instinct. That's why she tried to bite you! Oprah told me everything!" "Well, you can tell Oprah that she's wrong." Peaches said, gently pushing Mandy away. "I've had Cream for weeks now, and she's been nothing but nice! Er, most of the time." All Mandy could do was stammer. She glanced at Cream, who gave a soft whuff noise that contained nothing but the pure and kind innocence of a happy pet with its owner, and she felt a part of her die inside right then and there. No...she doesn't believe me. Why isn't she believing me?! "Older relatives' knowledge is the best knowledge, cuz." Peaches ruffled Mandy's hair. "Go home and get some sleep. I know I woke you up earlier than expected and you must be tired. Some sleep will do you some good!" The amount of vibrating Mandy did, coupled with a low deep growl, would probably have been enough to either send her to the astral plane, cause a few mini-earthquakes, or possibly both. To Peaches, however, it just made her look even cuter, and the smile on her face only grew bigger. "Sleep is not my top priority right now!" Mandy snapped, in a desperate last-ditch effort to make Peaches see reason. "My top priority is getting you away from Cream!" Peaches' smile suddenly turned into a harsh grimace. "It's not going to happen, Mandy. Cream and I have a strong bond. And it will not be broken just because you lay claim to it being mean!" A chuckle bubbled forth. "Maybe you're just jealous because you think I've been paying more attention to Cream than I have to you." Mandy's skill of the English language flew right out the window. She could only stutter and stammer, with none of the noises she made even coming close to being anything of coherence. And it certainly wasn't anything within the language parameters of what Odd Squad's alien agents in space spoke, either. Even her mind was an utter pile of mush, her thoughts being mashed together in one grand amalgam produced by her very own purely-human brain. And the worst part? All the while, Peaches was watching the act with a bemused smile. That damn bemused cat smile that just mocked Mandy without even trying. She wanted to badly to wipe that smile clear off of her cousin's face, and it took every inch of her willpower not to land a punch as hard as the one she gave Olive in that dream the Dream Weaver concocted. Finally, it seemed her brain was willing to work. Or the dominant hemisphere was, at least. "Jealous?! I'm not jealous!" "Sure. Keep telling yourself that, and maybe it'll start coming true." An eye twitch. Another eye twitch. Mandy yanked her pony ears down, parted her jaws, and let out a piercing scream of utter anger and frustration that caught the attention of more than a few passersby. While still screaming, the hybrid took flight once more, going back the way she came without another word spoken. Peaches watched her go for only a few moments, the smile still remaining on her face before she was jerked along the sidewalk by a dashing Cream. "Whooooa! Hey, wait for me!" It never really occurred to Mandy that perhaps she needed to find other places to blow off some steam than bothering two busy Directors, but in this particular instance, venting to Olive and Otto was exactly what she needed. As it just so happened, both of them were on their lunch break, it being a slow day at the precinct. Olive was reading the latest issue of The Shmumbertimes, her eyes skimming through an article about the unfortunate hospitalization of pop star sensation Alysha Webb after a drug overdose. Otto, on the other hand, was mindlessly staring at the ceiling, taking a swig of Dr. Shmumber soda. The sound of footsteps made Olive look up. "Huh? Oh, hi, Mandy." An unintelligible grumble became her only response as the hybrid flopped onto the couch, magically conjured up a five-pound bag of gummy bears that had the same density as a package of rocks not from Pinkie's family's rock farm, and shoved some in her mouth. "Something wrong?" Mandy stopped chewing. She adjusted the gummy bears in her mouth, pushing them to the far ends of her cheeks. "Do you really want to know?" she asked, not bothering to pay attention to whether any gummy bears flew out onto the floor or not. Olive wasn't deterred a single bit by the bad vibes in the air. A smile formed on her face. "Sure! We're all ears." "Yeah, what's up?" Otto chimed in, taking another sip of his soda. Mandy pulled some gummy bears into the center of her mouth, chewed them up, and swallowed them. "You know about Cream?" "I, um...can't say that I do." Olive said. "Are you talking about the food, or...?" "No. She's Peaches' new pet." Mandy said, with a grating edge to her voice. "Peaches found her somewhere and she's been taking care of her. But unfortunately, I had the...rather disappointing pleasure of finding out that she's a Serpida." "Peach? A Serpida?" Otto snapped his fingers in an "aww, man" sort of gesture. "Man, I knew something was off with her! She couldn't have just been an ordinary catgi-" A hammer resting on his face stopped him cold, its head almost being rammed up his nostrils. He glanced at it with widened eyes, and then looked directly at the one who was levitating it, with teeth bared, eyes narrowed, and a low growl to complete the ensemble. "S-sorry. I, uh...couldn't help myself." Otto said, pushing the hammer down slowly with his index finger and giving a meek grin. "Continue." Mandy huffed and pulled the hammer back towards her, setting it on the couch in case either Otto tried one of his jokes again or Olive tried one of her snark bits. She swallowed the rest of the gummy bears that were in her mouth and had gotten slightly mushier. "A Serpida, if you don't know, is a hybrid creature that forms a strong bond with someone and then turns on them after a while." "Turns on them?" Olive asked. "Why?" "A Serpida's biggest enemies are spider-cats. When they spend enough time with a person, they think that person is a spider-cat and and they begin to act aggressive towards them. And then they atta- um, no, wait...a better word would be 'maul'. Yeah, they maul them." Mandy folded her ears down in a show of anger. "I tried to tell Peach what Oprah told me, but she's so..." For the next few minutes, Olive and Otto watched as Mandy stammered in many pathetic attempts to come up with a more intricate word for what she was trying to say. Olive's eyes went completely half-lidded with bemusement, while Otto cracked a small smile and summoned every inch of his willpower to try and not laugh lest he wanted his skull bashed in. Ultimately, Mandy gave up the fight. "She just won't listen to me!" she cried out, before giving another frustrated scream and proceeding to bang her head on the coffee table. Olive's eyes grew wide on pure instinct before she realized that she had switched out the coffee table's makeup from glass to wood a long time ago after Mandy had tried to kill a cockroach and instead ended up killing usage of her hand for several weeks. Still, in spite of her surprise, she took initiative in giving the hybrid advice. "Unfortunately, there's nothing you can really do about it, Mandy. Remember, you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves." Otto nodded in agreement. "Just keep a close eye on Peaches and protect her when the Serpida attacks." "But-" "Take our word for it." The look in Mandy's eyes was nothing short of betrayal as she glanced at Olive. Take their word for it? That's the best advice they can give? Geez, put 'em through Harvard and make 'em therapists, I hear there's a shortage. "Take our word for it"...what, is there no magical solution I can use on Peach to make her listen to me? Some kind of unconventional thing like stealing the pet and maaaaaaaybe throwing it somewhere into Ohio? I have to let her do her thing and keep an eye on her at all times to make sure she doesn't get hurt by it? History really is doomed to repeat itself. If "repeat itself" meant "move at least three chairs to change the timeline". Silence filled the room. Deep down, Mandy knew they were right, but that didn't mean she was so keen on admitting it. She ruffled her hair and heaved a mighty sigh. "I just want Peach to be safe...but if she really does love Cream that much..." Her heart began to grow heavy all of a sudden, with a feeling of utter dread and resignation. "Guess there's nothing I can do about it." "Besides, can't Peaches fend for herself against one tiny Serpida, anyway?" Otto asked, giving a shrug. "She has a few battle skills up her sleeve." Mandy didn't feel like telling him about the size differences between each member of the species. "Yeah, but...I just don't want her to get killed by that thing!" "Have some faith in Peaches. She'll know what to do." "I hope so..." Another sigh. "Maybe she's right. Maybe I'm...just worrying too much because I need sleep." Olive and Otto watched her get up. "After all, 's not every day you wake up with gashes in your arm 'cause your catgirl cousin scratches you and screams about being abandoned." Confused expressions, which Mandy didn't see, and even if she had seen, would have chosen to ignore. "I'll see you guys later." With a halfhearted wave, she trudged out the glass double-doors, her hammer following suit in the thralls of her magic in a last-minute "whoops, forgot this" memory glitch. All Olive and Otto did was watch her go, their expressions changing to one of concern as they glanced at each other. Only after a few minutes did they go back to what they were doing, her strife only being a footnote in the backs of their minds. Teeth bared. Claws unsheathed. Expression twisted into an ugly grimace of pure, raw, unbridled anger. A frown. Claws sheathed, as they usually were. Expression one of concern and worry, with not a trace of fear held in it. "Cream? Are you-" Then came her piercing scream, loud and booming, managing to reach the ears of every single agent in Headquarters. Mixed in with the sound of a cat's yowl, it was, perhaps, one of the many subjective auditory equivalents of Hell itself. The scream cut off suddenly, and what met Mandy's vision was pure darkness before the scene switched like the snap of a finger. Her view met a medical monitor, with all three lines completely flat. Five huge zeroes stared at her, almost taunting her like they were willing victims of a number hog. "I'm sorry." Two powerful little words that can change an entire situation. Depending on the context, they could lead to a mended relationship between two lovers, a fixed friendship between two friends, or a dying ship that had capsized and was taking every one of its occupants with it. And, of course, there was the other kind of context they had attached to them. It had hurt her when she had seen her cousin lying in a bed, oxygen mask on her face, entire being hanging on by a mere thread so thin that most patients' guardians would have gone the physician-assisted suicide route by that point. Pneumonia, like many regular and odd diseases, was not something to be trifled with, and Odd Squad was no exception to that long-standing rule of biology and common sense. Likewise, neither was Vallea or any of its many residents. (Although time would tell in how they reacted to odd diseases. She wasn't sure whether they had traveled there or not.) Now, she was staring at a face whose beauty had been pockmarked every which way from the second Sunday of June. The limbs were much the same, four legs angled in awkward positions with bones broken to completely irreparable degrees, as was the tail, which was now nothing more than just a mere stub wrapped in white gauze. "She's gone, Mandy." Those were words she never thought she would have to hear. Not up until her adoptive mother died. Or one of the ponies died. Or Oprah, as the strong-willed and powerful Director she was, died. The one-toned sound of the flatline displayed on the medical monitor drilled into her ears. She probably would have gotten more joy from the sound of the Alert Ready tones, because at least those had actual flavor and substance for something that could deafen an entire village. The sadness that rocketed through her body had made her start shaking, and she had to fight to keep her grip on the side rail. She wasn't quite sure how much time had passed. All she knew was that she was screaming. A long, painful, mournful scream that threatened to crack the glass windows of the Medical Bay and bring the precinct to a complete stop as they listened to the song of its second-in-command. Before she knew it, she had somehow stopped screaming, like someone had taken a bullet straight to her windpipes. She was staring at a rather disappointed and angry Peaches, who was towering over her floor-bound body. Words tumbled out of her without her even thinking. "Peach, I'm only trying to protect you!" "What do you know?! You're just a kid!" "Wh- you're not even from here! You weren't born and raised in Odd Squad like I was!" Mandy fired back -- a rather stupid and irrelevant rebuttal in her eyes. Not that she knew for sure, but she figured Peaches was around the same age as her, if not only two or three years older. Who was she to tell Mandy that she was "just a kid"? For all she knew, the hybrid could have been an immortal goddess and she was just hiding it the whole time. "Cream is the sweetest creature I've ever met!" Peaches spat back, her long black hair and skinny black tail bushing outwards. "How dare you accuse-" "You're going to get killed! Do you really want to fail in your mission to find who burned down Vallea just because of one tiny little creature?! Is that how you want to die?!" Saliva shot out from Mandy's mouth as she spit the words at her cousin like knives coated in venom. "Don't you want to die with honor and dignity instead of at the paws of that...that thing?! That's gonna be your cause of death?!" Peaches took a step back, her angry expression faltering for a moment as she took in Mandy's words. Mandy herself, meanwhile, clapped a hand over her mouth, not expecting to dip her hands in the well of morbidity within this rather senseless argument. Perhaps it was her own doubts about Peaches surviving whatever attack Cream was going to go at her with that were resurfacing and twisting in her intricate mind. Perhaps it was her own cynical side bursting through and reminding her of just how contrived and complicated of a place her world truly was. She didn't know, and frankly, she didn't want to devote any resources to figuring it out. It was small potatoes compared to the current issue at hand. When Peaches didn't speak after a minute or so, Mandy got to her feet. "Forget it!" she cried out. "You're on your own! Do what you want! I don't care anymore!" Turning and stomping away, she felt anger swirling around inside of her gut. There was little reason why she shouldn't have slapped or punched or generally just beat up her cousin to make her see reason. But in this dream, she was not the one in control. The sound of whistling wind stopped her in her tracks. She looked up, and found that her view had once again suddenly changed. Luckily for her, she knew the place well, and the anger in her gut began to subside. "Haruko! Haruko, can you hear me? I need you, please!" "Mandy." The hybrid whirled around so quickly that she ended up falling on her rump. Standing in front of her was Haruko herself, ever-regal and ever-poised, gazing at her with her illustrious shining green eyes. "I will never get used to that." Mandy muttered, getting to her feet. "Haruko, you have to help me. My cousin, she's in possession of a dangerous odd creature that's going to attack her. But I can't convince her to give it up and let go of it! She just brushes me off as immature and silly..." She rubbed her arm. "Any second now, it's gonna happen. A-and I won't be able to protect her when it does!" "And why is that?" "I'm asleep. And when I'm asleep...I can't really be woken up by anyone else." Mandy's eyes widened. "W-well, I can, but it takes me a really really long while." A soft hum rattled in Haruko's throat. Mandy clenched her fists. "I just want to keep her safe..." "If I recall correctly..." Haruko said. "A while ago, you saved her from some villains whom she had willfully surrendered to, yes?" "Yeah. What about it?" "Mandy." Haruko blinked. "Do you not think that she can handle her own in combat?" "I-it's not that I don't think she can, 'cuz I know she can, but...dealing with villains is a whole different experience than dealing with odd creatures!" "I can sense the bond between you and her. It is quite strong." Haruko smiled. "It is clear that you really do care for her." "I do. I love her to kibbles n' bits and I don't want her to get hurt!" "You must believe in her, Mandy." Haruko took a few steps towards the hybrid, placing a gentle paw on her knee. "She may not be able to be convinced that the creature is a threat, but when the time comes...when it attacks her..." Silence. Mandy tensed up. She held her breath as she watched Haruko's eyes slowly close. "She will be prepared." "But- but no one knows when it'll attack!" Mandy blurted out in one breath. "I am quite certain that Peaches can fend for herself. After all, she traveled all the way to Toronto from Vallea just to find who attacked her town. Traveling that far...it is a feat in and of itself." Mandy didn't respond. She just glanced down at the ground. "And has Peaches not assisted you in taking down villains before?" The answer to that question, of course, was a solid "yes". Peaches and Mandy were a true dynamic duo in battle, and together they had taken down many villains and the oddness they created. With Peaches' razor-sharp claws and Mandy's powerful hammer, they were nearly unstoppable. Even Oprah had to note how well of a team they made. "Well, she...she has, but-" "Believe in her, Mandy." Haruko's voice was more firm this time. Mandy gripped the grass with her hand, pulling a few blades out and examining them as she tried to process what the kitsune was telling her. In a final attempt to get some advice that would placate her, she said, "But what if she gets hurt?" To which Haruko replied, "Then you can help her heal." A failed attempt. Still, far be it from Mandy to question the will and advice of someone so wise and collected -- and her words had made her think. Maybe Peaches really will be okay on her own. After all, Cream's a really small creature. If she's in her usual form, it wouldn't take much to knock it down to the ground and defeat it. Unless it can grow bigger...no, Oprah would've told me about that. I guess...the best thing to do is to leave her be. Even though worry had her heart in a vicegrip, she had to admit that the coils had loosened significantly. "Worry and fear is nonexistent in the Magical Grasslands, Mandy." Haruko cooed, taking a seat and gazing up at the sky. "Come sit and relax." And so, Mandy partook in the same song and dance again, sitting beside Haruko and trying to spot funny shapes in the clouds to distract herself for the time being, until it was her time to depart. They sold Converses with no-slip soles. Oprah knew that. It was just a shame that those versions weren't adopted into the standard work uniform for Odd Squad employees. As such, her sprint down the hall towards Mandy's room nearly ended with her legs buckling under her enough to twist an ankle. She was more agile than that, though, and managed to catch herself just in time. "MANDY!!" she screamed, breaking the door open with one mighty kick. "Come quick, there's an emergency!" The agent in question was fast asleep in bed still, eliciting her usual loud snores and nonsensical sleep-talk. However, her face expression was contorted into one of discomfort as she slightly tossed and turned. Normally, Oprah wouldn't have even tried to wake up Mandy, and would have just walked away. But panic was settling in, and any semblance of keeping a cool head went clear out the window. "Come on, wake up!" she said, grabbing Mandy by the shoulder and shaking her. That appeared to be a trigger for the hybrid. "Peach, PEEEEEEEACH!!!" came the terrified scream, as Mandy woke up, spread her wings, and zoomed out of the room at about the same average speed as Rainbow Dash performing her most dangerous stunts. Oprah blinked a few times, then slowly turned her head towards the direction of the doorway. "Well, that takes care of that..." she muttered, before she made her way out of the room. A painful yowl, followed by a command to sit still, only made Mandy put on more speed, nearly knocking over agents and creatures in the process. She swooped up into the air and made a mighty landing at the entrance to the Medical Bay with the sound of a boom accompanying it, her magic throwing open the door. "Cuz?!" "Mandy!" "Oh thank the-" A round of coughing interrupted Mandy, and she keeled over to catch her breath, folding her wings in. "Thank the jackalopes you're okay! I, I was so worried about you and I thought that you, you weren't gonna make it, and I wanted to protect you but Haruko told me that you would be okay and so I had to- ohh, I was asleep while you were attacked, why couldn't I have just stayed up just this once, and, and-" "Whoa, calm down!" Peaches said. "You're-" "I'M SORRY!!" "...Huh?" "I'm sorry!" Mandy repeated, leaping over and clutched the side rail of the cot Peaches was laying in. "I...I thought...I underestimated your combat abilities. I thought that Cream would murder you, and you wouldn't even try to fight back because...because you aren't..." She twiddled her fingers. "...you aren't used to dealing with odd creatures." Peaches' eyes widened. "Cuz...I've fought oddness with you tons of times. Villains, odd creatures, you name it. You know that I'm quite skilled on the battlefield." Mandy looked up, and it was then that she was able to fully take in her cousin's appearance. She was in her cat form, with stitches all over her body and two of her legs bandaged. Likewise, the tip of her tail was wrapped in gauze as well. Her eyes held fatigue, but also held a sense of warmth. The hybrid couldn't help but start to well up with tears. "I'm fine." Peaches assured. "Cream attacking me, it...it was...a shock, I'll admit. But look at me. I'm alive." "But- but-" "Look, Dr. O's treating me right now." Sure enough, the Head Doctor himself entered the room, a warm smile on his face as he glanced at Mandy. "Some of her injuries are pretty severe, but otherwise, she just has a couple of scrapes and bruises. She'll need to stay here for a day or two so I can evaluate her." Mandy's vision was becoming obscured by thick globs of water. "A-and Cream-" "It's being treated by Fluttershy and Ocean. They're putting it in the Dangerous Animal Quarantine for now." Mandy couldn't hold it back anymore. Her body heaved with sobs. "Aww, Mandy, you don't have to cry-" And then, the sobs turned into waterfalls, paired with pitiful wailing that made both Peaches and Dr. O cover their ears. "Hey, easy, easy, you're gonna aggravate my wounds!" Peaches yowled, struggling to scramble backwards in the cot. However, Mandy was beyond the point of listening. "I'm just so happy you're saaaaaafe!" she cried, nabbing Peaches and pulling her into a tight hug, which the catgirl scrambled to get out of before she added a broken spine to the list of injuries. "Peaches, mind opening your mouth and saying 'aah' for me?" The request was subconsciously met, no thanks to Mandy squeezing her cousin hard enough to where she had opened her mouth to protest in a loud ear-piercing yowl before Dr. O came along. He took an eye dropper and put three drops on her tongue, which she noted tasted rather bitter. "That's a pain reliever." he explained. "It should start working in a few minutes. For now, you should be confined to Odd Squad and get plenty of rest." As Peaches squirmed out of Mandy's grasp and landed on the cot again, she gave herself a quick shake before making eye contact with Dr. O. "And my shapeshifting abilities?" "Your cat form is more beat-up than your human form. Thus, if you stay in the latter form, then the former form should heal fine." Peaches nodded and moved her body so she laid vertically on the cart before a shimmer of light marked her transformation back to her regular form. By this point, Mandy had calmed down, being reduced to mere sniffles as she glanced at Peaches' injury-free body. "Peach...I wanna stay with you." "Mandy, don't you have work to do?" Peaches' nose wrinkled. "The sentiment is nice, but-" "Mm-mm!" Mandy shook her head. "Forget about work! I wanna stay with you!" "Forget about work?" Peaches chuckled. "You sure you're feeling okay?" "I'm fine!" Mandy grabbed the chair that sat on the far end of the room, then conjured up two more to accompany the rest of her splayed-out body. "Here, I'll nap with you!" Peaches didn't see it fit to argue with Mandy any further. She heaved a sigh. "All right. If that's what you want." "I'll leave you two to it and check up on you again in a couple hours." Dr. O said, before he left the room with a wave. Only a minute later, Oprah entered, her eyes wide with panic. "Peaches!" "Oprah!" "Are you feeling okay?" the Director asked, rushing to the catgirl's bedside. "Still in a lot of pain..." Peaches gave a soft chuckle. "But to be honest? I've been through worse. I'll manage." As Oprah opened her mouth to respond, a loud snore came forth to interrupt the moment. She swiveled around to find none other than Mandy, sprawled out on the chairs with half of her body hanging off of them and in quite the deep sleep. The Director smiled and shook her head. "Ha. I was wondering when Mandy was gonna fall back asleep. Didn't even have any of her chocolate drink." "She was adamant that she wanted to sleep with me. Unfortunately, Dr. O said that I have to rest here for a few days by myself." Peaches twisted her body to and fro in an effort to relieve tension that had begun building up in her back. "Did you know that Mandy actually thought I was weak in combat?" She laughed. "I mean really, a catgirl, like me, weak in combat? It's like she got amnesia!" Oprah responded with a laugh of her own, a rather uneasy and hesitant one as she recalled more than one time that Mandy had, indeed, suffered through a bout of amnesia. Perhaps it was just luck that all of them were only temporary. Or perhaps it was that oracle that Oprah had summoned enough to the point where he was now charging a $25 base fee for all future calls. "Yeah, well..." She smiled. "Mandy has a good heart. She's just looking out for you." A thought passed through her mind that made her perk up. "I gotta say, I admire your combat skills myself. Although maybe that's just because I've never seen a catgirl in action before." "Well, I'm always looking to get stronger!" Peaches' tail flicked to and fro with anticipation. "Got any place I can maybe train?" Oprah nodded, a smirk of her own settling on her face. "You're talking to the right gal. Come by my office once you're healed and we can discuss." "Sounds great!" "In the meantime, you rest up." Oprah glanced at the sleeping form of "Mandy, on the other hand, has a backlog of work. I'll let her sleep for now, but if she gets up, remind her, okay?" Peaches gave a nod and a thank-you to the Director before she left, another sigh leaving her as she got cozy under the Medical Bay's provided sheets. The sound of whirring marked the lights dying down throughout Headquarters, a symbol of another hard day's work coming to a close. That included the lights in the Medical Bay, which became downgraded to a dim setting at night in case of emergencies or simple Medical late-night work. Luckily for Peaches, she was able to see in the dark, and so, she was able to easily find her cousin and allow three simple words to dance in the air. "Sleep tight, cuz." A few days later, Peaches trudged into the Creature Room, nearly slamming into the door before muscle memory allowed her to pull it open. Her body ached a little, offset only a little by a round of painkillers she had been given earlier -- sleeping in a hard cot wasn't exactly the best thing in the world, but it was a good thing Dr. O had permitted her to start sleeping in her own bed again. "Hm? Oh, Peaches!" Fluttershy greeted, turning around and hovering her way over to the catgirl. "Hello there. How are you feeling?" "I'm fine!" A popping sound that Peaches could most certainly feel coming from her knee. "Um, mostly fine...has the research on Cream been going well?" "Oh yeah!" Ocean turned his head and nodded. "We've inputted what we know into the creature database." "We're so glad that Serpida didn't kill you!" Fluttershy clutched a hoof to her chest. "And we're even more glad we let it go before we had a chance to become its next victims." Ocean's smile turned into a soft frown as he watched Peaches nearly keel over. "You feelin' alright, kitty girl?" "I..." Peaches' eyes flicked from Ocean to Fluttershy and back again, a horrid sense of realization kicking in. "I'm just a little shaken still. I can't believe that Cream...really was that vicious." Her eyes widened, even more realization coming around to give her a kick in the gut. "And Mandy was right...ugh, why didn't I let her take it away when she was trying to warn me?!" "It's okay, Peaches." Fluttershy put a comforting hoof on her friend's shoulder. "What's in the past is in the past." "Best you can do now is apologize." A slow nod met Ocean's suggestion. "You're right. I-I have to apologize to Mandy, now!" As the catgirl soared out of the room, she stopped at the rail separating her from a terribly premature death, watching her cousin about to smash a gadget on the floor with her hammer and with Olive and Otto as the sole witnesses. "'Kay." Mandy took a deep breath and raised her hammer high into the air. "Stand back, this is gonna get messy!" A battlecry rattled in her lungs and was expelled in one mighty blow as she began to bring down the hammer. "Mandy!" "Wah!" The sudden shout of her name caused the hybrid to whirl around, Olive and Otto giving startled yelps as they stumbled backwards. Her grip loosened on the hammer, sending it flying towards the caller... Who ended up catching the handle of it clean in her hands before it could reach her face. Mandy stared for a few moments, completely agape as she watched Peaches slowly exhale and rest the head of her cousin's weapon down onto the floor. Both Directors could only exchange a surprised glance with each other, but at least they were better off than "ran into a problem and needs to restart" Mandy, who inched a pointed index finger up towards Peaches and struggled to form coherent English words. Finally, after a few minutes, the words came. "Wow, you're...really good!" the hybrid cried out, sparkles forming in her blue eyes. "I've learned from enough near-smash incidents with your hammer." Peaches said, walking over and handing Mandy's hammer back to her. Her gaze turned steely. "Now, on to business." Mandy blinked as she put the hammer behind her back and took the full brunt of the gaze. "L-look, if it's about the fish I ate, I was really hungry and that fish looked really good!" "No! It's...not that." Peaches chuckled. "I came to apologize." "...Apologize?" "When you came up to me and tried to take Cream away...I should have listened. Instead I just brushed you off as immature and silly, and I really shouldn't have." Peaches rubbed her arm. "You're an Odd Squad agent, and I'm not. You know more about odd creatures than I do. And I should have trusted your judgement. I'm sorry." The catgirl closed her eyes, expecting Mandy to still act bitter and hostile towards her. The feeling of abandonment began creeping up into her heart, and she could feel irrationality begin to take over yet again as she began to recall all the other times Mandy had been hurt and needed more than just a few hours to spare some forgiveness. "Aww, that's okay!" She opened her eyes and blinked. "I'm just really really happy you're alive after all this!" Mandy ruffled her cousin's hair. "Can't have our faaaaavorite catgirl dyin' when she's got a mission to complete, can we?" And then, there came that laugh. That giggling and snorting that warmed Peaches' heart more than a fireplace in negative-degree weather. To her negative feelings and worries, it took the form of a single foot that punted them high into the sky enough to create twinkles in it. (Not literally, of course, but it would be rather funny if they did.) "Oh, definitely not." she said, laughing alongside her cousin before she gave a pleasant sigh. "And speaking of the mission...I'm gonna go and have a little chat with Oprah. She promised to tell me where I can train." Mandy tilted her head. "Train?" "Well sure! There's always room for improvement." Peaches gave a shrug. "And whoever did burn down Vallea is probably super-tough. I'll need to be prepared." "Weeeeeell..." Mandy pulled Olive and Otto closer to her in a hug, with one Director on each side and both of them developing surprised looks. "If ya ever wanna train, we three are your gals!" "And guy!" "And guy. We're your two-gals-and-a-guy." Peaches blinked. "You'd...you'd really take the time to train me?" "Of course, silly!" Mandy chirped, setting Olive and Otto down. "You're part of the Odd Squad family! I'm always up for trainin' ya! And Momma and Otto received toooons of strength training when they were made Directors!" Olive nodded, brushing dust off of her suit in an attempt to compose herself. "It's true. I'm the strongest one out of us two, though." Otto whirled his head around to face her. "What? No you're not!" "Am too!" "Am not!" "Am too!" The pair shot glares at each other that could melt butter. For a minute or so, it didn't seem like either one of them was going to back down. Peaches and Mandy watched the standoff with curiosity, the latter having a shimmer in her eyes as though rooting for one of them to win. Eventually, their expressions relaxed, and they shared a hearty laugh. Peaches gave a smile, the small part of her worried that things were going to escalate slowly ebbing away. "Well, in that case...I'll consider it!" "Yay!" Mandy joyously leaped into the air, her wings providing the extra lift. "Now go and see Oprah. She's super-duper strong! Stronger than Momma and Otto both, even!" "Hey!" "All right, all right!" Peaches laughed and began to make her way towards the left staircase. "See you later, okay?" "'Kay! Have fun!" Mandy, Olive and Otto all waved the catgirl off as she went up the stairs and disappeared into Oprah's office. "Now..." Mandy gave a sigh. "Where were we?" Olive pointed to the gadget, in one whole piece and still on the floor. "About to smash the Grab-inator?" "Ah, yes." Pulling her hammer out from hammerspace again, Mandy raised it up high and gave a mighty deep breath, channeling all her focus into her aim and precision. "Okay, stand back, for realsies this time!" she warned, narrowing her eyes. Olive and Otto, of course, did as they were told. Had they not, either a gadget piece would have injured them, or Mandy's hammer would have. And they didn't want either. Once Mandy was sure she had good aim, she riled up her lungs, let loose a primal and rather feline yowl, and threw the hammer down onto the gadget. A loud bang sound was produced, marking the destruction as a complete success.
S1E18: Working Hard and Hardly Working"Ocean? I'm going to get more creature food." "'Kay! Take your time!" Fluttershy stretched out her legs before exiting the Creature Room, the fur on her sides rippling as she sighed. It had been a rather long day of chasing, feeding and cleaning up after creatures, including new inductees into the Creature Room, and she was starting to feel exhausted. Still, she figured that getting some fresh air by traversing through Headquarters would do her some good, if she couldn't go on her break early and go outside. As she descended the stairs, her eyes fell on a large mound of papers that were rustling, as though someone was hiding and wasn't doing a very good job of staying hidden. A muffled scream emanated from it, which startled the Pegasus. "Oh! G-goodness!" she exclaimed, backing up a step or two and feeling her legs begin to shake. Another muffled scream came forth, which made her eyes widen further as she became paralyzed with fear. Secretly, she wanted to explore the pile to make sure the screaming wasn't coming from a stray creature that had somehow gotten lost, but her fear ultimately took over. Still, she managed to work up the courage to speak. "W-who's that?! I-is it a paper monster?!" "Fluttershy?!" She gave a soft gasp, clearly not expecting the pile to speak back to her but knowing full well who the voice belonged to. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she called out, "Mandy! I-is that you?" "Help me! I'm..." A pause as the pile rustled in a more fierce way than before. "...kinda stuck over here!" "Um..." Fluttershy began to hover. "I'll try!" As she moved closer to the pile, she looked around it for any sign of Mandy's body. To her surprise, there didn't seem to be anything. It would have been the perfect disguise for any unsuspecting villain who was dumber than bricks -- which, to be fair, described a lot of villains in the Toronto area. "Um, can you give me a hand?" Fluttershy asked, jumping back slightly when a hand suddenly thrust out of the pile like a fast-moving zombie seeking a new victim. "O-okay...I'm gonna pull you. Try and break free!" "I'm not makin' any guarantees!" With wings flapping as hard as she could, the Pegasus clasped her hooves around the hand and pulled. For a minute, it didn't seem like Mandy was budging. It was almost like she was stuck to the floor by some mysterious force. Either that, or Fluttershy's strength really wasn't up to snuff. "I can feel myself comin' loose!" came the elated cry, which spurred Fluttershy to put more effort into her pulling. She grit her teeth, wondering if she was actually pulling the Shapeshifter who had somehow gained the ability to change her weight. But whether it really was the villainess or not, she couldn't help but ask herself if Mandy had gotten heavier. Of course, she knew better than to ask that aloud. She was the Element of Kindness, and she certainly hadn't forgotten Mandy's wishes of not having agents talk incessantly about her weight. Finally, with a mighty "Hah!", she yanked Mandy free. The hybrid went up into the air a little ways before crashing down onto her friend, leaving them both splayed on the floor and panting heavily as papers fluttered about in the air. Once Fluttershy caught her breath, she wriggled herself free, folding her wings in and turning to face Mandy. "Mandy! You look like a mess! And..." She tilted her head. "Why are you buried in papers?" "I..." Mandy swallowed. "I've been so backed up with work..." She slowly began to get to her feet. "See, there's been a recent surge in Toronto cases and Oprah assigned me with filing paperwork that other agents fill out." "Don't they have a File Room with a receptionist for that?" "Yeah. But they've been sick and out of work all week." Fluttershy bit her lip, noting how Mandy's matted hair and tail, her puffy eyes, and the exposure of her white undershirt made her look more tired than when she was sleep-deprived. "But you have cases to solve and paperwork to file too, don't you? Not to mention all the gadget repairs!" The Pegasus took a few steps forward. "Oh, and you look like you're going to collapse any second!" "I think we're well beyond that stage..." Mandy said, rubbing her head and groaning as she felt a headache start to come on. "On top of that, I've been having to get up earlier than usual. My sleep's all outta wack now!" That would explain her appearance. Or mostly explain it, anyway, Fluttershy thought, eyeing her friend up and down. She inhaled, confidence surging through her and a determined expression settling on her face as she straightened and laid her game plan clear on the table. "Mandy, you need a vacation." Weak laughter met that proclamation. "Yeah, I do. But ya really think I'll be able to take any time off when I have all this to do?" "Yes." Fluttershy said. "Because I'll do it for you." A pause. Mandy's eyes widened. Her expression twisted into one of surprise, and then skepticism, and then right to utter disbelief. "You?" she said. "You don't even work in Investigation, how do-" "I may not work in the Investigation department..." Fluttershy raised a hoof. "But I received Investigation training at the Odd Squad Academy, remember? I know how to handle paperwork." "And the gadget repairs?" "I'll leave those to Oona and the other Scientists until you come back." "And what about Oprah? She's gonna yell at you if she finds you doing my work when you're supposed to be in the Creature Room!" Fluttershy gave a mighty huff. "Let her." Mandy took a step back. "Wow. You sound...really confident." she uttered, an edge of worry creeping into her voice. "You do know that Oprah's reeeeeeally really strong, right? Like, she can twist you into a pretzel in five seconds flat?" "I'm aware." Fluttershy nodded. "But I can fend against her. I'm not afraid of her! I'm not the shy pony I once was!" She was right, of course. Mandy knew that Fluttershy had gotten more confident over the years, thanks to the support of Odd Squad and all of her friends. But she also knew that the mare had quite a ways to go, and with Oprah, it was made even more obvious. A rough-and-tumble leader who ruled an entire branch of a pseudo-government organization with an iron fist didn't necessarily mesh well with a meek but kind Pegasus who was the Bearer of the Element of Kindness. Fluttershy herself knew this too. But she was too wrapped up in her confidence to care very much about dealing with Oprah. Besides, as far as she was concerned, the Director mostly stayed in her office, and if Mandy was backed up with paperwork, surely she was backed up as well -- meaning her exiting the office was almost a non-issue. "Heh. Well...don't say I didn't warn ya." Mandy shrugged, before her eyes widened. "Hold on. What about your Creature Room duties?" "Ocean's a laid-back guy. He'll understand the situation." Mandy stammered, as though trying to protest further, but ultimately accepted her imminent defeat with a sigh. "All right." "Now go! Take a vacation!" Fluttershy shouted, stamping a hoof on the ground to emulate the slammed fist of Oprah as well as emulating her loud voice. Still, the mare's volume certainly couldn't compare to her boss's, and she smiled as she spoke more quietly, "I insist." "Yes, Ms. O." Mandy snickered, and began to make her way down the right hallway. "Have fun!" Fluttershy waved goodbye with a hoof, then exhaled as she turned to face Mandy's desk and the pile of papers that sat by it still. The confidence didn't ebb away any, and she almost felt like trotting in place to burn off the excess energy she had accrued from sheer motivation. "Now, where to begin..." Within the hour, Fluttershy had gotten a sizeable amount of paperwork done. A stack of papers sat to her right, and she was working on another O-135 form that had been half-filled. Mandy regretted to tell her that many of the forms had been half-filled, or a quarter-filled, or not even filled at all. Perhaps that was the source of her strife. After all, who likes things done half-fast? "If only I were a unicorn...writing with a pencil would be so much easier." she mused aloud to herself, lazily rolling the pencil about as she contemplated taking a break to go and get something to eat, or perhaps a drink to quench her thirst. The sound of the automatic doors opening put an end to those thoughts, and she turned her head to spot Olive and Otto coming through. "Oh, hey, Fluttershy." Olive greeted. "Olive, Otto! Hello." "Have you seen Mandy?" Otto asked. "Odie's been backed up with gadgets all day and we really need some repaired." It figures they would ask about Mandy. Fluttershy internally sighed. She wasn't too worried about Olive nor Otto -- they were powerful Directors, sure, but this wasn't their precinct to run, and they wouldn't have the mare's head on a platter just for doing Mandy's job. She straightened up in the chair. "Mandy...is on vacation." "On vacation?" Olive blinked. "That's weird. It's not really like her to take vacations." "It's at my own insistence. Not Oprah's." "But what if Oprah finds out?" Otto asked, his tone nothing short of panicked. "Olive and I have both witnessed firsthand just how strong she is. And it goes double if she's angry!" "I'm not concerned about that." Fluttershy shook her head and smiled. "Mandy was so overworked that she was buried in papers when I saw her!" "And what about your Creature Room duties?" "I spoke to Ocean and told him what was going on. He was more than happy to run the Creature Room in the meantime." "But...you work in the Creature Care department, don't you?" Olive tilted her head. "You don't work in Investigation." Fluttershy was starting to get a sense of deja vu, and it was tiring. She silently sent a prayer to Celestia that no other agent would come along and ask about her sitting at Mandy's desk and doing her friend's paperwork, because she really didn't feel like giving the same old answers to the same old questions over and over again, even if this was just the second time. "No. But I've received enough training at the Odd Squad Academy to know the ins and outs of paperwork like the back of my hoof." She extended a hoof towards the Lab. "If you need gadgets repaired, go to the Lab and leave them for Oona and the other Scientists. It's a little difficult to repair gadgets without unicorn magic." The Pegasus's confidence appeared to be lost on Olive and Otto, who were either too preoccupied with what they were doing or just didn't care. "All right." Olive said, giving a shrug as she and Otto began making their way to where Oona was behind the counter, fiddling with a gadget of her own. Fluttershy, meanwhile, quickly returned to work. Peaches stretched her feline body out, her jaws parting in a rather toothy yawn. "Oh wow. That was one of the best naps I've had in years!" she said, feeling energy begin to return to her as she leaped off of the bed and transformed back to her humanoid form. Deciding to see if Mandy or someone else wanted to hang out, she began to make her way out the door and down the hall. As she approached the bullpen, she was quick to notice one thing that was particularly off. "That's definitely odd." Peaches muttered, making her way over and giving a wave. "Hey! Agent Fluttershy!" "Hm?" The Pegasus swiveled her head to make eye contact with the one who had called her. "Oh, hello, Peaches." A pause. Peaches squinted, scanning Fluttershy up and down, touching her mane, and booping her hard in the snout. "You're...not Mandy in disguise, are you?" she asked, not bothering to hide her suspicion. Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm really Fluttershy. Mandy's on vacation." Peaches blinked. She had expected the Pegasus to tell her that Mandy was out on a case or was sick. A vacation was the last thing she had been expecting, and so, it briefly caught her off guard before her mouth curved upwards into a smile. "Ha! Mandy, on a vacation?" Peaches held back a snort. "Just last week, she told me that she would never take a vacation because-" "-it'd just be me sleeping for a week or two." Mandy smiled. "I mean don't get me wrong, I loooooove to sleep, but you guys go nuts if I sleep for more than 12 hours!" She patted Peaches on the shoulder. "Besides, Precinct 13579 needs me! I'm not here to kiss the feet of Oprah." She capped this off with a round of her giggling-snorting laughter, while Peaches nodded in understanding. Or, well, at least the best understanding she could. Fluttershy tilted her head. "Well, I pretty much forced her to take a vacation. The poor thing was buried under a mound of papers, and she looked so worn-out when I rescued her!" "What was she doing?" "The receptionist down in the File Room is out sick, so Oprah has been delegating agents' paperwork-filing duties to Mandy." Fluttershy rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "I'm honestly not quite sure why she couldn't just do it herself, but perhaps she's busy with other things." Peaches' gaze drifted to the two stacks of papers that both looked about ready to topple over. "And you finished it all?" "Mhm!" Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically. "It was actually easier than I thought it was going to be, even though many agents didn't take the time to do it properly." Her gaze moved towards the left hallway as she sighed. "Now I just have to take them down to the File Room..." "I can help with that." Peaches offered. "Why don't we do half-and-half? I take down one half, you take the other." "You'd...really help me?" "Sure. It's the least I could do while I'm here. Carrying all of these yourself would probably break your back, especially since you don't have any unicorn or alicorn magic to levitate it or anything." Fluttershy couldn't deny that Peaches was right -- and she really couldn't risk getting injured while Mandy was away. A smile formed on her maw. "Oh, thank you, Peaches!" As catgirl picked up one stack, mare picked up the other, and together, they traversed down the hallway with papers in tow, both surprised at how lighter the stacks seemed to be than what they were expecting. A few minutes later, they had arrived at the door to the File Room, which was decorated with a few bins that had plastic folders in it but were certainly not for filing paperwork. Nonetheless, they saw some papers littered throughout the bins, which, to their luck, were all fully completed and ready to be filed. "Here, I'll get the door." Peaches said. She pressed her body and the stack against the door while her right hand moved towards the doorknob, giving it a quick yank to the right. A stumble brought her back to her senses as she tried to keep the stack steady, but she found her balance rather quickly. Once she steadied herself, she had a look around the room. Two cabinets sat on the far side, stacked to the brim with gadgets galore. Flanking her on both sides were two more cabinets that also had gadgets and folders sitting on every shelf, with the cabinet on her right boasting a bulky tan-colored machine of some kind that she didn't identify. In the center of the room sat the receptionist's desk, with three bins to sort files into as well as some stray files and all the normal stuff one would find on a desk -- calculator, desk lamp, cup with pens and pencils, and some sort of holder with index cards shoved into it. She didn't know what that was for, if she was being honest. "Huh. So this is the File Room." Her nose wrinkled. "Looks...smaller than I thought." "The receptionist specifically asked for a small room." Fluttershy explained, her voice sounding strained as she lifted the stack into the furthermost right basket. Once she set it down, she exhaled and added, "You can set the papers in that machine over there." That bulky machine? Really? The machine that doesn't look like it does anything? Peaches thought. They really couldn't have come up with some better system, huh? She gave a couple grunts as she lifted the stack into the machine. To her surprise, the machine came to life the second it was inserted, as it produced an orange widespread beam that scanned the papers with a series of whirs and beeps. The process only took a couple seconds, and once it was complete, the button on the bottom-right glowed green. "Um...d-does that mean...it's okay?" she asked hesitantly. "Yes." Fluttershy nodded and pointed to the third bin. "Just take that stack out and put it here." Peaches did as she was told, which allowed the Pegasus to put her stack into the machine for scanning, where it too got the green light. She then put it right on top of Peaches' stack before landing and folding in her wings to let them take a good long rest. "Thank you so much for your help." Fluttershy smiled. "Carrying that many papers, all by myself...it would have been such a hassle!" "Not to mention back-breaking. Literally." Peaches couldn't help but wince as she briefly imagined Fluttershy in a wheelchair with a broken spine, or maybe a slipped...ah, whatever they were called. She couldn't remember. "Anyway, it's no problem. Did you happen to find out where Mandy went on her vacation?" Fluttershy shook her head. "She never told me. But you can try calling her." Ah cattails, why didn't I think of that? As Peaches reached a hand up towards her chest, she groaned as she came to a realization. "I don't have a badge phone. I really have to ask Oprah for one..." "Here. You can borrow mine." Peaches glanced at Fluttershy's outstretched hoof, with her own badge phone delicately resting on it. She took it and opened it. "Thank...you?" A long pause settled in the air. Fluttershy watched Peaches tilt the phone every conceivable way and begin pushing buttons that didn't do anything. For a moment, a thought passed through her mind of letting her fiddle with the phone, and bringing out a sort of trolling side to her no one would have expected. But she threw it into the mental trash -- that was the sort of thing meant for Pinkie Pie, anyway, and she didn't feel like having her kindness and patience tried with Odenbacker again. "Uh, remind me how this works?" "I have Mandy on speed dial. Just press 1." A beep, and then a couple ringback tones began to play, echoing within the tiny room. Unbeknownst to both mare and child, however, Mandy was busy relaxing at a beach. Her phone was on vibrate, but even though should could very well hear it, she refused to answer it, instead resuming her tan and cranking up the volume on the boombox that sat on the table to her right. Fluttershy frowned. "No answer." she murmured, as Peaches closed the phone and handed it back to her. "I guess it's for the best. Mandy deserves to have a vacation, alone, if she wants it. She works so hard for Odd Squad." "Sometimes too hard." Peaches concurred with a nod. "Well, if I can't hang with Mandy, I guess I'll go for a walk around the town." She began to head for the door. "See you later, Fluttershy." "Bye!" As she walked out, her mind began to fill up with thoughts. Mandy on vacation...it just doesn't feel right to me. I can't explain it, but I'm getting a sort of bad feeling about this. Like something's going wrong. Please, cuz, stay safe. Have fun on your vacation, just stay safe. A half-hour into working on some more paperwork that she had found piled up on her friend's desk, Fluttershy's concentration was broken by the booming sound of yet another stack of papers making impact with the desk. "Eep!" "Oh, Agent Fluttershy. Sorry about that. I didn't see you there." Oprah apologized, brushing dust off her hands. "Why are you sitting at Mandy's desk?" A feeling of dread began to settle in the pit of Fluttershy's stomach. She had talked the talk, and now she had to actually walk the walk. The only problem was, she hadn't really thought of any excuses for when Oprah did eventually come out of her office, leading her to devise one on the spot. "Oh! Um, she...she's...getting a checkup from Dr. O right now and asked me to fill in for her in the meantime." Sweet Celestia, please don't let my cover be blown! Oprah looked to ponder this answer for a moment, before she nodded. "Well, it is important to be healthy, I suppose." she said, resting a hand on the stack she had just put down. "When she comes back, can you tell her that this is another batch of paperwork for her to file?" That same hand then moved to ruffle her tied-back hair as best she could, a ragged sigh escaping her. "There are just so many cases that agents have been solving and so many are in a rush to get the paperwork filled that there are tons of blank spots!" Fluttershy internally breathed a sigh of relief. "Um, sure, but..." She tilted her head. "Forgive me for asking, ma'am, but...is there a reason why you can't fill out the paperwork?" "I'm busy with my own Director duties. Besides, it's not in the job description of the Management department to do that kind of stuff." Oprah responded. "I know Mandy is very productive and is a very diligent and hard worker with tons of energy, so with that in mind, this should be no problem for her." Half of Fluttershy had a mind to smack her boss right then and there. The other half, of course, was more rational. It knew better, and instead allowed the mare to settle for a light disapproving frown. But she has her limits. I understand that. If she wants to take a break, then that's fine with me. Heck, I'll even let her take a vacation. She deserves it! ...Is what I want her to say. But she's not going to. Is she really this blind as to Mandy's wants and needs? As she berated herself for asking such a rhetoric question, she settled for an "Uh-huh" of incredulity, followed by, "Well, I'll pass the news along to her when I see her." "Thank you. And you can tell her that if she gets all the paperwork done, I'll reward her with a special juice box." "Will do." Those two words were enough to get the Director off of Fluttershy's back, as she turned and began making the journey back to her office upstairs. Fluttershy gave a scoff, her facial features darkening. "Yeah, she's productive, diligent and hard-working, all right. Apparently she's supposed to be like that all the time without stopping, huh? As if you're not lying about having so much work to do yourself?" She pivoted back around in the chair. "Luckily, she has me to pick up the slack she leaves behind. I'm starting to like doing this." She quickly returned to work, grabbing a pencil between her teeth and an incomplete form and beginning to fill it out. In the Lab, Olive and Otto were retrieving the last of their gadgets from Oona, now fully repaired and functional. "Thanks for repairing these gadgets, Oona. We really appreciate it." "Hey, it's not a problem!" Oona nodded at Olive. "Sorry it took so long. Uh, but might I suggest you two use the double-doors to enter Headquarters instead of...you know, using my back room?" "But we...didn't..." Otto trailed off, having argued with the Lab Director about this issue thrice now and not being so keen on going for Round Four. He turned to leave, as did his partner. "Fine. Sorry. We'll do that next time." "Have funnily-doo!" Oona chirped, waving them off before her smile contorted into a frown. "Darn it, I have to work on a better catchphrase..." Neither Director got very far before their eyes laid upon a mare at work. "Hey, is...Fluttershy still working?" "Apparently." Otto said, in response to his partner. "But the stack looks...taller than last time. Did Oprah give her- er, uh, I mean, did she give Mandy more paperwork?" "Looks like it." Olive scanned the bullpen. "Speaking of...I haven't seen Mandy all day. Maybe we should give her a call and see where she is." "She's on vacation. What more else do you need?" "She could be on vacation in a villain's lair, tied up and helpless." Olive sharply retorted, beginning to reach for her badge phone. "I wouldn't do that." Both Directors whirled their heads to the right, gadgets in hand and ready to fire. As soon as they saw who it was that was approaching them, however, they relaxed. "Oh, Peaches! Hi!" Otto waved. "What's going on? Why shouldn't we call Mandy?" "Because Fluttershy and I tried calling her earlier. We didn't get a response." "Maybe she has her phone on vibrate? Or silent?" "Could be." Peaches shrugged. "But really, not bothering Mandy is for the best. It's like I told Fluttershy: she works so hard for Odd Squad that if she wants a vacation, we should let her have it." Both Olive and Otto concurred, giving murmurs of agreement. "Have you told Oprah?" Olive asked. "No, and I'm pretty sure Fluttershy hasn't, either. I'm not sure what she would do to her if she found out." "She could fire her...or put her on probation..." Peaches stiffened. "I-I think Fluttershy knows what she's doing, though. She doesn't seem to be worried!" She gave a bout of nervous laughter. "Besides, if I'm being honest...I'm on her side here. I know Mandy's second-in-command, but does Oprah really need to stick her with all of the paperwork duties?" Olive and Otto exchanged an inquisitive glance. "It just doesn't seem fair, is all. Mandy's only one person." Peaches sighed. "Whatever. It's out of my hands, anyway. I just hope Mandy's enjoying her vacation...wherever she is." The ten notes of Odd Squad's theme tune broke through the rather depressing air, and everyone stared at Olive's badge phone as she hesitantly picked it up, opened it, and pressed a button to put the incoming call on speakerphone. "Go for Olive." "Mommaaaaaaaa..." Eyes widened across the board. Fluttershy, working at Mandy's desk nearby, swiveled around in her chair. "Mandy?! Oh, I-I didn't expect you to call!" Olive said. "Uh, listen, I heard you were on vacation-" "Hav' I ever toldju m'bout the time...the tiiiime..." A hiccup. "I went water skiin' with...Larissssa Cabreeeera?" It was then that Olive realized exactly what was going on, and she could feel her heart drop several feet as a flicker of anxiety came to life. She covered the speaker part of the phone with her hand and leaned in closer to Otto and Peaches. "I, uh...think she's..." She mimed someone chugging a glass of alcohol, complete with silent glug sounds. Otto managed to catch on rather quickly, giving a long, drawn-out "ohhhh" of realization that curved upwards into a question at the end. Peaches, on the other hand, didn't quite understand, and only gave a meek shrug. "She's...sick?" "She..." Olive's expression twisted into a rather ugly-looking smile. "...is drunk." "That means she's had too much alcohol." Otto explained to Peaches. "It's what adults drink all the time. It's really bad stuff, especially for us kids." "She hasn't had alcohol, Otto!" "And thennn we had Slurpeeeees together!" The muffled sound of Mandy's laughter came forth, followed by another hiccup. She rolled around on the hotel bed she was laying on, kicking her feet to and fro -- not that anyone could see it. "That was funnnnnn." Olive took a deep breath and placed a hand on Peaches' shoulder. "Let me explain. Once in a blue moon -- and I'm not talking about when the moon is actually blue -- Mandy treats herself to root beer. The thing is, she always treats herself to too much root beer." She held up her badge phone. "And when she does..." Peaches listened to the sound of Mandy's slurred laughter, which only increased after she belched. She was starting to understand exactly what alcohol was, and if Otto's words were any indication, she had to wonder how Mandy had gotten her hands on a drink that was for adults. Perhaps her drinking root beer worked the same was as Oprah drinking juice, which, in and of itself, was likened to an alcoholic drink by passing agents she had eavesdropped on. "That sounds horrible. Can't she die from that?" "No. She'll wake up the next day feeling horrible, but she's not gonna die from it." Olive waved her hand. "That's for adults." On a whim, Peaches leaned closer to the badge phone and said, "Mandy? It's Peaches. Where are you right now?" "In Unicornia!" Olive and Otto both raised their eyebrows. "Yeah, okay, I see how this works now." she said, her voice nearly deadpan. "It's almost like the way she acts when she's sleep-deprived." "Ah, yes! It's somewhat similar." Olive nodded, happy to find some analogical ground her friend could stand on so she could understand exactly what was going on with Mandy. "Unfortunately, we're not going to get any answers out of her as to where she is or what she's doing. At least not any that are coherent." Peaches rolled her eyes in disappointment and annoyance. "Mandy, we're gonna go, okay? Just call me if you need anything." "Will doooooo!" Mandy laughed. "Y' can tell Missus Butterflutter that Imma gonna be stayin' here for a whooooole month!" More laughter, only this time, it ended in a high-pitched squeal that sounded like the dying noise of a pig. "Iss' so funnnn and, and, iss' got rides n' stuff! And, and, and, Imma gonna make a whoooooole buncha new friendzzzzzz!" Peaches' eyes widened. So did Otto's. "A month?!" Olive put forth a nervous laugh that was nothing short of awkward. "Mandy, Mandy, c-can't you stay there for...a week?" she said. "You can always come back! I'll take you there personally." "But Mooooooom, iss' so much funnnnn!" Mandy whined. "Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, I'm gonna go on the bestestest ride ever! The Aeson Cazzino!" The phone slipped out of Olive's grip and clattered to the floor. "She's going to a casino?!" Otto yelled, enough to catch the attention of a few passing agents. "Exactly where did she go to that has a casino?!" Olive was at an utter loss for words. She looked like a mannequin, with her jaw agape and her hand positioned in such a way that it looked like she could model clothes at an Old Navy Blue store. Her brain had completely shut down at the mention of a casino, and Otto's reaction didn't help matters. "H-hold on." Peaches said. "It's possible that Mandy is going to an amusement park instead. She did mention the 'bestest'...uh...'est' ride ever." For a brief moment, Olive made eye contact with the catgirl. To any outside observer, it looked like she was considering her words and using them as a means of calming herself down and reassuring herself that Mandy was not, in fact, going to a casino -- and they would be right. The moral implications of Mandy going to a casino and then either getting her rump catapulted across the parking lot or being let inside but then getting her rump catapulted across the parking lot outweighed her panic and shock the more she thought about them, and it was then that she regained clarity. "Mandy, that's great!" she said cheerfully, going along with her adopted daughter's skewed mentality as though it was a game she intended to win. "Just don't gamble all your money, okay?" The hybrid laughed and hiccuped. "Nooooo, don't worry, I'm jus' gonna play some Gooooo Fiiiiish!" Her words were somehow even more slurred, which made everyone do double-takes. "Iss gonna be so much funnnn n' I dunno how I'm gonnaaaaaaaaa..." A long pause as she trailed off. Olive raised three of her fingers, pulling them down by the second. When she got to zero, Mandy began the process of destroying an entire forest full of trees and scaring the wildlife away with the loud sawing of wood. Lying on the bed with half of her body hanging off of it, she could have been mistaken for a dead body had she not been making noise. "She passed out!" Peaches remarked in surprise. "There we go. Always the staple of Mandy going wild on root beer." Olive closed the badge phone and clipped it back onto her suit, turning to face Otto and Peaches with a knowing smile. "Her passing out within mere minutes of getting drunk." "That was probably one of the most useless calls to anyone I've ever witnessed." Otto deadpanned. "But at least we know where she's going!" Peaches tapped her chin. "Aeson Casino." "Aeson...wow, that's...in the United States." Otto glanced at the catgirl. "Norwall, Montana." "Is that far?" "For us?" Otto scoffed. "Nah. No place is too far for us. Except maybe Neptune. That's pretty far. Can't get there with tube travel." His gaze moved to Olive. "Partner, do you really support Mandy going to a casino?" Olive stared at him as though offended by his question. "What? No! I was playing along! They're not going to let an 11-year-old girl into a casino. Adults are as dumb as bricks, but they have standards." Far be it from Peaches to know what, exactly, a casino was, but that didn't mean she couldn't pick up on its definition from hearing Olive and Otto talk about it. All in all, she knew it was a place Mandy was not allowed in, if not due to her boisterous personality then due to her age. After the two Directors said goodbye to Peaches, Olive and Otto began walking to the Tube Lobby. "I guess all we can do now is hope Oprah doesn't find out about Mandy and Fluttershy." "And make sure Mandy comes back to us from her vacation in one piece. That too." Olive heaved a sigh. "We should stay out of this issue as much as we can. Even though she's not our boss anymore, the last thing I want is to get in trouble with Oprah for sticking our noses into something that should be Fluttershy's business. Especially if she ends up going to the Big O..." Otto glanced at the ground. His retreat into his thoughts, laying out a scenario where he and Olive got fired, lasted for only a second before his stomach growled. "Come on, let's head back. I'm hungry." Olive gave a soft chuckle. "Of course you are." The next day didn't bode any better for Fluttershy. Particularly since a new stack had been placed on Mandy's desk the second she had finished getting ready for work. It was a good thing she had overheard the conversation between Olive, Otto and Peaches, and it was a good thing Ocean had allowed her to work in Mandy's stead for six more days. At first, she honestly wasn't sure how she was going to manage it -- between her animal friends at her cottage and the immense stress of keeping her actions a secret, it was a lot to juggle on her plate, and she wondered how she would ever handle both things at the same time. But her motivation to allow her friend the vacation she so very much deserved trumped any indecisiveness she had. This was going to happen. It was happening right now, and it would continue to happen. She wasn't afraid of the consequences. After all, she had already defied them once. And now, she was about to do it again. "Agent Fluttershy? You're here again? Where's Mandy?" "She is sick, ma'am. Very sick." Oprah squinted, her expression full of anger, suspicion, and disappointment. "Sick? With what?" "It's a disease that Odd Squad doctors are still trying to figure out." Fluttershy said, putting on on the best worried face expression she could muster. "It's nothing serious, but Dr. O did say that Mandy must be quarantined in the Bedroom for a week." "A week?!" Oprah exclaimed, before sighing and taking a sip of the juice box in her hand. "Well, I can always have other agents pick up the slack, I suppose, but...all this paperwork still needs to be done." An idea came to Fluttershy right then and there. "Um...may I do it, ma'am? I am Mandy's friend, after all." As though someone had just told her something incredibly obvious, Oprah perked up and turned around, swiveling her head to and fro. "Where's Agent Pinkie Pie? She's Mandy's partner. I can get her to solve this." Fluttershy's face fell as she realized that Oprah wasn't really listening to her, even though she was speaking in her normal soft-and-firm-at-the-very-same-time voice. Still, she forced herself to remain level with her boss, lest she get in trouble for developing an attitude and weaponizing it. "Pinkie is in Equestria right now, but I can give her a call and tell her to come back, if you want." "Please." Oprah turned back around. "Someone in Creature Care can't handle paperwork -- at least, not the same kind of paperwork as what Investigation agents handle. Not only is it not in their job description, but you nor Ocean have the expertise to do paperwork like that." A flare of anger sparked in Fluttershy's heart. She couldn't stop her eye from twitching as she grit her teeth together in a show of being out-of-character. Don't have the expertise?! Who does she think filled out all that paperwork yesterday? The flare died down slightly as her body sagged with the answer to her question, as her hoof reached for her badge phone. Oh. Right. She thinks Mandy did it. Well, I can't argue with her, of course. She's my boss. "I'll give Pinkie a call right now, ma'am." "Thank you." Even after Oprah left and went up the stairs, and even after she had made the call to Pinkie, that flare never really fizzled out. Fluttershy had known her boss to be steely and harsh on the outside, but carry a facet of kindness, resilience, and warmth with her too. Now it just seemed like that facet had dulled, and the Pegasus wasn't sure who could polish it again with a little reminder. Certainly not her, of course. Perhaps she was too meek, too much of a wallflower to be paid attention to very much. I took this job from Mandy because I wanted to help her out. She's a friend. And friends help each other out! She huffed. But to disobey Oprah... A firm look settled on her face. She turned around, picked up a pencil, and went back to filling out another O-135 form. No. Mandy deserves to have time off! And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure she does! It was only a few minutes later that Agent Pinkie Pie arrived to Headquarters, and it was within that few minutes that Fluttershy's confidence had begun to waver the more she thought about the weight of what she was doing. "Hey, Fluttershy!" She waved. "What's going on?" "Pinkie." The Pegasus's voice sounded strained and disheartened. "Pull up a chair and sit next to me. I want to discuss something with you." Pinkie picked up on her friend's inflection, her brows creasing in worry as she grabbed a chair from a nearby desk and sat across from her. "So what's the beef? Why are you sitting at Mandy's desk? Ooh, ooh, did she get a case of acute lobster-itis again?" "No, it's not that." Fluttershy replied. "Mandy is on vacation right now, at my insistence, and I offered to do paperwork for her while she's gone -- paperwork that Oprah keeps giving her because the receptionist down in the File Room is out sick. But Oprah doesn't know that Mandy's on vacation, and so I've been lying to her." She scoffed in disgust. "You want to know what she said?" "What'd she say?" "She asked me to call you to do Mandy’s paperwork for her because you’re in the Investigation department, and I’m just in Creature Care! She said that I don’t have the expertise to do paperwork!" Pinkie leaned back and gasped. "That's so not true! You were a whiz with paperwork when we were at the Academy!" "I know. But I can't go and confront Oprah." Fluttershy broke eye contact, her ears folding downwards as she attempted to steel herself for her next words. "Admittedly...I'm not really ready to face her yet." A tilt of the head was her response. "She's strong, Pinkie. It's no wonder everyone follows her orders!" Fluttershy's voice became quieter but still desperate, as though she was trying to recruit Pinkie to take down a ferocious enemy with all of her might. "I need to...build up more confidence before I can properly tell her off...and I really don't want to get fired from Odd Squad, either." Pinkie nodded and considered her words for a minute, closing her eyes to allow herself to think. "Well, if Ms. O wants me to do Mandy's paperwork...then I guess I'll do it." she said. "I'm her partner. It would be wrong of me not to!" "You're not doing this alone!" "Huh?" Pinkie's eyes flew open. They met Fluttershy's bowed head, her eyes squeezed shut. She couldn't help but notice the cracks in the Pegasus's voice as she spoke. "I'm going to help you!" came the definitive cry. Fluttershy's legs began to shake. As confident as she claimed to be with this whole situation, she was completely and utterly afraid of her boss and the wrath she would incur on the Pegasus if she found out the truth. The mask she had been putting on had crumbled away within seconds, and she hated it. She had barely gotten through the second go-around with her boss, and no one could say whether she would survive a third one with all of the excuses she had written down. Although granted, she hadn't been expecting to run into her boss twice. But a desk job was a desk job. "But Fluttershy, you heard what Ms. O said! You can't do Mandy's paperwork!" Pinkie said worryingly. Slowly, she lifted her head and stared at the pink party pony. Her lungs riled themselves up and prepared to expel words that she hoped were filled with confidence, even in spite of her fear. "Mandy is my friend. And friends help each other. Now let's get started!" For a moment, Pinkie was left speechless. She watched as Fluttershy turned in her chair and resumed her work, jaw dropped and eyes bugging out of her skull. A breathy "whoa" left her lungs, but that was as far as speech went for the next few minutes. At least, up until she formed a few coherent words. "I guess you really are 'Flutterbold' now if you're willing to stand up to Ms. O, of all people!" she chirped. "Let's work these papers!" Fluttershy smiled, a few smidges of confidence returning to her now that she had a trusted friend who was in the loop and was willing to back her up. After all, if Otto and Olive didn't want to stick their noses where they didn't belong, Pinkie Pie could easily take up that mantle. The rest of the days passed for Mandy about as quickly as a car on the freeway. She couldn't count how many times she had gotten drunk off of root beer, toured national parks located within the state, and laughed at countless groups of people who played themselves at games like Skip-Bo, The Game of Life, and funnily enough, Trivial Pursuit. Perhaps the only disappointing part was being thrown across the parking lot and right onto the windshield of a truck with an angry Rottweiler in the backseat. That had allowed her to learn the lesson of "don't mess with muscly people who are twice your size" pretty good. "Did you really win?" "No! Beverly did. Sweet, kind Beverly. You know she makes the bestest apple pie, Momma? It's so heavenly!" "I'm sure." Olive laughed over the phone. "Well, it's a good thing you didn't win the car. We only have licenses to operate little kid cars, and I'd think you'd prefer to fly rather than drive, anyway." "The only problem is that the tube entrance is so far away!" Mandy whined, heaving a sigh that caused her to briefly lose altitude and take the bags she was levitating with her. "It's been a half-hour since I left the hotel and my bags are getting so heavy. Feels like I've been flyin' forever!" "If you need to rest, then rest." Olive said, her words more of a command than a suggestion. "And when you get back, please, make sure to take a shower first thing. I've heard horrible things about hotel showers. I still have nightmares about one hotel shower I went in..." She gave a shudder that Mandy obviously couldn't see. The hybrid laughed and snorted. "Aww, don't worry, Momma! I was planning on doing that anyway! I really haven't showered in a couple days and I must smell preeeeetty awful." She moved a large bag to the front of her, making sure to keep her eyes peeled to the ground for any sign of her destination. "Oh, by the way, I brought you and Otto some gifts, so I'll be sure to stop by with 'em once I shower and save you from my stink." "Sounds good. See you soon." "Bye!" As Mandy closed her badge phone and clipped it onto her chest, she could feel her wings begin to get tired, and so, she swooped downwards to land and catch a few quick Z's before she continued her search. Following a call from Olive telling her that Mandy was on her way back to Headquarters, Fluttershy began to work on the second half of another stack of paperwork. By this point, she had lost count of how many stacks there had been, but she had managed to dodge the bullet that was Oprah two more times. She liked to attribute those to sheer luck more than wit or smarts. Her ear swiveled to the right at the distant sound of a slurp. Its source was unmistakable. She quickly dropped the pencil and pretended to stare at the labyrinthine screensaver of Mandy's computer. "Agent Fluttershy, why are you here again? Where's Agent Pinkie Pie?" The mare turned to face her boss. "She's, um...she's in the Bathroom." she responded -- the one excuse she had that could actually be proven true, and really was true this time around. "I see. And why aren't you in the Creature Room?" Now that question was a little harder to devise a good excuse for, especially since Fluttershy had to up her game for each approach. "Um, uh, I-I'm trying to catch a creature. It..." She looked around. "...made its way into Mandy's desk and I can't find it." The look in Oprah's eyes worried her. It was almost...knowing. Terrifyingly so. "Why don't I help you look?" "L-look?" Fluttershy blinked. "I, um..." She bit her lip. Mandy would probably be coming back any minute now, and she was going to be a dead mare if Oprah helped her look for a creature that didn't even exist in the first place then saw Mandy. Still, perhaps she could get this done quickly. Mandy probably wasn't at her usual zippy speed -- vacations did that to people. Fluttershy rode on that hope, because it was the only thing going flawlessly well for her at the moment. "Sure! I would, um, appreciate the help." She opened a drawer to her right. "It should be around here somewhere..." "I'm baaaaa-aaaaaack!" She stiffened. Oprah turned to look with a confused expression on her face. "Hiya!" A thump sound came forth that Fluttershy was too scared to try and identify. It was amazing she could even hear it over the sound of her own racing heartbeat. Up and down went Oprah's gaze, taking in Mandy's T-shirt, ripped-at-the-knees jeans, and twintails secured by two yellow bows, as well as the bags she had sitting on the floor. "Mandy," she said, her words slow but icy, "why do you look like you just came back from vacation?" Suddenly it dawned on the hybrid exactly what was going on. And unlike Fluttershy, making up excuses was not her strong suit. "U-uh...um..." was all she could stammer out, as both she and Fluttershy shared the same thought. The jig is up. Fluttershy could have sworn she saw a vein pop out of Oprah's neck as her head whipped around to shoot a glare. She whimpered as she shrunk into a half-hunched position in the chair. "AGENT FLUTTERSHY!! IN MY OFFICE, NOW!!" Now the mare was shaking. She didn't even bother to move, let alone peek at her boss going up into her office. A scared yelp eked its way out of her as she buried her face deeper in her hooves. "F-Fluttershy!" Mandy called, making her way over. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, I-" "No! It's my fault!" Fluttershy yelled, tears streaming down her face. "I was the one who made you go on vacation! I...I was only..." "Trying to help out a friend?" Sobs wracked the Pegasus's body as Mandy scooped her up into a tight hug. The pair stayed that way for minute after minute, with Mandy allowing Fluttershy to cry as much as she needed to. "Fluttershy..." the hybrid murmured. "The vacation I went on was the best vacation of my life, narrow superlative aside. I'm happy that you stepped up when I was in trouble, and I'm happy that you did what you did." "AGENT FLUTTERSHY!!!" A bellow from the second floor, harsher this time around, very nearly killing the moment cold. "We're coming, Ms. O!" A response that was just as harsh, hoping to resume the moment and allow Fluttershy to calm down at her own pace. "I-I told myself t-that I could f-face Ms. O, b-b-but she's so s-scary! I-I underestimated her!" Fluttershy squeaked, before she delved into a series of terrified whimpers as she buried her face deeper into Mandy's shirt. Before she knew it, she felt air move along her back, which slightly eased her crying as she looked up at her friend. "M-Mandy?" "I'm coming with you. We're going to see Ms. O together." Fluttershy's eyes widened. "N-no! W-what if you get in trouble too?!" "I don't care." In that moment, Fluttershy looked around, and saw her world rising. It took her a moment to realize that she was ascending the stairs to the second floor. More specifically, to Ms. O's office. She knew that Mandy was a near-unstoppable force in battle. Outside of combat, however, the same often held true for helping her friends out. When she got going, she really got going, and something told the Pegasus that stopping her hybrid friend would be a fruitless endeavor. But...Mandy is strong and brave, much more so than I am. And if she's with me, then we can be strong and brave together. After all, that's what partners are for, even if we aren't really partners. ...Yes. We'll sort this out. Everything will be just fine. I don't have to face Ms. O alone. I have a friend with me! The thoughts put another round of confidence back into Fluttershy's bloodstream. She took a few deep breaths, imagining herself back at her cottage with all of her animal friends crowded around her as a sort of happy place. "Let's go." The high pitch was unmistakable. Those were the only two words she needed to begin moving forward. And so, the pair walked inside, towards the final obstacle of it all, prepared for whatever might come their way. Or so they thought. "Mandy. I'd like to have a word with you as well. Close the doors." Wordlessly, the hybrid did as she was told, lighting up her horn and allowing the doors to swing closed. "Now, have a seat. Both of you." If Oprah's frosty tone of voice was a gambit to try and shake either Mandy's or Fluttershy's shared confidence, it wasn't working. Both of them kept the same neutral expressions on their faces as they each took a seat in a gold-painted chair. Oprah took a deep breath. "Agent Fluttershy." The Pegasus straightened. "I have not received any creature reports from you over the past week. Usually, one each comes from you and Ocean, twice a day." Oprah's eyes narrowed slightly. "Have you been neglecting your Creature Care duties?" "N-n-no, ma'am." Fluttershy responded, being unable to stop the stammer that fell from her lips. Oprah gave a soft hum. "I find it hard to believe your word. Considering you've been lying to me consistently this past week." Typical response. Don't let your guard down, Fluttershy. "Nonetheless, I'd like for you to tell me what has been going on. I want to know all the details." Oprah then added pointedly, "All of them." Over the next minute, Fluttershy recounted the story, keeping her tone as steady as possible. "You gave Mandy vacation time without my permission?!" The question was practically a yell, and it, along with Oprah suddenly shooting up from her chair, startled Fluttershy. "Y-yes." "So you were the one who did all that paperwork..." Oprah slowly sat down. "I knew the handwriting was off, but I couldn't match it to anyone." Mandy resisted the urge to correct her boss by saying it was hoofwriting, not handwriting -- and on top of that, she refrained from mentioning how Oprah was smart enough to recognize every agent's handwriting and hoofwriting. "Why did you lie to me?" Fluttershy tensed. For a moment, her gaze locked onto Mandy's, and the hybrid gave her an assuring nod along with a small smile. That was all she needed. She closed her eyes and screamed. "D-delegating paperwork duties to Mandy isn't fair!!" A small echo shook the room. Oprah's eyes widened. Fluttershy continued, the words tumbling out of her without thinking. "It's not fair...she's just one person! How can you possibly expect her to do all that paperwork when she has cases to solve, gadgets to repair, and even her own paperwork to do? Why would you mistreat her like that?!" Tears began pricking at her eyes. She gave a small sniffle. "Mandy's my friend, and I refuse..." Slowly, she rose to all four hooves. Her wings opened and flared in an attempt to show dominance. The fur on her chest rippled ever so slightly. "I refuse to let you mistreat her further with your actions!" Mostly, it was silence pierced the room. The other one-percent came from Fluttershy's breathing, heavy and slow as she remained in her position and glared at her boss. Oprah's expression grew dark. It was clear to see, even with her bowed head. Blinding-white teeth became bared as a low growl rolled in the chambers of her throat. Nails, though not very long, scraped along the wooden surface of the desk. "How dare you..." Fluttershy's eyes widened. Mandy tentatively reached out a hand. "O-Oprah?" "How dare you snap at me like that?!" came the grinding screech, as Oprah shot up fast enough to allow her chair to collide with the back wall and topple over onto its side. "Do you think I had a choice?! Mandy is the second-in-command of this precinct, and working in the Investigation department, it's in her job description to do this type of work!" Her boss's reaction took her by surprise, but Fluttershy wasn't so keen on backing down anytime soon. "'Job description' this, 'job description' that. I'm tired of hearing about your silly little 'job descriptions'! Why don't you have some compassion for your employees for once and stop being so naive?" "It is my job as an Odd Squad Director to keep this place running!" "It should also be your job to care for your agents and treat them right!" By this point, both girls were nose-to-nose, each giving angry growls. Mandy squirmed in her own seat slightly, not feeling so comfortable with being a third wheel and feeling even more uncomfortable with the bad vibes in the air. "Oh dear odd." was all she could squeak out, but after that, she opted for silence. Oprah's brown eyes flickered with rage. "You lied to me about Mandy's whereabouts so she can get a vacation! A vacation that I never granted her! Do you know how much trouble I could have gotten into with the Big O for vacation time without notice?!" Fluttershy rested her front hooves on the desk, her cyan eyes shimmering with the same emotion. "Would you get your head out of your job for one second and have some decency? Mandy deserved a vacation if she wanted it, for all you put her through." "I have a responsibility to protect two things -- my job, and my juice boxes!" Fluttershy barked a cruel laugh, filled with nothing short of sheer mockery. "Not three things? Not your agents too? How selfish and pathetic!" Mandy's eyes widened as Oprah began visibly quaking. "You're pushing my buttons, agent." "I may have been afraid of you before, but that's changed!" Fluttershy reared up. "I don't usually get into physical fights, but...if that's how it's gonna be, then bring it!" Now Mandy's eyes looked almost like they were about to fall out of their skull. Never in her life did she expect to hear Fluttershy actually willing to physically fight someone, let alone when that someone was the strongest agent in the entire precinct. She honestly wasn't sure the mare would win, even with the advantage of flight -- but at the same time, she didn't think the mare would go through with actually fighting her boss, either. Oprah thought so too, going by the twitch of her mouth that threatened to curve into a smug smile without any power holding it down. "No brutality needed." she said, holding her hand up. "Unless...you refuse to turn in your badge?" Both Mandy's and Fluttershy's hearts plummeted. For Mandy, she was saved only by a simple plea, from subordinate to leader: "O-Oprah, no! You can't!" For Fluttershy, it marked the official death of her confident mask as she folded in her wings and sat down. Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks, her face holding nothing but an expression of utter shock. The world and the voices within it became nothing but blurs to her. "Well?" Mandy grit her teeth and stared at Fluttershy, realizing that arguing with Oprah wouldn't do anything. Much like adults in the workplace, the Director was set in her decision whenever she fired someone, and no one could sway her into keeping the employee she was firing onto the force, even if the firing was completely unjustified. "You're fired, Agent Fluttershy. Your badge." The hand was held out, menacingly. Watching. Mocking her. Waiting for its offering. Fluttershy felt a clash of emotions stir within her -- sadness, frustration, anger, regret. All of them coalesced into one growl as she wordlessly unclipped her badge, slammed it down on the desk with a thunk, and soared out the door, not bothering to recognize Mandy at all. Mandy blinked. Like Fluttershy, she too was in a state of shock, but anger shared a throne with it. She could feel it boiling inside of her. "No...Fluttershy...w-wh-how-I-d-" Oprah was as cool as a cucumber. She might as well have been told that the grass on her lawn was green. "Speak coherently." "What have you done?!" Mandy screeched, her eyes brimming with tears. "I fired Fluttershy for misconduct against me, for disobeying me, and for going behind my back. There was nothing immoral about it." Oprah said. "I abide by the rules. But it's clear that she does not." "B-but who's gonna- I-" Mandy violently shook her head, trying to regain her composure. She wanted to cry, oh so very much. She wanted to share a cry with Fluttershy, whom she had imagined was feeling quite upset and worried in the aftermath of what had happened. But she wouldn't just let her boss push such a shy and kind pony around like that, especially when that shy and kind pony was her friend. "Fluttershy has a way with animals that Ocean doesn't have. How will he manage?" "Ocean will be fine. He's had lots of experience working alone." The ball of anger grew bigger. Mandy sat down and buried her face in her hands, grasping her fingers around her head in an attempt to stop herself from slapping Oprah. One thing was made clear -- her attempts to make the Director see reason were failing spectacularly. But she was a human, and all humans had their weaknesses. Lucky for her that Mandy just so happened to know Oprah's weakness. Well, one of them, anyway. "Oprah...if I had asked..." She pulled her hands away from her face, staring at her boss with blue eyes so icy that they could freeze anyone that stared into them long enough. "Would you have given me a vacation?" "You never take vacations." "That's besides the point. Answer the question. And answer honestly." "Honestly?" Oprah cocked an eyebrow. "No." "Why not?" "Because we need you. Pinkie needs you." Oprah's eyes shimmered. "I need you." Yes. There it was. Much like Peaches hunting mice in the park, Mandy was ready to pounce on her prey. It was the perfect gateway, the leg up she needed. "You need me?" Mandy cracked a small smile. "If you ask me, you’re becoming a little too over-reliant on me. I leave for an entire week and everything turns to mush." Oprah's eye began to twitch. She barely recognized Mandy placing a hand on her shoulder. "Oprah. You’ve done great things. You’ve gone on dangerous secret missions, caught bad guys in their traps...and let’s not forget how you became a Director to begin with." The smile on Mandy's face grew bigger. "And you can do more great things by yourself. This precinct will not fall apart without my presence." More twitching. No verbal response. Mandy's expression darkened as she said bitterly, "I just wish you realized that before you went off on my best friend." "B-but I have a job to do here!" Oprah exclaimed. "It's my job to make sure this precinct runs smoothly. I have served as a Director here for decades, and I believe I'm running it right." The more time passed, the more Mandy made sure to gain the upper hand against Oprah when it came to who was more calm and collected. It helped that she knew she was in the wrong. "If 'running it right' means not bothering to care for your agents, then yes, you are correct. You are running this precinct right." Like a light switch, Oprah's mood changed from desperation to frustration. Another growl emanated from her as she glared at her agent, who only looked on with a smile of amusement. Just seeing this smile caused her to ball her hand up into a fist and bring it down onto her desk with a mighty slam, enough to create a small crack running down a quarter of the way through. Her words cut through the air like sharp blades. "I am doing what's right for this precinct! For Odd Squad!" Mandy wasn't sure what would have gotten her to cackle -- her opponent's facade breaking, or the fact that said opponent was riding on ego and thought she was the Big O of the entire organization. But as much as she wanted to laugh, she settled for an eyebrow raise and an incredulous-sounding "Really?" Oprah, eyes flaring with volcanic fire that outmatched even the contents of the Volcano Room, watched as Mandy magically unclipped her own badge and held it up to her. "If this is your definition of 'right', then I want no part of it." The hybrid's voice audibly quivered, but Oprah was too enraged to notice. Another growl rattled in her throat. "Just...get me a juice box!" Mandy placed the badge next to Fluttershy's, then pivoted and began walking away. It was only then, with her back turned to the Director, that her eyes welled up with thick tears. "Get it yourself." Biting her lip, she barely registered Oprah's next words. "Agent Mandy, get back here this instant! I WANT A JUICE BOX AND I WANT IT NOW!!" Silence. "I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BE FIRED!!" "Then it's a good thing I wasn't fired, was I?" Mandy said, the bitterness returning. "Maybe next time you'll reconsider how you treat your agents, and how you're making a big deal over such a simple thing as me going on vacation." She opened the door. "But until then..." A footstep, and then another. "I quit." Cavernous lungs filled up to their capacity, and the last thing Mandy heard before the glass door swung closed was a high-pitched scream of raw, unbridled rage that surpassed anything any Director across history had for their own agents. With the tears falling down her face now, Mandy took a deep breath and began descending the stairs, the scream getting further and further away the more she walked. "Mandy!" Her eyes snapped open to find Peaches standing at the bottom of the stairwell. "What's going on? I heard Oprah scream!" "I told her off. It's a long story." Mandy responded, quickly wiping her tears away. "Right now, my main priority is getting myself clean." Peaches' nose wrinkled. "Yeah, you don't really smell too good, if I'm being honest with you." A sniff of the air told Mandy that her cousin was right. She resisted the urge to gag. "I would suggest you don't go into her office for the time being. She's preeeetty upset." The sound of a loud boom made both girls jump, Mandy falling into Peaches' arms as her head swiveled around and tilted upwards. She barely registered the catgirl's hair and tail bushing up. "Holy cattails..." "Y-Yeah. Spread the word, wouldja? I don't want anyone facing her wrath." "Will do." "Thank you." Mandy straightened up as she watched Peaches' hair and tail returned to normal. "Oh, and, um, would you mind borrowing a badge phone and giving Momma and Otto a quick call? I don't need them calling my badge phone when it's up in Oprah's office." It was then that Peaches noticed something was off. Her gaze drifted to Mandy's chest, and her eyes widened. "Wait, you don't have yours on you!" "Yeeeeeeah, about that. I quit." "You quit?!" Peaches yowled, ignoring the stares of agents as they ceased their activities to turn their attention to her and Mandy. "Mhm. Oprah believes that she's running this precinct correctly by bending it to her liking with minimal to no care for how her agents feel. I told her that I wanted no part of that. So I quit." Peaches stared at Mandy for so long that one would have thought she had done the living equivalent of a blue-screen. Stammers bubbled forth after that for a few moments before she was able to form something of coherency. "B-but-" "Hold that thought." Mandy held her hand up and brushed past her cousin. "I really need to shower, 'kay? Once I'm fresh and clean, we'll go over to Momma and Otto's precinct and talk things out." "I..." Peaches blinked, and then shook her head to clear her mind. "W-well, all right...I'll be here." Mandy's horn lit up. She grabbed the bags that were still in the middle of the bullpen from before and soared down the hallway with them. Peaches watched her go, a look of confusion still etched onto her face. "Mandy...quit...but she would never..." Another loud thump, followed by a scream, startled her, and she scrambled backwards. She could have sworn she saw the glass doors rattle with the force of that scream, but chalked it up to her seeing things, because no human could have that powerful of a scream. Except maybe Mandy. But the jury was still out on that. "Maybe it's for the best. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Peaches mused, her gaze flicking towards the hallway Mandy had gone down. "Now to find a badge phone I can borrow..." Ignoring the sound of another boom, she began her pursuit for the electronic device, her pace quick as she came to the realization that finding one was something that was better off being done sooner rather than later. Olive bit her lip as force was applied to the pencil she had in a vicegrip. She didn't get halfway down the report she was writing before the pencil broke in two, causing her to give a groan of defeat. "That's the fifth pencil you've broken, partner." Otto noted from his position beside her, as he sat in his own chair. Olive heaved a sigh. "I'll admit, I'm a little worried." "About Peaches?" "She sounded concerned when we talked. I just hope nothing bad has happened." The sound of whirring caught their attention, and their heads turned to the right almost in unison. Emerging from their personal tube was Mandy, who flung open the doors with such velocity that it was amazing they didn't fly clear off of the hinges. "Mandy! You're..." Olive's smile fell right to a frown as she took note of the hybrid's appearance. Her eyes were partially glazed over with shock and anger, and her body sagged with the weight of some unidentifiable force. But perhaps most strikingly, both her hair and her tail were straightened, in a rare show of emotion that both Olive and Otto had seen before. Utter depression and despair. "Aha, well, first of all, before Olive works her way into another tizzy..." Otto glanced over, seeing his partner's eyes grow wide as she looked to be hard-rebooting. "How was your vacation?" At this question, Mandy straightened with renewed purpose. "It was the greatest time of my life! Oh, I went to so many places, met so many people...it was like I was living on the edge with just adrenaline as my guide! Like what Rainbow Dash does on a daily basis!" she said, her eyes shimmering. "It was awesome!" "Really?" "Yeah!" Mandy blinked in realization. "Aww darn, I forgot to bring you guys your gifts..." She shook her head. "Ah, no matter. Next time!" Otto gestured to the couch on the right. "Why don't you have a seat on the couch?" "Glad to!" As Mandy took a seat, Otto's brow furrowed. He couldn't be sure -- not many partner pairs had telepathic powers between each other -- but he was thinking the same thing as Olive. Something's off about her. She's never happy when her hair and tail are straightened like that. He watched as Olive shook her head and snapped back to reality, then took initiative, standing up and asking Mandy the ultimate question. "Is everything okay?" "'Okay' isn't the adjective I would use." Her voice lost all of its enthusiasm. It had about the same enthusiasm of your average 9-5 adult in the workforce. Her mirthless laugh was even worse. Olive and Otto definitely shared the same thought. Bingo. We got her. "See, when I came back from my vacation, I found Fluttershy at my desk with a huge stack of papers. Oprah asked me why I looked the way I did and then she called up Fluttershy to her office." Mandy explained. "I know Fluttershy told me that she didn't fear Oprah or what she would do to her if she found out. But...that was a lie." Otto tilted his head. "A lie?" "She began blaming herself for what happened, became a nervous wreck all over again. I comforted her and we went to see Oprah together." The hybrid bit her lip and gripped the legs of her pants. Olive and Otto moved towards the couch she was sitting on, taking seats on both sides of her. "What happened with Oprah?" Olive asked, her tone holding an edge of urgency and worry. "She and Fluttershy...they got into a fight. She was told everything about what happened and...m-my friend..." Mandy's voice began to quiver. "She told Oprah that putting all that paperwork on me wasn't fair...that I was just a single person and couldn't do it all. And then-" A strangled, choked sob left her throat. On sheer instinct, Olive began rubbing her back. Both she and Otto didn't urge her any further than that. "SHE FIRED HER!!" Silence. Olive and Otto looked at each other, eyes wide. Mandy began sobbing harder, burying her face in her hands. "She fired Fluttershy?" whispered Olive. "S-she said...it was for three reasons..." Mandy gave a rather undignified sniffle. "For misconduct. For disobeying her. And...for going behind her back." "That's not fair! She can't fire Fluttershy just for that! I-it's-" "AND THEN I QUIT TOO!!" Otto sat slack-jawed, partly out of interruption of his sentence, but also partly out of pure shock. Olive, on the other hand, looked like she had just been shot and then stabbed, her eyes wide in shock as she just sat there, staring at Mandy. It took her a long time to begin formulating words. "Y-y-you...you...you quit? Odd Squad?" "I wasn't gonna let Oprah have her way!" Mandy's eyes squeezed shut, which allowed a few more tears to fall through. "She wasn’t gonna let me go on a vacation no matter how much I asked, because she’s too clingy! She defended her firing of Fluttershy because she has such a warped view of what is the 'right' way to run her precinct! She had no remorse for what she did!" Out of pure frustration, Mandy picked up a glass that had been left on the coffee table and hurled it with all her might. It clattered with the predictable sound of glass cracking, and she slumped back down as her body wracked harder and harder with sobs. Right then, the tubes sounded with the call of arrival. Peaches stepped out, her eyes bearing witness to her cousin sobbing and two of her friends gazing at her with worried but sympathetic looks in their eyes. "Cuz..." "H-how could she...how could she do such a thing?!" A hiccup. "All over me going on vacation!" Olive sprung up from her spot on the couch, an icy aura emanating from her as her expression darkened. "Partner?" "I'm going to Oprah's precinct." Her tone was cold in a way that had never been seen before. Otto knew that she was the type to sometimes fling herself into battle and throw the first punch, but this was a new breed of anger, even for him. In spite of that, however, he knew that no matter how Olive got angry, it was a good idea to stay far away from her as humanly possible when she did. Unfortunately, Peaches didn't know. "I-I wouldn't do that right now. Oprah's pretty upset and she's throwing around stuff like crazy and-" "I don't care. I'm going." Olive said, a tinge of fiery-hot anger laced in her voice before she swiveled her head towards Otto. "Otto, you know what to do." He nodded. "G-got it. Stay safe, Olive." As he moved back to his chair, Olive was "squishinated" and shot up into the lone tube, going at breakneck speeds to her old boss's office to give her a piece of her mind. "It'll be okay. Just let it all out." Peaches was rubbing the back of a still-sobbing Mandy, trying to offer the best condolences she could as she held the hybrid tight to her chest. "Losing a partner...or a friend, in this case...it's one of the most hurtful things an Odd Squad agent can go through." "Have you gone through this before?" "I haven't." Otto glanced at the tube. "But Olive has." "Really? With who?" "It's...a bit of a sensitive topic. I'm not sure she would like for us to discuss it so casually, and without her present." Peaches simply nodded in understanding. "The pain that Mandy must be feeling right now..." Otto's gaze moved to Peaches. "Fluttershy has been with her since we found the two of them as infants. Or, well, not really infants. Fluttershy was a filly and Mandy was a baby. Two totally different things." Confused by his sheepish but forced laughter, Peaches blinked. "Anyway, the two of them spent a lot of time together. Out of the six ponies that came here, Mandy would always go back to Fluttershy." The six ponies that came here? Now Peaches' mind was whirling with questions about her cousin's backstory. However, she forced herself to put them aside for now. "Huh. I thought she would gravitate more towards Pinkie Pie." "Nope. I think it was due to Fluttershy's soft and shy nature. Mandy loved that. When she wasn't with Olive, she wanted to go to Fluttershy." Mandy pushed herself away from Peaches right then, sniffling and giving a small hiccup. Snot ran down her nose and her eyes looked horribly bloodshot. "Are you gonna be okay?" Otto asked tentatively. "I'll...I'm..." A hiccup. "I'm fine. It's just...n-not having Fluttershy here, it's..." "You did the right thing, cuz. None of this is your fault." "Peaches is right." Otto smiled. "Olive's on her way to talk some sense into Oprah now, and get Fluttershy back into Odd Squad. And I know she'll succeed." Mandy gave a snot-filled sniffle. She didn't give a smile, but rather, she gazed at Otto with a small flicker of hope in her eyes, her mind only echoing one thought. She better. "Hey, you must be exhausted from your trip back here. Why don't you go and take a nap?" Peaches suggested. "It'll help take your mind off of things for a while." "I guess." The answer sounded quite noncommittal, to Peaches' and Otto's surprise. They shared a glance as Mandy trudged her way over to the other couch and flopped on it, with her back facing them. She didn't bother to put up a soundproof shield, nor earplugs, nor anything that would allow her to block out the inevitable sound. She felt utterly miserable, but that, combined with the fact that she hadn't napped for that long at Olive's previous insistence, didn't stop her from falling asleep anyway. In hushed voices, the two children talked about other subjects and shared a few snacks to lighten the mood a little, only glancing at the exposed tube every once in a while for any sign of Olive's return. Her nostrils flared. Heavy, rumbling breaths shook her entire chest down to the ribcage. She stood and faced a vast wasteland of utter destruction. Broken glass littered her office and the floor outside of it, startling the few agents who walked by and didn't dare say a word. Some, but not all, of the carpet was ripped up and scattered all over every inch of the room. Behind her, her open computer screen carried nothing but silent snow and a large spider-web crack. Any sense of rationality or sanity had long since gone away. Thoughts of murdering that disgusting, reprehensible rat with wings flickered in her mind. She knew how she would do it too. She would use her hands, slowly wrapping around her neck, choking her ferociously before she was hurled to the ground, where she would promptly receive the gift of a thousand stompings performed by a single pair of Converses. And then, she would go to the nearest river, drop the waste of mass into the water, and wipe her hands clean of any consequences she would rece- "WHO'S THERE?!" Her expression softened, moving from anger to shock as she bore witness to her latest visitor. "Oprah." "O-Olive! I-I-I wasn't expecting you here!" "Neither was I." Olive's gaze, like her voice, was as cold as ice and carried not a single trace of niceties. "We need to talk. Now." Oprah blinked. "Talk?" "Yes. Talk." Oprah's head swiveled behind her, and she examined the room. The calamitous damage was beginning to settle in for her, but fixing it wasn't on her list of priorities at the moment. She bit her lip and stayed quiet for a few moments. "Um...w-well, all right. Sure. Come, um, have a seat. On the couch." As Oprah moved to clear debris away from the right-side couch, Olive glanced at the aftermath of her rage. It served as a stark reminder for her that while Directors could be strict on their agents, they had to keep their anger in check as well. As an Odd Squad historian, she had read many stories of Directors in countries, states and cities around the world that had police forces and a justice system outside of Odd Squad, who had gotten tried in court on counts of murder or aggravated assault of their own agents. Many had rotted in jail for years, some to the point of death. Others had gotten released on bail. Others had just gotten away with a slap on the wrist, usually in the form of community service. She didn't want Oprah to be the next one, even in such a province as Ontario, which had no active police force to speak of. "I might as well cut right to the chase." she said, taking a seat on the debris-free left-side couch while Oprah took a seat on the right one. "I heard about what happened with Mandy and Fluttershy. How Fluttershy has been doing Mandy's paperwork while she's on vacation. How you and Fluttershy got into an altercation and she got fired, followed by Mandy quitting shortly after." "Y-yes." Oprah cleared her throat in an effort to clear her head, her anger slightly dying down. "I mean, yes. I fired Fluttershy on three grounds: misconduct, disobedience-" "I don't need to hear why you fired her. As I said, I know everything." "Oh." Oprah narrowed her eyes slightly and gave a huff. "If you've come to try and get me to change my mind, then you should know that it's not happening. I stand by what I say and what I've done." "But you doing that has come with a grave consequence, Oprah." Olive responded, her tone carrying just the slightest edge of desperation that threatened to shatter the ice within her. "Your second-in-command has quit Odd Squad for good. You have absolutely no one that can take your position as Director if you get injured or, Sheila forbid, killed. Never mind the fact that Mandy has lifted the spirits of so many agents here." She blinked. "You and I both know that she would never quit Odd Squad. But she did. Because of what you did to Fluttershy." At this, Oprah growled. Olive didn't budge so much as an inch. "The mare is right, by the way. Mandy is one person. You putting massive amounts of paperwork on her just because your receptionist is sick isn’t fair to her, or to the receptionist. And that’s not even getting into how you would have refused to let Mandy have a vacation even if she asked." "Because I need her. This Squad needs her." "Mandy has learned by now that Precinct 13579 can run just fine without her. Heck, it ran fine without her for an entire week." Olive gave a soft huff. "Oprah, why do you have such an attachment to Mandy? Why do you need her so much?" The anger rushed back to Oprah like a flood. Her thoughts shifted from murdering Fluttershy to murdering Olive, same exact plan and all. Her teeth ground together, although not hard enough to cause a tooth to crack. She slammed her fist downwards, not reacting when she felt it hit nothing instead of hitting a glass coffee table that had long since been broken. "What hole is Mandy filling for you?" Her lungs met their capacity... "O'DONAHUE, OKAY?! IT'S O'DONAHUE!!" ...and her voice shook the world. Or, at the very least, it shook the three-dimensional circular fixture hanging just inches away from the back wall of the bullpen. A choked sob left her. She covered her eyes, as though not looking at anything would take the pain away. Olive tilted her head. "Your old partner?" "Ever since he left, it's been..." Oprah grit her teeth together and ground them for a little bit. "It's been so hard on me. I was starting to move on from his disappearance when...when Mandy showed up." "But O'Donahue doesn't seem anything like Mandy." She was right, of course. Oprah knew that. O'Donahue was cool and debonair. He had style, he had flair, and he was there for her as a friend and as a partner. Mandy had style, she had flair, she was there for her as a friend, but she was no partner, and "cool" and "debonair" weren't the first two adjectives she'd use to describe the hybrid. If anything, they could probably be used to respectively describe Rainbow Dash and Rarity. They would get along with O'Donahue well, probably. That is, if he were still here. Oprah glanced at Olive. "I view Mandy as...as..." Her gaze moved away. "As what?" "As more than a friend." Now, it was back to Olive. "I view her as my partner. Filling the gap that O'Donahue left behind. She may not be anything like him..." Her mouth slowly curved upwards. "...but she's got the same passion and drive that he has. And just as he served as my second-in-command...Mandy does too." Olive didn't respond right away. Instead, she took a minute or two to think. "We're not just partners, we're friends"...Otto said those with such conviction when I was framed by Odd Todd. Adults view the term "partner" to mean a lover, but Oprah didn't love O'Donahue. Not romantically, anyway. And she doesn't love Mandy romantically, either. That's just weird. Still, viewing Mandy as a replacement...it's not healthy. She really hasn't moved on from O'Donahue after all these years. ...Therapy... By this point, her thoughts were going off on adventurous tangents. She shook her head to snap back to reality. "Did. Past tense. She doesn't work for you anymore. She quit. Because of your actions." Oprah's eyes slowly closed and her head bobbed a little as she softly murmured, "I know." A realization occurred to Olive right then. The coldness slightly faded away from her aura, being replaced with just the tiniest sliver of hope. "Oprah, let me ask you." she said. "Do you want Mandy back in Precinct 13579? Working for you again just as she did for years?" "I'd do anything." A heavy sigh edged its way out of the millennia-old corkscrew-ponytailed girl. "Then you're going to have to reinstate Fluttershy as well." Oprah's eyes flew open. Her head slowly swiveled towards Olive, as though she had just spoken of sin. "Reinstate Fluttershy?" "You and I both know that Mandy has been fond of Fluttershy since I found both of them. They have a strong bond. When you fired her, it cut Mandy deeper than you thought it did. And that’s why she quit." Olive's eyes flashed with authority. "Bring them both back onto the force." All Oprah did was stare, her mouth slightly open to the point where it was amazing a trail of drool didn't begin to form. She had fired Fluttershy for three specific reasons, and now, here was her old employee -- her best employee -- telling her she needed to bring the tick with wings back. O'Donahue wouldn't have done this. The thought forced its way through. It planted the seeds of a headache, which Oprah could most definitely feel as she rubbed her forehead. Still, even in spite of her throbbing pain, she couldn't help but begin to quiver. That thought, that lone thought, was right on the money. She wouldn't admit it, but it was right on the money. O'Donahue was cool and debonair, but like her, he was smart and both knew and played by the rules. If he were in Oprah's place, he would have given Fluttershy no more than a slap on the leg and let her walk away after an apology. That was the result of the temper he lacked, and the result of his compassion which endeared Oprah to him to begin with. Meanwhile, she had yelled at the mare, spewed venom unbecoming of an immortal manageress, and then proceeded to throw a tantrum by destroying her entire office. She had regressed from the kindhearted boss she was now to the downright egregious boss she was in the past, and she hated it. This didn't feel like her. This felt like something the Shapeshifter would do, or a Party Crasher creature, or any other oddity who was able to imitate her. Something they would do because they didn't know how far she had come in her second chance at leadership. "You won't have Mandy working for you if you don't bring Fluttershy back as well. It's a package deal." Silence. Three minutes of agonizing silence. Even the bullpen seemed quiet. When she didn't get a verbal response from her old boss, Olive turned. "Think about it for a bit. Mandy is at my Headquarters. When you're ready to talk, come over." The girl began to walk towards the tube, then suddenly stopped after just a few steps. "But I must warn you." Oprah looked up with a face full of hopelessness and guilt. "Even if you bring Mandy back to the force, it may take a while before you earn her full trust. We both know how Mandy acts when someone hurts her." Her head slightly turned. "You are no exception." The words were like icicle spears that were thrown at Oprah's chest and made direct contact. She watched with her mouth dry and her vocal cords growing tired as Olive got squishinated and sent back home through the tube. She could have sworn the girl shot her one last cold look, but she couldn't be sure. When she was all alone, the tears began to fall. Sobs increased in volume as her body shivered. At one point, she subconsciously vomited onto one of the pieces of carpet that hadn't been ripped up, then tore off her clothes, not getting any farther than her necklace and jacket before she stopped. The windup came in the form of her lungs becoming filled with air again until they threatened to burst with one more second of air intake. The pitch came in the form of an echoing screech of anguish that weaved its way through every inch of Headquarters and pierced the eardrums of every living thing in it. From there, her brown eyes faded and turned to gray, and she lost complete awareness. Otto honestly wasn't sure how much time had passed. He had gotten a sizeable amount of work done, which took his mind off of things for a little while, but got bored and diverted his attention to listening to Soundcheck tunes in an effort to improve his mood. Next to him, Peaches was kneading Mr. Jackalope, Oprah's jackalope plushie, with her paws, a purr rumbling about in her throat as she relished the soft feel of the toy's fur. A bang and the winding-down of a whir brought the duo's attention to the tube, where Olive stepped out. "Partner!" Otto said, relief washing over him. "How'd it go with Oprah?" Olive allowed her cool facade to drop as she took a deep breath. "I've said what I've needed to. I think my words struck a chord with her." "What did she say?" Peaches asked, taking a seat on the top of the couch. "She sees Mandy as not just an agent. She sees her as O'Donahue's..." Olive's eyes widened. "...replacement." "Her old partner? But he disappeared forever ago!" "Oprah misses him." Olive's eyes grew misty as she made eye contact with Otto. "I remember when we were Investigation agents...I could see the pain in her eyes sometimes, beneath her ironclad exterior. Something was hurting her, but it wasn't like I could just go up to her and ask her about it." Otto realized what his partner was getting at, and nodded slowly. "When you and I became Odd Squad Directors, and got our new Headquarters...then you asked her." "Yes. And she broke. She told me everything." "What happened?" Olive's head swiveled towards Peaches. She stared at the catgirl, as though she had suddenly just appeared and Olive had just noticed her presence. Her mouth curved into a small, but tight, smile. "It's a bit of a rough and complicated topic. Sometime in the future, maybe, we can discuss it." The sound of snoring cut into the conversation and cut through the dour air. Gazes fell upon Mandy, still fast asleep on the couch, snoring through her nose and not her mouth as her hands and feet twitched. In stark contrast to how she was in the waking world, she looked rather peaceful as her mind took her through another feature film. Time would tell how long that would last. "I suggested she take a nap since she was probably exhausted from traveling all the way here." Peaches explained, answering the question that Olive had before it was even formed. "Guess she didn't stop for much of a rest..." the girl muttered under her breath, before the volume of her voice rose to normal. "Good. Because Oprah may be coming here." "Why?" "To talk things out. To spill the beans." Olive made sure to put emphasis on how figurative the metaphor was. "And to rehire Mandy and Fluttershy." "Wait." Otto blinked. "Speaking of, where's Fluttershy? Where did she go after Oprah fired her?" "I'm not sure." Olive unclipped her badge phone and opened it, punching in the numbers 1-5-4. "I'll give Pinkie a call. She and Fluttershy are close friends, after all." As it turned out, Pinkie had no clue where Fluttershy is, but had resolved to find her as soon as she was done working at Sugarcube Corner. Olive spared the fun-loving mare the details of what happened, but she was still able to piece together most of what had happened -- namely that Fluttershy had, indeed, been fired for telling Oprah off. It was then that, out of obligation to Pinkie as Mandy's partner, Olive conceded, spilling everything to her to get her up to speed. The call had ended abruptly when Pinkie dropped the phone and had, according to Mrs. Cake, galloped off to her bedroom to cry. Over the next few minutes, Olive had then gone an alternate route and called the rest of the Mane Six to see if they were able to spare some time to comfort their friend. Of course, all of them had been more than happy to either drop whatever they were doing, call Fluttershy, and come right away, or wait until they were done before they called her and met up with her. With that done, Olive could breathe a little easier. "Okay. Twilight and Rarity are on their way." she said, closing her phone and putting it back onto her suit. "Applejack is busy with farm chores and Rainbow Dash has Wonderbolts practice, so they're a little tied up. They promised to come and help Fluttershy as soon as they were done, though." Another bang, and then another whir winding down, marked a new arrival to the office. With her loose bun, stained purple shirt, ripped skirt, and face full of dejection, it was clear who it was. But that didn't mean Peaches, Olive and Otto weren't taken aback by her scruffy appearance. "Oprah." The name felt weird on Olive's tongue. "You came...your eyes...have you been crying?" Normally, Oprah would have tried to hide any evidence of weaknesses. Her tear-stained cheeks would have been washed clean, her clothes would have been changed, and her hair would have been placed back up into a bun on a whim, all while she had been standing there. But this time, she hid nothing. With her voice dry and raspy, all she needed to do was speak five words to clue her friends in on what she wanted to do. "Where are Mandy and Fluttershy?" Mandy awoke to the sound of voices. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the voices woke up her. Her features contorted into discomfort as she gave a moan and opened her eyes. She could hear words being said, but couldn't quite make them out. As she turned around, her vision slowly became clearer and fixated on one girl in particular. "Oprah? Why is she here?" she asked herself aloud, making sure to keep her voice quiet. Her mind flashed back to the words Haruko had said to her when she had entered the Magical Grasslands yet again. "Mandy. I sense that Oprah is hiding something. Something...that she does not want you to know." Mandy blinked in surprise. "If you wish to repair your relationship, Oprah must be willing to confide in you." Oprah hiding secrets seemed...well, actually, no, for her it seemed perfectly fitting. But Mandy had surely thought that after all these years, she would be willing to share some of those secrets, even if Mandy was prone to blabbing anything and everything to anyone and everyone. But part of her figured that's not why she hadn't shared any. Haruko gazed at her still. "She must confide in you about how she really feels." How Oprah really feels... Mandy watched the Director converse a bit more, noting her dirty appearance and dull eyes. It didn't take much brainpower to deduce that she was, at the very least, feeling remorseful about what she did, but to the point where not even her eyes held any life was a surprising new low. When the last time the Director fell into despair like that was, Mandy couldn't remember. But the animosity she had for her old boss stuck around. She's had one chance too many. Now, I'm gonna really make her think. With a heavy sigh escaping her, Mandy slid off of the couch and made her way over to the trio. Oprah's eye caught her immediately, and she stiffened. "Mandy..." "Oprah." The even tone the hybrid adopted was lost on the Director as she sighed shakily. "I...I'm sorry. For everything." Olive nodded. "Tell her." Slowly, Oprah nodded in return, swallowing the lump that was beginning to form in her throat. "Mandy...do you know about my old partner, O'Donahue?" "Yes." "And how he has been missing for years?" "Yes." "I..." Oprah trailed off. She bit her lip until it began to bleed, a metallic taste filling her mouth and providing at least some level of quenching for how dry it was. "I view you as not just a friend. I view you as...O'Donahue's replacement. My partner." Mandy tilted her head. "Your partner?" "You may not act exactly like O’Donahue, but..." Oprah smiled, genuinely smiled, for the first time in what seemed like forever. "You mimic his passion. His drive to beat oddness. When you came along, it was like all my worry about him...it lifted away. I felt free for the first time in a long time." A tiny brown flicker of life returned to her eyes. "You work so hard for Odd Squad, Mandy. You push yourself to your limit and would risk life and limb just to save us. I never should have denied you a vacation if you wanted it. And…" She rubbed her arm. "I never should have unloaded all that paperwork on you. I know that Fluttershy offered to help you by doing your paperwork and letting you go on vacation, and I commend her for that. She may be a Creature Care agent, but she would make a good Investigation agent if given the option to be promoted." At this, Mandy's eyes widened. Would Oprah actually promote Fluttershy to the Investigation department? Would she really rip her away from her destiny just to be an agent in the most populous department of the organization? Yesterday, she would have told herself that would never happen. But today, the pessimist in her said that it probably would. Still, she forced herself to continue listening. "I’m really very sorry. For all that’s happened. For firing Fluttershy and for making you quit." Oprah sighed. "If Olive hadn’t come by and talked things out, I never would have realized just how much my actions have hurt you and your coworker. With that being said…" She reached behind her back and pulled out two badges. "I would like to rehire you and Fluttershy both back onto Odd Squad. If you accept." All Mandy could do was stare. For the first time in a long while, she was at a loss for words. She absentmindedly tugged at her straightened hair as her gaze flitted from her badge to Fluttershy's, her mind being filled with thoughts. She...wants to take me back in. Fluttershy too. She really does feel shame for what she did, huh? Is her past with O'Donahue what she wanted to confide in me about? This can't be what Haruko was talking about. No way. This is too easy. There's more to this that Oprah isn't telling me. Friends...partners...they tell each other secrets. Even the deep dark ones that not another soul should be told. Surely that's the same thing Oprah did with O'Donahue, right? From the way she talks about him so lovingly, you'd think they were attached to the hip. They did everything together. They were as much of a dynamic duo as Momma and Otto, without the legendary status-y stuffs. "Mandy." The mention of her name made her snap out of her thoughts. "Oprah is being completely genuine. Precinct 13579 really wouldn't be where it is today without you and her. Please, come back. For me. For all of us" She stared at Olive, utterly dumbfounded. Everyone's on her side, huh? Like she didn't just use a facade to sway them over? For all I know, she messed herself up intentionally to make herself look more sympathetic. It was the pessimism from Mandy's depressed state talking, of course, but she didn't care. If I don't accept her offer, maybe she'll become corrupted. I could get Odd Todd to make it happen faster. I could use this as a social experiment for the Big O...see what happens when an Odd Squad agent is pushed dangerously close to the edge, teetering between consciousness and death. See what happens when Odd Squad has a case of suicide on their hands. See what happens when people don't respect my feelings and needs. ...Wait, no, what am I thinking? That's selfish. And for all that Oprah's done, it's not fair to her. Mandy took a deep breath to force the bad thoughts out of her head. Friendships have blunders. This is just one of them. She made a mistake, and the blood can be on her hands as she resolves it. But in the meantime, I have to settle for a compromise. One that will make her return to normal, but satisfy me until she learns her lesson in proper. From there, she took a couple minutes to think of such a trade-off. The muffled sounds of the bullpen below helped, since she found it hard to think in complete silence. The others watched her with intrigue, waiting patiently until she made up her mind. Finally, letting out a sigh, she grabbed her badge in her rainbow-colored corona and clipped it back onto her suit. "I accept. But I want you to give Fluttershy her badge in person, with me as a witness." Oprah nodded. "That's fine by me." Was that relief in her voice? Mandy couldn't tell. Her corona grabbed her badge phone next, flipping it open and pressing the 1 button to speed-dial Fluttershy and tell her to come to Headquarters. Not five minutes later, and the mare had arrived. "I'm here." she announced, before her eyes settled on Oprah and turned icy cold in an instant, along with her voice. "You." "Fluttershy, I...I want to apologize. I realize now that you were only trying to help Mandy. I never should have snapped at you like I did, and I never should have fired you for doing something so selfless." Her body began to quiver slightly. "I’m sorry. I would happily accept you back on Odd Squad, working in the Creature Care department once more, if you wish." "I accept." Mandy's eyes widened with slight surprise, wondering how and why Fluttershy had spat out her answer so quickly. She chalked it up to the Pegasus having thought long and hard about her decision on the way back to Odd Squad from Equestria, and watched with satisfaction as she accepted her badge and clipped it back onto her suit. "But I hope you've learned your lesson." "I have. You may return to work in the Creature Room." "Thank you, ma'am." With a few flaps of her wings, she soared out of the room. Mandy could have sworn that between that and her voice becoming less and less icy as she spoke, she had forgiven Oprah. Which would make sense to her, because Fluttershy was one of the kindest ponies she had ever met. Mandy was kind, too. But unlike Fluttershy, she had hit her limit, and it was time she planted the elephant in the room. She turned and began to head towards the doors. "Leaving?" "Oprah." Mandy closed her eyes. "You have a lot of flaws. Flaws that cloud your vision. Flaws that make you jump to conclusions. Flaws that can hurt your friends." Everyone heard the voice crack on that last sentence, Mandy herself included. She gripped her chest with a hand, balling it up as tightly as she could until it began to ache with the turn of knuckles from tan to white. She didn't dare look back. "Right now, you should be asking yourself...what you can do to earn my trust and my friendship back." she declared. "I will continue to work under you as an Investigation agent. But not as your second-in-command." A shaky gasp was heard. The hybrid knew who it belonged to within the second. Without waiting for anyone to respond to her, she left the room and descended the stairs, head hanging low. Oprah's eyes shrunk. She slumped to the ground, the sound of her knees hitting the floor being nothing but an afterthought in her mind compared to what Mandy had just told her. It was clear that she could not accept the compromise, and it was clear that there were negotiations to be held to decide a better one. Olive shrugged. "I hate to say 'I told you so', but...I told you so." "Mandy's not one to easily forgive." Peaches sighed. "I think you should take her words to heart, Oprah. You've committed heinous acts. This is your punishment that is being imposed." The words tumbled out of Oprah as her brain began to shut down. "But...w-without Mandy as my right-hand agent, how...how will I..." She remembered what Mandy had told her about her doing great things. About how the precinct wouldn't hit the fan just because she wasn't here. Back then, she had been so blinded by anger that she barely registered the words. She had received them, they had stuck in her brain, but anger shoved them aside and then began forcefully stuffing them into the trashcan like the old-timey classic move of your average school bully. Now, she realized that Mandy was right. She was right about everything. Oh odd, how could she have been so blind? Her gaze stayed fixated straight ahead of her. Her pupils and irises both quivered, and thick ugly tears began streaming down her face once again. Memories of what had transpired hit her suddenly and repeatedly like battering rams. With it, her body began to tremble, and with that came the abhorrent, ungodly sounds of sobs that threatened to collapse a lung or two -- sounds that no human, not even a human as immortal and as powerful as her, should ever make. Olive, Peaches and Otto stood behind her, scared for their lives and unsure of how to comfort their friend through what was obviously a moment of severe distress. As much as they didn't want to watch, it was all they could do. Downstairs, Mandy had met up with Rarity and Twilight, who had informed her that after a long talk and a get-together with some tea, Fluttershy had been feeling much better. It was good news for her, and it was, perhaps, that good news that had made her hair and tail return back to its regular poofy, curly state. "Heya, Mandy!" Pinkie greeted, merrily trotting over to her partner with a big grin and a big change in mood from earlier. "How're you feeling?" "Been better. Felt better." Mandy sighed in an effort to relieve tension and stress that still weighed on her spine. "It's been a long week. I would rather be buried in paperwork again." "Weeeeell, I know a good way to cheer you up!" Pinkie reached inside of her mane and pulled out a recipe for a three-layer chocolate cake. "You wanna help me bake the bestest chocolate cake ever?" It didn't take a second for Mandy's mouth to begin watering. Her stomach cried out for food, and she was more than happy to oblige it. "With you? Absolutely." "Yes! Let's go!" Throughout the making of the cake, Pinkie had tried to cheer Mandy up further with stories of parties she threw -- only the best parties, of course, for the best partner, she said. Mandy listened to each and every one of them, feeling more like her old self with every minute that passed, and as she and Pinkie messily but happily ate the finished product, a thought occurred to her that she kept close to her heart. I don’t need Oprah to be happy. I have my friends and family. Momma. Otto. Peaches. The ponies. With them, life will always be good. It’s time for Oprah to think long and hard about what she’s done. And it’s time for me to live the bestest life I can! Throughout the rest of the day, she and Pinkie shared jokes, sung songs, and baked their hearts out. Worries were forgotten, even long after they had gone to bed. Mandy had woken up the next day with renewed happiness. And even though she had to face her boss repeatedly, that happiness remained within her, and that infectious cat smile never faded away from her face.
S1E19: Fake Charmer"Orino! Come forth!" Deep within the cavernous castle that stood at the foot of Vallea, a commanding bellow shook the walls. Guards straightened the second it reached their ears. Citizens passing by on the streets ran for their lives, not wanting to be next. And one king stood in front of his throne, tall and proud, with his curved staff gripped tightly in his paw and his green eyes piercing the area below. His cloak billowed in the wind for only a second after he had made the call, before it came to rest just inches from the ground. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer, and it didn't take long before a catperson entered the room. His short blonde hair streaked with finger waves and his copper eyes were the first things the king noticed about him -- that, and his casual attire of nothing more than a T-shirt, some jean shorts, and some sandals. By all means, he looked moreso dressed to go to the beach rather than face an individual in a position of power, although he didn't care very much. "Yes, King Ashero, Your Majesty?" came the response, placid and filled with suavity. The king waited until his subject had stopped in front of him before he continued onward. "As I am sure you're aware, Peaches has been away from Vallea for quite some time, looking for the person behind the attack on our village." He gave an amused huff. "And nothing of value has been lost." "Oh, certainly not, sir." "However...sources have reported that she is staying in the company of an organization known as 'Odd Squad'. Most notably, a being named 'Agent Mandy' has come up frequently." Ashero's nose wrinkled in disgust for only a moment. "As Peaches'...friend, I am entrusting you with the task of finding her." Orino nodded. "And what should I do if I find her?" "Bring her back here. Make her be of use to Vallea instead of letting her live as a groveling, yapping dog." Ashero snapped, almost as though berating his subject for asking such a dumb question. "And bring Agent Mandy back with her." "Right away, Your Majesty." Orino bowed, then turned to leave. However, a question came about in his mind that caused him to stop and turn around. "And, uh, why do you want Peaches back, again?" Ashero's patience was tried again, and it showed in his rage-filled voice. "Because, unsurprisingly, she has failed. And anyone who does not heed my orders is to be swiftly punished." He gave a sharp exhale through his nose as he jabbed his staff towards his subject. "Do not return until you have succeeded in your mission. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, Your Majesty." The sight of Orino bowing once more pleased Ashero, and set his rage at ease. "Very good. You shall depart immediately." Orino didn't need to be told twice. He was well aware that "immediately" meant "go now, and do not even think about packing anything or giving goodbyes". The throne doors closed behind him the very second his foot left the room. Only a second after that, Ashero sat back down in his throne and gripped his staff tighter, the sound of distant yowls floating through his ears and having as much significance as a soft breeze. He thought back to the Big O's letters, and how he had absorbed piece after piece of information about Odd Squad and about Agent Mandy. The exchanging of letters had only been for a short time, but the Big O had quite a lot to share about the organization that had become Vallea's most prominent enemy, and Ashero had gained lots and lots of knowledge that he shared with the subjects he sent out to keep tabs on said organization and on Mandy. Still, he couldn't help but crave more. After all, the more information you had on your enemy, the easier it was to defeat them, and if he was being honest, he was aiming for a swift defeat just to feed off of the despair of the townspeople and the townsponies that had placed their trust in such a sham of a group and such a fraud of a hero. "If only the Big O had not failed. We could have killed two birds with one claw swipe." he growled aloud to no one but himself, before giving a short huff. "But no matter. Vallea and its people -- my people -- can and will bend to my wishes. And I have confidence that Orino will succeed." He banged the thin cylindrical end of his staff down on the floor twice, the bell attached to it producing a rather deep and ominous gong-like noise with each impact. His eyes landed on a lone guard posted at the door. "You!" The guard stiffened, her short tail bobbing to and fro. "Send another round to Toronto. I want around-the-clock monitoring. I want all of the information we can get about Odd Squad." "R-right away, Your Majesty." After a quick bow, the guard exited the room, and another guard from the far end of the room moved to take her place. In an attempt to relieve the stress that weighed on his shoulders, Ashero took a deep breath and let out a mighty roar. The sound shot through the open windows of the castle, causing some catpeople to immediately retreat back into their houses and lock their doors. Peaches roamed the vast hallways of Precinct 13579, passing by agents who all gave her friendly hellos. Ah, another day at Odd Squad. Everything seems fine. She bit her lip right then, knowing that saying "everything seems fine" was just as much tempting fate as openly stating you hadn't been assigned any cases for the day yet. Sure enough, when she arrived at the bullpen, she found Mandy eagerly rolling her tongue inside of a glitter jar, tittering as she watched the flecks sparkle on her tongue. Uh...for the most part. Peaches rolled her eyes in bemusement before she moved past the steel double-doors. I guess I'll go out and see if I can find the Vallea culprit. I should broaden my search area, anyway...maybe to other Canadian cities? I'll have to ask Mandy if I can book some flights on her back. She wasn't sure how she got there, but she had somehow found herself aboveground, and began walking once again. Perhaps I should look on the outskirts of town. I haven't really looked much there. I should invest in a map or somethi- "Oof!" Peaches backed up a few steps, shaking her head as she stuttered out an apology. "S-s-sorry about that! I-I didn't see you there, I-" A pause lingered in the air. He looked at her. She looked at him. She gasped. "I-it can't be. You...you're here?!" "Yes, it's me." Her eyes shimmered with excitement. "Oh my cattails, Orino, I haven't seen you in so long!" she squealed, giving a light laugh as she wrapped her arms around her friend in a hug. "Why are you here?" "Oh, I'm..." Orino broke eye contact for just a single moment. "...just here for a visit. Yeah. I heard you went out to find who burned down Vallea, and I decided to join in the search." Peaches wasn't sure what to feel -- surprised that he had apparently escaped Vallea without King Ashero knowing, or excitement that this was no longer a one-feline search expedition. "Really?! That's amazing! Oh, I could use the help!" "Yes, yes, I'm sure you could." Orino replied, his tone carrying the faintest hint of mockery. He cleared his throat. "So where are you staying?" "Oh, I'm staying in this place called Odd Squad." Peaches suddenly brightened up and grabbed Orino by the wrist. "Hey, you should come check it out! Do you want to? It's a really cool place!" "Sure. Lead the way." Giddily laughing, she dragged him along with her towards the stairs that, luckily, weren't too far from her current location. Orino couldn't help but form a grin that could only rival the infamous Cheshire Cat's. How easy it is to prey on the idiotic. This will play out well in my favor. The steel double-doors opened to reveal Peaches and Orino, the latter of whom didn't even get so much as a single crumb of attention. To the inhabitants of the precinct, he was nothing more than a blade of grass, a cloud in the sky, a can of tomato soup at the supermarket. But that didn't matter to him, of course -- he was not vying for their attention. The one he actually wanted attention from was playing cleanly into his hands. "So here's the bullpen!" Peaches made a sweeping motion with her hand. Orino looked around with feigned surprise. "It's got some really neat stuff, like-" "Hold on." Orino flicked an ear. His eyes paused their movements on a four-legged pink-furred...what was it? A "pony"? ...Yes, a pony. Even the name sounded awful. It was talking about something he didn't care to listen to, and instead he focused his attention on the recipient of the words. She looked rather unusual, with her ears, hair and tail shaped similar to the pony's and her long pale white horn that protruded from her forehead, and he came to a sudden realization as a memory flashed in his mind. That...is Agent Mandy, no doubt about it. She looks exactly the same as the King's descriptors of her. And she looks about as dimwitted, too. This day just keeps getting better, huh? His tall ears swiveled suddenly towards the sound of someone approaching the duo. He wasn't quite sure who this person was, exactly, but he watched with intrigue all the same, making mental notes. "Hello, Pinkie, Mandy. Am I interrupting anything?" Mandy turned to face her boss, her smile immediately turning into a frown. She had been willing to only interact with her when necessary, but as the days since their spat went by, she had been coming down to the bullpen more and more, which irked her. A sharp exhale left her nose as she jerked her head away. "No. Nothing at all." she plainly responded. "Oh good." Oprah smiled, willingly ignoring Mandy's attitude. "Listen, I've been thinking about what you said. About how I have flaws and all that. And..." A pause. Orino watched with breath held. Mandy simply gazed at her boss expectantly. "And?" "Can we...talk in private sometime in the next couple days?" The sheer disgust that filled Mandy's face, as well as the sheer confusion on the pony's face, was almost as good as meat on a silver platter to Orino. As Peaches was still next to him and watching the entire exchange go down, though, he fought to keep the smile off of his face in order to keep up the facade. Still, he couldn't deny that watching this drama go down was rather thrilling, and gave him more crumbs of knowledge about Mandy to boot. It felt like forever before Mandy spat out a response. "Fine." Oprah sensed the out-of-character, but very much intentional, brevity in the response. "Thank you. Just come up whenever you have a free minute." And with that, she went up the left staircase, making sure to mind the slide as she slid into her office once more. "I sense some hostility!" Orino said, immediately kicking himself mentally for allowing himself to show excitement over something no one would show excitement over. Luckily, Peaches didn't pick up on it. "Yeah, Agent Mandy and Oprah had a falling-out a few days ago." she explained, watching as Pinkie attempted to put Mandy back into high spirits again. An "ohh" sound tumbled from Orino's lips. If Agent Mandy is that horrid abomination, then Oprah must be that girl who was speaking to her. A complete and utter non-threat, too -- King Ashero could send her flying through the castle with a single kick. Wouldn't that be funny to see? He watched with further intrigue as Peaches waved Pinkie and Mandy over. "Mandy, Pinkie, meet Orino. He's a childhood friend of mine who traveled all the way from Vallea to visit!" "Nice to meet you, Orino!" Pinkie extended a hoof for the catboy to shake. "I'm Agent Pinkie Pie, and I work at Odd Squad! And Sugarcube Corner in Equestria too, but also Odd Squad!" "Agent 57, at your service!" Mandy moved her hand about in the air before taking a deep bow. "I'm Mandy, nice to meetcha!" After shaking Pinkie's hoof moreso out of politeness than anything else, Orino's gaze focused on Mandy. He took in her appearance fully, from her rather grotesque brown tail that wagged slightly to her beaming cat smile and shining blue eyes. It almost made him not want to capture her and take her back...but he was sent out on a mission by his leader, and unless he was asking for a death sentence, he wasn't about to stray from it any more than he had to. "So you're Agent Mandy." he finally settled on saying, putting on a smile. "The one and only!" The hybrid leaned in close to his human ear and added in a whisper, "Beware of impostors. They're the ones that bite." Orino just stared as she pulled back and made a series of sounds that he could probably equate to laughing. Although then again, she's a disgusting spawn of the world that shouldn't even exist to begin with. I shouldn't be too surprised that she's making such terrible noises. He scanned her up and down again, tilting his head as he began plotting out his course of action for getting down to the nitty-gritty of who his opponent was. "You know, Mandy...you in particular strike me as someone intriguing." he said. "You're not a normal human being. What are you?" "Weeeeell, if we're talkin' biloohologally, I'm a human." "If we're talking what now?" "But if we're talkin' present-day, I'm a pony-human hybrid! Part pony, part human!" ...Okay, so she's not all that great at English. Checks out. "But you have wings. And a horn?" "I'm classified as part of the alicorn race. Or, uh, 'winged unicorn', as they're also called." "Interesting." Orino gave a soft hum of thought, his brain absorbing the explanations like a sponge. "I'm curious. Exactly how powerful are you?" "Uhh, hellooooo? I'm right here!" Orino blinked. His gaze shifted to Pinkie, who was frantically waving a hoof and trying to get her attention. He had completely forgotten she was there, and if he was being honest, he really didn't care. Not that he would ever say that to her face, of course. "Sorry." He barked a short laugh. "I got so caught up in learning about Mandy." "It's okay! In fact, I should leave you guys to it! If anyone can teach you about this place, it's my trusty-but-certainly-not-rusty partner!" Pinkie giggled and bounced away. "See ya!" As the trio waved the party pony off, Mandy turned her attention back to Orino. "Now, to answer your question...I'm kiiiinda powerful. I mean, I can't move the sun and moon or anything, but I do have skilled battle prowess." She reached a hand behind her back. "Although I usually prefer to fight more with this!" She whipped out her hammer and rested its head on the top of her foot. With a jerk of her leg, the hammer was sent flying up a little ways, and her foot making impact with the head in a mighty kick caused it to be sent spinning into the air. "Stop right there!" With an equally-mighty jump, Mandy grabbed the weapon's handle and landed perfectly on two feet. From there, she thrust the hammer out in a showy motion, like she was on camera and was showing the viewer a close-up of it. "'Cause it's hammer time!" A few spins performed, and her arm raised in a finishing pose, marked the end of the show. Peaches smiled and clapped, Orino joining in when the shock died down only a few seconds after she had started. "Very showy. In a good way, of course." "Thank ye thank ye!" Mandy bounced back over to them and rubbed the head of her hammer with her jacket sleeve. "This baby can grow huuuuuuge. Perfect for smashin' trees, villains, the ground..." Orino's eyes widened and began to sparkle. He was in pure genuine awe of this weapon, and he deduced that it was probably why Mandy had been such a formidable force all this time. "If it's not too much to ask...may I see you in action?" "In action? Like actually fighting someone?" "Yes!" Orino couldn't fight the excitement that crept into his voice. "See, us Valleans don't normally fight for fun. We are peaceful and tend to stay out of conflict unless it finds us or our king demands it. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared." Peaches grinned and pat his shoulder. "That's Orino for you!" "Heh, well..." Mandy scratched her cheek. "There isn't really anyone around to fight right now, but...there's video footage of me fighting villains and creatures and stuff if you wanna look at that!" Orino contemplated the offer. A small part of him wanted to challenge Mandy, just so he could watch her lose and get the mission over with faster. But he certainly wasn't prepared to deal with a hammer that had enough blunt force power to smash through earth. He needed more time to figure out how he could get through that -- if that was Mandy's signature weapon to use in battle, rather than any claws or any other part of her body, he was going to have a tough time and end up on the losing end fairly quickly. Still, he knew that if he was able to garner information from watching footage of her battling with her hammer, it would help in planning out battle strategies for if and when she was going to put up a fight. "I would prefer to see it in real-time, but a video would work just as well." "Great! C'mon, let's head to the North Control Room." Orino watched where Mandy pointed to, then followed her there, Peaches following suit. Of course, it didn't take them any more than a few footsteps to get where they were going. "So this is the North Control Room?" Orino asked incredulously. "Yep! Agents who work in the Security department handle footage from both Headquarters and the town here." Mandy looked from side to side, her pony ear flicking a few times before she sat down in an empty chair and grabbed the white-and-blue joystick in front of her. "Here, I'll show you footage from last week when I was fighting off a villain." Tilting the joystick to the left caused the content on the screen to rewind. What came up was a view that Orino couldn't help but go slightly slack-jawed at. Mandy was going at it with a villain who clearly had lightning powers, going by his leather attire and thunderbolt decor. She dodged his lightning attacks with graceful flaps of her wings. In one fell swoop towards the ground, she sideswiped him, causing him to stumble and misfire, and she repeated this three more times before she went back up into the air again. Furiously rubbing his hands, the villain shot out a rather large bolt of lightning at the hybrid, which she quickly counteracted with a blast of magic. From there, the two attacks met in the middle and pushed against each other, and for several seconds, it seemed like neither side was willing to let up. Although there was no sound to the video, Orino could feel the yell that Mandy's parted jaws allowed her to give as her blast grew in intensity and effortlessly pushed back against her opponent, encapsulating him. Orino held his breath, waiting for the aftermath to be shown. The video stopped. He let out a breathy "whoa..." that led into a "tch" of disappointment. "Oh yeah. That's Mr. Lightning. I went toe-to-toe with him last week. It was brutal." "And then you came home with your hair and tail all frizzed and stuck up in the air!" Peaches snickered. "Yeah...that took the rest of the day just to fix. S' why I really don't like dealin' with him, but it's all a part of the job." Orino was floored. Perhaps the only other time he would have been utterly overcome with shock and surprise like that is if he was told King Ashero died. His eyes lost all sense of debonair and coldness, instead sparkling with warmth and excitement. "This is...incredible!" he yowled. "I'd like to watch some more of this footage, if that's okay with you." "Sure!" Mandy pointed to where a big red desk sat, complete with an object that Orino couldn't identify nor care enough to identify. "I'll be over there at my desk. If you need anything, ask Peaches!" She got up. "Or me. Me works too." Peaches waved her cousin off, not noticing the sly smile her friend had put on as he came to a realization. This...thing...she has so much power. Power beyond what I initially thought. He bit back a soft chuckle, letting it instead form as a whistle through his teeth. If I’m to take her back with me...I’ll need to be careful. Fifteen minutes later, Mandy was absentmindedly chewing on a piece of Twistorice while typing up a report on students at the Odd Squad Academy when Olive and Otto entered. "Hey, Mandy." Olive gave a wave. "Momma! Otto!" The hybrid eagerly waved back, chewing up the rest of her Twistorice piece. "Who's the catperson over there?" Mandy turned towards where Otto was pointing. Over in the North Control Room, Peaches was talking about something with Orino. The screen was paused on a shot of Mandy and a Pegasus pony about to meet halfway with two individual attacks -- Mandy, for the life of her, couldn't remember who the pony was, but she was sure she knew who Otto was talking about. She tried to stifle a laugh, but it soon came out in full force. "Otto! Don't tell me you forgot Peaches' name again?" "No, not her!" Otto rolled her eyes. "The other one." "Oh! That's Peaches' friend, Orino. He's here for a visit!" Olive tilted her head. "Sure does seem like he's interested in your battles." "I guess he wants to learn from my style and techniques to improve on his own." Mandy gave a happy sigh and leaned back in her chair. "I can’t believe I’ve gotten to a point where I’m inspiring people who aren’t even Odd Squad agents to fight!" "Don't you mostly use a hammer and your magic to fight, though?" Otto asked. "Orino doesn't look like he has either of those." "Yeah, the last time you tried to punch a villain, you nearly broke your arm." Mandy nodded, recalling the incident clear as day. She rubbed her wrist subconsciously, remembering how the fracture looked like a candy cane but how it was a candy cane that hurt. "True. But maybe Peach can give him some pointers! She's the same species, it'll work out." The sound of laughter brought the trio's attention to Peaches and Orino, who were approaching them. "Hey, me and Orino are gonna go spar in the park. Any of you want to come?" "I would, but I've got a lot of work to do. Sorry, cuz!" "Us too." Olive nodded. Orino tilted his head at the newcomers. "And who might you be?" "Oh, I'm Olive, and this is my partner Otto. We're the Directors of the Odd Squad precinct the next town over." "Hi." Otto waved. "You must be...Orino, was it?" "Yes. Lovely to meet you both." Orino put on the most genuine smile he could muster. "So you two work at Odd Squad as well?" "Yup! We've worked here for a long time now." "I see." Orino took in the appearance of Otto, then the appearance of Olive. The latter was rather short for someone who was apparently in a high position -- someone easy he could take down in a fight if she intervened, he supposed. As for the former, he was taller, but he didn't quite look like the fighting type to Orino. He had a sort of goofy smile on his face that clued the catboy in to just how airheaded he was. Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, an idea flashed in his brain. An idea regarding something that, if he was being honest, he never would have thought of. But it was just so obvious that he wanted to slap himself for it. "Hey, Peaches." His gaze moved to the catgirl. "I'm really interested in...Odd Squad. Later on, would you mind telling me all about it?" Peaches gasped, her eyes gaining little shimmers in them. "Orino. Are you really thinking about joining?!" "What?" Orino wrinkled his nose. "No, I never said that. I just said I wanted to learn about it, that's all." "Oh..." A disappointed look fell across Peaches' face briefly before it faded away. "Well, okay! We can do that after we spar." "Great. Let's go!" "See you later, Mandy!" The hybrid gave the two catpeople a wave as they left the bullpen. As much as she wanted to smile, one thing had became hauntingly apparent to her throughout Orino's stay, and so, a frown formed instead. She only barely heard the conversation Olive and Otto were having in the background. "You know, Orino could make a good agent. His name starts with O and everything." "But catpeople aren't allowed to attend the Odd Squad Academy." Olive said, before she blinked. "At least...not that I know of." "That's a shame. Although I don't know exactly how close Vallea and Toronto are to each other. I've never even heard of Vallea. Have you?" Olive shook her head. Mandy's brow furrowed. I just realized. What Peaches said, back when we first met...what she told me after she told Momma and Otto and Oprah... "I...y-you see, I'm...an outcast. I never fit in with the other catpeople of Vallea. I was teased constantly, a-and I never really had any friends growing up. I was essentially...a loner. And when our king sent me away to find out who burned our village, I felt like I was a part of something bigger. Like he was giving me a chance to prove myself and make me a hero. "But I realized...he did it to exile me from Vallea. It was never to make me a hero. It was never because he trusted me. Even though the culprit is still out there, I...I spent countless months thinking I was doing good for Vallea. That I could find the culprit and get fame and respect. B-but...when I met Mandy for the first time, and I got to meet all of you, I realized...you all are the first ones to ever be genuinely nice to me." "She was alone all her life...so how does she have such a close friend...?" "Mandy? Helloooo-ooooo? Come back down to Earth!" Mandy perked up and blinked. She whirled around, coming face to face with Olive and Otto. A simple "Muh-huh?" was all she could utter as she snapped out of her thoughts. Otto bit back a snicker. "Did you fall asleep or something?" "I..." Mandy shook her head furiously. "No, no! I was just...lost in thought. Yeah." A bout of sheepish laughter left her lips. She had to send a prayer to whomever was up above that it was convincing enough. Olive and Otto simply exchanged shrugs. Mandy turned back towards the gadget on her desk. "Anyway, I'm almost done repairing your gadget, just gotta put this last lil' piece...in..." As she captured a small triangular piece in her magic aura, she slowly and carefully placed it in the similarly-shaped hole. When a snap sound resounded through the area, she smiled. "And done! Here ya go!" "Thanks." Olive said, grabbing the gadget and tucking it behind her back. "Mandy." The sound of her name being called made her jerk her head upwards. It didn't take her long to find the source of the sound, straight ahead and staring right at her. "Huh? H-Haruko?" "You must come to the Magical Grasslands. Immediately. There is something we must discuss." Before Mandy could even eke out anything that could come close to sounding like a word, Haruko had ducked around the bend, leaving behind a short trail of sparkles in her wake that dissipated within seconds. The hybrid simply sat there for a few moments, completely agape and trying to comprehend exactly what happened within the past few seconds. Like the flick of a light switch, she came back to reality again and shook her head. "What's wrong? Who are you talking to?" Otto asked. Mandy didn't answer him. Now I'm seein' things...was that really Haruko? And why did she sound so worried? She never sounds worried! Usually she's all calm and stuff! "Were you talking to Haruko again?" Olive tilted her head. She sounded worried either way...I should go and see her, but... "But that can't be right. Haruko is just someone in Mandy's dreams. She's not real." My work... Mandy grit her teeth together. I told Oprah I would work under her as an Investigation agent, but if Haruko's worried, of course I'm gonna panic! She sighed. I'm sorry, Oprah, but my work can wait! Out of frustration, Mandy's fist met the desk. Olive and Otto's eyes widened. "Mandy, are...are you okay?" "That seems rhetorical." Otto remarked. "I'm fine!" This outburst was met with looks of suspicion, and Mandy gave a sigh that sounded ragged before she composed herself. "I'm fine. Look, I have to go, so why don't you two come back later?" As she stood up and allowed her chair to roll behind her, touching Rainbow Dash's and Twilight's desks, Olive tilted her head. "Is something wrong?" "It's...none of your concern." Mandy said. "Move your butts out of my business and go back to your HQ. I'll be fine." With that, she darted for the right hallway, leading Olive and Otto to give an exhausted sigh as they gave up the fight in trying to get Mandy to fess up. Outside of sleep deprivation, Mandy was no narcoleptic. She didn't fall asleep standing up or just fall asleep at complete random. She had specific sleep conditions and not-so-specific areas to sleep in. The world was her slumbering oyster and she was living in it. So perhaps it was unsurprising that the first thing she did after leaving Olive and Otto was yank open her nightstand drawer, yank her adoptive mother's sleep medicine straight out, and take one mighty swig that not even Oprah could attest to with her juice. It didn't take her long before she was snoring away face-down on her bed, not even giving any thought to taking her suit or shoes off. Immediately after Mandy opened her eyes, she performed the same song and dance again. "Haruko! Are you there? Answer me, please!" "Mandy." "Haruko!" Mandy raced over, words tumbling out of her subconsciously. "What's happening? Why did you sound so panicked? Nonono, wait, why did I see a figure of you calling out to me?" Naturally, Haruko did not answer any of these questions, and instead urged Mandy to sit next to her to discuss things further. "I have been watching your interactions with Peaches and her...friend, Orino." Her muzzle wrinkled slightly. "When you met Orino, he seemed kind and caring, did he not?" "Yeah." A pause. Haruko took a deep breath. "I can sense that Orino has intentions. He is not here for a simple visit. He is here for something...more." "More?" Mandy asked, in a rather impatient tone of voice that was very clearly urging the kitsune to elaborate. "Yes. I will admit, I do not know much about 'Vallea'. I am still learning about its cultures, its people, and its history." Haruko said. "But I have the ability to sense humans' true emotions. And Orino..." Mandy bit her lip. She didn't like where this was going. "...is aiming to hurt rather than heal." "Hurt?! Hurt who?!" "Peaches." Mandy's heart plunged right into her bowels in less than ten seconds flat. She subconsciously began to tremble. The sense of fear, though nonexistent throughout the rest of her body, remained in her brain like glue. He's here to get to Peaches. He either wants to kill her using my battle moves...or knowing his leader, he wants to take her back to Vallea. King Ashero must have sent him. And he looks like he's gonna get the job done faster than Old Man Giuseppi workin' the grill on a Sunday. Oh odd... "I have to do something." Haruko perked up upon hearing these words, shaking her head. "You would be ill-advised to do something right now, Mandy." "And why is that?!" Mandy's voice was practically a screech. "My cousin could be seriously injured by that thing she thinks is her friend!" "If you act too soon, you may never find out his true goal. You must strike when the time is right." All Mandy could do was blankly stare at the kitsune. Her already-shrunken eyes slightly moved back and forth, as though trying to make sense of what her spirit guardian was saying but couldn't. Her mouth turned into a grotesque display of bared teeth, held together by a bond that could only be surpassed by the world's strongest superglue. And then she screamed. She screamed, and listened as the world trembled with the might of her rage. The double centerline in the road turned into flames that lit up the empty asphalt and lapped the grass at the edges, although they did nothing to burn it to a crisp. The sky became a hazy orange, the clouds turning into midair fireballs that flickered to life. Her body became swathed in flames, with both her hair and tail beginning to take on a new appearance that made them look like they were actually created from fire. The "damage" -- not that it could be counted as damage, really -- was surprisingly minor, but it was enough for Haruko to react in mild surprise all the same. She took in Mandy's appearance as the scream died with nothing more than a sharp echo that didn't bother to stick around, reflecting on the hair and tail in particular as she gave her next piece of advice. "Mandy. I sense that you love Peaches very much. She is a dear, dear relative of yours." Haruko looked out over the darkened landscape. "If you wish to help her, you must heed my advice. Otherwise...you may never see her again." That made the hybrid freeze. Her flames died down, and the environment returned to normal. Not once in her relatively-short-or-long life did she ever consider that Peaches would be ripped from her life to such a point where there was no possibility of ever seeing her again. She had figured Peaches would free herself from whatever confines or conflict she found herself in, or she would save Peaches from whatever confines or conflict she found herself in. New fear unlocked, indeed. "Just like how Oprah opened the door to her heart, so will Orino." Haruko said. "Orino's visit here will play a crucial part in mending your bond with Oprah." It took her a minute or two for her to snap out of her shocked stupor. "Oprah? What's she got to do with this?" In response, Haruko simply stood up and began to walk away. "Mandy. I have given you all the advice you need. Take it, and act upon it." "No, Haruko, wa- no! Wait! Don't take me yet, black void! HARUKOOOOOOO!!" "H-Haruko...come back, Harukoooooo-NYAAAAAAH!!" Mandy shot up in bed, her body heaving with heavy breaths as the tears began to fall. What do I do? Orino...he's going to hurt Peaches, but...I can't do a thing about it! I just have to sit back and watch! She allowed a few choked sobs to leave her, ignoring her lungs' desperate cries for air. The more she thought about her conversation with Haruko, the more it made her realize just how dire the situation was. And the more she thought about Orino hanging out with Peaches, potentially manipulating her for his own benefit and that of his leader's, the more enraged she got. Any joy and happiness that remained within her got killed off in one fell swoop. In its place grew a new emotion, an electrifying clash of anger, indignation, and resentment. She ripped the covers off of her, balled up her fists, and bore witness to the area that lay before her, teeth bared once more as her vocal cords trembled with a mighty growl that coalesced into a primal scream. Outside, Olive and Otto both leaped a considerable amount into the air as a scream, followed by loud banging, ensued from the other side of the door. Both of them shot worried glances, wanting to rush inside and see what was happening to Mandy but lacking the courage to destroy the one obstacle standing in their way. When the banging came to a stop and there was a five-second lull, they opened the door. "What happened in he- OH MY SWEET ODD!!" Olive stumbled backwards into Otto's arms, the boy barely managing to catch her as he too became in awe of the state of Mandy's room. Instead of destroying any valuable objects, the hybrid had instead decided to go right for her floor, which was in a state of dilapidation and had dents and holes galore. Her carpet had, likewise, been ripped to shreds. The hybrid herself was completely in flames, which looked more intense than usual to the point where both Olive and Otto were confident they didn't want to touch her for fear of actually getting burned this time. The flames were so intense, in fact, that the blood leaking from her fingers and hands were hardly seen. "W-we're lucky she didn't break the entire floor!" Otto squeaked, avoiding eye contact with Mandy as she stared at him and Olive with nothing but pure anger and insanity in her eyes. Unfortunately, Otto's attempt at avoiding any further acts of aggression was stomped flat. Mandy slowly approached the duo, smacking her fist against the palm of her hand like a bully about to give a victim the pummeling of their life. Olive and Otto both began to back away, taking out their shields from their hammerspace spines in the process. "Sh-sh-sh-shields...up...?" Mandy lunged for Olive, ramming her up against the wall and causing her to give a pained yelp on behalf of her spine as well as her hand, which loosened its grip on her shield and sent it rolling to a stop near a hole. The girl squirmed, her head and face moving as far back from Mandy's own as it possibly could as she began to sweat from the hot breath aimed right at her. In an ominous, threatening, gravelly voice, the hybrid made her intentions clear. "You will tell me where Orino is, before my hammer makes your face do a 180 turn into the BACK OF YOUR FREAKIN' HEAD!!" The fact that Mandy was still keen on using alternate swear words brought a little amusement to Olive. It almost made her want to smile, if it weren't for common sense keeping her terrified frown and letting her eyes do all the "help me" communicating to Otto. Still, she had to answer her adopted daughter, so she went with the genuine response. "I don't know! H-he might be in the park, C-Cedarvale Park maybe, with Peaches!" Mandy's expression didn't falter. She kept her gaze fixated on Olive, contemplating the answer but not letting her grip on her shoulders go. Olive could feel her scapulas begin to develop some bruising, but didn't dare wince in pain until she was let go -- assuming she was going to be let go, that was. Luckily, Mandy took the Director's answer and let it pass, letting go of her shoulders and allowing her to fall to the floor. Otto quickly rushed over to tend to his partner, brushing dust off of her suit as she rubbed her rump in pain. "That pathetic little cat. Off giddily-vanting with my cousin." Mandy's fists balled up so tightly that both Olive and Otto were surprised they couldn't see bone jutting out from them. "When I find him...when the time is right...I'm gonna murder him. He'll be nothing but a corpse..." A look of dread crossed Otto's face. "A-a corpse?" "HE'LL BE ROTTING AWAY IN THE MOOOOOORGUE!!!" came another yell, this one echoing and slightly shaking the room. Mandy threw a fist down onto a stuffed lamb that looked like it had been quite literally fed to the dogs, her breath coming in ragged exhales that made her body quiver. By this point, one thing remained clear to the two co-Directors. Mandy was no longer human. She was, for all intents and purposes, a wild and rabid animal, neither human nor equine. Very few odd creatures could surpass her behavior as part of their instincts, but for her, a level of rage like this had hardly ever been seen before. "No one...will hurt my cousin...and get away with it. NO ONE!!" The flames surrounding Mandy's body exploded. Olive and Otto hastily scrambled out the door and kept low to the floor as fire flickered on the walls, the pieces of furniture, and the toys. Luckily for them, the flames appeared to be no-sells to the objects, and as soon as impact was made, Mandy gave a calmer exhale, her body, as well as her emotions, returning to their regular states. Neither Olive nor Otto dare spoke a word. They watched as Mandy's head turned towards them and then tilted, her face full of confusion and innocence. "What're you two lookin' at?" Olive's body went limp and slumped forward, the consciousness having been sucked out of her like a sponge. Otto kept her stable lest her head hit the floor and bounce like a basketball, but he couldn't resist giving Mandy a deadpan look. "Great. You made Olive faint. Which, mind you, isn't an easy feat." Mandy shook her own head furiously, rubbing it in an attempt to alleviate the pain that shot through it. "Ugh...I was out of it. What happened?" The sound of crackling made her perk up. Almost immediately, she went airborne, surveying the floor that was still broken and the flames that were gradually dying. A feeling of dread filled her heart as she began to connect the dots. "Oh jeez! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't- it's just-" "What's up with you?" Otto interrupted, slowly getting to his feet and holding the still-limp Olive in his arms. "Having a bad day or something?" "It's Orino. He's..." Mandy glanced at Otto, then glanced at her empty and still-bleeding hands. She wanted to break and tell him everything -- he was her confidante, after all. The same agent who singlehandedly coordinated a taking-down of Odd Todd could surely provide advice and assistance on sending Orino to the deepest layers of hell. He might not know too much about Vallea or its mysterious populace, but he could do the best he could in supporting her and saving her cousin. Right? Well...at the same time, she didn't want to get him involved. Not that she knew why, really -- Haruko hadn't said not to get them involved. But Mandy had pinpointed Orino's schtick, his motives and his plan, and if they were all what she thought they were, she didn't want to drag anyone else into what was already a tangled mess. For all she knew, King Ashero had gotten wind of Olive, Otto, Oprah...the ponies...the rest of the precinct...perhaps all of Toronto and Equestria, all thanks to the Big O. But he was going after two victims, and two victims only. If he showed any signs of wanting any of the others, Mandy hadn't seen it. Her shoulders heaved. "It's none of your concern. This is a family matter." "A family matter? But we're your family." Yeah, that stung. It stung fast, and it stung hard. His hurt tone made her heart ache, and for a split-second she debated actually roping him into this debacle. Unfortunately, the plan she had somehow mapped out in her head in spite of her blind primeval rage had no room for him, for Olive, or for anyone else, and she was riding on it with confidence only because it was the single key she had to saving Peaches. It looked smart on paper, it sounded smart when she said it aloud in her head and it echoed the words back to her, and it would work in execution. It had to work in execution. She would accept nothing less. "This is something I have to do alone." she responded, before she began hovering out of the room. "Come. I'm holding a meeting in the bullpen." Otto quickly began pursuing her, Olive still in his hands as though she was nothing more than a small rock he was carrying -- in both weight and priority. "C-can you do that? Will Oprah let you?" "I don't know. And I don't care." came the grating response, before Mandy began to put on more speed. By doing this, she left Otto in the dust, and he didn't see much sense in catching up with her any further, instead heading towards the bullpen with one thought in his mind. She...she did all of that...with her bare hands...just how much physical strength does she have? Caught in the corona of one angry hybrid, a wooden podium slammed onto concrete, causing agents' attention to be grabbed. "Awright, Security agents, listen up! I have something important to say!" Confused murmurs, from both Security agents and non-Security agents alike, met this command, and a crowd of the former soon began to form in the center of the bullpen. The latter, on the other hand, opted to stay back, though ears were kept open for listening nonetheless. "Whoa, Mandy's really fired up!" Rainbow Dash remarked, beginning to approach the crowd with Applejack at her side. "Somethin' must've set her off." "Girls!" Both pegasus and Earth pony turned to find Twilight galloping up to them in a fluster. "Hey, Twilight." Rainbow waved. "What's up?" "Mandy's room, it's completely destroyed!" "Again?!" "It had t' have been Mandy herself that did it. She looks injured." Twilight turned to where Applejack was pointing, but as Mandy was wildly gesticulating to a Security agent about something, she couldn't make out what, exactly, her friend was saying. "You mean...it really was her?" "Maybe she did it with her hammer?" Rainbow suggested, giving a halfhearted shrug that showed she was noncommittal to her theory. "No. Look at the back of her hand there. It's bloodied. Bruised." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "That was all done by her!" The second Mandy ceased movement of her hands, both Twilight and Rainbow were able to get a good look at them. Indeed, they were still bloodied and dirty from her outburst, and it didn't look like she noticed nor cared. The mares exchanged shocked looks between each other. "But there's no way...Mandy doesn't have that kind of strength! How did she..." "Now hold on." Applejack held up a hoof to interrupt Twilight. "Ain't she an alicorn? Doesn't she have Earth pony strength?" As Twilight took a moment to sit on Applejack's questions, Rainbow spoke up. "Yeah. Last week, we were going for a fly, and I dared her to try bucking a tree without breaking anything. She swooped down, bucked it, and nearly left a dent in it!" "Now that ya say that..." Applejack tapped her chin. "I have been noticin' her hangin' in the Orchard Room buckin' apple trees for the past few weeks. Tried askin' her what was goin' on but all she told me was that she just really wanted apples." Twilight nodded, taking in the information and quickly arriving at a conclusion. "Then she's got to be exercising and building up her physical strength. And at the rate she's going, she'll be able to stand toe-to-toe with Ms. O." Rainbow's muzzle scrunched up, and she barked out an amused laugh. "Yeah, right! Like anyone could be as strong as her! Not even the princesses could-" "QUIET!!" The bellow made the bullpen fall silent, including the three mares, who turned to listen to what Mandy had to say. "Now, recently we have been visited by someone from a faraway land known as Vallea. Someone named Orino." Mandy's usual cat smile returned to her face. "I don't know if he's staying here, but I do encourage you all to make him feel welcome all the same!" The arrival of a new guest was enough to excite the crowd. It was quite rare that agents got to meet a special guest who wasn't a victim of oddness in some way or another, or just a client in general -- let alone when said special guest was from a land not many had heard of. "However!" Silence again. Mandy's smile twisted and turned sour. "That doesn't mean I don't want him to go unnoticed. I am entrusting all of you with the task of monitoring him and making sure he doesn't get into any...trouble." The tip of Mandy's curly tail began to flick back and forth knowingly. "Make it as discreet as you can. Nothing obvious." From above, Oprah emerged from her office, juice box in hand and eyeing her agent through a narrowed view. "What is she doing down there?" she mused aloud, too captivated by curiosity to go and put a stop to this blatant disrespect for authority. "Let's say he...does manage to get into trouble." Mandy gave a soft chuckle, her ears beginning to swivel back and forth curiously. "If he does, you report it to me and me alone. I will handle it, only me, you got that?!" A brief lull of silence followed her seemingly-random outburst as agents reacted in confusion. Then, they murmured their agreements -- a majority of them knew better than to tussle with a mad Mandy. "Good." Mandy's gaze moved to a sandy-haired boy, who was clad in the same blue-and-navy uniform as the rest of the agents in the crowd. "I'd like for us to have a meeting later on, Owen, just you and me. To lay out the details." Owen blinked, as though he had been dragged out of a trance. "Oh! Uh, sure, of course!" Mandy's smile remained as she looked over the crowd. "You are all dismissed!" she called, watching as agents began to disperse and return to whatever they were doing before. Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, however, remained where they were, gazing at their friend with concern. "That was...authoritarian." Twilight noted, more to break the silence between the three mares than anything else. "It's like the Mandy we knew just disappeared!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "Wonder what happened." Applejack tapped her chin in thought. "Mandy!" The three mares jumped slightly as they not only heard the voice of their boss, but saw her coming down the stairs and approaching Mandy. "What do you think you're doing, hosting meetings without my permission?!" snapped the Director, her brown eyes blazing with fury. Mandy, however, was indifferent to her boss's rage. "Saving this precinct, what's it look like?" she responded, taking the podium in her corona and teleporting it away to a randomized location. "If I recall correctly..." The fury on Oprah's face was replaced with a sly smile, a smile that told most everyone watching that she had her agent in her clutches. "You said you didn't want to work under me as my second-in-command. You wanted to work under me as my Investigation agent, and that alone." Her smile morphed into a frown. "So this is out of line!" "Can you just take my word for it already?!" On and on the girls bickered, butting heads as each one of them tried resisting the urge to strangle the other. Otto, with the unconscious Olive still in his hands, caught wind of the argument, and sighed. "She's fighting with Oprah again..." he muttered, capping his annoyance off with an eye roll. "Just forget it! FORGET IT!!" Mandy screamed, interrupting Oprah's tirade about her many flaws that she seemed to have brought up for no good reason other than to be petty -- or to show Mandy she was losing the argument. The hybrid couldn't tell which one, and she didn't care. "I'll handle this on my own. Get your nose outta my family business!" "Fine!" Oprah retorted. "But if you bring this precinct down to its knees then odd so help me I will strangle you to death." "Fine by me!!" Both the mares and Otto watched as Oprah and Mandy went their separate ways. Oprah stomped off towards the right staircase, keeping left to avoid slipping on the slide, while Mandy went to her desk, beginning to clean the papers off of it. Before Otto could call out to any one of the ponies, they had begun to walk away from the scene. Furthermore, a groan from Olive interrupted him, and he kept her steady in his hands as she slowly opened her eyes. "Olive! You okay?" "What...happened?" Olive squinted at Otto, as though not recognizing him. "You fainted after seeing Mandy go berserk." he explained, setting her down and allowing her to find her footing on the concrete. "Can you stand?" "Yeah." Once Olive's legs were steady, Otto let go of her, giving a small relieved smile. "She just finished hosting a meeting of the Security agents. She wants Orino monitored." "For what, quality assurance?" Olive snarked, half in amusement and half in annoyance. Otto began to walk away. "I'm gonna go talk to her." "Whoa whoa whoa." Olive gripped the sleeve of his jacket to stop him. "Not without me, you're not. We're going to find out what Mandy has planned. Together." Otto couldn't argue with his partner's logic. He gave a shrug as the pair began to wander over to where Mandy was still cleaning off of her desk and muttering something to herself. "...Honestly, she can be such a little bi-" "Hey, Mandy!" Mandy glanced up and saw Olive and Otto eagerly waving at her. Almost immediately, her anger began to dissipate, and she returned the wave. "Oh, hey, you two. Sorry about making you faint, Momma..." "Don't worry about it." Olive said. "It was just surprising to see your room wrecked like that after what happened with Natsu in the Bedroom." Mandy's eyes grew misty. "Oh. Yeah. That." She glanced at the floor. "The thing is...a-and you guys prolly already know this, but...that was me. I did it all. With my physical strength." Olive and Otto nodded. They did, indeed, know it was Mandy, even if she was in a feral state of mind. Still, Otto in particular was curious. "How, though? I mean, you've never been the weakest person around, but-" "I've been training." Mandy responded. "I need to start using more than just my hammer in combat. If a villain knocks it outta my grip and I can't reach it without putting myself at a disadvantage, then I'm gonna need to defend myself until I can gain an advantage. Which is why..." She inhaled and straightened herself up with determination. "...I've been getting stronger!" Olive blinked. On the one hand, she had to admire Mandy's dedication to improving her strength, knowing that her magical and flight prowess outclassed her physical prowess by a pretty wide margin. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but figure there was a driving force behind this sudden change -- perhaps that thing Mandy was refusing to tell her and Otto about? The thing that was "family business" to no other family than herself? Who was to say. "How long have you been doing this?" was the question she eventually settled on asking. "Oh, a couple months now." Mandy said, an excited edge to her voice. "I've been going to the Odd Squad Gym every day to train, and to Formation Fitness too. I got the VIP membership package there!" "And...why don't you just use gadgets like everyone else does?" Otto asked. "Mm, I have thought about making some that would attach to my horn and be powered by my magic, but I'd need to ask Oona about that." Mandy shook her head. "Still, taking gadgets out from behind my back and using them...it'd be a time-waster." The spluttering noise Olive made was, perhaps, her best attempt at a motorboat engine imitation -- and what an imitation it was. That is, before she managed to spit out, "A time-waster?!" "Agility's the name of the game. If you can't whip out a gadget in the time it takes for a villain to launch an attack, then you're done for." Silence. Olive and Otto stared at her for what felt like several minutes, completely floored by this sudden knowledge she seemed to have accrued in the span of less than a day. They knew Mandy was skilled in combat, even when she often acted without planning, but neither one of them thought Mandy knew anything other than the surface-level basics of the activity. Further thought to her words revealed that perhaps she might have a point -- Olive and Otto were both agile in combat, but Otto was klutzy, and one drop of a gadget could lead to serious injuries or death being served to him within seconds. "When did you become so...battle-proficient?" Olive asked, the question being directed more towards her than towards Mandy. Regardless, the hybrid answered. "I'm trying to save this precinct, and my cousin, from danger. That catboy is a menace." With a huff, she shot a glare towards the Directors. "As I said before, get your butts out of my business, and keep them out. This is a family matter that I have to deal with alone." "But I'm your adoptive mother!" Olive cried out. "Am I not family?" That comment hurt more when it came from Olive. Mandy grit her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut. "Let me rephrase." she said, before she unclenched her jaws and gazed at the Director with sad eyes. "This is a matter between me and Peaches, and only us. I don't want anyone else getting involved." "But-" "Olive." Otto placed his hand on his partner's shoulder. "We should take her word for it. If she doesn't want us to get involved, then we shouldn't get involved." Olive looked into his eyes. Minute after minute, she contemplated the situation. Her heart became wrapped in the coils of worry -- worry about what would happen if she said no, worry about what would happen if she said yes. Any way she saw it, it was a lose-lose situation for her. Either Mandy would get hurt by Orino, or Mandy would hurt her own mother in equal measure. Her worry bubbled up into a shaky sigh. "All right, if you say so. Just...don't get yourself killed, okay?" "Don't worry. That won't happen." A satisfied sigh left Mandy, and her mouth curved into a genuine smile as she glanced down the left hallway. "Now, I think I'll go and prep for that meeting with Owen. The sooner I can pummel Orino's face into his skull, the better." Olive and Otto watched her go, and it was only when she turned the corner that the former expressed her worries that hadn't come out in her sigh. "She's going to get carried away, Otto. Something bad will happen. I can feel it in my gut." "You sure that isn't just the sushi talking?" Otto joked, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, Olive was in no mood for laughing this time around. "This isn't a joking matter! I know she's always talked about not killing when she attacks, but...I feel like she's actually gonna kill Orino." Otto's eyes widened. "Huh? You think so?" "It was that look in her eyes..." Olive murmured, her gaze fixated on the left hallway and ignoring the other gazes of agents entering and exiting it. "I remember Odd Todd telling me that I had the same look whenever we faced off. It was pure hatred. Murderous intent." Gradually, Otto was beginning to realize his partner's concerns. He wasn't there during most of the battles and confrontations between Olive and Odd Todd...all except for one, where he had to actively pry her away from him when she was seconds away from delivering a final blow to his skull that, in essence, would have killed him. He never forgot that snarling face, stained with tears and saliva and blood and a few fallen hairs, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Mandy had had a similar face. He felt a little more wary towards the old phrase "like mother, like daughter" now. "We have to stop her!" "Not now." Olive shook her head. "We should follow her closely. She'll attack him eventually, and when she does, we'll be witnesses." Otto straightened as an idea came to him. "Should we get Oprah to help?" "Absolutely. Otherwise this precinct is going to fall with her at the helm." Olive glanced at Oprah's office. "But don't let Mandy know we're following her, or she won't be happy." "Got it." "Right now she's planning on meeting with Owen. If we can find out where they're having the meeting, we can eavesdrop and get more insight." Olive held up her hand. "You in, partner?" "Definitely." Together, the two performed their signature handshake -- a high-five up above, down below, and side-to-side on both sides of the hand, then a fist-bump performed both up and down, and finally, an exploding fist-bump as the two shared a unisonant "Boom-plan-a-lotta!" With confidence surging through them, they left in pursuit of Owen, already mapping out a course of dialogue since they knew getting anything they wanted out of Owen was enough of a feat on its own. "Uhh, I believe we're holding it in the Big Meeting Room. The one a little ways down the hall from the Princess Room?" "Oh yeah! That dark, foreboding room with all the lights off!" Owen and Olive shot Otto strange looks. "Oprah...she, uh...i-it's a long story." Owen shrugged. "Anyway yeah, we're planning on meeting there." "Good. That's all we need to know." Olive nodded, mentally breathing a sigh of relief that squeezing that answer out of Owen wasn't that hard. "Thanks, Owen, and good luck." "No problem!" As Owen walked away, twirling his baton and whistling a ditty, Olive and Otto watched him go. "So what now?" Otto asked. "We eavesdrop, right?" "Yup. We'll find out exactly what Mandy is planning." Olive sighed. "It feels so wrong to go against my own adopted daughter like this, but...if this goes well, we might just end up saving a life." "And a few reputations!" "And a few reputations." Olive agreed. "C'mon, we need to stake out somewhere. And I think I might just have an idea on how we can do that. Follow me." With the pressing of three buttons on each of their jackets, Olive and Otto turned completely invisible. "Ooooh, the Director suits have camouflage abilities?" Otto asked. "Just like the Investigation suits!" "Otto, I keep telling you, you have to read that Agents' Manual sometime. We're Directors now. It's pitiful." "I know! I have it on my list." Otto didn't need to see Olive to know that she was shooting him a dubious look, and he sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll read it when we get back to the office." "Good. Now, we wait." Luckily for the two Directors, Mandy and Owen came around the corner no more than a few minutes later. "Now, I want absolutely no shenaniganihansens at this meeting. This is a very serious matter. I am entrusting you and your team to get the job done." "Sure thing." Mandy grabbed ahold of the doorknob and jiggled it to and fro, frowning when the door didn't budge even when magic was brought into play. "Aww pickleferries, it's locked." "I have a lockpick if you-" "No need." Cracking her knuckles, Mandy wrapped an index finger around her forelock, fiddling around with it until it stiffened and stuck out straight. She bent down until the lock in the door was at eye level, then let her forelock extend and work its magic as it moved about inside the lock. A loud click marked the sound of success, and Mandy stood back up as she loosened her forelock and set it back to its usual bouncy position. Owen blinked in surprise. "Whoa." "This lil' bit of hair can do many things." Mandy said modestly, before she opened the door and stepped inside. "Follow me inside." As Owen followed, the door closed behind them. Normally, this would be an obstacle for Olive and Otto, but in their invisible states, they were able to slip through the door as easily as ghosts. "That's so cool!" Otto said, his voice quiet but still earning a shush from Olive. Mandy and Owen sat down in two chairs in the center of the room, illuminated by only a single lightbulb hanging from a string. A table suddenly popped into existence to complete the ensemble, and Mandy propped her feet up on it. "Now, I'm going to get right down to business here." she began. "Vallea is a bit of unknown territory for Odd Squad. As far as I know, no agent has ever visited there. And from what I hear from Peaches, their king Ashero isn't a kindhearted ruler." Owen's brow furrowed. "Is he like a lion cub, or...?" "I don't know what he is. Never met him." Mandy shrugged and cleared her throat. "I’m aware that the king conspired with the previous Big O to take Peaches back for her wrongly-presumed failure in finding who burned Vallea down to the ground. And I have a bit of a hunch that Orino is here to do exactly that." "Whoa...really?" "Really really." Mandy nodded. "However, I had a sort of...prophetic dream. A dream where someone told me that I can't act now, otherwise Orino will never show his true colors." Her eyes became glazed over with upset and sadness for just a brief moment, and before Owen could even process the sudden change in mood, the steeliness returned to them. "So I'm gonna take the long game approach." "The what?" "Right now, Orino is as sweet as cherry pie. He and Peach are doing wonderfully together. But his real nature will begin to show eventually." Mandy balled up her hand into a fist. "If I know King Ashero well, he probably won't want Orino back until he completes his mission. But Orino will want to get Peaches and come home as soon as possible." Owen's eyes widened. "But you barely know the guy!" "Cats are crafty creatures." "Ooh, wordplay!" A look of disappointment crossed Mandy's face. "Owen, please." she scolded, her tone close to a snap. A heavy sigh regulated her emotions. "What I want you to do is to have you and the rest of your Security team keep tabs on Orino. When he goes out, what he does, what he says, I want it all." Owen tugged at his collar in a desperate attempt to fight off the nervousness that bubbled inside of him. Mandy's behavior made him think twice about slacking off and going on more breaks than one could possibly conceive. "O-of course!" he said. "Um, if you'd like, I can also give you daily reports? Kind of like what I do with Ms. O." Mandy's expression turned thoughtful, and she tapped her chin as she weighed Owen's words. "Daily reports...hm. Yes, daily reports, please. This way, I can decide on a course of action." "You got it! And when should we start?" "First thing tomorrow. And as I said earlier, if anything comes up, if he starts trouble, any Security agent who spots it is to report to me and you. No one else." Owen blinked. "I thought you said just you?" "I changed my mind." Mandy extended her tail and used it to pat Owen's shoulder in lieu of her hand. "You're the head of Security, Owen. You have every right to be in the know." "All right, whatever you say!" Owen responded with a shrug. "Good." Mandy didn't seem to notice Owen's carefree "I'm just gonna roll with it" attitude, nor did she care. "And do not attempt to pry Peaches away from Orino, either, by the way. And don't get Ms. O involved. Let things play out and do what I tell you." "Got it!" Owen's gaze flicked towards the entrance. "Can I, um...go now?" "Yes. Meeting concluded." As Owen got up and began walking towards the door, Olive and Otto silently passed through the wall and arrived back outside the room. "Thanks for meeting with me, Owen!" Mandy called, as she watched Owen walk down the hall. "It's no prob!" he called back, before he took out his baton from his hammerspace spine and began whistling a ditty while twirling the weapon in his hand. Olive and Otto waited with held breaths. However, the only thing that came forth was a comment about Mandy taking her long-overdue and well-needed nap, and as she walked away, both of them breathed collective sighs of relief as they pressed the three buttons on the fronts of their jackets to return to normal once more. "C'mon, Otto, let's head back to the office. We'll discuss things there." Olive grabbed two bottles of water from the bar in her office, throwing one to Otto. "So. She really is going to monitor Orino around the clock." "Seems kinda creepy if you ask me." Otto said, taking a swig of water. This remark was met with doubt on Olive's face as she turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "Otto...Mandy's not the stalker type." Otto, likewise, had his own doubtful look, mixed in with a twinge of smugness as he smiled at Olive. All of a sudden, a memory began to bubble to the surface of Olive's brain, of a time that Mandy was, indeed, the stalker type... The sound of sipping was the first thing that met Olive's eardrums. As she rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn, her feet met the solid ground of the first story of her house, where they almost took her right past... Past... "Mandy?!" Olive was (mostly) alert in an instant. "Wh-what the heck are you doing in my house?!" Mandy, sitting and relaxing on the couch, stretched her legs out further, a glass of orange juice caught in her rainbow-colored corona. "Jeez, Momma, and you complain that I stay in bed all day! What is it, noon, and you're comin' down here in your kitty jammies?" Olive stared for ten full seconds at the giggling form of her adopted daughter. Alert as she was, her fatigue-bogged brain hadn't quite caught up to her yet, and it took her a bit to fully absorb what was happening. Finally, she managed to spit out a "What are you doing here?!" "Oh, I'd thought I'd make you brekkie!" Mandy pointed to the kitchen. "You looked sooooo run-down the other day, your hair was messed up, I mean, Otto could throw a fish at you and he'd get no reaction!" "And...how'd you get in here?" "I have magic, ya wingding!" Olive pinched the bridge of her nose, regretting not having figured that out sooner. One thing she knew about Mandy was that if she wasn't going to be let in, then by odd, she was going to let herself in -- whether it was by busting down the door with her hammer or by simple teleportation. "Right..." She began making her way to the coffee table, where she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to the news. "Anyway, look, I need to take a shower." "No prob! Whaddya want for brekkie?" Olive shot her a confused look. "I don't...need anything for...'brekkie'." she remarked, making air quotes around the foreign word. "I'll make it myself." "That's Momma! So modest and humble." A thought occurred to Olive right then. Secretly, she really wasn't up to making her own breakfast, and with Mandy's superb cooking skills and high energy, she could get it done faster than Olive herself ever could. "If I eat your breakfast, will you get out of my house?" "Sure!" Mandy took a sip of her orange juice. "Your snoring's a nuisance anyway. Which is weird, 'cuz you usually don't snore-" And there came the rambling. Olive had been expecting it, but that didn't mean it didn't annoy her any less. A groan marked her journey back up the stairs towards the bathroom, whereupon she promptly closed the door, locked it, and prayed to whomever up above that Mandy wouldn't suddenly teleport into her shower. "I...take that back." Olive shook her head in an attempt to clear the memory. "But this is different. She clearly has some intent to kick this guy's butt into the BC years." "Seems like King Ashero's up to no good again." Otto said. "He wants to take Peaches back to Vallea!" Olive grit her teeth. "For being a lazy leader, he sure is persistent. Annoyingly persistent." "So what're we gonna do?" Otto took another swig of water. "If Mandy finds out we're involved in all this, she's gonna smack both our faces into our skulls!" "Partner, honestly. You worry too much." Olive smirked. "I have an idea in mind." Sure enough, she had Pinkie Pie on the line less than a minute later. "You need a favor?" the party pony asked. "Sure thing! Whatcha need?" "How often do you hang out with Mandy?" Silence, and then a bout of laughter, followed by a snort. "How often? We're partners, silly, we hang out all the time!" "Mhm...I see." Olive mentally smacked herself for asking such an obvious question. "Um, Mandy, she...she's hit a bit of a rough patch as of late. Irritability with a certain...someone. Would it trouble you to keep a constant eye on her, maybe check up on her daily? As a friend and a partner?" "Of course!" Pinkie chirped. "Who's the someone?" At this, Olive gave a bout of nervous laughter. Apparently she didn't factor in Pinkie's need to shove her muzzle into business she had no right to shove her muzzle in -- great partners thought alike. "N-not anyone important, don't worry. Just keep tabs on her, okay?" "Will do!" "Thanks, Pinkie. You're a big help." "No prob! Where's Mandy now?" Olive's gaze moved towards the doors. "Taking a nap, I think. But she'll probably want dinner soon." "Ooh, I can help with that! Otto taught me some awesome recipes that I wanna try out!" Otto beamed in the background upon hearing the mare's praise. "Er, anything she wants in particular?" "Make whatever. You know Mandy can and will eat anything and everything." "Aaaaaall righty, be back at Odd Squad in a spiffy-jiffy!" "Thanks again, Pinkie." "You're welcome!" As Olive ended the call and clipped her phone back onto her chest, Otto tilted his head. "So you're going to fight monitoring...with monitoring?" "No." Olive held her index finger up. "I told Pinkie to check up on her daily. What I didn't tell her was to follow Mandy around all the time and keep a single eye on her around the clock." Otto's eyes widened. An "ohhh" slipped from his lips as he began to nod in understanding. "If Pinkie can keep Mandy under control...we’ll be saving the life of...uh...someone we barely even know. But it’ll still be a life!" Olive sighed. "Honestly, I don’t know what connection Odd Squad and Vallea have to each other...I’ll have to ask the Big O about that sometime." "So we just sit back and let Pinkie do her thing, right?" Olive took a sip of water and sat in her chair with a smile. "Exactly." The sparring between Orino and Peaches had gone well. Numerous times did Orino contemplate actually bringing Peaches down and capturing her, but stopped as he realized that he had to bring Mandy back as well, and to King Ashero, it simply wouldn't do to have just one rulebreaker in his grasp. So, he resigned to friendly sparring, putting on his facade and making mental notes of Peaches' battle moves in her cat form for easy reference. As they roamed the hallways, a lighthearted chuckle fell from Orino's lips. "You're so funny, Peaches!" "I picked up a few jokes from Otto and Mandy, what can I say?" Peaches shrugged. The conversation came to a slow halt when the pair passed by, and eventually stopped in the doorway of, Mandy's room. The hybrid had left the door wide open and was wrapped up in sheets and blankets, entering the realm of deep sleep as she snored away. This, of course, intrigued Orino, who had gotten wind of Mandy's famous love of sleeping from Ashero talking about it to the townspeople of Vallea -- how she didn't wake up easily, how she wasn't a morning person, how sleep deprivation affected her. Sleeping was a key cornerstone of her entire identity, and for the first time, Orino found something in her that he could relate to. He would have been scared of having a familiarity with the enemy, if not for the fact that he wasn't willing to spare any sympathy. "Mandy sleeps a lot." Peaches explained, apparently having caught Orino staring at Mandy. "Over 12 hours, actually." "Wow." Orino gave a soft chuckle, biting the urge to tell Peaches that this was knowledge he already was aware of. "Well, she could be part-cat. Since she's your cousin and all." Oh cattails, why did I say that? Come on, Orino, keep your head in the game. Now you're gonna have nightmares for weeks. "You know, I've thought of that." Peaches said, before the low growl of a stomach cut through the air. A pause as Orino scratched the back of his head. "I'm kind of hungry. Mind making me dinner?" "Sure thing! We can go catch some fish together." Orino's eyes widened. "Actually, I'm..." He leaned over and clutched his stomach. "...not feeling well." "Oh!" Peaches placed a hand on his back to stabilize him. "Well, in that case, I'm sure I can go to the town lake and catch you some." "Thank you." Orino fought to stay standing, even though he was merely putting on a facade. "Um, is there anywhere I can...lie down?" A few minutes later, he and Peaches had arrived at the latter's room. "Just make yourself comfortable on the bed and I'll be back soon with plenty of fish!" "Thank you." Orino closed his eyes. "You're a life-saver." As he got situated on the bed, Peaches left the room and closed the door. It was only then that Orino dropped the act, unclenching his stomach muscles and allowing his eyes to spring back to life again. An exhale shook his chest as he had himself a thorough look around his "friend's" room, making note of every little detail he could find. It was lucky that he had been blessed with the gift of a good memory. I need to get to Vallea as soon as possible. King Ashero won't like it if I prolong my visit here. A sigh came forth. Even if he said I can't return until I have both Peaches and Mandy...and even if he said that I will be punished for my failure... He hopped off of the bed and headed for the door, allowing his feet to guide him through the hallway as he continued to become lost in his thoughts. Although I am quite glad she told me so much about Mandy. That mutt is quite interesting. He smirked. Such power...I want to see it in action, with my own eyes. If I can critically wound her... His brain began to concoct the fantasy he had most often whenever King Ashero sent him on a mission. It was glorious, like a slice of heaven he could enjoy again and again whenever he wanted. And it played out in the exact same way, every time. Like they were nothing but mere pebbles, Orino carried two captors in a single brown sack. A sickeningly sadistic cat smile adorned his features as he stepped inside the castle of King Ashero and began to make his way to the throne room with two guards at his sides. When he arrived, he made sure to slam the sack onto the floor to stop the captors' squirming as well as their muffled cries for help. "Your Majesty? I have brought Peaches and Mandy, as you requested." The delight that settled in King Ashero's eyes filled Orino with joy. It was quite rare that his king wore such an emotion in front of his subjects, let alone in front of someone like Orino, and as someone who was utterly loyal to his leadership, Orino was happy to see him happy. "Well done, Orino." Ashero watched as the catboy began dragging the captors out of the sack. "I see they are critically injured." Indeed, both Peaches and Mandy carried scars, bruises and broken bones on their weak and frail bodies. They looked like they had come back from a water park where blood was the substitute for water, with the red substance streaked all over their faces and limbs. For the cherry on top, rope was tied tightly around their bodies to prevent their movement, and it showed in the way it chafed their skin, threatening to cut off blood circulation if it were any tighter. "Yes. They put up quite a fight, and this was the only way I was able to put them out of commission." "Hm." Ashero's tail flicked to and fro. "No matter. So long as they can speak." A moan echoed throughout the Throne Room. It didn't take neither Orino nor Ashero very long to pinpoint its source. "Peaches. Your failure in finding who attacked Vallea irritates me greatly." Ashero's nostrils flared. "I will admit, I had originally sent you away because you brought nothing of value to this place. It seems like with this latest setback..." His body rippled with a huff. "...it was a wise choice indeed." Even with the odds stacked against her, Peaches continued to fight with verbal assaults. "K-King Ashero...y-you can't...do this..." "Quit your whining, you pathetic dog." came the mighty bellow. "I ought to execute you here and now." And perhaps he would have, if not for his eyes wandering towards the second capture, who was feebly trying to get up but was unable to do so. "And Agent Mandy. A part of Odd Squad, I presume?" The agent only responded by groaning in pain as she tried once more to get to her feet. This was met by a harsh mocking laugh from Ashero, a smug smile displayed on his face. "Look at you. Too weak to stand up." he taunted. "Fitting for someone who is nothing more than a revolting half-breed." Unlike Peaches, Mandy had no witty quip to offer in response. Instead, her energy was directed towards attempting to stand, even in her rope-bound state. "You are wasting your breath, mongrel. Give up. You have no power here." The words were like a siphon that sucked all of Mandy's energy away in one fell swoop. She fell to the ground without another sound uttered, Peaches gazing at her with tears in her eyes. Ashero gave a low hum as his tail flicked back and forth again. "I ought to execute her as well. And if I did not need information out of them, I would." His gaze moved from Mandy to "Orino. Bring these two to the House of Torture. If they are not willing to give answers to me, then we will claw the answers out of them ourselves." "Oh, right away, Your Majesty!" Orino eagerly nodded before moving to shove Peaches and Mandy back into the sack. "Come on, you quivering canines, let's go." The last thing he heard as he left the throne room was the lovely melody of his king's laughter, which bounced off every inch of the throne room walls. It was like a victory fanfare for him, and he treasured it for all it was worth. Orino's expression was stuck in a state of bliss. King Ashero would praise me! Mandy and Peaches would both be tortured to death...and I would be responsible for it all! The sound of snoring snapped him out of his stupor, and he once again paused at the entrance to the doorway of Mandy's room. Perhaps...I could get started on the half-breed while she’s asleep. She wouldn’t know what hit her. And she wouldn’t even fight back! It’s perfect. He didn't need to conceal the sound of his footsteps as he walked inside -- his innate cat abilities did all the work for him in providing perfectly quiet tread. Within just a few seconds, he was looming ominously over his snoring enemy, who seemed to be unaware of his presence. He unsheathed his claws and raised them over her. "Now...prepare to get sliced." A tail quickly snaked up his body and held him by his neck, causing him to give a yelp of pain. It gripped the extremity tighter and tighter, causing his face to turn pale as his eyes began to roll in the back of his head. However, before it could kill him by way of asphyxiation, it jerked upwards, sending him into the air. He soon found himself being spun around and around like a carousel, and a yell escaped him as he flew out the door and collided with a wall. A minute or two passed. Orino groaned as he slid down the wall, his rump met the floor, and he landed back-first. "Oww...for the love of cattails, what the heck happened...?" he asked, eyes spinning around in their sockets as he struggled to get to his feet. His keen ears caught the sound of Mandy still snoring away, only now, she was muttering something he couldn't make out. Pure gibberish, he supposed. "Was she...acting out a dream?" He shook his head as he placed one foot on the ground, and then the other, using the wall to steady himself. "No...it seemed targeted towards me. Did she know I was there?" He tried again, stepping into Mandy's room and looming over her. This time, however, he kept a close eye on the tail that was drooped over the side of the bed, in case it tried to attack him again. A thought flickered in his mind of him possibly stepping on it so it would be a non-threat, but he quickly shut that down as not being a good idea. Instead, he made a note about her tail being prehensile and strong enough to be weaponized against enemies. "You pathetic mongrel. I know you can hear me, so listen up." Orino hissed, from his position at the end of Mandy's bed. "I have one goal in mind, and that's to bring you and Peaches to King Ashero pronto. And nothing is going to stand in my way. Absolutely nothing." He spoke his words in confidence that no one was around to hear them, unaware that there was someone listening to his conversation that wasn't Mandy. She was pressed on the wall next to Mandy's door, her ears swiveling towards the door to make out what he was saying. "Tomorrow, you will be at the mercy of my glorious King, fatally wounded and tortured for information on this wretched place." Orino purred. "Just you wait. For now...get some sleep." He leaned in closer. "You'll need it." The equine eavesdropper listened to the sound of evil laughter that echoed out of the room. A gasp left her, followed by a "He's going to take Peaches and Mandy away?!" She clasped her hooves over her mouth, but by then, it was too little, too late. "Who said that?" Orino asked, poking his head out of the door and letting his eyes rest on the eavesdropper. In spite of their meeting before, he didn't recognize her, instead having funneled his attention to Peaches and Mandy. "You...you're wearing the same outfit as Mandy. Are you affiliated with her?" The pony dropped on all fours and turned to face him, ears folded downwards and an angry scowl on her face. "W-well...why should you know?! Who are you?!" It seemed neither one of them recognized each other, which was good news for Orino. "Oh, just someone who's being a good little kitty-cat and obeying his noble and kind King." In the blink of an eye, he tore a piece of cloth from his pocket -- something he had been saving since he had found it on his journey to Toronto, since he could never be too prepared -- and wrapped it around the pony's muzzle, silencing her. "That ought to shut you up." he said, ignoring the pony's attempts to speak through the obstruction. His claws unsheathed once more, and a sickening grin split his face as he bent his legs slightly and shifted one backwards. "I'm sure King Ashero won't mind if I take one more back with me." A loud yowl pierced the air. In contrast, a muffled scream went unheard. It was only a few minutes later that Peaches returned. "I'm back, Orino!" she called as she set the bucket down. "I brought a ton of fish. Enough to last us the whole week!" As she opened the door, she found the catboy lying on the bed, still clutching his stomach. "There you are. You feeling better?" "A little." Orino smiled. "I had a nasty hairball that was stuck in me for a good while." "Ugh, yeah...I can relate." Peaches winced. "Anyway, let's eat!" As the pair chowed down on as much fish as their stomachs could handle, Orino mentally ran through the next phase of his plan. He had disposed of an unforeseen obstacle, and with that done, he could move on to the next phase of his plan and get this mission over with. "Hey, Peaches." he said, swallowing his bite of fish. "Um...I have something to discuss with you." "Hm?" "It's about King Ashero." A look of pleading settled in Orino's eyes. "He really wants you back in Vallea." Peaches ceased her chewing for only a moment, before she swallowed in an attempt to keep the piece in her mouth and not have it wind up on the floor. "He wants me back?" "See, before I left, I was summoned by him." Orino explained. "He confided in me, and told me that he realized sending you away was wrong." Half of the catboy had expected Peaches to not be fooled for a second. The other half had expected her to buy into the lie hook, line and stinker. Lucky for him that the odds worked out in his favor. "Did he...did he admit to sending me away because I was useless?" Orino nodded. "And he profusely apologized. He said that it was wrong for him as the king of Vallea to commit such a hasty and rude crime against a hard-working member, especially since you were attempting to find out who burned the town down." Peaches bit her lip and didn't say anything in response. "I know you haven’t found the culprit yet, and I do want to help you look. But perhaps we could return to Vallea together and meet up with the king. He said that he wants you to return. And...I want you to return too." Pain flashed in Orino's eyes, now. "Vallea has been a desolate town ever since you left. Everyone is on edge. No one is safe. King Ashero believes that you…" A pause. "You deserve a second chance." Peaches gasped. The fish she had been eating fell on the floor. Her eyes began to water slightly. "This place...it's nice." Orino said. "But tell me. Don't you want to go home, Peaches? You could be the hero that Vallea needs." Peaches stared at him. "B-but...Mandy..." The water that had been pooling in her eyes fell down her face in two beautifully cascading streams. "I finally found a member of my own family, Orino. You know how they went missing in the attack. They..." "I know." Orino placed a hand on her shoulder. "And perhaps we'll find them too. But do you really not want to leave Mandy?" He glanced at the wall just outside of the door. "A girl like her would never fit in with Vallea's citizens. She would be an outcast, living at the bottom of the hierarchy. Is that the position you want to put her in?" Silence hung over the room like a thick dark cloud. Orino made sure it didn't last for very long, though. "Besides, from what I've seen, Mandy is happy here. She has friends, family, a purpose. Do you want to take all that away from her?" "I don't...I don't know!" Peaches blurted out, burying her face in her knees. Orino was, of course, entirely indifferent to her emotions, instead eating the rest of his fish in one fell swoop. "Why don't you sleep on it? I'm leaving tomorrow." Peaches' head jerked up. "T-tomorrow?" "I'm going to search around the area of Vallea for any sign of the culprit. The sooner the better. I assume you've been searching around here and haven't found anything?" "N-no..." "They couldn't have gone far. I could always use a trusted friend to help me look." Orino got off of the bed. "Is...there anywhere I can sleep for the night?" Peaches wiped away her tears. "Um...you can sleep in my room. I'll set up a cat bed or something." "All right. I'm just going to go out for a stroll and get some fresh air. I'll be back, okay?" "Okay..." With that, Orino left the room, making sure to close the door behind him. Which, in turn, left Peaches alone with her thoughts. She stared at the fish she had dropped, the appetite she once had suddenly sapped out of her. The tears flowed freely, and she laid on the bed with her hands wrapped tightly around her. That stupid king...he wants me back after sending me away and exiling me from the town? After how he worked with the Big O? After all he's done to hurt us?! Is he insane?! A choked sob left her. And Orino... Orino... He...wants me to come back. She blinked. "I could be the hero Vallea needs"...what did he mean by that? Could I overthrow King Ashero and become the Queen? ...No, no. Don't delude yourself with such silly thoughts, Peaches. Someone like you could never be the leader of an entire town. Suddenly, a realization broke through. If I return to Vallea, it'll be for Orino. He's been my friend since I was a child. I can't let him go back to Vallea and live under that...monstrous tyrant. If I go with him, we can stop King Ashero together. Maybe that's what he means by me being the hero Vallea needs...? Thoughts kept spinning around and around in her head like a carousel, and it didn't take long before her eyes slowly began to close as she slipped into slumber. Meanwhile, Orino was having thoughts of his own. If I can get Peaches away from Mandy and get her to Vallea...perhaps Mandy will follow suit. Considering I can’t catch Mandy directly, I’ll have to resort to more tactful methods. He gave a soft chuckle. But everything will go according to plan in the end. It always does. As he rounded the corner, his keen eyes spotted one of his two intended targets, who was busy conversing with Olive and Otto. It's Mandy! With those two, no less...whatever their names are. His eyes narrowed. I could try and persuade her now, but would it be better to manipulate her while she's asleep? He bit his lip. No...she'd just attack me again. I have to do it now, while I have an opportunity lying right in front of me. It didn't take long for one of the beings Mandy was talking with to spot him. Her corkscrew ponytail bounced as she turned her head. "Oh! Orino, was it?" "Um, yes." Orino nodded. "And remind me who you two are, again?" Luckily, neither one of them seemed fazed by his forgetfulness. "I'm Olive, Mandy's adoptive mother." "And I'm Otto. We work together in the Odd Squad precinct in the next town over." It was then that something occurred to Orino. He pointed at Olive. "You're her mother?" "Yes." "No rude intentions, but..." He smiled. "You do look quite young for being Mandy's adoptive mother." He had expected Olive to be offended or to scold him for being rude. To his surprise, however, she barked a pleasant laugh. "I get that a lot. It's a rather complicated story." Orino really wanted to hear the story, but his conscience told him to stick to the plan and not to go astray. He nodded at Olive before making eye contact with Mandy. "Um, Mandy...there's something I need to tell you." Mandy was busy looking the catboy up and down, which unnerved him only by a twinge. After a few seconds, she blinked and returned to reality, as though she had simply zoned out for a moment. "Y-yes! Yes, of course!" She awkwardly laughed as she moved her chair closer to him. "Here, have a seat." "I'll pass." Orino cleared his throat. "Peaches has expressed an interest in returning to Vallea." Mandy's eyes widened. They remained that way for a minute or two, before a few blinks brought them back to normal. "But I thought she wanted to find out who burned it down to the ground. I'd imagine it looks pretty barren..." "Oh, no, not at all! We've rebuilt since then." The narrowing of Mandy's eyes, followed by the low inquisitive hum she gave, once again only fazed Orino just a little bit. He had to wonder if she was catching on to him, but pushed that thought to the side, because there was no way someone as dumb as her could see past the thick mask he was wearing. "I know that her returning to Vallea would mean that she would have to leave you and the rest of Odd Squad behind." he continued. "But all the same, I'd like to extend an offer to you." Mandy's expression didn't falter. Orino straightened as he laid down the million-dollar question. "Would you like to come to Vallea with Peaches, on a permanent basis?" Otto took a step back. "Come to Vallea?!" "Y-you can't be serious!" Olive cried out. "Do you really think that Mandy would uproot herself and her entire life over to-" "Guys." Silence fell among the group. Olive and Otto gazed at Mandy, who had her hand up and her eyes closed. "It's fine." Mandy heaved a sigh, and her frown was quickly replaced with her usual cat smile. "Orino, I'd love to come with you and Peaches to Vallea." Olive looked about ready to faint. "Mandy, no!" "Wonderful!" Orino clapped his hands together, the cries of Olive and Otto feeding into his rush of endorphins. "You'll love it there, I'm sure." "When do we leave?" "Tomorrow morning." "Got it." With the phase of the plan having gone smoothly, Orino turned and began to head for the steel double-doors, mostly in an effort to hide his excitement. "I'm going to go for a walk to clear my head. I suggest you start packing." "Yup!" As soon as the doors closed behind him, Orino did a fist pump, a grin settling on his face. Yes, I got her! I didn't think it would be this easy, but oh, the blessing of the King must have been shining down on me! He couldn't resist chuckling. All that's left now is to beat them until they can't move, then take them back to my glorious King and reap in the rewards. Everything is going well in my favor, and I'm not about to let anything stop me now! Unbeknownst to him, however, there was, indeed, an "anything" that was planning to stop him now, and she was standing right in the bullpen. She listened to the overlapping chatter of her adoptive mother and her partner, gritting her teeth in annoyance before her jaws parted to let out a cry. "I DIDN'T MEAN FOR YOU TO SPEAK LIKE THAT, STOP!!" The chattering stopped. Olive and Otto stared at her, jaws spread. "Are you two dense?" Mandy snapped. "Do you really think that I would uproot myself and my entire life over to Vallea and leave Odd Squad behind, just like that?" Olive threw her hands in the air. "That's what I was gonna say!" "Look. I know what Orino's planning to do. I'm going along with him because I want to. I'm going along with him because it's part of my own plan to stop him." In one fell swoop, Mandy extended her arm and pulled both Olive and Otto close to her, putting her face in theirs. "Trust my judgement and don't intervene, got it?" "But what if you get hurt?" Mandy's mouth pinched inwards as she went half-lidded, staring at Otto as though asking him if he really just asked what he just asked. "I've got alicorn magic and a hammer. Do you really think I'll get hurt?" Not noticing Olive and Otto's exchanging of doubtful glances, she gave a chuckle. "He's not bringing Peaches back to Vallea. He's forcefully taking her back there. If I can tag along with them, I can beat Orino to a pulp and maaaaaaybe, just maaaaaaybe, check out Vallea for myself." Olive's brow furrowed. "Why would you want to see Vallea?" "So I can meet King Ashero and give him a few choice words. And maybe a punchie or two!" Both Directors squirmed free from Mandy's grasp, doubtful looks remaining on their faces. "Well...you're your own person, Mandy, and...I can't really hold you back, I suppose..." Olive sighed. "But just try to be careful, okay?" Mandy scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, I'll be fine! And I'll come back in one piece. That's a Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" After she went through the motions, she gave an exhale and swiveled her head towards the right hallway. "Now, I think I'll start packing. Vallea may be a ways away, but I don't think I'll need to travel that far." Otto and Olive watched her leave, only a single thought being shared amongst their minds. "We're following her, aren't we?" "Oh yeah. And we're bringing Oprah along with us too. Strength in numbers." As Mandy began the short journey back to her room, a satisfied smile settled on her face, and her tail wagged happily as she came to a conclusion. I've got Orino right where I want him. And tomorrow, he, along with his lousy-mousy king, are gonna be sorry they ever tried to tussle around with Peach. Perhaps my plan hit a few snags...but nothin' I can't handle! It was about 10 in the morning when Orino, Peaches and Mandy met up just on the border of the city. Mandy had made sure to chug lots of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise in preparation for the upcoming battle she would eventually need to have with Orino, and for an extra "gotta stay awake" punch, she had eaten raw sugar by the measuring cup. After all, it would do her no good to fall asleep during the battle and answer the nonexistent question of "can I fight in my sleep or is it an immediate getting-my-butt-kicked sentence?" "There you two are." Orino, carrying a bindle with a rather large sack, waved Peaches and Mandy over. "Are you ready to go?" "Yupparoonie! Got all my things." Mandy gestured to her hammerspace spine, although she didn't expect Orino to get the gist of what she was saying. "And I got mine." Peaches did as well. "Wonderful. Let's head off, then." With that, the trio began walking, but it was only a few minutes in that Mandy already had a question primed and ready. "How far is Vallea, anyway?" "About two-and-a-half hours." Orino explained. "We set up residence in a ghost town that was once known as Falkenburg. Since then, it's become Vallea, a thriving town." A simple "uh-huh" left Mandy's lips as she racked her brain in an attempt to pinpoint Falkenburg on a mental map. Although truthfully, geography wasn't really one of her strong subjects, and so, she dropped the attempt after a minute or so. Unbeknownst to her and the others, however, Olive, Otto and Oprah were following behind. They made sure to put quite a distance between themselves and the other trio, in such a way that to anyone passing by, it just happened to look like three kids who were simply going the same direction as two catpeople and a pony-human hybrid and not to the same destination. They watched as Orino waved Peaches over next to him before the weight of what he had said hit them like a truck. "Two-and-a-half hours?!" "We can't walk that far!" Otto glanced down at his feet. "I don't think we'll need to." Oprah assured. "Let's just follow them. And keep your voices down!" Both Olive and Otto still felt unsure, but went along with their old boss anyway, and resumed their positions next to her while keeping an eye on the trio ahead of them. Only twenty minutes later, Mandy was starting to get tired. Not of walking, mind -- she had already taken flight and was now hovering along to allow her feet to rest -- but of whatever long-game gambit Orino was pulling. Patience wasn't really her thing, and that especially held true in regards to the current situation. C'mon...surely he's not gonna wait 150 minutes just to enact his plan? I could fly us all there in half the time! She gave a soft sigh. It isn't like he's gonna take me up on the offer either...oh well. Forty more minutes passed. By this point, Olive and Otto were dragging their feet along the ground, and they could swear they actually both felt and heard their muscles screaming. All of the water in the water bottles they had brought with them in their hammerspace spines couldn't perk them up, either. They contrasted with Oprah, who also looked tired but was still going with no signs of dragging feet. "It's been an hour!" Otto complained. This earned him a shushing from Oprah. "We can't rest now!" "But my feeeeet..." "Olive, stop complaining and walk!" The two Directors only gave soft groans in response, wrapping their arms around each other to keep themselves stable. Lucky for them, they didn't have to walk any longer, as up ahead, Orino posed a suggestion. "Hey, why don't we all take a quick rest? I'm sure your...er...wings must be sore, Mandy." "Mm, kinda." Mandy took the opportunity to land on the ground, folding her wings in. "Feels like we've been walking forever! Or, uh, flying, in my case. At least the grass is nice and lush!" Everyone stopped and sat, finding it rather coincidental that their current destination just so happened to be a mostly-open field that was flanked by a two-lane road with a sidewalk and then another field beyond that. Still, no one could deny that they weren't grateful for the opportunity given to them by the enemy, and took the time to rest and chat. "Mandy's planned for this, right?" Oprah asked, leaning in close to Olive and Otto. "That's what she told us." Olive responded, rubbing her sore feet. "Hey Orino..." Peaches, who had shapeshifted into her cat form along the journey, stretched her body out. "Do you think...maybe we could spar again?" "Now?" Orino blinked. "But you won the last time! And we're on our way back to Vallea anyway!" "I know! But I want to see if you've learned something from it." "Like what?" "Well, I can give you pointers." Peaches waved a paw. "Go on! Shapeshift into your cat form and let's rumble!" Orino stared for a few more moments. He certainly didn't expect this wrench to be thrown into his plan, but he rolled with it regardless, shapeshifting into his cat form as requested while his brain instantly came up with a new solution. "Well, all right. But you better be prepared, because I'm going to win!" "I'd like to see you try!" Both cats bunched up their legs. No more than a minute passed before one of them made their first move, a loud yowl piercing the air. "Hey, not ba-" As pain began to course through Peaches' neck, she let out a loud screeching yowl. "Hey, hey! Get off!" Otto's eyes widened. "He's attacking her! And Mandy's not doing a thing!" Sure enough, Mandy was lying flat on the grass, relaxing and cloud-watching like her cousin wasn't getting attacked by a crazy catboy. "Let this play out. We'll intervene if we have to." Oprah responded, holding out a hand to stop Otto from jumping in to save Peaches. As Orino let go of Peaches, her breathing became heavy. "What was that for? I thought we were sparring!" Slowly, ever so slowly, a sickening smile formed on Orino's features. Her tone sounds so full of innocence. Pure, naive innocence. It's such a shame that I have to crush it under the weight of my own two paws. "Let's just say I changed my mind." His eyes shone with nothing but pure malice. "It's a duel to the death now." Peaches blinked, taking a step back as she tried to figure out what was happening to her friend to make him act this way. Part of her thought this was some kind of a weird joke he was playing, and so, she rolled with it. "A duel to the death? B-but-" "Look. It's time I admit the truth, pretty kitty." Orino strode closer to her. "All that stuff I said about King Ashero wanting you to come back? It was all a lie. A lie!" He cackled. "And you fell for it, you dumb mongrel!" Any hope Peaches had that this was some kind of a joke had been immediately shot dead. All she could do was stare agape, her rump hitting the ground as the floodgates of thoughts swung wide open. He...this isn't a joke. He lied to me. He's working with the enemy. All this time...I trusted him...was he even my friend all these years? Or was he someone fabricated to be my friend by King Ashero? I should have known better. The King doesn't want me back. He never wants me back, ever. I was exiled for a reason. There's no way he would welcome me back with open arms after I haven't found the culprit yet. And there was no way anyone would have wanted to be my friend. Not back then. I lived with a false friend all these years...and now that I have real ones...ohh, why didn't I see the truth from the get-go? Was I really that stupid? The thoughts, scrambled in nature, kept going and going. Peaches barely heard Orino's next words. "King Ashero has sent me to get you and bring you back to him for your failure in finding out who destroyed our town. Not only that, but he wants Mandy as well." That last bit made her snap out of her thoughts. She stared at the catboy whom she had dared to call her friend. "Why her?" "You have been interacting with her during your exile. And it has come to my glorious king’s attention that you and her are somehow connected. He refused to share any details, but regardless. Orders are orders." Orino chuckled. "I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring you and Mandy back alive. I also know exactly how I’m going to bring both of you back." He unsheathed his claws and bunched up his legs again, turning to face Peaches with a grin on his maw. "Starting with you." Peaches' head swiveled back and forth between Mandy and Orino. "Mandy! Mandy, help!" she cried out, before Orino leaped up and changed forms right before her eyes. The distant sound of yowling made Mandy crack open a nonchalant eye, a short soft hum escaping her as she sat up to inspect the scene. She allowed a smile to settle on her face as a hand slowly reached behind her back and she rose to her feet. "Ah, look who finally woke up. Come to join the battle?" Orino moved his gaze from the now-humanoid Peaches to Mandy, his foot resting on the former's chest as she spluttered and coughed. "I must say, it'll be terribly outnumbered. But I'm more than confident I can take down two little girls." The coughing from Peaches grew fiercer, to the point where Mandy was concerned she would start hacking up blood. But she didn't pay her cousin any mind. That would be for after she sent Orino flying out of the Milky Way. With confidence, she straightened her posture. "Go ahead, try and hit-" Her taunt was immediately interrupted by a blur crossing her vision, followed by a pair of hands clasping her neck and squeezing it, causing her to start hacking the same way Peaches was. She only barely heard the catgirl utter her name before she fired up her horn and teleported away, bending over and coughing in an effort to regain her breath. With her mind struggling to comprehend what had happened, she lit up her horn and swooped Orino up in her corona. "Ah-ah-ah. You don't want to hurt a sweet, innocent little kitty, do you?" Mandy's head lifted. Her gaze moved to Orino, who had somehow managed to change back into his cat form and was putting on a pleading face. A growl rolled about in her throat. That coward! This is how he's gonna play defense, by changing into a cat so I can't hurt him! Her corona grew more intense. Well, too bad for him. I've got a solution. Orino could feel himself forcefully turned back into his humanoid form within five seconds. Before he could transform back into a cat, however, chains made of magic wrapped around him, connected to a magical lock that clicked shut. "You're not sweet or innocent." Mandy taunted. "But go off if it'll help ya sleep at night." She dropped Orino to the ground suddenly, causing him to stumble. Every attempt he made to shift back into his cat form failed, and a spark of panic ignited in him. "W-what did you do?" "Form-changing prevention spell. I have Agent Twilight Sparkle to thank for that." For a moment, Orino stopped. The name sounded familiar, and it took him a few seconds to realize that Twilight Sparkle was the pony whom King Ashero's friend had tried to kidnap and enslave before. But he shoved her to the wayside. After all, Twilight wasn't his main target, and he could worry about her later if he needed to. Before Mandy could attack him head-on, he growled, which slowly formed into a loud yowl as he charged at her with blinding speed. From there, sharpened claws began to scrape at her from all angles, which didn't leave her much of an opening to fight back. "Ha!" Orino leaped backwards. "You didn't account for my speed and agility, did you?" He shook the blood off of his claws. "Here's the thing about us catpeople. We're part cat. Which means we can land a hit on you before you even have a chance to blink." Mandy turned her head and spat to the side. Of course. Peaches is fast and agile, and it would be foolish to think Orino wasn't the same. I'll have to either match him with my own speed, or find a way to slow him down. "Not only that...but I’ve seen you in action. Don’t you remember when you showed me footage of your previous battles?" Orino grinned. "Heh, I had initially thought that you were so powerful that I’d actually need to be careful for a change. Guess I overshot my mark." That stopped Mandy cold. Immediately, she began to internally kick herself. She had shown Orino her battle moves out of nothing but an act of friendship, but even after it had dawned on her that he was not what he seemed, never once did she consider the impact of him watching her battles with villains and odd creatures alike. Now, he had knowledge of all her moves -- and she supposed one could call her predictable in battle. "Shut up." was all she could utter, fighting and failing to keep the tremble out of her voice. "What's the matter? Do you need another clawing?" Orino licked the very tip of his claw. "Because my claws are sharpened and ready for more!" A pause. Mandy smiled. "But can your claws..." With her hand behind her back once again, she took a step forward, pulling out her signature weapon. "...meet my hammer?" Spinning the hammer around in circles, Mandy flung it straight towards Orino, her smile growing wider as she knew it would be a direct hit...that is, until Orino caught it with only a singular hand, straight by the handle. "Yes!" The smile remained on Mandy's face all the same. The hammer's head began to grow, a pulsating sound accompanying it as it began to swell to twice Orino's size. He eventually couldn't take the weight, and a loud yowl accompanied an earth-shattering boom as the hammer seemingly landed on top of him. From afar, Olive, Otto and Oprah all gave yelps of surprise as they were briefly lifted off of the ground. Orino fought back, however, and managed to stop the hammer from crushing him flat by pressing against it with all his might. "So this is your enlarged hammer..." he said, with great effort as he tried to push the weapon away from him. "...it's bigger than I expected..." "You like?" Mandy chuckled. "That bad boy can crush anything. And I'm gonna use it to crush you." With the handle caught in her rainbow-colored corona, the hammer began to slowly lift off of Orino, giving him enough time to scramble away as he gave a panicked screech. He wasn't fast enough for Mandy's magic, however, and the hammer hit him square in the back, causing him to yell as he was sent flying towards a tree. As Mandy watched his body make impact with the tree and slump to the ground, she brought her hammer back to its normal size. "That'll do." Her wings took her over to Orino, who was struggling to get on his feet. His back was surprisingly intact, although it certainly wasn't without bruising, and it certainly wasn't without a massive amount of pain. "There was nothing in the rules about using weapons." she purred. "Now get up." Mandy's taunt spurred something in Orino. He didn't know if it was adrenaline or something else, but whatever it was, it caused him to quickly rise to his feet like he had no wounds at all. "That...that was nothing! Absolutely nothing!" he said, shaking his body out. "Riiiight. Mhm." Mandy raised an eyebrow as she tucked her hammer behind her back. "Anyway, I'll give you a leg up 'cuz I'm sweet and kind. I'll put my hammer away. It's time I put my workouts to good use, anyway." "Bring it on." The voice came from behind Mandy. She didn't have any time to react before a loud yowl pierced her ears and she was met with a flurry of pain that could only come from a set of claws. Before she knew it, it was her turn to be sent flying, hitting the ground once, then twice, then skidding to a dead stop. Orino smirked. "Had enough ye-" A popping sound, accompanied by a bright rainbow flash of light. "Never." A searing pain shot through Orino's shoulder right then. His jaws parted to let a loud and echoing yowl escape, which only intensified in pitch when he felt an even worse pain in his back. Sure enough, Mandy had gone for her classic move of biting the enemy. Like with the previous Big O in the past, she aimed for Orino's shoulder, letting the metallic taste of blood flow along her taste buds. And this time, she would hit a nerve, or she wouldn't stop until she did. Her feet scrabbled against Orino's back in an attempt to gain footing, but that ultimately didn't matter to her. Orino couldn't comprehend this move, especially since he hadn't seen Mandy bite her foes in any of the videos he watched. He began stumbling backwards, all while giving a plaintive cry of, "Why are you biting me?! Stop it! Get off of me, now!" From afar, Otto began to get up. "Oprah, we should really help Mandy, she's bleeding!" "A bite move..." the Director mused, not listening to Otto in the slightest. "She used to do that all the time growing up..." "Yeah, I remember." Olive nodded. "And those bites hurt, too. I think she actually broke Rainbow Dash's leg once by doing that!" The sound of tearing brought a rather sadistic and twisted joy to Mandy. "I'll rip your schkin!" "No, please, stop stop stop!" begged Orino, forgoing any confidence and suavity he had and replacing it with pure utter fear -- which only grew when he could hear the sound of a massive tear, followed by the sound of something gushing. He didn't need to look to know what it was. All he had to do was feel the immense pain. With a mighty "Nyah!", Mandy grabbed the piece of torn flesh in her mouth and spat it off to the side, wiping her lips free of blood and hopping off of her opponent. By this point, blood was all she could taste now, and she couldn't deny that it tasted absolutely awful. It almost made her want to chug a bottle of water if she didn't have a need to finish the battle and go home a winner. "You idiotic cur..." Orino clutched his shoulder in an attempt to stop the flow of blood, to little avail. "You tore apart my shoulder!" "And I got blood in my mouth, so it's an equal exchange!" Mandy fired back, spitting off to the side in an effort to alleviate the taste that coated her tongue. For a moment, both Orino and Mandy licked their wounds, metaphorically speaking. The battle came to a standstill, and Mandy decided to seize the opportunity to fire some potshots to counter Orino's own. "I know what you've been doing with Peaches. You have issues with her that go far beyond just wanting to take her back to your pathetic king." A bolt of pain shot through her side, and she began to stumble. "You're dependent on her. Too dependent. Clingy, even. Aren't you?" "Clingy?!" came the shared exclamation between the three spectators, eyes widening in shock. Oprah's eyes, in particular, began to develop water in them. "Haru- er...a special someone told me everything." Mandy faltered, making sure to backtrack before she revealed the existence of her spirit guardian to the enemy. She had to maintain the crazy theory, and that was all that mattered. "How you were over-reliant on her from childhood. How you posed as her friend just so she could care for you like a menial servant to a greedy king." Orino growled. "And so what? That has nothing to do with this!" "Really? Because you've been stuck to her like glue all throughout your visit!" "Again I ask: so what?" Orino straightened, still clutching his shoulder in pain but attempting to stand tall regardless. "That doesn't matter! What matters is that I take you and Peaches to King Ashero, and that's just what I'm going to do!" "Then you're gonna hafta take us over my own dead bo-" Another loud yowl interrupted her. She was then promptly slammed onto the ground back-first, which sent another bolt of pain rocketing through her body. When she opened her eyes, she found a kneeling Orino and his ever-sharp claws looming over her menacingly. In one swift move, said claws sliced through her shirt, exposing her chest. "Hey, hey, what are you-" Within the next second, she had a heart attack. And her body wasn't the perpetrator. A scream full of anguish and torture rattled her vocal cords and echoed into the blue sky above, her body thrashing in an attempt to throw Orino off of her. However, much like a parent watching their child throw a tantrum, Orino remained unfazed. Olive, Otto and Oprah all rose to their feet and watched the attack go down with nothing but sheer horror in their eyes. "I'll rip your heart out. Maybe it'll finally get you to shut up...and stay dead." he growled, as his grip intensified. "Yes, I'm clingy towards Peaches. And no, I was never her friend. But no one wants to be friends with someone who enjoys fashion more than hunting mice and disobeys our kind and just ruler instead of going along with his judgment! If that’s what she so desires, then perhaps she doesn’t deserve friendship, let alone a place to live in our fair city." As if Mandy's scream wasn't enough noise to tolerate, another scream echoed in Orino's left ear, and he swiveled his head to find a large blur heading straight towards him. It made impact, knocking him away from Mandy and sending him tumbling onto the ground a little ways. "Get off of my daughter, you pathetic excuse for a living thing!" Finding himself to be too much in pain to get on his own two feet -- whatever had slammed into him was hard and heavy -- Orino instead opted for swiveling his body around to face his newest attacker, who had apparently gotten on her own two feet in record time and was staring him down with malice in her eyes. "Y-your daughter?!" was all he could stammer out within his shock and surprise. "Partner, no!" Orino's gaze shifted to two more beings that were running towards him. Oh cattails, who are they?! This wasn't part of the plan! And I can't get up... The spark of panic flickered to life again. If I don't beat these three blockades to the ground, I'm done for! Oh, my King, please send your blessings once again... "Otto, tend to Mandy!" "Right!" "And as for you. Orino, was it?" one of the other beings said, standing beside the other being whom Orino could now make out as being Olive. "Listen up and learn our names. My name is Oprah, Director of Odd Squad Precinct 13579. And this is Olive, Director of the Mississauga Odd Squad precinct." A sickening grin spread across the girl's features. "We're going to sock you to a place where the sun never shines." The anxiety that was pumping through Orino caused him to give a half-mocking, half-nervous laugh in response to just how cliched the threats sounded. "Oh, I'd like to see you-" Five seconds later, he was lying face-down on the dirt some distance away, a groan rattling in his chest. "P-point...made..." he uttered, weakly raising a hand before it flopped back down onto the ground. By this point, he knew that he was beyond help, whether from King Ashero or otherwise. He wasn't usually one to admit defeat, but this time around, he was getting pretty close to actually doing it. His stubbornness, however, won over -- he knew the consequences for not completing his mission, and he would be damned if he had his life cut short by execution just for failing to do one relatively simple task. "You're not taking Peaches or Mandy back to Vallea. Not if we have a say in it." Orino spat to the side and stared at Olive with fury and malice in his eyes, baring his teeth as he gave a low growl. "Your power is weakened." Oprah crossed her arms. "Peaches and Mandy may be down, but we're not." "And neither is my partner, Otto!" "That's me!" called Otto, from where he was still tending to an unconscious Mandy. Oprah straightened. "So we suggest you leave..." Olive cracked her knuckles and smirked. "Or I can put my hammer throw practice to good use." "N-never..." Orino hissed, shaking his head rapidly as he struggled to get up. "I have to...take Peaches...and Mandy...t-to-" A round of coughing interrupted his protest, and he slumped to the ground, the adrenaline beginning to wear off. This is the end for me. My King, I am so sorry. "King Ashero?" Olive finished. "Oh, he'll be receiving something. But not what he's looking for." She slowly began to approach Orino, only uttering a single warning to her cohorts: "Stay back." Orino only barely heard the next words between the thrumming of blood in his ears. Something about if Olive could "do it" in a wooded area and Olive calmly responding that "it's an open field, I think I'll be fine." He took one last look at the unconscious Peaches and the unconscious Mandy, and smiled. Even if he hadn't fully completed his mission, he had gotten the farthest out of any catperson his king had sent by fatally wounding both his targets. And that, to him, was a mighty accomplishment on his own. One that he would soon take to his grave. Pain coursed through his tail, but he didn't react. He allowed Olive to spin him around and around like a carousel, his life beginning to play as a movie reel in his mind. A minute later, she let him go with an "Au revoir!" He was sent soaring with the sound of a bomb whistle, off to who knows where. He had hoped he would land in Vallea, but he didn't think Olive's aim was that good. My King...please, wait for me. If I make it back to Vallea...I want my execution to be at your hands. To show just how well I've done. How exemplary I am for all of the Valleans. How what you want to achieve is possible, and someday, you will get there. Back at the battlefield, Oprah and Olive turned to face Peaches and Mandy, preparing to go and help Otto when a rustling sound made them whirl back around twice as fast. "What's that?" "Stay back." Oprah held a hand against Olive's chest. "Who knows if Orino brought anyone with him as backup?" A section of the tall grass began to rustle fiercer, now. It didn't take long before a familiar equine stumbled out, with hardly any place on her body that wasn't injured in some shape or form. Her mane and tail were in similar states of disarray. The unisonant cry rang out: "Pinkie Pie?!" "G-guys, please! I...need help..." Immediately, Oprah took charge. "Olive, take Peaches. I'll take Pinkie." she ordered, heaving a sigh. "Looks like we now have three in need of medical care." Olive nodded and booked it over to Pinkie, kneeling down to match the party pony's height. "Pinkie, can you walk?" "N-not...really..." Pinkie weakly pawed at the torn cloth hanging from her neck -- the muzzle that Orino had given her earlier. "Otto, take Mandy through the tubes and bring her to Dr. O's office, stat." "Got it!" "Olive! Bring Pinkie back to 13579! Dr. O's office!" As the two co-Directors began making their way towards a barren-looking tree, Oprah scooped up Peaches in her arms. "C'mon, Peaches. We have to get you back to Headquarters." With cleanup having been batted, the trio and their wounded companions soared behind the tree and into the tubes as fast as they could, sending silent prayers to whoever up above that said companions would get better soon after yet another senseless tragedy. It was a good thing Oprah had ordered the construction of an Emergency Room specifically for situations like this. For years, Precinct 13579 had gone without one, and she never knew why. While the Toronto General Hospital did excellent work, Odd Squad Doctors were just as well-equipped as the doctors and nurses there for emergency situations, major injuries, and operations like life-saving surgeries, and it had been shown time and time again with how many times Mandy had been treated over the years. The Medical Bay was great as a doctor's office, but didn't serve well as a hospital room that could accompany more than one cot and the appropriate medical equipment. So Oprah set aside a hefty amount of the budget to get such a room built in her own Headquarters. X's be damned, they could go screw themselves. At that moment, only three occupants were in the shared room, each in their own individual cots, each hooked up to vital sign monitors, and each separated by a curtain. Dr. O, as well as a few of his nurses, examined them for a minute more as Oprah, Olive and Otto watched, until he approached the door and they scrambled backwards to let him out. "Will they be okay?" Oprah asked. Dr. O closed the door behind him. "Pinkie's suffered only mild injuries, so she'll be all right. Peaches and Mandy, however..." His expression darkened. "...were hurt more badly." "How badly?" Otto asked, not bothering to fight the tremble that crept into his voice. "Peaches' ribcage is broken, and she received some deep cuts from Orino that we'll need to treat." Dr. O explained. "Mandy took the brunt of the damage, though. Her heart...we'll have to do surgery on it to repair it." The trio's eyes widened. They all exchanged shocked glances. "That's the second time recently!" Olive sighed. "Poor Mandy...she's so young, and yet, her heart..." "Don't worry." Dr. O interrupted her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We'll have Odd Squad Nurses and Doctors working around the clock. They'll both be better in no time." He gave a small smile. "For now, Olive and Otto, it's best if you return to your precinct." "He has a point." Olive and Otto didn't need those words from their old boss to seal the deal. They nodded in unison and began to make their way to the Tube Lobby, waving goodbyes to her and to Dr. O. "Thank you, Doctor." Oprah said. "But, um...may I have a word alone with Mandy?" "Of course. I'll leave you to it." Only a minute later, Oprah was kneeling at Mandy's bedside, gritting her teeth as she tried to force the words to come out. Her mind flashed back to the battle, and how Mandy's words about Orino being clingy towards Peaches had sparked something in her. Not that she knew if he was actually clingy towards Peaches, but it was a wake-up moment for her all the same. "I hope you can hear me...even though you probably can't." she murmured. "But...I'm gonna try anyway." Silence lingered in the room for a moment. Oprah took a deep breath before she continued. "I realize now that much like Orino was with Peaches, I’ve been too clingy towards you. I wanted you always by my side, to bring me comfort when I was sad and be a friend when I needed one. When you left for your vacation, it was heart-wrenching for me. I just couldn’t bear the thought of me having to manage this precinct alone, with no one but my assistants. I realize that’s a flaw of mine. A flaw that I need to fix." Her body began to tremble. "You’re your own person, and I shouldn’t be so possessive of you." If Mandy was listening, Oprah couldn't see it. Still, that didn't stop the Director's tears from beginning to flow. "All I ask...is that you return by my side once more. Odd Squad is about teamwork, after all. And perhaps we could be more than teammates." A small smile crept across her lips. "We could be friends again." She slowly stood up. "I think I know what I need to do to earn your trust and friendship back. But I can't do it without you." Feet began moving towards the door. "Please. Do consider." The door opened and closed, and she took another deep breath to calm herself as she wiped her tears away. The hallways were silent, with no agent passing by -- and perhaps she liked it that way. "I did what I could. There's nothing I can do now but wait." she said aloud, in an attempt to reassure herself. "Now, for some well-needed juice." She began to make her way back towards her office, pain gripping her heart as Mandy became stuck to her mind like glue. "Mandy. Do you understand? What Oprah is saying?" "I do." Mandy responded, closing her eyes and heaving a sigh. In truth, she had, indeed, heard every word of Oprah's, and although she still had some doubts about her boss, she couldn't deny that her intentions sounded true. After all, Oprah had never really been much of a liar -- not when the truth could easily be uncovered with her bare fists. "She understands that, like Orino was to Peaches, she was attached to you. It is clear that she has now learned her lesson. She has opened up her heart and fully embraced what she has done." Haruko placed a gentle paw on Mandy's leg. "So now, you must forgive her." Mandy hadn't really known Oprah was listening to her whole spiel to Orino about how clingy he was towards Peaches. Really, she only said what she said because she had never seen Orino alone. He was always around Peaches, claiming he was her friend and guiding her as a friend would. But even friends took breaks from each other. Mandy knew that anything more than that would constitute as what adults called "first base", and she had already gotten that way with Bradley Beli against her will. Now, she realized that Oprah had been different -- she and Mandy weren't together all the time, and spent time apart more than anything. For Oprah's heavy reliance on Mandy, even she was able to stand on solo ground sometimes, and Mandy was committed to laying down more of that ground for her. She sighed. "You're right. I can't bear to see our friendship ripped to shreds over this! I have to make amends with her!" "You can start by becoming her second again." Haruko smiled. "And then..." "And then?" "Spend some time with her. Work together as a team. As best friends. Be there for her when she needs it most." Mandy nodded. "I am quite sure that one of your friends..." Haruko squinted her eyes slightly in thought. "Twilight...Sparkle, was it?" "Yeah?" "She knows all about friendship, no? She can help you when tensions arise. Do not be afraid to go to her if you need to." It was in that moment that Mandy had to smack herself. All the options posed to her to help her deal with the whole skiddly-doo about Oprah, and she completely forgot about the Princess of Friendship. Had Mandy gone to her, the skiddly-doo would have been resolved sooner, and she felt rather stupid for not realizing it. "Wow, I'm more of a dum-dum than a lollipop." she mused, flopping down onto the grass and staring up at the sky. Haruko had herself a chuckle at that comment. "You followed my advice, Mandy, and exposed Orino for who he truly was. You did a very good job, and I am proud of you." "D'aww, Haruko, you're makin' me blush!" Mandy said, touching her cheek as she felt it begin to grow warm. Like the flip of a coin, Haruko's expression darkened. "But your troubles are not over yet." "Tell me about it. King Ashero is a nasty one. He'll prolly keep sendin' catpeople to do his bidding until Peaches is returned to him." "And he will continue coming after you, as well." Mandy couldn't help but give a soft whine of worry, knowing that one such attempt had just been carried out that had ended with her heart having to undergo even more repair. "You must be vigilant, Mandy. So must Peaches. And eventually...the rest of Odd Squad. The whole of the world the ponies come from." "You mean Equestria?" Mandy sat up. "A-and what do you mean, the rest?" "Both Odd Squad and...Equestria..." Haruko let the name roll on her tongue. "...will be targeted by the king, if they are not targeted already. You must take action sometime in the near future." "But what can I do?" "When the time comes...you must prepare Odd Squad and Equestria for war." Dread settled in Mandy's chest, and although she couldn't feel it, she could certainly feel the emotion. "W-war?!" she cried out. "But...Odd Squad has never had a war before...and I dunno about Equestria." "Luckily, you will gain a few allies who have." Mandy blinked. "And who are they?" "You will find out, in due time." Mandy would have snapped at Haruko about her consistent usage of that phrase if the worry weren't still lingering around in her body. She gave another soft whine, her mind racing with thoughts. Haruko got up and began to leave. "But for now...you are safe. Enjoy the time you have now, before it is tainted with darkness." Mandy could only stare after the kitsune as her body began to ascend upwards. "HARUKO!!" she screamed, her voice echoing among the Grasslands. "Why do you have to leave me with arbitrary hints?! HARUKOOOOOOO-" And then, she disappeared into the dark void once again, her cry unceremoniously cut off as she began to float in darkness. This time, however, she wasn't so keen on being brought back to the real world, and her mind began swirling with questions. Mandy awoke with a gasp and a few quick breaths. Her eyes scanned the area in an attempt to figure out where she was. Right away, she knew that she wasn't in the Medical Bay, and she appeared to be in something more akin to a hospital. A hospital? Inside Precinct 13579? Her brows furrowed, before she remembered that she was still mad at Haruko and gave a groan. As her hand ran across her chest, she felt something that definitely wasn't smooth skin. And she was all too familiar as to what it was. "Stitches...?" she murmured, before the realization hit her. "Oh. Orino...he tore into my heart..." The beeping of more vital sign monitors than just her own was the only thing filling the room for the next few seconds. Mandy knew Peaches was sharing the room with her, but she couldn't make out who, if anyone, was in the bed to her left. She sighed and shook her head. "Okay, first things first. If I can't pry answers outta Haruko, then I hafta make things right with Oprah!" Her gaze fell on the button that laid beside her bed that read "Press for assistance", and she pressed it. "Dr. O! Are you, uh...anywhere?" Within the span of a minute, the door opened, and Dr. O himself came in. "Mandy, you're awake! What's wrong?" "I have to be released. There's something I need to tell Oprah." "Calm down!" Dr. O rushed over to Mandy's bedside, gently pushing her back into bed. "Don't you want to hear how your surgery went first?" He does have a point. "Yeah, I guess. Hit me." "All right. Well, it went fine." Dr. O smiled. "Your heart has been fully repaired, no complications. But you will need to take it easy for a couple weeks. No strenuous physical activity. And a recommended diet of things that are good for the heart, of course. And here's some medication to help with post-surgery pain." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orange pill bottle. "As for your other injuries, those will need time to heal too, so don't go and do anything risky." Mandy nodded and levitated the bottle closer to her. "And Peaches?" "She's fine. She's in her room resting. I've treated her cuts and they should heal well. But like you, she'll also have to take it easy until her ribcage heals up. Being in her cat form will help her human form get better." "Thank goodness." Dr. O lowered the siderails on the bed and extended a hand out to Mandy. "Here. I'll guide you to your room so you can rest in bed, and I can call Ms. O to there once we get you settled, okay?" Slowly, Mandy eased her body off of the cot, wincing at the pain that, surprisingly, was very mild. She supposed the anesthesia had yet to fully wear off, which was a good thing for her. Once her feet were on the ground, Dr. O grabbed a wheelchair from the corner, and the duo left the Emergency Room, just as Mandy looked back to see three beds that were all empty. Weird. If Peach and I were in the first two beds, who was in the third one? "I still feel a lil' woozy..." "That's the anesthesia. It'll wear off soon." Dr. O watched as Mandy used her magic to cover herself in blankets, placing the medication on her nightstand before he made his way out with the wheelchair in tow. "Now, I'll go get Ms. O. Rest here." "Sir, yes, sir." Mandy gave a weak chuckle as the door closed behind Dr. O, but the smile faded away from her face when she was met with darkness. As she slipped further under the covers, she heaved a sigh and thought back to her conversation with Haruko. What did Haruko mean...when she said that we have to be prepared for war? Is Vallea going to attack Odd Squad? Do they know about Equestria? Will they attack it too? She blinked. No...King Ashero would be too lazy to do that. Her stomach began to churn, but she wasn't sure whether it was out of hunger or anxiety. ...Wouldn't he? She turned over onto her side. And who're the allies who have been through a war? For all I know it could be some odd creatures from Sector 21 or something...or aliens from some other world I don't know about! Her eyes closed. Whatever. I shouldn't be thinking about it right now. Haruko has a point. I should enjoy life in the moment! If only "the moment" were me not being stuck in bed... "Mandy!" "Whuh-huh?!" Her eyes flew open. She turned onto her back and sat up in bed, gazing right into the brown eyes of none other than Oprah. "Did you fall asleep or something?" "No! I was..." Mandy twiddled her thumbs. "...lost in thought." She sighed. "Listen, I-" A lump began to form in her throat. "I heard what you said. About how you were too clingy towards me. And..." "And?" A small smile formed. "I'd love to work as your second-in-command again. And maybe we could be teammates again?" "More than that." Oprah returned the smile. "Friends?" "Friends!" "Oh, you don't know how happy I am to hear that!" The two girls exchanged a hug, Oprah making sure to be gentle so as not to aggravate Mandy's wounds. When they broke free, they happily sighed. "I'm really glad you're okay. That fight with Orino was something." Mandy's eyes widened. Suddenly, it clicked into place. "Wait...you followed me?" "Um...well, I'd be lying if I said no..." Oprah scratched the back of her neck. "B-but it was only to help you and back you up if you needed it! Me and Olive gave Orino a good beating and sent his tail flying home." Mandy shook her head and sighed. "I don't know what else I should've expected. Momma's way too stubborn when it comes to my life at stake." She gazed into Oprah's eyes. "All I remember is Orino clawing at my heart, seeing a body move in front of me like a blur, then Otto caring for me..." "Well, the important thing is, Orino is gone. Hopefully for good." "Yeah. For good." Oprah perked up. "You know, I heard that you've been trying to build up your physical strength. If you ever want to practice, come by the Odd Squad Dojo. We can train together, and I can give you pointers if you want." Mandy's brows furrowed as she tried to rack her brain to see if Odd Squad even had a dojo. Eventually, the memory came to her, of Oprah often going to the Dojo to practice martial arts -- she had never witnessed the Director actually training, but the offer was intriguing. "I'd love that!" Her expression then sank as she flashed back to Orino telling her how much faster he was than her. "But..." "Look, don't be so down on yourself." Oprah laid a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "You only lagged behind because Orino was speedier and more agile than you were. It was something you weren't expecting. And we all won in the end, anyway." Mandy gave a soft chuckle. "True!" "Why don't you get some rest?" Oprah suggested. "You want me to make you dinner?" "It's that late already?" Mandy blinked in surprise. "Huh. Sure, I guess. What's on the menu?" "Spaghetti and chocolate chips." "I'll take it!" "All right, be right back." Oprah began to make her way out the door. "Don't fall asleep, okay?" Mandy nodded. Only a few minutes later, Oprah returned with dinner and people in tow. "Hey." She smiled. "I brought you dinner. And a few guests!" "Momma!" "Mandy!" Olive pushed past both Oprah and her partner, enveloping Mandy in a tight hug. "Oh thank odd you're alright!" "Glad to see you're okay!" Otto chimed in, waving his hellos. "No hugs, no hugs!" Mandy grabbed Olive in her corona and lightly pushed her away before grabbing the bowl in Oprah's hands and levitating it towards her. "It'll make my injuries worse." "Sorry, sorry." "Make sure you eat up!" Oprah said. Mandy eyed the meal. "Ooh, thank you!" she chirped, before a sigh escaped her. "I suppose this'll hafta be my last meal before I switch to heart-friendly stuff for the time being. Doctor's orders." "Heya!" A high-pitched greeting cut through the conversation, and in bounced Pinkie Pie, whose mane and tail were back to their usual curly states and whose wounds were still visible but appeared to be healing. "Pinkie Pie!" Olive asked. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?" "I am now! But whoo, was I in a tough spot there for a sec." Mandy's eyes widened. The realization of whom the third bed had belonged to hit her. "You?" "Me?" "You?!" "Me?!" "You!!" "Me!!" Pinkie jumped into the air, then stayed there for a few moments, a confused look settling on her face. "Wait, what're we talking about?" "You were the patient in the third bed!" Mandy jabbed a pointer finger towards the party pony. "You- you got attacked too?! How? Why? Did Orino- I- I mean- how did- what happened to you?!" Pinkie took a deep inhale. "Weeeeeeell, I was coming back to see you when I heard this super-weird voice coming from your room! It was talking about how it wanted to take you and Peaches back to some 'King Ashero' and how you were gonna be wounded and tortured! It was terrible! So I accidentally talked to myself out loud and he heard me and when I asked him who he was he muzzled me and beat me up and put me in a sack and took me aaaaaaaaaaall the way to...somewhere, and, and it was awfu-u-uuuuul!!" As Pinkie began to wail, Mandy stared at the indignant looks of Olive, Otto and Oprah. "What?" she asked, with a piece of her dinner in her mouth. "Jeez, lemme have dinner first..." she muttered, before swallowing and gazing warmly at Pinkie. "Look, partner, the point of the matter is that you're all right now. Orino won't be bothering us anymore. Those two sent him far far away." Pinkie turned to look at whom Mandy was gesturing to. Olive and Oprah gave friendly waves towards her, and she slowly turned back around as she raised a leg to wipe her tears away. "Really?" "Really really!" Pinkie sat on this reassurance for a minute, then a smile split her face. "Oh, thank Celestia! I was so scared! There was no one around, a-and I thought I was gonna die!" "Well, we're all alive, aren't we?" "...Yeah..." "Tell ya what. Why don't you sleep in here with me tonight?" Mandy suggested. "I'm a lil' bedridden right now...that anesthesia is powerful stuff." Pinkie nodded. "Sure!" "In the meantime, I should go take a shower. If I don't get clean at least once a day then I feel all icky and slimy and gross." Oprah watched as Mandy threw the covers off of her and slowly inched her body off of the bed. "Can you still walk?" "I'll be fine! I'm a little dizzified, but not that dizzified." Mandy replied, just before she flailed her arms and fell backwards until she was lying on the bed. She blinked in surprise before a bout of sheepish laughter left her and she began to stand up again with the assistance of magic. "I'll, uh...be in the Bathroom. If you hear a scream and then a thump and then pitiful crying then it's probably me and you should probably help and...not let me die. Heh." Olive, Otto and Oprah moved out of the way as they watched Mandy meander on out of the room and made a left towards the Bathroom. Not a few seconds later, and they witnessed a bath towel being caught in a familiar rainbow-colored corona as it floated out of the room and moved down the hall in the same direction. Otto chuckled. "Well, I guess one good thing that came out of all this -- I mean besides the fact everyone's alive -- is that Mandy's back to her usual self." "Yeah. Bossy Mandy is not a good Mandy." Olive agreed, Pinkie Pie nodding along with her. "I'm just happy she's working as my second-in-command again. My assistants are nice, and Oona’s helpful and all, but...Mandy and I work so well as a team. If she weren’t working with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, I’d make her my partner." "Well, she kind of already is." Olive rested her hand on Oprah's shoulder. Her expression faltered. "Not in the actual sense, but...uh...I guess metaphorically?" "Fair point." Oprah shrugged. "Now come on, let's all go get some dinner. I'm starved." Murmurs of agreement followed that statement. The group left the room, discussing what was on the menu aside from spaghetti and chocolate chips that was, unsurprisingly, only appealing to Pinkie Pie. The next afternoon, Olive and Oprah found themselves staring down at a snoring and sleep-talking Mandy. The hybrid looked rather unceremonious, with her matted hair, her trail of drool pouring out from her mouth, and her limbs that twitched every so often. Her pose looked like something more befitting of an Egyptian hieroglyph than something a human could do in their sleep. Even if she...wasn't entirely human. "It's 3 in the afternoon." Olive said. "How much energy did that fight take out of her?" Oprah shot Olive an incredulous look. "I don't know." she snarked. "I'd say 'let's try and wake her up!' but that doesn't seem to work out well." "As evidenced by the dent in the wall?" "Yep." Oprah turned her head to look at said dent, which hadn't been fixed so much as an inch since the battle with Orino. "No doubt that Orino must have tried to wake her up and took a direct hit to the spine. Or his front." The snoring and sleep-talking ceased right then. Mandy's face twisted from one of pure bliss to pure discomfort. "Wait, Oprah, she's cringing!" "Huh? She must be having a bad dream." A few groans left the hybrid as she began to toss and turn, before the weight of her dream came crashing down onto the two girls. "No! Stop this! Stop fighting, please! This war doesn't need to happen!" "War?!" came the unisonant cry, as Oprah and Olive exchanged a concerned glance. Both of them had the same thought -- they wanted to observe Mandy some more and see exactly what she meant by "this war", but at the same time, it felt cruel to let her be in anguish the way she was. "Mandy, wake up!" Olive said, grabbing ahold of Mandy's shoulder and shaking her. "C'mon, you're having a nightmare!" "STOP THIS, I'M BEGGING YOU!!" Near-silence filled the room. Mandy took in air and pushed it out in slow, heavy breaths, sitting up in bed, her eyes wide as though she had just witnessed something truly horrific. "What's happening? What were you dreaming about?" Mandy's head whirled around so fast that Oprah was surprised she didn't get whiplash from it. The two girls looked at each other for a minute before Mandy collected her bearings. "I...it..." She shook her head. "It was nothing!" Olive wasn't convinced. "You were shouting something about a war not needing to happen." Mandy bit her lip. She knew she couldn't tell either agent about Haruko's warning -- it would spark unnecessary panic, and she couldn't do that if she only had barebones information to go off on. Though addled with fatigue, her brain tried its damnedest to concoct a good lie. "W-well, I, um...it was...it was a toy war! Yeah! Nasty toy war on the South Sea. Teddy bears and sentient spinning tops going at it. All they wanted was peace...not sure how they thought a war was going to prevent that…" Olive and Oprah exchanged a worried glance. "Anyway, I'm fine!" Mandy chirped, shaking her head. "What time is it?" "Three o'clock." "In the afternoon?!" Mandy flung the covers off of her. "J-jeez, I'm so sorry! Guess my energy was completely sapped from yesterday..." "Don't worry about it." "How's Peaches? And Pinkie?" "Peaches is resting in her room. And Pinkie is in Equestria, working her shift at Sugarcube Corner." Mandy heaved a sigh. "What a relief." "I've set some paperwork on your desk that you can get started on, plus a few cases." Oprah said. "You can handle them solo, I'm sure. Olive and I are going to hang in my office." "'Kay, thanks! And have fun!" "We will!" Olive turned towards the door, following Oprah outside. "Just take care of yourself, okay?" The smile remained on Mandy's face up until she couldn't hear the girls' footsteps anymore. It was only then that a growl came bursting forth, and she began musing aloud to herself. "Don't tell me it's closer than I thought it was! Ohh, if Oprah, Momma and the others find out there's a war coming, they're gonna panic!" She smacked her forehead. "King Ashero isn't gonna do anything yet. I have to move on for now. And when the time comes..." Her gaze turned steely. "I'm gonna keep everyone safe!" In the hallways, Oprah and Olive vented their worries. "Something's definitely up with her." "No doubt about it." Oprah took a sip from a grape-flavored juice box. "Maybe she's shaken up after the battle with Orino?" "Could be. There's no doubt that Vallea can pack a punch. Odd Squad should be on the lookout." Olive fought to hide the worried tremble that crept into her voice. "Agreed. We don't know what King Ashero will do next. All we know is that whatever it is, he won't be directly involved." "And that he's after Peaches and Mandy. Especially after the whole Orino business -- he's gonna start getting serious." "Eh...he's pretty lazy." Oprah shrugged. "I doubt he'll do something until after a good chunk of time has passed." "True..." Olive wrung her hands together as the duo entered the bullpen. "But I still worry for Peaches and Mandy. I worry every day. I hate sitting idly by and watching them get attacked over and over like this. It's not right. They need to grow up in a safe and happy environment." Oprah had a sneaking suspicion that Olive was speaking more on Mandy than Peaches, but she didn't say anything about it. All she did was nod silently in response. Together, they made their way up the stairs to Oprah's office. A lucky streak came their way, in the form of no agents seeking their assistance for anything or even just interacting with them in general, and they were grateful for it -- they really didn't feel like making casual conversation with anyone at the moment. As the doors closed, they made sure to lock them tight, and got to discussing about Vallea, Mandy, and how Odd Squad could protect themselves against, as Olive had put it, whom might turn out to be one of their biggest foes yet. Orino wasn't sure whether it was luck or coincidence that made him land a little ways into Vallea. Whichever one it was, though, neither one of them could save him from the unbearable pain he was feeling. Nor could they save him from the execution he was secretly dreading. Slowly, he limped through the town, listening to its rich silence as a majority of catpeople holed up inside of their homes. He was always confused as to why that was, since King Ashero was no cat to be afraid of, but right now, he didn't pay it any mind. He soon arrived at the doors to the castle, where he was greeted by two guards that were quick to point their spears at him. "Who dares to approach the castle of King Ashero?" one of them asked, a girl with long brown hair and a caracal's ears. "Orino. I was sent on a mission by the King and I am here to report back to him." Orino responded, his voice strained as a bolt of pain shot through his torn shoulder. The guards exchanged glances. Then, they slowly went for the door's handles, opening them wide to allow Orino entry. He gave them a grateful nod before he made his way inside. Not ten minutes later -- the King's castle was big and he was just one limping catboy -- and he was approaching the King's throne. "Ah, Orino." Ashero stood up. "Welcome back. I entrust you have both Peaches and Mandy in your possession..." He looked around for a few moments, then squinted. "...somewhere?" "I, uh...a-about that, Your Majesty..." Orino said. "Through a particularly-planned gambit, I attempted to capture Peaches as well as Mandy, and I was well on my way here with the both of them, but...my plan fell through due to unforeseen circumstances. As you can probably see." Ashero took a moment to examine Orino's bruises, scratches, and injuries. He only took those as proof that Orino had tried, nothing else more and nothing else less. "Hm. And here I thought I had sent someone who was well above the others in competence to try and bring those reprehensible mutts back." "Y-Your Majesty, please, allow me to explain!" Orino winced in pain, but forced himself to keep it together, knowing that he needed to relay his words to the King before he was inevitably executed. "It was Mandy's mother, and her pathetic friend. They were the ones that ultimately stopped me. They're powerful, Your Majesty, more powerful than you would think. They were the ones that sent me back here!" "I do not wish to hear any excuses from failures. You were given a rather simple mission, Orino, and yet somehow you managed to mess that up. It seems my confidence in you was rather misplaced." "No!" Orino reached out a hand. "Please, I know I can do better. If you just give me one more chance, I-" Ashero's cloak rippled as he gave a hearty laugh full of nothing but poison and mockery. It filled every inch of the throne room, reaching the guards' ears and Orino's. "I do not grant second chances to failures, either. Failures are nothing but wastes of space, time, and resources." Silence. Orino swallowed the lump in his throat. "Orino!" Ashero pointed his staff at the catboy. "For your failure in capturing Peaches and Mandy and returning them to Vallea, you are hereby sentenced to instant execution at the House of Torture. Two of my guards will take you there." All Orino could do was stay still, his heart stopped at the mention of execution as two guards wrapped rope around his wrists. They forcefully shoved him out, and it was only then that he started to move of his own accord towards his doom, but not before giving a cry of "I'M SORRY, MY GLORIOUS KING!!" as the doors to King Ashero's castle closed. The House of Torture wasn't too far from the castle, and King Ashero had arranged it as such. He was never one for prolonging punishments, instead going right for the disposal and moving on -- something Orino knew all too well. One guard opened the door, leaving the other guard to shove Orino inside. Where the catboy landed was, in perhaps an intentional turn of events, straight under a guillotine stained with blood. He looked at his fate for only a second before he closed his eyes and pinned his ears to his head. He whispered under his breath, "My King...I have truly failed you. Please, do well in my stead. I know you can." It would be the last thing he would ever do before his untimely and sudden death at the hands and paws of the very Valleans he had lived with.
S1E20: Taking A Walk in the Odd SideOver in Trillium Park, Applejack conversed with her latest client. "So I was walking in the park, and I decided to get some push-ups in by using a tree. But when I touched it...I got tree hands." Applejack took a moment to eye the woman's hands. The hands and fingers, once smooth skin, were now prickly branches, and the tips of her fingers were leaves. Briefly, a thought flickered through the farmpony's mind of how the woman could put on a puppet show about a tree, but it died as quickly as it was born in favor of a question that was pressing on her mind. "Uh, pardon me for askin', but why were ya usin' a tree?" "Standup push-ups. Keeps the arms strong." "Uh-huh." Applejack's muzzle wrinkled in confusion. For all the years she had been here, she still had no idea why humans did some of the things they did, and for the sake of her sanity, she chose not to think about it for too long. "Well, I got just th' gadget for ya." She reached a hoof behind her and fished out a rather small spherical gadget. "Un-Tree-Hand-inator." Steadying her aim, she fired two blasts at each of the woman's hands, which returned them to their normal states. The woman gasped, clasping and unclasping her hands as she eyed them with happiness and relief. "Thank you, Odd Squad!" "Glad I could help." Applejack tucked the gadget away behind her back. "You have yourself a good day, now." "I will!" And with that, the pair parted ways. Applejack smiled as she began to trot towards the same tube entrance she had emerged from. Well, that's another case done. Reckon I can head on back t' Headquarters and tackle some of that darn paperwork that's been pilin' up for a couple days now... "Odd Squad! Help! Over here!" Applejack perked up at the mention of "help". She looked around for a few moments, managing to spot a young boy over by the sandbox at the playground that was one of the centerpieces of the park. "I'm comin'!" she called, her hooves taking her over to the playground as fast as they could. Lucky for her that she was fast, rivaling only Rainbow Dash in sheer speed. The boy peered into the sandbox for a few moments before turning around when the sound of hooves on the grass reached his ears. "Now, what seems t' be th' problem here?" The boy pointed to the sand in the sandbox. "There's something hidden in the sand here, and I'm afraid to dig it out!" Applejack blinked. "Really now?" she asked, her tone skeptical as she peered in the sandbox. To her, it looked just like an average run-of-the-mill sandbox, filled with sand and toys and the usual things one would expect to find in one. Still, she gave her client leniency on the sole basis that he was a child. "W-what if it's an odd creature, or, or something super-dangerous?" the boy asked nervously, crawling back to Applejack and grabbing ahold of her back leg. "Okay." Applejack said, wrenching her back leg free and moving it backwards. "Stand back, ya hear? I'm gonna dig your thing out." "Be careful!" With one mighty bound, she landed in the sandbox and backed up to the edge. She got to work digging at the sand with her hooves, sending the substance flying every which way. It was only a minute later that the sound of whooshing reached her ears, and the more she dug, the louder it got. Finally, she managed to expose a rather large portal, with hues of purple and black swirling within it. Her mane and tail billowed in the wind it created, even moreso when she leaned in to get a closer look. The destination on the other side depicted all kinds of oddities, complete with the sky hued in pink. "What is tha- whooooooa!" Applejack's client stared in horror as the farmpony was quickly sucked into the portal. Her voice died with an echo, although strangely, the portal didn't close after her. "Oh no!" The boy got to his feet and began running towards one destination only, his mind abuzz with worrying thoughts. "I gotta tell Odd Squad!" Mandy's eyes might as well have popped out of her head at the sight that laid before her. Three fillies, an Earth pony, a unicorn and a Pegasus, all dressed in spiffy new suits and badges akin to her own. They looked rather proud of their new looks, and professional to boot. "I can't believe it." she murmured. "You three were made agents at the same time?!" "Yeah!" Apple Bloom nodded enthusiastically. "It was so cool!" Sweetie Belle excitedly trotted in place. "Academy work was soooooo tough..." Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "But we got through it as a team!" Sweetie Belle rushed forward, as though a gust of air blew into her from behind. "And, Ms. O made us all partners!" Apple Bloom fiddled with her badge, which looked similar to Mandy's own but had a 107 printed on the bottom instead of a 57 -- her own badge number cobbled from adding up the letters in her name. "I feel so grown-up!" "Agent Apple Bloom, Agent Sweetie Belle, and Agent Scootaloo...they've got nice rings to them!" Mandy bounced up and down excitedly. "I'm so so happy for you three! Congratulations! You three trained super-duper hard for this and honestly, you should be proud of yourselves!" "Thanks! We are!" came the unisonant response. "So when can we start on our first case?" Sweetie asked excitedly. "Can it be something big, like battling a Hydraclops?" Scootaloo asked, her wings providing temporary lift for only a few seconds before she fell back down to the ground. "Or a year-long adventure halfway around the world?!" Mandy laughed at the fillies' enthusiasm. "Hold on! You guys are only just beginner agents. Oprah's not gonna give ya that stuff just yet. Besides, we don't want any of you getting injured!" A look of disappointment crossed Scootaloo's features, and she feebly kicked the ground. "I guess you have a point..." "Can we solve oddness with you?" Sweetie asked, as a sort of compromise. "Well, that depends. You can ask Oprah to give you a case where all three of you are involved, but..." Mandy twiddled her fingers about. "Since I'm more skilled than you are, the dishrarity may be...offputting." Sweetie's brows furrowed slightly. "There's a dish named after my sister?" Before her question could be answered, however, the automatic doors opened and a young boy ran up to the group. "Odd Squad! Odd Squad, help, please!" Mandy blinked. "What-" "What seems to be the problem, kid?" Mandy stared at Scootaloo for a few moments, her eyes slightly narrowed as she expressed her dislike for the filly interrupting her. "It's, um, an agent, they...they were helping me dig up something odd at the playground in the park and they fell into a portal!" "A portal?!" Sweetie cried out, her high-pitch voice making her exclamation come off more like a screech. "Do ya know what th' agent happened t' look like?" Bloom asked. "Um..." The boy took a moment to think. "She was a pony...um...an 'Earth pony' I think. An orange pony, with a hat, and a yellow mane and tail!" Bloom's eyes went wide. "That's my sister!" Sweetie's head swiveled to look at her partner. "Agent Applejack fell into a portal?!" "We have to save her!" Scootaloo said, beginning to head for the steel double-doors. "Hey, hey, hold on a sec!" Mandy swooped up Scootaloo in her rainbow-colored corona, setting her down next to the other fillies. "Did you three forget what I just told you?" Bloom rushed up to Mandy, placing her hooves on her lower legs as she stared up at the hybrid pleadingly. "Applejack's trapped in another world!" "We'll get her back, don't worry." "But that's my sister in danger! I have t' go save her!" "Agent Apple Bloom, wait!" But the filly was already out the door before Mandy could even try and snatch her with magic. "Pickleferries..." she muttered, before glancing at the boy again. "Thank you for informing us. Agent Scootaloo, Agent Sweetie Belle, you two are off this case. That's an order!" Scootaloo did a salute, with Sweetie nodding in response to her senior's command. "Yes, ma'am!" "Kid, do you know what the portal looked like? What was on the other side? The color of it?" "It was a black and purple kind of color, and when I looked inside...all I could see was all sorts of weird stuff with a pink sky!" Mandy's nose wrinkled. She tapped her chin in thought. "Weird stuff...with a pink sky..." After a minute of thinking, she groaned. "I'm sorry, can't say I know it. But I know who does. Berightback!" The mere sound of her glass doors being thrown open with loud squeaking made Oprah's office chair tip over, taking her with it. "Oprahwereallyneedyouitsanemergencyandapplejackisgoneand-" "Mandy, calm down!" came the angry shout, as a dark-skinned hand shot up and then slammed down onto the table. It began moving about for a few moments, up until it grasped what it was looking for: a fruit-punch-flavored juice box. The sound of sipping followed, and then Oprah's head poked up from behind the desk. "What's going on?" "Applejack just fell into a portal. Not only that, but Apple Bloom's going to save her." Most any inexperienced Director would have freaked out about this. An agent-in-training they just promoted, going off on a dangerous mission? That meant a naughty leader not keeping an eye on their employees. But Oprah was no spring chicken. She was an "I was personally born when apes evolved into humans and don't you forget it" chicken. "What did the portal look like?" "Black and purple, had weird stuff inside and some kind of a pink sky." That did it. Oprah could feel the juice skyrocketing back through her esophagus, threatening to leave the building and not pay for the visit. She stared at Mandy in horror as a murmur danced on her lips. "Oh no. Nonono." Mandy tilted her head. "What's wrong?" "Applejack is in..." Her pupils and irises shrank further. "The Odd Side." A sickening dread filled Mandy's stomach right then. She didn't really need to ask what the Odd Side was -- the name was enough to tell her that it was more of an enemy to her than a lion was to a gazelle. But she posed the question anyway. "It's a realm filled with oddities that Odd Squad has taken care of. Odd creatures, odd viruses, you name it." Oprah turned to pick up her chair. "According to legends, it has been ruled by many individuals over the years. Those who enter it may be corrupted by the oddness and turn odd themselves. In more worse cases, they may descend into mathness- er, madness." "Nice save. You remembered this fanfic doesn't have math because the author doesn't live by S&P." "It's been called 'descending into madness' for years, Mandy. Odd Squad is ever-changing, you know. Try to keep up." Oprah flopped into her chair with a huff and continued. "Moving on. Others who enter the Odd Side may be compelled to challenge whoever is in charge." "And what happens if they win?" "They take over the Odd Side for themselves and bend it to their wishes." Mandy's ears folded downwards. "That...sounds horrible. But at the same time, the name sounds familiar..." "Go and save Agent Applejack and Agent Apple Bloom before they become corrupted. Bring Olive and Otto with you -- they're very knowledgeable about the Odd Side and will assist you well in the mission." Oprah ordered. "Agent Pinkie Pie should come with you as well, for backup." For a minute, Mandy questioned whether any of the employees Oprah had mentioned were of sound mind. Pinkie Pie, in particular, was more of a sound mind than Mandy herself was. A horrifying thought flashed through Mandy's not-so-sound mind right then, of her partner sitting on a throne, commanding oddities to descend upon Toronto and its citizens...achieving the respect that half the villains in Precinct 13579's roster had dreamed of... Nope. Too much. Way too much. Mandy violently shook her head before giving a promise to Oprah that she would return Applejack and Apple Bloom to Toronto without so much as a scratch on either of them. But even as she descended the stairs, one thought stayed in her head. The Odd Side...it sounds so familiar...but where have I heard the name before? Applejack gave a mighty yell as she saw the ground rapidly approach her. She landed with a loud thump and an "oof", staying there for a few moments before she lifted her head off of the ground and gave a groan. Surprisingly, she didn't feel as injured as she probably should have been, but her spotting her surroundings put that issue aside. "Where am I?" she murmured. "This doesn't look like any place I've ever seen..." Swimming in the sky were hybrids of creatures that realistically couldn't be bred, both regular and odd. Random food bits floated about in the sky as well, and the sky itself began to twist and warp slightly. Wherever Applejack looked, there was an oddity of some kind, and she suddenly felt like she was in an unnatural, hostile environment -- Flim and Flam's home turf would be a worthy comparison, perhaps, assuming they actually had some kind of home turf. "Who dares?!" The angry shout reverberated, bringing Applejack to her hooves right quick. Her green eyes darted back and forth, trying to find the shout's source. It was only when she heard the sound of footsteps that she whirled around and had to maneuver her head slightly upwards to properly take in and address who was speaking to her. Applejack quickly noted that the being looked much like a humanoid dog. Floppy dark ears, long dark brown muzzle that was spotted with white, sharp hazel eyes, and a black-and-brown tail. What she was wearing was nothing more than a long dress that nearly touched the floor and was imbued with cosmic patterns -- which Applejack figured made sense, because the bottom of the dress had an ethereal flow to it similar to Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's manes. She looked like an embodiment of regality, although the farmpony couldn't be sure whether she was actually the ruler of this place or not. Did this place even have a ruler? Hastily, she grabbed her hat and placed it on her head again. "I-I'm sorry, ma'am, I fell in here on accident! I don't mean any harm t' ya!" "Hm." The dog-person looked at the pony, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Judging from your uniform, that's a very unlikely story." She straightened. "My name is Clementine. I am the ruler of the Odd Side." "The Odd Side?" "Yes. A safe haven for all oddness to roam free. Oddness that had been vanquished by your betraying, dishonest kind!" Applejack took a step back at Clementine's sudden flare-up. "D-dishonest? What do ya mean by that?" Clementine's gaze grew steely. "Many years ago, when I was a child, an Odd Squad agent left me to die at the hands of a human mob -- a mob that was coming for her head. She used me as a scapegoat while she made her escape." Her fist slowly curled until it was clenched as hard as she could clench it. "I'll never forgive her for what she did. It made me realize that Odd Squad is an organization filled with nothing but cowardice and selfishness, especially within its ranks." Cowardice? Selfishness? Applejack wanted to fire back. Odd Squad don't have any 'f those things! What the hay are you talkin' about? "Odd Squad agents send oddness to the Odd Side and have played a major part in its growth." Clementine continued. "But in doing so, they seek to get rid of it, with no remorse. In a sense, we have a symbiotic relationship, but we are also mortal enemies." "I see..." Applejack said, blinking as she tried to understand Clementine's words. In truth, she had very little clue as to what she was actually talking about, but for the sake of staying alive, she decided to roll with it. "Well, I can assure ya, Clementine, I'm no enemy 'f yours. I just fell in here by accident, and if I'm bein' honest, I have no idea how t' get out." A distant scream made both of them perk up. Clementine's head jerked upwards to find another pony quickly descending, watching as she fell to the ground about as unceremoniously as a half-cooked pancake being thrown from a building. Applejack scrambled backwards. "Apple Bloom?! What're ya doin' here?!" Bloom took a minute or two to get to her hooves and snap back to reality. Her gaze landed on her sister, and a sense of relief bubbled up from within her. "I came t' rescue ya! Some kid came t' Headquarters and told us that ya got sucked into a portal!" "Why didn't ya let the more experienced agents handle this?" Applejack snapped, her tone nothing short of worried. "You're gonna get yourself killed here!" "I wanted t' save ya and bring ya back home!" The sound of a roar bellowed through the area. As if on instinct, Applejack and Apple Bloom held each other tight, giving startled yells, while Clementine turned towards where the sound was coming from. Quickly, she began to run. "You two, follow me! We must flee, back to my throne room! Quickly!" Neither pony needed to be told twice. With Applejack hoisting Apple Bloom onto her back, they galloped away, glancing around for any threats that might attack them in the meantime. "Okay, so let me get this straight. Applejack was digging something out of a sandbox for a client, and it turned out to be a portal...that she fell into?" "Got sucked into, Momma. There's a difference. But otherwise, yes." "And Apple Bloom went after her?" "Yep." The voices of Mandy and Olive echoed in the hangar as they, along with Otto and Pinkie, walked. Mandy took the lead, with the others following her and being very unsure of where they were going. "What are you planning to do, partner?" "The Odd Side sounds a little dangerous for us to simply take a jump -- or I guess a tumble -- into the portal that leads to it. So I've decided to use an alternate method of transportation!" Mandy rushed off, and then reappeared next to a rather large and rather wide structure that was covered by a white sheet. She gestured to it, but all she got in response were looks of confusion. "Oh. Gotta take the sheet off of it first, huh?" Mandy laughed as she grasped the sheet with both hands and gave it a mighty tug, her body leaning towards the right and nearly making her lose her footing. Three jaws dropped in rapid succession. "Et voila! Magnifique holifique!" Mandy bowed. "May I present: Serendipity 2.0!" Made from the finest silver, with feathers that hit just the right balance of soft and hard and formed four large wings, seats that hardly any spa in the world could match in terms of comfort, and a supercomputer built inside that could detect villains and oddities from a sizeable distance. One wouldn't look at Mandy and deduce that she was a capable pilot. One wouldn't look at Mandy and deduce that she was a pilot at all. The question was obvious: since she had wings, why would she need a plane? The answers were just as obvious: because she was full of surprises. And also because she just...could have a plane. No law in the world would stop her from having one. After a few minutes of silence, Olive worked up the nerve to speak. "You built another plane?" "No. This is the same plane I piloted when we went to stop that Daves invasion. Buuuuuut..." Mandy grinned. "I added a few more extra features! More seats, two more pairs of giant wings, a small propeller in the back for lentildation..." Otto's eyes slowly, ever so slowly, gained shimmers in them as he stared at the plane. "So cool!" Olive blinked. "The word is 'venti-'" "Also it's not a space plane. But it should work fine in the Odd Side!" Mandy hopped up onto a wing. "Now who's ready to go, in Serendipity 2.0?!" Silence. "Uh...we all are, partner." "Roooooad triiiiip!" Mandy called in singsong, before she faltered. "Okay, not technically a road trip because we're taking this. Mhm." As the door to the cockpit flung upwards to let her inside, the other two doors followed suit. "All righty, everyone hop in!" Exchanging "just Mandy being Mandy" glances and eyerolls, the rest of the rescue team climbed aboard the massive aircraft. "Ooh, these seats are cozier than I expected!" Otto said, looking around for a seatbelt. "What if I told you..." Mandy popped up beside him on the outside of the plane, resting her cheek in her palm. "...they're heated?" "No way, really?!" "Once we reach high maltitide, I'll put 'em on for ya!" "Altitude!" came a cry from behind him that Mandy could easily identify as Olive. Even though she was within earshot of her mother, Mandy opted to ignore her. As the hybrid was hovering around the plane for one final check prior to liftoff, she punched the numbers 1-2-2 into her badge phone and lifted it up to her human ear. It only took two ringback tones for someone to answer. "Um...hello there, Sweetie Belle here!" And then a low mutter of, "Ugh, that was bad..." "Hi, Sweetie Belle! Is Scootaloo with you?" "Yeah, why?" "I want you to go to the Lab and get two Stretch-inators, then take the tubes to the playground in Trillium Park and zap the portal, got it?" A short pause before Sweetie Belle, then Scootaloo, gave their agreements. "Thanks, guys! Talk to ya soon!" Landing in the cockpit, Mandy closed her phone and clipped it back onto her jacket as both her door and the door behind her closed. "Everyone buckled and ready?" Three murmurs of agreement came in response. "Then let's go!" Mandy leaned down and flicked upwards three switches, all dabbled in the primary colors. A steady whooshing sound filled her ears, and she smiled as she realized that the large wings that kept the plane aloft were beginning to stir. Up ahead, the doors began to open in three different directions -- left and right, to allow room for the width of the aircraft, as well as upwards, for when the plane was going to be shot into the air. "Now hold on, 'cuz we're gonna rocket forward at light spe-" Mandy didn't get to finish her sentence. At a breakneck speed, the plane took off, soaring into the sky with wings flapping ever harder. The small propeller at the back of the plane began to spin steadily, providing proper air ventilation through the craft. "Ye-e-eah, whoo!" the hybrid squealed, throwing her hands into the air. A rectangular computer that sat in front of her came to life with a series of beeps and whirs. "Welcome, Agent Mandy. Activating scanners." Behind the pilot, one passenger was gripping onto her seat handles so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. "And I thought the takeoff from the ice cream truck spaceship was bad! This is worse! AND I'M NOT EVEN THE DRIVER!!" "This is awesome!" Otto's eyes shimmered as he looked down at the view below. "Ooh, it feels so weird being inside of the plane instead of the outside!" Pinkie chirped, as she, too, looked below her at the view of Toronto. "I remember when the plane nearly crashed before we went up into space...that was horrible!" Mandy was about to respond to her partner when a beep from the computer caught her attention. "Oddness spotted. Identification process commencing." Preeeeetty sure I know what it is, but go on... "Identification process complete. Portal, large size. Location: Trillium Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada." "Uh, Mandy..." Olive asked, having somewhat snapped out of her fear. "How are we going to enter the portal in a plane?" Mandy smiled. "Let's just say...you should hold on real tight!" That made Olive slump back into her seat with an "Oh odd help me." "I see it!" The exclamation from Otto made Mandy begin looking around. Sure enough, there was the portal, which, in its enlarged state, had sucked up the sandbox and everything in it, and looked to be dangerously close to sucking up the rest of the playground equipment as well. She winced as she thought of her wallet and how Mayor Mackelmore would likely charge her out the tail for a replacement of the sandbox...let alone an entire playground. "All right, here we goooooo!" she cried out, pushing the steering wheel inwards to guide the plane into a gradual nosedive. As it stood, they were directly aiming for the target, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo scrambling to flee within their dropped jaws and widened eyes. Similarly, Otto, Olive and Pinkie Pie all started screaming in terror. "We're gonna crash!!" "No we're not, Mommaaaaaaaa-" Screams resounded throughout the cabin as Serendipity 2.0 made its way through the portal about as cleanly as a knife went through a warm stick of butter. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo watched the feat in awe, staying silent for a few moments after the behind of the plane went through. "T-t-they went through a portal!" "In an airplane!" Scootaloo grinned. "Awesome!" "MANDY, PULL UP!!" "P-pulling!" Right before the plane could make impact with the ground, Mandy yanked back on the steering wheel, causing the plane to jerk upwards and slightly ascend until it was a reasonable distance from the hard surface below that threatened to cut the craft's life prematurely short. A shaky breath left Mandy as she felt a piece of her soul leave her. "Made it..." she said, barely registering the groans of her passengers. "Computer, where are we?" "You are in the east section of the Odd Side, Agent Mandy." Mandy's ears folded downwards as she took in the oddities that lay before her. An unnatural feeling began to worm about in her gut, like she didn't belong here. As much of an oddball as she was -- pun not intended -- even she drew the line at mutated frogs, flying pieces of bread, and dancing typewriters. "Whoa...this is freakier than I thought." "Well duh, it's a haven full of oddness!" Otto quipped from the back. "Everyone, stay on your toes." Mandy ordered with caution in her tone. "I hear that you can be corrupted in this place. Keep your sanities in check!" She turned her head around. "Pinkie...I'm talking especially to you." "Aww, don't worry about me! This place looks super-cool!" "You've gotta be kidding me...that's what I'm worried about." The four wings of the plane continued to flap about steadily, not faltering in the slightest when chipmunk-beetle hybrid creatures began curiously nibbling at them. "Computer, can you bring up a map of the Odd Side and locate any beings?" "Pulling up map." The computer beeped once, generating a map that nearly extended to both ends of the cockpit and obscured Mandy's view. "Checking for any living organisms. What is the species you are requesting to find?" Olive and Otto both exchanged surprised glances with each other. "Species?" "I didn't know Mandy had the capability of building such a high-tech computer..." Pinkie blinked. "Cool!" "Equine. Two of them." For the next minute, the only word that echoed through the plane was "searching". A red dot scanned through the map, attempting to locate Applejack and Apple Bloom. Finally, it landed on a rectangular area, and began beeping rapidly. "Two equines found. Ponies. Agent 75, Applejack, and Agent 107, Apple Bloom. Subjects are located in: a throne room on the west side. Status for Applejack is: unknown. Status for Apple Bloom is: unknown." Mandy grit her teeth, a "tch" sound escaping her. Technology's great, but it's not flawless, huh? Olive's brow furrowed. "A throne room?" "Does a princess live here?!" Pinkie asked excitedly, repeatedly flicking the switch on the side of her seat that made it move from side to side. "Yes." Olive said. "The previous one was Rosemary, but I'm not sure who it is now." A loud roar resounded through the area, its reverb shaking the aircraft and nearly sending everyone tumbling about as they gave startled screams. "W-what was that?!" Mandy said, clearing the map in order to see out of the front. "If I had to guess..." "They're wild budgerigars!" Olive would have given an eyeroll in response to Otto interrupting her if fear hadn't overtaken her entire body. "Wild what?!" Olive leaned forward. "Mandy, fly! Fly away! NOW!!" "O-okay, j-just hold on!" As Mandy leaned forward to flick a button on the control panel, a loud boom came forth, shaking the plane more. Mandy's face went careening and made impact with the panel, causing her to give a cry of pain as she clutched her nose. Startled yells came as a reaction to the noise, though she tuned them out and attempted to lean forward again to grab ahold of a cylindrical button, moving it up, then down, then up again. "Activating High-Speed Mode." "Well, are you gonna kick in shooner or-" The speed at which Serendipity 2.0 took off right then was a speed that no military fighter plane could match even on their best days with a skilled pilot at the helm. The screams seemed to echo from the plane as it disappeared within the blink of an eye, throwing the chipmunk-beetle hybrids off of it and sending them tumbling away. "Too fast, TOO FAAAAAAST!" came Mandy's screech, attempting to keep her hands steady on the steering wheel as she guided the craft through aerial oddity after aerial oddity. Within five seconds, the plane came to a stop at the entrance to a pair of tall doors. Filled with yellow swirls amidst a dark pink background, its hinges came to rest against a rectangular structure that looked akin to that of a portable storage unit. Mandy's eye twitched. Another piece of her soul left her as she began to hyperventilate. And only one thought floated up to the surface of her mind. And this is why I don't do planes. Especially not this plane. "Are we at the west side yet?" Pinkie asked. "You have arrived at your destination, Agent Mandy. Location: Odd Side, west end." "Oh, we're here! Thanks, Miss Computer!" The doors swung open, allowing everyone to exit -- including Mandy, who was attempting to crawl out of the aircraft on her hands and knees. "That was terrifying! Never again!" Her eyes widened ever so slightly. "Never! Ever! Again!" "Mandy, unbuckle your seatbe-" Olive's words were cut off as Mandy landed on the ground face-first. Her body slumped backwards onto the plane, rattling with a plaintive "Why-y-yyyyy?" Pinkie trotted around the plane to face the tall double-doors that greeted her and the rest of the rescue team. "Sooooo what do we do now?" "We go in there..." Mandy coughed as she pulled herself to her feet. "...get Applejack and Apple Bloom, and bring 'em home, of course!" "Hold on!" Otto came to stand besides Pinkie. "We don't know what we're up against!" Mandy blinked. She leaned back onto her tail, which propelled her into the air and allowed her to join the rest of the group. "I thought you and Momma knew about the Odd Side!" "We have a general basis of what it is as a location." Olive explained, coming to join the others. "But we don't know who its ruler is. And we've never actually been here before." "The ruler could be some odd creature, or another human being...that's just it, we don't know!" Otto gave a shrug. For a minute, Mandy glowered at them. Oprah made me take them when they know nothing about the Odd Side other than where it is? Really? They've been co-Directors for ages and eons, how do they not know about the Odd Side? But then she came to a realization. If whatever's behind those doors is aggressive and tries to attack us...it wouldn't do me any good to just have Pinkie on my side. Strength in numbers, after all. Pinkie's an awesomazing partner, but Momma and Otto are super-duper strong! They can take down whatever, however, in seconds flat! ...Okay, fine, maybe Oprah might've had a point in takin' them along. "We'll be fine!" she chirped, beginning to head towards the doors. "Just stay alert." Cautiously, the rest of the group followed her, making sure to stick close together as they kept an eye on their surroundings. Mandy's magic latched onto the half-circle handle, giving it a single yank. She flipped backwards as the doors slowly began to open. "Who dares?!" The bellow was a no-sell on Mandy, who strode in with confidence and contrasted with Olive, Otto and Pinkie, who all moved at a regular pace behind her. "Hiya!" the hybrid chirped. "My name's Agent Mandy, and these are my friends! Olive, Otto, and Pinkie Pie." As she pointed to each one of them in turn, Olive and Otto gave sheepish waves. Pinkie's wave, on the other hand, was far more enthusiastic, as she wore a giant grin on her maw. Clementine's eyes widened, and she gave a small huff of surprise as she leaned forward. "More Odd Squad agents?" she growled. "Has the Odd Side been discovered? Must we relocate?" "Nooooo, silly!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "We're here to get Applejack and Apple Bloom and bring them home." A quick look around the throne room showed no sign of either pony. Just as Mandy was about to ask about their whereabouts, however, an even louder bellow shook the room. "You." Mandy swiveled her head back around to meet the snarling form of Clementine, standing only a mere few feet away from her. "You're the girl that abandoned me, all those years ago!" Olive and Otto moved their gazes towards the floor, while Pinkie Pie's smile faltered. Mandy, on the other hand, simply looked confused. "A-abandoned you?" "We were but children. I had come to Toronto in order to find something that would appease my ever-strict parents. And you..." Clementine's fists clenched. "You were an outcast. Mistreated by the world, just for looking different from everyone else." Gradually, Mandy could feel her heart began to sink. No. Odd no, don't make me relive that again, I don't wanna! "I was the same way. Mistreated by some of those of my town because I was different from them. We had commonalities. That is what spurred me to befriend you." Olive buried her face in her hands, Otto rubbing her back for comfort. "But when a mob came storming after you, attempting to run you out of town, they spotted me as well." Clementine's eyes narrowed slightly. "And they took me instead!" A shaky gasp rattled Mandy's lungs. The one memory she had hidden deep inside of her was now being dug up in painstaking detail, and she began to recognize exactly who Clementine was. Out of everything that could have happened on this rescue mission, having to be reminded of what she had to do all that time ago certainly wasn't one of them. Even worse was that Clementine refused to shut up, especially as her cries became desperate. "You let them take me! You didn't even bother to fight back! All you did was run, like the coward you are!" The dog-person huffed. "It was lucky I could get away and return to my town mostly unscathed. But it came at a price." Her eyes closed. "I could never forgive you. How could you abandon a friend in a time of need?!" Mandy grit her teeth. Flames began to encase her body, causing all three of her rescue teammates to back up. "How could you do nothing but stomp all over the concept of friendship?! How could you-" "I DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE!! That mob was going to kill me!" came the resounding screech of the hybrid as she began to choke up. "Do you think that if I had a choice, I'd have just up and left you?! I was suffering! No one was by my side! It was an agent-eat-agent world and I had to fend for myself and myself alone!" Clementine's low growl was her only response. Mandy didn't care. She didn't care whether it was in response to her justification or whether it was due to her word swap of "agent-eat-agent". All she knew was that the tears were rolling down her face. "Besides..." A choking sob interrupted her. "I DON'T EVER WANT TO THINK ABOUT THAT AGAIN!! SO DON'T BRING IT UP!!" Shaky hands reached behind a back, and pulled out a hammer. Shaky hands held the hammer in a death grip. Shaky hands were unsure if they were shaking because of their owner's anger or sadness. "D-don't make me use this. 'Cuz I will use this!" "You dare come here to challenge me for my throne?" Clementine jabbed a finger at the rest of the rescue team. "And with further challengers?!" "All I came here for was to bring Applejack and Apple Bloom home." Sure enough, the sister pair trotted out seemingly from just behind a pillar, eyeing the situation that laid before them. "Hey look, it's Mandy! And Pinkie Pie!" Apple Bloom pointed. "Olive and Otto too. Wonder what's goin' on." "Mandy looks like she's gettin' into an argument with Clementine!" Applejack thrust a hoof against Apple Bloom's chest, backing up and taking her along. "I don't see this endin' well. Stay back, Apple Bloom." Mandy twirled her hammer around in her hands, which were still shaking. "G-give them up. Or you won't be seeing the sunshine anymore!" Lucky for her, either Clementine wasn't willing to entertain her fear, or she genuinely didn't want to have her altercation with her escalate into something more physical. "And whoever said I was keeping them hostage? I only took them in because we were fleeing from the budgerigars." She huffed. "If you want them, you can have them. They have already been determined to not be challengers for the throne, anyhow." "So where are they?" Clementine opened her maw to answer, but as she looked around for any sign of either mare or filly, she quickly closed it. Her anger was briefly replaced with confusion. "I...I am not sure." Unfortunately, Mandy was running on nothing but pure rage now, her eyes narrowing as she screamed, "WHERE ARE THEY?!" "They were here! I swear! But it seems they have disappeared..." "GIVE THEM UP!!" "She's gonna destroy Clementine!" Apple Bloom glanced up at her sister. "Applejack, we gotta do somethin'!" The sound of a thump, followed by a howl of pain and a loud crash, made the pair's eyes widen. "I-I think it's a bit late for that now!" Applejack scooped up Apple Bloom, throwing her onto her back before galloping towards the commotion and revealing herself and her sister. "Mandy, we're here!" Mandy didn't see her, but a loud roar from Clementine, who was slowly getting to her feet, broke any kind of hope that she would notice them and calm down. "Everyone, run, now!" she called to the rescue group. "Head back to the plane!" "What about you?!" "I'll ward Clementine off, just go!" Otto and Pinkie, along with Applejack and Apple Bloom, ran. Olive, however, stayed rooted to the ground, clearly concerned for the safety and well-being of her adopted child as she went head-to-head with what she supposed was a dog-girl, as opposed to the catgirl species that Peaches was a part of. "Olive, come on!" Pinkie cried, her hooves extending and grabbing around Olive before yanking her away. "How dare you!" Clementine's attention was solely on Mandy, not noticing nor caring that the others had left. "If you wish to fight, then I will happily oblige!" Her foot was raised, and then lowered to the ground with a mighty stomp. For a few moments, nothing happened. And then the rumbling came forth. "What-" Mandy didn't get a chance to go any farther than that as an oval-shaped stone made of chocolate and dirt abruptly emerged from under her, sending her flying backwards and landing on the ground. "It's best you leave now." Clementine said. "This is my domain! It certainly isn't yours!" Mandy was able to get back on her feet in record time, as though the move never fazed her -- although she couldn't deny that she was in considerable pain. "You don't make any sense! You're not listening!" "I have heard enough! More than enough, even!" Clementine snarled. "You are nothing but a coward, a pathetic low-class Odd Squad agent who can’t even protect her own friends! I’m willing to bet that the townsfolk still hate you just for looking different! They’ll never accept you as you are now!" "Shut up!" Mandy grit her teeth... "And don't you dare bring up my past!" ...and charged at Clementine with a screeching battlecry, her hammer, and many mighty beats of her wings. Outside of the throne room, the rescue team, plus Applejack and Apple Bloom, stared at the doors as the sounds of fighting commenced behind them. Although Mandy had commanded them to get back into the plane, none of them were too keen on just leaving her to fight the ruler of the Odd Side on her own, no matter how much of a competent fighter she was. "They're gonna kill each other in there!" Pinkie glanced at the two Directors. "Olive, Otto, can't you go get Mandy? You've..." She glanced down at her hoof. "...got opposable thumbs to grab her with." "Even if we do have opposable thumbs, who's to say she won't knock either one of us out too?" Olive's eyes grew misty. "She nearly slaughtered me when she found out what Orino was doing to Peaches. At its peak, her rage is something that none of us can qualm, and it's safe to say that this is arguably the angriest I've ever seen her." "What did Clementine mean when she said that Mandy abandoned her?" The question from Apple Bloom brought a brief silence. Olive glanced at her, but then just as quickly jerked her head away, staring past her partner at a glue bottle that was running off in the distance. "You want to tell her, or should I?" Olive ignored her partner's question, instead letting her shoulders roll as she sighed. "Now's not the time, Apple Bloom." she said, her tone despaired and melancholy. "If Mandy is in too battered of a state to fly us home in Serendipity 2.0, either we won't get out of here, or-" "We'll die in a fiery plane crash?" Surprised glances, mixed in with a few glares, were sent Otto's way. "Great job, partner. Way to scare everyone." Olive facepalmed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yes. What he said." Pinkie clasped her hooves to her face. "I don't wanna die in a fiery plane crash!" "We need t' get Mandy and go back to Odd Squad, now!" Applejack said, lifting up a hoof as though debating rushing in there and grabbing Mandy with her own force, buck to consequences. Otto glanced at her. "But how are we gonna do that when Mandy's in there with Clementine and-" A loud boom erupted from the throne room, followed by a howl from a figure that whizzed past the group at the speed of lightning, and then a crash that created a billow of smoke. Although everyone was confident in what had happened, it didn't stop them from turning around to look. "Everyone, get in, now! We're leaving!" No one dared to ask Mandy a single question, instead scrambling to get into the plane as the doors opened. Mandy, slipping the hammer away in her hammerspace spine, bounded into the cockpit and put her own seatbelt on before flicking the three primary-colored buttons upwards once more. "We're taking off." she announced, the cockpit doors closing as the wings began to slowly flap up and down in preparation for takeoff. By the time both pairs of wings had begun to flap both up and down and side to side, Clementine had risen to her feet. The only thing she gave was a piercing howl of pain, anger, and sadness that Mandy could hear even through the glass windows. It chilled her to the bone, but she forced herself to keep pressing forward. However, as she pressed forward, so did the tears that began rolling down her face, and so did the aching pain she felt in every inch of her body. Outside of the portal, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle waited. As bored as they felt, they didn't want to risk getting scolded by Mandy or by Oprah, and so, they opted to hang around the playground. The pair sat on the swings, looking around at all the people and ponies that passed by as they moved up and down rhythmically. "It sure is taking them a long time to come back." Scootaloo said, her tone having a slight irritation to it. "Yeah." Sweetie stared at the sky. "I thought they were supposed to be the 'more experienced age-'" A sudden loud whooshing sound sent them toppling backwards. They only barely managed to dip their heads low enough so the swings didn't clock them right in their faces. As Scootaloo quickly rose to her hooves and began rushing closer to the portal, she saw the plane shoot towards the sky before angling downwards and continuing its journey to what she could only assume was back to Headquarters. "C'mon, Scootaloo, we should meet them back at Headquarters!" Sweetie called, rushing up to the other filly and watching the plane. "Hold on." Scootaloo's gaze moved towards the spot where the portal was still churning away. "Shouldn't we close the portal first?" Sweetie blinked. "Oh yeah, I have a gadget for that! Um..." She turned her head to her left and let her hoof slide towards her back. "I think you reach behind your back like this and...concentrate really hard..." Scootaloo watched in awe as the unicorn filly squeezed her eyes shut as her hoof moved along the back of her suit. Only a few seconds later, a ding noise sounded as she pulled out a gadget with a small satellite dish at its end. "Look, it worked!" Sweetie grinned. "The Portal-Close-inator!" "Is...there an off switch?" Scootaloo asked cautiously as Sweetie took the gadget in her corona and aimed at the active portal. "Yup!" With a click of the singular switch to the ON side, a bright blue beam shot at the portal, gradually shrinking it until there was nothing left but dirt and grass. The act was completed with another ding, and Sweetie pointed with her hoof at the ground. "Aaaand it's gone!" Scootaloo looked, and a grin formed on her face. "No portal!" "Yes, I did it!" Sweetie hopped into the air excitedly. "Let's head back to Headquarters! C'mon!" Tucking the gadget away in her hammerspace spine, Sweetie quickly dashed after Scootaloo, happiness radiating in her chest as she felt pride in correctly using one of her first gadgets for what she considered a monumental mission. Serendipity 2.0 made a successful landing in the hangar, the wings slowly coming to a halt and folding up so they encased the craft's sides. "You have arrived at your destination, Agent Mandy." "Yeah, thanks." As she exited the plane, Mandy nearly landed on her face. Luckily, her wings, which had somehow remained intact in the fight, broke her fall, and she landed on her one good foot instead. Her lame one dragged weakly behind her as she began to head for the door. "Now where in Equestria do you think you're goin'?" Mandy didn't bother to stop and listen to Applejack. "To my room. To be alone." "But you're injured!" "I don't care." Otto lowered Apple Bloom to the ground. "Applejack, Apple Bloom, why don't you go see Oprah and let her know you're safe? I'm sure she'll want to reprimand you for what you did, as well, Apple Bloom." "I know." Apple Bloom deflated slightly. "I'm really sorry." "C'mon, sis. Let's go." Together, the pair followed Mandy on their way out, Otto, Olive and Pinkie all watching them go. Still, they couldn't help but keep their gazes on Mandy, who looked to be struggling with her bad foot. "Why don't we all head to Oprah's office?" Otto suggested, causing both girls' attention to be moved from Mandy to him. "I know how stressed you can be when Mandy's in a rut, partner." "Really? How could you tell?" "Well, your voice is strained, for one." Otto pointed out. "I haven't heard it be that strained since that bad case of laryngitis went around the town!" Olive gave a sigh. "Fair point." "C'mon, Olive, cheer up!" Pinkie placed a hoof on her arm. "Mandy will be fine. She just needs some time to rest, that's all." Olive looked deep into the party pony's eyes. She knew Pinkie was the bringer of hope and good cheer, but something told her that not even one of Pinkie's best parties, or any of her best pastries, could cheer her up this time. Still, when Otto and Pinkie began following the others, she followed suit, even with the sickening feeling churning away in her gut that Mandy wasn't okay. And she probably won't be. Not for a long, long time. I just wish I knew how to help her... By the time Mandy got back to her room, her body felt tired, right down to the straight hair and tail. She wasn't sure whether to pin it on jet lag or to pin it on the nasty wounds Clementine managed to give her. But she didn't feel like sleeping. No...she felt like punching something. She felt like socking that dog-girl right in the face. Maybe then, she would listen to what Mandy had to say. Flopping face-first onto her bed, Mandy stayed there for a good long time. Her heart began to hurt as she began to relive the past, of when she managed to become the freaky-looking hybrid she was today. The optimism she held had allowed her to shove all memories of that incident, and all the memories of what followed, to the wayside, until it was teetering off the cliff and within inches of falling to its death. She never wanted to think about it, she never wanted to discuss it, and she certainly never wanted anyone to bring it up. She didn't even want anyone else to know about it. Well, outside of her friends and family. They were the only ones who knew. But at least they were smart enough to respect her wishes. Of all the people who had to rule the Odd Side, why did it have to be her? She grit her teeth. I abandoned her, and I really thought she would be more forgiving as to why I had to do it...but alas. And I don't think my beating her up did the trick, either. Her ears barely registered the sound of footsteps, and they barely registered the sound of the door opening and closing behind her. "Hey, cuz!" A pause. "Whoa, that's some messed-up look. You go on a year-long mission that took you a couple hours or something? Or is this knotted hair and tail some kind of trend I have to get in on?" "Neither." came the snap, showing that Mandy was in absolutely no mood for Peaches' jokes. "Well, something's wrong, and I'm not leaving your side until you tell me what it is." Mandy's head lifted off of the bed to glare at Peaches. "Can't you see I want to be alone? Do I hafta spell it out for you?" she said, turning around and curling up her body in a way only she could. "Or do the flattened hair and tail not give it away?" "C'mon. You won't feel better until you have someone to vent to. I'm all ears." Yeah? If I put an ear where your mouth is, will it make you shut up? ...is what Mandy wanted to say. But in actuality, her cousin's idea wasn't necessarily a bad one. Perhaps venting would allow her to try and sleep everything off, just as she always did for pretty much everything that ailed her. And besides that, Peaches was the only one who didn't know of Mandy's actual backstory. Mandy knew where she came from, but she had no idea where Mandy came from. Truth be told, Mandy didn't know that either. But she certainly could recount everything past the age of 5. It was something, at least. "Fine." She sighed. "I formed a rescue team to go to this place called the Odd Side in order to rescue Applejack after she fell through a portal connected to it. And also to save Apple Bloom after she went through the portal to save her sister." Her eyes closed. "It went well at first, but..." A pause. Peaches leaned towards her slightly. "But?" "I-I came across..." The name spurred nothing but rage from within Mandy. She grit her teeth together, while at the same time clutching her blanket. "Who?" Peaches tilted her head. "It's okay, Mandy, I'm not going to ju-" Mandy held a hand up to stop her cousin, giving a soft exhale. "I think it would be best if I told you the entire story, starting from the beginning." She spread her wings and uncurled her tail, extending it towards Peaches. "If you can believe it...I didn't have all these things, once upon a time." "You didn't?" Peaches perked up and blinked in realization. "Oh, wait, that would make sense. You're a pony-human hybrid, aren't you? So I would imagine you were once human in some form or another." "I'm biologically human. Born a human, might die a human." Mandy lifted herself up and slowly turned around to face her cousin. "When I became a part of Odd Squad, I was a human just like everybody else. I was a hard worker, always dedicated to fighting oddness. I solved cases with Momma and Otto as soon as I was able to. It was a lot of fun, and we had some good and bad times...I was even known as a bit of a prodigy." A sad smile danced on her lips for only a couple seconds. "Then the Hydraclops incident happened." "What's a...'Hydraclops'?" Peaches asked, outwardly cringing as a mental image began to form in her mind. Sure enough, as Mandy pulled a picture of one from her hair, she felt her stomach begin to churn. "It's so huge...and so ugly." She pushed Mandy's hand down to get the image out of her face. "So, uh, what happened?" Mandy tucked the picture back into her hair. "Well, Oscar -- he was the Lab Director before Oona -- he knew all about the Hydraclops, and buried a super-secret weapon that could defeat it. So Momma, Otto and I went with him while Oprah and another agent named Olaf went to warn the beachgoers that the Hydraclops was gonna rise out of the water." She gave a sigh that was mostly tired, but also carried an air of wistful amusement. "Oscar's precautions were a little excessive, but eventually, we found the weapon and went to the beach to confront the creature." "What was the weapon?" Mandy's nose wrinkled. "It was a sock. A gross, stinky sock." Peaches wasn't sure whether to laugh or be grossed out, although going by her expression, Mandy could see she was trying hard not to do the former. "Oscar buried it six years ago to stop the Hydraclops. But it didn't work as well as he thought it would...mostly because it was hardened." A snort made its way out of Peaches. "S-sorry, sorry. I meant to say 'eww, that's gross'...but the story just sounds so ridiculous. What power does a sock have to stop a creature that looks like that?" "I'll tell you." Mandy scratched an itch on her pony ear. "The ponies came to the beach too, hearing about the attack, and advised that we solve the issue with punches and kicks and cool fighting moves instead of something silly like a sock. So we went on the offense." The more Mandy told the story, the more she could feel memories resurfacing. But this time, with the comfort of her cousin sitting right next to her, she allowed them to come forth, and she allowed herself to reminisce. Painful as they were, she was committed to making sure Peaches understood every inch of the strife she had to suffer from, the strife she had to live through... The strife that resulted from a freak accident which no one understood. "Let's go, girls!" Twilight and the others made their way to the ocean, to the danger that lied ahead. They were the first ones in the water, heading to their enemy with no fear. A determined look settled on my face, and I started running after them. "Mandy, wait!" The plaintive cry of my mother went unheard. If there was a way I could keep the ponies who grew up with me safe, then I was going to do it. I would fight for Odd Squad. It was my life, the cornerstone of my identity that made me who I was. These were the people who cared for me, who raised me, who nurtured me and gave me shelter and food and water and air and love. And this monster was going to kill them all in one fell swoop. It could wreck the world underground just as easily as it could wreck the world aboveground. I could not let that happen. I would never let that happen. "Rainbow, lift me up!" I called, taking my first steps into the water and reaching a hand towards the sky. The blue Pegasus glanced down, breaking away from the group. "Got it!" she called, grasping my hand and lifting me high into the sky with all her strength. I barely heard Olaf's worried howl, followed by Oprah saying that I wasn't any match for the Hydraclops. Ha, so said the girl who thought a sock was enough to defeat this abomination that could barely be classified as a creature. Reaching behind my back, I pulled out a gadget and took aim. What the gadget was didn't matter to me, so long as it did damage. "The eye scream truck is here!" I called in singsong. My thumb hit the red activation button of the gadget, and a beam hit its intended target dead-on. The Hydraclops let out an uluation that would have melted the minds of any weak-willed person that happened to hear it. Its four tentacles thrashed about wildly in a desperate attempt to find its footing in the water. Within the thrashing, Pinkie got thrown off. I wasn't quite sure where she was -- all I heard was frantic screaming and then a splash. Immediately, I began to regret my course of action, and knowing that Rainbow Dash could be the next pony to possibly have a tentacle sent her way, I decided to let her ball and chain go so she could fly freely. After all, she was used to carrying ponies, not people, and I was just a little heavier than the average pony. "Drop me in the water, Rainbow Dash! I'll attack from behind!" I called. I wasn't quite sure if she had heard me, but her swooping around the Hydraclops while dodging its frantic tentacles confirmed my suspicions. As I landed in the water and gave my thanks to Rainbow Dash, a call from Twilight reached my ears. She was attempting to keep her own footing on the creature's head, her horn alight as she gazed down upon me. "Mandy, be careful!" "I know!" I called back, half in annoyance and half in dismissal as I reached behind my back and exchanged the gadget I was holding for another one. My gaze briefly passed over Pinkie's body floating in the water, but as much as I wanted to save her, I was committed to taking this creature down. I had hoped that any of the other ponies would spot her and take her to safety, and so, riding on that confidence, I took aim at the back of the Hydraclops and fired. A loud roar shook the area, making the water tremble. The monster thrashed about harder, taking its rabid tentacles with it. Within the tantrum it was throwing, it took Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight with it. The three mares were smacked off hard by the waving tentacles, making hard landings into the water. All I could do in that moment was call their names in anguish, seeing their lifeless bodies rise to the top. As if on cue, another scream and a loud splash marked the demise of Rainbow Dash. The only ones left were me and Applejack, now. The farmpony was desperately hanging on to a tentacle by way of her teeth clenching a rope that had been tightly tied around one. My eyes began to quiver, moving back and forth between her and the wounded ponies. It shouldn't have been a choice. But that behemoth had enough firepower within it to kill a pony, and I wasn't about to let any of my friends die. Not now. Not today. And not because of my inability to take action. Furiously kicking my legs, I dived under the surface and opened my eyes, looking for any identifiable tails that had dipped under the water. It didn't take me long before I had gathered all five of them, the Lift-inator I had grabbed from my hammerspace spine assisting me in carrying them all back to shore. "Mandy, what're you-" A smack, and then a splash. Applejack had gone down. "I have to keep going!" I shouted, mostly to convince myself more than anything else. I wanted to save Applejack, but I knew that going to rescue her left me free and open to getting a bashing from the Hydraclops, and as much as I wanted to save each and every one of my friends, I knew it would do me no good if I, as the rescuer, got injured by the monster too. Within seconds, I stumbled onto the shore, lowering the ponies to the ground and tucking the gadget away while leaning over to catch my breath. "T-take...take them..." I sputtered out, coughs wracking my body and sending me to my knees. "We need to get the ponies somewhere safe." Oprah said. "Those hits they took from the Hydraclops were brutal." "But what about the Hydraclops itself?" Otto asked. "Forget about it for now!" A howl from Olaf reached my ears, but I was too tired to lift my head and look. "Mandy, watch out!" I was a sitting duck, and for that, I paid the price. Something long and hard slammed into my front. Air rushed through my ears before a searing sensation tore through my spine, marked with a resounding crack. My body slumped to the ground as I grit my teeth together from the pain that began ricocheting through it. Within the groan I gave, I barely heard my name being called in a unisonant chant. "Are you okay?!" Out came Momma's worry as she rushed over to me, lifting my chin up so my blue eyes met her chocolate-brown ones. Something snapped within me. I wasn't sure what it was. "I'm fine!" I insisted, before another severe jolt of pain decided to answer me with the simple words of "On the contrary." I squeezed my eyes shut. "Agent Applejack..." My hands struggled to find something to get a good grip on so I could stand. "I have to save her...!" "No. I'll save her." Oprah grabbed ahold of the Scientist who had so bravely volunteered to put his life on the line to risk one of his coworkers. Alas... "No, you can't swim!" "Then I will!" With a mighty push, I pushed myself to my feet. The pain in my back was burning, but as far as I could tell, nothing was broken. I could reflect on the miracle of that later -- I had a friend to save. "Applejack, I'm coming!" I called, as my legs and feet propelled me through the water as fast as I could make them go. The Hydraclops gave a mighty roar in response. It had regained its senses, and was dangling its tentacles over the water menacingly, as though trying to aim for me. "Y-y-you don't scare me!" The tremble in my voice was apparent. "Applejack's my dear friend, and she's going to drown if I don't save her! Friends help friends, no matter what!" I dove under the water, looking at my surroundings for any sign of a yellow tail. It was rather easy to spot in a sea of blue, and as I reached my hands out, I emerged with the body of Applejack in my grasp. Taking a deep breath, I leaned down to whisper into Applejack's ear. To tell her that she was safe, she would be with the rest of the agents soon, she would come out of this okay. The water shimmered under me, as though touched by unicorn magic. And a pillar of water erupted. I was suddenly skyrocketed into the air, my grip on Applejack's body loosening. A scream rattled in my throat as I shut my eyes, fully preparing to let gravity take over and pull me back into the water -- possibly suffering the same fate as the ponies had, with hitting the water so hard that it could cause serious injury. "W-what's happening?!" I looked around nervously, finding that I was remaining in midair. Ahead of me, the Hydraclops let out another mighty roar, its one eye narrowing, its nostrils flaring. It, too, was trying to comprehend what was happening, which eliminated any questions I had about it causing the eruption of water. "Wait..." A twitch ran through my back, then another, and another. "My back...it feels ticklish! And really weird." A loud fwoomp noise came forth, followed by the sounds of rippling water. My back began to tickle even more, and I turned my head to take a look at what had happened. Somehow, another miracle had occurred. And this one was, perhaps, at the bottom of my list of "miracles that could happen". I had somehow gained a pair of wings made of water. Angelic in appearance, but yet, they somehow kept me aloft. Part of me figured that I shouldn't question it. This was Odd Squad, after all, an organization located on a planet that was not bound by the uniform rules of science. I certainly hadn't seen it all -- not in the same way those like Oprah had -- but having been raised here, I had learned to, more or less, take anomalies as they come and simply do my job. The thing was, this was one anomaly I didn't want to get rid of. Not when I still had a mission to complete. With a mighty flap, I took advantage of my new aquatic forelimbs, soaring back to shore and gently dropping Applejack to the ground in front of the others. "Take care of Applejack and the others!" I said, not bothering to acknowledge the shocked expressions that laid before me. "What about you?" Olive asked. I smirked, and turned to face my enemy. "I'm gonna go kick some Hydraclops butt!" I declared, before taking off with another flap. Of course, it didn't take me long to actually reach the thing, given my speed. As I hovered in midair, I made sure to fixate a glare directly into its blue-green eye, filled with nothing but unforgiving hatred and menace. "Listen up, you!" I jabbed an index finger at it. "I don't tolerate anyone who hurts my teammates! But even more than that...I don't tolerate anyone who hurts my friends!" A confused grunt was my only response. In front of me, water shot up and assumed my form, certainly not to scale as it towered well above me even from my position in the air. A brief thought formed in my mind of this figure looking like something I had once seen in a video game Otto had given me, but I didn't let it linger. I closed my eyes. "So I'm...gonna..." Still unsure of what was going on but once again choosing to take the advantage as it was laid on the table for me, I attempted to control the water version of myself with my mind. Surprisingly, it worked, and the form took ahold of all four tentacles. I decided to make it spin around and around, hoping I wouldn't cause a water tornado of some kind. "...send you back...to the depths...which you came from!" My marine form threw the monster into the air. It gave a loud roar as the form leaped up and raised her hand, as though preparing to spike a volleyball. "Take two!" What erupted from me after that was a cry of many emotions. Pain, sadness, anger and confusion all mixed together as my manifestation landed the final blow and sent the creature deep under the sea. My eyes followed the ensuing wave as it headed towards the beach and made impact with the other agents. In spite of my seriousness, I couldn't help but crack a smile as it doused every one of them to their chagrins, as they began lodging complaints and whining about how they were soaked to the bone. I gave my wings one more flap, allowing them to guide me to the beach. "Oh. Uh...hi, wings!" I glanced down. "Maybe if I flap them really hard, I can get somewhe-" My question was cut short by the wings disappearing in a sudden burst, the droplets that composed them landing in the water below. From there, I received a lesson on how gravity could be a harsh mistress sometimes, as my body hit the water and I went rolling. The momentum at which my face kept dipping under the surface left me little room to breathe, and it only got worse when I came to a skidding stop face-first on the sand. "Are you okay?" Oscar asked, rushing towards me and giving me his hand so I could get on my own two feet again. "Seems a little rhetorical to ask at this point." Momma deadpanned. In place of "I could be better", I spit out a chunk of sand, and my back rippled with the sensation of not having any wings. Sad to say, my reign of marine combat was over. The Hydraclops was now deep under the sea once more, and I had saved all of my friends from further harm. A feeling of relief encased my heart, for even though my friends were gravely injured, I had taken action to save their lives before their injuries turned into deaths. At least I hoped they weren't deaths. But the shimmering light that surrounded my body seemed to leave little room for me to breathe, to celebrate, or to even remotely process what had happened. Olaf gave a worried whimper, backing up a few paces and fixating me with a look of fear. "What's happening now?" Otto asked cautiously. "Don't look at me, I'm not doing this, I swear!" I tried to justify, holding my hands out as the mysterious light began to lift my body upward. A pleasant warmth began to radiate through my body, slowly killing my racing adrenaline while also alleviating me of my pain. Swaths of magic began to swirl around me now. Oprah broke her gaze away from the sight to glare at the Lab Director beside her. "Oscar, this wouldn't have anything to do with the Hydraclops...would it?" "No!" Oscar blinked. "I-I don't know what's going on! But the Hydraclops seems to be gone, at least..." I could see Oprah mouthing something else to Oscar, but the loud whirring sounds that blew through my ears prevented me from actually hearing her words. The mysterious magic closed around me, making a sphere with my body as the center. My eyes followed a swirl of magic that made its way to my forehead, and although I couldn't see what was going on, I could hear a sort of tinging noise and felt a new extremity protruding from it. Then came another swirl that circled my head and gradually went down to my hips, creating two separate tinging noises. I couldn't resist giggling at how the magic tickled me, and the giggles only grew when I could feel my hair begin to grow curly, and another, rather... weird extremity suddenly appearing somewhere close to my rump. That was probably the weirdest sensation of all, and as soon as it hit me, the giggling stopped. All of a sudden, I could hear my heart beat. It was steady, smooth, something a doctor would use as an example of picture-perfect cardi...car...heart health. Yeah, heart health. A swirl of magic entered my chest, and I could feel my heart grow warm. Another ting resounded. Seemingly completing the ensemble, a fourth magic swirl traveled to the top of my head. I felt two new extremities forming, one on each side. Right then and there, my eyes widened. It was hard to describe what was happening in the present moment...but perhaps how I could best describe it was that I could feel parts of my brain being rearranged, like they were puzzle pieces that just needed to go in the right spots. My vision began growing dark and then it became exposed to searing light at will, like someone was putting a dark sheet of paper over my eyes, then removing it, then putting it back, over and over again. A dull pain began to make itself known, but I was too busy slipping in and out of comas to register it fully. After what seemed like an eternity, the comas stopped coming. I could see the sphere pulsating once, twice, thrice... And then a loud boom. A piercing scream left my lungs as I attempted to shield my eyes from the brightness that filled my line of sight. When next I awoke, it was back on the beach. Oscar's words were muffled, but I could still hear them. "She looks so different!" Different? Different how? Giving a moan of fatigue, pain, and uncertainty, I shook my head. "I feel so weird..." I murmured, struggling to get to my feet. "Oh, you don't just feel weird." Momma reached behind her back, and came up with a mirror that was as tall as her. "Have a look in a mirror." My eyes opened and fell on the mirror. Time came to a complete standstill. The first thing I noticed were the pony ears. They looked just like the real things, if "the real things" meant my friends' ears. Angular but oval-shaped, they felt rather soft, and I could feel them as they swiveled around like active satellite dishes. And then, my hair. Right away I was able to identify it as looking just like that of Pinkie Pie's. But it wasn't just enough that my hair had to have the same curly and poofy bounce to it that hers did -- my new tail spoke the same volume, and also just so happened to look like hers. I had to wonder if that weird magic had somehow intertwined our souls together, so that she and I were driving only a singular vessel. But then I came to the conclusion that the idea was silly. I didn't feel any more energetic. I didn't feel like planning parties or baking or making others happy like she did. I mean, I liked to make others happy, but she had it as a stock-in-trade. I made people happy by doing the bare minimum and being nice. But I digress. The wings. Now those were new. They weren't made of water like they were before. No, these were made of pure, bonafide, could-only-be-found-in-the-best-pillows feathers. They made me look almost...angelic. But I was no angel. This wasn't heaven. I was still alive, lying here on the sand, four faces all staring at me, twisted into looks of worry and fear and hesitance. It made me sick just thinking about it, so I decided to move on to what else was included in Mandy 2.0. Somehow, within my shock, I had managed to miss the long horn that erupted from my forehead. It looked sharp, but the rounded tip threw any fears I had about me accidentally stabbing someone right into the trash. It was longer than Twilight's and Rarity's horns, and that was all I knew for certain. It looked more akin to the horn of that unicorn Momma interrogated, the star of The Second to Last Unicorn. But whatever it was, it felt weird. All of these... things felt weird. "I...what am I?" I murmured aloud. "I have wings...a horn...pony ears...hair and tail that looks like Agent Pinkie Pie's for some reason..." I shrank away from the mirror. "Is this some weird side effect from touching the Hydraclops? O-or my water form touching it?" The world unfroze. I felt it. But that didn't mean I enjoyed it. "She looks kind of similar to Agent Twilight." Oprah observed. "Wasn't she a unicorn before getting her wings?" "Yeah. Maybe Mandy went through the same thing." Otto said. I wished he would take his eyes off of me. But being the inquisitive one sometimes had its downfalls for the one whom the curious eyes had fallen upon. "But Mandy's not a unicorn." Momma said. "So how could she go from being a human to being an alicorn?" "I think...I know how." Four heads turned. My jaw dropped. Twilight was limping across the sand towards us. Her head was bowed down, but I could see her wincing with pain every couple steps. It was clear that it had taken a lot of effort to get on her hooves, and even more effort just to come to us. My eyes began to water as a small smile danced on my face, knowing that at least one of my friends wasn't dead from this disaster. "Twilight! You're okay!" came the unisonant relieved cry of four agents. "Despite taking a beating from the Hydraclops, Mandy pushed past it to save us all. Because...we’re her friends. That’s why she became an alicorn." Twilight explained. "Though I’m not quite sure if she can be considered a princess. She didn’t ascend to the astral plane like I did, nor did she meet Princess Celestia." "Well, Princess or not..." Oprah leaned down next to me to pat my shoulder. "You did a brave thing, Agent Mandy. You took action to save not only us, but the town from destruction, when Oscar’s weapon failed to work. And even though you took a nasty hit to your back, you still got back up to save Agent Applejack." She smiled. "We’re so proud of you." Even in spite of the mixed emotions I was feeling, my smile grew bigger at Oprah's praise. It was better than her yelling at me or kicking sand in my face or calling me a freak, at least. I took it entirely at face value. "It was nothing, really! They would have drowned if I hadn't saved them." I sighed in annoyance. "But really, not one of you thought of jumping into the water to help? Way to be bystanders!" Oscar, being someone who would have actually been a fatality if he had tried to rescue the ponies, gave a sheepish shrug. Momma, Otto and Oprah, on the other hand, adopted guilty looks. "Yeah, in hindsight, maybe we should've helped..." Momma said. "I can't swim!" "We know, Oscar." "And the Hydraclops is gonna return with its brothers and sisters in the next one hundred years!" "We know, Osca-" Momma stiffened. "Wait, what?!" Shock coursed through my body. The only thing I could give was a "You've gotta be kidding me!" as a flurry of questions entered my mind -- why didn't Oscar tell us this sooner, can't we just kill the thing and get it over with, all of my efforts in defeating it were for nothing? "Everyone, socks off!" "Look, we don't have time for that!" I snapped, putting all of my willpower into getting to my feet and going over to where the other five ponies laid motionless on the sand. "We have to get the ponies some medical treatment, fast!" "Mandy's right. Let's go!" Oprah ordered. With that, she, along with Oscar, Otto, Olaf and Momma, all came to help me carry the ponies through the nearest tube entrance towards Headquarters, and eventually, the Medical Bay. I still felt a sense of abnormality in my body as it tried to adapt and get used to my new features, but I didn't worry much about my new appearance after that. My main priority was getting the ponies to safety and getting them healed up. Unfortunately, within the hubbillibub of the after-action patching-up, I failed to consider how my new appearance would look to the citizens of Toronto. But even with careful consideration, nothing could have prepared me for just how much my life was about to be changed -- for better, and for worse. Peaches stared at Mandy, jaw dropped as she hung on to every word. It was only a few moments after Mandy had concluded the first part of her story that her jaw closed, and she shook her head as she snapped out of her shock. "Holy cattails." she murmured. "So the power of friendship allowed you to become an alicorn?" "Pretty much." Mandy rolled her shoulders in a shrugging motion. "No one really knows exactly what happened that day. I wasn't all too concerned about my initial appearance, outside of when I first saw myself in that mirror. I just wanted the ponies to be safe. That was all I cared about." "So what happened?" Peaches asked. "I-I mean, the ponies didn't die...they're still alive...but you said your life was going to be changed for better and for worse. How'd it change?" A sad chuckle danced on Mandy's lips. "Well, they say you hafta get through the bad before ya get to the good..." Back then, we had a different Dr. O. She was much like Momma -- serious to the point of being funny, dedicated to her job, and laughing only when infected with an odd disease. Still, she had a caring heart for all of her patients. That was what we loved about her. After we took the ponies to the Medical Bay, she healed them right up. Out of an abundance of caution, she checked me out, too. For all of her "countless years of hard work and studying", as she so put it once, not even she could explain what had happened to me. She had called it "one of the most abnormal oddities I've ever seen". She couldn't pin it to any odd disease I had, and she disproved my theory about the Hydraclops' skin clashing with my body and creating some kind of an adverse reaction to it. Aside from the ponies, who were resting in their beds in the Bedroom, Momma, Otto and I were waiting. Neither one of us felt like making casual conversation, our stomachs in tight knots of anxiety and fear as we waited for our boss to come out. "Well?" Hearing Momma's voice address Oprah, I looked up and stopped fiddling with an idle gadget in my hand. "They'll be fine. But they need to take it easy." the Director explained, her expression darkening. "Meaning that I'll have to put them off of cases for the time being." Otto bit his lip. "So we're losing six agents..." "Not forever, partner. Just until they get better." Momma placed a hand on his shoulder. "Remember, if Mandy hadn't saved them, they would have drowned. Then we really would have lost them." Oprah's gaze moved to me. "In the meantime, Mandy, you should learn how to control your magic and learn how to fly. We still need to repair that dent in the wall from when you sneezed." It's hard to believe now that my first act of magic was having my horn spontaneously fire a laser beam at a wall just because I bent my head down to sneeze into the crook of my elbow. I was lucky Oprah hadn't charged me for repairs. "I'll, uh...do that." I sheepishly chuckled. "But I don't know where I would even begin. None of the agents here can fly or do magic." Oprah adopted a smug expression. "None of the human agents here can. But we don't just have human agents." "Huh?" "We also have two unicorns and two Pegasi in our ranks. Which is why I'm assigning the ponies to you as personal tutors." I tilted my head in confusion. "Personal tutors?" "Yes. Almost all of them have wings and horns, and are skilled in the ways of flight and magic, so they should be able to help you out." I took a moment to ponder what Oprah was saying. On the one hand, I had uncontrollable magic and couldn't even fly, whereas Rarity and Twilight knew magic like the backs of their hooves, and both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had flight capabilities to some degree. On the other hand...she implied that everypony was going to be my tutor. Which led me to ask a burning question. "But what about Pinkie Pie or Applejack? They don't have wings or horns." "Pinkie is your partner. That's a given." Oprah said. "Applejack, on the other hoof- uh, hand..." A pause. Still confused, I leaned in closer, as though encouraging her to continue. "Twilight informed me that your physical strength might have received a boost when you turned into an alicorn. So Applejack, along with Pinkie, are going to help you control that." "Why? How much stronger could I have gotten?" "You're crushing a gadget in your hand." I blinked. My gaze drifted down to the gadget that was still in my hand, now cracked in a few places. I hadn't even grasped it all that tightly, and yet, it had been destroyed without me being aware of it. I was no weakling before, but I was far from "able to crush a gadget in a single hand clench" level of strength. It worried me how, if I happened to give someone a hug, I could potentially crush their spine, cause a murder, and have to live forever with the regret that I killed someone by innocent means. But that was what Applejack and Pinkie Pie were here for. They were here so I wouldn't do that. And they would fix me. I knew they would. "In the meantime, how are you adjusting?" Oprah asked. "It still feels weird." My back rippled, attempting to pull my splayed wings into my body to no avail. Then my tail wagged back and forth subconsciously, like it had a mind of its own. "It's like I'm some Odd Squad anomaly, an odd creature that has to be cared for..." "Don't be like that." Momma's tone of voice didn't get by me. It was half pleading, and half worry. "You're still human." "Yeah! And you'll always be an Odd Squad agent." Otto smiled. "Keep fighting against oddness, Mandy." Oprah turned on her heel. "The world is counting on you." I watched her go, and then stared at the ground. It was true that even though I was in a new form...or had new bodily extensions...or whatever, I was still an Odd Squad agent. The words of the agents that raised me affirmed that they didn't see me as some kind of freak. To them, I was just the same old Mandy. But as much as adults envy children for being honest and open, us children were, and still are, humans. Humans who put on facades thicker than maple syrup. That was how every kid villain who was at least somewhat successful in their attempts to take down Odd Squad operated before they were outed as villains, after all. And I couldn't deny that a seed of doubt was worming its way through me. Like no one knew what to do with me aside from just pretend that nothing had happened. As time went by, the ponies helped me to control my new abilities and accessories. It was made clear that none of them knew what to do with me, either. But at least they weren't trying to teach me like I was a human trying to leap off of a fire hydrant in a pathetic attempt to fly. I took that for what it was worth, which, frankly, was a lot. They even helped me to stop using magic in my sleep and sleep-flying halfway around the world, thanks to Twilight's crazy-good research skills. Unfortunately, not even they could explain why I began snoring and sleep-talking, or why I slept in until noon every day. It took many trials and tribulations, but even Twilight determined that those were two problems no one can fix, stating that they seemed like two new relatively harmless additions to my routine and everyone should just leave them alone and not try to fix them. Which was a good thing, because I developed a love of sleeping I certainly didn't have before. Not that it trumped work, of course, but next to my severely-increased appetite and strangely omnivorous eating habits, sleeping was one of my favorite things to do. With me getting a (mostly) solid grip on my wings and my magic, as well as getting used to my new appearance, Oprah permitted me to start solving cases again. Getting to do the thing I loved the most, the thing that defined my entire existence within Odd Squad, after what felt like decades was truly a dream come true. I remember ripping the case file out of Oprah's hands and soaring out of her office so fast that I ended up doing 360-degree tumbles down the stairs, hitting step after step until I landed face-first on the bottom. It should have hurt like crazy, but I just got on my feet like nothing had happened and quickly rushed off. Peaches snickered. "Sounds like you." "Nah." Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "That's more the result of the world having no rules of biology or physics to speak of." "Mm." Peaches ran a finger across the bedsheet, though Mandy could see her brow furrowing in confusion. "Soooooo when does the bad part come in?" Silence. Mandy's ears folded downwards. She looked to the side, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth to speak again. It was clear to see that, to some extent or another, Odd Squad had accepted me with open arms even with my new "form", so to speak. But now, it was time for it to be put to the test with the townsfolk of Toronto. I wasn't as famous as Momma or Otto. I was just an average run-of-the-mill agent whose name happened to start with an M and not an O. There was nothing spectacular about me that made me stick out from anyone else. Not even the fact that I was raised by an Odd Squad agent got much of a reaction from people. Still, Torontonians were friendly. I had helped a lot of them, and they, in turn, repaid me with kindness. That ended today. I- I mean...the day that...yeah, whatever, you get it. I ascended the stairs and knocked three times on the door of a brick house. Almost immediately, the door opened, and out came a woman with long brown hair, decked in cleaning clothes that were stained with bleach. "Hi!" I said. "I was told you have an odd problem?" Normally, people would reiterate their odd problem to me, show me the issue, then complain about how it was a detriment to themselves or to their way of living. And then I would fix it somehow, as I do. And then I would receive a whole bunch of relief and a whole bunch of thanks before I left and went back to Headquarters or to my next case. But this client simply stared at me. She scanned me up and down for a few seconds, before her expression twisted into anger and disgust. "Yes, I do." She began to back away. "But I don't want it solved by a monster!" The door slammed closed. I stayed silent for a few moments, until a desperate and panicked "oh no" forced its way out of me. At first, I thought maybe it was a one-time thing. Maybe this was some kind of a joke this client was playing on me. Maybe this was a client who just wasn't as open to change as others were. Maybe I could come back later, and she would open the door and invite me in for some food and some drinks. But as one could probably have expected, my fate became grabbed and firmly held in the palms of cruelty. With almost every case, people were quick to shut me out. Some opened the door, saw me, and quickly slammed it while calling Precinct 13579 and demanding they get a different agent. Some let me in initially, but kicked me out as soon as they saw what I looked like. Some didn't even get past the peephole, instead telling me to go away and nothing more. To try and circumvent the issue, Oprah decided to send me on a case with my partner. She figured, if clients saw me being friendly with another Odd Squad agent, they would realize that I was friendly and accept me just as they did before the Hydraclops incident. Pinkie, of course, had been nothing but supportive of me -- I had vented to her, cried in her chest, asked her the ever-standing question of why. She, in turn, stayed by my side whenever I went to the world aboveground, glaring at people who rudely stared and calling out people who made snide comments about how freaky I looked. She was really the only one I remained close with. I liked to think we had a bond that was as strong as Momma and Otto's. Pinkie and I arrived on the doorstep. She rang the doorbell, and we waited. The door opened to reveal an older, rather chubby man with gray hair. His gaze remained fixated on Pinkie as he asked, "May I help you?" "Hiya!" Pinkie waved. "We got a call about an odd problem at this place! Can we check it out?" The man's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, yes! My crying sink. Follow me inside, if you will." Pinkie took her first steps inside. Although I was hesitant to follow her, my legs began moving on their own anyway. I had one foot, and then two feet in the house, and a tiny flicker of hope sprung to life inside of me. "Uh, n- not you." I blinked. "Huh?" The man put on a look of pity. "I'm sorry. I just don't feel comfortable letting someone like...you into the house." He might as well have taken a bow and arrow and delivered a shot right to my heart. It would hurt just as bad, but at least it sounded more reasonable than "you're an abomination that shouldn't exist and I wouldn't let you into my house if the world was ending." A pitiful whine shook my vocal cords. My pony ears folded downwards. "It's okay, partner!" Pinkie turned to face me. Her voice was filled with hope, but it also held worry and, worst of all, pity. "I'll have this done in a lickety-splickity second. Why don't you go wait outside?" My bottom lip began to quiver. My vision grew blurry with fat, wet, ugly tears. Before I knew it, I was running, falling, and resting my head on the pavement as I cried and cried until my lungs began to give out. I only faintly heard the door closing behind me, but didn't bother looking back to see who it was. I really was a freak. I was a mutated being that surpassed anything odd that had been created by the hands of the powers-that-be up above. A Squanzo Bonzo, a Tiggle or a Taggle, even a Gornum meant more to these people than I ever would. I had gone from someone whom clients loved and respected to someone whom clients wouldn't dare interact with if they were given trillions of dollars to do so. My self-esteem, already low as it was, took a nosedive. And just when I thought it couldn't go any lower, it got lower. Nearly everyone in the town shunned me. I was barred from homes, shops, and stores. I was nothing but a bygone relic of Odd Squad. I was nothing but an alien living on Earth that no one knew how to handle or how to interact with because there was little research done on me that provided solid answers. My hair and tail went from being curly to being flat, and became tinged with gray to signify my depression. One day, Oprah assigned me a case. I outright refused, and declared my intentions to stay holed up in Headquarters forever. There were many people and creatures alike who lived in the underground world. Some lived in burrows. Others were on a quest to answer the question of "if I dig through the entirety of Earth, where will I emerge?" And others passed by me every single day, giving their greetings as nothing but the bare minimum of politeness so they wouldn't seem rude. On days where I was feeling really crummy, I stayed in the Bedroom all day, doing nothing but sleeping or reading or watching TV. If someone told me to get out of the Bedroom, I refused. If someone yanked me by the hand or by the foot and tried to remove me from the Bedroom by force, I kicked and screamed and locked the door and told them I never wanted them to come back. I faintly remember telling Momma that I wish she would run and then fall off a cliff to her death when she tried to pull me to the Breakroom. I told her the truth about how she hated me and didn't know how to handle me with my new powers and accessories. I wasn't sure if I had confirmed my suspicions about her and about everyone else or not, but from that point on, we became distant. Everyone always commented about my tendency to hold long grudges. This one was the longest grudge I had held yet, or so they said. Oprah, not wanting to be down an agent, took action. With a microphone in hand and a podium as a platform, she tried to speak to the townsfolk about my new appearance. She tried to tell them that I was no threat, that I was still the same Mandy they knew, that she would keep me around because I was good at solving problems for clients. Her words held a sense of pleading conviction, an emotion that only few Odd Squad agents had seen in her before. Just for that speech, she dropped her shield of iron and spoke genuinely from the heart. No one bought a single word. Even worse, a boycott was waged against Odd Squad as an entire organization for allowing a monster within their ranks. Oddness rates in Toronto flickitiated rapidly. They went down, they went up, and then went back down. It was so alarming that the Big O -- the old Big O, mind you, the one that trapped Twilight -- called me, Oprah and Pinkie to his office for a meeting. Out of every agent in Precinct 13579, Oprah was the only one who could get me out of the Bedroom, and so, I begrudgingly left my cave to go to the big boss's office. "Now." He sat down in his seat. "I understand you went through a change, Agent Mandy. Correct?" I nodded. "And Oprah, is it true that the citizens of Toronto have been boycotting not just your precinct, but the entirety of Odd Squad?" "Yes." The Big O gave a soft hum as he thumbed through a stack of papers on his desk. "According to reports, oddness is currently rising in Toronto. But it is also shifting." "I can assure you, sir, we have agents working diligently to fix the rising rates of oddness." The Big O gazed at Oprah inquisitively. "And what of Agent Mandy?" "She..." I could feel her gaze boring into me. I tried to make myself as small as I could while still remaining upstanding and professional. I knew it was clear to her what my stance was on the entire issue, and I could feel the hurt in her next words. "She’s not willing to go on any cases. From what I’m told, whenever she approaches someone who is afflicted with oddness, she is often told to go away while also being told to get different agents to solve it because people don’t want to deal with someone who looks so...odd." The Big O's expression didn't waver. "So she is actively refusing?" he asked, an edge of irritation to his voice. "Yes. She spends most of the day in the Bedroom now, not doing much of anything. When we try and get her to come out, she..." Oprah bit her lip. "...throws fits. Screams at us to go away. Yells at us that she wishes we would die. Tells us that we don't want to deal with her because we don't know how to deal with her now that she's...like this." I had expected the Big O to at least widen his eyes a couple inches or so upon mention that I had been giving death threats to my coworkers. But looking back on it now, his indifference matches up to what I had to face when he tried to tame Twilight and turn her into a regular Earth horse. "Well, as you know, this can't stand." he pointed out. "Odd Squad agents' jobs are not to laze around all day." "I tried to convince the Torontonians not to see Mandy as the enemy, but as an ally. They didn't listen to me, and as a result, the boycotting began." "So it sounds like the problem lies with Agent Mandy and her new...accessories." The Big O gave a scowl of disapproval. "Have you tried prying them off?" Oprah nodded. "They're permanently affixed to her. We've tried gadgets, we've tried Dr. O's odd cures...nothing's worked." "Hmm. This presents a problem." I rolled my eyes. Oh no freakin' duh, genius. "Um..." Pinkie took a step forward. "Maybe we could try and have Mandy convince the townsfolk herself?" The Big O leaned forward in his chair, fixing my partner with an ugly grimace. "And do you really think the results would be any different?" Pinkie's ears folded downwards. Her eyes darted from the Big O to the floor and back again, as she stammered out a "W-well..." "The only logical solution..." The Big O leaned back in his chair. "...would be to fire Mandy." That spurred something in Pinkie, erasing her hesitance. "Big O, no!" "Sir, you can't." Oprah said, her tone one of pleading conviction again. "Mandy is one of my most hardworking agents, I can't just let her go!" "It's the only solution we have. If Mandy is taken out of the equation, then people will stop boycotting Odd Squad and life can go on." My knees hit the floor. Tears began spilling from my quivering eyes unexpectedly. My mouth hung open like it was one of those basketball hoops at an arcade cabinet. I stared at the Big O for what felt like hours. Then my body wracked with sobs. My lungs began scrabbling for air. Both Oprah and Pinkie stared at me with those worried and pitiful looks I had come to despise, but yet, none of them tried to comfort me. My eyes drifted to Pinkie at one point. They did all the talking for me. They uttered a cry for help. They asked her if she could fight back against the Big O, tell him off like she had told off so many other people and ponies who had stared at me or made rude comments about how I looked. She didn't respond. She jerked her head away, glancing at the Big O, then to me, and back and forth again. "Your badge, Agent 57. Hand it over." My breathing quickened. I stared at the Big O's outstretched hand. It was waiting. Everyone was waiting. Slowly, my hair and tail began to turn an even darker shade of gray. Oprah's eyes widened in surprise, as did Pinkie's. The Big O, of course, didn't even flinch. It was almost like he was enjoying this, in a sickening and sadistic way. All he needed was a big old smile to complete the ensemble. Right then and there, I decided that I had had enough. Most ex-agents were fed up with Odd Squad as an organization. I was one of them. Instead of hating it because of the work they did, however, I hated it for its people. I didn't mind Odd Squad fighting oddness. I was strictly anti-odd, and that was how I liked it. What I did mind were all the humans and all the ponies who dropped me like a hot hot tater as soon as I went through a massive change to my looks, my personality, and my overall being. Odd Squad was supposed to be a place where all kids were equal, and all kids belonged. Its DE&I policy went unmatched by any other cheap copycat of its kind. And it wasn't just kids -- Oprah had accepted the ponies who were with me with open arms. I was once accepted with open arms, too. I was once accepted with open arms by people who had no idea how to raise a child. Those days were gone now. Anger bubbling inside of me, I spat out one final sentence of opposition. "Neither one of you deserve to be Odd Squad agents." And then I bawled, my legs taking me through the hallways and past the Big O's mindless and brutal assistants. I let them guide me to wherever they wanted, my heart and chest aching with pain and regret. I didn't stop to think about if I should pack my things and leave -- although if I did, I wouldn't have. I couldn't face anyone. I didn't want to face anyone. Before I knew it, I was lying flat on my back, staring into the face of a girl that looked to be half-human and half-dog. Her hands and feet were that of a human's, but her face and two ears on the top of her head were that of a dog's. Her tail wagged inquisitively, and her short dark brown hair bobbed as she leaned closer to me. "Oh! I'm sorry. Are you okay?" My nose made a sound that was somewhere between a sniffle and a snort. "N-no! I'm not! If you're just gonna bully me then you can just go away!" I had expected the girl to shoo me away and brand me a transmuted anomaly that shouldn't even be walking the Earth, let alone laying down in it. But instead, she put on a confused expression and tilted her head. "Bully you? Why would I do that?" Part of me was screaming at me not to trust her. The other part of me was desperate for someone who was actually nice and understanding. The latter won. I took the bait. Hook, line, and hopefully not stinker. "Huh?" The girl giggled. "You look funny. Who are you? What are you?" I rolled onto my stomach and stroked one of my pony ears. "I'm...M-Mandy. I...w-well, I'm a human, but...I have these pony things on me..." "Cool! I'm Clementine and I'm a dog-person. Well, not really, 'cause I can't change into a dog yet like some people can. Where are you from?" A hiccup caused my body to jump slightly, and I landed on my stomach, the air out of my already-desperate lungs being blown out of me. It was a bit before I was able to spit out an answer. "Odd Squad..." "Odd Squad? That's a weird town!" Clementine giggled. "I'm from Galagu. It's a town filled with dog-people! Everyone's super-duper nice, and we even have an awesome queen!" I barely heard the second half of what Clementine said. My body began to quiver, and I began to cry again. Deep inside of me, homesickness, regret and anger waged an all-out war against each other. I thought the homesickness was winning, but I couldn't really tell. "Hey, what's wrong?" Those three words...if only someone, anyone, had given me those three words earlier. "I...I was fired from Odd Squad..." I managed to choke out, burying my face in the grass and letting my tears flow once more. "Fired? You mean kicked out?" More confusion, and then... "That's horrible! What for?" "I-it's not a town! It's an organi-" I hiccuped again, before trying to calm down. "Organization d-dedicated to fighting odd stuff. I used to w-work there." "Ohhh, that's so cool! But they sound like real bad people for kicking someone like you out!" Giving a shaky inhale, I attempted to wipe my tears away. After all, it would do me no good if I spent all my time crying when someone as nice as this girl took time out of her day to talk to someone like me. And if I was being honest, people would have sided with the Big O in a heartbeat even before he started ripping ponies away from their friends and enslaving them. "R-really?" I stammered out, turning around and laying on my back. "Yeah! You're funny and cool!" Clementine smiled. "I wanna be friends!" My eyes widened. I sat straight up and looked deep into her eyes. I scanned them extensively, looking for any kind of malice or meanness or anything that could tell me this was nothing but a facade. But there was nothing. Just pure innocence and happiness. A soft gasp fell from my lips. I had six friends -- although if you count Momma, Otto and Oprah, that makes nine -- and not one of them had even remotely tried to extend a hand to me in friendship after I transformed. Instead they had beaten me down, shunned me, and abandoned me because they didn't want to try and understand me. But here was a girl who looked different, just like I was. In a town like Toronto that was populated with people and ponies, she and I were outliers. And outliers stuck together. "Y-y-you want to be...friends? With me?" "Uh, yeah!" Clementine giggled again. "C'mon c'mon c'mon, let's be friends! The bestest of friends in the whole wide world!" The way she declared her friendship in that moment reminded me a lot of Pinkie Pie, and how she would do the same thing to people she had met. But whereas Pinkie didn't even try to stand up to the Big O, Clementine would face him with innocence and purity and tell him off. Maybe. Probably. I wasn't gonna go back to him anyway, so it made no difference. It took me a few moments to realize that I was crying again. Only they weren't tears of sadness, or of rage, or of remorse. They were tears of pure happiness. For the first time since the ponies got better, I felt genuinely happy. My heart began to lift. My head began to feel light, like the dark clouds had been cleared away and the sun had begun to shine. My face...was an ugly mess of snot and tears. But Clementine didn't care. "Y-you don't know...how much...I wanted to hear that!" I gave a small hiccup, not enough to lift my body off of the ground but enough to make it perk up. "Of course I wanna be friends with you!" A small blush crept onto Clementine's cheeks. "Yay!" she cried out, throwing her hands into the air. "You wanna come back to Galagu with me?" "Yeah!" I didn't even need to think about it. Anywhere that was far away from this wretched place with its even more wretched inhabitants, I wanted to go to. Still, a small frown formed on my lips as I asked, "B-but...will they accept someone like me?" Clementine nodded. "Galagu is super-duper accepting! Of course they will!" She extended a hand. "C'mon, follow me!" "Okay!" I eagerly took her hand, and she pulled me to my feet before taking off with me in tow. As I reached into my hammerspace spine and pulled out a tissue to clean my face with, I got a better look at my new friend. She was rather small, being about eight or nine years old and reaching up to my elbows. And whoo boy, was she fast. Not as fast as Rainbow Dash, but she had about the same speed as a child who had consumed at least half a bag of sugar. Still, I followed her wherever she went. I never wanted to be apart from her. We were aiming to go all the way to Galagu, and we would never stop until we got there. At some point, I had chucked my badge into some body of water. I wasn't able to take off the suit -- I wasn't wearing anything under it -- but I was able to destroy the most prominent connection I still had to Odd Squad. That made me feel free. I resolved to change my clothes the second I got to Galagu. I had hope. I was happy. And for the first time, I felt like the person I was before the transformation occurred. It was truly magical. "Hold on!" Mandy blinked. "I remember...King Ashero was talking about Galagu, many many years ago. Vallea's gone to war with them before. They're one of our biggest enemies." "Really?" Mandy tapped her chin. "Well, I guess that makes sense...cats and dogs are usually enemies with each other. At least that's how the old story goes." Peaches stared up at the ceiling. "And Clementine is from there..." "Do you know her?" "I don't recognize the name..." Peaches' brow furrowed. "And I don't know what she looks like." A low hum was Mandy's only response. She didn't feel keen on sharing the details regarding Clementine's appearance to Peaches, especially since she was on a roll with her story and talking about it was actually starting to make her feel better. Peaches shook her head. "Anyway, what happened? Did you two reach Galagu?" "We tried, but...we didn't get as far as I'd hoped we would." Up ahead, we could see the Now Leaving Toronto sign. I never thought that one day, that sign would bring me relief, but it did. The hope in my heart began to swell and swell. Like the chasees of a foot chase in a horror movie, we were going to lose everyone. I was going to lose everyone. Everyone that had once been my coworkers, my friends, and my family. I couldn't have asked for anything better. But within my newfound merriment, I had forgotten one important life lesson. Life, even when you were happy, was absolutely chock-full of pain. And that pain could strike at any moment. "Hey!" Clementine stopped. I did too, nearly ramming into her and knocking her over. We turned around to find a construction worker pointing an accusatory finger at us. Even worse, a sizeable crowd of other people were coming up behind him. "That's the Odd Squad monster threatening our town!" "And she's with another monster!" "Get her!" The crowd began running. And given that they were adults with longer legs, it wouldn't be long before they caught up to us. I knew that all too well. "Who are they?" Clementine asked. "Bad people! Very bad people! Run!" was all I said in response. It was my turn to grab her hand, and I took off as fast as my legs would take me. I aimed for the Now Leaving Toronto sign that was nothing but a small microscopic speck in my vision, and was rapidly moving closer. "You have wings!" Clementine pointed out, her tone panicked. "Can't you fly?" Surprised that she hadn't asked that question before this point, but still keeping my mind clear to focus on my goal, I shook my head. "Not very well yet! Maybe...if I can just..." I closed my eyes, let magic sweep over my horn, and let it rip. I heard a zap, and when I opened my eyes again, I found myself standing in the road, right next to the sign I had been looking for. "Clementine! I-I did it! I...uh..." Blinking, I looked behind me. I clenched and unclenched my hand a few times. Clementine was nowhere to be seen. A piercing scream cut through the air, and as my eyes followed it to its source, my heart plummeted. "Got you!" the construction worker declared, grinning with sickening glee as he squished his forearm tighter against Clementine's neck. The girl was kicking with all her might, her hands squeezing the forearm in an attempt to try and loosen its grip. But of course, the arm of someone who operated forklifts and placed cement on buildings was much stronger than a little girl whose strength was merely average. "Mandy, help me!" she cried, as she tried in vain to free herself. Her green eyes carried the same plea. It was clear she wanted her newfound friend to help her out of this rather sticky situation. But I became frozen with fear. All I could give was a simple "Hold on!" for reassurance. Under normal circumstances, a gadget could stop this act of aggression against a literal child, free said child, and send us to Galagu within seconds. I was no Scientist, but I could wield gadgets well, especially when it came to battling villains. I was often praised for my quick draws and even quicker fires. But I had no gadgets on me, and it wasn't like I could use them now that I was no longer working for Odd Squad. Magic and flight were off the table, too. My magic wasn't mastered yet -- for Pete's sake, I couldn't even teleport properly -- and I couldn't fly well, either. All I had were simple punches and kicks, and even then, there was no way I would be able to take out an entire mob of adults. I had nothing. Oprah could take out these guys easy, but I was about as far from her as the Earth was from Neptune. "We're gonna rip you apart limb to limb!" If someone had given me that threat today, I would've laughed at them. I would've then fired off some kind of witty retort before I either attacked them or messed with them until they got so angry they couldn't think straight, because that was my brand. But here and now, I did the one thing I could possibly do. The one thing that, even today, I fully regret doing above almost anything else. I ran. "I'm sorry, Clementine! I'm useless! I can't help you!" The last thing I heard before I crossed the border into the next town was Clementine calling out my name. She was full of hurt and desperation and confusion, just one little girl against a whole slew of adults. I didn't bother to see or hear their reactions. All I did was keep on running, as fast and as far as my feet and legs would take me before they gave out. After that, I never saw Clementine again. I fell into the worst depression I ever had. I just wanted the world to make me no more, to make me completely nonexistent. Discard and draw, even, so I could get a second chance at a life that wasn't so filled with misery and hatred. With Galagu no longer an option now, I wasn't sure where I was going to go. But as long as it was far away from people, I would be happy. After all, what was a person's existence if they weren't even able to make one single friend to prolong their lifespan with? A few months passed. I had deemed myself a runaway, and decided to live in the woods without a home. My attempts at trying to secure housing in neighboring towns went without success. Mostly because I only tried a couple houses before I gave up, coming to the final realization that no human being in existence would accept me. I even tried to pull off my new extensions myself, thinking that it was like a "sword in the stone" thing where only I could pull them off of me. No matter what I tried, nothing worked. Don't like it or don't like it, I was stuck with these things. They really were permanently affixed to me. With a majority of caves being either too dark for me to explore or already inhabited by a creature or two, I had resigned to making a triangular home out of sticks and vines. It wasn't perfect, but it provided shelter. That was what mattered. During my time being isolated from other people, I tried practicing magic using the skills that Twilight and Rarity had taught me. I tried flying with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s instructions. And I tried to balance out my physical strength the way Applejack and Pinkie Pie told me to. I figured they would become survival skills, and nothing more. Twilight had once told me that every pony has a special talent and a destiny they must follow. Though I was deemed a "pony-human hybrid" and had no cutie mark to speak of, I believed my special talent was survival. My destiny was merely to live in an agent-eat-agent...no, a people-eat-people world forever, with no one to rely on but myself. No friends, no family, no Odd Squad, just me and the creatures that dwelled here. I survived on nothing but berries, nuts, and anything else I could scavenge that wasn't dead animals -- I didn't have the heart to kill any. I drank water from nearby lakes, regardless of whether it looked clean or not. For someone like me, whose appetite had expanded drastically, it was torture. I was constantly hungry. The food I ate felt like nothing but crumbs. But I learned to adapt, just as I did when I got my new extensions. I must have lost at least ten pounds. Maybe twenty, I wasn't sure. I didn't have the luxury of owning a scale, and I wasn't about to shoplift for one, or for anything else I needed. Even in my sour state, I still had standards. One day, I had just finished eating some berries I had found when I heard a loud boom that shot through the woods, startling creatures as they chittered and chirped and ran for their lives. I wouldn't have cared about the noise and just brushed it off, but I figured, if there was one boom, there could be more. And that wouldn't bode well for the nap I planned on taking. So, using my newly-perfected teleportation skills, I closed my eyes and decided to teleport to where I thought the sound was coming from. And by some kind of miracle I never would have thought would happen to someone like me, I managed to get close to the source. The bad part was, I had wound back up in Toronto. But that was of little importance compared to what I would find standing right in front of me. In the center of Trillium Park was a jackalope that was easily ten times my size. Of course, it wasn't the creature's natural size -- large jackalopes aren't a natural odd creature. Jackalopes have always been as small as rabbits since man discovered them, the same way they were small in Equestria. A loud crack caught my attention. My head swiveled to the left just in time to see an agent slump to the ground. I bit my lip as a memory resurfaced, of that Hydraclops flinging me towards the beach as my spine made harsh impact with the tree. I could almost feel the pain that agent was facing...almost. If my heart wasn't nearly frozen and dead, I might have. My eardrums resounded with the sounds of the townsfolk screaming, yelling, running. It was a true cacophony of noise that threatened to make me deaf. I wasn't used to hearing so much noise after months spent in the quiet of the woods. Couple that with me having two pairs of ears now instead of just one pair, and you might as well have sat me in front of a bass speaker for an hour or two. I could see Oprah. She was yelling and pointing at the jackalope as agents rushed past her with weapons. It was then I realized that she must have sent at least half the precinct to fight it off -- and if that was the case, then it had to have been powerful. Sending that many agents to fight one enlarged creature was usually only seen with Ginormice, and that was because capturing them and then shrinking them was a hard feat to pull off. This creature had antlers. Antlers that could easily fling the body of an agent up into the air and send them plummeting to their deaths. Out of the army of agents, I tried to spot familiar faces. Otto and Oscar were down for the count. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Olive and Oprah looked to be the only agents left who were able to fight it, and even they were in such disheveled states that one paw swipe or antler fling could end them before they even had a chance to hit the ground. Broken gadgets were strewn across the battlefield, shooting out sparks and missing pieces. Some looked to be far beyond repair. It sounds insane, but in spite of all that they did, I felt compelled to help them. After all, I was a hybrid with standards, and my standards were "if someone's about to die and they're your mortal or immortal enemy, then for odd's sake, help them and keep them alive". If I didn't help resolve things for them, then I would at least help resolve things to stop an entire town, and eventually the world, from being destroyed. That jackalope grew any bigger, and it would be eating the entire planet like a puppy with a slipper. The only problem was...I didn't want to get shamed and attacked again. What if they thought I was working with the jackalope? That this was one big old Mandy scheme as her first kid villain stint? That I was only helping them because I was too dumb to know any better? Before I could think over the matter any further, the body of Momma whizzed past my vision. Her body hit the ground hard. I counted three times before she went rolling and came to a stop. "Momma!" I cried out, dashing over to her and nearly tripping over my feet as I landed at her side. I grabbed her shoulder and shook her furiously. "Momma, please, get up!" Nothing. Momma didn't do so much as move. Her expression was contorted into one of pain, but her mind was fully in the dark void that unconscious-but-alive shared with death. Tears sprang to my eyes. "Get up! GET UP!!" The jackalope's head turned towards us. Slowly, with big, booming pawsteps, it began its approach, like a hunter about to kill its prey. I shook Momma as hard as I could. "Momma, please! You gotta get up!" The jackalope came faster than I thought. One minute, it had been some distance away from me. The next minute, it was roaring in my face, sending spittle all over me. "Don't you dare!" I yelled, rearing back and letting my horn do the legwork. The jackalope stumbled backwards, letting out a roar of pain. "Yeah, how do ya like that?!" Adrenaline and confidence joined together in an electric clash, and before I knew it, I had taken flight. I fired laser after laser at the creature, not really having a set course of action other than to just knock it down until it couldn't fight anymore. My movements in the air were graceful and elegant, just like Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had taught me. Even though Rainbow didn't really do "graceful" or "elegant"...but I digress. It was mostly a one-sided battle. But when my back was to the jackalope, it fired its own beam of magic from a sphere formed between its antlers. I barely caught it just in time, firing back with a beam of my own. The two beams met in the middle and began pushing against each other. Tears fell from my eyes, though I was too focused on winning to care about them at the moment. "Don't...hurt...them!" An angry roar was my response. A feeling of deja-vu swam in my gut. Unfortunately, this jackalope wasn't gonna go down the same way the Hydraclops did. Especially since I was pouring every ounce of magic I had into pushing the creature's magic back at it, and by odd, I was going to win. "No one...hurts them...and gets AWAY WITH IT!!" My voice became a reverberating echo on the last three words, punctuated by my magic eclipsing the jackalope's own and making impact with it. With another pained roar, it was sent flying until it crashed right in the road, squishing cars and...well, hopefully not drivers alike under its massive weight. I quivered with rage. But I wasn't so far gone that I let it overtake me. "Oprah!" I called, swooping down to the remaining combatants. "Get the others to safety! Quickly!" A startled yelp left me as I faltered in my flight, but I was able to compose myself enough to head towards the fallen jackalope. In that moment, I wondered why I was helping them. It was bad enough they had to kick me when I was down. Now, they seemed to have forgotten all about me. But seeing Momma -- the person who raised me, the person who cared for me the most -- sparked something in me that I couldn't describe. It made me help, even though I didn't really want to. Maybe it was familial instinct. Maybe it was an inner sense of justice taking my standards into consideration. Really, who was to say. Not even I can explain it. With my wings flapping as fast as a hummingbird's -- it was the only way I figured I could keep myself aloft -- I hovered above the jackalope, narrowing my eyes and lighting up my horn once more as I let slip from my lips one final warning. "Don't ever hurt them. Not on my watch." I reared up once more, and then fired. The jackalope got smaller and smaller, until it was back to its regular size. The silence that swept over the area was deafening. My feet touched the ground. My wings stopped flapping. I folded them in with ease, just as I was taught to do. The adrenaline and confidence within me died down, and I slumped to my knees, breathing heavily. And then, yells erupted. My name was called repeatedly. It startled me so badly that I scrambled backwards and made myself as small as I could, just on pure instinct. Only a minute passed before I realized something. These people weren't laughing at me. They weren't mocking me, telling me to get out, or calling me a monster or a freak or an anomaly. They were...cheering for me. "You saved us all!" "You're a hero, Mandy!" My ears folded downwards and pressed against my head. My eyes grew wide with shock. My skepticism was at an all-time high. Surely these people were just mocking me, right? Yeah, I stopped the jackalope, but I was still an ugly abomination. These people ran me out of town, and now they were praising me? In my not-exactly-the-most-sane-from-three-months-of-pure-isolation mind, it just didn't make any sense. Oprah and the other remaining agents limped over to me. They all wore smiles on their faces. Secretly, I wished I had Pinkie's power of reading smiles so I could tell whether these were genuine or not. "Mandy. I can't believe it. You...you came back." Oprah's one open eye watered. "Thank you." "T-t-thank you...?" "Ever since you were fired, Precinct 13579 has been suffering. Every one of us has been suffering. We even sent out search parties to find you!" Oprah winced. Most likely from pain, but I had a sneaking suspicion it was a wince of regret from making the decision to send out search parties to find a being of monstrosity. But then her eye began to leak. "Please. Come back to us. We promise that we'll give you love and care, and in return, you can help fight oddness alongside us again." She looked deep into my eyes. "It is true that we didn't know what to do with you when you first transformed. We didn't know how to help you. We treated you like a normal human being, like nothing had happened to you. But then you started shutting us out and giving us death wishes, and I knew that we were doing something wrong." All I did was blink in response, shock running through my body that left me too stunned to speak. "Mandy, on behalf of Precinct 13579...I'm sorry." A choked sob left her. "We should have taken the time to communicate with you, to understand your wants and needs, to help you adapt better to your new extremities and new powers. But we didn't." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "From now on, we're going to help you learn all about who you are and who you've become. We're going to help you unlock potential that perhaps not even you think you have. What you did here?" She smiled. "This is only the beginning of just how good of an agent you can be. So with that said..." Wiping away her tears, she stuck a hand out. "What do you say? Wanna come back to Odd Squad?" My mouth ran dry. All I did was stare at Oprah's hand, as though she was offering me a piece of food and was encouraging me to take it. Her words held the same conviction she had when she was trying to convince the townsfolk I wasn't a bad person, and she was genuine then. "We're really sorry for being so hurtful to you." As I glanced behind Oprah, I could see a crowd of adults begin to form behind her and the other agents. All of them were fixing me with looks of guilt. "Yeah. I think we Torontonians have learned a valuable lesson." a man piped up. "Differences are what make us unique. It doesn’t matter what you look like, Mandy. The truth is...you and the rest of Precinct 13579 have been crucial in saving this town. Heh, I still remember when you helped me rescue my cat stuck in a tree, even though it wasn’t an odd problem!" "It's true!" Pushing his way past the crowd was none other than Mayor Mackelmore. Out of all the people I had expected to show up...well, I wasn't really expecting anyone, but if I were, he wouldn't have been one of them. Dressed in his gray suit and gray top hat, he gave a warm smile. "Mandy, you’ve helped this town thrive. Precinct 13579 really wouldn’t be Precinct 13579 without you. I am so, so sorry for not doing anything to help you out before. We would very much appreciate if you came back to work for Oprah." My gut instinct was telling me to run away and hide. But something kept me firmly rooted to the ground. I stared at the crowd that was looming over me, staring at me expectantly. Not wanting to make this more of a "crowd bullies a defenseless victim" situation that it already was, I attempted to get on my knees again, and then to my feet. "Mandy!" Pinkie marched forward. "Please please please come back! I, I'm so sorry I didn't stand up to the Big O for you! That's what this is about, isn't it? If- if I had just stood up to the Big O, if I had just told him how you were hurting and how you needed help, then I could've stopped this whole thingamajiggy with you running away, never to be seen again! Instead, look at you, you're just a scared defenseless kid!" She sat on her rump and brought a hoof to her face. "I was a terrible partner, Mandy, and for that...I'm sorry. I wore my hoofsies out looking for you, and I lived every day with pain and regret, but it wasn't enough." Her eyes began to shimmer. "Just tell me what I can do to help, and I'll do it! I'll do anything if it means getting to be partners with you again! And also...if it means getting to be best friends again." I blinked a few times. Out of everyone here, Pinkie was the only one who had asked me what she could do to try and rectify her actions, which, I had to admit, certainly wasn't out of the norm for her. She had been the one agent who was by my side after the transformation. And when it concerned the Big O -- a figure who no one could fight against without dire consequences -- it was hard for any agent to stand up against him. I had to grant her some leniency in that regard. My heart began to ache. I didn't need to think about why. My eyes welled up with tears. I lunged for Pinkie, scooped her into my arms, and bawled. As I tried to form at least one coherent word within my complete butchering of the English language, Oprah and Fluttershy crowded around me. The adults all took a couple steps closer, looking on with concern and sharing glances. I don't know how much time had passed by the time I had gotten everything out of my system. The adults were still here, so I had to imagine it wasn't long. I wiped my tears away and tried to stand up straight again. "Please, everyone. Just know..." I swallowed a lump that was stuck in my throat. "...that even though I've changed, I'm still the Mandy you guys know and love. Even though I look different now, I'll keep fighting oddness for as long as I'm able to!" I gave a hiccup. "With that being said..." My hair and tail began to grow curly again, the chocolate-brown color being restored to them and wiping the gray away. "Oprah...I'll come back to Odd Squad." Loud cheering from agents and adults alike filled the area, sending me toppling onto my back again. The cheers died down, and the looks of concern came back. "S-sorry. I've been isolated from people for so long that loud noises tend to startle me now..." I said. "Quieter cheering, please?" The townsfolk gave their whoops and hollers more quietly. Some even started chanting my name quietly, too. Oprah, Fluttershy and Pinkie, on the other hand, exchanged concerned glances, realizing that they hadn't heard the half of what I had gone through when I ran away. Almost everyone turned out fine. There were some unfortunate casualties, but not very many, and people were quick to blame the rampaging jackalope and not Precinct 13579. The Big O got wind of my wanting to come back onto the force, and once he was sure no one was boycotting Odd Squad anymore, he agreed with Oprah's decision. From the look on his face when she and I went to the Big Office, he really didn't want to, but knew that leaving me an ex-agent would do more harm for the organization than good. Once things became steady again, Oprah called a meeting. "It is with great honor that I welcome Agent Mandy back to Precinct 13579!" Cheers erupted -- loud ones, this time. My hearing had gotten fully adjusted to being around a lot of noise, and so, I allowed people and ponies to cheer as loud as they want. "But that's not all." Oprah said, pinching her fingers and swiveling her hand downwards to mimic the gesture of someone turning back a dial. "Mandy showed bravery in the face of danger, risking her own life to save those of her teammates. She came back from isolation to save us all, and I believe that deserves a reward. So..." The tension was so thick, one would need a bread knife to cut through it. "I am hereby promoting you to be my official right-hand agent, my second-in-command!" My eyes widened. My pony ears swiveled back as they caught the sound of murmurs. I had fully expected Oprah to give me a medal of some kind, maybe even some cash if she was feeling generous. Anything other than a promotion after I had just gotten rehired. "Like Olive and Otto, you show promise. I think that us working together as a team will help you unlock some more of that hidden potential I mentioned. What do you say?" I frowned. "If you're tryna play some cruel cosmic joke on me, it's not a good one." "No jokes. My offer is genuine." In all the years I had known her, Oprah had never once needed a second-in-command. She was an independent and strong leader, one who could get things done well and fine on her own. She had assistants for seconds, seemingly-endless numbers of them who were at her beck and call. The idea of her having a second-in-command who wasn't an assistant was laughable. But she was being completely genuine. She was so eager to have me back that she wanted me as her top-dog assistant. Not only that, but she had the gall to compare me to Momma and Otto. Momma had already professed her goals in becoming an Odd Squad Director, perhaps succeeding Oprah if she ever decided to retire. Otto didn't want to become a Director, but he was loyal, hardworking, and skilled. The pair were nigh unstoppable together. They were cementing themselves as living legends, and I...was hardly a legend. Did I really stand on the same ground as them? Could I stand on the same ground as them? Even though Olive was my adoptive mother, I wasn't sure. "On one condition." I raised my index finger as I settled on an answer. "Can I still-" "Work as an Investigation agent? Yes." "In that case, I accept." Momma scooped me up into a tight hug amidst the cheers of the other agents. "Oh, Mandy, I'm so happy for you. Welcome home." "As are we!" Twilight trotted up with the other ponies in tow. "Congratulations, Agent Mandy!" Being surrounded by my friends and family with comfort melted the ice that was still remaining in my heart. I had forgotten how much I missed the warmth of others. How much I craved it. How much I wanted someone to be nice to me for a change. And what was more, I was home. The stick tent I made could barely be called a home. Headquarters was where I belonged. I was truly in my element here. And now that I stood on the seal that adorned the floor once more, I realized that I never wanted to leave again. Things had really turned around for me. Torontonians had done a 180 on their view of me, as did Odd Squad. I was no longer a monster who needed to be abandoned and left to die, but a hybrid who would fight on the side of good until my final breath was given. As time went by, I was let back into the shops and stores. I received case after case where I was welcomed into homes and even invited to share food and drinks. And everyone in the precinct helped me to get stronger with my new powers and abilities. Any doubts I still had about people being fearful of me or downright hating me were thrown out the window. And perhaps best of all, my self-esteem improved. You know how I said it felt like my brain was being rearranged when I was first transforming? My new bubbly and exciting personality was just one of the results of that. Or at least I liked to think so, anyway. I became one of the most cheerful agents in the precinct. I woke up and went to bed every day with a smile on my face. The excitement of doing what I love again brought nothing but joy to me. It was like someone had put a key into a lock, and opened up an entire side of me that no one knew I had. All this time I had felt it, deep in my heart, but the events that had unfolded had kept it hidden away. And I came to realize: this was me. This was who I was meant to be. And if I was being honest? I wouldn't have had it any other way. "Whoa." Peaches blinked. "So that's what happened...that's how you became Oprah's second-in-command?" "Yep. Having that enlarged jackalope rampage through town gave me a chance to prove myself." Mandy scratched her hand. "But as for Clementine...I haven't heard from her since that day. Until I met her when rescuing Applejack and Apple Bloom." Tears began to prick at her eyes. "I let my anger get the better of me, and...I attacked her 'cuz I thought she wouldn't give them up." Peaches rubbed a comforting hand over Mandy's back as the hybrid began crying. She let her get her tears out for a minute or two before she asked the million-dollar question of... "What do you want to happen?" Mandy looked up. "Huh?" "Do you want to become friends with Clementine again, just as you were in the past? Or do you want to spend the rest of your lives as enemies?" "Clementine resides in the Odd Side now." Mandy sniffled. "There's no way I could befriend her. She rules a land full of oddness. I fight to get rid of that oddness and send it to that land." "So you work together?" "What? No I don't-" "Picture this." Peaches held up a finger. "You get rid of the oddness, whatever it is, wherever it is. Where does it go?" Mandy's brow furrowed. "To the Odd Side, but-" "And Clementine rules over the Odd Side. What does she do with the oddness when it gets sent there?" "Nothing. It roams free in a place where nothing can touch it." "I rest my case." Peaches smiled, her eyes half-lidded. "You and Clementine are working on the same side. You just aren’t seeing it. If the oddness is in the Odd Side, then it can’t affect the real world. In a way, you’re defeating the oddness, but you’re also allowing someone who enjoys it to preserve it. And she’s not villainous either, right?" "...Well, no..." "Is Odd Squad active enemies with the Odd Side?" Mandy shook her head. "Oprah just thinks that it's a dangerous place." "So she should have no issue with Clementine. And neither should you." Peaches gave a soft exhale, her gaze fixated on the wall ahead of her. "Look, it’s true that Galagu and Vallea are enemies. I was raised to hate the members of that village when I was a kitten. But I soon found that Galagu was a lovely place -- I went there once to deliver a message to its queen, and found that they were all pacifists who were nothing but nice and would only resort to violence if needed." She extended a hand towards Mandy to rub her back again. "If a catgirl like me can make friends with dog-people, then I’m sure a pony-human hybrid like you can make friends with a dog-person too." With a soft grunt, Peaches got off of the bed. "Why don't you sleep on it? Maybe you'll feel better after a nap. I'm gonna go have something to eat. I'm starved." She turned towards Mandy. "Do you feel any better?" "A little." The beaming cat smile returned to Mandy's face. "I guess you were right. Spilling my entire backstory to someone really did help. Thanks, cuz." "Think nothing of it. Us cats are good listeners." Peaches headed out the door. "See you later, okay?" "'Kay." As soon as the door closed, Mandy's head slumped downwards onto her bed, and she fell asleep within seconds. Peaches, meanwhile, ran right into an eavesdropping Otto and Olive, giving a yowl of fright. "Jeez, can you warn me before you eavesdrop next time?!" "Sorry. We were passing by and happened to hear Mandy telling you about what happened with the Hydraclops and her..." "Running away?" Olive looked away. Peaches could swear she saw tears pricking at her eyes. "Painful topic to talk about?" "Still stings a little." Otto responded, rubbing Olive's back. "Is she doing okay?" "She's taking a nap. Some sleep will cure everything that ails her. It's her tried-and-true remedy, after all." Peaches chuckled, but a frown began to form nonetheless. "I can't believe how hurt she is over Clementine...it's like she regrets what she did, but doesn't feel like she can make amends. For a multitude of reasons, I'd bet..." Olive sighed. "I doubt Clementine will even want to see her after the fight she and Mandy had. It lasted longer than we expected." "And it ended with her as the loser." Peaches rubbed her arm. "I just wish I could help Mandy more." "You did your best, Peaches." Olive said, a sad smile dancing on her lips. "Sometimes, people just need someone to listen to them. And that can be the biggest help of all." "Hey, you said you were going to get something to eat, right?" Otto piped up, in an attempt to divert the subject and lighten the mood. "Why don't we join you? I'm starving!" "Otto, you're always starving." "I know!" Peaches smiled. "Sure. It's a lot more fun eating with friends. Let's go." Together, the trio made their way to the Breakroom, Otto comforting Olive all the while. Still, even in spite of her partner's comfort, Olive couldn't help but let a few tears fall as Mandy's story replayed over and over in her head. "Now there, Apple Bloom, I hope you've learned not t' run off like that. You could've gotten yourself seriously hurt!" "I'm sorry! I just wanted t' save ya!" Applejack heaved a sigh. "At least Ms. O didn't fire ya. Leave more dangerous missions to the more experienced agents, 'kay?" "'Kay." "Good." Applejack and Apple Bloom approached Olive, Otto and Peaches in the Breakroom, smiles on their faces. "Howdy there, y'all." Applejack greeted. "Have any 'f ya seen Mandy? I wanted t' thank her for comin' t' rescue us and all." "She went to the Bedroom." Peaches pointed in the direction of the hallway to her left. "I lent an ear to listen to her spill her backstory about the Hydraclops and her, uh..." "Runnin' away from home?" Peaches affixed Applejack with a look of worry. "I'm fine with discussin' it." the farmpony assured, waving the catgirl off with a dismissive hoof. "Mandy did a really brave thing savin' us from that nasty jackalope. Even if I was unconscious when it all happened..." Apple Bloom's eyes widened. "Hold on. Y'all really fought off a jackalope?!" "Sure did, sugarcube." Applejack ruffled her little sister's mane. "I'll tell ya the whole story another time. It's a pretty sensitive topic for Olive and Otto and I don't wanna upset 'em." "Aww...okay." Applejack turned. "C'mon. Why don't we head t' the Orchard Room? I can show ya what I do on my off time here!" "Yeah!" As the two sisters left, the trio gave their goodbyes and watched as they disappeared from view. Olive slumped onto the table, her cheek being squished by the glass surface. "Partner, you gotta cheer up." Otto said. "I know it's probably mother's instinct to worry about their kid, but Mandy's fine! I'm sure what Peaches said to her resonated with her." He smiled. "Plus, Applejack and Apple Bloom are home safe and unharmed." A sigh was his only response. "Hey. Why don't we go and take a walk around Headquarters. All three of us!" Peaches finished the fish that was on her plate. "Yeah, I'm done eating." she said, pushing the plate to the side. "I could use a walk to help boost my mood a little." Otto rose from his seat and grabbed Olive by the wrist. "Come on, let's go. We're gonna cheer you right up faster than Pinkie Pie can bake a cake!" "Otto, I don't really- whoa!" Before Olive knew it, she was being dragged by Otto, stumbling after him and trying not to let her body slump to the ground as they headed for the left hallway that flanked the steel double-doors. Peaches couldn't help but snicker as she followed them, her gaze peering down the hallway that Applejack and Apple Bloom had left through before picking up her pace to keep up with the two Directors. She was only a few seconds too late to catch a lumbering and slumbering figure emerging into the bullpen. Still dressed in her suit, her mane and tail looking like it hadn't been brushed in a week... And holding a secret she was dedicated to not letting anyone know about. Author's Note Whoo boy...out of the "episodes" so far, this is probably the one that's gonna need revising the most. I spent a fair bit of time crafting and tweaking Mandy's backstory, but it could use some pretty heavy refinement (where's Applejack? why isn't she more involved post-transformation? Mandy becoming more accepting of the townsfolk is a little janky, Pinkie should be more involved too, blah-dee-blah, so on and so forth, wow do I nitpick a lot). I'm not intending for these things to be over 20k words, but I want to flesh things out as much as possible since this doubles as a writing exercise in addition to being just a fun side project for me. Long fics are just more my speed than short stuff, I suppose. I have a side story in the works that spins off from this chapter, so expect it soon when I can scrabble enough muse together. Also, apologies if the formatting is bad. The site crapped out on me when I was copy-pasting something and it created extra spaces in between words. There might still be a few stragglers, but I think I got 'em all.
S1E21: Let Sleeping Odd Squad Directors LieImmortality was a blurse. On the one hand, Oprah was utterly immune to time. The villainous Father Time's ability of aging his opponents had very little effect on her because she could change her age back and forth at will. In that way, she supposed she was a surpasser of him, as he could not age objects, people or ponies backwards. It had been fun when he had found out, that day inside of the supermarket when he was going wild aging fruits so that they became moldy and downright unrecognizable. "What...what are you?!" he had bellowed, to the shoppers' fear as they cowered and scuttled inside of shelves and under displays. Oprah had blinked. "What do you mean? I'm human, just like you." "No you're not! No human could possibly withstand my powers!" He had raised the tall wooden staff in his hand. "I'm going to freeze you permanently. If I freeze you, then you won't be able to...to..." "To what?" Father Time had no coherent answer to that. He had banged the staff down, and the shockwave from the blue crystals that sat atop it washed over Oprah. Her expression had been stuck in the same bemused position, and no matter how much she willed herself to move, she was unable to. "Haha! You try and get out of this one, now!" 55 seconds remaining. He better not move. "Ah, no witty comeback, hmm?" He had fiddled with the staff in his hands. "Good. Although it's a pity you had to be stuck with...that expression." He had turned. "But no matter! I shall continue my reign of oddness here in the produce section. You are free to watch, of course." He had ambled away. 30 seconds. And he's moving. Luckily, he hadn't gone very far. Still in Oprah's line of vision, he began his assault on a display of apples. It was his final attack. Oprah had been freed, had tackled him to the ground and had taken him into Odd Squad custody, where he couldn't do any lasting damage for a while. All the while, he had kept insisting she wasn't human, but she had ignored his cries. Now, on the other hand, for all of her immortality, she was not immune to outside forces. If her body took physical damage by any means -- whether from a gadget, or from something more deadly -- then she would pay the price in death, if said damage ruptured an organ. This especially held true for disease. Oprah had gotten many a disease throughout her life. For some of them, she had been cooped up in a hospital bed, weak, frail, and requiring nurses to help her do even simple tasks. For others, she had resolved to tough it out, believing in her body's strength and her own willpower to push through and come out alive. This held true for both regular diseases and odd ones -- rumors had especially built around her surviving all kinds of odd diseases to the point where she was now immune to them. (Which was only partially true. The only illness she was immune to was the Jinx.) But there was one disease that always seemed to get her above all else. A disease that, if she had it, one could easily mistake for what adults called a "hangover". A disease that often seemed to strike her moreso than other agents. And the worst part? It left her completely and utterly helpless. That was one of the worst feelings of all, to her. After she first got the disease, she vowed to never get it again. But fate has a funny way of dealing its cards. “C’mon, Twilight!” “I’m trying my best, Rainbow!” Heading up to Oprah’s office, Twilight and Rainbow were in the midst of transporting a heavy and rather sizeable chest that was studded with gems and indents of swirls. Even with Twilight’s magic levitating it and Rainbow pushing it, both mares found the item to be a little uncooperative. Finally, after a few minutes, the chest came to rest on the second floor. Twilight and Rainbow took a moment to catch their breaths. “Finally!” Rainbow exclaimed. “We made it!” “I wonder why Ms. O wants this chest, anyway.” Twilight mused, running her hoof along the item’s top. “It’s gotta be full of super-cool treasure!” Rainbow hovered just in front of Twilight, clasping her hooves on the alicorn’s cheeks as her cerise eyes shimmered with curiosity and excitement. “What do you think’s inside? Gems? Gold?!” “I’m not sure. But what I do know is that we shouldn’t open it.” Twilight let her corona surround the chest once more as she began to trot for the glass double-doors. “Come on, we gotta...bring this inside!” Rainbow groaned, her head slumping before she reluctantly began to help Twilight push the chest into their actual destination. Once they set it out of the way of any agents who might come barging in, the two mares stopped to take a break. However, the sound of snoring caught Rainbow’s ears, and her head perked up. Her gaze rested on the slumbering form of Oprah, with her head on the desk and a juice box beside her. “Uhh, does Ms. O usually take midday naps? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure that’s my thing.” "Maybe she just worked late into the night yesterday." Twilight gave a soft exhale as she made eye contact with Rainbow. “It happens." As Rainbow reached a tentative hoof out to Oprah, she felt the end of her tail being grabbed by magic, and then felt her rump meet the ground. “Hey!” “And we are not waking her up.” “Why not?” “I once did when I was a filly. She gave me a really harsh scolding.” Twilight began making her way out the doors. “Besides, she deserves to get some sleep if she needs it.” Rainbow bit back a groan. “I guess.” “Come on. There’s a case on my desk that we can work on together.” “Wait!” Rainbow flew past Twilight, stopping right in front of her to block her path. “What if other agents go to see Ms. O and find her sleeping?” Twilight took a moment to think, having not considered the fact that Ms. O did indeed get agents who often barged into her office to ask her questions or receive cases. It didn’t take her long before her face lit up with an idea. “I’ve got just the thing.” Only five minutes later, the glass double-doors closed, revealing a sign that was hung on them by a hook. “Command hooks”, Twilight had called them. Strong, sturdy, and sticky, they were perfect for heavy things, and she had a fond memory of seeing one in a store for the first time and then buying at least 5 to hang around her bedroom in the castle. Spike hadn't really understood the appeal, and for all Twilight would have taught him, he wasn't likely to. “’Ms. O’s office is closed. Do not enter. Please direct all needed inquiries to Agent Mandy.’ There!” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “That way, Ms. O can get some sleep, and she won’t have to be bothered by anyone. And just for extra measure...” The doors shimmered, revealing the symbol of a lock. “I put a lock on the doors and made them gadget-proof.” Rainbow blinked. “Wow. You’re really thinking of everything.” “That’s how I roll.” Twilight said, a smug air to her voice as she began trotting down the stairs. “Now come on. We’ve got work to do!” Down on the first floor, Olive and Otto were watching Mandy repair yet another gadget of theirs. “Hand me a wrench.” Something heavy was placed in her hand. She didn’t bother to see who the giver was. “Thank you.” Her mind was focused solely on the gadget -- so focused that she barely missed Twilight’s greeting. “Hey, Mandy?” “One sec. If I don’t tighten this stupid bolt, it’ll-” As if on cue, the boxing glove that was attached to the gadget cut loose, hitting her square in the nose and nearly sending her toppling backwards to the floor. “Nyaaah! Pickleferries!” she cursed, clutching her nose and shooting daggers at the glove as it swung side to side like a jack-in-the-box toy trying to be menacing. “You okay?” “My noshe would shay no...” Mandy rubbed her nose in an effort to alleviate some of the pain from it. “Dang it. Now I gotta re-tighten the boxing glove too!” “What are you making?” Rainbow asked. Mandy bit her lip. “It’s...a gift. For someone.” “Who?” “Just...someone.” Mandy heaved a sigh. “Momma, hand me the bigger wrench.” “Here.” “Thank you.” Mandy looked at Twilight and Rainbow, her eyes half-lidded. “Now, can I help you two mares?” “Actually, you can.” Twilight looked up at the second floor. “Ms. O is taking a little impromptu nap in her office.” Mandy rolled her eyes playfully. “Ah. Haha. Sugar burnout. Been there, felt that. Gotta be rough, buddy.” “Well, you’ve probably experienced firsthand how upset she can get when she’s woken up.” “She threatened to put me on probation.” Olive said. “She threatened to poison the precinct’s food supply!” Otto chimed in, his tone filled with horror. “And she threatened to rip the forelock off my scalp!” Mandy stroked it, her eyes quivering as the memory replayed in her head. “My beautiful...pretty brown forelock!” “Yes. Which is why I’ve delegated her duties to you, Mandy.” “Ah, well, that’s understanda-” Mandy blinked. Her eyes slowly shifted towards Twilight. “You did whozawha now?” “Agents are going to be asking Ms. O left and right for things.” Twilight explained. “If they find her asleep and try to wake her up, there could be trouble.” Mandy sighed. “Well, this is my job as the second-in-command. It’d be criminal not to handle Oprah’s duties while she’s OOC.” “Out of character?” “Out of commission.” Mandy said in response to Otto, shooting him a dirty look before turning her attention back to the gadget. “If I could just fix this up...” “Let me help.” Before Mandy could utter out a single sound of protest, Twilight swooped the gadget up with her magic and began tinkering with it. Within a few seconds, she was “Done.” The gadget was fully repaired, the boxing glove’s spring having been squished down so that the glove was back in its regular position. An audible clunk sound was heard as Mandy’s jaw fell straight to the floor at such a high rate of velocity that the spot where the jaw made impact left a small dent. Olive took the liberty of closing it for her. “Wh- b- b- how- why- when- whaaaaaaaa-” “No need to thank her.” Rainbow said. “Twilight is kinda an expert on this stuff, y’know.” Mandy’s eye began to twitch. “B-but I spent...I spent three hours...three hours on fixing that whole thing...” “And now your efforts won’t go to waste!” “You’re welcome.” Twilight smiled, then turned and began heading towards her desk. “Good luck with taking over for Ms. O!” “Ya miiiiight need it.” As the trio watched them go, Otto smiled. “Looks like Twilight has a little Scientist blood in her!” Mandy’s head went thunk on the desk. “I can’t believe I wasted all that time...three hours of my life, just wasted...” “Well, the point of the matter is, your gift’s complete.” Olive said, grabbing the roll of wrapping paper that was leaning up against the desk. “How many does that make? Ten?” “Fifteen.” Mandy said, lifting her head off of the desk and grabbing the roll of wrapping paper in her corona. Olive watched as her adopted daughter went through the motions of tearing off a piece of wrapping paper, then covering the gadget with it before topping it off with a nice red bow. “You sure are adamant about giving gifts to people lately.” “Ah, well, it’s a helpful community, we got each others’ backs.” Mandy gave a shrug, intentionally choosing to forget her entire backstory and one of the times where Torontonians did not, indeed, have each others’ backs. “I figure it’s the least I can do.” She sighed. “Now all I have to do is my paperwork, my new Director duties, and-” “Mandy!” The shout of her name caused Mandy to perk up. As her gaze moved about, she found Fluttershy gliding over to her with soft wingbeats, a piece of paper in her hooves. “Is it true? You’re filling in for Ms. O?” Mandy blinked in confusion. “Yes...?” “Oh, thank goodness.” Fluttershy smiled and placed the paper down in front of Mandy. “I have something that she needs to sign off on. Could you sign it?” Mandy looked over the paper. To her, it was filled with nonsense words that she didn’t really care about, except for the words “TERMS & CONDITIONS” stamped in bold at the top. She gazed at Fluttershy with a look that was half bemusement, half disdain. “You want me to forge a signature?” “I- w- well, no...” Fluttershy twiddled her hooves together. “You could always put your own.” “Maybe. Let me see.” Mandy had expected her boss to have received a paper to become a stockholder in a company. (That was how it worked, wasn’t it?) In reality, it was a paper detailing a magazine publishing company’s wishes to make a magazine out of Odd Squad. She chose not to question how or why Fluttershy, of all agents, had such a paper. “Doesn’t say anything about it needing to be signed by a Director...and having Odd Squad in another magazine is kinda cool.” With a click of a pen, Mandy got to scribbling her own signature. Her ears caught the sound of Olive groaning -- likely about Mandy’s absolute butchering of the concept of cursive -- but she willfully ignored her. She floated the paper back into Fluttershy’s hooves when she was done. “There.” “Oh, thank you so much!” “You’re welcome!” As soon as Fluttershy floated away, Mandy teleported a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise into existence, chugging it the same way college people chugged beer at a party. “Why are you drinking another Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise?” Olive asked. “Because I have a feeling I’m gonna need all the energy I can get today.” “But don’t you usually have a ton of energy?” Mandy heaved a sigh. “Admittedly...ever since we went to the Odd Side, I’ve completely lost my mojo. I figure it’s from the whole Clementine shimmy-maboo and spilling my backstory to Peaches. I’m just...not myself.” She pawed at her hair, which felt just a tad more limp than usual. “And I don’t think I will be myself again until I patch things up with Clementine.” Olive and Otto exchanged glances. Of course, they were the first ones to notice that something was wrong with her off the bat. She was functioning much like she did before the transformation, like all the energy had been sucked out of her by an industrial-grade vacuum cleaner. It felt weird to both of them, to not have Mandy doing the usual crazy cartoonish stuff she did or to see her with the boundless energy she usually had -- and not only that, the air in Precinct 13579 had shifted since she became more moody and down-to-earth. “I’d ask why you don’t just go and patch things up with her, but...” “We all witnessed your last battle.” Otto finished for his partner. “I don’t think Clementine will welcome you back into her life so easily.” Olive’s eyes widened slightly in realization. “Is that who the presents are for?” “No, I told you, they’re for the townsfolk.” The defensive tone in Mandy’s voice caused Olive to blink, a concerned expression crossing her face before it faded away. “All right. Well, if you want help, just give us a call. Otto and I have to get back to our own precinct.” “Thanks for taking the time to help me out.” “No problem. Good luck!” As the pair left through the steel double-doors, Mandy groaned and flopped back into her chair. Her ears picked up on the sounds of the Cutie Mark Crusaders arguing about who could solve the most cases, rushing up the stairs, and then reading aloud the sign that had been put on the door -- no doubt put there by Rainbow and Twilight. “Hi!” she chirped, attempting to straighten herself up and make herself at least somewhat chipper. “C’mon down! You three are the next contestants on ‘Go Ask the Ms. O of the Day Something’!” The fillies descended the stairs, eyeing Mandy with confusion. “Uh, what’s goin’ on? Did ya get promoted or somethin’?” “No!” Out came a laugh that definitely sounded more forced than anything that could even remotely relate to Mandy’s actual laugh. “Come now, Agent Apple Bloom, let’s not kid ourselves here.” Apple Bloom merely shot a confused glance at Sweetie and Scootaloo, who shrugged. “Oprah, uh...overworked herself and is getting some well-deserved rest in her office.” Mandy explained. “So I’m taking over her duties.” Murmurs of realization swept over the trio. “Do you have any cases for us?” Sweetie asked. Mandy grit her teeth, mentally cursing out both Rainbow and Twilight for not thinking that far ahead when they decided to appoint her the temporary Director. “Ah, no, but...why don’t you stay here, and I’ll be right back?” A second later, she arrived at the interior of Oprah’s office in a bright rainbow-colored flash. The snores the Director were giving were almost as loud as Mandy’s own. Jeez, is this what I snore like? Odd bless those ponies for putting up with me for so long. Pressing the three buttons on her jacket, she turned herself invisible, and got down on all fours. From there, her fingers moved with all the dexterity of someone who treated a keyboard as a third hand, tapping the floor and allowing her to move across it in a way that only she could perform. She managed to head behind Oprah’s desk as well as her chair, where her screen laid. And then she moved to the right, where a crudely-drawn image of two stick figures in a meadow sat on a wall, because she realized that the files weren’t in the spot below the screen like she thought. Her eyes narrowed. Ah pickleferries...I gotta knock on it to turn iiiiii-HAAAAAAAAAAA- A sharp sensation rocketed through her tail, and she swiveled her head around to see that Oprah’s chair had rolled on it, effectively trapping her. She held her breath, trying not to scream, and she attempted to grab the jutted indents that stuck out from the wall in order to reach the part of the wall she knew held the case forms. It took a couple minutes of trying, and failing, to reach the wall before Mandy simply resorted to just using magic to quietly move Oprah’s chair and free herself. She knocked twice on the wall. It spun upwards to reveal a rack full of cases. Breathing a sigh of relief, Mandy grabbed them (and the phone, she completely forgot about the phone) with her magic and teleported back down to the bullpen, where the Crusaders were still waiting. “There ya are!” Apple Bloom said. “Ya got th’ cases?” “Yep...” Mandy said, setting the files and the phone down on her desk and taking her tail in her hands. “She nearly woke up, too...and I nearly lost a quarter of my precious tail!” “What’s so bad about waking Ms. O up?” Scootaloo asked. “She can get more than a little...crabby when she gets woken up. It’s not a pretty sight to see.” Mandy’s eyes briefly shrunk to pinpricks, as though remembering a time when she accidentally woke Oprah up and got heavily reprimanded for it. “T-take my word for it.” A chorus of “ohhh”s echoed among the trio. “Oh, oh, Assistant!” Mandy waved, flagging down a girl with blonde hair who was dressed in a gray T-shirt and navy shorts that both had the Odd Squad seal imprinted on them. “Please let the other assistants know that I will be serving as Precinct 13579’s Director for the day.” “Oh!” The girl nodded. “Yes, of course, Mandy. Will do.” As the girl walked away, Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Must be nice t’ have agents at your beck and call all th’ time.” “I wouldn’t know. Second-in-commands don’t have that privilege.” All of a sudden, the phone rang. Mandy was quick to pick it up. “Odd Squad Precinct 13579, how may I help you?” A pause. “Uh-huh...oh wow. You don’t say, that’s horrible!” She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. “Place of residence, ma’am? ...Got it, we’ll send agents right over.” Another pause. “Oh, no problem! Buh-bye now.” Mandy placed the phone back on the receiver and waggled the piece of paper in front of the fillies. “Good news. Duty calls for you three. Some lady is having her home overrun by blobs. 131 South Street. Think you can handle it?” “We’re on it! We’ll have it done in no time!” Apple Bloom rushed towards the steel double-doors. “C’mon girls, let’s go!” As Sweetie and Scootaloo followed her, Mandy’s attention drifted towards the small pile of paperwork she had on her desk. “Ah...well, now that that’s done, maybe I can get started on my own paperwo-” The phone rang again. “You’ve gotta be stinkin’ kiddin’ me.” A few hours had passed. Mandy felt her energy slipping away from her with every phone call she took. What was more, her voice was starting to grow quite raspy. And although she didn’t have access to a mirror at the moment, she was pretty sure her hair and tail were starting to make stray hairs curly as they jutted outwards. “Odd Squad Precinct 13579...” She coughed. “How may I help you?” A pause. “Right away, sir. Thank you.” She hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. “This is a horrible existence...” Her magic took ahold of a glass of water that sat on her desk, which she chugged in only a few seconds. While it was hydrating, it didn’t relieve the stress and the irritation of her vocal cords. “All the liquids in the world can’t help my voice...” she uttered, setting the glass back down. “Hey Mandy, I brought the...” Olive, entering the bullpen with a tall golden staff in hand, stopped and gazed at Mandy, her eyes widening as she saw just how much of a wreck her daughter was. Her hair and tail were both matted, and she could have sworn she saw bags beginning to form under the hybrid’s eyes. “What happened? You look like a wreck!” “I’ve been wearing my voice thin with all these phone calls.” Mandy explained, turning to look at Olive. “Do you know how many I’ve answered so far? Two hundred. And a quarter of those were wrong numbers!” Instinctively, Olive tucked the staff under her armpit and grasped Mandy by the shoulders. “You need to rest your voice. You’re going to develop laryngitis.” “I can’t. I’m the only person who’s able to do this job.” Mandy took Olive’s hands off of her shoulders. “If Oprah finds out that I’ve delegated it to someone else-” A round of coughing interrupted her. “-she’ll never forgive me.” Olive moved her gaze to Oprah’s office. “Don’t tell me she still hasn’t woken up?” “No. She’s still up there.” A groan. Olive ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, well, don’t tell me she went on another crazy juice binge...the last time she did that, she was out for a week.” “A weeeeeeeek?” Mandy asked, the words morphing into another moan. “I really wish I could help, but Otto and I have our own precinct to run.” Olive perked up for a moment, and pulled the staff out to show me. “Oh yeah! I brought the Oblivion Staff like I said I would. It was a pain finding it because our Odd Artifact Room is not the most organized. And...” A mug with a bag of tea inside of it was placed in front of Mandy. “Have some lemon honey tea. It should help your throat.” Olive then added for good measure, “I’ve got plenty of bags to spare.” “Thanks, Mandy said, coughing a few times. “Don’t overexert yourself, okay? At least try and get some sleep.” Before Mandy could even finish coughing, Olive was already out the double-doors. “Olive’s...bleh...right.” Mandy rubbed her head. “I can’t overexert myself. Every time I’ve pushed myself, it’s cost me big time and has only brought me more suffering. If I’m gonna do Oprah’s job...then I’m gonna do it right!” A few minutes later, the tea was prepared, and Mandy took an eager sip of it, sighing as she sat back down in her chair. “Hey, partner!” Her head swiveled to her right, finding Pinkie trotting up to her covered in blob from head to toe. She blinked, remembering that she sent the Crusaders on a case involving blobs...did Pinkie somehow get involved? She wasn’t sure. “You got a towel or something? I became all gunked up with blob on my way to a really difficult case! And you were there!” She grinned. “In spirit.” A bright flash of rainbow colors marked the appearance of a fluffy white towel, which Pinkie caught in her hooves. “Ooh, thanks!” As she began rubbing it on her face, she eyed the folders on Mandy’s desk. “Uh, what’s with the stack of cases?” “I’m taking over Oprah’s job.” Mandy’s voice went unnoticed by Pinkie as she gasped in excitement. “Don’t tell me. She’s promoting you?!” “No, no. She’s...asleep. Prolly a sugar crash. So I’m taking over her job for her.” “Yeah, been there!” Pinkie laughed, before her smile morphed into a frown. “But your voice sounds like it’s gonna give out! Are you doing okay?” “Wish I could say yes, but...” Mandy fiddled with a case file. “I have to do this. It’s my job as the second-in-command. I’ll let Oprah sleep.” She grabbed a case file in her corona and levitated it towards Pinkie. “Anyway, I’ve got a case for you. Think you can handle it?” “Sure! I just have to go and take a shower first, then I’ll be on my way!” Mandy couldn’t help but crack a smile at her partner’s enthusiasm. Likewise, said partner’s smile remained on her face. The pair stared at each other for a minute. Mandy tilted her head. “What?” “The catchphrase!” “The ca-” Mandy gave an eyeroll. “Ohhh, the catchphrase. Ha, right.” Putting on her determined face, she said, “Well, what are you waiting for? Go!!” “Now ya got it!” Pinkie said, grabbing the case file and trotting away with a giggle, not caring that the folder was stuck to her chest. As soon as the party pony left, though, Mandy’s happiness died down. She took another few sips of the tea. “I dunno if this is helping...” The phone rang again. Mandy groaned, and let her forehead collide with the table. As Peaches arrived in the bullpen, she was quick to find Mandy resting her cheek in the palm of her hand. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t snoring or sleep-talking, which was unusual for her. The catgirl took ahold of her cousin’s shoulder and lightly shook her. “Cuz?” “Wh-huh?!” Mandy shot up with a start. “I-I’m awake, deeeeefinitely wasn’t sleeping, nope!” A bout of nervous laughter left her throat as she stared at the one who had woken her up. “Peach, where’dja ever get the notion I was sleepin’ on the job, huh?” Peaches only stared as Mandy gave another round of nervous laughter. “What are you doing? And why do you sound a little ho-” “Make the pun and I’ll smite you.” “Fine.” Peaches’ eyes went half-lidded. “Why do you sound raspy?” “I’ve been answering phone calls all da-” Coughing interrupted Mandy’s explanation. As her eyes darted around, she came to a realization that she had emptied her cup of tea a long while back, and hadn’t replaced it with something else. “You sound like you’re getting sick.” “I can’t rest, before you ask.” Mandy held up a hand. “Oprah’s been asleep since this afternoon, and I’ve taken over her job.” “Hi, Mandy!” The call of Twilight caused Mandy’s gaze to shift to Twilight, who was trotting up the stairs. “Hi. Where’re you going?” “To remove the magic locks on the doors of Ms. O’s office. She has to be awake by now.” Curiously, Mandy watched as Twilight undid the seal and threw open the doors. Her eyes widened as she saw the swaying form of Oprah standing right in the doorway. “Whoa! M-Ms. O?” “Have y’ ever thought...” A long pause. “...ever thought of what the world would look like...” She poked Twilight in the cheek with her foot. The alicorn looked visibly uncomfortable. “...if it were full...of fish?” “Uh, what?” Oprah slowly pointed up to the sky, and Twilight got a good look at her face. The first thing she noticed was that her eyes were glazed over and half-lidded. The second thing she noticed was the trail of drool that led from her mouth and went down her chin. “Ooooooh, look, a rainbow!” she said, laughing in a rather slurred manner as she tried grasping the air with her hands. “Are you...sleepwalking?” Twilight tapped her chin. “No, that can’t be it. Your eyes would be closed! But...” Her head moved towards the Medical Bay, which was completely dark with no trace of Dr. O or any other Odd Squad Doctors. “Of course Dr. O’s out for the night...” “Oh, hi, butterflyyyy!” Another bout of slurred laughter bubbled up and spilled out of Oprah as she continued to paw the air. “All right, let’s get you home.” In one fell swoop, Twilight grabbed her boss and angled her onto her back. To the alicorn’s surprise, she wasn’t as heavy as she had thought she would be, and together, the pair made their way downstairs with little effort. Peaches tilted her head. “What’s wrong with her?” “I don’t know.” Twilight shrugged. “I thought she was sleepwalking, but-” A loud gasp cut into the alicorn’s explanation, and two hands instantly grabbed ahold of Mandy’s cheeks, pulling her downwards. “Lookitchu, all pretty-witty!” “Schtop, let go of the cheeksh, let go of the cheeksh!” Mandy’s arms waved frantically, her eyes widening when she felt pain shoot through her mouth. “Ah, ow, that’sh my jaw...” “I’m gonna take you hooooooome!” Oprah said. She giggled again as her hands moved around Mandy’s cheeks, squishing them in any way she could. Mandy’s gaze became fixated on Twilight, her eyes narrowed. “Twilight, if you casht any weird magic on her then sho help me odd...” “N-no! I came across her and she was like this!” Peaches blinked. “She might be hallucinating.” “Halluchinating?” Mandy asked, giving a sharp yelp as Oprah grabbed ahold of her jaw again. “Her eyes are open, and she seems awake, but her view of things is warped.” Peaches mused, watching as Oprah let go of Mandy’s cheeks. Twilight perked up. “Aha, that’s it!” She tapped her chin. “But if that’s the case, why is she hallucinating?” “She doesn’t usually hallucinate after a sugar binge...” Mandy, rubbing her sore cheeks, glanced up at the Medical Bay. “Where’s Dr. O?” “He went home.” Mandy heaved a sigh. “Well, if that’s the case, then there’s nothing we can do. Twilight, take her ho-” Her eyes widened as she felt a lump attached to her leg. Slowly, ever so slowly, her gaze drifted downwards, where she found Oprah gripping her leg tightly. A shrill scream left her. “Owowow! Get her off of me! Get her off of my legs!” she cried, kicking her leg out and stumbling about. Oprah didn’t budge, and every attempt just served to bring Mandy more pain. Twilight’s eyes widened, but it only took a couple seconds of staring before she took quick action, lighting up her horn and prying Oprah off of Mandy’s leg with ease. The hybrid fell backwards onto her rump, clutching her leg and gritting her teeth. She heard Twilight’s apology, but didn’t bother to respond. “Are you okay, cuz?” Peaches asked, her tone concerned as she knelt down to inspect Mandy’s leg. “I’m...fine...” Mandy winced. “But that weight...I dunno if my leg feels the same way...” “I’ll go and take her home, don’t worry.” Twilight assured, before she and Oprah disappeared in a bright purple flash. A round of coughing burst out of Mandy. “My voice...” she rasped, her voice far less prominent than it was before. “That yelling must have strained it further. Try not to speak.” Unfortunately for Peaches, in spite of her advice, even she knew that Mandy was the “I will never shut up and you couldn’t pay me enough Jackalope Dollars and bits to make me shut up” type. Getting her to stay quiet was about as much of a success as telling a fly to stay still. “But I have to speak!” Mandy protested. “If I don’t-” Peaches waited until the hybrid was finished coughing before she spoke again. “Look. I’m not a part of Odd Squad, but I’ll handle your job for you. Just tell me what to do.” Seeing Mandy open her mouth, she raised a finger. “Ah- and write it on paper.” Exhaling in defeat, Mandy grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from nowhere, and began scribbling on it. When she was done, she floated it in front of Peaches for her to read. “Okay, so all I have to do is hand agents cases that I think are best suited for them, and take calls from clients. And...” Peaches slightly squinted. “I have assistants that are able to help, all I have to do is call them over. Right?” “Yep.” Peaches scoffed. “How hard can it be?” she said, giving an eyeroll. “Besides, I don’t think I’ll have to do it for very long. Oprah’s probably just fallen ill with a bad fever. A few days of rest will do the trick.” Now it was Mandy’s turn to narrow her eyes. “You’d better be right.” “Have you tried anything to help?” “Yeah. Momma gave me some lemon honey tea to help soothe my sore throat.” “Hmm...honey is good.” Peaches smiled. “But steam also helps. Try taking a shower and inhaling the steam.” Mandy’s nose wrinkled. “Really?” “Yeah!” Peaches said. “Skeptical you may be, but I read somewhere that it reduces swelling in your throat and helps with the pain. A humidifier can also help, too. Whatever that is.” “Huh...” Mandy shrugged. “I’ll have to try that. Couldn’t hurt.” Another bright pink flash marked the arrival of Twilight. Her mane and tail were slightly matted, but she was without Oprah. “Hey, Twilight!” Peaches greeted. “How’s Oprah?” “I put her to bed. She tried to grab me like I was a stuffed toy, but I managed to replace myself with an actual stuffed toy she had.” “Never took her as a stuffed animal lover.” Mandy muttered, although her muttering to herself didn’t do much against the wave of coughing that rattled her lungs. “Anyway, the point is that she’s fast asleep now.” Twilight turned towards the steel double-doors. “I’m going to go back to Equestria for a little bit and take a shower. And Mandy, you should really rest your voice.” The hybrid groaned. “I know, stop reminding me.” As Twilight left, Mandy got to her feet and looked down the right-side hallway. “Guess I’d better hop in the shower.” “You want me to make you something?” Peaches offered. “I can whip up some hot soup for you, and some mac and cheese.” “Sure, go for it.” Mandy said nonchalantly, before heading down the hallway. She only barely heard Peaches’ call of the food waiting for her while she was in the shower. She didn’t really feel all that hungry at the moment, anyway. Mandy had tried, really tried, to inhale all the steam she could from her shower, at the cost of her skin feeling like it was about to get third-degree burns. But no matter how hard she tried, the pain didn’t go away. As she turned the water off and grabbed her towel, she heard a few knocks at the door. “Occu-” Her cough this time was more of a hacking. “Occupied...” “Mandy, darling? It’s Rarity.” came the silky voice on the other side. “I have a favor to ask of you, if you don’t mind?” “Yeah, can you wait a few minutes? I just got outta the shower.” Mandy asked, her eyes widening as she realized that her voice had gotten even more hoarse. “Oh! Why yes, of course! Take your time.” As Mandy coughed again, she wrapped the towel around her body and made her way over to the sink, where she gazed into the mirror at her reflection. Ugh, I’m getting worse. That’s not good. I have presents to deliver to the group tonight! She dried off her body and shifted the towel to her hair. I should conserve my voice, but...it’s so hard to not talk... She wasn’t sure how much time had passed by the time she got done in the bathroom and opened the door, and as such, she wasn’t sure whether to be impressed by Rarity still being outside or not surprised at all. “Oh, there you are!” The unicorn got to her hooves. “My, you took so long in there I thought you drowned in the tub!” As Rarity gave a chuckle, Mandy spat out a “Sorry” as her lungs once again rattled with coughing. “What’s your favor?” Rarity’s eyes widened. “Goodness, are you all right? Your voice sounds terrible!” “I’ll be fine. What is it?” “Um, yes, well, I was going to ask you to help me put on some last-minute touches for a dress I’m making, but it sounds like you’re getting sick! You really should-” “Rest, yeah, I know, I’m getting there.” Mandy said. As much as she wanted to snap at Rarity for being the millionth-gazillionth agent to tell her to rest, she didn’t have the energy, and she knew that yelling at the unicorn ran a risk of her losing her voice entirely. So, she stuck with an irritated tone of voice instead. “Look, I’ll help you out another time with something else, okay?” And with that, the hybrid left, old clothes in hand. Her stomach began to ache with hunger, which was a good thing since her next destination was the Breakroom. “Steam didn’t help, huh?” Peaches shook her head. “Well, it was worth a shot. Just try to save your voice, okay? I know it’s probably hard because you talk so much.” She shunted the two bowls towards Mandy, one filled with chicken noodle soup and another filled with mac and cheese. “Here.” “Thanks.” Mandy said, before taking a huge chunk of mac and cheese and shoving it into her mouth. Weird. She’s not scarfing it down like she usually does. Something’s definitely up. But it isn’t like she’ll tell me if I ask her directly... Peaches frowned, and took a seat right across from Mandy. “You planning on going out?” Mandy looked up. “No. Why would I go out when I’m losing my voice?” The hybrid’s “what, do you think I’m stupid?” tone went intentionally lost on Peaches. “Ah, you know, just for a fly. It really helps to clear your head.” “I should probably stay here, to help you out. You’re not used to this.” “Mm. Fair point.” It was only a few minutes later that Mandy was done eating, and as Peaches took the empty dishes down to Olly, Mandy took a few sips of orange juice. “Mandy.” The hybrid performed something that was in between a spit and a complete inhaling of liquid without using those swallowing muscles. She peered ahead of her, and found Haruko standing a few ways from her, sparkles littering her ethereal body. “Haruko-” “Shhh. Do not speak. I will do the talking.” Haruko raised a paw, watching as Mandy began coughing and wiping her mouth on her napkin. “Your boss is in danger. Her symptoms far exceed that of a mere sugar binge. She has been struck down with disease. Enlist the aid of Dr. O, quickly, before it becomes too late!” And just like that, the kitsune was gone, dashing down the left-side hallway that flanked the steel doors. Mandy stared, her expression twisting into one of upset. “Haruko!! Why do you have to give me these stupid cryptic riddles?! You can’t just give it to me straight?!” More coughing ensued. “Great, now my voice has to suffer even more...” she muttered, taking a huge swig of her drink. Her head rested on the table for a few moments, up until her brain was able to fully process what Haruko was saying. “Oprah’s in danger?! With disease?!” Her words were shrill, nearing a screech, but she followed it up with a sigh. “And Dr. O’s out for the night!” She felt like crying. Crying, however, would be reserved for when she inevitably lost her voice, which she was at least 90% sure she would do. The 10% she kept aside for generosity’s sake. “Okay, okay, I can handle this.” She rubbed her forehead. “I’ll go see Momma and Otto! They’ll know what to do!” Not five seconds later, and she was grasping an office-bound Olive by the shoulders and telling her about the situation. “Is Dr. O in?” “Not right now, he isn’t. He’s out collecting medical supplies.” Mandy buried her hands in her face, her lungs rattling with a groan that edged into a whine. “Where’s Oprah now?” “She’s at home, sleeping.” Mandy blinked. “Twilight took her there. She started hallucinating.” Olive’s eyes widened. “Hallucinating?” “I’d go and handle it myself but I have to give presents to the gro-” Mandy stammered as she attempted to backtrack. “Er, I-I mean, I have something important to do tonight.” Luckily for her, Olive didn’t seem to pick up on anything suspicious. “Well, whatever it is you have to do, try and conserve your voice. At this rate you’ll be voiceless by tomorrow morning.” “I’m trying, but it’s so haaaaard!” Olive went half-lidded. “Gee, can’t imagine why.” It was then that Mandy perked up with a gasp. “Oh, I know! I can study Oprah and see how she sleeps. Whatever disease she has must be tied to her sleep. And I did solve that sleep-transfer-itis outbreak a little while back.” “Worth a shot.” Olive smiled. “Why don’t you use the Dream-inator helmet?” “Oh yeah, that helmet you used to peer into my dreams when you couldn’t wake me up!” Mandy nodded. “Ha, good idea! I’ll go get it.” “Good luck.” “Thanks! I’m gonna need it.” As Mandy disappeared in a bright multicolored flash of magic, Olive slumped over as she realized what, exactly, Mandy losing her voice entailed. “Guess I’ll have to prepare for yet another round of Mandy Charades...” Mandy hadn’t really been inside of Oprah’s house. Ever. Only once or twice, and the second time had gotten her forehead stamped and her entire body shoved straight through a mailbox just in time for the mailman to ask if this was a legitimate package or not. So it surprised her when her teleportation took her to the living room couch, right where Oprah was sleeping, destroying forests with her trusty two mini-chainsaws she had in her throat. “Ooh, perfect. Just gotta do this and I can deliver the presents!” Mandy said, making sure to keep her voice quiet. She took out the Dream-inator helmet and looked it over. “Hopefully this one won’t break like when Otto used it on me...” Heaving a sigh, she gently placed it on Oprah’s head and grabbed the remote that came with it, pressing the ON button and watching as a flurry of still images from her dream came up. Each one of them had juice in some capacity or the other -- Oprah drinking juice, Oprah working in a juice factory, Oprah yelling at the grocery store manager about why they didn’t have a specific brand of juice. “Wow. This is...weird.” Mandy gave a halfhearted shrug. “But kinda expected that she’d dream about juice.” The snores stopped, replaced by a soft moan. The pictures went away, and snow was the only thing Mandy could see. That was soon replaced by video of Oprah that kept glitching every moment or two. “Stop! Get away from me!” were the words the hybrid could eventually make out. “Ooh, that’s not good. Taking notes...” A few bursts of magic brought forth a notepad and pen, where Mandy furiously began scribbling as she watched the dream commence. A dark shadow loomed over Oprah, bearing yellow teeth and limbs made of straws. Its body was sort of cylindrical, with a top as a hat and a wide bottom for its hips, in addition to its slimmed-down sides. Mandy deduced that it was in the shape of a juice bottle, a pure 96 fluid-ounce one that was as durable as a human child bombing a master hill. “What do you want?!” Oprah cried out, no longer glitchy but her voice still crispy as a result of the video quality. “Back off! Go away!” “Nightmares...” Mandy squinted. “Maybe they’re a common symptom?” Her ears caught the sound of rustling, and by the time she looked up, the slumbering Director was already on her feet and moving at quite a brisk speed. “Sleepwalking?! That can’t be good...” Oprah began heading for the door. “Oprah, don’t go and fight the juice monster, it’s not re- ah, why am I even bothering.” A hand grabbed the doorknob, and the door flung open. Mandy was quick to follow right behind her. “If only I could walk in her dreams!” “I’ll fight you with my own bare fists, juice monster!” Oprah shouted into the dead of night, raising her fist and shaking it angrily like Mandy had seen old people do when she came onto their lawns sometimes. The hybrid read over her notes. “As long as the threat of that juice monster is there, she’ll keep on-” A nasty cough made her ball up her hand into a fist and begin pounding her chest. “-fighting it.” She rubbed her head. “Twilight, I could really use some help from your ‘Princess Luna’ right about now...maybe she could at least help stop Oprah from wandering o-” It had only taken a second of looking away for Oprah to go wandering off. “Oprah!!” The cry came as more of a screech as she glanced around for any sign of the Director. “Oh pickleferries pickleferries pickleferries...where did she go?! C’mon, she’s gotta be somewhere...” Even an aerial search turned up nothing. “Stupid stealth teleportation ability...and stupid Odd Squad uniform for being so dark!!” she cursed, landing back on her feet and beginning to walk as she continued to look. Sure, Oprah was fast, but she hadn’t been going that fast. And sure, she had the ability to appear and disappear at random the second someone looked away, but there was no way she could have used that in her sleep. ...That was a lie, because Mandy had done the same thing once or twice before in her sleep. As she launched into a coughing fit again, her eyes opened just a bit to spot the darkened, but still very much pink, form of her partner making her way up to her. “Hey there, partner!” Pinkie greeted with a wave. “Shouldn’t you be resting?” “I would, but Oprah’s gone MIA and she’s sleepwalking somewhere in the town!” Pinkie tilted her head and pointed to her left. “Isn’t she right over there?” Mandy’s head slowly swiveled, and she could see Oprah just across the street, resting her cheek against the display window of a restaurant and still snoring away. Her jaw dropped, another round of coughing being the only thing that cut through her shock and exasperation. “I’ll take her back to Headquarters for you!” “No, no need...I’ve got it.” Another few coughs. Mandy’s lungs felt about ready to collapse. What didn’t help was that she was starting to feel a little thirsty. “I’ve almost worn my voice entirely thin...” “You need to rest, Mandy!” Pinkie cried out, nothing but worry in her voice. “Otherwise you’ll never get better!” “Yeah, I know, but I’ve been trying to find out what’s wrong with Oprah.” A singular cough, this time. “Sleepwalking, weird nightmares...” Pinkie’s ears folded down, as though she knew that she couldn’t convince Mandy no matter how hard she tried. “Just don’t push yourself, okay? Take it easy!” she advised, before beginning to walk past her partner. “I’ll see you back at HQ!” “Got it. Have fun!” Mandy was quick to soar past Pinkie and head right for Oprah. Whatever nightmare she had been having seemed to be rendered nonexistent now -- and perhaps that was a good thing, because Mandy was starting to feel tired. She grabbed ahold of Oprah and gave a relieved sigh. “C’mon, you, let’s go home. Pretty sure I can do this...” Within seconds, the pair were back at Oprah’s house. And within five minutes, Mandy was able to find her bedroom and tuck her into bed safe and sound. “Oh, thank goodness.” the hybrid said, stumbling out of the bedroom and beginning to make her way downstairs. “You didn’t sleepwalk as far as I thought, boss, but...I...” Her eyes began to droop. However, her brain was not so keen on letting her rest tonight. Perhaps it had been affected and altered by the whole Clementine debacle too, though she wasn’t about to prove it right now. “What am I doing?!” she yelped. “Nngh, falling asleep here...if Oprah finds out I fell asleep in her house, she’s not gonna be happy!” Using the last bit of her magic reserves before it was locked away in the vault for the night, Mandy teleported back to her room. There, at the foot of her bed, lay a massive pile of gifts, all wrapped individually with its own special gift wrap. “Ahhh...” She began swaying on her feet. “Maybe now I can go and...and...” Her vision was growing blurry. All of a sudden, she wished she had taken Oprah’s reading glasses before teleporting back. “Wow, everything’zz zzoooooo blurryyy...” Her eardrums registered a thump, although she wasn’t sure where it came from nor what had happened. “Can’t believe...I’m rezzizzting zzleep...” A couple weak coughs rattled about in her throat. Her eyes closed fully. Her willpower, as it pertained to staying awake, had been sapped. “But...I can’t...fight it...” Another thump was the last thing she heard before her view went entirely black. “It sounds like Precinct 13579’s Director has sleep-itis.” Olive blinked. She leaned forward in her chair so much that her head was about ready to bonk the desk the same way cats headbutted their owners. “Sleep-itis?” “Yes. It’s still in the beginning stages, but it can be curbed before it grows more severe.” Dr. O explained. “I’ll give the Dr. O of 13579 a call. He should be able to resolve this issue.” “There’s not going to be an outbreak, is there?” “I’m not sure. An outbreak doesn’t usually happen in the beginning stages of sleep-itis.” Dr. O exhaled. “Did Mandy say if anyone else has any similar symptoms?” Olive shook her head. “No, it’s just Oprah.” Dr. O gave a low hum as he closed his eyes, trying to process the situation. “Okay. Well, either way, I’ll contact the other Dr. O and inform him of what’s happening. He can treat her first thing tomorrow.” He smiled. “In the meantime, keep yourself safe and healthy, Ms. O. I know how much you hang out with Oprah.” “Of course. Will do.” “Good.” He turned his head. “What’s next?!” came the bellow from his mouth before he walked out the doors and went back to the Medical Bay. Olive flopped back in her chair, grabbing her bottled water and taking a mighty swig of it. “I can’t believe it...Oprah has sleep-itis!” She gave a ragged sigh that shook her entire chest. “And I thought Mandy sleepwalking all across the town was bad...this might be even worse!” The sound of the Bedroom door opening jerked Twilight away from her book as she looked up. “Howdy there, Twilight!” Applejack greeted, a basket of apples perched on her back. “Brought some fresh apples from th’ Orchard Room if ya want one.” “Oh! Yes, please.” Applejack set the basket down gently and grabbed an apple from it. She gently tossed it to Twilight, who caught it in her corona gracefully and took a bite, relishing in its taste. “I heard Mandy was sick, too. Runnin’ some kind of fever?” “No, no, nothing like that.” Twilight waved her hoof. “She just wore her voice thin.” “Wore her voice thin?” Applejack chuckled. “Well, she does talk a lot. Nothin’ too surprisin’ there, I’d reckon.” “She’s been taking over for Ms. O all day, answering phone calls and doing paperwork.” Twilight sighed before taking another bite of her apple. “I may be the Princess of Friendship, but I couldn’t imagine being an Odd Squad Director. It must be so stressful.” “Runnin’ an entire country’s just a tad different than runnin’ a worldwide organization, wouldn’t ya say?” “...Yeah...” A loud raspy uluation cut into the mares’ conversation. Applejack turned around towards the doorway, while Twilight attempted to crane her neck in order to get a good view of what was happening outside of the room. “What’s that snoring?” the alicorn asked. “Hold on...I recognize that snore. Sounds drier than usual, though.” As the sound came closer and closer, Twilight hopped off of the bed and peered out the door. Sure enough, the stumbling form of Mandy was coming towards her and Applejack, snoring up a storm and carrying an entire slew of gifts. Twilight gasped. “It’s Mandy! And she’s sleepwalking again!” She blinked. “Why does she have gifts? Who are they for?” “I don’t know...” Applejack stood in front of her friend. “But don’t you remember what happened th’ last time Mandy went sleepwalkin’? She could destroy the town again!” “Good point, Applejack. Let’s follow her!” Soon, they were following Mandy through town as she carried the presents. Both of them had decided to go along with the flow of what she was doing, even in spite of their many questions. The streets of Toronto they walked on were almost dead for the most part, save for the occasional stray cat or the occasional weird shout that came from a nearby house. Eventually, they turned onto a residential street. “Knight Avenue?” Applejack read as she passed the sign. “Why’s she goin’ here?” It was the third house down on the left that Mandy stopped at, a small two-story house made of brick. Her head was drooped as she continued to snore, but she otherwise stayed upright. “Applejack, look at this sign.” Twilight waved a hoof over as she hovered to read the sign that hung on the front door. “’Secret Organization for the Handling of All Loony Criminals.’” Applejack tilted her head as she trotted over to her. “Are they...like us?” “They might just be. Who knows.” Twilight said. “I’ve never heard of them.” Both mares backed up suddenly as Mandy lowered her body to the ground, taking the presents with her. They landed on the ground in a rather graceful manner, almost like she was conscious and was meticulously making sure no gifts got damaged. It was a rather weird sight, even for Applejack and Twilight, and they watched with intrigue but also with concern. “Huh. She’s droppin’ th’ gifts on the doorstep, but the lights are out.” “Something odd is definitely going on.” Once Mandy was satisfied with her gift placement, she stood up, a bout of gibberish sleep-talking leaving her before she began to walk again, back the way she came. “Where is she going now?” Twilight asked. “I dunno, but we’d better follow her before she gets lost! C’mon!” With that, the two mares trotted after their friend, sharing concern and worry for just what and why she was doing what she was doing. None of them bothered to question the how, because with Mandy, there usually was no how. “Well, we’re back in Headquarters.” “That was weird.” Twilight said, never keeping her eyes off of the stumbling, the snoring and the sleep-talking Mandy. “Is Mandy going out every night to drop gifts off to this...organization in her sleep?” “I say you and Rainbow Dash take a look at it first thing tomorrow.” Applejack suggested. “I’ll talk t’ Ms. O if she wakes up.” “Sounds good.” The trio eventually arrived at Mandy’s room. By this point, the hybrid had not only ceased her snoring and her sleep-talking, she looked about ready to collapse -- and that she did, as she flopped onto the covers face-first and finally fell still. Applejack and Twilight opted to hang in the doorway, though both of them kept a wary hoof in front of them in case they needed to rush in. “Finally. ‘Bout time she gets back into bed.” Applejack heaved an exhale. “But she isn’t snoring now.” Twilight shook her head. “She probably lost her voice.” “Reckon she did.” Applejack concurred, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “C’mon, Twi, we should get some rest too. Tomorrow’s gonna be a heck of a busy day.” “Absolutely.” Applejack went ahead, but Twilight couldn’t help fixating her gaze on Mandy, which lingered for a minute before she closed the door and began making the journey back to the Bedroom. A discomforted moan left Mandy as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. She became dimly aware of a sensation in her legs, a dull ache of sorts that rocketed to her hips. “Why do my legs feel like they’ve been sho-” Her eyes widened. She gingerly touched her fingers to her throat. She had been expecting this, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be surprised if it happened. Plus her brain was still trying to get out of bed and had only gotten so far as letting a foot weakly dangle off of it. Oh no...I lost my voice! Slowly, she became aware of where she was. Not only that, but I fell asleep! Ohh, please let the gifts still be there... She slid over to the foot of her bed and peered around the footboard. Dread began to fill her chest, and she squeezed her eyes shut, eye boogers be darned. Well, if they’re not here...maybe I delivered them. Somehow. She shook her head and opened her eyes again. But my voice! I need to get my voice back! ...Somehow. As she got dressed and went through her routine, she began devising all sorts of ways to get her voice back. They ranged from the simply mundane (more tea, or all of the tea?) to the crazy-extreme (get surgery to replace the vocal cords and worry about the bill later). Her mind began swirling with ideas, and only stopped when she entered the bullpen with a loose tie. Her eyes widened as she saw Olive sitting at her desk, talking with Applejack. Otto, of course, was beside her, listening all the while. “And that’s what happened.” “So let me get this straight...” Olive said. “Mandy went sleepwalking to the house of some organization that deals with odd criminals? And she dropped gifts off for them?” Applejack nodded. “Twilight and I followed her all th’ way there.” Mandy’s jaw dropped. I did...what?! her thoughts screamed. So that’s how the gifts went missing...I delivered them in my sleep! “I can’t say I’ve heard of this organization before. Have you, Otto?” “I haven’t, either. But if Twilight and Rainbow Dash are up for checking it out, then I’m sure Mandy will let them.” “Hopefully.” Reluctantly, Mandy began to approach the trio, wringing her hands together. “Oh, howdy there, Mandy!” Applejack greeted. “Feelin’ any better?” Mandy sadly shook her head. “Oh no.” Olive stood up. “You didn’t actually lose your voice, did you?” An equally-sad head nod. “Isn’t she taking over for Oprah?” Otto asked. “How’s she gonna do it if she can’t speak?” “That...is a good question...” Olive glanced at Oprah’s office. “Not to mention that Oprah still hasn’t woken up yet...” A pause. Olive rubbed her forehead, trying to come up with a course of action. Naturally, it didn’t take her any longer than a minute. “Otto, you’ll have to fly solo at our office. I’ll handle things here.” “W-what? But we’re just as busy at our own precinct!” “You’ve handled things solo before. I have faith in you.” Olive stood up, giving Otto a few shoulder pats. “If neither Mandy nor Oprah can do the job, then...I don’t have a choice.” “But won’t ya wear your voice thin too?” Olive gave an amused chuckle. “Applejack. I’m an Odd Squad Director. I’ve gone months without losing my voice. And even if it starts to, it’s nothing a little spare honey tea won’t fix.” The relief that Mandy’s responsibility had been passed on to a willing participant temporarily shoved to the side any notion of anyone finding out about who she was giving gifts to and why she was giving them such things. She smiled and lunged for Olive, pulling her into a hug. “Ah! W-well, you don’t have to thank me!” Olive said, before pushing Mandy off of her and gripping her shoulders. “But Mandy, in the meantime, I want you to rest up. Don’t speak, and don’t strain your voice. I’ll handle things here, I promise. Okay?” Mandy nodded. Absolutely! You can do this! “Good. Now, back to bed with you!” Olive spun Mandy around and began pushing her towards the hallway she came out of. “I’ll have Dr. O examine your throat and bring you some tea later.” Mandy wasn’t sure whether she was going to go back to sleep or not -- after all, she had more gifts to make -- but she figured some more sleep would do her some good. It wouldn’t take her that long to think of, create, and wrap more gifts, anyway, especially if they were handmade. “Mandy, wait!” The hybrid stopped and turned. “Before you go, grant Twilight and Rainbow Dash permission to check out the organization Applejack was telling us about. You know, the one you sleepwalked to last night to deliver gifts?” Her heart plummeted downwards and landed somewhere in her bowels. Oh pickleferries, she knows! I-I can’t have her becoming suspicious! Otherwise they’ll have my head! Literally! “We’ll discuss whatever’s going on between you and them when you get better.” Olive said. “But for now, do you grant them permission to go and check the organization out?” Knowing that a head-shake would immediately tip Olive off, Mandy gave a resigned nod instead, hoping no one would notice the sweat beads beginning to form on her head. “All right. Applejack, go find Twilight and Rainbow Dash and give them their latest case, please.” “You got it!” Mandy watched as the farmpony darted down the same hallway she had been heading towards. A sort of relief began to fill her chest as she realized that at least she wouldn’t have to hear what was going on -- at least, if Olive or Otto didn’t make her (metaphorically) spill the beans here. “Hey, I have an idea!” Otto perked up. “You don’t have to wait ‘til Mandy gets better if you want to know what’s going on between her and that organization.” Olive raised an eyebrow. “I don’t?” “Just have her write it on paper if you want the information so badly. She may have lost her voice, but her writing skills are intact!” Mandy physically began to deflate. She ground her teeth together as her way of communicating a growl but without the assistance of her voice to actually provide one. Otto, you idiot, how dare you! Treachery! Mutiny! Uh...traitorism! ...No, wait, that’s not right... “Not too bad of an idea, partner.” Olive said, grabbing a scrap piece of paper and a pencil that sat off to the side of the desk. For a moment, Mandy asked herself why she even had that scrap paper, but then realized Olive would have just conjured one up anyway. “I want you to explain exactly what your relationship is with this ‘Secret Organization for the Handling of All Loony Criminals’, Mandy. Why do you keep bringing them gifts, and why are you so adamant about doing so? Never mind the fact that you’ve been sleepwalking again!” Mandy shook her head. “C’mon, tell us!” Another head-shake. “Mandy, please! We need to know what’s going on, on both sides!” No head-shake, but the Director did get a pivot and then a rather flippant tail-twitching. “She really doesn’t want to give the information up.” “Guess I can’t force her. Not even my strongest interrogation tactics will work on her.” Which was true -- Olive had tried everything in that stupid thick rulebook and absolutely nothing worked on the girl. Many a 20-minute timespan was wasted over the years, and she regretted every single one of them. “Fine. You’ll be let off the hook this time, Mandy. But when you’re better, then we’ll talk. And don’t fake your laryngitis either -- because I’ll know.” Mandy narrowed her eyes. I’ll never give you what you want, Momma. She almost wanted to mouth that part, but decided to keep it glued shut and began making her way towards the Bedroom. I can’t let anyone know what’s going on. Otherwise, the organization is going to kill me. If I can just appease them with gifts for a little while longer...just a little while longer...then things’ll be okay. She took off her jacket and shoes, and got into bed once more, her eyes slowly closing as one final thought stuck in her mind. But for now, there’s nothing I can do but sleep...and think of new gifts to give to them tonight. Squinting, Rainbow knocked on the door thrice with her hoof. “Looks like an average house.” she noted. “Why is there an organization here?” Twilight shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.” The door opened, and the two mares backed up to get a good look at who they were facing. Standing in front of them was a girl, about somewhere in her mid-teens, wearing a black hooded robe. Two blonde waves of hair cascaded down her face, and her green eyes held nothing but malice. There were also two small bumps on the top of her head that Twilight noted, but didn’t think too much about -- perhaps she had some kind of disease or disorder. It wasn’t her place to comment on it. “Hello.” the alicorn greeted. “My name is Agent Twilight Sparkle, and this is Agent Rainbow Dash, my partner.” Rainbow gave a short wave of her hoof. “We’re with Odd Squad. Can we come in?” The girl put on a smile. “Of course. Right this way.” Slowly, both of them made their way inside. It looked to be a fully-furnished residential place, with pictures hung up on the walls, a couch and chair or two sprawled about, and dishes placed in the drying rack in the kitchen. “Now, allow us to introduce ourselves.” the girl stated, making her way over to three other individuals that wore the same robes and ruining the mares’ chances at a further investigation for now. “My name is Aozora, and I am the head of the Secret Organization for the Handling of All Loony Criminals. SOHALC, for short. These are my confidantes.” She pointed to a short girl with long black hair that nearly went down to her rump, giving a friendly cat smile. “Yuki.” Then, she pointed to a taller girl who appeared to have short hair, as neither mare could see any hair through the hood she wore. The frown she wore was much like Mandy’s own, in the shape of an upside-down V. “Zifia.” Finally, Aozora pointed to a short boy who was shooting daggers at the new visitors. “And Kenji.” “Nice to meet you.” Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged a look of nervousness, not expecting the unisonant voices of the four individuals to sound so creepy. “Er...likewise.” “So what do you do, exactly?” Rainbow asked. “It’s quite self-explanatory. We arrest and capture loony criminals. Right now, we have our eye on one in particular.” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Aozora. “And just who would that be?” Aozora turned around. “Kenji? Show them.” Kenji nodded and made his way over to the coffee table, grabbing two tattered and worn papers that were sitting on it. He approached the two mares and held the first paper out without a word, allowing them to see exactly what it was. “This is Peaches. She is a catgirl hailing from a town known as Vallea and is wanted by King Ashero, the town’s ruler, for failing to find who razed it.” Kenji then held the second paper out. “And that’s Agent Mandy. She is an agent of an organization known as ‘Odd Squad’ who is a close friend of Peaches. Wanted as well for being an accomplice.” “You two are from ‘Odd Squad’, you said?” Aozora asked. “Um...yes! Yes we are.” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh but we assure you, we’re not friends with Mandy. Not at all.” “Uh, you su-” A swift kick to the ribs with an outstretched purple hoof halted Rainbow’s speech, and she coughed for a few moments before speaking again. “I mean, yeah, Twi’s right. We’re more...enemies than friends.” Aozora merely blinked. “I see. In that case...” A pause. Both mares felt sweat beads begin to form on their foreheads. “There is one way that we are testing the loyalty of Mandy in particular.” She glanced to the side. “Yuki?” “Oh! Yes. We, ah, struck a deal with her...” ”All right then, Agent Mandy.” Aozora grinned. “How about a deal?” Mandy narrowed her eyes. “What kind of a deal?” “We will let you go...if you bring gifts to us on the daily in return.” “Gifts?” Mandy blinked. “What kind of gifts?” A soft hum rattled in Aozora’s throat as she contemplated the hybrid’s question. “Any will do. After all...they will all be for the sake of rebuilding our home.” She looked up and made eye contact. “So what do you say? Will you comply?” “Like I would ever agree to that.” Mandy spat in response. “You may be willing to let me go, but what about Peaches?” “Out of the question.” “What?” “We are an organization dedicated to capturing insane criminals. That includes Peaches, whether you like it or not.” Aozora raised a finger. “Since you are biologically a human, we are willing to make an exception for you.” Mandy huffed. “So what happens if I don’t comply?” Aozora ran a claw under her chin. “Then we will not hesitate to kill you. And after that, we may just go after the ones you love.” she murmured, her voice almost a quiet purr. “Including Peaches.” “We suggest you don’t cross us.” Kenji chimed in. “Our organization is very well-renowned for its members’ fighting prowess.” “We wouldn’t want this pretty face to get hurt, would we?” Yuki cooed, clutching Mandy’s cheeks and moving them around, much to the hybrid’s chagrin. A few minutes passed before Mandy cried out, “Fine! I’ll do it!” “Very good.” Aozora smiled. “Now, go and get started immediately. We expect gifts on our doorstep by sunrise.” A look of despair crossed Mandy’s face briefly, but she ultimately complied, beginning to head out the door. “Oh! And don’t forget.” Mandy looked back at Aozora. “This is between us, and us alone. You are not to tell another single soul about our deal.” Mandy blinked, but said nothing. Instead, she headed out the door and slammed it closed. “It was really easy to get her to comply.” Yuki smiled. “Since then, she’s been upholding her end of the deal.” “If this keeps up, we may just ask her to join us.” Twilight and Rainbow exchanged nervous glances. Even though they knew Mandy would refuse, they didn’t know what tricks SOHALC had up their sleeves. “Join you?” Twilight tilted her head. “But I thought you were a pretty large organization. Or is this it?” “This is it, for now. But we plan on expanding soon.” “I see.” Twilight scanned Aozora’s features, trying to find any sort of crack in her facade that would reveal her true intentions. But the girl maintained a good mask, and the alicorn knew that she would have to take another course of option. “May we stop by another time, for a more casual chat?” “Why do you wanna do that?” Rainbow asked. “I’m interested in learning more about the members of this organization.” Silence. Twilight didn’t expand on her words any further. “Why of course.” Aozora grinned again. “We’re more than thankful that you wish to learn so much more about us and what we do here. Feel free to stop by anytime.” “Thank you.” Twilight began heading for the door. “Let’s go, partner.” “Uh...all right.” Rainbow followed. “Thanks for letting us in!” “It’s not a problem. Enjoy your journey home.” Outside, both girls gave deep exhales as they made their way to the nearest tube entrance. “So what do we do now?” “What we do best.” Twilight said. “Find out more about SOHALC and take ‘em down!” “All right, I’m game! Let’s go!” “Now, if we just drop the contents of the pill into the tea here, and stir...” Mandy, eyes half-lidded and slightly dull, watched as Dr. O stirred the mixture in the cup. The clinking of the spoon gave her a slight headache, which only served to add to her misery. “There!” Dr. O took out the spoon and handed Mandy the cup. “Drink up.” “And you’re sure this is going to work, Dr. O?” Peaches asked, fiddling with her hands nervously. Dr. O nodded. “This is a special pill designed to speed up the time it takes for someone to recover from laryngitis, if they take care of themselves. If Mandy doesn’t speak and drinks plenty of fluids, she should get better as soon as tomorrow or the next day.” A moan tried to eke its way out of Mandy, but came out as more of a harsh wheeze instead. “Ohhh, so that’s why you’re putting it into lemon honey tea.” Peaches realized. “Yes, exactly.” Dr. O glanced at Mandy. “Now go on, Mandy. Drink.” Next to “eat”, “drink” was one of Mandy’s favorite words. But she didn’t really feel like getting excited. She stared at the brown mixture in her cup. Ugh, doesn’t look like the tea I’m used to...but if I wanna get better... Steeling herself, she lifted the cup to her lips and began sipping -- small sips, to ease her taste buds into the foreign sensation. “And what about Oprah?” Peaches asked Dr. O. “It’s just as I feared.” Dr. O’s lips pursed together. “She has sleep-itis. She’s going to need a few days to recover.” “Isn’t that contagious?” “Yes. But she’s in quarantine right now, so she should be all right.” “Thank cattails.” With a clink, Mandy set the empty mug on her nightstand, smacking her lips as she began to feel the mixture swirl around in her gut. She didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. “Now, Mandy, go ahead and take a good rest.” Dr. O smiled. “Let the tea work its magic. Make sure to drink plenty of other fluids, like water.” Mandy nodded. “I’ll be back in a little bit to check on you. Get better soon, okay?” With that, Peaches and Mandy watched him leave the latter’s room. “I should go and help Olive out.” Peaches made for the door, now. “Quite a shame she took over your duties...I kind of wanted to take a crack at being an Odd Squad Director myself.” She sighed. “Oh well, another time.” As soon as she left the room, Mandy flopped back down onto her bed in relief and buried herself under the covers. Well, at least she’s not suspicious. If Peaches found out, she’d be all over me about it! I just have to hope that my “keeping things hidden” thingie doesn’t spread to anyone else... Twilight and Rainbow stepped through the steel double-doors into the bullpen, making their way to a furiously-working Olive. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, Twilight!” the girl greeted. “Welcome back. I actually have a case for you right here if you-” “Forget about that!” Rainbow snapped. “Is Ms. O better yet?” “No. She’s in quarantine right now recovering from sleep-itis. She won’t be back in action for another few days. As of now, I’m the functioning Director of this precinct.” Olive explained. “What’s going on?” “Do you have a couple minutes to spare?” Olive looked at Twilight and nodded. “Sure. Pull up a couple chairs.” Twilight and Rainbow recounted every detail of what went down with SOHALC -- their mission, their members, what they were doing and why. “So that’s why Mandy’s been making gifts.” Olive mused. “She’s trying to avoid being killed by this...organization.” She bit her lip. Her expression contorted, going from understanding, to confusion, and finally to anger, which she punctuated with a slam of her fist on the desk as she shot daggers at the two mares, who yelped in surprise. “Are you two aware that this ‘organization’ is made up of catpeople from Vallea?” she spat. “Catpeople like Orino, who want to abduct Peaches and Mandy and bring them back to their home?” Rainbow blinked. “Now that you say that, it does make sense.” “It makes perfect sense.” Twilight said. “They had on cloaks the entire time, which were no doubt used to hide their feline features. And them going after Peaches and Mandy is an easy tip-off...ohh, why didn’t we figure that out sooner? We could have stopped them!” “Well, we don’t have a choice in the matter. We have to drive them out of town. And if they’re anything like Orino, they aren’t gonna go down without a fight.” Olive declared matter-of-factly. Twilight’s eyes widened. “But Ms. O and Mandy are both out of commission!” “Heh, well...I can’t believe I’m saying this...” Olive shook her head. “But who needs ‘em? We can handle SOHALC on our own.” “Three to four?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “I dunno, Olive, I think we’re preeeetty outnumbered.” “All right. How about eight to four?” “Eight?” Olive listed off the names on her fingers as she spoke. “You, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Peaches, and me. That way, they’ll be the ones who are outnumbered.” This brightened Rainbow’s spirits. “Aww yeah! Let’s go kick some feline butt!” “Hold on, Rainbow!” Twilight raised a hoof. “Let’s at least gather the others up first and let them know what’s happening. Especially Peaches.” “You mean me?” Everyone’s heads began to whirl around, looking for the source of the familiar voice. Within seconds, it revealed itself to be Peaches, who began to shapeshift back into her human form. “How...long have you been there?” Olive asked. “We catpeople are very quiet. I was listening while cleaning myself under the table.” Peaches brushed some dust off of her dress. “Anyway, I heard the whole thing. Of course I’m in.” She heaved a sigh. “I can’t believe King Ashero’s sending more of Vallea’s catpeople to do his bidding...even though they hurt me so much, they don’t deserve a fate as cruel as this.” “Twilight, Rainbow, gather up the others.” Olive ordered. “I’ll give Otto a call and let him know what’s going on.” Twilight tilted her head. “He’s not coming?” “Our precinct’s just as busy with work as this one is. Someone has to run it. And we don’t have a second-in-command.” “All right.” Twilight turned. “Come on, Rainbow, let’s split up. I’ll search Odd Squad, you search Toronto and Equestria.” “Got it!” Within minutes, the two mares had gathered up the rest of their friends, and once the plan was relayed, everyone was ready to head off to Knight Avenue to fight even more of King Ashero’s willing cronies. “So what exactly is the plan here?” “Just follow my lead and stay on your toes. Er, hooves.” Olive said. “We don’t know what’s coming. Peaches, stay outside until I tell you to come in.” “Right.” As Peaches darted around the house, changed into her cat form, and dove under a side window, Twilight took initiative of knocking on the door. The door opened, and Aozora peered out, gazing at the group with intrigue. “Ah, more Odd Squad members.” Her voice was a soft purr. “Please, do come in.” Most everyone spent their time looking at the interior. Some eyeballed the other three members, who were ominously standing in the corner, eyeballing them with just as much intensity. Olive, in particular, made sure to shoot glares at the other three members, making sure they knew she meant business. “Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. I see you’ve brought friends.” “Yes. Allow me to introduce everyone here.” Twilight pointed at everyone in turn, “This is Olive, the Director of the Odd Squad precinct in Mississauga. And these are Agents Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, our coworkers at Precinct 13579.” “Hm. Nice to meet you all.” Aozora said, her eyes half-lidded as though not bothering to give any of the other agents so much as the time of day. But it didn’t last for long, and she straightened up again. “My name is Aozora, leader of the Secret Organization for the Handling of All Loony Criminals, or SOHALC for short. These...” She waved a hand towards the other three members. “...are my confidantes. Zifia, Yuki and Kenji.” Everyone, bar Twilight and Rainbow, exchanged greetings. “So what brings you all here?” Aozora inquired. “Well, I heard that you were looking for a certain catgirl.” Olive explained. “Normally, I wouldn’t get involved in things like this, but...to tell you the truth, I hate her just as much as you do.” “You don’t say?” “Which is why I’ve taken the liberty of capturing her for you.” Olive turned her head towards the door. “Peaches?” A pause. And then, Peaches made herself known, stepping through the doorway and shapeshifting back to her human form. Claws came out. Hisses were shared. “It’s you.” Aozora spat. “What are you doing?” Peaches spat in equal return. “Why has King Ashero sent you four here to get me and Mandy instead of doing it himself?” “Because he feels that we can do the job better than that pathetic Orino ever could.” Aozora smirked. “And we’ll prove it.” Peaches was intrigued. “Oh? And how’s that?” “With a battle, of course.” Aozora chuckled. “I think Orino at least had some valuable wisdom to provide before his...untimely execution. We won’t be able to bring you and Mandy back alive. I’m quite sure King Ashero won’t mind if we bring some seriously-injured criminals to him.” Aozora’s bold attitude didn’t sway Peaches any -- on the contrary, it just made her more excited. “Fine. Then it’s on.” “Hm. Not the wisest choice. You should know as well as anyone that the people of Vallea are well-renowned for their fighting prowess. And we are no exception.” “Of course I do, I’m from there!” “But you are an outcast.” Aozora taunted. “What skill do you have in the realm of battle?” “Fight me and I’ll show you.” Olive and the others opted to hang back and let the preamble to the catfight play out, though in spite of the plan going well, they couldn’t help but worry for their friend. Aozora’s expression contorted in such a way that it looked like she wanted to bust out laughing, before she reverted back to her collected demeanor. “All right then. Let’s take it to the street.” “Sure. On one condition.” Aozora tilted her head. “If I win, me and my- them...” Peaches cleared her throat. “They...will have the honor of running you four out of town, for good. If I lose, then you can take me and Mandy back with you.” “You got yourself a deal. Not like you’ll win, anyway.” Aozora said, ignoring the startled expressions of the other three SOHALC members. Instead, she beckoned them forth. “Zifia, Kenji, Yuki. Come. You will be spectators.” Before Peaches could follow them outside, she was yanked backwards by Olive, who whispered something in her ear. “Remember the plan. Stick to it, and you can’t fail.” “Got it.” Luckily for everyone, the street was pretty much dead. Olive knew this area in general was pretty much dead. She had never been sure of why, but regardless, it made for good circumstances for the fight that would ensue. “Now.” Peaches began stretching. “Are we doing this in human form or in cat form? Perhaps...a little bit of both?” “Human form.” Aozora cracked her knuckles. “It makes for a more interesting catfight.” “All right. Bring it on.” Both girls unsheathed their claws. Aozora licked her lips. “With pleasure.” They charged at each other, leaping into the air in a fantastic show of first moves. From by the door, the rest of SOHALC, along with Olive and the others, all watched nervously, waiting for their chance to partake in the plan that would hopefully foil Vallea’s latest attempt at capturing Peaches and Mandy.
S1E22: A Dog-Girl's Best FriendOn the dead street of Knight Avenue, in the middle of the day, two catgirls went head-to-head. One was part of a weakly-cobbled-together organization with a shoddy lair and an even shoddier MO of capturing only two people. The other was part of a better-built organization dedicated to stopping oddness...and part of a whole village of catpeople who were led by a corrupt king who was hellbent on capturing said two people because of his impatience. As they jumped in mid-air, one made sure to hit the other square in the face with a simple claw rake upon passage. It was simple, it was not-so-sweet, and it managed to cause some degree of pain upon landing. "Nngh...that was a dirty move, Peaches!" Peaches chuckled. "No one said this fight had to be fair, Aozora." "What?!" "You heard me." Aozora stared. Stared in utter disbelief of this catgirl, who had been kicked down by life, and her witty comeback and...was actually right. Just a little bit, not by much, but...she was right. ...No. That was not right. She was not right. She needed to get her head out of the dirt. Aozora's teeth grit together. A growl came forth. She ripped off her cloak in one fell swoop. "I'LL KILL YOU!!" she screamed, bursting towards Peaches with long strides. The other catgirl easily avoided the attack, however, simply by stepping off to the side. Aozora stumbled and whirled around. "What..." "Your friend Orino may have beaten Mandy by being more agile, but don't think it'll be the same this time." Peaches smirked. "Because this time, you're fighting another catgirl!" Aozora's face went tomato-red with rage, even moreso when she saw Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of the group they had brought with them come up to Peaches. "And I've got friends on my side!" She had made sure to emphasize "friends". Aozora's expression, in turn, twisted into an ugly grimace that no one would ever think could be done by her species. "I knew it. No wonder you've been able to evade our King for so long. But that ends today!" Upon receiving a simple head nod, the other members of SOHALC came to her side. "Because I've got reinforcements on my side as well!" An index finger was jabbed at the opposing group. "If you want to make this a war, then we'll make it a war!" The two sides charged without hesitation, and met in the middle. Dust began kicking up from the scuffle. The ponies used everything from magic to gadgets to take the catpeople down, even in spite of the advantage they had in terms of agility. Even so, Rainbow and Applejack, two of the most athletic members of the group, became the star MVPs, delivering blow after blow to SOHALC from both air and land. Off to the side, Zifia and Olive were facing off. "You...you were the one who took Orino down, didn't you?" Zifia spat. "Lucky guess. But it wasn't just me." Olive smiled, choosing to be light on details regarding Oprah -- while she was aware the Director could probably take down the whole of Vallea if she so chose to, she didn't want to make her opponent suspect of why she wasn't involved in this fight. She gazed at Zifia, kneeling before taking off at a running start towards her. "Either way..." The sound of bones cracking, and the horrific pain that accompanied it, sent Zifia into a horrifying yowl. Olive leaned close, her lips nearly caressing the catgirl's human ear. "I can send you back the same way I sent him back. Don't underestimate my strength." The Director backed off, leaving Zifia with enough time to compose herself. "But can you handle this?" A swift kick to the shins sent Olive toppling onto her back, her head nearly hitting the concrete. As she winced in pain, she felt the sensation of a hand clasping her throat hard enough that she was close to choking. "You're pinned!" Zifia declared. Before she could declare victory by tightening her grip, however, Olive began thrashing, hard enough to throw her off and send her tumbling to the ground. "I'll..." Olive gave a cough. "...fight for Peaches and Mandy for as long as I'm able to. For as long as I'm alive!" Zifia growled, rubbing her broken arm as she watched her opponent slowly get on her own two feet. "I know about Mandy's beef with Clementine." Olive's eyes widened. "W-what?" "How she hates Mandy's guts now because Mandy attacked her completely unprovoked. How Mandy wants to make up with her." Zifia chuckled. "Like she'll ever be able to do that!" "Don't talk nonsense!" Olive shouted, thrusting herself at Zifia until they were nose-to-nose and ignoring the pain in her shins. "Mandy will find a way to make up with her!" "I doubt it." Baring her teeth, Olive decided it was her turn to try and choke Zifia -- and by odd, if she wasn't going to do it better. Her grip was more firm, was far tighter, and was filled with nothing but sheer rage. "Don't ever doubt her ability to mend friendships, you got that?" she snarled, a little ball of sadistic satisfaction forming inside of her as Zifia began to cough. "Now why don't you give me one good reason why I should let you go and-" Two claw swipes, each going diagonally down her lower stomach, stopped her cold. She let go of her opponent's throat, stumbling backwards before landing on the pavement and clutching her stomach, feeling blood begin to soak through the two layers she was wearing. Zifia gave a few coughs of her own before beginning to rub her throat. "Not on the agile side, are you?" she taunted. "I figured. You're probably a half-breed just like that "friend" of yours." Olive was too busy shivering in pain to fight back. As she pulled her hand back, she could see red coating it, and instantly feared the worst. How could a couple claw attacks hurt so bad? It's like she attacked with knives! If I bleed out like this, I- "Freeze-Ray-inator!" A sudden blast filled Olive's vision, and within the blink of an eye, she found Zifia nearly fully coated in ice, with only her head sticking out of the top. "What..." The catgirl tried in vain to move. "H-hey, get me out of here!" Olive smiled, seeing the form of Pinkie Pie trot up to her with a gadget held in her forelock. "I got your back, Olive!" A shaky sigh of relief left the Director. "Thanks, Pinkie!" "A pro-tip, though..." The party pony sidled up to Olive, reaching behind her back and taking out a towel she could use to wrap around her senior's stomach. "I think we can defeat these guys if we use the gadgets we have! After all, if Peaches says we can play dirty, then I'm ready to play dirty!" Olive's eyes widened. A realization began to take form. "You're right." she murmured, allowing Pinkie to patch her up as her shirt and jacket were lifted up to make room for the towel. "We're not going to win this with brute strength. We've got things they don't!" "Hey, get back here!" Pinkie perked up with a yelp, her hooves working about as fast as a hummingbird's wings to tie the towel around Olive's stomach and lower her clothes back down. "Oop, gotta go!" she said, taking off in a blur. Olive simply blinked in confusion. She recognized the voice as one of the catpeople, but her brain was still stuck in the process of "have to thank Pinkie". However, she snapped back to her senses when she saw Zifia struggling to get out of her confine. "King Ashero is gonna hear about this!" Olive slowly got to her feet and smirked. "Not if you're so injured you can't even bow down to him." Reaching behind her back, she whipped out an absurdly-large gadget. Zifia's ears flopped downwards. Her eyes shrunk. "Oh cattails." With a foot and a hand dangling off of the bed, Mandy snored. It was like they had been trying to make up for lost time, like they were hardly punctual and had just arrived at their destination. Which was probably true, but if anyone saw Mandy in such a state, they'd take it as a pretty good sign that she was on the mend. A snort caused her body to jerk slightly, and her eye-booger-encrusted eyes slowly opened to meet the ceiling of her room. Sleepy murmurs left her, and one coalesced into a squeaky yawn. "Mmmwow, that was a nap I didn't think I needed..." she purred, before she touched her throat. "Oh, my voice is back." Another yawn left her as she rolled over and allowed her body to hit the floor. Which, really, wasn't her ideal way of waking up, but she didn't really care about that too much. She slowly got to her feet, swaying slightly as she leaned on her nightstand for support. And then a truck hit her. Metaphorically, of course. If a truck came barrelling through the underground of Earth then it would be an utter disaster. She gasped. "My voice is back! I can talk again!" she cheered. "No more stinky ol' Laurenhitis for me!" As she bounced around the room with glee, a happy sigh left her. "Wow, whatever Dr. O gave me was powerful schtuff! Oh, oh, I'm gonna go see him!" Not a minute later and she was throwing open the door to the Medical Bay, a big fat grin on her face. "M-Mandy!" Dr. O whirled around, but just as quickly tried to compose himself. "Um, h-how's your throat?" The grin turned lopsided. "Hmm...I guess the cure didn't kick in yet." "Yes it diiii-iiiiid!" Mandy called in singsong. "Oh!" Dr. O blinked. "Oh, thank odd. I'm so glad you're talking again. I suppose since you have different sleeping habits, the cure worked faster than usual." "Is Oprah better?" "She's still resting up. We're having nurses monitor her around the clock to make sure she doesn't sleepwalk or do anything else dangerous in her sleep." "That's a relief." Mandy placed a hand on her chest. Part of her felt upset that Oprah was still asleep, but another part of her was relieved that she seemed to be making improvements. Her ears swiveled as she attempted to listen for any sign of her friends in the bullpen, frowning when nothing presented itself. "It seems quiet...a lil' too quiet. Where is everyone?" "I'm not sure." Dr. O said, turning back to his cart and the bag of cotton balls that sat on top of it. "They're probably around somewhere." "Maybe they went on some super-big mission." Mandy theorized, before giving a sigh. "That's okay. There's something I have to take care of first, anyway. Thanks, Dr. O!" "Not a problem. Just make sure you drink lots of fluids. A-and try not to talk so much for the next couple of days. Just so your vocal cords can heal." "Got it!" As Mandy made her way out of the Medical Bay, her mind got to churning. I need to patch things up with Clementine. I almost forgot about her in the wake of Oprah getting sick and then me getting sick... She clenched her fist. But I need to make amends with her. I shouldn't have gotten as angry as I did... She stopped. Bit her lip. Closed her eyes. She was the one ally I had when no one else was on my side. We were just starting to become friends... Tears began to well up, but quickly stopped. No. I can't cry now. There's only one thing I have to do. I'm sorry, SOHALC. But this is more important. With loud fwoomp noises, her wings spread. She soared through Headquarters and right to the tubes, where she made her destination loud and clear to the on-duty tube operator. Soon, she found herself hovering over a spot in Trillium Park -- not the same spot where the sandbox was, mind, but a completely different spot. Either way, she knew that any area was viable for her to create a portal that would take her to her destination. "It may have been an issue going to the Odd Side when I had others with me, but doing it alone doesn't require Serendipity 2.0." she said aloud, her tail bobbing up and down as she took out a gadget that had a large pudding bowl for a cone. "Portal-inator!" She fired the gadget, and a portal opened -- one that wasn't too large, but one that wasn't too small. It was perfect for her, and even better, it led to right where she needed to go. Tucking the gadget away, she took a deep breath, and dove straight in. Lucky for her that she had wings, because the descent alone was enough to turn her into a Mandycake. "Weird..." She tucked her limbs closer to her as she looked around warily. "It's like the Odd Side got stranger since the last time I was here." In reality, not much had changed. The sky had grown a slightly darker shade of pink and the floor was lined up like a checkerboard -- Mandy suddenly got flashbacks of that Discord figure the ponies had told her about -- but that was about it as far as changes went. She drifted along the same way she had gone, off to the west side of the realm. "Aw jeez...what am I gonna say to her?" she fretted. "It's gonna be really awkward, and she may attack me, but..." Her gaze turned steely. "I hafta try!" It took her far longer to get to Clementine's throne room than it did with Serendipity 2.0 -- mainly because the plane had gone at breakneck speeds and nearly made her regurgitate at least half of her organs and the large lunch that festered within them. But she arrived eventually, and stood at the entrance as she awaited the opening of the doors. The first thing she was met with in terms of a living face was the ugly grimace of a dog-girl. "Oh no." "You." "Wait!" Mandy stretched her hands out. "Clementine, it's not what you think. I didn't come here to fight." "After you tried to murder me the last time because you thought I was keeping two of your friends hostage, I believe otherwise." Clementine spat, her eyes narrowing. "I came here to apologize!" Clementine's expression twisted so it looked like she was about ready to bust out into laughter. "You? Apologize? Now?" She couldn't stop a snicker from making its way out. "I am sorry to say, you are a little too late to get that ball rolling." "Can't we talk things out?" "I am not interested." Mandy bit her lip, realizing that she was going to have to resort to extreme measures. "I-I even brought you a gift that was meant for SOHALC! Please!" That did it. Clementine's eyes widened as she stared at Mandy. "SOHALC? How do you know about them?" Mandy's eyes went the same in turn. Me?! How do you know about them?! Her brain became scrambled as she tried to figure out how and why Clementine, of all people, knew about SOHALC. The stars of coincidence had clearly aligned. Assuming that was actually a thing. She didn't really know. "I..." She fiddled with her hands. "W-well, it's kinda a complicated story, but..." A grating sigh left Clementine's body. "I suppose there is no other choice. Come and walk with me. We will talk on the way." Mandy had almost contemplated asking "On the way to where?" But even she knew that was a fool's errand -- Clementine was, for once, not acting hostile or aggressive towards her. It was the perfect chance for Mandy to make amends, and so, she followed the dog-girl as the doors closed behind them. "Um...see, they gave me an invitation to come to their..." Mandy's brow furrowed. "I dunno if 'headquarters' is the right term for it...but anyway, I went there, and they said that they would let me go home a free hybrid if I brought them gifts." "And what if you didn't?" Clementine asked, not looking back in the slightest. "They would kill me. And Peaches, too. A-and everyone else...my friends, my family..." "Peaches..." Clementine tasted the name on her tongue as she racked her memories. "The name sounds familiar, but I'm unable to place it..." Mandy buried her face in her hands, gritting her teeth in an attempt to try and stop the tears from falling. Some part of her knew that her effort of keeping the secret was inevitable, for many reasons. For one, she was terrible at keeping secrets for any span of time longer than at least a day, and that was being generous. For another, Olive was already catching on, and it was safe to say that most everyone else was catching on too. ...Okay, that was far fewer reasons than she thought. But the risk of her being slaughtered, along with her entire family, still remained. "Peaches is..." Her shoulders rolled. "...my cousin." A pause. And then, "Your cousin?" "Yeah!" Mandy chirped, in an attempt to try boosting her mood that ultimately proved futile. "Well, I didn't know she was my cousin until she came to Toronto looking for the person who burnt down her hometown, Vallea." Clementine softly smacked her lips a few times, the name "Vallea..." dancing upon them. "She thought I was the culprit, but I wasn't. Once we made amends and became friends -- hey, that rhymed, coolio! -- she became an ally of Odd Squad!" "I recognize the name 'Vallea', but..." Clementine slightly slowed her walk. "For some reason, I cannot recall a thing about it." Mandy sidled up alongside her. "You...don't remember Vallea? Enemies of Galagu, your hometown?" Clementine came to a full stop. She took a deep inhale, a gasp of shock as memories began coming back to her in a flood. Within the opening of the gates, a single tear broke from the crowd and began falling down her face. Her eyes began to slightly quiver, a sign of more tears to come. "Are...you crying?" The dog-girl straightened, wiping the tear away using the bottom of her palm. "No. It's nothing." she starkly responded, clearing her throat to steady her voice. "Let's go." As the duo arrived at the entrance to the Odd Side, where a cave sat embedded in a wall, Clementine crawled through it, Mandy following suit using her own wings to propel herself. They soon landed back in what Mandy recognized as Trillium Park. "So what are you doing out of the Odd Side?" Mandy asked. "Running errands. Getting groceries and such. Food in the Odd Side can get rather tiring after a while." Food shopping. Adults hated it. Mandy, on the other hand, would set up residence in a supermarket if she were allowed to. She loved riding in the carts that held food and sampling all sorts of food and buying food...it was just a dream come true as someone who adored eating food and making it. She would have gotten overly excited if she wasn't on an important friendship-repairing mission, and since she had an opening, she wasn't about to let it go. "Um...I know you probably don't want it, but..." Mandy gave a small smile. "Do you want my help?" Clementine stared at her. Gazed into her bright, beaming, eager eyes. It almost sickened her. Key word being "almost", because she had standards even for those that attacked her. "You are a persistent one." she noted. "I have a feeling you will not back down if I say no, so..." She bit back a groan. "Fine. But do not get in my way, understand?" "Yuppies!" With that, Clementine started on her way again, with Mandy following suit once more as she beamed from ear to ear. Well, we're not quite there yet, but...it's a start. Maybe if I invoke more memories of Vallea and Galagu, it'll get her to open up. Maybe... ...Man, I guess people callin' me 'annoying' really is starting to pay off! Aozora got thrown to the ground once more, a painful yowl leaving her. She found it hard to get up, no matter how much she struggled. Blood was oozing from wounds all over the place, and one of her eyes had shut as the result of an attack aimed directly at it. "Well?" Peaches stood over her. "Can you stand, or can we call this a loss for you and your cronies?" A growl rattled in Aozora's throat, followed by a hiss that was full of spittle. "How...dare you...King Ashero...he'll do something...about this...!" "Yeah? Highly doubt it." Peaches smirked. "King Ashero is a lazy being who sends catpeople to do his bidding for him because he's a coward who doesn't want to face us directly. Tell him that. You can even say it's a personal message from me to him, if you want." "Anyway, rules are rules. You all lost." Twilight pointed out. "Which means we get to run ya outta town! For good!" Rainbow hovered high in the air, crossing her front legs together as she stood alongside Twilight. "F-fine! Fine." Aozora extended a hand for Kenji to help pull her to her feet. "We'll leave. But this is certainly not the last you'll hear of us catpeople!" "We know." Peaches said. "Ashero can send as many of Vallea's townsfolk as he wants. We'll beat them down every single time." Hisses were her only response. "Twilight, Rainbow, follow them to the town line so they don't try anything funny." The two mares nodded, following the four catpeople as they began to waddle and limp their way away from the battleground. "The rest of you did great." Peaches nodded, wiping off some blood that had begun to ooze from her cheek. "That was a really smart idea to have us use gadgets, Pinkie." "Aww, it was nothin!" "Are all of you okay?" "Aside from my stomach..." Olive clutched it as another round of pain shot through her. "...as well as the soreness and the rest of the cuts and bruises, I'm fine. I'll be fine." "Got some bruised bones, probably, but nothin' too serious." Applejack said, stretching out her hind leg. "I think some of my wingbones may be broken..." Fluttershy tenderly touched a wing. "I'm totally fine!" Pinkie, of course, was largely uninjured. "Apart from a messy mane..." Rarity shuddered as she pawed at it in some kind of a desperate attempt to fix it. "I am fine as well." Peaches gave a relieved sigh. "Let's head back and rest up." "Wait!" Rarity cried out. "What about the house?" "We'll deal with that later. The most important thing right now is that we all see Dr. O." Murmurs of agreement came forth, and everyone began making their way towards the same tube entrance they had come out of, licking their wounds and comforting those who had received more serious injuries. Peaches watched the catpeople with Rainbow and Twilight head off into the distance, a worried expression settling on her face just before chasing after the group in the hopes that they could grab onto her, or she could grab onto them, so she could use the tubes. Soon, Mandy and Clementine were standing near the entrance of a store that the former certainly hadn't seen before. "What's this place?" she inquired with a tilt of her head. "They call it 'Shop and Savor'." Clementine explained. "It looks like a grocery store." Mandy blinked. A memory began flooding back to her, of being at the store on opening day. It was, perhaps, the first and last time she would ever visit a store on opening day. Twilight had warned her, she had refused to listen because with a new grocery store came food, and she nearly got trampled on by crowds galore. It was almost traumatizing, but Mandy forced herself to look on the bright side -- she got at least $200 worth of food. It was something for her efforts, and well worth the money too. "Oh yeah!" she chirped. "They're pretty recent. Lots of good stuff!" "Mm." Clementine stepped through the automatic door. "Let's go inside." Mandy bounced her way inside, giving friendly hellos to the people and ponies that recognized her. The second she stepped foot inside the store itself, she was assaulted with smells of food. So much food. All the food she could ever have, within her grasp, as she devoured it, piece by piece... ...No. That wasn't what she was there for. She was hungry, but even she drew the line somewhere. Besides, she had no money on her at the moment anyway, and no one was likely to hand out free samples to her even if she was an Odd Squad agent. "It smells so...fresh in here." "Well, it is a grocery store." Mandy giggled. "Got anything you wanna buy in particular?" "Yes. I have a list." One reach behind Clementine's back and a rather long list was brought into existence. Mandy marveled as she came into the knowledge that dog-girls from Galagu apparently had that ability. Although...now that she thought about it, Peaches had that ability too, so maybe Clementine having it wasn't all that strange. "Quite the long list!" "Indeed. Come along." Mandy's tail began swishing side to side as she fought off the urge to either ask Clementine if she could leap right into a cart -- assuming she wanted one, anyway -- or to just leap right in herself and go on a cart ride and pray to the powers-that-be up above that the cart wouldn't tip over (again). A deep inhale, a straightened posture, and she was marching after Clementine, gritting her teeth together. The ponies followed closely behind SOHALC. However, they were just at a great-enough distance to where SOHALC could talk to each other -- a rookie mistake, they thought. But Aozora, being the group's leader, wasn't about to go down without a fight. If it meant not getting killed in the House of Torture, that was all that mattered to her. "What do we do now, Aozora?" Yuki asked quietly. "Just follow my lead." Aozora responded in turn, her voice just as quiet before she raised it back to its normal volume. "It's over, Yuki. We failed." "B-but...if King Ashero finds out we failed, he'll punish us!" Kenji said, his body beginning to shiver. Aozora bowed her head. "I know. We tried our best. But Peaches and her friends are just too strong." "Stronger than we anticipated." Zifia agreed. "Darn right we are!" Rainbow cried from behind. "And hopefully you catpeople will know what's good for you and stop trying to capture and hurt Peaches and Mandy!" "Hmm...speaking of..." Aozora looked around. "Where did Mandy go? Did you pathetic lot try to leave her behind?" "Uh, no! She's si-" "She..." Twilight said, giving Rainbow a sharp jab to the chest with a hoof. "...thought we could handle you four on our own and wanted to see how we did." Aozora took a moment to let this sink in. "Hm. So even if we did beat you, we still would have gone home with only half the winnings." Sighs rung out among the group of four. "I suppose this is the end for us." Zifia said, attempting to pick up her leg so she wasn't dragging it on the ground anymore but utterly failing to. "It's also the end of our escort." Twilight pointed to the Now Leaving Toronto sign. "You're at the town line. Now go home, and never show yourselves around here again!" Zifia, Kenji and Yuki all looked towards Aozora, who solemnly nodded. "You heard her. Let's go." As the group began to plod away, Rainbow smirked. "That's right, don't come back!" Four pairs of ears swiveled towards the mares, and remained pointed in that direction. "Well, I think we showed them." Twilight turned and began to head further into Toronto. "Come on, let's head back." "Yeah! I could soooo use a rest after that battle." "Me too." The two groups went their separate ways. It was only when neither catperson could hear the sounds of wings flapping or hooves tapping along pavement that they all dropped the ruse with mighty sighs. "Is everyone all right?" This question of Aozora's was met with uneasy murmurs as the other ex-SOHALC members checked their wounds. "If we can't get Peaches, then we can at least get Mandy." "Aozora!" Zifia's cry of her leader's name was almost a mewl. "It's over. If Peaches is too strong to handle, then what makes you think we can take on Mandy?" "Orino got close, remember?" Aozora fired back. "The only thing that stopped him were those two Odd Squad leaders, Olive and Oprah. Perhaps if Mandy isn't around those two, we could easily take her down." "Aozora...I don't think this is a good idea." Zifia's ears folded downwards, which wasn't without its share of pain especially since both had a few notches embedded in them. "Even Mandy was able to give Orino a run for his money. We're already weak and injured. It'll be an easy battle for her!" Aozora growled and thrust her face into her subordinate's. "Don't defy me, Zifia!" she yelled. "Do you want to be executed under King Ashero's orders? Because that's exactly what he's going to do to us if we don't bring at least one of those idiots back there!" Giving a small mew, Zifia backed away, rubbing her arm as another bolt of pain shot through her that caused her to wince. "If everyone is in good shape...then let's go find Mandy. We'll crush her under our claws and make her come back with us!" Both Kenji and Yuki exchanged nervous glances. Neither one of them really agreed with the manic but determined Aozora, but they certainly didn't want to be killed at the House of Torture, and they certainly didn't want to go out as defying the orders of one of Ashero's most trusted catpeople. "Uh...sounds good, I guess." "If that's what you want." "Good." Aozora turned and pointed towards Toronto. "Now, shapeshift and spread out! We'll cover a lot more ground that way. Toronto is a big city, after all." She watched as her underlings began heading off towards Toronto, shapeshifting into their more healthy cat forms and sprinting in three different directions. She then did the same, turning into her own cat form and sprinting back into the town. "Mandy...you won't get away. Not from me!" Mandy's body quivered as she glanced at the bag of oranges that were the next item her rainbow-colored corona had to latch onto. It was clear that carrying so many items at once was beginning to take its toll on her, especially since half of the items were heavy and some of the stuff was stuff that adults could slip a disc carrying. Maybe. Probably. She wasn't sure what "slipping a disc" meant, in all honesty, but it sounded painful enough. "Y-Y'know..." A bout of nervous laughter left her body -- a bad idea, one that caused her to nearly stumble. "It might be better if you got a cart for all these items...m-my magic can't really hold all this stuff." "And yet you're doing it now." Mandy blinked, taken aback by the sudden snark. "I...w-well, um, y-yes, that's...true. But if I let go of these things, all of them are gonna drop." Her gaze swiveled around the area, attempting to find an empty cart nearby she could use. Lucky for her that she and Clementine were rather close to the entrance in an adjacent aisle, and she was able to wobble over there and retrieve a cart. She tried to gently place the items in the cart, but ended up doing things halfway and nearly throwing some stuff in there she knew wasn't super-fragile. As her magic flickered, the final box of crackers landed inside, and she gave a mighty sigh. "There..." she wheezed, taking the cart and pushing it towards Clementine. "Now it's all in a shopping cart." Clementine's muzzle wrinkled in unease and disgust. "That thing looks like it'll kill me." Mandy sputtered. "Nooooo! Kill you?! No, no, I- what makes you think that?!" "It's got four wheels, a nose that sticks out, and..." Clementine poked at the flap that covered the baby seat. "Whatever this is." Mandy's brow furrowed as she tried to ask herself how and why Clementine didn't know about carts, then a realization hit her. "Ohhhh, right. I forgot. You probably don't have carts in Galagu." She shook her head. "No, no, see, it's not sentient. A cart is meant to hold things so you don't have to carry them. Like..." She moved her gaze about. "Ooh, see that baby?" Clementine looked at where she was pointing. A Pegasus mare was pushing her foal in a cart designed specifically for ponies, the baby cooing happily as it played with a circular toy in its hooves. As she wasn't all too familiar with the equine species, she didn't feel a need to question how or why such a creature had carts or was using them to begin with. "Yes?" "That mom can't hold her baby and all her items at the same time. So she uses a cart to carry both so she doesn't have to!" "Mm." Clementine watched as both mother and baby left the store with the cart. "It does look rather odd." "Plus, you can ride in it too!" Mandy chirped, before backtracking. "Er, well, not when you're big. I tried that once, and I toppled over. It wasn't fun. I got a bad nosebleed from the pavement. Momma punished me good that day." "I think I'll stick to the outside of the cart." Clementine made her way to the back end of the cart, gripping the handle and peering inside of the vehicle. "We're almost done, anyhow." "Really?" "You looked at the list, didn't you?" Mandy twiddled her fingers. "Well, I did, but it seemed so long!" "I needed less than I thought." Mandy nodded, then her gaze drifted to the sign in the next aisle, marked with "Pet Food". She smiled. "Hey, ya need any...dog..." Clementine fixed her with a half-lidded gaze and a raised eyebrow. Mandy couldn't tell whether she was upset or unamused, but she took a guess and assumed it was both. "N-never mind! Tasteless joke, totally tasteless joke!" She let out some nervous laughter that attracted the attention of more than one customer, and certainly more than one employee. "I'll, uh, shut up now." Doing a facepalm, Clementine gave a ragged sigh, her body slightly deflating as she pushed the cart along. She had to ask herself if Mandy was usually this annoying, but of course, the question remained only in her mind and was never spoken aloud. Besides, she was pretty sure the answer was a resounding "yes", anyhow. Mandy, of course, followed, wincing as she began to fret over her blunder being the killing blow that would sever the one chance she had at mending things with Clementine. "Fluttershy, Applejack, you're good to go. Take it easy, okay?" "Mhm." "Thank ya kindly, Doctor!" "Not a problem." As both Fluttershy and Applejack headed out of the Medical Bay, they began heading downstairs to meet up with the others. Bandages littered their bodies, with Applejack's bruised back leg wrapped up in a cast. "I'm glad that no one got seriously hurt." Fluttershy commented. "It was all thanks t' Pinkie suggestin' we use gadgets instead of attackin' those catfolk physically. Otherwise we never would've won!" "Hey there!" The two mares glanced down to see Peaches waving to them, and gave friendly waves back. "Have any of you seen Mandy?" she asked as they arrived in the bullpen. "She wasn't in bed when Olive and I went to check on her." "I was up in Dr. O's office." Applejack explained. "So was Fluttershy. We haven't seen Mandy at all." Peaches sighed. "Where could she have gone?" "Oh! How's Ms. O?" Fluttershy asked. "Still resting in quarantine. She'll probably be out of commission for a few days." The sound of the steel double-doors opening caused everyone to turn their heads towards the newest arrival to the bullpen: Twilight and Rainbow Dash, who quickly made their way over to the trio as soon as they saw them. "Hi, everyone!" "Hey." "Hi!" Peaches greeted. "How were they?" "They behaved well and are heading home now." Twilight reported. "They shouldn't cause trouble for us anymore." "They'd have to be really stupid to try and mess with us again, especially since they're worn out to the max!" "That's a relief." Peaches heaved another sigh. "Thanks for doing that." "No problem." Twilight glanced at Rainbow. "Come on, let's go and see if Olive has any cases for us." As they turned to leave, Peaches stretched a hand out, although her gaze was fixated on Olive, who had gauze wrapped around her exposed stomach. "Wait, hold on! Shouldn't you be resting?" "We're fine." "Yeah, I think we'll be alright." Rainbow stretched out her front leg and rubbed it, examining the large bruise that sat in its crook. "All right, if you insist." Peaches shifted her gaze towards the right-side hallway. "I'm gonna go clean up and take a nap. See you four later." A chorus of goodbyes were the last thing the catgirl heard as she walked away. As she began to make her way towards her room, she closed her eyes in thought. She was relieved that SOHALC had been chased out of town for good, because it meant that both Odd Squad and Mandy were free from Vallea's grasp once again. But she couldn't help but worry about her cousin -- the same one who had a tendency to run after distractions and charge headfirst into battle. She wasn't sure if she was cured or not, but regardless, the worry still festered inside of her. Mandy...I really hope you're safe. And I really hope you aren't going and straining your voice again, either. "Thankies! Have a good day!" "You as well, Mandy! Glad to have met you!" As Mandy gave a friendly laugh in response, Clementine's eye twitched. Her energy had almost been completely sapped out of her just from enduring the girl's conversation with a cashier she hadn't even met. Her eyes darted around in an attempt to find a clock so she could find out just how much time had passed, but found there were none in view. The pair left the store, with Mandy taking half of the bags in her corona and Clementine taking the other half. "It looks like we got everything we need." Clementine said. "And it's a good thing, too. I can't leave the Odd Side unattended for too long." "Why not?" "Strange things will start to happen." Where've you been? Strange things have already been happenin', sister. ...is what Mandy would have snarked, if she weren't in the process of repairing a friendship. "Well that's vague. But I'll take your word for it." she decided on. "You want help carrying these back?" Clementine grit her teeth. Every bone in her body was compelling her to bark out an angry "no" and then maybe an angry "leave me alone". But if she was being honest...she was growing a little attached to Mandy. Annoying as she was, she had a certain charm about her that acted like a magnet, and Clementine could feel herself being pulled into it effortlessly even in spite of her hostility towards the hybrid. She clenched her fists together. She bugs the snot out of me...but...she's just so nice...and...I've always wanted company... But she abandoned me! She left me in the hands of those merciless adults! Only because she had no way to fight back. But she could have done something to- "Yes!" The word came out without consent or warning. Clementine's eyes widened. She had half-expected Mandy to start cheering or throw a party or do something that would irritate her more than that one bad poison ivy rash she got as a child. But the hybrid just smiled and followed Clementine as she walked, not saying anything or doing anything. Of course, unbeknownst to her, Mandy was celebrating solely in her own thoughts. Yeah-ha-ha! Wow, I guess she's starting to warm up to me! This is great! At this rate we'll be best friends in no time! Although...maybe I should take it easy...after all, she does seem a little stand-off-ish. But hey, nothin' I can't fix! Once they arrived back at the throne room, they dropped the bags, Mandy breathing a sigh of relief. "Well, thank you for the help, I suppose." Clementine said, taking her own bags to the right side of her throne. As she knocked on the wall, it spun around to reveal a rather large refrigerator. "It's no problem!" Clementine very nearly dropped her bags as a memory came back to her. It had been when she and Mandy were heading back to Galagu, just before they had crossed the border into another city that she couldn't remember the name of -- how she had lost her barrette, the one she treasured the most since it was a gift from her parents, and how Mandy had found it and said those same words... Tears began to cloud her vision as she stared at Mandy, picking out all the cold food items from the bags and holding them with her magic. In that moment, the bitterness and revenge she had held against Mandy for years slowly and gradually began to ebb away. She felt a new emotion, one she couldn't describe, but one that was warm and familiar. It was one that told her, "I want to befriend this girl." Or, well...she supposed in her case, "I want to befriend this girl again". "Something wrong?" The question snapped her out of her dazed stupor. She blinked at Mandy rapidly, and it took a moment before words came out. "I...I want you to...stay here with me." she posed. "Can you do that?" "Stay here?" Mandy tilted her head. "A-are you sure?" "This is non-negotiable." The words were harsh, constricting, and made sure Mandy had no means of escape -- which were fine by her, because in her mission, this was a good step forward, a large step forward. "Makin' this kinda awkward, aren't we?" she cracked, before nervous laughter left her lips. She composed herself seconds later, however. "Anyway, sure! If you want me to stay, then I'll stay." The sound of Mandy's stomach growling resounded through the room, to the point where Clementine was worried it would trigger a structural collapse. But it didn't -- and Clementine had full control of the room, anyhow, so even if it collapsed, she could always rebuild it. "Um..." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "You got any food I could have from your bags?" Mandy happily consumed an entire mini-sandwich, chewing and swallowing it as her tail beat the ground. "Mmm, you picked out some great stuff!" she chirped. "I have plenty." Clementine smiled, a little surprised by Mandy's voracious eating habits but choosing not to comment on them. "Do you want another one?" "Normally I'd eat it all!" Mandy declared. "But, uh, out of respect...I'll have one more, and that's it, please. I have standards." Reaching into the container, Clementine took out another sandwich and decided to place it in Mandy's hand, forgoing the plate as she had figured out that those were a lost cause. "Here you are." "Thank you!" Just as quickly as she downed the one before, Mandy ate the mini-sandwich in her hand, relishing at the crunchiness of the lettuce and the rich taste of the ham inside. Silence fell among the duo. Clementine fidgeted with her hands, struggling to ease into one of the questions that had gotten her curious about Mandy. "Um...this is going to be awkward, but...what is life like for you now?" Mandy swallowed her sandwich and grinned. "Well, it's pretty great! I have a loving adoptive family now, and lots of nice friends!" She blinked. "Although you've prolly already met a couple of 'em..." Clementine only gave a soft "mm" in response as she ate another sandwich, racking her brain for another conversation piece. Finally, after a minute or two, she decided to settle on one of the other questions that had gotten her curious -- a question that involved a commonality she wanted to dig into deeper. "Hey..." "Hmm?" "About that gift for SOHALC...um, no, wait..." Clementine shook her head. "How are you involved with SOHALC?" Mandy's eyes widened only slightly. She rubbed her arm. "Well, it's kinda complicated, but...the gist of it is that they want to take me and Peaches back to Vallea with them because Peaches didn’t find who razed it, and because...I’m an accomplice. W-well, not really, I didn’t burn it down and neither did she, but...yeah." She stared at the floor. "They created SOHALC in order to find and capture us, but promised to let me go if I brought them gifts daily." Her gaze drifted to Clementine. "Wait, how are you involved with them?" Clementine sighed. "They confronted me as I was coming out of the Odd Side after we...well, you know. They told me that they knew all about my past...that they would tell me all about it and bring me back home if I did not comply with their wishes." "What did they want you to do?" "They wanted me to destroy you, for good. And...I promised them I would." Mandy sat on this information for a minute. So SOHALC got to Clementine, too...they tried to use her to attack me because she's a dog-girl? Is that how they knew her? They don't really know about my friendship with her, do they? She's just someone from a neighboring town of theirs that they're using as a pawn to try and get to me. ...Although knowing King Ashero, guess anything's possible, huh? For all I know he could be one heck of a strateetergist and I wouldn't know it. He probably knows about Odd Squad...and knows that the Odd Side is somehow connected to us. The pieces were falling into place, now. And as they began falling into place, one by one, something became apparent to her. It was almost like a eureka moment. "It sounds like they view us both as the enemies." "Enemies?" "They're after both of us. Although their priority is set on me and Peaches right now, not on you." Mandy explained. "Did you recognize any of the names of the SOHALC members?" "None of them." Mandy bit her lip as she stared at the far-off wall, not noticing Clementine's eyes beginning to well up with tears again. Perhaps "they're after both of us" was a little strong -- after all, who knew if Vallea was going after Clementine with as much intensity and drive as they were going after Peaches and Mandy -- but years of being an Odd Squad agent had taught her to never ignore a hunch, especially when that hunch was right and had more legs to stand on than a millipede. Finally, she looked to her left, and she saw tears streaming down Clementine's face. "Are you crying again?" "No. I'm fine." The response was instant, and the wiping of tears came even faster. The sniffle was apparent, however. "I'll be okay. You should probably head home before the Odd Side corrupts you." Mandy had forgotten about the dangers of the Odd Side entirely. Strangely enough, though, she didn't feel her mind becoming twisted in any way -- at least, not more twisted than it already was. "But I thought you wanted me to stay?" she asked. "There is always tomorrow." Clementine said. "Can you come tomorrow?" "U-um...sure! I can come tomorrow. If you want." As Mandy stood up, Clementine fixed her with a warm smile, a light blush creeping along her cheeks. "Thank you. For spending time with me today. I...I appreciate it." Mandy had to fight hard to not burst with excitement. "It was nothing, really!" she chirped. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" The hybrid took to the sky and flew off, giving Clementine one last "bye" before the throne doors closed behind her. It was only then that she began squealing with excitement, and the entire fly back, she began talking to herself endlessly, going on tangents about all the fun things she could do with Clementine and how she was oh so close to befriending her fully and wondering what she liked to do and what foods she liked to eat. Unbeknownst to her, however, it seemed that her mission of befriending Clementine had already been well-achieved. The words came effortlessly. The tears, thick and solid, came just as well. "Goodbye...my old friend." As Olive piled some papers together, a sigh left her, which only served to aggravate her wounds. The clutching of her stomach and the wishing of the pain's disappearance left her immune to distractions, such as- "Partner!" Olive blinked. Turned her head to the right. And smiled. "Otto!" she cried out, embracing her friend in a warm hug. "You all right?" Otto asked, before his gaze drifted to the gauze around Olive's stomach. "Uh, besides that." "Well, I've got some cuts elsewhere, some bruises, and a fair bit of soreness." A tired chuckle left the girl. "But nothing life-threatening." "Thank odd." Otto breathed a sigh of relief. "So what happened with that organization?" "We beat them in a fierce battle and ran them out of town." Olive explained. "They shouldn't cause trouble anymore." "Good. Are the others okay?" "Yup! Just minor injuries all around." Otto glanced up at Oprah's office. "How's Oprah?" "Still in quarantine, resting. She'll probably be there for a couple more days." She gazed at him hopefully. "Think you can manage running the precinct alone until then?" "Better idea: how about we trade off?" he said. "I'll handle Director duties here tomorrow, and you run our precinct." Olive chuckled. "Sounds like a plan!" The sound of the automatic doors opening caught both Directors' attention, and they turned their heads to look. Joy and relief began filling their chests as they saw exactly who had arrived. "Mandy, there you are!" Olive called. "Where have you been? Everyone's been asking about you!" She gasped. "Is your voice back?" For a moment, Mandy didn't respond. She made her way over, but kept her eyes glued to the floor. And then came: "Yeah, my voice is back." "Thank odd!" came the unisonant cry. "Okay, next question: where have you been?" Olive repeated. "I was..." Mandy gave a small smile. "...with a friend. An old friend of mine." Silence. Olive and Otto leaned in, as though expecting a barrage of words to come flying at them. But nothing came. "Care to elaborate?" "I'll have to decline." Otto's eyes widened. His gaze flicked to Olive, who only gave an unsure shrug. "Are you feeling alright?" Olive asked. "You're still not your usual self, even though you don't have laryngitis anymore." "I'm fine. I just...have a lot on my mind." Mandy replied, giving a weary chuckle. "Oh." was Olive's initial response as she stared at Mandy for a little while longer until the smile returned to her face. "Well, you'll be happy to know that SOHALC has been run out of town." Otto tilted his head. "SOHALC?" "The secret organization." Then, to Mandy, "Peaches, the ponies and I gave them a good beatdown. They shouldn't harm you anymore, okay?" It took a few moments for Mandy's brain to catch up to what Olive said, but when it did, she became elated -- or, well, as elated as she could get in her exhausted state. If Olive and Otto's reactions were any indication, SOHALC hadn't just been thrown out of town, but they had failed to capture Peaches too, which was a good thing. The fact that everyone knew about her affiliation with SOHALC didn't matter to her anymore, and she no longer had to keep the terrible secret bottled up inside of her. It just made her day all the better. "And please, don't give them gifts anymore." Olive added. "There's no need. Twilight and Rainbow Dash told us everything. We know about the sleepwalking, too, so hopefully that won't crop up again." Mandy sighed. "I didn't wanna tell you..." "Because you didn't want them to go after you." Otto finished. "Mhm." Olive grabbed Mandy and pulled her into a hug, her body jerking slightly with another bolt of pain that shot through her stomach. "Well, you're safe now." she said. "They're heading back to Vallea. The organization is dead and gone." Secretly, Mandy had already known SOHALC was just four catpeople sent by Ashero. But she wasn't sure. Oddness was everywhere, after all, and what laws prohibited four humans from dressing up in dark cloaks and threatening murder by proxy if a victim didn't comply with their demands? Olive let go of Mandy, but still kept a grip on her shoulders. "Why don't you go and take a rest? Maybe Otto can make you some dinner if you're too tired to cook." Mandy shook her head. "I had dinner already. But I can always make some more food for myself if I need it. Thanks for the offer, though." As her head moved towards the right-side hallway, another eureka moment hit her. Dinner...Clementine...Galagu...yes! I know how I can fully re-form the friendship! Oh, why didn't I see it before? It'll be perfect! "Wait, wait, I got it! Thanks for the suggestion, guys!" were her final words before her feet took her straight to the Breakroom. Olive and Otto merely blinked in surprise as they stared after her. It wasn't long after she began rummaging through the cabinet that sat at floor-level in the wall that she heard footsteps approaching her, and then a familiar voice. "Cuz! Oh, there you are! You weren't in bed so I thought you went missing." A barrage of clattering and clanging pots and pans was her response as Mandy moved about in the cabinet. Peaches tilted her head curiously. "No, just went to see an old friend." came Mandy's actual response, as she yanked out a plate, a mixing bowl, and a few utensils. "Ah!" "Huh. Well, we ran that nasty organization out of town!" "Yeah, I know, I heard." Mandy pulled herself up on her feet. "Look, do we have any lettuce?" "Lettuce?" Peaches did a quick sweep through the refrigerators that lined the walls, as though expecting a head of lettuce to just be sitting inside one of them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were none, but it did make her realize something. "Uhh, last I checked, Olly came through yelling that she needed to go get some..." "It'll take her seventy light-years just to get it!" Mandy gave a groan. "Whatever, I'll go myself. Stand guard and don't let anyone touch this stuff, okay?" "Uh...o...kay...?" "I'm headin' back to Shop and Savor!" "Shop and what?" Peaches didn't get an answer to that, as Mandy was gone in nearly an instant, taking off for, and through, the double-doors. Olive and Otto watched the ordeal go down. "There she goes." "And Peaches is guarding kitchen supplies." Their eyes went half-lidded. Hands rested in cheeks. Typical of partners with strong chemistry, they moved as one unit, and thought as one unit. "Typical day at Odd Squad." Clementine emerged from the portal connecting Toronto and the Odd Side, getting to her feet with a huff. It was a pity that she had forgotten something she hadn't put on her grocery list, but a return trip to Shop and Savor would, of course, clear that right up. "Well well well. Look who it is." The familiar voice stopped the dog-girl cold. The source of the voice showing her humanoid face threatened to send her to her knees. She gasped. "You." The source smiled her rather wicked cat smile. "Did you forget the deal you made with us?" "No, of course I didn't forget!" "Good. So I trust you succeeded?" Clementine hesitated for only a moment. "W-well...no, but-" "Ah ah ah. No buts. It was a 'yes or no' question. If you haven't destroyed Mandy yet, then that's on you." The source huffed, her short bob of a tail flicking from side to side. "Need I remind you that we are more than willing to take you back to Galagu?" Clementine's eyes shimmered with a sense of familiarity, fixating on a random point in the sky. "Galagu..." "Yes, your old home. Our King has mentioned it once or twice. Often lacing the name with enough venom to wipe out an entire army of catpeople." The source began fiddling with a few strands of her long blonde hair, her expression one of disappointment. "Look. We may not have been able to bring Peaches back, and we haven't found Mandy yet..." The expression then turned malicious. "...but perhaps taking you back is enough to prevent us from being executed." Something in Clementine snapped, and she returned to her senses, baring her teeth at the enemy. "You'll never make me come with you, Aozora." Aozora, on the contrary, grinned. "I thought so." Clementine barely even had time to react against Aozora's blinding speed, as the catgirl unsheathed her claws and landed a mighty blow on the dog-girl, who gave a yelp of pain as she stumbled backwards and landed on her rump. "Which is why I'm going to take you back by force- aah!" Aozora winced, and her body began to slightly shake. "Nngh...that stupid fight, it wore me thin..." She slowly raised a hand. "But I will never give up!" Clementine's eyes widened. Even in spite of the pain a majority of her front was feeling, she couldn't help but smile. "So you are weak. And meanwhile, I am strong." Unfortunately, her hope of having the upper hand was squashed by Aozora returning to normal and rearing up, both of her hands in the sky now. "We'll just see about that." More attacks were made on the front, serving to amplify the pain Clementine was feeling. She let out a sorrowful and painful howl, a cry for help that echoed into the air. "Yeah, how do you like that?" Aozora taunted, capping it off with a round of light chuckling. As Clementine opened her eyes, they began to water. She could feel blood beginning to soak her clothes. "P-please, stop!" "What's the matter? Can't fight back?" Aozora crossed her arms. "I'd think that since you're from Galagu you could easily have some battle prowess. But if you're not gonna even bother, then it's not fun!" Something else snapped in Clementine right then and there. She bared her teeth, a growl rumbling about in her throat as she reared her feet back before giving Aozora a mighty kick. This sent the catgirl flying a little ways, and it took a few moments before her body met the ground again. "Ha!" Aozora snapped right out of it. "You're gonna pay for that!" Within seconds, she had Clementine by the neck -- quite literally, as her claws sunk into the dog-girl's neck. Clementine had opportunity to give another howl, as the claws hadn't sunken so far in as to damage her vocal cords. Aozora thrust her face into Clementine's, enough to give a single warning. "You have five seconds to tell me where Mandy is, or I will kill you and take your body home as a prize along with hers!" "Stop! NO!! STOP!!" Just as Clementine gathered her willpower together to send another cry for help, another familiar cry, this time one of singsong, cut through the air. "Tiiiiimbeeeeer!" A hammer came spinning right for Aozora, at such a high rate of speed that not even she could dodge it. It hit her dead-on, making her release her grip on Clementine's neck and sending her flying once again. Five seconds after she hit ground, her head lifted. "What in the name of the-" "Don't you dare touch her, Aozora!" Rubbing her neck, Clementine's eyes widened as she turned to look at her savior. "You!" Sure enough, there stood Mandy, arms crossed and wearing a triumphant smirk. Her corona allowed her hammer to come right back to her, and she held it out for both combatants to see. A bout of manic laughter left Aozora as she slowly got to her feet. "Looks like I didn't need to go hunting for my prey. My prey came to me!" "Save it!" Mandy barked. "You're weak enough as it is. Give up now..." She threw her hammer up into the air, allowing it to complete three full spin-cycles before she caught it in her hands and held it outwards in a showy pose very reminiscent of a magical girl's once they finished transforming. "...or feel the wrath of my hammer!" Aozora growled. "I refuse to be executed by King Ashero!" she declared, charging after Mandy with a piercing yowl. Mandy, being used to catpeople's speed thanks to both Peaches and Orino, simply stayed in place, the cat smile remaining on her face as the handle of her hammer became swept up in her corona. Her swing to Aozora's face was a direct hit, and thanks to its brute power, it sent the catgirl flying further than Clementine's kick move did, allowing gravity to, in turn, allow her to give a painful yowl before letting her add in a few hard knocks to the dirt and a skid stop for good measure. "Aozora!" Both Clementine and Mandy turned to look at Zifia, rushing over in her cat form to tend to her comrade. "Aozora, are you alright?" Aozora gave a growl, weaker this time around. "I'm fine, Zifia- nngh!" "You can't beat them. They're stronger than you are." Zifia warned. "If you keep going like this, you won't be getting an execution from King Ashero because you'll die right here!" Unfortunately for her, Aozora wasn't keen on listening, as she struggled to get to her feet. "As long as I can stand...I will fight. I don't think I need to-" "Aozora, watch out!" Zifia had leaped out of the way just in time, her hearing having detected the sound of Mandy teleporting. Aozora, on the other hand, was not so lucky. One open mouth of shock only invited the head of a hammer to come and live there as a temporary squatter. The sounds of choking were, of course, included in the lease. "Well." Mandy landed on the ground, tucking her wings in. "That was easy." "Aozora, wait!" "Aozora!" Both Kenji and Yuki arrived on the scene in their cat forms, stopping cold when they saw their leader in her current state. "I knew you were weak from your last battle with Peaches and the others. You never stood a single chance. You won't beat us." Zifia rolled her eyes. "I could've told you that!" "Now, I'll give you -- and your comrades -- two options." Mandy said. "You can leave for Vallea and never return, or I can kill you right here, right now." She narrowed her eyes. "So what's it gonna be, Aozora?" All she got in return was a bout of muffled speech, leading her to sigh and remove the hammer from the catgirl's mouth and allow her to breathe -- and also cough. "Well?" Another cough. "Fine! Fine. We'll leave. We'll leave and never come back." Then, her body wracked with a final cough. "You were right, Zifia. She's too strong. We can't beat her." "Darn straight." Mandy's tail lashed back and forth. "And you can tell King Ashero that if he really wants to capture us so badly, then it's already been made clear -- he'll need to get off of his lazy tush and do it himself." Aozora's eyes widened. "Now leave. AND DON'T COME BACK!!" And that was all the incentive she needed to book it, changing back into her cat form and darting away. Mandy watched her go for a moment before her gaze moved to the other three ex-SOHALC members. "You three as well. I don't want to see your filthy faces around here again, unless you're askin' for a face-bashin'." Zifia didn't bother to argue. "You heard her. Let's go." With that, she, along with Kenji and Yuki, ran after Aozora, right in the direction of the town line. Another fling of the hammer into the air, another three spin cycles, and another capture of it in Mandy's hand as she held it out. "And that's how we do it!" Clementine blinked, having been rendered speechless by the awe she had felt just watching Mandy in action. The pain she had been feeling had mostly gone away throughout the ordeal, but had come back just as quickly, and she winced in pain as she struggled to understand the reasoning behind it all. "I...y-you...you saved me." She stared at Mandy. "Why did you save me?" "You were in trouble. There was no way you could fight back. And because..." Mandy looked back at her, and smiled. "Because you're my friend." The floodgates opened. A rush of memories flooded Clementine's brain as it began to warp, as though attempting to break free from a trance. Her entire body shook as she stared into that face...that beaming, hopeful face that she had befriended and journeyed with. She understood everything now -- why Mandy did what she did, why she had suffered through such hardships and came back kicking every time, why she had been so nice to her even after she had willingly attacked her...why she had even attacked her to begin with... She's grown up...she's so strong... So strong, that now, she's fully able to protect her friends. Including myself. ...Including myself... Tears cascaded down her face. Her eyes began to shake and quiver. Wordlessly, and without any regards to her injuries or to her pain, she reached up and pulled Mandy into a tight hug, loudly sobbing into the hybrid's chest. "T-take it easy there, huh?" "I-I'm sorry, it's just..." Clementine gave an ugly-sounding sniffle. "Seeing you rush in to save me...I'm so grateful, and..." She grit her teeth. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" "Sorry?" "I know now. I know why you abandoned me all those years ago." Clementine's pupils grew. "You really couldn't fight back. The mob...you were outnumbered. Your magic and flight skills were weak. And if you tried to fight with your hands and feet, you could have put us both in danger." Mandy's eyes widened as she realized exactly what was going on. She shook her head furiously. "Nonono, I'm sorry! I should have stayed behind and fought, even without my flight or my magic. It wasn’t right to abandon a friend like that." She folded her ears downwards. "You were right. I was a coward. A-and when I went to rescue Applejack and Apple Bloom, I...I lost control of my temper. You were telling the truth." Tears began falling from her eyes, now. "I’m in the wrong, not you!" The words were a scream, punctuated only by a hiccup that threatened to ruin the mood. The two girls stared at each other. Seconds later, they were hugging each other. Pitiful wails, sorrowful howls and choking sobs were exchanged. Within the messy din, they found room to say a few more words to each other. "I'm sorry!" "So am I!" Neither Mandy nor Clementine knew how much time had passed by the time they broke free of one another. They smiled, their eyes red and bloodshot. "Thank you. For saving me." "It was nothing, really. Thank you...for accepting me." Mandy rubbed her arm. "Could we maybe-" "Start over as friends?" Mandy looked up and blinked a few times. Clementine gave a small chuckle. "Of course we can, Mandy. Let's be the best of friends!" Mandy could feel her eyes beginning to water again as she leapt at Clementine and lifted her up into a tight hug, ignoring the spluttering sounds the dog-girl began to make. As soon as she put her down, a realization came to her. "Wait! What about the Odd Side?" The Odd Side. Clementine had forgotten all about it in the wake of Aozora attacking her. And now that Mandy had brought it up, she began to realize just what that sensation in her brain was. "The Odd Side...it isn't where I belong." she murmured. "It doesn't need a ruler to keep things running. My home is Galagu, and it always will be." Mandy gasped. "That means...the Odd Side corrupted you!" "I suppose so." The hybrid's mouth pinched inwards. And then her ears flapped a little as she began to recall everything that had happened with Clementine -- going to the Odd Side and recognizing it as a hostile environment, fighting with her over Applejack and Apple Bloom, her stand-off-ish-ness and hostility even before Mandy went utterly berserk. Wait...how the heck did Momma and Otto not realize that?! was a question that sat there, but then rotted and decomposed just as quickly as she had made it up, because frankly, neither Olive nor Otto knew jack about what the Odd Side was truly about. A new one formed soon enough, though. "Wait! A-are you sure you don't wanna come back with me, to Odd Squad? Peaches is there, a-and you can even help out if you want!" Clementine shook her head. "I don't think my skills will be of much help. Although..." "Yeah?" "I don't have anywhere to stay now. I can't go back to the Odd Side. And I need these wounds treated." Clementine stared at the slowly-setting sun, still pretty high in the sky. "Is it possible...you could stay with me?" She perked up. "Oh, uh, n-no, I-I-I mean..." "You wanna stay with me?" Clementine stared at Mandy. "You would allow that?" "Well..." Mandy twiddled her index fingers about. "My boss is kiiiiinda outta commission right now, and I'm the next in line to be leader, so...I'll say yes!" Clementine gave a giddy laugh. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" "However!" Mandy raised one index finger. "We can't let those groceries you bought go to waste, can we?" She giggled. "I'll go get them for ya, and close the portal to the Odd Side too! Anything valuable ya have there?" "Not really. Just the groceries." "Okay-dokay! Stay here, I'll be right back!" With mighty wingbeats, Mandy raced into the portal at a breakneck speed. It only took her about fifteen or so minutes to retrieve the groceries, and to her surprise, she was able to carry the rest of the bags with ease through the portal. She chalked it up to her energy and drive having been fully returned to her, and didn't bother to question anything past that. As soon as she was out of the portal, she used the reverse settings on her Portal-inator to close it. "I'm back!" she declared, making her way over to Clementine, who was leaning up against a tree and clutching her front. "We used up a couple groceries from our...uh, meal, but I got all of them! And the portal's closed too." "Thank you..." Clementine winced again, squeezing her eyes shut. "Now c'mon, hop on my back!" Mandy urged. "We should get you some treatment for those wounds of yours." "Hop on...what?" "Oh! I like to give rides to people and ponies. My spine became strong enough to support the weight of two, if you can believe it, I mean..." Mandy gave a laugh throughout her words. "Human anatomy, amirite?" Clementine was still a bit hesitant, but another pang of pain shooting through her stomach ultimately made her cave in. She slowly got on Mandy's back, her hands gripping her friend's shoulder blades in a way that she hoped wasn't too tight. "Now hold on tight!" Mandy warned, spreading her angelic wings far and wide. "You're not gonna go super-fast, are you?" Clementine asked warily, as she eyed the wings. "Nah! For you, I'd always go easy." Peaches fiddled with a pencil on Olive's desk. "The calls have slowed down substantially, huh?" "You said it." Olive sighed, poking at the wrinkles that she had felt forming under her eyes. "Now I know how Mandy must have felt. At least at my own precinct I don't go home feeling as weary as this at the end of the day." "Hey, look on the bright side! Maybe Oprah will get better as soon as tomorrow. Dr. O did say he gave her a special fast-acting cure." "I hope so." Olive said. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up." The sound of the double-doors opening snapped everyone out of the cloud of fatigue. Sure enough, it was Otto, there to brighten Olive's evening and perhaps share some of his boundless energy with her. "Hey, partner!" "Hey." "You feeling okay?" "A little worn-down..." Olive stretched her body out. "...but nothing I can't handle. How were things back there?" "Pretty good! Steady workflow, no conflicts, and I got to go home early!" Otto grinned. "And yes, I did all our nightly duties, before you ask." "Good." "Isn't Mandy back from the store yet?" Peaches asked. "It's been a while." Olive tilted her head. "Is that where she went?" "She said that she had to get lettuce. Not sure why. Olly came back with some a long time ago..." "Maybe she had some separate business to take care of?" The sound of laughing could be heard through the bullpen as the double-doors opened. Mandy and Clementine walked through, the former clutching her chest with one hand as she wiped stray tears away with the other. "Oh, Clementine..." Mandy gave a wheeze, a sign that her lungs were crying for air. "You're such a crack-up!" "Am I?" Clementine tilted her head. "I've never really thought of myself as much of a joke-maker, but..." "The word...the word i-" Mandy gave a few hacking coughs. "C-comedian! The word's comedian!" she finally eked out. "And nonsense! You...could be a one-dogperson act at standup comedy!" "What's 'standup comedy'?" "A-" Mandy stopped. Blinked a couple times. And then a blush crept across her face. "Oh. I forgot. You're not used to customs here, are ya? Sorry about that." "It's all right. Although I do want to know more about this place you call..." Clementine rolled her hand. "Toh-rain-toe." "No, no! It's 'tuh-ron-tow'! Tuh, ron, tow!" "...Tuh-ron-tow. Toronto." "There ya go!" Mandy began to head for the Breakroom. "Now c'mon. I'll go put these groceries away! All the frozen stuff's gonna get spoiled! You, missy, go on up there and get some treatment from Dr. O." Peaches sighed as she watched the pair move in separate directions. "And there she goes." "Wow, she didn't even say hi to us!" Otto remarked, his tone having just an edge of hurt to it. Olive stared for a few moments as she finally recognized just who Mandy had brought back. "W-w-wait...guys, that's Clementine! The ruler of the Odd Side!" "That's Clementine?!" Peaches' words were practically a yowl as she too stared at the dog-girl, who was entering the Medical Bay. "Yeah. That's the girl we came across when Mandy took us to the Odd Side to rescue Agent Applejack and Agent Apple Bloom." Otto explained. "Do you recognize her, Peaches?" The catgirl thrust her face right into Olive's. "Do I recognize her?!" She pulled backwards, and in a much calmer tone of voice, said, "Well, no...I didn't know what she looked like up until now, and the name didn't ring a bell..." And then, being nose-to-nose with Olive again, she screamed, "But that's who attacked my cousin?!" Olive placed a hand right over Peaches' face and gave a mighty push. "Yes. That, indeed, is the one who attacked Mandy. After Mandy attacked her." "But...Mandy's so friendly with her now!" Peaches gasps. "That means-" "What? What does it mean?" Otto asked. "She took my advice to heart." A smile formed on Peaches' face. "She became friends with Clementine! Ha, I knew she could do it!" Olive's eyes became half-lidded. "It's like I told Zifia. Never doubt Mandy's ability to mend friendships." "Maybe that's why Mandy wasn't acting like her usual self." Otto theorized. "She wanted to make things up to Clementine for what she did in the past. And for how she acted when she went to rescue Applejack and Apple Bloom." "You're right on the money with that, partner." The phone ringing snapped the trio out of their people-watching, and Olive reached over to pick it up. "Hello, Precinct 13579, how can I help you?" "..." "Uh-huh...you got it, sir, we'll send someone over there right away! Thank you! Buh-bye now." As Olive placed the phone onto the receiver, her gaze moved around the bullpen in an effort to spot any stray agents that looked like they weren't busy. As luck would have it, two such agents entered the bullpen from the left-side hallway, deep in conversation. "Hey! Applejack, Rarity!" The two mares looked up and began making their way over. "Oh, hello, Olive, darling!" "Howdy!" Applejack waved. "How're things goin' with your Director duties?" "Pretty well." Olive smiled. "A man needs your help, though -- something about his furniture being turned into washers. You two up for solving it?" Applejack hesitated for a moment, wondering if Olive meant the bolt kind of washer and not the appliance. Still, she nodded. "Sure thing! Aren't we, partner?" Rarity giggled. "Of course, partner. We'll go and solve that right now!" "See y'all in a bit!" The trio watched the partner pair leave with smiles on their faces, oblivious to Mandy and a patched-up Clementine coming up to them next. "Hiya, Momma!" "Mandy!" Olive's expression was nothing short of relief as she turned to face her adopted daughter. "It's good to see you in high spirits again." "Uh-huh!" Mandy pulled Clementine closer to her. "I'm sure you and Otto have met Clementine, I mean of course, you guys were there for that whole thing..." Clementine waved. "Hi." "Hi! I'm Olive, of the Odd Squad precinct the next town over from here." Olive gestured to Otto. "This is my partner, Otto, who co-runs the precinct with me." "Hey! Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you two as well." Mandy bounced over to Peaches, pulling her close as well. "And this is my cousin, Peaches!" "Oh!" Clementine eyed the catgirl. "You're from Vallea, right?" "That's right." Peaches nodded. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Clementine." "Same to you as well!" Clementine tilted her head. "I must say, it's quite odd how I don't recognize you." Peaches simply shrugged. "Well, the feeling is mutual. But hopefully we can become good friends!" she said. "I know how Vallea and Galagu see each other as enemies, and how your queen isn't one for violence. I, um..." She twiddled her fingers. "...had to deliver a letter to Galagu a long time ago." "Queen Weylyn?" The name tasted weird on Clementine's tongue -- had it really been that long since she had been in Galagu? "Yes, you're right. The people of Galagu don't like inciting violence. We only fight if we need to." She sighed. "I plan on returning there, as a matter of fact. It has, unfortunately, been quite a while. It will be nice, to be able to see my friends and family again." "I see." Peaches nodded. "I wish you the best of luck, then." "Thank you, Peaches. I promised Mandy I would write letters whenever I got the opportunity, but perhaps I'll write you some as well." "That would be wonderful. Please do!" Mandy blinked, wondering exactly how and when Peaches had gotten more eloquent. She made a mental note to check the character description of her cousin later. "Sorry to butt in, but..." Otto had to resist snickering at his own pun. "What happened to you? Why is there blood on your shirt?" "Oh!" Clementine pulled her shirt out a little ways to examine it, as though having not noticed the stain before. Indeed, she had been so caught up in fighting Aozora and Mandy saving her that she barely noticed it. "I was attacked by SOHALC after exiting the Odd Side. Luckily, Mandy arrived just in time to save me." Olive, Otto and Peaches all stared for a minute or two. Neither Clementine nor Mandy knew whether they were stares of shock or anger. "So they came back..." Olive finally lamented, pinching the bridge of her nose with her two index fingers. "After we beat them and everything!" Mandy scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, they didn't put up too much of a fight. Aozora was already weakened from whatever you guys did, and everyone else was tryna convince her not to fight! But she did anyway." She laid a hand on Clementine's shoulder. "Luckily Clementine didn't get hurt too badly!" "Don't worry about me, Mandy. I'm fine." Clementine assured, before giving a soft sigh and letting her gaze rest on the trio. "Mandy helped me see that the Odd Side had corrupted me. It's not my home. I belong in Galagu." "She was corrupted. Just like what you guys were talkin' about!" Mandy offered for an addendum. Olive tilted her head slightly. "How'd that happen?" "I'm...not too sure." Clementine rubbed her head. "My memory is rather fuzzy. One minute I was in Galagu and the next minute I was in the Odd Side..." Peaches bit her lip. "So...you're not staying here?" she asked, her tone carrying a level of heartbreak within it. "No. I'm heading back to Galagu tomorrow." "But why?" Peaches begged. "You could stay here in Odd Squad! I'm sure Oprah -- she's the leader here -- she wouldn't mind! We could get to know each other more!" Clementine merely shook her head. "I'm sorry, Peaches. But I don't belong here, even if this 'Oprah' character would let me stay." She gazed into the catgirl's eyes. "I have made up my mind. Please, try to understand." Peaches opened her mouth, as though aiming for another attempt, but closed it just as quickly as she realized that any further attempts would likely be futile. Deep down inside, she knew Clementine was right -- both of them had vastly different approaches to staying in Odd Squad. Peaches had left because she was exiled by Ashero and needed a place to stay, while Clementine simply needed a place to stay for the night after leaving the corrupting Odd Side because Galagu was too far to journey to in the span of a day. Peaches was a permanent resident, and Clementine was not. Secretly, it hurt the catgirl. As many friends as she had in Odd Squad, Clementine was one of the only ones whom she had felt a personal connection with. And she was just leaving...it almost didn't seem fair. But she forced herself to swallow that pill. "I can't force you." she said. "In that case...good luck." "Thank you." Clementine looked around. "Now, is there any place I could possibly sleep? A free bed, perhaps?" "Can you shapeshift into a dog?" Clementine turned to face Peaches again, taking a few seconds to process her strange question. "Er, yes...why?" "You could sleep in Mandy's room. She can have a dog bed ready for you in seconds flat!" Mandy nodded enthusiastically. "It's true. I've got two ways." "Well, I don't mind either way. I'm flexible." "GreatI'llgomakeoneberightback!" And off the hybrid went, her feet taking her down the right-side hallway and turning a corner. Olive bit back a groan as, before she sharply turned the corner, Mandy nearly collided with the back wall. But she caught herself just in time. "I will say this..." Clementine said. "It's amazing to see how Mandy has turned out." "What do you mean by that?" Olive asked. "When I first came across her, she was sad. Angry. Scared. She held so much resentment for Odd Squad kicking her out." Clementine smiled. "But now, she's so full of energy and life. It fills my heart and makes me happy, just like how her heart is filled and she's happy." Peaches sighed. "Well, that's Mandy for you. She always brightens up our moods with her crazy antics." "She can get grating, and annoying, and...exhausting..." Olive rubbed her head, her mind partially shutting down before her energy was sapped by the many memories of Mandy's enthusiasm taking its toll on her. "But honestly, it's hard to stay mad at her. Even as a baby, she was more calm and peaceful." Clementine stared at Olive. "You knew her as a baby?" "If you can believe it..." Olive pointed to herself. "I'm Mandy's adoptive mother." Clementine did a double-take right then and there. She looked Olive up and down, looked down the hallway Mandy had gone through, and back again. "You?" "I know, I look young." "You?" "It's a long story." "...You." "Don't keep pushing it." "Sorry, it's just..." Clementine stammered, trying to find more words to say, but none came. She became fixated on Otto instead. "So that must mean you're the adoptive father, right?" Otto's eyes widened. He took a visible step back and threw up his hands. "Me? Nonono, I'm not her father. I'm a friend of hers." "Oh." "I raised Mandy from infancy into the agent we see today." Olive explained. "It was hard work, but to me, it definitely paid off." "That...makes sense." Clementine said, still a little bewildered and confused. "Uh, y-you did a good job, Olive." "Thank you!" The sudden arrival of Mandy via a very stealthy whoosh of air was punctuated by a cloud of dust that kicked up around her. "I'm back!" she declared, showing the group the dog bed she had made. Large, red, and made with a cloud-like material -- perhaps it was made of clouds. If it was, no one could tell. "Here you go, Clementine, one large dog bed! I, uh, didn't know what breed of dog you were, but..." Clementine laughed. "That's okay. Thank you, Mandy." "Oh!" Mandy perked up. "Um, I was making you bone salad before I realized I didn't have any lettuce. As a sort of make-up present." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Do...you still want it?" Clementine's eyes shimmered. "I love bone salad! Oh, count me in!" "Yay! Let's go!" Olive, Peaches and Otto all watched as Mandy crafted a bone salad in the Breakroom. They weren't exactly sure what bones she had put in there, and it was a bit terrifying to think about if they dwelled on the question too long, so they moved on to other topics of conversation. Finally, after a few minutes, Mandy laid a bowl down in front of Clementine. "Et voila! Bone salad!" Clementine eyed it for a few moments, feeling her mouth begin to water. "It looks wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you were so good at cooking!" "Weeeeell, I'm more of a baker, really..." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "Blame Pinkie Pie. She threw a cookbook at me and broke my computer, and I never looked back!" Eagerly, Clementine took a huge chunk of the salad and shoved it into her mouth. "So good!" she said, resting her hands on her cheeks. "Lemme know if you want more!" Mandy said, looking upwards. "Ocean's got a tooooon of bones up there in the Creature Room that he doesn't mind me using. Not sure why..." Clementine had the bowl halfway empty within a few minutes. "Hey, take it easy! The last thing you need's a tummyache!" Mandy patted her own stomach. "Besides, eating like that is my thing!" "Mm?" Clementine looked up and swallowed her bite. "Oh! Sorry, it's just...bone salad is one of my favorite delicacies back in Galagu. It's been so long since I've had it!" Mandy took a seat and eyed Clementine as she continued to eat. "Well, eat up! I've got plenty." she said, choosing to take some salad for her own and leaving the bones out of her mouth by the end of it since they weren't the soft squishy kind she liked. Once Mandy had cleaned up the dishes, she headed up to the Medical Bay, where she received the news that Oprah would be right as rain tomorrow. Relief coursed through her -- not just relief that her boss would be healthy, but relief that she and Olive didn't have to play O for a Day anymore. It was stuff like this that made her realize that, for the hierarchical position she was in, she could never be a Director. Not now, anyway. After going through her nighttime routine, she showed Clementine around and briefed her on the "Handle Mandy with Care" manual. "Now, if there's an emergency, you can wake me up. It might take me a while before I actually do, though." the hybrid explained. "I'm not gonna bore ya with details, but lemme sum up: I'm a really deep sleeper, and, uh..." "You still snore, don't you?" The deadpan question made Mandy blink a few times. "S-snore?" she muttered, before launching into a stilted laugh. "Ah- I- I- don't-" She leaned on her bed for support. "I don't know what you're talking about!" A sigh. Clementine stared at her. "...Yes. I snore." "I figured. Many nights on our journey was I kept awake by you 'sawing wood', as they say." Clementine playfully rolled her eyes. "Aah-ha-haaaa..." The laugh lacked any sense of enthusiasm as Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out a pair of earmuffs. "Well, if you want, you can use these. Fluttershy gave me these when I was sleep-flying all around town...bit of a long story there..." She placed them in Clementine's hands. "But they're great soundproofers!" Clementine tilted her head slightly, gave a soft hum of curiosity, and then smiled. "Thank you. I'll have to try these out." Closing her eyes, the dog-girl began to change form. It was much like Peaches -- a bright shimmer of light that was inching ever-close to blinding. Within seconds, she became, to Mandy's surprise, a yellow Labrador Retriever. The earmuffs remained on her leg, swaying back and forth slightly. "...Well that was a lil' unexpected." Ignoring Mandy's comment, Clementine sat and placed the earmuffs over her ears. They didn't necessarily work all too well due to how the ears were facing downwards, but it was a better solution for her than getting less-than-ideal sleep due to all the sleep noises her friend made. "Much better." Mandy simply stared as Clementine climbed into her bed and did a few round-trip spins on it before laying down in a tight ball. "Good night, Mandy." It took the words a little while to connect to Mandy's intricate brain, but when they did, she stammered out a "Oh, g-g-good night!" before climbing into her own bed and allowing sleep to claim her, while at the same time disallowing her from thinking about Clementine any further. Clementine woke up first, of course. It had been like that for the journey to Galagu, and it was like that in Odd Squad too. Her jaws parted in a yawn, and her whole body shuddered with the recoil of morning breath. Slowly rising to her paws, she stretched out her body and turned her head to the clock that sat at Mandy's nightstand. 6:00. So early. She looked at Mandy. I hate to wake her now, but she'll be sad if she finds that I disappeared suddenly. After changing back into her more humanoid form, she made her way over to the snoring hybrid, with one leg and one arm draped over the side of the bed, and gently shook her. "Mandy? Mandy, wake up." No response. Clementine heaved a sigh and tried again, shaking her a little harder this time. "Please? It's time." A frantic waving of hands and a cry of pure gibberish brought Mandy back to the waking world. Her head slowly turned to look at Clementine through half-lidded, crusty eyes, the popping sound her neck made going completely unnoticed by her. "I have to go now, if I'm going to make it far." Mandy's ears slowly folded downwards. Likewise, her entire body slumped forwards. Clementine smiled. "Still not a morning person either, hmm?" She chuckled. "I'm sorry. But I thought you would at least want to see me off." A squeaky yawn made its way out of Mandy. "Yeah, I do..." she muttered. "But y' couldn't wait' til...I dunno...9? 10?" "I wanted to leave at sunrise." Clementine, after stretching her body out a little, made her way for the door. "Come on, let's go wake Peaches up too." "Mmmmm-all right, all right..." Slowly, Mandy began to get up. "But I'm gonna head zztraight t' bed after thizz..." In spite of a few falters with her telekinesis as a result of her half-asleep brain, Mandy was able to get the bags to Clementine as they, along with Peaches, stood on the town line of Toronto. "Y' sure thizz izz ev'thin...?" Mandy asked. Clementine took the rest of the bags from the hybrid's magic grasp. "Positive. I think these groceries will last me throughout my journey." She began to gaze at the contents inside of them. "Thank you, Mandy. For freeing me from the Odd Side, for making up with me..." And then, she made eye contact with Mandy -- although it was a one-way street, seeing as how the hybrid's head was drooped. "...for everything. I'm so glad that you're doing well. And...I hope you stay safe." A bout of loud snoring came from the hybrid in response. "...Mandy?" "Wha-huh?!" came, along with a flurry of snorts. "I-I'm awake, I was listenin', I swear!" This got a hearty laugh out of Clementine. "Did you hear what I said?" "Totally!" Mandy chirped. "You, uh...you're thankful for me. And I'm thankful foooooor..." A yawn interrupted her sentence. "...you too. I'm glad I was able to make up with you, Clementine. I hope we can stay bestest friends forever." "Me too." The two girls went for a hug, causing Peaches to smile wide. While no one was looking, she wiped away a stray tear that had begun to fallen down her cheek. "And Peaches?" Clementine gazed at the catgirl with warmth in her eyes. "I'm glad I got to meet you. I hope we can stay in touch, even though we're supposed to be enemies." Peaches' tail began to wag slightly. "Of course! I'll have to visit Galagu again sometime and meet Queen Weylyn." "I'll tell her to look forward to your visit." And then, they hugged. However, as much as Mandy tried to stay awake, it was quite evident she was gradually beginning to lose that war. "You'll write letters, won't you?" "Of course I will, whenever I get the opportunity to." "Good." Mandy yawned again. "And don't forget, you're always welcome in Odd Squad whenever! If you need help, don't be afraid to contact us, 'kay?" "I'll keep that offer in mind. Thank you." Clementine turned in the direction of the next town over, the soft breeze allowing her hair to billow slightly. "I suppose this is goodbye." Mandy glanced at her damp index finger. "Mm...I can't tell if these tears are from me yawnin' or if I'm really cryin'...but..." She gave a soft sigh. "Good luck." "We'll miss you." "The feeling is very much mutual." Clementine began taking her first steps. "Goodbye, my friends." Peaches kept her gaze fixated on the dog-girl's figure. When it finally disappeared from view, she bit her lip. As much as she wanted to cry here and now, she figured that Mandy would cry eventually too -- at least, once she got her bearings together and met the world fully awake once again. So, she forced herself to bottle her emotions, even in spite of one rampaging thought that bounced in her brain: I already miss her. The method failed. Tears began to fall. The sound of a big squeaky yawn from Mandy snapped her out of her stupor. "All right, sleepyhead, let's get you back to bed before you fall asleep on my-" Loud snores threatened to break nearby windows, scare animals away from their homes, and disturb people's commutes to work. As Peaches turned her head, she found Mandy using her shoulder as an impromptu pillow. "...shoulder." the catgirl lamely finished, before giving a sigh and beginning to head back the way the trio had come originally. Of course, with Mandy being Mandy, it was a little harder than expected, but Peaches soon reached a tube entrance and dove inside by using Mandy as a sort of human shield, and eventually, put the hybrid right back to bed before heading for her own room to get some well-needed rest. Good luck and stay safe, Clementine. We'll see you again, I'm sure of it. "Mmm...file th' reportzz by Monday, get me some pazzta, and zzhave the goat already..." Although Mandy was deep in the thralls of a good dream, with her sheets askew and all, it didn't stop Olive from nearly throwing open the door. "Mandy!" She rushed to her adoptive daughter's bedside. "Wake up, we've got great news!" Arms slowly wrapped around the girl and pulled her closer, leading her to blink in shock a few times. Before she knew it, her ear was being gently nibbled on. "H-hey!" Olive pushed Mandy downwards. "Stick to eating your own pillow!" Sighing, she reached behind a back, pulled out a small piece of cloth, and tied it around Mandy's eyes. Once she was sure the knot was secure, she watched as Mandy, in the midst of a sound-barrier-breaking snore, stretched her hands out. It was the perfect opportunity for Olive to offer her jacket as an object to grab on. As soon as she felt a tug, she hoisted Mandy up onto her back, watching the hybrid's arms drape across her shoulders and down towards her torso. Sure, her hands weren't gripping onto anything now, but Olive had enough strength to stabilize Mandy, and that was what mattered. The only problem was that she could feel her eardrums rattling with each snore. Maybe they were developing cracks in them. She honestly couldn't tell. "Why do I think waking her up will be easy? It's never easy!" she muttered to herself, leaving the room and beginning her journey down the hallways of Precinct 13579's Headquarters. As soon as the duo stepped foot in the bullpen, Oprah jumped out from behind the wall that separated the hallway and the Breakroom. "Surpriiiii- ohh..." Near silence. Olive and Oprah merely stared at each other, listening to the sound of Mandy's snores and incoherent sleep-talking. "She's still asleep." "Yeah." "She got up early this morning, didn't she?" "Can't say for sure, but I'm 99% positive she did." "And you're carrying her on your back?" "Do you want her to start sleepwalking again?" More near-silence. "Well I didn't get sick for..." Oprah faltered. "...at least a couple days just to be greeted like this." Olive blinked. "Don't." Oprah ignored her, of course. Made her way over to Mandy, and began slapping her in the face with as much force and as much speed as that runaway Ferris wheel she had to chase down one time. A simple moan as Mandy weakly pawed at her cheek, a sleepy mumble of "too early", but nothing more. Clearly, waking up Mandy was not going to be an easy task. Not that it ever was. To Oprah, though, that just made it all the better a challenge, and her mind immediately came up with an idea. She grabbed ahold of one of Mandy's pony ears, jerked it down to her own mouth level, and whispered: "Precinct 13579's food supply is open for free raiding." A flurry of snorts, and then some leg kicking that nearly made Olive topple over onto her back. "Hzuh-whuh...?!" came the plaintive cry, as Mandy's eyes, still obscured by the cloth, flew open then reverted back to a half-lidded state. "Where'zz food? M' hungry! Mr. Jonezz didn't give...he didn't..." The hybrid's vision was blurry. Shapes of hallucinations began swaying side to side, and she rubbed her eyes in an effort to restore her eyesight. "...Oprah...?" "Surpriiii-iiiiise!" called the Director in glorious singsong. Slowly, Mandy edged her way off Olive's back and onto her feet, where the Director took the blindfold off of her. It took her a few more seconds than normal to get to Oprah, but she got there, and pulled her boss into a tight hug. "You're cured...!" "I am." Oprah sighed. "I'm feeling so much better. Whatever Dr. O did certainly worked." She looked behind her, where agents were simply going about their daily lives. "And it looks like Headquarters didn't fall to shambles while I was out." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, chugging it before speaking again. "Nope. Me n' Momma got all taken care of." she sleepily chirped. "But, uh, mostly Momma. My voice got sore waaaaay too soon, lost it, had to recover for a while. Nasty stuff." She felt her voice begin to grow stronger and felt her energy returning to her with every word she spoke, and that made her smile. "Oh, oh, and you know how you said the Odd Side is super-duper dangerous?" "Yes, what about it?" Mandy put on a smug expression. "What if I told you I managed to save and uncorrupt its ruler?" Oprah's eyes widened. "You did what now?" "Have a juice box, sit down, and I'll tell ya all about it!" "I can't believe it. So you saved Clementine from the clutches of both the Odd Side and the catpeople of Vallea?" "Yup!" Mandy kicked her feet against the stem of the chair she was sitting in a few times. "We're finally friends again, after...being apart for...so long..." Olive and Oprah, who were sitting across from her at the Breakroom table, watched as Mandy grit her teeth and let her eyes begin to quiver. "That's good!" Olive offered, as a lame attempt to cheer her adopted daughter up. "So why are you crying?" Mandy's body quivered next. "She...she didn't wanna stay here, so she...she left for Galaguuuuu!" And then came the wails and the waterfalls. The brunt of just what Clementine had done earlier hit Mandy like an airplane in the air, and she was nothing short of upset about it. Part of it was her struggle to try and recall exactly what had happened -- her mind had been fuzzy and she had been acting largely on autopilot with whatever part of her mind had been awake taking the wheel. She had a brief moment of clarity, when she had asked Clementine if she would write and then offered for her to contact Odd Squad if she needed help, but then her consciousness began to waver. She failed to remember anything after that. Olive, on the other hand, knew Clementine was leaving for Galagu, but had no idea Mandy and Peaches had left to see her off -- probably early in the morning, judging from how it was past 1:00 now. "Oh, Mandy..." She gave a sigh as she got up and pulled the hybrid into a hug. "It's probably for the best. We already have Peaches. Inviting Clementine to stay likely would have dragged Odd Squad into more conflict, and we already have Vallea after you and Peaches." This seemed to calm Mandy down as the waterfalls ceased and she gave a sniffle, which didn't help much considering that snot was nearing her top lip. "Aw man...it didn't really set in when she left...I was prolly half-asleep...but..." She shook her head. "I know she's moving on to bigger and better things. She'll be all right!" "You did a brave thing." Oprah praised. "The Odd Side could have just as easily corrupted you too, and yet, you took the time to befriend and save its ruler." She smiled. "I couldn't be more proud." Another ugly sniffle. Mandy magically conjured up a tissue, both to clean the snot off of her face and to hide her reddening cheeks. "You're makin' me blush!" "I have a question, though." Olive said. "Who's running the Odd Side now that Clementine is gone?" "Clementine told me that it doesn't really need a ruler to keep it running." Mandy blew her nose with another conjured tissue, then stuck out her bottom lip in thought. "Actually, Peaches told me something similar when I told her my backstory...when oddness gets sent there, it sorts itself out!" "So you broke the cycle." Mandy blinked, and then shrugged. "I mean sure, if that's what we're callin' it!" Only a second later and she felt her body being squeezed, her lungs screaming for air. "Ti-i-iiight! Too tight...face blue, need aaaaaair..." She was let go, and she let out a choking gasp. "Oprah, please-" A round of coughing. Oprah made her way back to her seat. "You've just solved one of the biggest oddities this precinct has ever had. Now no one can be corrupted by the Odd Side anymore." "I do have to wonder how the concept of having a ruler came to life to begin with, though..." Mandy shook her head and smiled. "But that doesn't matter!" The sound of a growling stomach cut into the conversation. Both Oprah and Olive didn't need a single second to figure out whose it was. "Oh wow, can't believe I forgot to have breakfast! Or lunch. Any food, really." Mandy hopped off of her chair. "Berightback!" Both Directors watched as Mandy sped through the double-doors, nearly knocking papers out of the hooves of Applejack, who fixed her with a glare. "It really makes me happy to see her smiling again." Olive mused. Oprah tilted her head. "Like she wasn't before?" "She was so bitter and upset before. She really wanted to make up with Clementine." Olive's eyes closed. "I'm surprised she isn't even sadder about having to let her go, but...I guess she's accepted it." "Part of me thinks that we'll be seeing Clementine again someday." Oprah frowned slightly. "I really wish I could've met her." "Well, Galagu and Vallea are close towns, I think. So you may not be too far off." "Hmm." "Hey..." Olive got up and stood in front of Oprah. "You want me to help you make something? I'd imagine you must be starving after that bout with sleep-itis." "No need. Looks like Mandy's doing it herself." Olive peered behind Oprah and watched as a suddenly-appearing Mandy made her way through the Breakroom, gathering all sorts of pots and utensils and placing them on the table. "She moves fast." "Have you seen her when she's hungry?" Oprah smirked. "If you mention food, she moves at Mach 5." She held up her badge phone. "I kid you not. I recorded it." "...Huh." "I burnt my hand!" came a distant high-pitched screech from somewhere that, without a doubt, belonged to a Mandy who had just learned one of the many improper ways to handle things on the stovetop. A plaintive cry followed the words, attracting the attention of a few passing agents. Peaches emerged into the bullpen right then, giving a hearty yawn. "Hi!" she greeted, before her eyes widened. "Oh, Oprah! You're cured!" "Yep." Oprah nodded. "That cure Dr. O gave me worked its magic." Peaches gave a sigh. "That's a relief. Both Mandy and Olive were getting really worn out." She tilted her head. "How did you get sleep-itis, anyway?" "I'm not too sure..." Oprah scratched her cheek. "Dr. O couldn't pinpoint a cause, but he did say it could be brought on by one or two bad nights of sleep...although I've been sleeping fine." The sound of approaching footsteps came. Mandy levitated a plate of waffles and a plate of pancakes, letting the latter land in front of Oprah. "Et voila! Pancakes for you, our dear leader..." "Oh, thank you." "Aaaaaand waffles for me!" Mandy took the other plate in her hands, setting it down and going right to town on the syrupy waffles. "Mmmm..." "Hey, why is my phone on your desk, Mandy?" Mandy choked on her bite of waffle. Some food that was well on its way to the stomach threatened to climb back up there to her mouth and deal with the issue itself. Her hair and tail bushed out as she attempted to swallow the bite she had, feeling the large mass scrape the back of her throat. From there, she began to cough, which also made the recent delivery of food threaten to come back up and tell her to get her fo-shizzle together. Olive, Oprah and Peaches all watched in shock as Mandy grabbed ahold of her water, chugged it, and then proceeded to launch into another round of coughing again. All fell silent right then and there. Mandy picked herself back up, let her hair and tail return to normal, and began to speak. "How did I not notice that?" Olive's comment became overshadowed by a bout of nervous laughter from Mandy. "Oprah, Oprah, ya worry too much!" The laughter turned stilted. "Now c'mon, that doesn't matter in the long run, does it? But I mean, if ya want it back..." She levitated the phone from her desk and placed it in front of Oprah. "Take it. Cell phones are in now, baby!" "Uh...thanks?" As if sensing that it was removed from a rightful place, the phone rang. Before Oprah could even lift a single finger, Mandy snatched the receiver up with her tail and held it up to her ear. "Precinct 13579, Mandy speakin', how can I help ya?" "..." "You don't say! I'll need your place of residence, sir." "..." Mandy blinked. "...N-no, your address, sir. I don't need to know your wife's maiden name and your annual income." "..." "Got it! We'll send someone over right away." "..." "You're welcome! Bye now!" As Mandy placed the receiver back onto the top of the phone, she stared back at the three pairs of eyes that were staring right at her. "Whaaaat? Lemme have one more, I'm the second-in-command here! Plus I didn't get a chance to take that many calls...stupid plot convenience." A hearty sigh left Oprah as she went back to eating her pancakes. Mandy, likewise, eagerly downed the rest of her waffles as Olive and Peaches shared a laugh.
S1E23: When All You Have is A Snail (Or Several)For the most part, Odd Squad was not a place where someone could get bored. Scratch that, it wasn't a place where someone reasonable could get bored. Because there had been people, both agents and clients, who had gotten bored in Odd Squad before, and the only difference was that one group often had a shift in alliance that came with the boredom. There were multitudes of rooms, oddities, and activities for agents of all kinds to enjoy, both in Headquarters and aboveground. For any agent to be bored with it all would have to at least take an incredible feat -- at the very least, something that would make them come into the very silly mentality that Odd Squad was flawed and it needed to be fixed, and then they would turn evil and begin destroying the organization before going on to destroy the world. At this point, it was a tired old cliche, but luckily, at the same time, it wasn't a frequent cliche. One could hardly call it a cliche at all -- more of a schtick. Olive and Otto hardly ever found themselves bored. Each one of them kept themselves occupied with work, whether that was filling out paperwork, making calls, or doing simple lunch runs. Olive had been at the organization longer than Otto, but for all of her many "I work with idiots and I help idiots" moments, she had never once gotten bored. Otto had helped her to expand her world beyond sitting behind a desk, showing her all kinds of fun Odd Squad stuff she could occupy her time with. He, on the other hand, had long since drudged his way out of the "newbie gets excited at anything and everything" stage of his employment, but he was still a fun-seeker, and he would often frequent rooms that had absolutely nothing to do with work if he found himself with a free slot in his schedule. Still, there were days when they did find themselves bored. Hence the keywords "hardly ever". And for Otto, it just so happened to be one of those "blah days" where he wanted to do nothing but sit and idly flip through the latest issue of The Shmumber Times newspaper. "Hey, partner! Back from my break." Olive greeted as she walked into her shared office. She gave a sigh of relief. "I definitely needed it, too." "Uh-huh." "Agent Oluwa and Agent Ostin are on cleaning duty this week. You mind giving them a reminder later?" "Uh-huh." Olive held up a mirror with one hand and used a wipe to clean her face with the other. "Oh, and the Big O called. She wants a progress report on the precinct. I've gotten my half done, so do you mind doing the other half when you get a chance?" "Uh-huh." It was this third "uh-huh" that caused Olive to finally take notice. "All right, something's up with you. Did you fall out of bed this morning or something?" "No." Otto replied, flipping a page. Realizing a simple "no" wouldn't suffice, especially not with his partner, he sighed. "It's just that I'm bored." "Bored?" "Every day it's the same thing. I wake up, I do my morning routine, I go to work, I come home, I do my evening routine and I go to bed." Otto scoffed. "I feel like this is what adults go through every day!" "But we're kids." "Yes, exactly!" Otto rolled over onto his stomach to look at his partner. "I just want a hobby, something I can do aside from work. But nothing I've found interests me." "Let me see that." Olive made her way over and snatched the newspaper from his grasp, beginning to flip through the pages. "Did you get to the classifieds in here?" "Why would I want to look there?" Otto asked, sitting up. "The Shmumber Times recently put in a 'Hobbies and Interests' section, where people and ponies can post listings of meetups and various other events." Otto's expression was one of intrigue as he watched his partner turn page after page until she got to the very back. "Oh, here! A Slowest Turtle Contest!" The expression turned sour right quick. Otto's eyes squinted. "Are you mocking me?" "No, I'm helping you. There's a difference." Olive answered with a small smile on her face before she read off the listings. "Let's see, bathroom repair club...patio furniture sale meetup...library clubs..." She perked up. "Oh! If you don't like turtles, then how about snails? There's a listing here. 'The Hottest New Thing in Canada'." "Really?" Otto outstretched a hand. "Let me see." As Olive handed him the newspaper, his eyes widened as he skimmed the listing below. Canada Association of Snail Racing Named "The Hottest New Thing in Canada" by Shmumbers Illustrated Come Join In the Fun! For details, please email ReesMercedes@shmumlook.com "Wow. That actually..." Otto smiled. "...sounds like fun!" "Personally it's not for me, but if you're interested, you should definitely do it!" Olive encouraged. "It would be a great break for you." "Sign me up! I'm gonna do some research!" "Ahem?" Otto looked at his partner, wearing an unamused expression. "As...soon as I get my work done." he backtracked, chuckling nervously as he got up from the couch and began making his way to the desk. Olive simply rolled her eyes. "Oh, Otto...never change." On Otto's break, he had decided to go to one of the places he had never really frequented. The Odd Squad Library was vast and expansive. It held all kinds of books, perhaps more than any kind of bookstore would. He knew that it was the place Twilight frequented the most when she wasn't busy with work both in Odd Squad and in Equestria, but he himself was not much of a reader. Sure, he read the occasional magazine, newspaper, or paperwork form, but that was as far as it went. Reading was more Olive's thing, for however much she tried to convince him that "reading is knowledge" or whatever tidbit of wisdom she had to share whenever the topic was brought up. As he sat down and began to type into the search engine on one of the computers, a meow broke his concentration, and he looked up. "Huh?" His head swiveled to the right. "Oh, hey, Peaches." The feline shapeshifted back into her more humanoid form and glanced at the computer screen. "What're you doing?" "I'm looking up info on snail racing!" Peaches blinked. "On...what racing?" "Snail racing!" Otto jabbed a finger at the screen, which was showing a list of search results from the term "snail racing". He grinned. "Look at this. People from all over the world compete in these tournaments to see whose snail makes it to the finish line first! It's so thrilling!" Peaches took her time looking through the results. "Must take an awfully long time. You'd have to have some serious patience to partake in such a slow...uh..." She pinched her mouth inwards. "Dare I call it a sport?" "If it isn't a sport, it should be, and it should be in the Olympics!" Peaches, not fully knowing what the Olympics were -- the best she had in terms of knowledge was a comparison to it in regards to the annual O Games -- simply gave a hesitant "Uh-huh" and decided that perhaps she should leave Otto be. "Well, good luck on your research, I suppose." "You don't want to take part?" Otto asked, with equal parts dejection and disappointment. "Honestly...it doesn't sound like my thing. I don't see the appeal in it." Otto gasped dramatically. "Blasphemy!" "But, uh, if you want to do it, then, uh...more power to you. I'm not gonna stop you." Peaches turned to leave. "Have fun." As she left, Otto gave an indignant huff. "Who does she think she is, dissing snail racing like that?" he said aloud, to no one in particular but his own self. A second later, he gave a shrug. "Oh well, it's her loss!" With that, and a bout of giddy laughter, the Director got right back to it, staring at the screen, at thousands of search results and articles and personal testaments to snail racing until he felt like they were going to melt clear off of his face. Snail racing really was one hell of a drug. "Good morning, Otto!" came the cheerful greeting, as Olive walked into the office. However, much to her surprise, Otto didn't seem to be anywhere in the room. She set her bags down on the desk. "He's not here yet...probably still stuck on that snail racing business." "Um, excuse me, Ms. O?" Olive looked up to find a sandy-haired boy clad in an Investigation uniform holding a small manila folder. She smiled. "Yes? How can I help you?" "Um, is Mr. O here yet?" The agent looked around the room. "He told me that I needed to give this file to him..." "No, he's not." Olive shook her head. "But I'm more than happy to give it to him when he arrives." The agent eagerly handed her the file. "Thank you, Ms. O!" were his final words before he exited the room in a speed-walk, as though he were being chased by a rogue creature. Olive placed the file on her desk and flopped down in the chair, wincing as it creaked before she gave a sigh. Without Otto around, she had to admit that the office seemed rather boring now. The massive amount of work she had to do didn't help. Still, she forced herself to push through it, figuring that Otto would arrive in just a few minutes with some food, some drive, and lots of chatter about his new hobby. The clock ticked and ticked. Time went by, as it did. Olive was half-sure she had fallen asleep at some point during the waiting period, but when she next looked at the clock, two hours had passed. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous." She stood up. "Assistant?" An employee with long blonde hair who was clad in the usual Director's assistant fare -- grey T-shirt and navy shorts both emblazoned with the Odd Squad seal, purple headband and wristbands, and dark purple shoes -- suddenly emerged and landed on Olive's right. "Yes, Ms. O?" "Please go and find Mr. O. He's at least two hours late and-" In that moment, Otto chose to hurry up the stairs and stumble into the office. His tie was almost completely loose, his jacket had come undone, and his hair and face were both dripping with sweat that Olive caught for only a second as he leaned over and panted. "Sorry...I...was late!" "Where were you? I think we're far past being 'late!'" Olive asked, her tone inching closer to a snap. "There was a snail racing competition in Brampton that I couldn't miss!" Otto lifted his head up. "And I couldn't sleep last night so I stayed up late catching snails! Look!" Olive only caught a brief glimpse of the bags that sat under Otto's eyes, because her eyes were more focused on what he was holding out to her. A small snail, with a shell that had markings on it reminiscent of cooked spaghetti that curled around into a swirl. Olive's face contorted into one of slight disgust. She knew of kids who did...things with bugs. Some played with them. Some killed them for giggles. And others downright ate them. For however tomboyish she was, she was not a kid who played with bugs. She was the kind of kid to kill a spider out of sheer instinct if it so much as crawled across the living room floor. Snails, while not bugs, were no different. She saw a slug on the trash can that sat on the side of her house, that sucker was getting hosed down to hell and back. And here was her partner, holding one in plain view of her, as it waved its little antennae around like- "I call him Shirley Temple!" That seemed to snap her out of her disgusted and fearful state. She stared at her partner for a few moments before she took a deep breath and spoke. "Otto. Shirley Temple was a woman from the 1900s. A child actress. How did you think that was a good name for a snail?" Otto bit his lip. "Well...how about just Shirley, then?" A groan. "...Shir-shir?" "Look, that's besides the point." Olive furiously waved her hand about. "You showed up two hours late to work. I was about to send one of our assistants to find you!" Otto glanced at the assistant, who simply gave a sheepish wave and moved off to do other things. The Director knew he had to smooth things over with Olive, and luckily, this was his first offense. "Sorry...b-but look, it'll never happen again, okay? I promise." Olive narrowed her eyes. Kept her gaze fixated on him as though expecting him to make a sudden move. Ultimately, though, she tilted her head. "Pinkie Promise?" Otto sighed. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." he chanted, going through the motions. "Good. And don't even think about breaking it, because I will tell Pinkie Pie if you do." "Fine, fine." Otto made his way over to the desk, where he pulled out a container that he used to put Shirley Temple in. He covered it with a lid and decided to set it off to the far end of his side for now. As he dropped his own bags, Olive placed her hand on a giant stack of papers beside her. "Now, we need these filed to the Big O by the end of the day. And you still haven't filled out your half of the precinct report, by the way." "Right, I'll get started on all that right now!" Olive gave a head nod, then took the first small stack of papers off of the pile and began looking through them. "Right...now..." Olive's gaze shifted over to Otto, staring at Shirley Temple like it was his own child. Which, if one asked her, was really unnerving to think about. "Otto, put Shirley away or I'm going to take him and put him in the hands of Ocean." Otto jerked the snail away with a look of horror on his face. "No, don't do that! Anything but that! I nearly dug to the Earth's core just to get that snail!" Olive didn't bother to question whether that claim was true -- she knew it wasn't. "Then stop looking at her-" She blinked and shook her head. "Stop looking at him, and get to work!" Flopping in his chair, Otto gave a sad sigh as he prompted for Olive to put a stack of papers into his hand for him to review. Even though she had told him to stop, he couldn't resist sneaking quick peeks at Shirley every once in a while, just to make sure he was okay. After all, Shirley was a pet, and pets had to be cared for all the time, work be darned. Olive woke up the next morning fairly early. Or at least a half-hour earlier than her alarm, anyway. With her body feeling like lead, she made her way to the kitchen and made herself some cereal as well as a cup of iced tea -- her own equivalent to the nasty coffee adults drink. It took her a few minutes to find the remote, but she eventually turned the TV on to the news. "A fire broke out on Westley Street this morning, injuring two people and taking the life of a bystander. Witnesses say that this fire was a case of arson, but firefighters suspect otherwise." The muffled sound of dirt shuffling overrode the sound of both the news anchor and Olive munching on cereal, but she ignored it as she continued to watch TV. "In other news, police say they are looking for a missing child. Kayla Robertson, 14 years of age, is described as having black hair, blue eyes-" Olive's brows furrowed. "That's terrible!" The shuffling sound grew louder, and that was all the incentive she needed. She stood up and began heading for the front door, her body slowly but surely losing its lead-like feeling. As she opened the door, her head swiveled to the right to find- "Otto!" The boy had wasted absolutely no time. Already clad in his Odd Squad Director uniform and armed with a large shovel, he had a pretty sizeable hole in front of him, overturning some of Olive's flowers that lined the skirtings of her porch in the process. As his name was called, his eyes widened and his head whirled around to stare at Olive like he had just been caught doing something bad. A bout of nervous laughter tumbled from his lips, and he gave a small wave. "Hi?" Olive's eyes drifted to the flowers. One of the organs twitched. "What are you doing?!" she screamed, being careful not to be too loud as to not wake up the entire neighborhood. Otto jabbed a finger behind him. "Your neighbor told me your yard has the best snails!" Ohhhh, and of course it was Carrie! Sweet, innocent Carrie, trying to tell a young boy to go find snails in my yard... Olive began to grind her teeth together. I'm gonna have to go around and have a nice talk with that one. Still, she pushed the thoughts aside for now. "And what happened to Shirley?" she asked of Otto. "I, uh..." Otto avoided eye contact. "...may or may not have lost him..." The exhale that was pushed through Olive's nostrils threatened to take some blood and perhaps a brain cell or two with it on the way out. It eased into a low growl. "You're lucky you didn't wake me up or you'd have a couple knocked-out teeth right about now." she said, through gritted teeth that threatened to crack if she applied any more pressure to them. A simple "S-sorry!" was all Otto could offer in return. "Besides that, you can't just go and dig up my yard without asking!" "Why not? We're partners!" "Because it is my yard at my house! And I say you can't dig here!" yelled Olive, not caring anymore whether she woke up the neighbors or not. "Why can't you go and dig up your own yard for snails?!" "I did that already. It doesn't have any snails." Olive tried to form coherent words. She really did. But ultimately, nothing came. Her face was as red as a tomato, and stray hairs began popping out of place. Eventually, all she could muster up was another toothy growl. "Okay, okay, I get the hint, I'll leave!" Otto said, grabbing his shovel and booking it clear across the lawn and down the rest of Cypress Way. "AND THE NEXT TIME YOU COME AROUND MY HOUSE THIS EARLY, I'M GETTING A RESTRAINING ORDER!!" Olive's hair stuck out on the last five words of her threat, much like Mandy's did when she was scared. It flopped back down as she took heavy breaths and sulked her way back inside, slamming the door with enough force that threatened to shake the house down to its very foundation. A roll of the dice in an intense game of Swamps N' Gators brought the total to 11. "Yes! I win!" Oprah threw her arms up and cheered, her assistant sulking in defeat as she moved her boss's game piece to the shared start and finish line. The sound of a bang, and then whirring that was winding down, caused the mood in the air to sour, especially when Oprah was able to see who it was that had just arrived to her office. "Whoa. Hi to you too." she said, in response to an Olive who wore an ugly grimace on her face and bags under her eyes. She turned back to her assistant. "Assistant, if you could..." "Oh! Of course, Ms. O." The assistant gathered up the board game and all the pieces that went with it, quickly stuffing it into its box and taking the whole thing with her. Oprah turned her attention back to Olive as she wore a sly smile. "Someone's a little cranky today!" "Save it or I'll shove it into your skull, Oprah." Oprah blinked a few times in surprise. She wasn't sure how to react -- either "I don't believe I've ever been spoken to that way before by my own ex-agent", or "oh, now, come on, teasing you is so much fun". She ultimately chose the latter. "Oooh, getting bold, are we?" She put a hand to her cheek. "What is this, your hidden hatred of me from when you were an Investigation agent? Honestly, Olive." Her old boss's tutting managed to calm Olive down a little. "Look. I'm just looking for advice." "Mm. A little Director-to-Director advice, huh?" Oprah wheeled her chair back to its proper spot behind her desk, grabbing her apple-flavored juice box on the way and giving it a few sips. "Okay, I'm listening. What's troubling you?" "A couple days ago, Otto came to my house in the early morning. He decided to dig up my yard to look for snails." "Snails? Why snails?" "He's participating in..." Olive grit her teeth. It took every ounce of strength for her to utter out the words she had come to despise in less than a week. "...snail racing." "Oh. That 'hot new sport' everyone's talking about?" Oprah shrugged and put her feet up onto the desk. "Honestly, I don't understand the appeal." She took another sip of juice. "It's so boring and slow. That's why I took up kart racing." "You do kart racing? Since when?" Oprah's eyes widened. They moved side to side, almost as if she was hiding something. "That's...not important." she dismissed. "Continue." Olive ignored her old boss's shiftiness. "I tried to tell him that digging up my yard without permission isn't okay, but he refused to listen!" Olive began to massage her forehead. "And you know what he did last night?" "What?" The memory hit Olive like a battering ram, and hurt like one too. "Just as I was about to go to sleep, he knocked on my door and let himself in. And then I spent a good portion of the night hanging out with him and listening to him yammer on and on and on about snail racing! All because he lost his second snail! His second!" Oprah nodded. "So you barely got any sleep." "Worse." Olive's eyes closed. "I didn't get any." "Ouch." "He just won't shut up about snail racing! He's been neglecting his work too, it's driving me insane!" Oprah adopted a worried expression. "Olive, if you two keep at it like this, then your partnership will be severed. Which won't mean good things for your precinct." she explained. "Have you tried just...talking things out with him? Peacefully?" "And how is that going to help?" "Otto may not be...the sharpest tool in the shed." Oprah rolled her eyes. "But he's more than smart enough to know when his actions are hurting his friends. If you just take the time to have an open and honest heart-to-heart talk with him-" "Like he'll listen?" Olive interrupted, her voice nearly morphing into manic laughter. "He hasn't listened to me at all these past few days, so what makes you think he's gonna start now?" Oprah threw up both of her hands. "Look. My advice is on the table and up for grabs. Take it or leave it. It's your choice." A few seconds later, she gasped as she got hit with a bolt of realization. "Oh, or even better: why not talk to Twilight? She's the Princess of Friendship, after all. Maybe she can help out with your little...friendship dispute." "Being partners with someone and being friends are two different things. They're mutually exclusive." "But they don't have to be." Oprah said. "I'd say you and Otto are both partners and friends." "Well, he's getting dangerously close to dropping our friendship." Oprah shrugged. "As I said, my advice is on the table and up for grabs. I don't know what else to say." "You can say 'yes' to my question of 'can I have a juice box'." It was a rather stupid question for someone to ask, in Oprah's eyes. She wasn't so keen on giving juice boxes away to just any agent, especially when they held the potential to become akin to alcohol worming about in agents' bodies, leading to a potential lifetime of addiction and all the misery (or in her case, glory) that came with it. But Olive was an exception -- she knew the Director could withstand juice. For odd's sake, the girl withstood white grape juice, and Oprah had been confused over why that was a thing for years. "Fine. Yes." she responded, moving to take a juice box down from her rotating wall full of them and handing it to Olive. The girl eagerly took it, jabbed the straw in it, and began chugging the thing, stopping when the box was halfway gone. Oprah looked at the clock. "Is it your break time yet? Why don't you go and take a nap? If it can cure mostly everything that ails Mandy, surely it can help you." Olive, too, looked at the clock. "Actually it is my break time. And as much as I'd love to go for a nap..." She sighed. "With Otto's negligence, it's not like I can be on break for long." "Well, if all else fails, don't forget that you have the Big O to use as a last resort." Olive's eyes widened. She hadn't even considered going to the Big O for assistance on the matter. "True..." "Now go and get some sleep." Oprah waved her off. "You look like you're about to keel over and faceplant onto the floor." "Yeah, that's accurate." Olive sighed and began making her way towards the glass double-doors, sipping the rest of her juice. "Bye, Oprah. And thanks." "Bye! Good luck! You'll need it." Olive weakly laughed. "Thanks. I will." With that, she exited the room, her body once again getting that heavy lead feeling that meant it was giving out and she needed to slow her roll. Rounding the corner and heading for the bullpen, Twilight and Rarity chatted. Twilight gave a chuckle. "Aw, Rarity, you didn't need to do that." "I didn't?" "No! I could have handled Jamie Jam myself. But I do appreciate your quick thinking." A dainty laugh came out of Rarity. "Oh, why thank you! It was the least I could do for a dear friend." Twilight's warm smile threatened to extend far past her face. "Now, what do you say we go and get some lunch?" Rarity inquired. "I hear there's a new fancy restaurant in town that is simply magnifique!" "Sure, why not?" Just as the pair were about to head for the doors, however, Olive slowly began to approach them. Her body was slumped over, her hair looked messy and knotted, and her eyes looked just a tad glassy. "Oh, hi, Olive." While Twilight was concerned about her friend's overall appearance, Rarity managed to one-up her in that field. "Darling, what happened to you? You look simply awful!" Olive heaved a sigh. "It's Otto. He took up snail racing recently and he's been getting on my nerves about it." Rarity, having hardly an idea of what snail racing was, tilted her head before glancing at Twilight, who responded aptly. "That new sport everyone's talking about?" "I did hear someone talking about it the other day..." Rarity said. "But why would Otto be interested in something as boring as that? I've always thought of him as an agent who would love adventure, something high-stakes and full of energy!" Olive had to admit, the unicorn was...not exactly right on the money. In all the years she had known Otto, he went on adventures, but more often than not, he preferred the relaxing way of doing activities. If Olive had decided to play volleyball on the beach, Otto was relaxing in a beach chair listening to some Soundcheck tunes. If she had decided to run a 4k, he was in the stands cheering her on. So perhaps it was this relaxing way of doing things that got him into snail racing. Aside from her introducing the thing to him in the first place, of course. "Look, have you guys seen Mandy?" she asked, diverting the subject. "I wanted to ask if I could borrow her room for a bit. To nap in." "You just missed her." Twilight said. "She went out on a case with Pinkie Pie a couple minutes ago." "Of course she did." "Er, why not sleep in the Bedroom?" Rarity asked. "I'd like at least a little peace and quiet. The Bedroom's not exactly the quietest space in the precinct. And I don't know if Fluttershy, Applejack or Rainbow Dash are sleeping in there or not." Truth be told, Rarity didn't know where her friends were, either. "Mm. Fair point." "Well, Rarity and I are going out to lunch." Twilight smiled. "Try and get some good rest, at least." "Uh-huh. I'll try." Olive watched them go, feeling her eyes begin to slightly droop. She rubbed her head as she continued on the path to Mandy's room. "The last thing I want is to see any more people toda- wah!" A startled meow filled her eardrums, and she took a couple steps back as a black cat did the same. "S-sorry, Olive!" the feline spoke. "I wasn't looking where I was going and-" "No, no...you're fine, Peaches." "You doing okay?" Peaches tilted her head. "You look like you haven't gotten any sleep in a week!" "You're almost right on the money with that." Olive sighed. "Otto, snail racing, blah-dee-blah." "Ohhh...the snail racing thing. He's still on that, isn't he?" Peaches rolled her eyes. "I always thought he'd be near food, myself. Maybe as a judge in a cooking competition or something. But as they say around here, 'different strokes for different folks'". Olive adopted a bored but irritated expression. "Yeah okay." she briskly said, going around Peaches and heading down the hallway once again. "Make sure to get some sleep!" she heard the catgirl's voice call. "It's a great cure-all!" "I know, shut up!" came the angry response, before she muttered a slew of curse words under her breath that would have probably earned her some bitter-tasting juice in the mouth. Or a bar of soap. She wasn't sure which one, and she didn't care which one. Luckily for her, Mandy's door was left just slightly ajar. As she pushed her way in, she examined the room, finding it to be spick and span with not a trace of Mandy in sight. The second her eyes laid on the hybrid's cloud bed, her body began to feel relaxed, and she stumbled on over to it. Her brain had given her enough leniency to remove her jacket and shoes before she collapsed with a happy sigh, giving snores that could rival Mandy's in terms of sheer volume. As the automatic doors opened, Mandy and Pinkie stumbled into the bullpen. Both of them were covered in splotches of sand and dirt from head to toe, their clothes beyond a state of "this has a stain on it" and going right into "I ran this through the floor of an inner-city subway and picked up at least 40 different diseases". Mandy's ears flapped, and she let out a sneeze, blowing out some sand from her nose. "Ugh...I've still got sand everywhere!" she whined. "Why's it hafta be coarse and rough and irritating?!" "You think you have it bad?" Pinkie wiggled her back leg about. "I've got so much sand in my mane and tail they're gonna become sandbags!" "The Sandman may be an idiot, but he can sure pack a punch!" "Agreed!" Both mare and child attempted to shake their bodies out in an effort to free some of the sand. Key word being "some", because that's about all they were able to get off of themselves, and even then, it wasn't much. "You want the shower first?" Mandy asked. "Nah, you can have it." Pinkie wagged her tail a little. "I gotta head back to Sugarcube Corner, so I'll just take a really quick shower there!" "Ohthankodd." Mandy expelled in one breath. "But, uh, when you get a chance..." Pinkie sat down and began maneuvering her way out of her suit, which was a rather easy feat for a pony like her who was able to give a big "buck you" to reality and its many rules. "...do you mind washing my suit?" Mandy took the suit in her corona. "Yeah, I was about to do the same thing with mine..." she remarked, taking her own jacket and tie off. "Sure, I'll get these washed up!" "Thanks! See you later, partner!" called Pinkie, as she made her way back through the doors at a brisk trot. Heaving a sigh, Mandy began making her way to the Laundromat Room with the suits in tow. However, before she could get there, an obstacle stood in her way -- a large obstacle by the name of Peaches. "Cuz!" Peaches greeted, before her smile turned into a frown. "Wow, you look...messy. Although when are you not?" Mandy gasped dramatically and recoiled her body. "How dare you!" "No, no, I didn't mean it as an insult!" Peaches said, throwing her hands up defensively. "You work hard, and, well, it's typical you'd get messy." Mandy snickered. "Nah, I'm kiddin', I'm kiddin'! I'm a child, we're always messy." "Oh." Peaches blinked. "Well, anyway, if you don't have another case, you feel like taking a look in the next town over? For the culprit?" "Sure! I just need to take a shower first." Peaches scanned Mandy up and down, noticing the many sand splatters that littered her body. A disinterested look crossed her face. "You humans and your showers and baths." She waved a hand. "Why don't you just lick yourself clean like I do? It'd save a lot of time! And water!" Mandy opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, grabbing ahold of it and yanking it towards Peaches to show her. "Hath you theen thith tongue? We got tathte budth, not lil' barbth!" And then, back in the tongue went. "Besides, water's amazing! I love water!" She began to bounce up and down. "Oh, I could write an entire essay on how much I love water!" "Uh-huh." Peaches raised an amused eyebrow. "Well, I'll be waiting. Take your time." "'Kay!" Mandy began to head for the Laundromat Room again as fast as her feet would take her, because she wanted to get the dirty clothes she had in the washer and then feel the nice warmth of the shower as it seeped into her muscles and bones. As she was walking, her badge phone began to ring, and she unclipped it from her suit before opening it and shaking the sand out of it. "Mandy speaking, how can I help ya?!" "Hey, Mandy? It's Otto." "Heya! What's going on?" "Have you seen Olive, by any chance? Her break is almost up and I haven't heard from her." Otto said. "And I really have to go on break!" "Unfortunately no! I just got back from a case with Pinkie. I've been outta the office for a majority of the day!" Otto gave a sigh, choosing to ignore the bragging tone in Mandy's last sentence. "I figured." he muttered. "Well, do you think you can look for her? Like, right now?" Mandy opened the door to the Laundromat Room. "Why? What's the emergency?" She gasped. "Blobs invasion? Villain attack? The hundred-degree weather going on in Cali?! Oh, no, wait, that's not so odd..." A pause. "Uh, no. Bigger than that. There's a snail racing competition that I have to get to, or else I'll be disqualified! It's one of several that will get me into the province tournament listings!" Mandy's brow furrowed. She had no idea what Otto was talking about, but she supposed that if he was happy, then that was okay. "Uh, okay, well...I'll try, but I'm not makin' any guarantees!" she said, throwing the clothes into one of the washers and using her magic to fill up the detergent drawer with fabric softener and...well, detergent. "I don't even know if she's in Headquarters right now!" "Please, find her! I'm begging you!" For a moment, Mandy honestly contemplated charging Otto a fee for finding his missing partner -- something small, like $5. But it was more of a joke idea than anything else, and so she scrapped it. "Okay, okay, calm down! I'll see what I can do!" "Thank you so much, Mandy, you're a lifesaver!" Otto said. A quick "Oop, gotta go, bye!" made him hang up the phone. Which, in turn, left Mandy listening to a dial tone, confused as to what just went down. She hung up her own phone, clipping it back onto her undershirt. "Well that was sudden." she said, turning on the washer. "Maybe it's a sign that I'll be able to take my shower in peace!" With that glimmer of hope in mind, she made her way out of the room, humming a little ditty to herself and ignoring the stares of other agents who were also washing and drying their clothes. An hour later, and Mandy emerged from the bathroom fully dressed in a new suit. "That's more like it!" she purred, making her way down the hallways to her room. "Now I just have to find Peaches and-" A muffled but very blaring scream reached her eardrums. The hybrid screamed back, her hair and tail bushing up. Silence. Mandy could feel saliva building up inside her mouth, and she swallowed it. "Wh-wh-what was that?!" came the nervous cry, as she reached behind her and pulled out her hammer. "It came from my room!" "Mandy, what's going on? Why did you scream?" The way the hybrid whirled around to face her cousin looked all too much like she had done something bad and was going to get reprimanded for it. The hammer that got stretched out towards Peaches the second she uttered a breath spoke the contrary. Mandy's body, including her hair and tail, relaxed when she saw Peaches approach her, but not by much. "S-s-something's in there!" she whispered loudly, gripping her cousin's arm as she pointed to her room with her hand. Peaches tilted her head. "In that room?" "Yeah! I heard a muffled scream!" Peaches began to feel pain in her arm from Mandy gripping it so tightly. A further look at the hybrid made her realize that her knees were knocking together, her hair and tail were frazzled, and her entire body was shivering. A soft groan left the catgirl's lungs. "Well don't be so chicken. Open the door!" "I-I don't wanna! I'm too sca-a-aaaaaared!" "Just use your magic and open it!" Mandy swallowed another lump. Summoning up what very little courage she had left, she lit up her horn, let her magic grasp the doorknob, and allowed the door to slowly open. The first thing she saw was a dark figure sitting in her bed. "Who's there?" With a yelp, Mandy scrambled backwards on all fours until her rump made contact with the wall. Her hammer fell from her grasp, clattering to the floor as she shivered harder, her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Peaches rubbed her aching head. "You scaredy-cat, just go in!" "It's a shadow person!" "...A shadow what?" "A shadow person!" Mandy put her hands on her head. "They're gonna get me!" Peaches rolled her eyes. "Cuz, you're being irrational!" she snapped. "Calm down!" "How can I calm down when there's a shadow person right the-" By the time Mandy broke eye contact from Peaches to look at the room again, the dark figure was gone. An uneasy feeling settled in her chest as more stray hairs came out of place. She suddenly became aware of a presence beside her. Something so horrifying that it extended beyond any comprehension, something so dark and twisted that it extended beyond any meaning of oddness. It was not oddness. It was something...supernatural. The presence opened its mouth, baring tooth after tooth, and spoke only a single word on a single puff of air. "Boo." Mandy jerked her upper body upwards and screamed with such intensity that Peaches could see her tongue sticking out in a wavy shape like in cartoons. The gale-force sound broke glass item after every glass item -- computer screens, doors, flasks and beakers, fish tanks, and of course, Oprah's own two-week-old coffee table that she had just replaced, much to her chagrin. The scream seemed to scare the presence, who quickly made itself get lost, and also startled Peaches, who pinned her cat ears to her skull to protect her eardrums. Finally, the scream stopped, and Mandy began hovering in midair as she flailed all four limbs about. "SHADOW PERSO-O-OOOOOOON!" came the screech, before she zoomed off at a speed that could only rival that of Rainbow Dash. Peaches blinked, raising her ears once more. "Wow. That's probably the most scared I've seen her...ever." She glanced at the presence, whom she could see was just Olive. "She can really pack a scream, huh?" Olive got to her feet. "Last time she did that, she broke the windows of two interrogation rooms." "Huh. Why am I not surprised." Peaches responded in deadpan. "Well, I guess I should ask you what you were doing in Mandy's room. You look a little more well-rested." "Yeah, I decided to borrow it to take a nap in before my break ended." Olive sighed. "Gotta say, now I know why she loves naps so much. They're really refreshing!" Her expression soured. "Too bad I have to go back to Otto and his stupid snail racing..." "Hey, keep your chin up! I'm sure you can work things out with him." Peaches said, placing a hand on Olive's shoulder. "You two have been partners for a long time, right?" "Yup." Peaches' eyes widened slightly as an idea began worming its way into her mind. "Why don't you go talk to Twilight? Isn't she the Princess of Friendship?" "That's what Oprah told me." Olive said, her eyes half-lidded to show her lack of amusement. "And I just might, considering he won't bother to listen if I sit down and talk to him directly." "Did you try?" Olive blinked and grit her teeth, rocking back and forth for a few moments. "Well...I- n- no, but-" "Doesn't hurt to try and talk to him first. If that doesn't work, then go to Twilight." "You sound just like Oprah!" Olive lamented, giving a sigh that morphed into a half-groan somewhere along the line. "Although...I guess you're right. Otherwise I'll continue to have nightmares of giant snails eating me..." Her body gave a shudder as she remembered the last one she had. She refused to even look at a blob after experiencing the insides of a snail...if they were actually gelatinous in real life. It was scary to think about, because giant snails were very much a possibility in the real world, and for all she knew, Otto was keeping one somewhere out there and she didn't know it. "Well, either way, good luck. I'm off to go find Mandy." Peaches said. "She promised me we'd look for the Vallea culprit. Take it easy, okay?" "I'll try. Good luck." "Thanks!" As Peaches rounded a corner, Olive unclipped her badge phone and opened it. Maybe I should call him. She stared at the dark void that was the phone's screen. The dark void that was the phone's screen -- somehow, it didn't get broken within the din of Mandy's piercing scream -- stared back. I should tell him I'm on my way back. And maybe...talk with him. Minute after minute passed as she weighed the decision in her mind. Finally, she closed the phone and clipped it back onto her suit. No. I want to talk to him face-to-face. Not over the phone. With a huff, she began the journey back to her own Headquarters, Plan A being set in stone as she prepared to get the ball rolling down the hill -- hopefully to a single degree of pure success. A bang and a whoosh marked Olive's return to Headquarters. Although she had been feeling okay when she woke up, her mood began to take a downwards spiral when she saw Otto, eyeing his newest snail in its little container. His...his...honestly, she had lost count. "There you are!" Otto set the container down and got up. "Where've you been? You're pulling overtime on break time!" The comedic quip he made was completely lost on Olive, who simply rubbed her forehead. "It's...none of your concern." "Finally, I can take my break!" Otto cheered, completely ignoring how tired his partner's voice sounded and glancing at the watch on his wrist instead. "There's a snail racing competition I have to get to, and I'm already five minutes late! I'm lucky if I can even get Ringo entered at all!" Oh. Ringo. Like the Soundcheck member. Of course he'd name a snail that. Olive rolled her eyes, the hope that had been building up inside of her shot to hell and back. "Well, go and have fun." "Thanks!" Within just a few seconds, Otto was sent up the tube that Olive had just exited out of, and just like that, she had lost one of her chances to talk with her partner about his new hobby. Still, that didn't mean Plan A was out of the running -- she could just as easily coordinate more chances to meet up with Otto throughout the day, and the day still had a long way to go before it came to a close. With an exhale, she sat in her chair, picked up a pencil, and got to work on filling out a form to be sent to the Creature Care department at the Big Office. "Ms. O? Do you have a minute?" "Hm?" Olive picked her head up and stared at Dr. O, who had poked his own head in. "Oh, Dr. O. Yes, I do. What's going on?" Dr. O pulled a small stack of about twenty or so papers from his back, walking up to Olive's desk to hand them to her. "These are the weekly progress reports you wanted from the Medical department. Could you look over them and get back to me with any improvements we can make?" Olive nodded and eagerly took the papers, laying them on the desk. "Sure." "Thank you." And then, in a big bellow, "What's next?" Olive watched him leave before eyeing the papers and thumbing through them absentmindedly. Oprah said to have a heart-to-heart talk with Otto. But how can I do that when he's rushing off to snail racing competitions every second of the day? She glanced at her partner's side of the desk and scoffed. He didn't even do that much work here! A flare of anger lit up inside her heart. Not having a chance to talk with Otto was one thing, but when he was failing to do entire chunks of work, that was an immediate cause for alarm -- or in Olive's case, it was an immediate call to get mad. She remembered Oprah's advice, of how she should go to Twilight for help, and she grit her teeth. Well, I still have time to talk with him...but in the event that doesn't work out, I'm going to need a backup plan. The extra advice from one of the top experts in friendship would help, too. Taking the phone off of its receiver, she quickly dialed the numbers 1-9-0, then waited. "Hello?" "Twilight? It's Olive." "Oh, Olive! How are you doing?" For the Director, that was an incredibly loaded question. However, she picked her words carefully. "Much better now that I've had some rest, but...I need to ask you a favor." "What is it?" "I have a...um..." Olive fiddled with the wallet on her desk. "...sort of friendship problem that maybe you can help solve?" "Of course I can!" Twilight responded cheerily. "Is it with Otto?" Olive blinked. "How did you..." she started, before realizing that she had met up with Twilight and Rarity earlier. "Oh yeah, we were talking about it." "I figured." Twilight said. "Why don't you meet with me around 10AM tomorrow? I can come to your office if that's more convenient for you." "Sure, that works fine." "Great, see you then!" Both mare and child exchanged goodbyes. Olive put the phone back onto the receiver, slumping back in her chair and idly staring at the ceiling. Only a single thought passed through her mind, and it was one that made her smile, retaining another small shred of hope. Now everything will be all worked out. All that's left...is to see the outcome of Plan A. ...Plan A.5? Ah, who's keeping track. The Restaurant Plan...now that's a better name for it. The Restaurant Plan was a relatively simple plan. An annoying plan, sure, because dumb adults were quick to assume that Olive and Otto were dating when they most certainly were not, but a simple plan that Olive was sure would work out. Otto loved food. He loved restaurants that served food. And best of all, he loved eating with his best friend at restaurants that served food. So it would stand to reason that he would drop anything and everything pertaining to snail racing to come eat with Olive at The Bronze Grill, which just so happened to be one of his favorite restaurants. Surely he could kick back just for one night and enjoy some food, talk with his partner about the goings-on of life, and just forget everything about snail racing for one freakin' night. Right? Well, truth be told, Olive had been waiting at the restaurant for ten minutes now. Which wasn't a whole lot of time, but it did make her worry. "Well hi there, miss!" A short Earth pony with a light brown coat and a sandy-red mane approached the table the girl was sitting at, a smile on her maw as she took out a notepad. "My name's Parsley Sprig, I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I getcha started with somethin' to drink?" Olive blinked. "Um..." She looked towards the front of the restaurant for Otto, but there was no sign of him. "I'll just have a water, please. And may I also have a chocolate Twist Milkshake for my...guest?" Parsley wrote the orders down. "Sure thing, darlin', I'll bring those right out for ya." "Thank you." As the mare walked away, Olive unclipped and opened her badge phone, staring down at the keypad. She contemplated calling Otto, perhaps yelling at him about why he wasn't here yet and telling him to get his rump over to the restaurant before she hauled it there for him. But she knew Otto. Oftentimes, he wasn't that punctual, but for something like this, he was almost always on time. He had even said he would come when Olive had called him initially, and she had faith that he was true to his word. So why was it that, after twenty minutes, he hadn't shown up? Surely he hadn't gotten caught up in some crazy oddness, could he? Or maybe, just maybe, he was too obsessed with his snail racing to even give Olive the time of day, even in spite of his promise. Maybe, just maybe, he was still at that competition he went to earlier, and was so into it that he was willing to put his friendship at stake over it. She closed the phone and clipped it back onto her chest, heaving a sigh as she began to fiddle with the exposed silverware that sat on her table. What's the use? He'll probably never come. He's probably still at that stupid competition. A "tch" sound left her mouth before a worried expression settled on her face as she glanced at the line near the front again. But I called him, and he promised he would come. He would never stand me up. Her eyes began to water involuntarily. ...Would he? "And here ya go! One chocolate Twist Milkshake, and one water." Olive quickly blinked in an attempt to pull the tears back into her eyes before whirling her head around to watch as Parsley set the drinks on the table. When that was done, the mare put the tray on her back and pulled out her notepad again. "Er, thank you." Olive said hastily. "Are ya still waitin' for your guest, or wouldja like to order now?" "No, he's..." Olive bit her lip and dragged her fingers along the table, gripping it tightly and attempting to summon up the courage to come to an awful realization. She could deny it all she wanted, but the proof was metaphorically in the pudding, and she didn't want to run away from it anymore even if it hurt. "He's not coming." She swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat. "I'll order now, if you're ready." "Sure thing, darlin'! What wouldja like?" "Um..." Olive began to realize that she hadn't read the menu at all since she got to the restaurant, and quickly scanned through it to find something she liked. "I'll have...the triple-decker deluxe grilled cheese with a side of green beans, please." Parsley wrote the order down, and tucked the notepad into the left pocket of her apron. "Of course! I'll bring that right out." "Thank you." Olive watched the mare go again, the flare of anger that was still in her heart growing just a tad larger. She felt like crying in that instant, but forced herself to suppress her emotions, knowing that if an Odd Squad employee were spotted crying all alone at a restaurant, it wouldn't be a good look for her or her precinct. After all, she still had a reputation to maintain. In spite of her lack of crying, though, she could feel her throat begin to close up, allowing her to only get a couple saddening words out as her gaze moved to the line at the front door. The tears then welled up in her eyes again almost immediately, but this time, she let them fall freely. Getting stood up hurt. Getting stood up by your longtime best friend was some of the worst pain imaginable for an Odd Squad agent. "Well there goes Plan A." Olive normally liked grilled cheeses. They weren't on her Top 10 list of favorite foods, but they were very enjoyable, and she knew Otto made some of the best ones in town. But within the aura of sadness that surrounded her, she ate her meal in silence, the tears dripping onto the plate as she nearly choked on bite after bite. She tried to stay conspicuous so that no one would notice, instead attempting to reflect on the happy times in her life she had spent even before Otto came along. ...She had to admit, she didn't really spend enough time with much of anyone else. Maybe she could change that. If Parsley saw Olive crying, she certainly didn't ask about it. She did, however, put on a look of pity that Olive definitely saw. It made the Director sick to see, and ironically, that only made her cry harder. As soon as she paid the check, and as soon as Parsley wished her a good night, she hightailed it out of there, attempting to hide her face as best she could from the line that still existed at the front door. When she got outside, she grit her teeth and closed her eyes as she quickly got ready to book it back to her house so she could cry in the privacy of her own home while still retaining some dignity. "There...there you are, I..." Otto, with Ringo in a container under his arm, sprinted up to her right then, leaning over to catch his breath. "I...I'm so sorry, it's just...they had me stay late at the Monjack Bingo Center because I was late, as penalization, and..." He lifted himself up. "I wanted to come, really, I did, but they refused to listen to me! And then I had to take care of Ringo..." His excuse had no coherency to Olive. She wasn't sure whether that was because she didn't care or because it was actually non-coherent. Either way, she didn't want to listen to whatever excuse he had. "Yeah. Sure." she muttered, avoiding eye contact with him. "Olive, I'm so sorry." Otto repeated. "I didn't mean to stand you up, honest! I would have come if I were able to." He eyed the takeout bag in Olive's hands. "But hey, it looks like you got some yummy food! What'd you get?" Every bone in Olive's body was telling her to run straight home and not to stop running until she got there. But something made her feet stay rooted to the ground, and she figured that perhaps she could at least lord her meal over him even if she didn't truly enjoy it. "Deluxe grilled cheese, green beans, chocolate cake slice, some water, and a chocolate Twist Milkshake." Otto gasped. His eyes shimmered. "Ooh, I didn't know you liked The Bronze Grill's Twist Milkshakes!" He adopted a sly expression on his face. "Being daring now, aren't you?" Olive clenched her fists. A simple "Uh-huh" slipped out from her equally-clenched teeth as she deeply repressed the urge to punch Otto in his Odd-Todd-absolutely-does-not-compare-to-this-absolutely-punchable face. "Hey, don't be so downtrodden." Otto said. "I promise, next time you invite me to dinner, I'll clear my calendar. Look, I'll even Pinkie Promise if you want me to!" He went through the motions smoothly. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-" "No, no. You...don't need to." Olive held up a hand to stop him before turning her back on him. "I'm heading home. This food's going to spoil if I don't put it in the fridge." The mysterious thing keeping her feet plastered to the sidewalk finally released its grip on them, allowing her to begin her rather brisk walk home, takeout bag in hand. "Bye...I guess." she could hear Otto say, quickly followed by, "Oh shoot, I forgot to feed Ringo! Ugh, better head home too before he starves to death!" I can't believe it. He's off to tend to his stupid snail...again. The tears flowed again. Olive allowed them to, knowing that hardly anyone sane would be on the streets at night. Her body quaked with sob after sob. He'll never learn, will he? He can't get his stupid priorities straight. He stood me up because of snail racing. He's neglecting his work because of snail racing. He's even mistreating me, his own partner, his own best friend...because of snail racing! At the same time as her frustrated scream, her foot made contact with a crumpled-up soda can that went flying a considerable distance. She watched it fly, and as it flew, her eyes widened with a realization. I still have a backup plan. I have quite a few backup plans. Her head lifted, and her lips curled up into a small smile. Although a bit of sadness still remained within her, she managed to scrub most of it away and replace it with confidence, knowing she had many people and ponies in her corner on whom she could rely on. Plan B it is. The next day, Olive had decided to work overtime to make up for Otto's shortcomings. He, of course, was nowhere to be found -- and by this point, she had stopped actively looking for him. Any agents' questions about him were answered with the same well-crafted lie, that he was simply sick with a nasty cold that left him bedridden. She refused to elaborate further, and any pushiness to do so resulted in an angry glare sent the asker's way that let them know it wasn't a good idea to push her around. A bright flash of teleportation stopped Olive's work cold as she set down her pencil. "Olive? It's Agent Twilight." The alicorn approached the Director. "You asked me to meet with you?" Wordlessly, Olive looked up, only for Twilight to falter as she stared into her friend's puffy bloodshot eyes. It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce what had happened, but she felt like asking anyway. "What happened? Are you all right?" "I'm fine. I'm just..." Olive shook her head. "Sit down and I'll tell you about it." Twilight did as she was told, taking a seat in one of the golden chairs that sat behind Olive's desk. She looked around for any sign of the Director's partner. "Where's Otto? Isn't he here?" Olive almost wanted to laugh in that instant, just for the rhetorical question that had been asked so many times over it was making her physically sick. Instead, she decided to go the deadpan route as she fired back with, "Where do you think he is?" "Oh." Twilight mentally slapped herself for her foolish thinking. "Well, anyway, I'm here now. So what's going on with you and him? I know you said he took up snail racing, but is that impacting your friendship?" "Yes. His workflow has slowed down substantially." Olive bit her lip. "He and I, we worked together like we had been doing it since we were babies. But he's been neglecting his work to go and participate in snail races. He's done so little because he's caring for...whatever snail he has in possession at the time." She gripped the desk and shut her eyes tight. "And last night, he...he stood me up!" "Stood you up? How?" "After I called you, I thought I would try and work things out with him by inviting him to dinner. Like a nice in-person conversation." Olive said. "He told me he would meet me at The Bronze Grill at 9:00. But when I got there, I waited and waited, and...he never showed up. That is, until I left the restaurant." "Where was he?" "He said that he had to stay late at the Monjack Bingo Center -- that's where the latest snail racing competition was being held -- because he was late to the competition. But he never called to say he was gonna be late or anything, he just...showed up and lamely tried to explain himself. And even after I told him I was going home, he rushed off to tend to Ringo." Twilight tilted her head. "Who's Ringo?" "His newest snail." A brief silence hung in the room. Twilight could easily see Olive struggling to not cry, to bottle her emotions up. She was almost tempted to tell her not to do that, but didn't want to upset the girl further, so she let things be. "Even though I had backup plans to fall back on, and friends to support me...my confidence in making things right crumbled as soon as I got home, and...I cried myself to sleep last night." Olive explained. "That's why my eyes look weird." Twilight extended a hoof out and rested it on Olive's arm, fixing the Director with a sympathetic look. "Olive, you know Otto better than anyone. You're his partner. You need to tell him how you feel about his obsession with snail racing, and let him know that what he's doing isn't right." "But how will that fix things?" "If he realizes that what he’s doing is hurting not only his partnership and friendship with you, but also his job, he’ll listen. But if push comes to shove, get the Big O involved and let her know what he’s doing." Twilight raised her other hoof. "However!" Olive straightened up in surprise as Twilight's expression grew gravely serious. "Only use the Big O as a last resort. Tell Otto how you feel first. Go to one of his competitions and have a chat with him." She smiled. "It couldn't hurt." Olive groaned. Going to one of his stupid competitions was what I was trying to avoid in the first place! If I go there, then I'll just get mad and go off on him, ruining the experience for everyone else...and I don't want to drag the rest of the competitors into what is already a tricky sticky friendship mess. Ha...tricky sticky...sounds like just the sort of thing Mandy would say. But anyway, Twilight's idea isn't necessarily a bad one. I can't get him to sit down and talk at any other time, so why not go straight to the source to talk to him? A smile crossed her face. "That does sound like a good idea. I'll try it out!" A relieved sigh that she didn't know she was holding left her lungs. "Thank you, Twilight. Your advice on friendship is invaluable." "No problem! Anything for a friend." Twilight returned the smile as her horn lit up. "If you need me, feel free to call, okay?" "Will do. See you later!" With a wave of her hoof, Twilight was gone in another bright purple flash of light. Olive stood up from her chair. "Now, to find out where the latest competition is..." As she began walking towards the glass doors, however, her mind came up with an idea that was even better, and virtually risk-free. Otto may have lived and breathed snail racing competitions, but he certainly didn't live at the places where the competitions were held -- he still had a place of residence. A home. And she had been to it enough times that she didn't need to research where it was. She snapped her fingers. "Or I could just meet him at his house! Would be way better, and faster!" She chuckled to herself as she turned right around and went back to her desk. "Olive, you're a little genius." Back at home, Otto was busy playing The Rise of Order, one of the hot new video games that had just come out last month. He had been having trouble with one particular level, and it seemed his latest attempt was another to add on to the pile of failures. "Aw, come on! It's already been three weeks, I've read all the playthroughs I could find, how have I not-" Knocking at the door forced his tirade, as well as his game, to be put on pause. A "who's that?" left his lips as he got up and headed for the door, opening it to find Olive. "Hi." "Olive!" Otto blinked in surprise. "What's going on? Is there an odd problem?" "No, nothing like that." she said plainly. "Can I come in?" "Sure! But, uh, watch out for the snails." Otto's warning was legitimate -- the very first step Olive took was one of very few safe ones, as snails of all kinds were moving everywhere. And even then, she still managed to get goo on her shoe. "You're letting snails climb in your house?" she asked, her tone not holding back with its disgust. "Only a couple at a time." Otto replied, closing the door and making his way over to the couch. "So what did you want to talk about?" Olive followed him, making sure to avoid the other snails climbing about before she found herself in a position to fix him with a steely gaze and firm eye contact. "About your snail racing." "My snail racing?" Otto adopted a confused expression before it turned into one of excitement as he gasped. "Don't tell me you're getting into it too?!" "No!" snapped Olive, before she forced herself to regulate her emotions. A sigh wheezed out. "I mean, no. I'm not. But it is affecting your workflow and your employment at Odd Squad as a whole." Otto looked defeated, but mostly he was just confused yet again. "How so?" "You’ve been doing such minimal work that I’ve been forced to consider whether I should work overnights to cover your butt. You stood me up when I invited you out to dinner. All you’ve been focusing on is that stupid snail racing ever since I showed it to you. Can’t you focus on work, or at least something that’s more worthwhile than that stupid hobby of yours?" "What?" Otto blinked. "You're the one who showed it to me in the first place! And now you want me to quit?!" Any attempts at Olive stifling her rage were gradually flying clear out the window. "I’m fine with you getting a hobby, but not when it’s going to interfere with your work this much! If you’re not gonna quit snail racing then you might as well quit Odd Squad!" Otto recoiled, as if Olive had spoken of sin. "I would never quit Odd Squad! It's my life!" "No. Snail racing is your life, Otto." Olive's voice began to quiver. "If you're not gonna quit, then maybe I'll get the Big O and make her fire you." That was enough for Otto to shoot straight up out of his seat. "You wouldn't!" "I would." Otto stammered, unable to get a single word out. The look on Olive's features was deathly serious in every sense of the word, and he knew it. However, he certainly didn't feel like fighting with his partner, and decided to go the diffusion route instead. "L-look, Olive, I don't wanna fight...uh..." He looked to the floor and spotted a particular snail, gently picking it up and holding it in his hand as he stuck it out for Olive to see. "Here! Look at John Doe! Pet him!" Olive slightly leaned backwards. "Why would I want to pet something that's gross and slimy?" The gasp Otto let loose left his jaw unhinged. His eye twitched once, than twice. He was pretty sure part of his brain had completely shut down just from hearing his partner dis what was, ironically enough, a fun sport. "Don't mock snail racing!" he nearly yelled. "It's an art!" "It's a stupid silly little sport and that's all it'll ever be!" Olive fired back. "We've been working together for ages. But I don’t want to be partners with someone who’s going to make me do all the heavy lifting and go neglect their agents because of some craze." "Didn’t the whole incident with Rainbow Robyn and the vortex teach you anything about loosening up?" he said, recalling that day clear as...well, day. He could swear he still had a scar somewhere from the incident, but he remembered every word of the lesson he and Olive had to recite to Oprah at the end, and kept them in mind as he went on an enraged defense. "Life’s not all about work, Olive. You have to live a little! We’re kids! We should enjoy the freedom we have before we become adults!" Olive jabbed a finger into her chest. "I do live a little. I play sports, real sports. But I can also balance Odd Squad! If I can balance that and something I like, then why can't you?!" "I can balance snail racing and Odd Squad, too!" This got a hate-filled laugh out of Olive. "Oh really? Because I wouldn't call 'letting Olive handle most of the work while I gallivant across town with my pwecious snails' balancing things!" "Maybe you're just jealous that I'm doing something fun and you're doing something boring!" Now it was Olive's turn to get offended, as she recoiled with a scoff. "Sports are boring?!" she screamed. "Pardon me, but I happen to enjoy playing sports. It's good exercise for me." "See?" Otto said, extending an index finger towards Olive and choosing to ignore the smugness in her previous sentence. "You can't even find a hobby that's fun! Why can't you be more like me and do more things for the fun of it instead of finding something educational about it?" "I do things for the fun of it!" "Oh really? Name one!" Olive bit her lip. He got her there, but it wasn't like she would admit it. She furiously racked her memories, trying to find something she did in her life that she considered fun just for the sake of fun. Finally, she settled on something that, while it was a weak comeback, was legitimate in that she did indeed enjoy doing it for fun. "I like video games!" "Ha!" Otto's exclamation was high-pitched enough that it would have broken a studio's sound mixer. "I haven't seen you pick up a single video game since the Game Time case!" A "tch" sound left Olive as she balled her hands up into fists. He was right -- for her supposed love of video games, she hadn't gone back to the Shmumbercade or bought a video game of any kind since then. In all honesty, she had meant to, but it had slipped her mind time and time again until she simply forgot about it. Which was a mistake, particularly if a video-game-themed villain happened to come along, since not even her wit and her smarts could worm her out of whatever patterns in their crimes they laid out for her to follow, nor could they worm her out of a trap if she found herself in one. Otto continued. "Think back to when we were run out of business by Weird Tom's Weird Team. I found a hobby, and you were moping around for an entire month doing nothing. You told me yourself!" Olive's eyes widened as she remembered that horrific month. Being laid off from Odd Squad didn't leave her with much motivation to consider getting another job, whether it was something paid or it was simply volunteer work. Odd Squad was her livelihood, something that was an essential part of her, and it had been ripped away by some stupid adults (and a young, but justifiably stupid, Big O) in the blink of an eye. So, all she did was lay around, watch some movies on Shmumflix, eat, and sleep. She had told Otto all of this, and as far as she was aware, he had been very understanding. But now... Now he was using the experience as leverage in an argument. An utterly stupid defense that wouldn't hold up in Odd Squad court even with said young but justifiably stupid Big O as the judge. I've had enough. If he wants to continuously fail to see the point even after I've hammered it in enough times, if he just wants to argue for the sake of arguing...then fine. Plan B only went halfway well. Time to move on to Plan C. I'm sorry, Twilight. But my life is being cut into pieces, and like you said, this is going to be my last resort. "So what? We're not out of business now." she fired back, with a scowl on her face. "But you will be. And I'll make sure of it!" Otto met the nasty expression and even nastier words with an expression of his own. "You wouldn't dare get me fired." "As I said, I would absolutely dare to get you fired." Olive said. "If you love Odd Squad so much as you claim to, then you'll show up to Headquarters tomorrow and actually do work instead of fretting over whatever stupid, little, inefficient snail racing competition you may have." The key word in Olive's tirade was, of course, "may", because she had no idea if there was a competition coming up. Coincidentally, though, she was right on the money, as Otto dropped his anger. "B-but I have to get into the province tournament bracket! There's a special prize!" Olive turned to leave. "Whatever 'special prize' there is can wait, Otto." A crunch sound seemed to fill the entire area. Olive's eyes widened. She blinked. Lifted up her foot. And found various bits and pieces of a broken shell filling some of the gaps in the sole. Otto gasped and immediately rushed over as fast as he could without taking any innocent gastropods' lives. "Ringo!" He pulled out Olive's shoe to inspect it, completely ignoring her as she struggled to keep her balance. "Oh no...nononono!" As Olive stopped her fall by leaning on the table with her arms, she saw Otto's disheartened and hurt expression. "You cracked his shell! His lucky shell!" Otto squeezed his eyes shut. "And I...I can't even replace it!" He let go of Olive's foot, allowing the girl to turn upright once again. The sight of him crying made her rage dispel, and she bit her lip as she struggled with what to say. "Otto, I-" Within seconds, she was under Otto's arm and heading for the door without her even noticing. "H-hey! Put me down!" She squirmed about in an attempt to break free, but to no avail. "Otto, if you don't put me down right now, I'll-" She didn't get to finish her sentence as the door opened. Otto's right side, the one that was holding Olive, leaned backwards, and the girl was thrown into the air, landing on the sidewalk leading to the front door chin-first. The action, of course, was coupled with a startling and confused scream. "AND STAY OUT!!" were Otto's final words, echoing into the afternoon air along with the sharp slam of a door. Olive slowly got up and rubbed her sore chin, snapping her jaws together a few times to make sure they still worked and nothing was broken. When she received confirmation that everything was in working order aside from some pain, she began to make her way to the tube entrance in his yard, ducking through it while reflecting on the argument she had with her friend. Or, well, no. She supposed it was her former friend, now. "Yes. Mhm, I'll get those to you right away. Thank you!" As the Big O put the white handle of the phone back onto its equally-white receiver, her eyes caught one of her assistants poking his head in. "Big O, ma'am? Olive wants to see you. From the Mississauga precinct?" "Oh! Yes, bring her in." As Olive approached her desk, the Big O put on her usual genuine smile. "Olive! It's wonderful to see you." "You as well." The Big O moved a plate of cookies towards the Director. "Would you like a cookie? I have a whole plate of them here. Freshly baked!" Olive shook her head. "I think I'll pass, but thank you." The Big O set the plate down. "So what brings you to my office?" "Um...it's about my partner, Otto." Olive explained. "He's been neglecting his duties at work as of late and I want you to take action." The Big O raised an eyebrow. "Neglecting his work, you say? How so?" "He's been caught up in this new..." Olive rolled her hand about, trying to find a good word to describe it. "...thing called snail racing, and it's slowed down his workflow. I’ve been having to cover for him, doing his work while also doing mine. He’s out for a majority of the day now, including on his break." She sighed. "I've tried to talk things out with him on numerous attempts, but they've all failed." "Hmm." The Big O tilted her head inquisitively. "I did notice he brought back his half of the precinct report late compared to your half...and if you tried talking things out with him..." "I was hoping that maybe, if it’s not too much to ask...you could fire him?" Olive gave a nervous grin. "I-I mean a Director who doesn’t serve their precinct...they’re hardly a Director at all, right? They’re dead weight!" The Big O nodded. "You do make a point. The Mississauga precinct is one of the least busiest precincts in Canada and has been for a while, but if Otto is neglecting his work, then I don't have much of a choice." Secretly, it alarmed her to hear Olive talk about Otto in such a way -- after all, they were co-legends -- but protocol had to be followed, and she couldn't let personal bias get in the way. "Are you sure you'll be fine handling the precinct on your own, Olive? I could always help you search for another qualified candidate-" "No, I'll be fine." Olive smiled. "I might already have someone in mind who's willing to help out, anyway." The Big O simply shrugged. "Well, it is your precinct. So if you're willing to go through with this, then so am I." She leaned to her left and glanced behind Olive. "Assistant!" Another assistant, different from the one before, entered. "Yes, ma'am?" "Please bring me Form #5520." "Of course, I'll deliver it to you right away!" "Thank you very much!" As the assistant quickly made their exit, Olive blinked. "What, exactly, are you planning to do?" "I’ll write up a termination of employment notice. This will notify Otto that he is hereby fired from Odd Squad and is not to return to Headquarters for employment reasons under any circumstances unless I hire him back. You can hand-deliver it to him." Olive felt hope filling her heart. Now she knew what Twilight meant by using the Big O as a last resort. The most logical thing one can do after noticing an employee slacking off repeatedly is to go to the boss and get them fired. With Otto, there was no more covering for him, no more trying to talk him out of what he was doing -- only going to the extremes would make him learn his lesson. And if that didn't work? Well...she didn't know what else. She had already severed ties of friendship with the argument. She was here now, getting him fired. She supposed there was nothing more she could do. She nodded. "I appreciate this, Big O." "Oh, don't mention it a bit." The Big O waved a dismissive hand. "It's my job to write these things, as unfortunate as it may seem sometimes." The assistant returned right then, with nothing more but a sheet of paper in hand. "Here you are, ma'am. Form #5520." "Thank you!" The assistant left once more, leaving just Olive and the Big O alone. The latter quickly picked up a pencil and got to filling out the form, while Olive looked on nervously. "Just give me a second...gotta fill out all the necessary sections here..." the Big O muttered as she got to the "Reason for Notice" part of the form. A few minutes later, she was done. "All right. Just hand this to him and you're all set." Olive took the paper eagerly -- perhaps a little too eagerly, but she didn't mind. "Thank you." "Not a problem at all!" The Big O held out the plate of cookies again. "Are you sure you don't want a cookie before you go?" Olive stared at the plate for a few moments. While she wasn't hungry at the moment, the cookies did look good...and she supposed she deserved a little reward for enduring Otto's shenanigans all this time. "Actually? I think I will." The Big O smiled and gave a playful wink. "I knew you'd cave. Everyone always does." Olive laughed in response, turning on her heel and walking away. "Take care." "You as well, Olive!" As the Director left the room and began heading for the exit, she munched on her sugar cookie, a grin splitting her face as her body began to swell with excitement. Assistants who passed by widened their eyes upon seeing her, but she paid them no mind. A termination of employment notice...now this will show him. And I know exactly who's going to help me when he's gone. "Hello! Can I help you?" "Yes, I'm looking for the snail racing competition being held here?" The receptionist at the desk of the Mississauga Community Center pointed to Olive's right. "Yes, you want Room 7." "Thank you." The Community Center wasn't all too big -- Olive had been here many times to go swimming, as well as get some basketball practice in when the Odd Squad Gym at her Headquarters was too packed. She knew her way around, and thus was able to easily identify Room 7 along the right-side hallway. The sound of muffled chanting filled her ears as she got closer. If I really wanted to be mean, I would shame him in front of the crowd. The paper in her hand rustled as she held a tighter grip on it. But I've got standards. As she opened the door to Room 7, she was greeted with a rather unusual sight, even by her standards as an Odd Squad agent. The room was filled with about eight people and ponies, all of them staring down at the ground at a tiny racetrack that went straight across. Eight snails in eight lanes slowly moved, as their owners -- or whom Olive had to assume were their owners -- cheered them on. One racer among the crowd was Otto, who was talking to an elderly woman. "All right, Betty! Nice going!" "Thank you, Otto!" Betty smiled. "Oh, Sammy's really got guts!" Olive suddenly felt awkward, like she was in a foreign environment she shouldn't be in. No one had noticed her yet, not even when the door closed rather loudly behind her. "Hey, Otto!" And now they did. "Another Odd Squad agent?" a unicorn stallion asked. Otto's eyes narrowed as he glared at Olive. "Yes. The one who cracked Ringo's shell." Gasps rung out through the room, causing Olive to wince slightly. "That's her?" "She hurt Ringo?" "The nerve of her!" Crumpets...well, I'm already deep in muck as it is. Guess I should add more fuel to the fire. The room went silent. Otto stood agape, his eyes bugging out of his skull. "This...this is-" "Your termination of employment notice." Olive attempted to draw herself up to Otto's height as best she could without resorting to tippy-toes. "I'm an agent of my word. Don't bother coming into work -- today, tomorrow, or any day in the foreseeable future." The look on Otto's face shifted from shock to hurt. It almost made Olive feel pity for him, if her cocky, "this is gonna go so right for me every single step of the way" attitude didn't prevent that from coming forth. He stared at her for what felt like hours. "I can't believe it...y-you..." He looked at the paper, then back to her. "How could you do this? I thought we were partners! Friends!" Olive thought back to Oprah's words, how "partners" and "friends" didn't have to be mutually exclusive terms. To her, Otto was neither a partner nor a friend right now. Secretly, she couldn't deny that this whole roundabout way of saying "you're fired" stung a little. But at work and in life, he had been nothing more than a ball and chain wrapped around her ankle, and it was now time to get the big ol' Odd Squad scissors and snip off the cuff. "I think last night's argument confirmed otherwise." she said. "And this comes from the Big O herself, as you can see." Otto was rendered catatonic right then and there, slumping to his knees and simply looking up at the sky. His eyes, once a chocolate-brown color, were becoming duller by the second. Olive, on the other hand, gazed around the room of angry and upset snail racing competitors, and gave a nervous chuckle. "I, uh...I can tell I'm not welcome here, so...I'm gonna go. Good luck!" She turned to leave, fast-walking straight out the door and closing it before booking it towards the Community Center entrance. Her heart began to give painful pangs, but she largely ignored them, knowing exactly why the pangs were coming now. Still, she found it in her best interest to let Twilight in the loop and let her know how things went -- perhaps the Princess of Friendship had more advice at her hooves to dispense. Olive made her way into the bullpen, immediately spotting Twilight at her desk. "Hi, Olive!" the alicorn greeted. "Did you talk to Otto?" Olive heaved a sigh. "I tried to, but he refused to listen. So I went to the Big O and had her sign off on a termination of employment notice. I just delivered it to him now." Twilight nearly fell off of her chair, her wings opening and fluffing up in shock. "You got Otto fired?!" she yelled. "Yup. You said to use the Big O as a last resort, Twilight, and I did." Olive chuckled. "He was left in quite a state of shock when I gave him that paper. But at least it was better than what I was initially going to do." Twilight folded her wings back in and resumed her normal position in the chair. "Which was?" "Shame him in front of his snail-racing-loving friends." A look of disappointment crossed Twilight's face for just a moment, before she gave a resigned sigh. "Well, you did what you had to. But aren't you still friends?" "Nope. I've broken off all ties of friendship." Twilight's next freakout simply involved a pair of eyes widening. "What?" she asked, struggling to find the words to say in response for a minute or two. Instead, she stammered, starting on one word before backtracking and resorting to another. Ultimately, another sigh left her body. "Well...I suppose it can't really be helped, but...you and Otto have been partners and friends for a long time! To see you two break ties like this, it's almost impossible to imagine!" "I don't want to be friends, or partners, with someone who's not going to prioritize work over their hobbies. It's like I told him: I play sports all the time, but I also am loyal to Odd Squad and do my work in an orderly and timely fashion. You can balance a hobby and employment at the same time." Twilight nodded, knowing that she herself was a good example of someone who could balance both. She enjoyed reading and gaining knowledge about a wide variety of subjects, but still managed to do her work in both Odd Squad and Equestria. Still, she couldn't help but frown at Olive. "Sounds like you need to be a little more open to Otto's likes and dislikes." "That's not the problem." Olive fired back. "The problem is that he keeps neglecting his work for something inconsequential. That's what adults do!" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I don't know...I don't think that's how adults act." she said, gesturing to herself. "Look. Maybe it's just a passing phase. Kind of like how he changes what he wants to be when he grows up all the time. His love of snail racing might not stick around for long." "I hope not. It's stuck around for long enough." Olive rolled her eyes. "But in the meantime, he doesn't have a job now." "So who's going to take his place?" "No one. Not in an official sense, anyway." It took Twilight only a few seconds to realize exactly what the sly look on Olive's face meant. "You want Mandy to help you?" "Why not? She does a great job here. Surely she can help me out." "But there's no way she can balance her work here and whatever you're going to make her do at your precinct." Twilight pointed out. "Do you really think she'll say yes?" Olive waved a dismissive hand. "Ah, of course she will. Mandy's a very open-minded person. A couple weeks ago I asked her if she could mow my lawn for me because I was too tired from a basketball game I had played in. She got right to work, got it done within a half-hour, and even planted flowers." "Uh-huh." Twilight said, an unimpressed look on her features. "Well, she's napping right now, so I don't think you're going to be able to wake her up. She's already solved ten cases and fixed fifteen of Oona's gadgets in just the span of three hours." Olive snorted, and then laughed. "Oh, Twilight...Twilight, please...that's nothing! For an Investigation agent, that's completely average!" She began heading for the right-side hallway, waving her hand in a beckoning motion. "Come on, let's go. I'll show you just how much I know my own adopted daughter." Mandy was, of course, deep in the thralls of her afternoon nap. With a blanket covering her and a pillow clutched tightly against her body, she was in utter bliss. Well...aside from the dreams of the shadow-person. Those had been resurfacing every few days. But luckily, her dreams this time around were peaceful. Two hands grasping her arm shook her. "Hey Mandy, wake up. I've got a question to ask, and you're going to say yes!" Twilight simply rolled her eyes at that comment. Mandy, however, continued to snore, her tail thrashing back and forth furiously. Olive groaned. "Come on! Surely if you don't wake up, you can work in your sleep, right?" Noticing Twilight's disbelieving stare, she commented, "It happened once! I saw it happen!" "Zztop, zzhadow-perzzon, y' not gettin' away...!" Mandy's finger was sitting against the wall she was facing, but only sat there for a few moments before her leg and foot began to twitch as violent snores erupted forth. Twilight shrugged. "I hate to say I told you so, but-" "Shh! Just watch." Leaning close to Mandy's pony ear, Olive whispered, "Come on, wake up! If you do, maybe I'll make you a strawberry tart! I know how much you love my strawberry tarts." More loud snores told both Olive and Twilight that the former's plan had failed. The twitching stopped, however, as did the tail-thrashing. "Jeez, how wiped out are you?" "Like I said, she's been busy." Olive chose to ignore Twilight's quip and leaned close to Mandy once more. "Please, Mandy, wake up. All I want to do is ask you one simple question. How hard does this have to be that I-" A flurry of snorts marked Mandy's arrival to the waking world as she shot straight up in bed. "I-I'm awake! Where'zz th' fire, where'zz th' fire?! Did I leave th' muffinzz in th' oven 'gain?!" "Mandy, calm down!" Twilight hovered, placing her hooves on Mandy's shoulders. "You're in your room. There's no fire. Everything's fine." "Huh?" Mandy's jaws parted in a yawn. "Oh! Hey, Twi..." The hybrid weakly waved, and then her eyes laid on Olive, her arms outstretched. "Momma...!" "Nice to see you too. Fully awake." Olive rubbed the hybrid's head, causing her to give a happy cry of contentment. "Look, I need to ask you a question, and you'd better say yes!" Mandy blinked twice. "A what?" Upon seeing Olive stammer, she rubbed her head. "Sorry...my brain's still defoggin'..." She smiled. "Repeat that?" "I need. To ask you. A question. And the only answer I am accepting is a big fat yes!" "Okay!" Mandy grinned. Blinked a few times. And then said, "What is it?" "Can you help me out at my precinct?" Olive asked, watching as Mandy teleported a glass of water into existence and drank it. "It's just that I fired Otto and I need someone that'll be willing to help me o-" Mandy's eyes widened as she choked on a large glob of water. Every cough she made caused her hair and tail to bush out. "You...you did whoosa-what-now?!" "I fired Otto." Olive shrugged. "He’s too fixated on snail racing nowadays. That’s his life’s purpose. Not Odd Squad. I tried to talk him into giving snail racing up, but...he refused to listen. And then we got into an argument, he kicked me out of his house, I went to the Big O and had her fill out a termination of employment notice, I gave him the notice, and...now I’m alone." Silence. Mandy stared at Olive with an expression that somehow combined bewilderment, panic, and a tinge of "is this some kind of cruel joke?" all in one. "I think you broke her." Twilight commented, slowly reaching out a hoof to touch Mandy. Thankfully, the hybrid (mostly) broke out of her stupor herself with a mighty shake of her head. "Y-y-you...you...I...who...you..." She moved her neck to one side in order to "pop popcorn" with her neck muscles, as it were. "Nonononono, hold on. I have to get this straight." she said. "So Otto’s obsessed with snail racing and not Odd Squad, and you tried to convince him to give up snail racing but that didn’t work, so you went to his house, you two got into some big kerfuffle-huffle, he kicked you out, then you went to the Big O and had her give you a “termination of employment” notice, whatever that means, and then you gave him the notice, and now you’re...running your precinct on your own." She grinned. "Do I have that right, do I have that wrong, or do I have that utterly stinkin' bananas?" Olive exchanged a glance with Twilight. "Well, thank odd I don't have to repeat it..." the Director muttered, before she nodded. "There are some parts I left out, but that's the main gist of it." Mandy tilted her head. "Ooooookaaaay, so why're you tellin' me this?" "I thought since you're so efficient working at this precinct, you can help me at my precinct...in place of Otto?" Olive's grin was nerve-wracking to Mandy, who began to sweat and gave a nervous laugh. "M-Momma, surely you understand that I already have a big workload here as it is and won’t have time for your precinct? If I ran two precincts at once, I’d experience burnout!" Twilight sighed. "Once again, Olive, I told you so. Mandy's just too busy. You and Otto work well as a team." "Yeah!" Mandy nodded in agreement. "I couldn't possibly fill the void Otto left behind. You two have been partners for forever! And you make the bestest team in all of Odd Squad!" "But I don't want him back if he's just going to talk about snail racing all the time! I want him focused on work, not to...to..." Olive stammered as she tried to find the right word. "...regress to how he used to be!" Mandy pinched her mouth inwards. "Hmm...why did he take up snail racing to begin with, anyway?" "He was bored and wanted something to do. So I showed him a listing in The Shmumber Times about it and things went from there." A snrrk sound bubbled forth from Mandy, seconds before she launched into full-on belly laughter. "What? What's so funny?" Mandy managed to roll off of her bed and onto the floor in the process, her legs flailing wildly as she continued to laugh, finding the time to squeeze words in between chortles. "You...you started this? All of this?!" Olive blushed and sharply turned her head away. "S-so what if I did?" she retorted. "That's not an excuse to defend him or his actions!" "Oh...oh odd...ohh, if that oracle hadn't...gotten a restraining order...against me..." Mandy coughed a few times as she slowly rose to her feet, clutching her chest and wiping her tears away. "Now that, is one of the best things I've heard all day." A sigh marked the end of her guffawing as she gazed at Olive. "Momma, honestly. Otto's his own person, he has a right to do what he wants!" "But not if he's neglecting his own work to do it!" "True..." Mandy's pony ear flicked a few times until she stumbled upon an idea, punctuating it with a snap of her fingers. "Ah! Why don't I go over to his house and have a little chat with him on your behalf? That way, I can try and convince him to come back to work! He can do it for the 'darling daughter' he claims he's not a father of." She gave her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. Olive blinked. "How is that going to help?" "Let's just say I've picked up a few..." Mandy cleared her throat. "...flair d'en'taires from Rarity." "Is...that even a word?" Twilight's eyes were half-lidded. "I have no idea." "That termination of employment notice might've done something to him! Like a good ol' kick in the rump!" Mandy nodded enthusiastically. "I'll be the final nail in the coffin that'll get him to come back!" Olive crossed her arms and scowled. "I don't care if he's back or not, as long as he gets his work done." Mandy grinned and booped Olive on the nose. "Don't think you're off the hook either!" "What?" "You need to loosen up a little!" Mandy chirped. "Life's not all about work, Momma. Ya gotta live a little!" Olive groaned. "Otto told me the exact same thing, so I'm going to reiterate what I told him." She took a deep breath. "I do live a little. I play sports all the time. But I can also balance work. If I can do it then so can he!" Mandy simply smiled her usual cat smile and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're skeptical, huh?" Olive scoffed. "You shouldn't be, considering you complain all the time about how I'm- hey, w-where are you-" The next thing the Director knew, she had rope tied around her stomach and was being dragged out of the room by Mandy. It had all happened so fast that she hadn't even noticed. "Mandy, let go of me!" "Nope!" "No?" Olive spluttered. "I'm your mother and I'm telling you to let me go this instant!" In response, Mandy simply hummed a little ditty before giving a "Bye, Twilight!" to the alicorn still in the room. "Have fun, you two." she responded, waving a friendly hoof. Olive growled and wound up her lungs for one last mighty cry, knowing that escape attempts would be proven futile since Mandy was bound to catch her each and every time. "I'm never giving you my strawberry tarts again!" Inside the Odd Squad Boutique -- the name was still a work in progress -- Rarity was busy organizing her spools of thread. Just as she was about to start on the second shelf, a knock rung through the room. "Oh! Goodness, who is that?" Her head swiveled towards the door. "Come in!" The door opened, and in walked Mandy. "Hiya!" "Mandy!" Rarity clapped her hooves together. "Oh, what a delight. And, er...you brought Olive, too!" By the time she arrived to the room, the grumpy Olive had been flipped onto her side, looking very displeased as she felt both her butt and the side of her body begin to itch from being dragged along the floor. In response to Rarity, all she did was give a nasty grumble that might or might not have contained a swear word. "That I did!" Mandy looked around. "Is Pinkie here?" "Right here!" came the shrill cry from the back. "I'll be out in a bit!" "She's modeling a dress for me. One from my newest line, 'Creatures and Features'!" Rarity explained. Mandy's nose wrinkled. "Doesn't sound like an interesting name." "The title is a bit of a work in progress, but I assure you, the dresses are simply gorgeous!" The sound of a curtain moving along a rod caught Mandy's attention. The first thing she laid eyes on was her partner, clad in a leopard-printed dress. She could swear there were patches of (what she hoped was) faux fur on it, but she couldn't tell from such a far distance. She gasped, her eyes shimmering. "Pinkie, you look amazing!" "I do?" Pinkie had a mirror levitated towards her so she could check out her new appearance, and like Mandy, her eyes got shimmers in them as well. "I do!" "Oh, I must agree with Mandy, darling, this dress looks wonderful on you!" Rarity praised as Pinkie made her way over to the group. "Would you like me to make you another? Perhaps...mm, just in case?" "Sure!" Pinkie replied. "But why can't I keep this one?" "That dress is one of my best works, and I want to preserve it!" "Sounds good to me!" Pinkie, realizing she hadn't met the two newcomers to the boutique, gasped. "Hey partner, hey Olive!" "Hi!" "Hi, Pinkie." Pinkie blinked in surprise. "Someone's in a grouchy mood!" she said. "What's got you so steamed?" "It's a long story." Mandy said, sympathetically patting Olive's head much to her chagrin. "Why don't you change out of that dress and I can give ya a quick rundown?" "Sure! Gimme oooooone second!" "One." Pinkie playfully rolled her eyes. "Okay...one minute?" "That I can do." As Pinkie skipped to the dressing room in the back to change, Rarity perked up. "Oh, Mandy, I've been meaning to ask you. Is the Color-inator fixed yet?" she asked. "I have a couple of white spools that I would love to experiment on using the gadget!" Mandy bit her lip, her eyes moving side to side. "Ehhhh...gettin' there! Oona really gave that thing a beating!" A look of horror settled on her face. "And then she gave me a beating...ruthlessly...with her mallet. Scientist's stealin' my schtick..." Rarity had no idea what Mandy was talking about -- she hadn't been present during Oona's supposed assault on Mandy -- but was sympathetic nonetheless. "Well, when you're done, may I borrow it, please?" "Sure!" The curtain was flung open again, and Pinkie approached the group with the dress tucked behind one leg. "Done! Here you are, Rarity!" Rarity took the dress in her blue corona, levitating it beside her. "Thank you, Pinkie." Pinkie leaned closer to Mandy. "Sooooo, what's goin' on?" Mandy heaved a sigh, trying to recall the events that Olive told her as best she could. "Otto got into snail racing, which Olive doesn’t like ‘cause now he doesn’t do work. She tried talking things out with him and it didn’t go well, so she went to the Big O and got a termination of employment notice-" "I got him fired!!" Olive screeched, getting to her feet in record time and whirling around to face Mandy. "A termination of employment notice is a firing, Mandy!" She crossed her arms. "That's it. Next year I'm gifting you a dictionary for your birthday." Mandy blinked in surprise for a few moments, before a grin came across her face. "D'aww, someone's a lil' crabby!" To punctuate her point, she pulled out a crab from hammerspace, who snapped its pincers together as though knowing it was a prop for a joke. Pinkie, of course, got a good laugh out of it. "Good one!" "Anyway, yeah." Mandy tucked the crab back into hammerspace. "She went to the Big O, got Otto fired, and now he's out of a job. Sooooo I was wondering if maaaaaaybe you can cheer this lil' squirt up?" Pinkie gave a dramatic gasp. "A chance to cheer up Olive? Don't mind if I do!" "Help her live a little and see that bein' a workaholic's not a fun thing to be!" Mandy kneeled down and leaned close to Pinkie's ear, whispering, "Take her to Club 24. She loves that place." Olive could swear she was about to crack a tooth from all the teeth-grinding she was doing. "Every day I get closer and closer to wanting to strangle you." "Well don't." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out her signature weapon from hammerspace. "'Cuz I got a hammer!" She pat Olive on the shoulder. "Now, let Aunty Pinkie fix things while I go talk to Otto. Partner, you're in charge!" As Mandy removed the loop of rope from her wrist, she handed it to Pinkie, who applied it to the base of her forelock and adjusted it accordingly. "Oh, we're gonna have so much fun, you and I!" "One more thing!" Olive jerked backwards as the tie holding her corkscrew ponytail together came undone, allowing her hair to fall in light brown waves. Mandy hummed as she tied up Olive's hair into a messy hairstyle, secured only by a sparkly pink bow. Rarity, deciding to go along with her friend's antics, levitated a mirror in front of Olive so she could see her reflection at the end of it all. "Really?" "Yes." Olive's voice became deflated. "Really?" "Yes." And then, more deflated. "Really?" "Yeeee-eeeees~!" Mandy called in singsong. "Now go with Pinkie and have some fun! I wanna see a smile on that face by end of day! Take it to bed with ya!" Pinkie squealed as she saddled up next to Olive. "We're gonna have so so sooooo much fun!" She began to head for the boutique's exit. "First stop: the Breakroom! We're gonna bake some cake!" Olive groaned in response as her body was dragged out the door. "Have fun!" Mandy called, sending the duo off with a wave before following them. "Now, to repair that Color-inator gadget! I'll have it fixed by tomorrow, Rarity!" "Thank you, darling!" With that, the unicorn closed the door and began heading to the back room with dress and mirror in tow, a ditty getting stuck in her own head as she hummed it. Otto was generally known among Odd Squad for being a joyful happy-go-lucky free spirit, known more for goofing off than actually doing work. Today, however, he certainly didn't feel joyful, lying on the couch and staring at the TV with its bright flashy colors. He sighed. "Can't believe I was fired from Odd Squad...all because of my hobby!" A pause as he rested his cheek on the pillow. "Why did I even get into snail racing to begin with? At least none of my other hobbies cost me a friendship...or a partnership." As he clutched the pillow, a flurry of rapid knocks entered his eardrums. "Must be the stress pizza I ordered." he said. "Come in." To say that the door blew open and fell off on its hinges was an understatement -- which, of course, meant that Mandy had arrived. "Helloooooo aaaaaand salutaaaaaatiooooons!" she sang, spinning around a few times before giving a flashy pose. "Hi, Mandy." Otto said, not bothering to look up. "Look, if you're coming to invite me out or something, I'm not in the mood." "I know. But I'm not inviting you out." Mandy raised a finger. "I'm here to remedy the situation between you and Momma." "So she got you involved, huh?" "Yupparoo!" Mandy bounced on over to the couch and took a seat next to Otto, which was rather hard considering his entire sprawled-out body spanned the length of the couch. "But I'm not doing this just for her. I'm doing this for me." She frowned. "It pains me so, to see you two like this, all broken up after being partners forever and ever." Otto didn't respond. "Look, I’ve heard the entire story. And it’s true that Momma is always stoic and serious all the time. But it also wasn’t right of you to just abandon work like that!" Mandy's tail wagged slightly. "You can find ways to balance work and hobbies. I do it all the time!" Mandy swept her arm from left to right in an arc, her mouth curving up into her usual cat smile. "It’s all about...efficiency." Otto gave a soft groan. "Ooooookay, so maybe you’re not much of a talker. No matter, ‘cause I’m very much of a talker!" Mandy cleared her throat. "All I want, and all your partner wants, is for you to stop putting down your work and neglecting it for snail racing competitions and...uh...whatever it is you do with snail racing!" She threw her hands into the air, then lowered them. "If you did that...maybe Momma would support you in your hobby. But if you just magically decide you’re not gonna work outta the blue 'cuz of your hobby, of course that’s gonna make her mad! And that’s why she had to go to the Big O to get her to fire you!" Otto shifted his body, pulling his knees slightly closer to his chest as a few tears began to fall. "Sensitive topic, I see. I might have hit a nerve there." Mandy shook her head. "If you can start doing work and treat snail racing as more of a side gig, then maybe she would let you back onto the force. Or...if you really can’t balance work and snail racing, then you’re gonna hafta quit snail racing. That is, if you really love Odd Squad so much. You can always find a new hobby that’s much less time-consuming!" No response, not even so much as a movement or a moan. Mandy sucked in as much air as she could, and released it with one big sigh. "Otto...you’re gonna hafta make a choice. Which one would you rather do?" She looked over at him. "The hobby you picked up only a few days ago, or the oddness-fighting organization that you’ve been with for...uh..." She bit her lip. "W-well I don’t really know how long you’ve been with Odd Squad, but it’s a long time!" This time came a soft moan, muffled by the pillow that Otto had buried his face in. "Sleep on it, at least? We really want you back at Odd Squad, Otto! I’m sure the agents at your precinct miss you, and...so does Momma. I bet she’d really love it if you came back!" Mandy frowned. "It would really break all our hearts, though, if you continued on with snail racing. No pressure." The hybrid got up from her spot on the couch and began making her way to the door. "Well, I've said all I need to. Take care of yourself, 'kay?" She smiled. "If ya need me, I'm only a call away!" "Mhm." Mandy stopped and blinked, then gave a shrug. "Eh, one word. I'll take it." She bounced out of the doorway and called in singsong, "Have a good niiiii-iiiiight!" Otto simply turned over onto his other side. Although it didn't look like it, he had been hanging on to every word that Mandy said, and it was made clear that he had a lot of thinking to do -- which he planned on getting started right now. Meanwhile, on her way back to Headquarters, Mandy polished her curled-up hand against her chest. "Ah, Mandy. Your wisdom and intelligence impresses even myself sometimes." Surprisingly, all through the night, Mandy did not dream about the scary shadow-person. She supposed she had scared them off -- or if not her, then someone. Whoever it was, she had to find them and thank them. Her snoring and sleep-talking ceased as her eyes slowly creaked open. Sitting up in bed, a noisy yawn escaped her, then she reached her arms high into the air. "Ooooooh, big zztretch! Mmmmm, big zztretchie!" A loud pop resounded, both across the room and through Mandy's body. She winced, her eye twitching a few times. "That...wazz too big of a zztretchie. Too big." she squeaked out, encapsulating the realization with a groan. As she got out of bed and chugged her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, she made her way over to the door and opened it, her eyes widening when she found a rather downcast-looking Otto on the other side of it. "Otto! Nice to see ya!" Mandy chirped. "Or, uh, are you a robot Otto? A Robotto? Ooooooh, that's a good name!" "I'm...the real Otto." Otto rubbed his arm. "Um, anyway, I thought about what you said last night, and..." A pause. Mandy leaned closer to him and grinned. "Aaaaaaaaand?" Otto sighed. "I want to quit snail racing and begin working at Odd Squad again." Mandy gasped one of the most dramatic gasps she had ever done, and began bouncing up and down. "Yay! Oh, I'm so so sooooo happy to hear that!" She stopped bouncing. "I mean, i-it was your decision in the end, but, um, still...yay!" She blinked. "Wait. But why are you coming to me?" "The termination of employment notice said that I can’t return to Odd Squad for employment reasons. So I’m wondering if maybe...you could help me get re-hired and..." He bit his lip. "...face Olive?" Mandy pinched her mouth inwards. "Ohhhhh. Yeah. Might be awkward." She tilted her head. "Why don't you ask Twilight?" "I thought of that, but..." Otto gave a small smile. "It was you who helped me realize that my passion for snail racing was getting in the way of what was really important." He clasped his hands together. "I want you to come with me." Mandy heaved a sigh. "Fine, fine." She retrieved a small stack of papers from somewhere and looked them over. "Honestly, this chapter called for me to be outta the action, but it is partially my story." She tossed the papers away. "All righty, you got yourself a deal! Gimme 5 minutes to get changed." "Got it." As Mandy closed the door and began making her way to her wardrobe, she groaned. "That's the last time I get dragged into any sort of a friendship dispute..." She shook her head and slumped over. "Aw, who am I kiddin'. I can't escape friendship disputes! Why-y-yyyyyy?!" "So let me get this straight. You realized that your hobby was overshadowing your job, and because of it, you want your job back?" Mandy threw herself down onto her knees, put her hands together, and begged. "Please please pleeeeeeeease, Big O, if he doesn't get his job back I'll never hear the end of it! It's- I'm- he's-" The Big O laughed. "Relax, Mandy! I was going to give it back to him anyway." Her gaze rested on Otto, standing beside Mandy with a serious expression on his face. "Otto, you are one of the best Directors of the organization. You and Olive have made your mark on Odd Squad history. Together, you two make your precinct stand out." She shook her head. "It’s not right for you to be separated like this. But I can see Mandy’s words got through to you." "They did. And..." Otto bowed his head. "I'm sorry. Mandy was right. I should have found a way to balance snail racing and work in equal measure. Abandoning Odd Squad -- the organization I’ve worked for for so long -- wasn’t the right thing to do. It wasn't fair to my agents, or to Olive." The Big O smiled and took out a small circular gadget from hammerspace. "In that case..." She fired the gadget, causing Otto's normal outfit of a Soundcheck shirt, jeans, and sneakers to change back to his usual Odd Squad Director attire. "I hereby declare Agent #70, Otto, a full-fledged Odd Squad Director of the Mississauga precinct, 73955. He is now eligible to work at Odd Squad and resume his normal duties as a Management agent." Gasps and laughter were shared among Mandy and Otto, who giddily hopped in place and then hugged each other. "Big O, thank you so much!" Otto said. The Big O laughed as she watched the display of joy, relief and excitement go down. "It's no problem!" she chirped. "Now, why don't you head back to your precinct and make up with Olive?" Otto broke free from the hug and frowned. "Oh yeah...I still have to do that." A hand grabbed his own and squeezed it with all of its owner's might. "Huh?" "We're in this together, you and I." Mandy smiled. "Let's go reunite you two!" Otto looked from her to the Big O and back again. A pit of nervousness still hung in his stomach, but he managed to gather up his confidence with a deep breath. Olive might have been more intimidating than him, but he was sure that he would be able to mend things with her, just as they had done in the past. "Yes. Let's go!" The phone rang. Olive picked it up as fast as she could. "Odd Squad Precinct 73955, Olive speaking." "..." "Uh-huh." "..." "Right, so what you're saying..." Just outside of her office, however, Mandy and Otto ascended the staircase. Neither one of them could escape the flurry of whispers and rumors that followed them from employees, and it only served to make Otto more anxious. "C'mon, keep your chin up!" Mandy encouraged, patting his shoulder. "You got this." Otto, in response, took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then walked inside. Olive sighed. "Nonono, it was crackers. Water crackers. I believe you're getting your snacks mixed up." "..." "Well, tell you what, I'll send a couple agents over and you can..." Trailing off, Olive looked up and stared at Otto, her expression turning sour. "Um...I'm so sorry, but can I call you back? I have...someone...in my office." "..." "Yeah." "..." "Okay, buh-bye now." Olive put the phone back onto the receiver and smiled. "Mandy! Good to see you! And...you brought, ah..." "Otto." Mandy answered bluntly. "Your ex-partner, your ex-friend, call him what you like." She gestured to his entire body. "You'll notice he's wearing a Director's outfit now." Olive's eyes were half-lidded, her expression turned unamused. "Yes. Did he commit an act of theft in addition to abandoning his job?" "No. Don't be rude." Mandy scolded, ignoring Olive's scoff in response and continuing with her words. "Otto was employed back onto Odd Squad and back into this precinct by the Big O herself. And he has some words to say to you." "Oh?" Olive took a sip of water, a smug smile forming on her face. "Enlighten me, then. Whatever you tell me can't be worse than what you've already done." Otto bit his lip. His hand curled up into a tight fist again, so tight that he could almost feel his knuckles turning white. "Go on!" Mandy urged, taking a few steps back and sitting on the couch to allow Otto to take the reins. The newly-rehired Director gave a sigh, opened his mouth, and spoke. "Mandy came over to my house last night and gave me some words of wisdom. And...you were right." Olive's eyes widened -- clearly, she didn't see that kind of comment coming. A simple confused "Huh?" was all she could utter. "You can balance work and your hobbies. Just like how you can balance sports and working at Odd Squad. But..." Otto looked away. "In my case, I can’t do that. There’s no way I could do snail racing and work here. Snail racing is just too time-consuming." And back to Olive. "So I quit." Olive stared at him. Her brain was finding it hard to form anything that could even resemble a coherent sentence. Someone might as well have up and told her that she won the mega-prize lottery. "You...you quit..." "I quit snail racing! For good!" Feebly, Olive tried to reach for her glass of water. She managed to grab it and not knock it over simply by a sheer stroke of luck, though anyone could see her hand shaking as she struggled to drink it. "I’ve been working at Odd Squad for so long. But most importantly...I’ve been working with you for so long. We’re partners." Otto shook his head. "No, we’re not partners. We’re friends." He shook his head again. "No. We're not partners, and we aren't friends. We're both." "...B-b-both?" "We get things done thanks to how strong our bond of friendship is. The Big O said that we’ve made our mark on Odd Squad history. And she’s right." Otto smiled. "We did it together." Olive took another swig, fixing Otto with a look of disbelief and shock. "Olive, I’m sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry. I should never have abandoned my job because of some stupid hobby. And I shouldn’t have left you behind either. Not at the restaurant, and not at work." Otto straightened. "From now on, I’m going to find a hobby that isn’t time-consuming and stick with it. And I’ll stay in Odd Squad for the rest of my life!" His voice cracked on his next words. "I’ll...I’ll be your partner, your best friend, until the end of time." He let the tears flow right then and there. Olive simply watched, trying to figure out exactly what she could say. She couldn't deny that Pinkie had planted a seed in her the other day -- a seed of "you did a lot of bad things and now it's time you apologize to Otto for them". When it came to persuasion, she and Mandy had her in a vicegrip most of the time, but it seemed Otto might have picked up on a few of those skills, because her heart began to twist in an ugly act of pity, sadness, and regret. Finally, after what felt like hours, she stood up. "I'm sorry too." she said. "Being with Pinkie Pie the other day...it taught me that I'm still just a little too uptight with work. It's okay to have fun, to laugh...to live a little." She laid a hand on Otto's shoulder. "That's what makes you the perfect partner, Otto. It's the way you're full of laughter and so carefree. Focusing on work all the time is for adults. It's not healthy for us kids. We only live once, as they say -- the fact that we're immortal aside." She circled her desk to face Otto, putting both of her hands on his shoulders. "We make a perfect team because of our contrasting personalities. And...I couldn’t imagine working at Odd Squad without you by my side." She broke eye contact. "I shouldn’t have tried to shame you in front of your new snail racing friends, and...I should be more accepting of your hobbies. From now on, whatever you decide to do..." She looked back at him and smiled. "You have my full support." Otto's crying escalated to sobs that shook his body. Olive took a step back and opened her arms. "Bring it in." Otto didn't need to be told twice. The newly-reunited partner pair embraced each other in a long, tight hug, smiles caressing both of their faces. Mandy, sitting on the couch, nodded. "Well, my work here is done." she murmured, lighting up her horn and teleporting away in a bright rainbow-colored flash that neither Director noticed. Otto was the one to break free from the hug first, sniffling. "Do you..." A clean tissue from hammerspace was handed to him. "Thank you." He took it eagerly, blowing his nose in it. Olive turned towards the couches that lined the office. "And thank you, Mandy, for-" She blinked. "Where'd she go?" "Huh?" Otto looked at the couches, a look of confusion on his face. "But she was just here a minute ago!" With careful movements, Mandy maneuvered the bead closer and closer to its designated spot in the gadget she had nearly finished repairing. Her blue eyes squinted to help her focus better, and she had attempted to tune out every single sound in the bullpen so she could focus even better than focusing better. "Aha! Gotcha!" she exclaimed, as the bead sat in the spot. "Hey, Mandy!" The greeting startled the hybrid badly, her hand whacking the gadget and sending the bead careening to the floor. Even when spooked, her pony ears heard bead meet surface easily. "Nonononono!" she yelped, scrambling down to the floor. "Where'd that bead go?! I need that bead!" She groaned. "Darn it all..." "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you!" Mandy continued looking for the bead without recognizing Twilight's apology. "I'm guessing Peaches or Oprah sent you?" "Er...no. Why do you ask?" "Aha! Found it!" Mandy emerged from under her desk, the small red bead caught in her prismatic corona. A sigh of relief escaped her body. "Thank goodness..." As she made her way back to her chair, she looked at Twilight. "Um...you were saying?" "Why are you asking if Peaches or Ms. O sent me?" Twilight repeated. "'Cuz they saw me crying and thought it had something to do with the whole Momma-Otto thingie so they thought a hug from good old Twi-Twi would cheer me up?" Twilight only grew more confused. "A-anyway..." Mandy waved her hand. "Momma and Otto finally made up. About time, too!" "Really?" "Yup! Momma wanted me involved, and I didn't really wanna get involved, but it all worked out in the end." "I'm glad!" Twilight put a hoof to her chest. "It just doesn't feel right to see them broken up and fighting with each other." "And hopefully, this won't happen again." Mandy sighed and turned back to the gadget on her desk. "Now, be quiet for just a sec..." Slowly but surely, she put the bead into its designated spot once more. Once it was perfectly aligned, the gadget shone in an array of colors and hues. "Yes!" Mandy closed the hatch over the notch where the bead was sitting. "The Color-inator is fixed! Now I can go and give it to Rarity!" "What does Rarity need it for?" "Oh, she wanted to try and color some white spools of thread she had. A little experiment with gadgetry and unicorn magic, she said." Mandy shrugged, completely oblivious to Twilight's eyes widening as she looked behind the hybrid. "I dunno why she just goes out and buys some spools. Maybe a fashion designer only has so many bits? I mean I wouldn't pin Rarity as a super-duper Miss Ol' Pennybags, if ya know what I mean..." Mandy laughed. "But using a gadget to color spools of thread almost seems like che-" "Uh, Mandy." Twilight raised a hoof. "Behind you." Mandy immediately stiffened. She could hear her head audibly creak as she slowly turned it. Or was that her neck? She wasn't sure. Her pupils and irises both shrunk. Clad in a black cloth, with only two pairs of eyes showing, the mysterious figure uttered only a single word as its lips -- perhaps one of many pairs of lips -- moved to Mandy's human ear, opened its mouth, and breathed. "Boo." The sonic scream came forth. The sound of distant glass breaking rung out first, followed by an "Oh, come on!" from one very angry Director. From there, the effect spread to the plastic slide, beakers and flasks sitting in the Lab, the gadget in Oona's hand (which she, of course, dropped, causing it to begin shooting sparks), computer screens, and finally, the large circular fixture that hung high above the bullpen near the back wall. Twilight winced as she plugged her ears with her wingtips and closed her eyes tightly. The figure, however, hardly moved this time, aside from reverting back to its usual tall position once the deed was done. Mandy leaped into the air, flailed all four limbs in ways that would outclass a long series of contortionists, and screamed, "SHADOW PERSO-O-OOOOOON!!" This declaration coalesced with a yell, followed by Mandy taking off at breakneck speeds down the right-side hallway. Once the noise had been greatly reduced to just agents complaining, Twilight took her wingtips out of her ears and folded her wings in, staring up at the figure. It laughed...a rather familiar laugh. And then the bottom half spoke. "Wow, you got her good!" "Of course I did! It works every time!" The cloth fell away to reveal a totem pole of exactly two Directors, one holding up the other. Twilight glanced at the Director on top. "Olive?" "Oh, Twilight!" Olive scrambled off of Otto. "We, uh, didn't scare you too, did we?" "No, not really. But why are you scaring Mandy...like that?" "That..." Olive gave a sly smile. "...is revenge for her making me hang out with Pinkie. As much of a fun time as that was, the gesture wasn't initially appreciated." "I think that'll teach her a lesson, partner." "Oh definitely." As the partner pair performed their signature handshake, Twilight laughed, which caused both of them to begin laughing as well. From somewhere within Headquarters, a high-pitched and very familiar warning echoed throughout the various rooms and hallways, reaching the bullpen where it ended up being completely and utterly ignored. "That shadow person is still out there! Nyaaaaaaaaah!!"
S1E24: Revenge is a Dish Best Served DrowsilyDeep in the basement of the Villain League's main building, the Dream Weaver was hard at work. She wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since that stupid ingrate of a hybrid had beaten her. She thought she had the beast pinned down. She knew all of her weaknesses, had her on the losing end... And yet the Dream Weaver was the one who ended up losing. Since then, she had studied Mandy extensively. Anecdotes from other villains' past battles were piled up everywhere in her house. Although her stock-in-trade was sleep and dreams, she decided to focus on Mandy's actions while awake, as well -- every little bit helped, after all. But one day, the Shapeshifter had approached her. Told her that she had "an odd plan to end all odd plans". The Dream Weaver knew she was exaggerating, but had told her to proceed. The plan involved feeding into Mandy's fears, impersonating her and fooling her friends and family into thinking she was the real deal. That pony named "Pinkie Pie" had done the same thing with something called the "Mirror Pool", and it created a lot of strife for her, or so the Dream Weaver was told. Since Pinkie and Mandy were vastly similar to each other in terms of personality, the Shapeshifter was confident that such a similar plan could be enacted with Mandy and go off without a hitch. The Dream Weaver was, of course, hesitant. She knew Mandy well, and knew that she was also scatterbrained at times but quite intelligent. How, exactly, would one impersonate her to a T without tipping everyone else off? The Shapeshifter had a workaround, she had said. She held up a prismatic pendant, maroon in color, diamond-shaped, and filled with black wispy magic that she claimed came from the Evil Queen, who was known for sending people to other kingdoms with her magic wand. By placing it in close proximity to Mandy, it would feast on her dreams and twist them to become nightmares, helpful forewarnings for what was to come. Having consistent nightmares would leave the hybrid in such a tired state that she would be too exhausted to even put up a fight. It had all made sense to the Dream Weaver in that moment. Sure, she had tried to poison Mandy by unearthing nightmares about her past, but it didn't affect her on the outside. By odd, she hadn't even thought about her on the outside. Sleep affected a person primarily on the outside. Gosh, how foolish of a villainess she was. Upon realizing this, she had immediately agreed to the plan. And, as an added bonus, the Shapeshifter recommended to her an accomplice, a villain who would lay the foundation for the plan's enactment and make sure it went off without a hitch. The Dream Weaver agreed to having them onboard too, once she heard their very name. It was all coming together. Her revenge stew was nearly finished cooking. She'd make sure that rotten hybrid would pay for what she did, using all the resources she had at her disposal. A combo of thunder and lightning crashed through the nighttime streets of Toronto, with no rain to be found. Of course, Odd Squad was well-protected from most weather -- aside from earthquakes, they were pretty well-off. This weather, however, didn't deter villains any. And in fact, two of them were about to carry out a rather odd and evil plan indeed. Just outside Mandy's room, where the hybrid was in a deep sleep, the Dream Weaver was hard at work with her accomplice, a bearded man dressed in a cloak with silvers, grays and whites. In his hand was a tall wooden staff, embedded with gears and pipes of all shapes and sizes, twisting and turning in a rather unique shape with the top holding a mysterious blue crystal in place. Encapsulating his hood, as well as his shoulders and his chest, were metal loops that jangled lightly as he walked. "There she is." The Dream Weaver pointed. "You know what to do?" The accomplice smirked. "Of course." Taking only a single step into the room, the accomplice jostled his staff, moving it from one hand to the other. "Tick-tock!" He raised it. "Time tolls for thee!" As the staff was lowered, the blue crystal shot out a beam that swept through the entire room. Mandy's snoring and sleep-talking was put to an immediate halt, and she, as well as everything else in the room, was frozen solid. "It worked!" "Yes! Good job, Father Time!" The Dream Weaver giggled. "Part A of the plan down!" She reached behind her back and pulled out a small diamond-shaped pendant -- sky-blue, of course, to match the color of the top sheet of Mandy's mattress. "Now, where to put this pendant..." "Perhaps her hair would be the wisest choice?" The Dream Weaver shook her head. "No no no. She looks like the type who showers every day...and never takes the things out of her hair." Her nose wrinkled, remembering all of the stuff that Mandy had pulled out of her hair that couldn't possibly and reasonably fit in there. Father Time blinked. "Then her tail, perhaps?" "I don't know if putting it in her tail would affect her brain..." The Dream Weaver tapped her foot impatiently, knowing that her accomplice's powers only worked for ten minutes exactly -- a small improvement over the one-minute time limit he used to have. It wasn't a whole lot of time to come up with a plan on the spot, and she was beginning to regret not having planned for what she was going to do earlier. Still, she was able to come up with a place to put the pendant seconds after pondering the option of putting it in Mandy's tail. "Aha! Under the pillow!" Father Time nodded. "Yes! Genius!" "Shhh." The Dream Weaver pushed past him. "Now be quiet. I'll handle this." It didn't take her very long to slip on over to Mandy, lift the pillow, place the pendant under it, and walk back out. That was the easy part. The hard part had already been taken care of. She grinned, watching the pendant begin pulsating with a pitch-black light. "I've done it!" "Yes!" Father Time did a fist-pump. "All we have to do now is sit back..." "And let the nightmares begin!" The villainous duo shared an evil laugh as they closed the door to Mandy's room, the spell wearing off just as they began to walk away. Neither one of them noticed Mandy's snoring and sleep-talk ceasing, nor her expression contorting into one of discomfort, nor the moan she gave as she grit her teeth together. "Sensory hell" was a rather new experience for Mandy. Usually, it only happened with music, especially those bass-thumping beats that made bass thump against each other in bodies of water and also made her hair and tail stick straight up. But she could hardly call that "sensory hell" -- although it wasn't "sensory heaven" either. She didn't know what to call it, in all honesty. But today? Today, the world decided to lay out an all-arms assault on all four senses. (Excluding taste, of course. Her taste buds were still intact, but she didn't feel much like consuming half of what a well-off farm with good farmers could make in the span of a day.) The lights of the bullpen were blinding. The chattering of the agents felt like they were running around screaming their lungs dry. She was hallucinating all kinds of smells that she thought only came from people who were "altered in such a way as to become degrading and inhuman", according to Olive. And she could swear that, every so often, a fly was landing on every piece of skin that was exposed on her body -- which, really, was only her face, hair, tail, and hands. As she scribbled on an O-135 form, her eyes began to droop, causing the pencil to steer off to the right and create an ugly line under the "Odd Problem" section. She bolted up with a start, a "Wah!", a couple blinks, and then a sleepy moan as she rubbed her head. A meow rattled in her eardrums as she noticed a black cat approaching her. "Hey, cuz!" Mandy barely registered the cat turning back into her normal humanoid form. "Hi..." she said, her voice drowsy. Peaches' eyes widened. "Whoa, what's with the messy look?" she said, noticing Mandy's lack of a jacket, messy hair and tail, and dull blue eyes. "You know, we catgirls take pride in our appearances. We certainly don't go around looking like...that." "No sleep..." "Ah, one of those nights, huh?" Peaches gave a nonchalant shrug. "Fair enough. It happens. I guess that means you're not up to looking for the Vallea culprit with me later?" Mandy waved her hand slowly. "No, no, I'll..." Her jaws parted to let a yawn out. "I'll go..." "You sure? You really don't have to!" "I'll...be fine..." Peaches watched as her cousin's eyes began to close, just as her body also began to droop. Unsure of what to do, she eventually resorted on unsheathing a set of claws and sinking them into Mandy's arm, which caused her to bolt awake. "Wah! I'm awake!" Claws went back inside as Peaches asked, "Didn't you have any of your Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink when you woke up?" "I did..." Mandy yawned again. "But it hasn't helped." Peaches blinked. "Huh. Usually it perks you right up. You can't function without it." She smiled sympathetically. "Well, it was a bad night of sleep. Maybe you'll have better sleep tonight!" "Yeah...maybe..." "Anyway, we leave at dusk. I've gotta clean myself first. I feel like the fur in my cat form is matted six ways from Sunday! Maybe seven!" Peaches sighed and turned to leave down the left-side hallway that flanked the double-doors she had walked through. "Chin up, okay? I'll see you later!" Mandy didn't even have the energy for a verbal goodbye, settling on just watching Peaches leave instead. Not that it mattered whether she received a goodbye or not, but Mandy didn't want to be rude -- except when she was forced to be rude, that is. Just as she turned her head back to the desk, her badge phone rang, and she slowly began the process of picking it up. "Precinct 14357..." Mandy slowly blinked. "I mean Precinct 13579...Mandy speaking..." A yawn slipped out of her again. "How can I help you?" "Hey, Mandy! It's Olive. Um, I have a little favor to ask of you. Could you stop by my precinct...say...right now?" Can you drag me there? was what Mandy wanted to say. But, as she knew Olive would grow suspect and ask a whole bunch of questions, she resorted to a simple "Will do..." "Thank you! See you in a bit." Mandy hung up and put her badge phone back on her chest, a moan seeping out of her as she attempted to gather what willpower she had to either go and walk to the Tube Lobby, or teleport. Today is the worst. First I have an awful nightmare and now I'm being slammed with work... She slowly shook her head. I just gotta keep my head up...it's just one bad night of sleep...just one... Eventually, she managed to gather up enough of her magic to teleport, and disappeared in a bright rainbow-colored flash of light. Upon arrival, Mandy stumbled, in a way that was only seen with unicorns and alicorns who hadn't quite mastered teleportation. Although she had mastered it, her drowsiness caused her to lose her balance and nearly topple over. It was almost a miracle how she remained standing. "Mandy! I..." Olive's smile slowly morphed into a frown. "Oh." Otto choked on his soda, but still managed to swallow the sip he had. "Someone's been in Oprah's secret juice box stash!" His quip earned an incoherent grumble from Mandy, which was quickly followed up with him exchanging a surprised glance with Olive. "Anyway, what's this favor?" Olive put on a worried expression. "Well, I was going to have you deliver something important to one of the Big O’s offices, but looking at you, I don’t know if you’re going to make the journey." Otto tilted his head slightly. "Did you not get enough sleep or something?" Mandy began to sway. "It's just one bad night...one bad night..." That was enough for the next exchange of glances to have a hearty dose of worry and concern. "Not even your Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise helped you?" Mandy shook her head slowly in response to Olive's question. The Director decided to offer up the most reasonable solution. "Why don't you go and take a nap back at Headquarters? Maybe it'll help." "Love to, but...I'm slammed...with work..." Otto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we can vouch for that." "Well, if you can’t take a nap, at least try to go to bed early, okay? In the meantime..." Olive gathered up a stack of papers that sat on her side of the shared desk. "I’ll take this to the Big O’s office and-" A prismatic corona yanked the papers from her grasp. "Huh?" "I'll do it." Mandy yawned. "You asked me, and...I'll..." Like a toy dying in real time, the hybrid's body drooped. She fell deathly still, not making a single sound, and her magic held onto the papers for a few seconds before it fizzled out, causing them to flutter to the floor. Olive inhaled. "Are-" "Hold on, partner." Otto smirked. "I've got this." Reaching behind his back, the co-Director pulled out an air horn, branded with the Odd Squad seal on it. A silly grin split his face as he slowly raised his hand over the top part, then slapped it against the button repeatedly, causing the air horn to give little honks. "Otto..." The honks stopped. "Sorry, sorry. Just doing a test run. Plus, it's kinda funny." Extending his arm as far as it would reach, he slowly laid an index finger down onto the button, causing the air horn to give a loud screeching honk that startled Mandy awake. "I'm awake! Where's the villain?! I'll smash 'em to bits!" she yelled, blinking sleepily a few times as she tried to comprehend what had just happened. Olive smiled. "Welcome to Earth. Would you like a free brochure?" Mandy, looking far more alert than she was before, gave a low growl. "Can it." She gathered up the papers into one pile again, not caring about the order, and turned. "I'll deliver this for you. Thank me when you drop the sass." "'Sass' is included in my character description." As punishment for that comment, Olive got the head of a hammer shoved right up against her philtrum, threatening to go up her nose if she dared to even breathe through her nostrils. She gave a bout of nervous laughter. "O-okay, c'mon now, put the hammer away, Mandy. You've made your point. Just...deliver the papers." Mandy rolled her eyes. In another bright flash, she and her hammer were gone. "Someone's grumpy." "Well, that's what happens when you don't get enough sleep." Olive shrugged. "I've felt like that on some days." "It's not like her to be completely tired, though." "Eh, it was one bad night. Maybe tomorrow will be better." "Yeah, I sure hope so..." Otto's sentence trailed off as he grabbed ahold of the air horn and pressed the button on top repeatedly again, a silly grin on his face. Olive winced from the sharp sounds. "Otto!" The co-DIrector chuckled. "I can't help it! This thing's too fun!" "Well put it away and let's get back to work, already!" With a sigh, Otto tucked it in hammerspace. "Fine." He swiveled back around in his chair. "Honestly, partner, you need to try your hand at an air horn competition one of these days. Then you'll understand the appreciation for them." Upon teleporting back to the bullpen in her own Headquarters, Mandy wobbled badly. So badly that she needed to lean on the corner of her desk for stabilization and support. She yawned. I feel like I'm gonna collapse...but I gotta stay awake...even if not sleeping brings disaster... Her tired mind slowly but surely ran through a host of ideas as to how she could stay awake. One was caffeine, something Olive and Oprah had both prohibited her to have, citing that she would level the entire town of Toronto and build an entirely new town in its place that would surpass any fake town Odd Squad had ever built for its evil-plan-foiling schemes. They also brought up Pinkie Pie rather cautiously, for reasons neither of them would elaborate on. So, she decided to go with something similar. Her next best equivalent. She slammed a massive tulip dessert cup down onto the ground, filled to the absolute brim with her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. Grinning, she leaned back onto her tail, bunched it up, and propelled herself to the ceiling before diving into the tasty beverage. "Partner!" Mandy blinked. "Whatcha doin' with a biiiig chocolate drink?!" Pinkie's voice was so tiny that any normal person at Mandy's height could either barely hear her or not hear her at all. But Mandy wasn't a normal person. And besides, Pinkie was generally a very loud pony anyway. "Sippin' it, what else?" she fired back. "Why do you have such a big drink?!" "Gimme one sec!" Cracking her knuckles, Mandy got to work on sipping the drink with a large Odd-Squad-branded straw. She was done within two minutes, and landed on her feet fully refreshed. Pinkie's jaw dropped. "You drank all of it?!" "Yup!" Mandy lit up her horn and teleported the tulip cup to somewhere random. "The Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise I had didn't really help, so I made another one. Bigger, and waaaaaay more full of sugar!" Pinkie stuck out her quivering lip. "But what happened to the one I gave you?" Mandy gave her a head rub. "Yours are great, partner!" she assured. "But it didn't really help. I had a bad night of sleep." "Ohhh..." Pinkie nodded in understanding. "Well, in that case, I’m glad you’re full of energy again! You looked really rough when we were fighting against Mr. Lightning. I had to cover for you!" A nervous bout of laughter slipped from Mandy's lips. "Yeah...sorry about that. But work is work, no matter what state you’re in. I’m hoping that big drink will get me through the rest of the day." "Didja have a nightmare or something?" Mandy's eyes widened. She blinked once, and then twice. "H-how...how did you guess?!" "Because if I know my partner, I know that she never has bad nights of sleep! Unless she’s called on a late-night case by Ms. O or something." This got a chuckle out of Mandy. "Well...in that case, yes, you're right on the money!" She frowned and shook her head. "Horrible one, too..." "What was it about?" "The Shapeshifter, the Dream Weaver and Father Time were chasing after me. I didn’t have my wings or my magic, so all I could do was run. Father Time’s intent was to trap me in suspended animation so the Shapeshifter could impersonate me...forever." "Did they catch you?" "Yes." Mandy rubbed her arm. "I tripped and fell over my own two feet. All I could do was watch as the Shapeshifter turned into me and interacted with all my friends and family! And...I couldn’t do a thing about it…" Pinkie tilted her head. "Aww, but that was just a dream! This is the real world! You could take those three down in seconds!" Mandy knew her partner had a point, and didn't really feel like arguing anything of the contrary. "Heh...you make a good point, Pinkie. After all, I've stopped the Shapeshifter and Father Time before. And I did stop the Dream Weaver once." "Oh yeah! When you went to rescue Peaches from her evil clutches with Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Twilight, right?" "Yes, exactly!" Pinkie pawed at the ground. "I still feel a little hurt you didn't invite me...I coulda helped!" "It was time-sensitive. Peaches sacrificed herself to save me. By the time we found her she was being tortured!" Mandy pat her partner on the head twice and smiled. "Don’t worry. Next time we kick Dream Weaver butt, I’ll cordially invite you. And Fluttershy and Applejack too." Pinkie giggled. "It's a dealio!" Mandy threw her hands up into the air, letting her body vertically stretch out. "Now I can get back to work and not conk out at my desk!" Mandy did, indeed, conk out at her desk. Drool dripped onto the floor, from a flowing river that started at her open mouth. Loud snores rumbled about in her throat as she slept, her left arm sprawled out onto the desk while her other one drooped weakly at her side. If she leaned any closer to the desk, the chair would give out from under her and go careening towards Twilight's desk that sat behind her. The double-doors opened. "Gadget delivery for Agent Man...dy..." Otto gave a breathy chuckle as he followed Olive inside. "Wow, I haven't seen anyone that tired since the last time we went to see Mr. Bihooly!" "She even has drool coming out of her mouth." Olive pointed out. "She's in deep." The Director moved closer to the hybrid, dropping her gadget and giving Mandy a good shake. "Mandy, wake up." She shook her a little harder. "C'mon, wake up. You can't be that tired, surely?" In response, the snores only grew louder. Otto shook his head. "She's that tired, surely." Olive sighed and scooped up Mandy in her arms effortlessly. "Come on, let's take her to bed. At least she's gotten all her work done." "You two!" Both Directors stiffened at the familiar voice, just on sheer instinct. "Why are you holding Mandy like that?" Olive and Otto turned around. Olive bit her lip. "She's, uh..." "Asleep." Oprah blinked. "How? I saw her drinking a huge glass of Chocolate Moo-Moo surprise just a couple hours ago!" "Maybe it wasn't enough?" Olive theorized. "How big was the glass?" "It was huge. It reached almost all the way to the ceiling!" Olive's eyes widened. Otto, however, was largely indifferent. "I'd ask how that's possible, but...we all know Mandy." "She's probably out of energy because of a sugar crash, then." Olive shrugged. "We were just about to put her to bed." "Is that why she's been tired all day?" "We're..." Olive bit her lip. "...not sure, actually. But it is 'one bad night', as she said. I'm sure she'll be better tomorrow." The sensation of Mandy's body seizing startled Olive, and her pupils and irises shrunk as she saw what was happening. The hybrid's body was shivering, and she was giving soft whimpers. "She's cringing!" Otto said. Oprah took a few steps closer. "Is she having a nightmare?" A horrifying cry split the air right then. It was cacophonic, it was startling, and it was filled with nothing but misery and pain. In response, Olive, Otto and Oprah all gave their own yells of pain as they rushed to cover their ears, as did the few agents that were around them, wondering what was going on. Olive in particular lost her grip on Mandy and dropped her to save her right eardrum from destruction. "Make it stop, Olive!" Oprah screamed, her own voice even being hardly distinguishable within the noise. "Don't you think I would if I could?!" Olive retorted, just before her yell escalated to a scream that, thankfully, wasn't as loud as Mandy's. The screaming died down in less than a minute. Mandy shook her head furiously, pawing at the air in a fit of desperation. "Get away from me! Get away!" Olive, Oprah and Otto all uncovered their ears, breathing sighs of relief. The agents surrounding them largely resumed what they were doing, as even Mandy screaming wildly didn't cause many of them to bat much of an eye. "It's like she was using some kind of..." Otto rolled his hand around. "...sound attack or something." "But Mandy doesn't use sound attacks." Olive reminded. "Either way, she's being tormented by nightmares." Oprah sighed and glanced toward the Lab. "If only Oona had some sort of a Good-Dream-inator gadget." "And we can't build one. None of us know how." Two head-nods sadly agreed with Otto's statement. They were skilled with using gadgets, but not so much building the things. After all, it was Investigation agents trying to build gadgets and utterly failing to do so that led to the creation of the Science department, anyway. With a sharp yelp, Mandy bolted awake, quick breaths being pushed out from her body as she shook her head. Olive looked down. "Mandy, what happened?" "It was terrible!" the hybrid cried out. "I- I could only sit and watch as the Shapeshifter tricked all of you!" Her voice began to crack. "She...she made you guys think she was the real Mandy, and…" She bowed her head down. Her body began to quiver. And then, she cried. Loud, ugly cries, filled with snot and tears and bloodshot eyes. "Come here." Olive murmured, as she held Mandy and embraced her in a warm and loving hug. "Look, the important thing to remember is that it's all just a dream. If the Shapeshifter ever impersonated you, I think we would know." Oprah nodded. "Definitely." "Without a doubt!" Olive stroked her adopted daughter's hair. "We don't know what's going on with you, but we'll get to the bottom of it, okay?" Mandy began sniffling. She saw snot on Olive's jacket, and immediately tried to push herself away, but ended up losing the fight. "I..." More tears came, to the point where all she could see of Olive was a blurry shape. "Mommaaaaaaaa!!" she wailed, burying her face deep into Olive's chest. Olive continued to stroke her hair. "Let it all out. Come on." she encouraged, making her voice as soft as she could -- which, to anyone who only knew her on the surface, didn't seem like an easy feat, but she had lots and lots of practice over the years. "I never wanna sleep again!" Mandy wailed, gripping Olive's jacket harder. "Add that to the list of things I'd never thought I'd hear." Otto cracked. "Mandy, it was just one bad dream." Olive soothed. "Just because you had one nightmare-" "Two! I've had two of them! They just won't stop!" Oprah tilted her head slightly. "Olive, why don't you take her to Dr. O?" "I would, but...don't you remember when Mandy went sleepwalking through town? Dr. O said that the transformation messed with her brain, but no one knows how. All they know is that her brain has a hub that controls her flying and her magic. He said nothing about her dreams. And before you ask...I doubt the Dr. O at our precinct would know much about her sleep, either." Mandy's quaking turned into soft trembles as she continued to cry and hold onto Olive's jacket. Peaches walked up right then, giving a friendly wave. "Hey guys! Have any of you seen-" She gasped. "Mandy?!" The frightened yowl caused Mandy to tremble harder, seemingly out of fear even though Peaches' voice was recognizable and friendly. "What happened?" Peaches stared at Mandy for a few moments before she whirled on the three Directors. "What did you three do? She looks terrified!" Oprah and Otto both threw up their hands and unisonantly responded, "We're innocent, we swear!" "Mandy fell asleep at her desk, and when Otto and I came across her, she began having a nightmare." Olive explained, stroking Mandy's back to stop the trembling. "A nightmare?" Peaches shook her head. "Mandy never has nightmares. Something must've happened if she's having them all of a sudden." Oprah blinked. "You seem really matter-of-fact about that, Peaches." "I know my cousin well enough." Peaches polished her fist against her chest and gave a smug smile. "Don't you guys have anything that can look into someone's dreams?" Oprah shook her head. "It's the one gadget Oona hasn't gotten around to making yet." "And getting anything from Odie is a hassle." Peaches glanced at Olive. "How so?" "He talks endlessly." Otto complained, rolling his eyes. "Even I don't talk as much as he does!" "Okay..." Peaches got to thinking. "So why don't you make one?" "We don't have gadget-making expertise. We're not Scientists." Olive said, in a tone that was indirectly asking Peaches if she had a blip in smarts. Peaches' expression twisted into an upset grimace. Olive shrunk back, taking Mandy with her. "Why are you looking at us like that?" "Don't you want to at least try?" Peaches snapped. "If Mandy’s having nightmares, then we should work together to figure out what the cause is and get rid of it. Not just sit idly by and twiddle our thumbs!" Silence fell over the group, aside from Mandy's soft whimpers. "She's right." Olive and Oprah glanced at Otto. "Huh?" "Mandy’s a friend to us. Family. We can’t let this go on. Dr. O may not know much about Mandy’s sleep, but we can learn as we go along. I say we enlist the help of other Scientists to make some gadgets that will help us." Otto pointed at the hybrid. "Look at her. She’s traumatized." Mandy's tremors and whimpers ceased, giving way to thick, heavy breaths that, for all intents and purposes, sounded normal. Still, she clung onto Olive for protection as hard as she possibly could. "If she has any more nightmares, she may never want to step foot outside again." Otto shook his head. "No...outside of her room. And we all know what happened the last time she holed herself up in her room. So let's use what we know already and figure this out." "That's the spirit, Otto!" Peaches praised, looking to Olive and Oprah for their agreement. "Well, Mandy's family to me." Olive said, waving her hand as it began to grow numb from rubbing Mandy's back. "I can't let her keep suffering like this. It's cruel." Oprah nodded. "And she's my second-in-command. Of course I'll help." "All right!" Otto did a fist-pump. "Let's get started!" A pause hung in the air. No one moved. Olive smirked. "So, partner, what's our plan?" "Shut up and get in the Lab!" Armed with his flip notebook and a pencil, Otto immediately got to work, sitting in one of the Lab's many chairs along with the rest of the group. Mandy sat on the table, her tail curled defensively around her as she fidgeted with her fingers. "Now, Mandy..." Otto tapped the pencil on the notebook. "Can you tell us when this started?" "Um...well, it started last night..." Mandy glanced at Otto. "I was having good dreams when all of a sudden they became nightmares!" Otto nodded. "And how would you describe the switch?" "Well, I was running in a meadow, rolling around, having fun..." Mandy drew a finger along the table. "...and then the land crumbled at my feet and I was falling...falling forever!" She blinked. "And then I landed, prolly broke a bone or two, I mean it was a hard fall..." Olive and Oprah exchanged glances of simultaneous bemusement and irritation. "And I saw...me!" Mandy put her hands to her cheeks. "I thought it was me me, like the actual me, but it turns out she was an evil me! Her goal was to take over Odd Squad for her own!" Olive raised an eyebrow. "I feel like you might be exaggerating the tru-" "Shhh!" Otto glared at his partner. "Mandy, continue." Mandy gripped her pant legs. "I tried calling for help, but no one would answer. And then Peach came, and she tried to stop the evil me, but the evil me..." Silence filled the Lab. Peaches leaned forward, partly out of curiosity but also partly out of worry. "What did the evil you do?" Mandy couldn't answer her cousin's question right away, her mind replaying the dream over and over in her head like a record made to be broken. "She killed you. It was a one-hit knockout." Mandy murmured. "She succeeded in her mission and took over Odd Squad." Peaches' eyes widened to be the size of saucers. Oprah glanced at Peaches before her gaze moved back to Mandy. "What happened when she took it over?" "I woke up before I could see it happen." Otto finished scribbling down his notes. "Okay, so that was the first nightmare. What about the second one?" Mandy blinked for a few moments, and then shook her head. "Wait, no...that was the second one." Groans were elicited from everyone in response. "So what was the first nightmare about, then?" Otto asked. "The details are a little fuzzy..." Mandy's pony ear flicked a few times. "All I remember was that three villains were chasing me, and one wanted to freeze me forever so another one could impersonate me and trick all of you." Otto wrote down the details, adjusting his glasses that were on his face for aesthetic purposes and nothing more. "All right!" He tucked the notebook under his arm and cracked his knuckles. "So what we know is that you dreamed of a villain who was impersonating you, and three villains who were chasing you so one could freeze you forever and another one could impersonate you and trick all of us." "You didn't have to write that exactly..." Olive muttered under her breath. "Now, as crazy and sadistic as this sounds...I think we should get more information by having you experience more nightmares." Mandy's eyes widened, and she moved away from Otto. "What?! No! There's no way I'm having any more nightmares!" "It's the only way we'll be able to see what's going on." Otto said, a sad but resigned tone in his voice. "In the meantime, we can work with other Scientists to create a gadget that will allow us to see into your dreams." "Uh, Otto?" Olive piped up. "I just realized...we already have one of those." "Huh?" "The Dream-inator helmet?" Otto blinked. He hadn't even considered the helmet, and he had a good reason not to. "Oh." he said. "Yeah, about that...after it got broken, Oona said that she'd need to spend a lot of time repairing and improving it. She's not done with it yet." Olive sighed. "Of course." She pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. "And it isn't like Mandy can repair it. Not in her tired state." "So what can we do?" Peaches asked. "It's like I said. Mandy will need to have more nightmares if we want to piece together what's going on." Otto explained. Oprah gave a nod of agreement. "It's the only way, for now." "Okay, so with all that being said." Olive stood up. "How are we going to get Mandy back to sleep?" Otto raised a dubious eyebrow. "What?" He reached behind his back and held up a bottle of Shmumber's Sleep Aid -- whether it was his own or Olive's, who was to say. "Yeah, okay, fine." Most everyone agreed to have Mandy take the Sleep Aid in the comfort of her own room and not in the Lab, to prevent any adverse effects from cropping up. (Well, namely the sleepwalking. No one wanted the sleepwalking again.) So, everyone moved operations to her room and helped her get settled in. Olive held a tablespoon full of the liquid up to Mandy's face. "Here, Mandy, take this." Mandy wormed away from the substance, her expression twisting into disgust. She almost felt like dry-heaving from the supposed smell it gave off, but even she was rational enough to realize that it was completely odorless. "Don't be shy, cuz!" Peaches urged. "I'm sure the nightmares won't be that bad." "Yeah? You're not the one havin' 'em!" After staring at the liquid for a few more seconds, Mandy bit the bullet and thrust half of the tablespoon into her mouth, nearly gagging as the liquid sloshed around her taste buds. As it went down her throat, she could feel her esophagus trembling at the mere sensation of it on its journey to her stomach. "Blugh, it's so bitter!" she remarked, wiping her tongue with her finger in a feeble effort to get rid of the taste. "Here." Oprah handed Mandy a pair of rather familiar earmuffs as the hybrid slid into bed. "I believe these are the earmuffs Fluttershy gave you when you went on your sleepwalking rampage. They should help with noise reduction." Mandy eagerly took them, placing them on her four ears. A yawn escaped her body as she snuggled into bed. As much as she didn't want to go back to sleep, it was very much involuntary at this point, and all she could do was rely on her friends to fix things as her eyes slowly began to close. "So what are we going to do in the meantime?" Oprah asked. "I’ll stay here and see if Mandy’s sleep-talk can give us anything. You three can enlist the help of the Scientists and finish that Dream-inator helmet." "Sounds like a plan." Olive nodded. "Even though they'll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting." Oprah rolled her eyes. "That's their job, Olive." "Doing the heavy lifting?" "Olive." Oprah whirled around to face her ex-agent. "On the way there, I need to re-teach you about the symbiotic relationship between Investigation agents and Scientists..." "Let's go!" Peaches barked, waving her hand to beckon the other two Directors. As the trio closed the door behind them, Otto grabbed a chair from Mandy's sewing table and took a seat. He examined his notes, unaware of a faint pulsating sound that was, unbeknownst to him, from nearby. Mandy had already descended into sleep, giving off loud snores that Otto was sure would start shaking the room's walls. Still, he gave a satisfied sigh, already well used to Mandy's snores and remaining poised with his flip notebook and pencil. "And now, we wait." Three villains, each in anything but silhouettes, loomed over Mandy. She recognized them fairly well. The Shapeshifter she had done battle with before. It was a favorite trick of hers, to turn into Mandy and mock her accordingly. There was one month where she turned into Mandy four times, one for every week, just to play tricks on her, but that ended up being too boring for her so she stopped. Still, Mandy viewed her as one of the top dogs of the Villain League, since she had been a sort of beta in the League when Odd Todd led them using nothing but (figurative) string. She was cold, she was calculating, and to be honest, Mandy could swear she was actually one of those changelings that lived in Equestria. Maybe she was even that 'Queen Chrysalis' character, taking on a human persona to get closer to her and the ponies. Father Time was another big name. For one thing, not even her zany ways could overpower his freezing powers, even if it was just for a minute or so. For another, she hated the design of that staff, with all its gears and pipes and its horrendous smell. And for another, she never received an answer as to where that crystal he had in his staff came from. He got offended whenever he was asked, and then he would try to fire at her. To most anyone else, he was a relative non-threat, but to Mandy, he was definitely a big threat. And finally, there was her. The Dream Weaver. Mandy remembered every detail of their last confrontation, and she swore to never forgive the villainess after she had made her remember her (supposedly) real mother. Perhaps that was why she was dreaming of her now -- maybe her brain was crafting home movies from her battle with her, back when she had kidnapped Peaches. But who was to say. All Mandy knew was that she hated her, and she wanted to get revenge on her. But she couldn't. She couldn't fight any of these villains. Not without her signature weapon. "Stop!" she cried out from her sprawled-out position on the ground, stretching out a hand. "My hammer!" "Your hammer, you say?" Father Time smirked. The hammer was twirling around and around on the tip of his staff, and all it took was a thrust of the staff at just the right angle to send the weapon flying. "Give that back!" "You poor, innocent agent. Are the wittle nightmawes getting to you?" the Shapeshifter mocked, giving a light but still very much evil chuckle. "They should be." Mandy's eyes began to well up with tears. "Why are you doing this?" "It's quite simple, really." The Dream Weaver blinked. "Have you ever heard of the saying 'an eye for an eye'?" It didn't take Mandy very long to realize what she was referring to. Her heart plummeted deep down into her intestines somewhere, and her eyes began to quiver. "All this..." "Revenge. Simple as that." The Dream Weaver leaned closer to the agent, nearly getting into her face using a level of physics only Pinkie Pie and Mandy herself could pull off. "You took something that was rightfully mine, Agent Mandy. But I know what your greatest weakness is. And I am going to exploit it to make sure you never mess with my plans again." Mandy didn't have any sort of witty comeback, feeling too scared to do anything other than whimper. Sure, she could take the Dream Weaver on and win singlehandledly, but she wasn't sure about taking on a shapeshifting villainess and a time master as added bonuses. "You spared my life only if I were to be taken into Odd Squad custody." The Dream Weaver snickered. "It's too bad that didn't work out. It was a mistake to let me live." Within Mandy's fear, a burning question came forth. "How did you-" "Escape? That's not important." The Dream Weaver held up a hand. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. But as we all know...you don't kill." She gave a soft chuckle, lifting up Mandy's neck using only a single index finger. "Wouldn't you like that to change?" All Mandy did was bear her teeth in response, although her show of aggression did nothing to stop big, thick tears from forming in her eyes and obscuring her vision. A thought occurred to her right then, of the Dream Weaver getting killed by her so that this nightmare, and all the rest of the misery she had inflicted upon her, would end. But killing one villain didn't even put so much as a dent into the endless cycle of oddness. Chances were, a new villain with sleep and dream-related powers would come around to take the Dream Weaver's place, so killing her would do nothing besides bring Mandy utter regret. "Hmph. Not going to say anything, are you?" Those words snapped Mandy out of her thoughts as she shook her head. "What are you planning?!" she snapped. The Dream Weaver blinked. "Oh. I thought you went mute because you were scared." She scoffed. "Like we would ever tell you?" "Tell them!" Father Time raised his staff. "It's not like they can fight back anyway." "No, no. That would ruin the fun." The Shapeshifter cracked her knuckles and grinned. "Let's tease them a little." "Oh! A rather excellent idea!" Father Time and the Dream Weaver cried in unison. The Shapeshifter nudged the Dream Weaver backwards, taking center stage as she gazed down upon Mandy. Mandy's pony ears drooped. Her pupils and irises both shrunk. The pieces were slowly falling into place for her. "Don't tell me...you're-" "Ah ah ah. Let it be a surprise." Standing up tall and proud, with her hands on her hips, the Shapeshifter transformed into Mandy with a bright blue flash. It certainly looked like the real deal, right down to the final strand of brown hair that laid atop her head. She leaned close to Mandy, and in the hybrid's unmistakable high-pitched voice, she uttered the addendum: "That way, it'll be funner!" Mandy gasped, but it was broken and straggled due to just how much shock she was experiencing. She was no stranger to the Shapeshifter transforming into her, of course, but all those times, something had given her away. Now, this time, it was like she read The Scientist's Guide to Everything Mandy and absorbed every last bit of knowledge from it. It sickened the real deal, so much so that she began to feel nauseous. It didn't help that the Shapeshifter's hands were slowly closing around her neck. "Now, don't tell anyone about our little exchange here...or there will be consequences." She released her grip and turned on her heel. "I'll see ya very soon!" The sounds of three distinct evil laughs rung throughout the area as the trio of villains walked away -- or in the Shapeshifter's case, bounced away, leaving Mandy lying there on the ground, sick and scared. All she could do in that moment, as the tears began cascading down her face, was scream. Scream in pain, anguish, fear for what was to come. Scream as a cry of yearning for the good dreams she once had. Scream as a way to get her out of this utter fiery place, hoping her brain would help her go back to the waking world. Otto nearly fell backwards in his chair as Mandy awoke with a piercing scream. Like her earmuffs, his flip notebook and pencil was sent flying, something he barely noticed as he watched Mandy give ragged breaths. "A-are you okay?" Mandy gave a soft gasp as her head whirled around to make eye contact with Otto. "You were talking about getting away from someone. Telling them to stop." Otto got up to retrieve his notebook and pencil. "Not as much sleep-talking as I expected, but that's fine." Mandy bit her lip. What am I supposed to do?! The Shapeshifter and Father Time are planning something and I can’t even tell anyone! It’s SOHALC all over again! She shook her head as she weighed the decision in her mind. She wanted to tell Otto everything, but at the same time, she knew that the Shapeshifter and the others would go after her if she did. And then they would go after her friends, her family...everyone she loved. Just like SOHALC had once threatened to do. She gripped her bedsheets tightly. "I can't tell you." "Can't tell us what?" Otto asked. "You can't tell us if you're doing okay?" "No! I'm..." Mandy sighed. "I'm not okay. But I can't tell you what's going on." As the hybrid threw the sheets off of her and proceeded to get up, she stopped before she could stand, burying her face in her hands to hide her tears. "Hold on!" She let her eyes peek out from between her fingers. "Huh?" Otto pointed at her. "It's just like with SOHALC. You're hiding something!" Pickleferries! His intuition skills must've increased... Still, Mandy knew that he wasn't exactly smart -- at least, not as smart as Olive. "W-what?! No! I-I'm not hiding anything!" "You just said that you can't tell us something." Aww darn...yeah, they definitely increased. Mandy rolled her shoulders and gave a resigned sigh. "Mandy." Otto gazed at her sympathetically. "We're always here to listen. Me, Olive, Oprah, Peaches, the ponies. Whatever’s on your mind." He blinked. "I wanna help you. But I can’t help you unless I know the whole story." A gasp forced its way out of Mandy as her mind took her to a flashback of when Olive had spilled her backstory to Otto. She had been eavesdropping at the time, but remembered every single detail. As Olive slipped the file on her former partner into the slot below one of the Security monitors, she put on a determined expression and quickly marched back to the monitor's respective control panel. "Let's take a look at the file." With near-blinding speed, she jerked the joystick to the left time after time, blasting through all sorts of pictures of her old partner, from when he was an agent to just minutes before when he had made his not-so-grand return. "No...no...no...no...no-" "Partner!" Otto exclaimed. "Slow down! Who's Todd?" "I told you. He used to be my partner. Now, he wants to make the world more odd." "No, I mean, how did Todd go from that..." He pointed to the image currently displayed, of Todd as an investigation agent standing tall and proud, then took the joystick and moved it to the left to show the image of Todd's grand return as he spooked Olive and Otto badly, emerging from his hiding spot within a painting at the town museum. "...to that?" As Olive crossed her arms and glared at the photo, Otto put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I wanna help you. But I can't help you unless I know the whole story." Backed into a corner, Olive gave a simple "Okay, fine." From there, she began launching into her long-winded tale of misery and pain, a tale of an agent who was set up by the system to fail in every conceivable way, and the tale of his partner who had to bear the brute force of it all. Mandy heard every word of the story. She heard it clear as day. But her trials and tribulations with Todd -- no, Odd Todd, as he had preferred to be called -- were too much for her to think about right now. The door to Mandy's room opened, revealing Peaches, Oprah and Olive, all with worried expressions on their faces. "What's going on? Is everything okay?" "We heard Mandy screaming!" "Did she have another nightmare?" Mandy began trembling again, though whether it was due to the nightmare or the flashback was anyone's guess. "Yes, she did, but she won't spill the beans!" Otto exclaimed, his tone exasperated. Her own voice, that of the disguised Shapeshifter's, ran through Mandy's head again. Now, don't tell anyone about our little exchange... "Or there will be consequences..." The murmur was barely heard, but with Peaches' better hearing, she was able to pick up on every word. "Consequences?" Mandy shook her head. "Stupid Shapeshifter..." Olive blinked. "The Shapeshifter?!" Oprah leaned in close to Mandy. "What about her?" "Stupid Father Time..." Olive bit her lip. "Father Time, too?!" "And...stupid, stupid Dream Weaver..." Silence. Mandy began trembling harder and harder, until her thoughts gathered together and were shot out into the world with one final scream. "I HATE ALL OF THEM!!" Olive looked down at the ground. "'I hate all of them'..." "Could they be responsible for all the nightmares she's been having?" Otto asked, shooting up and out of his seat. "The Shapeshifter doesn't usually dabble in anything related to sleep or dreams..." Oprah shrugged. "But then, that's what the Dream Weaver is for." "Why is the Dream Weaver targeting Mandy, though?" Olive asked. "The last time she attacked, she went after her, but Peaches sacrificed herself to save her cousin!" "That's true. But Mandy ended up saving Peaches in the end. The Dream Weaver is probably still bitter about that." "I've had enough!!" The group all looked at Mandy, with her tear-stained face, messy hair and tail, and eyebags that seemed to hold more weight than a hundred mangoes in a shopping bag. "Sit down, all of you. I don’t care what the Dream Weaver, the Shapeshifter, and Father Time say. Bad things happened because I didn’t tell you about SOHALC." "But we managed to beat then anywa-" "Shut UP!!" Everyone, bar Otto, immediately grabbed chairs from hammerspace and quickly sat down, never taking their eyes off of Mandy for even a second. "I'm going to tell you whether you like it or not. Whether anyone likes it or not. You all have a right to know what's going on." Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Mandy gazed at her friends with tired, bloodshot blue eyes. "These nightmares I’ve been having...all of them consist of Father Time, the Shapeshifter, and the Dream Weaver, who is the spearhead. Their plan is to do exactly what happened in the first nightmare: impersonate me and trick all of you." "But why does the Dream Weaver want to do that?" Olive asked. "If I had to guess, it’s when I rescued Peaches from her. She wants revenge. But...I don’t know what she’s planning, exactly, with the whole tricking-you-guys thing. All I know is that it involves a fake me." Suddenly, the hybrid perked up, her pony ears swiveling like satellite dishes behind her. Her right ear twitched. "Wait, what's that sound?" Otto looked around too. "What's what sound?" "Peach, do you hear that?" "I..." Peaches' cat ears began swiveling too. "I do!" "It sounds like..." Mandy got off of the bed and kneeled down to the floor, sticking half of her body under the bed and looking around for the sound's source. "Weird. It's not under here." she said, before grunting as she attempted to free herself from the bed's accidental confines. When she did, she made an "aah" sound of contentment before shaking her head. "Under the pillow!" Mandy's rainbow corona caught hold of her pillow's corner and lifted it up. Sure enough, she pulled out a diamond-shaped pendant, pulsating with some sort of black energy she didn't recognize. "What is this thing?" she asked, levitating it up into the air to show the rest of the group. Oprah rightfully kept her distance. "Looks...like a weird pendant of some kind." Olive's eyes widened. "Don't tell me...that's the source of Mandy's nightmares?" "You might be right!" Mandy said, dropping the pendant to the floor and quickly pulling out her hammer. "Stand back!" Everyone moved to the farthest corners of the room and stared at the hybrid as she raised the hammer high into the air, then swiftly brought its head down onto the pendant. It shattered into millions of tiny pieces. And it seemed to take Mandy's mind with it. A foreign sensation rocketed through Mandy's body, and then came the excruciating pain. She let out a scream, dropping her hammer as she stumbled around, clutching her head and moving her fingers through her hair as though attempting to dig into her head and reach her brain. It felt like someone had performed a lobotomy on her without using any anesthesia. "Mandy!!" came the unisonant cry, watching in horror as the hybrid collapsed to the floor. "What's going on?!" Olive cried out. "I don't know!" was all Otto could say in response. A minute passed. Mandy calmed down, the pain slowly ebbing away. She shook her head, a groan bubbling forth as she tried to come to her senses. All of a sudden, she felt a lot more drowsy now, similar to how she felt after a really bad sugar crash. Just as her vision began going all wobbly, so did her body, swaying side to side. "Cuz, are you okay?" Peaches asked -- although to Mandy, she was speaking in near-complete tongues. "I..." Mandy shook her head again, although it was slower than usual. "I'm fine..." "Something must have happened in her brain when she smashed the pendant." Oprah deduced. "Does this mean she's not going to have nightmares anymore?" Olive's tone was full of hope, but still held a twinge of worry for her adopted daughter. "She looks sleepy." Otto bent down and attempted to stabilize Mandy, who had her eyes closed and was seconds away from going into a deep sleep. "Why don't you three go and finish the gadget? I'll stay here and see what happens." "All right." Peaches nodded. "If something dangerous happens, though, shout for us." "Will do!" "Come on, let's go." Olive and the others left the room, never taking their eyes off of Mandy until they were completely unable to see her anymore. It was by that point that Mandy had entered a deep sleep, giving off raucous snores and pure gibberish. From the looks of things, she was completely back to normal, something that Otto was sure of based on one single piece of evidence that he wrote down in his flip notebook. "'Smile on her face.'" The sound of his stomach growling made him realize just how hungry he was, and he clutched it as he made his way back to his chair. "I really wish I brought something to eat. I'm starving..." Completing the gadget only took a few minutes thanks to the power of teamwork that Odd Squad was known for. Unfortunately, those few minutes felt like torture to Otto, who had grown considerably weak due to his gnawing hunger. He had the strength to at least put Mandy to bed, but that was about it. "Olive..." he murmured, slowly reaching a hand out like a zombie aiming for its next victim. Olive sighed. "He's starved." she explained to Oprah and Peaches, before they had the chance to ask. "Hang tight, Otto. Oprah, do you mind?" "Not at all." Oprah responded, having picked up on what Olive was putting down, so to speak. "I'll be back, then." As Olive departed the room, Peaches took initiative in approaching Mandy with the completed Dream-inator helmet. "Wait!" Otto shot upwards, his state of hunger temporarily forgotten. "Peaches, be as quiet as you can. Mandy doesn’t have her earmuffs on. I know the helmet is shatter-proof, but she could knock it off like last time." "Trust me, we catpeople are masters at stealth." Peaches smirked. "Watch and learn." She didn't need to go slow, or watch her step. All she did was stride over to her snoring cousin and put the helmet on her. At one point her leg jerked, which startled Peaches, but she brushed it off, knowing her cousin was known for these kinds of things that would make her a shoo-in for restless leg syndrome if anyone in the Medical department actually knew what it was. "Yes!" she declared, taking a few steps back. Oprah patted her on the shoulder. "Nice work." she praised, pulling out a small square-shaped remote from hammerspace. "Now let's test this bad boy out." As the Director pressed the red button in the center, the sound of whirring could be heard, indicating that its antenna was connecting with the helmet. Sure enough, the indents on the helmet began to flash in an array of colors, and a holographic screen was projected into the air just above Mandy's head. Although there was snow, it didn't take long for a picture to be produced. "-farm hand!" a unicorn finished, walking in a field of grass and staring up at whom everyone could only assume was Mandy. "Really? Cool!" Mandy gave a hearty laugh, throwing her hands into the air and taking a deep breath. The field of grass seemed to stretch on for miles, only marked by a row of small fruit trees far off into the distance. "Everything's so fresh here! The air, the grass..." Oprah's eyes widened. "She's having good dreams!" she said, her tone full of elation. Olive entered the room right then, holding a plate of food that included a chicken breast, some rice, and some green beans -- because she had to make sure Otto was eating healthy, at the very least. "All right, I'm back!" Otto's glazed-over eyes shifted from the dream to the plate of food, and almost immediately, the sparkle returned to them. "Food!" he cried out, grabbing the plate and the fork and digging in. Olive blinked as she watched the holographic image. "Whoa, is that Mandy's dream?" she asked. "Yes!" Peaches quickly grabbed her by the shoulders. "She's free from the nightmares!" It took a moment for Olive to process the news, but when she did, relief filled her chest so much that she almost began to feel lightheaded. "What a relief." She put her hand to her chest. "So it was the pendant thing giving her nightmares after all." "Ahh, much better!" Olive swiveled her head towards Otto, who was holding a plate that looked like it had been licked clean down to the last microscopic crumb. Which, frankly, didn't surprise her in the least. "You were hungry, huh?" "Let's leave Mandy be." On Oprah's suggestion, the group got up and prepared to exit the room, watching as Oprah powered down the Dream-inator helmet and Peaches grabbed it. Once they were sure everything was in order and Mandy was still in a peaceful sleep, they left. Except for Peaches, who served as the caboose of the group to give some final words to Mandy. "Sweet dreams, cuz." With a smile, the catgirl shut off the light and closed the door, a feeling of peace washing over her as she knew that Mandy was safe, she was happy, and she was finally getting the good rest she so deserved. In the Dream Weaver's eyes, the plan was going well. Mandy was growing weaker by the hour, and soon, the fruits of the villainess's labor would begin to show. Still, she thought it was a good idea to see how Mandy was doing, and to see exactly how her pathetic friends of hers had meddled in her plan, if they even did so at all. ...Oh, who was she kidding. Of course they did. They always did. But she could stop them, just like she could with Mandy. As she made her way through the dark hallways of Precinct 13579, she kept her senses alert for any signs of active movement. Even a sleepwalking agent could mess up her entire check-in, and she couldn't afford anything like that -- although she was sure no one was here but the ponies, Peaches, and of course, Mandy. Still, she was dedicated to making sure her revenge plot went off without a hitch. She managed to reach the hybrid's room with ease and slowly let the door creak open as her eyes laid witness to her most persistent and most irritating foe. The very first thing she noticed was that Mandy's expression was...happy. Disturbingly so. It was like someone shoved a giant red flag right into the villainess's eyes. "Why isn't she grimacing?!" She growled. "Don't tell me..." With stomping footsteps, she thrust a hand under Mandy's pillow, feeling around for the pendant. When nothing sharp and hard presented itself, she mentally shot out a few curse words. "Darn it, they found the pendant!" Before she could blow her top, the Dream Weaver forced herself to take a nice deep breath. "No matter. I have a backup plan. Which...also involves the actual plan being a bit rushed, but it's no sweat." From hammerspace, she took out another pendant but in a different form. This one was a diamond embedded at the centerpiece of a black-and-blue choker. She tied it around Mandy's neck, being careful to leave it loose so it could work its magic if her rescuers struggled. The gem pulsated, giving off ugly black tendrils of mist that reached into the air, and Mandy's expression twisted into one of discomfort as she gave a groan. "It's working already." The next step was feeding Mandy a sleeping pill, which would ensure that she wouldn't wake up from the nightmares she had. That part was easy -- the Dream Weaver always had sleeping pills on her, because she loved to fly and it was the only way she could handle long flights. So, she popped one in Mandy's mouth and massaged her throat to allow her to swallow it. And then came the final part of the plan. Cracking her knuckles, the Dream Weaver took ahold of Mandy's blankets, wrapping her up in a burrito and tying them up in a neat little bow. She grabbed Mandy and quickly made a run for it, closing the door and sprinting back the way she came. "Now, let's take you to a place where you'll never be heard from again. Shall we?" A mental note pushed forward in her mind, to inform the Shapeshifter of the change in plans -- or the change in the timing of the plan, anyway. Kidnapping Mandy was supposed to be for when she was close to collapse, so she wouldn't struggle when she was tied up. Still, hiding her away was the Dream Weaver's first and foremost priority, and as she racked her brain for good locations in Toronto where a pony-human hybrid could be easily hidden, one came to her within minutes. Yes. It's perfect. It's hidden. And it'll be where absolutely no one, pony or human, will ever be able to find her. Perhaps it was a good thing that Mandy's snoring had ceased and the Dream Weaver only had the sleep-talking to deal with. It made the journey to the destination go so much faster, and it saved her from having to shove something down Mandy's throat the same way she had shoved her hammer down the villainess's throat. The pair soon stood at the large, gaping entrance of a cave. It was dark, it was ominous, and it was absolutely perfect. From what the Dream Weaver could see, it seemed to stretch on for miles. She stepped inside, allowing her white, glow-in-the-dark hair to light up the way. She had wanted to go deep, but the more she walked, the more she realized that going in deep would take at least a day, and if she was being honest, she couldn't afford to waste more than a minute. So, she ended up settling for about 15 minutes in, with her taking a respective right and left at two forks in the road, until she got to a large area with a small pool that was surrounded by rocks and a reasonably-sized wall. Laying Mandy down on the ground, she pulled out four cuffs and got to work untying the hybrid. Although it took some work -- and certainly not from Mandy giving her a fight -- she eventually managed to get her tied up, closing the cuffs around her wrists and ankles and tightening the chains around rocks that jutted out from the wall. When the work was done, leaving Mandy suspended right above the pool, the Dream Weaver took a few steps back and gave an inquisitive hum. Something's missing. She's going to wake up...so she could... Bingo. She reached behind her back and pulled out a smaller cuff, one that could fit snugly around her thumb. It had a padlock on it, one that would fit with the same key she used for the other four cuffs, but it also had a sort of magical property about it. Using other rocks that protruded from the wall as makeshift stairs, she put the cuff on the base of Mandy's long alicorn horn and tightened it. It hummed and pulsed once, indicating that said magical property was serving its purpose well. As for the wings, she didn't feel a need to do anything about those -- there was no way Mandy was flying free from her confines, anyhow. All was said and done, now. Mandy was now trapped, tied up a position of crucifixion with her arms and legs outstretched accordingly. Her head was drooped, and she was still giving out various sounds of discomfort every so often. Perfect! The Dream Weaver clapped her hands together. All I need to do is hide the key somewhere, and I'm set. Her mind got to work concocting various places where the key could be hidden. She couldn't go deeper into the cave, so she had to hide it somewhere in her steps. But the question was where, exactly. Odd Squad was smart, and... And... Wait. There's a pool under her feet! Grinning, she made her way over to the small body of water, took off the golden glove attached to her hand, and stuck her arm into the water to see if she could reach the bottom. To her surprise, she couldn't, and at the risk of messing up her glow-in-the-dark hair, she stuck her face inside to see. Luckily, her hair's illumination properties worked well even in water, and she was able to deduce that it was quite a ways down. She could very faintly see the bottom, or what she thought was the bottom -- which made it the perfect place to hide a key. She took her head out and dropped the key into the water, then conjured up a towel from hammerspace and dried her hair, groaning as she mentally lamented about how long it took her to style it and how it was probably ruined now. She got to her feet, eyed her slumbering enemy for a few more seconds, then turned to leave. As she walked, her hand slipped into her pocket and grabbed her smartphone, where she got ahold of the Shapeshifter. "Dream Weaver, there better be a good reason for you calling me this late." "Oh, there is. About our little revenge plan on Agent Mandy...things have shifted juuuust a tad." The next day, everything seemed normal at Precinct 13579's Headquarters -- or as normal as it could possibly get by Odd Squad standards, anyway. Peaches awoke late, which didn't draw too much ire from her as a crepuscular catgirl, and emerged from her room to go to the bathroom and get ready. Along the way there, she spotted Mandy, who seemed to be in good spirits and back to normal. "Oh! Hey there, cuz!" Peaches waved. "Feeling better?" "Hm?" Mandy turned around. "Oh! Yeah, I'm feeling fine. Honestly, I don't know what went on with me..." "When the pendant was smashed, your brain must have felt an adverse reaction to it. I dunno. Your brain functions weird." Peaches bit the inside of her cheek. "Er, no offense." "None taken!" "I know you definitely weren't up for looking for the Vallea culprit with me yesterday, so...wanna go tonight instead?" That question earned Peaches a vacant stare that slightly unnerved her, especially since Mandy was gazing right into her eyes. "Uh...cuz?" "Huh? Oh!" Mandy laughed. "Sorry, I was lost in thought. What were you saying?" "I was asking if you wanted to come with me to try and find the culprit who burned my hometown down." Mandy looked from side to side in a shifty manner. "Um...heh...s-sure, I guess. Anything for more quality time with my faaaavorite cousin, right?" "Right..." Peaches' tone was dubious, her eyes squinted as she scanned Mandy up and down. Something was off about her, but Peaches had a hard time with determining what that was. Her cousin looked perfectly fine and healthy, and she still held the same enthusiasm...or most of the same enthusiasm, anyway. Maybe that was it, just a lack of enthusiasm. After all, Peaches knew Mandy to be bouncing up and down, speaking in singsongs, doing wild and crazy and odd things...and now, she didn't seem capable of that. But maybe she was having an off day and was still recovering after her sleep deprivation. Still, her gut feeling was that something was wrong, and she kept her eyes squinted at Mandy, who nervously laughed. "Cuz, what're you doing?" "Something's off about you." Peaches answered. "Maybe you should go see Dr. O and make sure that pendant didn’t give you any other effects besides the nightmares." "Ehehe!" Mandy bit her lip. "I-I mean...um...y-yeah! I'll go and see her." "...Him?" "Huh?" "Dr. O is a boy." Mandy blinked. "Oh! I-is that so?! Ahaha! Aaah...my my, I'm forgetful today, aren't I?" She gave another nervous laugh, and then turned on her heel, speed-walking away from the scene. Peaches' tail twitched inquisitively. "No doubt about it. Something's definitely up with her." she mused, continuing on her way. She made a mental note to keep an eye on Mandy throughout the day, and get to the bottom of why she was acting so weird. Surely it wasn't just residue from the sleep deprivation -- Mandy was usually right as rain after a bout of that, but this time, she wasn't. It was an odd case across the board, and if there was one thing Peaches knew a lot about, even as someone who wasn't an agent, it was odd cases. By the time Peaches reached the bullpen, Mandy was already sitting at her desk and happily conversing with Olive and Otto. A growl rolled in her throat as her claws subconsciously came out, leaving scrapes on the brick wall that she was holding in a death grip. Lost in thought, thinking Dr. O was a girl instead of a boy...and her smell is off. I know her smell. That's not her smell. If the Shapeshifter, Father Time and the Dream Weaver are behind this too, then I am so gonna kick their butts. It's the least I could do after Mandy saved me from the Dream Weaver. For now, though...I have an idea. I'm gonna prove whether that's the real deal sitting in that chair or not, and lucky for me that I have two witnesses on my side. Filled with confidence, she strode into the bullpen, where the conversation became clearer and clearer. "Ahaha...c'mon, Otto, you're being ridiculous! Why would ya stack a marshmallow on top of the sundae?" "Hey, if I won that contest I could have gotten free ice cream for life!" "But he got a stomachache and couldn't come into work the next day." Olive nudged her partner and gave a chuckle. "He threw up so many times that I had to buy him a bismuth subsalicylate solution!" "Don't tell her that!" "Hey, Mandy!" The trio turned to look at Peaches. "Oh! Peach, it's you!" Mandy chirped. "What's goin' on?" Peaches largely ignored Mandy and made eye contact with the two Directors. "Do you two know if there's an interrogation room open?" Otto blinked. "Why? You...wait...you want to interrogate Mandy?" "Just answer the question, it's urgent!" "U-uh..." Olive glanced at the second floor, where every interrogation room on the right side seemed to be occupied by an agent and/or an oddity. "As far as I can see, no." Peaches sighed and shot Mandy a glare. "All right then." Mandy squirmed in her seat a little. "W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?" "I want to ask you a couple questions." Peaches pointed at Olive and Otto. "And I want you two here as witnesses." The two Directors exchanged confused glances. "Witnesses?" Leaning close to Mandy, Peaches gave her a few sniffs. To keep Mandy steady, she placed a hand on her head, preventing the hybrid from moving too much. Mandy began to look visibly uncomfortable, and as such, she attempted to push Peaches away. "C-cuz, don't! Not in front of everyone! You'll embarrass yourself!" Peaches pulled back and gave a simple "hm" followed by a flick of her cat ear. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she cleared her throat and laid down her first question in the interrogation. "Mandy, what's your favorite food?" "Favorite food?" "If you could pick one, and only one." Mandy had been asked this question before. And whenever Peaches had the glorious-but-not-so-glorious experience of witnessing someone ask her this question, she watched Mandy's brain circuits be completely and utterly fried beyond repair in a way that would make fried food enthusiasts start crying. The hybrid stammered, she tried to spit out a single answer, but nothing came forth. Sometimes she was reduced to tears, crying out about how the asker was torturing her and then going on a ramble about how she'd get her lawyer and sue for damages. (Which wasn't true. Mandy didn't have a lawyer. She had beaten the heck out of the top firm in Toronto with her antics and they had barred her from ever using their practice. A majority of the rest of them were the immoral "squeeze every last financial drop out of the victims" kind that no one allowed her to go near out of an abundance of caution.) Now, though...Mandy was hesitating. She was hesitating in the "I genuinely can't think of an answer because I don't know what my favorite food is" way and not the "how can I pick just one?!" way. "U-um..." She scratched her neck. "I guess...mac and cheese?" Peaches sat on this answer for a minute, then nodded. Mac and cheese seemed normal, although Mandy liked to spice it up by adding chicken coated with paprika and Italian seasoning. Still, she let it slide. "Okay. Next question. Who's your best friend, out of the ponies?" Mandy's eyes darted from side to side. "Out of them...you mean all six?" "Yes." Mandy had been asked this question before, too. And every time, the answer was clear-cut: "D'aww, you know I can't choose! They're all my bestest friends! And don't ever say 'you can only choose one' again, because I can and will find a loophole." But Mandy was, once again, hesitating. It seemed like forever before she actually spit out a viable answer. "Heh. Um...w-well...Rarity, I guess. She's skilled, powerful, knows a lot about fashion..." The expression on Mandy's face was clear to Peaches. She knew she gave a wrong answer, and she knew she couldn't take it back. By this point, Peaches could have gone after her and exposed her for who she truly was -- but in order to be sure, she decided to spring for one last question. A question that she knew no clone, no impostor, no fake could ever answer honestly. "Final question!" She grinned. "Who wants twirlies?!" Memories surfaced in Olive's brain. She remembered giving twirlies to Mandy often, lifting her up into the air and spinning her around until she got so dizzy that it felt like that one stage in Otto's video game that was shaped like a UFO and kept doing 180s every six seconds. Mandy was far too old for them now, but sometimes she would ask for one, and Olive would oblige (except if it was in public, because she had standards and a reputation). They were fond memories that made the Director smile as she looked back on them. "Twirlies?" Mandy repeated, staring at Peaches for a minute or two until a smile formed on her face. "That sounds fun! Go for it!" Peaches smirked. She cracked her knuckles, reached her hands out, attempted to lift Mandy up... And couldn't. The hybrid had about the same weight as a boulder, and certainly not that of Pinkie's sister's pet who was named Boulder. Mandy was no lightweight, but she wasn't insanely heavy, either, and it was Peaches' sheer inability to lift her that caused Olive and Otto to gasp in unison as the truth was revealed to them. Peaches let go of Mandy and keeled over, panting. "I...knew it!" She stuck her hand out. "Olive, hand me...your Reveal-inator!" "No, don't do it, Olive!" Mandy stretched a hand out. "Y-you don't want to!" It was Mandy calling Olive by just that and not by the "Momma" moniker she had grown to love that made the Director take action without even thinking, taking the gadget out from behind her back and handing it to Peaches. The catgirl slipped her fingers into the designated holes on the top of the gadget. "Your days of impersonating my beloved cousin are over..." She jerked her arm backwards, causing a light blue ring to shoot out and travel down Mandy's body, exposing her true identity. "Shapeshifter!" The Shapeshifter gave an angry growl. "How dare you!" Before she could antagonize the group any further, Peaches gave an angry yowl and slammed into her full-force, pinning her to the ground. "What have you done with the real Mandy?!" The Shapeshifter, while surprised, managed to keep most of her cool. "Like I'll tell you." Peaches unsheathed her claws, holding them up against the villainess's cheek. Her tone was low and ominous as she leaned in close to her ear. "Tell us, or you're going to be in for a world of hurt." "F-fine!" The Shapeshifter sighed. "I was about to go there anyway. If you get off of me and follow me, I'll take you to her." On the one hand, Peaches didn't trust the villainess in the slightest. After all, who knew if she was just going to run the second she was freed or not? It was certainly a possibility. But on the other hand...she was the only one who knew where Mandy was. She was the only lead they had, and they couldn't afford to lose her. With how big Toronto was, it could take days to find Mandy -- days that would leave her in nothing but suffering and pain. Peaches couldn't, wouldn't, allow that. Mandy had to be saved now, while the going was good. Peaches grit her teeth and looked at Olive and Otto. "Any of you have a rope?" "A rope?" The Shapeshifter chuckled. "You really are naive." In response, Peaches gave an angry hiss, her hair and tail both bushing up. "And just as feisty as ever! Just like your poor cousin." Olive and Otto walked behind Peaches and the Shapeshifter, intimidated by the former's show of aggression. If this was how Mandy acted when she went to go stop the Dream Weaver from harming Peaches, they...well, no, they wouldn't be too surprised. They kept their voices low as they spoke. "Should we intervene?" "Nope." Olive shook her head. "Mandy saved Peaches' life, remember? She's probably returning the favor now." "Ah, gotcha." "Keep your eyes on her!" The sharp command made both Directors stiffen, giving small yelps as they nodded. "Y-yes, ma'am!" I can't believe we're taking orders from someone who isn't even an employee of Odd Squad... "Are we almost there?" Peaches snapped impatiently. "Yes." the Shapeshifter responded. As her hands and wrists were tied up with rope, all she could do was point to what laid ahead of them. "She's in that cave, just up ahead." Peaches' nose wrinkled. "A cave?" "The Dream Weaver thought it was a good place to hide her. After all, what..." She chuckled. "What Odd Squad agent has experience with caves?" "Tons of them." Olive and Otto unisonantly deadpanned. "Hmph." The Shapeshifter rolled her eyes. "Just go inside. There's a surprise or two waiting for you." "What surprise?" Peaches asked. "You'll see." As the group got closer, the figure of the Dream Weaver was becoming more and more prominent. She gave them a wave, and then a beckoning gesture with her hand. Peaches' expression turned from rage to nervousness, something that Olive and Otto sensed as they placed two hands on her shoulders. "We've got your back, Peaches." "Yeah!" Otto nodded. "No matter what comes our way, we can handle it." Peaches took a deep breath, letting her friends' words ring in her head. Her confidence quickly restored, she gave a determined head nod and straightened her posture, glaring at the Dream Weaver with all the anger she had stored within her. "Ah, there you are." The Dream Weaver clapped her hands together giddily upon seeing the heroes, but quickly faltered when they saw the villain whom they had tied up. "Er...and...Shapeshifter." The Shapeshifter leaned close to her partner-in-crime's ear. "Listen. That catgirl is more dangerous than she looks. You realize I wasn't even able to break out of these things? And I can break out of handcuffs! Handcuffs!" she hissed. "Ohoho!" The Dream Weaver patted her shoulder. "Relax, relax. I'll take over from here. You go get some rest and you'll be refreshed as the rain!" "In this cave? No thanks." the Shapeshifter muttered, watching as the Dream Weaver stood up and approached the group. "I understand you're looking for your anomalous hybrid friend." "Yes. Take us to her. Now." "Oh?" The Dream Weaver blinked in surprise. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today!" She shook her head. "All right, all right. Follow me. I'll show you the way." Otto and Peaches went ahead. Olive, however, pulled out a Weight-Shift-inator and fired it at the Shapeshifter, binding her to the ground and leaving her unable to stand up, let alone even push herself up. "You stay there. We'll be back shortly." she said, her tone threatening as she ran after her friends and the villainess. The Shapeshifter struggled, but the Director paid no mind to her. After all, she was confident that not even the Shapeshifter could free herself from the gravitational confines that the Weight-Shift-inator put on her. At the first fork in the road, the group heard a faint but sharp yelp that bounced off every surface. Heads swiveled, unsure of where it was coming from. Peaches shapeshifted and climbed up onto the Dream Weaver's back. "You'd better put a step on it!" she threatened, holding her claws close to the villainess's neck. "A-all right, all right! We'll..." The Dream Weaver faltered, and then pointed to the right cave. "It's that way." Using flashlights -- Olive and Otto's badge phones would have worked fine but they weren't the best illumination tools -- the trio burst ahead of her, leaving her in the dust. She, of course, quickly followed, knowing that if she turned back and abandoned them, she would be found sooner or later -- and besides, she wanted to be there for the grand reveal. "Come on, guys, put on some speed!" "I can only go so fast, Peaches!" Olive snapped, keeping pace with her longer-legged partner. It didn't take long before they reached the second fork. Three whimpers, each two seconds apart, rung out, almost like signals to tell Odd Squad where to go. They were brief, but they were very close. Olive's heart plummeted. The Dream Weaver groaned as she made her way up to them. "Left." Again, the children were quicker than the adult, and the Dream Weaver had to put on a lot more speed than usual to even remotely catch up to them. Still, the thought of her enemies reacting with sheer horror at what they were about to see granted her more energy to keep on running. "Stooooop!" The cry of the Dream Weaver caused the trio to halt, Otto slamming into Olive and Peaches slamming into Otto. They looked around, shining their flashlights everywhere for any sign of Mandy. "H-help me..." Olive gasped. She shone her flashlight a little to the right. And dropped the tool entirely. "Olive? What's..." Otto shone his flashlight on Mandy next. "Oh my cattails!" Mandy was squirming a little, though not enough to break free of the cuffs. Her expression was contorted into one of discomfort as she feebly kicked her legs. Her eyes were, of course, closed, allowing the trio to deduce that she was acting out yet another nightmare. The Dream Weaver stumbled into the cave and keeled over, glancing up at the frozen states of Peaches, Otto and Olive. A grin came across her face as happiness flowed within her. None of them moved -- all they did was stare at their beloved friend, their beloved family member, suffering in pain and agony with no way to get out of it. Otto took a step back. "She...she looks so exhausted..." The Dream Weaver straightened up and laughed. "Of course she is!" She waved a hand. "I put a new pendant around her neck and gave her a sleeping pill. She'll be having nightmares for days!" Olive slowly turned her head to look at the villainess, her brown eyes flashing with rage. "You gave her a what." "Look at the lock on her horn!" Peaches looked at where Otto was pointing. "And all the chains and cuffs!" "Oh, those?" The Dream Weaver examined her nails. "I refer to those as 'ability limiters'. But really, they're just so she can't use her magic or her flight." "How dare you." The area fell silent. The Dream Weaver looked right into the face of a snarling, very-much-peeved Peaches. "My cousin doesn't deserve to have any nightmares. Nor does she deserve to be impersonated by your little gal pal out there!" She unsheathed her claws. "Mandy saved me when you held me hostage. So it's time I do the same!" An angry yowl bounced off the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. The Dream Weaver barely had time to react as Peaches whizzed by her, seemingly unmoving. The sound of tearing filled her ears, and she looked down to find that her cosmic-patterned one-piece outfit had been torn at the forearms, two vertical even splits that exposed her skin. "M-my...this outfit cost me...hundreds!" the Dream Weaver stammered. "You-" "And I can give you more!" It was clear to the Dream Weaver now that Mandy's catgirl cousin was looking for a fight. Sure, she had seen her talk the talk, but she couldn't deny that she was eager to see her walk the walk -- especially since she was out for revenge for her torn uniform. She took out her Bad Dream Machine from hammerspace and set it on the ground, smirking. "Bring it on, pretty kitty!" Both combatants charged and met in the middle, kicking up dust with flurries of punches, kicks, bites, and magical attacks to the point where Olive and Otto could barely see them. "Partner! While they're fighting, let's free Mandy!" "Wait!" Otto put his hand on Olive's shoulder. "We should be careful. We don't know what traps the Dream Weaver or the Shapeshifter may have set up." Olive nodded. "Good idea. Come on." Cautiously but as quickly as they could, the pair made their way over to the now-cringing Mandy. The Dream Weaver was sent flying past her Bad Dream Machine towards a stalagmite, hitting it dead-on and collapsing to the ground. Her outfit was developing more and more tears with every attack, and she feared that the way things were going, she would be fighting Peaches as nature intended for man to fight. "Like a couple of scratches is going to stop me?!" she taunted, slowly rising to her feet and re-activating her machine. With dazzling speed, Peaches soared towards the villainess and gave her a good, solid punch in the gut, causing her to choke, stagger, and fall to her knees. "I pack more than just my claws!" the catgirl said, her tail swishing back and forth as she pounded her fist into her open palm. "I can also pack a punch!" Otto looked around the area, using the assistance of a scanner gadget to help him. "There doesn't seem to be any traps, Olive!" Olive blinked. "Weird. You'd think that, since the Dream Weaver laid a trap for Mandy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Twilight when they went to rescue Peaches, that she'd do the same thing here..." She sighed. "Talk about unpredictable." The sound of whimpers caught the girl's attention, and she immediately whirled around to face Mandy. The sight of her panicked expression frightened her when seen up close. "Mandy? It's Olive and Otto! We're gonna get you out of here, don't worry!" "Maybe we should destroy the pendant first!" Otto suggested, as he came over to his partner and tucked the scanning gadget away. "Good idea, but..." Olive bit her lip. "It looks like it's pretty tight around her neck." "Don't we have...I dunno, some sort of tooth gadget?" Otto gave a halfhearted shrug, as though knowing that his idea was bad but also knowing that it was better than nothing. "Like the wind-up teeth toys, but in a gadget form?" Olive fixed her partner with a deadpan glare. "No." she responded, before her eyes widened in realization. She pulled out a gadget that looked like a pair of scissors. "But I do have a Scissor-inator!" It took a minute for Olive to fix her aim. She didn't want to accidentally decapitate her adopted daughter with one wrong misfire, and so she took her sweet time aiming for the choker instead. Finally, when she was satisfied, she opened the gadget, causing three horizontal tendrils of magic to appear between the blades, then closed it again, which sent the magic right towards the choker. With a burst of orange-colored magic, it broke and fell into the pool below. Mandy gave a piercing, agonizing scream as she began to writhe more aggressively. Still, this did not free her from the cuffs, and she was left in the same position of crucifixion. The fighting between Peaches and the Dream Weaver temporarily stopped, the former taking her foot off of the latter's chest as she stared at Mandy. "Huh?" The Dream Weaver looked too, and horror began to seep in as she realized just what her enemies had done. "No...NOOOOOOO!!" she screamed. She grit her teeth as a growl rumbled in her throat, staring daggers at Olive and Otto. "How did you take the pendant off?" "Easy. We used a gadget. Same as we always do." came Olive's smug reply, an equally-smug smile settling on her face to go with it. Otto polished the gadget beside her, giving the Dream Weaver a smug smile of his own. Another growl came forth from the villainess. However, this one turned into a full-on scream of unbridled rage and frustration. "Whatever!" She jabbed a finger at Peaches. "I'm still not done with you!" "Oh? Bring it on!" Both Peaches and the Dream Weaver then disappeared in a giant ball of dust, hair, and surprisingly, a few torn pieces of clothing. The ball broke free only a few seconds later as the Dream Weaver looked at her torn leg, streaked with rivers of blood. "Oh no." "Blood, huh?" Peaches wiped her face. "Yeah, it happens. Get used to it." Over by Mandy, Otto was eyeing the Scissor-inator. "Maybe this gadget can work on Mandy's horn lock!" Olive shook her head. "Mm-mm. Too risky. We could slice off the lock and her horn!" "All right, well..." Otto tapped his chin. "If it's a lock, maybe there's a key hidden somewhere! Let's look around!" "Perfect!" As the pair of Directors began searching along the ground for any signs of the key being buried, the Dream Weaver gave a cry of pain as she was sent tumbling along the ground by a nasty claw swipe, landing by her Bad Dream Machine. Peaches rose to her full height. "You're lucky I'm not as enraged as Mandy was or you wouldn't be seeing the sunshine anymore!" she spat. A convulsion of pain stopped the Dream Weaver from responding right away -- she was growing tired, and she was sure that Peaches could see it. Not only that, but the shapes of Olive and Otto were growing blurry to her, and at some points, it seemed that they were speed-walking. "Nngh..." She stared at Peaches. "P-please, stop..." "After you tortured my dearly-beloved cousin? Not in a million years!" Peaches grabbed ahold of the villainess's neck with her claws, ignoring the choking sounds she made. "You're about to feel the full extent of my wrath!" With Otto having resolved to checking the pool, Olive held his feet sturdy and stared at it with worry. She watched as the bubbles came up, indicating that her partner was still breathing. He hadn't put on a scuba mask or any sort of assistive underwater breathing device, and so, she was forced to wait and see when he would come back up. A foot jerked, causing Olive to flinch before she began to pull him up. As she peered into the depths of the water, she saw a dark shape emerging, growing closer and closer. Before she knew it, Otto had emerged, taking a deep breath that led to him coughing up a storm. "Did you find it?" she asked, letting go of him and allowing him to get his bearings together. "I..." A cough. "Yeah. I did." He held up the key. "Take it." Olive did as she was told, grabbing the key in her teeth and using the jutted rocks that protruded from the wall to hoist herself up. In that moment, she thanked the powers-that-be that they had blessed her with strong athleticism, as she was able to reach the top of Mandy in no time at all. She unlocked the cuffs on Mandy's right wrist and right ankle, then tossed the key to Otto, who only had to lay a single foot on another jutted rock by Mandy's ankle to unlock her left wrist and left ankle. His fast reflexes allowed him to catch her before she slipped into the depths of the pool below. "How can we make sure all the stuff we did worked?" Otto asked, letting his feet touch ground as he carried Mandy and made his way towards Olive. "We can't right now." Olive said. "Not until Mandy wakes up." The hybrid began thrashing right then. "Make it stop, make it stop!" she cried out, kicking her hands and feet a lot more violently now that she was free. "Olive, try cuddling her!" Olive blinked in surprise, once, and then twice. Her gaze moved slowly towards Otto as her expression twisted into confusion. "Wha...cuddling her?" "I remember that it was a surefire way to make her fall asleep as a baby. If you hold her in your arms, maybe she’ll have good dreams again!" Olive looked at Mandy. "Otto, she's a bit too grown to be cuddled, don't you think?" "Just try it!" With a resigned sigh, Olive beckoned for her partner to give her the hybrid. He did so eagerly, watching as Olive held Mandy in her arms like a baby. "It's okay. You're free now." she soothed, ignoring the sounds of fighting that resounded behind her. "Hush hush. Have good dreams again. Uh..." She bit her lip, struggling with what to say. "Bippity-boppity-boo?" Otto groaned. "C'mon, put some effort into it!" "Okay, okay!" Olive gave another sigh and closed her eyes, lightly bouncing Mandy up and down -- which was a pretty hard feat, given that Mandy was only just an inch or two taller than her. "Peaches is fighting for your sake, Mandy. Rest easy now. She's got the situation handled from here." Both Peaches and the Dream Weaver were at a standstill. Peaches was covered in dirt, bruises and blood that littered nearly every inch of her body, one eye closed as she took heavy breaths. The Dream Weaver looked much the same, with tears in her outfit that exposed their own streaks of blood, marks of pain, and pieces of dirt. Her Bad Dream Machine had gotten its top sliced off, although exactly how it got sliced off, given that it was made of strong metal, was anyone's guess. Both catgirl and villainess were standing, though neither of their postures were straight. "Are you done yet?" Peaches asked, her tone hiding an air of desperation as she knew that one more severe blow could end her reign of terror. The Dream Weaver opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by a bolt of pain that caused her to yelp and sway backwards until her back met the ground. "Haven't you learned by now that it's best not to cross us? We beat you every time..." Peaches gave a cough that made her whole body shudder. "...and yet you still try." "You..." The Dream Weaver spat off to the side. "Your cousin...rescued you. I...swore revenge that night." With half-lidded eyes and a deadpan tone: "Right. Like I care." And then, Peaches approached the villainess and placed one single foot on her ribs. "Just admit defeat already." "Never!" A loud crunch made the Dream Weaver think otherwise as she began to choke. "Okay!" She coughed. "Okay, you win! You win!" "Heh. Good choice." Peaches removed her foot, allowing her opponent to breathe while she reached behind her back and pulled out a roll of medium-sized rope. "And don't even think about it." she threatened, as she got to work tying the rope around the Dream Weaver's wrists. "I have an extraordinary sense of smell. I will find you...and unlike Mandy, I will kill you." The Dream Weaver growled in a way that it would lead up to whatever retort she wanted to fire next. However, she ended up coughing before she could utter a single word out, and that was the point that she admitted defeat, not bothering to fight back anymore. It was clear that she had sorely underestimated Peaches, especially for being related to Mandy. "Come on. Let's get out of here." Peaches said, tying a knot in the rope and standing up, grabbing ahold of the Dream Weaver's wrists to make her stand up. "This cave's starting to give me the creeps." As the pair made their way over to Olive, Otto and Mandy, they eyed the hybrid, still asleep and clutching onto Olive's jacket. A small smile graced her face and her tail lightly wagged back and forth, which were clear indicators that she had emerged free of her nightmares and was back into the world of good dreams once more. "Seems like Mandy's calmed down." Otto noted. "But if the Dream Weaver gave her a sleeping pill, who knows how long she'll be out for?" Olive nodded. "True. She could be out for hours, days, weeks...months...years...centuries." She slightly paled. "Her brain's so unpredictable..." The sound of a growling stomach echoed within the cave. It didn't take much deducing to figure out whose it was. "Well, she's gotta wake up soon. She's hungry." "Yes, and she's eating my jacket." Olive groaned as everyone peered at the hybrid. Sure enough, she was nibbling away at her adoptive mother's jacket like it was food -- something she would often do when she was an infant. "I just had it washed, too!" The group eventually began making their way out of the cave, leaving the Bad Dream Machine behind -- they figured they could gather a team of agents who would come to collect it and dispose of it appropriately. Peaches stuck close to Mandy, even as she started snoring and sleep-talking again. A smile graced her face, even in spite of the injuries she had received. Hang tight, cuz. You'll get better soon. You have to. For me. For all of us. As soon as the group got back to Headquarters -- with both the Dream Weaver and the Shapeshifter, who had been lingering by the cave's entrance, in tow -- Olive, Otto and Peaches plopped the two villainesses in Oprah's hands and put Mandy to bed, making sure to look around for anything else that might give her nightmares. Once that was done, Peaches made her way to the Medical Bay while Olive and Otto made their way to the bullpen and met up with Oprah, who didn't have the two villainesses in her possession anymore but wouldn't disclose where she had taken them. "Good job, all of you. Thanks to you, both the Shapeshifter and the Dream Weaver are back in Odd Squad custody." Oprah glanced at the patched-up Peaches, covered in gauze and bandages. "Peaches, I can't believe you actually took on the Dream Weaver by yourself. She's a really tough villain." Peaches shrugged. "I owed it to Mandy to save her. She saved me from the Dream Weaver once, after all." "Fair point. You two love each other very much." Oprah smiled. "Dr. O told me that she should wake up by tonight." Olive blinked in surprise. "So soon?" "As I'm sure you're aware..." Oprah rolled her eyes. "She can't go without food for very long, so her hunger might trigger her brain in some way that will make her wake up." she explained. "Or so he says." "Well then, there's no time like the present to whip her up something nice!" "Ooh, I'll help!" Peaches gave Otto a smile, and together, the pair drifted towards the Breakroom, taking out ingredient after ingredient. "So what're we gonna make for her?" Otto asked, setting a bag of flour down onto the table. Peaches set down a cereal bowl. "Anything. As much food as we can possibly make. You know she's going to scarf it all down in a matter of seconds." "True!" Otto laughed. "Let's do this!" Olive watched the chaos begin to unfold for a few moments, then turned to look at Oprah. "I'm going to head back to my precinct. Can you have your Dr. O call my Dr. O if something comes up?" Oprah nodded. "Sure. Good luck." "Thanks!" With that, Olive raced out of the bullpen, leaving her partner and Peaches to their culinary madness as they began excitedly discussing tips and tricks for making Mandy's food the best it could possibly be. In spite of Mandy's voracious appetite, her hunger rarely affected her dreams. All of her food-related dreams were born out of her love for food, her desire to eat anything and everything while being in the warm embrace of the Gods of Really Really Good Metabolism. But her brain, as intricate as it was, often reminded her that necessities like eating, drinking, going to the bathroom, and staying hygienic trumped sleep tenfold. And it was one of these reminders that caused her to snap out of her dream of soaring through the skies of Equestria. Or, at the very least, what she thought Equestria looked like. "Mmmrrr...5 more minitzz..." she mumbled, pawing at nothing but air as she turned over onto her back. A smell hit her nose right then. A smell that could only have been crafted by The-Super-Important-Power-That-Be themselves. It was heavenly, it was taunting, and it was something that served the same purpose as an alarm clock to most, Mandy included. "Mmm..." She sat up, her eyes blinking off-sync, first the left one and then the right one."Wh'zz that zzmell..." she asked, looking around but finding no tasty food in her room that could make such a smell. She rubbed her head. "Head'zz all fizzly-fuzzy..." As she felt for her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise, she struggled to use her magic to grab it, as the aura refused to come forth no matter what she tried. After a few moments, however, the prismatic aura returned, allowing her to grab the drink and sip it. "Zzmellzz good, tazzt' good..." she hummed, taking eager sips until the plastic cup was entirely empty. Once that was done, she set it down on the nightstand. A rumbling sound came forth. The pain in her stomach made itself known. "Jeez, I'm zzo hungry..." She swung her legs over the bed and slowly got to her feet. "What even happened...?" The brain fog began to clear up, slowly but surely. By the time she had left the bathroom and made her way to the bullpen fully-dressed, she was in her usual state of alertness and all the more ready to chow down. The sight that laid in front of her when she found out where the smell was coming from was astounding beyond any and all means. Dish after dish after dish was lined on the table, covering every single inch of it. Sauces oozed, steam wafted, and something made a pop noise that she didn't care enough to identify. She gasped, which spilled into a laugh as she began to drool. "All this food!" She grinned. "It doesn't smell too bad...aww, pshh, who'm I kiddin'? This is heaven!" She threw her hands up into the air. "I died! I died and I went to the good place! They were wrong, all wrong!" Her head swiveled to the left, her gaze sweeping the bullpen, watching every agent walk by with a cautious eye to see if they were coming to claim this feast of food. Some agents looked, but ultimately, no one came by -- although granted, Mandy only waited about fifteen seconds. "No one's coming to claim it! More for me!" She grabbed the first dish she could find, a three-patty hamburger, and ate it whole. She relished the taste in every ingredient, chewing it all up and then sending it down her esophagus. Her stomach began to rumble, and as she ate more and more, it kept on rumbling until it gradually began to decrease in volume, like someone was turning back a dial very slowly. By the time she was done, her stomach was distended. Not to insane degrees, mind, but pretty noticeable. Like "I just gained at least 50 or so pounds" noticeable. But no matter what her stomach looked like, it was satisfied, and that was all that mattered to her as she slumped in her chair. A belch came forth. "Aah...that was soooooo filling! I feel like I haven't eaten in years!" Her gaze shifted to the automatic doors as they opened, and she watched Peaches and Otto approach her with relieved expressions on their faces. "Cuz!" "Peach!" Mandy outstretched her arms as she tried to get up. Her body wouldn't budge, even when she kept on kicking her feet. Eventually, Peaches resorted to just giving her cousin a hug right when she was in the chair. "I've been looking all over for you!" Mandy chirped. "Well, not really, I've been eating, but I wanna ask you something!" "You wanna know what happened to you, right?" "Yes!" Mandy nodded. "Last thing I remember was smashing some pendant under my pillow, then I fell right back asleep. Those nightmares came back…" "Well, after the pendant was smashed, we put a Dream-inator helmet on you to study your dreams. You were having good dreams, and we left you alone, but…" A pause. Mandy tilted her head. "But what?" "The Dream Weaver somehow stole you and hid you away in a cave near the edge of town. And then the Shapeshifter..." Peaches bit her lip. "...impersonated you." The horrified gasp Mandy made nearly made her topple backwards in her chair. "So the nightmares came true?!" "You...could say that." Peaches responded, taking a step forward as Mandy struggled to stabilize herself. The hybrid's firm grip on the table, however, followed by said grip allowing her to return to an upright position, told her that she didn't need her help. "But I managed to expose her. Once we did that, we forced her to take us to where you were captured. Or, well...the Dream Weaver technically did. They- they both did, how about that?" "Olive and I freed you!" Otto piped up. "And I fought the Dream Weaver." "You?" Mandy's eyes widened. "Cuz, she's dangerous! Why did you take her on all alone?" "I had to repay the favor. You saved me from the Dream Weaver. So I thought it was my turn to save you." Mandy's blue eyes became filled with tears. "Oh...cuz, that's so sweet! Thank you!" She blinked, letting a few tears fall down her face. "Wait. Where are those two now?" Otto rolled his eyes. "They're in Odd Squad custody. Again." "And Father Time?" The question dangled in the air. Horrified looks of realization set in on both Peaches' and Otto's faces. They looked at each other, and stared deep into each other's eyes for the longest time. The first words that were uttered after this period of silence was a strangled, high-pitched "oh no" from a Director. Which was followed quickly by a yowl of "We forgot about him!" Otto blinked. "Wait...what did he even do?" "Beats me!" Mandy shrugged. "He must've done somethin', though!" The automatic doors opened again, and Olive stepped through with a smile on her face. "OPRAH!" came the bellow from the Director. "I GOT HIM!!" "That's great, Olive!" Oprah called back, descending the stairs. "You sure it's Father Time?" "Yep! He was pretty easy to find. A couple of our agents wrung out what he did." Olive said. "Apparently he froze Mandy so the Dream Weaver could put the pendant under Mandy's pillow." "So he's an accomplice." Oprah summed up, giving a sigh of relief. "Well done. Is he in custody?" "Yep. Right with the Shapeshifter and the Dream Weaver." "Good to hear." Mandy, who had been listening to the conversation from afar, flicked a pony ear. "Jeez, I didn't even hear anything!" she remarked. "Man, I must've been in a deep deep sleep..." "Oh? Mandy, you're awake!" Olive bounded over to her adopted daughter, effortlessly scooping her up into a big hug. Mandy coughed, beginning to feel nauseous from her stomach threatening to send the non-digested food back to sender. "Momma, please, not too tight..." Another cough. "I'm gonna...vomit up all the food I ate!" Olive respected her wishes and set her back down in the chair. "How are you feeling?" "Full and happy! Soooooo much better rested now." Mandy gave a happy sigh. "Otto and Peach filled me in on what happened." "Yeah, about that...did they tell you that the Dream Weaver put a horn lock on you?" "A hehh?" "Like a regular lock, but placed on your horn so you couldn't use magic." Mandy touched the base of her horn gingerly. "Ohhhhhh, so that's why it took a little bit for my magic to come back!" She blinked. "I didn't even know my magic could be limited like that..." "Well, the point of the matter is, you're back to normal now." Olive smiled. "The Shapeshifter, the Dream Weaver, and Father Time shouldn't be bothering you anymore." "And it's thanks to Peaches!" Peaches tilted her head. "Me?" Mandy beamed from ear to ear. "You fought for my sake. You wanted to repay the favor, and you fought the Dream Weaver with all the strength you had! I’m really super grateful!" Peaches' cheeks became as red as beets as she scratched her neck nervously. "I-it was nothing!" "It was everything!" Mandy used every inch of her willpower to stand up, and although it was a struggle, she was eventually able to land on two feet. "A true family always has each other's backs!" She rushed forward to envelop Peaches in a tight hug. "And I'm sure glad you're a part of mine." Peaches' eyes began to water. She had always viewed Mandy as family, but if she was being honest, she didn't really know for sure, 100% positively sure, if Mandy felt the same way. Her words, however, were pure and genuine, and it was that genuineness that made Peaches start crying. "Don't cry, silly!" Mandy chirped. "It's time I make up for lost...er...time! Let's go find that Vallea culprit of yours!" Peaches pulled away from her cousin. "Now?" "Yeah!" "As in...'now' now?" "As in now now now now now!" Peaches rolled her eyes and sighed. "You really are persuasive. All right, all right. Let me climb on your back and let's go." "Actually..." Mandy clutched her stomach. "Y' mind sittin' on my shoulder? It was a hassle just to stand. I don't think I wanna feel what happens with a whole lotta catgirl crushin' my back." Everyone began to feel nauseous, Peaches included. She didn't need to inquire any further, and shapeshifted into her cat form to climb up on Mandy and sit on her shoulder. "And, ah...we'll walk. Eating all that food all at once was..." Mandy lurched. "...a really bad idea." Peaches smiled. "To the drugstore?" Mandy slowly nodded. "Antacids..." With that, the pair set off, slowly but surely, Mandy staggering to and fro until her body finally disappeared from the others' views. Everyone gave heavy, exasperated sighs at the hybrid's antics, staring at the co-chef who had made the food that had gotten Mandy sick to begin with. "...Hey, she said make anything and everything."
S1E25: Mandy's Friend FeudMandy was a Torontonian, through and through. She was maybe born in Toronto, she was definitely raised in Toronto, and she superly-definitely lived in Toronto. Canada was her home and native land, and she wouldn't have it any other way. In spite of this, however, she had made many trips to the United States for odd cases. Usually, it was to help out Directors in need, but that wasn't her only reason. Secretly, her going to the neighboring country for odd cases was also a springboard for her to take in the sights -- landmarks, food, good sleeping spots, and best of all, the ponies and people that resided there. She had made many friends in the good old U.S. of A, and she was sure she had at least one in all 50 states. Some were probably one-sided on her end, but that was okay. But right now, she wasn't in the United States. She was in her hometown, at St. James Park, lying on a bench and drawing in a huge sketchbook she had bought on a whim with colored pencils that she...well, had also bought on a whim. She was randomly scatting as she scribbled absolutely nothing in particular, just running her colored pencil along the sketchbook for the fun of it. "Mandy." The scatting stopped. Mandy lifted her head and slowly swiveled it behind her. Her eyes landed on a chubby brunette-haired girl around her age, clad in a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It took her a moment to register just who this girl was, but when she did, she looked about ready to burst into the air and explode. "No. Way." Mandy sat up and grinned. "Is...is it..." The girl outstretched her arms. "It's me!" Mandy looked her up and down. Took in her beaming smile and warm expression. By all means, it was certainly the real deal. "Sophie!" she yelled, leaping towards the girl and enveloping her in a big tight bear hug. Sophia coughed. "H-hey, take it easy...oh..." "Osh-kosh-b'gosh, I haven't seen ya in so long! Forever and a half!" Mandy set her friend down and threw her arms out. "A gaziiiiiillion eons!" Sophia looked a little unnerved by Mandy's enthusiasm, but still managed to give a polite smile. "Heh...wow, I don't remember you being this energetic. And, uh..." She looked Mandy over and tilted her head. "You're cosplaying as...?" "Oh, this isn't cosplay, silly! These are all genuine!" Sophia blinked a few times, her brain trying desperately to stop her hands from reaching out and touching Mandy's wings, tail and horn. "They're...what." "We have sooooo much to catch up on!" Mandy declared, as she began to bounce in place much like her partner was known for doing. "I, uh..." Sophia fiddled with her index fingers. "W-well, why don't we go on a walk, and you can, uh...tell me all about your new, uh...features." Mandy grinned, using her tail to scoop up her colored pencils and sketchbook and place them right into the tail itself. Sophia eyed the feat with a nervous stare, feeling sweat begin to pour as she realized that this certainly wasn't the same Mandy she had met all those years ago...if it was even Mandy at all. Still, she went along with her old friend, who got to amiably chatting about her wild and twisted backstory. "So that's how I got accepted into Odd Squad with all these things!" Sophia's eyes widened. "I had no idea that happened to you, Mandy. I'm so sorry." "Aw, don't worry about it!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand. "It still kinda stings a little, but now that Clementine and I are besties again, I've mostly gotten over it." "I'm sure. So I guess the transformation made you a bit more perky, huh?" "Yeah!" Mandy nodded, then her eyes widened. "O-oh, but by all means, tell me if it's too much for you! I know I tend to scare some folks away by how crazy I can get." "Nonsense! I've gotten used to it by now." Sophia smiled. "Honestly, I need more energy in my life, anyway. Working at Dad's hardware store has been kicking my butt." Mandy thought back to when she had visited the store. It was small, and didn't really have many customers. She still had a pack of nails she bought just out of sheer pity. "It's still thriving?" "Now more than ever!" Sophia responded, her tone carrying a hint of exhaustion underneath the happiness. "He gets a ton of customers. He's practically the talk of the town!" "That's great!" Mandy's tail wagged back and forth. "Did he come with you?" "No. Mom did. She had some time off from work and decided to come with us-" Sophia's eyes widened as she hastily tried to backtrack. "-ah, I mean, with me on the plane. So we're staying here for a week!" Sophia's slip-up didn't seem to faze Mandy in the slightest -- the girl wasn't sure whether the hybrid simply hadn't noticed or was just playing along, and definitely couldn't tell by the gasp she gave. "Yay! I have time to show you around the town!" She grabbed Sophia by the wrist. "C'mon, there's so so so many places ya gotta see!" "Okay, okay, calm doooooooooown!" Sophia was yanked almost clear off of her feet by Mandy taking off in a run, her feet desperately trying to figure out what was happening and what they needed to do. The pair visited many different spots all around town, but Sophia was quick to note the lack of diversity by the time Mandy had shown her the fifth place. "And this is...uh..." Mandy's eyes moved from side to side. "Well, I dunno what it is, but it's a restaurant!" "Mandy, all you've been doing is showing me restaurants." Mandy made eye contact with Sophia, blinked, and then promptly blushed. "Ehehe...admittedly I'm a lil' hungry." "Well, I've got some money." Sophia patted the pants pocket where her wallet sat. "Why don't I treat you to an early dinner?" Normally, "treating you to a meal" for Mandy meant "I will waste at least half of my life savings on you by buying everything in the restaurant". It was for that reason that Mandy usually turned down offers to have meals paid for her, unless it was a pay-it-forward kind of thing where no one knew whom, exactly, they were paying for. Some people and ponies who did that, and then noticed her, were often regretful and left the restaurant muttering about how they would pay for someone else's meal...preferably the meal of someone who wasn't a giant glutton. But Mandy had standards, of course. She knew that Sophia worked for just a little bit above minimum wage with no other source of income, and because of it, she decided to take things easy. Still, she felt like confirming, just to be sure Sophia knew what, exactly, she was getting into. "Really? Y-you don't have to!" "I insist!" Sophia said. "It's for my very best friend." That did it. "Well if you're offering, then I'm in!" Mandy raised a fist into the air. "Let's go! Your pick!" "How about Debbie's Pizzeria?" Sophia suggested. "I can take some home to my mom. She loves pizza!" "All righty, let's go!" Instead of teleporting or flying, Mandy opted to walk with Sophia, since the Pizzeria was only a few blocks away. The two got to talking once again, with Mandy pointing out other non-food-related sights along the way. With a resounding thump, Oprah's forehead met her desk in a fit of exasperation, making the large stack of paperwork that sat beside her shift. "Where could she be?" she lamented, only lifting her head when she heard the sound of hoofsteps. "Oh, Pinkie!" "Heya, boss!" Pinkie waved. "Didja need something?" "Yes. Have you seen Mandy?" Oprah laid a hand on the stack. "This paperwork's been piling up and I haven't seen her since this afternoon!" "Last I saw she was heading for St. James Park. I can give her a call!" "Please." With swift movements, Pinkie unclipped and opened her badge, tapped the 5 and 7 keys, and held it up to her ear as she began bobbing up and down in anticipation. The bobs grew less and less prominent, however, with each ringback tone she received. "Hiya, you've reached Agent 57, Mandy! I can't come to the phone right now, prolly sleeping or tied up in an odd case or doing...whatever. Yeah. Anyway, if you just wanna leave me a message with your name and phone number -- and Jim, don't leave me your wife's personal information, that's uncalled for -- that'd be great, and I'll be sure to get back to ya as soon as I can! Thankies!" A long beep was heard, which caused Pinkie to close her phone and clip it back onto her suit. "No luck. She's not picking up!" Oprah growled. "I could help out with the paperwork!" This suggestion from Pinkie, offered as a sort of way to ease the tension, caused Oprah to give a heavy sigh as she rubbed her forehead. "If you're not busy yourself, you might as well." "Ah, I've got some free time!" Pinkie trotted over to Oprah and stood back-first to her. "Just load 'em on my back and I'll send 'em down to the receptionist when I'm done!" "Thank you." Oprah effortlessly took the stack of papers and gently placed them on the mare's back. Although she sunk a little under the weight, it wasn't anything spine-crushing, and she was able to ambulate towards the doors, albeit a little slower than normal. Oprah raised an index finger. "And if Mandy comes back, tell her I want to see her." "Sure...thing!" Within minutes, Pinkie had made her way to the elevator and went down to the first floor. Something in her told her to try for an arched-back shot with the papers, but she ignored it, not wanting to disturb the agents working down there and create a big mess to boot. From there, she placed the papers on her desk and got to work, her mind wandering every so often with worries of just where, exactly, her partner had gone. The door to the quaint little Debbie's Pizzeria closed as Mandy did a stretch, her stomach satisfied. "Aah, that was great!" Sophia, who had only bore witness to Mandy's crazy appetite just moments ago, gave a polite smile, her surprise at said appetite having died down some and being largely replaced with genuine, "maybe you should see a doctor" levels of concern. "I, uh...guess that transformation you went through must have really expanded your appetite, huh?" "Oho, very." Mandy pat her tummy. "I can pack soooo much food into this thing!" "Yeah, I'm aware. You packed away three large pizzas in one sitting." "And I could've gone for my fourth one!" Mandy pointed out, making it clear that her restraint certainly didn't last any longer than a candy bowl at a party. Sophia heaved a sigh and looked up at the sky, where orange reigned as the primary color and signified that nighttime would fall soon. "Anyway, it's getting late. Mom will want me home soon." Mandy looked at the sky as well, blinking in surprise. "Oh wow, I didn't even know!" she said. "You wanna meet up again tomorrow? I can show you around our local Odd Squad precinct!" "Sure!" Sophia nodded. "In St. James Park?" "Yeah!" Mandy turned to leave. "I'll see you then!" "Okay! Bye, Mandy!" "Bye!" Mandy watched her friend go in the complete opposite direction, a sad smile dancing on her face for only a moment as she disappeared into the distance. Wanting to get back home before a potential food coma settled in, she bounced away, her heart swelling at how great a day today had been. Meeting up with an old friend, especially one from before she transformed, was rare, and it was even rarer when it was a friend that Mandy had really bonded with and gotten to known on a deeper level. Most would call it luck. Mandy called it "the Mandy magnet workin' its magic again". As she bounced along the sidewalk, passing by people and ponies of all kinds, her head swiveled to the right as she eyed a rather desolate shop. Her bounce slowed into a walk, and as she kept on looking at it, she felt something tall and hard slam into her. "Huh?" Mandy looked down, eyeing a girl who was about three years younger than her, with long brown hair and hazel eyes. The sunflower-patterned dress she wore showed more than a few dirt stains, but was otherwise pristine. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going!" "It's fine." the girl said, not looking up at Mandy and instead picking up the heart-shaped trinket she had been carrying in her hand. "Um...have you seen a girl named Mandy around here?" It was then that the realization of just who she was talking to slammed into Mandy. Her eyes widened in shock, and her lungs took in a large amount of air in one huge, almost dramatic gasp. "Nonono...my eyes are deceiving me!" She rubbed them accordingly, then shook her head. "Jessica?!" Tucking the trinket away in hammerspace, Jessica made eye contact with Mandy and tilted her head. "How do you know my name?" "I'm Mandy! The girl you're looking for!" Jessica was skeptical. "You? But you look so different!" "What, you want me to whip out an ID card or something?" Mandy rolled her eyes. "It's really me!" Jessica squinted, craning her head every which way, scanning Mandy's features. It took her a minute to complete her visual analysis, marking the beginning of her findings with a nod. "Mm, yeah, I can kind of see it now. It's the face." "Wh..." Mandy touched her face. "What's wrong with my face? I've already removed all fifty-five contacts from these eyes, now how much more blue do my eyes hafta get?!" A pitiful whine eked out of her. "Gotta visit Rarity and see what she knows about facial construction surgery..." "Huh?" "Nothing!" Mandy waved a dismissive hand, like nothing had ever happened. "It's just, this is so crazy! Meeting two of my old friends, whom I haven't seen in yeeeeeeears and yeeeeeeears, on the same day?!" "I, um..." Jessica scratched her neck. "I came with someone. On a plane. She really wanted to see Toronto." "I don't care how ya got here, so long as you're here, sister." Mandy gave a sigh. "If only the day was longer, I could spend some time with you!" "That's okay. What about tomorrow?" "Sure!" Mandy blinked. "Oh, wait. I'm meeting up with Sophie that day." Jessica visibly blanched. "She's here too?" "Yeah! She came here with her mom!" Jessica didn't seem too sure how to respond to that. For the sake of keeping up the facade, however, she gave a heavy sigh. "Well, I guess it can't be helped." Just as soon as she resorted to resignation, however, she straightened up. "Wait. Unless...I can come with!" Mandy reeled back with another dramatic gasp, then began bouncing up and down excitedly. "Yesyesyes! Of course you can! MeetmeinStJamesParktomorrow1PMgottagoplanbyeeeeeee!!" "See..." Jessica watched Mandy peel past her and down the sidewalk, a happy squeal filling the relative silence of the streets. "...you...tomorrow?" she lamely finished, filing the time and the location away in her brain before continuing to walk in the same direction she had been going. Normally, she would have been happy to see Mandy, even if she looked vastly different than when she had visited Jessica before. But the absolute last person Jessica had wanted to see in Toronto was...Sophia. Even the very thought of her name gave her the shivers, and she certainly didn't want to be associated with such a wretch. She had thought the brunette-haired girl had gone home on the next flight by the time she had woken up today, and her worries would be next to nonexistent. But no...definitely not. And now she was being forced to hang out with her tomorrow. Whoopee. Heaving a sigh that turned into a groan, she began trudging her way back to the hotel she was staying at, hoping she wouldn't run into Sophia at all on the way there with how slow she was going. "And you're saying that she hasn't been back here since this afternoon?" "No!" Oprah cried out, nervously pacing around her office to the point where Olive, Pinkie and Otto were all worried she would start making an indent in the floor. "I don't understand. She left for her break and hasn't returned since. Pinkie tried calling her, but she hasn't picked up." "Maybe she's injured?" "Don't say that!" Olive snapped at Otto defensively. "I mean, she could be...but don't say things like that! If she's injured, then who knows what-" The sound of distant, high-pitched squealing, followed by the very close sound of a huge crack forming in a glass door, stopped Olive cold. If it weren't for those sounds, one would hear the audible squeak of the girls' eyeballs turning in their sockets as she slowly swiveled her head backwards and looked behind her. "Partnerpartnerpartner!" came the audible, non-squealy voice, and then over a hundred pounds of pony-human hybrid came barrelling in, bouncing up and down. "You won't believe who I just met!" Pinkie's frown remained on her features. "Mandy, where-" "Two of my bestest friends are here, in Toronto, for an entire week!" Mandy swept up the mare and clutched her cheeks, emitting another loud squeal. "And I'm hanging out with them tomorrow!" Another squeal, this time mixed in with giddy laughter that could only come from a Mandy hopped up on laughing gas. "That's super great, partner!" Pinkie said, her frown turning into a smile. She raised a hoof. "But-" "Mandy!" The sharp and admittedly harsh bark of her name made Mandy's head turn. However, not even Oprah's upset expression could damper her raging excitement. "Oprah! You won't believe who I came across! My two bestest old friends are-" Her lips being grabbed and comically stretched out by Oprah like pizza dough stopped their movement cold. "In Toronto and they're staying for a week. Yap yap yap. We get it." The Director rolled her eyes. "Is that where you've been? Pinkie tried to reach you and you didn't even pick up!" Mandy responded, but her words were muffled and illegible. "Really, I know you're excited about meeting your friends, but work is just as important. You had all of us worried sick!" More muffled words. Olive sighed. "At least you're not injured." "Except maybe on the inside." Olive stared at Otto half-lidded, jabbing an index finger at Mandy. "I dunno. Look at her." Mandy was still speaking in unintelligible words, her arms flailing about as she kept going on and on about her old friends. It was clear that she was in no mood to listen to anyone right now, only wanting the people (and the lone mare) in the room to be listeners instead of talkers. Otto blinked. "Fair point." "What did you do, down an entire bag of sugar before you came back?" Oprah asked, mostly deadpan but with just a smidge of annoyance. She was no stranger to Mandy's hyperactivity, but she couldn't deny that it definitely got annoying at times...especially when her hyperactivity had a set source such as sugar. Mandy continued waving her arms and attempting to speak. "I don't think she's listening to us, Oprah." Olive pointed out. "She's too excited about her friends." Otto looked at his partner. "What friends?" "I..." Olive faltered, realizing that she had absolutely no idea who Mandy had referred to. "...don't know." She tapped her chin. "They're not from Toronto, so I don't think I would know them..." "That's not important!" Oprah snapped. "What's important is that Mandy has to apologize to Pinkie Pie for sticking her with all that paperwork. It isn't fair to her." "Aww, don't worry about that, Ms. O!" Pinkie waved a hoof. "Let Mandy be happy. She met up with some old friends! How often does that happen?" "Knowing her, probably a lot..." Oprah muttered under her breath, before she gave a sigh. "Fine. But you're going to have to make up for it tomorrow, Mandy." Mandy's impeded speech turned from excited to worried. Her ears flattened downwards as she slumped to her knees and clasped her hands together. "Getting down on your knees and begging isn't going to get you out of this." In response, Mandy closed her eyes, opened them to reveal the shimmers and sparkles within them, and gave a pitiful whine as a cherry on top. Oprah stiffened. The pupils grew bigger. The whine grew slightly higher in pitch. "Don't..." Even bigger, and even higher. Oprah visibly winced, her eyes trying to look away at anything else in her office but those baby-blue puppy eyes. But her scleras were just two prisons for her irises and pupils, only if the scleras had stay-in-place lasers. She couldn't pry her own eyes away, and she was pretty sure Olive, Otto and Pinkie had averted their gazes somehow in anticipation of what was to come. A growl rolled about in her throat. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!" she roared, furiously shaking her head. "Fine! You can meet up with your friends tomorrow! Just put the eyes away!" She rubbed her own. "But so help me odd if you miss work the day after that, you will not be seeing the sky anymore, understand me?!" "Mhm!" Mandy nodded. "Good." Oprah released her grip on Mandy's lips, causing them to go flying back towards the hybrid's face and stick the landing with a resounding snap. "Oww...that really hurt!" Mandy rubbed her mouth. "Jeezaloo, Oprah, are ya tryna reconstruct my face?" "No, I'm trying to get you to settle down." Oprah crossed her arms. "Who are these 'friends' you've met, anyway?" "Sophia and Jessica! They're from the United States. Sophie came up with her mom to Toronto! And, uh...Jessica came up with...someone." Mandy rolled her hand around. "Maybe with Sophie and her mom!" Now Olive could connect the dots. "Oh yeah! You've told me about them before. Didn't they both used to live in Mississauga?" "Yup! And then they moved to the States...and we kinda broke apart." Mandy looked crestfallen for only a moment before she got right back to it bouncing up and down again. "But now they're here! And I'm gonna spend all day with them!" "Well, do they at least know about your..." Olive bit her lip, trying to find a delicate way to describe Mandy's extensions. "...current appearance?" "Yup! I told Sophie the whooooooole story!" Mandy stopped bouncing. "Oh, but, uh, not Jessica. We didn't really have time to chat. But there's always tomorrow! When the sun will come out! Bet your bottom dollar that the sun will come out...tomorrow!" Olive groaned at Mandy's impromptu song, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers to stop an incoming headache. "All right, well...we hope you have a good time with your friends, Mandy." Otto said, Pinkie nodding enthusiastically next to him. "Thanks, Otto! We're gonna have so much fun! I still gotta show Jessica around the town, she's gonna love it!" A grin sat on Mandy's face, one that quickly faded when her eyes shifted to Olive. "Momma, drop the snark." "Whaaaat? Me, snark? C'mon..." Olive broke out into forced laughter. "I mean when would I ever snark, huh?" A round of half-lidded stares were fired full-force at her, all of them saying the same thing: "Snarking is literally your bread and butter." "Fine." Olive conceded. "Just make sure to behave yourself, at least." "I will!" Mandy began making her way out. "Gotta go plan our awesome day of fun!" The group watched as the hybrid flew over the rail that hung on the balcony, not bothering to show any concern for her falling and injuring herself -- for one thing, she was made of putty whenever she flung herself over and onto the floor, and for another, she was quick to catch herself in flight and was probably soaring to her room. "Hey Oprah..." Otto broke the silence. "You're aware that Mandy will want to bring her friends to Odd Squad, right?" Oprah shrugged. "I figured as such. Mandy has a sense of decency. I'm sure she won't wreck the place." The quaver in her voice on the last sentence made her tack on the addendum of, "If anything, Pinkie can accompany her. Or Peaches." "Not a bad idea." Olive nodded. "At least she's safe." "And uninjured." Otto added. "You two better get back to your precinct. Sorry for the false-alarm call." "Eh, it's fine. Things were winding down anyway." Otto placed a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Let's go, partner." As the group exchanged goodbyes, with Olive and Otto leaving through Oprah's personal tube and Pinkie leaving to work on some more paperwork, Oprah turned to her desk and was greeted with a black cat sitting on it, giving a friendly meow. Oprah's eyes widened in surprise, until she realized that she really only knew one black cat. "Oh. It's you." Peaches transformed back to her humanoid form. "Well! That was rude. But I will ignore your tone out of respect for you." Her tail-tip flicked back and forth. "So Mandy's got some new friends, huh?" "Old friends." Oprah corrected. "She'll probably be busy with them for...how long did she say? A week?" "Aww, that's a shame. I kinda wanted to start teaching her how to hunt mice." Oprah stared at Peaches with a nonplussed expression. "Mandy's not a cat." "Hey, we're related. She has some feline blood in her!" A heavy weight suddenly settled in Oprah's body. "Peaches...can I confide in you?" Peaches tilted her head and smiled. "Uh, sure. My ears are open!" She crossed her legs. "What's on your mind?" Oprah cautiously looked behind her, to see if any agents were willing to eavesdrop. Fortunately, with the day coming to a close, not many passed by her office, and even fewer stopped to listen through the broken and exposed glass door. Thus, she deemed it safe to (metaphorically) spill the beans to Peaches. "See, Mandy meeting up with her old friends, it..." She bit her lip and stayed quiet for a few moments, before sighing in an attempt to relieve some of the weight within her. "I'm kind of jealous of her." Peaches blinked in surprise. "Really? You didn't even have one friend?" "Yeah, I did. Yucks Shmumbers." Oprah smiled fondly at the memory of the girl. "To make a long story short, she and I ran a fruit stand together. We bonded over our mutual love of fruit, but I always thought of us as business partners rather than friends. When I managed to stop a rogue Odd Squad agent from stealing fruit, I decided to join Precinct 13579 in her place, and Yucks and I drifted apart. And then I had O’Donahue." The name sounded familiar to Peaches, and it was only a minute later that she realized who Oprah was talking about. "O'Donahue...your partner?" "Old partner." Oprah raised a finger. "Before he disappeared, we were best friends. And then I became an Odd Squad Director and we...drifted apart, over time. Eventually he..." A long silence filled the room. Peaches was patient, though, and waited for her friend to finish. "He quit. Because my Director duties were taking up so much time, I didn’t get to hang out with him as often as we used to. He and I got into a nasty argument when we were trying to catch a villain known as Equal Evan. And we...broke up." Peaches stopped for a moment, and considered Oprah's wording. "You two were...dating?" "Dating?" Oprah looked almost aghast at the catgirl's calumny. "Odd no. We were friends. Strictly platonic." "I...huh." Peaches blinked. "Either way. I'm sorry that happened to you. Must've been terrible." "It's...fine." Oprah rolled her shoulders. "Just don't tell anyone about any of this, okay?" Peaches nodded. "So O'Donahue and Yucks are the two reasons you're so jealous of Mandy?" "Yes." "But you have Olive and Otto." "Co-workers." "The ponies?" "Co-workers." "Mandy?" That got a pause. And then, "A partner. A dear partner. Which, as you should know, also means 'friend'." "Okay..." Peaches did know that. It wasn't exactly breaking news to anyone, agent, guest or client, who lingered in Odd Squad for long enough. "Me?" "Mmm..." Oprah's mouth pinched inwards. "An acquaintance, maybe. I barely know you." "Well, ouch." Peaches' frown quickly turned into a smile. "There's no time like the present! It’s like I told everyone: I was an outcast back in Vallea. You guys are my first true friends. So why not take the time to get to know all of you better?" she suggested. "I mean I know Mandy well enough, we’re cousins and all, but what about you?" For a minute or two, Oprah pondered the offer. She had to admit that she had only talked to Peaches a handful of times, but hadn't really gotten to know her on a deeper level. Which was a shame, because Peaches had been staying at Headquarters for a long while, and Oprah was genuinely interested about the catgirl. "I think...I'd like that. Very much." "Good!" Peaches clapped her hands together. "So, um...why don't you tell me about your favorite gadget?" "Oooooh, that's a tough one." Oprah tapped her chin in thought. "See, back in the 1800s, we didn't have gadgets, and so we had to make do without..." As Mandy and Jessica sat on a bench at St. James Park the next morning, they watched people and ponies go by, chatting and playing and eating. Jessica slumped back with her arms drooping over the back of the bench, while an eyes-closed Mandy -- donned in a yellow T-shirt with red stripes and flower-patterned shorts instead of her usual suit -- happily felt the breeze on her face. "Are you really sure we can't get going now?" Jessica complained. "I mean, we're losing daylight!" Without missing a beat, Mandy responded with, "Hold on. She'll come." Sure enough, Sophia chose that moment to rush up to the duo. "I'm here!" She stopped and keeled over, trying to catch her breath. "Sorry I'm late, Mom wanted me to-" A pause. Mandy opened her eyes and watched as Sophia stared at Jessica for what seemed like minute after minute. Both girls shot each other death glares. "Hello, Jessica." "Hello, Sophia." Mandy, for her part, didn't notice the bitter tones in each of her friends' voices, nor pick up on their hostility. "Great! Now both my bestest friends are here! C'mon c'mon c'mon, we got a lot to see!" Both Sophia and Jessica found their wrists being taken ahold of by Mandy's hands, and their bodies quickly yanked off of the ground as they struggled to put their feet on it and follow Mandy at the very least. "Uh, Mandy, it's nice that you want to hang out with me again, really!" Jessica said. "But...did you have to invite her?" "Whaddya mean? You two are best friends! And you're my best friends!" Jessica resisted the urge to bark out a stilted laugh. Unbeknownst to her, Sophia did the same thing. "Uh-huh. Well..." She shot a look at the other girl. "I won't mind." Sophia's look quickly turned from amused to angry, as she growled at Jessica from her position next to her. The two girls then literally butted heads, baring teeth and both wearing looks primed to kill. "Okay, now, first up-" "Actually, Mandy, there's a place I want to take you to first." Sophia pushed Jessica off of her and fixed her with an innocent look. "If...that's okay with you, Jessica?" Now it was Jessica's turn to growl in response, her fingers waving back and forth as though attempting to resist strangling Sophia right then and there. "I'll take that as a yes." Sophia gave a complacent chuckle. "How about it, Mandy?" "Sure! Lead the way!" Mandy, blissful and oblivious as ever, let go of her friends' wrists. Before she turned around, Sophia used the free opportunity to get in one last sneer at Jessica before she confidently strode to the front of the group, beginning to head towards her preferred destination. Only a few minutes passed before they arrived. "Ta-da!" Both Jessica and Mandy peered at the sign that hung above the door, which read "Got You Covered" in big bold lowercase letters. The storefront was painted in black, which looked a little ominous in the sunlight but certainly helped to make it stand out. It was a haven that only the purest bookworms could love. Mandy gasped. "A new bookstore?!" she squealed. "Why have I never heard of this?!" "My mom and I went the other day. She loves to read now, so she thought she could pick up some books as souvenirs. As she called it." "Souvenirs?" Jessica scoffed. "That's so like your mom." Sophia bit back any worded insult she could have spat out at Jessica, instead resorting to a low growl instead that told her to shut up. "Cool!" Mandy reached for the door handle. "C'mon, let's go inside!" Although initially reluctant -- and partially amused, because how had Mandy not noticed them going at each other's throats yet? -- both Sophia and Jessica followed their friend inside, heading down the stairs to the first floor of the store. Said first floor was rather big, hosting a wide array of books in all sorts of different genres. For Mandy, who wasn't as avid of a bookworm as, say, Twilight, but loved to read, she was thrilled at the large selection, giving a happy cry while her tail wagged furiously. "They have all-new books here." Sophia explained. "Everywhere else we've looked sells old books. And a lot of them...aren't in good condition." A sigh forced its way out of Jessica, moreso out of tiredness than out of sheer pettiness for what Sophia was saying. "Oh?" The other girl took notice. "Don't sigh, Jessica. I thought you loved books." "Yeah, I used to." Jessica watched Mandy amble off towards the Fiction section, then fixed her sworn enemy with a pointed glare as the latest argument got well underway. "And now I don't." "Hmm." Sophia examined her nails absentmindedly. "So now that Mandy's gone, tell me. What are you planning?" "What? Whatever do you mean?" asked Jessica, with nothing short of innocence in her voice. "You know what I mean. You're trying to steal Mandy away and have her all to yourself, aren't you? Again?" "Oh, that's some hypocrisy coming from you, who's trying to do the same thing." Sophia met this with a scoff. "Says who?" "You've been doing it for years now. No one needs to 'say' anything." Sophia slowly curled up her hands into fists, a harsh growl emanating from her. "If we weren't out in public, I'd strangle you." she threatened, getting up close to Jessica's face. The other girl, however, merely chuckled. "I'd like to see you try! I've been taking karate classes recently. They're really starting to pay off!" "So how about we do this?" The words came so fast that Jessica barely had time to process them. "Huh?" "We'll ask Mandy which one of us she likes." "That's stupid. You think she's going to answer with you?" "It doesn't hurt to try, you quitter." A pause. The fight between both girls seemed to be at a stalemate. Jessica's eye twitched. "Oh, you're going down, you ugly witch." And that was the moment when the shorter girl went after the taller one, attempting to get a slap or a punch in to no avail. Likewise, Sophia was attempting to do the same thing, and got a few slaps in before she realized that Mandy might be watching and ceased her fire. "Oooooh, a new Wolves of the Wilderness book! Man, I hardly have time to read these anymore!" Mandy looked up, turned her head to the right, and found Sophia putting Jessica in a headlock. Both girls noticed her staring at them and promptly paused their assault. Jessica spoke up first, awkwardly laughing. "Hi! We were just, uh...play-wrestling. Like old times!" "Tell you what, Mandy." Sophia released Jessica and promptly pushed her away, fixing Mandy with a grin as the hybrid met her smile with one of her own. "Why don't I buy you that book you're holding?" "Really? Are you sure?" Mandy tilted her head. "I mean, I don't want you to waste your money or anything..." "It's fine. I have a ton left over from my weekly allowance. I insist! It's always good for you to read more books." Jessica let loose an audible scoff. "Well, if you're insisting..." Mandy nodded. "Then yes! Thank you!" "C'mon, let's go pay for it." As Mandy followed Sophia towards the register, Jessica bit her tongue in order to suppress a cry of rage. Instead, she muttered under her breath one simple warning that was more a declaration for herself than for her opponent. "Sophia...just you wait. I'll get Mandy back from you. You'll see." The rest of the day was filled with all sorts of fun for Mandy and her old friends. She dragged them pretty much everywhere, from the movie theater to a high-scale restaurant to the amusement park, forgoing the plans to bring them to Odd Squad for now in favor of showing them around the town instead. Both Sophia and Jessica had a hard time keeping pace with Mandy's boundless energy, when they weren't at each other's throats making threats of violence against each other. They had learned that doing both at the same time was not a viable option, mainly because Mandy's tendency to talk incessantly and never shut up put a damper on whatever arguments they got into. Still, their hostility didn't waver, and perhaps most impressive of all, Mandy didn't even notice their spat, carrying on like nothing was the matter. As Jessica rushed into a nearby jewelry store to use their bathroom, Sophia and Mandy hung around out front. "Hey, I have an idea!" Sophia said. "Why don't you and I hang out again tomorrow?" "Really? But what about Jessica?" "Oh, she's busy with her mom- uh, wait, no." Sophia bit her lip, attempting to backtrack. "She wants to go to Nathan Phillips Square and hang out with a couple of her friends who live here. Yeah!" She nodded. "But I'm free." "Well, all right! Sure, we can hang out!" Mandy grinned. "Whaddya wanna do?" Sophia had expected an answer to come to her naturally. However, nothing came to her. "Hmm...I'll have to think about it. Meet me at St. James Park at 1PM?" "Yeah, you're on! Maybe I'll take you to see Odd Squad this time!" "Oh. Yeah. I kind of forgot." Sophia laughed. "Are you sure it's okay with Ms. O?" "Well...she never gave me permission, but I'm sure she'll say yes!" "Sounds good to me." Sophia said, giving a halfhearted shrug that showed she was willing to roll along with Mandy, even if her predictions weren't so spot-on. The door swung open right then, the little bell tinkling as Jessica stepped out. "Hey, I'm back. Did I miss anything?" "I'm gonna take Sophia to see Odd Squad on our day of fun tomorrow!" Mandy grinned. "Oh, oh, maybe the day after tomorrow, we can have a day of fun, just you and me!" Jessica blinked. "What...did..." Her gaze drifted over to Sophia, who was giving an innocent chuckle and a wave of her hand that said nothing short of "Buh-bye, Felicia." That stupid little...she stole her out from under my nose! If I'd have known that was gonna happen, I'd have dragged her in there with me -- or even better, held it in! She took a deep breath in an effort to regulate herself, putting on a smile. "Um...I mean, that's great, Mandy! I'd love to have a day of fun with you!" "It's a deal!" Mandy's smile remained on her face for a few moments before faltering. "Oh, pickleferries...I can't meet you two as early as I want. Work and all." She rolled her eyes. "So how about nights out instead?" Sophia and Jessica, with their minds scrambled, picked up on Mandy's unintentional-not-so-unintentional slip of the tongue in mentioning that she couldn't meet them as early as Sophia wanted to. It was clear that she had changed her mind and wanted to hang out with both of them, and if there was one thing they had learned about the new and improved Mandy, she wasn't one to let up on some things easily. So, they were forced to hold back for now, and go along with what she wanted. They figured the beef could continue cooking on the way back to their shared hotel room, where it would be out of the view of Mandy...and Sophia's mom. "Sounds good to me." Sophia nodded. "Does 7PM sound good?" "Sure does! How about you, Jessie?" "7 works fine for me, too." "Then it's a done and done deal!" Mandy gave a giddy laugh. "I can't wait!" "Yeah, neither can I." Jessica remarked in a tone that was nearing deadpan status. "Um, look, we should probably head back to the hotel where Sophia's mom is staying." "Oh! You're staying at the same place?" "We rode on the same plane together." This remark from Sophia made Mandy think for a moment. Neither one of them elaborated much on the plane situation, but then, in terms of vacationing, that didn't matter very much unless it was a large family. "Ohhh. Well of course, silly! You two are best friends!" As the hybrid joyously laughed, Jessica and Sophia joined in with their own bout of awkward laughter, exchanging upset glances all the while. "Anyway, I'll see you, uh...the day after tomorrow." The last words of Jessica's sentence were phrased almost in a question, as though unsure what Mandy really meant -- was she hanging out with each of them individually, or as one big happy group? "And I'll see you the day after tomorrow. 7PM sharp." Not bothering to get any official confirmation, the trio split, with Mandy taking off to the skies and Jessica and Sophia walking towards the nearest bus stop to hitch a ride back to their hotel. This, of course, left both of them free to continue the argument again. "What. Did you do?" Jessica asked ominously. "Why, whatever do you mean?" Sophia answered, in a contrarian and innocent tone of voice. Jessica's eye twitched again. "Don't play innocent, you slimy little snake!" she snapped. "You scored a day to hang out with Mandy tomorrow, to have her all to yourself!" "So what if I did? It's better than her hanging out with you! What with your holier-than-thou attitude and your overprotectiveness of her!" Jessica scoffed. "Me, overprotective of Mandy? Now isn't that some projection!" She let out a harsh bark into the sky with the setting sun. "You're more overprotective of her than I could ever be in a lifetime!" "Dumb argument you got there!" Sophia spat back. "I'm looking out for her best interests! I know what's right for her!" "Yeah right! She's 11 and works for a government organization? Hellooooooo? She can handle her own, you nitwit!" Both girls butted heads again, growls rolling about in their throats as they glared at each other with the fire of a thousand suns each. It felt like hours before they jerked their heads away, crossing their arms and settling on a unisonant "hmph". They refused to make eye contact all the way to the bus stop and all the way back to the hotel, but at least they had set standards for each other in the form of not getting into any more physical altercations for the rest of the day. They didn't really feel like getting arrested by police tonight -- assuming Toronto actually had an active police force. With the fatigue getting to her after a long day of fun, Mandy yawned, a little squeak emanating from her as she did so. As she passed through the bullpen, her peripheral vision barely caught something purple and orange. "Howdy there, Mandy!" "Hi!" The voices became clear now. "Hiya!" Mandy greeted Applejack and Twilight with a wave as they sat in chairs at the former's desk. "Where have you been all day?" Twilight asked, setting her book to the side. "Hanging out with a couple old friends of mine." "Really now? Who're they?" Applejack asked. "Sophia and Jessica!" Mandy chirped. "They used to live in Mississauga before moving to the United States. I haven't seen them in years, what with Odd Squad taking up too much of my time..." The mares exchanged sympathetic glances. "Funny, I never heard of 'em." Applejack piped up. "I don't think I've ever mentioned them to you." Mandy blinked. "Or maybe I did? I dunno, my memory's hazy." "Are they joining Odd Squad?" Twilight inquired, a hint of excitement in her voice. Mandy perked up. "Oooooh, that's not a bad idea!" She smiled, thinking about all the fun times she could have with them...and even getting Pinkie involved, too. However, the thought soon faded away as reality set in. "But as much as I'd love for them to join, they're too busy with their own stuff. And they prolly wouldn't work at this precinct anyway." She smiled. "But I'm bringing them here first thing tomorrow night!" "Tomorrow night?" "I skipped work today to hang out with them, and Oprah threatened me by saying that I wouldn't see the sunshine anymore if I skipped work tomorrow." Mandy gave a chuckle, as though unfazed by Oprah's realistic, absolutely-could-be-carried-out threat. Which, frankly, she was, because she felt she could best the millennia-old manageress in combat handily. She let out a gasp as an idea came to her. "Hey, would you guys be up for meeting them?" "Of course! I'd love to meet your friends, Mandy." "Me too!" Applejack nodded. "Maybe I can give 'em some tips on how t' harvest apples." She blinked. "Do they harvest apples?" "No. But Sophia works at her dad's hardware store, if you know a thing or two about hardware." "'Course I do!" Applejack chuckled. "If that's so, then I'd reckon we'd get along just fine!" Mandy's ears picked up on the sound of muffled laughter right then, and swiveled to meet the sound in question. As she turned around, she saw Oprah and Peaches pass through the bullpen and continue down the left side hallway, both of them sharing a hearty laugh at something Mandy hadn't heard. She watched them walk, a smile on her face. "Wow, I didn't know Peach and Oprah were so buddy-buddy!" "Who is?" Twilight asked, moving her head and watching the newly-bonded pair go. She blinked in surprise, a small smile dancing on her face as she realized what was going on. "It's so nice to see my cousin making new friends!" Mandy chirped. "The two of 'em never really had a one-on-one conversation...at least as far as I know." She let out another yawn that ended with a squeak. "Anyhoozle, I'm exhausted. I'm gonna go get ready for bed. Got a lot of work to catch up on tomorrow!" "Oh!" Applejack perked up. "Pinkie Pie wanted me t' tell ya, she did all your paperwork for ya." "Really?" Mandy exhaled. "I'm not surprised. Is she here?" "Nope! Went back t' Equestria about an hour ago." "Drat...well, if any of you are heading back, tell her I thank her so so so so soooooo much for what she's done! And that I'll make it up to her. Somehow." She began bouncing towards the right-side hallway. "Allrightytightywhiteythanksbye!" Before either Twilight or Applejack could say their goodbyes, let alone open their mouths to do so, the hybrid was gone. "Sooooo..." Applejack's gaze moved back to Twilight. "Peaches and Oprah are friends now, huh?" "Friendship can be very unexpected sometimes. Like how Mandy met up with her old friends." "Mm." "Hey, you two!" Peaches called from the Breakroom, neither Applejack nor Twilight having any clue as to how she got there. "You're still working?" Oprah asked, having diverged from her newfound friend and begun the ascent up to her office. "I was gathering some things up for Rainbow Dash." Twilight explained. "And I was just finishin' up some paperwork before I headed back to th' farm." Peaches, carrying a plate of haddock, made her way over to them. "Oh, have either of you two seen Mandy? I did want to spend some time with her, but if she's busy with her friends..." Applejack gestured towards the right side hallway. "She came back just a couple minutes go. Left for her room, I think." "Darn." "Well, you two, finish up what you're doing. It's closing time." Oprah ordered, before turning and heading into her office. "You know, it's weird. I thought Mandy was going to bring her friends to Odd Squad today." Peaches mused aloud. "Maybe she forgot about it." Twilight offered, her horn glowing as she shuffled through a small container on her desk and pulled out a paper clip. "But she is bringing them tomorrow." "Oh good! I do want to meet them myself, actually. Hope they think a catgirl roaming about here isn't too weird." Peaches had herself a chuckle at that. "What time are they coming?" "Not sure. But it has to be pretty late since Mandy's working." "Mm. Yeah, I forgot Oprah chewed her out. Not that I think she cares." The last sentence was nearly spat out with jealousy. "Well, can't wait to meet them! In the meantime, guess I'll search for the culprit myself." "Good luck!" "Thanks!" With that, Peaches left as well, heading through the automatic double-doors. "Ya need help with that paperwork, Twilight? Carryin' it down to th' receptionist n' such?" Applejack asked, pointing to the large stack that sat on Twilight's desk. "Sure, I'd love some help! Thanks, Applejack." "Ain't no problem at all." Applejack hopped off of her chair. "We're both headin' back t' Equestria, ain't we?" "Mhm! And tomorrow, we'll make two all-new friends." "Can't wait!" As soon as Twilight laid the stack of papers onto Applejack's back, she helped the farmpony balance the stack all the way to the File Room, then went with her back to Equestria as they talked about Mandy's friends and what they were like. Peaches' journey to find the Vallea culprit took her down Marigold Street, where she passed by people and ponies whom, when asked, had no idea what she was talking about, who the "Vallea culprit" was, or where they even were. However much she expected the answers, she figured it was worth a shot. Even talking to the alley cats brought up no results, although she was sure a few of them watched her go with glints in their eyes, which unnerved her. As she dashed down the street, her sharp hearing picked up on the sound of arguing. "If you weren't so stupid, maybe you could get it through your thick skull!" "Get what?" "The fact that Mandy is fine, obviously!" The mention of her cousin's name made Peaches freeze. "Yeah, right! You do know that Mandy's had a rough childhood? She's adopted, Jessica!" "So? She's happy! She's sounded happy in every single letter she's sent us! What, are you gonna never let her out of your sight?" "Yes, exactly! And then I'm gonna prove to you why she needs protecting! She's weak, and she's helpless!" Now Peaches' curiosity was piqued, and anger was slowly beginning to grow inside of her. She darted closer to the voices, ducking inside a nearby alleyway and poking her head out. Standing in front of a small hotel building were two girls, one who looked to be around Mandy's age and one who looked to be a year or two younger than the hybrid. Both of them wore colorful T-shirts, ripped jeans, and sneakers. The younger girl barked a cruel laugh. "No she's not! She’s got wings, a horn, a whole new appearance, new powers! Have you read any of the letters she’s sent?" She reached inside her pocket and took out a crumpled piece of paper. "Here, here, I’ll read you one right now!" "Girls!" The sound of an adult woman nearly made Peaches jump in surprise. When she poked her head out again, she saw a woman with dark blue hair stick her head out the front door. "How many times have I told you to stop arguing? Get in here this instant!" The older girl huffed. "Yes, Mom." "Fine." With that, Peaches watched them go and saw the door close. She sat on the ground, her eyes fixated on it in thought. Those girls...could those be Mandy's friends? No no, what am I thinking, they have to be. They were talking about her, so they obviously know her. But it seems like they're fighting over her. Each of them trying to figure out what's best for her...if only Olive were here, she'd be able to educate them both on what their so-called "friend" is like now. Either way, I wonder if Mandy knows about this...if not, she might be in for a shock. Transforming back into her humanoid form, she made a mad dash for the stairs that led back to Headquarters, her mind running with a million thoughts as to who, exactly, the girls were and what their deal was with her cousin. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. The next day, Mandy was quick to get right down to business. Filling out papers, solving cases, and repairing gadgets was the name of the game, and Mandy was determined to do it all. Lucky for her that efficiency was one of her strong, and most admired, suits. "Hey, Mandy." Twilight trotted up, gadget caught in her purple corona. "Could you do me a favor and repair this gadget when you have the chance, please?" "Yeah, sure!" As Mandy used her own magic to take ahold of the gadget, Twilight's attention was brought by a hiss from Peaches, who was frantically waving her over to the left-side hallway. "Twilight Sparkle, meet me in my room right now!" "Huh? Peaches?" The alicorn regarded the order with confusion, but still made her way over to the catgirl anyway. Mandy looked up too, but simply gave a shrug and a small hum and got right back to work. Getting to Peaches' room from the left-side hallway was no problem at all. "What's going on?" Twilight asked, as she took a look around the room she had been in only a few times before. "Close the door." Twilight did so, sensing the seriousness in Peaches' tone. "Okay. So you know Mandy's friends? Her old ones?" "Yeah..." "When I went out last night, I saw them arguing with each other. Apparently one of them was talking about protecting Mandy because she’s weak and helpless. And the other one...thinks that Mandy is strong and is happy here." Twilight sat on Peaches' words for a moment. She certainly didn't view Mandy as weak and helpless, but apparently one of her friends thought differently. "So what's your point?" "I don't think they're actually friends of Mandy." Peaches theorized. "If they are, then they're sorely uneducated about what she's like now." "Well, it has been a while. I think. She never specified how long it's been since she's seen them, exactly." Twilight blinked. "Does Mandy know they're arguing over her?" "If she does, she's not showing it." Peaches said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Mandy's pretty smart. I'm sure she'll catch on to what Sophia and Jessica are doing eventually." "I hope so." Peaches tapped her chin in thought. "But perhaps you could help them become friends again? You are the Princess of Friendship, after all." "I could, but the problem isn't between the two of them. It's between all of them." Twilight explained. "Once Mandy sees that there's a friendship problem, then I can work together with them to help solve it." Peaches' expression twisted into confusion, her brain attempting to process how Twilight's mentality made sense but hurting the more she thought about it. Still, she was willing to go along with the alicorn no matter what confusing words she spat out. "Okay. So I guess we'll have to see what will happen in the coming days." "Exactly." Twilight nodded. "In the meantime, can you keep an eye on them and see what happens?" "Sure. Stealth missions are easy for me!" The boastful tone wasn't lost on Twilight, who smirked for a moment. "Report back to me each day. That way, I'll be able to know what the trio's friendship is like." Peaches nodded. "Good plan. I'll go and get started first thing." "And don't forget, call if you need me." Peaches sighed. "I would, but that'll be hard. I don't have a badge phone yet." "Still?" Twilight's eyes widened, and then she face-hoofed. "All right then, I'll ask Mandy to coordinate something with Ms. O. Just borrow other phones in the meantime." Twilight headed out, leaving the door ajar for Peaches to get out. The catgirl let out a sigh, wondering how, exactly, she hadn't been given a badge phone yet in all the time she had been here. Sure, she was a guest and not a full-fledged agent, but she would have thought that Oprah would have given her one so they could stay in touch -- or if not her, then the Big O herself. As much as she wanted to use her new friendship with Oprah to her advantage, she figured that Mandy was closer to her position-wise, and thus would manage to get her cousin a badge phone single-handedly. Taking advantage of a friendship to get what you wanted wasn't really ideal, anyway -- she knew it, and she knew Twilight would chew out her tail for it. So, she slipped out the door and made her way towards the bullpen to await her new gift. "One sec...there we go!" "Thanks, Mandy!" Olive said, receiving a square-shaped gadget back from Mandy. "Otto will be happy to have this one back." "'Cuz now it tastes like whipped cream and shoots out whipped cream?" "Yup!" Mandy's attention was broken away by Twilight trotting up to her right then. "Hey, Mandy, can I ask you something?" "Sure thing, Twi! What's up?" "Do you think you can convince Ms. O to give Peaches a badge?" Twilight asked. "I know she's not an agent, but she could really use one! For calls and stuff." Mandy let in a huge intake of air in one dramatic gasp. "Well finally! You stinkin' writer, you waited 'til the 25th chapter to give my cousin a badge phone?" She scoffed, looking at nowhere in particular. "C'mon. You can do better." Her gaze moved to Twi. "Aaaaaaanyway, I could! One sec!" Silence. Mandy began wordlessly counting, her eyes rolling to and fro as she thought. Olive's brow furrowed. "Are you..." Her gaze drifted to the red smartwatch that adorned Mandy's wrist, and she only served to get more confused. "What are you-" Not ten seconds later, she gave a happy squeal that molded into laughter. "Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshwehavethesamebadgenumber!" Twilight glanced at Olive with desperation in her eyes, knowing that she spoke "Mandy-ese" far better. "The same...I'm sorry, what?" "The same badge number!" Mandy ripped off her badge and thrust it into both of her friends' faces. "Look! I'm 57, and she's 57!" Another squeal and another laugh left her body. "Berightback!" Before Olive or Twilight could say anything else, Mandy zoomed straight up to Oprah's office, blowing a small stack of papers an agent was holding completely upwards, much to their chagrin. "What just happened?" Olive caught Twilight looking at her. "Don't look at me." she said, her tone entirely flat as she stared at Oprah's office and expected the worst. Sure enough, the sound of muffled shouting came forth, which was punctuated by a crack forming in one of Oprah's glass doors. "Crumpets." Olive did her signature facepalm, pinching the bridge of her nose with her two index fingers. "I hope she's not going to make Mandy pay for that out-of-pocket..." Mandy rushed back in seconds. "She said yes!" She gave a triumphant laugh. "All I hafta do is go to the Big O and get her to make one!" Twilight watched Mandy's feet rapidly move on the floor like she was stepping on hot coal with bare feet. She had only seen Pinkie achieve that level of trotting in place, only what Mandy was doing wasn't really trotting because she was only half-pony and she had feet and not hooves. Olive glanced around, watching as agents passing by stared at the trio. She began to feel uncomfortable with so many eyes staring at her, and gave a small shudder. "That's...great, Mandy, but do you think you can calm down a little? We're getting a lot of stares..." "Stares schmares, tell Pinkie Pie to handle the paperwork, I'm gone!" Twilight blinked. "To where?" "The Big Office, silly! I'll be there and back faster than a jackalope on roller skates! Eating a pickle in the middle of August!" "Oh great, you're turning into Obfusco." Olive groaned, immediately reaching behind her back and pulling out a bottle of Shmumbers brand aspirin. "Berightback!" And like that, Mandy was gone by a feat of teleportation. Once Olive put a few pills in her hand, Twilight grabbed the bottle from her grasp and dropped some in her other hoof. Both mare and child popped their pills and chugged their water in complete sync, both of them thinking the same thing. We love Mandy, but a knock in her energy points would be better. Or just having her be sane for more than a minute, really... In a bright flash, Mandy was back, charred, burnt, and with every piece of clothing ripped in some form of another. Her hair, also charred and burnt, stuck straight up, as did her tail. A few feathers fell off of her outspread wings as she moved them about. Truly, she was a sight for sore eyes, but all the aghast Olive and Twilight could do was look at her. The hybrid keeled over, hacked a few times, spit out something that neither agent wanted to even try to identify -- for odd's sake, did it just move? -- and weakly reached into her pocket to pull out a badge that, surprisingly, hadn't gotten so much as a scratch in whatever scuffle she had gotten into. "Here...her badge." she rasped, letting out another cough that was coupled with a grin that revealed at least three missing teeth. "What happened to you?" was all Olive could say within her shock. "Accidentally teleported into the Big O's office right when she was checkin' on an experiment..." Another round of coughing ricocheted through Mandy's body, causing her to begin hacking again. "And how did you get the badge so quickly?" Mandy perked up. "Big O works fast!" She held out the badge phone. "Anyhoo, give that to Peach and she should be all set for calls!" She blinked. "Weird...I thought I thought this was gonna be resolved in some future chapter. Big plot point or something. Eh, writers will be writers. Whaddya gonna do?" Twilight hesitantly took it, wondering how long it took before the aspirin kicked in. "Uhh...thanks, Mandy." "Nonono, wait, I take it back!" Mandy yanked the phone out of Twilight's grip using her own corona, her head swiveling frantically throughout. "Where's Peaches?" "Um..." Twilight bit her lip. "Tell you what, why don't you...get back to work?" A meow startled the group, and three pairs of eyes looked down to see a black cat staring up at them. Within seconds, the cat transformed into its more humanoid form and gave a smile. "Hi! I'll take that off your hands. Er, hooves. Er...whatever, just give me the phone." Mandy eagerly floated the phone over to her cousin, even taking the liberty of clipping it onto the left side of her chest for her. All she needed was the suit, and she would look like a full-fledged Odd Squad agent who was just a bit outside of the age requirements to become one. "Thanks, cuz! How do I look?" "Amazing!" Mandy grabbed Peaches by the shoulders. "Ooh, ooh, did you know we have the same badge number?! Looklooklook!" Peaches gazed down at her badge, finding that her badge number read 55. "Um...Mandy, this says 55. Not 57." A pause. "Whaaaaaa?!" Mandy ripped the badge off, looking at it up-close and from afar, turning it in every single direction to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Sure enough, when she added up the letters in Peaches' name again, and then did it three more times to make sure, they added up to 55, not 57. "Aww...and here I was gettin' all excited 'cuz we had the same badge numbers. Now I feel like an idiot!" "Well, look on the bright side. We'll be able to call each other, forever and ever." That seemed to brighten up Mandy's mood considerably. "Yeah!" She bounced up and down. "But...if you don't get back to work, there won't be a 'forever and ever'." Peaches smirked. "Besides, aren't you meeting your friends later?" Mandy stopped bouncing in midair, her body slowly coming back to Earth as the realization ticked in. The second her feet touched the concrete floor, she gasped. "OmigoshIforgotthanksPeach!" she spit out in one breath before rushing to her desk and getting right to work without even sitting down first. "Huh. That was easier than I thought." Olive remarked. Peaches simply shrugged. "I've experienced her hyperactivity enough times to know what makes her tick for the most part." "Can you repair Oprah's glass door, too?" Peaches looked towards where Olive was pointing. The large crack was still in the door, threatening to break the door apart if it moved only a couple more inches. "Yeesh...I would if I could." "Hey, Twilight..." Olive glanced at the mare. "Why were you being so secretive before? Are you hiding something?" As much as Twilight wanted to fire a rebuttal of lies, she knew Olive was smarter than that and would probably sniff her out. She wasn't all too skilled at lying, anyhow. "Should we tell her?" she asked Peaches. "Olive's a trustworthy agent. I don't see why not." Twilight nodded. "Let's all go somewhere a bit more private." "And that's the gist of it." Olive had listened to the story with intrigue, her mind whirling with questions. Not that she had ever met Sophia and Jessica before, but she supposed she couldn't blame them for their attitude towards Mandy, especially since the hybrid had gone through a major change that she had never told them about. Still, she had to wonder if they had any ulterior motives in mind, though thinking about that made her feel queasy in a way she couldn't describe. "So Mandy's friends are arguing over her?" Peaches nodded. "They haven’t seen her in a while, but must be pretty uneducated on what she’s like now, compared to...um...well, when she first met them." "I’m having Peaches spy on her and her friends when they go out. That way I can gather more information about their interactions." Olive put on an incredulous expression. "Why don't you just tag along yourself?" "Mandy probably wouldn’t like that. As friendly and outgoing as she is, she likely wants to spend time alone with her friends. Peaches is more skilled at stealth than I am, so she’s going to be doing the spying." The logic made sense to Olive, and so she nodded in understanding. A cat would be far less suspicious than a full-grown mare following a group of people around. "I'll admit, from what I’ve heard about Sophia and Jessica, they seem nice. But Mandy hasn’t seen them in a long time. At least...that’s what she’s said." "So they probably don't know her as well." "We don't have much to go on." Peaches crossed her arms. "Once I spy on them, I'll get more info." "You know, if Mandy's bringing them to Odd Squad, it makes your job easier, Peaches." Olive noted. Peaches blinked. "That's...true..." "So all we have to do is wait until she comes back here with them." Peaches and Olive gave sounds of agreement in response to Twilight's statement. "Sooooo..." Olive scratched an itch on her head. "Why are we not telling Mandy about this?" "Well, for one, she probably wouldn't believe us." Peaches rolled her eyes. "And for another, she might think we're jealous of her friends or think we have some vendetta against them." Twilight exhaled. "It could cause issues." Olive wasn't one to speak on Mandy's reactions to the matter -- her unpredictability managed to stump even her own mother sometimes."Fair enough. Let's see how things go, then." Mandy had resolved to get to the park early, finishing up her work in record time, making sure she didn't do anything half-fast, and rushing there as fast as her feet and the tubes would take her. With loads of time to spare, she had found it fit to get in that daily nap she had sacrificed in favor of efficiency and hard work, with her body caving in almost immediately like that of a person who couldn't even go a single day without sleeping. As foals and kids alike laughed and played, as adults of both the human and equine variety talked and ate and relaxed, Mandy slept. Her body sprawled out on a bench that looked fit for a king, with one arm and foot draped towards the ground, she snored, muttering unintelligible things that no one around her even bothered to understand. To those that knew her, her sleep habits were no surprise, but even to those that didn't know her, they just didn't pay her much mind, even as a popular Odd Squad agent. While she was in a deep sleep, Sophia spotted her as she walked along the thin concrete path that snaked through the park. "Mandy?" she called tentatively, placing a hand on the hybrid's shoulder. "Hey, Mandy, wake up." In response, all she got was a loud snore as well as a foot moving about limply on the ground. "Weird. You were never a heavy sleeper." Sophia muttered to herself, resolving to shake Mandy even harder. "Come on, wake up already! It's me, Sophia, your one and only best friend, ready for a night out on the town, just the two of us!" No response. The barrage of sleep noises continued. "Mmm..." Sophia's mouth pinched inwards in disappointment, before she took in a deep breath and resolved to scream. "MANDY, WAKE UP!!!" This got the attention of quite a few parkgoers, who all turned their eyes on Sophia. She quickly waved them off with a smile and a nervous laugh, tempted to ask one of them to wake up Mandy but not wanting to disturb whatever they were doing. Just as she turned to leave, the sight of Mandy moving in her peripheral vision caught her eye, and she turned back around. "Mrrrh...what're y' doin', m' tryna sleep..." "Mandy! You promised you'd hang out with me today! Come on, I want to go see Odd Squad with you!" Sophia sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I'm late, okay? You know how my mom can be pushy sometimes, and she made me clean the entire hotel room before coming to meet you, and I just-" A loud yawn, followed by a squeak, cut her off, and she saw Mandy rise to a sitting position. "Mm...Sophie...?" Breathing an internal sigh of relief, Sophia asked, "Did you have a bad day at work or something?" Mandy shook her head. "No, no...I was waiting for you!" Another yawn left her, and she stood up before shaking her body out furiously. Sophia gave a smile. "Heh. You've certainly changed a lot, haven't you?" "Y' could say that." Mandy rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry. I guess you should know that I'm largely impossible to be awoken unless it's of my own accord. Part of the transformation. Don't ask about logistics." "It's okay! Thank you for telling me." Sophia said. "Are you still up for hanging out?" Mandy's energy levels heightened in one swift second. "Of course!" she chirped. "I'm gonna take ya to Odd Squad and you're gonna have the bestest time!" "It's like you read my mind!" Sophia laughed. "Let's go!" "Here, hop on my back!" Sophia's smile faltered as she watched Mandy bend down and angle her back towards her. She stared at the pose for a few moments in confusion. "On...your back?" "Yeah! It's another post-transformation thing. I can carry people and ponies on my back while I fly! Makes for great transportation." "And this is safe?" Sophia asked immediately, more on instinct than anything else. Her tone was filled with worry, something that she hoped Mandy wouldn't pick up on. "Yep! Don't worry, if you fall, I can catch ya!" Sophia contemplated the offer for a few moments. Her falling wasn't necessarily a big deal to her -- she trusted Mandy to catch her, of course. No, what got her was the mere feat of getting on Mandy's back. What if she crushed the girl's spine? Injured her so badly that she became paralyzed for life? Was she willing to take that risk? "Normally I'd say no, but a small part of me is itching to see what it's like." Damn it, Sophia! Why?! As Sophia carefully climbed onto Mandy's back, she asked, "This doesn't hurt?" "Nope! Now hold on to my neck!" "Gently, like this?" Sophia grasped Mandy's neck gently. "You got it! And away we go!" Before Sophia could object, the two girls were flying through the park, with Sophia eliciting a scream of terror as she got a first taste of what riding with Mandy Airlines was like. "Holy cabaneros..." Laying right in front of Sophia was a host of oddities, gathered in such a way that it was like they had gotten wind of her arrival in advance. Her eyes widened as she glanced at each and every one of them, as a lot of them were ones that she had never really seen before. Mandy cleared her throat. "Welcome to the most sophisticated place on Earth! A place filled with wonder and amazement, where long-lasting friendships are made and dreams..." She got into a showy pose, doing jazz hands as she finished her sentence. "...come truuuuue!" Sophia blinked. "This is...amazing!" She glanced at Mandy. "You work here?" "Sure do! I've worked here for as long as I can remember! C'mon, I'll show ya around!" A few footsteps brought the duo to the Lab, which was surprisingly empty but still very much alive in terms of lighting. Mandy smiled. "So this is the Lab." "Where Scientists make gadgets, right?" "Yes!" "Didn't you write to me once that one of your jobs is repairing gadgets?" Mandy's expression and voice didn't falter. "Yes!" "But you're not a Scientist." "Nope! I work in the Investigation department as an agent. Repairing gadgets is more of a side thing for me." "So why'd you say it was a job?" Mandy opened her mouth, thought about the question for a minute or two, and then slowly closed it as her brain failed to provide her with an answer. She considered fixing gadgets a job, but it was clear her friend didn't think the same. And while she was at it, exactly what constituted a "job"? Was it getting paid? Was it doing something heavily laborious as opposed to something simple and minor? Was it being hired by a company's dedicated department? ...Okay, maybe she was getting off track now. "Let's move on." The next stop on the tour took the girls to one of the hallways. "Wow, there are a lot of doors here." Sophia remarked, recoiling as her hand touched a door that was freezing to the touch. "Well duh! Have you even visited an Odd Squad Headquarters?" "Only once or twice, but I never saw the doors." Mandy scoffed. "You should be afflicted with oddness more often!" "Mandy, I'm not going to infect myself with oddness!" Unbeknownst to the two girls, the feline form of Peaches watched them from behind a corner, only her head peeking out to spy on them. A smirk settled on her features as she watched them converse, taking mental notes as to what they were doing. After a minute or so, Mandy held her hands up. "Fine, fine! Here." She turned around to face the abstract, brightly-colored door of her room and flung it open. "Aaaaaaaand here's my room!" Sophia looked inside, eyeing the bed, the dresser, the cabinets, the sewing table, and all of the posters. It looked nice, for sure -- certainly nicer than her room -- but she couldn't help but feel pity. A frown settled on her face. "This is where you sleep?" "Yuh-huh!" Sophia stared at Mandy with a look of sadness. "You've never experienced living in a house?" "Nope! This Headquarters has always been my home!" There was a pause. Sophia bit her lip, looking from Mandy's room to Mandy herself and back again. The thought tumbled out without getting her consent. "Sad life to live, if you ask me. You deserve better." "Whaddya mean?" Sophia's gaze finally rested on Mandy. She looked completely innocent -- perhaps she hadn't noticed her friend's change in expression. Or perhaps she did, and she was hiding it. Sophia couldn't tell. "It's nothing." she settled on, trying hard to give a convincing smile, if only a small one. Mandy gave a simple shrug. "Well, all right." She closed the door and pointed down the hall. "You see that door, painted in blue?" "...Yeah?" "That's Peaches' room." "Who?" Mandy blinked. "Oh! I never told you about her, did I?" Sophia sadly shook her head. In a murmur, she answered, "You haven't written to us in a while." "I know, and I keep meaning to! But work and life and...everything's got me soooooo busy!" "I'm sure." "Well...maybe I'll tell you when we meet up with Jessie!" "Sure, if you want." In the midst of her apathy, Mandy's words didn't click in Sophia's head. So as the pair walked through the halls and made their way back to the bullpen, she became lost in thought with Mandy's safety and well-being until the words finally made full contact with her brain. Unfortunately, that was around the same time her eyes landed on her. "Wait, what?!" "You?!" Sophia whirled on Mandy. "Mandy, you invited both of us here?!" "I know, I know, I said I would hang out with you today and Jessica tomorrow." Mandy explained. "But since you two are bestest friends, I thought we could all go on the Odd Squad tour together! So I called Jessica and asked her to come over!" The two girls were flabbergasted. A thick silence hung in the air, broken only by their heads turning so that they locked on to each other's gazes. Both of them thrust out their hands and their index fingers, with Sophia reacting first. "I don't want her here!" "And I don't want her here!" "She's only out to hurt you!" "Nuh-uh, that's you!" Mandy's grin quickly turned into a frown. Her eyes shifted from Sophia to Jessica, her head tilting in confusion. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, however, the argument continued at full force. "You keep letting her run around and letting her do her thing, but the girl was robbed of a home life, Jessica. She never had a home to grow up in." Sophia gestured to the area around her. "This dirty, rusty place? This is her living space! It barely qualifies as a home!" "A home doesn’t have to be an actual house, you idiot. Home can be anywhere!" Jessica pointed at her friend. "Look at Mandy. Do you think she’s depressed? Because she sure hasn’t sounded depressed in any of her letters!" Mandy looked in seemingly no particular direction and gave a shrug. Behind her, Twilight trotted up, eyeing the situation with concern. "Well she's depressed now! Look at her!" Sophia screamed, her cheeks becoming aflush with red. Jessica merely shook her head in disapproval and gave a scoff. "I've always said you needed therapy, and you're just proving me right." Sophia, unable to come up with a witty comeback initially, stammered. "So what?! She can't even stand on her own two feet!" She gave a mighty exhale. "I knew I should have come sooner, but with my family’s responsibilities, I couldn’t catch a flight to Toronto if I tried. She’s had a terrible life. She doesn’t deserve a life like this!" "And what makes you think that? If I had brought some of Mandy’s letters with me I would share them with you to back up my point. But rest assured she’s fine. We talked about this before you got on the plane. You were so worked up by her last letter that when your mom decided to go to Toronto you were the first on board." Sophia crossed her arms. "So why did you come along, then?" "Because I wanted to see Mandy too." "And why did you want to see her so badly? To make sure she's okay? To make sure she's healthy and safe?" Sophia asked, her tone making her words come near a gloat just so she could call Jessica a hypocrite. Unfortunately, Jessica wasn't too eager to play into her gambit. "Because we haven’t talked properly, in person, since we moved to the United States! It isn’t like she’s a stone’s throw away from us, Sophia!" Another round of silence was fired into the air and lingered like thick fog. Tears streamed down Jessica's face as she glowered at Sophia, the other girl looking rather distraught as she stared at Mandy. Within her rage, she couldn't deny that Jessica was right -- it had been a long, long time since Mandy had written to them. And it seemed the hybrid knew it, too, judging from the way she shied away and rubbed her arm. The pony next to her gazed at Sophia with worry, and it sickened her. "You need to quit being so overprotective of her. Just because your uncle was overprotective of you doesn't mean you have to do the same with Mandy." Sophia's rage came back like a light switch, upon hearing mention of the one family member she cherished the most. Without even thinking, she raised her fist and charged. "Don't you dare bring my uncle into this-" Her fist was caught in an open palm. She gasped. "I would suggest you don't try that." Jessica said coolly. "I've been taking martial arts classes recently. Remember?" "HOW DARE YOU?!" Sophia screeched, wrenching her fist free and backing off of her enemy. Off to the side, Peaches joined the group, shapeshifting into her humanoid form. "Twilight!" "Peaches!" Twilight turned to face her, relief in her voice. "Should we intervene?" "I don't know. Mandy's just standing there." Peaches remarked, watching as her hybrid merely stared at the ongoing argument with an unreadable expression on her face. It was almost like she was in suspended animation, and it might have been the most still that either Peaches or Twilight had ever seen her. Sophia growled. "I'll be taking Mandy back home with me." she spat. "Her letters are lies, Jessica. She's hiding her true emotions!" "No she's not! Don't take her away from here! She works here! She lives here! She has friends and family here who love her!" Jessica gave a scoff. "You're insane, you know that?" "I'm not insane! I'm doing what's best for her!" "By being an..." Jessica stammered as she tried to come up with coherent words. "An overprotective parent, you think that's what's best for her?!" By this point, Olive and Oprah had both joined the audience. "What's going on?" Olive asked. "And who are they?" Oprah pointed at Sophia and Jessica. Before Peaches and Twilight could answer her query, however, Sophia marched up to Mandy, ignoring the shock radiating through the physical outwardly features of her body, and grasped her wrist so tightly that it was amazing how the hybrid wasn't reacting to any pain. "Mandy...we're leaving. I’ll take you back to our hotel room. Surely my mom and I can make space for you." She sighed as she gazed around the bullpen. "You can’t stay here. It’s rusty and dangerous. You can find another job." Her face lit up with an idea. "I know! You can work at Dad’s hardware store! He’s always looking for new employees." "Mandy, don't go with her!" Now it was Jessica's turn to come up to Mandy, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Sophia has...issues that she needs to work out. You’re happy here, aren’t you? Every single one of your letters...you have memories here. You have a good life here, with a loving family and lots of friends. Am I wrong?" Sophia pushed Jessica with her free hand, sending the other girl stumbling a few steps backwards. "Let go of her!" "No, you let go!" "That can't be...Sophia and Jessica?" Olive blinked. "They're fighting over Mandy!" "That's them?!" Oprah asked in bewilderment, before her eyes moved to Mandy. "But why is Mandy not fighting back?" "She's not moving." "I think she might be in shock." Twilight nodded at the three girls. "Come on, we have to save her before she gets hurt!" The group took off. Peaches got there, first, grabbing Mandy by the arm. "Cuz, let's go!" Sophia, shocked by the sudden appearance of what she deduced was an odd being of some kind, let her jaw hang loose for a few moments before she spoke. "Who are you?!" "Get your hands off of my cousin!" "Your cousin?!" Twilight magically took ahold of Mandy's shoulder and shook it hard. "Mandy, snap out of it! Your friends are fighting over you! If things escalate any further you're going to get hurt!" Olive and Oprah grabbed Mandy's other arm, but instead of pulling it, they opted to try pushing. Even with their combined strength, however, the hybrid didn't even do so much as budge. "And who are you?" Sophia asked, whirling on the two Directors. "I'm her mother!" Olive snapped. "Why are you hurting her?" "You're her mother?" A million questions ran through Sophia's mind -- namely, how this girl, so young, was Mandy's mother -- but she set them to the side for now. "You...wouldn't happen to be Olive, would you?" "Yes!" A pause. And then, "So she's never even had real parents?!" "Olive makes a fine parent!" Oprah screamed, in a voice that would have scared off any other agent but only barely fazed someone who wasn't an agent like Sophia. Sophia didn't offer any kind of a rebuttal, instead setting her sights on Jessica, who had run around to Mandy's back and was pushing her. "Mandy is mine, Jessica!" "No, she's mine!" What followed was a few minutes of six girls fighting over one pony-human hybrid, yanking her body every which way like it was play dough meant to be molded. Yelling came from all sides, all mixing together into incomprehensible din that flew in one of Mandy's ears and out another. All the hybrid did was stare straight ahead, her pupils and irises not budging an inch as she raked through her memories. All this time...I thought they were just arguing for the fun of it. Or that I was imagining things. But...they really... They hate each other. How did I not notice? Was I really so caught up in hanging out with them after so long that I failed to realize there was an issue? ... That's a rhetorical question, Mandy. You know the answer is yes. Something clicked inside of her brain right then. Sensations of pain rocketed through her limbs and organs, all of them sending signals to her brain like a 911 operator receiving a ton of calls at once. Instinctively, she thrashed her body about, trying to throw the sources of her pain off. "ENOUGH!!" she screamed, tears pooling in her eyes and flying everywhere in the immediate vicinity. At one point, she fell on her rump, but she didn't bother to get back up, instead burying her face into her hands and continuing to cry. She faintly felt a pair of hands let her go and a magical grip around her shoulder fade, but she didn't bother to see their sources. Sophia raced over to Mandy and knelt down. "Mandy, you have to listen to me! Please!" "Don't do it!" Jessica did the same. "Listen to me instead, I-" "Shut up!! Shut up both of you!!" The shout silenced both girls, making them back off as they stared at Mandy in shock. The hybrid gave a hiccup. "Why are you fighting? I thought..." Her body trembled. "I thought you were friends!" Another hiccup. "I thought we were all friends!" Looks of regret began settling on both Sophia's and Jessica's faces. "I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but...is this what our friendship has become? You two fighting with me as the third wheel?" "Well I have good intentions." Sophia said, in a bragging sort of tone. "You don’t belong here. Your family is a mish-mosh of...people and...ponies. Your living quarters smells like asbestos. You’re hiding your feelings, aren’t you?" She gazed at Mandy sympathetically. "Come with me, back to the US. You can live with me and my family. We’ll take good care of you. You can even have a stable job working for Dad!" She sighed and gestured to Olive, Oprah, Peaches and Twilight. "You don’t deserve them. They don’t deserve you. You’re a good person, and if you took my advice to heart you could-" "Shut up!" Sophia narrowed her eyes slightly. "Excuse me?" Slowly, Mandy arose to her feet, and walked over to Olive, pulling the girl closer to her. "This is Olive. Sure, she doesn't look like a mother to you, but she's my Momma and she always will be." She let go of Olive and pulled Peaches close, the catgirl giving a yowl of surprise. "This is Peaches. She’s my cousin who mistakenly thought I burned down her town. She was kinda weirded out by me at first, but she’s a part of us now." Next was Twilight. "This is Agent Twilight Sparkle. She works here, and she's one of the bestest friends I've ever had. She's smart, kind, and a good leader as a princess of Equestria." Sophia watched with a bemused expression. "And just what is your po-" "And this..." Mandy pulled Oprah close. "...is Ms. O. Oprah. She's the head of this Odd Squad precinct. She's also a bestest friend for me, who cared for me and respected me and gave me all the love I could ever want. And I'll forever be loyal to her." Jessica watched the introductions go down with a warm smile on her face. Sophia, on the other hand, was beginning to get agitated again. "I know who all these people are! What's your point?!" "My point is that I don't have bad friends or a bad family like you seem to think." Mandy let go of Oprah and gave a sigh, slowly closing her eyes. "Jessie was right, y'know." Jessica's eyes widened. "I...was?" "Sophie, you do need therapy. You don't know me at all. I'm not the same person I was all those years ago." Mandy opened her eyes again. "I've changed. More than you could ever know." "I could've told you that." "Don't think you're off the hook either." Jessica paused for a moment. "What?" "I don't wanna be friends with you two if all you're gonna do is fight over me." Mandy glanced at the sole pony in the room. "Twilight, do with them as you will, please." "Mandy, wait. This is something all three of you need to work out." Twilight sighed. "I need to confess. Peaches and I were planning on spying on you to learn more about your friends. Peaches heard them arguing last night. They’ve...been arguing ever since you came across them." Mandy was tempted to spit out that she knew that already. But as she wanted to know the truth and confirm her suspicious, she held back and stared at Sophia and Jessica. "Is this true? Have you two been arguing ever since you arrived in Toronto?" Sophia and Jessica exchanged glances. "Yes. We have." Jessica sighed. "We’re so busy with...jobs and school and other things in our lives. And we’ve been sending you letters, but-" "You haven't written back to us in a long while!" Sophia finished. "I thought you had gotten hurt, Mandy. That’s why when Mom decided to travel to Canada, I came with. I wanted to make sure you were okay. That you were safe. And when I saw you, I thought you were hiding your feelings from us. But...that wasn’t the case." A look of regret settled on her face, for good this time. "I realize now. You’re happy here. You have a family and friends who love you so much." She gazed at Mandy. "But just to make sure...are you sure you sure you're not upset?" "About my life? No. About our friendship being ruined? Yes." Silence. "I'm sorry!" The words burst out of Sophia without thinking. When she caught herself, she took a moment to gather her bearings. "I’m really sorry. Jessica was right. I should have listened to her. And I shouldn’t have made you the third wheel in our argument, either." She ran the toe of her sneaker along the ground. "Just...maybe you could...be a little more timely with your letters? I-I understand you have work, but...even a phone call or an email can make a world of difference!" And then she turned on Jessica. "Jessica, I don’t want to fight anymore. You were right. As soon as we get back to our hotel room, I’m gonna talk to Mom about getting therapy." Her gaze flicked to Mandy. "Mandy’s happy. All I’ve been doing is causing her strife." "So have I." Jessica stared at Mandy, her eyes beginning to well up with tears. "Mandy, I’m sorry too. Both of us were grossly misinformed about you. We should have taken your letters at face value." Instead of answering, Mandy simply turned around, eyes closed and arms crossed. "Mandy doesn't take getting hurt lightly." Olive explained. "It may take her a while to-" "I'm sorry too!" Mandy whirled around. "This entire thing is my fault. I’ve barely had the time to contact you guys nowadays, what with work and daily naps and all my other responsibilities. The least I could’ve done was given you a call or something!" She did a facepalm. "This is how friendships drift apart…" "But our friendship doesn't have to drift apart." Sophia smiled. "I want to be friends with you again, Mandy. And I want to be friends with Jessica, too." "Same here!" Jessica said. "Even if you've changed, I'm up for getting to know the new you that you've become!" Mandy stared at the two girls, her eyes beginning to quiver. "You...you mean it?" "Absolutely!" "Mhm!" This reassurance was enough to dispel any grudge of any kind that Mandy had held against them, in what was a rather out-of-character moment for her. "Bring it in, ya big sillies!" she cried out, lunging for them and enveloping them in a tight hug. "Well, it looks like they didn't need much of my help at all." Twilight remarked, not being fazed by Sophia and Jessica choking to death while pleading with Mandy to set them down. "It's nice to see a friendship rekindled like this." "Warms your heart, doesn't it?" Olive asked, putting her hand on Peaches' shoulder as the catgirl nodded. Next to them, Oprah gave a small smile of her own. Eventually, Mandy set her friends down onto the ground, and they were able to catch their breaths. "So..." Jessica coughed. "You invited me here to check out Odd Squad?" Mandy gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah. My intent was to give you both a tour, but...I guess that didn't work out." "Are you kidding?" Sophia's eyes gained twinkles in them. "There's still so much you haven't shown us!" "Yeah! The Headquarters where we live looks so different. I want to get to know this one!" "All righty then!" Mandy gestured to her friends. "We can start with a few of its inhabitants, whom I'm sure you've, uh...met." Twilight, Olive, Peaches and Oprah all bowed and chanted in unison, "It's nice to meet you, Sophia and Jessica! Welcome to Odd Squad!" Sophia marveled at the display, while Jessica tilted her head and pointed at Peaches. "You're Mandy's cousin?" "Yep! I mistook her for the criminal that burned my hometown down to the ground. And then I found out we were related. We’ve been stuck like glue ever since!" "Literally and figuratively!" Mandy added, with a snort-laugh. Jessica's brow furrowed. "You two don't look related, though." "Family genetics are complicated." Peaches gave a shrug. Sophia glanced at Olive. "And you're Mandy's mother? You look younger than I expected." "Adoptive mother." Olive corrected. "And yes. I get a lot more 'you look so young' comments than you'd think." She shook her head and chuckled. "But I've raised Mandy well." "I can see that." Sophia smiled and let her eyes rest on Oprah next. "And you're..." "Mandy's boss. She's my second-in-command here." "Second-in-command?" Sophia's eyes widened. "Wow...she's in such a high position. It'd take me years before Dad promoted me to any kind of position like that!" "What does your dad do, Sophia?" Oprah asked. "He runs a hardware store. It's a family thing. I work there too. It's tough work, but very rewarding." Oprah opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the sound of Sophia's phone ringing with a "ringity-ding-dingy-dong". "Oh, it's him. Hi Dad, what's up?" "..." "What? You're kidding!" "..." "Daaaaaad, do we have to?" "..." "All right. I'll tell Mom and we'll be on our way back, okay? Love you." "..." "Bye." Sophia tapped the End Call button and slid her phone back into her jean pocket. "Did something happen?" Olive asked. "Jessica, and everyone else...I'm sorry, but..." Sophia bit her lip. "We have to leave early." "What? Why?!" Jessica whined. "Dad broke his foot. Again. He won't be able to run the hardware store for a while until he gets better, and he wanted me to come back and run it in his stead." "Can't he find other employees? What about Paul, o-or Janine?" Sophia shook her head. "Paul's retiring next week, and Janine can't possibly run the shop on her own." Jessica clutched Mandy's arm. "But we've only just made up with Mandy and now we have to go?" "I'm really sorry." "Don't be!" Sophia blinked as she stared at Mandy. "Huh?" "With the tube system, I can come visit you guys anytime! We have each other's numbers, too." "But we wanted to spend time with you. Here. In Toronto." "Yeah!" Jessica held Mandy's arm a little tighter. "Look, if your dad’s injured and needs someone to run the shop, then that’s how it is!" Mandy gave a shrug, and then gasped. "I have an idea! When are you set to leave?" "Dad said I should pack up and leave tomorrow." Mandy's pony ears folded downwards. "Oh. That puts a dent in that plan then." she murmured in disappointment, kicking at the ground. "I was thinking we could spend the rest of the night together, but..." She rushed over to Olive and pulled the sleeve of her suit upwards, exposing her watch. "...it's already pretty late." The sad vibes in the air seemed to get to everyone at this point, with Oprah, Peaches, Twilight and Olive all watching the three girls with disappointment. Still, Mandy resolved not to let it get her down anymore. "Pre-bye-bye-hug?" she asked. Sophia and Jessica glanced at each other, and then back to her. And then, they lunged for her, scooping her up in a hug almost the same way she did to them. On top of it all, they began to cry. "G-g-guys, stop, you're gonna..." Mandy's pupils and irises were quivering, and however hard she tried to fight back tears, she had little to no defense and gave loud, pitiful wails filled with waterfall tears. Instinctively, all four Odd Squad denizens whipped out their umbrellas from hammerspace, only acting surprised that the waterfalls seemed to miss Sophia and Jessica entirely. "You're always welcome here anytime!" Oprah shouted over the noise. "Feel free to visit if you ever get the chance to come up here again!" Sophia, with bloodshot eyes, swiveled her head around to look at Oprah. "We will." Jessica, with similar eyes, did the same. "Thank you!" Mandy's waterfalls ceased movement rather quickly, but the sobs and hiccups didn't stop. "I-I-I'm gonna m-miss you guys...s-so much!" she choked out. "Same here." Jessica rubbed her friend's back. "Come on, Sophia. Let's go home and pack. And tell your mom." Just as the two girls began to leave, however, Mandy stretched her arm out. "Wait! W-what time's your flight?" "I'll text it to you." Sophia responded. "'Kay! I'm gonna meet you two at the airport!" Mandy, now having a plan to say another goodbye to her friends, wiped her tears away and smiled. Both Sophia and Jessica returned the smiles, and made their way through the double-doors of the bullpen. And it was then that Mandy turned on Oprah, her arms flailing wildly. "OprahpleasepleasepleeeeeeaseletmeseethemattheairportIgottaseethemoffand-" Her words were put to an abrupt end by Oprah placing two fingers over her lips to silence her. "Of course you can. Go and see your friends off tomorrow, Mandy." "Oh thank you thank you thank you! You don't know how much this means to me!" She scooped up Oprah and pulled her into a hug, ignoring the sounds of her choking and her cries of protest before setting her down moments later and giving a sigh. "I wish I could go with them..." "You can always visit them." Twilight pointed out. "They're a tube ride away, aren't they?" "Yeah! I just gotta find the time to do it. And write more letters…" A yawn suddenly escaped Mandy, which, in turn, made her realize that fatigue was quickly starting to settle in. "Better go to bed. If their flight’s early then I’m gonna have to get up early...and drink lots of Moo-Moo Surprise." "If you get up any earlier than noon it'll be a shocker." Oprah half-deadpanned, giving a small smirk. "Oh don't worry, I'll go back to bed right after. You know me well. Toodles!" The three agents and one guest all watched their hybrid friend bounce down the right-side hallway before making a sharp turn to the right. "It's really a shame that Sophia and Jessica have to leave." Olive said, to break the silence. "I was looking forward to getting to know them more." "Me too. I didn't know Mandy had other friends." Twilight chuckled. "Though with how outgoing she is, it checks out." "Well, it's like we always say." Oprah looked at Peaches, and it didn't take the catgirl even a single second to realize what the Director was trying to tell her. "She continues to surprise us." As it turned out, the flight wasn't early at all. 11AM was a pretty reasonable time to get up by Mandy's standards, and she figured she could earn back the missing hour from her daily nap. The Toronto Pearson Airport was packed with people as well as ponies. Mandy was rather surprised at how well ponies had been integrated into daily life at the airport, from security guards to CATSA agents to flight attendants. Truly, it was one more step towards equality within both species. She had to wonder if there was an equine pilot out there somewhere. Pinkie aside, of course, because Mandy meant actual big planes with wings and jet engines. Standing at gate B17 were Sophia and Jessica, who were waiting to board. Mandy could also see Sophia's mom with them, deep in conversation. "Hiya!" Sophia's mom turned to face her. "Oh, Mandy! My goodness, Sophie wasn't kidding when she said you'd changed." She gave a small smile. "I must say, I love your wings and horn." "Oh! Uh...ha...thank you!" Mandy blushed just a little, not expecting her friend's mom to compliment her on her appearance. "Um, Sophia, say hi to your dad for me, okay?" Sophia chuckled. "Will do. I'll tell him to expect a visit from you soon." "Sounds good! Consider my schedule cleared!" "We'll miss you." Jessica stepped forward, clasping Mandy's hands in her own. "Don't forget, you can always call us, text us, write a letter, email...just contact us if you need anything!" "Likewise!" The three girls shared a hug, Sophia's mom watching on fondly with a smile. Surprisingly, no tears were shed this time -- everyone had gotten into the stage of acceptance, with the hope that they were all just a phone call, email or letter away from communication. As they went through the gate, everyone exchanged goodbyes. Mandy watched them go with tears in her eyes, her vision growing blurry even though she tried to keep it stable enough so she could see them. She clenched her fists and sharply turned, biting her lip. She couldn't stand to see them disappear from her view -- it would only make her more sad, and she didn't feel like crying any more than she did yesterday. No, she still had to hold on to hope. Hope that she could keep the friendship going between her, Sophia and Jessica, by sparing a few minutes of her day to write an email or a letter to them, or give them a call. It was so simple, and yet she hadn't done any of that... Maybe she was becoming a workaholic. A workaholic strained everything -- marriages, friendships, nearly everything in life. Olive had been one, before Otto helped her realize the value of fun. That thought was concerning enough for her to wander over to one of the large windows overlooking the airplanes, staring out listlessly. Her lips parted. She gave a shaky sigh as she placed her hand on the glass and looked out into the vast world that lay ahead of her. "Stay safe. And stay happy, you two." Author's Note Yeah, needless to say, this one needs some work. Got a bit sloppy towards the end, but it's pretty polished so I'm putting it out there.
S1E26: A Glimmering DebutThe sun shone brightly over Ponyville, marking another beautiful day in the town that seemed to be rife with its own special brand of oddness. Ponies of all kinds chatted, ate, and played, with some passing through the portal that sat at the town line, secured by protection of the princesses' own creation. For many who were seeking out the small-town kind of life, it was paradise. Inside the library of the Castle of Friendship, a light purple unicorn hoofed her way through photos of Twilight and her friends at Odd Squad. Her dark purple mane, with an aquamarine streak running through it, bounced slightly as she shifted each photo to the side, a smile gracing her features as she thought of the many stories she had been told about Odd Squad. She couldn't deny that each story had made her more and more curious as to what the organization was like, but of course, she wasn't about to go venturing into a whole world mostly occupied by another species without doing a little bit of research first. She stopped upon spotting a photo of Twilight and Pinkie with their faces splattered with ice cream. Occupying the photo was not only them, but someone who looked like a human with pony ears and a mane that was, oddly enough, shaped like Pinkie's. Starlight's nose wrinkled as she moved the photo aside and shuffled through the rest of the photos, trying to find any other sightings of this mysterious figure. By the time she finished, she deduced one thing -- there were a lot of pictures. More than she thought there were, at the very least. Many of them depicted the figure doing silly things like balancing balls on her nose, or things that showed her hardworking nature like fixing machines. Some of them even showed her in funny sleeping positions, and Starlight had herself a chuckle at the photo that showed her hugging a lit-up lamp. As she flipped one over that showed Twilight, the girls, four humans, and the mysterious figure all having fun at a beach, she found text scrawled onto the back of it. Mandy & Friends at the Beach Mandy...is that her name? Starlight tilted her head. Is she a clone of Pinkie Pie? She has the mane and the tail to match... She squinted at the beach picture, and then promptly gasped. Wait, no! She has...wings? And a horn? The look on her face was one of pure confusion. Whatever this creature was, it certainly wasn't human. Or at least, it wasn't fully human. Perhaps it was time for Starlight to get some answers. She rose from her chair and began trotting towards the doors, only stopping when she realized that Twilight wasn't home at the moment. Mentally shooting out a string of curses, she turned back to the table, and it was only then that she heard the castle's doors open and close. "Starlight! I'm back!" Twilight's voice was close, and the unicorn soon found her mentor poking her head in the library. "What's going on?" "Twilight." Starlight turned around again, and slowly approached her. "Would you like to tell me what this is?" Twilight blinked as a picture of her and Mandy was floated right in front of her face. "Who, the girl?" She smiled. "That's Agent Mandy, my coworker. She's part of a species known as a pony-human hybrid. Half human, half pony." Starlight simply stared. "I never told you about her, did I?" "Not even in the slightest." Starlight's deadpan expression didn't faze Twilight. "Well, instead of me giving a long lecture about what she's like...how about you go see her for yourself?" "And go into that world full of humans?" Starlight bit her lip. "Yeah, I dunno. I mean, I know ponies have been integrated into their society, but it just...weirds me out to go there." "How?" "Well...I can't really describe it." Twilight gave a sympathetic smile. "I understand. But I'm talking about bringing you to my workplace." "Odd Squad? That organization that deals with odd stuff?" "Exactly. A unicorn like you would fit in perfectly there!" Twilight said. "And I would know, as someone who's seen both the unicorns of Equestria and the unicorns of Earth." Starlight tapped her chin. She was a little hesitant, but now, she couldn't hide the feeling of curiosity that was gnawing at her. If Twilight thought the world was safe, then surely Starlight would have no problem going there. It was simple thought logic. "All right, I'm game. Lead the way." Back at Headquarters, Mandy was in the thralls of sleep. She was lying flat on her stomach, a pillow below her as she snored away and muttered something about cheese balls. In the midst of another Earth-shattering snore, Pinkie Pie threw the door open like it was Christmas morning. "Partner!" she called, her tone completely panicked as she trotted over to the bed. "Partner, wake up!" She paused for a moment, before giving a growl. "Oh, who am I kidding? You never wake up when I tell you to wake up!" Mandy gave a soft moan. "Not th' lazzt 'f th' peanut butter..." "We have plenty of peanut butter!" Pinkie screamed to the powers-that-be above, before putting her hooves on Mandy and shaking her as hard as she could. "Come on, it's an emergency!" A few broken snores left the hybrid as her hand waved behind her, trying to feel for the source of the intrusion to her slumber. "Pleasepleasepleeeeeeease!" Slowly, Mandy's eye-booger-encrusted eyes flickered open. A mighty yawn left her, and she feebly kicked her feet in an effort to try and get up. "Mmmmmm, Imma beached turtlllle..." Pinkie sat back and groaned. "Finally!" With an extended hoof that looked like it was made of putty, she grabbed her partner's Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, hopped onto the bed, opened her partner's mouth, and poured the drink in before closing it. "Drink up and let's go! You're gonna miss her!" Mandy's cheeks were bulging, and it took her a few moments before she was able to get all of the drink down. "Mmmmmizz who...?" she muttered, but Pinkie was already shuffling through the wardrobe closet and throwing her suit onto the ground. "Hurry up and get dressed!" the mare ordered, pointing to the suit. "Or I'll make you get dressed!" "Please, don't..." Mandy rubbed her head as she slowly rolled off of her bed and landed on the ground, then got up in a kneeling position before slowly rising to her feet. "I can dress myself, thank you." "Could've fooled me." That earned Pinkie the boot, in the form of Mandy sweeping her up in her magic and throwing her to the ground outside of the room rump-first. "Hey! I wasn't actually gonna dress you..." "Really?" Mandy picked up her suit and fluffed it out. "Coulda fooled me." And with that, she slammed the door on her pink friend before she could even fire a rebuttal. Five minutes later, Mandy was dressed in a suit, but definitely didn't feel like her old self just yet. With curiosity as to whom Pinkie had been talking about, she went to the bathroom to finish her routine, wondering if a new agent was joining Precinct 13579 or if it was some kind of ambassador from another land. The possibilities were endless, really. "An emergency means you gotta move faster than that!" "You and I have differing opinions on what an emergency is, Ponka." By the time Pinkie and Mandy arrived at the bullpen, Twilight, standing on the seal with a purple unicorn at her side, was finishing what Mandy had to assume was some kind of introduction. "Please make her feel welcome!" As agents rushed to the duo to give their introductions, Mandy tilted her head. "Who's that with Twilight?" Pinkie responded by pushing her partner towards the front of the crowd. "Mandy, this is Starlight Glimmer! She's one of our best friends!" Twilight turned her head to make eye contact with Mandy. "Oh, Mandy, you're finally awake!" She smiled. "I brought Starlight here to meet the agents of Precinct 13579. She's never been to Toronto before, let alone this world." When Starlight waved off the last agent in the crowd, she turned to gaze at the pony-human hybrid, examining every last one of her features. She towered over the unicorn, although not by very much, and donned a professional-looking business suit that was the same as Twilight's as well as a curly hairstyle and tail with the former in a sparkly bow. True to the pictures, she had pony ears as well as a long horn and a pair of angelic wings, but the one thing that really caught Starlight's eye was the smile. It looked cat-like, far unlike the mouths she had seen on humans from pictures. Quite unnatural for a being that was part pony, the unicorn noted. "Hi!" she greeted. "You, uh...don't look anything like the humans I've seen. You're a pony-human hybrid, right? Are you an alicorn?" "Yes I am and yes I am!" The girl bowed. "Agent 57, at your service! I'm the second-in-command here at Odd Squad Precinct 13579!" "Agent...57?" "Mandy. Just call me Mandy." "Ah." Starlight extended her hoof. "Well, my name's Starlight Glimmer. It's a pleasure to meet you! Twilight's told me a lot about you." "Oh, she has, has she?" Mandy smirked. "If I'm as famous in Equestria as I am here, I should really go visit sooner rather than later!" Starlight's eyes widened. "Uh, m-maybe that's not such a good idea..." Not wanting to linger on the point any longer, she shook her head. "Anyway, if you're the second-in-command, then who's the leader?" "Ms. O!" Mandy chirped. "I call her by her first name, but she gets a liiiiiittle touchy about sharing it with people and ponies who aren't me, or Momma, or Otto, or Oscar, or-" "Why don't you take Starlight to her?" Twilight interjected. "After that, you can join us for a tour." Mandy gasped and began bouncing up and down. "Are you kidding?! I'd love to give her a tour! C'mon, Starlight, let's go!" As the hybrid bounced away, Starlight glanced at her mentor. "Is she always like this?" "Oh yes. Yes she is." Twilight gave an exasperated sigh. "You get used to it. Now go, before you get lost!" Rolling her eyes, an amused Starlight trotted towards the stairs that Mandy had ascended, hoping to get up to the second floor where she was standing before she pulled her there by force. Oh yeah, there's no doubt about it. If this isn't some weird clone of Pinkie Pie, then she has to be related to her at the very least, she thought, a smile on her face as she gave a friendly wave to the hybrid upon setting hoof on the top step. Unbeknownst to her, however, a particular agent was watching her with excitement, although she remained hidden, wanting to finish her welcome basket before introducing herself properly. With that, she ducked behind the hallway again and raced off to some unknown destination. "So this is an organization where you fight oddness?" Starlight asked. "Co-rrect!" Mandy nodded. "Hydraclops, Jamie Jam, that dog on Cherry Street that keeps sounding like the most annoying cicada in the world...we deal with 'em all!" "Huh. And it accepts both humans and ponies?" Mandy had to take a moment to sit on that question, because she genuinely wasn't sure what Oprah's stance was on ponies joining her precinct. She knew other precincts had long since accepted ponies into their ranks, but for all of her high power, she wasn't sure of Precinct 13579's policies. So, she decided to go with the policy she thought of. "W-well, the organization does, but as for this precinct...only humans for now. Twilight and the others are exceptions. Although other precincts have started to hire ponies in all sorts of departments." Her face lit up, and she gasped as she thrust her face into Starlight's. "Are you thinking of joining?!" "Well, uh..." Starlight blinked. "I'm not sure, to be honest. This world is still very new to me, a-and I don't know a thing about Odd Squad except from what Twilight and the others have told me. Maybe if I see this place first...?" "Ah. Good point." Mandy turned away from Starlight to peer inside of Oprah's office, where the head honcho, along with Olive and Otto, seemed to be having a meeting. Or, well, what Mandy had to assume was a meeting, going by the serious expressions on everyone's faces. She scoffed. "Of course she's having a meeting! She never stops having meetings!" As the hybrid groaned, Starlight looked inside. "Which one's Ms. O?" "The one on the right couch." "So who are the two kids on the left?" "Momma and Otto! Momma-" Mandy stopped and then shook her head, realizing that Starlight had no idea who "Momma" was. "Olive is my adoptive mom and co-runs the Mississauga precinct along with Otto. They've been partners for..." Her brow furrowed. "Weeeeeell, I wanna say forever!" Starlight broke her gaze away to stare at Mandy. If she was adopted and had what looked to be a normal human girl as a mother, the unicorn supposed that killed quite a few notions about her being related to Pinkie, since Pinkie wasn't adopted. However, it didn't put the theory completely to rest. With that thought put aside for now, Starlight went back to staring at the trio of normal humans. None of them boasted the same features Mandy did -- no wings, no horn, and no tail, although Ms. O did have a pair of wing flaps she was showing off that Starlight deduced were a part of the suit she wore. Curiosity dug its talons deep into her. "You're adopted?" "Yep." Mandy's eyes grew slightly misty. "I don't have any memory of my actual parents. I was rescued by Momma when a pienado -- that's a tornado made of pies -- was released by her old partner, Odd Todd. Since then, she's raised me into...uh...well, me!" Starlight spit out the first thought that came into her head. "She looks so young." "Aaaaaaaand that's another coin into the Young Adoptive Mother jar!" From out of nowhere, Mandy grabbed a large jar that was nearly a quarter of the way filled with coins. She reached into her hair, pulled out a Jackalope Nickel, and dropped it into the slat on the cap, grinning as it made a clink sound. Having gotten used to these kinds of antics from Pinkie Pie, Starlight gave an amused smile. "Well, if they're having a meeting, I won't interrupt 'em. We'll meet 'em later." Mandy tucked the jar away behind her back and hopped onto the stair railing. "C'mon, let's go meet Twilight and get on with that tour!" As Starlight watched her slide down, she heard a high-pitched squeal, and then the sound of laughter, come bursting forth. She didn't need to try and figure out who it came from. She had to admit, she was becoming rather enamored with Mandy and her antics -- not that she had any doubts, since it was almost like she was a human Pinkie Pie. Maybe she would join Odd Squad after all, just to see if she was able to work with Mandy. Quickly, she trotted downstairs, in an effort to keep up with the pony-human hybrid and also out of eagerness to begin the tour of the precinct. Inside Oprah's office, the sight of something purple moving in the Director's peripheral vision snapped her attention away from a lengthy discussion about gigantic creatures and the most effective strategies in defeating them. "What's up?" Otto asked, looking in the same direction but finding nothing there. "Mandy just went downstairs with a pony I've never seen." Oprah explained, her tone cautious as she rose from her seat. "Really?" Olive's turn to look, now. "Did she say she was inviting a guest over?" "Not that I'm aware of. You two stay here, I'll be right back." As Mandy was laughing at a joke Twilight had given, the sound of her name, as well as the sight of someone descending the stairs, brought her attention to what turned out to be Oprah. "You brought a guest here?" the Director asked as she approached the group. "I did, Ms. O." Twilight stepped up and gestured to her protege. "This is Starlight Glimmer. She's a student of mine who resides in Ponyville." "Hi! Nice to meet you." Starlight waved. "I take it you're the leader of this place?" "That I am. It's nice to meet you too, Starlight. You're free to call me by Oprah, if you wish." Starlight took a few moments to take in the appearance of Ms. O- er, Oprah -- the former of which, apparently, was merely a title and not an actual name. By all accounts, she looked completely human, and on top of that, she was far more sane than Mandy. She also looked powerful in a way that Starlight couldn't really describe. "I'll admit, I thought you'd be a little older." she said, hoping she didn't somehow offend her. "Oh, she's old. She's-" Mandy was cut off by an arm wrapping around her neck, followed by her upper body keeling forward and then suddenly straightening up again until her feet were lifted off of the ground. She coughed and hacked as she struggled to get out of the headlock that she knew her boss had put her in. "Not. Another. Word." was the only warning the pint-sized girl gave, ignoring Mandy's cries for help. She locked eyes with Starlight, who watched the act with worry but made no effort to intervene out of fear of retaliation. Mandy was taller than Oprah, although not by much, and if she could put Mandy in a chokehold as fierce as that, who knew what she would do to Starlight, even if the unicorn had a wide repertoire of magic on her side. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Oprah set Mandy down, causing the hybrid to lean over and begin giving coughs that Starlight couldn't believe came from a pair of lungs that were neither equine nor human. "Are you okay?" "I'm..." A cough. "Fine. Oprah...she does stuff like this...all the time. Don't worry." Twilight, meanwhile, moved on. "I've mentioned Odd Squad to Starlight many times, and she wanted to have a look for herself. We were just about to take a tour." Oprah raised an eyebrow at Starlight. "You're not thinking of joining, are you?" "I'm not quite sure. I want to have a look around the place and learn more about it, as well as the denizens of this world, before I decide for myself." A relieved expression crossed Oprah's face for just a moment. "All right. In that case, go ahead. Mandy, you can help." The hybrid straightened up and did a salute. "Yessirree!" "Are Olive and Otto coming down as well?" Starlight's question made Oprah pause for a moment, as she wondered how the unicorn knew of their existences. But she supposed Twilight told her, or Mandy. "I heard my name!" a voice called from inside of her office. "Otto, get out of the juice bar!" "But my lucky marble rolled down there!" "You got yourself stuck last time, so get out of there because I'm not pulling you out again if you get stuck!" Oprah sighed. "I'll take that as a no. I'm sure Mandy and Twilight will introduce you to them later, though." "Sounds good." "All right." Twilight turned towards the right-side hallway. "Mandy, lead the way!" "Whoo! Tour guide Mandy, baby, at your service! Let's go!" Oprah watched the trio head off, breathing a sigh of relief in regards to Starlight not joining. She had her own reasons as to why she was relieved rather than disappointed, and she certainly wasn't too keen on sharing them with much of anyone, instead bottling them up inside of her. "Oprah! Otto got stuck under the juice bar again!" The Director bit back a groan. "I'm coming, Olive!" she called, as she ascended the steps to her office once more and prepared to get to work on pulling out one of the more taller agents she knew from what she had to assume were a couple of bar stools...again. That would make it the fifth time, she supposed. "Sooooo...first off, we have the Lab! That's where gadgets are made." Starlight eyed the place curiously. Humans clad in lab coats and navy suspenders roamed about, some working on white-and-blue machinery that she had to assume were gadgets and others just standing around and talking. "What are gadgets, exactly?" "They're kinda like tools we use to solve cases. Also, they make amazing-tastic weapons!" A soft hum emanated from Starlight. "They don't really look durable." "Eh, most aren't. Oona, the Lab Director here? She breaks about ten a day. Maybe even more than that, but she hasn't broken the record yet!" Upon hearing yet another title, Starlight came to a logical conclusion. "Does she run the Lab?" "Yep!" Mandy gazed around the area before frowning. "She's not here right now, though...ah well, c'mon!" The hybrid led Starlight and Twilight to one of the hallways, with its massive amount of doors that contained everything from the surface of a pool table complete with set-up billiard balls to a giant tissue box. "So as you can see, we have many different rooms!" Mandy zoomed over to a blue-and-yellow door that contained a circular food item that looked to be glazed. "Here we have the Donut Room slash Bagel Room slash Potato Room. It changes every so often." She zipped towards a red, almost vault-like door. "We have a Storage Room, here..." And then, she went over to a room marked with a white comforter and a few pillows. "And here's the Bedroom!' Starlight blinked. "Whose is it?" "Twilight and the others'. Used to be mine, but I got my own room down there." Starlight followed the pointed index finger down the hall, and was surprised to find a door that seemed slathered in colors. She had a sneaking suspicion that door led to Mandy's room, going by the wild patterns on it and the fact that Mandy seemed to be the type of person who would throw paint on a surface and call it art. Mandy grabbed ahold of the Bedroom's door handle and flung it open. "Et voila!" Starlight looked inside, but didn't really find much of anything of interest -- it looked like the bedroom she had at the Castle of Friendship, which in itself was by no means impressive. "You sleep here?" "And live here." "And work here." Twilight added. "Wow." Starlight chuckled. "No offense, Twilight, but this place is a lot more impressive than the Castle of Friendship. And a lot bigger." "It is. A lot of Odd Squad precincts are like this, as a matter of fact. Some even have rooms that change every hour or so!" "Does this precinct do that?" "Not necessarily. They change, but not every hour. I haven't exactly figured out how they change or when, exactly." Twilight explained. "But the rooms here are different from other precincts! Or, uh, so I've read." Mandy suddenly perked up and snapped her fingers. "Oh! Starlight, I never told you about the departments we have here!" She giggled and snorted. "Ah, silly me. It's one of the most essential things for agents to learn!" Starlight didn't bother to tell her that she wasn't an agent, which was largely due to Mandy rushing them off towards...well, she wasn't sure, really. She just let the hybrid take her wherever. "So I'm an Investigation agent, and so is Twilight. We are the..." Mandy faltered, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to find the right wording for her explanation. She blew a raspberry at one point, perhaps her own way of helping her think, even if it was odd. "We make up the bulk of the organization?" "Yes, exactly!" Mandy pointed at Twilight. "We solve cases and get things done around here, mostly. We also have partners! Almost every one of us has at least one." "Oh, right!" Starlight nodded. "You said your partner was Rainbow Dash, right, Twilight?" "Yes. And Mandy has Pinkie Pie." It was the perfect segue for the unicorn into the question she wanted answered the most. "You two wouldn't happen to be related, would you?" Mandy took a moment. "I...ah..." She began patting the air behind her, clearly attempting to score a seat but not grabbing onto anything. "W-well, Starlight, that's...prolly the first time someone's asked me if we're related..." Starlight tilted her head slightly, still expecting an answer. "Yes, we're related." Twilight's eyes began bugging out so much that Starlight and Mandy could have sworn they saw them bulging from the sockets. Starlight, however, only gave one simple word as a response: "Really?" "No we're not related! What're you, crazy?!" Mandy yelled. "I'm biologically a human, Glimmer. In what crazy universe would a human and a pony do the thing in the place involving the stuff and then have a baby?!" Now Twilight blanched. It was clear that no adult had had The Talk with Mandy, and the alicorn really hoped it stayed that way for as long as possible -- and even then, if Mandy was still the same, chances were she would probably take "the birds and the bees" literally. "You, uh...make a good point. Sorry I asked." Starlight gave an apologetic smile. "So why does your mane- er, your hair and your tail look like hers, then, just colored brown instead of pink?" Mandy let out a long, slow whistle. "That's a looooooong story. But to be honest, no one knows. I don't even know!" She gave a shrug. "I kinda like it, though. Used to be a nuisance but I've gotten used to it." As she made her way down the hall, she smiled. "Okay-dokay, anyway, let's go to the Creature Room and I'll show you the next department!" The trio emerged in the bullpen and promptly went up the stairs, Starlight gazing at all the agents and clients with oddities that passed through. It fascinated her, in a way -- Equestria had its own share of oddities, but nothing like this as far as she knew. Mandy threw open the Creature Room door and pointed at a curly-haired dark-skinned boy sitting at a large computer. "That is Ocean!" Upon hearing his name, the boy turned around, and Starlight got a good look at him. Perhaps the most striking thing about him was his lack of socks or shoes, exposing something that definitely wasn't a hoof. A "foot", she had heard Twilight call it once. His exposed undershirt and necklace lined with small shells were easy tellers that he was just a bit eccentric. Not as much as Mandy, but eccentric enough. Surprisingly, though, "eccentric" wasn't the right word to describe him. "Hey there, hybrid dude and bookworm dude!" he greeted, in a low and just slightly slurred voice that reminded Starlight of one of Rainbow Dash's crewmates. Soarin', she thought his name was. "Who's your guest?" "Starlight Glimmer. I'm from Equestria!" Starlight responded. "Nice to meet you, Ocean." "Cool, another pony! Is she joinin' us?" "No, she's just having a look around." Mandy looked around the room. "Is Fluttershy here?" "She's juuuuust finishin' up with some creature-feeding." "All righty! So." Mandy interjected. "Ocean and Fluttershy are both part of the Creature Care department! They run the Creature Room here and care for all the odd creatures that call this Headquarters their home." "What kind of odd creatures?" Starlight asked warily, looking around to make sure nothing was going to jump at her and devour her down to the last hair on her tail. "Oh, if I gave you a list, we'd be here for..." Mandy did some quick math in her head. "About five years, give or take. We have a lot." She rolled her hand around as she listed off some of the more common creatures. "Centigurps, Hopinbobs, blobs of both the baby and adult kind, we've got a whole variety!" The first two sounded like creatures that Starlight would probably see in Equestria. The last one sounded like what Twilight would call a failed experiment. No, wait, scratch that, she had called one of her failed experiments a blob before, because that's exactly what it was. Starlight still had nightmares about it sometimes, and upon recalling one of them, her body began to shudder, only stopping when it felt something rough and furry rub up against it. Looking down, she saw a creature that was mostly fur and a face. "Who's this little guy?" "That's Paul. He's a Lestybara. Super cuddly and small, but they bite. And their teeth are filled with poison." Starlight immediately scooched back, giving a startled "Whoa!" as she did so. Mandy lifted the creature up in her magical corona. "Maybe you should put it in a cage? Y'know, if it bites and stuff." Fluttershy then emerged from the far left corner of the room, which was obscured by bushes. "Hello, everyone." She waved, then her eyes widened upon seeing Starlight. "Oh, Starlight! I wasn't expecting you here!" "Hi, Fluttershy! Twilight brought me here for a tour of Odd Squad. I'm learning so much about this place and this world!" "I'm glad you like it." Fluttershy gestured with her hoof to her co-worker. "You've met Ocean already, right?" Starlight nodded. "How do you manage working here and helping all the animals at your cottage?" "It's tough, but I make it work." Starlight waited for her friend to elaborate. However, the Pegasus remained tight-lipped, leading the unicorn to give a soft sigh and a smile. "It really does seem like there's something for everypony here." "There is! We're all one big happy family! This is the place where long-lasting friendships are made..." Mandy got into a showy pose again, just before she broke out into song. "...and dreams, coooome, truuuuuuuuue! Ha-cha-chaaaaa!" At this display of true eccentricity, Starlight had herself a hearty laugh. "If you ever do decide to join, Starlight, then I'm sure this precinct would love to have you." "Well, I haven't seen the rest of this place!" Starlight turned and made a sweeping gesture with her hoof. "Surely there can't just be Investigation and Creature Care for departments, right?" "Oh! Yeah!" Mandy bounced towards the door. "C'mon, I'll show you some more!" Twilight waved. "Bye, Ocean! Bye, Fluttershy." "Catch you all later!" "Goodbye!" Mandy, along with Twilight, eagerly took the time to show Starlight the other departments Odd Squad had to offer. She showed her the Scientists (again), the North and South Control Rooms and the Security agents that worked there (complete with Owen shouting that he was going on break and Mandy telling Starlight that "you get used to it"), and the tube operators and Maintenance agents that made up the combined Maintenance/Transportation department as well as the tube lobby where the agents of the former group worked -- and that was before getting into the thirteen other departments that were fresh in the minds of both alicorns. By the time the tour was over, Starlight's hooves were sore, as she couldn't afford to take a break with Mandy zipping around to and fro. Even Twilight encouraged her to keep going, much to her chagrin. "So...that's it?" "That's it! The end of the tour! They teach all this stuff in-depth at the Odd Squad Academy." The trio stood in the bullpen, now. Starlight's gaze moved to Twilight for confirmation. "Uh, but there are still more positions. Over sixty in total, from my research, although I've been told there might be a lot more." Twilight sheepishly grinned. "Just...wanted to clarify." Starlight's eyes widened. "Sounds like agents here have a lot of options." she remarked. "I'm curious about The Big Office, though. Do you think I could meet the Big O in-pony? Er, I mean, in...person?" The saying sounded foreign on her tongue. "I could try! She's busy with a lot of stuff, but even if she is, I could always show you around the Big Office!" Mandy said. "Are you coming back tomorrow?" "Sure! I'd love to come tomorrow." "Great!" Mandy grinned. "Maybe we can meet outside of the portal at..." She swiveled her ears in thought. "Mmm, 2PM?" "Sounds good!" "Hey, Starlight..." Twilight sidled up to her apprentice. "I know you must be tired, but once we get a good rest, how about I take you on a tour of Toronto? You've seen Odd Squad, so it's only fair you see the world aboveground." The alicorn was right in that Starlight was tired. But regardless of her fatigue, sparkles formed in her eyes as she realized what her mentor was offering. "Yes! I've always wanted to see Toronto!" she said, recalling the many stories Twilight and the others had told her about life in the big city. "Can we go see the sights too?" "Sure!" Twilight began trotting towards the steel double-doors. "Let's go. We'll grab a bite to eat first, then be on our way." Like an excited schoolfilly, Starlight began to follow her, only stopping to ask Mandy if she wanted to come with. "No thanks! I have work to do here. And a nap to catch up on." "All right. See you tomorrow, then!" As Mandy waved goodbye to the disappearing unicorn, a smile danced on her face. "Mm...I like her." "Boo." A frightened "NYAAAAAAH!!" came out of Mandy as the hybrid leaped a foot or two into the air and scrambled backwards on her rump, her hair and tail sticking straight up. "M-Momma!" She growled. "Don't scare me like that!" Olive laughed. "Sorry! I've been watching you in the bullpen for a while. That unicorn was Starlight Glimmer, right?" "Yes!" Mandy blinked. "Uh, how'd ya know?" In response, Olive simply gave a knowing smile and raised an eyebrow. "Ohhhhh...right. Oprah must've told you. Haha..." A soft blush crept onto Mandy's cheeks for a moment. "She's a super-nice pony. I think you'd like her!" "I'm sure. It would be nice to have another pony join Precinct 13579, but..." Olive trailed off. Her head ducked down low, and she rubbed her arm awkwardly as though hiding something. A pause hung in the air. "But what?" Mandy pressed, to no avail as the silence still lingered. Finally, Olive murmured, "It's nothing." Her mother's concern didn't sneak by Mandy any. "You have ponies working at your precinct, don't you?" "We have a few, but we're planning on getting more soon. The Big O insisted we up our DEI rates." "DEI?" "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion." Olive explained. "You've seen ponies at my precinct, haven't you?" Mandy's nose wrinkled as she tried to recall. As far as she knew, there were no equine agents working at the precinct, but perhaps they were tucked away in areas she didn't go to. "Not...really. Maybe I passed one and didn't know it?" She gave a shrug. "Anyway, it's back to work for me! Gotta do some stuff before I take a nap." "Oh, hey, before you do that, you mind helping us with something?" Mandy's eyes went half-lidded. "You couldn't get Otto out from under Oprah's juice bar?" Olive's eyes, on the contrary, blinked in surprise. "Yes. That's exactly it." "One second." With confidence, Mandy strolled past her mother and went up the stairs into Oprah's office, where she was immediately met by a happy gasp from Otto, who had both of his legs weaved through two bar stools and was stuck to the floor by some spilled juice that hadn't been cleaned up. "Mandy! Oh thank odd, please, help me!" Oprah, who had a few stray hairs sticking out of the tight bun she usually wore, gazed at Mandy with exasperation. "He's so stuck, I can't-" "Shhh. Shh shh shh. Watch and learn." was all Mandy said, ignoring the footsteps that signaled Olive's arrival to the office and getting right to work. The hybrid's horn glowed in an array of colors, its corona latching on to Otto's entire body. The boy didn't dare move, instead staring at Mandy with worry as her magic began grasping the two bar stools he had gotten stuck in. His lower limbs were moved and stretched every which way, but in ways that wouldn't cause him immense pain. When moving his body didn't work, Mandy moved on to the bar stools, eyeing the rims below for a specific pattern she could use to her advantage. And when that didn't work, she let out a groan, let go of the bar stools so that she was just taking hold of Otto's body, and made him disappear and appear in two bright prismatic flashes of light. The Director landed, groaning in pain but able to freely move his legs now. "Sorry! You okay?" "Fine...save for my butt." Otto responded, shooting daggers at Mandy. "Ah, you're good then." Oprah and Olive, who had watched the efforts in awe, stared at Mandy for a few moments before the former gave a growl. "Why didn't anyone suggest we ask Mandy from the get-go?!" she screamed at the powers-that-be above. "Maybe because she was busy giving a tour to Starlight?" Olive offered with a raised eyebrow. Oprah snapped out of her angry stupor. "Oh yeah." As Otto got to his feet and brushed his pants free of dirt, he gave Mandy a smile. "Thanks, Mandy. I owe you one!" "No problem! But in the future, let someone just a liiiiiittle less tall go under the juice bar." She tilted her head. "Why were you under there, anyway?" "I was trying to find my lucky marble. I've had it ever since I was a little kid and I lost it somewhere under there." Mandy didn't waste any time in rushing over, getting a running start and sliding on her stomach like a penguin on ice while knocking over a few stools in the process. Her head bonked the bottom of the bar, but she quickly swiveled it to the right as she thrust her hand under the bottom and began feeling around. After a minute, she came to the conclusion that feeling with her hand wasn't going to work. She had to go deeper. By sheer way of "Mandy just being Mandy", the hybrid, treating the bottom piece of wood as nothing more but a giant flap, stuck her head under it. The rest of her body followed suit, snaking under the juice bar until it completely disappeared from view. The three Directors were silent for a few moments. "Did...did she..." Oprah slowly raised an index finger and pointed at the juice bar. "How...she's..." "Oprah. General rule of thumb in Odd Squad is that we never, under any circumstances, question any agent's logic or actions. Especially not Mandy's." Olive raised her own index finger. "That's how brain hemorrhages start." Oprah simply stammered as she watched the juice boxes and fruity ice cubes on the top of the bar shimmy and shake. A muffled sneeze came forth from under the bar. A small, carelessly-placed glass toppled onto the floor and developed a crack. "Eww...Oprah, ya ever hear of a broom?! There's waaaaaaaay too much dust in here!" Oprah, in response, grit her teeth and took a big inhale through her nose. Her supposedly calm composure didn't even last five seconds before a wail that sounded like one from a dying odd creature came forth and she buried her face in her hands. After a few minutes, Mandy's rump poked out from the bottom, then the upper half of her body. As she got up and brushed the dust and dirt off of her, Otto approached her eagerly. "Did you find it?" What he got as an answer was Mandy lurching forwards, her cheeks bulging as she held a hand to her mouth. Oprah's eyes widened. "Is she..." "She's gonna vomit!" Olive began lunging for Mandy. "Mandy, no! Not on the floor!" A saliva-covered marble was spat out, clattering to the floor and rolling until it came to a dead stop against a foot of the wooden coffee table. Olive, Otto and Oprah all stared at the marble with looks of surprise, disgust, and concern, and then looked at Mandy the exact same way. "Oh, so much better." Mandy gave a ragged exhale. "Sorry about that. It was the first thing I thought of when it came to how I was gonna get the thing out of there." A pause. "Also, you're welcome." "Yeah, thanks." Otto said, taking out a clean latex glove from hammerspace, putting it on his hand, and picking up the marble with it. "But next time, can you get it without putting your gross spit on it?" "I said I was sorry!" Mandy scoffed. "Bunch of ungrateful kiddos...just gimme the marble." Before Otto could protest, the marble was wrenched free from his hand, and then disappeared in a bright prismatic flash that also took Mandy with it. "You, uh..." Olive blinked, snapping out of her traumatic trance and shaking her head. "You should really get a pouch for that marble, partner. Or at least keep it at home." Otto sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Odd Squad isn't a place that really relies on luck, anyway." He tilted his head. "Are you okay, though? You were staring off into space for a little bit." "I...yeah. I was just recalling the last time Mandy had...thrown up." Olive shuddered. "My bathroom took weeks to actually get fully cleaned. I'm seriously considering getting it renovated now." "Yikes." Otto bit his lip, wanting to throw in an addendum but being stopped by a bright flash of rainbow-colored light. "All right. I've cleaned your marble with disinfectant, put it through the wringer with Shmumber Keeper's Friend, and I washed it with just a pinch of bleach!" Mandy frowned. "Odenbacker wouldn't let me use the whole bottle...not after he told me about the fumes." Otto took his sparkling-clean marble back. "Thank you, Mandy. You're the best." "All right, all right, let's not go that far." Mandy put her hand on his shoulder. "But you're welcome." She turned and began making her way towards the doors. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a ton of work to do if I wanna meet up with Starlight tomorrow. Toodles!" Otto watched Mandy take off. Olive's attention, on the other hand, was elsewhere. "Something wrong, Oprah?" "Starlight's not really thinking of joining Odd Squad...is she?" The words were nearly a murmur, punctuated by Oprah staring dead ahead with a worried expression on her face. "Well, she did say she wasn't sure, right?" Olive assured. "Besides, if she did join, the chances are really slim that she would go to this precinct upon graduating." Oprah crossed her arms, and her expression changed from worry to annoyance. "It's not like I would take her in anyway." "Why not? You have Twilight and the others." She wasn't sure what about Otto made her want to metaphorically spill the beans -- his persuasiveness, his innocence, him calling her out on hypocrisy -- but she did so anyway. "Because..." She clenched her fists. "Because I'm not ready for such a big change." With the secret out, the Director sighed and made her way over to one of the couches, taking a seat and bowing her head down with her lower arms resting on her knees and her hands clasped together. "The Big O said that this is one of the few precincts that hasn't allowed ponies in." Olive frowned. "Sooner or later, you may be leader of the only one." That stung. No...it cut. It cut deep. Thoughts flooded Oprah's mind, of her precinct being shamed for not letting ponies in, of ponies staging protests and waging war against the precinct for not being allowed in, of the Big O removing her as lea- It was too much to bear. "Look, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" The voice was almost a snap, but the glare in her eyes told Olive and Otto all that they needed to know. She stared at them with harsh, angry fire in her eyes, almost daring them to press her further. "Starlight's not joining this precinct and that's final." Olive took the hint at face value. "If that's what you want." Otto, as well. "It's your precinct." The partners moved towards Oprah's personal tube entrance, watching as the wooden double-doors opened and exposed the tube. Olive got in first, turning around and hunching down. "We'll see you later, okay?" She went up the tube, followed by Otto quickly after. That just left Oprah alone with her thoughts. She rubbed her head, a sigh escaping her as she meandered over to her desk and knocked on one of the wooden walls that sat beside her screen. It flipped vertically to reveal a four-by-four row of juice boxes, and she snagged one at random, jabbing the attached straw into the top and taking a mighty swig out of it. But not even her "alcohol" -- air quotes intended -- could ease her worries about those colorful Equestrian equines joining her cherished, sturdy, and strong-willed precinct, and so, she sat in her chair at her desk for a long, long time, deep in thought and barring any agent from coming to see her until she had snapped back to reality. After the tour of Toronto had concluded, Twilight had let Starlight go free to poke around Precinct 13579's Headquarters by herself. Although Starlight had concerns she would get lost, Twilight had assured her that if she did, an agent would show her the way back to the bullpen. Headquarters was huge, but it was lucky that there were denizens willing to help a lost soul (or more) out. So it was now that Starlight was wandering the halls, eyeing the rooms and trying to decide which one looked safe to explore. She figured, if she was going to join Odd Squad, then she should at least get to know all the rooms that resided within it. Any danger she faced...well, she had magic to fight it easily, no matter how odd it was. As she trotted through the halls, a figure made itself known, stepping through a corner. "Hi!" Starlight stopped and gazed at the newcomer. With her red hair, red glasses, beaming smile, and Investigation suit, she certainly looked friendly. Although the large basket she held in her hands, which was brimming with everything from crackers to little trinkets, seemed just a tad suspect. "You're a new face around here, aren't you?" the girl chirped. "My name's Olympia. What's yours?" Starlight had to briefly wonder if she really was an actual clone of Pinkie Pie this time around. At the very least, she had the enthusiasm and similarly-colored hair...and the tendency to give gift baskets to newcomers like Pinkie often did. But she pushed that thought to the side for now. "Starlight Glimmer." she answered. "It's nice to meet you, Olympia! You, uh...work here?" "Sure do! I love it here!" Olympia said. "Where'd you come from?" "Ponyville. It's in Equestria." "Cool! But I mean more like your hometown. Where do you live?" Starlight blinked. "Um...Ponyville?" She gave a sheepish grin. "But I used to live in a place called Sire's Hollow with a good friend of mine named Sunburst. When he got his cutie mark, though, he left for Canterlot and I was left without any friends. So when I grew up, I left Sire’s Hollow and founded a new town called Our Town, where I...uh…" "Where you what?" Starlight bit her lip and rubbed her leg awkwardly. "Kind of sort of stole the cutie marks of everypony in the village and made everypony think they were all equal to one another, with no special talents to speak of." The look on Olympia's face was hard to pin down to a single emotion. But perhaps the best way Starlight could describe it was simply "disappointment". Her turned-over mouth showed two rows of straight teeth, and her eyes showed just a tiny hint of malice. "So you were...a villain?" Starlight, who wasn't sure why Olympia's mood had changed so suddenly, gave a regretful nod. "More or less, yeah. But Twilight helped me realize the error of my ways. I owe a lot to her, and to her friends." This didn't sway Olympia any. "Oh. I see." she said, her tone utterly disheartened. "I'll let you go now. See you later, I guess." "Wait! What about the-" Olympia had disappeared before Starlight could inquire about what she was holding in her hands. "...basket?" The unicorn blinked, taking a moment to figure out what, exactly, had just transpired. Not coming to any kind of conclusions, she gave a shrug, brushed it off as "just Odd Squad things", and continued her journey through the halls and into the rooms. Mandy stuck her tongue out halfway as she slowly and carefully applied the final stroke of paint to a gadget that had been badly singed. The singes had been scrubbed out, but the hybrid felt the gadget could use a new coat of paint too. "Mandy." "Hmm?" The hybrid turned to meet the upset face of Olympia, who was very clearly invading her personal space. "Oh, Olympia! Hi! Whatcha dooooooin'?" Olympia wasted no time. "Are you aware that there's a villain in Headquarters?" "What?!" Mandy shot up from her chair and let her head swivel all around. "Where?! I'll beat 'em up! Where are they?" She grabbed Olympia by the shoulders. "Tell me where they are! Who they are! Are they are they are!" "Some pony named Starlight Glimmer. She said that she stole the cutie marks of every pony in some village called 'Our Town' and pushed a philosophy of equality on them." Olympia scoffed in disgust. "Can you imagine anything more vile?" Mandy's eyes widened briefly, although the reaction didn't last very long as she began to weigh the possibility of Olympia outright lying to her face. Starlight seemed like a nice pony who didn't have a mean bone in her body. ...No, wait, scratch that. She suddenly recalled a story of Twilight and the others going to some remote village and stopping its unicorn leader without any warning to her or to Oprah. She just didn't think this was the unicorn they had been sent to stop. Still, a unicorn who stole cutie marks didn't seem all that powerful. "Yes. King Ashero and everything he's done, for starters." the hybrid deadpanned, as she offered up an example of a villain who could easily outclass Starlight. It took a special kind of malice to send innocent people to do your bidding and capture two other innocent people because you were too lazy to do it yourself, and even moreso when you sent out one of your people to find said two innocent people under the guise of going out on a mission. "Who?" Olympia paused for a moment, then shook her head and set aside the point. "Anyway, we need to get rid of her! She's a threat to Odd Squad!" "Yeah!" Mandy looked to be geared up for battle, right before she backtracked. "Wait, no." She blinked. "When I met her, she seemed like a kind pony! She wasn't sure whether she wanted to join, but she-" Olympia recoiled. "You are not going to allow her to join! You wouldn't!" "W-well, she hasn't decided yet...and I haven't talked about it with Oprah." "Then let's go up to her office and see what she has to say. Right now!" Mandy's gaze shifted to her desk, and then shifted back to Olympia. "R-right now?" She scratched her neck. "Olympia, I'm really busy and-" "No buts, no cuts, and no coconuts!" "Um, isn't that Oprah's li-" Mandy was stopped by Olympia's hand being slapped onto her wrist. The hybrid stared at the hand for a few moments before she felt her body go flying clear out of the chair and head towards the stairs with its dragger in tow. "WhoaOlympiaslowdown! Slow doooooown!" came the frantic scream. However, Olympia did not slow down, and burst her way into Oprah's office where the Director was sipping a juice box. "Ms. O, do you have a moment to talk?" Oprah stopped, set the juice box down, and eyed the pair of agents that had come into her office. Her gaze settled on Mandy, who was wheezing and panting in futile efforts to try and regain her breath. Clearly, this was a matter of great importance, and the Director was committed to giving it her full attention. "What is it, Olympia?" "You should know that Starlight Glimmer, a villain, is loose in Headquarters." That made Oprah's eyes widen slightly. She hadn't really gotten to know the mare outside of basic introductions, but for all intents and purposes, she seemed decent enough. "Starlight Glimmer is a villain?" "Yes. By her own admission, she stole the cutie marks of a bunch of ponies in a village named 'Our Town' in order to push a mindset of equality." Olympia threw her hands into the air. "We need to get rid of her. Take her into Odd Squad custody, something!" "Hold on." Oprah held a hand up. "When I met Starlight, she seemed nice enough that I was willing to let her take a tour of Headquarters." She turned on the other being in the room. "Mandy, you were with her, weren't you? Does she seem villainous to you?" Mandy shook her head and groaned, still trying to get her bearings together. Luckily, she had enough of them together that she could reasonably answer her boss's question. "No...she doesn't. She's not sure if she wants to join Odd Squad, either." "Out of the question. I'm not allowing any more ponies into this precinct." The answer was quick, almost reflexive in nature. Olympia gave a satisfied smirk. "What? Why not?" Mandy gestured to outside of the office. "You have Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack here! A-and you accepted the Cutie Mark Crusaders in without hesitation!" She neglected to mention that Oprah had let them in due to her nostalgic blindness, but she figured she would bring up the point regardless, if only for the hypocrisy. "It's a personal matter I don't wish to discuss." "Ha!" Olympia pointed. "See, Mandy? Even Ms. O agrees that we shouldn't let her into Odd Squad! She's dangerous!" Oprah's brow furrowed. "I never cited her being dangerous as the reason why, Olympia." Olympia simply gave a scoff. "Anyway, I refuse to be friends with someone who's a potential villain. Once a villain, always a villain." And there it was. That long-standing mentality of Olympia's that she refused to let go. Unbeknownst to her, as well as Mandy, her partner was primed to challenge that mentality and prove evidence of the contrary, but certainly not ready, as he didn't like talking about his harsh and twisted past. Still, one thing both Mandy and Oprah could agree on was that the mentality was completely flawed -- for both Odd Squad villains and Equestrian villains. And it had been proven time and time again. "I'll admit, our first interaction was brief." Oprah said, not wanting to butt heads with her agent over it. "But if she really was villainous, she likely would have tried to take Mandy or Twilight out first. And as far as I can see, Mandy is still standing. Twilight, as well." "And I'm very very busy with work!" Mandy complained. "I can assure you, Oprah, Starlight is very kind. She was very attentive on our tour! And she didn't try to harm anyone!" Olympia took a step forward. "If you won't run her out of Headquarters then I'll do it myself!" "Olympia!" Oprah narrowed her eyes slightly. "Starlight is a guest here. We should treat her like one, whether she has bad intentions or not." "No! Once a villain, always a villain!" A growl eked its way out of the Investigation agent. "I thought you were on my side!" "In this matter, I am on no one's side but my own." Oprah replied calmly. "Starlight can stay. Besides, if she does turn out to be a villain, then we can take her down." Another growl. Olympia's head whipped towards her co-worker. "Mandy, you better not agree with her!" Suddenly, Mandy was getting flashbacks to when Fluttershy confronted Oprah over the hybrid taking a vacation. It was sickening deja vu. "M-me? I...aww, I don't wanna get involved in this! I like Starlight!" she whined, before heaving a sigh. "Look, look, tell ya what. I'm hanging out with her tomorrow. I promised to let her tour the Big Office. So I can keep an eye on her then and find out her true intentions." Olympia took a moment to consider the plan, then jabbed an index finger at Mandy. "You'd better. I want to see what she's really up to. I may know a lot about Odd Squad, but I'm still learning about Equestria and its history." She gave a single nod. "I'm counting on you, Mandy." "Right! You have my word!" Mandy did a salute. "Just...don't keep harassing her, okay? 'Cause then she might not wanna reveal the truth!" Olympia had to admit, her higher-up spoke wisely. "Hmm. You make a good point. I guess I can watch from a distance." "Good!" "And as for you, Ms. O..." "Huh?" Olympia's expression soured. "You disappoint me. I really hope you reconsider your stance. I looked up to you." As the agent left, Oprah slumped down into her chair with a sigh, rubbing her forehead. "Oprah...I'm sorry. I didn't wanna get roped into this any more than you did." Mandy said. "But you and I both know how Olympia feels about villains." "Yes. It's unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do about it." Oprah put on a sad smile, full of pity. "We've already tried everything." "Not everything." "Huh?" "Olympia looooooves Momma and Otto, right? So maybe a couple words from them is just what she needs!" Oprah bit her lip. The idea was good in theory, but whether it was good in execution was something else entirely. "I don't know..." "Hey, it's worth a shot!" Mandy shrugged. "And it'll keep her at bay while I hang out with Starlight." Eccentric and crazy as she was, Oprah knew that Mandy came up with some good plans. She had her moments of idiocy, but outside of that, she was very crafty and quite the manipulator. If she wanted, she could become a villainess worthy of outranking even Odd Todd -- at least as far as Oprah considered. But luckily, she was on the heroes' side. "Well, in that case, all right. I'll give them a call." "Winner winner chicken dinner!" Mandy exclaimed, suddenly getting a thought as to what to make for dinner. "Tell 'em I'm meeting Starlight outside of the portal to Equestria at 2, so anytime before then, they can come!" "Will do." Oprah nodded. She made a mental note to tell Olive and Otto to come between 12 and 2, since she knew Mandy wasn't going to get up before noon for something like this, even if it was important. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a loooooot of work to do before my nap! Hopefully Olympia doesn't give me any more trouble...or anyone else for that matter." She began bouncing away. "Toodles!" With both agents gone now, Oprah could finally relax. She felt the tension seep off of her and was honestly surprised it didn't manifest as wisps of magic like the last time she had let herself relax somewhat. "Assistant! Get me a juice." she called, nabbing the box she hadn't finished and continuing to chug it even after an assistant placed a fresh fruit-punch-flavored one on her desk. All the while, the note of "Call Olive and Otto" kept ramming itself against the front of her brain, with her deciding that when she had calmed down enough, she would call them and explain to them the entire situation. The next day found Olive and Otto trudging through the hallways of Precinct 13579. "Why does Mandy always have to drag us into her business?" Olive complained. "She can't get Pinkie involved? Twilight? Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity? For odd's sake, not even Peaches?" "Hey, it's for a good reason!" Otto countered, trying to pick himself back up and fix his posture. "Olympia needs to drop her stupid philosophy. Villains can reform, they just...don't always reform." "True." Olive scratched an itch on her arm. "Odd Todd reformed, and now he works as a gardener who runs rehab places for villains on the path to reformation. There's no reason why Starlight can't do the same, if she's even evil at all. Olympia's just making a mountain out of a molehill." As the pair rounded the corner, they found Fluttershy exiting Mandy's room, a look of mild disappointment on her features. Quickly, they rushed up to the Pegasus before she could take off, hoping to gather some info on Starlight -- after all, Fluttershy was Starlight's friend, or so they presumed. "Hm?" Fluttershy turned and smiled. "Oh, hello Olive, hello Otto. What's going on?" Olive and Otto took a few moments to catch their breaths. The former, being the more athletic of the pair, spoke first. "Hey, Fluttershy. We're just here to see Mandy." "For what?" "Olympia thinks that Starlight Glimmer -- that pony who came with Twilight the other day? She thinks she's a villain." Fluttershy gasped. "Oh no, I can assure you, Starlight's no villain!" She shook her head. "At least, not now. She used to be, but we helped her learn how much better friendship is." "For our part, we don't think Starlight's a villain either. From what Oprah's told us, she seems nice." "But we haven't met her in-person." Otto blinked a couple times. "...In-pony?" Olive amusedly rolled her eyes. "Just go with 'in-person', partner." Fluttershy tilted her head. "So what do you need Mandy for?" "She thinks that we, as...Olympia's idols..." Olive ran a head through her hair, briefly wondering if Olympia's infatuation with her and Otto was just like Scootaloo's infatuation with Rainbow Dash. They both idolized prominent figures, so there was one comparison on the books. "...will be able to knock some sense into her by having a little chat." "I have noticed she talks a lot about you two." Fluttershy noted. "It just might work. But, um...Mandy's asleep still. I wanted to ask her a question about laser chickens, but I didn't want to wake her up." Otto gave a few nods. "Good call." Olive pulled back her jacket sleeve and undershirt sleeve to reveal her smartwatch. "It's already 1:00. Mandy's meeting Starlight in an hour, and she wanted us to come before then." Otto made his way towards the door and turned the knob. Sure enough, Mandy was absolutely nowhere near ready to meet a unicorn who was new to Earth. Clutching a pillow close to her body, raucous snores and silly sleep-talk left her as she tossed and turned in bed. Olive was quick to take charge, pushing past Otto and Fluttershy and heading straight for Mandy's bed. "Mandy? C'mon, wake up. Otto and I are here." A feeble whine left Mandy as she extended a hand hard enough to bop Olive in the face. "Mmmm...not that dog, I want th' other onnnnne..." "Oh come on, snap out of it!" Olive screamed, before she began pinching the bridge of her nose. "Honestly, I love you, Mandy, but your inability to wake up is infuriating sometimes..." "Can't we just wake her up with a stack of pancakes or something?" Otto asked, watching as Mandy's foot twitched violently for a few seconds as she let out another snore. "The last time we tried to wake her up with food, she ate the food in her sleep. And then the plate. And then the silverware. And the plate and silverware went out the same exact way it went in." Olive thrust her face into Otto's. "Do you really think that'll work?" Otto gently pushed his partner away. "Touche." A snort brought the trio's attention to Mandy, who pushed the pillow away and turned to face them. "Wh-huh...?" She squinted. "You th' zzhelter workerzz...?" "Yes. We're here to help you pick out your new dog." Olive deadpanned, before she gestured to herself and her partner. "It's us, Mandy. Olive and Otto? You wanted us to come here to help you with the whole Olympia issue?" Silence. Mandy stared at them with her eyes half-lidded. "One language...don't zzpeak it." Her right hand thrust towards her nightstand, where she grabbed her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink and chugged it. Once that was done, she set the glass down and faced the trio again. "Englizzh, pleazze...?" Olive sighed. "Yesterday, Oprah called us and said you had an idea to change Olympia’s philosophy and get her to like Starlight. You also told her that you wanted us to be here an hour before you were going to go hang out with Starlight and-" Mandy gasped. "That was today?! Aww pickleferries!" She furiously shook her head. "I completely forgot!" Suddenly, she paused, her eyes widening. "Wait...wait...ohhhhhh it's coming back to me! We were gonna visit the Big Office! I was gonna show her around!" All Olive could do was stare at her adopted daughter, unable to form coherent words as she simply stammered. Finally, a growl forced its way out of her as she screamed, "Are you kidding me?!" "Now I remember it all!" Mandy nodded. "Yeah, I thought that since she’s a biiiiig fan of yours, you could help her be a little more open and a lot more friendlier towards our guest!" "Sure! We're here to help however we can." Otto nudged Olive with his elbow. "Right, partner?" Olive rolled her eyes. "Right." she spat out noncommittally. "Yay!" Mandy clapped her hands together. "Okay, gimme five minutes and then we'll go get Olympia!" She hopped off of the bed, rudely shoved Olive, Otto and Fluttershy out of the way, and made a beeline for the Bathroom. With the hybrid gone, Olive could voice her concerns. "Otto, you really don't think this is going to work, do you?" "Ah, don't be such a killjoy, Olive. It's worth a shot." Otto smiled. "If Olympia won't listen to Oprah, she'll listen to us." Secretly, Olive had a feeling this plan wasn't going to work. She wasn't sure whether it was due to its logistics, Mandy being...well, Mandy, or the ages-old adage of "you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves". Still, she supposed giving it a shot was better than doing nothing and sit back and watch a human torment an innocent pony on the misguided basis that she was a villain. "I suppose." "And you're sure this won't blow up in my face?" "Honest-to-goodness! It's not an explosive surprise." A pause. "This time." The blindfolded Olympia bit back a groan as she was led through the halls by Mandy. She had no idea where she was going -- all she knew was that Mandy had sprung up behind her, quickly tied a blindfold around her eyes after the third attempt, and the rest was history. Mandy went ahead of her to open the door for her and led her inside, taking the blindfold off of her. "Okay, open them!" Olympia did. She was met with a room that was white, though it had indents jutting out from the wall so it wasn't some kind of creepy white void room. Sitting in two grey chairs were none other than the two Directors she idolized the most. "Olive and Otto?!" "Hi." "Long time no see!" Olympia's face suddenly lit up with excitement. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She glanced at Mandy. "Mandy, you didn't tell me you were bringing them here!" "'Cuz it was a surprise, silly!" "Are you guys free to hang out? We could get some lunch, take a nice stroll, catch up, oh, we could even go shopping if you guys are up to that, there are a ton of things on my list and I need-" "No." Olive interjected. "Actually, we came to talk to you." "About you and Starlight Glimmer." The smile on Olympia's face faltered. "Me and her?" She nervously gave a chuckle. "What about us?" "Oprah told us that you came to her yesterday and informed her that Starlight is a villain. You two butted heads, exchanged some words…and then you stormed out of her office." "And you got Mandy involved, too." Otto added. Olympia suddenly felt pressure begin to weigh on her. She bit her lip. "W-well...I..." "Look, we'll cut to the chase, Olympia. Starlight is not a villain." Olive's gaze shifted to her adopted daughter. "Mandy, you went on a tour with her yesterday. Did she do anything malicious? Anything that posed a giant red flag to you?" "Ha, Oprah asked me that same question yesterday!" Mandy had herself a giggle-snort at the coincidence, then shook her head. "Starlight was actually very nice. And super-curious!" "Sure, she may have stolen cutie marks in the past and wanted to spread a message of equality." Otto blinked. "But did you get the whole story?" Olympia hesitated for a moment. "The whole story?" "Whatever Starlight might have told you about what she did as a villain...maybe she was holding back some details." Otto gestured to his hip. "Besides, we humans don’t have cutie marks. She can’t do anything to us." "B-but just think, Otto! If she was powerful enough to steal the cutie marks of ponies, who knows what she could do to us Odd Squad agents! O-or even to the townspeople!" Olive, feeling another headache coming on, did her trademark "Olivepalm" -- pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers. "Stop this. You're being ridiculous." "I’m looking out for Odd Squad’s best interests! I’m protecting us from a major threat!" Olympia furiously shook her head, while Mandy, sensing things were about to get worse, backed away. "You guys aren’t understanding! I know Odd Squad history from the time it was formed up until this very second. I’ve read about the worst villains this organization has ever faced. And I gotta say...Starlight Glimmer is one of the worst ones by far." Olive stared at her in disbelief, from one Odd Squad historian to another. She didn't have the vast library of knowledge Olympia had, granted, but she knew a fair bit about the organization's history that she felt she could probably go toe-to-toe with Twilight. And although she hadn't met Starlight, "stripping cutie marks" was nothing compared to, say, killing a bunch of innocent agents like Odd Todd did -- just as an example. Had Starlight ever killed a pony? She didn't think so. "Olympia, you’re comparing apples to oranges. Ponies are a different species than humans. They’re different than Odd Squad agents. Are they more powerful? Yes. Are they a threat? Some could be, yes. But to think that…" She chuckled. "...a pony with the power to remove cutie marks is on the same level as, oh, I don’t know, Felicity Flora. That’s stupid." "It's not stupid! You just don't know what she's capable of because you've never met her!" "Well, you're right about one thing." Otto responded. "We haven't met her." "But..." Olive raised a finger. "...we're willing to take Mandy’s word for it when it comes to her personality. Plus, Oprah mentioned that Starlight is a student of Twilight’s. I don’t think the Princess of Friendship would take someone under her wing who was villainous." Olympia could only stammer, unable to provide a proper rebuttal. When words failed her, she swiveled her head towards the other being in the room, who had been staying surprisingly quiet only because she was busy staring at one of the indents in the wall. "Mandy!" No response. "Mandy!!" "Whuh-huh?!" That snapped the hybrid out of her daydream. She blinked and turned around. "Sorry, I was kinda starin' off into space...what're we talkin' about?" "You dragged me here to see my idols just so they could lecture me?!" In complete and chipper dead earnest: "Yes!" Olympia growled. "How dare you!" And then, her attention became fixed on the two Directors again. "I looked up to you guys! We worked together, even! And now you're just gonna...you're-" "Yes." Olive chose to ignore the audible cracking in Olympia's voice. "Starlight is a nice pony, Olympia. I don't know how many times we have to hammer it into your brain." Thick, ugly tears began pooling in Olympia's eyes, and they just as quickly began streaming down her face. "Fine. FINE!! Thanks for nothing!" she screamed, her voice bouncing off of the walls of the room slightly before she stormed out, slamming the door closed behind her. Mandy's ears flattened. "What have I done?" she asked aloud, before her ears caught the sound of Olive and Otto rising from their chairs. "I'm so so sorry I ever dragged you two into this!" "Don't be." Otto placed a hand on Mandy's shoulder before the hybrid could really freak out and start firing off words like cannonballs. "We tried. That's what matters!" "Yeah, but what if she actually goes after Starlight? Twilight brought her here for a reason! I don’t want her Odd Squad experience ruined just because of one agent!" Olive simply smiled. "Instead of working yourself into a frenzy, why don't you try telling Starlight about Olympia? Maybe she'll understand." "I dunno...I could try, but..." "In the meantime, I can let Oprah know what went on here." Otto leaned in close to Mandy's human ear. "Olive...woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. She's a little crabby." "It was construction! Why is there construction happening on a residential street without prior forewarning?! Not even a letter!" Olive threw her hands into the air. "Adults, I swear, they make life so much harder for us kids..." An amused Mandy rolled her eyes. "Sure! It's almost time for me to meet her, anyway. Or...at least I think." She pulled back her jacket and undershirt sleeves expecting a watch to be there, much to her disappointment as she realized that she didn't carry a watch on her. "Ah, nothin' wrong with me meeting her early! See you two later, and thank you!" The hybrid left, and she became resigned to one thing. If Olympia couldn't be swayed into dropping her philosophy, then she would have to target the other end of the hostility -- explain things to Starlight, hope the unicorn understood, and then show her the awesome sights of Toronto and teach her lots about Earth. As it turned out, Mandy was definitely not early. She was late. By a whole 15 minutes. Her body soared out of the tubes, and from there, she took flight, flapping her wings and attempting to get to the portal as fast as she could. She knew where it was -- it was hidden in a large cluster of bushes lining the entrance of a forest that sat at the end of a small meadow -- but that didn't stop her from nearly tumbling in. "Bad, bad, bad!" she exclaimed as she placed her feet on the ground, nearly falling into the portal before whirling her arms backwards in an effort to stop herself. Starlight's turquoise corona caught her and began moving her upright. Mandy breathed a sigh of relief as her feet touched the ground. "Oh wow, thanks!" she chirped. "Going into that portal would have been awful." "Why's that?" "I've never gone through the portal before. Since I'm a pony-human hybrid and not entirely a pony, the results could be disastrous. I could end up completely mutated, I could end up as a human entirely...Equestria could even fall to shambles!" Mandy rubbed her arm. "Anyway, I'm so sorry I was late, I had to deal with something and-" "Don't worry about it!" Starlight smiled. "Being an Odd Squad agent takes away a lot of free time. Twilight told me that. Although I am curious as to the whole 'pony-human hybrid' thing and how it impacts Equestria." "Oh thank goodness." Mandy placed a hand on her chest. "Me being a pony-human hybrid is a little, uh...complicated. Twilight might have some notes on it...though if she does, I haven't seen them." She turned her back to Starlight and bent over slightly. "Now c'mon, let's go to the Big Office!" Starlight blinked, taking in the sight of Mandy's slightly-wagging tail and her current posture. "What are you doing?" "You can hop on my back! My spine can support ya, don't worry." The sound of magic being activated that definitely wasn't Mandy's made her straighten up and turn around. Her jaw dropped as she laid eyes on a now-floating Starlight, who was encased in her own magic. "I can self-levitate. But thanks!" Mandy's jaw dropped. Self-levitation was something that she had tried to do before, mostly when she first got her extensions, only for Twilight and Rarity to gently remind her that self-levitation was something for more advanced unicorns and alicorns. Since then, she had never thought about trying again. The only time it even flashed in her mind was in that one nightmare she had after she failed to fly using her tail. But she could do that, and she had wings. Being able to fly with just her magic would be helpful, though...especially if her wings and tail became disabled for whatever reason. Self-levitation was merely another avenue for flight, and here was a unicorn who seemed to be flawlessly skilled at it. "You can't self-levitate, can you?" The amused question brought Mandy out of her excitement. "I...n-no. I want to do it, though. I can already fly with my wings..." She demonstrated by extending her wings and doing a few loop-de-loops. "...and my tail..." She folded in her wings, bunched up her legs, and leaped backwards, letting her spinning tail support her body. "...but having self-levitation would be amazing-tastic!" Starlight stared at the spinning tail, trying to recall if Pinkie Pie could perform such a feat. She hadn't seen it, but she had to assume the answer was a fat resounding "yes" across the board. "Well, I could always teach you, if you're up for it." Mandy gasped. "Really?! Would you really?!" Her eyes got stars in them. "Oh, I’ve been trying to master levitating others for ages, and I’ve gotten a little better at it. But Twilight tells me you’re so good at magic that I’ve kinda always wanted a lesson from you!" This got a smile out of Starlight -- Twilight had been mentioning her to Mandy, if not to other Odd Squad agents. Which, in all honesty, was a good sign that perhaps her visit to this world had been long overdue. "Sure thing." she said. "Maybe we can get started after you show me the Big Office?" "Yes! C'mon, let's go!" The speed at which Mandy moved was so fast that it nearly knocked Starlight out of her levitation field. The unicorn stared at the disappearing figure for a few seconds before recollecting her bearings and soaring after her, a smirk forming on her face as she got the idea to have a little race with this anomaly of a creature she had gotten to know and, perhaps, befriend. "Ha ha! I win!" As Mandy landed and folded her wings in, Starlight came to a rest as well, her magic fading away. "I gotta say, you're really fast for someone who wasn't born a Pegasus." "Took me a while to get used to these babies!" Mandy's wings rustled. "But believe me, I can fly like a total pro now." Starlight's gaze fell on what she could only assume was the Big Office. All around her, agents came and went, some human and some ponies. She was surprised to find ponies among the ranks -- she would have to ask the Big O how they pulled that one off. Maybe the Big O actually was a pony, a denizen of Equestria. Maybe they were even an alicorn. For all she knew, Celestia herself could be manning it and she wouldn't know. The possibilities excited her. "So this is the Big Office?" "Yup! A lot of assistants work here, under the Big O!" "Assistants? Like royal guards?" Mandy's nose wrinkled. "I guess?" An Earth pony with a cutie mark of what looked to be a solar eclipse and wearing a white suit passed the duo and waved her hoof. "Hi there, Mandy!" "Hiya, Golden Moon!" Mandy waved back. "Love the white on ya! Looks nice!" Starlight gave a friendly wave to the other mare as well. "I didn't know there were other ponies working here." "As Earth and Equestria..." Mandy faltered as she tried to think of exactly what planet in what solar system in what galaxy in what subsection of space in what section of space Equestria was on, exactly. But nothing presented itself. "As my planet and your planet are closer now, the Big O decided to employ ponies into Odd Squad, as agents in every department! Even the Big Office department!" "Huh. I knew there were ponies here, but I didn't know they were a part of Odd Squad." "Nope!" Mandy began bouncing towards the doors. "Let's go inside!" The first thing Starlight noticed upon stepping hoof into the Big Office was just how white it was. It was like someone used Celestia's own coat color for inspiration. She supposed that checked out, given how many assistants wore mostly white. It was a good thing everyone wore uniforms here, because otherwise, Starlight would have kept on asking what agents were in what department and then question the logistics of pony races and how they worked in each department magic-wise. "Welcome to the Big Office!" Mandy gestured to the entirety of the building. "It's so white." was the first thing out of Starlight's mouth, quickly followed by, "I gotta say, it's not the best color choice." "The Big Office, as a department, has white as a theme color. That's why everything's white." Mandy shrugged. "It's not like this at the other six Big Offices! One's as big as an airport but it's got a lot more than just white." "As big as a what?" Starlight didn't get her question answered, as a blue-coated Pegasus stallion marched up to them. "Hey there! May I help you two ladies?" "Hi! I'm Agent Mandy, of Precinct 13579. This is Starlight Glimmer, a guest of mine. We're just touring the place." "Ah, I see." The stallion nodded. "My name is Cobalt. I'm one of the Big O's assistants." Cobalt blinked in realization and thrust a hoof at Mandy. "Hold on, you don't have an O name!" Mandy stiffened as though she had been caught in the act, even though she had no act to be caught in. "W-well, no, I don't! I-I can assure you, though, I'm friendly! Honest!" She gave an awkward smile. "Surely ya know me?" "Can't say that I do." "What's going on here?" Mare, stallion and child all jumped at the sudden new voice. A girl with long blonde hair and dressed in the typical assistants' uniform made herself known, striding up to the group and observing the situation. "Cobalt! Don't tell me you were harassing them!" "N-no, Omaira, I wouldn't dream of it!" The stallion turned to face whom Starlight had to assume was his superior. "I was just shocked at the fact that Mandy...doesn't have an O name." Omaira rolled her eyes and sighed, as if this was a common issue that she didn't like dealing with. "I'm really sorry, you two. We don't mean to cause you trouble." "It's no problem!" Mandy waved a hand. "I'll assume he's new here?" "Yes, he is." Omaira's gaze moved to the stallion. "Cobalt, Mandy is a sort of...ah, how do I put this...she's famous. After all, she's the one who took down the former Big O." Starlight's eyes widened. Now she was really curious to see what the Big O was like. If they were equine in nature and Mandy took them down, that would surprise her. If they were equine in nature and were an alicorn that Mandy managed to take down, she would probably have to borrow Rarity's fainting couch for a little bit. "That was you?" "Yup!" "I've overheard Twilight say that the Big O was a really powerful being. And you took them down on your own?" "Yes and yes!" Mandy beamed. "Long story short, he wanted to turn the ponies in both Equestria and Toronto into his personal workhorses. Well, only the ones that weren’t unicorns, anyway." Cobalt tilted his head. "Why not the unicorns?" Mandy's eyes widened. "He...uh..." She pinched her mouth inwards, her eyes darting back and forth and, for some reason, squeaking in their sockets. "It would, uh...unnerve Starlight, so I'd rather not say it." She gave a nervous grin that stayed plastered to her face for a few moments before it went away. "A-anyway, I, uh, found out when he promoted Twilight to be one of his assistants. Had a hard battle with him, but I came out alive!" "Ever since then, nearly everyone here has heard of the story in some way or another." Omaira explained. "And those who haven't tend to learn eventually." "So who's the new Big O?" Starlight asked, her tone having just a small edge of impatience. "Oriella! She rebelled against the previous Big O and clued me in to what he was doing. If it wasn’t for her, I would have never found out his plan! So I chose her to be the new Big O instead of me." Starlight's eyes widened. "You really are more famous than I thought. Which is saying a lot, because if I'm being honest, I didn't really think you were famous at all." Mandy blinked in surprise, but the unicorn ignored it. "If you came to Equestria, you could have double the fame!" "I could!" Mandy said. "But like I said, people going into Equestria...no one's sure what would happen. So I've never tried it, and I don't plan to 'til it's safe." She shook her head and made eye contact with Omaira. "Anyway! Can we see the Big O?" "Unfortunately not today. She's backed up with meetings." "Aww, pickleferries..." Mandy pouted, her sadness only lasting for a few seconds. "That's okay! Next time then." She smiled at Starlight. "In the meantime, Starlight, why don't I give you a tour of the rest of the place?" "Sure!" "Thanks, Cobalt! And thanks, Omaira!" "It's no problem." Omaira nodded. "Have a good time, you two." "Enjoy yourselves!" Cobalt added, watching the pair walk past them before exchanging goodbyes with Omaira and parting with her. Meanwhile, Mandy couldn't help but shake the feeling that there was something she forgot to do...something very important. Whatever it was, though, she was sure it was pretty inconsequential, and she quickly shoved it to the back of her mind. By the end of the day, both Starlight and Mandy were exhausted, especially when it came to the self-levitation lesson -- Starlight had quickly learned that Mandy probably wasn't the best of students, as she kept getting distracted and tried in vain to self-levitate numerous times. She did eventually get the hang of it, though it was clear that there was a little ways to go before she could fly long distances like Starlight could. "Mmm, that was fun!" Mandy chirped, stretching her body out as she walked into the bullpen. "That magic lesson really helped." "Keep on practicing, and you'll be self-levitating in no time." Starlight assured. "Maybe you can even lift other people and other ponies, too!" "Yeah! I've gotten much better at it, but human adults are a little harder for me than full-grown ponies." Mandy chuckled. "Saving Momma and Otto from falling to their deaths that one time...that was a pain." The good vibes stopped when the pair laid their eyes on an Olympia that looked about ready to speak to the manager over something petty. Only in this case, she was planning on speaking to the second-in-command. Mandy, not sure why Olympia hadn't spoken after several seconds of waiting, carefully opened her mouth. "...Olympia?" And with that, hell was let loose. "This is where you've been? With her?" "What- no!" Mandy stammered. "Olympia, I-I can explain-" Olympia scoffed. "I can't believe the situation's gotten so bad that the entire precinct is in the hands of a villain-loving agent!" Mandy gave a few blinks. "What?" "What are you talking about?" Starlight asked. "I'm not a villain!" "Really? You stole cutie marks from a bunch of ponies because you wanted 'equality for all'. Who's to say you won't strip us of our individuality as well?" Not wanting to remind Olympia once again that humans didn't have cutie marks tied to their individuality, Mandy groaned. "Olympia, you're being ridiculous!" She glanced at Starlight with an exasperated expression, and the unicorn stared back at her in confusion. "Starlight, I'm sorry. I didn't tell you about Olympia, and I said I would, but I got sidetracked!" "What's going on?" "I'll tell you in private." Mandy whirled on the still-seething Olympia again. "Olympia, get back to work. That's an order!" The Investigation agent stayed deathly still, her glare cutting into Mandy like a thousand knives. This didn't sway the hybrid any, however. "Don't make me take you up to Oprah's office." Olympia bit her lip, clearly trying to form a rebuttal, but ultimately relaxed as she became forced to concede. "Yes, ma'am." she muttered, before her voice rose to normal volume as she pointed at Starlight. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you, Starlight Glimmer. No villain gets by me!" As the girl walked away, Mandy lit up her horn. "C'mon." she said, before teleporting herself and Starlight away. The spell took them right to a room that Starlight, for her part, had never seen before. With the sewing machine, she had to wonder if it was Rarity's room, but the bed made of clouds made her think it was Rainbow Dash's room instead. But she doubted that Mandy would teleport to either pony's rooms and invade their privacy, and she had mentioned that the Bedroom was shared by all six, which led Starlight to one of the more logical conclusions. "Is this your room?" she asked, looking around at the posters that hung on the walls. "Yes. It's the first place I thought of." Mandy sat on her bed, and briefly contemplated laying down before realizing that she would probably conk right out, and that was a bad idea when she needed to relay something important to someone who was being unfairly targeted. "Starlight, I need to tell you the truth." "About what?" "Olympia...she’s an Investigation agent of Odd Squad who works here. She’s usually nice, super energetic, and loyal to the organization. But she has this weird philosophy when it comes to villains. 'Once a villain, always a villain.' She doesn’t believe that villains can be reformed." "Well that's not true!" Starlight countered. "Twilight helped me see how great friendship can be, even after my falling-out with Sunburst. I turned my life around because of her. A-and aren’t there villains here who have turned their lives around too?" Mandy nodded. "Yeah. Odd Todd is one of them. He was the former partner of Mo- er, Olive before he...turned to making oddness instead of solving it." Her ears folded downwards. "He did a lot of bad things. But Otto managed to defeat him, and he became a gardener. Long story short, anyway." She heaved a sigh. "I don’t know why Olympia has this philosophy, but Oprah, Mo- Olive, Otto, and I have all tried talking to her with no luck. I don’t want your experience here to be ruined because of one stupid agent, but...if you want to leave and never come back, then...that’s fine." Starlight watched as Mandy got up from her bed. She opened her mouth, almost as a gut reaction to tell Mandy that she wanted to stay, but closed it. As much of a pain in the flank as Olympia was, the unicorn couldn't deny that she was even more interested in Odd Squad than before. Mandy was a kind and silly hybrid to be around, and all the other agents she had met were just as nice. Truly, if she were to join Odd Squad, she would fit right in here. And besides, Twilight had encouraged her to go make more friends. It would be nice to expand her horizons past Trixie -- which reminded her, she had to bring the magician here to see the sights one of these days. But that was a matter for another time. "Mandy, I wanted to come here." She smiled. "Twilight and the others always share stories of their days at Odd Squad. It's just that I've never been to this world before, and I had no clue what to expect. But looking at pictures of all you guys and hearing about all sorts of adventures...it got me curious." A smug but amused chuckle made its way out of her. "So what if Olympia thinks I’m a villain? None of the other agents here seem to think so. And I like everyone here. You, Olive, Otto, Oprah. This place is great." The smile on her face faltered. "A-and maybe I’m not sure if I want to join. But...I can come visit, right?" Mandy blinked and nodded. "I'm confident you can change Olympia's mind. I'll even help you out." "Really?" "Why not? I can take her on." For a while, Mandy stared. With her mouth slightly open, it was a miracle how drool hadn't decided to make an impromptu escape from it. "I...you...you're sure you're not mad?" "Of course not! It's just one agent." She gave a huffy laugh that spilled into her next words. "Surely this entire precinct can take down one agent, right?" Confidence started flowing within Mandy. "Yeah. We can!" She bounced up and down. "All right, let's go give Olympia what-for about her philosophy! We can tell her to shove it right up her a-" "Ah ah ah." Starlight waved a hoof. "How about we plan it for tomorrow? It's been a long day for both of us and I still have things to do back in Equestria." "Aww, why is it every time I go to say a no-no word someone has to stop me?! First it's Momma, now it's you..." Mandy sighed. "Fine. 1:00?" "Sounds good." With a game plan in mind, Mandy did a fist pump. "Tomorrow, we'll change your mind, Olympia! Just wait and see!" The sounds of lasers firing and muffled clamoring from all sorts of agents did nothing to disturb Mandy as she tossed and turned in bed. It was often joked that the hybrid could sleep through a tornado, which no longer retained its joke status when she was, indeed, tossed around in a tornado, flung tons of miles away, landed in the upper branches of a tree, and continued to snore like nothing had even happened. As she laid askew in bed, scratching her tummy as she became lost in dreams of sugar-coated billboard signs, the cyan-blue form of Rainbow Dash barged in without warning. "Mandy, you gotta come quick!" the Pegasus cried, shaking Mandy rapidly while also taking a quick peek at the clock. It was 11AM, which was only an hour before Mandy was due to get up. "Starlight and Olympia are fighting!" Realizing not even that was going to work, she resorted to shaking her co-worker harder. "Wake uuuuup!" A few snorts left Mandy as her eyes fluttered open. "Whoo-zza-wha...?" "Mandy!" Olive peered into the room. "Wake up and help us out here! We've been trying to calm the situation down but nothing's been working!" Both Rainbow and Olive might as well have been on both sides of Mandy and screaming into her ears like misbehaving toddlers. The hybrid slowly got up and reached for her drink, downing it and staring at them sleepily. "You were sayin'...?" Rainbow simply gave a groan. "Starlight and Olympia are fighting in the bullpen." Olive repeated, accentuating each word. "At the rate they're going, it'll be completely destroyed!" Finally, the words clicked. "What?!" Mandy flew out of bed, landing stomach-first but getting up on her feet in record time. "B-but I told Starlight to meet me at 1:00! We were gonna confront Olympia together! Why is she..." Before Rainbow or Olive could answer, they were hastily shuffled out of the room, and the door shut on them with the room's occupant shouting "Spare me 5!" before they could protest. Their mission completed, they raced back to the bullpen to witness the showdown. As soon as Mandy finished putting her belt on -- which completed her routine in 5 minutes exactly -- she rushed to the bullpen, nearly colliding with a sizeable crowd that had come to watch the battle. Easily, she flew over agent after agent, landing in front and letting her eyes bear witness to what was going down. "No way!" Armed with brutal weapons of their own were none other than Starlight and Olympia, standing in the center of the bullpen and staring each other down. Olympia held a gadget in her hand that looked like a ray gun, while Starlight was resorting to good old-fashioned unicorn magic. Mandy didn't need a second to think about who would be the victor, assuming they were going all out. "I'll destroy you if it's the last thing I'll ever do!" came the high-pitched screech of Olympia that made her already-high-pitched voice sound closer to Pinkie Pie's. "I'd like to see you try!" Starlight taunted, a sly smirk on her maw as she lit up her horn again. With tears streaming down her face, Olympia aimed her weapon and fired. Starlight reared back and did the same. The result was a small ball of magic forming in the center of the battlefield, and then growing slowly but steadily by the second. Gasps and scared cries rung out through the crowd. "That blast is going to destroy Headquarters!" Oprah exclaimed. Lucky for her that, for someone who woke up an hour earlier than normal, Mandy was quicker on the draw. In what was a desperate move that was certainly not thought through, she fired up her horn and let her rainbow-colored corona encase both combatants, lifting them up into the air as they gave cries of surprise. At the same time, she fired a beam of magic at the sphere and let it swirl around and around. Her horn sparked. Sweat came pooling down her forehead and her face. Her legs started to wobble. C'mon Mandy, put some work into it! Save Headquarters! If you fail now, you'll not only lose your home, you'll lose your friends! Your family! Tears began streaming down her own face. Her lungs compressed, eking out a piercing scream that could only come from massive effort. She couldn't see it because she had her eyes squeezed shut, but the sphere was shrinking, and the more effort she put into it, the faster it shrunk. She heard voices from behind her that she didn't care to identify. Surely, at least one of them was telling her to not die while plenty more were already sealing her fate. Heck, for all she knew, a few of them were discussing funeral plans if she ended up dying from thi- No. I'm not going to die. I've faced off against Orino, against SOHALC, against villains both egregious and harmless...if I can take them down and survive, I can do this and still stand. The ball shrunk, but just before it disappeared, Mandy's horn sparked again, this time more fierce than before, cutting off the flow like a scissor taken to a piece of string. With a yelp, she stumbled backwards and fell, clutching her head and giving a groan. As they fell to the ground, Starlight's horn stopped glowing, and likewise, Olympia put down her weapon. "Mandy!" Olive, of course, was the first to soar to Mandy's side, nearly doing a knee slide. "Are you okay?!" "Nngh...headache..." Olive was quick to reach behind her back and pull out a bottle of Shmumbers brand fast-acting ultimate-strength aspirin -- one of the most essential things she had learned to keep in hammerspace because of Mandy's antics. She opened up the cap and dropped two pills into her hand. "Here, take these." Mandy did as she was told, slowly putting the two pills on her tongue and retracting it into her mouth. Olive provided her with the bottled water needed for easier consumption, lifting the hybrid upwards slightly to allow her to drink. Unsurprisingly, Mandy drank the entire thing in one go. "Why did you do that, Mandy?" Olympia asked. "I was inches away from destroying Starlight Glimmer for good!" Mandy grit her teeth, having an answer at the ready but still reeling a bit from the pain. "Not just Starlight...your entire...workplace...!" she managed to get out, closing her eyes tightly. Everyone waited until Mandy was able to speak again. After a feat like that, it would have been a fool's errand for any run-of-the-mill agent, human or equine, to mess with her. Luckily, "ultimate-strength" really meant "works in seconds, and no, that's not just a cheap advertising gimmick". She had her world breaking the rules of anatomy to thank for that, and also had it to thank for allowing her to stand on her own two feet and fly over to the battlefield. "Honestly, Olympia, I'm disappointed in you." the hybrid spat, turning towards the Investigation agent. "Do you ever stop to think about your actions? You nearly took out Starlight, this workplace, and your co-workers! Absolutely no one likes an agent with a death count!" Olympia blinked. "But-" "I’ve tried everything. I’ve gotten Oprah to talk to you. I’ve gotten Momma and Otto to talk to you. Nothing. Ever. Works." Mandy thrust her face into the other girl's. "Can’t you get it through your thick skull that Starlight is no villain? She would have destroyed Headquarters by now." She narrowed her eyes. "The only villain here is you." "Wait-" "I'm done being the 'nice gal'. Surely you’ve been here long enough to know that it’s never a good idea to make me angry unless you want your life threatened with early termination. Clearly, being nice hasn’t worked. It’s time I take more aggressive measures." Mandy sneered. "Really, it’s pitiful and ironic how you’re an Odd Squad historian and yet you don’t realize that villains can reform for the better. Odd Todd was proof of that, and so is Starlight." "She-" "Really wish your partner was here so he could see exactly what kind of agent you are. Someone who’s willing to go so far as to take the life of innocent people and their workplace if they oppose your opinions? Please. It’s sad is what it is. Just a shame he's sick and has had to stay home for the past week!" On and on and on Mandy rambled, much to the bewilderment of the crowd as they watched her go at it with Olympia. Starlight, on the other side, merely watched the confrontation with confusion in her expression. "She's really going off on her." Olive noted. "I can't tell if she's all bark and no bite, or if she's going to bark and bite." Oprah said. "For her sake and ours, I hope it's the former." Even when Olympia fell onto her rump, the still-hovering Mandy still ripped into her like a fresh bag of potato chips. "So why don’t you do us all a favor, drop your mentality that’s better suited for a Squanzo Bonzo than for you, and start over with Starlight Glimmer? As friends, and not enemies?" "But..." Olympia paused after that word, just to see if Mandy would come after her again. When the hybrid didn't speak, she felt it was safe to proceed. "Ugh. You were always kind of-" "Kinda what? Airheaded? Ditzy? More stupid than a lobotoritimized patient?" Mandy reached behind her back, whipped out her hammer, spun it thrice, and shoved it into Olympia's face to the point where she could feel the hammer touching both of her maxillas. "Is that an insult?" "T-two villains isn't gonna be enough to..." Mandy narrowed her eyes again. "...convince...me..." And then she was lit ablaze, a guttural growl rumbling in her throat as she glared at her fellow co-worker. Olympia drew the line there, backing up a little, her body trembling with fear. Starlight, likewise, was also backing away, her eyes widening at this sudden display of aggression. She had no idea that this was what Mandy was capable of. If Twilight had mentioned it in passing, it certainly wasn't when Starlight was within earshot. Instinctively, she created a shield around herself, lest Mandy's flames burn her fur off. Off to the side, the crowd of agents, having seen this side of Mandy before, was rather indifferent to it all. "I should go stop her." Olive said, beginning to head for the trio before a hand reached out and stopped her. "Olive, hold on." Oprah glanced at her. "Have faith in Mandy. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." "I surrender!" Olympia screeched, holding up her hands. "J-just please, don't hurt me!" "Are you just saying that so I won't hurt you?" "No! I-I mean it! Hear me out, please!" Mandy took a minute to consider the proposal, then decided to give Olympia at least some semblance of a chance to explain herself, if only out of fairness. She jerked the hammer away and let it rest against the floor, the flames surrounding her body dying down as she gave an exhale. "All right then. Go ahead." Starlight lowered her shield, while Olympia gave her own sigh of relief. "I...you're right." she began. "I was too set in my ways to realize that you’re right. Starlight...she’s not a villain. If she were, she would have taken us out when she first came here." "I could've told ya that." Mandy said, with a roll of her eyes. "But it’s just...she stole the cutie marks of ponies. There may not be pony villains in Toronto, but one could always appear! Equestria has them, of course, and I thought that...Odd Squad was the same way." Mandy couldn't deny that Olympia raised a good point. Truth be told, there were pony villains in Toronto -- in very small numbers, granted, but they existed. Perhaps they figured that instead of wreaking havoc in Equestria where six Element bearers resided, they could wreak havoc in a world that had no Element bearers to speak of, unaware that there was an organization that could match the bearers on equal footing without the use of gemstones. Mandy had faced down a few of them and had beaten them every time, but that didn't mean it was right to assume any pony was a villain, because that was simply just not true (and was also very speciesist, if one asked her). And besides, there was one point that had hit her like a truck at a hundred miles per hour. "The irony..." "What?" "You're an Odd Squad historian, aren't you? You know everything about the organization from the day of its founding up until this very second. And yet you don’t have enough faith in Odd Squad to think that, oh, I don’t know, we can deal with any villain, human or equine, that commits an act of oddness?" Olympia bit her lip. "Well, when you put it that way..." "Let's not forget I was the victim of Laura Lovebloom. One of the most dangerous villains I've ever come across." Mandy said. "I could've been killed by what she did to me and Bradley Beli. Starlight never killed anyone." The fact that Mandy had said that last part with confidence made Starlight blink a few times, even though she was very confident she had never killed anyone, both as a hero and as a (former) villain. "And then you have Odd Todd, who’s also a dangerous villain. But he managed to reform." Mandy sighed. "Of course, I tried bringing this point up to you already, but you refused to listen…" Olympia craned her head to look at the unicorn who had once been her opponent. "Starlight...I'm sorry. Mandy was right. Everyone was right. You're..." She slowly closed her eyes. "...not a dangerous villain." The unicorn watched as the girl slowly rose to her feet and began to approach her with another proposal. "Can we...maybe start over? As friends?" Starlight considered it for a moment, then smiled. "Sure. I don't see why not." Both of them shook hands and hooves, exchanging friendly smiles. "Come on, we can have lunch together. You and me." Starlight offered. "Twilight showed me a great place I really want to try!" "Sounds good." Mandy and the crowd watched in awe as the pair left through the steel double-doors, with the former giving a warm and relieved smile. Before she knew it, however, Olympia came racing back. "Thank you, Mandy. If you hadn't tried to help me..." "Aww, don't mention it! Go have fun!" Mandy encouraged, waving the girl off once more. In tune with the rest of the crowd, Olive breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't think I'll ever get used to her...uh..." She blinked. "What were they called?" "Mood swings." "Ah. Yeah. That." Olive nodded in response to Oprah. "I'll never get used to those." Mandy drifted over to both Directors, giving them a friendly smile. "Thank you guys so much for helping!" She gave a sigh. "I mean, you didn't really help at all, but ya took a shot at it! That's what counts!" Olive's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to ask Mandy if she just stealthily insulted her, and to protest that she did help by waking up the hybrid and alerting her of the situation, but Oprah quickly placed a hand to her mouth before she could even utter out a word. "And thank you for preventing the destruction of Headquarters. If you hadn't come when you did, we all would have been killed." Olive gave an impatient growl. It was then that Twilight chose to trot up, having been late to the whole debacle. "Hey, everyone. What's going on?" Mandy turned to face the alicorn, her eyes widening. Her head swiveled from the battlefield, to the crowd, and back and forth again. "T-Twilight? But...weren't you..." "I was reading in the Odd Squad Library." Twilight tilted her head. "Did something happen?" "Well, your student and one of Precinct 13579's agents nearly destroyed Headquarters, sooooo...there's that!" Twilight blinked. "Starlight?" "We don’t know what happened, but Oprah and I were up in her office and we heard a lot of noise going on downstairs. When we looked, Olympia and Starlight were battling." Olive explained, after freeing Oprah's hand from her mouth long enough to speak. "My guess is that Olympia was the instigator, but…" "Where are they now?" "Mandy stopped the blast and helped the two of them make up. They're heading out to lunch now." Twilight gave a groan. "I'm so sorry, Ms. O. If I had known Starlight was going to get into a big battle like this, I never would have-" "Save it." Oprah held a hand up. "The important thing is that Headquarters is safe. But..." She took a moment to pause before she continued. "You should know that if she decides to join Odd Squad in spite of what went down, she's not allowed to be hired at this precinct." "What?" Twilight's ears folded down. "Why not?" "It's a personal matter. I don't want to discuss it." Twilight bit her lip. She almost wanted to pressure her boss into spitting out the details, but knew better than to pressure Oprah into doing anything she didn't want to do. So instead, her gaze flicked to the second-in-command. "Mandy?" "Yeah?" A pause. Twilight simply stared at the hybrid, pleading being the only emotion written in her eyes. Olive and Oprah also stared at her, but more out of an "are you stupid" reaction than anything else. "...What?" "Aren't you going to overrule this?" Twilight asked. Mandy giggle-snorted. "No, silly! Oprah's made up her mind. I'm not gonna challenge her! I know better!" Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it and bowed her head. "I'll...go talk to Starlight later, then." she muttered, beginning to plod back the way she came with slow hoofsteps. "Where are you going?" "Back to the library." the alicorn answered in response to Olive. "See you later." The trio all watched their friend head down the hallway and turn the corner. Oprah in particular let out a huff, clearly tired of agents asking her why, exactly, she refused to let any more ponies into her precinct. The mood was broken up by the sound of a stomach growling, and it didn't take long to identify its source. "Oh wow, I'm hungry! Better go make some brunch!" Mandy chirped, leaving the scene and bouncing over to the Breakroom. "I'm surprised she even did what she did on an empty stomach." Olive said aloud, rolling her eyes amusedly before turning to face her fellow Director. "Oprah, are you sure you don't want Starlight to work here? She'd make a great Investigation agent." "Not at my precinct. I said I don't want to talk about it." Oprah waved a hand. "Go back to your Headquarters. I'm sure Otto's waiting." Realizing that convincing Oprah was completely off the table, Olive left through the steel double-doors. She knew only a little bit of the reasoning behind her old boss not wanting to let ponies into her precinct -- something about not being ready for a big change. But not even she had any idea what that really meant. Maybe it was simply routine for her to only let humans in, and she didn't want to change. Maybe it was due to her not wanting to fail at her second leadership stint. Or maybe, just maybe, it was some kind of hidden speciesism facet of her personality that Olive wasn't aware of. The theories could go on for miles and miles. Still, there was a plan Olive had in mind that no one had apparently come up with, at least as far as she knew. Why doesn't Starlight just hang back and wait for Oprah to change her mind? I'm sure Twilight could do it. Or Mandy. Mandy's very persuasive. ...But that could take weeks. Months. Years, even. Starlight has potential that I can't let go untapped. Maybe I should hire her into my precinct. Otto would be fine with it, right? Me and him visit Mandy all the time, and we could bring Starlight with us! It's perfect! ...But Twilight deserves to be with her student...even in Odd Squad. Gritting her teeth, Olive made her way up the tubes, her mind waging a war with itself over what to do about Starlight Glimmer. Somewhere within her thoughts was a mental note to talk with the unicorn and get to know her more, but it was a whimper compared to the clamor of the crowd inside her brain. Also somewhere within her thoughts was a mental note to squeeze answers out of Oprah regarding her rather hypocritical stance if it was the last thing she would ever do. As Starlight slipped through the portal to Equestria and emerged just on the outskirts of Ponyville, she began to trot back to the castle. It had been a long day of getting to know Olympia and learning about Odd Squad, and she was confident in saying that she had finally made a decision. "Oh, Starlight! You're back." Spike greeted. "Twilight's in the kitchen making dinner. She said that she'd like for you to help, if you're willing." "Thanks, Spike. I'm just going to rest my hooves for a little bit." Starlight gave a tired smile. "What're we having?" "Vegetable stew." "Again? The mare really loves her stew, huh?" "Tell me about it." Spike gave a sigh. "This is the third time this week she's made it." "That would explain all the vegetables she bought over the weekend." Starlight began trotting away. "Anyway, thanks, Spike!" "No prob." Although Starlight wanted nothing more than to rest, she felt she could afford Twilight a quick visit. Excitement bubbling within her and granting her some more energy, she quickly headed to the kitchen where, sure enough, Twilight was in the middle of cooking veggie stew. "Hey, Twilight? I have an announcement." The alicorn lifted her gaze from the stew. "Starlight? Welcome back. What is it?" The unicorn stood tall and poised. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and laid her wishes out for her mentor to see, imagining all of the fun times she was going to have with all the friends she had made. A smile formed on her face, and she opened her maw. "I want to join Odd Squad."
S1E27: Mandy's The WordWhen it came to secret-keeping, skill levels varied among agents. Some were good at not letting things slip, while others were complete and utter blabbermouths. In terms of the latter category, however, only two remained supreme. Pinkie Pie, whose tendency to talk a lot and get off-track caused her to let things loose. And Mandy, who was much of the same, only she had a tendency to spill secrets not out of malice, but because something in her was literally incapable of holding in a secret. If you told her what your favorite tree was and told her it was a secret, chances were high that she was going to blab about it before end of day. All it took was that trigger, that "it's a secret" trigger. Of course, not everyone is aware of this facet of the hybrid. And those who don't are, like many of Mandy's other antics, often in for a big surprise when they do become aware of it. Right now, though, she had no secrets to bear. She was happily asleep in her room, taking her afternoon nap and ignoring the sound of the Odd Squad theme coming from her badge phone on the nightstand as she snored. "Hiya, you've reached Agent 57, Mandy! I can't come to the phone right now, prolly sleeping or tied up in an odd case or doing...whatever. Yeah. Anyway, if you just wanna leave me a message with your name and phone number, that'd be great, and I'll be sure to get back to ya as soon as I can! Thankies!" The phone beeped. "Mandy? It's Oscar! I, uh, need you to come to the Science building! At the Odd Squad Academy! Please, it's urgent, and-" The sound of crashing could be heard. "Aw, c'mon, man, we just finished building that! M-Mandy, I gotta go, just...get here quickly!" Mandy jerked awake with a start and a "H-huh-bluh-bbl?!", pushing herself upwards as she sleepily blinked. She didn't last all of five seconds before her face met the pillow again and she went right back to sleep, letting out powerful snores that didn't quite reach "earthquake centered on one room" levels but were certainly very close to it. A couple hours later, Mandy's nap was completed. A noisy yawn left her and made her body tremble slightly. "Mm, that was a good nap..." she murmured sleepily, beginning to make her way towards her desk so she could get right to work. "Mandy!" "Wah!" Mandy turned and began stumbling backwards until she fell over her chair. Her head shot up just as quickly, glaring at the agent who had scared her and made her far more alert now. "Oona, what is it?!" "Just..." Oona stammered as she grabbed ahold of Mandy's wrist and yanked her. "...come with me!" Before the hybrid knew it, she was soaring towards the Lab and then released for what she was convinced was some kind of test of balance. As she flailed her hands about, the palms of her hands got caught on the green beaker-shaped table, causing her to give a sigh. "Oona, what're you-" Mandy's words were cut off by a few fingers to the lips, causing a squeak sound to emerge from somewhere that definitely wasn't from her. "Hold on." Oona narrowed her eyes and lifted her head up, moving it to and fro. When she deemed it safe, she let out a sigh. "Okay, no one's around." A bolt of fear suddenly pierced Mandy's heart, and she could feel her own heartbeat booming in all four of her ears. That phrase, used in that context, could mean any number of things when it came to Oona. Either she was going to begin sweeping up the floor, or she was going to create her own kill count and mark her first victim on it. "Now, I'm about to tell you a big secret. You can't tell anyone. Got it?" Mandy swallowed a ball of saliva that had gotten stuck in her throat. All she could do was babble out an incoherent response that Oona apparently took as a solid "yes", because she went around to the hybrid's side and began whispering in her ear. Suddenly feeling nauseous, Mandy gagged, her stomach gurgling and allowing its contents to begin making their way back up. "Oona..." she wheezed out, her ears drooping as she gazed at the Lab Director with sweat beginning to pour down her green face. "Why...why would you-" As many signals were sent to the rest of her body that said "vomiting is bad, don't do it", Mandy knew it was inevitable. She didn't see a bucket, forcing her to go behind the counter on the other side of the Lab and do the deed there. Her body heaved as the messy contents of food and acid poured from her mouth like a waterfall. Only a minute or two passed before Mandy was finished. When she slowly got to her feet, with her legs shaking and the counter used as an impromptu assistive mobility device, she found Oona standing there, arms crossed and treating the act of vomiting on her floor as much of a minor inconvenience as getting a paper cut. "If you tell anyone..." Oona marched up to Mandy and poked her in the nose. "...then you can feel the wrath of my mallet." Sick as Mandy was, Oona's threat began weaving its way into her mind. "Got it?" And then it clicked. "Got it?!" "G-g-g-g-got it! G-got it..." Mandy weakly smiled. "B-but you trust...you tr-trust me t-to..." A sharp glare from Oona made Mandy not even bother to finish the sentence. She gave a bout of nervous laughter. "U-um, look, I...hafta go iron myyyyyeeeeeeeee..." She bit her lip. "...daaaaan-tastic dinner! 'Kayseeyoulaterbyeandsorryforthepuke!" With that, the hybrid rushed off to the hallway, wanting to avoid Oona's wrath but also wanting to clean herself up. The nausea had gone away by the time she had reached the Bathroom, and as she undressed for a last-minute shower, the gravity of the situation had fully settled in. She wants me to...keep a secret. It was lucky that Mandy had checked her badge phone's messages as soon as she got dressed, lest she miss Oscar's request entirely. The President of the Scientists had only just become such, usurping the throne from a madman named Obbs who dabbled in mind control and even managed to get Oprah and Oscar himself under his command before Oona stopped his nefarious plan. Mandy knew Oscar well, as he had been the Lab Director of Precinct 13579 prior to that whole debacle, and the two had remained good friends even with his rank ascension. Still, as she trudged to the Science building at the Odd Squad Academy, she couldn't help but chew the inside of her cheek in annoyance as she made a mental note to ask him to hire more Scientists. An Instructor O Mandy was not, and it had been shown time and time again with how she would fall asleep during lectures, go on long tangents about unrelated topics, and make a mess of things by spilling chemicals onto the floor and onto unwitting students. Being a teacher simply was not for her, but it was clear that Oscar had not gotten the lesson drilled into his head yet. Still, there was one thing that was weighing on her mind more than anything else. "Oona trusts me to keep a secret?" she ranted aloud, giving a groan. "She knows I can't do that!" "Do what?" A piercing yowl that could only come from a cat made its way out of Mandy, the hybrid jumping a foot or so into the air with her tail and hair sticking straight up. A Scientist stood behind her, with light brown hair that was tied in two small braided space buns on each side and was connected by an equally-braided bridge across the top of her head. She donned the same Scientist attire as Oona did, same as nearly everyone else in the building who weren't Scientists-in-training with gray sweatshirts instead of a white button-up undershirt. "I, u-um..." Mandy's eyes darted from side to side. "Hi, Odelia!" she said, deciding to settle on a greeting. "Never mind what I said, um...Oscar wanted to see me?" Odelia didn't question Mandy's nervousness whatsoever, the smile remaining on her face. "Yeah, he's upstairs. Follow me and I'll take you to him." It was lucky that Odelia wasn't much of a talker, leaving Mandy free to retreat into her mind and think hard about what Oona had said. Okay, so I can’t say the secret out loud. But I can think it! Unless someone can read minds or something...hnngh, I hate living in a world of oddities sometimes! Mandy rolled her eyes. Just have to keep it in...for...forever… ...Forever... ... Forever. Mandy paled, ever so slightly. Her eyes went into a thousand-yard stare, like she had just seen an unfathomable horror. Oh no. She wants me to keep it in forever?! I’m terrible at keeping secrets in forever! Mandy swallowed a bit of saliva that was stuck in her throat. I can already feel myself sweating...how does she expect me to pull this off? I mean I talk so much, it’s gonna slip out eventually and then she’s gonna kill me with that mallet of hers and when she’s done with that she’ll maybe harvest my organs or leave me to rot or feed me to some odd creature or- "Hello-oooo? Mandy? You doing okay?" "I'mokayperfectlynormal!" The words had come out in a quick burst, almost in a robotic way, like they were programmed into her brain. Odelia simply stared at the hybrid with a look of confusion, though it didn't last very long -- she knew the hybrid well enough to not pay much mind to her thought processes and silly antics. "O...kay." she said, before gesturing to the door. "Well, we're here!" With three knocks on the door, she called, "Oscar? Mandy's here to see you!" "Send her in!" Odelia opened the door for Mandy. "Go ahead." "T-thank you." Mandy took her not-so-first steps into Oscar's office. It looked about as pristine as the Big Office, though not to blinding degrees. White was still very much a prevalent color, but blues and greens were present too -- the green Science logo, the blue carpet, and the gray chairs that sat around two cube-shaped tables, to name a few things. It was clear that Oscar's and Mandy's color preferences clashed, but she wasn't worried about that. "Oh, thank odd you came, Mandy." Oscar spun around in his chair, greeting her with a warm smile. His short light brown hair and thin-rimmed glasses had still remained well into his presidency, and the only thing that had changed about him was that he was wearing a green button-up undershirt instead of a white one. "I was worried you didn't get my message, heh!" A bout of awkward laughter slipped from Mandy's lips. "Oh, I did! I was sleeping, and then, uh...something came up, so I didn't get it until later." She twiddled her fingers. "W-what didja need?" "Well, to make a long story short, one of the Scientists was supposed to be teaching a class on gadget repairs today but he called out sick. The class starts in fifteen minutes and, well, I was hoping you could fill in!" "Again?" Mandy whined. "I..." "Please? There's no way I'm gonna be able to find anyone else in such a short span of time!" If there was one thing Mandy absolutely despised about Oscar, it was his time blindness. If it were an actual medical condition, he would be at the severe end of that spectrum. Still, she wasn't about to disobey an agent who was technically her higher-up, even if she worked in an entirely different department than him. "Ugh, fine, I'll do it! But you owe me lunch." "Deal!" Oscar nodded and stood up, beginning to head for the door. "C'mon, I'll show you where the classroom is." As the pair made their way through the hall, Mandy's eye caught a Scientist wheeling something bright and blue in a fish tank, encased in a block of ice. "Is that a blob?" "Huh? Oh! Yeah. It's frozen, though, so don't worry. I was planning on using it to have Scientists study the effects of blobs and their contents and how they affect gadgets." Mandy wanted to inquire more, she really did, but her thoughts regarding Oona's secret kept ramming into the front of her mind. "Ahaha...w-were you? That's...greeeeeeeeeat." Oscar stopped and turned around to face the hybrid, his brows furrowing in confusion. "You doing all right? You're, uh, sweating, heh." "I'm fine!" Mandy spat out, pulling on her collar. "I-it's just...really hot in here. Yeah." "Feels fine to me." Pickleferries. Should've said I was hot. Much more believable. "Ah, y-y'know what, uh, let's go to the classroom. I, uh, need time to get ready. Hau d' contraire, as Rarity says." Oscar turned around. "I don't think that's how it-" "Show me the classroom, Oscar." "Showing you the classroom!" It was lucky for Mandy that the class she was supposed to teach didn't cut into her lunchtime. She found it hard to give a lecture on the best gadget to use for sticky messes when her stomach kept growling so loud that it overshadowed her voice through the microphone -- because, of course, when it came to teaching, even the tiniest sliver of skill shown was frowned upon by the educational powers-that-be. As soon as she got back to Headquarters, she fixed herself a large salad, complete with a sandwich that reached to the bottom of the second floor with all of its assorted toppings. "Ahh, finally, lunch." Mandy mused. "That class really took a lot outta me, but at least the secret didn't leak, and that's what matters!" "You got a secret?" Mandy turned, gave another piercing yowl, and promptly fell off of her chair, sending it rolling towards the agent -- or rather, Directors -- who had approached her. The impact was enough to send the top half of the stacked sandwich toppling down onto the floor, with a lot of the toppings landing in Mandy's tail while others went all over her suit and onto the cement floor. In her shock, she barely noticed that the ones who had interrupted her were none other than Olive and Otto, who had watched the events unfold with surprise. "Wow. I didn't think you were gonna yowl like that." "She's related to Peaches, you know." "Can it, wise guy." Olive playfully nudged her partner, causing him to chuckle. Mandy groaned as she struggled to get to her feet, jerking her tail up into the air so the ingredients in it would land in her mouth. She didn't mind any tail hairs that attached to them, as she was too hungry to care, and ate her food with gratefulness that at least some of it could be salvaged. As soon as she finished eating those, she ate the ones off of her suit, then raced for the rest of the toppings on the floor before they could become contaminated as per her "one-minute rule". With magic, it made the process easy, and aside from some of the sauce, she was able to eat a large majority of her toppings. "People walk on there." Olive remarked with disgust. She had seen Mandy eat things off of floors numerous times, but that didn't mean it was any less disgusting. Mandy pulled a bottle of disinfecting cleaner and a roll of paper towels out from her hair, getting right to cleaning up the sauce spills. "Soooo..." Olive bit her lip. "What's this I hear about you having a secret?" Mandy stiffened. She dropped the paper towel from her magic, her eyes widening as a sense of dread began washing over her. Furiously, she scooped up the paper towel again and cleaned up the rest of her mess, then tucked the cleaner and roll back into her hair while floating the used paper towel over to the trash can in the kitchen and dropping it inside. "Me, have a secret?" Mandy got on her feet. "C'mon, Momma, you know I'm terrible at keeping secrets! Keepin' 'em, spillin' 'em, I'm terrible at it all!" The bout of awkward, stilted laughter she gave caused Olive and Otto to exchange confused looks, and attract even more from passerby agents and clients alike. After a minute or so, she cleared her throat. "W-why are you two here, anyway?" "We just had to return something to Oprah." Olive explained. "Apparently we've had it for a couple weeks and-" "'We'?" Otto smirked. "There's no 'we', partner. There's a 'you', and only a 'you'." "No there isn't!" "You kept it under your bed! You told me yourself!" "No I di-" Olive stopped and blinked for a few moments. "Oh yeah. Guess it kind of is my fault. And I deserved the yelling." "And you say I always lose things." Otto gave a scoff, not noticing Olive's piercing glare that she gave in response. Mandy, having thanked the powers-that-be that she had been granted reprieve from talking about her secret, took a few hefty swigs of soda. Still, she knew that neither Director was one to forget things, and hesitantly decided to loop the conversation back to the topic. "Anyway, I'm not keeping any secrets. This hybrid's got nothin' to hide!" "Do you mind if I shake your tail?" "Except the stuff in my tail!" Mandy held the soda in her magic and clutched her poofy tail close to her. "I keep stuff in there you don't wanna know about. 'Specially not you, Momma!" Olive's eyes went half-lidded. "Good. Because we didn't ask." "Good, 'cuz ya shouldn't!" Mandy slammed a hand down on the edge of the bowl that held her salad, sending all of its contents straight up into the air and then straight downwards into her mouth. She did the same with the plate that held her sandwich, with the bottom half quickly flying upwards and into her mouth. She quickly swallowed, then got up from her seat. "Now...I am off to do some-" A screech that could only come from those in straitjackets was unleashed onto Headquarters right then, quickly followed by a loud bang that was almost as piercing as a shot from a rifle. Silence fell among the trio as they stared at the direction of the sound. Neither one of them felt the need to question who or what was making it. "...thingsinaplacefarfarawayfromherekaythanksseeya!" Before Olive or Otto could even open their mouths to speak, Mandy was already booking it down the right hallway as fast as her wheel-o'-feet would carry her. It was amazing to both of them how she was even able to turn the corner without crashing into the wall. "Good call." Otto nodded. "Oona in her 'I will destroy all useless gadgets' state of mind is...terrifying. We should go back to HQ before we end up on the chopping block." He moved towards the double-doors. His partner, however, was staring down the hallway where Mandy had gone, an unreadable expression on her face. "Partner? Something wrong?" Olive snapped out of her trance, staring at Otto and blinking a few times. "Huh? Oh. Nothing. Let's go back." She followed Otto through the doors, but couldn't help sneaking one last look at the hallway, her eyes narrowing as she began to look back on her interactions with Mandy, noting that the hybrid seemed to be hiding something...but what she was hiding, exactly, wasn't something she was going to be so keen on sharing. Regardless, it was going to bug Olive all day, and that put her in a sour mood that not even Otto could jerk her out of. Mandy's room was the first place she had thought to hide, and as she closed the door and flopped onto her bed, she released a sigh she didn't realize had been locked away inside of her. "What made Oona think I can keep a secret?" she blurted. "I can barely keep my mouth shut, and she thinks I can keep her secret safe?!" A ragged sigh caused her body to quiver slightly. "Should've asked Oscar about it, but even then...I don't think he knows!" She rose, and began to nervously pace back and forth. "What's worse...I have to keep it possibly maybe hopefully not forever. I can't tell anyone!" Three resounding knocks at the door made her nearly jump out of her skin. Before she could even spit out anything related to "don't come in here", the door opened, revealing none other than Peaches standing in the doorway. "Hey, cuz. You busy?" All she got in response was a stare that was starting to make her uncomfortable. "Cuz?" Peaches took a few tentative footsteps towards the hybrid, then snapped her fingers twice. "Hey! Earth to Agent 57! Your cousin wants to ask you something! Wake up!" "I didn't tell her I swear!!" Silence fell upon the room. Peaches reeled back, blinking a few times in surprise before she collected her bearings. "Uh...tell her what?" "P-P-Peaches!" Mandy whirled on her cousin, throwing up her hands and beginning to stammer. It took her a while before she was able to form coherent words. "I, I'm so sorry, I didn't...I mean...it's a long story and-" "Your hair looks messy. What happened to it?" Peaches interjected, pointing to the brown rat's nest that sat upon Mandy's head. "And don't say you didn't fix it this morning, because I saw you go into the Bathroom this morning with messy hair and come out with it clean." Mentally, Mandy cursed, largely out of her complete lack of foresight in fixing up her appearance so she looked completely normal and didn't raise any suspicions. Now, because her hair was entangled, she had to worm her way out of Peaches'. "I..." Her eyes shifted back and forth for a moment or two. "...j-just wanted to try out a new style!" She nodded furiously. "Yeah yeah yeah, messy hair's all the rage nowadays, that's what Rarity told me, mhm!" Peaches didn't buy it. "Uh-huh." she said, narrowing her eyes as her tone became laced with doubt. Ultimately, though, she chose to move on to a different subject. "Well, anyway, I came by to ask if you wanted to help me search for the Vallea culprit, maybe catch some fish...ooh, or, we can go to the supermarket and I can ogle at the fish I can’t eat while you play with the lobsters! How about it, huh?" The offer sounded tempting to Mandy. Some fresh air would be just what she needed to relieve her stress and get her mind off of this terrible secret. The only problem was...she was going to be around Peaches, who was a very perceptive catgirl. Mandy wasn't sure if that was the norm for her species or not, but either way, it presented a problem for her. Settling on going, her mind began running through escape plans, cobbling one together as an out if she needed it. "Uh...well...sure, I don't see why not." "Oh good. Honestly, I hate going alone. It's so...lonely!" Peaches gave a relieved exhale. "You ready to go now?" "Sure!" Mandy chirped, her mouth curving upwards and making the sound of a creaking door as she put on a toothy smile. "All righty then, let's go!" Peaches' own smile turned into a light frown as she waved her hand. "But, uh, put the smile away. It scares me." A soft whine accompanied Mandy's mouth turning back to a frown, and the pair left the room, making sure to shut the door behind them. Apparently Mandy hadn't been paying much attention to her cousin as of late, because somehow she had practiced flying with her tail enough to where she could go high into the air. Maybe she had been watching Mandy fly, and had gotten inspiration from that. Still, Mandy didn't really know when, exactly, she would use the ability. Aside from now, of course. Because searching from the air is far better than searching on the ground. "Okay, we're in Oakville. That culprit couldn't have gone far." Peaches spoke with an air of confidence as she indicated to the badge phone that was hanging on her chest. "Now that I have a badge phone, we can spread out and I'll call you if I find anything!" She pointed to her right. "You go that way and I'll go the other way, okay?" Mandy didn't respond. She was too busy staring at the ground, her mind whirling with thoughts of the secret, of the horrible things Oona would do to her if it got out and she got wind of it...of how her funeral would be planned. "Uh, Mandy? You alive?" Still no response. Peaches narrowed her eyes, raised her palms, and began slapping Mandy's cheek quickly and repeatedly. "I am slapping your face, now wake up!" "I didn't tell anyone, Oona, I promise!" The plaintive cry echoed into the air, where a few Pegasi flying by picked up on it but otherwise said nothing as they continued on their way. Peaches stared at her cousin with worry for a minute or two, then let out a sigh of frustration. "If you're gonna be out of it for the entire time, then maybe you should head home." "No! I'm..." Mandy, snapping out of her brief trance, shook her head. "I was just lost in thought. I-it won't happen again! Let's go find your culprit!" Just as she was set to take off, Peaches grabbed her by the tail, stopping her before she could even begin. "Hold on." she said, her gaze turning steely. "We'll go and find the culprit, but if we don't find them after a while, let's settle down for a nap." "But I'm not tired!" "And I'm not a catgirl." "No, really, I'm telling the truth!" "We are settling down for a nap and that's final!" Peaches snapped, punctuating her order with a scoff. "Besides, it's not like you to refuse a chance to sleep. You must've had a hard day's work so far. Some sleep will do you good." Mandy blinked. "But- but I-" She tried to utter out that she had already taken a nap, but something told her that Peaches wouldn't be so keen on hearing something that would be an excuse to her and utter truth to Mandy. The hybrid sighed and conceded. "Fine..." "That's my cousin!" Peaches began heading in the direction opposite of Mandy. "Now let's get to work!" All Mandy could give in response was a very unenthusiastic "yay" followed by a few halfhearted chuckles as she watched Peaches head off. Feeling like a ball and chain was wrapped around her but was staying in midair -- as balls and chains tended to do in this world, of course -- she went the way her cousin had indicated, and began looking for the culprit. Not five minutes into the search, she was already beginning to regret even coming outside. No matter what, her brain refused to scrub away any thoughts of the secret. It had fully infected most of it, making the secret the only thing she thought about aside from the basics like walking and talking and eating and the like. "I can't believe I said yes to this." she said aloud, as soon as she realized that very few Pegasi were in the skies today. A bit, dare she say, odd, since there were usually a lot more, but she didn't question it too much and instead viewed it as the powers-that-be granting her luck. "I love spending time with Peach, but...if I keep hanging out with her, the secret's gonna slip! And then Oona's gonna hit me with her mallet, maybe kill me with that thing..." Her body shuddered, first out of fear and then out of frustration as a rising growl made itself known. "Why does it hafta be so complicated?! Oona, you made a really bad choice..." "Hey! Weird monster thing high in the sky!" Mandy stopped. Her wings kept going like a hummingbird's as usual, but the rest of her stopped. Her expression turned into one of confusion. "Weird monster...?" "Yeah, you! C'mere!" Swiveling her head around, Mandy tried to find the source of the voice, believing it to be a Pegasus filly going by how close and how high-pitched it was. But nothing presented itself. "On the ground!" Mandy's gaze moved to the ground, where, sure enough, a small shape was frantically waving. The hybrid soared down, seeing that the shape actually didn't have wings at all, being an Earth filly with a dark red mane and tail and a light red coat. Landing on her feet and tucking her wings in, Mandy gave a smile, and then opened her mouth to speak. "What seems to be the problem, young filly?" "Never seen you around here before. Who're you?" Mandy eyed her suit for a few moments, then her gaze met the filly's. "Do you, uh...know about Odd Squad?" "Yeah. But I've never seen you." The filly's eyes went half-lidded. "Don't tell me you're a loose creature that somehow borrowed a suit from Odd Squad and is gonna eat me. I've dealt with enough of those." It was clear to Mandy now that either this filly was either one of oddness's dedicated victims, or she was really that bratty agent Orchid reincarnated as a pony. Or her sibling. Or, well...related to her, somehow. She certainly reminded Mandy of Orchid, at the very least. "No, I'm the real deal!" The hybrid smiled. "Agent Mandy, from Precinct 13579? In Toronto? That ringin' a bell?" The filly blinked. Her expression contorted into one that held both disappointment and a complete lack of impression. "You're Mandy?" "The one and only!" "The one that eats blobs?" "Yeah!" A few moments passed before Mandy realized what the filly just said. She blinked twice. "Wait, no. Where did you-" "A couple friends of mine were talking about how you like to eat blobs. Now that you're here, maybe I can finally find out the truth." Mandy's mouth ran dry as fast as a large wet/dry vacuum taken to a river. The last part bounced around in her brain, causing beads of sweat to begin forming on her forehead as she recalled the secret, and all that was riding on it, once again. Her mouth opened, and all she could utter out were unintelligible stammers. The filly sat and crossed her front legs, glaring at Mandy. "Yes or no, c'mon, I don't have all day." Like reciting a single letter in a grade school class's lesson, Mandy simply spit out the pronunciation of the letter "E" over and over again. She clasped her hands to her head, rubbing it fiercely as though that would make her regain a sense of coherency. The filly rolled her eyes. "System overload." Whether it was that comment or it was just perfect timing, Mandy was finally able to form a sentence. "I don't eat blobs!" she screamed to the sky. "Gah, I can't take it, stop tryna make me spill the beans!" She took off in a run, not quite reaching wheel-o'-feet status but coming pretty close. She only barely heard the filly calling her "disappointing", coming to a realization as her feet took her past people and ponies who glanced at her wondering why she was looking so distressed. "That's it! I can't be around anyone. Ponies, humans, catgirls, anything that's alive!" Mandy applied the brakes, causing her to kick up two small mounds of dirt under her shoes. "It's the only way..." She stared at her hands. "...the only way I'm gonna be able to keep this secret." The realization was horrid. Someone might as well have told her that all her friends were killed in a freak accident. Mandy was a sociable hybrid, someone who preferred to be with others rather than enjoy some self-company. As such, she loved to talk, as was evidenced by the way she would go on crazy tangents long enough to where she could be a poster child for public speaking. This didn't bode well for anything classified as confidential or secret, and most everyone knew it. Mandy's body rolled with a sigh. "As much as I wanna help my cousin find who she's looking for...I can't be around her." She straightened up. "But I'm not just gonna leave her hanging!" Unclipping her badge phone and opening it, she quickly pressed the 5 button twice and held it up to her ear as the ringback tone began playing. "Hello?" "Peach? It's Mandy." Peaches gasped. "You?! Don't tell me you've found the culprit!" "No, no, I didn't find them. It's just..." Mandy bit her lip. "I have to go back to HQ." "What? Why? We haven't even been searching for that long! We were gonna hang out together too, you know!" Regret began worming its way into Mandy. "I know, it's just...I remembered I..." Her eyes darted about as she tried to scrabble together the excuse she had thought of before. "...have work to do! Yeah, I, uh, forgot to tell Oprah where I was going too, she’s gonna be so so mad! So I’d better head back." "Aww..." Peaches' voice sounded disheartened, and it was like she had stabbed Mandy with a knife. "Well, all right. I guess we'll make sturdier plans another day, huh?" Still, in spite of how sad she sounded, Mandy was thrilled that she had been let off the hook with her cousin, doing a fist pump. "Yes yes yes! Oh, thank you sooooo much, cuz! You don't know how happy I am!" She gave a chuckle. "Bye!" She snapped her phone shut, clipped it onto her chest, and began bouncing towards the nearest tube entrance. Unbeknownst to her, however, Peaches had a rather different reaction to the conversation. "Thank you? She's...not even sorry?" Peaches blinked, closing her phone and putting it back on her chest. As realization began to sink in as to what had happened, a growl came forth. "Did she just blow me off?! For work?! Why would she do such a horrible...awful..." Her anger was short-lived, beginning to dissipate before it was replaced by sadness and heartbreak. Tears began pooling in her eyes, and her voice cracked on the final two words of her sentence. "...terrible thing?" As Mandy walked through the double-doors, her mouth had surprisingly taken the hint and relegated her words to her brain, to exist as thoughts and not as dialogue. Aw, I feel so bad...what I did was wrong, but...it was also the right thing to do. After all, if I get mashed to mushy-mush by Oona’s mallet then I can’t be there to help Peach look for the culprit! "Agent Mandy! Where have you been?" The harsh voice jerked Mandy out of her thoughts, and she lifted her head up to spot Oprah coming towards her. "Ah, Oprah!" Mandy's brain quickly shoved the thoughts aside. "I was...helping Peaches find the Vallea culprit. B-but I'll get to work right now, I promise!" "Good. See to it that you do. You have a huge stack of paperwork to complete." It was then that Mandy noticed the stack in question, which looked about half as high as her burger from earlier but was certainly not enough to constitute "huge". Still, it wasn't the stack that intimidated her -- no, it was doing it around agents. Agents who could easily get wind of the secret, gab about it to Oona, and then feel regret over crafting the perfect circumstances for a completely unjustified murder. A nervous gulp made its way down her esophagus, followed by a strangled and high-pitched "Yup!" Oprah, seemingly sensing her nervousness, patted her shoulder. "And don't forget, you can always ask Pinkie Pie for help if you need it. She should be free right now." "Got it!" Mandy's ears swiveled backwards to catch the sound of Oprah ascending the stairs. When she heard the glass door leading to her office creak slightly, she gave a weary sigh, placing a hand on her heart. Surely, there wouldn't be any more problems with any other agents toda- "Mandy." The hybrid had lost track of how many yowls she had given today. She was starting to become convinced she would turn into a cat somewhere down the line. "Oona?!" The Scientist narrowed her eyes. "You haven't spilled the beans, have you?" "N-no! I swear, I haven't, but Oona, I...it's just..." Mandy threw herself down onto her knees. "How long do I hafta keep it?!" Oona's expression turned from anger to bemusement. "What do you mean, 'how long do you have to keep it'?" she said. "Keep it until I decide I'm ready to tell everyone." In a voice that could only come from a rubber duck with speech capability, "Which is when?" "When it's time!" Standing up again, Mandy gave a disappointed groan. Oona began to walk away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to have a little..." Her mallet came into full view of a now-paling Mandy. "...fun. And if you don't wanna be part of the fun, then make sure you keep the secret." Mandy's legs began to wobble, her teeth began to chatter, and her tummy was quivering with something she wasn't sure what it chalked up to. Either digestive troubles or anxiety, and she was sure it was the latter because she rarely had any digestive troubles. Slowly but surely, she ambled over to her desk and sat down, throwing her head onto the desk and causing the stack of papers to shake for a few moments before falling still. Her mind became plagued with thoughts of the secret again, but within that sea of bad thoughts came a wave of more thoughts as to where she was going to go with all of those papers that was as far away from people as she could get. What didn't really help was the fact that she had gotten a paper cut on her forehead...which was bleeding pretty profusely for its size. After applying a bandage to her forehead, Mandy swooped up the stack of papers in her magic and went down the hallways. "I said I wasn't gonna be around people, but...I'm a people magnet! People get stuck to me!" A pause. "Literally, at least once, people have gotten stuck to me!" That was true, of course. Mandy just seemed to attract being of both the human and equine variety wherever she went. And more than once, she's had the side of her body glued to someone else's. She remembered being attached to the hip of Applejack once, who was lifted into the air every time Mandy stood because of how much taller she was than the farmpony. It looked awkward, and it felt awkward. She had tried to scrub the incident from her mind, to no avail. She heaved a sigh. "Now I can go to my room, where no one can bother me, I can get some work done, and be away from people!" She gave a few blinks. "And ponies! Them too!" In her confident strides, she nearly ran over a passing Rarity, who quickly hoofed it out of the way. "Oh, Mandy, darling, if I could just have-" "Absolutely no minutes of my time will be given, thank youuuu!" came the dismissive response, as Mandy's pace began to quicken so that it looked like she was speedwalking. She barely caught a "pity" from Rarity as she quickly darted into her room and closed the door, making a mental note to go out and try to find a good lock. A relieved sigh was pushed out from her lungs, and she let the tension holding her down melt away. Moving the sewing machine on her table to the side, she placed the stack of papers on it and smiled. "Maybe I should make this my new desk!" she said, her tail swishing in thought and then stopping after a few moments as she shook her head. "Nah, that might be too drastic." Her horn lit up in an array of colors as she pulled out her chair and took a seat. She cracked her knuckles and let her magic encase a small stack of papers out of the bigger stack, electing to nick away at each small stack until it was all done. With a conjured pencil in her prismatic aura, she got to work, the relief she felt winning the war of attrition against the intrusive thoughts of the secret this time around. Weaving through Precinct 13579's agents, Olive and Otto butted heads over a topic that had been long withstanding since they were both in the Investigation department. "Otto, we've been through this a hundred times. I'm not zapping you with the Parrot Ray!" "Why not? I'd love to be a parrot! I'd be able to fly and speak bird speak!" "I said no, and don't you even think...about..." Olive's rebuttal trailed off, and her feet came to a stop as her eyes laid upon a rather downcast Peaches who appeared to be on the verge of tears. Noting that the catgirl wasn't usually one for crying, the Director was quick to drop the argument and rush to comfort her. "Peaches? Why are you sitting on Mandy's desk? What's wrong?" Peaches glanced at Olive and Otto for only a moment, anger flashing in her eyes. "Because that...that...inbred vermin blew me off!" Olive blinked. "Who blew you off?" Peaches gave an ugly, snot-filled sniffle. "Me and her, we were going to look for the Vallea culprit and spend some time together, but then she said that she had to come back to Odd Squad because Oprah would be mad at her. But that’s not even the worst part!" She buried her face in her hands. "She...she had no remorse! She was happy about forgoing our plans!" Olive didn't need to look past the first few words to know who Peaches was referring to. Still, she had to wonder if Mandy being so out-of-character with her cousin tied in to earlier in the day when she had acted stiff and awkward around her and Otto. It was food for thought that began cooking in her brain. "That's odd. Mandy usually loves spending time with you." she mused, sitting on the explanation for a minute before she perked up. "Unless she lied to you!" A hiccup came from Peaches, causing her to bounce slightly. "Lied?" "It’s possible that Mandy could be hiding something. She was acting pretty suspicious when we went to see her a couple hours ago." Olive theorized, Otto nodding in agreement with his partner. "B-but why? Mandy's the one who doesn't like secrets being kept from her, and now she's hiding something from me?" Another hiccup. "Talk about hypocrisy!" Otto nodded in agreement with that, too, remembering when Pinkie Pie had been made Odd Squad's Party Planner Agent and how disastrous that had turned out, especially when Mandy had gotten wind of the news. "Maybe we should confront her about it." he suggested. "If our last interaction was any indication..." Olive began, only stopping when she forced herself to admit the truth. "Ah, who am I kidding. Mandy's a terrible liar and we all know it." Peaches and Otto both gave murmurs of agreement. "Anyway, I agree, Otto. But I want to do this solo." Peaches tilted her head. "Why?" "I'm Mandy's mother. She might be more apt to opening up to me than to you or Otto." "Wait!" Peaches wiped her tears away and hopped off of the desk. "Please, let me come too! We're cousins. Family's..." She stopped to take a big inhale through her nose in a vain attempt to clear some of the snot from it. "Family's gotta stick together, right?" Olive nodded. "Good point." She reached behind her back and pulled out a few tissues, placing them in Peaches' hand. "Okay, first thing tomorrow, you and I are going to find out what's going on with Mandy." "Sounds great!" Peaches remarked, taking a tissue and blowing her nose with it. Otto began looking around the bullpen with intent, his brow furrowing in confusion as he asked the question that no one had an answer to. "Hey, where is Mandy right now, anyway?" "Mandy...you told the secret?!" Mandy tried to back away from Oona's crazed glare, her face being thrust into the hybrid's own face. But for every move she made, it felt like the threaded confines holding her hands together behind her back and her ankles together on the floor got tighter and tighter. So, all she could do was twist her head away and avert her gaze, and even that proved to be near fruitless, like a celebutante spotting something golden and valuable in a store window. Her blue eyes found their way back to Oona's brown ones in due time, as they always did. "Oona, you don't understand!" she pleaded. "I can't keep secrets!" "Anyone can keep a secret!" A low chuckle that could only come from someone who had made a psychiatric hospital their permanent abode slipped from a pair of lips. "Anyone who can't is a filthy liar. Including you." "I'm not lying! I'm telling the truth!" Mandy screamed. "Pinkie's...well, she's..." Her eyes darted back and forth for a moment before she groaned, realizing that her partner was just as unreliable with secrets as Mandy herself was. "Bad example." "Agent Pinkie Pie..." Oona's mouth turned into an ugly grimace. "...knows how to keep a secret." She tapped a finger to her chin. "What was it she said once? 'Losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend...forever'?" Mandy began to visibly pale. "O-Oona, you're not gonna sever our friendship over a silly secret!" Nervous laughter erupted forth, sprinkled with just a pinch of insanity and desperation. "I repair gadgets for you when you're busy! I invent new gadgets with you! I've even been your guinea pig! Literally and figuratively!" "Consider those days over." The words were spat out so quickly that it put an abrupt end to Mandy's latest plea. The hybrid opened her mouth to speak again, but the sight of Oona's mallet being dragged behind her -- and looking about as big as Mandy's own hammer -- made her throat begin to close up. Oona's smile was as wide as a mile, but it definitely wasn't the good kind of smile. Mandy didn't need Pinkie Pie to tell her that. "I think it's time you joined in on the fun." she purred, lifting up the mallet and polishing its head with the sleeve of her lab coat. "Fun?" came the squeak. "Yes. The fun I have destroying these worthless hunks of junk and stripping them of parts!" Mandy began to grow confused by Oona's wielding of plurals. Still, whether it was simply a slip-up or not, she knew exactly what the Scientist had in store for her. Her heart began to race faster and faster. "Y-y-you're...n-not gonna-" "I may not be as strong as you, or as strong as Ms. O, or Olive, or Otto, or…" Oona stopped, gave a low growl, and furiously shook her head, smacking the base of her palm against it a few times. "The point is, you will be stripped of parts as well. I’m sure two lungs and a kidney would really help me with some experiments. And Dr. O could use them to study odd diseases." Mandy's body began to visibly shake like it was caught in a 6.5 magnitude earthquake. She began to feel lightheaded, no doubt as a result of her heart racing at magnificent speeds. "Don't take my kidney! I need my kidney!" she cried out, tears launching from her eyes and splattering onto the floor in front of her. Oona met this latest plea with apathy. "No you don't." "Yes I do! I'm not old enough to have my organs taken and donated! Please, don't-" An ominous-sounding musical sting, similar to one that was cued often in reality TV shows, played somewhere. It was just the right accompaniment for Mandy to begin struggling, even in spite of her binds. She kicked and thrashed about, the chair she was sitting on miraculously staying upright throughout it all, as though it were enchanted with a magic spell. No matter what she did, however, she couldn't get free. Her magic and wings, as well, refused to come forth, but she refused to give up. A moving target, however, only served to make Oona more enraged. "You're not getting away, you untrustworthy secret-spiller!" she yelled. A psychotic scream preluded the raising of her mallet and the striking of it, directly down upon Mandy with a resounding bang. As Mandy shot up in bed, a high-pitched scream left her as her eyes quickly darted around the room. Everything was as it should be -- the stack of papers was gone from when she had taken them down to the File Room after its completion, her chair was pushed in and the sewing machine was moved back to its original position, and everything else in her room was in its usual spick-and-span state. The hybrid flopped backwards onto her bed, a series of rapid breaths arriving and leaving her lungs. "I...I have to keep this secret, at all costs!" she declared. "If I don't...then my life's gonna be forfeit!" Her keen ears picked up on the sound of muffled voices approaching her room. Almost immediately, she sat up, eyeing her door with concern. "I hope that's someone walking by..." Three knocks came a-knockin' on her door. "It's not!" she yelped, quickly leaping out of bed and making a beeline for its underside, her feet shuffling along the floor as she attempted to get her lower half in. It did so with a pop, and she breathed a sigh of relief before beginning to hold her breath as she heard the door open. "This is the only room we haven't checked." Mandy knew that voice. It was a voice she had feared a few times before, and it was a voice she was absolutely fearing now. The only question was, who was with her? "Mandy? Are you in here?" the voice called. "It's Olive and Peaches. We need to talk." Mandy had to bite her lip until it bled in order to prevent the squeal she had building up inside of her to eke out. Olive looking for her was one thing, but when Peaches came into the picture, the search could hardly be classified as a search. Pickleferries, I forgot about Peach and her sense of smell! Ohh, she's gonna catch wind of my scent, it's all over, it's all over! The sound of a couple sniffs. And then, "Hold on. I smell her." Mandy tried to curl herself up into a tight ball, wrapping her tail around her. It, perhaps, would have worked, if not for Peaches peering under the bed and spotting her only a second later. "Aha!" A frightened "eep!" came from Mandy as she tried tucking her head closer to her body. "Cuz, get out from under there." Peaches said, reaching a hand under her bed in a futile effort to try and grab onto some part of Mandy that she could pull. In response, the hybrid backed up until she felt her rump meet the wall. "Allow me." Olive stepped forward and effortlessly lifted the bed, revealing a scruffy-looking, pajama-clad Mandy whose eyebags showed a lack of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise (not that she needed it -- the fear was what was keeping her going more than anything else). She set the bed aside, gazing at Mandy with a look of sympathy. "Why are you hiding under the bed?" Peaches asked. "The more important question is, what are you hiding from us?" Mandy began to shiver, burying her face in her arms. Pickleferries, they're gonna know! And if I speak...if I speak...they're gonna know everything. "Mandy. You dumped Peaches in favor of doing work when you had time off, and you had no regret for it." Olive raised a finger. "That was a very rude thing to do. Apologize to her and tell us what's going on." Mandy shook her head furiously. She was well aware that what she did was rude, and she wouldn't have done it at any other time, especially not to her cousin -- but, at the risk of sounding selfish, her life was at stake. And she didn't want to bet her life over something as small as a secret. "We're here to listen, you know." Peaches urged. "We're family!" A realization settled in Mandy's brain right then. They're not gonna let up. I hafta get outta here, or else I'm gonna spill the beans! Peaches and Olive patiently waited for an answer. One that Mandy was more than happy to provide as her mouth scrunched up and she banished the secret to the farthest corners of her mind. "I can't be around you right now! I'm sorry!" "Why not? Do you have an odd disease?" Olive asked. "I just can't, okay?!" Mandy screamed, her voice audibly cracking as she fired up her horn. "Leave me alone!" And in a bright rainbow-colored flash, the hybrid was gone, leaving only a few sparkles in her wake. "Well that plan was a bust." Peaches dryly remarked. "It's okay. We still have tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. We'll ask her, and she'll relent eventually." Olive said matter-of-factly. "Clearly she's hiding something important if she can't be around us and wants us to leave her alone." "What will asking her continuously accomplish?" "She might be in a better mood." Olive's mouth curved up into a small smile as she got an idea. "Maybe we could get Oprah involved too..." "Why her?" "Mandy will have to listen to her boss. It's that drive of undying loyalty." Olive smirked. "And friendship." Peaches pinched her mouth inwards. "I don't know...Mandy is acting weird, and we should do something about it, but...I don’t think this is the way to do it." "Well, do you have any better ideas?" "...No." "Figured you didn't." Olive gave a mighty exhale. "So, we’ll rope Oprah in on what’s going on and we'll all get Mandy to spill the beans." Peaches simply gave a nod. "I'm gonna head back to my Headquarters. Still have some work to do." Olive turned Mandy's bed right side up again before leaving the room. "See you later." Peaches watched her go, her ears folding downwards as she eyed Mandy's unmade bed and untouched Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise. Her heart panged every few seconds, struck with bolts of heartbreak and pain, and she bit her lip as her next words tumbled out in a murmur. "Cuz...what're you hiding? Why won't you tell us?" A bright flash marked Mandy's arrival at her desk, as she took in and pushed out a few more rapid breaths. Her heart was thrumming in her eardrums like ponies at the Running of the Leaves, and sweat was pouring down her face as her body began to heat up. "That was close...too close!" she squeaked, furiously shaking her head to try and calm herself down. "I have to go to a place where there's no people or ponies! Where I can..." Her eyes widened as an idea took root in her head. "...be alone..." There was a place where she could be alone. Where she had toughed it out for months, living on barely anything and yet still managing to survive long enough to take down a creature at least thrice her size using nothing but adrenaline and a drive of protection. Yes. It was perfect. No one knew where it was, which meant that no one could come get her. All she would have were the animals and odd creatures surrounding her, many of whom were unable to speak English. Or at least she hoped, anyway. At least for the odd creatures, because regular animals couldn't speak and there was a stark difference. But she was getting off-track. "The woods! Where I was a runaway! That's it!" Her expression lit up. " If I can just live in those woods until Oona’s ready to reveal the secret, then I won’t have to worry! It sounds drastic, but..." She rubbed her arm and frowned. "...it’s the only place I can be away from everyone." Her mood soured as she began to wonder if this really was a good idea. In her mind, thoughts of her being ostracized by the town and running away from it with Clementine in tow began to surface, followed by the memory of her leaving Clementine in the hands of the adults who had terrorized them. Even though she had long since moved past the pain and had befriended Clementine, the thoughts plagued her now, as though her brain was warning her that her idea was a bad one that would only lead to misery. "I don't wanna run away from Odd Squad again, but..." Mandy bit her lip. Slowly and hesitantly, her right hand reached for a blank piece of paper, while her left hand reached for an Odd Squad-branded pen. She stared at the objects for a few minutes, wondering if the blank slate of the paper and the retracted state of the pen would mock her if they were afflicted by some kind of oddness that granted them communication powers. She really didn't want to do this. She really didn't. But what other choice did she have, when she kept on bumping into people and ponies alike everywhere she went? The only other thing she could really think of was to declare a personal vacation, and she knew all too well how that had ended up. "I don't have a choice." came the resigned murmur, as she clicked the top of the pen and began writing her letter like it was being sent to Twilight's own Princess Celestia. When she was done, she turned towards the doors, took a few tentative steps... "I'm so sorry." ...and made her way through the double-doors, to the tubes that would lead her to the aboveground world, where she would finally be able to avoid her premature death at the hands of a Scientist that made Oscar's eccentricity seem tame by comparison. "So. You're clear on the plan?" Oprah took a sip from her apple-flavored juice box. "Yep. But honestly, I don't see why I need to be dragged into this." "You're Mandy's boss." Olive explained. "If anyone can make her see reason, it's you." As much as Oprah wanted to claim that family trumps work, she couldn't deny that Olive made a good point. A groan left her as she put her feet down onto the floor and rose from her chair. "Fine. Let's go find her." The trio left Oprah's office and began making their way downstairs. They headed for Mandy's desk, a place they knew she frequented based on mathematical probability about where the hybrid was most likely to be. Peaches reached the desk first, immediately eyeing a white paper with familiar handwriting that had been placed on it. "What's this paper? Did she forget to file this?" she asked, holding it up for Olive and Oprah to see. Oprah blinked. "Looks like a note." Peaches turned the paper over and began to read aloud from it. To everyone: I'm sorry, but I can't stay at Odd Squad anymore. I can’t be around people and I don’t wish to interact with anyone. I’m not diseased, but I do have a personal matter that I need to take care of. I will be gone for as long as I need to. It could be weeks, months or even years before I come back. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give a more ‘grandeur’ goodbye, as Rarity so calls it, but I needed to leave immediately so I don’t spill the beans. Beans that would be really super hard to clean up. Peaches' nose wrinkled. "So she's doing this because she doesn't want to spill a can of beans?" "Keep reading!" Olive urged, giving an eye roll in response to Peaches deciding to take the metaphor literally. I hope to see you all soon. I wish I could stay, I really do, but if I spill the beans then I will be killed. Please try to understand. With love and lots of superflytacklehugs, Mandy Silence fell over everyone. Eyes widened in shock as the group tried to process the last part of Mandy's letter. "She left?!" Oprah yelled, breaking the silence. "But...she...I-I didn't permit her to take a vacation!" "Hold on." Olive held up a hand. "First of all, Oprah, this isn't a vacation declaration. It's...a note from a runaway." Her heart sank as she read the note over and over again, making sure Peaches wasn't just making stuff up out of her own head or anything of the like. When she discovered that Peaches had read the letter word for word, she gave a resigned sigh. "I knew that's what was going on." "What? What is it?" Peaches asked, leaning closer to the Director. "'Spilling the beans'? That's an easy indicator that Mandy is hiding a secret. That's why she's trying to avoid us." Peaches blinked. "Huh. That would make sense. She's never good at keeping secrets." "Wait, there's a more pressing matter at hand." Oprah interrupted, her tone carrying a sense of urgency. "If Mandy spills the secret then she's going to die. Who told her the secret to begin with? Did they threaten Mandy with death if she told anyone?" "That last question seems rhetorical...but..." Olive's eyes widened. "Crumpets, you're right! That's the real reason why she refuses to tell the secret. Why she doesn't want to see us!" A ragged sigh left her. "Poor Mandy, she must be so terrified..." "We need to find out who told Mandy a secret." "And we need to find Mandy herself." Olive added to Peaches' declaration, reading the paper over again. "The note doesn't say where she went." "Okay. Mandy can handle her own out there, I'm sure." Oprah nodded. "So first things first, let's find out who's got a secret." As Peaches and Olive nodded in agreement, Oprah quickly darted to where the seal adorned the bullpen floor and clapped her hands together three times. "Attention!" she bellowed, attracting the attention of a few passing agents who stopped to gather around her. Oprah steeled herself, and took a deep breath. "It has come to my attention that Mandy has run away from home." The still-gathering crowd gasped. Murmurs began rippling through, each expressing their shock about their beloved second-in-command doing such a thing. "And if the note that she’s left behind is any indication, she did it to avoid revealing a secret. So I’m going to ask you, agents of Precinct 13579!" Oprah pointed at the crowd. "Does anyone have a secret? Anyone? You don't have to reveal it, just let me know! Please!" All she got in response were confused murmurs. Unbeknownst to her, Oona had joined the crowd, watching what was going down with concern and a tinge of remorse written all over her face as the realization began to settle in. Still, she didn't speak up, choosing to remain quiet out of a decision to find Mandy before anyone else did. Twilight's ears picked up on the sound of drumming hoofsteps, and she turned around to find Pinkie Pie racing up to her with Rainbow Dash at her side. "Twilight, what's going on?" Pinkie asked, slamming the brakes before she could collide with her lavender-coated friend. "Mandy's run away!" Pinkie leaped into the air. "SHE WHAT?!" came the eruptive scream, which, surprisingly, wasn't piercing enough so as to attract the attention of many other agents. "Why?!" "Ms. O says it's because she can't reveal a secret." Rainbow blinked a few times in confusion. Pinkie, on the other hoof, gasped dramatically and slammed a hoof into the ground. "Aww, I know I should've taught her how to keep a secret!" "We have to find her!" Rainbow said, thrusting her muzzle into Twilight's. "Who knows what oddness is out there?" Twilight gently pushed her friend away to grant herself some personal space. "I agree. But this world is massive. Who knows where she is?" Up at the seal, Oprah's brows furrowed with worry. "No one's got a secret?" Still, the murmurs persisted. The Director clenched a fist, and then her teeth, in frustration. Part of her began to realize just how dumb the reasoning behind this impromptu meeting was -- no one sane was going to reveal what their secrets were, let alone reveal that they were holding in secrets to begin with. It was silly, and she shamed herself for not realizing that sooner. "Please, if any of you have a secret...come up to my office and we can talk in private. My doors will be open." Oprah bit her lip, and tried to release her stress out in one big sigh. It worked, but not as well as she had hoped. "Thank you." The crowd began to disperse, agents carrying the worry and tension with them. The air had shifted considerably, and if the worried vibes hadn't gotten to any agent yet, they certainly would now. Oprah, watching everyone leave, decided to head up to her office to get another juice box and weigh up the situation some more. "This isn't good." Olive remarked. "I know." Peaches exhaled softly. "Whoever has a secret, they don't seem to apt to reveal that they have one." "Olive! Peaches!" The two girls perked up, their eyes falling on a familiar alicorn rushing up to her with a familiar pink baker and a familiar speedy Pegasus in tow. "Twilight? Rainbow Dash? Pinkie?" Olive inhaled in order to say something else, but was cut off before she could get even a puff of air out. "We didn't tell any secrets, we can assure you. Pinkie Promise." Twilight raised a hoof. "But we want to help you find her. Mandy is strong, but there's no telling what oddities lurk out there. Some might be more than even she can handle." Peaches nodded. "She's right. We need to find her immediately!" Olive gave a growl of frustration, grinding her teeth together as she rubbed her temple in thought. "Where could she be? Where does Mandy like to go to be alone?" Pinkie voiced the thought that was on everyone's mind. "Tough question. Mandy doesn't usually go solo." "I doubt she could've gone far." Rainbow piped up. "Maybe she's on the outskirts of town! Or maybe she's still in town somewhere!" With those two leads, the frustration was washed away, and everyone became renewed with purpose. "I'll take the girls and start looking in town." Twilight offered. "Olive, Peaches, you two should look on the outskirts." "Got it. You ready to go, O-" As Peaches spun her head around, she was surprised to find that Olive had somehow vanished. However, it wasn't a case of a sudden disappearance so much as it was the Director deciding to book it before anyone else was ready. Peaches tilted her head. "Olive, where-" "I'm going to start looking, and I'm taking Otto with me. And I'd suggest all of you get going before the sun sets!" "But it's..." Peaches looked around for a clock, and eventually just resorted to getting one from hammerspace that, funny enough, told the correct time. "...noon!" "My point exactly, let's roll out!" All Peaches could do was stare as she watched her search party partner leave without another word. Within her shock, however, she realized that she couldn't be too surprised -- Mandy was Olive's adopted daughter, after all, and any mother would be worried about their child running away from home. It had happened in Vallea more times than Peaches was willing to admit. She went to follow the Director. "Well, I'll see you guys around. Call us if you manage to find her." "Of course." Twilight turned to Pinkie and Rainbow. "Come on, let's gather the others!" With that, everyone split, with Peaches rushing to catch up with Olive before she got to the tubes while Twilight left with her two friends to gather up Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity to assist with the search. Mandy's journey within the same woods she had once lived in on a temporary basis took her to the mouth of a large cave that appeared to be unoccupied. With her flight and magic abilities now fully honed, getting around had been a breeze, from being chased by a very angry bear to falling into a rushing river and nearly drowning. And she had managed to find a new hideaway quicker than she had thought it was going to take, too. Taking a deep breath, a smile danced on her face. "The tranhibilty of nature is fascinating!" she chirped. "This is much better than when I was a runaway. Nice cozy cave to sleep in, the ability to use my horn and my wings so I can survive..." Her smile turned into a grin. "And best of all, no one around to spill the secret to!" She began making her way into the cave, putting a ball of light on the tip of her horn for visual assistance as her view grew darker and darker. "Although...I'm sure people are looking for me, what with the note I left behind. They'll find me eventually." Her badge phone rang right then, as though it was waiting for its cue. She stopped in her tracks. "Aaaaand speak of the devil." She let the perky ditty ricochet through her ears as she decided to let it serve as musical accompaniment for her expedition to her new living quarters. Only a half-minute in, though, she relented. She loved her ringtone, but there was only so much of it she could take before she got annoyed. "Fine, I'll answer it!" she cried, unclipping her phone and opening it. "Agent 57 here, how can I help ya?" "Mandy? It's Twilight!" The alicorn on the other end of the line gave a relieved exhale. "Oh, thank Celestia you're safe! Where are you? Everyone's out looking for you!" Well, fluffernutter. That confirms my suspicions. Of course when something happens to me, everyone's gotta get involved. "I'm not telling you. I'm sorry, Twi, but I have to keep this secret. If I don't then I'm gonna be killed!" "Ooh, a deadly secret!" came the high-pitched voice of Pinkie. Mandy grit her teeth, a coil of pain wrapping around her heart as she thought of her partner. However, her reflection was cut off by Rarity's voice, making Mandy wonder if Twilight was passing her own phone around to everyone so they could try and persuade the hybrid to come back. "Mandy, darling, we're not going to judge you." "Yeah!" Rainbow Dash's turn, now. "And whoever gave you a death threat can meet my hooves!" "You don't understand! None of you understand!" Mandy snapped. "There’s no way you guys can face off against her! She’s insane! Unhinged! She’s got a mallet! She’s got gadgets! She tied me to a chair and threatened to smash me to pieces! She’ll do it, you know, she’s that crazy!" "Who is she? A villain?" Twilight asked. "If it is a villain then she shouldn't be walkin' 'round on the streets." Applejack added. Catching the phone in her magic, Mandy held it tightly against her chest and made sure to drop her voice to a near-whisper as she voiced her thoughts. "Nngh...I can't tell them who told me the secret! If I do then she's gonna kill me even though I kept the secret!" With her face buried in her hands, she barely noticed a poof sound marking the arrival of a smaller version of Mandy sitting on her shoulder. This Mandy was angelic-looking in nature, wearing a long white toga and a bright yellow halo over her head. Her white wings looked even fluffier, although much like the rest of her, they were very small. "You should tell them! They can't fight against one single Oona!" Another poof marked the arrival of another smaller version of Mandy, who looked to be more on the devil's side than the angel's side. Wearing what looked to be, oddly enough, a black one-piece bathing suit, she wielded a sharp trident. Her pony tail was replaced by a devil's tail and small horns protruded from the top of her head. The Devil Mandy laughed in a wicked manner. "No they can't! Don't tell them. Run away and never come back! Surely you can survive on your own out here. But it's better than getting your face bashed in!" Mandy closed her eyes as she began ruminating on what to do. Not a few seconds into her decision-making, however, and the sound of whooshing made her perk up, her shoulder angel and shoulder devil disappearing in two small puffs of smoke. "Wait, what's that noise?" the hybrid murmured, turning around to face the entrance. She didn't need to go back the way she came and see the source, however, as dread began settling into her gut. "There's only one agent I know who has rocket shoes that make that kind of a noise..." She gulped. "Oona!" Completely forgetting about her phone call, Mandy began to hyperventilate. "Ohhh what do I do, what do I do?! Knowing her, she probably has a location tracker or something! And if not her...then someone else does..." Her head whipped from side to side, as though expecting a miracle to come from the cave walls, but she soon stopped as she came to a realization. "Wait. I'm deep inside a cave. It's not like I'm right outside." A sigh of relief was pushed out from her lungs. "It'd take them ages to find me!" Her stomach began to growl, but one swift burst of magic brought a cake into existence, which she happily ate in one bite. "And I've got necessities!" "Mandy, are you there?" The sound of Twilight's voice snapped Mandy out of it with a sharp "eep!", and fear began to settle in again. "Oh pickleferries...I hope they didn't hear what I said..." she murmured, before shaking her head and lifting the phone back up to her ear. "Yeah, I'm here." "Who told you the secret?" "I can't tell you!" Mandy responded, her voice almost reaching a whine. She gave a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Twi. But I'm not gonna be killed by her!" "Mandy, we're here to he-" The hybrid abruptly ended the call, placing the phone back on her chest and giving an irritated groan. Twilight could be a stubborn pony when she wanted to be, but Mandy had thought she had made it clear that she didn't want to be found. Apparently, everyone had ignored her warnings, which didn't bode well for her. "I have to stay in this cave. And I'm putting you on silent." She tapped the front of her badge phone, which gave a beep to indicate that its volume settings had been changed. Once that was done, she continued her descent into the dark cave, hoping to find a good stopping point soon so she could rest -- after all, she figured it was almost time for her afternoon nap. As the sun began to set, Olive and Peaches began walking in the more rural areas of the city. While Olive was full of pep and drive, Peaches was dragging her feet along the ground, feeling exhausted and wanting nothing more than to curl up and take a nap back at HQ. She groaned. "It's no use. We've been looking for her all day with no other leads." "Stop complaining. We're not giving up." "But I'm hungry!" Peaches whined. Olive swiveled her head around and let her fiery eyes gaze into the catgirl's own. "Then go hunt for some mice or something." Peaches would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't so tired. "Look, Olive, I know Mandy's your daughter, but surely she has a good reason for running awa-" "It doesn't matter!" Olive snarled. Her expression then relaxed, and she gave a shaky sigh. "We need to get Mandy back. It doesn’t matter what her reason for running away is, whether she has a secret or not." She turned around and crossed her arms. "If only we had some sort of tool, like a location tracker…" Something clicked in Peaches' brain right then, causing her posture to straighten. "That's it!" Her tail-tip began flicking with excitement. "I remember Oprah telling me something a while ago, when we were trying to look for Agent Fluttershy. She was talking about agents having these location trackers hidden in their jackets or something. And also...homing beacons. I think." She blinked, and then shook her head furiously. "But anyway, I think we can use the location tracker in Mandy's suit to find her!" Olive nodded. "Yes, why didn't I think of that? We have to get back to Oprah's HQ, quickly!" Mandy had gone far enough into the cave to where she needed to brighten up the light on her horn because it was pitch-black. She regretted not having Peaches' ability to see in the dark, especially since she figured she had to have some catgirl blood in her and thus should have the ability. But alas, where she lacked night vision, she had magic, which didn't really work so well given how she couldn't keep her horn lit up forever. With her wings growing tired, she came to rest along a circular structure that sat in the middle of what had become a roundabout. She had lost track of the time, and didn't know how many minutes she was from the cave entrance. On that note, she was pretty sure she was lost, too. But that was merely to her benefit. "I wonder if Oona's still out there looking for me..." she mused, mindlessly playing with a small pebble on the ground. "Or maybe she gave up." The sound of a stomach growling nearly gave her a heart attack, as it was so loud that she had reason to believe it was coming from some large creature that roamed in the cave. It took her a few moments to realize, however, that it was her own stomach. "Oh! Didn't realize how hungry I was!" With a burst of magic came an entire multi-course feast that materialized into existence. A whole roasted chicken, some soup, some mashed potatoes and some steamed veggies were laid on a silver tray for her to enjoy, and she immediately went for the chicken firsthand, scooping it up into her mouth with her as-long-as-the-gag-needs-it-to-be tongue and swallowing it in one go. Her cheeks bulged a moment later before she spat the bones back out. As she began going for the potatoes, the sound of beeping reached her ears. Her eyes widened and her pony ears swiveled, trying to figure out where the beeping was coming from. "W-what's that noise? Sounds like it's coming from...from..." Her eyes slowly drifted to her suit, where she caught a few flashes of red peeking out from under her right lapel. A gasp left her. "The homing beacons! Oh pickleferries, I should've destroyed the homing beacons! O-or taken off the jacket!" She buried her face in her hands. "Now they're active...and they're probably gonna come after me!" Deep in the cave as she was, Odd Squad agents were absolutely no slackers in the tracking department. When you lived in a world where you had kids that were essentially human bloodhounds, villains that were exceptionally good at hide-and-seek, and creatures that treated camouflage like an art form, you had to be prepared. It was for that reason that Mandy couldn't stop her train of thought, wondering what would happen if everyone managed to find her. They would never understand, no matter how many times she told them. After all, they had never had their lives threatened by a mad scientist with a mallet who entrusted them with a life-or-death secret. She began hyperventilating. "If I destroy them then I'm gonna hafta get a new jacket...and white against gray doesn't mix!" Her ears folded downwards, and with that, she hunkered down as much as she could. "It's prolly nighttime. If anything, they'll come find me and take me back when I'm asleep!" Her head swiveled to the left, where three tunnels sat side-by-side. "Maybe I should go deeper into the cave...but if I do, then I'll get loster!" "Mandy?" The familiar velvety voice made her gasp. "Haruko? What...where are you...?" A near-blinding light shimmered in the distance, like a lone star in a dark night sky. Mandy's eyes took a moment or two to adjust to the new source of light. "I am here." Haruko took a few steps forward. "Why are you here and not back in Odd Squad, Mandy?" "Oh Haruko, it's awful! See, Oona wanted me to keep a secret of hers, and she told me that if I spilled it then she would hit me with her mallet! And so I’ve been trying really really hard to keep the secret, but…" "Sometimes, it is best to tell secrets if they threaten the life of you or someone you care about." Haruko gently advised. Still, Mandy wasn't having it. "But she'll kill me! I don't wanna be killed!" "Mandy." Haruko's tone became disappointed. "Do you not have incredible fighting skill? Are you not renowned within Odd Squad for how well you do in combat? And yet you are afraid of one of your own?" Mandy didn't have the heart to correct her and say that Oona was a Scientist and not necessarily an agent. Still, she couldn't deny that maybe, just maybe, Haruko might have had a point. She could certainly take on Oona and win, but hammer-to-hammer combat wasn't necessarily her forte. Hammer-to-gadget combat, on the other hand...now that was something she could get a good grip on. She gave a pitiful whine in response to her spirit guardian. "I understand you are scared." Haruko continued. "But I am sure that Oona did not mean what she said." Bolting straight up onto her feet, Mandy threw her hands into the air. "She did! She pounds gadgets with that mallet! She’s insane, Haruko, absolutely insane! And I’m not gonna be her next victim!" Haruko gave a soft exhale. "I can tell you this." A pause. "Oona is looking for you right now." "Tell me somethin' I don't know!" "But it is not out of anger. It is out of...worry." Mandy blinked. Surprised as she was, though, there was no reason to suspect that this was some gambit of Oona's to try and lure her out. That was always a possibility. And Haruko didn't seem like she would be willing to elaborate, if previous interactions served. Case in point: the way the light began to fade as Mandy could hear her pawsteps becoming fainter and fainter. "Haruko, stop being so cryptic!" Mandy screamed. "Whaddya mean?!" "You will find out, in due time." Darn it. I should've seen that one comin'. The light eventually became no more, disappearing like a candle going out with a gust of wind. A growl rolled in Mandy's throat that slowly turned into a rising cry of pure frustration that made a few stalagmites wiggle somewhere in the cave. She stumbled back and fell on her rump, pounding the ground with her fist before her anger began to subside. "I really wish she'd stop being so mysterious...and how did she know...?" She had to bite her tongue to stop her from asking the second, very much rhetorical question. She shook her head. "Ugh, never mind." She ate the rest of her food so as not to let it go to waste, let her body digest for a few minutes, then laid down on her back, staring at the dark ceiling. The sound of dripping water that echoed throughout the space provided a nice constant to her growing fatigue -- a side effect of the food coma beginning to settle in and a side effect of it being nighttime. "I guess now that I've eaten I should get some sleep..." Mandy yawned. "I can finally catch...up..." Within seconds, she was out like a light and snoring away, the magic on the tip of her horn dying down. "The location tracker, you said?" "Yes. Peaches recalled a conversation you and her had about finding Fluttershy. We think that Mandy's homing beacons may help us find her." "All right, I've got Mandy's files right here." Reaching behind her back, Oprah pulled out a rather thick manila folder, one that required two hands to hold with just how many papers were in it. Because of its height, she found her view looking straight ahead completely blocked, which didn't help in walking through a bullpen that was nearly pitch-black. "But honestly, can't we pick this up tomorrow? It's late." "Olive and I are willing to pull an all-nighter if we have to." Peaches responded, her voice carrying exhaustion but also a hint of determination. "Mandy’s your second-in-command. Who knows if she’s been eaten by some crazy odd creature out there or not?" Oprah set the large folder onto one of the swivel chairs, which creaked under its weight in protest. "Fair point." She began thumbing through the papers as quickly as Rainbow Dash speed-read through books, until she found the one paper she was looking for. She slipped it into the slot under one of the computers, went back to the control panel, and began tapping on the small navigation screen. The bigger computer screen on the left displayed a map of the entire world. Slowly, it focused on Canada, and then on the province of Ontario. A red dot, only a few feet above where Toronto was located on the map, popped up, and from it extended a line that linked to a headshot of Mandy -- no doubt her agent profile picture from when she graduated the Academy. "Aha! She's..." Oprah's face fell. "...she's..." Olive's jaw dropped. "That isn't..." Peaches nodded. "It is." The three girls stared at the screen for a moment, as the dot began to pulsate a bright red. "That's the wooded area where Mandy ran away to when she got fired from Odd Squad." Oprah said. "Why is she there?" Peaches asked. "Doesn't that place bring bad memories for her?" "Yes, but it's also secluded." Olive explained. "She said in her note that she doesn't want to be around people. There's no one in those woods!" "Except hunters." Olive shot Oprah a glare. "My daughter is not going to get shot by some idiot with a gun looking for big game, Oprah." Oprah ignored her former agent's burst of anger and tapped on the smaller screen again. "It says that..." She watched as the map began to zoom in, showing a picture of a large gaping cave. "She's located in a cave." "Well, it's better than the stick tent she built the last time she ran away." Both Directors concurred with unisonant nods. "Come on, let's go find her!" Olive declared, beginning to head for the doors. "I'll send the information to your tablet, Olive." Oprah moved to take the file out, pressing the Eject button. "And get Twilight and the others. They can spread out and help you." "Got it!" Peaches followed Olive. "I'll get the ponies, you get a head-start." Olive nodded and sped off as fast as her feet would take her, with Peaches following suit. Inside the Lab, Oona peeked out from the back room, eyeing Oprah carrying the large stack back upstairs and into her office. She had heard everything, and she couldn't deny that she was beginning to feel even more anxiety and regret now. Clearly, the situation had gotten well out of hand, and as she decided to go through the double-doors, only one thought hung in her mind. What have I done? As the woods where Mandy was didn't have a tube entrance, Olive and Peaches were forced to find the nearest one and then hike on foot. It was only a few miles, which Peaches in particular attributed to a stroke of luck more than anything else, but it was worth it if they managed to find Mandy. "It's lucky I'm a catgirl. I've got special eyes!" "Well, start looking. Start looking with your 'special eyes'." Olive sneered, as if almost mocking Peaches for her comment as she glanced at her tablet. Aside from the flashlights she and the catgirl were holding, the device was one of the only sources of light they had. Behind the two girls followed Twilight and the rest of the ponies, who all looked rather exhausted as they walked along. Twilight, at the head of the group, yawned. "Guys, I know finding Mandy is important, but are you sure we can't start doing this tomorrow?" "We're not resting until we find Mandy!" In response to the unisonant declaration, the alicorn heaved a mighty sigh. "We should be almost there." Olive stared at her tablet, which showed a cluster of eight dots that represented the search party on a sonar screen. "That cave has to be close by." A bright flash marked the arrival of Oona, with Teleport-inator gadget in hand and a side of dizziness. She stumbled around for a bit, giving a shocked "whoa" before she managed to regain her balance and let out a sigh as she realized she was in complete darkness. The sound of dripping reached her ears, but aside from that, no noise was present. "Flashlight-inator!" she called, reaching behind her back and exchanging her Teleport-inator for a Flashlight-inator, which, in reality, was nothing out of the ordinary. "Yeah, this is just a regular flashlight." As she walked, she moved the flashlight around, keeping an eye out for any human bodies. She didn't need to walk more than five minutes to come across one, which was lying eerily still. As she shone the light on it, the body's owner looked all too familiar to her. She gasped. "Mandy? Mandy!" she cried out, running to the hybrid's side and furiously shaking her. "Mandy, speak to me! Are you okay?" When she got no response, she jumped to her feet and moved the flashlight around, an ugly grimace on her face. "All right, you dirty odd creatures of this cave! Come at me! I can take ya! C'mon!" she threatened, a growl rumbling about in her throat as she moved the flashlight around, daring for some creature to jump her. Nothing presented itself, however. She lowered the flashlight with a huff, using her free hand to shake Mandy again. "Mandy, please wake up! It's not safe here!" A snort eked out of the hybrid as her free pony ear flicked. "Whuh...no, I'll take the pink zzhirt over there..." Oona gave a relieved exhale. "Oh thank odd, you're alive." She continued shaking the hybrid. "Wake up. I need to talk to you." "Zztop zzhakin' me, 'm tryna zzleep..." Oona could swear that, by some freaky anatomical...whatever, a few brown hairs popped free from her head. She reached behind her back, yanked out a cowbell, and began shaking it furiously. "Wake up!" she screamed, making sure to angle the cowbell right near Mandy's ear but not enough to hit her with it. Luckily for her, that got Mandy awake with a snort and a "Whuh-huh?!" The ringing in all four of the hybrid's ears was atrocious, and she could have sworn lost at least half of her hearing from what had woken her up. "Honezztly, who'zz buggin' me in th' middle 'f..." Her vision was restored, and the blurry figure wearing a white labcoat suddenly made itself clear. "O-Oona!" came the panicked yelp, as Mandy hunkered down and tried to make herself as small as she could. Her heartbeat began to quicken, and her anxiety levels began to rise. She had predicted that Oona would find her eventually, and it was merely a matter of time -- but to do it when she was sleeping? If she had known that, she wouldn't have gone to sleep at all. Now, however, all she could do was beg for mercy. "Oona, please don't hurt me, I didn't spill the secret, I swe-" Her pleas were cut off by Oona placing a finger on her lips, a disappointed look settling on her face. "Mandy..." She sighed. "I heard you tried to run away from Odd Squad." As Mandy took ahold of Oona's lips and pried her lips free, she gave a squeaky "Y-y-yes?" "And you did it because...you were trying to keep my secret." Mandy took a deep inhale, a sign that her mouth was going to run and not stop until something that wasn't her stopped it. "I didn’t wanna tell anyone so I came here because no one was gonna find me here and I figured that one day you were gonna be ready to reveal it to everyone but that wasn’t gonna be for years and years and years and so I decided to stay here but now that you’re here I’M GONNA BE DEAD!!" The hybrid collapsed in a fit of sobs, burying her face in her arms as she laid on the floor. Oona simply stared at her in confusion. "What...?" "Don't kill me, please!!" came the plea, from a snot-nosed and bloodshot-eyed Mandy. "I don't wanna be killed, I'm too young to diiiiie!!" "I didn't mean it!" The words were blurted out, and they dialed back the volume of Mandy's sobbing. Her body quaked with each sob as her lungs desperately grasped for air that didn't seem to be there. Her eyes fixated on Oona, waiting for her to explain herself. "When I said I was gonna smash you with the mallet...I didn’t mean that!" Oona avoided eye contact. "It’s just, that secret was really important to me, and I thought you could be trusted with it!" She gave a sigh and closed her eyes. "But some people...they just can’t keep a secret." Mandy gave a noisy sniffle, followed by a hiccup. Oona smiled. "And that's okay." Mandy's eyes began to dry, and shimmered with renewed hope. Part of her was screaming at her that this act of niceness was just that, but otherwise, the rest of her seemed to take the Scientist's words at face value. She understood. She understood Mandy's inability to keep a secret, and that was all the hybrid needed. If Mandy spilled the secret here and now, she wouldn't be killed for it, and realizing that brought her massive relief. "S-so...I don't hafta keep it anymore?" "No. You can shout it right here, right now. There's no one here." A hiccup forced its way out of Mandy, and then she nodded. She slowly raised herself, planted her feet firmly on the ground, took a deep breath, and went for the pitch. "Oona eats blobs!! And they taste good!!" The words bounced all around the cave, through every tunnel that surrounded the duo and perhaps even beyond it. "She eats blobs blobs blobs, all day long!" Mandy chirped, bouncing around Oona before giving a relieved sigh and flopping back down onto the ground. "That felt so great to get off my chest!" Oona gave a smile at her friend's antics, but it just as quickly turned into a frown. "Mandy...I'm sorry." "Sorry?" "I shouldn’t have threatened you by saying I was gonna hurt you with my mallet. It was wrong of me. You’re a great agent, and I really appreciate you helping me repair and build gadgets. And in the future...I won’t entrust you with any secrets." Mandy blinked. "You mean it?" "As sure as I know how to lasso." Mandy's eyes began filling with tears again, but the happy kind this time and not the ugly sad kind. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" she cried, lunging for Oona and embracing her in a tight hug. "Too tight...rib's getting bruised..." Oona coughed. "Can you put me dooooowwwwn..." Realizing that her last word had turned into a wheeze, Mandy quickly obeyed her wishes. "Oh, you don’t wanna know the nightmares I’ve had of you squishing me with that mallet! And I thought it hurt when I hit myself with my own hammer…" "I'm sure. So, now that this whole thingamajiggy is over..." Oona placed a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "Can you come back to Odd Squad? Oprah and the others...they're missing you." "Yeah, I figured. They're prolly tracking me right now, huh?" "Via the location tracker in your suit? Without a doubt." "Yeah, via the location tracker in my-" Mandy's eyes widened. "The huh in my suit?" "You didn't know?" Oona tilted her head. "Every agent has a location tracker hidden in their suit." She rolled her hand about, trying to find the best words to describe the tool but not coming up with much. "It's been an Odd Squad staple for years." So...all this time...even if I had taken the suit off in here...they still would've found me?! Mandy stared off into space for a few moments before a realization hit her. Wait. Odd Squad's the most high-tech organization around. Of course they'd have something like that. Doiii. Still, one thing bugged her. "But I thought we had the homing beacons!" "That's for if you want someone to actually find you." Mandy opened her mouth to protest, then closed it, remembering a time when Olive used the homing beacons in her Investigation suit to have Otto track her. She had done that willingly, because the homing beacons were under the lapels...and they didn't just lift on their own. No, it could only be lifted by an outside force. "Oh. Good point." Oona gave an exhale and stood up. "Let's go home. And hopefully we don't get lost in here..." Mandy's pony ears, sharp as they were, were the first to hear voices. They swiveled around, trying to find which tunnel they were coming from, but the echo made it hard to pinpoint. Still, the sources of the voices were unmistakable. "I recognize those voices..." she murmured, before gathering up her lung power to give another scream. "I'M OVER HERE, GUYS!!" The voice echoed, and overshadowed all the other echoes for a brief moment. "Ooh, this echo thingy is pretty cool! Echo!!" Now the word "echo" bounced off of the walls. Mandy gave a laugh, but it quickly turned into a yawn as she began swaying on her feet. A soft hum rattled in her throat. "Oh yeah. I forgot I woke you up." Oona sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "Can you use your alicorn magic and make a flashlight?" Mandy shook her head. "You should use your flashlight. I'm gonna fall asleep in ten seconds flat if I use my magic." "Flashlight-inator, thank you." Oona corrected, before heading towards the tunnel that laid straight ahead of the duo, which just so happened to be the one where faint lights were shining off of the walls and growing by the second. "Let's get out of here." She only got a few footsteps before turning around. "Wait. Can't you teleport us all home?" "I just toldja. Magic." "Mandy?" The form of Olive emerged first, and as soon as her flashlight shone on Mandy, she gasped and rushed up to hug her daughter. "Guys, I found her!" Within seconds, the hybrid became swamped by seven more bodies and promptly collapsed to the ground. "Partner, you're alive!" "Oh goodness, we finally found you!" "Thank Celestia you're all right!" "Cuz!" Peaches got off of Mandy and gave a sigh. "My location tracker idea worked!" "Nice job, Peaches." Olive praised, giving a wink and a thumbs-up to the catgirl. Mandy, however, noticed the glare the Director gave her, and as she began pushing her friends and family away, she threw her hands up. "L-look, I-I can explain!" she protested. "Y-you didn't hear anything I said, did you?" "So, Oona, you eat blobs?" Mandy winced as she glanced at Oona, whose eyes widened in surprise. "Y-yeah. And so what? They taste good and I like a varied diet." The Scientist's eyes narrowed. "But don't you dare tell anyone else." Olive chuckled. "Don't worry. Unlike Mandy, I can keep a secret. It's safe with us." "Good. Because if you spill it then I will personally see to it that-" "Can it. Let's just get you and Mandy home." Mandy heaved a sigh. "I'm really sorry for running away and worrying you guys. It's just that..." She glanced at the ground. "W-well, I-" "So Oona told you a secret and threatened to kill you if you told anyone?" Peaches interjected, placing a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "Yeah. And Haruko was right. I shouldn't have been afraid of Oona." Mandy's ears folded downwards. "I'm such a weakling..." "No you're not, cuz." "You kept Oona's secret for as long as you could." Rarity assured. "Even if she did threaten to harm you, it still means that you're a great friend." "Yeah!" Rainbow nodded. "I'll admit, I'm kinda impressed. You are a bit of-" "A blabbermouth?!" Pinkie's shrill cry interrupted the multicolored-maned Pegasus, and she heaved a sigh. "Yeah." She narrowed her eyes at Pinkie. "Like someone else I know." Pinkie simply gave a grin. Applejack made her way up to the hybrid next. "But in the future, sugarcube, if'n ya got somethin' t' hide that can hurt ya or hurt other folks, tell us. We're here t' listen." Mandy was far too tired to fight back against her friends' reasonable advice. A soft breathy laugh eked out of her fatigue-addled body, and she blinked a few times in order to stay awake. "Thanks, guys." She glanced at Twilight. "But I'm really sleepy...Twi, can you teleport us all back to Headquarters?" "Sure." Twilight's horn lit up in a fantastical purple color, and everyone disappeared in a bright flash, with Mandy leaving hardly any trace of her short residence in the cave behind. Upon returning, everyone parted ways, with Oona leading Olive to the Lab so she could try a blob for herself, having gotten curious as to what one tasted like. Mandy, in particular, was quick to head off to bed as fast as her feet would carry her, wanting nothing more than to sleep on fluffy warm sheets instead of a hard cave floor. The good news for Mandy was that she went out like a light the second her body hit the bed. The bad news was that she wasn't able to resume her dream of strolling around the city, and so her brain was forced to make an entirely new movie to play. Which was how she found herself stuck with Mr. Lightning in a dimly-lit room with no magic to speak of and no way to access gadgets. Snoring away, she turned over onto her right side, half of her body hanging off of the bed and the other half hanging on by some sheer force of willpower. Her snoring was, of course, loud enough that she didn't hear her phone ringing, nor did she hear the voicemail message that was left. "Hiya, you've reached Agent 57, Mandy! I can't come to the phone right now, prolly sleeping or tied up in an odd case or doing...whatever. Yeah. Anyway, if you just wanna leave me a message with your name and phone number, that'd be great, and I'll be sure to get back to ya as soon as I can! Thankies!" The phone beeped. "Mandy? It's Oscar! Uh, could you come to the Science building? At the Academy? Right now? That same Scientist you filled in for...he’s still sick, a-and I need you to teach a class in a half-hour on combining gadgets. Please, come quickly, I-I can’t find any substitute Scientist! Uh...t-thank you!" "Be ready 'n five..." Mandy murmured, pawing weakly at her head. It wasn't until a minute later that she finally woke up, her blue, eye-booger-encrusted eyes slowly creaking open to greet the day. With a loud yawn, she stretched out her body, her breath becoming caught in her throat when a pop resounded in her body. "Aah...that's my spiiiiine!" she whined, right before her right side failed her and she collapsed on the floor in a tangle of sheets. "Oww." As soon as she gulped down her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise, she checked her voicemail messages. Right then and there, her mood soured. Oh, it's gonna be that kind of a shrummy-crummy day. Great. When she finished her wake-up routine, she went to the Breakroom for lunch, deciding to settle on a ham sandwich and a family-size bag of potato chips. In one fell swoop she ate the sandwich, though it didn't feel any filling when it went down her esophagus and dipped into her stomach acids. "Oscar...he really can't employ any other Scientists, honestly..." she muttered, toying with a potato chip. "That class was a living nightmare! I don't wanna go back there! All that rambunctious energy from a class full of promising students, looking up to me like I know my stuff..." Her body shuddered as her mind began replaying previous classes she had taught, stopping just before she got to the memory of one eager student trying to woo her with a loose Centigurp. She wanted to be wooed by no one but Bradley Beli, and he was in Hong Kong on another tour. "Rambunctious energy of what?" Mandy yowled, her chair toppling to the floor and sending its occupant along with it. Her chips nearly followed suit, but luckily, they stayed intact. "Wow, you're really on par with the yowls, cuz!" Peaches gave a wink. "Keep it up and someday you may get to be like me." "Don't scare me like that!" Peaches held her hand up and took a step back. "Jeez, sorry. Didn't know you were a little crabby." She cracked a smile. "What, you wanna go back to bed but you were forced to get up?" "No. Oscar wants me to teach one of his classes again." Mandy got up, straightened her chair, planted her butt in it again, and ate a chip with a bored expression on her face. "Ooh, you get to be a teacher? Like an Odd Squad Professor? That's so cool!" Peaches' eyes gained shimmers in them for only a moment, before a frown formed. "But why are you so upset?" "Because this is the tenth time he's asked me this month!" Mandy snapped, angrily taking a handful of potato chips and shoving them into her mouth. Within that big bite, she could already feel the heartburn settling in, but she didn't care. "Is that a problem?" "Yesh!" Mandy swallowed. "He needs to hire more Scientists! I haven’t heard a single thing about a Scientist shortage and you know that I have work to do here too!" "Oooookaaaaay..." Peaches attempted to reach for a potato chip, but a glare from Mandy stopped her hand cold. "So, uh, how long is this class?" "An hour." Peaches recoiled her hand and scoffed. "An hour? That's not so bad. What are you teaching?" "Gadget repairs." "But I thought you liked gadget repairs?" "Yes! With my butt in that chair! Not at the Academy!" Mandy pointed to her desk with one hand and placed the fingers on her other hand on her puffed-out chest. "I pride myself on having a familiar workspace surrounded by the people I love where no one bothers me." Knowing that Mandy's desk wasn't the most ideal place where one who didn't want to be bothered couldn't be bothered -- and knowing that Mandy was, at the very least, smart enough to realize that -- Peaches raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." she said dubiously. "Well, if you're gonna go visit Oscar, maybe you should ask him about Oona." Mandy blinked twice. "Oona?" "Tell him what happened with her secret." It took a minute for the dots to connect in Mandy's brain. "Ohhh." She nodded. "Y'know, that's not a bad idea. I'll captrize on that." "You mean 'capitalize'?" "Tomayto, tomahto." Mandy responded, waving a dismissive hand and stuffing her mouth with another handful of potato chips. Peaches watched her go at it before she suddenly realized something. "Oh, uh, wait, before you go...I should apologize." "Apologithe for what?" Peaches couldn't help but wince at Mandy spraying chip crumbs all over the table. "First of all, chew with your mouth closed." she suggested. "Second of all, I should apologize for getting all hot and bothered about you leaving when we were trying to find the culprit a couple days ago. And for getting on your case about not paying attention." Mandy swallowed her chewy chip lump. "Nonono, I should apologize! I should've been more considerate of your feelings and at least told you the truth. But I really didn’t wanna spill that secret. You know how Pinkie takes pride in keeping secrets, and...I guess I took after her." "Fair point. Though Pinkie's not the best role model for keeping secrets." Peaches threw her hands outwards. "Huggies?" Mandy smiled. "Huggies!" The speed at which Mandy tackled Peaches was so quick that it knocked both of them to the floor. After getting over her initial shock, Peaches laughed, and Mandy soon joined in before sharing some of her chips with the catgirl. "Oscar, please. I'm begging you. Hire more Scientists. Do it for yourself. Do it for me." "I-I'm trying, heh! It's just hard because, well..." Oscar scratched the back of his neck. "We have a lot of Scientists-in-training here. And not a lot of Lab Directors are free to teach a class or two, or even become full-time teachers." Mandy glanced at some of the Scientists that passed her by in the halls. She had to admit, with absolutely no offense to them whatsoever, that seeing them was becoming a tiring sight, as was going to the Science building of the Academy when Lab-Con wasn't being hosted. Why? Because she didn't belong there. She was no Scientist. She was an Investigation agent who repaired gadgets as a side gig. There was practically nothing for her here aside from Oscar, and those like Odelia and Oona if they happened to come visit. "You do know I have work at my own precinct?" "Yeah! B-but it's just..." "Oscar, I can't keep doing this forever." Mandy stared at him with half-lidded blue eyes. "I know, my suggestion is easier said than done. But being a teacher isn't my career choice. I do best in combat!" "Yeah, but..." Oscar hesitated for a moment, as though wanting to convince Mandy to at least give teaching one more shot, but ultimately relented and sighed. "All right. You don't have to teach classes here anymore if you don't want to." "Yay!" Mandy clapped her hands together. "Now, maybe we can talk about more...important things." "Uh...s-sure, I've got some free time, heh!" Oscar grinned. "What do you wanna talk about?" "Oona." "Oh, Oona! How's she doing? Hopefully she hasn't burned down the Lab and reduced it to ash." Oscar nudged Mandy in the elbow and gave a chuckle that quickly went from amused to terrified. Mandy, noticing this tonal switch, patted her friend on the shoulder and smiled. "No, silly! The Lab's fine. But, uh..." She bit her lip. "See, she told me this secret..." "What secret?" Oscar asked, as he pushed open a door that led to a large stairwell and began heading downstairs. Mandy stopped for a moment, the door nearly whacking her in the face before she was able to snap out of her stupor long enough to slip through and dash after Oscar. "Ah, uh..." She nervously laughed. "Um, I-I'd rather not say. It's um...rather personal." A small blush crept into her cheeks. "But she told me this secret, see, and she threatened to smash me with her mallet if I told anyone! So I kept the secret because I didn’t wanna be killed...and I ended up running away from Odd Squad." Oscar's eyes widened. "You ran away?" "Yeah. I stayed in a dark, gross cave." Mandy shuddered. "It was awful, but it worked. For a time." Oscar gazed at Mandy empathetically. "Well, if I'm being honest with you, Mandy...it wouldn't be the first time." "Huh?" "Oona's done this before with a couple other Scientists." Oscar explained, as the pair went to the first floor and he opened the door, holding it open to allow Mandy to go first before he went in after her. "Some have taken it in stride. Others...haven't. I've gotten a ton of complaints about it from the ones who haven't." Mandy stopped again, but for much longer this time. "Wait. So I'm not the only one?!" "Yeah." Oscar stopped, turned, and held up a hand. "And don't worry, heh. You don't have to tell me what the secret was." "Ohthankodd." Mandy clutched her chest in relief, her brain granting her legs the ability to move again as she ran after Oscar. "I'll have to have another talk with her about it." Oscar mused. "When you return to Precinct 13579, find her and tell her I want to speak to her as soon as possible." "Will do!" Within a few minutes, the pair had emerged at the front lobby of the building, where a loud explosion was heard, followed by a cry of "Aw, not again!" from what had to be a mishap-making Scientist. The explosion made the surprised Mandy's hair and tail stick outwards and bush up tremendously, but only the Scientists-in-training and a sparse few Scientists actually diverted their attention from whatever they were doing to inquire about what had just happened. "Y-y'know..." Mandy's tail twitched as she tried to get it to go back to its normal poofy state, while she did the same with her hair by running her hands through it in an effort to smooth it out. "If those happen every day, it's a miracle how this building hasn't been destroyed by now." "That's what I keep telling myself, heh!" Oscar shrugged. "Me, and the former Big O...many, many times over." Mandy dashed towards the entrance. "Anyway, I'll give Oona your message. See ya later!" "Bye!" Oscar waved her off, watching her as she went out the doors and into the fresh air of the outdoors. As Mandy began walking on the front grounds, she stopped and turned around, facing the large building that loomed before her. She gazed at the inside, watching as Scientists mingled and chatted and walked around. She had nothing but the utmost respect for them, of course. Investigation agents and Scientists were a truly symbiotic relationship, one she accepted and embraced by helping out Oona and obeying her rules when it came to checking out and checking in gadgets. No one department could take all the credit for helping to solve oddness -- after all, barring Mandy, Investigation agents and making gadgets went together about as well as peanut butter and rat poison. But Mandy had her limits. And those limits just so happened to be passing on her gadget skills to Scientists. If Oscar wanted a teacher, he could surely pull a few strings and hire some. It was hard, but it wasn't impossible. Unfortunately for him, Mandy wanted no part of it. "Yeah, no." Emerging in the bullpen, Mandy took a deep breath. "Finally, I'm back where I belong!" she chirped, before making a beeline for the Lab. As seemed to be more common over the course of the week, Oona was back at it with smashing another gadget using her mallet. Her focus was unbroken as she shot the gadget a look that could slice it cleanly in two if looks could wound, raising her hammer high above her head. "Oona! Hey, Oona!" Oona gave a scream and began bringing the head of the mallet down onto the gadget. With a swift hand, Mandy caught the head, letting it rest in her palm. She fixed Oona with a small smile. "Before ya smash that, five seconds of your time?" Oona blinked. "Oh, howdy-do, Mandy." She met the hybrid's smile with one of her own. "What's up?" "Oscar wants to see you about..." Mandy faltered. "Uh...w-well, he didn't say. But he wants to see you as soon as you're available." Oona's half-lidded brown gaze became fixed on the hybrid. "You told him about the whole secret thing, didn't you?" The wheeze that came out of Mandy shriveled her lungs up and then made them reform like a grape that had become wrinkly and then been reshaped so it looked fresh again. They then quivered with every nervous laugh she barked out. "Moi?!" she practically screamed. "Haha, nooooo, I would never!" The two girls stared at each other for a solid minute. And then, Mandy took off in a run, her wheel-o'-feet kicking up a long cloud of dust that marked her trail. "Called it." Oona shook her head and sighed, a smirk settling on her face. "Oh, Mandy. You really can't keep secrets, can you?" She turned back around and resumed her focus on the gadget, taking a deep breath as she raised the mallet high above her head once again. Once she adjusted it for a perfect aim, a psychotic-sounding scream left her lungs that preceded a loud bang as gadget pieces flew all over the Lab.
S1E28: Field DayBeing a spirit roaming around the world of the living had its many advantages and disadvantages, especially when it came to someone like Haruko. For one thing, she couldn't possess other living beings or objects. Just for fun, once, she had tried to possess one of her fellow clan members, only to phase right through them like water through a bottomless cup. Perhaps it was just the nature of the Magical Grasslands that didn't allow her to have such a power. She honestly wasn't sure, but she knew well enough to not try again. And she knew her clanmates well enough to know that none of them had the same power, not even the clan's leader. For another thing, Haruko could not have a physical body, or put on a fake appearance of one, outside of the Grasslands. When she wasn't roaming around her home turf, she existed as a spirit, though one made out of sheer light that was nearly blinding. When she was in the Grasslands, her body took on a more solid form, although she was still a spirit that could not feel any emotions nor feel any pain. It was a curse, because, if she was being honest, she much preferred having a physical form to take. But alas, as her time on the planet had come to a close, so did the privilege of being born with a body to call her own. As she plodded through the Grasslands, her nature powers leaving small flowers growing in her wake, she got to thinking about Mandy, as she often did. Most of the time, she left the hybrid alone, allowing her to live her life as she so pleased without spirit guardian intervention. But fate had dealt its cards, and if Haruko wasn't careful, they would cut into Mandy's body and leave lasting wounds. Mandy must get stronger. She must prepare herself for the turmoil that Vallea will inflict upon Odd Squad and upon Equestria. Her allies will be helpful, but even they may not be strong enough. She closed her eyes. Furthermore...she must prepare herself for the uncovering of her true origins. He... All movement, aside from her breathing, ceased. Almost every night, he is crying. He misses her. He wishes to find her. He wishes to reunite with her. The thoughts running through her mind made one thing clear to her, which was that she had a lot to think about in regards to Mandy's future. She sat down, staring up at the bright blue sky and watching the clouds lazily drift by. Oh, Annabelle...if only you were here. If only I had been able to save your spirit before it drifted away into the nothingness of what is up there. But it is too late now. Mandy will have to move on without you. Such is the way life goes. Her eyes shot open as she felt a sensation rocket through her body. She stood up and turned around, facing the large hill that loomed over a majority of the Grasslands. Mandy is coming. I must meet her. Stretching out her body, she took off in large strides, soaring over and down the hill before going back the way she had come. The skies of Toronto were stormy. Not many people and ponies were out on the streets as lightning struck and thunder roared. Pegasi were nowhere to be found in the sky, while nearly everyone else either had shelter or were currently seeking it. As usual, this weather did next to nothing for the underground-residing Odd Squad. Only very few lightning strikes had ever been so powerful as to shoot down through several layers of dirt and penetrate the concrete floors of bullpens, and even then, those had been attributed to the lightning being a side effect of some kind of oddity, like a vortex. Thus, agents considered themselves well and safe, although many were hesitant to go solve oddness in areas that weren't indoors. Mandy, who certainly didn't enjoy the stormy weather, was busy doodling, having gotten all her work done. She often got the blahs during storms, and wanted nothing more than to stay curled up in bed and sleep the day away. But duty called, and staying in bed was a nigh impossibility in general, except if she was sick. "Agent Mandy! In my office, now!" The hybrid bit back a groan as she pushed herself away from her desk, got up, and began dragging her feet towards her boss's office. It was lucky for her that she hadn't been outside yet, and she hoped that this latest summons wasn't Oprah taking her out of storm range and throwing her directly into the eye. "Yeah, you called?" Oprah looked up from her craft. Mandy couldn't tell what she was making -- all she knew was that it involved pipe cleaners and googly eyes. "I’ve decided to reward you for your hard work as of late. So I’m giving you time off to take a vacation." Mandy opened her mouth to speak, but just as quickly closed it. She definitely wasn't one to take vacations, so this generous reward seemed very much suspect. She narrowed her eyes. "A vacation? This isn’t gonna become like when Fluttershy made me take a vacation and you yelled at her for it, is it?" "No. This comes from me." Oprah smiled. "You've been working so hard. You deserve it." "And you're not doing this just because I decided to get my butt outta bed this afternoon?" "Mandy. Don't be so suspicious. Have I ever steered you wrong?" "Yes." Mandy reached above her and pulled down a giant list from out of nowhere. "I have over five hundred incidents and counting of you steering me entirely wrong." Oprah scanned through the list, but Mandy yanked on the pull cord on the bottom and made it slip back up before she could even get halfway down the portion she was shown. She fixed the hybrid with a bemused smile. "Someone's a little cynical today, huh?" "Oh, you know how I always get with big nasty storms. The blah-dee-blahs are in full swing for me." Mandy couldn't resist cracking a smile, even if it was just a short one. "Please, take the vacation. I insist." Oprah encouraged. "You can stay wherever you want for two weeks." That offer was a little more enticing to Mandy. "Really?" "Really." Having a feeling that her boss wasn't going to take "no" for an answer, the hybrid came to a decision. "All right. But only 'cause you're insisting!" She tapped her chin. "I just don't know where to go, though..." A shimmering light caught her eye, and she turned to see Haruko, standing in the doorway and gazing at her with an unreadable expression. Before she could even call out to her spirit guardian, she was gone, dashing down the stairs and leaving a mass of sparkles behind. "What are you looking at?" Oprah asked, squinting. "Haruko." Oprah's brows furrowed. "You know, I’ve always wondered why we can’t see her, but you can. She must have some kind of personal connection to you." "Yeah...I'm..." Mandy began slowly moving towards the doors. "...gonna go. I'll leave right now." "All right. Stay safe." "Thanks." Mandy took off for the stairs, briefly wondering if she should chase after Haruko before realizing that she still needed to pack and the kitsune would definitely be long gone by then. Still, she had confidence that she would wait, and so, she decided to take off for her room to begin packing for her trip. It was lucky that Mandy hadn't taken any packing advice from Rarity. The mare always seemed to overpack for just about everything, but where Mandy was concerned, where she was going didn't need five suitcases that each weighed more than a sumo wrestler. "I think I've got all my things packed." she mused, mentally running through her list and wondering if she was missing anything. "Mandy." The soft and velvety voice interrupted her. She turned and found Haruko standing in her doorway, gazing at her with intensity. "Haruko?" "Are you ready?" The question threw Mandy off a little. "Uh..." She glanced at her two suitcases, each held in her corona. "Y-yes? I mean, I think so..." "Then follow me." In the blink of an eye, the kitsune was gone, veering a right and heading out of Mandy's line of vision. "Wait!" Hastily, Mandy let her magic guide her suitcases towards her tail, where they disappeared in the brown poofy mass of fur and remained hidden. "Don't leave without me! Haruko!" Using her wings, she was able to keep close tabs on the kitsune as she ran -- something that proved to be a bad idea when she was eventually thrust out into the thunderstorm and had to become wary of any stray lightning bolts. She looked like an utter fool, flying in such a dangerous storm, but she knew that there was no way she would be able to keep up with Haruko on foot. "Haruko, ya really hafta take me out here?!" Mandy screamed, using her hands to feebly cover her head while also making sure to never lose sight of the bright light that illuminated the near-darkness. "You're lucky you're so bright, ya know!" A bolt of lightning crashed and met ground, missing Mandy by several feet but still close enough to make her nearly spin out. "Please don't hit my wings, please don't hit my wings!" she prayed aloud, attempting to right herself as she continued to follow Haruko as best she could. The rain was pouring so intensely that she had no idea where she even was, and had no idea where, exactly, she was going. Still, if Haruko had wanted her to follow her, then she was sure it had to be important. By the time Mandy came out of the storm, she was heavily winded, sopping wet, and frazzled every which way. "I...can't...breathe..." came the wheezes, as she began to descend. Luckily, Haruko had stopped. "We are here, Mandy." That was the cue for the hybrid to flop onto the ground, her wings buzzing slower and slower until they came to a dead stop and drooped weakly at her sides. She feebly attempted to lift her head off of the ground in order to get a good view of her surroundings, but what she saw snapped her out of her dazed stupor in an instant. Immediately, the view of grass became familiar to her, even if it was without the barn, the fence, and the road. But unlike in the past, she had full control over her emotions and feelings. She could still feel the pain in her wings, she could still feel the dampness of her jacket, tie-dye T-shirt and denim shorts, and she could still feel the sensation of fatigue that still lingered. Her mouth ran dry. The...the Magical Grasslands. But it's...it's a real place? I didn't... She glanced behind her. I didn't get hit by a lightning bolt and get knocked out, did I? All this time, I thought the Grasslands was just a place that existed in my dreams. But it's real. It's really real. She conjured up a glass of water, surprised that she could still wield magic in the Grasslands as she drank it eagerly. "Aah, much better!" she chirped. "Come and sit by me." Haruko encouraged. "I will tell you all that you need to know." Curious, Mandy obeyed, crawling over to her spirit guardian and taking a seat, letting her back rest along the rolling hill that loomed behind her. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes as the breeze rustled the grass and the flowers and dried Mandy off considerably. To her, the Grasslands was as peaceful in real life as it was in her dreams, and the fact that she could actually feel things instead of being a spirit in all but appearance made it even better. "Do you remember when I told you about the Magical Grasslands?" Haruko began. "When you broke up with Bradley Beli?" Mandy nodded. "Yeah. I blacked out, and you said that my body was somewhere in...limbo." "Yes. But the Magical Grasslands is no mere fantasy realm. It is very much real." Even though Mandy had come to that conclusion already, hearing it from a denizen of the Grasslands itself still shocked her. "S-so that means you, and other kitsunes, and other creatures, and the Arcanes...they're all real?!" Haruko gave a single nod. In all honesty, Mandy had no idea what creatures had lived in the Arcanes, but knew that since many mythical creatures lived in the real world and were well-known to Odd Squad, she shouldn't be too surprised. "But...if you're real..." She shook her head. Haruko wasn't real. She looked real, but she wasn't real. And now, the hybrid's head was spinning. "If you're real, then why do you appear as...well..." She tapped her chin. "I don't wanna say 'spirit-like', so I guess the next best way to word it would be..." Haruko waited patiently with a small frown on her face as Mandy hummed in thought. After a few minutes, Mandy shook her head, deciding to ask a different question that would hopefully provide her with some less complicated answers. "No, no. Why are you only visible to me?" "You will find out, in time." Haruko glanced at Mandy. "But there is something I must tell you. There is a reason why I have led you here, and I feel that you are ready to face the truth." "Face the truth?" Steeling herself, Haruko took a deep breath, staring into Mandy's eyes intensely. "The time will soon come for you to learn about your true origins. Your true family. What happened to you that caused you to become taken in by Odd Squad." That made the hybrid freeze. She hadn't thought about her true origins since a couple weeks after the Dream Weaver had dredged up memories of that woman who might or might not have been her actual mother. If she was being honest, she didn't want to think about her true origins. She had a happy life with Olive, Otto, Oprah, Peaches, the ponies...and she never wanted that taken away from her, ever. But now, it was all about to come crashing down. "M-my..." "You cannot go your whole life without learning the truth, Mandy. I understand that Odd Squad has been your family for years. But your real family…" Mandy's breath nearly caught in her throat. All she could do was stammer. "They miss you dearly. They may not show it on the outside, but I can feel their hearts crying out in pain. Mourning over the loss of their missing loved one." Recalling that Haruko had mentioned she could sense humans' true emotions, an odd sensation began worming its way into Mandy's gut. "Mandy." Haruko murmured, in a calm but urgent voice. "What do you know about your origins?" Something inside of the hybrid told her that the kitsune wasn't going to let her off easy. This was a conversation that needed to be had, and no matter how hard she tried to change the subject or divert it, it would still loop back around to the same topic. So, with that in mind, she yanked out a small clump of grass, held it in her hand, and began. "My real family...I...I’ve never thought about where I actually came from. Olive has always been my mom, and...Odd Squad has been my only family. But...I remember Peaches saying to me when we first met…" She dropped the grass. "...how I was the child of some Aunt Kimi and Uncle Derek. Apparently, Kimi was a catgirl, like Peaches, and Derek was a human. But I don’t recall any of those names…" "I do not recall those names either." Haruko shook her head. "Is it possible that Peaches was mistaken?" "Mistaken...how?" "Perhaps she has some details mixed up. Peaches comes from Vallea, does she not?" "Yeah. She does." Mandy responded, confusion edging into her voice. Haruko's gaze shifted to the sky. "I will admit, I do not know much about Vallea. But from what I understand, it is populated by catpeople, yes?" "Yeah." A silence fell over the duo that seemed to last for an eternity. Then, Haruko glanced at Mandy again. "Do you remember how Kimi and Derek met?" Mandy shook her head. "As I said, I don't know them." "Mandy...what do you think of Olive?" The question was so sudden that it caught the hybrid off-guard for a moment. When she got right back to it, however, her face lit up. "Olive? She’s the best Momma I could ask for! Sure, she may be tough-as-nails on the outside, and all serious and frowny-faced and grumpy, but she’s got a heart of gold! She’s such a softie!" she explained, capping off her praise with a giggle. Haruko smiled at the thought. "Do you appreciate her?" "'Course I do!" Mandy said. "She cared for me for as long as I could remember. And yeah, she stumbled a lot, ‘cause she wasn’t used to raising a child and six fillies, but she got better with time! And with a lotta help from Otto, Oprah and Oscar, of course." She closed her eyes. "I’m really grateful to her." Haruko placed a gentle paw on Mandy's leg. "Tell me about how she rescued you. Your earliest memories." Mandy tilted her head. "My earliest memories?" "Yes. I would like to hear it all, from you." It had been a while since Mandy had thought about her rescuing when she was but a baby. But she could remember all of it, every painstaking detail of it. She didn't like to remember it, but she did it all for Haruko's sake, to satisfy her curiosity even if Mandy was sure she probably knew the story well enough already. The first thing I can remember is the interior of Precinct 13579’s Headquarters. Somehow, I had wound up there, but I don’t remember how. What I do remember is seeing pies zooming back and forth, wind blowing so fiercely that it felt like I would be swept away. And this one persistent alarm kept going off, reciting a bunch of numbers I didn't understand. I later found out that it would be the digits that comprised pi. And not the yummy kind of pie. I saw agents running for their lives, screaming and crying and being whacked with pie from every angle. Being only a baby who didn't really grasp what was going on, I thought everyone was playing some kind of game, and wanted in on it. From a short distance away, I saw Olive -- or, well, to me, just another girl at the time -- running back and forth, hair blowing in her face as she wielded a rather bulky device. Bodies were strewn all over the place. It was nothing but a pure disaster area. And I was so awestruck by it all that I didn't notice six fillies who had somehow gained access into Headquarters. "What's going on?!" Pinkie cried. "I-I don't think my Sonic Rainboom can fix this!" Rainbow called. "This place looks simply dreadful." Rarity let out a yelp as she buried her face in her hooves, in an effort to make sure every inch of her stayed clean. "I don't reckon any 'f y'all know how t' stop this, do ya?!" Applejack yelled, one hoof on her hat to keep it steady. "I sure don't!" Twilight's tone was one of shock and surprise. "This is unbelievable!" As for Fluttershy, she had already begun crying, attempting to make herself as small as she could, a mere speck on the battlefield. "Hold on, who's that?" Rainbow pointed at Olive, who was taking shelter behind the slide that led to the sandbox and pulling out a small notebook and a pen. "I'm not sure, but maybe she can stop this!" Twilight's tone showed hope, now, as she watched the girl at work. It was then that I noticed the fillies, but drowned out whatever words they said next, as I made my way over to a girl who was laying deathly still, with pie littering her body head to toe. I didn't know it at the time, but it was none other than Oprah. There were other agents covered in pie who were laying just as still. Only later did I find out that they had fallen ill from contamination -- the pies had been laced with poison, but it wasn't the deadly kind of poison, just the kind that could cause long-lasting disease. Worried for Oprah's health, I slowly crawled to her. I barely registered Rarity's cry, telling me to wait. This girl was laying down. Was she sleeping? Playing a fun game? Who was to say. The other fillies rushed over to the girl, trying to wake her up to no avail. And when they couldn't wake her up, I began to cry. It was only a minute later that a wounded Olive, her backside splattered with pie, limped over, gadget in hand. One of her eyes was closed, and it was obvious that she was struggling to stay alive. "Ma'am, let me help!" Twilight offered. Olive's eyes widened. "No, you'll get hurt!" Twilight didn't listen, trotting past Olive with her horn alight. "That's where all the pies are coming from!" she remarked, before lifting up the gadget in her corona, examining it, aiming it at the pienado's container blocked with seven green triangles, and firing it. The eighth triangle hit, and the pienado container was sealed. The winds stopped howling, and everything, even the dying screams and cries, quieted. The only high-volume sound that remained within the bullpen was my crying, as I hadn't realized what had happened yet. "Y-you..." Olive murmured. "You did it. You stopped the pienado!" "The what?" Olive opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, shaking her head. "Are you okay?" she asked, examining the filly up and down. "You weren't hit, were you?" Twilight shook her head, setting the gadget down onto the ground. "I'm fine!" Turning to the other fillies, Olive asked the same questions. They assured her that they were fine and completely uninjured. By this point, I had stopped crying and was doing nothing more but babbling in worry as I stared deep into the eyes of the one that had (partially) saved us all. "How did you all get here?" Olive asked, shortly before she cried out in pain and knelt to the ground. "Are you okay?" Twilight was quick to offer her support. "These pies...they're contaminated with disease." Olive explained. "If I don't get medical help soon, I'll end up just like everyone else here!" Applejack approached the girl. "Let us help, sugarcube!" "Yeah, we'll get you all better in no time!" Pinkie nodded. "All right." Olive slowly but surely extended a finger to another girl clad in a blue lab coat, lying flat on her back and, like Oprah, remaining deathly still. Since she had pie covering her body as well, it was no secret what had happened to her. "You see that girl with the blue lab coat, over there? Find other kids dressed like her. Those are Odd Squad Doctors. They'll help." "Okay." Twilight turned to the others. "Applejack, Rainbow Dash, come with me. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, go in the other direction. Let's hurry!" I watched as the six mysterious ponies took off running, in an effort to seek help before Olive died. Right then and there, Olive started coughing. Her hand clutched her chest as she hacked, and I could see spittle landing on the ground in front of her. Curious, I gave an inquisitive coo, crawling over to her and placing a hand on her foreleg. Luckily, her coughing spree wasn't long. "And as for you..." She tilted her head. "Where did you come from? You can't be an agent here...you're not wearing a suit." I gave a worried babble. "You're worried about me, aren't you?" Olive said sympathetically, before she gave a soft moan that indicated the disease was beginning to settle in further and further. I watched her with a worried look on my face, my eyes welling up with tears. "I'll be fine." Olive smiled. "I didn’t come this far...I didn’t save my precinct...just to fall here. That boy...he has to become my partner. I have to become the Director of my own precinct. I...I have to make sure Odd Todd falls." With loud shrieks, I began to cry again. "Oh...you're not convinced, are you?" Not even the sensation of being picked up and placed into warm and loving arms calmed me down. I was just too worried about this girl's fate. I didn't want her to go. "Shh, it's okay! It'll be okay! Uh..." Olive bit her lip. "Crumpets, I don't know how to take care of a baby..." Gently she rocked me back and forth. "Rock-a-bye-baby, on the treetop? When the wind blows, the cradle will rock?" That was enough. My crying began to cease, and I giggled. "Oh, thank odd." Olive gave a relieved sigh. "I don’t know who or where your parents are, but...we’ll try to find them. It’s the least we can do." She adjusted her position on the floor. "For now, let’s wait until those fillies come back. It’s weird, but they didn’t look like any horses I’ve seen. Maybe they’re from another world." Hearing such determination made my heart fill with joy. I gave a few happy coos, my little hands grasping at her nose in futile attempts to grab it. "My vision's growing hazy...the disease is settling in..." Olive turned her head to cough...no, hack some more. She set me down as I gave another inquisitive coo. "Ms. O..." Her voice was more strained, now. She hacked again, and looked at the girl who I tried to wake up earlier. "I’m sorry. I stopped the pienado...I saved this precinct...but it came with a cost. I didn’t want to die here, but…" Her hacking grew more violent in nature. At one point, I could swear I saw blood stain the floor, but I can't recall. I slowly began to crawl to her, giving worried babbles and coos. "Doctors are on their way." Olive assured. Her face began to pale. She rubbed Oprah's shoulder. "Please don't die...you have to stay strong. For me. For all of us..." The way she was hacking, it was clear that her fate was about to be sealed. " I...p-please...take care of...this baby. And the six…fillies that came with her." Olive collapsed onto the ground. Her eyes slowly began to close, her final words a mere whisper as they floated into the air and then disappeared. "I...am deeply sorry. But this is goodbye." Seeing Olive collapse in front of me like that was devastating. I don’t know why, but I was...drawn to her. She saved my life, and the ponies’ lives. To me, that was enough for me to believe that she was nice. The ponies weren’t back yet with the Odd Squad Doctors, and I knew that something had to be done. But my heart was too filled with sadness. So...I cried. I practically threw my lungs out, hoping someone would come and help. Anyone who was still alive and standing. Maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for Olive. She could still be saved. I just needed someone to come to me. Eventually, the ponies returned with some Doctors. The rest of it was kind of a blur. I was crying too hard to notice a lot of what was happening, but I do know that most everyone recovered. There were...many casualties, though. The disease progressed too far in some agents. Some were never able to function again. Others...died. Olive survived, thankfully. But she developed sensitive hearing from having pie in her ears. She also developed trauma from the incident, in the form of a pie phobia that would haunt her for a long while. Haruko closed her eyes. "I see." "I can tell you the rest, if you want..." "No need." Haruko held up a paw. "I do not wish for you to continue if it bothers you. I am deeply sorry, Mandy." Mandy bit her lip. Tears began dripping onto the dirt below, and she sniffled. "It's...it's fine." She slowly got to her feet. "I'm just gonna...go for a little fly and then take a nap, if that's all right." "That is fine. Do whatever you wish." The kitsune watched Mandy take flight through the expansive Grasslands. Although it wasn't visibly obvious to her or to anyone else, she was crying too. She was sure her heart was aching with pain and her lungs found it hard to take in air. She gave a soft exhale and laid down. I can feel the pain in her heart. She loves Olive dearly. That attack...it must have hurt her as well, even if not physically. If only I could make her feel better…if only I could help her. The sound of the breeze winding through the air and the sound of the grass rustling tickled her ears, but neither of those pleasant noises were able to placate her and make her calm again. "It's been two weeks!" Oprah cried out, pacing back and forth in front of her desk. "Where is she?!" "Mandy taking a vacation? That's unusual." Otto remarked, sitting on the couch with Olive beside him. The girl shot him a knowing look, as though attempting to remind him that Mandy had, indeed, taken a vacation before, in an incident that had ended in disaster. "Did she say anything about where she went?" Olive asked. Oprah stopped her pacing and gasped in realization. "Now that you mention it...she mentioned seeing Haruko before she left!" The sound of drumming hoofsteps ascending the stairs caught the three kids' attention, and the ponies all burst in with panicked looks on their faces. "We tried using the location tracker." Pinkie explained. "It's not working!" "Of course not, she doesn't have her suit on!" Pinkie blinked as she stared at Oprah. "Oh. Whoops. Hehe." "If she saw Haruko..." Olive gasped. "Maybe she went to the Magical Grasslands!" "But that place isn't real." Otto pointed out. "It only exists in her dreams." "Has anyone tried calling her?" Oprah's gaze moved towards the ponies. "I did." Fluttershy raised a hoof. "She didn't answer." Oprah groaned, heading back to her chair and flopping down in it. "If only I knew more about the Magical Grasslands...it's just as much of a mystery to me as it is to all of you." "So what do we do?" Twilight asked. "We don't have a choice. We just have to wait until Mandy comes back." Oprah reached for her apple-juice-flavored juice box and took a few swigs. "In the meantime, we can cope." "No!" All eyes turned on Olive, who had shot up from her spot on the couch. "I’m not going to just settle with that! Who knows if Mandy’s run into some odd monster or something, or needs our help?" Otto watched his partner move past the ponies, who quickly moved out of the way. "Partner..." Olive turned around. "I’m going to do some research on the Magical Grasslands. And I recommend you all do the same." She threw her hands into the air. "That’s our...our friend out there! Our relative! We shouldn’t just leave her be!" A pause lingered in the room as everyone considered the Director's words. It didn't last long, however, as the vote was unanimous in that she had a point. "Olive's right." Twilight nodded as she turned around. "I'm going to do some research too. It doesn't feel right to just sit around and wait for Mandy to come back." "Then we'll help too, darling!" Rarity turned and placed a supportive hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Let's go get Mandy back!" Rainbow declared, performing a loop-de-loop before hovering alongside the other ponies. "Let's head for the Odd Squad Library." Twilight suggested. "Maybe there's something there that can help us." She, and the others, began to head out as Peaches and Otto rose from their seats. "Peaches?" Oprah glanced behind her. "What about you?" The catgirl heaved a sigh. "Well...I'll kill two birds with one claw swipe. I'll go look for the culprit that burned down Vallea, and find the Magical Grasslands." Oprah nodded. "All right. Just stay safe. And call if you find anything." "Will do." With that, Peaches left the room, and its occupants were down to three. "Otto?" "I have to keep things under control at our precinct." Otto's gaze moved to Olive. "Besides, Olive was always better at doing research." "True." Oprah responded, choosing to ignore Olive's prideful smirk. "I'll see you later, then." As she waved Olive and Otto off, she gave a heavy sigh as she flopped back into her chair, beginning to feel a migraine coming on that no amount of kid alcohol seemed to fix. Regardless, she gave a few sips of apple juice and resolved to get back to work, hoping to do something to take her mind off of her beloved second-in-command having gone missing. One thing that Mandy hadn't witnessed when it came to the Magical Grasslands was the beauty of nighttime. The stars, the moon and the tranquility of it all held a sense of wonder that one couldn't experience by viewing it in the hustle and bustle of a city, with its light pollution and tall obstructing buildings ruining the sight. After making a fire and cooking about three dozen hot dogs (all with ketchup, of course), Mandy had fallen asleep with quite the distended belly and ketchup still smothered all around her mouth. Her snores, however loud they were, didn't seem to shake the foundation of the Grasslands, nor did they bother Haruko, who was sitting beside her and staring up at the sky. "From the bags Mandy carried here...I would assume she is on vacation." she realized. Just as she was about to speak her next thought, however, a sensation shot through her body. She stiffened. Odd Squad. They are looking for her. A sigh made the fur on her chest ripple slightly. Time moves slower here than it does in the real world. By the time she returns, it will have been months. Years, perhaps. She slowly closed her eyes. She cannot stay here. But... "Haruko." The tall, dark figure approaching the kitsune bore eyes of an icy blue, which shone in the darkness. Smoke smoldered from his nostrils for only a brief moment as he stared. "Huh?" Haruko turned to look at the one addressing her. "Skygaze? What are you doing here?" "I roam around the Magical Grasslands as a spirit. The Arcanes lived here for a very long time. This is my home as much as it is yours." Skygaze's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Something is bothering you." Knowing that Skygaze wasn't usually the all-too-perceptive type, Haruko asked, "How can you tell?" "I overheard your talk with Agent Mandy. I could sense the pain flowing through your heart as she told you her story." "I am Mandy's spirit guardian." Haruko countered. "Of course I share her pain." Skygaze's wings ruffled. "Why did you lead her here?" he asked, in a tone that conveyed curiosity more than scolding. "She needs to know her true origins." Haruko gazed into Skygaze's eyes with a sense of urgency. "I have been getting these...pangs, of sorts, for years. They are cries for help, Skygaze. From her real parents. They are looking for her. They miss her." "I can understand. But did you consider if Mandy is ready to find her real parents?" That caught Haruko off-guard. She glanced at Mandy, and then back at Skygaze, who was watching her expectantly. "If she is...ready?" "This is simply not something you can force onto someone, Haruko." Skygaze explained. "You are, perhaps, correct, in that Mandy needs to know about where she really came from. But not only do you need to be ready, she must be ready as well." Haruko had to admit that the raroh made a strong point. She had pushed Mandy to find her real parents and unearth her real origins without even considering her feelings, and it was that mistake that made her want to apologize right away. But as her head turned to Mandy once more, she found that the hybrid had rolled over onto her left side and was muttering something in her sleep about devouring every last crop on a farm in between her raucous snores. So, she settled for giving an understanding nod to Skygaze, a way of silent communication that showed him that he was in the right and she was in the wrong. Still, she had more things on her mind that she figured she would share with her former leader, now that he had taken the time to appear in front of her. "Skygaze, that is not my only concern." Haruko exhaled. "There have been creatures, catpeople, hailing from a land called Vallea, that have been coming to Mandy and attacking her and her friends. I have been keeping an eye on them during my travels in the real world. They want to take her and Peaches back with them." Her eyes shimmered with worry. "I do not know why...perhaps to torture, or even kill...but I do not want that to happen! And-" "Haruko." Skygaze extended a wing to quiet her, wrapping it around her back. "When Mandy was born, you took it upon yourself to become her spirit guardian, just like you were to her mother. You know her better than anyone. Even when you were in the Arcanes, and even when you became a spirit...you never stopped caring for her." He smiled. "You have the power to help Mandy. To work together with her and help her when she is in trouble. As the former leader of the Arcanes, I believe in you." He turned. Haruko, stunned by his words, could only manage a single utterance of his name. "Sleep on my words. Although the Arcanes are long gone, I, and your clanmates, will always be here, in the Magical Grasslands." He gave a soft sigh. "I have given you all the advice I can give. Farewell." "Skygaze, wait!" The raroh did not answer. Light began to overtake his body. He spread his other wing and took flight, soon becoming nothing more than a shimmering speck in the sky that eventually faded away. Haruko stared at the sky, uttering her former leader's name once more. After some time, she broke her gaze away and looked at Mandy again, who was sucking the tip of her thumb. As much as I do not want to believe it...he is right. I have been helping Mandy all throughout her life. We are connected. If Mandy does not wish to find her real parents… She laid down on the grass. ...then I must not force her. She will be ready, in time. Closing her eyes, she rested her head on her paws and drifted off to sleep, her mind swirling with thoughts on her conversation with Skygaze and on her past experiences with both Mandy and her mother. The next day, Mandy and Haruko both awoke to the sun at its highest point in the sky -- a good indicator that it was around noontime. Haruko woke up first, of course. She gave a soft yawn as she stood up and began stretching out her body. A few seconds after that, Mandy woke up, her yawn more volumetric in nature as she rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. "Mmm...that was the best sleep I've had in a long time!" she remarked, twisting her upper body from side to side to get the most pops and cracks out of her spine as she possibly could. "Mandy. Good afternoon." The hybrid's gaze flicked to her spirit guardian. "Oh! I didn't know you usually slept this late, Haruko! Good afternoon!" Haruko shook her head. "Not usually." Her gaze grew steely. "There is something I must tell you." "What is it?" "About yesterday..." Haruko blinked. "I am sorry for making you share your origins like that. I may be ready to talk about your real parents, but it is clear that you are not." "You're right. I'm not." The answer was so sudden that it made Haruko do a double-take, her eyes widening slightly. "But you’ve given me something to think about." Mandy stood up and stretched out her own body. "And when the time’s right, then I’ll come see you in the Magical Grasslands and we can talk!" One thing that Haruko loved about Mandy is that the hybrid was very forgiving. Even though she had a tendency to hold long grudges and not take "sorry" as any kind of answer, when it came to the right someone and the right time, she could pour all of her forgiveness out into her words and communicate them well. The kitsune gave a warm, grateful smile. "That would be wonderful." A sensation went through her body, and she perked up, giving a startled "Oh!" as she felt the grass begin to rustle and lap at her paws. Mandy blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "Your friends...no..." Haruko shook her head. "Your family...they are looking for you." "You said that yesterday!" "No. I am talking about Odd Squad." Haruko looked to the sky. "I can hear their worried cries. I can sense their strife. Much time has passed in the real world." It hit Mandy right then. Her eyes widened, and her pony ears drooped. "Oh no. Because time moves slower here! Ohh, how did I forget?!" She sighed. "I-I need to get back. I'm so sorry!" "It is quite all right." Haruko nodded. "Go and see your family. And please, remember, you are welcome here at any time." "Can this place be teleported to?" Mandy blurted. "I mean, traveling is nice, but the Magical Grasslands is soooooo hard to travel to!" She ran a hand through her hair. "You took me through thunder and lightning! I was out of breath! It was such a long fly!" Haruko couldn't resist giving a soft chuckle. "Yes, you may teleport here whenever you desire." Mandy gave a relieved sigh, placing her hand on her chest. "Oh thank odd." She began packing her bags, levitating them in her corona. "I'll see you soon, okay?" Haruko nodded. "I will always be watching over you, Mandy. Farewell." Looking over the real-life Grasslands one more time, Mandy teleported away, leaving her spirit guardian alone in the expansive space with her thoughts. Mandy managed to arrive back in her room, which was a good thing for her because she didn't feel like getting swamped by everyone. What was also a good thing was that she hadn't aged so much as a day, which meant that not as much time had passed as she had hoped. She had only stayed in the Grasslands for a day, but she was sure she had passed the two-week threshold Oprah gave her, which, compared to months, years, decades or centuries, was pretty solid. "Ahh, I'm back home! It worked!" Mandy grinned. "Man, teleportation's a good skill to have." She put her bags on her bed, opened them, and began to unpack. "And now that I'm home...maybe I can take some time to think about what Haruko said. About my real family." Her eyes grew misty. "I'm not ready to find them. But..." Memories began flashing in her mind. From Otto giving Olive advice on how to calm her down as a baby, to a teenage Rainbow Dash letting her watch her do all sorts of crazy stunts in the air, to Pinkie Pie teaching her the joy of baking for the very first time by letting her make a batch of cupcakes. All of them were precious, all of them were cherished, and all of them reminded her of one thing. "This place...all these agents...they're the only family I've ever known." Tears began dripping onto her bedsheets. "If I find my real parents, they’ll probably want me to go back home with them. And I’ll have to leave this place behind." She could see it now. Her mother and father, demanding she come home with them because they felt Odd Squad was unsafe or its members were untrustworthy. Dragging Mandy home by the ear. Keeping her in the home and never letting her see the daylight unless good old Mommy or Daddy went with her. "I don't want that!" she yelled, furiously shaking her head and sending tears flying from side to side. She clutched her head and slumped to her knees, trying to scrub the thoughts out of her head. "No, no, keep it together..." she murmured, almost like a mantra to steel herself. She balled up her hands into fists. "I just...have to spend more time with them. As much time with them as I can!" Her expression brightened. "And there’s no time like the present!" Smiling, she got to her feet and flung open her door, looking back and forth for any sign of life. There wasn't any, so she decided to make her way to the bullpen, which she knew had to have at least some of her friends and family hanging around. As she got closer, however, her pony ears picked up on the sound of someone crying. "Partner, it's gonna be okay. We'll find her." Is...is that Momma? And Otto! A hiccup. "Otto, I've looked through the entire Library. There's nothing on the Magical Grasslands." "Peaches is out looking right now. She'll find it." "It's been weeks! I just..." Mandy could feel her heart beginning to break in two as a pitiful, strangled wail left her mother's throat and she continued to cry. Although she couldn't see them, and they couldn't see her, she opted to peek around the corner and stay mostly hidden. "I've never seen her in this bad of a shape before." Oprah remarked. "Olive, we'll work together to find her. I promise." "We'd better! And if we do, I'm never, ever letting her leave my side again!" Mandy bit her lip. She knew Olive made empty threats from time to time, but this threat sounded ominously serious and one that she would definitely be keen on following through. Her stomach did a flip out of nervousness. "Whoa, whoa. Olive, that's a bit over the line." Oprah warned. "Mandy is her own agent. Her own person. She can do what she wants." In a snarl: "I'm her mother. She is a child." "The hypocrisy that you yourself are a child aside, my argument still stands. You won't be there for every second of Mandy's life. I know you're worried for her health and safety, but you're acting hysterical." "Come on. Let's go back to Headquarters." Otto urged. "You can sit down, drink some tea, maybe have a nap..." "No! I'm not going back until Mandy is found!" A pause. "Olive..." Oprah's voice was on the edge of pleading. "That's my daughter out there!" "That's it. We're going back. Now." In all the years Mandy had known Otto, he had never used such a serious voice. When you were fun-loving and kind enough, such a voice just wasn't stored in your collection. If she was being honest, it kind of scared her a little. "No!" came the screech from Olive in response. "I'm going out there, and I'm not coming back until I find Mandy. End. Of. Story." Mandy could hear the sound of quick footsteps, and then the sound of the automatic doors hissing as they opened, followed by them hissing again as they closed. "She's a stubborn one..." Oprah said, with a sigh. Mandy could feel the facepalm from where she was standing. "And an overprotective one." Otto gave a sigh of his own. Mandy, likewise, did the same, her body relaxing as he went back to his usual tone of voice. "Guess it's back to me running the precinct for...uh..." A pause, and then he continued. "Well, knowing her, it'll be weeks." "Good luck. Just call if you need anything." "Got it." The sound of departing footsteps marked the separation of both Otto and Oprah. Mandy pulled herself back around the corner, leaning against the wall. "Momma..." The name was a mere whisper on her lips. She knew, deep inside, that she probably should have gone after Olive. Who knew what "it's been weeks" constituted, after all, and she didn't want to leave Olive suffering over her like this. It was bad enough that Mandy was gone for only a day and a half and "weeks" had passed. But at the same time, she just wasn't ready to face her yet. She needed more time to think about Haruko's words. She needed more time to think about how best to approach the subject when it came to her mother. Her fist clenching, she left her spot on the wall and departed for parts unknown. Olive's feet took her through the streets of Toronto, as she tore past ponies and people going about their daily lives. "I have to find her. I have to make sure she's okay." she uttered in between pants, before slowing down just a little in order to call out without losing much of her breath. "Mandy! Mandy, where are you?! Please, answer me!" "Huh? Olive!" Peaches' eyes widened as she hovered downwards to meet Olive and landed on the ground a little ways away from her so she'd have time to stop. "Peaches..." Olive stopped, leaned over to catch her breath, and shot back up, all within five seconds. "Did you find the Magical Grasslands?" Peaches shook her head. "No. I've asked around, too. No one's heard of it." Olive bit her lip, a shaky sigh managing to eke out in such a way that it made a whistling sound. "It's hopeless. We're never gonna find Mandy." "That's right. You're not." The silky voice didn't come from neither Olive nor Peaches. Their eyes widening, the latter turned around while the former peered around her. Standing in front of them was a purple-furred unicorn mare with three different shades of pink in her mane and tail, her blue eyes holding malice within them as she stared. Peaches gasped. "It's you! That villain from last week!" "That's riii-iiiiiight!" the mare called in singsong. "I’ve already struck most of the town, blessing everyone with my fabulous singing! And now, I am here to soothe your aching hearts." "Ha! Bold talk coming from the pony who lost to Mandy at that singing competition last year!" The mare grimaced, her lips curling back to reveal two rows of pearly-white teeth. The nasty look only lasted for a few seconds, however. "Yes, well, there is always room for improvement." she remarked, polishing a hoof on her chest before shooting the two girls a wicked smile. "Now, let us get on with the show, shall we?" As she cleared her throat, Peaches glanced at Olive. "Olive, cover yo-" She didn't get to finish her warning. In one melodic, operatic note, the mare sang, her horn lighting up in pink to amplify her magic. Her singing produced rhythmic waves that washed over buildings and living beings, causing glass to break and said living beings to begin screaming in fright and pain. This, of course, included Peaches and Olive. "I...can't take it!" Peaches screamed. "It's...gonna...make me..." "Please, stop!" Olive cried out. "I have to find...Mandy..." Both girls' eyes began to dull until they looked akin to sheets of glass. Their eyes slowly began to close as they slumped to the ground. "Stop right there, Starry Song!" The mare stopped her cacophony. Her magic died down. Her gaze locked on the hybrid who had dared stopped her and dared to oppose her. "Oh, look who finally came." She smiled. "Agent Mandy. You poor, unfortunate soul. I can hear your friends crying out for you. They are suffering because of you." Mandy blinked. "Suffering?" "I can feel it in their hearts." Starry Song approached Peaches and Olive, who, in their hypnotized states, hadn't noticed Mandy's arrival. She placed a hoof on Olive. "This one has been looking for you for a very long time." And then, she placed her hoof on Peaches. "And this one has not found...the 'Magical Grasslands'. Whatever that is." A growl rumbled in Mandy's throat. "I'm not in the mood to banter. Give up before I make you!" In response, Starry Song merely gave a plaintive laugh. "Oh, such an awful cliche this all is." She shook her head. "Honestly, I would think you would know better, Mandy." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out her hammer, throwing it into the air. It spun around three times exactly before she caught it with her hand, extending it towards Starry Song. "Final warning, mare." "Oh no, I'm so scared! Woe betide me!" came the sarcastic response, followed by a chuckle. "Perhaps I should soothe your aching heart as well." "Soothe my aching..." Mandy stared at her enemy for a few seconds before furiously shaking her head. "My heart doesn't need aching!" She faltered. "I-I mean, no...nngh, it doesn't need to be soothed!" Starry Song shrugged. "Then that is, perhaps, your loss." Regardless of the unicorn mare taking Mandy's refusal at face value, she simply stood there, as though expecting the hybrid to change her mind. Which she ended up doing several seconds later as a plan began to take shape in her brain. "Actually...I changed my mind. Let me take you up on your offer." Dramatically, she clutched her chest. "Oh, my heart...it aches so! I have so many conflicting emotions!" Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout. "Oh, please, please save me!" "Wonderful." Starry Song smirked. "Now, just stand still and we may begin." Mandy primed herself. Starry Song's jaws parted. "Perfect." A hammer was rammed straight into the mare's mouth. She began to choke, her eyes bulging with each gargling sound she made. Her rump met the ground as Mandy pushed the hammer further down her throat. "What's wrong? Hammer got your tongue?" Mandy mocked, as she gave a nasty snicker. "All it took was for you to open your mouth! You're still fallin' for that after all this time!" The hybrid gave a laugh that sounded purely evil. She had given laughs that were evil before, but those were mostly for fun or to demonstrate a point. Here, it was clear that Mandy's intent was to bring serious harm to this villainous mare, and she absolutely knew it. Inside, said mare began to panic, though she didn't dare let it show on her face and instead began to choke harder. "Careful there. Wouldn't wanna blow out a lung or two." Mandy gave a wink. Right then and there, Peaches began to get up, a groan leaving her body before a gasp took air right into her lungs again. She shook her head in an effort to clear it, and her eyes were restored back to their normal states. Mandy noticed. "Cuz!" Peaches looked up and gasped again, this time in surprise. "Cuz?! Y-you're back!" "Save all that stuff for later!" Mandy pulled the arm with the hand holding the hammer back, and then thrust it forward with a mighty "Hnngh-yah!" This allowed the head of the weapon to be released from Starry Song's mouth, as the unicorn gave frantic breaths of air and placed a hoof on her chest. "Now let's take you back." Mandy's tail wagged slightly. "Oh, and one more thing." Her horn lit up in an array of colors, allowing two strips of tape to be conjured into existence. Arranged in an X shape, they barred the mare from being able to sing any longer, and since it was magically enhanced, it took away her voice as well, for an added bonus. Gently, Mandy placed the tape over her opponent's mouth and made sure it was secure before her magic died down. Starry Song, of course, began to scream, her eyes pooling with tears of panic as she stared at Mandy. Luckily for her, as well as the rest of the townsfolk, her screams were muffled. "Don't worry, it's not permanent." Mandy assured, before turning to her cousin. "Peach, help Momma up. We need to take her back to Headquarters, now!" Peaches glanced at Olive, noticing that she hadn't yet awoken from the hypnosis. On the contrary, as a matter of fact -- her eyes were closed, and her mouth hung slightly open. Carefully, she picked her up, slinging the girl over her shoulder. Once Mandy had a good look at her surroundings and made sure everything was all right, she began to depart for the nearest tube entrance, encasing Starry Song in a magical bubble for easy transportation. Peaches quickly followed behind with Olive, unaware that two small dark figures were watching them from a bush situated on the other side of the street. "Mama..." The sound of an infant Mandy calling to her caught Olive's attention. Her head whipped around in every direction, her heart filling with hope as she tried to find her adopted daughter. "Mandy?! I can hear you but I can't see you!" she called out. With every second that passed, an unsettling feeling began to edge into her heart. "Mama..." "Mandy, come to me! Please!" came the desperate cry, which accompanied tears of sorrow as she began to run in the expansive purple-walled space, her eyes darting back and forth. The sound and sight of whooshing wind, manifesting as gray wisps, brought her to a stop. There, in front of her, was none other than Mandy. However, something was off -- namely, she was a baby, clad in a teal onesie and a messy head of hair. She gurgled, called out "Mama!" again, and giggled, her hands outstretched towards Olive, her expression one that the Director had seen so many times before and had come to love and cherish. "You...Mandy..." Olive took a step back. "You turned back into a baby?" "Mama!" came the singular-word response. Olive's expression contorted into one of anger, and she quickly jerked her head away so as to avoid eye contact with Mandy. "Is this what the Magical Grasslands does to people?" she said, her voice rising to a yell. "It turns people back into babies?" "No. It does not." The strange voice nearly gave Olive a heart attack. "What..." She turned around, only to find no one there. She quickly found out that no one was in the same vicinity as her, aside from Mandy, who was looking around for the sound as well. "Who are you? Show yourself!" Olive demanded, clenching her fists and steeling herself for a potential fight. "You will know me when the time comes." the voice responded. "But for now, you may view me as an ally." "How can I treat you as an ally when I don't know you?" Olive's voice dropped and quickly became coated in ice with her next question. "What have you done to my daughter?" "I have not done a single thing to harm your daughter." The voice paused for only a moment. "But she is not really your daughter." "Yes she is!" Olive snapped. "I saved her during a pienado attack and raised her! She was an orphan!" "Only one of those things is not true. Mandy is not an orphan." "She is!" The voice had an edge of warning to it as it spoke its next words. "Do not argue with me...Olive." That stopped the Director cold. Her eyes widened, and her lungs shrunk for a few moments as they found themselves without air. "W-what in...how do...you know my name?" "As I have said, you will know that when the time comes." Olive could hear the voice taking a breath, which was a good indicator that it wasn't disembodied, but rather, it belonged to someone. And the Director had a feeling that if she asked, she wouldn't receive any answers. Still, the voice continued. "Mandy has parents. Real parents, that she must return to. She does not wish to find her real parents, not right now. But she will begin her journey to find her true origins eventually. You must not stop her." Olive grasped the sides of her head. "No." "If you forbid Mandy from finding out about her real parents, she may never want to be with you again." The Director squeezed her eyes shut. "Shut up!" "Fail to heed these words, and perhaps it will shatter everything you hold dear to your heart." "Stop it!" The sound of whooshing wind met Olive's ears again. When it died down, she found that the voice, or rather its source, had mysteriously disappeared. She straightened, glancing at Mandy once again, who giggled and clapped her hands. She hadn't been completely aware of what the de-aged girl had been doing when the voice had been speaking to her, but something told her she had been aware of its presence and knew what it was saying. Had she been crying, Olive would have heard it, but that hadn't happened. Keeling over, the Director took deep, heavy breaths. "No. No no no. This has to be a dream." she said, with determination. "That stupid mare...she planted an illusion into my brain. None of this is real. I have to wake up." She looked at the only other being in the area with her. "Mandy…" The baby gave a curious coo. Olive's eyes grew steely as she narrowed them. "You will never find out about your real parents." "Mama!" The lone word echoed in the warped space. It was the last thing the Director heard before she returned to the waking world. With a yelp, Olive bolted upright in bed. She took in and pushed out breaths of air rapidly as her heart raced, trying to figure out what that nightmare was that she just had. "Momma! You're awake!" came the familiar voice of Mandy. She exhaled. "Thank odd!" "Are you okay? You're drenched in sweat!" Peaches had a point. Olive suddenly became aware of moisture beading along her forehead and dripping down her face. She glanced around and quickly found that she was in Mandy's room, as evidenced by the posters and the colorful door. "It...was horrible." she murmured, staring into Peaches' eyes. "I...this voice was telling me something about Mandy's real parents, and..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, but it delivered enough emotional impact to both Peaches and Mandy that it made the former do a double-take and the latter shut down. In fact, the latter didn't even notice Olive's eyes begin to well up with tears that were thicker than blobs. "Uh..." Peaches looked from Mandy to Olive. "Are you two gonna be o-" "Mandy!!" came the elated cry, as the Director feebly reached out a hand. She couldn't get close to Mandy no matter how hard she tried. "Y-y-you're..." It was at this point that Mandy snapped out of her stunned stupor. She hadn't heard anything of what Olive just said, but knew that the girl was probably happy to see her back. "I'm back!" She nervously laughed. "Funny story, um...maybe we can talk about it over some food? I'm starving! All I had were three dozen hot dogs!" That was the cue for Olive to cry harder. "T-they were good hot dogs! The bestest hot dogs, even! Take it easy, I'm tellin' ya the truth!" Peaches didn't bother to tell her cousin that Olive wasn't crying because of the hot dogs. "Okay, I can't take it any longer." Her gaze was fixed on the hybrid. "Why were you able to find the Magical Grasslands and I wasn't?" Mandy blinked. "I'm not sure..." "You were gone for months! Oprah said you were only supposed to be gone for a few weeks!" Mandy's eyes widened. In an entirely flat voice, she said, "I was gone for huh." "Months. Two months, Mandy." Peaches watched as the hybrid's mouth swung open, and then watched as her bottom jaw landed squarely on the ground. Just as quickly, though, she picked it up and snapped it into place like a piece to a puzzle, moving it around to make sure it worked okay. "You have an overbite." Peaches pointed out, causing Mandy to panic and readjust the lower jaw. "There you go. Much better." "Okay, about that..." Mandy held a finger up. "Time moves slower in the Magical Grasslands than it does in the real world. Or, uh...o-outside of the Grasslands." She thrust her face into Peaches' own. "I-I didn’t plan to go there, I swear! But Haruko appeared and then ran off so so quick and I followed her until I got there! And then...I stayed there. It was too nice." Her cousin's tone of voice implied that she was hiding something, which Peaches quickly picked up on. "You didn't have a good time there, did you?" Quickly, Mandy scratched her arm. "U-uh...well, I did! But, um..." The itching grew faster. "Haruko brought me to the Magical Grasslands for a reason." "And what reason was that?" Mandy bit her lip. She knew that if she told Peaches about what went on, it would break her heart. But she figured her cousin was a better beginner point for broaching the topic than Olive was, and so, with a deep breath, she decided to go ahead and spill all. "She...she told me that I'll have to find out where I came from soon." Now it was Peaches' turn to be surprised. And although Mandy didn't notice, Olive was surprised as well, as she began to connect the dots regarding who had spoken to her in her illusion. She decided to tune the other two girls out for now, as she thought about how Haruko was able to enter illusions when she often appeared in Mandy's dreams and why she came to Olive specifically. "Where you came from?" Peaches murmured. "B-b-but you were rescued by Olive, from the big pienado incident!" Mandy shook her head. "Before then. What happened that caused me to wind up in Precinct 13579's Headquarters in the first place." She stared at Peaches with saddened blue eyes. "And my parents. My actual parents." "Wait. Wait. No no no." Peaches shook her head. "Y-you're Kimi's and Derek's child. They were a couple who lived in Vallea, a-and King Ashero frowned upon them because they were a human and a catgirl!" She sat down. "At least...that's...that's what..." Could it be...did Ashero...lie? Peaches' brain began to dredge up a memory from childhood, of a time when she did something she shouldn't have and got punished for it in one of the worst ways possible. And unbeknownst to her, she verbally recounted every single detail of it. Inside the castle of the all-powerful and almighty King Ashero, a tall, thin figure approached him. Donning a spiffy-looking red jacket outlined with gold buttons and pockets lined with gray threads, he looked rather professional, moreso than other citizens of Vallea. "I understand you wish to see me, sir?" Ashero eyed the newcomer with an unreadable emotion. "Yes, Nekane. Please, have a seat." "I'd rather stand." Ashero chuckled. "Very well." He cleared his throat. "Now, I will cut right to the chase. We have an...outcast in our town." His lip curled back to reveal two rows of sharp teeth. "Do you remember when two humans came to Vallea looking for a place to stay?" "Yes. I remember them fondly. Or, perhaps I should say...not fondly." Nekane fiddled with his jacket a little to make up for his slipup, and partially out of nervousness. "If I recall correctly, they had catpeople relatives and had come here in order to give their baby a better life. And we turned them away." "You are correct. Of course, I am sure you are aware that humans are not permitted to enter Vallea." Nekane nodded his head. "I am well aware. Humans are nothing but mockeries of the concept of life, full of bad intentions. One human could wipe out the entirety of Vallea!" "These two humans gave birth to a catgirl they named 'Peaches' and left her in Vallea. We only took care of her because she was a catperson." Ashero scoffed. "But I am sure you know how she turned out." "Yes. It was just as you predicted, Your Majesty. She did not follow any of our customs and traditions. She became an ostracized outcast." Ashero gave a single nod. "I had threatened to have her punished for her misdeeds many times over, but she did not listen. And now, I may punish her properly." His eyes glowed in the dim light of the room. "Nekane. I wish for you to do something for me." Filled with hope, Nekane responded with, "Anything, Your Majesty." "Lately, Peaches has become rather...incensed about where she came from. She is not aware of her true origins, and I do not wish for her to be. The next time she asks you, send her to me." "What are you going to tell her?" Ashero hesitated, a rare occurrence for him. "I will...make up something." He chuckled, and a wicked grin spread across his lion-like face. "Kimi and Derek." Nekane's eyes widened. "Y-you mean..." "Yes. The most infamous couple in all of Vallea. One a catperson, the other a human. One a survivor, the other long since deceased." Ashero lifted a paw, admiring his claws. "I have no regrets, killing Derek. He would have killed us first when he had gotten the chance. I was doing what was right for my village." From afar, a young Peaches gave a soft, ever so quiet gasp, her eyes beginning to water and her tail beginning to droop. "But I digress." Ashero tilted his head slightly. "Did you have something to say, Nekane?" "Hm?" Nekane blinked. "Oh! Yes, yes. I was going to say that you should be a...town crier, of sorts. Bring the entire village together and tell the story of how Kimi and Derek gave birth to the town’s pariah. Because Kimi and Derek are hated by most everyone, it will give them more reason to avoid Peaches." A pause filled the room as Ashero considered this idea. And then, to Nekane's surprise, he broke out into uproarious laughter. "This is why you are one of my top assistants, Nekane. Always the one with the brightest ideas." If one looked close, they could see the happiness shimmering within Nekane's eyes. "I'm honored to receive such a compliment, Your Majesty." he remarked, being careful to make sure his tone didn't sound excited. "I despise Peaches as much as you do." The catgirl in question began breaking down into choking sobs. "First thing tomorrow morning, at sunrise. I would like for you to be there by my side." Ashero ordered. "Of course. Perhaps this will be the first step in driving out Peaches for good." The last thing Peaches heard before running away to cry even more was the sound of malicious and volumetric laughter that seemed to fill the entire building. Her heart broke in two that day, and needless to say, she never fully recovered. It was partially that incident that made her want to appease to Ashero's whims, to get on his good side so he would love her again like she was sure she had long ago. Sure enough, at sunrise the next morning, Ashero emerged from his castle with Nekane in tow and headed to the town square to make his announcement. "And so, in conclusion..." "Peaches is the daughter of Kimi and Derek." Nekane finished. "As you all know, all three of them went against the customs and traditions we have and uphold here in Vallea. Which should not be surprising, given how she...presents herself." The last few words were spat with pure venom that certainly didn't go unnoticed by the large crowd, who began to give cries and shouts of disgust. "She's the daughter of them?!" "Disgusting!" "Throw her out of town, now!" Back when she stayed in Vallea, Peaches lived near the town square, in a quaint two-story house. As a result, she got to listen to the clamors of the other townsfolk, whom she knew hated her just as much as she was beginning to hate herself. She slammed the door closed and slumped down to the floor, burying her face in her hands and beginning to cry once more, something that would become a daily occurrence all throughout her life. She never had a day where she didn't have a daily cry, and before meeting Mandy and the others, she never knew what a day was like without one. Peaches' body quivered as she gripped the wooden frame at the end of the bed. Tears began dripping onto the floor as she squeezed her eyes shut. "H-he...he...he lied..." She tried to swallow the large lump that was in her throat. "He l-l-lied to m-me!!" "This had to have been long ago...he was a tyrant even then..." Peaches' story didn't surprise Mandy in the least, from what she knew of the king. As far as she was concerned, he was an evil being of darkness whom she would have no problem either seeing being eradicated or eradicating herself. She rubbed a hand along her cousin's back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, cuz." Olive, who had mostly calmed down by this point, gave a small sniffle as she began to wipe her tears away. "I'm sorry too. I..." Another sniffle. "I didn't know you-" "Save it!" The sudden cry brought both girls to a standstill. And then, Peaches rushed out of the room, continuing to cry. "Peach!" Mandy called, outstretching a hand towards her cousin before a soft hum escaped her as she debated whether she should go after her or not. "D-don't worry about her. She'll be fine." Olive said, with a sniffle. "And what about you?" "I'll be fine too." Olive gave a small, but hesitant, smile. "I'm really just happy you're back alive and healthy. I thought you ran away again." "Well I didn't. I'm back now!" Mandy said. "Can you stand?" "Yeah..." Olive threw the covers off of her and placed her feet on the ground. Upon raising the rest of her body, however, she quickly began to wobble. "Whoa!" "I gotcha! Hold on!" Mandy quickly rushed to her mother's side and draped an arm over her shoulder, then lit up her horn and teleported both of them away from the room. They quickly arrived at the shared office that Olive and Otto shared. Otto, as well as the two agents who were facing him, turned around to look. "Oh!" Mandy nervously laughed. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?" "Yeah. I'm giving these two a case." Otto remarked dryly, before his gaze settled on Olive. "Partner, you okay?" "I'm fine." came the raspy response. "She just needs to lay down a bit." Mandy explained. "She got attacked by some vicious mare." "Starry Song. Her name's Starry Song." "Yeah whatever, I don't need to know specifics." Mandy waved her free hand and edged Olive's arm off of her shoulder. "Just lay down on the couch, okay? And try to get some sleep." "Sleep? I'm not even tired!" "Your face says otherwise!" Mandy snapped. Indeed, Olive's face looked sunken and tired, as though she had missed a few nights of rest. "Now go to sleep!" Olive, knowing that Mandy couldn't be reasoned with, gave a resigned sigh and moved towards the couch, where she laid down and grabbed a Management-symbol-shaped pillow to rest her head on. "Otto, keep an eye on her." was the only command Mandy gave before she teleported away once again, not bothering to exchange goodbyes. As soon as she got back, the very first thing she did was give herself a stark reminder to improve her mood. The very second thing she did was go to the Breakroom to fix herself up a gigantic meal fit for a queen...a queen who could really rule Vallea in proper, the more she thought about it. Even if she wasn't a catperson. With a full belly, Mandy sat down at her desk. "Much better." she purred. "Now I can get back to work!" "Mandy?!" The startled cry of her name made her jump in her chair. She swiveled her head to the right to find Oprah approaching her in a fast walk. "Oprah!" "Where have you been?!" Oprah threw her hands into the air. "We've all been looking for you for the past few months!" "S-sorry!" Mandy said. "See, when I saw Haruko, she took off, and I followed her to the Magical Grasslands." Oprah blinked. "It's a real place?" "Yeah! And I didn't wanna stay there, but Haruko brought me there for a reason." "And what reason was that?" Mandy hesitated. "I..." She looked around for any sign of the ponies. As they were the ones who had been with her during the pienado attack, she wasn't quite ready to hit them with the truth bomb of finding her real parents just yet, just like with Olive. When she didn't see any of them around, she pulled her chair closer to Oprah. "She told me that I have to find out where I came from. Before the pienado. Who my real parents are!" Oprah gave a shaky gasp. She stood completely still in shock, like she had been frozen in ice. "Y-your...real parents...?" "Yeah." Mandy held up her hands and put on a smile. "L-look, don't be upset. I don't wanna find my real parents right now, and I don't have to!" Her smile then turned into a frown. "But...eventually..." A pause lingered in the air like a thick fog. Oprah's eyes began to well up with tears. They fell. But no more tears followed. "That's okay." Mandy did a double-take. "Huh?" "If I'm being honest, I knew this day was coming for a long time." Oprah placed a hand on her chest. "If you want to find out who your real parents are, then I won't stop you." Slowly but surely, Mandy's eyes widened and gained sparkles within them. "Really?" "Mhm." Oprah nodded and gave a smirk. "But you know I'll fight to keep you here." Mandy couldn't help but grin at that. She gave a hearty laugh, filled with joy and relief. "Thank you! It's nice to have someone who understands." Instinctively, she leapt up and embraced Oprah in a hug. "But for now, I'm gonna spend all the time I can with you guys!" Taken aback by the hug she was, but Oprah couldn't squish down the warm feeling that encased her heart as she hugged Mandy back in equal measure. "Sounds great." She pulled away and pointed to the medium-sized stack sitting behind Mandy's computer. "You can get started with the paperwork I’ve left on your desk. Pinkie completed half of it, but you should be able to knock it out." Mandy eyed the stack. "How did I not see that?" She shrugged the question off. "Anyway, thankies!" She watched as Oprah left for her office, giving a happy sigh. After having Peaches run off crying and Olive be utterly broken by the news, it was nice to see someone that was so understanding and took the truth at face value. The sound of shimmering met her ears, and her gaze shifted from Oprah to a rather familiar figure, who wore a rather serious expression. "H-Haruko?" "Mandy. Please come to the Magical Grasslands. Whether it is in your dreams or in the real world. We must speak." This disappointed the hybrid. She wanted to stay in Headquarters, not go back to the Magical Grasslands. Or go anywhere, for that matter. Right now, she wanted to relax with some paperwork and maybe take a nap if she had the time for one. "All riiiiiight..." she said, her words edging into a groan. "But I need to get this paperwork done. How about tonight?" Haruko gave a soft sigh. "Fine. If you must. Then tonight. Meet me in the Magical Grasslands." The kitsune dashed off, leaving sparkles in her wake. Mandy's pony ear flicked. "Weird. She didn't even say what it was about." She gave a nonchalant shrug. "Ah well. Heh, it can't be that urgent!" That night, Mandy awoke in the Magical Grasslands once more. After having gone there with a physical body that was capable of feeling emotions and...well, feelings, she couldn't go back to being more or less a spirit and lacking those things. But she certainly didn't feel like going all the way back to the Grasslands for what she thought was something of little importance, so she had to settle for the second-best. "Haruko? Where are you?" she called. "You wanted to see me?" "I did." Instead of the kitsune seemingly materializing in the same way she usually did, her debut was marked by harsh wind billowing through the Grasslands, sending dandelion seeds flying. Wispy and gray in nature, it disappeared to reveal her shimmering, light-crafted form. "This can't be good." Mandy uttered, an uncomfortable feeling worming its way into her gut. "Please, come sit next to me." Haruko's voice was eerie, and gravely serious. Someone might as well have told her that her entire family died in a fire. And the way Mandy saw it, she wouldn't be surprised if that actually was the announcement she had. Anything seemed to go with the kitsune. Still, the hybrid cautiously approached her and took a seat next to her on the grass, as instructed. "So, uh...it's been a while, huh?" Mandy cracked, giving a bout of nervous laughter while also internally cringing at her lame attempt at a joke. "This is no laughing matter." Haruko fixed Mandy with a glare. "It is about Vallea." "Vallea? What about them?" Mandy gasped. "You're not working with them, are you?!" "No, I can assure you, I am not. But this does concern your cousin. Peaches." Mandy tilted her head. "Peaches?" "You are aware that she was deceived about her true origins, yes?" Mandy simply gave a single nod. Following that was a pause that seemed to stretch on into eternity, and she began to grow impatient as she wondered just what big whammy Haruko was going to drop on her this time. "Mandy. You and Peaches are connected. Far more than you realize." That took the hybrid for a spin -- literally, as she spun around on her rump. "Well yeah, we're cousins!" she chirped, in a tone that implied Haruko might not be in the sanest of states at the moment. But the kitsune merely shook her head. "No. I mean more than cousins." She stared at the blue, cloud-filled sky. "Your bond with her is very strong. When the time comes, where you are ready to discover where you came from, you will be met with a great surprise. A surprise that may change the way you two see each other." Mandy had absolutely no idea what her spirit guardian could mean by what she said. What was the "great surprise" that would change how she saw Peaches and how Peaches saw her? How could they be related any more than cousins? They were already pretty close-knit, so how closer could they possibly get? It all confused her and made her head spin. "But I must warn you." Haruko raised a paw and made eye contact with Mandy again. "Vallea is also closing in on you. Their attacks will get stronger. Fiercer." Of course, Mandy knew that already, if catpeople like Orino and SOHALC were any indication. But something else weighed on her mind. "Wait. I know they know about where Peach came from, but...do..." She gasped. "Do they know about me?!" "No. Not before they began attacking you. They do not know of your origins." Mandy gave a relieved sigh. "Oh thank odd." "However, that does not mean you should not be careful." Haruko warned. "As lazy as King Ashero is, he will strike eventually." Mandy opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it as she realized that the way things were going, things were falling into place and he really would attack eventually. "Oh. Yeah. That makes sense." A warm smile came across Haruko's features. "I believe Odd Squad will win in the end, Mandy. And it is your job to aid them in this war of attrition." "War of huh?" Mandy had never heard that word before. She figured it meant something like "hard" or "easily won". However, she pushed it off to the side to address another concern. "But...if I find out who my real parents are...I won't be able to help Odd Squad anymore." She hugged her knees closer to her body. "They're gonna take me away from them..." "I would not be so sure of that." Mandy's head lifted. "Huh? What do you mean?" Haruko simply smiled and said, "Let me just say...you will find out, in time." Disgruntled, Mandy's pony ears folded down, and she put on a frustrated expression. "Y'know, that phrase is really getting on my nerves, Haruko." "Just because you are not a part of Odd Squad does not mean you cannot help them out." Haruko placed a paw on Mandy's knee. "Always remember that." Truth be told, Mandy really couldn't argue with that. Polly Graph was already a stellar example -- she might not be able to join Odd Squad, but she was a valuable ally to the organization and had the smarts and wit to match even Twilight, especially in entrepreneurialism and graph creation. And her lemonade and hot chocolate was some of the best in Toronto. "Ya do got a point. Even clients can help out Odd Squad too." Haruko nodded in agreement. "And do not worry. Even if you are taken away from Odd Squad by your real parents, I will always be by your side. Whether in your dreams, or in the waking world." Her heart warming up, Mandy couldn't help but smile. "That's comforting to hear." she murmured, straightening out her legs. "But for now, cherish the time you have with your family. Olive. Otto. Oprah. Peaches. The ponies. They love them just as much as they love you, and it would pain them to see you leave." "That's what I plan on doin'!" "Good." For the rest of the time Mandy spent asleep, she and Haruko simply watched the clouds roll in the sky, the grass rustle about in the breeze, and the dandelion seeds that hadn't been touched fly past them. It took both of their worries away, and even when Mandy got sucked up into limbo, she felt a sense of peace that she felt like she had never attained before. Things would be okay. She had plenty of time to spend with her friends and family. Even if it was going to come to an end eventually, Haruko wouldn't pressure her to discover where she really came from before she was ready. For now, all she had to do, all she wanted to do, was just live in the moment. The next day, Olive, having been fully cured of her hypnosis and feeling much better, resolved to spend as much time with Mandy as she possibly could, work and other responsibilities pending. In her eyes, Mandy's real parents could show up at any time, whether it was due to Haruko's intervention or it was just them finally finding their daughter after all this time. As a result, there was only one reasonable solution. The most unreasonable solution was, of course, to have Mandy be literally attached to her hip. But the most reasonable solution, the only reasonable solution, was to free up as much of her schedule as she could and spoil Mandy completely and utterly rotten. She wanted a new toy from Games R' Us? She got it. She wanted one of those new smartphones she had seen adults carrying around? She got it. She wanted to spend $50 on a deluxe meal at TFC? She got it. She would get all of it, and so much more. As she roamed the halls of Precinct 13579, her nose began to grow stuffy and her throat began to close up. She sniffled. No...I shouldn’t get sad over what Haruko said. Mandy doesn’t have real parents. It was simply an illusion. And even if she did have real parents...I’m not gonna let her find them. Her fist clenched as she stood outside the door to Mandy's room. I have to divert her attention away from wanting to find her real parents somehow. Make her see that l’m the best and only fitting parent for her. With her free hand, she reached behind her and pulled out a three-course meal, full of healthy foods that would make any fitness guru weep. A smile settled on her face. And I know just how to do it. She opened the door and walked inside, not being surprised in the least that Mandy was still snoring away in bed. She set the tray on the nightstand, then placed a gentle hand on Mandy's shoulder to shake her awake. "Mandy? Wake up, it's almost 1 o'clock. I brought you lunch!" The Director's only response was a leg twitch as Mandy let out an eardrum-shattering snore. "Oy vey. Every time I think this is going to work, and every time it fails..." Olive muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose and mentally kicking herself for her brief moment in stupidity. An idea began to form in her head before long, though. "Ah! Maybe if I sing a song, it'll help you to wake up, hmm?" She cleared her throat, opened her mouth, and took a mighty inhale. With a series of snorts, Mandy bolted upright in bed. "He'zz got three pencilzz in hizz backpack!!" Olive had already known well enough by now not to question Mandy's non-sequiturs. Instead, she watched as the hybrid's head slowly turned towards her, her dull blue eyes gazing into her soul. Olive decided to start things off with a simple "Hi!" and see where things went from there. In response, Mandy gave a loud yawn, with Olive veering her head away when she caught a whiff of her not-so-pleasant morning breath. "Oh hi, Momma!" The hybrid weakly waved a hand. "Whass' up, homie m' homie?" "Well, your 'homie my homie' brought you lunch." Olive gestured to the tray sitting on the nightstand. "Your drink's already on the table, so I didn't bring one, but I can bring one if you want!" "Nah, 'm fine." Mandy reached for the Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise and chugged it, a happy sigh leaving her when the glass was empty. "Much better!" "Did you have good dreams?" "Uh..." Mandy nervously chuckled. "You could say that." She tilted her head. "Why are you here at Precinct 13579, anyway?" Olive didn't answer right away, instead watching as life began to return to her adopted daughter's baby-blue eyes. It warmed her heart, mainly because she had never seen a freshly-awoken Mandy with her eyes dull. She had to wonder if her eyes looked like that when she was hypnotized. "Otto had to return a gadget to Oona and ask Oprah about some paperwork, so I figured I'd tag along." "Hm." Mandy smiled. "Well, thanks for the food! Much appreciated." As the hybrid grabbed ahold of the tray and began munching on her ham sandwich, Olive's expression lit up. "Hey, I have some free time next week. Would you like to go out? Just the two of us? For some mother-daughter time?" Mandy tilted her head in confusion. "Well, I mean...sure, if you're up for it! But, uh, this is really sudden. You've never been this kind before." Realizing how awful that sounded, she hastily backtracked. "I-I mean, you've always been kind, j-just not...overly so, y'know?" She wasn't sure if that was any better, but proceeded anyway. "Did something happen?" Olive's eyes widened. Crumpets, I'm gonna get found out. I have to be more subtle! "No, no! It’s just that, well...I feel we don’t spend enough time together outside of work, and I know we’re both busy, but...you’re my adopted daughter. It’d be a shame if I didn’t spend much time with you in case...something happens." Raising a perplexed eyebrow, Mandy stared at Olive for a few moments. "Uh-huh..." she said, almost in a skeptical tone before she reverted back to her usual chipper one. "Well, count me in!" "Great! See you then. And enjoy your meal! Just let me know if you need anything, okay? I'm only a call away!" Mandy nodded as she watched Olive leave and close the door behind her, eating the rest of her sandwich whole as she kept her eyes on the door for a few seconds longer. Olive did a fist-pump. Yes! Now if I keep this up, ever so subtly...she’s bound to see that I am the perfect mother for her. She’ll never be willing to find her real parents again. Heh. Starry Song. Your silly little illusion didn't work on me. A wicked-looking grin spread over the girl's features as she stepped into the bullpen, her face darkening. "And it never will."
S1E30: A Class ActInside Olive and Otto's office was something that could best be described as a disaster zone to all but the most crazy of bookworms. Papers were strewn about so that the room practically looked like it was made of them. Books laid both open and closed on all sorts of surfaces, with titles ranging from Amazing and Odd Artifacts of Squad History to I Know What I Did Tuesday Morning: How to Beat Oddness and Still Be Sane to Farmers Guide to Mathematica. And within it all were two Directors, scribbling note after note at the coffee table as they poured through book after book, the world around them melting away as they began to head completely into the zone. Oh, and one hybrid, of course, who was there because she had been lured with the promise of a meal at Shmumber King that had certainly been delivered with a twenty-percent tip. Otto tapped the pencil he was holding against his chin, squinting as he read one bullet point. "Mandy?" he called. "Hey, Mandy?" No response. That was enough for him to look up. "Uh...Olive, is she-" "No, she's not dead." Olive said, without missing a beat and without even looking up. "Pry the book off of her face." Otto, still clueless as to what was going on, got up and went over to the hybrid, who was looking quite relaxed even though she couldn't see. As he grabbed ahold of the book and pulled, his eyes widened as he realized that it felt like the pages had been glued on. "It's...stuck!" He began pulling harder and harder until the book flew off and he landed on his back with a hard thump. Sure enough, to no one's surprise, Mandy was fast asleep, snoring away with a trail of drool leading from her mouth and dripping onto her shoulder. Every once in a great while she muttered something in a language that was foreign to anyone who wasn't her, then let out louder snores that rattled the plastic covering of the coffee table. "Wow, she makes an art form out of falling asleep behind a book!" Otto remarked, with just a twinge of jealousy. "Should we, uh...wake her?" "Be my guest. The snoring's getting on my nerves anyway." If Olive performed an eye roll, Otto couldn't see it with her bowed head. "Just don't be surprised if she falls back asleep. She's been like that for hours." Otto rubbed his head, wondering if he was into his work so deeply that he didn't even register the sound of snoring. It certainly wasn't like him, but he supposed that was just Olive's influence as someone who was dedicated to her work. Cracking his knuckles, he got to work shaking Mandy awake. Of course, nothing happened. Only her snores began fluctuating in volume and pitch as a result of the movement, becoming broken and disjointed. "Mandy, wake up! I have a question!" Otto called, continuing to shake the hybrid like he was shaking a bottle of ketchup horizontally instead of vertically. Finally, after about five minutes of shaking, Mandy came to with a jolt. "Nyaaaah! T-they're here! They're here!!" "Who?!" Otto whipped his head back and forth. "Who's here?!" "Them!" Mandy grabbed Otto by the lapels. "They're here!" "Who?!" "Otto!" Now Mandy tried to climb up the kid who was just a filly taller than her. "They eat humans! They're gonna eat us alive!" "Who?! I don't see anyone!" "THE-E-EEEEEEM!!" Olive rubbed her temples, a surefire sign she was being launched into the first stages of what she had resentfully called a Mandyache. She had half a mind to chuck something at Mandy's head if that drive of making sure she was the absolute perfect parent didn't get in the way, because absolute perfect parents do not throw things at their children to get them to shut up. And it was that drive that caused her to take a deep breath and stand up. "Mandy..." She tried to put on a genuine smile. "You're in our office. You had a bad dream, that's all." Mandy snapped out of her fatigue-addled panic and went half-lidded. Her world began to grow warped. She slid off of Otto and landed on the floor like a glob of melting ice cream, laying her head on a piece of paper. "Everythin's all zzpinny-woozy..." she remarked. "What happen...? I w'zz readin' thizz book n' takin' notezz n' then I wazz in some devil'zz..." A yawn interrupted her explanation. "...cazzle." "You fell asleep." Every "ha" Mandy huffed out made her body deflate every time she inflated it by taking a breath. "Funny joke, Momma..." Another loud yawn, this one punctuated with an adorable squeak, cut through the air. "Anyway...hopefully you understand this..." Otto knelt down to better get to Mandy's level. "So this morning these two agents just came into Headquarters and they were talking about you and the Odd Squad Academy! So it got me thinking about what you do there. A lot of recruits talk about you." Mandy tilted her head to one side, than the other. She weakly pawed at the drool that was still on her face. "Do they?" she sleepily murmured. "Can I come with you the next time you go?" "...To where?" "The Academy! I wanna see what you do there!" Knowing that she wasn't going to get any work done as long as there was chatter in the room, Olive put her pencil down and opted to take a break, shooting Mandy a smile. "You do seem to make time to go there at least once a week." Now Mandy understood. "Yeah, I hang out with the recruits there. W-well, only in the Investigation portion, anyway. But they kinda see me as like a big sis slash mentor figure." "Now that you mention it." Olive picked a pretzel from the bowl of them that sat on the table. "I remember when you were sleepwalking around town and Oprah got a call from one of the Professor O's..." Otto nodded. "I remember that too! Heh, wow...those were some angry kids." "It was hard to explain to them that I had pulled an all-nighter." Mandy gave a small shudder, remembering how the Professor O that had called had chewed her out immensely. "But anyway..." Otto gripped Mandy's shoulders. "Can we come with you the next time you go to the Academy?" Olive tilted her head. "'We'? I never said I wanted to go!" "C'mon, partner!" Otto turned. "Aren't you at least a little bit curious?" "Well, yeah, but we've got a precinct to run and-" "I'm goin' first thing tomorrow." "And we've got the day off! Our assistants can handle things." Otto sidled up next to Olive and raised an eyebrow. "Sooooo are you gonna come or what?" Olive heaved a mighty sigh. "Fine. Only for Mandy." "Yeah!" Mandy could only manage an arm raise and a small flat "huzzah". While out of character for her, neither Olive nor Otto questioned it. "1:00 tomorrow?" Otto posed. "Yep." Mandy crawled back up to the couch and yawned. "Now can ya let me finish my nap, please?" Olive blinked. "You just had one!" "I know. This one's my afternoon one." Another yawn, which blocked her view of Olive's disbelieving stare. "I'll see ya in a few hours." "Wait!" Otto outstretched a hand. "Can you tell me who 'them' is first?" Mandy gave a nonchalant shrug. "Sure. They say I should sleep properly or my face will droop like a raisin." Otto's head met the floor as he started to cry. Olive simply got back to work with a smile, happy that the noise (or, well, most of it, anyway) had finally died down and offering Otto mental empathy pats. Sure enough, at 1:00 in the afternoon, Mandy's flight took her to the grounds of the Odd Squad Academy. She landed on the forecourt of the Investigation building, watching agents-in-training go to and fro. "Aah!" She folded her wings in. "I'm glad the new Big O allows flying at the Academy. Walking all the way here from the tube entrance is such a pain..." Her ears moved to and fro, as did her eyes as she tried to spot Olive or Otto. "Weird. It's 1:00. Where could they be?" she muttered. "Hiya, Mandy!" A familiar voice made the hybrid turn around. Trotting up to her happily was a hazel-colored unicorn mare with bright hazel eyes and a cutie mark of a hazel-colored flower. Truly, she would be a master of camouflage better than almost any other unicorn, if one deducted her gray, Odd Squad-seal-adorned sweatshirt from the equation. Mandy gasped as the realization set in. "Hazelblossom!" She rushed over to scoop up the mare in a hug, which she happily returned. "Wowee kazoo, I haven't seen you for a long time!" "Yeah, I’ve been studying hard at the Academy. Can’t believe the Big O is allowing pony recruits! And it’s not just fillies and colts, she’s accepting full-grown mares and stallions too!" "I never understood why, to be honest." Mandy set Hazelblossom down. "I mean Odd Squad is a kids-only place, and mares and stallions would be considered adults...which are frowned upon. Usually. I don’t understand how that works, either." "Well, I'm certainly okay with it!" "How's your magic ability comin' along?" "All right. I still have a lot to improve on, though...but that's what I'm going to Equestria for!" "Keep it up! You'll get there someday." The sound of a school bell permeated through the building, and echoed outside via the speakers mounted on the pole in the middle of the forecourt. "Oh shoot, I'm late!" Hazelblossom adjusted her saddlebags. "Sorry Mandy, but I have to go! It was great catching up!" "Likewise! See ya!" Mandy called, watching the mare dash towards the front entrance. "Mandy!" A more familiar voice caught the hybrid's attention, and she turned. "Momma! Otto!" She ran up to them. "Where've you two been?" "Sorry, we-" "Otto here wanted to stop at the Snooze Button Cafe for breakfast, so we got delayed..." Olive interrupted, shooting him a piercing glare. "I was hungry!" "You're always hungry!" Olive sighed and shook her head. "Anyway...it's a long way to walk from the tube entrance to here." "Yeah, the nearest tube entrance is right at the edge of the Academy." Mandy explained. "They're workin' on getting more, don't worry." Otto looked around the area, which was nearly empty. "Why does it seem like there's almost no one here?" "They're in classes right now." Mandy began hopping towards the front entrance. "C'mon, let's go inside!" Olive and Otto happily followed the hybrid, chatting about all the sights they would see at the place neither one of them had been to in several years. However, going completely unnoticed by them were three catgirls, each with a head of blond hair that was marked with three differently-colored bows wrapped around it. The bows reflected the color of each catgirl's eyes as well, making it easy to tell who was who. "That's her?" remarked the green-eyed one. "She doesn't look that bad." said the blue-eyed one. "She is bad." The red-eyed one fixed her two comrades with a glare. "That’s Agent Mandy, one of the fugitives of Vallea. She’s done a lot of heinous things in her days." A wicked grin settled on her face. "So. Chikako. Malma. You know what to do?" The green-eyed one, Chikako, raised a rather sizeable gun that looked more akin to a machine gun. "We've got the tranquilizer guns raring to go." "With extra-strength darts!" chirped the blue-eyed one, Malma, holding up a dart that looked like a badminton birdie in appearance but had a needle sticking out of its front. "We've also got those shapeshifter seeds you asked us to find before we left Vallea, of course." added the green-eyed one. The red-eyed one gave a soft chuckle. "Good. Now go catch me that stinky-breathed traitorous mutt of a hybrid. In the name of King Ashero." Chikako and Malma gave a unisonant confident nod. "We won't let you down." As Mandy opened the door, she spread her wings and did a twirl into the air. "Et voila! Welcome to the Investigation building of the Odd Squad Academy!" She faltered. "Again!" "Wow..." Olive's eyes widened. "It's been so long since I've been here." "It looks a lot...uh, what's the word..." Otto pinched his mouth inwards as he tried to think. "Cleaner, I guess?" Indeed, it did look cleaner, with its freshly-repaired windows, sparkling white floors and walls, and freshly-painted ceilings. It looked every bit like it had just gone through a major renovation, even with all the Professor O's and agents-in-training that walked, teleported and flew around on a daily basis. One could even put it on par with the Big Office as far as cleanliness went. "Does it?" Mandy glanced around. "I dunno, I can't tell." "Mandy!" A high-pitched squeal nearly made everyone jump. Mandy's gaze moved to the hallway, where she found a pink-furred, dull-white-maned Pegasus filly soaring towards her, wings abuzz like a hummingbird's. Like Hazelblossom, she too wore a gray sweatshirt with the Odd Squad seal emblazoned on it, though in a smaller version that fit her body. "Ribbon Twirl!" Mandy met her halfway, something that proved to not be the brightest idea when the filly smacked right into her chest with enough force to send her toppling backwards. "H-how's your...ouch...how's your Unicorn-tosis?" "Sorry about that!" the filly apologized, extending a hoof to help Mandy up. "And my Unicorn-tosis is gone! I'm really sad 'cause it was fun to be an alicorn, but I think I'm happy just being a normal Pegasus." As she hovered in midair, her eyes moved past Mandy, and she gave an elated gasp. "Omigosh, are you Olive and Otto?!" "That's us!" Olive gave a friendly wave. "Wow, I've heard so much about you!" Ribbon made her way over to the two Directors, her golden eyes shimmering with excitement. "And you're here, in-pony! Er, uh, I mean, in-person! Your feats are so legendary!" Otto blinked. "We're legendary?" His question was more directed towards Olive, who gave a shrug. As amazing as her and Otto's feats had been over the years, never once had they been considered legends among agents-in-training, let alone among agents-in-training who were Equestrian natives. "Well duh, of course you are! You two are like the most popular agents in all of Odd Squad history! All the Instructor and Professor O’s use you two as examples for lessons!" A blush began creeping along Olive's face, like she had eaten a hot pepper that took a little while to kick in. "Well, I wouldn't really call myself a stand-out agent, but...I'm honored!" "Yeah! It's really cool that we've become so famous here." Ribbon's eyes widened, and she turned towards Mandy. "Oh, but that’s not to say you’re not cool, Mandy!" she amended. "I hear agents-in-training that are going into the Creature Care department use a clone of you as a replica for training. But that’s just a silly rumor!" Mandy wasn't sure whether to feel offended, thrilled, or confused. Still, given that she knew the whole deal with clones both in Odd Squad and Equestria, she decided to settle on neither. "Believe me, if there were a clone of mine runnin' around, it’d be chaos. I already heard what happened when Agent Pinkie Pie cloned herself, and it wasn’t pretty." "Oooh yeah, I hear all of Ponyville was nearly destroyed!" Ribbon shook her head. "Oh, darn, I’m getting off track again...um, so, what are you three doing here?" "I'm takin' these two on a..." Mandy's pony ear flicked. "Well, not a tour, but...they wanted to see what I do here every week. So I brought them here." Ribbon nodded. "I think you two are really gonna be surprised. Mandy's a hit with everyone here!" Otto gave a playful roll of his eyes. "I'm sure." "Anyway, I gotta go. I told Instructor O I would only be gone for a couple minutes for a bathroom break and she’s gonna start wondering where I am. See ya!" Everyone gave their goodbyes to the filly as she began zipping past them towards her classroom. "Ahh...Rainbow would be so proud at how fast she's gotten." Mandy waved Olive and Otto in the direction Ribbon had come from. "C'mon, there's probably a couple recruits hangin' around somewhere." As the Director pair followed the hybrid, Chikako and Malma peered out from behind a wall, squinting as their cat ears swiveled about for any other signs of life. "How are we going to capture her?" Malma asked. "Easy." Chikako smirked. "We need to get her away from those two kids that are with her. Olive and Otto." "Should we capture them too?!" "Don't get too excited!" Chikako hissed, leaning close into Malma's face so that their noses nearly touched. "And no. If we capture them, Odd Squad’s going to wage war against us, and we can’t afford that right now. King Ashero only wants Peaches and Mandy, and since we can’t get Peaches with Mandy always around her, we’ll have to capture Mandy first." "Okay!" Malma chirped, oblivious to Chikako's brief moment of rage. "So how are we gonna get her alone?" "From what I've heard, she's easily distracted and constantly hungry." Chikako gave a low chuckle. "Of course. Degenerate mutts are always dumb fat gluttons." "So we have to lure her out with food?" "That's one way. But let's keep following them for now. Perhaps we'll come up with more ideas." "Yeah!" After Chikako shushed Malma for her ill-timed scream, the pair moved out from behind the wall and carefully ducked behind surface after surface in order to follow Mandy, Olive and Otto, while also keeping their eyes and ears out for anyone who might spot them and blow their covers. "Hey Mandy." Otto asked. "Did you ever consider becoming a teacher at the Academy?" Mandy stopped bouncing for a moment, resorting to her usual walking gait. "Y'know, I didn't!" She shook her head. "But honestly, I don’t think I could handle it. That many students...me teaching what I know about solving oddness...it sounds really unnerving!" "That's surprising, coming from you." "But I bet you'd be really good at it!" Olive chimed in. "You've been a substitute teacher for a couple classes at the Science building in the past." A loud groan accompanied a back-and-forth roll of the hybrid's head. "Don't remind me." she lamented. "And anyway, those were for gadgets. I'm gifted at making and repairing gadgets!" She straightened her posture. "But my way of solving oddness on the field...it kinda differs from most agents. Mainly ‘cause I have a horn. And magic. And a horn. And wings. Aaaaaand a horn." As she passed by a classroom, she peered at the small window on the door, where she could see some kind of mysterious smoke eking out of something that was out of her view. "Plus, there are more students in the Investigation building than in the Science building. Classrooms are bigger too. Overall...it’s just not for me." Otto gave a shrug. "Eh, understandable. I wouldn't wanna be a teacher either. Unless it was for a Soundcheck class!" "Yeah, nothing but napping, eating and playing Soundcheck all day long." Olive said, nudging him and giving a hearty chuckle. "Aaaaanyhoozle, why don't I sho- oof!" Cut off by her slamming into something tall but heavy, she backed up a few steps. "Aah! S-sorry, I wasn't looking where I was..." The tall and heavy figure turned around, his blinding-white teeth bared in a growl. Mandy's pony ears drooped. "...going." The boy went from angry to smug within a second. "Well well well, if it isn't Mandy." "Well well well, if it isn't Orlando." Orlando gave a snort, and then launched into full-on belly laughter upon fully taking in Mandy's appearance. "You look like some dopey fairy tale princess! What’s with the getup? Going to some lame-o costume party?" "No, I'm-" Mandy was cut off once again, this time by the sharp sensation of someone tugging on her wings. She made an "eep!" sound at just how painful it was. "These don't even look real!" Orlando let go of the wings, causing them to give a mighty snap sound akin to someone launching a rubber band. Mandy waved them around frantically in a desperate effort to relieve the pain. "Ow! Cut it out!" Next, Orlando put his finger on the very tip of Mandy's horn. "And what's with the freakishly long horn?" he asked, giving a cackle. "Whaddya think ya are, a unicorn? 'Cause news flash, we eat those here!" As Mandy recoiled in horror at the thought of Orlando wanting to eat her, it began to click in Olive's brain just who, exactly, the boy was. "Hold on. You're Orlando." "That's my name, don't wear it out. Whaddya wanna make of it, little girlie?" The words alone would have made Olive grow apprehensive...a good long time ago, back when she was shy and inexperienced. But she had taken enough guff from Odd Todd to get well used to insults. "Mandy's told us about you before." Otto stepped forward, narrowing his eyes. "Would it be safe for us to assume that you're one of the resident bullies of this place?" "Ha! You're even dumber than you look." Orlando snorted. "I have friends, you know. They're just in classes 'cause the teachers made them go there." Otto smirked. "That would explain why you're still here at the Academy. No Director's picked you yet?" That made Orlando's smooth and smug facade fade away in an instant, being replaced by anger again. "No, and it's not fair! I’ve been stuck at this stupid place for years and the teachers say I’m never gonna get out!" "Wooooweeee kazoo, can't imagine why." Mandy tutted. "Could it be because you and Arctic Breeze always tormented me even after teachers told you to stop more times than Centigurps can multiply?" Orlando stopped for a moment, considered the question, then shook his head. "Naw, that can't be it. You deserved all that came to you!" He chuckled and snorted derisively. "Freaks of nature like you don't belong here." Mandy just stared, taking a moment to figure out her next course of action. Putting on a grin, she spread her wings and moved them through her hair, styling it like Rarity's signature curls. She used her magic to do the same thing to her tail, and pulled out a fainting couch out of nowhere. "Oh! Oh I'm wounded! Wounded!!" she cried out, flopping onto the couch and placing the back of her hand on her forehead. "Oh, I'm hurt! Medic! My soul! MEDIC!! Oh, surely...surely someone as weak as me couldn't have..." A sniffle. "Couldn't have taken down the previous Big O, right? Aaaaa-ha-haaaaaa!" Olive and Otto simply watched this display of dramatics with rolls of their eyes, the former turning away so she didn't have to bear witness to another display of what she thought was poor acting. "So what if ya took down the previous Big O?" Orlando remarked. "I coulda done that with my own two hands!" Mandy, dropping her act, put on her cat smile. "Uh-huh. Me of little faith, huh? And how would you have done it, O Great and Powerful?" "Orlando! Why aren't you in class?!" The sound made Mandy leap into the air, hit the couch, and topple to the floor. Orlando, Olive and Otto all swiveled their heads towards the sound, but couldn't find anyone. Orlando, in particular, had dread written all over his face. "Aw nuts." "Get to class this instant!" "All right, all right, yeesh!" Orlando began to make a break for it, only turning around and shouting a quick warning to Mandy. "This isn't over, freak!" "Change your attitude and you'll graaaaduaaaate~!" Mandy paused. "And get better iiiinsuuuults~!" "He's a handful, isn't he?" Olive said. "Oh he's got issues, for sure." Mandy got to her feet, turned her hair and tail back to their normal curly states, and disposed of the fainting couch by kicking it away to nowhere in particular, letting it crash into something that she didn't bother to identify. "I can’t believe he’s still here. I’d have thought at least one Director would be willing to take him, but…" "No Director wants a nasty-tempered agent." "What about Op-" "Oprah is an exception." Mandy stared at Otto with a bemused look on her face, until she realized that recruitment prerequisites were probably very different in the late 20th century and her expression returned to its usual happy one. "So what were you planning on showing us, Mandy?" Olive asked. "Oh!" Mandy's tail wagged furiously, and she pointed down the hallway. "The Big O recently decided to put up a Wall of Fame featuring some of the Academy's finest agents-in-training. I hear I’m on it, so I wanna go check it out!" "Ooooh, maybe we're on it, partner!" Otto said excitedly. Olive gave a shrug. "Couldn't hurt to check. Let's go!" The Wall of Fame wasn't all too massive, or at least not as massive as Mandy, Otto nor Olive had expected it to be. It looked to be about the length of an average classroom whiteboard, complete with plaques that showed each agent-in-training's picture, their name, and what they were being commended for. "Here it is! The Wall of Fame!" Mandy, being faster than both Directors, got to the Wall of Fame first and immediately began zipping around it excitedly so that she was almost a blur. "Am I on it?! Oooooooooh, please tell me I'm on it!" "There you are!" Mandy looked at where Olive pointed, and gave an elated gasp followed by a squeal that could make a pig weep. "Lookit lookit! It's me! Me and my handsome face!" Otto read the engraving on the plaque aloud. Agent 57, Mandy. An Odd Squad Academy student who introduced ponies into our beloved world and into our beloved workplace. She has fought against all odds even in spite of her transformation into a 'pony-human hybrid' and is recognized for her efforts in taking down the previous Big O. He smiled. "That's pretty accurate." Mandy would have responded in kind, if she hadn't been distracted by a wafting sweet smell that seemed to come from a nearby hallway. "I can't believe they fit all that onto a small plaque." Olive commented. Mandy's tongue lolled out, and her eyes began to shimmer. Otto looked through the Wall of Fame. "Are we on here?" Right then, Mandy ambled away from the duo, entranced by the mysterious sweet scent that could only come from food. "I don't see us. Hey Mandy, do you know if we're gonna be added on here?" No response. Olive's head turned to and fro, only to find Mandy not there. "Mandy?" The hybrid was well out of earshot of both Directors at this point, as she turned the corner and went down a hallway filled with classrooms. "I can smell it!" Her tail began to wag furiously. "I'm so hungry I can eat a..." She blinked. "No, wait, that's rude..." Lost in her thoughts, she crashed into something hard, giving an "oof" as she stumbled backwards. As she shook her head and looked up, her eyes laid upon a blockade that was tall, brown, perforated...and very, very familiar. Mandy gasped. "It's...a big, big wall...of chocolate!!" It was incredible how the high-pitched cry of "chocolate" didn't make anyone shush her. Not that she cared, though, as she gave the chocolate wall a lick. "It's really chocolate!" she cried out, devolving into giddy laughter as her mind ran a million miles a minute, struggling to figure out where to start first. She didn't care much about the how or the why of it all -- her never-ending appetite meant she could devour the wall within seconds, though she wasn't sure if her mouth was volumetric enough to fit a bar that big in one go. She also didn't need to ponder how she was going to eat the thing, as she simply fired up her horn and shot a laser blast cleanly down the middle. It made the two halves land on conjured plates that also served as blockades, making Mandy look like nothing more than a small speck of dirt in a giant's world. Slicing one half down the middle of both halves using the same feat of magic so that it was now in fourths, she grabbed a large piece with her serpentine tongue and pulled it into her mouth, relishing the taste. "So good!" she chirped, her tail wagging back and forth as she got to work on the next piece. Chikako, situated behind another wall at the far end of the hallway, smirked. "Yes, we got her!" "What do we do now?" Chikako rolled her eyes at Malma's stupidity. "We trap her. What else?" About three-fourths into her third piece, Mandy straightened. "Ooh, I should take shome of thish back to Momma and Otto!" she realized, shoving the rest of her already-eaten piece into her mouth, grabbing the other piece in her prismatic corona, and happily bouncing away, leaving the plates behind. "She's getting away!" Malma screamed, pointing a finger in Mandy's direction. Hackles raised, Chikako hissed. "She was supposed to stay and eat all of the chocolate, not take it with her!" She furiously shook her head. "We'll think of another plan, Malma, let's go!" As the catgirls made a break for it, Olive and Otto began calling out for Mandy. "Maaaaandyyyyy?" "Hey, where'd you go?!" A well-aimed and well-timed bounce brought Mandy directly in front of them, with half of a piece of chocolate stuck in her mouth. Most of her face was smeared with chocolate, and she had a distended belly that made it look like she had packed on a good 90 pounds at the least. Olive and Otto, completely unfazed and beginning to piece together what had happened, took in the hybrid's appearance with neutral expressions. "Hi!" "Mandy, first of all, don't speak with food in your mouth." Olive scolded. "The amount of times I've had to tell you that is absurd." Mandy put on an apologetic look and happily swallowed her piece of chocolate. "Second of all, where were you, exactly?" "Oh! Well, I was really hungry, and I smelled something sweet so I followed it and I ran into this huuuuge wall of chocolate! I was gonna share it with you two, but...uh…hehe..." Mandy gave a muffled belch, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "I ate it all. Sorry." Olive gave an exasperated sigh. "Mandy, you're always hungry." She crossed her arms. "Try not to leave us alone like that, okay? You may come here every week but we haven't been here in decades." "Gotcha!" Otto reached behind his back and pulled out a rag. "Here. For your face. You've got a lot of chocolate on it." "Do I?" Mandy pulled out a mirror. "Oh wow, I do! Well, it's just an arrestiment to how good it was!" "'Testament', Mandy. The word is 'testament'. It is a testament to how good it was." "Nobody likes an English-ruiner, Momma." Mandy wiped her face clean of the chocolate and handed Otto back the rag. "English-ruinee? English-ruiness?" A pause. One could quite literally hear the gears turning in Mandy's head as she thought. "...English-ruinette! Yes! No one likes an English-ruinette!" "This." Olive glanced at Otto and pointed at Mandy. "This is why I'm a proud advocate for Odd Squad Academy English classes. Not everyone speaks Mandy language." "Right." "Anyway..." Olive gestured towards the path that she and Otto had come from. "We were trying to see if our pictures were on the Wall of Fame." "Oh?" Mandy shook her head. "Not yet. They're still tryna find the correct wording for the plaques, I hear." "They don't have to be perfect." "Nonsense!" Mandy patted Otto's shoulder. "You two are legends and you should be treated as such. Ooh, ooh, are you two opposed to crowns and scepters? Twilight might have some spare ones in her Castle of Friendship somewhere she could give you!" Just as Olive opened her mouth to oppose the idea, the sound of a school bell rung throughout the building. "Ooh, classes have let out!" Mandy began bouncing up and down. "Now we can see some recruits!" Otto's brows furrowed. "That was fast." Two separate shouts of her name caused Mandy, as well as Olive and Otto, to turn around. Two Earth pony fillies, both wearing the same gray sweatshirts that Hazelblossom and Ribbon Twirl had worn earlier, rushed up to them at blinding speeds, excitement radiating all throughout their bodies so that they nearly vibrated. Mandy waved. "Hiya!" "Hey, hey, do you think you could help me with my homework assignment?" the blue-coated one asked. "And I need help studying for my next quiz!" the pink-coated one said. "Hold on, hold on! I can't do both at once." Mandy gave a small smile. "How about we make separate times for each of you?" The blue-coated one nodded. "Sure!" The pink-coated filly, however, wasn't so convinced. "But my next quiz is tomorrow!" "What's it on?" Olive asked, kneeling down to reach the filly's level. "How to interrogate a unicorn." Olive blinked. Mandy patted her shoulder. "Looks like that's your territory, Momma!" "Oh definitely." Mandy glanced at the two fillies. "Girls, this is Olive and Otto. They're the co-Directors of the Mississauga precinct." And then, she glanced at the two Directors. "You two, meet Blue Lily..." The one with her blue mane and tail and her orchid-gray coat waved. "Hi!" "...and Strawberry Parchment!" The one with her fuchsia mane and tail and cerise-colored coat, gave a pleasant smile. "Most call me Strawberry, though." "Nice to meet you!" Olive and Otto greeted in unison. "Have you ever interrogated a unicorn, Olive?" Strawberry stiffened. "Um, I mean, Ms. O?" "Yeah. It was back when I was an agent and we were trying to solve the mystery of characters coming alive from their books. You remember, Otto?" "Oh yeah!" Otto scratched the back of his neck. "That time when I decapitated a mummy. On accident." Olive's eyes widened. "You decapitated him?! You told me he fell asleep!" "Look, if Oprah found out I decapitated him, she would have decapitated me!" Olive pinched the bridge of her nose and gave a groan. "Aaaaaaanyhoozle, Blue Lily, I've got some free time tomorrow if you wanna stop by Precinct 13579." Mandy glanced at Strawberry. "And Strawberry Parchment, you can go to Momma and Otto's precinct." Strawberry's eyes shimmered as she glanced up at the two Directors. "Can I really do that?" "Of course!" Olive nodded. "I'll try and teach you all that I can." "Yay! Thank you!" "And I'll be sure to stop by Precinct 13579 tomorrow, Mandy!" Blue Lily wrapped her front legs around the hybrid's own. "I'm so so lucky to have you as a friend!" "D'aww..." Mandy rubbed her arm. "You're gonna make me blush!" Blue Lily released herself from the hug. "I have to head home now. I'll see you tomorrow, Mandy!" "I should get going too." Strawberry turned. "See you tomorrow, Mr. and Ms. O!" Everyone gave their goodbyes to the two retreating fillies, who zipped off just as fast as they had come. "So what now?" Otto asked. Mandy gave a soft hum as her tail twitched. "Well, there are a couple new rooms that we could-" "Mandy!" This new voice didn't belong to any Academy student -- rather, it belonged to a Professor O, who rushed up to Mandy as fast as his feet would take him and keeled over when he got there. "Professor O?" "Oh...thank goodness you came." Professor O lifted himself up. "Listen, I need your help." "Okay!" A pause. Mandy's grin remained on her face. "What for?" "We’re studying ways that unicorns -- erm, Equestrian natives, I should say -- can use their magic to combat oddness. And I figured, who better to use as an example than one of the most powerful magic users ever?" Mandy's smile dropped from her face. She blinked. "Uhh...w-well, I, uh, wouldn't call myself powerful..." "You took down a Hydraclops and defeated it after taking a severe hit to the spine from a tree." Olive pointed out. "I think we’re well beyond calling you 'weak', Mandy." "Yeah, but in terms of magic..." Mandy edged her voice so as to remind Olive that she didn't take down the Hydraclops with unicorn magic -- or really any kind of Equestrian magic, if she thought about it. "I-I mean, I can teleport and make stuff float and fire cool laser beams, but…" "Oh come on, it'll be great! The students will love you." Professor O urged. Mandy heaved a sigh. "Well, if it's for the students...I hafta do it. It's in the contract." "Great!" Professor O turned. "Follow me to the classroom. The class starts in a couple minutes." Mandy began to follow him, her head angling towards the two Directors she was leaving behind. "You two can go explore if you want. You know where to find me." Olive wanted to say that they didn't know where to find Mandy because they hardly remembered their way around the Investigation building of the Academy as it was, but decided that they could probably ask some recruits for directional information if they were as legendary as the hybrid claimed they were. "Got it! Have fun!" she called, waving Mandy off. As both Directors went the opposite direction, Otto's eyes widened. "Wait, what contract is she talking about?" Olive simply sighed, reached behind her back, and pulled out a rather sizeable stack of papers, reading off of the top one. "Rule Number One in the 'Handling Agent Mandy' Packet..." Chikako and Malma were lucky to be catgirls who had the ability to turn into cats that could sneak around unsuspected. No one had managed to catch them, even though their ears and tails were out in the open and even though their other forms were of cute cats in a building full of kids of both the human and equine kinds. "Okay, so you're clear on the plan, Malma?" Chikako murmured, from where she was watching Mandy come down the hall with a kid dressed in a spiffy uniform. She didn't bother to identify who it was. "Yeah!" Malma nodded enthusiastically. "We eat the shapeshifter seeds and they transform us into Academy students. Then we can get close to Mandy and capture her without being suspected!" Chikako smirked. "Heh. Idiotic you may be sometimes, but you're not without your moments of cleverness. Let's hurry." Both girls took the oval-shaped seeds that were in their hands and popped them into their mouths, chewing them and wincing when some sort of juice began oozing out of them. With two small whooshes, they were transformed into purely human twins, down to the same uniform as what agents-in-training wore. "Yes, it worked!" "Wait!" Malma held out a hand to stop Chikako. "Before we go in, we gotta give ourselves O names!" Chikako snapped her fingers. "Shoot, you're right." She stood up, watching as Mandy and the kid went down a side hall. "We'll think of some on the way in. Let's go." As Mandy and Professor O made their way inside, they were met with row after row of eager Academy students, most of whom were talking amongst one another. A few students gave their attention to Professor O, though not many. "Hello, everyone!" he called, enough to quiet the room down and gather more eyes towards him. "I've brought a very special guest today." That did it. The room erupted into cheers, which startled Mandy enough that she took a step back and nervously laughed. "Hi!" she eked out, though it was barely heard above the cacophonous din. "She’ll be helping us with our lesson on magic and combating oddness. Now, settle down, and let’s begin, okay?" The cheers died down just as the door opened, revealing two girls who looked the same in everything but eye color and hair bow color. "Sorry, Professor O..." The blue-eyed student took heavy breaths. "We're late, aren't we?" The green-eyed student shook her head. "What a shame." Professor O tilted his head. "I'm sorry, do I...know you two?" The green-eyed student straightened. "Oh! U-uh, I'm Ohikako." "And I'm Olma!" "Nice to meet you." Professor O reached behind his back and pulled out a paper, scanning it intensely. "Um...you're not on my attendance sheet." "We're new students here." Ohikako explained. "Ah, I see." Professor O nodded. "In that case, you're free to take a seat wherever you like." "With pleasure." The tone in Ohikako's voice was sinister, but no one picked up on it as they made their way towards two vacant seats in the middle of the third row. "Okay." Professor O cleared his throat. "Now, unicorns have an innate talent for magic, and many possess basic powers such as telekinesis, or the power to lift objects. But unicorns can also practice and master spells in order to protect themselves in battle." He gestured to Mandy. "Mandy, for example, is an alicorn, also known as a winged unicorn. She knows a lot of spells..." "Uh, not really-" "She's quite the powerful agent..." "Well, that's kinda sorta true..." "And she's skilled in battle!" Mandy blinked. "Actually that's very true." "So today, we're going to learn about how to apply that magic to fighting oddness. Specifically, odd creatures." Professor O clasped his hands together. "Everyone, we're heading out onto the field! Let's go!" As students began to murmur and rise from their seats, Chikako and Malma momentarily stayed behind. "Yes!" Chikako grinned. "In an open space, there's less chance for us to be caught. Malma, get that tranquilizer gun ready! The sooner we shoot, the better!" "Yup yup!" As the last of the students gathered in the open area that was right next to the Investigation building, Professor O erected the last of the barricades for just what foe his students had to face. "Now, in the outdoors, we have more room." He pointed. "See those laser chickens?" The crowd erupted into nervous murmurs as two laser chickens, easily towering over them all by a landslide, wandered about, clucking and firing deadly lasers from their combs. "Those are not natural laser chickens -- rather, they have been afflicted by oddness and have become laser chickens by unnatural means." Professor O placed a hand on Mandy's shoulder. "Mandy will demonstrate how to use magic in order to turn those chickens into regular chickens. Watch closely!" "All right!" Mandy puffed out her chest. "Watch the master at work!" From behind a nearby tree, Chikako, tranquilizer gun in hand, cocked the weapon and aimed. She carefully followed Mandy's movement as she began to move closer to the odd creatures. "We're in position. Ready..." Mandy's horn lit up. "Just gotta warm up the ol' horn here..." "Aim..." "Got it...and-" "Fire!" The cry was unisonant, stretching across Chikako, Malma, and Mandy. As the former fired the weapon, the latter fired her magic, although Chikako managed to be quicker on the draw and successfully embedded a tranquilizer dart clear through Mandy's pant leg and into her skin. The hybrid gave an "Eep!" as she let her magic loose, and coincidentally enough, it hit a laser chicken dead-on, turning it back into a normal chicken within a puff of multicolored smoke. "Nice job, you got one!" Professor O praised. Like the rest of the students, he was oblivious to the whole ordeal, and simply thought it was Mandy's talented magical prowess at work. When she felt a pinch in her leg, Mandy's vision grew hazy. Her world began spinning in a way that nearly made her sick. What's happening...? If she had the energy to, her eyes would have widened at just how slurred even her own thoughts sounded. She had to look at herself in a mirror, see what was in her leg, get it out, and examine herself to see if she was in tip-top shape. She shook her head and turned to face Professor O. "U-um, Professor O...can we...put a pause on the lesson? I have to use the bathroom." "Of course!" Professor O turned to his students. "This is a perfect opportunity for you unicorns to try using your magic on the other laser chicken, and for those who aren't unicorns to help your classmates out. Meet back here when you’re done, Mandy." "Uh-huh..." Mandy didn't know how she had the strength to even make it inside of the Investigation building, but somehow, through willpower not even she knew she had, she did. With a lame leg, she dragged it through the hallways, trying to find any sort of sign that pointed to the restrooms but not finding anything. It didn't help that her vision was getting worse by the minute. "Everything is..." "Gotcha." "Huh?" Mandy slowly turned. The two beings that stood just a short distance away from her were close enough that she could easily identify them as two girls, yet at the same time, they looked like vertical blobs of mass. "Y-you two..." She shook her head. "No!" It was fight or flight. Mandy, being in no condition to fight, chose the power of flight. She didn't get very far on her own wingpower, as her flying was slow and erratic. Which, of course, made it all the better for Chikako and Malma. "Oh no you don't!" Chikako aimed the tranquilizer gun again and fired. Another dart went into Mandy's other leg, causing her to give a "Wah!" of surprise before she plummeted to the ground, her body hitting the floor twice before skidding to a slow stop. "Wow, you're pathetic." Chikako remarked, taking the seed she had been given to undo the effects of the transformation and chewing it to turn herself back to normal. "You never stood a chance against us!" Malma chirped, doing the same thing. Chikako shook her head. "If I had known it would be this easy, we would have tranquilized you long ago." "Yeah, and-" "Let me handle this, Malma." Chikako forcefully shoved her comrade aside and began to approach Mandy. The hybrid struggled to get to her feet, only being able to push her upper body up and turn her head around. The only word she could give was nothing but a mere croak: "Vall...ea..." "Yes. We are from Vallea." Chikako towered over her. "King Ashero has asked once again for you and your inbred cousin to be captured and taken back. Since we can’t get her when you’re around, we had to find some way to separate you two." "Chikako? Malma?" Katine made her way over. Neither catgirl had seen her since she had given them the seeds originally and neither catgirl had any idea how she had managed to find them. "You two managed to capture Mandy?" "We did!" Chikako grinned. "It was easier than we thought!" Upon surveying her enemy, Katine's smile turned into a frown. "She's not fully unconscious. Why is she not fully unconscious?" To Mandy, the catgirls were nothing more than smears in her vision, their words muffled gibberish that rang in all four eardrums. Still, her brain was sending every signal it possibly could to her body for her to stay awake, even with two darts stuck in her legs. A groan eked out of her, and while she tried to utter out another word or two, that feat proved to be impossible. "She's fighting it!" Malma's words were practically a scared scream, as she thrust her index finger at Mandy. "Should we hit her with another?" Chikako whirled on Malma, staring at her as though she had uttered out the ramblings of a madwoman. "No! That was an extra-strength tranquilizer dart! She shouldn’t even have her eyes open! She got two!" Katine groaned. "Whatever. It doesn’t matter if she’s conscious or unconscious. What matters is if she’s able to fight back or not. And right now…" She chuckled, watching as another moan came from Mandy. "I don't think she's even able to stand up." It was true. Mandy's entire lower body felt numb. She could feel her heart beating -- perhaps that was what kept her upper body going -- but it was clear that being sedated by a tranquilizer dart, let alone two, let alone extra-strength ones, and fighting their effects was a battle that she was destined to lose. In a second, her upper body failed her. Her heart slowed, her arms came out from under her, and her chest and head slammed onto the tile floor, her eyes closing ever slower until she was sucked into a world of pure darkness. "So what do we do with her now?" Malma asked her leader. "Easy. We take her back to Vallea. King Ashero will be happy with one." "And what about Peaches?" Chikako asked. "Our King will send someone to catch her as well. Preferably before she has the chance to realize that Mandy is missing." Katine exhaled and pointed at Mandy. "Pick her up and let’s go." A shrill, malicious laugh pierced the air, making all three catgirls go on high alert. "What's that?" Katine asked, unsheathing her claws. Chikako stood next to her, unsheathing her own claws as well. "That laugh..." "They call it the 'noblewoman's laugh!' Or the 'ohoho'!" Malma explained, approaching the situation with blissful innocence. "You honestly thought you could get away with dragging my daughter back to your little village? How cute." "Too bad we won't let you. Your stunt ends here!" From somewhere that no one could identify, triumphant music flourished. Standing right behind Mandy was none other than Olive and Otto, posing rather dramatically as though they were going to quite literally be poster children for a movie. The catgirl trio all wore various expressions of shock. Absolutely none of them banked on Olive or Otto showing up, and it showed in every inch of their reactions. "Them...THEM!!" Katine screeched, whirling on Malma and Chikako. "How could you two forget to knock out them?!" "You gave us the instructions!" "Right!" Chikako nodded, only barely fazed by Katine's rage. "You told us not to capture them because Odd Squad would wage war against us!" Katine's face turned a bright red as her teeth became bared in an ugly snarl. "Whatever!" She jabbed a finger at the two Directors, who hadn't budged so much as an inch, in both position and expression. "If we can’t knock them out with tranquilizer darts, then we’ll knock them out with brute force! Go get them!" Neither catgirl needed a second prompt, launching themselves at Olive and Otto at high speed. Otto heaved a sigh and shook his head. "They never learn, do they?" "Sadly, no." Both Directors reached behind their backs, pulling out golden shields marked with the Management symbol that looked quite rusted from years of heavy-duty use. Olive smirked. "Let's get ready to fight, partner." Otto nodded, and the pair rushed into battle, meeting the catgirls halfway. Although they were outnumbered three to two, they were still able to deliver mighty blows to all three Vallea residents, using their free fists as well as their legs, feet, and any available damaging gadgets they had in their hammerspace spines. The fighting was so intense that no one heard Professor O and the rest of the students arrive on the scene. "What in the name of odd is going on in here?!" he yelled, trying to make himself heard over the din. All five combatants disappeared in a ball of dust and violence. Within the ball came a loud, high-pitched yowl, followed by the deafening sound of a gadget's thick laser making impact, then the sound of a body hitting a wall hard enough to leave a dent. The students all huddled together behind Professor O, giving scared screams and cries as they tried to comprehend what was going on. Otto broke free, as did Katine, and held her back with both his shield and his free arm. "Professor O! Take Mandy to the Medical building! Tell them she got tranquilized!" "Take Mandy to..." Professor O peered behind Otto and the mysterious catperson, managing to spot a lifeless body behind them and Olive and Chikako, who were no longer kicking up dust and were fighting on the floor. "Oh my gosh, o-okay, will do!" He turned to his students. "Everyone, go back outside! Now!" The students did as they were told, leaving Professor O free to dart past the two separate fights as well as the wall-embedded catperson and make a mad grab for Mandy. "C'mon, Mandy, up and at 'em! Let's go!" When it became clear to him that the hybrid was knocked out cold, he picked her up with much effort and began booking it past the two fights once more, back to the outside where he could hopefully spot the Medical building, or at the very least flag down a passing Doctor. A well-aimed sock to the jaw left Chikako in more pain there than in any other part of her body. "I'm bleeding!" "Not..." A punch to the face. "My..." Another one. "Problem!" And another one, that one more hard-hitting than the last that managed to send her stumbling backwards. Nearby, Katine was making a mad grab for Otto, trying to snap at him while yowling and hissing with as much ferocity as she had. Due to Otto's incredible strength, her teeth only bit the air that was several inches from his nose, and he had all the means to throw her off. "Be quiet!" he yelled. "Get your filthy hands off of me, you dirty mongrel!" "Never!" With a swift yank, he pulled Katine's body close to him, as though he were leading her in a dance. However, what he was doing was far more sinister, as he grabbed the catgirl's left arm and pulled it so that it was bending at an angle that one didn't think such an arm could bend at. What ensued was a loud pained yowl that echoed throughout the hallways of the building, spittle flying from Katine's mouth as she tried to wrench free. Just as Otto was mentally praising himself for his quick thinking, his eyes caught the third catgirl of the group rushing towards him, snarling and with claws fully extended. "You little-" A golden shield went flying towards Malma, hitting her square in the chest and sending her flying towards the wall as she made a choking sound. However, she didn't hit it, and instead fell to the floor on her back, the shield clattering beside her as she laid unconscious. "Yes!" The voice was unmistakable. Otto didn't need to piece together what had happened. "Wow, Otto, you weren't kidding when you said our shields work well as saucers!" "Uh-huh!" Otto said through gritted teeth, as he struggled to keep the now-thrashing Katine out of control. Fed up with being at a standstill, he flipped the catgirl back over, balled his free hand into a fist, pulled it back, and let it fly towards the catgirl's face, causing her to release her grip on Otto and fall straight onto her back like a piece of wood that had been tipped over. "You all right, partner?" "Ah, just a little dirty. Not without any claw marks, of course..." Olive tenderly touched her bleeding cheek. "...but nothing too bad. What about you?" "A couple scratches and bruises. Nothing I can't handle." A low growl made both Directors' attentions snap to an enraged Katine, whose nose was bent at an awkward angle and whose cheek was a little swollen. "How...dare you...try and attack us." She slowly shook her head. "We should take you back to King Ashero...nngh...along with those two deformed mutts you’re housing." No one could see it, but it was calling Peaches and Mandy "deformed mutts" that made Olive's hackles rise. "Yeah, speaking of..." She walked over to the felled Malma and effortlessly picked up her shield. "Exactly how many times does Odd Squad have to hammer it into your feeble minds that King Ashero sending out catpeople to do his bidding isn’t getting the job done? Is he so lazy that he can’t take the time to come over here himself?" "N-nonsense!" Chikako winced as she, too, struggled to get to her feet after having lost her balance. "King Ashero is a very busy cat. He doesn’t have the time to deal with your lack of intelligence." Olive idly examined her fingernails. "It's a shame, really. We'd love to roundhouse-kick his butt too, just like we did with yours." Malma gave a spittle-laced hiss in response. "This isn't over..." Katine propped herself up on her lower arms. "No way is this over..." Olive and Otto exchanged a glance. Otto, tucking his shield away behind his back, gave a single nod to Olive, and she gave him a thumbs-up in return. "You're right. It's not over." Olive reached behind her back to put away her shield, but kept it there in order to fish for another item. "The first time I battled one of your ilk, I let him go with mild injuries. This time, I'm raising the stakes." Otto wisely backed up, watching as his partner pulled out a small gadget that looked to be in the shape of a ray gun and examined it to make sure she had enough ammo. Katine's eyes widened when she saw what Olive was doing. "N-no...you can't..." "If we're gonna...be executed..." A pained yowl cut off Chikako's sentence for only a moment. "...it'll be at...the hands of...our King!" A mirthless laugh slipped from Olive's lips. "No it won't." She cocked the gadget. "I am more than willing to be your executioner. I promise to make your deaths as dignified as you want." "Wait!" Malma grit her teeth. "You...you don't wanna do this in front of the kids!" Otto's brows furrowed. "What kids? They all went outside." He looked behind him, just to make sure no one was coming. "And everyone's in classes right now." Realizing her excuses would all be fruitless, Malma feebly held out a hand. "Then...t-take me! Take me first!" That made Olive falter. She blinked. "You...want to die first?" "Yes!" Malma squeezed her eyes shut. "Just get it over with!" Olive wasn't sure whether she was being genuine or if she was bluffing. "All right. I have a feeling your two comrades won't miss you all that much anyway." As she approached Malma, she glanced at Chikako and Katine, who were staring at Malma worryingly. A feeling began churning away in the Director's gut, a feeling of unfamiliarity that could only come from someone who had never killed before. She was no killer. Deep inside of her heart, she knew she wasn't. If she was, she would have killed Odd Todd long before Otto worked his skills at being a mole. However, as someone who was committed to being the absolute perfect parent to Mandy, she was more than willing to thin out Vallea's population, all the way up until she was able to rid it of its abhorrent king. "And when you're in the afterlife..." Olive gave a sharp chuckle, a way of her affirming that she didn't believe in such a thing. "...don't even think of trying to harm my daughter again." She jerked her head away and pressed the button. A loud bang echoed throughout the hallways, making Otto stumble backwards. "Otto...tell me I got her." Otto angled his head to peek around Olive. A pool of blood, rich and red, began forming under the lifeless body of Malma. "Yeah...you got her, all right." Chikako and Katine were considerably more scared now. They exchanged glances with each other before swallowing the lumps that had formed in their throats and glancing at Olive, their pain being squashed by the fear and defeat that began forming within their hearts. They would have mourned Malma's murder, if they weren't at the mercy of their enemies. Now, they could only mourn in the afterlife. Olive turned her head back, cocked the weapon again, and aimed at Chikako's chest. "M-m-me? W-why me?" "Does it look like I care about the why?" Olive sneered. "I just want you dead. And convenience didn't strike hard enough so that I could kill all three of you at once." "All we were doing..." Chikako squeezed one eye shut as a reaction to the pain that flared up within her body. "...was honoring our King's wishes." "And you could have easily turned away and rebelled. Yet you didn't." Olive gave a derisive snort. "You know what? Just shut up. My daughter's probably in a coma right now for all I know. Your precious King won't miss three cold bodies." Briefly, Chikako's gaze moved to Otto. He was still in a little shock from just how loud the fired weapon had been, but he was otherwise stony-faced and tight-lipped. Any mercy given by him would be nonexistent, and it squashed any hope she still had left in her. Olive aimed for the catgirl's chest, jerked her head away again, then fired. Another loud bang, accompanied by a strangled, scared, grief-filled scream from Katine. More blood began to coat the floors. "H-how..." Katine, fueled by anger, grit her teeth. "You're a coward." "A coward? Moi?" Olive's head turned to face the catgirl as an innocent smile began creeping along her face. "Do elaborate." "Every time you've shot one of my fellow civilians, you've...nngh...you've looked away. You still have a heart!" Katine tried to point, but could barely lift her arm a few inches. "S-so why...why?!" Olive fixed the catgirl with a disinterested expression. Quickly, she cocked the weapon one more time, aimed it at Katine's chest, ignored her rapid "no's" as she jerked her head away, and fired. By the third bang, students and teachers alike had begun peering out of classrooms, wondering what was going on. The sound of scared and concerned murmurs caught both Directors' ears, and made Olive hastily tuck her weapon away behind her back. "Uh, e-everyone stay calm!" Otto tried. "There was, uh, I mean, there were some odd villains here that my partner happily, uh...dealt with. They're no longer threats!" "Yes! Please, go back to class. We're sorry for disturbing you. Rest assured, my partner and I have everything handled here." "Why's there blood on the floor?" The innocent-sounding question from an equally-innocent student made Olive and Otto stiffen. Whatever attempt they had made at hiding what they had done would have failed, if they had actually made the attempt to begin with. They stared at each other, desperately trying to think of an excuse. "It's...paint!" Olive's grin was uneven, and quite frankly, it was terrifying, as evidenced by some students' worried reactions. "They were villains who attacked with paint. Yeah. W-we knocked them out good. And their paint spilled!" The students began murmuring. Neither Director was sure whether any of them had bought the poorly-concocted excuse or not. "All right, everyone, let's head back to class. That goes for all of you too!" The Professor O in charge of the class that was nearest the Directors called the final words of her order to her fellow teachers, who nodded and began corralling their respective students back inside, offering comforting words of encouragement. While Olive and Otto were grateful, the knowing look that Professor O gave as she slunk back into the classroom with her students was one they would most certainly be taking to bed that night. "So how do we, uh..." Otto's stomach did a flip. "...get rid of these guys?" Olive gave a low hum of thought. "Why don't I fling 'em? Wherever they land, they'll either get fed to the maggots or fed to some other wild animal or odd creature lurking about." She smirked. "Besides, if I do that, I can see if my skills have gotten better since Orino came to town." "That's your go-to move now, huh?" Otto shook his head in an amused manner. "I'm going to the Medical building to check on Mandy. Meet me there?" "Absolutely. But, uh..." Olive began picking up the three dead bodies, gesturing to the puddle of blood with her foot. "Can you clean this up first?" Otto reached behind his back and pulled out a gadget that looked like a long stick. "Mop-inator!" he called, aiming it at the puddle and yanking on the pull cord. This caused a mop head to suddenly grow from the far end of the stick, and when it was placed on the puddle, it mopped it up within seconds with not a drop to spare. "Good job." Olive began heading off. "Wring that outside and make sure Mandy's okay. Quickly!" "R-right!" Otto made sure to grab the gun that the catgirls had dropped, tucking it away inside his hammerspace spine before sprinting past Olive and making a beeline for the exit doors. Inside the Emergency Treatment Room at the Medical building of the Academy, Professor O, along with Blue Lily, Strawberry Parchment, Ribbon Twirl and Hazelblossom (he had run into them all on his way to the building), watched as an Odd Squad Doctor eyed a patient monitor, then let her gaze wander to a still-unconscious Mandy, lying on a platform that looked akin to the bottom half of a tanning bed. She took one of the darts that she had pried out of the hybrid and examined it for a few minutes. "Mmmhm. That's an extra-strength tranquilizer dart, all right. And since Mandy received two of them..." Professor O's face fell. "Don't tell me." "She's gonna be in a coma!" Blue Lily's words were practically a scream, and managed to catch the attention of a few nearby Doctors. "No!" Ribbon Twirl placed her hooves against the Doctor's legs. "Ozzie, there's gotta be some way..." "Wait!" Strawberry Parchment piped up. "Mandy told me something, a while ago...she told me about her sleep, how no one can wake her up and-" "Strawberry, that's different. Mandy's not asleep, she's unconscious." Professor O glanced at the Doctor. "Right, Ozzie?" Ozzie nodded, her poofy black pigtails bouncing as she did so. "Yes. Mandy’s not in a sleeping state. She’s unconscious, but she’s not asleep. It’s sort of like when you have surgery and you receive anesthesia." "But...but..." Strawberry began anxiously trotting in place. "How long is she gonna be out for?!" "No one knows." Running footsteps marked the arrival of Otto, who slid down the hall and landed perfectly in the doorway. "I'm here!" He tried to catch his breath. "Dr. O, what's going on?" "Otto, you're a Director. Surely you know that title is used for Head Doctors only?" Ozzie tilted her head. "Call me Ozzie." Otto made his way up to the growing crowd of concerned agents. "Right, okay, but how's Mandy doing?!" "Mandy’s all right. She took two extra-strength tranquilizer darts to both legs. Vitals are steady, but I don’t know how long she’ll be out for. It could be weeks, it could be months...it could even be the next day." "Extra-strength?!" The shout came from a newly-arrived Olive, who rushed in as fast as her feet could take her and nearly collided with the ponies, Professor O, and her own partner. Blue Lily looked up at her. "We're all really worried." she remarked, as the others murmured. "Is there anything I can do?" Olive said, keeping her gaze fixed on Ozzie. "Keep an eye on Mandy. For now, she should rest in bed." Olive gave a shaky sigh. "Those stupid catgirls..." "Hey, Ms. O...who were those girls, anyway?" "Local villain trio. They call themselves the Hissy Fits." Otto almost wanted to smile at how quickly he came up with that pun, but his worry trumped his amusement right quick. Hazelblossom's muzzle wrinkled. "Sounds like a weird name for a villain group. But then again..." She chuckled. "Villains aren't very smart." "Bottom line is, you all don't need to worry about them." Olive assured. "Otto and I took care of them." "Thank you!" Ribbon chirped, as the others followed suit in giving their own thanks. "Well, it was nothing, really...they were hurting Mandy. I couldn't let them get away with it." "All right, finished." The group's attention turned to Ozzie, who was hunched over Mandy with a clipboard in her hand that they had to assume was given to her by another Doctor when they weren't looking. "What with?" Hazelblossom asked. "I ran some scans on Mandy. She should be all right, but as I said, you'll need to keep an eye on her." "Right, of course." Olive nodded, watching as Ozzie began peeling off electrodes from Mandy's exposed chest. When the Doctor gave her an OK signal, the Director moved to grab Mandy in her arms, her eyes widening as she noted just how limp she was, like an overcooked spaghetti noodle. She turned to the rest of the group. "I’m really sorry that Mandy’s visit was cut off like this. Otto and I came with her because we wanted to see what she did here. I didn’t think we’d get caught up in this crazy mess." "That's quite all right." Hazelblossom gave her a grateful smile. "I'll see Mandy again." "Yeah!" Ribbon Twirl leaped into the air. "I know she'll get better! Mandy's a fighter!" "I'll still stop by Precinct 13579 tomorrow!" Blue Lily offered. "Even if she can’t help me with my homework, I can still check up on how she’s doing." Professor O glanced at the unconscious body of the one who had only helped him with his lesson just a short while ago. "I'll find a way to work through the magic lesson without her." "And..." Strawberry rubbed her leg. "Maybe I can still come to your precinct so you can help me with my quiz?" Olive nodded. "Of course. Come with us." "Keep us updated!" Professor O called, watching Olive and Otto walk out with Strawberry and Mandy in tow. "We will!" Olive called back. "And thank you, Ozzie!" Ozzie waved. "No problem. Best of luck to you two!" Ribbon, Blue Lily, Hazelblossom and Professor O split after that, with the latter helping the ponies get to their respective classrooms before heading back to his own class outside. Mandy woke up to a world of black. Aside from herself, every direction was nothing but the same color. She felt lightweight, and wondered how she could be standing on the ground with gravity holding her down. The area almost looked like the limbo she went through whenever she left the Magical Grasslands, only while that pulled her by force and was full of twinkling stars and a retreating utopia, this was just a void with nothing of the sort except the privilege of moving on free will. Her pony ears picked up on a faint call of her name. "W-who's there?!" she called, her voice strained as though she were on the verge of losing it. "I-if you're that 'Princess Luna' character, I mean no harm, I swear!" "Mandy." The mysterious voice was clearer now. "H-Haru..." "Shh. Try not to talk." Haruko urged. "You are unconscious. You are in endless sleep, a time not experienced since you were still in the womb, and a time you will experience even long after you are gone." Mandy tried to say something about how Heaven didn't exist and how darkness would be the only thing waiting after death, but a different set of words came out. "I can't see you..." "Your voice sounds strained." "I don't know where I am..." "It is all right. You have my voice to guide you. Even if you cannot see me, you will always be able to hear me. Our hearts are connected as one." Haruko assured. "Tell me, how did you end up like this?" Mandy squeezed her eyes shut. "The last thing I remember...the last thing I remember..." The memory flickered in her mind, as though it was corrupted. She spoke slowly, enunciating each word. "I was helping out with a lesson for some agents-in-training at the Academy and I was suddenly shot in the leg. My vision...it went all blurry, a-and I saw these two catgirls...and then I tried to fly away, but they shot me again...I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t…" "Perhaps it is a tranquilizer dart. I have seen it used a few times in the real world." "A tran-huh-lizer dart?" "Those catgirls must have hurt you with the darts." Mandy could almost feel the head shake Haruko gave, even if she was just a disembodied voice. "Oh, Mandy..." "Haruko...I don't wanna die." Mandy's voice was small. Tears began streaming down her face from the corners of her eyes. She wrapped her arms around herself. "Not before...not before I have a chance to say goodbye to my friends and family." "Do not worry. From what I understand, being hit with a tranquilizer dart is not lethal. You will wake up, in time." "B-but I'm not having any dreams...I just feel cold darkness." A shiver ran up Mandy's spine, causing the rest of her body to shiver in the process. "Being unconscious is a different...experience, so to say, than being asleep. When you are unconscious, your mind turns off. When you are asleep, you still have a sense of consciousness. Your brain is still active." "But my brain functions differently." "You are not dead, Mandy." Haruko assured again. "I can feel your heart. It is still beating. With love, kindness, and warmth. With the feeling of being alive." The sound of a heartbeat thrummed in Mandy's ears, although she wasn't sure if it came from her own body or if it came from somewhere in the void. "Your time in this world is not over yet." "H-how can I know that for sure?!" "All you need to do...is to place your full trust in me." The faint sound of shimmering and whooshing from off into the distance brought Mandy's attention to what was in front of her. While only a speck, a ball of pure white was driving the darkness away. "W-what's...is that light?" Her tone was hopeful. She would have run towards it, if her feet weren't rooted to the ground. "You are returning to consciousness." The sounds grew closer, and as they did, the ball of white grew bigger and bigger. Suddenly, Mandy felt terrified, and turned her body around to run away as anxiety began consuming her as well as the hope she had. "C'mon!" She tried to pull her feet off of the ground, but they stayed put. "Let me go!" Her head swiveled around. "S-stay away from me! Stay back!" Whatever words Haruko had to share, if any, were lost in the noise that had now become deafening. The ball would not stop, would not acknowledge her existence. It kept destroying everything in its path, just as it would soon destroy her. Mandy, paralyzed with fear, did the only thing she could do in that moment. She closed her eyes and screamed with every inch of force and emotion she had within her. As Mandy opened her eyes, her world became nothing but a smear. Much like the catgirls from earlier, the beings that stood over here were nothing but blobs, with something near their tops moving up and down. "...waking up!" Those words came clear as day, though she had no idea who they belonged to. She tried blinking in order to restore her vision, but it hardly helped, only serving to color the blobs. A moan eked out of her as she raised a hand to her forehead and began rubbing it. The words "my head" were formed by her mouth, but she wasn't sure if her vocal cords had worked together to create the sounds that formed them. "Oh, thank odd you're okay!" The blood rushing through her bony skull, her squishy brain, all of her nerves and vessels and matter, was cacophonous. It was like the heartbeat of a cat as heard through a stethoscope. As such, she couldn't tell who had expressed such joy that she was awake. Wait...I'm awake? I'm still alive? ...No. This can't be. I'm in the place above or something. I'm in another dream. This isn't reality. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. She became aware of her heart thrumming in her chest. But if I'm dead, why am I feeling so dizzy? Why do I have all these sensations...? "Where am I?" The words came out without warning. She didn't know if they had sound to them or not. "You're in your room." one of the blobs responded, with a sort of low voice. "You were out for an entire week! Two extra-strength tranquilizer darts...I'm surprised you weren't out for longer!" If Mandy was in her room, she didn't really see it. She tried blinking again, but only another small part of her vision became restored. Now, she could see that the blobs had features -- clothing, limbs, faces, hair. But it was still hard for her to make out who was who. "All right, everyone lay off of her." another voice chimed, as its owner pushed her way through. "Mandy? Are you up for eating or drinking?" A drink. That sounded like a good idea. Mandy gave a slow singular nod. "All right. I'll bring you some water first. Be right back!" The blob moved away. Mandy could now identify it as being an Odd Squad employee, though who it was, she didn't know. "Mandy?" Another blob, decked in yellow and white, moved forward, with something white seemingly floating next to it. "Is it okay if I wipe your face? You're sweating a lot." Another nod. Mandy felt something cold on her face that sent a shiver through her body, but she didn't wince, instead wheezing out a small murmur of thanks. "You've been through a lot, Mandy." yet another blob spoke. It reached out something to Mandy that she could see was a hand attached to an arm that had to be attached to a shoulder and thus a body, but quickly retracted it. "You're crying!" Gently, Mandy touched her cheek. The wetness wasn't from whatever had been soaked in water and rubbed on her face. No, it came from...tears. Thick, ugly, desperate tears. And the more she thought about them, the more tears came. She ducked her head down to where no one could see, and cried. Cried about the white ball that had consumed her in the infinite darkness. Cried about what had happened with the catgirls that had mercilessly wounded her and sent her out of commission for a grand total of 168 hours. Cried about the anxiety and the grief of it all, and how she would probably never be normal again. The blobs all gathered around her, almost instinctively. She wanted to scream at them, tell them to stay away from her. But the scream she gave wasn't so much a scream as it was a pitiful, strangled wail. Memories of her horrible dream flashed in her mind, becoming warped and twisted. The scream she gave as the white ball swallowed her up was ingrained in her mind and played on an endless loop. "Mandy, what's wrong?" She couldn't answer the voice right away. Her eyes were becoming reddened and dry. Her lap was becoming damp. She was still stuck in a state of seemingly-endless anxiety and all she could do was quiver and cry as these blobs offered their condolences. It almost sickened her how vulnerable she was. Suddenly, her upper body was jerked to the right and held by a pair of arms. She squirmed and yelped, but whoever was holding her was not only so keen on letting her go, they were also super-strong. And there were only two people she knew who were super-strong. With tears still clouding her vision, she stopped resisting, glanced up, and found a face staring back at her. It was only a blurry smear, but it held a level of warmth within it that calmed her down a little. "Bad dream?" it murmured. "It's all okay now. Remember, what you experienced wasn't real. You have all of us here to protect you." Mandy hiccuped and sniffled. She was still crying, but little by little, the ghosts of anxiety that lived within her disappeared. As she angled her head towards the being's chest, she felt a nice, steady heartbeat, coupled with the sensation of being rocked. "I'm so glad you're safe, Mandy. Otto and I fought hard for your sake." It held up a glass of water to her face. "Here. Drink this." Eagerly, Mandy took the glass, her eyes widening as she realized just how shaky her hands were. Still, she chugged the glass and got done with it in just a few sips. Her mouth and throat became filled with hydration, and she found herself able to speak again after pronouncing the sounds of a few letters. "W-who...who are you?" "Aww, c'mon. Don't you recognize me?" the being said. "I'm your mother." The pieces began falling into place now. Mandy tried rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hand in order to restore her vision, and suddenly she found herself with clearer sight than before. She could now make out the blobs as being everyone in her family -- the six ponies, Peaches, Otto, and Oprah had all gathered in what she now knew to be her room. Seeing them there made her anxiety go away tenfold. Whatever that white ball had done to her, it had given her life back. I...really am alive. Momma and Otto told me about the place up above...and it's nothing like this. It's filled with clouds and a big gate and stuff. I'm alive! Her tail wagged, and she smiled for the first time in what felt like decades. She twisted her body around within Olive's grasp, giving a relieved cry of "Momma!" before wrapping her arms around her in a hug. "That water did the trick, huh?" Olive returned the hug and then some. "It's good to see you up and at it." Now that Mandy was free from the binds of the horrid dream she had experienced and the fear it had brought her, she could move on to the questions she wanted answered. "W-what happened?! Where are those catgirls? A-are they gonna come back? Are the students okay? Can you give me all the details?" "Only if you stop asking questions." Sure enough, Mandy fell silent, staring up at her adoptive mother with big round blue eyes. "Those catgirls you came across were, quite obviously, from Vallea." Olive rolled her eyes. "Otto and I...we, uh...we took care of them. We beat them good and sent them flying to the next dimension. Like what we did with Orino!" If Mandy was aware of Olive's intentional hiding as to what had actually gone down, she didn't show it, instead giving a grateful smile. "Oh good!" "As for the students, all of them are fine. After Professor O corralled them back outside, he took you to the Medical building to get treated." "Really?" Mandy's eyes began to shimmer. "Oh, I gotta give him my thanks! I-is he around?" "He came to visit you earlier on his break." Olive rubbed the hybrid's head again. "But I'm sure he'll come to visit you again." She glanced at the doorway. "Do you want some food? I'm happy to make you anything you want." A yawn slipped from Mandy's lips as she imagined the food coma she would soon find herself in. "Surprise me! As long as it's filling!" "So a lot of food, then." Olive gently pushed Mandy off of her and chuckled. "I'll go get started. Otto, Rainbow Dash, you two wouldn't mind a trip to the Chair Room to get a chair, would you?" Rainbow tilted her head. "Nah, we wouldn't mind...but why? Mandy's gonna eat in bed, isn't she?" "It's for me." Otto gave a shrug. "All right." As the pair headed out, Olive's attention turned to the others. "You all are free to go back to whatever you're doing. I'll take over from here." "A-are you sure?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm positive. Things will be fine." Olive had to bite her tongue to refrain from adding "with me in charge". Oprah nodded. "All right, agents, back to work." She clapped twice, and the five ponies still in the room quickly booked it out the door to get back to work. "If you'd like..." Peaches raised a finger. "I can keep an eye on Mandy for you while you cook." "Sure. Thank you, Peaches." Olive made her way towards the doorway. "Put her to bed, why don't you? She's swaying on her feet." Sure enough, Mandy was, indeed, swaying back and forth, her head bowed as she tried to fight hard to stay awake. Peaches watched Olive leave, then sighed and shook her head. "Mandy, you just woke up from a week-long coma and one of the first things you do is decide to go to sleep?" She poked her in the shoulder. "Don't you need to go to the Bathroom, at least?" Slowly, Mandy raised her head. Stared at Peaches. Began to meander her way towards the doorway. "Ah, m-maybe it's best if I, uh...go with you, huh?" Peaches nervously laughed as she followed her cousin. "Don't want you falling asleep at the sink again like what happened last month, right?" It took about five minutes for Mandy to finish. By the time she got back with Peaches in tow, a rocking chair was placed beside the bed, which Olive was sitting in. Next to her was a small black table with a tray of food on it, in all sorts of kinds and varieties. Next to it was a tall glass of water. "I resorted to quick meals." the Director admitted. "But they're very filling! Eat all you want." Mandy eyed the meals with intrigue. A fair bit of energy was granted to her on a temporary basis, enough for her to begin hungrily chowing down on plate after plate. "Get this." Peaches said. "Mandy wants to go back to sleep! After she just woke up from a coma!" Olive eyed the catgirl oddly. "Like you think I didn't know that?" She shrugged. "If Mandy wants to go back to sleep, then let her. At least she'll have better dreams." As Mandy ate the last bite of frozen waffles, she gave a rather loud belch and a satisfied sigh, her tail wagging steadily. "Pardon me..." "Now there's the sign of a happy hybrid!" Olive smiled. "Let's get you into bed. I'd imagine you want actual sleep instead of...uh..." She faltered. "Whatever you were in when you were in your coma." A noisy yawn forced its way out of Mandy, and she slowly ambled towards her bed. Peaches and Olive watched as she slowly climbed into it, snuggled under the sheets, and yawned again. "Momma...can you read me...a..." It was like someone had flicked a light switch. She was asleep within seconds, snoring away and muttering incomprehensible things that showed she had been rocket-launched into her own personal dreamland. "Well, at least she made it to bed." Peaches shrugged. "Beats falling asleep with a syrupy plate stuck to her cheek. And then having her lick the plate. And then having her eat the plate." "That has to be the fast food-coma-to-sleep rate I've seen from her yet. I should note that for the record." Olive took a seat in the chair. "You wouldn't mind cleaning up, would you?" "No, but...what are you doing, exactly?" "I'm going to keep an eye on Mandy to make sure she's safe." Olive explained. "I also just...need some time to think. About what happened last week." Peaches bit her lip. She, along with everyone else in Mandy's immediate family, had gotten the full story of what Olive had done. Neither Olive nor Otto had told the Big O yet, out of fear of the consequences that would be brought upon them. Whether what Olive did was the morally right thing to do or not varied depending on whom one asked -- Oprah, for example, was against it, while Rainbow Dash was all for it aside from complaining that Olive didn't use her fists instead. Peaches was in a sort of undecided gray area, as she wasn't sure whether Olive killing three catgirls from her hometown had been a good thing or a bad thing. She didn't know them personally, but it did get her thinking for the entire week. "All right. Don't forget, if you need to talk, my door's open." Peaches took the tray and began heading for the kitchen, turning the lights off and closing the door behind her. Olive sat in the chair, a yawn of her own escaping her. She felt like she looked as old as she was, just rocking back and forth in the chair ever so gently, hearing Mandy's raucous snores as she muttered something about raccoons, and growing tired herself. She hadn't gotten much sleep over the past few days, and even talking with Otto, who was also suffering from a lack of proper sleep, hadn't helped. Her eyes began to droop involuntarily. Before she knew it, a movie began to play in her mind, one of all sorts of different oddities waiting to greet her. Mandy wasn't sure what time it was when she awoke, and if she was being honest, she didn't care at the moment. She was still too wrapped up in relief that she didn't get sent to that awful void of black again. As she yawned, her body rattled, and she glanced around the room. The sound of snoring that wasn't her own tickled her eardrums, and she turned her head to the right as she lit up her horn to see who had fallen asleep in her room. Momma? Mandy took in the Director's slumped and leaned position, her arm draped over her stomach, and the drool that was dripping out of her mouth. Wow, she never sleeps like that! She must be really tired. But why is she here and not back at her Headquarters? An idea occurred to the hybrid right then. Her eyes widening as the drowsiness began to wear off, she swung her legs over the bed, got up, and stealthily crept towards the door, slipping out of the room and making a beeline for the Breakroom. From there, she grabbed as many bowls as she could and cooked using whatever ingredients she had in the immediate vicinity. Agents stopped what they were doing to ogle her talented and pristine skills as she chopped, cooked, and crafted her culinary delights. After about a half-hour, she was done. She made her way back to her room, where Olive was still fast asleep, and turned on the light. While she had expected it to make her stir a little, it did absolutely nothing instead. As she placed the tray on the black table, she stared at her adoptive mother, wondering if she should wake her. She knew she shouldn't, but at the same time, the food she had made would go cold if someone didn't eat it. So, against her better judgment, she prodded Olive. "Momma? Momma, wake up!" The Director awoke with a jolt. "Huhwha?! N-no, I didn't do it, it was Otto, all Otto!" Her eyes went half-lidded, and she gave a moan. "What...?" "Hiya!" Mandy put on an apologetic look. "I didn't wanna wake ya, but I figured since you cooked a whole bunch of food for me, I'd cook a whole bunch of food for you as a thank-you!" She pushed the table and the tray towards her. "Eat up!" Olive sleepily stared at the food and rubbed her eyes. "Mandy...you didn't have to." "I didn't have to, no. But I wanted to!" Mandy stared at the food. "And, um...you can consider this an apology as well." "An apology? For what?" "I meant to show you and Otto a fun time at the Academy, but then the whole shmishkaboodle happened and I never got to finish the tour..." Olive smiled. "Don't apologize, Mandy. It wasn't your fault. Besides, being at the Academy again was actually kind of fun." She took a bite of the BLT that sat in front of her, relishing the taste. "You have some great friends, too. Maybe we can take another trip sometime. Preferably when our lives aren't in danger." "I'd like that." Mandy's tail wagged. "How's the food? I-if it's undercooked or somethin' I can always redo-" "No, no! It's great. Thank you." Olive took another bite of the sandwich. "When I'm done, though...I think I need to resume my nap." "Yeah, about that...you haven't been sleeping well, have you?" "I...how'd you know?" "You're starting to get bags under your eyes." Olive pulled out a mirror from behind her back, and yelped. Sure enough, two dark bags hung heavily under her eyes, making her look like she had a severe case of sleep deprivation. She had never really looked hard enough in the mirror -- particularly, the mirror in her bathroom -- to notice them. And her agents hadn't said a word, as far as she knew. She heaved a sigh. "I look awful!" "Yeah, ya do." Mandy said, not pulling any punches when it came to delivering honesty. "If you got as much sleep as I did, you wouldn't have those bags!" "If I got as much sleep as you do, nothing would get done at my precinct." Olive pointed out, taking an even bigger bite of her sandwich. "Is there anywhere I can sleep?" "You can use my bed!" Mandy shrugged. "You've done it before. And you're right here, anyway." Olive simply nodded. And then, right then and there, she made a decision, knowing that for how much she desired sleep, it would escape her as long as the pressing issue weighed on her mind. "Mandy, I..." She grit her teeth. "We need to talk." "We're doin' that right now!" "No, no! Be serious for a moment, would you?" Olive set the sandwich down. "I'm going to...try and spit it out. You deserve to know the truth." "The truth about what?" "What I did to those catgirls." Olive spoke hurriedly, almost reaching "Mandy motor mouth" status. "The thing is, I didn't throw them. I did beat them up, but I-I killed them too!" Mandy's eyes widened. She stared at Olive for what felt like days, her mouth hanging open until she was finally able to string words together. "You wha?!" Olive shut her eyes, fearing the worst. "I...Momma...wow. That's...ha...wow." Before Olive knew it, she heard a snort. A chuckle. And then a full-on belly laugh. She opened her eyes, fixing Mandy with a look of confusion. "W-what's so funny?" Mandy didn't answer her. She just kept on laughing, clutching her stomach and rolling around on the floor as her legs flailed to and fro. "I-it really happened, you know! I killed them! All three of them!" Strangled inhales of air followed a Mandy desperate to regain her breath. "Oh..." She coughed. "I'm...ugh...man, of all the news...of all the news..." Olive simply stared. Mandy slowly rose to her feet. "Why am I not surprised, huh?" "...What?" "It may not be in my moral code to kill anyone...but for these catgirls, the ones who have harmed Peaches for so many years, the ones that keep coming after me and you and everyone else in Odd Squad..." Mandy crossed her arms. "Killing them seems like the only solution. After all, I dunno if throwing Orino was enough to kill him. Not the fall that kills ya, as they say..." Listening to her talk, Olive honestly wasn't sure whether Mandy was nonsensically rambling or if she was being genuine, but perhaps it was a mix of both going by how she was still talking. "They say that blood tastes like metal but when it comes from an animal that isn't a human does it taste like meat? I should note that for the next time I attend a bihillology class..." "Mandy?" "Hm?" The hybrid's tail twitched. "What's up?" "You're...uh...you're going a bit off-topic again." A pause. "I am?" Mandy scratched at a pony ear. "Ah. Well. So I am, so I am." She sat on her bed. "So what did you kill them with, exactly?" Olive sighed, reached behind her back, and pulled out her weapon. "Wow. Wowee!" Mandy eyed it with intrigue. "It's a ray gun! You killed them with a ray gun?" "Yeah. I was just so scared and enraged that I pulled out the first thing I had that I knew would cause major damage." Olive wisely tucked it away behind her back again before Mandy could grab it and run off. "You've been harmed so many times by these catpeople, Mandy. I don't know if they genuinely want to hurt you, if they've been brainwashed or hypnotized or...whatever by King Ashero..." She paused. "But whatever the case is, rest assured I'm more than willing to deliver harsh consequences to them." "Good!" Mandy pointed at the BLT. "Now are you gonna eat your sammich?" Olive smiled. "All right, all right. But only because I know what'll happen if I leave it unattended." Mandy watched her eat more of her sandwich for a few moments, the saliva coating her tongue as she felt the mini-her begin pounding on the walls of her stomach. Nearly every inch of her was telling her to not eat the food out of courtesy, but at the same time, she knew she made way too much food for Olive's not-so-voracious appetite to handle. Giving an amused smile, Olive set down a plate of steak, cooked well-done. "Here. If you want it, then by all-" Her eyes widened. "...means." Mandy already had half of the steak in her mouth, chewing it happily. And then she stopped, her eyes widening. "What's wrong?" Olive reached out a hand. "A-are you choking? Do I need to do the Heimlich?" Mandy swallowed the other half without chewing it. "No! I-I hafta go apologize to the students at the Academy! And Otto! I hafta apologize to him too!" Her heart rate slowing down significantly, Olive's eyes moved towards her wrist, where she pulled her suit and undershirt back to check her watch. "It's 7:29. In the..." She squinted in an attempt to read the slat on the watch's face that would read either AM or PM. "Evening." As she covered up the watch again, she fixed Mandy with a smile. "You can apologize to them tomorrow. As a matter of fact, I can give Otto an apology on your behalf when I get back to Headquarters. How about that?" "But I wanna apologize to him in-person..." The Director couldn't fault her for that. "Well, if you really want to, he should be back at Head-" By the time she looked up, she was staring at a dust trail that quickly dissipated. "...quarters." Giving a shrug, she went back to eating her sandwich, and resolved to hurry up with it before the rest of the food went bad. The next day, Mandy shot out of bed, rushed through her morning routine, wolfed down breakfast, and zoomed to the Odd Squad Academy as fast as her wings would take her, which was nearly Rainbow Dash levels of fast. Within her haste, she forgot to calculate the hundreds of thousands of Academy students, meaning that she would have to go to the principal's office to page them. Luckily, she knew well where the office was and was there within a minute, throwing the door wide open. A red-haired girl sat on the other side of a C-shaped desk. "Hi! I'm sorry, but if you're looking-" "For a speaker? Yes I am." Mandy hopped up onto the desk and leaned close into the girl's face. "I need one. I need to speak to the entirety of the school." "T-the..." The girl blinked. "I, u-uh, c-can't permit you to do that, Agent...um..." "Are you the principal?" "No..." "That's what I thought." Mandy put on a lopsided grin that managed to make the girl's eyes grow wide. "Point me to her office." "S-she's not taking any visi-" Mandy cut the girl off with a loud exaggerated groan. "Isn't there an assembly or something? Where I can speak to the entirety of the school?" The girl glanced to her right, where a paper with a list of important school dates sat. "Well, t-there's one-" "Lemme see!" Mandy forcefully grabbed the papers that could potentially be in the girl's line of vision with her magic and leaned back. One by one she picked through them, muttering to herself before settling on one in particular. Her pupils widened. She began bobbing up and down with excitement. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "Yesyesyes, there's one today! It's perfect! Who's speaking? Clear your spots! Tell 'em I'm speakin'! And I'll be the sole speaker! You know who I am, I'm sure you'll relay the news to 'em, right? Once I speak then I can apologize to all the students and assure them that everything's fine and no one got hurt and I'm fine and Momma's fine and Otto's fine and those catgirls are fine and the school's fine and everything's fine! Oh, but you should prolly tell the principal 'cause I don't think she'd be very happy that I'm skearheadin' the entire assembly that's probably about 'don't do drugs' and 'don't talk to strangers unless they're clients' and all that jazz. She loves me, sure, but I don't think she'd be-" "Security's here!" The unisonant shout made Mandy give a yelp of surprise and fall forward, flailing her arms before collapsing on the desk and tumbling to the floor just as the girl moved her swivel chair out of the way. A crash sounded from right next to the hybrid, a crash that she knew all too well as the sound of a desktop computer meeting the floor. "All right, what's going o-" One of the Security agents, clad in riot gear, eyed the groaning Mandy. "Huh? Mandy? What're you doing?" "Hurting...oh so much..." "Can you stand up?" With both hands placed firmly on the floor, Mandy rose to her feet. The red-headed girl eyed the hybrid with fear and suspicion, even in spite of the four Security officers that had come to presumably take her away. "Care to explain what's going on, ma'am?" another Security agent asked of the girl. "I...w-well, this agent j-just came in here and...she demanded a speaker! And I t-told her I can't let her..." The agent sighed. "Are you a new hire, ma'am?" "Y-yes? I only started around a month ago." "That explains it." The second agent pointed to a Mandy that was now being hauled away by the agent that was helping her. "That's Agent Mandy. She's known for being a little...how do I put this without hurting her feelings..." The second agent scratched his cheek. "She's a little eccentric. Like a little ball of electricity. This kind of stuff is normal for her." The girl looked visibly scared. "I..." She glanced at Mandy, who was chatting away with the first agent while winging her arms up and down. "I see. I had heard of Mandy, but not much..." "You get used to it." The second agent gave a smile. "I'm sorry she scared you." "I-it's...it's fine!" The girl let a nervous giggle slip from her lips. "I've seen worse, really..." "-and you don't understand, this apology is very important to me!" "But you didn't have to go around scaring innocent people!" "I didn't!" Mandy protested. "She wasn't listening to me!" "Maybe because none of what you said made sense?" "I made perfect sense! I wanted a speaker so I could speak to the entire school and apologize for what happened a week ago!" That made the first agent stop. "About the rabid girls?" "Yeah! About the ra-" Mandy blinked. "The rabbit I'm sorry now?" "The rabid girls. The ones who were cosplaying as catpeople." the agent explained. "They pulled some kind of a prank and two Odd Squad Directors dealt with them. With fireworks, I was told." Mandy had a whirlwind of questions running through her brain all of a sudden. "If they're rabbit girls, why do they need to cosplay as catpeople? Momma and Otto wouldn't defeat anyone with fireworks, what, were they celebrating Odd Squad's one-millionth cosplayer? Where'd that rumor come from? Do you have more rumors? Preferably about the stude-" "All right, all right, let's not get carried away." The agent rubbed his forehead with one hand and made a dismissive handwave with the other. "You didn't have any coffee today, did you?" "No." Mandy's eyes shimmered. "Do you have some? Can I have some? The Big O doesn't know yet and I'm waiting for the day she finds out!" The agent narrowed his eyes. "No." he responded pointedly. "Now, I'd like you to go apologize to that girl over there." "That who over where?" "The girl over there." "But there are tons of 'em!" Mandy blinked. "No, wait, there are only ten. I think. As an estimate." "The redhead!" The agent thrust an index finger at the girl who was placing her broken computer back onto her desk and heaving a mighty sigh. Mandy went tight-lipped for a moment. "If I do, can I have some coffee?" A pause. The agent didn't answer. "Please?" Still no answer. "Fine. A chocolate chip cookie that's more chip than cookie?" The agent's expression relaxed just a little. "All right. Now go apologize." Mandy stuck out her tongue at him, then slunk over to the girl and laid her cheek on the desk, her eyes drifting towards a doorway that led into a hall. "Look. You don't know me. I don't know you. I want one simple thing. You want..." She blinked. "Well, actually, I dunno what you want." "I want you to pay for damages to my computer, for starters." the girl responded. "And for my part, I don't know what you want, either." "I want a speaker. I want to speak to the entire school about an important matter." Mandy said, spitting out the words with venom. "You're lucky I didn't use my fame to get what I wanted like some big hotshot kid villain." "Mhm." The girl moved her chair back to its original position, sat down in it, and began sorting through papers. "You realize why I had to call Security?" "They know me. It's prolly the only reason why my butt isn't slidin' across the walkway." The girl sighed, knowing that reasoning with this biological anomaly was out of the question. "Look. Why don't we...start over? With proper introductions?" She stuck her hand out. "I'm Obregonia." Mandy's eyes moved from the hallway to the girl. "Mandy. Not shaken, not stirred, but I like my food and drinks both ways." She lifted up her right arm and placed her hand in Obregonia's, shaking it up and down. "Charmed." "Are you always this depressing?" Jerking her hand away and letting it droop like a limp noodle at her side, Mandy glared at the girl. "No. But if you let me speak at that assembly today, I might feel a little better. Just a smidge-smoodge." Obregonia sighed for what felt like the millionth time in the span of just...she checked the clock...fifteen minutes. "I'll see what I can coordinate with the principal when she comes back." Mandy swiveled her head so that it was her chin resting on the desk now. "Really?" "Really." From one to ninety-nine went Mandy's mood. Her eyes began to shimmer again. "Really really?" "Really really." In truth, Mandy could have kept going until her lungs collapsed, but a double-confirmation was fine by her. She gasped and lunged for Obregonia, scooping her up in a big hug. "Oh thank you thank you thank you! Please, do your very best! I hafta speak to all the students, today! It's a crisis!" "It's not a definite." Obregonia reminded. "But rest assured, I'll do my best." She coughed as Mandy began to squeeze her tighter. "Also, please put me down and get your dirty shoes off my desk." Mandy did as she was told. Obregonia peered past her and glanced at the four Security agents. "Thank you. You're free to go now." "Are you sure?" the first agent asked. "'Cause Mandy didn't apo-" In one swift movement with one curly tail, the four agents were shoved out the door and had it closed in their faces. And then Mandy opened it again, sticking only her hand out and making a "gimme" gesture with her fingers. "The cookie." The first agent begrudgingly complied, and took out a chocolate chip cookie that looked like it had been baked with exactly one bagful of chocolate chips. Mandy took it, slammed the door, and ate it in one bite, relishing the taste. "Aren't you going with them?" Obregonia asked, in a tone that clearly conveyed a desire for Mandy to leave. "Nope! I'm gonna stay here 'til the principal comes back and leaves room for me to speak at the assembly." Mandy hopped in a chair, pulled an issue of Shmumber Nature out from behind her back, and got to reading. Obregonia simply rolled her eyes, sat back down in her chair, and got back to work cleaning up the dirt that was left behind on her desk. At least if Mandy was quiet, she would be no bother, and that was all she cared about. Sure enough, once the principal gave the okay for Mandy to speak at the school assembly -- after lots and lots of begging, and some bribery -- she was the first speaker there. In fact, she was the only speaker there, going on for a full half-hour about the events of last week, why it's a bad idea to treat straight sugar as a drug, and how to succeed in running a cell phone company without even trying. A lot of students listened to the ramblings of their senior, but many more were just plain uninterested. A few had been marked as absent when the incident took place. Following the assembly, Mandy drank an entire bottle of water, marking its emptiness with a satisfied "aah". Her eye only barely caught Hazelblossom, Blue Lily, Ribbon Twirl and Strawberry Parchment rushing up to her. "Mandy!" Hazelblossom called out. "You're okay!" "Course I am, silly! Why wouldn't I be?" "I heard that you got tranquilized. One of the Doctors at the Medical facility said that they weren’t sure how long you’d be out for!" Ribbon Twirl did a flip in the air. "I knew you would come out strong!" She turned to the others. "Told you all!" Strawberry gave a playful roll of her eyes and rested her hooves on Mandy's leg. "How're you feeling?" "Great!" Mandy replied. "It's nice to see you three again. Hopefully you're doin' well!" "I got straight O’s on my homework assignment!" Blue Lily trotted in place excitedly. "Agent Twilight Sparkle was willing to help me!" "And I passed my quiz!" Strawberry chimed in. "Oh, that's amazing! Good job, both of you!" Blue Lily tilted her head. "Are you here for your weekly visit? Or just for the assembly?" "Ah, just the assembly. I had to find some way to calm down all the students! I waited forever and a day!" Mandy snickered. "Could've been worse. I could've been at a sah-ree!" Hazelblossom raised a hoof. "I, um...think the correct term is 'soiree'." "Sah-ree, schma-dee." Mandy waved her hand about in a dismissive manner. "Anyway, while I'm here, why don't I teach you guys some magic and flight tricks? It's the least I could do after my last visit was cut short!" The four ponies all cheered excitedly, as Mandy led them away to a free and open space where she could teach them all that she had to offer. After all, she loved the students of the Academy, and they loved her in equal measure. And that love was something she aimed to keep and maintain for as long as she was able to.
S1E31: A Catty Sibling RivalryDeep within the Magical Grasslands, far from where Mandy and Haruko usually met, sat an illustrious kitsune. With fur as soft as the clouds, eyes that shone like rubies, and tails that sparked with only the fiercest sparks of electricity, she stared at her one and only daughter sitting in front of her. "Haruko. Listen to me." She placed a gentle paw on the other kitsune's cheek. "Mandy is a kind, generous, loyal, honest, amusing, and magical soul. And it is you who has made her that way throughout all these years, where Annabelle and Kieran could not." A warm smile crossed her features. "As such, it is your job to continue to aid her in finding out where they are, and aid her in her war against Vallea." Haruko, for her part, had to resist rolling her eyes. "When you say it like that, Mother, it sounds quite a lot like you are just giving exposition. Exposition on things that I am already aware of." "Perhaps. But it does not hurt to give a little reminder." Mother smiled. "However, that is not what I have come to tell you." "Then what?" "You once told Mandy that she would need to find her true origins soon, correct?" Mother didn't wait for an answer before she continued. "I am afraid that time is on the horizon. It is coming soon, very soon." "What?" Haruko blinked. "What do you mean?" "Within a day's time, Mandy is set to undergo a big change in her overall appearance. With this change comes not only a tool that shall aid her in the war, but a clue towards her bloodline that will prove to be very valuable in her journey." Haruko didn't need more than five seconds to connect the dots, but that didn't mean she didn't react in surprise all the same. "I..." She struggled to get words out for a moment, leaving her mouth hanging open. "I see." Mother continued. "Furthermore, I see the one you call 'Olive' is acting just a mite more stubborn than usual. I would imagine she has gotten wind of Mandy's eventual departure." A soft sigh left her body. "I would strongly suggest you find her, take her to the Magical Grasslands, and discuss things with her." "Why not have her come here herself?" "She does not believe we, nor this place, nor its inhabitants, are real." Mother shook her head in clear disapproval. "She thinks it is nothing more than a fantastical realm that Mandy has conjured up from her own boundless imagination." Haruko felt a pang of disappointment, particularly about Olive denying her existence and that of her family and friends as nothing more than fictional. She knew the girl had a good heart, though -- after all, she had witnessed her love for Mandy in action, and it was clear that she had nothing but good intentions, albeit deeply misguided ones. And she was sure most anyone in the world of the living would laugh her off if she told them about the Magical Grasslands. Even its very name implied some sense of mythicality. She nodded. "All right. If not because I fear that Mandy hating Olive will lead to nothing but ruin in her future, then because bringing her adoptive mother into the loop will be for the better." She met her mother's smile. "Thank you, Mother." "It is no problem, my little Haruko. Do stay safe, and please, keep protecting Mandy until her dying breath. It is, after all, your destiny." As Mother turned to leave, Haruko's jaws parted to ask her another question. However, the other kitsune disappeared into a mass of sparkles before Haruko could get a word out, and so she was forced to move her gaze to the stars as she retreated into her own mind. The life of Mandy is in a state of direness right now. Between finding her true origins, dealing with Olive's overprotective nature, and her upcoming war against Vallea, it is almost impossible to believe how she is able to still stand strong despite it all. But I know she will come through in the end. She always does. Lying down on the grass, Haruko laid her chin down on her front legs and let her eyes slowly close. As Mandy woke up, she gave a snort as she opened her eyes. Something inside of her brain told her to put something fun on the ceiling in the event that she woke up on her back like today -- having just a white-noise machine up there looked terribly drab and she was amazed how Rarity hadn't said anything about it yet -- but it was quickly shoved into the deep recesses to make room for the top priority of waking up. Headache aside, of course. She sat up in bed, her jaws parted in a yawn. The second she began to exhale, however, a piece of paper was forcefully shoved into her mouth, causing her to stop for a few moments. "Wh'ffuh...?" "Mandy! Tell me who left this note, right now!" It took Mandy a few moments to register who, exactly, was speaking to her. The form was fuzzy in her vision, but the voice, though muffled, was unmistakable. "...Huh?" "Don't play dumb!" Peaches placed her hands on her hips. "Surely you know who left this!" The note popped out of Mandy's mouth, and she was free to go back to yawning at the same time that she shook her head, an "mm-mm" noise rattling about in her throat. Peaches' expression, coupled with the sweat dripping down her face, showed that she was having a hard time keeping herself from strangling her cousin. "Here, maybe if I read it to you it’ll jog your memory." She took the note and opened it, the drool that was on it miraculously not touching any of the words. To Peaches: I bet I can catch more prey than you! But if you think you can do better, then give it a shot. Anonymous She huffed. "Can’t Odd Squad identify it by the handwriting or something?" "Peach, pleazze...not zzo early..." "It's noon." It took a third yawn for Mandy to decide to reach for her drink, downing it in one go. "Look, are you gonna help me find who wrote this or not?" Mandy rubbed her head. "I dunno who wrote your lil’ note, but I have a splittin’ headache and I’m gonna need y’ t’ not shout in my ears…" That earned her a growl, although one that wasn't aimed at her so much as it was aimed at the entirety of the world. "Fine then, Anonymous! I don’t know who you are, but I accept your challenge! I’ll catch the most prey of any cat in Toronto! No, any cat in Canada! You’ll see!" Watching her storm out and slam the door behind her, Mandy gave an irritated groan, wanting to flop back down on the bed but resorting to swinging her legs over the side and getting up instead. Her headache only served to grow with every step she took, and she knew that if she wanted to have a peaceful day, something had to be done about it. At her desk, a fully-groomed and properly-dressed Mandy had finished the last of her aspirin dose, setting down the glass of water. "Aah...here's hopin' that works." she murmured, reaching for the batch of paperwork that had been left next to her computer. A loud bang startled the hybrid, making her yelp and jump up a little in her chair. Her knees collided with her desk hard enough to send the glass toppling over onto its side, which was, to her luck, completely empty. Blinking a few times, she slowly turned her head towards her cousin, who was bending over a metal bucket filled to the brim with all sorts of dead animals, some more brutally murdered than others. It made her stomach turn a little, even in spite of the massive amount of food she had eaten for brunch. "I...did it..." the catgirl wheezed out. "Peeeeeeach, what did I tell ya when I woke up? C'mon, I'm sufferin' here! I just took painkillers!" Mandy complained. "I caught all the...prey I could find..." "And you...put it in a bucket?" Peaches straightened up. "To put in the freezer!" Mandy narrowed her eyes. "The only time you are putting dead animals in the freezer is when I am a decaying corpse being eaten by the magpies." To her surprise, Peaches easily relented, giving an irritated sigh. "Fine. But still." She crossed her arms and gave a smirk. "I'd like to see little ol' Anonymous top that. They think they've got me beat, but oh-ho-ho no, not by a long shot." "Y’know, I’ve never really seen you as the competitive type." Mandy pointed out. "Although you definitely went a little crazy when you attended the last Burly Bears game with Momma and I. It almost unnerved Momma! And she showed up in a cheerleader uniform once! A cheerleader uniform! For the one who would rather wear skirts over pairs of jeans!" "I was branded as an outcast back in Vallea. Everyone thought I couldn’t do anything, not even fend for myself. Me living has proved them wrong, but…" Peaches shrugged. "I feel like rubbing a little salt in the wound." Already growing tired of the boastful talk, Mandy's attention moved back to her desk. "Mm. Well, you have fun with that. I’ll be over here tryna make a livin’. I’ve been fallin’ behind on paperwork lately…beats me as to why." Peaches picked up the bucket and held it out to her cousin. "You sure you don't want any prey?" "I-I'm good. Eating stuff like birds and mice isn't really my thing. And I had a big brunch, anyway." "Eh, suit yourself. Your loss." Suddenly, Mandy began to develop a horrifying feeling -- a horrifying feeling that Peaches would be coming to her desk every few hours ranting about the "Anonymous" written on the note, give or take some. And of course, that meant she could never truly get into "the zone" when it came to her work. Silently sobbing, she grabbed a piece of paperwork and began scanning it over, dreading the next time that Peaches would suddenly appear in front of her again. It was only an hour later that Mandy had finished her paperwork, entering the last of the information from the paperwork of Case #3,099,365 into the computer. "Finally, done." She tapped her head. "And my headache's finally gone away too!" As if on cue, her stomach chimed in to say its piece, giving a hearty growl. "And I'm hungry! Clearly all that food for brunch wasn't enough!" Just as she stood up, the sound of a jingling bell caught her attention. It could barely be heard by anyone else at her distance, but as she had two pairs of ears, her hearing was very much heightened so that the bell sounded like it was closer to her. Her gaze rested on an agent who was emerging from one of the hallways that flanked the double-doors, laughing about something she didn't really care too much about. Slowly, her pupils begun to widen, and her brain became overwritten with an animalistic instinct, one that would be far better suited for Peaches than her. She immediately sprung for the girl, landing in front of her and purring. The redhead glanced at the hybrid that was on her hands and knees in front of her. "Uh...can I help you with something?" A single happy meow was her only response. "I don't speak cat." the agent hesitantly remarked. "Maybe you should go see Dr. O?" Mandy's gaze became fixed on the bracelet made entirely out of bells that the girl was wearing. She poked at a single bell with a finger, giving a happy cry of elation that one wouldn't expect to come from a cat -- or a pony-human hybrid acting like a cat. The agent held out her arm. "Oh, you like my bell bracelet?" Mandy nodded in response, and she smiled. "I can tell. I love bells. The little jingles they make are always nice to hear." A bolt of inspiration struck her as she snapped her fingers. "Hey, you know, Bobby’s Big-Box Bells just opened up in town. He has lots of bells. You should go see him sometime!" Thrilled with the idea, Mandy gave a happy meow, shifting position so that her legs were sticking out in a V shape in front of her and her palms were resting on the floor. A second agent with dark skin and black hair came over, eyeing the scene with confusion. "Partner, what are you doing?" The redhead shot her partner a friendly smile. "This agent was admiring my bell bracelet." As she glanced at Mandy, the smile fell away, being replaced with a look of concern. "She, uh…might have Meow-itis or something. She keeps speaking in meows." As though not having noticed Mandy until now, the black-haired agent greeted her with a wave. "Hey, Mandy. So you like my partner's bell bracelet, huh?" Mandy scooched closer to the bracelet, not bothering to acknowledge the other agent outside of a small mew as her attention was otherwise turned to the accessory. "I understand. It's really pretty." That was the moment when Mandy chose to strike, lunging for the bracelet and clasping her teeth around the accessory. "H-hey! Let go!" the redhead cried out, trying desperately to wrench her wrist free from the hybrid's grip. However, with the bracelet as tightly attached as it was, it was clear that she wouldn't be getting off easy. Mandy's expression turned from excited to angry, her eyes narrowing as a growl came out of her. With the sudden mood switch came even harder tugs, which only served to hurt the other girl's wrist. "Mandy, stop! Don't hurt my partner!" "My bracelet!" From afar, Twilight and Rainbow Dash entered the bullpen, watching the entire fight go down with confused expressions. "What in the name of Celestia is going on?!" Rainbow, for her part, gave an apathetic shrug. "Nothing unusual. Just Mandy trying to eat a bracelet." "Come on, we have to stop her!" As both mares sprung into action and rushed towards the scene, Twilight took a mighty leap, landing in front of the combatants and turning around. "Everyone, stop!" With a great sense of timing, Mandy's next tug snapped the bracelet in two, breaking its circular shape and removing its grip on the redhead agent's wrist. The hybrid dropped the broken accessory onto the floor in front of her before being captured in a bubble of purple magic as she gave an angry yowl followed by an equally-angry hiss. The redhead stared at the bracelet for what felt like an eternity. "M-my bell bracelet! It's ruined!" she cried. "I used up all my earnings over three months just to buy that!" Rainbow gave a visible wince, while Twilight shot the girl an apologetic look before fixing her attention on Mandy, her gaze turning into one of concern. "Mandy, what's gotten into you? Why are you acting like a cat?" Instead of responding in English, Mandy responded in a flurry of angry meows, with the only sign of anyone being able to understand what she was saying being her frenzied gesticulations. "Uh, Twi? Can you translate?" Twilight gave a shrug. "Don't look at me, Rainbow. I don't speak cat." For a moment, she looked at the Creature Room, wondering if Fluttershy could help out, but was broken out of her thoughts by Mandy shaking her head. "Whuh-huh? What happened?" The hybrid's head whipped back and forth, and she pawed at the bubble in vain. "Why am I in a bubble?! Lemme out, lemme ooooout!" "You broke my bell bracelet!" yelled the redhead, thrusting an index finger at her captured coworker. "And now you're gonna pay for it!" "...I did?" The redhead blinked in bewilderment for a second or two. "What- yes! Yes you did!" She scooped up the bracelet in her hands, her body beginning to quiver with sadness and rage. "This was my favorite bracelet...and you and your...awful disgusting disease..." The dark-haired agent placed a supportive hand on his partner's shoulder, giving her an assuring smile. "C’mon, don’t get so distressed. I’ll help you buy a new one, partner. I have more than enough money to pay for it." Crumpling to her knees, the redhead bowed her head and began to cry, her tears staining the concrete floor. Her partner knelt down beside her, rubbing her back while giving some more encouraging words. Rainbow whirled on Mandy right then and there. "At least apologize to her, Mandy!" "B-but I don't know what I did! I..." Realizing there was no way she was going to be able to worm her way out of it, Mandy ceased her excuses and gave a resigned sigh. "All right, all right, I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did, or how I did it, but I’m sorry!" Twilight, satisfied with the apology, let the bubble burst right then and there, letting Mandy free-fall before the hybrid caught herself, spreading her wings and beginning to hover. Still, that didn't stop the alicorn from confronting her friend. "This isn't like you. Why did you break this agent's bracelet?" "I don’t know! I was going to get some food and then I heard a bell and next thing you know I was here!" "Maaaaaybe you just need some sleep." Rainbow suggested. "You have been complaining about getting a lot of headaches lately. And it doesn’t seem like painkillers are doing you any favors." Mandy bit her lip. She didn't feel tired, and the painkillers she had taken for her last headache had worked fine, but maybe she had been afflicted with oddness and didn't realize it, or she was having an off day. Maybe she was hallucinating this entire thing, and she was really in the Breakroom eating some food. She wasn't sure. A soft hum left her body as she mulled Rainbow's advice over. "At least pay for a new bracelet for this girl." Twilight said. "Oh, there's no need." "No!" The redhead interrupted her partner before he could, at least in her tear-ridden eyes, insist that he could pay for damages. "I want her to pay for it in full! 30 dollars! With interest!" "Interest?!" Mandy threw her hands into the air. "I'm not rich, ya know!" "Well then you shouldn’t have broken my bracelet! And I want it on my desk by end of week!" The deadline threw Mandy for a whirlwind. "End of week?!" All she could get out after that were stammers before her brain reminded her that all she was doing was digging a deeper hole, causing her to fall flat on the floor and have her body deflate like a popped balloon. If she had jinxed herself by wondering if Peaches was going to keep disturbing her... Well, she still jinxed herself. Just not with Peaches. Within the peaceful evening atmosphere of Olive's house, where the weather forecast played quietly as background noise, she and Otto enjoyed some fresh homemade brownies in an all-you-can-eat "Brownie Buffet Extravaganza", as Otto had called it. The plate that sat on the coffee table in the living room currently was full of brookies, which had quickly become their favorite pastry. The chocolate brownie mixing in with the chocolate chip cookie was nothing short of a delicious combination. As Olive stirred the batter for the third batch, this one of regular chocolate brownies, she heard a bang at the door that made her jump slightly, followed by a low muffled groan. "Someone's home, I'm armed, and do not think I won't apprehend you as an Odd Squad employee!" Silence. And then, a pitiful wail that became easily recognizable. "Oh, Mandy's at the door." Otto remarked, his tone neutral as he got up and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he found a pony-human hybrid lying face-down on the porch, her upper body that had been leaning on the door colliding with the floor like a snake that had somehow learned to twist a doorknob but had no limbs to actually walk inside. Another pitiful wail came forth, making Mandy's whole body ripple. "Mandy, come inside." said a resigned Olive, pouring the batter into the pan. "I experience enough wailing from the neighborhood cats." When Mandy didn't move after a few moments, Otto decided to drag her into the house by force, effortlessly propping her up on the couch like a life-size doll. However, her upper body quickly drooped forwards until her forehead was resting cleanly in her hands. "Uh, so, while Olive's busy..." Otto shot a glance towards the kitchen. "You seem troubled. Anything on your mind?" "Yeah I got somethin' on my mind. A headache. Tons of them. Either get me some painkillers or I'll find a butcher knife somewhere in there." Otto's eyes widened. Such empty declarations were certainly not like Mandy, but in a world where rules of anatomy and biology were turned on their heads, no one really knew what driving a knife through a brain could do to a human being, let alone a human being that had pony genes mixed in. "I'll...uh..." His gaze moved towards the kitchen again. "Olive, can Mandy have some of your painkillers?" "Medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Middle shelf." "All right, stay here, Mandy. I'll go get them." As Otto left, Olive moved into the living room. "In the meantime, do you want to tell us what else is on your mind? I'm sure you didn't come to my house just to mooch off of my medicine." She sat on the couch next to Mandy. "You don't usually get headaches. When you do, it's usually after you ram your head into something...provided you don't get knocked out first." Mandy didn't answer at first. She waited until Otto returned with some ibuprofen a minute later before she spilled all. "I was gonna go eat after a long day of work and I heard a bell jingling. Next thing I remember, I was trapped in a bubble by Agent Twilight and some other agent was crying about her bracelet being broken. Apparently I broke it and she wanted me to buy her a new one." "On purpose?" Otto asked. "Yeah, that's definitely not like you. How'd you break the bracelet?" An "oh, for odd's sake" slipped from Olive's lips, under her breath where no one could hear it. Luckily, Mandy was there to give him a gentle reminder in her stead, as she grabbed ahold of the bottle and conjured up a glass of water. "You're askin' me? I was out of it." Otto watched as she dumped two pills out, popped them into her mouth, and downed them with the drink. "Is it possible you're sick with something?" "Maybe. That agent did say I had a disease..." Mandy rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "But I’ve been feeling mostly fine aside from the headaches. And Peaches ramming a note from 'Anonymous' in my mouth this afternoon." Neither Olive nor Otto questioned the reasoning behind Peaches doing such a thing. That was as much of a fool's errand as questioning why peanuts were on top of the Empire State Building. "Tell you what, Mandy." Olive offered. "Why don't you sleep here tonight?" The hybrid perked up. "Really?" "Really! You know my house is always open to you whenever you need it. Watch a movie, have some brownies with Otto and I, and we’ll see how you feel in the morning. Sound good?" "That..." Slowly but surely, life returned to Mandy's body, from her eyes all the way down to her tail. "...is amazing-tastic! I'll take ya up on that! Thanks so much, Momma!" "Don't mention it." Olive moved the plate of brookies closer to the hybrid. "You're welcome to have some of these if you'd like. Otto and I are having a Brownie Buffet Extravaganza, so we're stuffing ourselves silly." The idea of such a...party? Contest? Whatever it was, it excited Mandy even more. "Ooh, I love brookies! Thank you!" Taking one in her hands and putting half of it in her mouth, her pony ears began flapping with how good the taste was. "Oh, it's so good! Did you make these?" "From scratch!" Olive said. "After many, many hours of scouring the Internet for recipes." As Mandy began reaching for her second brookie, her eyes widened slightly. "Oh! What about the girl’s bracelet? She wanted me to pay her back but I don’t have enough money to pay her…" "How much is it?" "30 dollars." Otto's jaw hung open for a few moments. "That much?! For a bracelet?!" Olive, however, was largely indifferent to the ludicrous price. To her, this was simply another chance to win over Mandy and make her see that she was the exemplary parent for her. "Don't worry. I'll give you the money." Mandy blinked. "You'd do that?" "Sure." Olive rubbed Mandy's back. "You didn’t mean to break her bracelet, right? If it’s not your fault then you shouldn’t have to pay for a replacement. I’ll cover it." "But-" "Ah ah ah. No ifs, ands, buts, or coconuts. I insist." Olive ignored the suspicious look Otto shot her. "And don't worry about paying me back, either." Fully convinced, Mandy stuffed the second brookie in her mouth so she would have a free arm to hug Olive with. "Aww Momma, you're the besht!" As she ignored the crumbs that spilled on her lap, Olive returned the hug for a couple moments before gently pushing Mandy away, giving a small laugh. "All right, all right. Why don't we pick a movie when the brownies cool?" Mandy swallowed her bite and went in for a third brookie. "Yeah! I'd love that!" Before settling down to watch the movie, Mandy had decided to teleport back to Headquarters to take a shower and go through her nightly routine before teleporting back to Olive's house. She already knew what would happen when she watched the movie -- it was the same thing that happened whenever she watched a movie at night. And of course, it was the same thing that she had managed to do only halfway into Love Means Many Things. The snoring and sleep-mumbling proved to be too volumetric and too detrimental to the movie-watching experience for Olive and Otto, so they decided to call things off early and go to bed. "I'll do the honors." Olive offered, scooping up Mandy in her arms and proceeding to carry her bridal-style up the stairs. "You can have the bathroom first." "Where are you gonna put her?" "Guest room." Olive gave a tired exhale. "I've had it blocked off because I've wanted to do some renovations on it, but it's in good condition to sleep in otherwise. And I don't think Mandy will care very much." As though she had heard her name through her slumber, Mandy woke up with a flurry of snorts and a tired murmur that couldn't be translated into any word in the English language. Her eyes remained half-lidded for a few moments, her body slightly bouncing up and down as she was carried up the last few stairs before it came to rest. She feebly reached a hand towards the bathroom and gave a plaintive moan. "Sorry, Otto!" Olive called. "Your spot's been claimed." Setting Mandy down, Olive watched as she slowly meandered to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. As her eyes glanced towards the cabinet that sat between her room and the guest room, she decided to mindlessly sort through it, if only to simultaneously keep an eye on Mandy to make sure she didn't fall asleep in the bathroom while also giving her privacy. Luckily, Mandy didn't fall asleep in the bathroom, and emerged five minutes later ready for bed. A noisy yawn left her as all she could do was mutter a "g'night" that sounded more like a farewell given by aliens. After Olive gave the okay to Otto for him to use the bathroom next, she opened the door to the guest room, where Mandy was struggling to climb into bed. "Mandy? You, uh..." She scratched the back of her neck. "You need help? Are you good?" "Love ya, Momma..." came the sleepy murmur in response, just before the hybrid flopped onto the bed and was knocked out. Olive heaved a sigh and made her way inside, righting Mandy from her vertical position on the bed and resting her head on the pillows. A quick pulling of the sheets over her and she was in a much happier state, though one couldn't tell from the snores she gave that could serve as good tornado sirens if weaponized. Then it hit her. She...did she just say... Tears involuntarily sprung to her eyes, which, for someone who wasn't too big on mushy things like giving goodnight kisses and buying cute toys, was surprising. She tried to recall how many times Mandy had actually said "I love you" to her, and shocked herself when she realized that it wasn't that many. Mandy was a verbal type, the kind of person whom you could place behind a podium and tell them to speak on whatever they wanted to, for however long they wanted to, and they would do it until their body gave up on them. She would always be willing to do anything for her family and friends, and to Olive, that was the best kind of love one could get. But having Mandy say "I love you" straight-out to a person or a pony who wasn't Bradley Beli was...well, pretty rare. And Olive wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. She felt a familiar warmth inside her heart, though. She barely heard the bathroom door open and close. She was too busy sobbing. "Olive? What's wrong?" Otto asked. "Why are you crying?" The Director turned towards her partner, her eyes becoming bloodshot. "Otto...she...she said she loved me!" Otto's brow furrowed in confusion. "Mandy does love you, though." "But she said it in words, Otto! Words!" Olive gripped her partner by the shoulders. "I-I can't even remember the last time she actually told me she loves me!" Now Otto was beginning to understand. Truth be told, he couldn't remember the last time Mandy had told him she loved him, either, though he was pretty confident it was because he didn't see himself as a father to Mandy more than a best friend figure. "People and ponies express love differently, you know. Mandy's no exception. Maybe, for all her gum-flapping and...impossible amounts of energy..." His pupils widened in horror for only a few seconds. "...she just doesn't think to say 'I love you' enough." A choked sob left Olive. "Yeah..." She gripped her shirt. "But it's just nice to hear it sometimes, instead of getting it in the form of a hug or a good meal. You know?" Not ever having heard Olive's backstory prior to Odd Squad, Otto had no idea what her parents were like, assuming she even had some. The way she talked about hearing the words "I love you", though, seemed to imply that there had been a lack of such a concept in her family structure. But he didn't feel like discussing the trials and tribulations of her family at such a late hour of the night. He gave an empathetic nod and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Look, it's probably really late. I'm done in the bathroom, so why don't you go wash up? I don't know where you put the extra sleeping bag, and for obvious reasons, I'm not about to go around your room looking for it." Giving an ugly sniffle, Olive wordlessly nodded and moved towards the bathroom. Otto watched the door close, then glanced towards the guest room. Only now was he aware of the noisy snores Mandy was giving off, followed by her garbled murmuring upon every exhale. Her left arm drooped over the side of the bed, while her right arm was splayed across her chest, her hand gripping the blanket like it would disappear if she let go. He couldn't help but give a warm smile at just how peaceful she looked -- which, really, was most of the time, but in Olive's guest room, it was more apparent. Maybe it was the change in bedding, or maybe it was the movie working its magic. He couldn't be sure. But what he did know was that watching her sleep was making him sleepy, and so he decided to wander about the hall as he waited. Eventually, both Olive and Otto settled down for the night, Olive in her own bed and Otto in a dark blue sleeping bag that sat right next to it. They went to sleep just as quickly as Mandy did, as the movie they had watched began to play a role in their own individual mental films. The sensation of a direly-needed bathroom break aroused Olive from her slumber. Giving a yawn, she swung her legs over the left side of the bed and stood up, taking a step over her snoring partner so as not to trip on him and wake him up. As she washed her hands, the sound of Mandy's snoring from behind the closed door tickled her eardrums. And then, suddenly, it stopped. Immediately growing concerned, Olive dried her hands, then walked there as fast as she could and opened the door. She quickly spotted a small lump moving underneath the sheets that certainly wasn't the shape of an 11-year-old pony-human hybrid's body, and practically lunged for it as she tore off the sheets. Her eyes widened. A...a cat? As she stared at the animal, she noticed it had its eyes closed, presumably in slumber rather than anything pertaining to an injury. Further inspection showed that the cat wasn't Peaches, either. Olive's feet took her backwards, straight out of the room, where she closed the door and then backed up further into her own room. Slowly, she knelt down and placed a hand on Otto, gently shaking him. All she got was a moan in response. "Otto! Wake up! There's a cat in my bed!" Otto rose to a sitting position. "So go put it outside or something. What's the big deal?" "No! It's not my bed!" Olive pointed to the railing that lined the stairs, her closest aim to the place she was describing. "The other bed, in the guest room!" "What?" Otto blinked. "Olive, you had a weird dream. Go back to sleep." "I wasn't dreaming!" Olive grabbed ahold of Otto's hand and yanked on it, causing him to rocket to his feet...and then stagger like a drunkard because he wasn't ready for his body to undergo such an action. "Come with me!" The girl dragged her partner the five or so steps it took to reach the guest room, opening it just a tad and holding her foot against the doorframe in a feeble attempt to block the cat should it try to escape. But the animal didn't do anything, and simply remained sprawled out on the bed, its eyes still closed. "See?" Otto rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes and peered inside. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw that his partner had been telling the truth. "All right, I believe you." he uttered. "But where'd Mandy go?" "I don't know, but we need to find her. Maybe she teleported in her sleep again!" "But she hasn't teleported in her sleep since we taught her to rein in her magic. Not unless she's sick with an illness, and all she did was complain about a headache." By this point, Olive's anxiety was shooting through the roof. "She could have a cat-related odd disease or something! One that- that made her turn into this!" Otto heaved a sigh. "Look. Don’t get yourself so worked up. It’s late. Why don’t we get some more sleep and maybe Mandy’ll return back here?" He smiled. "And if she doesn’t, we can always ask Peaches." "Peaches? Why?" "She can turn into a cat and back again. Maybe she'll have some answers." The cat on the bed suddenly yawned and jumped down, the bell around its neck making a pleasant jingling sound. Slowly it began to walk with eyes still closed, slipping past Olive as she moved her foot to make room for it. "Where's this cat going?" "Don't. Get worked up over it." Otto's voice edged into a tone of warning, his eyes slightly narrowing. "Get some sleep. I don't wanna have to cover for you double-time tomorrow." Olive opened her mouth to protest, but ultimately conceded with a sigh, her body beginning to ache with fatigue as it screamed at her to get back to bed. "You have a point. But I don't know how well I'm gonna be able to sleep with Mandy gone." The two Directors shuffled on back to Olive's room, with Olive staring at the cat for only a second more before she closed the door behind her. And that was when the unexpected houseguest decided to take action, albeit mechanically. With eyes closed shut, it slunk downstairs until it got to the small desk that sat on the far side of the room, where a few pieces of paper sat. Hopping onto the desk, it grabbed a nearby pen with its paw, its tip completely exposed, and got to writing. If someone had been around to witness it, they would, perhaps, be surprised at just how legible the writing was, even for an animal with opposable thumbs -- and even the letter in and of itself actually followed a coherent narrative for an animal who was, for all intents and purposes, fast asleep. Once the cat was done, it set the pen down and grabbed the paper in its mouth, then rushed for a conveniently-open window and dashed away. From there, it barreled into the nearest tube entrance, the tube system accepting it with open pipes despite it not wearing a badge, and it was taken to Precinct 13579's Headquarters. It stealthily moved about Headquarters with a clear set destination in mind, that being the door flap that led to the bedroom of what appeared to be a catperson, who was snoring away in bed. All the cat had to do was leave the note on the floor and dash out, its mind completely and utterly unaware of what it was doing even in spite of its bustling activity. By the time it got back to where it had started, its body began to feel tired, and it flopped over onto its side and fell still. As the sun began its ascent into the blue sky, Olive awoke once again. Her mouth opened to allow a yawn to pass, and she swung her legs over the side. To her surprise, she noticed that Otto wasn't in his sleeping bag. She began to wonder if he had, perhaps, left for his daily donut run, or maybe he was waiting downstairs for her so they could go on the daily donut run together. Whatever it was, she was sure getting donuts factored into the equation somewhere. But before that, there was one thing she had to check on, and that was whether Mandy had returned or not. A flare of panic began sparking in her heart as she hurried towards the guest room. "Zzo in today'zz zzpeech, I'm gonna talk 'bout th' effectzz 'f throwin' food away that'zz...that'zzzzzz..." The sleep-talk, coupled with thunderous snores that came before the "speech" could really get underway, brought relief to Olive. "Mandy, you're back!" she murmured, a warm smile crossing her face before she closed the door and began to make her way towards the bathroom. When she finished her morning routine, she came downstairs, her relief being overtaken by smells of something sweet and of something sour that she had somehow just noticed. "Otto! Mandy's back!" "Huh?" Otto looked up from where he had a nonstick pan in his hand. "She's back in bed!" "That's great!" A lingering silence fell over the area. Olive stared at Otto from across the living room, while he stared at her from his spot in the kitchen. Olive took initiative. "What...are you doing?" "Making breakfast! I got up and you were still asleep, so I figured I’d go ahead and surprise you." Otto responded, scratching the back of his neck. "I, uh…hope you don’t mind." Relieved that breakfast duties had been taken off of her hands, especially as far as Mandy was concerned, Olive shook her head. "No, not at all. Thanks!" Otto gave her a smile that all but conveyed a silent "you're welcome" before his gaze moved to the stairs. "Is Mandy up yet?" "Not yet. But that cat is gone..." Olive sighed. "Maybe we were dreaming." "Both of us having the same dream?" Otto turned the stove off and grabbed the spatula sitting in a wooden cup. "I know we’re practically siblings, but that seems unlikely. Like I said, we can ask Peaches about it." Olive mulled over the idea for a moment. "That's not a bad idea, actually. You did say she can transform into a cat willingly." A few minutes later, Otto had breakfast ready for two -- or rather, three, if one counted the extra plate filled with a completely indescribable number of pancakes. He sat down on the couch next to Olive and grabbed his plate. "Did you sleep well, at least?" "Kind of. I couldn't get my mind off of Mandy, but I was so tired..." Olive used her fork and knife to cut off a piece of pancake and put it into her mouth, relishing in the gooey taste of the syrup and the fluffiness of the pancake itself. Truly, when it came to making food, there were far few who were as superior as Otto was. As Otto swallowed his own bite, he perked up with an idea. "Hey, you think Agent Twilight might have something? She is a pretty smart pony. And she’s practically read every book in Precinct 13579’s library!" Olive reclined back onto the couch. "She might. I say that if Peaches can't figure this out, we should ask her." "Good idea!" Otto nodded. "Now c'mon, eat up so we can go get donuts and go to Headquarters!" "Okay, okay, don't rush me!" Only around noontime, when Olive and Otto had long left the house, did Mandy finally wake up. Her headache was still prominent, but it felt no more painful than a small pinch. Slowly she rolled out of bed, went to the bathroom, and trudged her way downstairs. "Momma, I'm hungryyyy..." she whined, hoping that if her footsteps didn't bring her mother's attention to her, then her voice would. But she found no response. The house was eerily quiet. As she made her way to the kitchen, a white piece of paper with writing on it on the coffee table caught her eye. To Mandy: Otto and I left for work, but we made you a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise and some breakfast before we left. I also left a couple bags of tea in case you still have a headache. Hope you’re feeling better! Love, Olive It didn't take a second for her mouth to begin watering when she laid eyes on the tall stack of pancakes. In another second, the stack and drink were both completely gone, with not a crumb or a drop to be found, and before even five minutes could pass, she had taken the tea and had begun booking it to Headquarters. As she bounced her way inside, vocalizing a tune she had made up completely on her own, she was stopped by her head ramming into a small piece of paper, which was connected to a hand that was, in turn, connected to an arm. "Mandy!" The hybrid put a pause on her cheerful ditty. "Oh, hiya, cuz!" She pried her head away from the paper, trying to read what was written on it but finding that it was backwards at her angle. "You, uh...got another note?" "Yes! Read this!" Grateful that it hadn't been shoved into her mouth this time, Mandy did as she was told, telekinetically grabbing the note, turning it around, and reading it aloud. To Peaches: One of these days we’ll spar together, but I want to test your strength first. I’ve already beat up three of the town’s stray cats today. If you think you can do better, hehehe, then give it a shot. Anonymous Tears filled Mandy's eyes. "No..." "Yes! It's the same Anonymous as last time!" A growl rumbled in the depths of Peaches' throat. "Apparently they don’t realize I’ve already beat up a ton of Vallean catpeople that have come through here…" Before the catgirl knew it, Mandy was wailing and crying into her chest, uttering near-gibberish about how "Anonymous" beating up cats was sad and how she would find who they were and how they would pay dearly and how she would probably send them to Neptune or something if she could. It was all one long sadness-infused tangent, and Peaches was too invested in finding and beating "Anonymous" at their own game to care all too much. Still, if she wanted Mandy off of her chest, she had to comfort her somehow. "There, there. I'm sure the cats are fine. Don't worry. This 'Anonymous' being probably didn't kill them." Peaches had to inwardly cringe at her pathetic attempt at comfort. "If you want, I'll go and find 'Anonymous' for you and kick their butt! How about that?" The proposal seemed to put a halt on Mandy's crying. She gave an ugly snot-filled sniffle as she pulled her head away from her cousin's chest. "R-really?" "Really! I'll avenge those cats', uh...injuries for you." Mandy gave a nod. "Okay! Just make sure you have fun, too." "Oh I'll have fun. I'll have lots of fun." Peaches' mouth began curling up into an ugly grin as she delved into a bout of evil snickering, and then began to walk away while tapping her fingers against each other in a classic evil villain move. Mandy, meanwhile, wiped the last of her tears away and focused on her desk, which was stacked high with two mounds of paperwork. Throwing the note into the wastebasket, she dragged her feet over and took a seat, grabbing the first paper from the very top of the stack and steeling herself for what she was sure would be a long day...again. Twilight trotted into Olive and Otto's office with her head held high. "Hi Olive, hi Otto. You wanted to see me?" "Yes. Something very odd has happened." The universal catchphrase was unisonant among both Directors, something they acknowledged with shared winks. "How can I help?" Olive decided to take the liberty of explaining the situation in Otto's stead. "We want to ask you about yesterday, with Mandy breaking an agent’s bracelet. She says you were there and you trapped her in a bubble." Twilight figured that was what she was being summoned for, and decided to launch right into her first-pony point of view on the events. "Yes. Rainbow Dash and I were just coming back from a case and we saw Mandy pulling at an agent’s bracelet with bells on it, acting like a cat. When we tried to ask her what happened, all she did was meow at us before she shook her head and spoke in English. She claims that she didn’t mean to break the bracelet, but this is Mandy we’re talking about. You two should know how she does a lot of things…irrationally." "I can attest to that." Otto agreed, raising his hand. Olive tilted her head. "She meowed at you?" Twilight nodded. "The agent thought she had 'Meow-itis', but I’ve never heard of that odd disease before. Is that a real thing?" "Not that we know of. Dr. O's never mentioned it." As Twilight's muzzle wrinkled in thought, Otto was also lost in thought, murmuring to himself as he tried to connect the dots between what happened yesterday and what had happened last night. It didn't take him more than a minute before he had his own eureka moment. "Oh my odd." Olive turned around to face him. "What is it?" "Partner, what if that cat we saw last night..." Otto gripped Olive by the shoulders, his eyes widened. "What if that was Mandy?!" If one listened closely to Olive, they could, perhaps, hear the gears whirring at top speed in her brain. She had been so tired that the cat in her guest room's bed being Mandy never even occurred to her. "What?!" was the first word she managed to get out, and then she stammered for a few moments before she was able to form words again. "N-n-no, there's...there's no way. Mandy doesn't have the ability to turn into a cat." "Hold on, Olive. Otto might have a point." The Director whirled on Twilight so fast that the alicorn was genuinely concerned she would get whiplash. All that flew out of her mouth was a "Huh?!" that sounded more annoyed than bewildered. "I'm no animal expert like Fluttershy, but I've noticed that Mandy has displayed a lot of feline behaviors ever since she underwent the transformation into a pony-human hybrid." Twilight explained. "She has a cat smile, for one." "I...b-but lots of people have a cat smile!" "In cartoons, yes." Twilight put on a mildly irritated expression, as though telling Olive to just let her explain. "But that's not the only cat-like thing Mandy has. She purrs whenever she's happy, she yowls whenever she gets startled...and that's not even getting into her relation to Peaches, who herself is a catgirl." The alicorn gave a soft exhale to clear her head. "I don’t know what’s causing Mandy to suddenly turn into a cat, but it seems she has that ability now." Now it began to fully sink in for Olive. Dread enveloped her heart. "Oh no. Don't tell me...she shapeshifts in her sleep?!" Slowly, her face became buried by her hands. "I can't believe it. Mandy can suddenly turn into a cat...my daughter is a cat..." Her mutterings became incomprehensible from there, and both Otto and Twilight could swear there was a curse word or two shoved in the vocabularic mess. Finally, after what felt like hours, Olive raised a finger and pointed it at Twilight. "Wait. That doesn’t explain why she suddenly went full cat, in her usual form, when she attacked the agent’s bracelet, though." "Cats do like bells, and the agent was wearing a bracelet with a lot of bells. Perhaps Mandy was attracted to them as part of her cat instincts." Twilight responded, the answer flowing out of her about as smooth as a stick of melted butter. Otto, giving a comforting smile, placed a supportive hand on his partner's shoulder. "Partner, we should talk to Peaches and Agent Fluttershy. If anyone can help us figure this out, it’s those two." "Fine. You do that." Olive brought her hands away from her face. "And when you're done, I'm going to be observing Mandy." Otto's gaze became fixed on the purple alicorn standing in front of him. "Thanks for helping us out, Agent Twilight." "Oh, it's no problem." Twilight smiled and waved a dismissive hoof. "To be honest, Mandy turning into a cat and back again is quite intriguing. I’ll have to see if there’s a book in the Odd Squad Library that explains more about it." "Don’t get your hopes up. There’s a lot of odd stuff that exists in this world, but a human shapeshifting into a cat and back again probably wasn’t one of them…" As he knew she was the historian of the duo, Otto's gaze moved to Olive, but all she did was give a noncommittal shrug that showed not even she knew whether humans turning into cats and back again was a recognized oddity or not. Twilight turned and began making her way out of the office. "Doesn't hurt to check, though." "All right." Olive heaved a sigh. "Otto, go talk to Peaches and Fluttershy. I'll hold down the fort here." Her eyes darted back and forth. "Er, uh, n-not...not literally." "Got it." As Otto saddled up next to Twilight, the mare shot him a friendly smile. "C'mon. Fluttershy should still be in the Creature Room at Precinct 13579." To both Otto's and Twilight's surprise, when they walked into the bullpen of the latter's precinct, they found Mandy in a completely normal state. Feet kicking rhythmically, pony ears swiveling to and fro, a bug landing on her nose that she scared off with a sneeze (no one could tell whether it was real or fake) before going back to filling out her paperwork. "She looks fine to me." Otto remarked. Ignoring his comment, Twilight's eyes caught a flash of yellow. Sure enough, Fluttershy had landed in the bullpen and was tucking her wings in. As she called the Pegasus's name, she trotted over, giving her own greetings to both agents and asking if things were all right with them. "Well...not really." Twilight pointed to the hybrid she and Otto had been eyeing moments before. "You see Mandy over there?" Fluttershy turned to look, and couldn't resist smiling at Mandy craning her head in what appeared to be an attempt to comprehend something that was written on the paper in front of her. "Mhm. What about her?" "She's suddenly shapeshifting into a cat and back again, and we don't know why." That made Fluttershy's gaze move back to the duo, though she wasn't as surprised as she should be. "I have noticed her acting like a cat…but I didn’t think she could transform into one!" If one looked close, they could see her cyan eyes shimmering with anticipation, the same anticipation she got whenever she found a new odd creature. "She’s not sick, is she?" "No, no, she's not sick. But we're hoping you and Peaches might have some answers." Otto looked around the bullpen. "Is Peaches around?" "I'm not sure. I've been in the Creature Room for most of the day, feeding and caring for all the odd creatures." Fluttershy responded. "But if you want, I can take a look at Mandy for you. It won’t be the same as a regular checkup from Dr. O, but it might help you get to the bottom of this." Otto and Twilight exchanged a look with each other, as though mentally asking if this was a good idea. With a smile and a nod, it became clear on what the answer was. "That would be wonderful. Go for it!" Twilight encouraged. Fluttershy gave them a smile of her own, then began to make her way over to Mandy, quietly so that she wouldn't spook the hybrid -- though she wasn't sure why she had to move quietly, exactly. "Um, Mandy?" With a stellar sense of comedic timing, the lead tip of the pencil in Mandy's hand broke off. "Aww, pickleferries! That's the third pencil I've broken so far!" In her frustration, she hurled the tool towards the hallway, not caring where it landed. "Stupid lousy paperwork..." "Mandy?" "Huh?" The hybrid turned. "Oh, Flitter-Flutter! Hiya! What's up?" Fluttershy smiled at the nickname Mandy had made up for her on a whim. "Would it be okay if I performed a checkup on you?" "A checkup?" Mandy rolled her eyes and gave an amused smile. "Don't tell me Dr. O's taking another one of his 'extended absences' again! Last time he did that he came back with at least thirty different animal bites and almost got himself sliced in two!" "I, um..." Fluttershy wasn't really sure what to make of Mandy's mini-ramble. Really, she wasn't sure what to make of half of her ramblings in general. For the sake of her sanity, though, she decided to move on. "N-no, nothing like that. But, um...we've noticed something..." She rolled her hoof about. "...off about you. And I want to help find out what it is." At first, Mandy looked about close to crying, as though Fluttershy was insinuating that she was flawed beyond belief and she took that personally. But her expression quickly changed into one of inquisitiveness. "Well, I have been getting these headaches recently...they're terrible things." She threw her arms out to her sides. "So by all means! Just don't, uh...make me take creature medicine or anything." "Don't worry, I won't." Fluttershy turned and began making her way towards the stairs that led up to the second floor. "Follow me." Mandy rose, and spotted Otto and Twilight also coming to join Fluttershy. "Oh, Twi and Otto are here too! Hi guys!" "Hi!' "Hey!" "They'll be supervising, just in case." Fluttershy explained. "Okay-dokay!" A minute later, Mandy was sitting on a table that Fluttershy had pushed out and had placed in front of a small structure of white rocks. "What's first?" "This." Fluttershy reached behind her back and pulled out a tongue depressor. "Say 'aah'." Mandy decided to go for a harmonious C note this time around when she opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, swinging her feet in an effort to create a kind of beat without any music playing. A single nod marked the end of that portion of the exam, as Fluttershy placed the depressor on the tall counter next to the table. "Now, I'm going to show you various toys. Just react as you normally would." "Okay!" The Pegasus disappeared to the back left corner of the room, and returned with a box full of small toys that were fit for all of the small odd creatures that resided in Headquarters. Wordlessly, she took out a plump-looking toy mouse and dropped it onto the floor in front of Mandy. "A mouse? I was expectin' something more like a ball or..." Her pupils contracted, and then widened so that her eye was more pupil and iris than actual sclera. She stared at the mouse with such intensity that any villain in its position would be squeamish after less than five seconds of eye contact. Her mouth hung open just a little, enough for a bug to find free real estate in it if they were so inclined. "Look, it's happening!" Twilight pointed out, watching as Mandy landed on the floor on her hands and knees and began eyeing the mouse curiously. Fluttershy nodded once, then pulled out another toy. "Next, a bell." She rolled the small bell on the floor. Mandy's pony ear flicked once at the noise, moved to follow it, and took the rest of her body with it, the only verbal sound she made being a happy meow. "And a spring." As the toy rolled across the floor, Mandy laid on her side, using her hands to pull herself towards it before it could disappear from her view. Another happy meow left her, but this time it was far longer than any cat could hope to meow. "Have you got all the information you need?" Otto asked. "Almost. But I want to try one more thing." Fluttershy stood up, spread her wings, and softly glided over to Mandy, lightly tapping her head twice. "Mandy? If you could snap out of it, please?" The hybrid gave a curious mew. "I'm your friend, remember?" Fluttershy smiled. "There's one more thing I want to check. But I need you to be yourself first, okay?" Right then, Mandy snapped out of it as she shook her head and gave a low groan. "Aw jeez, the headache's back..." "It's lovely to see you back to normal." Fluttershy said. "Are you feeling tired?" The question caught Mandy off-guard. She slowly rose so that she was sitting on her knees, rubbing her head in a futile effort to numb the pain that shot within it. "Kinda? Not particularly. Maybe just a smidge. Momma's bed was great but I think her mattress is due to be changed in-" "Well..." Fluttershy raised the volume of her voice just a little, in order to stop Mandy before she could get going. "The thing I want to check involves you going to sleep. Can you do that for me?" Mandy rolled her eyes. "Can I do that for ya? Of course I can do that for ya, I mean I dunno what I would do, I already have a massive headache and maybe some sleep will be just the fi-" Like someone had pulled the plug on her brain, her body slumped forward and landed on the floor with a hard thud. What followed was the sound of loud snoring that Fluttershy, for one, had come to expect. "Out like a light." Twilight's head tilted in confusion as she watched the slumbering hybrid. "Are we waiting to see if she'll turn into a cat?" Fluttershy nodded. "Mhm. Mandy has sleepwalked before, and she used to use magic in her sleep. So I think she’ll turn into a cat in her sleep as well." "Good call, because that's exactly what happened when she turned into a cat last night." Both Twilight and Fluttershy looked at him. Though the former had barebones details to go off of, the latter did not, and thus was the one to speak. "She did? What happened?" "She visited Olive’s house and the two of us slept over for the night. Olive saw a cat in her bed suddenly, and then the cat got up and began to sleepwalk. I don’t know where it sleepwalked to, though. I told Olive not to work herself up over it because she was getting anxious over Mandy being missing, but I saw her back in bed the next day." "I see." Fluttershy tapped her chin. "In that case, we should follow her if she sleepwalks again. For now, we'll have to wait." As it turned out, no one had to wait very long. Twilight clocked her mental stopwatch at a mere four minutes until Mandy's body began to shimmer with a soft ethereal yellow glow. "Fluttershy! Look!" The Pegasus turned around from where she had been skimming through the database to gaze at the bright light. Within seconds, the snoring came to an abrupt halt, and the light faded away to reveal a calico cat who had two orange spiral patterns on its right haunches. "Oh...my..." Fluttershy landed, but her wings didn't fold in right away, instead remaining splayed out so that they nearly touched the floor. "She turned into a cat!" Still in a snoozing state, the feline form of Mandy slowly rose to her four paws and began padding towards the counter that Fluttershy was at before. Otto's eyes widened. "She's sleepwalking!" "But where is she going?" Twilight asked, beginning to walk behind Mandy at a considerable distance in case she disappeared through a portal or a hole of some kind. But she didn't. Instead, she held up her head high, gave a few sniffs of the air, and then gracefully leaped up onto the countertop. Otto watched her move, her eyes never moving from her for even a single second. "Is that...paper? And a pen?" "She's writing something!" Twilight watched with utter fascination as Mandy gripped the pen in her paw and wrote on the paper. She couldn't see what, exactly, the feline was writing, though, even when she took flight to get a closer look. Once Mandy was done, she took the paper in her mouth, landed on the floor, and began hurtling towards the door. "Twilight, let her out!" Fluttershy ordered, her tone panicked in a way that was unusual for a shy pony. Twilight did as she was told, and the trio ran after Mandy as she went down the stairs and down the right-side hallway, catching the attention of more than a few agents and clients. "Where is she going?" was the only question that was uttered, and even then, no one could answer Twilight whatsoever. At least, not until Mandy stopped in front of Peaches' door and slid in through its cat flap. "She's going into...Peaches' room?" Fluttershy was the one who went after Mandy first, sliding in with ease and looking around the room. To her surprise, Peaches herself wasn't in right now -- it was just the Pegasus and Mandy, the latter of whom was leaving the note she had written on Peaches' bed before hopping down and taking her leave. Fluttershy quickly moved to grab the note before soaring after Mandy, motioning for Otto and Twilight to come along. When all was said and done and everyone was back in the Creature Room, Otto, Twilight and Fluttershy decided to take a look at the note while Mandy flopped down onto her side and fell almost still, save for the rise and fall of her stomach. "What does the note say?" Otto asked. Twilight decided to read it aloud. To Peaches: I see your strength is almost unrivaled. Almost. But there is one more thing I’d like to test you on: your ability to swim. It’s a common myth that all cats hate water, but do you think you can swim all the way around a pond? I can, ‘cause I love water! When you’re done, meet me at Precinct 13579. Anonymous Twilight blinked. "Mandy's been giving these notes to Peaches? But why?" "Maybe it’s a dominance display of who is the better cat. But Mandy isn’t aware that she’s writing these notes." Fluttershy sat down and tapped her chin a few times. "At least…I don’t think so." A bright ethereal light marked Mandy's transformation back into a hybrid, and from there the snoring and sleep-talking continued. Twilight couldn't help but become alarmed when Mandy began talking about stabbing cantaloupes and apples, but ultimately brushed it off as one of her usual non-sequiturs that didn't actually mean anything. Fluttershy grabbed a piece of paper from the countertop as well as another pen, and got to writing down all of the observations she had witnessed so far. "So what's the verdict, agent?" Otto asked. A soft hum was his answer at first, as Fluttershy finished writing. When she was done, she landed on the floor and gave him a smile. "If I had to take a guess, I’d say that Mandy doesn’t have a good handle on her new shapeshifting abilities yet. Someone will have to train her, just like we did with her magic and her flight." Twilight smirked. "And I happen to know of just the person for the job." The trio soon found themselves back at Peaches' room. Twilight, not expecting anyone to be home but still being courteous, gave three knocks on the door and called out, "Peaches? Are you in there?" To her and the others' surprise, a slurred "Coming..." came from behind the door -- which was rather odd, since they hadn't even spent a minute in the Creature Room discussing their findings. A messy-haired, eyebag-ridden Peaches slowly opened the door that stood between her and her guests, and she stared down at them. "Oh, hey, you three." A yawn interrupted her greeting. "What's up?" "Is now a bad time?" Peaches would have snarked at Twilight in response to her question if she wasn't so tired. "Eh, not particularly...I guess I could put the rest of my nap off..." Another yawn, coupled with a head shake to try and clear away her brain fog. "Why?" "May we come in?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Sure." Peaches stepped to the side to allow everyone to file in. "There isn't some big emergency, is there?" "No, not at all." Otto shook his head. "I'm sure you're aware of all the notes you've been getting recently? From Anonymous?" Peaches scoffed, some of her fatigue ebbing away. "Am I ever! I'm beating Anonymous at their own game!" She gave a snicker that sounded more befitting of an evil villain than of a catgirl like her. "Oh, I'm gonna crush them so hard...I'm gonna crush them into dust! I'll show them who's the better cat around here!" Otto ignored Peaches' mad boasting and put on a cool, confident facade -- the kind he used whenever he had information in a case to lord over Olive for all it was worth. "Well, what if we told you we know who Anonymous was?" "...Say what now?" "'Anonymous' is really Agent Mandy. Your cousin!" Silence. Peaches took a step back, then another, then another, until she was leaning against the bed. Her expression went blank as she tried to comprehend the truth bomb that Otto had just dropped on her, the rest of her prior exhaustion being wiped away in one fell swipe. The resulting yowl five minutes later made the door cartoonishly bend outwards towards the hallway just from the sheer volume and force of it. "A-a-are you...y-you're...Otto, this isn't...this isn't another one of your jokes?!" Peaches thrust a finger at him. "B-b-but how...t-there's no way, she...she was...she's half-pony!" "Mandy has gained shapeshifting abilities and shapeshifts into a cat just so she can deliver those notes to you in her sleep." Fluttershy pointed out. "Wh- wh- wh-" Peaches blinked rapidly. "But why?! Mandy’s never gotten competitive with me before! E-except for board games and all that, but not at stuff like this! A-and she can shapeshift into a cat like me?! What's her beef with me?! What does she want?!" "Mandy’s shapeshifting abilities are weak, and in order to help her get better, we’re asking you to be her trainer." Twilight explained. "It's probably what she would want, if she, uh...knew about all this..." That calmed Peaches down a little. In place of anger, confusion festered. "Me? Be her trainer? In turning into a cat?" "Since you’re the only other person here that has the ability, we figured you would be perfect for the role." Otto's gaze moved to Twilight. "Actually it was Twilight's idea, but...yeah, you get the drift, right?" Overwhelmed by the information, Peaches slumped to the floor, grasping her head in her hands. "I…w-well…a-as much as I’d like to, guys…I didn’t get this ability through training. All Vallean catpeople are born with the ability to turn into a cat and back, but we just don’t use it until we grow up a little." Disappointed looks settled on Otto's, Twilight's, and Fluttershy's faces as they moved their heads away and gazed at the floor. "However." They looked up. Peaches took a deep breath. "Mandy’s my cousin. She’s pretty much a catgirl by blood now. And as her relative and best friend, it’d be wrong not to train her." She gave a confident nod. "Okay, I’ll do it!" Cheers rung out within the room, as the trio high-fived (or, perhaps, high-hoofed) each other. "Where is Mandy right now?" "She's sleeping in the Creature Room." Fluttershy responded. "Got it. Just leave it to me!" Peaches' expression then fell. "But, um, one thing...does Oprah know about this?" "She's WHAT?!" "Yeah...you, uh...feel like adopting a cat?" Twilight gently nudged Otto for that little quip. "It's pretty much her transformation and the abilities that came with it all over again." Fluttershy placed her hooves together, her ears flopping downwards. "P-please don’t kick my partner out, Ms. O. She just needs to get used to her new ability. And I have confidence that she’ll be able to master it in no time." Oprah shook her head in an attempt to snap herself out of her state of shock. "Don’t worry, Agent Fluttershy. I have no plans to do that anytime soon. Mandy turning into a cat is far less dangerous than her using magic in her sleep, but…" "Just give me a chance." Now it was Peaches' turn to beg. "My cousin won't be causing any destruction on my watch." Oprah looked to each group member, then gave a pleasant smile. "Well, I couldn’t ask for better agents for the job. You’re free to go right ahead and train Mandy as you wish." She raised a finger. "And if you run into any snags, come to me. I may not understand all this myself, but I'm more than willing to help out in any way I can." "The same goes for me, Peaches." Fluttershy laid a hoof on the catgirl's arm. "Animals are my expertise, after all." "Of course! I'm gonna go get started right now." The loud growl of a stomach permeated the office. "Scratch that, I'll get started after I have some more prey from my prey pile." As Peaches left and Otto moved off to the side in order to call someone, Oprah made a grab for her fruit punch-flavored juice box and took a swig from it. "To think that Mandy would be turning into a cat..." She shook her head. "Heh, since she’s a pony-human hybrid, I thought she would turn into a pony." "She's not biologically half-pony, though." Twilight reminded. "Peaches is her cousin, so they're catpeople by blood." Oprah rolled her eyes. "Well I know that, Agent Twilight. My mind went back to that theory after I thought about it for a little." She raised an eyebrow. "Now, I believe you two ponies have some work to do?" Both Twilight and Fluttershy nodded and left, leaving only Otto remaining, who hung up his badge phone and clipped it back onto his chest. "All right. I've given Olive the, uh...good news? Bad news?" He shook his head. "No, no, definitely just news. Anyway, she won't have to spy on Mandy anymore." "Why did she want to spy on Mandy?" "Probably to do what Fluttershy did, see what's been going on with her." Otto sighed. "But I think Peaches has got the situation handled from here, so I'm gonna head back to my own HQ before Olive has my head." "Good call. Have fun!" "Thanks." As Otto left, Oprah resumed her drinking, giving a satisfied sigh after her next swig. With the juice box now empty, she tossed it behind her and pulled out a 96-fluid-ounce bottle of apple juice, popping open the cap and beginning her journey to the bottom of that bottle. Peaches swung open the door to the Creature Room and picked up Mandy, feeling something in her spine shift as she did so. She didn't think it was very good, judging by how heavy the hybrid was. "Ugh, what, are you eating rocks for every meal?" Peaches grunted. "Wouldn't surprise me...Pinkie would be the one to teach you about that." With an immense amount of effort, she shook Mandy. "Now c'mon, wake up! We’re losing daylight and if we don’t start training now then it’ll be a day wasted!" A loud snore, and then something Peaches could barely make out aside from the word "chocolate". "Wake up!!" A cry of protest. "No! Don't protest! We are doing this whether you like it or not! NOW WAKE UP!!" Slowly, Mandy's eyes creaked open... "Oh thank cattails." ...and then closed as she slipped back into a state of sleep. "You know, I'm starting to think Olive may have a point when she threatens to throw you onto the seal of the bullpen face-first-full-force." Peaches muttered. As a last resort, she took out a Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink and thrust it into Mandy's mouth with the same intensity as her first note from Anonymous. "Mmuh...?" "Drink up, cuz." "Mm...?" Mandy took a few plaintive sniffs of the drink, then eagerly accepted it into her body with massive sips. Peaches removed the glass when the last of the liquid had been consumed, then waited. And waited. And waited. And wa- "No! I already told ya, th' IRS doezzn't call, it...you're...you're..." Mandy blinked. "Mmm..." As she set the hybrid down, Peaches dramatically gasped in a way that would put Rarity to shame. "It's alive! And with a bad case of bedhead!" Mandy slowly looked around. "Where are we? I thought we were in the Creature Room!" She gasped, and flung herself at Peaches. "Did I pass my checkup from Fluttershy?! Did I get an O? Pleeeeease tell me I got an O! It'd be bad if I didn't get an O! O's are the best!" "If you calm down then maybe I'd be in the mood to actually tell you." "Oh, okay!" Mandy pulled away from Peaches and let her tail begin wagging. "Spill it, sister! What's the haps, what's the beefs?!" Telling Mandy that there was something she needed to know was one thing. Telling her what that thing was that she needed to know was another issue entirely, something that caught up with Peaches as she stammered. "Haha...whoo, um, how should I say this..." Peaches bit her lip as she thought for a few moments, then shook her head. "No, no, I'll just say it straight. Cuz, you can change into a cat now." All Mandy did was stare at Peaches in a way that made her uncomfortable. She couldn't quite place what the stare was, whether it was one of bewilderment or of joy. Finally, after a few minutes, Mandy delved into her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "Ah, Peach...I always keep sayin' you'd kill as a comedian, and this just proves it!" "No, I'm serious! You turn into a cat in your sleep, and then you sleepwalk. You’ve been sleepwalking and writing me all those notes! You’re 'Anonymous'!" This only served to make Mandy laugh harder. "Stop laughing! Ugh, why didn't I get video footage..." "Oh, I think my lung...ahuh...I think it...egh...I think it just collapsed on me!" Suddenly, Peaches got an idea. Her gaze drifted to the box of toys that Fluttershy had left out, and she immediately dove for a crinkly ball that she held up in front of Mandy's face. The hybrid was entranced. The catgirl yanked the toy away and put it behind her back. "Huh?" Mandy blinked and looked around. "Where'd it go?" "Aha!" Peaches pointed, a grin crossing her face. "Why do you think you get distracted by toys made for odd creatures?" "Because those kinds of toys are fun, silly! I ate a dog bone toy once. Tasted like chicken. Not any better than the frozen stuff at the supermarket, though!" Peaches threw the toy into the box as discreetly as she could. "Whatever. If you don't believe me, then that's fine. Totally fine. I have ways to convince you." She smirked. "I'm going to help you harness and master your new ability. But you need to do exactly as I say." Mandy frowned. "This isn't gonna be like when you taught me to fly using my tail, is it?" "No, I've learned from that. Besides, this is different. I believe in you, a hundred percent. Are you with me, cuz?" "Ha..." Mandy's tail flicked about. "You're really committed to the bit, huh, Peach?" She stretched out her body. "All righty, I'll help you! It'll give ya good leverage when you use this skit at the next Odd Squad Talent Show!" "We agreed I wouldn't do another one of those again. Not after the mud incident." "Aaaaaah, don't be a sourpuss." Mandy pat her cousin on the shoulder. "This one'll kill with the folks. Trust me." She excitedly began bouncing for the door. "Now c'mon, let's get started!" Peaches knew she and Mandy had different goals in mind when it came to the training, and yet she still followed Mandy anyway, if only to rub the reveal in her face when it finally clicked in her brain. "Now, what did you dream about when you went to sleep during Fluttershy's checkup?" "Oh oh oh!" Mandy waved her hand in the air. "I was in the back alley of this super-neeshay restaurant!" "It's niche! It's pronounced 'neesh'!" Peaches sighed. "Just...just continue." "And I was diggin’ around in the dumpster lookin’ for food for some reason, when all of a sudden this man came out with a fish!" "A fish?" "Yeah! And so I asked him and I said 'Um, sir, I’m very hungry, may I please have that fish you’re holding?' And he gave me the fish, and I ate the fish!" Mandy nodded. "It was a very good fish, mm-hmm." "Were you in your usual form?" A snrrk sound left Mandy's body. "Look at this chubbawubba over here, askin' if I was in my usual form..." She playfully rolled her eyes. "'Course I was, silly!" Peaches opted to ignore her cousin's snide remark. "Hmm. Okay. And what have you dreamt about the past few nights? Anything that you think might be related to cats? What they do, what they eat…stuff like that." "Oh! I dreamed I was a cat a couple nights ago. I was in this really nice lady’s home! She fed me and gave me lots and lots of pets…and I slept in her lap! It was like a dream within a dream!" Peaches visibly winced. "M-maybe you shouldn’t be sleeping in your dreams...with this zany world, who knows what might happen…but still. Very interesting nonetheless." She glanced at the ceiling in thought. "So perhaps you turning into a cat might be tied to your dreams. Or maybe your thoughts?" "I have so many thoughts!" "Okay, so...try turning into a cat now." "...Whuh-heh?" "Think about being a cat. Doing whatever you want, so long as it's cat behavior." "Uh...well, okay, but I'm gonna need a cat costume if you're gonna do this part of the skit. Really helps to sell it." "Just think about being a cat!" "Thinkin' about bein' a cat!" With a big intake of air, Mandy held her breath and thought about all sorts of feline-related things. She thought of cats hunting their prey, of cats grooming each other to look absolutely perfect, of cats giving bi- Yeah no, she wasn't gonna think of that. As thoughts began flashing through her brain one after the other in a rhythmic sequence, her lungs began crying out for oxygen. Her face began to turn blue. She began to quiver as her body became affected by the sudden lack of air. Her closed eyes began leaking tears as she begged for someone, anyone, to give her release. "Mm...I don't think it's working." Mandy bent down on one knee. "You can breathe, cuz." The sound that was expelled from Mandy's body sounded like the dying but dramatic breath of a person who acted the same way they had gone out from the world. The hybrid took in as much air as she could and expelled it, the blue hue of her face fading away and being replaced with her usual tan-colored one. "Okay, so that didn't work..." Peaches didn't take even a moment to think, an idea already forming in her head. "I'm gonna see if maybe getting the hiccups would cause you to turn into a cat." For this experiment, both cousins decided to head to the Breakroom, where Peaches slammed down a whole tray full of food in front of an eager and hungry Mandy. "Big plate of food for you. Chow down! And make sure to eat some air." Mandy, of course, scooped up every last bit of food into her mouth with her volumetric tongue. "I love eating air." She swallowed. "Eating air's my favorite!" As she set the utensils down, Peaches stared at her, waiting for one of the many sounds that would mark a filling meal for a full hybrid. A minute passed. Mandy hiccuped. And...nothing happened. "Yes! Ohh, but it didn't turn you into a cat..." Mandy hiccuped again. A pop marked her sudden transformation back into a calico cat. If there hadn't been agents walking by and chatting with clients and coworkers, the silence would have been deafening. "...On Leo's whiskers." "I'm...I'm nak-" A pop, and Mandy was turned back into a hybrid. "Oona?" "I was naked..." "I'm going to Oona." "I flashed hundreds of agents..." "Come on." "Are we gonna go buy kitty clothes?" "No." "Please?" "Cats are always naked, Mandy." "...Oh." A hiccup, and then another pop. "Peach, can cats blush?" "An Un-Hiccup-inator?" Peaches clasped her hands together. "Please tell me Odd Squad has that gadget in their arsenal." Oona gave a scoff. "Of course I do! What am I, crazy?!" She raised a finger. "It does have a side effect, though." "Which is?" Hiccup-pop. "It, uh...makes you itch. For three hours." "For wha-" Hiccup-pop. "Three hours." Oona reiterated. "I don't know why...I'm still working out the kinks, but...it should work fine otherwise!" Peaches gave a nonchalant shrug as a reaction to that information. "Well, three hours is nothing. Lay it on us." Hiccup-pop. Oona took out the gadget, a small spherical little thing, and fired it at Mandy, encasing her in a warm green glow for only a few seconds before it died down. The trio all waited with bated breath. Peaches and Oona kept their eyes trained on Mandy for a full minute. The hybrid blinked. "Hey, they're gone!" And then she stiffened, an "urk" sound eking out of her. "Never mind...somethin' worse just came bitin' back!" As her cousin moved her hands around her body in futile attempts to relieve the itching sensations that had broken out practically everywhere that could be scratched, Peaches heaved a sigh. "Well, we'll have to live with it. Thanks, Oona." "No problem! Tiddly-ooh!" She gave a dissatisfied grunt. "That was terrible." Peaches grabbed Mandy by the collar and began hauling her away, her cry of "It's so itchy!!" going ignored by her but certainly noticed by other agents. Following Mandy going to Dr. O for some anti-itch cream that thankfully worked without any other side effects, she decided to break away from Peaches' experiments and go straight to the one person she knew would help her in figuring out why this was happening. She had already gotten the details of what she had done thus far from Peaches, but for the catgirl's flawless skill at changing forms, she wouldn't be able to help Mandy. Not to the fullest. "HAAAAARUUUUUKOOOO!!" she bellowed into the open area of the Magical Grasslands. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" The wind whistled to answer her, but it didn't carry the voice of the spirit guardian on it. Mandy frowned. "Huh. Maybe she's not here?" "Mandy." "I can hear her, but I can't see her..." "Behind you." It wasn't so much the voice that startled Mandy as much as it was the words themselves. She turned around with a loud yowl, her hair and tail bushing up as she sprung up a couple feet into the air. "H-H-Haruko! Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that!" "My apologies." Haruko responded, trying hard to fight the amusement that crept into her voice. "How are you doing?" "G-great..." Mandy stopped to catch her breath before continuing. "But, um, I kinda came to talk to you about something. Do you have a minute?" "Always. What is going on?" Slowly, Mandy crouched down to a sitting position. "I’ve…I’ve suddenly started turning into a cat." She picked at a blade of grass mindlessly. "It’s only when I’m sleeping a-and I can’t control it! Peach and I tried to come up with a few ways to help me master the ability, but…none of them worked." For dramatic effect -- though not that Mandy knew it -- Haruko took a moment to pause and close her eyes, reminiscing on what her mother had told her. Now she understood what she had been saying, about the "big change" Mandy was set to undergo. And now that she understood, she could feel the clock ticking and ticking, time passing with each minute, ever-closer to Mandy finding out her true origins. She just couldn't understand when. She had no set timeframe. She would have given Mandy one, if that was how fate worked. But rushing fate was something that was just not done. When Mandy was ready to discover where she really came from, that was her decision. Haruko had learned that a long time ago. But she forced herself to set the bigger issue aside and focus on the smaller one. "Mandy. Do you remember when I told you that Peaches is connected to you in more ways than one?" "Yeah. Why?" "I can say that this new ability of yours..." Haruko slowly opened her eyes. "It is because of that." That didn't make Mandy do so much as flinch. "But we're cousins! I mean of course I have the ability, we're related!" "But how the ability manifests in you is because of your strong familial bond with her. She can turn into a cat and back again." "Yeah, but she's had the power since she was born! I only just got it..." Her ears drooped. "...and I don't even know how to control it." Haruko gave Mandy a warm smile, placing a gentle paw on her knee. "I am sure that if you keep practicing, then you will hone the ability to shapeshift in no time. But I would suggest you have Peaches keep on mentoring you until you have complete control over it." A sigh. "I guess you're right...even if her ideas are a lil' silly." "But the bottom line is this." Haruko's tone dropped, becoming gravely serious. "Very soon, sooner than you could even think, you will find out your true origins. What happened to you. What happened to your real parents." She gazed into Mandy's eyes with ferocity. "You may undergo another big change, and it is up to you to be prepared for it. Your shapeshifting ability…it is only the beginning, Mandy." Mandy's mind didn't get past "sooner than you could even think" before she began to panic. She scooted a few paces backwards from Haruko. "M-my origins…don’t tell me…" She rapidly shook her head. "N-no! I haven’t spent enough time with my friends! My family! Gimme a timeframe, at least!" Haruko shook her head in a more milder manner in response. "It will come very soon. That is all I know. But if you are to beat King Ashero and the rest of Vallea…you must master this ability." What am I gonna tell them...what am I gonna tell them about me leaving them for good? It'll break their hearts...and if my real parents lock me up in...wherever they live... A moment of thought for if they were living out in the open or in a tent of some kind, instead of someplace with a far sturdier roof. But I have to tell them regardless. I can't keep this from them. It's... She bit her lip. It's cruel. It'll hurt to say it, but I can't keep it bottled up forever. She heaved a mighty sigh and stared up at the sky. "All right. Maybe I can’t change this…fate that’s set in stone for me. But the best I can do is master my shapeshifting." A pause. "You're right, y'know. You're right on all the fronts and the backs and the sides." Slowly, she rose to her feet. "Thanks, Haruko." "It is no problem." Haruko's warm smile remained on her face. "The best of luck to you, Mandy." In a flash of prismatic color, the hybrid was gone. When Mandy arrived back at Headquarters, it was dark, save for a few nightlights that had been turned on (Oprah sought to have them installed for the agents who didn't have built-in night vision) as well as places like the Lab and the North Control Room that had automatic dimmers. Upon looking around the place, she realized that no one was around. "Huh. Everyone must’ve gone home already. It’s gotta be really late…even though I wasn’t in the Grasslands for very long." As she walked, searching for any kind of life, her leg hit something hard mixed in with something sharp, and she stumbled backwards with a yelp. The sound of an "oof" followed by a corona dying down and an object clattering to the floor followed suit. "Oh!" Mandy blinked as she saw who she had bumped into. "Rarity, I-I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" "Just fine, darling." The elegant unicorn slowly rose to her hooves. "And please, don't apologize. It is quite dark in these hallways, even with the nightlights." As she lifted the object in her corona, Mandy eyed it curiously. "What is that thing?" "Oh, this? Just a little spool of white thread. I need it to complete an order for a client." "Who's your client? Oona?" "No, it's-" Rarity blinked. "Um...actually, y-yes. How did you-" "Call it a lucky guess." Mandy rolled her shoulders in a shrug. "Is that why you're staying up so late?" "Mhm. But I could ask the same question of you, darling. Where have you been?" "I was at the Magical Grasslands, asking Haruko for advice about my new ability." Rarity tilted her head in intrigue. "Ability?" "Yeah, I can turn into a cat now!" Mandy's smile upon giving the reveal quickly turned into a frown. "But it’s only when I sleep, and I don’t have a good grip on it yet even after training under Peach a little. So I decided to go to Haruko for advice." Though she knew next to nothing about Haruko, Rarity gave a nod. "I see." "But Haruko..." Mandy's voice cracked. "She told me...something else." "And what's that?" A sigh left Mandy's lungs. Should I really be telling her this? Haruko never said I couldn’t...but it would be wrong to upset Rarity, especially this late at night… The answer was instantaneous. No! Everyone deserves the right to know! If my time is coming “very soon”, as Haruko puts it…then I might as well. She straightened, a serious look settling on her features. "Gather the other ponies, and Momma, Otto, Peaches and Oprah tomorrow. I’ll tell you all then. Meet me in Oprah's office." Rarity couldn't help but express surprise as her friend's sudden change in demeanor. Still, she knew when she had something serious on her mind, and thus acted accordingly. "All right. If that is what you want." Worry reflected in her eyes. "But do try and get some sleep in the meantime. You look positively exhausted!" "Do I?" Mandy began touching her face, but found no sign of exhaustion that could be discovered through that sense. And as for the sense of sight, she didn't have a mirror handy, either. "I'll take your word for it, Rarity. I'll go to bed right after I have something to eat. You get some sleep too, though, 'kay?" "Of course." As the duo exchanged good-nights and parted ways, Mandy heaved a sigh that served to make her body begin deflating physically, the fatigue slowly but surely starting to settle in. "And I thought my shapeshifting ability was the only thing I was gonna hafta deal with...ya had to put another weight on my shoulders, didn'tcha, Haruko?" 2PM. Nearly everyone was packed like sardines in Oprah's office, with a few stragglers who were falling behind. "We're here!" Olive raced in with Otto in tow, letting go of him and watching him stumble and collapse on the floor. "Sorry we're late, Otto wanted to grab lunch first-" "I was hungry! You know I can't function right when I don't eat!" "No one can understand you when you're screaming into the carpet, partner." "Shut up." "Anyway, Rarity..." Olive's gaze fixed on the fashionista. "Why did you call us all here?" "Me? I did this on behalf of Mandy." Rarity had to bite her tongue to resist adding a "darling", as was her wont, because she knew Olive despised cutesy nicknames like that. "She said she wanted to talk to all of us about something." "Well, whatever it is, think she can hurry it up?" Rainbow moved her hoof along the couch she was sitting on. "I have Wonderbolts practice in a half-hour!" The sound of ascending footsteps grew closer and closer, causing everyone to look. Mandy's staggered flight caused her to crash into the glass door face-first, and then stumble into the room while she clutched her nose. "Oprah, you're real lucky your doorsh aren't shoft glash..." Her eyes slowly opened to meet the crowd of ten. "Shorry I'm late, guysh, my flight didn't go ash shmoothly ash I wanted it to go..." "Why didn't you just teleport here?" "I-" Mandy blinked once. Twice. Removed her hands from her now-bruised nose. Stared at her partner. "Huh. That prolly would've made it fashter." "What's going on, cuz? Is there an emergency?" "Ha...well..." Mandy rubbed her nose and smacked her lips, the latter being so she could speak in non-smushed-nose talk. "You could say that. Though it kinda depends on what you consider an emergency...like maybe..." She landed on her feet, tucked in her wings, and fiddled with her hands. "Like maybe a friend leaving for good?" Twilight agreed in firm nods. "I say a friendship problem certainly counts as an emergency." "Now hold on." Applejack, sitting on the right couch sandwiched between Peaches and Fluttershy, raised a hoof, and subsequently an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're thinkin' of quittin' Odd Squad now?" "No! H-hear me out for a sec, this is important!" The room fell silent. Mandy could feel ten pairs of eyes all bearing down on her. Twenty eyes didn't seem like much, but when the news was as hard to spit out as a hairball, it was a whole lot. Accustomed as she was to public speaking -- oh was she ever accustomed to the act -- the stares unnerved her, and she gave a shaky sigh before she spoke again. "So I dunno how many of you know this...but I can turn into a cat now." Mandy shrugged her shoulders, like she was expecting the audience to laugh at her or applaud or provide any reaction. In actuality, the only reaction she was given involved a few surprised glances, none of which were exchanged with her. "I went to Haruko to get some advice on how to control my shapeshifting ability…but what I got was something else." Mandy gripped the ends of her jacket. Grit her teeth together. Tried to think of happy thoughts. Had those happy thoughts squished. Tried to think of happy thoughts again. Became briefly happy that those stuck to her brain like glue. Opened up her jaws. "I know some of you know this already, too, but…sooner or later, I’m gonna hafta leave Odd Squad with my real parents. They’re gonna find me, and when they do, they’ll probably wanna take me back with them." Oh powers-that-be give me strength. I don't care what strength, just give me any strength. "...Turns out 'sooner' is...right around the corner. And I mean 'right around the corner'." That earned ten gasps that all chimed together in unisonant harmony. Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the one who spoke actual words first. "Y-y-you don't mean..." "Haruko said that my time will come 'very soon'." Mandy gazed at Fluttershy with sadness in her pure innocent blue eyes. "I’m gonna find out everything. How I got to Odd Squad in the first place. Who my real family is. Everything. This ability I have…it’s only the beginning, she says." Olive, meanwhile, was having her own crisis, right there on the couch of her former boss's office. Her mind flashed back to Starry Song's illusion, how Haruko had told her she needed to find her real parents and how Olive shouldn't stop her. But the more the Director thought about it, the more pieces came into existence from the fog that left them shrouded. Adults -- human adults, mind, not mares and stallions -- were wicked, awful creatures. They viewed kids as skeletons trapped in small bodies with brains equal in size to a pony's. There was, of course, plenty of evidence to the contrary, but if there was one thing Olive had learned, adults did not do so well with evidence that was set to prove them wrong no matter how factual it was. She was rather worldly for someone who looked like she was twelve, but any mention of "I'm millennia old" would get her laughed at straight yonder. She had seen adults all the time on the news, robbing stores and beating up innocent bystanders and transporting drugs she had no idea even existed until she had her mind tainted by the current events localized entirely within her town. More specifically, she had seen adults in jail for multiple counts of child abuse and kidnapping. "We have just received this important information regarding an abducted child. Mandy, last name redacted, is an 11-year-old white female with brown hair and blue eyes. Last seen wearing an Odd Squad uni-" No. She wouldn't think about that. "...with her biological mother, Igat Noname, 32 years old-" Nope. "...biological father, Noname Foundhere, that's noh-nah-may, 35 years old-" No. That was a hard, firm no. That last "no" flew out of her mouth as she shot up from her seat. She shook her head. "I'm not going to give you up just like that!" Otto wisely backed away. "Partner?" Olive marched up to Mandy, close enough that she could feel the puffs of air she exhaled from her nose. "I raised you for eleven years, Mandy. I found you, and I raised you. If I hadn’t, you would have been another victim of Odd Todd’s pienado massacre. I may not know what happened to your real parents…but for them to not go looking for you after eleven whole years?! It’s despicable!" She sighed and jerked her head away, her eyes closing. "But what else would I expect from a couple of adults?" "Partner!" That last cry came from an Otto who was fully aware there were six adults in the room with them, and was fully aware of their hurt and offended expressions. "Who cares what Haruko says? It’s not like her words are set in stone. You can change your fate. And fate says that you should stay here, with us." Olive grabbed Mandy's hands and clasped them tightly within her own. Her eyes shimmered with hope as the last two words danced softly on her lips. "With me." Mandy said nothing. All she did was stare at Olive with confusion and a very distinct lack of comfort. "You’re the light that keeps Odd Squad running, Mandy. We don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose you. Without you, I wouldn’t be the agent I am today." "Ugh, talk about cliche." Olive whirled around and glared at Rainbow so quickly that one would think she had somehow learned the Accelero spell. It was enough to shut the Pegasus up, at least, which was good enough for her. "Momma..." Hearing the endearing nickname made Olive turn back around. "It doesn’t matter what you choose. But I’m not giving you up to a couple adults who care so little about their kid they don’t bother to go looking for them until over a decade later. It's foolish." "But Haruko told me they’ve been searching! She could hear their hearts crying out in pain and everything!" "And how do you know that isn't just a new emotion she felt, say, oh...a couple weeks ago?" That brought Mandy to a standstill. She stammered, trying to come up with a coherent response, but nothing came out beyond bits of vowels and consonants that couldn't be formed into any English word. Olive fought hard to not let her smug side show. "I rest my case." "Olive, don’t you think you’re being a little possessive?" Oprah stood up and made her way over to the duo, her arms crossed. "I want Mandy to stay in Odd Squad too. But she’s her own agent. She’s free to make her own decisions." Twilight raised a hoof. "I agree with Ms. O. Besides, there’s no rule that states Mandy can’t help out Odd Squad even if she has to quit. And if she does go back to her real parents, what if they continue to let her be a part of Odd Squad?" "Like they would let her do that?" Olive snapped. "Mandy's my daughter, not yours, Sparkle. I raised her." "And Mandy's my agent, not yours, Olive. She's my second-in-command." "Family trumps work, Oprah. Always has, always will." Oprah squinted her eyes with a very audible squeaking sound. "You're being ridiculous." "No I’m not. I’m protecting her. I’ve been a better parent to her than her real parents could ever be." "Ah...Olive, if I may..." Rarity's head tilted. "Have you ever met her real parents? In-pony? Er, my apologies, in-person?" Olive's mouth hung open for a moment. However, she snapped right back to it. "Well…no, but…" Her tone turned into one of desperation, something that could be an easy tip-off to how vulnerable she was at the moment. "They didn’t look for her until now. Any loving parent would keep looking for their child for years until they found them. I would do that, and I’d expect any other parent of Mandy’s to do the same!" Peaches looked away, something that Olive noticed as she rubbed her arm and looked at the floor. "Back when Peaches and I had that fight with Starry Song, her singing got to me. The next thing I knew, I was in some kind of dark purple…realm, of sorts. And Mandy was a baby." And back to the crowd. "I heard this voice…who said that I should treat her as an ally and that Mandy wasn’t my real daughter. She told me that Mandy will try and find her real parents soon, and that I shouldn’t stop her…and that if I did stop her, she would grow to hate me." The fact that Haruko had never told Mandy this bewildered the hybrid. She didn't know the extent of what Olive had experienced when Starry Song had poisoned her mind, just that a voice had told her that Mandy needed to find her real parents. But for her to even pose the truth...no, the falsehood of Mandy hating Olive for not letting her find her real parents? It was inconceivable. Mandy couldn't stay mad at her Momma, even though she lived life with lemons and limes sitting in her body from the moment she had (mostly) stopped the pienado all the way past when she became a Director to... ...to... Wait. Maybe finding my real parents is better for me in the long run. The thought came on suddenly, but Mandy couldn't deny that maybe it held some merit. Her real parents keeping her locked up in the house so she became a depressed nerd with no job who spent about 20 hours a day fiddling about with electronics was a 50/50 shot. Her real parents letting her be free and do her job and be just slightly less of a free-range child was also a 50/50 shot. If one asked her, her chances of the latter happening were pretty good. Now Olive, on the other hand... "'Fail to heed these words…and perhaps it will shatter everything you hold dear to your heart.'" The words snapped Mandy out of it. "At the time, I thought it was some illusion that Starry Song planted in my brain. But now…" Olive stared at her hands. "I realize it was real. All of it was real. And perhaps it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to assume that the voice…belonged to Haruko." "Haruko spoke to you?" Olive willingly ignored her adopted daughter's request for confirmation. "But I’m not going to listen to her." She shook her head and straightened her posture, giving off a determined aura that was filled with indignation. "Mandy came to us for a reason. I raised her. I’m not just going to lose her after all this time we’ve spent together!" A scoff as she whirled on the rest of the group. "Don’t tell me you all care so little about her that you’re actually willing to hand her off to a couple of heartless adults?!" Peaches rubbed her forehead, a clear indicator that she was getting tired of Olive's attitude. "It’s not that we don’t care, Olive. It’s that we want what’s best for her. If she needs to find her real parents, or even if she just wants to, then we shouldn’t stop her. Haruko had a point. It would be stupid to disobey her." "For all we know, 'Haruko' is just some imaginary friend Mandy made up." "But you just said she was re-" "I was...appeasing to her whims." Olive shot daggers at Otto, enough to make him sit down and fall silent. It was a hastily-crafted excuse, but one that she felt got the job done. "After all, we’re children. It doesn’t hurt to have an imaginary friend or two. She’s not an exception to the rule, partner." "Olive." Twilight got off of the couch. "I know how much you love Mandy. But you’re being too overprotective of her. Whether Haruko is real or imaginary, she made a good point with what she told you. After all, she’s helped out Mandy tons of times." Her violet eyes moved to Mandy. "Right?" Mandy stood silent for a few moments, trying to absorb just what her mother was saying. Her heart hurt with how badly she was trash-talking Haruko, and she wanted to tell her that Haruko was real. But something told her that she wouldn't listen, and so she shoved that idea to the wayside, beginning to talk about the kitsune as though she were a real figure -- which she was, of course, but Olive didn't seem to think so, and she wasn't sure about anyone else. "Um...y-yeah! She has!" She put on an unsettling grin. "Haruko’s nice and sweet, don’t worry about her. Even if she does have elements for tails." Twilight's gaze rested on Olive again. "And I’m aware that Odd Squad agents don’t particularly like adults…or at least human ones." Her expression became unreadable for only a fleeting second. "But this is Mandy’s family. Surely you can make an exception for that." "A family that didn't go looking for her for over five years." "Maybe they were looking for a while, but gave up and accepted that she was gone. Or maybe they’re still looking and they haven’t found her. Haruko did say that she could feel their hearts crying out. They want her back." "Hold on." Both Olive and Twilight, as did the rest of the group, looked at Oprah. "I can empathize with Olive." Olive narrowed her eyes. "Empathize how?" "You and Otto are what I like to call 'living emotional crutches' to each other. You can’t function without him. He can’t function without you." This reveal, while very much true, made Otto recoil in shock. "I can function without Olive fine! But we're partners and-" "And truth be told, Mandy is also your living emotional crutch." Oprah continued. "You probably won’t admit it, but she is." Olive crossed her arms and jerked her head away. "I can live just fine without Mandy." "Then why is it you're so defensive about what is clearly reality? Why is it you're so defensive about her wanting to find her birth parents?" Olive's head moved back within a millisecond. In a twist of irony, she did the same thing Mandy had done before -- she lost an argument with someone higher than her. "I rest my case." Oprah took a big inhale through her nose, and with her brown eyes locked firmly onto Olive's own, she launched into a spiel that, in her eyes, would tear the other Director apart and expose every inch of her insides down to the last piece of artery. "You need to ease up on her, Olive. I don’t know if I need to bash it into your skull with Mandy’s hammer or my own two fists, but her finding her real parents is the reality that you will have to face. I accepted it back when Mandy took that vacation to the Magical Grasslands and was gone for what seemed like forever. I knew the day would come when she would ask about her real parents, and I have no qualms about her going to find them. That doesn’t mean I won’t try my hardest to keep her in Odd Squad, but I’m going to give her the freedom she wants and deserves. And I would suggest you do the same. Unless you want her to hate you, and we all know how she gets when she becomes hurt." The silence that fell in the room was as deafening as it was awkward. Nearly everyone was considering the weight and the accuracy of Oprah's words, exchanging glances and retreating into their own minds to form reactive thoughts. This, of course, included Olive, who just stared at her former boss with a look that no one could place. The tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes, however, was one of a few dead giveaways. Clearly, the verbal equivalent of "drop a grand piano on 'em and watch what happens, Sonny" had worked its magic...maybe a little too well. After five minutes of everlasting silence, she knew what she had to do. Five minutes was not a whole lot of time to think things over, but she was acting purely on a hunch. And when Olive acted on a hunch, one let her go on the highway and see how she came out in the end. There was no dieway. There wasn't even a alive-but-very-badly-injuredway. "Mandy." "Huh?" "Teleport me to the Magical Grasslands." The words were like a trigger that snapped everyone's attention back to the real world. Pinkie was the first to react. "What?!" "You're going to the Magical Grasslands?" Rarity repeated. "Partner, this is insane! You're not going to the Magical Grasslands!" "Yes I am." Olive glared at her partner again. "I'm going there to see if Haruko is real or not, and I'm going to get to the bottom of all this." "And just how d’ ya know Haruko’s gonna appear for ya?" Applejack asked, with a raised eyebrow. "She’s got a close bond with Mandy, not you. 'Sides, maybe she is just as imaginary as y' claim she is. Might be a waste 'f a trip." "I don’t care, Agent Applejack. I’m going. And if Mandy won’t teleport me then I’ll walk there myself." "And you’re just gonna leave your precinct in the hands of Otto? Without even asking him?" "Rainbow Dash is right." Otto stood up. "You may be the smarter one between the two of us, but even I know this is just a foolish idea." "Quit trying to make me change my mind. Whether it's a wasted trip or not, I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Olive glanced at her adopted daughter. "So, what do you say, Mandy? Will you teleport me, or should I get started on walking?" Mandy bit her lip. Haruko had allowed her to teleport to the Magical Grasslands, but she didn't know what the policy was on teleporting other people there. When she weighed the decision in her mind, she realized that Haruko wasn't the ruler of the Grasslands, and it was a real place that...well...she wasn't sure if any average Joe could get to it, but she assumed one could if they journeyed far enough. She sighed. "I’m not makin' any guarantees on anything. Whether you’ll see Haruko, whether you’ll meet the clan she used to be a part of, or whether you’ll get the answers to the questions you have. But…I’m not gonna stop you." The hybrid lit up her horn, encased Olive in a brilliant rainbow-colored glow, and made her disappear in a bright flash of light. Another silence fell over the room. "Wow. That happened a lot faster than I thought it would." The soft, wow-Fluttershy-is-really-out-of-character-this-round-isn't-she declaration went over everyone's heads like a lead fart. "Well, I think I sent her to the right place." Mandy scratched an itch on her arm. "Haruko did say I could teleport there, but she didn’t say anything about me teleporting other people there…" "Mandy, I'm so sorry-" "Save it, Otto. Don't apologize." Mandy held a hand up. "I’ve been through eleven years with your partner to know what she’s like by now. Even if her words are…very very dumb." She sighed. "I’ll admit, I do wanna see my real parents. I don’t remember anything about them, but…I wanna see them again. And…I wanna bring Peach, too!" Peaches looked around the room, as though there was another Peach in the room with her. When she realized she was the only Peach around, she pointed to herself. "Me?" "Yeah!" Mandy's tail began to wag gently. "Maybe my real parents will welcome you into the family. Even if you are a catgirl. And if they don’t…" Her smile grew bigger. "We’ll still have each other. And the ponies. And Otto. And Oprah." She paused. "Yeah, I think I got everyone." "D'aww, come here, you." Mandy launched herself at Peaches, tackling her and pulling her right into one of her usual death-by-spine-injury hugs. "You're not mad at Olive?" Mandy paused. Took some time to think about it. And then made her decision. "Naaaaah! Overprotectiveness is a natural trait for a parent to have, even if it sometimes causes them to make…weird decisions. Once Momma meets Haruko and gets things straightened out, she’ll be fine! Trust me!" She pulled away from the hug and let Peaches go. "Now Peach, can we continue more of your training? Please? I wanna get this shapeshifting skill straightened strout!" "'Strout' isn't a word..." Peaches rolled her eyes amusedly. "But sure. C'mon." "Yay! But no more hiccups." "Oh cattails no. I've learned my lesson from that." "Thanks for comin', guys!" was the last call from Mandy before she and Peaches left the group, and subsequently the office of the former's boss. Otto exhaled. "Well, I should get going. With Olive gone, I'll need to run the precinct on my own for a while...and I'd better get started now." "You're free to call me if you need anything." "Thanks." Otto waved Oprah and the rest of the group off before leaving through his old boss's personal tube. "Well, that was something." Rainbow remarked. "Anyway, I gotta go too. See ya." And then there were six. "I didn't think Olive was so overprotective of Mandy like that." Fluttershy said. "But I'm happy that Mandy's okay with things." "But what if she's not?!" Pinkie threw her hooves into the air. "What if she’s hiding something deeeep inside, and she’s really all sad but won’t admit it ‘cause she wants us all to be happy, and then the truth comes out and we become all sad, and then the sadness expands and expands until it reaches the entire town, and then the world?!" Rarity shook her head and sighed. "Darling, I will always love you, but I do have to question your train of thought sometimes..." "Regardless of whether Mandy’s being truthful or not, all we can do now is wait and see if Olive can patch things up with Haruko. Assuming she actually exists." Twilight looked towards the glass doors. "And what if 'Haruko' is imaginary?" Applejack asked, with a distinct amount of skepticism that showed she didn't believe in the kitsune's existence. "Or she shuts Olive out? What'll we do then?" "I don't know, AJ." Twilight solemnly shook her head. "I don't know." The five ponies still remaining all left right then and there, leaving only Oprah in her office all alone. She went over to her desk, grabbed her juice box, and took a sip. Although she was numb to it, a single tear began its descent down her face. The teleportation had Olive in the unfortunate position of landing on her rump. Hard. On dirt and grass. "Oww..." She rubbed the sorest part of her body as her gaze began sweeping the area. A few seconds of that made any and all pain disappear in an instant, being in awe of just how expansive it was. She knew it was just a regular old field, of course, but something about it made it far different than just some field one would see when driving about in the boonies. It felt freeing, like stepping into a place that suddenly healed you with magic. An angelic choir sounded from somewhere. "Holy jackalopes..." the Director murmured, as the wind began to ever-so-slightly pick up. "Am I sure Mandy didn’t kill me with that teleportation blast? Because this place looks like He-" She stiffened. Growled. Angrily shook her head. "What are you doing, Olive? You came here for one thing…" As she rose to her feet, she began walking forward, not completely aimless but still seeking navigational help all the same. "Haruko! Are you there? Please, come out! I-I know I’m not Mandy, but I’m close to her, at least! Isn’t that enough?" Olive waited and waited until she decided that she was right. Of course, said waiting period only took about fifteen seconds. "Knew it. All along, Mandy was talking to a hack. Haruko’s not real, she’s just a figment of a child’s imagination! Fuh, some all-mystical being…I know it's Odd Squad but just where does Mandy get these ideas?" "You." Olive stiffened again. A soft but strangled gasp left her body. "T-t-t-that voice...it...it couldn't be." "We meet in-person at last...Olive." The Director turned around, to find the being whom she could finally put a voice to. She had seen nearly every oddity in the book, but perhaps none could have prepared her for the sight of what laid before her. She took a step back. And another. "No…there’s no way. You’re imaginary. You’re just Mandy’s imaginary friend! And because I’m close to her, the idea seeped into my brain…so now we share an imaginary friend." It was a stupid theory, the more she thought about it. "I can assure you, I am very much real." "D-d-doubt it." "If you wish to doubt my words, then touch my fur. You will find that I am not born from imagination, nor am I a hologram. I am a real being." She took a step forward. Then another. Then another. And then she stopped. "Y-you're not gonna tear my hand off or send me to another realm or anything, are you?" A head shake. Olive squeezed her eyes shut, decided to bite the bullet, approached Haruko, and stuck her hand out. Contact was reached. Her body was overtaken with a feeling of weightlessness, like she was on the moon. Most of her cares and worries began to slowly melt away. It was a feeling she probably hadn't felt since she was a baby. "Your fur...it's like a cloud." she murmured, her gaze moving to Haruko's extra limbs. "And your tails...they're made up of every existing element." She pulled back. "Mandy didn't just imagine you. You're...you're real!" "I am." Haruko said, in a way that conveyed she really wanted to give Olive a good dose of "I told you so" but had to have an air of professionalism. "But what, exactly, did you come here for, Olive? I would imagine that you did not make such a harrowing journey here on your own. Mandy teleported you here, did she not?" Olive nodded. "Yes. Right." She twiddled her thumbs. "You and I need to have a talk. About what you told Mandy earlier. About her real parents." As though she was expecting everything, from the arrival to the conversation -- which she was, much to Olive's ignorance -- Haruko stood up. "Come with me. We will find a more comfortable place to discuss this matter." Olive followed the kitsune, taking in the sights, one thought echoing within her determined mind. Don’t worry, Mandy. Whatever happens…I won’t lose you. I…can’t…lose you.
S1E32: Mother's Little HybridThe breeze flowed through Olive as smoothly as butter, taking her corkscrew-shaped ponytail with it. She reclined against a sizable hill, watching as Haruko gazed at the sky. "What are you looking at?" "I am just thinking." A pause. Olive picked up a blade of grass and mindlessly examined it. "Olive." Haruko lowered her head and turned it around to stare at the Director. "What do you remember about rescuing and raising Mandy?" Olive's expression turned into confusion, as though wondering what kind of question Haruko was asking -- surely it was purely rhetorical, as she knew about how Mandy was raised. But the girl supposed it wouldn't hurt to give a little refresher, and so she set the blade of grass down to make eye contact. "Everything. I was there for the first time she ever walked, the first time she said a word, the first time she was able to feed herself...and I did it all with only barebones knowledge of how to raise a child." A sad smile danced on her lips. "At first I didn't think I was going to be able to do it. But I couldn't, I wouldn't, just give up Mandy for adoption. There was something about her..." Haruko raised an eyebrow during the pause Olive brought to the table. "...something about her that warmed my heart. I was always known as a nobody, just a shy agent-in-training who was as run-of-the-mill as anyone else. When I helped to stop the pienado, I became tougher, stronger, more hard-hearted. Mandy helped me bring out my compassionate side. My, uh...maternal instincts, if you will." Olive stretched out her legs. "Even though I'm..." Another pause. Haruko remained silent and watched as Olive rolled her eyes around in thought. "I...think I'm an only child. Or maybe I'm not. I'm not sure." Olive shook her head. "B-but I digress. We're not here to talk about my past." As much as Haruko wanted to divert the current subject to that exact topic of discussion, she refrained. "I see." She turned the rest of her body around to face Olive. "It is just as I had thought. You are a very kind person, one who would love Mandy until the very end of your life." Her eyes grew steely. "However, your intentions as of now are rather misplaced." "Huh?" "Recently I have watched as you dote on Mandy to the measure of overprotectiveness." Haruko said. "All under the pretense of..." There was a lengthy pause, one that the kitsune put in place in order to allow enough room for Olive to answer. But the girl wasn't exactly getting the drift. "I...um...w-well..." Olive blinked. "I-it's to prove to her that I'm the right person to raise her. And not the adults that have forgotten about her." A scoff, as the words began pouring from her brain to straight clear out of her mouth. "I've cared for Mandy for eleven years. When she went missing, I worried for her safety around the clock. I tried to find her through any and all means possible. I can't..." She grit her teeth. "I can't say the same for her real parents." "Olive, please, heed my words." Haruko placed a paw on Olive's knee. "I have been listening to the feelings of Mandy's real parents for a long time now. They may not show it on the outside, but they cry every day, waiting for their beloved daughter to return to them. They want to find her." "Then why not look for her?!" "Some cannot simply drop every aspect of their lives to look for their loved ones. It is not how things are done." Haruko shook her head. "Mandy's real parents likely have other commitments, other things in their lives that take up their precious time. Precious time that, if freed, would most certainly be used to find their daughter." "So are you saying you've never even met them?" Olive asked. "You're basing this off of some hunch?" "No. I have the power to sense the true feelings of humans. That is how I know." Olive opened her mouth to fire off a witty retort, then quickly closed it as she realized that she really wouldn't put it past a creature who was odd -- even in the most ostensible sense -- to possess such a power. "So I was wrong, then. They've really been searching for her? All this time?" "To the best of their abilities." All Olive could do, after staring at Haruko for a full minute, was bury her face in both of her hands as she began to regret everything she had said just minutes before. "As it stands, I am the only one, aside from Mandy's real parents, to know of her origins, a life far before Odd Squad." Haruko settled into a lying-down position. "If you would permit me to do so, I would like to tell you the story in its entirety. Perhaps then, you will develop a new perspective on this situation." Olive looked up. Shook her head. Gave a meek nod. Parted her jaws to murmur three little words that would change her life as she knew it. "Tell me everything." Annabelle and Kieran. They were a young couple in their twenties, living happily in Toronto and just trying to make honest livings. Annabelle was someone who preferred to live among the elites of society, and certainly acted like it, even if her dreams were rather far-fetched. She was a very kind person, always willing to help others in need and promising to become one of the members of the "nice rich" group of people that seemed to be lacking in the world. Kieran, on the other hand, was far more laid-back, preferring to take things easy. He was a businessman in sales through and through -- a temporary job until he could find something better -- but on his off time he embraced laziness as though he were an expert in it. As they say, opposites attract, and they were no exception. Until one day, when Annabelle decided to buy a pregnancy test on her way home from work as the manager of a health and beauty shop. It was purely in secret, as she had suspicions but didn't want to alarm Kieran. What was also a secret was that she had always wanted a child, the small sphere of snow that would snowball into what she hoped was a growing family that would thrive for years to come. She had dropped hints of it to Kieran here and there, but he never picked them up. The results shocked her, the night she took the test. "Um...Kieran, sweetie?" "Yeah?" "I...have something to tell you." "Honey, what's wrong?" "I...I think I might be..." A pause. The test clattered to the floor. Kieran looked at the test, then at Annabelle. "D-did you...what..." "I did. I...we're...Kieran, we're going to have a baby!" To her relief, Kieran gave a hearty laugh. "That's amazing, Anna! Do you know how long I've wanted a child?" "I thought...I thought you would be angry..." "Angry?" Kieran rose from his spot on the couch and hugged his wife. "No, no, of course not. Having a child, it would be a dream come true for me. A chance to grow our little family, to bring new life into the world..." Annabelle giggled. "Then I'm happy you're happy, Kieran." Nine months went by as Annabelle and Kieran did everything they could to prepare for their new baby -- or rather, new babies. They bought only the highest-end baby furniture, the highest-end toys, and even the highest-end baby food. With the savings Annabelle had acquired over the years she had worked, she splurged. She wanted her babies to grow up in a happy and healthy environment, one where they would be loved and welcomed forever. The babies were beautiful. They had shrill and strong cries, ones that could shatter even the toughest of glass panes. Doctors had remarked that they were two of the healthiest babies they had ever seen in their long careers. Annabelle and Kieran were happy for their new children, but naming the babies proved to be an issue -- one that would have far more consequences in their relationship than one would think. "We don't want to name them just yet, Dr. Burke." Annabelle said. "Why not?" Kieran smiled. "We want to take the time to pick unique names for our lovely daughters. Something they will treasure forever." The expression on the face of Dr. Burke was unreadable. Still, he nodded. "I understand. We will give you two weeks to decide." "Two weeks?" Annabelle asked. "B-but, why, that's not nearly enough time!" "We need to prepare the birth certificates for the babies as well as new medical records. We will fill out everything but the names, but we need them as soon as possible within that timeframe." Kieran nodded. "I understand." Annabelle shot him a disappointed look. "Kieran!" "Anna...I love you. I truly do. But we have to think about this." Kieran held his wife's hands in his own. "What lives do we want our little girls to lead?" "Wh- what do you mean?" You see, Kieran had dreams for his daughters. Ever since he had heard of the organization, he had wanted them -- his future children in general, really -- to join Odd Squad, to let them go and fight the oddities that cursed every corner of the world. He wanted them to be free in that regard, with him watching them and supporting them from the sidelines. Annabelle also knew about Odd Squad, from Kieran often telling her about it and how wonderful it was. Unlike Kieran, however, she was opposed to such an idea as sending her children to join the organization, citing the fact that she didn't want them to be put in danger every day with all sorts of odd creatures and villains running around. Where before they had hardly ever gotten into so much as a single argument, Annabelle and Kieran fought about this matter long before she was discharged from the hospital, to the annoyance of the doctors, nurses, and other patients. They fought about Odd Squad, about the dangers it posed, about the benefits it offered. Soon, Annabelle grew to despise Odd Squad and all that it stood for, while Kieran fell in love more and more with the organization. It was Kieran who made the first move in giving the names of his newborn children to the hospital. Hearing that Odd Squad took in kids who didn't have O names and altered their names so they began with the letter spurred him to name his daughters Felicity and Peaches, which the doctors put on the birth certificates as their legal names. Of course, he did this in secret, far from the prying eyes of Annabelle -- but when she went to the hospital with names of her own only a week later, she was denied. "W-what? What do you mean 'denied'?" "Your husband came in and offered us names for your babies. We put them on the birth certificates a week ago. It's official." "But I- I had a name of- I wanted- Allegra! Mercy! I wanted to name them Allegra and Mercy! And that...that bastard..." "Ma'am, I'm really sorry. But if you want to change your daughters' names, you'll need to have both done legally through Name Change Application forms like everybody else." Annabelle had much restraint, enough to avoid throwing a fit. She stormed out, drove home as fast as she could, and slammed open her front door to confront her husband. "KIERAN!! You named our daughters without my consent?!" "W-what?" "I just went to Toronto General and they told me you named our daughters. You named them, had them put the names on the birth certificates, and now...I-I'm...do you know how hard it is to change a name in Toronto? The wait time for just their response form is ridiculous!" "At the rate you were going, I had a feeling you were going to just leave them without!" "What?! I would never! The hospital requires names for the babies!" The argument dragged on and on, soon delving into nothing but shallow and worthless fallacies. And all the while, not a single soul noticed little Felicity crawling her way out of the house, having been situated on the living room floor moments before. She made her way to the front yard, to the oak tree standing tall and proud within it, to the tube system that lied just ahead of it. "Fine! Fine!! You know what? Fuck you! I'm leaving! I never wanted to live here in this...shitty old building that you couldn't even bother to renovate, let alone live in with you!" "Oh, so you're gonna leave? What about our daughters?" "You can keep them! If they want to join Odd Squad so much, then I refuse to even call them my daughters!" Annabelle stomped out the door and right down the steps. Kieran leaned his body outside. "I'll file the divorce papers first thing tomorrow morning!" "Yeah, you better, you son of a bitch!" "Swearing is pretty unbecoming of a proper lady!" "Shut the fuck up!" As Annabelle walked away and Kieran went back in, a sudden feeling washed over him. A feeling that sickened him to his stomach. A feeling that no father should ever have to face. In that moment, he realized that his daughter was gone. He turned the house upside down and inside out looking for her, but after many hours, days, weeks, months of searching, he never found her. He tried asking around town, filing missing child reports, everything that he could possibly do to get Felicity back. Eventually, he woke up one day, went looking for her, and simply gave up. He became resigned to the fact that his daughter was gone forever. On the worst days, he became resigned to a theory, the theory that she was hurt in some manner, or completely dead. "Ever since then, for eleven years, he has been living in regret, anxiety, and despair. But deep within him is a little spark of hope -- hope that his daughter will one day return to him, happy and healthy." Olive stared at the ground, numb to the tears landing on the blades of grass like droplets of rain. "If you let Mandy find Kieran again, Olive, you would be doing a good thing for all involved parties." Sob after sob made the Director's body quiver. "D-d-did- I k-k-k-" "Kidnap Mandy?" Haruko shook her head. "Of course not. Had you not rescued Mandy that fateful day, she would have passed unceremoniously, in a way I am quite sure she would not want to go out." A wail that sounded more akin to that of a dying animal than that of an anguished human forced its way out. "Where Annabelle had declared her intentions to leave her child in the care of whom had effectively become a single father, you have stepped up in more ways than one." Haruko closed her eyes. "Please, Olive, do not cry." "B-but I...I raised..." Olive swallowed some saliva that had stuck to the roof of her mouth, and tried to take steady deep breaths to regulate her emotions. "I raised Mandy for eleven years, thinking she didn't have any loving parents. But she did. S-she did..." She grit her teeth. "She had...a loving father. A loving mother. A loving couple, broken up by...a name change...!" Haruko simply tilted her head. A bitter laugh slipped from Olive's lips, a few more tears falling as a last hurrah. "Marriage is a funny thing, huh? You have someone who's crazy about someone else propose with a big fat ring, have a big ceremony with all their friends and family and an officiant, move in together, and...they're expected to stay together for life." She rolled her drying eyes. "For a couple to be broken up over something as insignificant as the legal name change of two babies makes no sense. But I suppose it's all about perspective." Her chocolate-brown gaze moved to Haruko. "Is it possible that Annabelle and Kieran weren't the happy couple you thought they were, even before the whole name change thing? I mean, how do you even know what happened, anyway?" For a minute or two, Haruko didn't answer, instead closing her eyes in contemplation. When she opened them again and made eye contact with Olive, her stance and gaze were rigid. "Because I was the spirit guardian of Annabelle." Olive's eyes widened. Her jaw hung open for a moment as her mind fixated on two things -- what a spirit guardian was, and how Haruko came to be Annabelle's. After debating on what question to ask first, she decided to bite the bullet and pick one at random. "What's a 'spirit guardian'?" "Just as I once did with Annabelle, my job is to guide Mandy throughout her life, to be a shoulder to lean on while also giving her advice." To Olive, that answered hardly anything. So she moved on to her second question. "Okay, so how did you become Annabelle's spirit guardian, exactly?" "Mandy is but the most recent being in need of my guidance." Haruko responded. "My help extends far through ancestries, both hers and mine." "So your grandmother helped Mandy's grandmother...your uncle helped Mandy's uncle...so on and so forth? Is that it?" "You could say that, although our family members do not line up. We Elementals live quite a long time, after all." Now Olive's mind was swirling with more questions than answers. This whole ordeal was like a difficult case with leads that reached into the twenties as a rough estimate, and she forced herself to get back on track. She wanted to learn more about Haruko, but from what she had heard, the kitsune seemed trustworthy enough in both her words and her demeanor. "Okay. Tell me more about how you were Annabelle's spirit guardian." Haruko smiled at the memories. "I had looked after Annabelle from childhood. She was a warm and kind spirit, who had big dreams and everlasting generosity even in spite of her rather horrific home life." Olive opened her mouth. "Out of respect for her, please do not inquire about it. I prefer to not share details." Disappointed but understanding, Olive closed her mouth and simply gave a nod. "I watched and guided her as she grew up, year after year. Where she hardly had anyone to rely on, she had me. We were like best friends." "Hold on. You were best friends?" Haruko sadly nodded. "Unfortunately, several months after she divorced Kieran, she...developed cancer. Which she did not survive." A soft gasp left Olive's lips, more as an instinctual reaction than anything else. "Oh my odd..." "To my luck, I was able to save her spirit before it was allowed to disappear into the stars above. She now roams the Grasslands as a kitsune wielding the power of fire." This made Olive perk up considerably, even though she had questions about how, exactly, Haruko saved Annabelle's spirit. "So does that mean she's around here somewhere? Can I meet her?" Haruko looked around the area, her expression one of hesitance. "I am not quite sure she would appear for an employee of the organization she had once vehemently despised..." She looked at the sky. "And she does not roam freely around the Grasslands as often as I do." "Please, try." Olive begged. "If I talk to her...it would help. A lot. I would be able to...I-I mean, as mothers...except she gave birth to Mandy, not me, obviously..." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just...y-you probably understand what I'm saying. Hopefully. Oh odd, I can feel my stress rising..." "I understand that this is a lot to take in. And under normal circumstances, I would encourage you to stop if you feel you are getting overwhelmed." Haruko blinked. "But I feel that the more knowledge you have, the more you will be able to care for and help Mandy as she grows." The kitsune closed her eyes and called out the name of whom had now become one of her brethren. No response. She tried again. Still no response. The wind whistled as it rushed through, moving the blades of grass to the left and sending a few loose dandelion seeds scattering. Materializing from the dim stars in the bright blue sky right then and there, within a haze of gloriously warm yellow light, was a kitsune. Pearly-white in color, her nine tails shone with the heat and the brightness of burning flames, each seemingly crafted from fire itself. Her yellow eyes shone brightly as they landed on the duo that sat before her. "Haruko? You called for me?" "I did." Haruko gestured to the girl next to her. "Annabelle, I would like for you to meet Agent Olive. She is an Odd Squad agent who-" "An Odd Squad agent?!" Annabelle's lips curled back into an ugly snarl. "Haruko, I thought I told you I did not want to associate with such filth! That organization took away my daughter and corrupted her so that her mind became filled with nothing but the most gastly poison!" Olive blinked. Huh. From the way she talks, I'd think she was Rarity reincarnated. Though I don't associate the mare with the element of fire...and obviously she's not dead. "Annabelle, please, do try to hear me out." Haruko pleaded, trying to keep her voice calm but not doing so well at making sure her tone didn't edge into desperation. "Olive is Mandy's adoptive mother." The other kitsune closed her eyes and jerked her head to the side. "I will have nothing of it!" Finally, Olive decided it was her turn to speak up. "Annabelle?" She reached out a tentative hand. "I know I'm an Odd Squad agent...no, an Odd Squad Director. I've run Precinct 73955 for a long time now." Biting her lip, she refrained from throwing in the tidbit that she would never leave Odd Squad, because, while it was true, she didn't want to anger Mandy's real mother any further. "But I raised Mandy for eleven years, in both your stead and Kieran's. I gave her all the love and care and attention I could give her, even though I didn't know anything about raising a child. I was, after all, only twelve years old...and physically, I still am." Annabelle's right eye creaked open to a half-lidded state. "I think you'll be happy to know that Mandy is a very well-adjusted individual. She's a little...weird...likes to scoop me up in bear hugs, shake me like a blender, and she can eat and sleep like the devil..." A chuckle came forth. "But she's brightened up my life, and that of everyone else, considerably. Odd Squad really wouldn't be the same without her." Olive scratched an idle itch on her arm. "Um...i-is...Mandy okay? As a name? I...heard the entire story from Haruko, and she mentioned you wanting to name her Allegra." A pause. And then Annabelle gave a sharp exhale through her nose. "Yes. It's of Italian descent, like my grandfather was. It means joyful or lively." She tried to resist giving a smile, but it became clear she was losing that battle. "I wanted her to grow up to bring life to a room at any moment with her exuberant personality. I had hopes for her to become as stylish as I had wanted to be, to succeed where...where I had failed...where...!" Her body began to shake. Neither Olive or Haruko said anything for a full minute. "Mandy is very stylish." Olive attempted to assure, an uneven smile gracing her face that she hoped Annabelle didn't notice. "In fact, she grew up with a fashion designer. A pony from another world known as Equestria. Her name is Rarity." Her smile slowly grew more genuine as she spoke. "She is the most generous soul you could ever meet, always putting others before herself. And like you, she too is a proper lady." Olive made sure to use present tense instead of past tense, in order to avoid upsetting Annabelle anymore. "Mandy works on clothes too, although she, um...does it more as a hobby than anything else. B-but she enjoys it, really!" Annabelle stopped shaking and fell still, her head bowed down. Although no one could see it, a small smile graced her lips as she thought of all the other wondrous things her daughter could be up to. Within those thoughts, she came to a decision. No...she came to many decisions. At once. "I see." Her head became raised again, and she made eye contact with Haruko. "Haruko, would you happen to know...exactly what happened to my daughter after she..." The sentence wasn't finished, but Haruko nodded anyway. "Certainly. Olive and I would both be more than happy to tell you the story, Annabelle, if you so desire." "Please." For the next few minutes, Haruko and Olive both reiterated the story of the horrific pienado incident and how Mandy had been found and rescued, with Olive filling in the gaps that Haruko had missed from spotty points in her memory of the events. They watched as Annabelle reacted in horror, relief, and joy as she got wind of her daughter having nearly been killed and then having been saved by someone she had treated with disdain only a short time ago. And then, sensing that the floodgates had been opened and things were improving, Olive decided to go a step further. She began telling stories of her experiences in raising Mandy, from taking her to all sorts of places to the trials and tribulations of potty-training to experimenting with all sorts of foods in an effort to find out which ones she liked (which, really, were all of them), and so much more. Hearing these anecdotes raised Annabelle's spirit considerably, though it was clear there were even more troubling things on her mind. "You feel upset because your time with Mandy would have been cut short due to your cancer diagnosis, don't you?" Olive's question was so specific that Haruko couldn't help but widen her eyes, even more so when Annabelle gave her answer. "I...y-yes." Clearly, Annabelle was just as surprised as her former spirit guardian. "I understand now that even if my daughter hadn't escaped, she would have grown up without a mother to care for her." Her sad gaze rested on Olive. "So in a way, perhaps her meeting you was...a stroke of fate?" Even though Annabelle edged her words into a question, Olive blinked a few times, having not considered that angle when it came to Mandy suddenly appearing from nowhere and then being rescued from harm. Slowly she nodded. "Maybe it was." "If it helps, Annabelle..." Haruko raised a tentative paw. "Why not travel outside of the Grasslands to meet Mandy yourself?" Annabelle shifted. "You know I haven't been outside of the Grasslands since I died, Haruko. It...it hurts too much." She squeezed her eyes shut. "What if I see Mandy? What would I even say to her? You...you've seen her many times, and so you're used to her. But me? I simply wouldn't even know where to start." Haruko exchanged a sympathetic glance with Olive before giving a warm smile to Annabelle. "Even though you are no longer human, Mandy will recognize you. I am sure of it. And if it is conversing with her you are worried about..." A soft chuckle bubbled forth. "I can assure you that she will have that more than covered." "Oh definitely. Once Mandy gets going, it's hard to stop her." Olive amusedly rolled her eyes. "Her personal record for 'Longest Public Speech Given' clocks in at about four hours. And she only stopped there because she was overdue for her daily nap." Olive's words served to ease Annabelle's worries, but also made her more and more curious as to how her daughter had grown up. She put on a brave smile. "I'll take both of your words for it." A deep breath, and she rose to a standing position. "All right. It's time for me to move forward. If I am being quite honest, staying within one place for ten years has not done many wonders for my mental health." She glanced at Haruko. "But, um, one question...can others...see me?" "Not outside of the Grasslands, unless you wish for them to. Even I cannot be seen by anyone other than Mandy when I traverse around." Annabelle nodded. "I see. In that case, Haruko...I would like for you to lead me to Mandy. You know her well, after all." "Hey!" "A-and you as well, Olive, of course!" Annabelle issued a bout of meek laughter to the Director. "Lead the way, both of you." As Olive and Haruko both stood and began their journey towards the border, where the Grasslands met the rest of the world, Olive couldn't help but wonder if there was something she forgot. Oh wait, now I know! I got here by teleportation. I have no idea where I'm being taken. But if I can get to the real world, surely there's a tube nearby that leads to 13579...and if there is, I can take Haruko and Annabelle with me. Problem solved! But even in spite of that realization, something within her gut told her that wasn't it, and so she was forced to have the gears in her mind turn as she continued to walk. Peaches and Mandy had decided to continue training in Trillium Park, in order to have more room than the stuffiness that Headquarters sometimes brought. "Mandy?" The hybrid blinked, but didn't turn her head back to a straight position from where she had it angled to her left. "Huh?" "Is there something I'm not seeing?" Peaches looked behind her. "You keep looking behind me, or to the left, or anywhere but at my face." "I'm...w-well..." Mandy blinked again. "I keep seeing this man. Around. It's like he knows me or something." She shook her head. "Ahh, it's prolly nothin'. Let's get back to the transformation teachings!" But the more Mandy went around town, the more she saw the same person. One second she would look, and the next second he would be gone, usually by way of a tree Mandy passed or by way of a car that drove by. It made chills go up her spine, and created an uneasy feeling in her gut. She had about half a mind to go to Oprah and demand that she do something about it, simply because she was about the closest thing Toronto had to a police chief. Finally, after hour upon hour of feeling utterly creeped out by how many times she saw him doing things around town, she decided to confront the man head-on. In spite of Peaches telling her not to soar into oncoming traffic, Mandy did so anyway and tackled the man, sending both combatants tumbling to the ground. "Awright, who do you think you are?! All you've been doin' is followin' me around town all day and starin' at me! If ya wanna talk to me then you'd better do it now before I send your butt hurlin' across the equator, you hear?! I'm in the middle of somethin' important so you'd better not waste my time with meaningless chitchat!" All the man could do in response was stammer and throw up his hands. "Mandy! Stop harassing him!" Peaches called, making sure no cars were coming from both lanes before freely jaywalking. "And get off of him, you're ruining his shirt!" "But Peeeeeeach, this guy's been a big old creepazoid all day! If he wants to talk to me then talk to me! What's the big deal?!" "You don't know his story!" Peaches sighed and grabbed Mandy by the torso. "Sir, let me apologize for her behavior. She's a little energetic and tends to act on impulse..." She tried to free one of her hands to help the man up, but couldn't, and so she was forced to settle for a smile. "Are you okay?" "I-I'm..." The man rose slowly to his feet. "I'm fine." He brushed off his shirt and his pants. "I should apologize as well. It's just that...she reminds me of someone I knew." He looked up. Stared into Peaches' eyes. If it weren't for the pedestrians and the vehicles passing by them, ponies and people alike, the minutes-long silence would have been deafening. The sensation of a thrashing Mandy brought Peaches back to reality. "Mandy, stop. If I set you down, promise not to tackle this guy again." "Okay, okay, but I think your hand's crushin' my spleen!" Sighing, Peaches set her cousin down onto the ground and went back to gazing at the man. "I'm sorry, do I...know you?" "I'd know those faces anywhere." Peaches tilted her head. "Mind elaborating?" "You're Peaches and..." The man paused for a few seconds. "...Mandy?" Ignoring the pitiful moan of a Mandy whose body was in the process of re-forming a spleen, Peaches nodded. "I am...and she is..." she hesitantly responded. "Can we help you?" "Ha...well, I might as well come out and say it. Please, try not to freak out." Of course, in the mental home of Peaches, all of the red sirens and warning signs were sounding. She braced herself for what was to come, gritting her teeth and trying to steady her breathing. "I'm your father." A final wheeze from Mandy as she looked up at the man with bugged-out blue eyes. Peaches had the same reaction, only more verbal. "...What." "I'm your father. Both of yours." More silence. Mandy being Mandy, she decided to crack the tension with an icebreaker. "...C-can I have fries and a DNA test with that, please?" The man simply furrowed his brows in confusion. "Please, I know this is sudden, but I'd like to invite you both to my house for a drink. We can get things straightened out there." "Can I see your criminal record?" "Mandy!" Peaches, momentarily free from the shock she had been experiencing, elbowed her cousin. "Don't be rude!" "Whaaaaaat? We don't know this guy, Peach! For all we know he could kitnap us! Kidnap us! Kit-kidnap us!" "I...Mandy, no. I'm...I'm getting this feeling. A feeling of familiarity." Peaches clenched and unclenched her hands a few times. "I think we should follow him. Besides, we could use a break from all the training we've been doing." Mandy's mouth pinched inwards. "Fine. But maybe, just maybe, I won't save you if he decides to do whatever bad thing he's gonna do to us. Maybe." Something told the man that his daughter, as...strange as she was, wasn't about to be easily swayed into believing the truth -- which was rather understandable in his eyes, given what he had just told them. "If you would just follow me." he urged, beginning to walk away. A curious Peaches and a very hesitant Mandy followed suit. About twenty minutes of walking later, and Peaches, Mandy, and the man stood in front of a tan-colored one-story house, right in the middle of a community that, to all of them, had the feel of a tight-knit neighborhood. "Please, come in." The man approached the front door with keys in hand, unlocking it and opening it. "Feel free to sit anywhere you'd like." Mandy was the first to zip on up and examine the house's interior, only after thoroughly examining the exterior and taking pictures. She began to snap photos of the interior as well, keeping her eyes squinted and not paying attention to the man and Peaches walking in. As Peaches got settled in a recliner and the man sat on the couch, the latter glanced at Mandy. "Are you sure you wouldn't like a chair?" "Don't bother me, I'm takin' pictures." Peaches heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Privacy is a lost virtue on you." "So's trust, clearly." "Uh, so!" The man clapped his hands together. "I might as well start by introducing myself. My name is Kieran, and I've been living here in Toronto for...pretty much all of my life." He gestured to the area. "I only recently moved into this home after my wife and I divorced." "You're divorced?" Peaches asked. "What happened?" Kieran's eyes moved from side to side. "Um..." He twiddled his fingers. "Before I get to that, perhaps I should repeat myself. I'm your father, Peaches. I'm...also Mandy's father." Now the shock began to push its way forth in Peaches again. "I-I'm sorry, this...it's just hard to believe. We're cousins." "No, more than that. You and...Mandy are sisters." Kieran smiled. "Sorry, I'm still getting used to Mandy's name. She wasn't always called that, you know." "Oh?" "Oh!" Kieran got up with a lot more effort than it should have taken a man of his age to get up, giving a hefty grunt. "I'm so sorry, where are my manners? I forgot to ask you two if you'd like something to eat or drink. I have some cheese and crackers in the kitchen, and I have all sorts of drinks too." "I'll take some cheese and crackers. And just water is fine." "And for you, Mandy?" "Get me whatever, I'm busy!" The voice came from somewhere inside the house -- Kieran placed it as being in the bathroom. A few minutes later, some cheese and crackers, along with three glasses of water, were set on the table. Peaches eagerly went for a piece of cheese and a cracker, popping it into her mouth. "Is it good?" Peaches nodded. "Good." Kieran took a deep breath. "Anyway, as I was saying, Mandy wasn't always called Mandy. And you...you weren't always called Peaches." Luckily, Peaches took the time to swallow her snack before she spoke. "I...r-really? You don't say!" She put on a lopsided grin. "Uh, what...what were our names, exactly?" "You were going to be Mercy. And Mandy was going to be Allegra." Peaches' mouth turned into a frown as her nose wrinkled. "Mercy?" She blinked. "I, uh, think I'll stick with Peaches. Mercy is...well, it doesn't really sit with me. Though I guess it fits with the naming theme of Vallea...somewhat..." Hearing the name of the town made Kieran's eyes widen, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Mandy came storming into the living room, grabbing a few slices of cheese and a few crackers in her telekinetic field. "Mandy, where are you going?" "To Toronto General, cuz." "And why are you going there?" "I want to see if Kieran..." Mandy spat out the name with as much venom as she could pump into it. "...is really my dad or not. If I can get ahold of some info, then-" "You could just look it up online." Mandy paused. Considered it for a moment. Then nodded. "All right. Then I'm goin' back to Odd Squad." "Nonsense!" Kieran waved a hand. "I have a computer in my bedro-" Within five seconds, Mandy was in and out, laptop bag in hand. She quickly set up the device, turned it on, and got to work punching the keys into a search engine, Peaches sitting beside her on the couch. "Ah, yes. 'Birth, Marriage and Death Records in Ontario', less'see..." Mandy clicked on the search result and promptly groaned when the first thing that popped up was a link to The Ontario Name Index. Still, she clicked on it, punched in Kieran's first name as well as the year he was born and his location once she retrieved it, and waited. After about five minutes, his name popped up. "This you?" Kieran studied the result. "Yeah, that's me." Mandy clicked. Read the result. Widened her eyes as one particular thing caught her eye. KIERAN CURRENTLY SURVIVED BY: Felicity, Peaches (daughters) There was more beyond that, but her brain forced her to stop before she got past the "survived by his daughters" bit. Her mouth ran dry as she flashed back to the nightmare that the Dream Weaver had planted in her brain. That woman, holding her baby tight, leaving her to go to a fancy party...the Dream Weaver telling her that it had been dug out from the darkest depths of her mind. At the time, Mandy hadn't believed her. Why would she, when she had twisted her mind to make Olive and everyone else enemies who had brutally assaulted her? Who was to say that the illusion of that woman and her baby wasn't just that, a kind of twisted version of who Mandy's mother actually was? But now...Mandy knew. That particular illusion was no mere illusion. It was real, right down to the name. She had been watching herself in infancy. She read the text on the computer over and over again, unable to comprehend it. It wasn't just the fact that she had realized the man sitting next to her was really, truly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, her real father -- it was the fact that she had realized the catgirl sitting next to her was really, truly, beyond a shadow of a doubt, her sister. We were never cousins. We were never cousins. We were never cousins. All this time...she's been my...m-my... She looked from Kieran to Peaches and back again. Peaches in particular looked to be in a similar amount of shock from what was displayed onscreen, though she still looked like she had a head on her. Mandy's, however, had metaphorically rolled on down to The Lone Star State and set up a house to retire in. My name...my name's not even Mandy. It was really Felicity. I...w-what...who... Slowly, the hybrid glanced down at her hands. Her breathing came in quick bursts, a sign that she was just on the edge of having a panic attack that could only come about as a reaction that most people would have. A shame Mandy wasn't "most people". With her eyes rolling up in her head, she slumped forward, her head colliding with the table before it, along with the rest of her body, hit the floor and bounced a little ways like a basketball on the last fringes of its life. "Oh God!" Kieran quickly knelt down. "A-are you okay?!" "She'll be fine." Peaches said, breaking her concentration to gaze at Kieran. "She just fainted from shock." "I'll put her in my room." As Kieran scooped Mandy up, gave a groan as he underestimated how heavy she was, and carried her to his bed, Peaches rubbed her head as her mind began swirling with thoughts -- about how her name had been Mercy, about how she was Mandy's sister, about how her memories of growing up in Vallea had lined up with the realization that King Ashero had lied about her true origins. She felt a headache begin to grow, and she took another cheese-and-cracker snack in an attempt to try and lessen its pain. She was so deep within her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Kieran walk into the living room, mouthing words that she didn't understand. "Huh?" "Oh, I said I just laid Mandy down. Do you know...how long she's going to be out for?" "Who knows." Peaches said hurriedly. "But forget about her. I need to know more about...all this. I want to get things straight." "Okay." Kieran sat down next to her. "Why don't I start from when my wife was pregnant?" Peaches nodded, and Kieran began to explain his side of things. I had always wanted a child to call my own. I wanted to grow the family, to have a fresh face around the house. But most of all, I wanted a child that I could send to Odd Squad -- the organization I had heard about, the one who saved the world on a daily basis and protected all of us from harm. I wanted a child that could do the same thing, a child that I could be proud of. I tried dropping hints of this to my wife, but she didn't seem to realize it. Eventually, she took a pregnancy test and...I found out I was going to be a dad. I was more than overjoyed, especially when I found out that she was growing two new lives inside of her. We went all out in buying stuff for you and your sister, the highest-quality stuff we could afford. The nine months of waiting was pure agony, even more so when we came to the collective decision that we wouldn't name you two right away because we wanted to pick out the best names. I remember being there, the day you were born. Hearing you and your sister's shrill cries after those of my wife had died down was incredible. Dr. Burke, who had been treating us, approved of our decision to not name you on the spot, but told us we would need to do so within two weeks. That was more than enough time for me, because it gave me the opportunity to really think of the lives I wanted you two to lead. I knew my wife disapproved of Odd Squad and the kids who worked for it. But that didn't stop me. We had disagreements that ended in truces...at least, up until you two were born. After that, we argued constantly. My stress levels rose. Neither one of us changed our minds -- instead, we only kept sticking by what we said, even when we went to drop you off in Vallea. Finally, I had enough. Before the two-week deadline was up, I went to the hospital and gave the doctors your names, Felicity and Peaches. They put it on the certificates and made it official, and I thought that even though I hadn't told my wife, that would be the end of it. Until I had been relaxing on my day off from work and heard the door slam open. It was one of the worst arguments I ever had with my wife, but I don't have any regrets about what I said. She had procrastinated on giving the doctors names, and when she left, she didn't even stop to think about you two. I, however, looked for Felici- er, Mandy when she disappeared, and I looked constantly. When I wasn't at work or dealing with the aftermath of the divorce, I was looking for her. One day, I woke up, prepared myself for another day of sales, and convinced myself that Mandy was never coming back. She was dead, and that was it. I was waiting for a knock on my door that never came. I remember falling into a deep depression after that, and my doctor prescribed me antidepressants. That's what I've been holding onto all these years. "Wait, wait." Peaches held a hand up. "What was that? After 'we argued constantly'?" "We dropped you off in Vallea." Kieran paused to taste the name on his tongue. "Do you...not remember?" Peaches shook her head. "I...n-no. I mean...yes?" She blinked. "I was fed lie after lie by King Ashero about my origins. It wasn't until I eavesdropped on him and his idiotic assistant that I learned the truth." Her eyes began to water. "So the couple that dropped me off...that was you and your wife?" "Yes. Believe it or not, some of my ancestors are catpeople, and I had heard about Vallea from them." Kieran closed the laptop in an effort to save the power of the built-in battery. "So when you were born, I decided to leave you there, in order to give you a better life that Toronto could not." He frowned. "It seems that didn't pan out the way I expected, huh?" Peaches sighed. "Not in the slightest. I was mocked, bullied and ostracized by all of the townspeople." she reiterated. "And then, when I was exiled under the guise of finding out who burned the town down, I met Mandy, and we became friends." She stopped and tapped her chin in thought. "Or I guess...'reunited with Mandy' would be a better way to put it." "Vallea burned down?" "Yeah. The damage was pretty bad. But I'm willing to bet they've rebuilt a lot of it by now." The conversation came to a lull as Kieran absorbed the information. After a few minutes, he nodded. "I see. I'm really sorry that happened to you, Peaches. You don't deserve that." "Oh, don't worry about it." Peaches waved a dismissive hand and smirked. "Ashero will get what's coming to him eventually. I, for one, am hoping it'll be by Mandy's hands." Kieran nodded in agreement. "Believe me, my ancestors were told enough bad things about Ashero. It's time he goes." Right then and there, the conversation died down again, and stayed that way for far more than a few minutes. More than one glance was shot towards the bedroom. "So, uh...why don't you tell me what you've been up to all these years? I'm sure you have lots of stories to share." Peaches perked up at the opportunity, eagerly nodded. "All right. When I ran into Mandy for the first time in years..." "She WHAAAAAT?!" The angry bellow shook the castle walls, but did not do so much as rattle the guards, who stayed as firm and as rigid as ever. It did, however, rattle the multicolor-haired catgirl standing before her leader. "She...she went with this man. Said that he was her father." A loud creaking sound produced a groan that bounced throughout the room. "I cannot believe it. She found out about her origins!" the tyrant roared. "Oh, I should have killed those humans while I had the chance...!" "Um...King Ashero?" "What?" The catgirl flinched. "S-should we...kill...Peaches?" "Absolutely not. You...peasants killing Peaches is forbidden." Ashero gave a derisive snort. "She shall be killed by my paws and my paws alone." "I...see..." Ashero fell silent, contemplating his next move. The air only grew more and more ominous for the next minute or so as his mind swam with ideas. "All right." He slowly opened his eyes. "So perhaps Peaches has figured out her true origins. But there is still the matter of her treachery at hand. If we can kill her, absolutely nothing of value will be lost." A smirk began to form. "And that poor pitiful half-breed, all of her pathetic friends, will be grieving, in such vulnerable states that it will be easy to capture them and kill them all." "B-but Your Majesty, I thought...we were just killing Peaches and Mandy." Ashero's eyebrow raised. "Did you not hear my announcement yesterday, Rine?" His smirk flipped upside down. "My goals have shifted. If we are to capture and kill Peaches and Mandy, we mustn't stop at just them. We mustn't stop at just Olive and Otto." His eyes narrowed. "We stop at all of them. Those tiny horses, that bun-haired brat. All of them need to perish from this world, for the safety of me and my subjects!" Rine shivered. "And of course...how could I forget?" Ashero's furry tail-tip flicked. "Dare I say we have two new contenders to deal with?" "Y-you mean...Peaches' parents?" "Yes." Ashero grinned. "If we can eliminate them, then Vallea will finally be at peace." As his rip-roaring malicious laugh echoed through the quarters, ideas began forming in his mind for just how, exactly, he was going to take said parents down. The solution was, of course, right in front of him. The solution was sent out almost immediately without question or hesitation. The solution would get the job done, and he knew it. After all, to not get it done would result in swift and painful execution, and none of his fellow townsfo- subjects wanted that. If he were so inclined, maybe, just maybe, he would oversee the execution himself, right in Toronto. Olive wasn't really sure how long it took to get to Precinct 13579 from the Magical Grasslands, mainly because her mental stopwatch had died unceremoniously about a quarter of the way into the journey. But she supposed that didn't matter, given that she had already bounced from the precinct to Trillium Park with no sign of Mandy. "Oh, is this her favorite park?" the sparkling celestial form of Annabelle asked, looking around at all of the people and ponies hanging out within it. "It looks just as lovely as I remember it." "Huh. Oprah said she and Peaches were here." Olive mused. "Maybe they moved somewhere else." Haruko closed her eyes, not saying anything for a few moments. "Are you thinking about something, Haruko?" "No. I am attempting to feel for Mandy's current state." A soft gasp left her maw. "She is...she..." And then, they closed again. "Ah. She is at peace now." Annabelle sharply jerked her head towards Haruko. "What do you mean, she is at peace now? She wasn't at peace before?" "She was in a state of unconsciousness. But I can..." Haruko paused. "I can sense that she is alive and asleep." Olive's eyebrows furrowed. "How...if someone faints, they can't just go from..." She blinked. "But Mandy can. Of course. Only Mandy." "What?!" The word was practically a scream, befitting of a mother who had lost her child once and didn't want to lose her again. "What happened?!" "Mandy fainted. From there, she transitioned from being unconscious to being asleep. Like..." Olive bit her lip. "Like someone opened up her head and poured a big bucket of dreams in it, I guess?" "But why did she faint?" Annabelle looked around, desperate for an exit. "Ohhh, we simply must find her! I must know she's okay!" "Annabelle, please, do calm down. Panicking will not help us find Mandy." Haruko urged. "Perhaps it is possible that some of the citizens have seen her." Olive shook her head. "Better idea. Have you heard of a little device called a 'cellphone', Haruko?" Which was, of course, the easy way out of the entire predicament, as Peaches managed to pick up after only four ringback tones. "Um...hello?" "Peaches? It's Olive. Where are you right now?" "I...uh...it's a little hard to answer right now. Why?" Olive shot a wink at Annabelle and Haruko before continuing. "We're trying to find Mandy and we don't know where she is. She was with you, so we were thinking maybe you could help us out." "Oh." Peaches gave a breathy anxiety-filled chuckle. "Um, and why are you trying to find her, exactly?" Olive felt the sweat bead form, and then felt it roll down her face. "If I tell you, it's going to be in-person and when you're sitting down." A pause. "Yeah, you know what? Same here." Peaches' laughter sounded almost unhinged and forced, like someone was literally beating the laughs right out of her with a club. "We're, uh, at The View Pointe. It's a little community of apartments. 12 Bellow Avenue." "If you let Mandy rent an apartment, then you and I are going to have words." "She's not getting an apartment!" Peaches sighed. "Just...come here. There's a lot to discuss." The catgirl hung up, leading Olive to snap her badge phone closed and clip it to her suit. "Haruko, you wouldn't happen to know where Bellow Avenue is?" A moment of thought. "It sounds rather familiar..." "Or The View Pointe?" And then a nod. "Ah, yes. I remember passing by that at some point." "Great! Lead the way!" As Annabelle, Haruko and Olive walked down Bellow Avenue, the former couldn't stop the nervous aura that began to radiate from her. "Are you nervous, Annabelle?" Annabelle moved her head towards Haruko, who had saddled up beside her. "Perhaps a little. I'm more than willing to take your word and that of Olive's about Mandy being quite a conversationalist, but my anxiety hasn't completely left me." She looked straight ahead. "I just feel like something is going to happen, and I can't tell what, exactly." "I see." Haruko nodded. "In whatever case, Olive and I shall be by your side to support you." "Thank you." Reaching 12 Bellow Avenue was an easy feat, especially when the numbers plastered on the fronts of the apartments were all made out of red LED lighting. Olive decided to take the liberty of ringing the doorbell. It was a rather long ten-note tune, one that echoed through the ears of everyone, but even its pleasantness didn't remove the awkward tension that came from waiting. And waiting. And waiting. The door opened, though neither Peaches nor Mandy were on the other end. "Oh, M-Ms. O! Er, sorry, I mean...uh...w-whatever your name is." "Just Olive is fine, sir." "Right. Anyway, how can I help you, Olive?" "Well, I'm here with Ha-" She stopped. Blinked. Looked to her right. And came to the sudden realization that the man standing in front of her couldn't see neither Haruko nor Annabelle. "I'm here alone..." Olive mentally slapped herself for how weak that amendment was. "...to get a few people I know. Peaches and Mandy." "Oh! Yeah, I have them right here. Please, come in." Olive did so, and was immediately met with a view of Peaches sitting on the couch politely, giving her a smile. "Olive! Oh, you made it." Peaches stood up. "I was worried you wouldn't find us." "...I have a GPS built into my tablet. Also I've lived here for longer than you have." A pause. "Really now? Aha...ha..." Peaches put on a lopsided grin. "Um, anyway, I figure you want to see where Mandy is." She glanced at the man. "Ki- I- I mean Dad...is it okay if I give Olive a peek into your room?" "Go ahead." Peaches had actively avoided slipping up, but it was made quite clear that Olive had noticed -- and not that the catgirl knew, but so did Haruko. Annabelle, on the other hand, simply stared at Kieran in wordless shock, her mouth running dry as she became at a loss for what to say. With her standing rigid, Haruko, Peaches and Olive decided to head to the bedroom. A loud muffled snore pierced through the door. "How many decibels is that?" Peaches asked. "Well, if I had to venture a guess..." Olive paused. "I'd say it's almost equal to a jet plane taking o-" She paused again. Turned around. Looked through the entire room. Laid eyes on Kieran. Proceeded to glance at the door to the bedroom and at Kieran, struggling to decide what to tackle first. Ultimately decided to go for Mandy first, if only to alleviate some of the shock she was feeling. Heaving a sigh, Olive opened the door, and was immediately met with what was perhaps one of the most undignified portrayals of a sleeping Mandy she had ever seen. The hybrid, lying stomach-side down on a pillow, had given a hearty goodbye to a majority of the sheets, her body sprawled out and positioned in a way only befitting that of a chalk outline of a contortionist. The snores she gave were wall-cracking, though surprisingly not in the literal sense, as drool poured from her mouth and onto the bed. And to the trio's relief, she was in her usual form. "She hasn't shapeshifted, has she?" Olive asked of Peaches. "Nope. She's been like this since she fainted." "And exactly why did she faint?" Peaches blinked. "Ahh...um...it's related to that thing I have to tell you. If you could sit on the couch?" "Mmmrrrrrr...Momma, I love you..." Olive stared at her daughter, then looked at Annabelle. Going by the way she was still watching Kieran in shock, she didn't seem to process Mandy's sleep-talk, which was a shame because if the Director was being honest, she would have liked to see her reaction. Still, she closed the door and moved towards the couch as Peaches instructed, taking a seat beside her. "Kieran- uh, Dad?" Peaches glanced at the man. "There's someone you should...um...meet. Personally." "Hi. Kieran, right? You must be Mandy's...real...father." Olive wore a lopsided grin as she stuck her hand out. "I'm Olive, Mandy's adoptive mother." Haruko watched with concern as the pair shook hands, the awkwardness and tension between them getting under her fur more than she'd care to admit. "So you're the one who's been taking care of my daughter all these years, huh?" Kieran said. "It's nice to finally meet you." "Likewise!" Silence, until a shimmering noise brought everyone's attention to Annabelle. "Kieran?" came the soft voice. "Can you see me?" Going by the man's shocked expression, it was obvious he didn't need to give any verbal answer. Regardless, a single name slipped from his lips. "A-Annabelle?" "Oh my God." Annabelle's eyes began to water. "I-it's...it...I can't believe it." Just as suddenly, her eyes narrowed. "Why do you have my daughters?" "You mean daughter? Singular? Because we dropped off one daughter." Kieran's eyes narrowed in kind. "You abandoned the other one." "And you let her escape!" "But look who's taking care of her!" Annabelle stammered. "Y-y-yeah, well...she did a fine job...but still!" "Look, all you need to know is that I saw Peaches and Mandy around town and thought they looked familiar. So I invited them to my house for some food and drinks, and I told them the truth." Kieran explained. "I told them that I was their father." "And what of their mother?" Kieran had no rebuttal to that. He glanced at Peaches, who was staring at both of them wordlessly -- whatever Annabelle had done to reveal herself to Kieran had worked on the catgirl as well, but it was unclear how, exactly, she was taking the news of a kitsune being her mother. Annabelle gave a hmpf noise. "I thought so. Did you also tell them they were sisters?" "...Yeah." This got a groan. "Well! Then I suppose I shall have to take the liberty of telling them the other truth myself, hmm?" As Annabelle approached Peaches, the catgirl felt behind her for the couch, and exhaled in relief when her rump met the cushion. "So...y-you're...my mother?" "Yes. I am your mother, as well as Kieran's ex-wife." "So you're the one who dropped me off in Vallea?" Annabelle nodded. Peaches gripped the end of her skirt, looking down at the floor. She wasn't sure what to say first. "I am not a kitsune." Annabelle assured, or at least tried to. "Unfortunately, I am also not alive. I...had a rather arduous battle with cancer." Peaches lifted her head and stared into the green eyes that were full of remorse and sadness. Her own eyes became filled with the same emotions. "I'm so sorry." was the only thing she could say. "Thank you." Annabelle looked at Olive and Haruko, the latter of whom couldn't be seen by Peaches. "With Olive's and Haruko's help, I have been able to begin moving on. I want..." Her mouth ran dry for a minute. "I want to spend all the time with you that I can. You and Mandy both. While I am able to appear to you." Haruko opened her mouth to tell her the whole deal surrounding that kind of power, but closed it a second later, not wanting to ruin the moment. "And as for you..." Annabelle turned to Kieran and sighed in defeat. "I suppose continuing our spat even through my death is a rather fruitless endeavor. I'm still unhappy that you went behind my back to give the doctor names for our daughters that I never approved of..." She closed her eyes. "But there is no changing them now." "Actually..." Olive chimed in. "Mandy's juggling three different names now." "And it was her realizing that she had been named Felicity that made her faint to begin with." Peaches added. "I don't know how she's going to feel if she realizes that she has a third name. And I don't know which name she's going to choose to keep." She gestured towards the laptop and the table it sat on, which had been moved to the left end of the couch. "So it looks like you and Kieran are going to have a form to fill out." Everyone's gazes moved towards the door of the bedroom. Kieran's moved to the clock after a minute. "So when is Mandy going to wake up, again?" An hour later, Mandy stumbled out of the bedroom, a yawn slipping from her mouth. "Mm, wow, was that a good sleep! That bed feels so nice and homely. Best rest I've ever gotten!" She stared at the group that had gathered in the living room. The members of said group stared back. "Y'know, if ya wanted to have a party, the least you could've done was invite me." "Mandy?" Annabelle took a few cautious steps forward. "It's...is it really you?" Mandy glanced at the kitsune that had stopped at the end of the couch. She tilted her head. "Yeah? Who're you?" "My name is Annabelle. I'm your mother." A pause as thick as cake batter hung in the room. Mandy took a step back. "Y-you...you're..." "I am also Kieran's ex-wife. Unfortunately deceased." Mandy wasn't sure how to respond. She settled for a bite of her lower lip. "Please, don't be alarmed. I only wish to talk." The shock that radiated throughout Mandy's body pushed itself aside to make room for dread. Oh. Right. I was looking up Kieran online and then I saw I was named Felicity...and I... She looked at her hands. What happened to me? "You fainted." Peaches responded, having heard Mandy's thought being voiced aloud. "And then you fell asleep." Mandy's eyes drifted to Olive and to Haruko, staring at her with concern. And then she looked at the strange kitsune who called herself Annabelle and claimed to be her mother. If she was being honest, it was starting to become overwhelming. Too overwhelming. "Please, sit on the couch. I have much I would like to discuss with you." Wordlessly, but still very much wanting to cry, Mandy trudged towards the couch and sat. She watched as Annabelle moved to do the same. "Kieran...is this really your wife? Is...is this really my mother?" The question had slipped out without the hybrid's consent. Regardless, the man already had an answer. "Ex-wife, yes. We were married for five years." Mandy buried her face in her hands. "Mandy?" Haruko came and sat on the other side of the hybrid. "I do not know if you received the full story from Kieran, but I would like to tell you it regardless. I have already told Olive, and of course I feel you have every right to know as well." She placed a gentle paw on the hybrid's knee. "This is all very overwhelming for you, is it not?" She didn't answer for a minute or two, just stared at Haruko like she didn't comprehend the question. She supposed answering it would be better than running off to cry and holing herself up in her room like she wanted to and inadvertently worrying everyone, and perhaps talking to Haruko would relieve her of her worries. She nodded. "I sympathize." Haruko slightly tilted her head. "Perhaps you were not quite as ready to find out your true origins as I had thought you were. But setting that aside..." She smiled. "I would like for you to know that you have options, Mandy. You have the freedom and autonomy to choose from those options. And of course, I am here to help you if you need it." Something in her spirit guardian's words -- Mandy wasn't sure what -- opened up the floodgates in her brain that cut off communication with her mouth. "It's just so surreal, I mean Peach is my sister and Annabelle's my real mom and Kieran's my real dad and them breaking up because of a name change and I don't know if I'm ever gonna get to be around Momma again because they prolly want me to come live with them and maybe they'll take Peach back too but I really don't wanna go and I wanna stay with Mommaaaaaa!" The sound of a pitiful wail filled the room, but quickly became muffled as Mandy buried her face into Haruko's chest and cried. Even in the kitsune's sparkling form, she still had substance to her that allowed Mandy to seek physical comfort in her instead of phasing past her. With this power, she wrapped a paw and a leg around Mandy's back, allowing her to cry for as long as she needed to. No one said anything. Annabelle and Kieran exchanged worried glances, while Olive and Peaches moved to hug and comfort Mandy. "I don't wanna go..." "And you do not have to." Haruko murmured. "If you wish to stay with Mo- er, Olive..." A small blush crept on her cheeks for a moment. "...then you are more than welcome to." A hiccup, and then a sniffle. "R-really?" "Really." Olive smiled. "You're a part of Odd Squad, Mandy. You're a part of me. I'm not gonna cast you out just because you found your real parents." Peaches' heart began to warm, as her own worries about the future began to slowly ebb away. Had she let them fully consume her, she would have been no better off than Mandy, but thanks to her more mature sense of self, she still stood. "Me being your sister, Annabelle and Kieran being my real mom and dad, me being abandoned in Vallea...it all comes as a great shock to me too. I mean, who'd have thought?" She gave a soft chuckle. "But then I realized something. All that just means we can be closer than ever." Mandy took in a broken inhale of air, lifted herself up, and stared at Haruko. The frown, however, remained on her face when she looked at Annabelle and Kieran. She had no idea what was going through their heads, and it scared her. In actuality, both of their hearts were hurting from how tormented their daughter was, how distraught she was over having to make so many decisions, how they would have to give her up and let her lead the life she had come to know and love. The same went for Peaches, as well, though she didn't seem as worried as her sister. "Mandy..." Kieran spoke up first. "I'd...we'd...like to ask you a question." Annabelle smiled. "What would you like to do?" Six words. Six words that granted Mandy all the independence she could ever want. She had been asked the question quite a few times, though that was usually when she was bored or when she was given a choice of cases instead of having one seemingly at random plopped into her hands. Now, it came with the context of "in the midst of my real family being uncovered, what do I want to do with my life?" What would she choose? Did she want to continue living and working at Headquarters, just like she had been? Did she really want to live with her parents, and continue to work for Odd Squad? Did she want to retire and live a peaceful life with her parents? The third option made her shudder in fear. No way that was happening anytime soon. Maybe when she got gray hairs, creaky joints, and a cane, but that was a long ways away. The second option seemed more plausible, but something residing innately within her made her feel weird about it. Like it wasn't normal. Like it was a crafted fantasy of what adults thought Odd Squad agents did when she knew none of it was true. The first option... She glanced at Peaches. At Olive. At Haruko. She wanted to stay with all of them. She wanted to live with them. She wanted them to come to her wedding, her childbirth, her funeral. They had loved her, and she had loved them. She couldn't just say goodbye to them. A painful lump formed in her throat as her gaze came to rest on her real parents. "D-do you promise you won't get mad? No matter what?" "We promise." Annabelle assured. Mandy looked deep into her eyes. She looked at Kieran's, even through his nodding head. They both told her one thing. They were being genuine, through every word and every syllable. She tried to swallow the lump. It remained. Tears began to fill her eyes again. She tried to blink them away. "O...kay. Okay." She sniffled, and made as much eye contact with both of them as her two eyeballs would allow without drifting out of alignment. "I..." A comforting hand rubbed her back. She didn't bother to look back to see who it was. "I want...I want to keep living in Odd Squad." Silence. Though to her, it might as well be the ominous equivalent to deathly screeching. She waited for them to say something. Anything. All they did was look at each other in a way she couldn't describe. It sickened her. "Whatever you wish." Annabelle said. "If you want to live in Odd Squad, then you're more than welcome to." Kieran added. The nausea went away, slowly but surely. Relief began flowing through her. "Y-you...do you mean it? The truth? The whole truth?" "And absolutely nothing but the truth." Kieran gave a pleasant smile. "Just make sure to visit us often. Say...once a week?" "I-it's just...Odd Squad's always been my home. It's where I was raised and it's where I grew up. It's...I can't imagine..." "Mandy." Annabelle took a step forward. "You don't have to justify your decision. Whatever you choose to do is just fine with us." She took a few more steps forward, hopped up onto the couch, and raised a paw to wipe her daughter's tears away. Surprisingly, the act of doing so worked the same way anyone would wipe someone else's tears away, instead of phasing right through Mandy. "Please, do not cry, sweetie. It hurts me to see you cry. To see tears stain this beautiful face...the face of my little girl..." Mouth going dry, Mandy gave a shaky gasp. Such talk, the words like "sweetie" and "honey" and all the nicknames parents gave their children, was rare for her to hear, in part because Olive wasn't the maternal type. She was the type to vomit in her mouth if an adult so much as called her "dear". Over the years, Mandy hadn't really minded it, because Olive expressed her love in many other ways to make up for it, but hearing the words from her birth mother made her realize just how much of a deficiency she had growing up. Annabelle had asked her not to cry. Mandy did so anyway. She cried, and scooped up Annabelle in a hug, burying her face in her fur like she had done with Haruko's and sobbing. It warmed her heart to hear the words now. She couldn't see it, but Annabelle's face morphed into one of surprise, and stayed that way for a few moments before she closed her eyes, smiled, and brought a leg up to wrap around Mandy's backside. The pair stayed like that for several minutes. Kieran, Peaches, Haruko and Olive all watched with pleasant smiles on their faces. Finally, when Mandy's body quaked with the last sob, she pulled away and dried her own tears. "I..." She swallowed some saliva that had stuck to the roof of her mouth. "I'm sorry, i-it's just..." A sniffle. "...those words you used, I..." A hiccup. "I never heard them." Annabelle blinked and gazed at Olive. "Never?" "I-In my defense..." Olive held her hands up. "When I rescued her, I didn't know anything about being a mother. I had to look things up on the Internet, read all sorts of books...and..." She awkwardly shuffled her feet. "I'm not really...the type to enjoy being called 'sweetie' and all that. But I loved her all the same, in my own...special way?" The look in Annabelle's eyes was unidentifiable, but her words did most of the talking when it came to her emotions. "I see. Each and every parent has their own ways of raising a child, I suppose." A warm feeling overtook Mandy's back, and she turned to the window to find the sun setting. "Oh, it's getting dark already. What time is it?" Olive pulled back her sleeve to check her watch. "6 o' clock." She looked up. "We should get going. Odd knows you don't want to miss dinner." "Wait!" Mandy stretched out a hand. "Do me a favor?" "Hmm?" "Go back...go back to Headquarters and tell Oprah that..." Mandy squeezed her eyes shut, the brevity of her decision weighing in her mind. "Tell her that I'm staying here for a week. I'm taking another vacation." Peaches' eyes widened at the proposal of her cousin -- no, her sister -- taking another vacation. "Another one? What for?" "Because I wanna spend all the time I can with...Mom and Dad." The words tasted weird on Mandy's tongue. "I can't do that if I'm working for most of the day." She glanced at said mom and dad. "Is...is that okay with you two? Will there be room?" Kieran smiled. "Of course! It's a two-bedroom house, so I can set up the guest bedroom for you to sleep in." "Can I stay too?" Peaches offered. "I...um..." Her glance at Mandy was brief. "Actually, uh...yeah, I'd like to spend time with you two as well." The sweat on the catgirl's face was obvious. However, no one seemed to have caught on, and if they did, no one said anything. "Sure!" Kieran glanced at the other bedroom, which was located next to the one Mandy had slept in. "You two can share a room." "All right! Roomies!" Her energy having suddenly been brought back, Mandy threw her hands into the air. "C'mon, Peach, I gotta go pack! You gotta go pack! We gotta go pack!" "Haha...yeah...yeah I do." Peaches' eyes bulged, her gaze growing into a thousand-yard stare. "Yeah I do..." This out-of-character moment was one that most everyone in the room did pick up on. Still no one commented. Peaches and Mandy quickly said goodbye to Olive, Haruko, Annabelle and Kieran and rushed out of the house to the nearest tube entrance. Olive was the first to react with a sigh. "Something's up with Peaches." She got up. "I'd better go see what it is." "And Annabelle?" Haruko eyed the other kitsune. "I believe it is time we leave for the Magical Grasslands. I would like to make it back before dark." "Huh? Oh! Yes." Annabelle chuckled. "When we get back, perhaps you can answer some questions about this...form?" "Of course." With that, Olive, Annabelle and Haruko all left, leaving only Kieran alone in his own home as he gave a happy sigh and moved towards the kitchen to get started on cooking dinner. Unfortunately for Olive, she wasn't quick in making it back to Precinct 13579's Headquarters, meaning that she couldn't talk to Oprah about Mandy's impromptu vacation and then talk to Peaches. It had to be the other way around, and the Director could only hope she could talk to her senior in the department before she left for the day. For now, though, she decided to get ahold of Peaches before she and Mandy left. She peered into the catgirl's room, where she had a lot more than just one suitcase packed. Olive counted three on the bed alone, all of them appearing to have come from Rarity. "Peaches?" The catgirl, with hair and tail sticking straight upwards and completely bushed, gave a startled yowl as she turned around, jumping a foot or so into the air and staring at who had disturbed her. "O-Olive! Don't do that!" "Sorry, sorry." Olive gave a meek smile. "Can I come in, please? We need to talk." Peaches hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "All right. It's not fair that I have to keep this bottled in, anyway." "HelloImdonecanwego?!" Mandy's skid let her land straight in the pathway of the doorway. Leaning to her right with two suitcases in her corona, she frantically waved. Both Peaches and Olive exchanged a glance, as if asking who had to be the one to break Peaches' issue to Mandy. "Not...yet." Peaches, as nervous as she was, took initiative. "Before we go, we need to talk. Come in here and close the door." Mandy was confused, but still did as she was told. "And drop your suitcases." She did, right on the floor. "Good. Now sit." She did, right on the floor, with a big fat grin on her face. "Good." Peaches and Olive sat on the bed, the former clearing her throat. "I...I have something to tell you, and please, don't get mad...or sad..." Mandy pulled out half of a chicken sandwich from hammerspace and began chewing it in anticipation. A heavy sigh left Peaches. "I think I want to stay with..." She sucked air through her teeth -- like Mandy, she found it hard to spit out the names. "...Mom and Dad. On a permanent basis." Mandy's expression didn't change. She swallowed her sandwich bite and then promptly stuffed the rest of it in her mouth. Olive and Peaches leaned forward a little, and waited. "...Sorry, I was starin' at the wall. What'd you say?" Olive audibly groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. Peaches did too, but hers was more quiet and resigned. "I think I want to live with..." Again, she found it hard to say the names. "...Mom and Dad." She held her hands out. "N-not a definite, but...just as a sort of trial run." An eye twitch. A mouth twitch. And then the jaws parted. "YOU WANNA ABANDON FREE REAL ESTATE?!" Mandy clung to Peaches' legs. "No, even worse! Even worse than abandoning free real estate! Y-you're abandoning me?!" "Not for good! It's just..." Peaches sighed. "I don't think this was really meant for me as a permanent place to live. Now that I actually have a permanent place to live..." She wrung her hands together. "And it's with my actual parents, to boot!" "B-b-but-" "And no, this doesn't mean I'll be leaving Odd Squad. I'll still come back and hang out with you guys all day every day." Peaches tried to give an assuring smile. "Even you. Besides, that tube entrance we went through was practically right across the street! So whenever you need me, you can just go through there." Tears pooled in Mandy's eyes. She began to blubber nothing but gibberish. And then the waterfalls came. Olive was the first to grab two umbrellas, open them, and hang one right over her head, remarking under her breath about how it was going to be a long, long night -- for her, and for the other two girls. "Yeah. It's sudden, I know, but-" "BOSS!! Tell Peach she doesn't hafta go! Get the police involved! The FBI! The CIA! The President of the United States! Prime Minister of Canada! Chancellors! Governors! Mayors!" "Ignore her, Oprah." Olive rolled her eyes. "So what do you say?" "Of course. It'd be downright criminal to not let Mandy visit her real parents. Just tell her to stay safe and to not get into any trouble." "Mhm." With a scowl, Olive turned around, phone still to her ear. "Mandy, quit caterwauling or I'm going to tape your mouth." "But Peach is leeeeeeeaviiiiing!" "She already said it's not permanent!" "Wait, Peaches is leaving?" Oprah asked. "Give me the details." "I...uh..." Olive cleared her throat. "Well, she hasn't decided, but she wants to stay with her real parents and live with them permanently. She'll still come to Odd Squad to help out, though." "Ah. Well, as long as she comes back to help, then whatever she decides to do is fine by me." "Thank you!" Peaches called, over the sounds of Mandy's pathetic whining. "Have a good rest of your night." Olive said. "You too." As Olive closed her phone and put it on her chest, she heaved a sigh. They were nearly to Kieran's house, but the journey took far longer than it should have due to Mandy's complaining. The hybrid screamed, whined, kicked, but both Olive and Peaches opted to ignore her. By the time they arrived five minutes later, she had collapsed in a fit of wailing. Neither Director nor catgirl needed to knock on the door to get Kieran's attention. The man's attention was already brought by his crying daughter. "Oh my God, Mandy, what happened?" Kieran helped the hybrid to her feet, giving a yelp when she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest. He glanced at Olive and Peaches. "Is she okay?" "She's fine." Olive assured. "Peaches...she, uh..." "I want to stay with you and...Mom..." Peaches wondered how long it would take until she was used to the names. "...as well. On a permanent basis, I think." Kieran's eyes widened. "A permanent basis?" "Yeah. I've been living in Precinct 13579 for a while now, but now that I have a place I can actually call home, with my real parents...I think I want to live with you." Peaches gave a meek smile. "If you'll have me." "Sure, of course!" Kieran nodded. "Like I said, I have two bedrooms, so you're free to take the guest one. I'll have to get it set up for you." "Thanks. Can we come in?" Kieran didn't answer Peaches' question right away, trying to swivel around so he could go inside but finding it hard to do so when he had over one hundred pounds of human squeezing him. Still, he persevered and eventually succeeded, placing Mandy's feet on his own and waddling away. "Yes. Come on in." He smiled at the Director. "You too, Olive." "Really?" Olive blinked. "I don't want to be a burden or anything..." "Nonsense! Come join us for dinner. I made some fettucine alfredo with broccoli and chicken. Trying something new after living off of frozen meals and junk food for months." Deciding to take the offer, Olive walked inside with Peaches in tow, the latter closing the door behind her as she dropped her suitcases. Mandy did the same. "Have a seat in the dining room, you three. I'll bring out dinner in just a sec." Kieran glanced down. "Mandy, uh...can you get off of me, please?" A mournful, high-pitched, muffled scream left the hybrid. Not quite knowing what to do and simply running on common sense, Kieran rubbed her back. "Hey, it's okay. Aren't you hungry? I bet some food will make you feel better." As one could probably expect from a hungry hybrid, Mandy's face moved away from Kieran's body. A few choked sobs left her, and she gazed up at her father with shimmers and tears in her eyes. Slowly, she nodded. "Attagirl." Kieran tried to lift Mandy off, but the sedentary life hadn't been kind to him, and so he didn't move her any more than a couple inches. Luckily, what he lacked in strength, Olive made up for in...well, strength, as she lifted Mandy off of his feet. "To the dining room!" A few minutes later, four bowls of piping-hot pasta with steamed broccoli and pieces of chicken were placed in front of three very hungry girls...and one man, because Kieran was hungry too and he had made the meal for himself with leftovers to spare for at least a day or two. As everyone dug in, they began to feel a sense of warmth and happiness that could only come from a full stomach filled with warm food. Peaches, who was done with her food, watched as her cousin -- no, her sister, she had to get used to that -- ate her food in a most melancholy manner. Normally she would attribute it to her not wanting to display her usual eating habits in front of Kieran, even if he was her father, but she knew exactly what was on her mind. "Mandy, can we talk?" Olive paused mid-bite. Slurped up the rest of her noodle. Chewed, swallowed, and then reached for a napkin to wipe her mouth. Kieran did much of the same, only without the napkin. Both of them stared at Mandy, who was staring at Peaches in turn. "Sure." she said, hopping off of the chair and moving away to a more private area. Peaches decided to use the guest bedroom, which looked about as pristine as one of a parent who had been putting it in upkeep for when their kid eventually decided to move back in with them. "Look, I'm gonna cut right to the chase." Peaches said. "I know you're upset about me moving back in with Dad. And Mom, too." She paused to take a moment and mentally congratulate herself on ascending to a family-title basis without hesitation. "But I'm going to say this one more time, and I want you to really listen." She grabbed Mandy by the cheeks. "It's not permanent. All I'm going to do is stay here for a week, with you. Then I'll make my decision. Okay?" Mandy looked away, not saying anything. "I'll still come and visit Odd Squad, all the time, every day. With finding Vallea's culprit off of my to-do list, I have a ton of free time. We can hang out together, kick oddness in the butt, kick villains in the butt..." Peaches smirked. "We'll still see each other. I'm not going away for good." Mandy bit her lip. "You and I both know that Precinct 13579 was never going to be a permanent place for me to stay. I'm glad that Oprah offered me shelter, and I'll always be grateful to her for offering such kindness to me when I was in need. But I was always a guest. I don't work for you guys. I could never work for you guys. My name doesn't start with an O. You, Twilight, and the others are exceptions to the rule. So are the other ponies who do double-time in Equestria and Toronto." Peaches paused. "And if I'm being honest...being an Investigation agent isn't really for me. Neither are any of the other departments." A pause. "Do you understand me?" That caused Mandy to look up. She gave a resigned nod. "Good. Now, cheer up, won't you? You being sad makes me sad." Peaches let go of Mandy's cheeks and began heading for the door. "Let's go finish dinner. I need a bath." Mandy didn't follow right away. Instead, she watched as her cou- her sister left and headed straight towards the hallway that led to the dining room. Her eyes became glazed over, and a tiny bit of color got sapped out of her, leaving her looking ever the slightest tinge of gray as she too headed for the dining room. The rest of the night was spent with Peaches, Mandy and Kieran all watching TV. No one really wanted to go out and do anything except take a lazy night in. As Peaches returned to the guest bedroom from the bathroom after having been the final person to use it, her gaze fell upon a Mandy that was lying rather still. Knowing that it was strange she wasn't snoring or sleep-talking, the catgirl threw back the sheets and got into bed. "Peach." The monotonic, fatigue-addled voice caused a few hairs to pop out of place. "I'm going home. Back to Odd Squad." Slowly, Mandy slid out of bed and got to her feet. Peaches watched the act with concern. "I...are...why? You're not staying here?" "No. I've...come down with something. I'll just go back and have Dr. O check me out in the morning." "You mean the afternoon?" The lighthearted quip fell onto the ground like an anvil, going completely unanswered as Mandy picked up her suitcases in her corona and headed for the door. Peaches bit her lip. Something was wrong. She didn't know what, exactly, but something was wrong. "Mandy, wait, I-" The door opened and closed. Peaches muttered a curse under her breath as she angrily flopped down into bed, knowing that she couldn't confront her sister -- finally, she got it right -- without waking up her father. Sleep eventually managed to claim her after a few minutes, but it certainly wasn't without claiming the regret that resided in her heart. Meanwhile, back at Headquarters, the same fate could not be said for Mandy. After the transformation, she had never underwent a sleepless night in her life. Beforehand, sure, but afterward, not so much. It just didn't feel right to have a being who loved sleeping suffer from an illness that prevents sleep. And yet, here she was, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. She had strung up small pretty white lights in her room, something soothing to fall asleep to that wasn't light blaring into her eyeballs. But she still couldn't sleep. She tossed, she turned, she counted time sheep, and nothing worked. She even tried playing a movie in her mind, but even that didn't work, as she stayed awake for the entirety of its runtime. To keep her mind occupied, she decided to roam around Headquarters. Drink a nice warm happy glass of milk. Stress-eat to induce postprandial somnolence. Internally cry because all the food she ate gave her a terrible stomachache. Walk around Headquarters some more. Read a book. Do some extra work to get a jump on the next day's caseload. Lie flat in the snow that adorned the Fluffy Snow Room. Nearly get eaten by a Venus flytrap twice her size. By the time she had landed in the bullpen from teleporting to random places -- it was clear she had run out of things to do -- the lights turned on. They weren't usually super bright at such a high elevation, but with her eyes bloodshot from a lack of sleep, they shot clear into her eyes, causing her to yelp and rub them furiously. Agents began to filter into Headquarters for the day. Chief among them was the big chiefaroni herself, suitcase in tow that was full of her lunch. "Mandy? What are you doing back here? I thought you..." Oprah trailed off. Her lower jaw hung limp as she scanned Mandy up and down, taking in her unkempt appearance, her unusual change in coloration, and her dour half-lidded expression that seemed permanent. "You...you're gray!" Oprah rubbed her eyes. "You still have some color, though...but yep, you're a little gray." She tilted her head. "Did you get any sleep last night?" "No." That made the Director do a double-take, but it didn't startle her enough to prevent her from turning around and trying to flag down a Doctor. "Olaila!" She frantically waved. "Over here!" "Huh? Oh, Ms. O!" Olaila, clad in the same navy shirt and pants and teal coat with lanyard that Dr. O himself wore, broke away from the crowd and moved over to her boss. "Good morning! What's going on?" "Are you seriously asking me that?" Oprah shunted Mandy forward. "Look at Mandy. She's gone gray. Her hair and tail have gone straight, straighter than I've ever seen Pinkie's hair. And she didn't sleep at all!" "My, that's alarming." Olaila examined the hybrid, moving all sorts of limbs about. "Mandy? What's going on?" The hybrid simply turned. Olaila sighed, knowing that prying an answer out of her newfound patient was going to be next to impossible. "Well, I can say with certainty that she doesn't have Monochritis. This looks to be a simple case of depression." She scratched her cheek as she ran through treatment options in her mind. "Situational, not clinical." "Is there any way we can help her?" "Prying out the cause is the only way. And she's not keen on giving it up." "Hold on. I know you're the Doctor here, but let me give Olive and Otto a call. They always have unorthodox solutions for this kind of thing." Sure enough, both Directors got to Headquarters in five minutes flat. Within those five minutes, Mandy had retreated to her room, but that didn't stop Olive from barging into the room through the door that the hybrid had carelessly left unlocked. "Mandy, what happened to you? Did Annabelle do something? Did Kieran do something?" Her frantic eyes locked on Olaila. "And you...you said this is depression?" "Situational depression. Not clinical. Clinical is more chronic and can last for a long time. Situational depression subsides when the event making the affected depressed in the first place passes." Everyone stared at the lump under the bedsheets that was, without a doubt, a depressed Mandy. "She hasn't fessed up to what's bothering her?" "Not in the slightest. I've tried asking her a few times, but no dice." Olive cracked her knuckles. "All right, Otto. Let's go work our magic." Together, the two Directors moved towards the lump, lifting the blanket up and sticking their faces under it with nothing but smiles on their color-filled faces that greatly contrasted with Mandy's own -- even if she had her back to them. "Hey, you!" Olive greeted. "What're you doing back so early? We thought you were on vacation!" "I was." Mandy rustled slightly in bed. "Now I'm back." Otto blinked. "But it's only been a day." "Has it? I hadn't noticed." Both Directors exchanged surprised glances. "Look, I know you haven't gotten any sleep..." Olive smiled. "But why don't we do something fun today? Whatever you want." "No." Mandy rolled over onto her right side, her eyes slightly narrowed. One look at them and both Olive and Otto could tell that the blue hue had faded from them. "Now can you please leave? Both of you are getting on my nerves." Olive frowned. "Are you sure? We really don't like seeing you like this." Silence. She sighed and pulled her face out of the blanket. "C'mon, Otto." "What?" The co-Director did the same. "We're just gonna give up? Like that?" "Mandy's stubborn. She wouldn't give us the reason why she's so depressed if we gave her a lifetime of food." Olive stood up. "We'll try again tomorrow." Oprah and Olaila shared a worried glance between each other, but ultimately resigned to following Olive and Otto on their way out, closing the door behind them after giving brokenhearted glances towards their coworker. The next seven days were torture for Mandy. Sleep eluded her, being so far out of her grasp that she couldn't reach it even if she tried her hardest to. She stress-ate her way through the day, but miraculously never gained a single pound. She began to experience hallucinations, the little voice in her head telling her that maybe, just maybe, running away for a third time didn't seem like a bad idea. She holed herself up in her room, only stopping her explorations throughout Headquarters when her bones and muscles didn't even allow her to get up. About the only thing keeping her remotely alive was her sense of hygiene. While she was able to, she still bathed herself and brushed her hair, if only out of a sense of habit more than enjoyment and because she couldn't handle all the complaints she would receive if she didn't. She neglected her work and let it pile up, even when most of it was outsourced to Pinkie. On Day Seven, everyone -- including Olaila and Peaches, once the latter had gotten wind of what had happened -- tried one last time to get her to cheer up. They knew that if Mandy went even one more day without sleep, it would kill her. "Mandy?" Olive peered in the doorway that led to Mandy's room, the door having been knocked down by her and Otto when they had tried to access the room and found they had been denied access. "We're coming in." "You should be going out." "Not happening." Olive made her way inside with everyone in tow. "We're all worried about you. This behavior isn't like you. Something happened, and I, for one, am not leaving until we find out what it is." Mandy had no rebuttal to that. All she could do was curl herself into a tighter ball as she heard the sound of footsteps and hoofsteps. "Well, if you won't fess up, then it's time I fess up." The familiar voice caused Mandy's eyes to widen, but her doing so led to her left eye beginning to twitch. Or at least she thought that's why it was twitching, anyway. "Mandy, I know why you're upset. You're mad at me, aren't yo-" A gray tail shot out and wrapped around the neck of the voice's source, lifting it up into the air and strangling it. The source hacked away, its black tail waving furiously as a sign of panic. Immediately everyone pounced to save the source, pulling it away from the tail's grasp and allowing it to take a few deep breaths of the air it had taken for granted just moments before. The tail was yanked back into the lump of blankets, and in exchange, part of an angry, tear-stained face popped out, teeth bared and eyes twitching out of sync every second to the point where there was no second where they weren't. "You motherfuckers." Not ever having heard Mandy swear in full before without being stopped, everyone fell silent, save for the source whom the hybrid could see was Peaches, still grasping at air. It wasn't just her swearing that surprised them, though -- it was also her voice, which was low, gravelly, and slightly slurred. "I thought I told you to get the fuck out of here. But you little shits just don't listen." "Mandy, we need to talk." "DID I PERMIT YOU TO SPEAK, YOU PATHETIC RUNT?!" Twilight was shocked into silence again, her eyes wide as she stayed put, not daring to utter even a single breath. "My problems...my problems don't lie with you." Mandy's head stuck straight out, exposing her frizzy hair, her shrunken bloodshot eyes, and her reddened face. No one wanted to know what the rest of her looked like. Her gaze locked on to one person in the group in particular, and when it did, she thrust out an arm, a hand, and with that, a finger. "They're with it." Eyes began to lock on to the target of Mandy's unbridled rage. Said target was quick to recoil, taking a step back and clutching a hand to the part of her shirt that covered her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted. "You would rather live with pwecious little Mommy and Daddy than with me? The first friend in your never-life? The one who's been about as close as family could get all this time?" Slowly, Mandy slid out of the blankets, her body as lithe as a snake as she slithered towards Peaches. "If I knew you hated me that much, I never would have tried to befriend you in the first place. I would have killed you with my hammer and left you to rot out in full view of innocent people and innocent ponies alike." Everyone knew that Mandy, being without sleep for several days, wasn't in the best state of mind at the moment -- thus, what she said could be dismissed as falsehood and empty threats. That didn't mean the air of shock couldn't hang around in the room, however. Mandy ran a finger along the underside of Peaches' neck. "Don't you remember? When you found me annoying and wanted nothing to do with me? When a simple little note changed all that and made you realize that you needed a good support base if you didn't want to die before your fifties?" she spat. "Now that our parents have come back, you want to abandon me. Abandon Odd Squad. Your friends. Your family. You want to leave all that behind..." Her pony ear flicked wildly, causing her to pause for a few seconds before she gained her bearings. "You want to leave all that behind for them?" Peaches couldn't muster up the energy or the will to respond. Anxiety had her in a threshold. Similarly, no one else moved a single muscle, watching the chewing-out unfold. "Oprah could have easily thrown you out onto the streets. She could have easily made you homeless. But she offered a helping hand and let you stay here. And now you want to disrespect her and throw all that away for some adult that popped up out of the blue and decided to drag us to his shitty little neighborhood apartment home." Mandy gave a derisive snort. "How pathetic and ungrateful. I expected better. But perhaps it would have been best if I had lowered the bar." Hurt began to reflect in Peaches' eyes as she came to the conclusion that, regardless of Mandy's mental state, she was mostly right. Peaches never once considered the weight of her decision in regards to Oprah, or Twilight, or Olive, or anyone. She wanted so badly to be with her parents that she was blind to everyone's reactions, everyone's emotions, everyone's thoughts and feelings. She didn't stop to think about how she would be giving up everything she had been offered, tossing it away in the trash like it was worthless junk that she didn't need anymore. She wasn't even sure if she had said her true thanks to Oprah for what she had done. Expressed her gratitude for having stayed here. She had taken it all for granted, hadn't she? Within the mess of emotions she had found herself in, she found it hard to remember. As she gazed into Mandy's eyes, she could see that they too were full of hurt. Hidden behind blood vessel after blood vessel and those shrunken gray irises was hurt. The hybrid was suffering. The words Peaches had told her before hadn't even sunk in, and now she was paying the ultimate price for it. She couldn't solve the issue by appealing to Mandy's health concerns. No one could. So she had to take an alternate route. Taking a deep breath to qualm some of the anxiety swirling in her body, she spoke. "Growing up in Vallea, I had no supportive parental figures. The two catpeople who were tasked with raising me only did the bare minimum, things that would be passable by society and not lead to execution at the House of Torture." Peaches could feel the looks of confusion just from uttering the name of the place, but she tried to ignore them and press onward. "If I was a healthy catperson, it would allow them to keep up appearances among their friends. That was how they saw it." Glances were exchanged throughout the group, many of pity. Mandy's expression did not waver. "So when we finally found Annabelle and Kieran, I was thrilled. I would finally have more of a supporting, loving family. First I had found my sister, and now I had found my parents. It was a dream come true." Peaches' smile turned into a frown. "It's like I said. Living here was never going to be permanent. I'd planned for permanence, but all I'm really doing here is sapping up essential resources." She glanced between Oprah and Mandy numerous times. "Think about it. I'm not a client, not of yours or of anybody else. I'm not an employee, even though I've helped you guys solve cases and helped fight bad guys and creatures. I'm not a creature that is cared for in the Creature Room by Ocean or Fluttershy. I'm just a guest that is staying here thanks to the hospitality of an Odd Squad Director and their second-in-command. Nothing more, nothing less." Oprah blinked, an unreadable expression crossing her face. "I figured you knew that, Mandy. I figured you had accepted that I would one day be gone. Not back to Vallea, mind you -- Ashero would have to drag me there himself -- but not in Odd Squad, either. Did you really think otherwise?" Mandy hung on to every word, and didn't need a second to pause and think about them. Her eyes somehow became more twitchy than before. "Of course I did! You, of all people, should know what it's like to find a member of your own family! To find someone who you share an actual bond of blood with! To have someone..." She huffed out a sound that could only barely be called a laugh. "...someone who you could see as a sibling! Someone to call a best friend!" The hybrid curled up her hands and formed fists within them. Slowly but surely, tears began filling up the space where her eyes resided. As they stung her eyes, she blinked rapidly, and every blink sent a tear or two rolling down her face like leaves in a lazy stream. "Being an only child...it sucks. It fucking sucks. I've learned to live with it, but..." Mandy glanced at the ponies. "Not even Twilight, or Pinkie, or any of the other ponies are my sisters. Biologically speaking, it'd just be weird and awkward." She shot them a pitiful look as the tears kept rolling. "I don't know what they are, in all honesty. I...I don't consider them as friends. More like acquaintances." "Then why don't we change that?" Shocked glances were sent Twilight's way as she stepped forward, a small smile on her maw. She had to guess that the majority of them were the result of her running the risk of talking with a crazed, dazed pony-human hybrid with severe sleep deprivation and a case of situational depression. But she didn't care about that. "Why don't we each all set aside a day to hang out with you? You could do what we like to do, and we could do what you like to do. That way, we can get to know each other better and be friends instead of just acquaintances." Twilight explained. "Would you like that?" Voices began playing in Mandy's mind, unintelligible whispers she couldn't make out. She figured they were probably telling her not to trust Twilight, but she opted to ignore them. Her adrenaline was still going strong, but every inch of it she lost was replaced by a small moment that showed she was weakening, whether that was the twitching of an eye or a stray hair that popped out of place. She nodded, the faintest hint of a smile forming on her face. "Yeah. I would." "All right. So now that's one issue settled...let's move on to the other." Peaches took another deep breath, placing her hands on Mandy's shoulders and looking her square in the eyes. "As you know, I spent the week with Dad. He's a nice guy, though he's pretty lazy and sluggish..." She rolled her eyes in an amused fashion. "But I think he makes a great father to me and you." A disinterested Mandy stared, in such a way that she was indirectly telling her sister to get to the point already. "Anyway, I've...decided that I really do want to live with him and Mom permanently." Mandy opened her mouth to speak. Peaches quickly shot her index finger forward and against her lips to close it. "I'll still come see you, just as I have all throughout the week." Peaches lit up with an idea. "In fact, how about this? I could go to Odd Squad and be with you and everyone else during the day, and have a place to return to at night." She paused for a moment. "I'd probably take a few days off here and there to hang out with Dad -- he's really lonely without Mom being there, been in pretty rough shape ever since she died -- but for the most part, I'd still be with you just as much as I was before." The tears began to roll faster down Mandy's face. "We're sisters. I don't ever wanna be apart from you. I won't ever leave you. I'll be by your side, in life and in death." Peaches wrapped Mandy up in a tight hug. "I love you, Mandy. I love you so, so much. More than you could ever know." The words stuck like glue to Mandy's brain. Her mind, as sick as it was, flashed back to a memory she knew was no falsehood, of when she had asked everyone if they loved her and they told her they did, and she believed it because they all expressed their love in different ways. But even if someone expressed their love through nonverbal means...it was always nice to actually hear it. It warmed Mandy's heart whenever she saw a parent give an "I love you" to a child, but that warmth would often get replaced by jealousy and nauseating sickness as she realized that no one had ever really said the words to her. If they did, she certainly couldn't remember them. Her body began to tremble. Having little support, it began to collapse on her like a demolished building, bringing her to her knees and then to her stomach as she buried her face in her forearms and began to sob. Peaches knelt down and scooped her sister into her arms, offering her chest as a more suitable area to cry on than a simple little forearm. Mandy took it willingly, wrapping her arms around her and sobbing as loud as she could. Olive stepped forward. One step, two steps, and then wrapped her own arms around Peaches and Mandy in a hug. Everyone else was quick to follow suit, to the point where, aside from the hovering Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, it was just one big ball of hugging agents. Slowly but surely, Mandy's depression began to wither away, like a demon's possession visibly wafting from a living being. The warmth of so many bodies up against her made her anger and hurt and adrenaline all die off, being replaced by a feeling of severe drowsiness that caused her eyes to droop. "We love you so, so much, Mandy. More than you could ever know." The unisonant declaration was the last thing she heard before she slipped into unconsciousness, being launched into her own personal dreamland within a millisecond. The cosmic forces had finally deemed her worthy of the need known as sleep, and all with a warm smile on her face that showed the words of her family had stuck. Peaches winced as the sound of loud, raucous snores -- which very nearly rattled and shook more than a few objects in the room -- reached both pairs of ears. Others had the same reactions, but Olive, Otto and Oprah couldn't pull their ears forward the same way the ponies could fold their ears downwards, and so they broke free of the hug to use their hands as mufflers. Peaches stood up and moved to put Mandy to bed, covering her with the bedsheets and watching with a tender expression as she turned on her right side. Her body shuddered as a wave of purple magic washed over her, and she turned to see Twilight's horn lit. "Anti-magic spell." the alicorn explained, once Peaches stepped out of the room and closed the door so Mandy's snores and sleep-talk were muffled. "Let's not forget what happened the last time Mandy suffered from sleep deprivation. Granted, this bout was involuntary..." She took a moment to think. "...but do we really want to chase her all around Headquarters and all around Toronto again?" A flurry of "no's" met her in response. "So what does the spell do, exactly?" Peaches asked. "For seven days -- that's when I calculate she'll wake up -- Mandy can't use magic. She also can't fly. The spell will wear off after that." "So seven days...one for each day she didn't get any sleep." Olive nodded. "You've got this figured out, Twilight." "Of course. I didn't get this far in studying Mandy's sleep habits just to be lacking in the preparation department." Twilight responded, with nary a lack of pride. "I've tried many anti-magic spells on her. She hasn't broken through a single one." "Okay...so how about a volume spell?" Oprah asked, pointing towards the door. "Because I don't feel like getting reports from agents thinking there's a monster in there." "Well, I could. But I have a better idea." Conjuring up a small blank sign, a marker, a small piece of string, and a plastic hook with two strips for securing, Twilight got to work. She applied the hook to the door, wrote on the sign, wrapped the string through the two holes at the top of the sign, and adjusted it onto the hook. "There." Rarity took a look at the sign and read it aloud. Hiya! This hybrid is currently busy sleeping -- please do not disturb! All inquiries meant for me should be directed to Ms. O. Love and superflytacklehugs, Mandy "Hm. You certainly have nailed her speech pattern down well." Twilight polished her hoof on her chest. "The only issue I have is how 'superflytacklehug' got into her vernacular...though with how she hugs, I suppose that checks out." "That'll deal with things." Oprah nodded. "Thank you, Twilight." "Not a problem." Twilight glanced at her partner. "Come on, Rainbow Dash. We've got paperwork to do." "Of course we do. When do we not?" In spite of Rainbow's protesting, she went to leave with Twilight, the pair disappearing around the corner. Shortly after, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie left as well. "As for you two..." Oprah looked at Olive and Otto as she began to walk away. "If I were you, I'd give Mandy a bath sooner rather than later. Her muscles gave out on her back there. She doesn't even have the strength to stand, much less engage in basic hygiene stuff. And I don't know when she took a shower or a bath last." A soft exhale left her lips. "She'll need to eat and drink, too." "Hey now. Who's the doctor here, Ms. O?" Olaila raised an eyebrow at her departing boss before she made eye contact with the other two Directors. "I'll get an IV started that will provide her with ample food and drink. The last thing I want is for her to choke to death as she eats and drinks in her sleep. Be right back." It was clear that the Medical department assistant had read up on Mandy fairly extensively, and so no one questioned her judgment, instead nodding and watching as she left. "I'll make a mental note that we need to come back for Mandy later." Olive began to walk away. "Let's head back to Headquarters, Otto." She didn't get more than a few steps before she took those same steps backwards. Otto watched her curiously as she laid a hand on the doorknob. "On second thought, you go ahead. I have...things...to do." That earned her a cock of an eyebrow, but ultimately Otto gave a smile and began heading in the same direction she had been going. When he was gone, Olive opened the door to Mandy's room and stepped inside, immediately making a beeline for the bedbound hybrid. She took a moment to observe -- Mandy was muttering something unintelligible, but Olive could make out words like "love" and "family" and "pineapple". Clearly, she was having a dream that had meaning, a dream involving both her adoptive family and her real one. And pineapples, though she wasn't sure where those fit into the equation. Olive grit her teeth. Grinded them. Slightly narrowed her eyes. Gave a few uncomfortable grunts. Let out an exhale, bent down, and kissed Mandy on the forehead. "Have a good sleep, okay? Never forget how much I, and everyone else, love you." She stroked the hybrid's hair. "My sweet, sweet Mandy." Something inside her stomach turned, making her nauseous. She left the room as slowly as she could, closed the door, and began to gag. Had she not gone to the Bathroom at her own Headquarters prior to coming to Precinct 13579's Headquarters, she probably would have had something to throw up. But nothing came, and she was left with the sickening nauseousness that followed her as she walked to the tube lobby. It would take a while before she adopted cutesy terms into her vocabulary. She knew that. But she also knew that Mandy was a being who thrived not on any "tough love" variant of parenting, but one on freely-expressed love, bordering on frequent affection. She needed to be told "I love you", and she needed to be called "sweetie" and "honey" and "darling" and all of those little pet names, lest she grow into a corrupted Odd Squad agent and join the ranks of those like Odd Todd. Olive had kissed Mandy on the forehead, reminded her of how much everyone loved her, and called her "sweet". It made her physically ill, but it was a good start. She had taken that first step, and she felt proud of herself for doing so, holding that pride for as long as she could. As predicted, Mandy had awoken within a week's time. On Day Seven -- or Fourteen, if one counted all the days of sleep deprivation -- her eyes creaked open, and she let what little light there was pour in. A mighty yawn left her, causing her body to shudder, and almost immediately she felt a sort of pang on her lower half. Heaving a sigh, she tried to swing her legs over the side of her bed, but doing so took the rest of her body with it, and she collapsed onto the floor. A groan left her as she slowly got up, noticing a pole wheeling away from her. Her pony ears moved towards the sound of the door opening, and a rather familiar voice speaking. "Oh my gosh, Mandy! What happened?" Olaila rushed over and knelt down beside the hybrid. "Did you fall out of bed?" Mandy could only groan in response. "Well, either way, it's nice to see you awake. Let me help you up." "Bathroom..." "Ah, so that's where you were trying to go?" Olaila smiled. "Come on, then. I'll take you there." Mandy graciously took the offer of the assistant's hand, grabbing it as hard as she could -- which wasn't saying too much -- and hoisting herself up. From there, Olaila walked with her to the Bathroom and removed her IV, then stood outside the door and listened as Mandy tried to perform the usual routine, hearing murmurs that she couldn't really make out. Eventually, the hybrid decided to take an impromptu shower. As Olaila couldn't go in -- she knew Olive and Otto would let her, but she wasn't as close to Mandy as they were and her patients had a right to their privacy -- she decided to continue listening, her hearing alert for any signs of a fall. The second there was one, she was quick to rush in and turn off the water. "Oh dear. Muscle degradation, I bet. They haven't really been used in a week, after all." Olaila murmured. "Mandy, are you okay?" A low groan split the air, echoing in the small room. Mandy didn't move. "Stay still." Olaila grabbed the towel that hung on the bar next to the shower and wrapped Mandy's body in it, not caring about whether she saw the hybrid naked or not. When her body was securely wrapped, she was lifted out of the shower and onto her feet. "Okay. Let's go back to your room. I should help you get dressed." Lucky for both Olaila and Mandy that dressing the latter went largely without incident. It still felt awkward to Olaila to dress her patient -- back when she was an Investigation agent, it really wasn't every day she made house calls to elderly and disabled clients who needed help with such a thing -- but she got Mandy dressed in her usual suit in all but ten minutes. "There you go! You're all clean, dressed, and ready to go." Olaila declared. "Now, I've taken you off of the IV, so you should be plenty full. And with your Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink, you should have lots of energy, which includes the healing of your muscles. How are you feeling?" Mandy smiled. "Better. A lot better. But also really regretful. I need to make amends." She blinked. "One thing, though...why can't I use magic in here?" "Twilight put an anti-magic spell on your room so you wouldn't sleepwalk or use magic in your sleep. It should wear off soon." "Hopefully." Mandy sighed, and then perked up. "Oh, I have an idea." "Oh?" "I should throw a party, a big 'I Love You and You Love Me' party! It's the least I could do after everyone snapped me out of it." She shook her head. "No, no, that can come after. Right now, I need to head back to Dad's house." "A good idea. I'll head back." Olaila headed out. "See you later, Mandy. And best of luck!" "Thanks! And...uh...thanks! For taking such good care of me!" "It's no problem!" With a quick dart out of her room and a quick feat of teleportation, Mandy arrived right across the street from Kieran's house. She didn't even need to think about what to say as she looked both ways and made her way across. She knew Peaches was here. She had to be. Even though she said she would be in Odd Squad for most of the day, Mandy had a gut feeling that she was here. Taking a deep breath, she knocked five times on the door. It opened. "Mandy?" "Hi...uh, Dad. Can...can I come in? We need to talk." "So that's what happened?" Kieran blinked. "Mandy, I-I'm so sorry. If I had known you were so distre-" "Save it." Mandy held up a hand. "I think I've come to terms about Peach deciding to live with you and Mom now. Wow, it's gonna feel weird callin' you two that..." She gave a soft chuckle. "But if she wants to live here, then she can live here. I think she'll make good on her promise to visit me." "Of course!" Peaches called, from where she was situated in the kitchen doing dishes. Mandy glanced at everyone in the room. Her real mother and father, and even Haruko, Olive and Otto, were all here beside her. It warmed her heart, and allowed her smile to grow bigger. "And just so you know..." She glanced at Olive and Otto, with an extra glance at Peaches. "I love you guys too. You don't know how much I needed to hear those words. And how much I still need to hear them." "Well, it's our fault -- no, it's my fault you never heard them." Olive rubbed her arms. "You know how I'm not one for terms of endearment. But I'll try to improve, little by little. For your sake." "I'd like that." The pair hugged, much to the comfort of Haruko, Annabelle, Otto and Kieran as they watched with smiles. "Dad? Mom?" Mandy broke free and turned to her real parents. "My vacation starts now. I'd like to hang out with you two and get to know you a little better, and maybe you'll get to know me a little better too." She touched her pony ears. "Like for one, you're probably curious about why I don't look entirely human, aren't you?" "If we're being honest, sweetie...yes, we are." Annabelle gave a quiet exhale. "We just didn't want to bring it up because we thought it was a sensitive subject for you." Mandy scoffed. "Not really. It still stings a little, but I don't mind talking about it. Why don't I tell you guys the story?" Said story took exactly fifteen minutes to tell -- Otto had timed it. Kieran and Annabelle went from surprised, to shocked, to saddened, to smiles as they absorbed every bit of Mandy's tragic tale turned good. In the midst of it, Mandy had rushed to the bathroom to spruce up her hair and tail using Kieran's hairspray, which, despite being for men, worked like a charm in restoring both to their natural curly states. She also found the time to raid the refrigerator for some food, as the IV nourishment she had been given was wearing off. "That's quite a story." Annabelle remarked, not sure how to start reactions off. "I'm very sorry that happened to you, Mandy. It must have been quite heartbreaking, having your family and your home turned against you in such a terrible manner." "It was." Mandy took a bite of the BLT she had found, which, unbeknownst to her, were Kieran's leftovers from the previous night. "But I made up with Clementine now, and I've been living happily in Odd Squad for a long time!" "Good to hear." Kieran said. "Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't you tell us what you'd like to do?" "Ooh, ooh, amusement park, amusement park!" Mandy kicked her legs wildly. "Oh, it's been so long since I've been to one of those! And I'm sure Peach hasn't even been to one at all." "Sad but true." "See?" Mandy got down on the floor and clasped her hands together. "PleasepleasepleeeeeasecanwegoI'vealwayswantedtogoMomma'salwaystoobusywithworkandamusementparksaren'therthi-" "All right, all right, don't get too excited." Kieran laughed. "I'll be happy to take you both." "Yes! Chalk one up for ol' Mandy!" Mandy leaned into Olive's face. "You, however...go tell Oprah I'm gone! Have her move everything to Pinkie and whatever other agents she has." She gripped her by the shoulders. "I need this. I need to go on rides. I need to feel the wind on my face. I have been in a coma for a week. I need this. I need it more than money. A house. A car. A stable retirement without debit. A coffin. A funeral. A grave." "You're going off on a tangent again, Mandy." Olive pushed her adopted daughter away from her and stood up. "We'll go tell Oprah right now." Her eyes caught Otto's crestfallen expression. "Otto, we have work. We'll have to go another time." "Aww...can't I call in a sick day?" "No." Olive grabbed him by the wrist. "Let's go." Everyone exchanged goodbyes as they watched the two Directors leave the house, having some good chuckles at Otto's protests the second the door closed. Kieran gave a grunt of pain as he turned to his bedroom. "All right, I'll go and get ready. We leave in about fifteen minutes." "Okay!" both girls said. Annabelle opted to sit on the couch. "Are you comin' too, Mom?" Annabelle blinked at Mandy. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I am invisible to most, so unfortunately I won't get the same gratification of rides and such as you three..." She smiled. "But it would be a good way for me to see life outside of the Magical Grasslands." Overjoyed, Mandy leaped into the air and threw her hands up. "Yeah! Family outing! Family outing!" Haruko exhaled. "I suppose it also would not hurt for me to come as well, if you all will have me." she said. "Like Annabelle, I cannot get the same thrills as those of yours, but I would like to accompany her in the event that she happens to get lost." "Yeah! Family outing with Haruko! Family outing with Haruko!" Sure enough, fifteen minutes passed, and the family of four, plus Haruko, were in the car and on the way to Fantasy Fair. It was at the very first stoplight that Peaches decided to get something off of her chest. "Okay, I can't hold it in anymore. The word is 'debt', Mandy. 'Debit' means something different." Mandy rolled her eyes as she looked out the window, cracking a smile. "Ah, thank you, O Wise Feline Dictionary. Whatever would we do without you." Peaches simply gave a sigh that quickly formed into a chuckle. The first day of Mandy's vacation was, in a single word, adventurous. Throughout the time she had spent at the Fantasy Fair, she, as well as Peaches, had gotten to know Annabelle and Kieran on a deeper level, what they enjoyed doing, and even what their own childhoods had been like. She could see the hurt in Annabelle's eyes as the hybrid waved at her from atop rollercoasters and play structures, but Haruko was there to give her comforting words. What was even better, Kieran had decided to treat everyone to Shmumber King afterwards, where Annabelle and Haruko were allowed to eat even though they couldn't feel hunger nor fullness, and Mandy could put her voracious eating habits on fine display. By the time the group returned home, it was nightfall. Mandy had taken a well-earned shower while Peaches had gotten to cleaning herself in her cat form. Annabelle and Haruko had already returned home. And Kieran was fast asleep in the bedroom, snoring away. Once she was done drying her hair, Mandy trudged to the Bedroom, closed the door, and slipped into the right side of the bed with a satisfied sigh. She glanced over at Peaches, who was eyeing her curiously. "So? Did you have fun?" "Yeah I had fun!" Mandy threw her hands into the air. "Mom and Dad are great. I'll always love my Momma, but it'll be nice having my birth parents around. Even if one of them is...uh...dead." "You know, I expected you to grieve more when you got wind that Annabelle had died." Peaches blinked. "But I guess Olive filled the maternal void pretty well, huh?" "She sure did. And I can always see Annabelle whenever I want to, if I just go to the Grasslands. Maybe I'll even see her tonight! Wouldn't that be funny?" Silence filled the room. Peaches had expected to hear snoring any second now, but either Mandy just wasn't sleepy despite it being nighttime or she was actively trying to stay awake. "Anything you want to do tomorrow?" the catgirl asked. "I dunno...I tend to think of stuff I wanna do on the fly." Mandy responded, just before she was interrupted with a yawn. "Right now, though? I just wanna sleep. My bones feel tired. They somehow feel more tired than when I was sleep-deprived." With a weak chuckle, she turned onto her left. "G'night, sis." Peaches smiled, let her eyes close, and turned onto her right side. "Good night...sis. Sweet dreams." Both girls' dreams were filled with all sorts of fun times they would have with their parents, and with each other, as newly-discovered siblings. Truly, it was a new era in both of their lives, a time of happiness that could only come from the reunification of a family that was meant to be together. They hoped things would stay that way for a good long while. Author's Note This effectively serves as the "season finale" of The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy, folks. As such, this is where this fic will end and the next one will begin. I had debated keeping the story together so all three "seasons" would be in one fic, but decided to split it off. After this chapter is published, though, there will be a few side stories I want to get out of the way, some of which I don't want to cram into a single chapter of a single story. Chapters in this fic may be edited for spelling and grammar checks or revised entirely because they are garbage ~~which, really, is a lot of these, now that I'm looking at it~~. And of course, there's the matter of my non-TAoPaM work, Solar and Lunar. Still working on the final chapter of that one at the time of writing and I should have it up hopefully soon. To those who have read this far, thank you! This has been a passion project for me for a few years, even if it isn't strictly an MLP work. This universe is fun to build and expand on and I hope you guys look forward to what I have in store for it next.
S1E1: The Familial Surprise"Mm...hmm..." The girl examined the gadget with a squint, giving it a couple taps to make sure the screws were tightened correctly. "Mmm..." "AGENT MANDY!" "Wah!" Oprah's shout caused the girl, known as Agent Mandy, to fumble with the gadget, nearly dropping it in the process. Her blue eyes shifted towards her boss, standing right beside her with a stern look on her face. "M-Ms. O! I mean Oprah! Uh, y-you gave me kinda a bit of a scare, there..." She chuckled sheepishly, setting the gadget down on the desk where she had been working. "No time for chitchat. People are being turned into large acorns and are being scattered around Trinity Bellwoods Park. I'm putting you on the case, so go to the park immediately!" "Righty, will do!" With her horn alight, she teleported away in a bright rainbow-colored flash. Once she got to the park, she began to look around, flicking one of her pony ears in curiosity. "Weird. She said the park, but...I don't see any acorns." She giggled and snorted. "That silly Oprah, she gets worked up about the funniest of things!" Just as she was about to head back to Headquarters, a loud rustling noise from nearby caught her attention. Before she could identify its source, however, the sound stopped. "Coulda sworn I heard some sort of rustling..." And then the noise came back. "There it is again!" Her eyes scanned the area until she spotted a rather large bush. Holding her breath, she slowly advanced towards it. Gah, jeez, don't let it be some kind of rabid animal or- A large figure leaped from the bush, standing on four...well, Mandy couldn't really call all of them legs. It was two arms and two legs, kind of like a stance kids would take before going on all fours up a flight of stairs. The figure, whom Mandy could see shapeshifting into a medium-sized black cat, hissed, causing her to take a few steps back. "W-whoa!" She blinked a couple times, and then gasped as she realized what she was looking at. "Kitty! Or, uh...at least I think that's a kitty. You sure you're not disguised?" "I'm not disguised as one, you idiot, I am one!" the cat spoke. "How da-" Her going on offense was immediately hampered when she got a better look at who she was speaking to. "No...that can't be...the ears..." Mandy fiddled with the two pony ears that sat atop her head. "Oh, these old things? Well, I can te-" "The tail..." She swung her curly, poofy light brown tail, ever swirling like chocolate ice cream in a cone and adorned with a medium-sized red bow, around her, grabbing it with her two hands. "Wait, what's wrong with my tail?" "And even the hair!" Mandy's hair was of the same color as her tail, and just as curly, too -- only it also had a forelock which she used as a third hand sometimes. It looked like it was almost at a cheated angle when sitting next to her pale white alicorn-length horn. "Whaaaaat, do I look recognizable to ya or something?" "You..." Mandy scoffed. "People know me from all over town, you're nothing new-" Within a second, she had a cat on her face, clawing and scratching her. She took a couple stumbles back as she tried in vain to pry the cat off. "Hey, hey, get off! I can't see!" Her shout was muffled, but in spite of this, her unexpected opponent was refusing to listen, continuing to scratch her face. The pain from the attacks didn't seem to faze Mandy, though, as she lit up her horn and attempted to remove the cat by magical means. "Get...off!" With a snap, the black cat went flying off, landing on her feet and giving an angry yowl. "Man, you're...one feisty kitty, aren'tcha..." Mandy touched her face with her index finger and pulled it back, only to find blood. Likewise, her face was streaked with blood from the scratches she had received. "Great, I'm bleeding..." She winced in pain, feeling like crying right then and there as she pulled a tissue out from her back and tried to wipe the blood off. "You aren't laughing now, are you?" the cat taunted, seeming to take great joy at having seriously wounded her opponent. "Oh, you can talk!" Mandy said excitedly, before blinking twice. "Wait, why am I surprised?" The cat groaned. "Let me tell you a little something." She shapeshifted into a human form. Mandy took note of the yellow dress adorned with a V pattern near its base, the black cat ears and tail, and the yellow band that she wore around her left arm. Her blue eyes burned with a fiery malice, and her long black hair bounced as she slowly marched towards Mandy. "My name is Peaches. You destroyed my hometown. You hurt so many innocent civilians, including my leader. And I...am going to make you suffer dearly." Peaches had expected this...alien to flinch, perhaps cower in terror or run away. But instead, she merely tilted her head in confusion. "Don't act innocent with me! I recognize you clear as day!" "Aww, did I gain weight again?" Mandy tried to eyeball her stomach. "I thought the flying was s'posed to make me lose weight!" Peaches couldn't help but give a growl of frustration, but it stopped right quick when she saw what Mandy was pulling out of her back. "Anyway, I don't remember a thing about whatever you're talkin' about! But if your face doesn't have a reservation with my hammer, then I'm happy to schedule one for ya!" Is...is she threatening me?! Peaches eyed the weapon that Mandy was holding. Short but sturdy in both its base and its head, it looked like a powerful weapon, and it definitely looked like Mandy wasn't afraid to use it. Nonetheless, however, she wasn't about to miss this chance to point out the idiocy in how "remembering burning down a town" correlated with "I'll attack with my hammer". "You're as much of an idiot as I thought." she deadpanned, silently hoping that her snark wouldn't earn her a well-placed hit on the cheek. Lucky for her that her supposed opponent wasn't the "fight first and ask questions later" type. "Yeah, I get that a lot! But what I lack in smarts, I make up for in style and power!" "Your style looks horrifically tacky. Why are you wearing a suit?" "'Cuz I work for Odd Squad! The bestest organization around, ready to fight oddness at a moment's notice!" Mandy giggled and then snorted. "Guess that includes you, 'cuz I haven't seen you around here before!" "That's because I'm not from here." Peaches explained. "I'm from Vallea, which is a town far, far away from here." "Oooooh! Whaddo they got there?" "Apes. But they're not so big." she deadpanned once again, including an eyeroll with her snark this time. "Ohhhh, so you're the odd one outta the bunch!" Mandy began to giggle at her (very terrible) pun. "I was being sarcastic. Exactly how intelligent are you?" "Apparently not intelligent enough to burn an entire town down to the ground...owwn!" Mandy winced at her bad rhyming this time around, but quickly did an emotional 180 and gasped as she came to a decision. "Now that you told me about yourself, let me tell you about myself!" "Oh cattails...please, no..." Peaches buried her face in her hands, wondering exactly why she wasn't walking away from this eccentric anomaly by this point. "Tough like rock, sweet as candy, I am known as Agent Mandy!" She took a bow. "Agent 57, at your service! Nice to meetcha!" "Yeah, nice to meet you." "I'm the funnest, most happiest pony-human hybrid agent you'll ever meet!" Mandy bounced in a circle around Peaches. "I love fighting oddness, sleeping, eating, and making friends, of course!" Peaches suddenly found her lungs being squeezed dry of every last bit of air, and her gaze shifted to Mandy as she leaned closer to her ear. "I also bite." The catgirl barely recognized Mandy's excited giggle as she could feel her face beginning to turn blue. Oh jeez...this is how I'm gonna go, huh? Death by...pony...ugh, whatever this thing is. "Aww, c'mon, ya gotta put a smile on your face!" Mandy edged the corners of Peaches' mouth upwards, much to her chagrin. With what strength she had left, she attempted to wriggle free, but to absolutely no avail. "Oh, jeez, all righty then, I'll letcha go." Noting how she was basically killing her supposed new friend, Mandy let go of her, allowing her to take a couple mighty gulps of air in. "S-sorry about that!" Peaches looked up and opened her mouth to say something, but stopped dead when she took a closer look at her almost-killer. "Wait. I...I recognize you, actually." "You do?" "Y-you're...you're Aunt Kimi and Uncle Derek's child. And that means...we're cousins!" "Hooooold it!" Using her magic, Mandy made a cup of water appear in an instant. She guzzled it and proceeded to do a hearty, self-inflicted spit take. "We're what?!" "We're related!" Related?! Ya gotta be kidding me! Mandy's face lit up as bright as the sun. I finally have some more family! Just as soon as her face lit up, however, her expression turned to one of hesitation. "Wait, wait. Nonono. I-I don't know a Kimi or a Derek!" "They're a distant bunch." Peaches said, dismissively waving her hand. "Either way, this is great news! I hafta tell Momma!" "Tell who?" Peaches didn't quite get an answer to that question, as Mandy grabbed ahold of her once more and teleported away with her. A girl of about 12, clad in a purple shirt, a navy-blue jacket and navy-blue pants, finishing her glass of water and setting it down on the table. A boy of about 11, clad in a purple button-down shirt with a popped collar secured by a purple tie, a navy-blue jacket and navy-blue pants, messily eating a cookie while doing paperwork. The girl sighed. "Otto, you're getting cookie crumbs all over the papers again." "Shorry, Olive." Otto said, swallowing the piece of cookie that was in his mouth. "I've been trying to make crumb-less cookies for a while now, but my recipe isn't perfect yet." A flash caught their eyes and they looked up, only to find Mandy suddenly standing directly in front of them with a groaning Peaches in tow. Immediately, Mandy let go of Peaches and rushed right over to Olive and Otto's shared desk. "Momma, Momma, looklooklook! I have a cousin!" Olive blinked as she watched Mandy's tail wagging back and forth furiously. Of course, when I'm in the middle of paperwork, Mandy always finds it fit to come along and disturb me, she thought. Last week it was her in a spider costume... Sighing, she remarked, "That's nice, Mandy, but I'm kind of in the middle of something right now and we-" She stopped as she took a closer look at exactly what the pony-human hybrid dragged in. "Who's that?" Otto asked, taking the words clear out of his partner's mouth. Mandy took a large gasp of breath and left her mouth open as though she was about to say something, but opened her eyes and stopped. A look of confusion slowly crept on her face as she laid her gaze on Peaches. "What's your name again?" "Peaches..." the catgirl woozily said. "And can you warn me before you do...whatever it is you did?" "Sorry!" Mandy giggled and pushed her cousin to the forefront. "This is Peaches, my cousin!" "Cousin?" "Yeah!" Mandy nodded furiously in response to Olive's question. "To some Aunt Kimi and Uncle Derek. Distant bunch." "But you two don't look anything alike! You have black hair..." Otto pointed at Peaches. "And you have brown..." He pointed at Mandy. "And you two are of completely different species!" "Genetics are a funny thing, partner." Olive shrugged. "So Peaches. Are Kimi and Derek, uh...part of your...species?" "Kimi is a catgirl, like myself. Derek is human." "Ohhh..." Olive and Otto said in unison. "That would explain it." "Look, see? I have a new playmate now! Oh, we're gonna have so much fun!" Mandy couldn't help but bounce up and down with excitement. "Don't forget your Odd Squad duties." Olive smiled as her eyes followed the movement of Mandy. "Naw, I won't!" Mandy gasped as the realization of what she had come to the park to do in the first place hit her. "Actually, while I'm here, have either of you seen any giant acorns in Trinity Bellwoods Park?" "We've gotten reports on those, actually." Otto tried his damnedest not to laugh. "Did Oprah send you to find them?" "Yup! But I haven't found them yet..." Otto gave a loud exhale through his nose, and he couldn't fight back the smile on his face any longer. Olive gave a groan and an eyeroll before she said, "Over by the cliff face." Otto burst into laughter. Perhaps unsurprisingly, so did Mandy. "Ahh, I knew that's where they were! Well, n-not really...I just got a bit sidetracked. Here!" She addressed her newfound cousin, pushing her further forwards to the point where she nearly did a faceplant onto the desk. "Why don't you socialize with these two, and I'll be right back!" Just as Peaches opened her mouth to protest, Mandy was gone with another magic teleportation flash, causing her protest to be resigned to a heavy sigh. Olive smirked. "A handful, isn't she?" "How can you two stand her?" Peaches asked, her tone one of sheer disbelief. "She's really...annoying, and loud, and...the complete opposite of what us catgirls are!" "Well, you're not wrong!" "Otto! Have some consideration!" In that moment, Olive felt like slapping him, but instead settled for flicking him on the nose. As he clutched it in pain, she shook her head and sighed as she swiveled her chair around to face Peaches. "I guess now's as good of a time as ever to introduce ourselves. My name is Olive, and I'm a co-Director of this Odd Squad Precinct, 73955. This is Otto, my partner and other co-Director." "Hi..." Otto shot Olive a dirty look before making eye contact with the catgirl. "Peaches, right?" "Um...yes." Peaches tilted her head. "What is 'Odd Squad'? What's a 'Director'?" "Odd Squad is an organization that fights oddness in any form." Olive explained. "Whether it's flying goldfish..." "Odd villains..." "Or any other oddity. That's what Odd Squad is there for." Oddness? Peaches' brain began to hurt. The concept was so foreign to her, but then again, she didn't really think about what was odd or what was normal too much. "Odd Squad has precincts stationed everywhere on the planet. Except for Moldova...nothing odd really happens there." Olive blinked. "Oh, and to answer your other question..." Otto cleared his throat. "Odd Squad is comprised of many different ranked departments. I think there are about twenty?" "Twenty ranks?!" Peaches chuckled. "What, are they all named after the Greek alphabet?" Olive and Otto shared a look with each other, as though asking each other how this catgirl knew about the Greek language, let alone the concept of the Greek alphabet. "No, no. Most of us are familiar with the main departments: Management, Investigation, Security, Medical, Science, Transportation slash Maintenance, and Creature Care. And the Big Office as well, of course." Olive explained. "So since you two are Directors, that means you're in...Management?" "Right!" Otto nodded. "We Odd Squad Directors keep our precincts running, assigning cases to our agents and making sure everything runs smoothly." "And are you required to wear those outfits?" Unlike her previous comment directed at Mandy's outfit, Peaches' tone of voice was one of curiosity. She couldn't deny that their dominantly-purple outfits looked much fancier than Mandy's. "Yes, they're standard wear for Directors. I'm the exception, though. Most Directors who are girls wear a skirt, but I made a specific request to get pants." "After a lot of fighting." "Ugh, tell me about it." "Well, if it's any consolation, both of them are far less tacky than Mandy's. The purple and navy colors really blend well together! And your necklace..." Peaches pointed to the necklace that Olive was wearing, studded with two rows of indigo and violet beads. "It's wonderful!" At this compliment, Otto did a playful eyeroll and a nonchalant shrug. It's like she's a human Rarity... "Uh, thank you!" "What department is Mandy in that she has to wear such unnecessary formal wear?" "Unnecessary?" Olive didn't get an answer to her question, as Otto rushed over to where a convenient diagram was sitting on an easel. "These are the eight main departments and their symbols." He pointed one by one to each symbol. The first one was rather elaborate -- it was a white circle with a gray decagon inside, and then a disco ball with triangular panels inside of that. Peaches knew that this logo was most likely for the Big Office, since it definitely sounded like an important position and had an important symbol to boot. Next was a violet octagon with violet triangles surrounding a solid violet octagon inside of it. Going by the color, she guessed that this was the symbol for the Management department. The next one was similar to the Management symbol, a red hexagon with red trapezoids inside of it and then a red hexagon inside of that. Peaches was at a loss as to what department this one represented before she remembered that Mandy had been wearing a red tie, and was most likely in the Investigation department. Otto pointed to the third symbol, a blue pentagonal padlock with five blue trapezoids surrounding its keyhole. Yeah, something tells me this place isn't known for its originality, Peaches thought. Definitely Security. The fourth symbol was similar to the Security symbol -- no surprise there -- with its teal diamond shape as though someone had rotated a square, along with four long teal trapezoids surrounding another solid diamond in the middle that was adorned with a radical symbol. Peaches wasn't sure what this symbol was for at first, until she finally figured out that it was for the Medical department. Next was a symbol that looked like a green flask, with three long green trapezoids inside of it. Unlike the other symbols, the trapezoids didn't surround any triangular shape. Peaches tilted her head. "It's the logo for the Science department." Otto pointed out. She nodded, and he moved on to the next symbol, which looked like a yellow lightbulb. Inside of the circle at the top were six trapezoids with curved bottoms that surrounded a solid yellow circle. "Is that supposed to be Maintenance?" "And Transportation, yes." Olive nodded. "Though that's not really apparent. The Maintenance part of the department came long before the Transportation part did." "Huh." was all Peaches said in response as her eyes laid upon the final symbol in the set. It looked like the eye of a reptile, with a thin oval shape in the middle of the solid orange circle meant to represent its slit pupil. Surrounding the orange circle were six green trapezoidal shapes with curved ends, similar to what the Maintenance and Transportation symbol had. It all sat perfectly inside an orange circle that filled Peaches with a strange feeling of warmth. "A department's ranking is determined by the number of sides each symbol has. Like, the Big Office is a...uh..." "Decagon, Otto." "Right, a decagon!" Otto gave a sheepish laugh. "Which has ten sides. The Management department's symbol is an octagon, which has eight sides, so on and so on." This is a lot to take in...but at least it's a good distraction from Mandy. Peaches gave a soft exhale and rubbed her forehead. "So is Mandy ranked below you guys or what?" "Technically, yes. But she's her precinct's Director's second-in-command, so I guess she's on equal footing with us." Olive shrugged. "I dunno. Oprah's explained it to me so many times but I still can't make sense of it." "How does that work? You guys have seconds-in-command?" "It depends on the precinct." Olive explained. "If you want to know more, you'll have to ask the Director at Mandy's precinct. She can take you to meet her when she comes back." As if on cue, a bright rainbow-colored teleportation flash marked the pony-human hybrid's return. "Speak of the agent." Mandy placed a single hand on the desk as she began wheezing and hacking as though her lungs had given out on her. Peaches noticed that her hair and tail were slightly ruffled, and her angel-like wings were matted as well. "Why don't you take a rest and I'll get you some water?" Olive offered, standing up and heading over to the drink bar situated on the right of the office. "Yes...please..." Mandy wheezed out, slowly moving to the couch and plopping on it, beginning to pant like a dog. Otto tilted his head. "Hey, uh, Olive..." "Hmm?" "Did you notice that Mandy has scratches on her face?" A bolt of shock went rocketing through Olive's body with such ferocity that she nearly dropped the water pitcher she was holding. The cup she had been filling began to overflow and water spilled on the countertop. "Partner, take it easy! Go help Mandy, I'll clean up the water." It didn't take all of three seconds before Olive speed-walked over to where Mandy looked as though she was about to die of thirst, nearly bumping into Otto in the process as he made his way to the drink bar. "Mandy, are you okay? You look like you've bled!" Olive gently touched Mandy's cheek. Peaches widened her eyes as the agent didn't seem to show any signs of pain, and instead went from being dehydrated to being perfectly fine in a millisecond. "Aww, Momma, I'm fine! I did bleed a little, but the bleeding went away!" "Otto, when you're finished, can you go to Dr. O and ask him for some antiseptic?" "Sure." As he finished cleaning up the mess and grabbed the cup of water, he made his way over to Mandy and gave her the cup before quickly departing the office. Peaches watched him go, a guilty look beginning to form on her face. "Here, drink some water." Mandy did as she was told, drinking the cup eagerly, the tip of her tail flicking up and down as she relished the cold sensation that filled her mouth and soothed her throat. "Um..." Peaches spoke, scratching the back of her head. "I was the one who hurt Mandy." "What?!" "I attacked her because I thought she was the person who destroyed my hometown." The catgirl bowed. "I'm really sorry." She wasn't exactly sure what Olive was feeling. Inside, Peaches could see that she was hurt and a little angry, and she internally braced herself in the event that a fight would break out. But the rest of her face held a trace of understanding. Finally, after what seemed like forever, a sigh left Olive's lips. "It's fine. Just so long as she isn't dead." The sigh of relief that Peaches had been holding in finally made its way out. "What happened to your town?" the Director asked. "It was attacked. Someone came into town and began burning houses down, hurting many catpeople who were inside. I wasn't around at the time, but I got wind that it resulted in many lives taken. Our king tried to identify the culprit with witnesses' accounts, but...we never found them. And they had the same body shape as Mandy." "That's quite unfortunate. I'm really sorry that happened." Olive yanked the cup that Mandy was now eyeballing out of her hands. "But I can assure you, Mandy would never do such a thing." "Nope!" Mandy chirped. "I told ya, I never visited a Vallea!" "I'm back!" Otto greeted. "Brought some cotton balls too." "Ah, thank you!" Olive took the bag of cotton balls and the bottle of antiseptic liquid from Otto and got to work, taking out a cotton ball and pouring some of the liquid on it. "This may sting, Mandy, okay?" She dabbed the cotton ball on some of the scratches that lined Mandy's cheek. To Peaches' surprise, once again, the pony-human hybrid began to giggle, and her tail began to flick again. "It stings and tickles!" she exclaimed. "You want me to get bandages too?" "No, these are fine." Olive waved a hand dismissively. As the girl that Mandy had so lovingly called "Momma" continued to clean up her supposed daughter's wounds, Peaches felt conflicted about the being she had attacked. How can she stay so happy all the time? Even when she's injured, she still has a smile on her face. Only King Ashero was like that...able to take hit after hit and never let his smile fade... She didn't hear Olive telling Mandy she was done, nor did she hear Mandy saying she was going to take her cousin to meet more people. All she could do was stare at this anomaly of a living being, who didn't feel much pain and seemed to be in a state of eternal happiness no matter what happened to her. "Don't overwhelm her, okay?" "I won't!" Peaches snapped out of her trance and shook her head, noticing that Mandy was grabbing ahold of her arm. "Now hold on, I'm gonna teleport again!" Before she could say anything, the duo was gone in a flash of magic. "She seems nice." Otto commented, heading back to his desk and taking a seat in his comfy office chair. "Yeah. But a catgirl in Toronto is..." Olive paused. "Well, I've never seen a catgirl around here. And I've never heard of 'Vallea' either. Have you?" Otto shook his head. "I just hope Oprah's as accepting of her as we are." The two co-Directors quickly attempted to get back to work, but neither one of them could help but stare at the spot where their mysterious guest once stood. In a flash of light, Mandy and Peaches arrived at the former's intended destination. "And voila! Welcome to Precinct 13579, where I work, live, breathe, eat, sleep, and do everything my species is s'posed to do!" "Whoa..." What met Peaches' eyes were agents in all sorts of departments, phones ringing off the hook, and many, many different oddities, ranging from dinosaurs to people clad in plaid to rainbows in buckets. It was almost too much for her to handle, given how Vallea was a relatively peaceful place. "There are so many...odd things!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Well no duh!" Mandy rolled her eyes. "Mandy?" The duo turned to their right to find an alicorn approaching them. With violet fur and a purple-and-pink mane and tail, she looked rather regal, and Peaches had to resist bowing just on instinct. "Agent Twilight! Hi!" Mandy waved. "Where've you been? We've all been worried sick about you!" Twilight chided. "I've been battling acorns in the park!" Mandy chirped. "Or...uh, well...not really battling, more...turning people back from acorns." "Who's this?" "This is Peaches, a catgirl from Vallea and my cousin!" "Wait, you two are cousins?" Twilight tilted her head. "We come from a distant aunt and uncle." Peaches explained as she wondered how many times this particular tidbit was going to bear repeating. "And...you have the ears of a cat? And the tail of a cat?" "Oh, yes!" Peaches nodded. "All catgirls have those features." "Interesting." Twilight smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Peaches. I'm Agent Twilight Sparkle, an Investigation agent of Odd Squad Precinct 13579. Everyone just calls me Twilight, though." "So you're of the same ranking as Mandy?" "Yes." Peaches nodded again in understanding before she let out a soft gasp. "Hey Mandy, why don't you take me to your Director? Oprah, was it? I have a question for her." "All righty, follow me!" The pony-human hybrid took off towards the staircase that laid on the left side. Peaches, just now realizing that there was a second floor, followed suit. "See you later!" Twilight called before heading off towards what appeared to be a laboratory. "Knockity-knockityyy!" Mandy called in singsong as she poked her head into the office upstairs. "Oh come on, just who i-" Oprah, who sat at a desk at the back of the small office, looked about ready to throw down and take names, crumpling up her artwork slightly in the process. Upon seeing who was addressing her, however, her expression immediately relaxed. "Oh. Mandy, welcome back. Did you solve the case?" "Yup, aaaaaaand I made a new friend! Meet Peaches, my catgirl cousin!" The catgirl took a couple hesitant steps forward, feeling a shiver run down her spine. "Uh, hi. Are you...in charge here?" "Yes, I am. Come and have a seat on this couch." As Oprah pointed to the couch that sat to Peaches' right, the catgirl made her way over little by little and sat down, noticing how sticky the cushion seemed to be. Likewise, Mandy bounced her way over to the couch and took a seat next to her newfound family member. "My name is Oprah. Or Ms. O, if you wanna refer to me by my title." The girl went over to the other couch and sat across from Peaches and Mandy. "I am the Director of Precinct 13579." Peaches said nothing in response, instead taking in the sights of the one sitting across from her. She looked identical to Olive, with her two-rowed necklace, her purple shirt underneath her navy jacket, and her purple Converse shoes. However, unlike Olive, she wore a navy skirt as a bottom instead of pants. "Psst! Introduce yourself!" Mandy nudged Peaches, which seemed to snap her out of her observational trance. "Um...my name is Peaches. I'm a catgirl hailing from the faraway town of Vallea. Through our aunt and uncle, Mandy and I are also blood cousins." "Aunt and uncle?" "I know, we don't look related." Peaches explained to Oprah. "Aunt Kimi was a catgirl, while Uncle Derek was a human." "Huh." "I came here looking for the person who burned down my town, and...I initially believed it was Mandy. But it wasn't her. It was someone else." Peaches sighed. "I'm...sorry for harming one of your own." Oprah's eyes widened. She glanced at Mandy and squinted slightly, her mouth beginning to twist into quite the malicious frown. "Just forgive her! It was an honest mistake." Mandy waved a hand dismissively. "Besides, I came back alive, didn't I?" Oprah shifted her gaze from a rather-embarrassed Peaches to a calm Mandy, back and forth, unsure what to make of this situation. After a half-minute of thinking about it, she sighed. "All right. I'll assume it was a case of false identity, then." "Thank you." Peaches smiled. "Oh yeah, I meant to ask. Exactly what role does Mandy play in your...what is it called...'precinct'"? "Mandy is my second-in-command, my most trusted agent. Has been for a while." "But she is still in the Investigation department as an agent." "Yes." Oprah nodded. "Mandy goes out into the field and solves cases like other Investigation agents do, and serves as a sort of substitute leader when I'm unable to lead for any reason. She is...the heart of the precinct." "The heart?" "Mandy brings such joy here with her antics. Always having a smile on her face, always comforting us and saving us when stakes are at their highest. She's one of the best agents I've ever had." Peaches tilted her head. Weird. I expected her to be tougher than this. It's strange...no, it's odd to see her touched by whimsy for this...thing. "Glad ya think so, boss!" Mandy's horn lit up, and a juice box floated from her hammerspace spine. "Here, have some juice!" "Thank you." Oprah took the juice box. "You're welcome to have some as well, Mandy, of course. You too, Peaches." "Um...I'll have to decline. But thank you." Peaches glanced at Mandy, who pulled another juice box out and got to drinking. It was quite a shame to her that now, she had two mysteries on her hands -- who attacked Vallea, and exactly who or what Mandy was. By all means, she acted completely human, but Peaches couldn't shake the feeling that there was something...alien about her that she couldn't place. "So you're more powerful than I thought..." the catgirl mused. "But yet you didn't harm Vallea." "Nope!" A heavy sigh escaped Peaches' lips. "So the search continues." she mused. "Oh!" Oprah glanced at her wristwatch. "It's already 5:00. How time flies." "Oh no...I'm not gonna have anywhere to sleep. Vallea's too far away for me to return back by nightfall." And King Ashero told me never to return until my mission was completed...that too. "Well, I see you're good friends with Mandy..." "Yuparoonie!" "Well, I...wouldn't say friends. More like acquaintances." A bout of nervous laughter left Peaches' lips. "Tell you what." Oprah offered. "Why don't you stay here, in Headquarters?" "Here? Are you sure?" "Sure I'm sure. Mandy can help you get acquainted with some of the other agents here, and fix up a room for you." "I-I couldn't possibly stay here!" Peaches shook her head. "I don't really take advantage of free hospitality..." "I insist, Peaches." Oprah held up her hand. "Any friend of Mandy's is a friend of mine. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want." "I, um..." "Just say yes!" Mandy nudged her cousin again. "All right." Peaches sighed. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to have a comfortable place to stay while I search." "Looks like you have a new roommate, Mandy." "Yay!" "Follow me. I have a room you can stay in." Oprah got up from the couch and took another sip of her juice box as she headed for the glass double-doors. Mandy eagerly followed suit, bouncing up and down. Peaches watched them leave and begin descending the stairs, shaking her head once more before following them. Peaches gazed upon her new room, her eyes widening as she took in the sights of her new bed pushed up against the back-left wall, the nightstand that sat next to it, and the blue paint that covered the walls. "How do you like it?" Oprah asked. "It's...really cozy and inviting." The words danced on the catgirl's lips as she eyed a shelf that sat high above, and a nice plush carpet that was spread out onto the floor. "Down the hall and to your left is the Bedroom. That's where Mandy and the ponies here sleep." "Wait, you live here?" Peaches turned to Mandy. "Yep! For as long as I can remember." "And there are other ponies?" "Yep!" "Agents Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy all work here in Precinct 13579. I'm sure you'll see them around...if Mandy doesn't introduce you to them first." Peaches nodded. So there are five more that look just like Twilight? The alicorn mare had seemed friendly enough, but who knew what the other five would be like. It made her nervous just thinking about it. A yawn escaped from Mandy. "Aww, jeez...I missed my naptime and everything! And now I'm hungry." She looked up at Peaches. "C'mon, Peaches, why don't I show you around town?" "U-uh, maybe that's...not such a good idea." She put her hands up. "I don't think people here are familiar with the sight of a catgirl...especially not one like me..." "You could just say you're cosplaying or dressing up or something." Mandy shrugged. "Maybe..." Before Peaches could debate any more on the matter, a yawn escaped her. "Why don't you rest up. I'm happy to make you something!" As much as the catgirl wanted to say yes, a realization hit her like a truck. Her eyes scanned Mandy up and down, with her beaming smile and her bouncy curls. But something was missing. "You...you're not...you!" "Whaddya mean?" "You're not...bouncing around and squishing my cheeks and pulling me everywhere!" Peaches waved her hands in the air to accentuate her statement. Mandy scoffed. "Aww, c'mon. I'm very hyperactive, it's true. Sometimes I just get super-excited, especially when meeting someone new!" Yeah, no duh, Peaches wanted to snark in response, but kept her mouth shut and continued to examine Mandy instead. For some reason, it never really dawned on her that the pony-human hybrid had a long horn and a pair of wings -- she had forgotten to ask about them in the whole debacle -- but now that she noticed them, they looked...weird. "What is it?" "Why do you have...a tail? And ears? And wings? And a horn?" "Oh, all these?" Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "I got them when I defeated a Hydracops at sea. Like, a big sea monster!" Peaches tilted her head. "I dunno why it happened, and I did have a rough time with them, initially..." A downtrodden look crossed Mandy's face for a split second. "But I'm better now! I can clean floors super-fast, and fly, and, and, I can do magic!" The catgirl sighed. "I never should have suspected you to begin with. The person that attacked my town didn't have any of those." "D'aww, don't beat yourself up over it, silly kitty!" Mandy waved a hand dismissively. "Now, whaddya want to eat?" "Well...some fish would be nice." "Any specific kind?" "Tuna?" "Got it! Be right back!" With a few leaps and bounds, Mandy was gone from sight, and Peaches took the opportunity to let another sigh exit her system, feeling her body begin to deflate. "Darling, why do you look so sad?" A soft and velvety voice broke her out of her fatigue, and she quickly turned around, giving a surprised yowl. What met her view was a unicorn mare with near-blinding-white fur and a mane of indigo, with striking blue eyes. "Oh! Did I startle you, dear? Terribly sorry." Peaches had a ton of questions about this mare, who donned the same top half of the Investigation agent suit that Twilight wore with the badge to match. Chief among them would have been about her accent, if not for her brain making her spill out another question first. "Y-you're another...pony?" "Mhm!" The mare nodded. "The name is Agent Rarity. I, um...assume you've already met Agent Mandy?" "We're, uh...actually cousins." "Cousins?! Goodness, you two don't look anything alike!" Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin. "But then again, the same can be said for Pinkie Pie and Applejack..." "Well, um...m-my name's Peaches, if you want to know." "What a lovely name." Rarity's eyes drifted to the catgirl's ears and tail. "Oh, and I love the cat-ears headband and tail attachment you have. Very chic! Is it a costume?" "They're real. I'm a catgirl. Part human, part cat." Rarity blinked in response to this news. "My, you are quite fantastical, aren't you?" she mused, continuing to look Peaches up and down. "What do you do here? Do you solve cases?" Peaches asked. "Oh, well, yes, of course." Rarity explained. "I fight oddness here, and also run my very own boutique here in Odd Squad! I make all sorts of fashionable clothing -- dresses, jackets, anything and everything you can think of!" A small smile crept upon Peaches' face. "I also have three other boutiques in Equestria that I have the most generous ponies running." She's into fashion...like me? Peaches didn't think it was possible. Everyone used to shun me and laugh at me because I made clothes...but here's someone that does it for a living...and is apparently very successful! Her eyes shimmered, and she made a mental note to talk to Rarity more in-depth later. For now, though, one question loomed over her. "What is Equestria? Is it a land full of horses?" Rarity nodded. "Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, among many other creatures -- we all live there." Before Peaches could ask another question, her eyes caught the sight of a blue-furred Pegasus mare with a rainbow-colored mane and tail flying onto the scene. "Hey, Rarity, you mind if I get my spare suit from your boutique?" "Not at all, darling! The door is open." As the mare began to take off, she suddenly spotted the tall catgirl standing in front of Rarity. "Oh, hey! You must be new here. Client?" "No, I...I'm sorta staying here for a bit." "Cool. The name's Agent Rainbow Dash, by the way." "I assume you're a Pegasus?" "The fastest around!" To show off, Rainbow Dash did a few loop-de-loops in mid-air. "And you're a unicorn." Peaches pointed to Rarity. "Indeed!" "There y'all are!" A voice, while warm and welcoming, brought nothing but more confusion for Peaches. The source quickly revealed itself to be an orange pony wearing a brown hat, her blonde mane and tail secured by red hair ties. "Mandy's been tellin' me there's someone new 'round these parts. Welcome to Odd Squad!" A myriad of questions rolled in Peaches' head. "I'll assume you're an...Earth pony?" "Right! Name's Agent Applejack. Pleasure to meet ya!" "Uh, hi...I'm Peaches, Mandy's cousin who hails from Vallea. Distant family." She ran a hand through her hair. "Just how many ponies are there around here, again?" Peaches asked aloud. "It's just the six of us." Rarity responded. "Well, not if ya count Mandy." Applejack pointed out. "What do you mean?" "Not sure if she's told ya this, but Mandy's known as a pony-human hybrid. Part pony, part human. So I reckon that would make seven of us." She is? Peaches thought. Maybe she mentioned it and I just wasn't paying attention. "Yeah, plus, she's an alicorn!" Rainbow's voice brought the catgirl out of her thoughts, and she blinked. "A what-corn?" "An alicorn." Rarity held up a hoof. "You see, when a pony has wings and a horn, that makes them an alicorn. And usually, when you become an alicorn, you become a princess!" Peaches went completely slack-jawed. A princess?! So does that mean...was I just talking...to royalty?! She had to admit that she didn't know any princesses -- despite her hometown being run by a king, he was the only ruling authority as far as she was aware. But if Mandy was anything like King Ashero, then she was a princess only in name, not in professionalism. "Now, now, partner, don't go overwhelmin' her." Applejack put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I guess..." Peaches shook her head. "I just need some time to think about all this." "Well, why don't ya tell us a bit about where you came from?" Applejack asked. "Oh, I come from Vallea. It's a wondrous town that is populated by catpeople, like myself. We have a king, King Ashero, who keeps it running, and we-" A singsong "Hellooo-ooooooo!" marked the return of Mandy, much to Peaches' relief as she internally sighed. "I brought you your fish! Nice fresh tuna! Dead tuna!" An awkward smile crossed the hybrid's face that Peaches couldn't quite comprehend, noting that the smile was aimed at Fluttershy, whose eyes slightly widened. "Thank you." The catgirl took the metal bucket from the magical grasp of her cousin. "Um...if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone tonight. Just to think." "Aww, you sure you don't want a sleeping buddy?" Mandy tilted her head. "I know being in a new place might be scary for you! And I've got a spare sleeping bag!" "I'm fine. In fact, I'll, uh...start right now. Thinking, I mean." "All right." Mandy shrugged. "See you tomorrow, 'kay?" The four mares, along with Mandy, left the doorway of their guest's new room as she closed the door. "I must say, darling, your cousin is rather...different." Rarity tilted her head. "Like the flip side of a bit!" Applejack piped up. "Aww, c'mon, guys, she was just feelin' a lil' overwhelmed." Mandy frowned. "Plus, she, uh...kinda suffered a bit of a devastating loss." "Huh?" Now it was Rainbow's turn to tilt her head. "She's been trying to find the person who destroyed her town and hurt the people in it. She thought I was the culprit at first!" "But I don't recall anythin' about you goin' to a Vallea." "My, that's simply awful!" "Exactly!" Mandy sighed. "I just wish there was a way I could cheer her up." "If anyone can do it, it's you!" "Yeah, you always make us laugh, sugarcube!" Rarity moved to touch Mandy's arm with her hoof, gazing up at her with the blue eyes she had come to love. "I'm sure with a little more time, Peaches will come to laugh, too." The unicorn mare's words touched Mandy, but she couldn't help but wonder if this was something more suited for Pinkie Pie. But Peaches was her cousin, after all, and it was practically her obligation to make her feel welcome. "Of course!" She brightened up. "I'm not ever gonna stop trying! I'm gonna make her happy if it's the last thing I do!" The loud and low growl of a stomach interrupted the mood, and it didn't take long before everyone's gazes pointed at Mandy's stomach. She gave a sheepish chuckle. "Uh, maybe after I eat." As nighttime fell across Toronto, the beds in the Bedroom were mysteriously empty. That is, all except for Mandy's. The hybrid laid askew in her bed, sheets ruffled up and laying at the bottom of the bed, the snores emanating from her loud enough to knock down part of the Hoover Dam. As she exhaled, she muttered incomprehensible nonsense, and a trail of drool fell from her mouth. Meanwhile, Peaches, being mostly nocturnal, was still awake, eating a fish from the bucket she had been brought -- on a plate, of course, because she wasn't that uncivilized. She set the plate down, sighing and retreating into her thoughts. So Mandy wasn't the one who destroyed Vallea. But if it wasn't her, then...just who was it? Tears began to prick at her eyes as she remembered what her king had said to her before she left. "Peaches!" A catperson with a lion's mane and a slender tail bore his icy green gaze down upon one of his subjects. In his hand, he wielded a staff, a long stick which took on the shape of a candy cane, but had a collar and a bell attached to its center. He wore a rather illustrious but royal uniform, or so everyone thought -- it was hidden behind a dark cloak that enveloped all but his lower arms and hands. "I trust you to find this individual and bring them back to Vallea for justice. Do you understand me?" "Yes, Your Majesty." "You leave first thing in the morning. And do not return until you have found them!" His voice was booming and authoritative, echoing intensely throughout the throne room. It chilled Peaches to the bone, although it wasn't like she would tell him that. What else chilled her to the bone was the order that she couldn't go back to Vallea unless she had the culprit in tow. She was aware that Vallea wasn't exactly the nicest place for her to stay, but for her to be barred from entering unless she had the culprit? It was absurd. By all accounts, she should have called him out on it. But she didn't. That would have earned her a swift and severe punishment, and one that she did not want. "Yes, Your Majesty." Like a broken record, she uttered the three words that would punctuate her exit as she turned and left the room, attempting to hold a confident air until she was out of sight of the king. And it was only then that the tears began to fall. It was a horrible memory. I can't even go back home...if I do, I'll risk the wrath of King Ashero. I could be exiled from the town! Or worse... She didn't want to think about what "or worse" meant, even though she already knew quite well what it meant. She felt tears running down her face, but couldn't bring herself to wipe them away. Instead, she gave a shaky sigh. The least I can do...is try to get some sleep. I would go searching for the culprit now, but I haven't slept all day...mmm... Her body weighed down by fatigue, she got up and set the plate and bucket on her new dresser that was lined up along the back wall, then collapsed on her bed and closed her eyes, the tears still coming. A flurry of knocks at the Bedroom door marked the arrival of one pink pony who was rather upset over the events of yesterday. When she didn't receive an answer, she used her expendable forelock to turn the handle and open the door, immediately racing for Mandy's bedside. "Mandy! Mandy, wake up, it's urgent! Wake up!" She got no response. The hybrid was still fast asleep, having turned onto her side with her right arm drooped over the side of the bed. And naturally, she was still snoring away, as loud as ever. The pink pony's mouth scrunched up, just before a growl and a cry of frustration came forth. "Wake. UP!" "Pinkie Pie, give her some time!" As Pinkie turned, she spotted a yellow Pegasus pony with a lengthy, light-pink mane and tail poke her head in the doorway before entering the room. "Mandy doesn't wake up right away, remember?" "Fluttershy, there's a new guest here and I wasn't told about it! Do you know how horrible that makes me feel?!" Pinkie complained. "Umm...well, no, but...let Mandy introduce us to them first. Twilight and the others already met them last night." A snort caught the mares' attention, and they watched as Mandy slowly opened her eyes, parting her jaws to let out a noisy yawn and a couple "mmm's". What followed was the sound of a bone pop that made Pinkie visibly wince. "Ahhh, that's better! Sometimes the old spine needs a poppin'." She shook her head and allowed her vision to bring into focus the two ponies that gazed back at her. "Oh, hi...what're you doin' here...?" "Partner, you brought someone new here and you didn't tell me?!" Mandy grabbed a smoothie glass filled with her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise -- a rather sugary concoction made up mostly of chocolate milk -- off of her nightstand and sipped it clean within seconds. "Aww, Ponka, relax. Just lemme..." A yawn interrupted her words. "...wake up n' I'll take ya to her, mkay?" "We'd love to meet her, if you don't mind." "Sure!" Mandy hopped off of the bed and shook her body out in an attempt to fully wake herself up. "Happy to! Just lemme get dressed first." A few minutes later and the trio were walking down the hallway, with Mandy fully dressed in her Odd Squad uniform. "So she's your cousin?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head. "Yep. Distant family. Suuuuuuper-distant." As soon as they arrived at Peaches' room, Mandy knocked thrice. "Hey Peaches, you in there?" she asked, although the question didn't matter since she opened the door anyway without waiting for a response. What she found was Peaches in her human form, fast asleep with the sheets covering her as she elicited soft snores. "Ehehe..." Mandy closed the door gently. "I, uh, forgot. She's probably nocturnal." Fluttershy couldn't resist the opportunity to give a playful eyeroll. "C'mon, I'll tell ya about her over brunch!" Mandy chirped, hopping away as the two mares followed suit. A long pink tongue snaked its way over a stack of chocolate chip pancakes. Once it did a complete circle around the neatly-placed stack, its eccentric owner pulled the stack completely into her mouth, chewing it and relishing the taste for only a few moments before swallowing and giving a satisfied "mmm!" "So her name is Peaches, and she's a...catgirl from a town called Vallea?" Pinkie asked, picking up her own mug of hot chocolate and sipping it. "Essentially!" "She sounds like a nice person." Fluttershy pointed out. "She is!" Mandy nodded. "But...she's been trying to find who wrecked Vallea for a while. It's been bugging her a bit." "Oh." Suddenly, Mandy gasped as she got an idea. "I've got it!" She blinked. "Well, actually, no. I have two plans." "Two?" Pinkie and Fluttershy asked in unison. "I know cats like solitude, but something about Peaches...hmm." Mandy tapped her chin, struggling to retain some sense of coherency. "Is there something wrong?" Fluttershy blinked before taking a sip of her own drink, some herbal green tea. "I feel like maybe she has a bigger history with Vallea than I realized, and..." The hybrid paused, her eyes widening just before she let out a groan and let her head make impact with the table, causing the mares' cups to jiggle slightly. "We're here to listen, Mandy." Fluttershy coaxed. "It's just so complicated! Like, I feel like...Peaches may be an outcast." Pinkie and Fluttershy both exchanged a glance with each other, the former looking more worried than the latter as she asked, "An outcast?" "Yeah, like...maybe she's...well, she's not happy! I just..." The hybrid sighed. "I dunno. My brain's mush!" "Well, ya did just meet her!" Pinkie waved a dismissive hoof. "Maybe you just need some time to warm up to her!" "Just get to know her a little more. I'm sure you two will be friends in no time!" "If anyone can do it, it's you, Mandy!" The girl remained slumped on the table, taking a couple seconds to let her friends' words sink in. Sure enough, her next sigh became a sigh of relief. "Of course. I'll try my best! But first..." She glanced at her desk and giggled. "Gotta get some work done!" "Allow yours truly to help!" Pinkie set down her now-empty mug and hopped off her seat, quickly making a beeline for her partner's desk. "Gladly!" As she watched them go, a small but sad smile danced on Fluttershy's face, her eyes shimmering as she silently wished that Peaches would be all right. As much as she wanted to interfere, she didn't want to intrude, and instead made a mental note to be a helping hoof for the catgirl should she ever need it, when the two met, of course. With a stack of papers strapped to her back, Pinkie began to make her way down to the File Room, staggering a little bit before she managed to find her footing and walk straight. Mandy sighed. "Glad I had Pinkie to help with all that paperwork. With her helping out, it was a lot more efficient then I thought it was gonna be!" she said aloud, standing up from her desk and extending her body upwards in a well-needed stretch. Just as she returned to her regular position, however, a yawn made its escape. Her eyes widened in surprise before a knowing smile crept onto her face. "And now, to enact my plan. The only one I have, of course." With her mind freer, she was able to get her thoughts together, and had come up with the perfect plan to ease Peaches' worries and make sure that she would befriend her. Quickly, the hybrid snatched a piece of copy paper and gripped a pen in her magical grasp, cracked her knuckles, and got to scribbling. Once that was done, she put the pen back and allowed her magic to take hold on the paper before bouncing off to her next destination. As she bust open the Bedroom door, she caught sight of Twilight and Rainbow Dash, surrounded by books and in deep conversation about...well, it was about the Daring Do book series, but it was a conversation that she couldn't care less about. She made a quick beeline for her nightstand's top drawer, set her note down, opened the drawer, and moved her hand around in an attempt to find something. Her expression quickly turned from pleased to unamused, however, when she couldn't feel her fingers grasp her intended target, and let out a growl before jumping and somehow managing to put her full body weight on the dresser without breaking it, squirming her way inside. Almost the entirety of the top half of her body was now inside the drawer, including her face, her back legs kicking freely and her tail wagging back and forth slightly. By this point, both alicorn and Pegasus mare had stopped their conversation and stared at the sight with confused expressions. "I don't even wanna ask..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Mandy, what are you-" "You shush! I'm looking for something!" A gasp. "Ooh, found it!" And then, a couple seconds of futile struggle. Back legs waving furiously, tail beginning to develop stray hairs, and a pony-human hybrid who had found herself at the mercy of when a complete lack of physics can become a detriment. "Are you stuck?" Twilight asked, trying to hold back a laugh. "No!" A few seconds passed. Back legs falling still, tail drooping to the ground, and a pony-human hybrid who had found herself in a situation that she had deeply regretted getting into, but couldn't get out of on her own volition. "...Yes." Rainbow snorted, and then belly-laughed. Twilight, giving a sigh, only needed to light up her horn and smoothly (well, mostly smoothly) drag Mandy out, noticing that the thing she was holding in her hand was a stuffed toy leopard. "Thank you." With her feet on the ground and the magical aura being released from her, she glared at Rainbow Dash. "And stop laughing, Rainbow. What I'm doing is very important." "And what are you doing?" Twilight asked. "Tryna make Peaches feel better!" the hybrid explained. "I figured I could give her this old stuffie of mine to cuddle with while she sleeps. It always helped me when I was little." "It's nice that you care so much about her." "Well, she's my cousin, Twi! I can't not!" Mandy said. "And now, I must go!" In a blur, she nabbed the note and quickly left the room, leaving Rainbow staring after her in confusion. "Where were we?" Rainbow swiveled her head to Twilight, blinked a couple times, then said point-blank, "I completely forgot." The door to Peaches' room opened just enough for Mandy to wriggle her face in. Her blue eyes scanned her surroundings and quickly fell on the sleeping Peaches, who had switched positions and was now facing the back wall. Using her magic, the hybrid levitated the toy and the note into the room, setting the note on the nightstand and the toy in just the right position behind Peaches. She squinted as she adjusted the toy, pivoting it so it faced the same way as Peaches. Once she was satisfied, she pulled her face out of the doorway and closed the door as quietly as she could, her usual cat smile growing wider as she knew her plan had already been carried out. All she had to do now was wait for the results. Peaches' eyes slowly opened. From looking out the window, the sun appeared to be setting. A yawn escaped her as she turned around to the other side... And quickly found two big beady eyes staring back at her. Startled, she yowled and promptly fell off the bed. "Oww! Ohh..." She reached an arm upwards and used her retractable claws to cling to her bedsheets as she hoisted herself up. "Lucky I wasn't in cat form..." she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and trying to get a better look at what monster had climbed into bed with her. "A...toy?" She picked it up and examined it, giving it a few sniffs for good measure. It looked clean and in good condition, but it certainly wasn't hers -- she was a little too old for plush toys. Her eyes drifted to a piece of white paper on her nightstand. Picking it up, she read it aloud. To Peaches: One of my biggest motivators in life is to make others happy. I know something’s on your mind, and I wanna let you know I’m here for you whenever, wherever. If you need help searching for whoever destroyed your town, I’m your agent. But I’m not just an ally of yours, I’m your friend. And friends help each other. I hope that you can be mine as well, and maybe, you can open up to me about whatever’s buggin' you. For now, I thought Fluffy, my stuffed leopard toy, would help you sleep and take your worries away. Hope you don’t mind. Yours truly with hugs and love, Your cousin, Mandy The catgirl read the note over and over again. She flipped the paper to make sure nothing was written on the back. But the messy scribbles, while messy but somehow legible, were unmistakable. There was no doubt that it was written by Mandy herself. Are these...her true feelings? "She...she wrote this..." Did she really...want to be friends? King Ashero...he...never said anything about me hoping to make friends or anything. And he was so straightforward...and why me, even? Why not some other catperson? Why did he pick the one reject of the village to go on such an important mission? Her eyes widened. Unless...he did it for some other reason! She flung open her door and looked up and down the halls, but there was no sign of life. She could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes again, but made no effort to wipe them away, and instead, she let them cascade down her face. "I...perhaps..." The door closed. "Perhaps it's...time..." Her voice cracked. "Time to...time...to talk." It was those five words that caused her body to run on autopilot. She walked towards the bullpen, eyes darting to and fro as if looking for something. From her lack of attention, she bumped into Oprah, giving an "oof" of surprise. "Whoa! Oh, it's you." Oprah blinked. "Are you okay, Peaches? How are you doing here in Odd Squad? Enjoying it?" The Director didn't get a coherent answer to that question, and instead, she found herself bearing witness to a horrifying scream, and then grabbed and embraced, by a now-fully-sobbing Peaches. "T-take it easy!" she said, resisting the urge to squirm her way out of this impromptu hug. Luckily, it seemed that she didn't need to do that, as Olive and Otto came running into the bullpen from the Lab. "What the heck was that?!" Olive exclaimed. "Is everything okay?!" Otto quickly spotted Oprah and made a move for her, yanking her out of Peaches' grasp -- not that the catgirl seemed to care, as she continued to cry. "Peaches, come on up into my office, okay? It's gonna be okay!" That didn't seem to help, as Peaches went from outright sobbing into unintelligible blubbering, her nose beginning to run in the process. Olive and Otto could only stare, still bewildered by what was happening. "Well don't just stand there, help me!" Oprah snapped, and as if on instinct, the two co-Directors helped to guide Peaches into Oprah's office. Which didn't really help. It seemed like hours before she seemed to be nearing the tailwind of her outburst, even though Oprah had told Olive and Otto that she hadn't been crying for long. With snot and tear stains on her dress, she didn't look like the most dignified catgirl in Vallea at the moment. "Wait, what's that in her hand?" Otto's eyes widened, and he went to grab the paper from Peaches' hand. "It's a note!" "What's it say?" Olive asked. Otto read it aloud, causing Peaches to give a loud agonized wail. "Peaches does seem very aloof. I guess Mandy just really wanted to bond with a family member." Oprah mused. As she shook, Peaches took shaky breaths, gripping her dress tightly as the tears stopped falling. "Got some tissues for you." Oprah offered, reaching behind her back and pulling out a small box of tissues. Eagerly, the catgirl snatched some and cleaned herself up, blowing her nose and trying to compose herself. "I..." Ears folded down, Peaches attempted to string together a coherent sentence, but couldn't find the words. Luckily, she didn't need to, as Otto piped up with, "Where'd you find this note?" "It was...on my nightstand." She gave another shaky sigh. "I...I've been so distant from Mandy, because...she and I, we...we're so different. She's hyperactive, and annoying, and maybe she's not all that intelligent..." Olive gave an angry "Hey!" "No, no...she told me herself. But..." Peaches sniffled. "I-is it okay if...I confide in you?" Oprah nodded. "Of course." "We're friends of Mandy, after all!" Otto piped up. "You can trust us 100%." Olive smiled. "What's on your mind, Peaches?" "I...y-you see, I'm...an outcast. I never fit in with the other catpeople of Vallea. I was teased constantly, a-and I never really had any friends growing up. I was essentially...a loner. And when our king sent me away to find out who burned our village, I felt like I was a part of something bigger. Like he was giving me a chance to prove myself and make me a hero." A fire began to settle in her heart, one that was so hot it almost gave her heartburn. "But I realized...he did it to exile me from Vallea." She took another tissue and blew her nose before continuing. "It was never to make me a hero. It was never because he trusted me. Even though the culprit is still out there, I...I spent countless months thinking I was doing good for Vallea. That I could find the culprit and get fame and respect." She blinked. "B-but...when I met Mandy for the first time, and I got to meet all of you, I realized..." For the first time in what seemed like forever, she smiled. "You all are the first ones to ever be genuinely nice to me." The trio shared smiles of their own, feeling their hearts touched by their new friend's story. "We're in no way malicious, Peaches. We may have our bad apples..." Oprah winced. "But a large majority of us are kindhearted. And we'd be more than happy to be your friends if you want." Peaches sniffled once more, her heart no longer consumed by fire but instead soaring with happiness and relief. "I would like that. Very much." "Don't be afraid to come to us too, if you need anything!" Otto pointed out. "Yeah, we're all happy to help you." Olive nodded. "W-well, in that case...our king, he told me that...I couldn't come back to Vallea until the culprit was caught. And after realizing that he exiled me, I...I thought it over, and..." Peaches scratched the back of her neck. "I still want to search for the culprit as best I can." She blinked. "Can I still stay here?" "Of course. As I said, you can stay here for as long as you want." "Thank you. Please, let me repay the favor, at least." "Well, I think there's a certain someone who would love a new friend." Olive smirked. "I think I know who you're talking about." Peaches said knowingly. "But I'm not sure where she is..." A loud smack sound interrupted the mood, and the group swiveled their heads to find Mandy squished up against the door. "Oww! That'sh my noshe...and I'm not payin' for any shurgery!" "Speak of the agent and she doth appear." Oprah playfully rolled her eyes. As Mandy walked into the room rubbing her nose and wincing in pain, she spotted Otto snickering, and then taking a big inhale as he opened his mouth and raised his finger. "If you shay anything, Otto, I'll have your head indented enough to play golf with it." The co-Director knew better than to give a witty answer to a threat like that, closing his mouth and settling on a sly smirk. "Oh, there you are! What's up?" Mandy asked Peaches. "I, uh...I found your note. And I want to say thanks." Peaches rubbed the back of her neck. "See, as distant as I was...you're the first real friend I've ever made." Olive, Otto and Oprah were quick to shoot the catgirl looks of suspicion. "T-technically speaking." She chuckled nervously. But I'd love to be friends with you, if you're still offering." If looks could kill, the look on Mandy's face in that moment would set a record for the fastest murder time in existence. Stars formed in her eyes, and perhaps one of the biggest smiles she had ever made crept its way onto her face. "Really?!" Olive scrunched down and braced for impact. "Superflytacklehug!" In the time it took to blink, Peaches suddenly felt a hard force ram into her and tackle her to the ground. She then found herself being lifted up and squeezed once more, feeling the air go right out of her lungs. "Don't kill her..." Olive sighed. "It's nice to see them getting along. I think Peaches is gonna love it here." Oprah smiled as she watched Mandy let go of her cousin and allow her to regain her breath. "Now, why don't I go and make you somethin' to eat? And tomorrow, I can take ya around town!" "I'd love that!" Peaches nodded. "Can I have that tuna again, though? It was really good!" "Hey, I'm one of the best cooks around here and I'm not lettin' ya forget it!" Mandy winked. "C'mon!" As she bounded away, Peaches began to follow, but stopped to give the trio a wink before heading out. Likewise, they all smiled as they watched her head off with her new friend, knowing that having a catgirl, of all species, come into the life of Odd Squad was going to bring some interesting adventures indeed. Author's Note And voila. The thing I've been working on for 4 years has finally come to fruition in a public medium. And I couldn't be happier! As I've stated before in one of my blogs, The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy was my first actual MLP and Odd Squad crossover project that floated around in a bunch of Google Docs as I typed and re-typed the scripts. It was originally a way to get my creativity out, but as I began to flesh out the world and the characters, I decided to turn it into a full-on fanfic for the masses to see. Again, I'm not aiming for professionalism with these -- this is more something I'm doing for fun. But that doesn't mean I'm not making an effort. Mandy and Peaches are just real fun characters to write, y'know? I hope you all enjoyed this regardless of the disclaimers, and I hope you enjoy the other "episodes" I have in store. I have about two "seasons" planned, but I'm not sure about a third one. We shall see!
S1E3: My Dream is Your DreamThe sound of beeping was the only constant in the dimly-lit operating room, where three surgeons huddled over a sedated patient. "All right, what do we got?" "Patient needs surgery to remove the liver and put in a new one." "Sounds easy enough." The first surgeon looked around the room. "Where's Mandy?" "U-um..." A quiet voice spoke up. "Here, but-" "There's no room for error." the first nurse said. "You will be working with the other surgeons to remove this patient's liver." "I-I-" Mandy, dressed head to toe in medical garb, looked terrified, and stumbled over her words. "L-look, I-I don't even have a doctor's degree! All I have is, uh...a hammer." "We are facing a shortage of healthcare workers right now, and you want to opt out?" "B-but if you kill a patient, it's...not gonna be pretty. And that's me being generous." Mandy's eyes then fell on the one thing she didn't want to see: the patient's liver, in all its squicky glory. She couldn't stop herself from gagging and coughing, trying her damnedest not to puke inside of her mask. "Get in there and insert the IV." the first nurse ordered, not seeming to care about her fellow surgeon and how she didn't particularly like her current circumstances. "Th- th- th-" Mandy's legs began to feel like Jello, and wobbled like it too. "The IV?!" "Yes. Insert it into the wrist here." A gulp came forth as the hybrid contemplated asking why the IV needed to be inserted when the patient already looked sedated as it was, only for her to set that aside, not wanting to risk the consequences that might come about as the result of the chilling natures and attitudes of the other three surgeons. Using her magic, she took the IV needle and gently, ever so gently, placed it in the crook of the patient's wrist, slightly wincing at the shared pain. "Good. Now, we wait." "Um, don't you put the IV in and then wheel them to the operating room?" The question tumbled out, but it didn't stop the other three surgeons from staring at her with their piercing, cold gazes and their twisted expressions of rage about to boil over. "I-it's just a suggestion!" Mandy said, although she knew her halfhearted excuse wouldn't forgive her blunder. "We are a high-tech facility, the most renowned hospital in the world. We know what we're doing, Mandy." the first surgeon said, her voice holding absolutely no trace of niceties within it. A groan from the patient briefly broke the tension, and the three surgeons quickly turned their attention back to him. "Vitals are steady." the third surgeon said, gazing at the screen above the bed where the patient laid. "Now, I will do the honors." "Oh no." came the squeaky voice of Mandy as she folded her ears down and shut her eyes tight in a worthless attempt to block out the disgusting squelching noises. She gagged. "Look, I-I can eat a lot of food and not throw up, but a person's insides tend to gross me out..." "Is that so?" The first surgeon turned to her. "Then how about you remove the rest of the liver?" "R-r-removing...?" Mandy's eyes widened, and she vigorously shook her head. "N-no, I couldn't. I can't. I'm sorry, but death by surgery is not something I endorse. And I'm not gonna be responsible for this!" The sound of a heartbeat emanated from somewhere, but she didn't bother to take the time to locate its source, instead coming to a horrid realization. "This is a nightmare. An absolute nightmare! And I want out!" "It is very hard to get fired from this facility." the second surgeon said. "Dr. Price won't like this report, Mandy." the third surgeon added. "Let me out!" The hybrid ran towards the double doors, slamming them open and booking it down the hall. She passed nurses, doctors, surgeons, and all sorts of hospital staff, all of whom gave her the same icy glares. Even the patients were no exception, as they gazed at her with hurt looks on their faces and tears in their eyes, as though wondering why she wanted to quit and supposedly leave them to suffer in their pain and misery. "C'mon, let me out of here! I don't wanna be a surgeon! I wanna be an Odd Squad agent!" Her feet took her to a large window overlooking the city. She opened the window and used the last of her lung power to scream out a simple, echoing plea: "LET ME OOOOOOUT!!" "Let me out...let me out..." Mandy tossed and turned in bed, her face contorted into a mix of pain and terror. As if on cue, the door to the Bedroom opened, allowing Peaches to see what was going on with her cousin. "Mandy?!" The catgirl quickly raced to her bedside. "Mandy, wake up! Wake up!" "I DON'T WANNA BE A DOCTOR!!" The six words, brought forth by one of the loudest and most powerful voices in the entire precinct, marked the awakening of the shaken and rattled hybrid, with sweat dripping down her face and rapid breathing also marking her exit from one of the worst nightmares she had ever had (which, granted, was not saying very much, given how she hardly ever had nightmares). "Were you having a nightmare?" "I...it was horrible." Mandy's voice was shaky, and likewise, her body began to quiver. "I-I was a surgeon, and...and they asked me to remove someone's liver..." Peaches opened her mouth to ask another question, but the sound of footsteps managed to catch her attention, and she turned to look at the doorway as Oprah made her way inside. "What's going on? I heard screaming!" "Mandy had a nightmare!" "It was awful!" Tears began to prick at the hybrid's eyes. "I, I was gonna remove someone's liver a-and they were pressuring me to..." From the way her eyes were beginning to develop enough water to put swimming pools to shame, Oprah knew what was coming, and threw her arms open as she made her way over to her. "All right, give me a hug." That was the trigger for Mandy to start bawling like a baby, hugging Oprah and crying as hard as she could into her chest, her body wracking with heaves of sadness. It was lucky for the Director that the hybrid wasn't planning on flooding the entire Bedroom with her tears, instead fighting to utter out words within only a few minutes. "Th-th-the thing is...I-I don't usually have these dreams..." "You don't?" Peaches asked. "Normally, Mandy dreams of a vast variety of things. She doesn't usually have nightmares." "Hmm..." Peaches thought. "Now that you mention it, I've been having weird dreams as well. I usually dream about chasing mice, playing with yarn, you know, typical cat things. But lately, I've been dreaming of...flying. I've had wings attached to my back and everything." "I've seen this before." Oprah pried Mandy off of her chest, wincing at her tear-soaked navy jacket. "Let's go to Dr. O. He'll help straighten us out." As she and Peaches left the room, Mandy, still visibly shaken by what had transpired, slowly got out of bed and followed suit. After a long series of tests, questions, and reassurances sent Mandy's way, Dr. O arrived at a conclusion. "Mm-hmm, just as I suspected. It's Sleep-Transfer-itis." "What?" Mandy tilted her head. "It's an odd illness that mostly pops up in places where people work closely together." "So is it a vice-versa thing or...?" Peaches asked. "Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't." "Sometimes?" Oprah groaned. "Well, that makes it a little harder to pinpoint than last year..." "Wait, you had this last year?" Peaches stared at Oprah incredulously. "Olive, Otto, me, Oscar, we were all involved. Luckily, that means we're all immune now. Right, Dr. O?" "Right." "So how come Mandy's not immune?" "I haven't gotten it. Neither have the ponies, for that matter." "If my predictions are correct, however..." Dr. O turned and grabbed his clipboard, which had some notes scribbled on a piece of paper. "This year, Mandy will have to be the one to solve it." The dumbstruck look that crossed Oprah's face, if weaponized, would have leveled the entire town. Likewise, Peaches also looked surprised. "M-me?! Why me?!" "You have the most control over your sleep and dreams. Your brain is controlled by a central...hub, of sorts. It primarily controls your magic usage while you sleep, as well as your sleep cycle." Dr. O explained. "According to my reports, the transformation you received while battling the Hydraclops may have altered your brain in a number of different ways, including how it handles your sleep." He smiled. "Which is why I entrust the task of curing everyone to you, Mandy." "B-b-but curing everyone?! That seems like such a huge responsibility!" "Well, if my agents don't get enough rest, I don't see productivity rates rising around here. No pressure." By this point, Mandy had gone from being traumatized to straight-out hyperventilating, only minus the classic brown paper bag. More stray hairs began to pop out of place from her hair and her tail. Peaches rolled her eyes. "Great, now you've made her even more panicked. Nice going, Oprah." "You'll do fine." Dr. O reassured. "All you have to do is go around and ask agents about their dreams. When you find a connection between two agents, have them tap foreheads with each other to transfer the dreams." As much as Mandy wanted to say she would try her best, her hyperventilation refused to stop, and she kept right on going for the next several minutes. Peaches and Mandy roamed the hallways, the latter still looking a little traumatized from both her nightmare and the responsibility of saving...well, not everyone in the precinct, but a large majority of agents, most likely. "Don't look so high-strung." the catgirl assured her cousin, before her face lit up and she snapped her fingers. "I have an idea. You said that you and the ponies haven't gotten sleep-transfer-itis, right?" "Right..." "So why don't we ask the ponies if they've had any strange dreams?" Mandy's mood did a complete 180. Her face lit up as well, and she gasped. "That's not a bad idea! And I know exactly where we can start!" A couple minutes later, the two girls were at the door of a rather spacious room that was covered in leaves and vines. Mandy knocked thrice, then opened the door. "Hello? Fluttershy?" "Hmm? Oh, hello, Mandy!" The yellow Pegasus waved. "Come in and close the door. You'll let a creature loose." "What is this room?" Peaches asked, stepping inside and looking starstruck at her surroundings. She took note of what appeared to be a set of wooden cellar doors, two double-doors, and a desk with a computer and a keyboard with papers stacked on top of it. Running around the room were creatures, most of them small but all of them very odd in both nature and appearance. "This is the Creature Room. It's where some of Odd Squad's creatures are kept. Agent Fluttershy and Agent Ocean run it." Mandy explained. "When I first heard that Precinct 13579 had a Creature Room, I knew I couldn't resist going to work there!" Fluttershy giggled. "Ocean is a wonderful agent to work with. He knows so much about all kinds of creatures!" "Fluttershy, have you been having any odd dreams lately?" Mandy asked. "Odd dreams? Well, um...I have had this one consistent dream where I'm designing clothes. And it's such a wonderful dream, too!" The Pegasus blushed. "But, um, I'd rather be with the animals. Er, um, creatures." "Hmm...so you must have Rarity's dream." Mandy mused. "Peaches, can you go fetch her?" "Sure. I would, if I knew where she was." "She might be in her boutique." Fluttershy pointed out. "Okay. I'll, uh...I'll find it, I'm sure." Peaches chuckled nervously before leaving the room. As the catgirl roamed the halls once again, she quickly found out that most of the rooms had changed. It seemed like it took her forever just to find the boutique, and that was only because Rarity had decorated it with flowers to make it a standout from the other odd rooms. "Come in, darling!" Rarity called in singsong once she heard five knocks on the door. "Hello?" "Oh, Peaches, what a lovely surprise!" Rarity turned away from her sewing machine, her cup of tea levitating besides her. "Is there anything I can help you with?" "Yeah, uh...have you been having any odd dreams lately?" "Odd dreams, you say?" The unicorn tilted her head. "Well, I did have a dream last night about caring for all sorts of odd creatures. It was horrible...some of them were quite...unhappy with my efforts." She gave a small sigh. "It's rather strange, too. I normally have dreams that are more fashion-related." "Hmm." Peaches nodded. "Would you mind coming with me to the Creature Room? Just for a brief moment." Rarity took a sip of tea. "Of course, darling. Is something the matter?" "There's been an outbreak of Sleep-Transfer-itis. Mandy and Fluttershy both have it, and it seems like you have it too." "My, that sounds awful! Let's leave right away, then!" Rarity turned her sewing machine off, set her tea down, and immediately bounded for her boutique door, Peaches following suit. A "ding" noise sounded as Rarity and Fluttershy touched foreheads. "Well, we've gotten that resolved." Mandy gave a sigh. "Now, we just have to ask the rest of the ponies." "And find out who has my dream!" "Why don't we go ask Pinkie next?" Peaches's gaze drifted towards the door. "Where is she?" "I think she's out on a case right now..." Mandy took a moment to think. "Maybe Applejack?" Her extensive hearing range picked up on the sound of a very familiar but very faint whistling sound. "Oh, speak of the pony!" As the Earth pony farmer was making her way into Headquarters, dirty hooves and all, her ditty was interrupted by a cry that both sounded and felt all too familiar. "HEY, APPLEJACK!" "Huh?" She glanced up towards the source of the sound. "Oh, howdy there, Mandy!" The hybrid quickly took flight, swooping down into the bullpen and landing in her co-worker's path. "Have you been having any strange dreams lately?" "Now that ya mention it..." Applejack tapped a hoof to her chin. "I remember havin' a dream these past few nights about me throwin' a party. But I was terrible at it!" She sighed. "Bakin' was easy enough, but keepin' everyone entertained? I just couldn't do it!" "Ah. So it's likely you have Pinkie Pie's dreams, then!" "Pinkie Pie's dreams? Why's that?" The Earth pony scoffed. "Why, I have dreams about farmin', not parties!" "Sleep-Transfer-itis. It's, uh...a bit of an outbreak goin' around." "Oh." "If you see Pinkie, make sure to ask her about what dreams she's been having. If she has your dream, then touch foreheads with her, okay?" "Got it!" "Thanks, Applejack!" Once the news was relayed to her coworker, Mandy went back to the Creature Room and confirmed her cousin's suspicions. Lucky for her, Peaches offered to keep working on helping others reclaim their dreams while she got some paperwork done, which she profusely agreed to. As the hybrid left, however, Fluttershy couldn't help but watch her with a worried expression on her face as she nuzzled an odd creature. "She seems worried." "Mandy had a nightmare about being forced into performing surgery on a patient. It was a bit, uh...traumatic for her." Peaches sighed. "I don't know if she can solve this in a single day. If she doesn't, she could have a similar nightmare tonight." Fluttershy didn't say anything. As much as she wanted to help Mandy, right now, she was at a complete loss for just how she could help her. For all the years she had spent with her, she had little to no idea how to cure her nightmares and calm her down after having one. Meanwhile, down in the bullpen, Mandy unclipped her badge phone and pressed the 1 key. "Go for O." "Hi, Momma." "Oh, hi, Mandy! What's going on?" "Um...can I, maybe...stay at your place tonight?" "Funny you ask that, because I was going to ask you if you wanted to come over!" Olive chuckled. "I've been dying for your homemade mac and cheese for a while now. I'd have Otto's, but you know how he fumbles it." "Really?" Mandy's eyes shimmered. Did an opportunity just play into my hands? she thought, finding it hard to stem the excitement growing within her. "I-I mean sure, I can make it for you! And show you how to make it and all that, sure!" "Great! I'll be home around 8, so feel free to stop by then." "All righty! See ya then!" As she closed the phone and clipped it back onto her suit, the hybrid gave a satisfied and relieved sigh. This has to work. Nothing makes me feel happier and safer than being with Momma. If anyone can help me through a nightmare, it's her! A loud scream pierced her thoughts and made her hair and tail both stick straight into the air in surprise. Her head swiveled towards the automatic doors, where a sobbing Pinkie Pie raced inside. "Partneeeeeeeer!" "Pinkie, what's wrong?" "It's awful! I, I, my-" "Hey, hey, take a chill pill and calm down!" "My dreams of partying! They're...no mo-o-ooooore!" Mandy rolled her eyes. "Ah. A dream problem. Where've I heard that before?" "For the past few nights, I've been dreaming about apples! And then when I dream about apples I think of Applejack, a-and maybe it's a good dream, I dunno, but I want my dreams of parties baaaaaaack!" Pinkie started to wail, tears streaming down her face as her cries of anguish echoed throughout the bullpen. Mandy, well aware of the irony in having one of her own partners cry in much the same way as her, let out a heavy sigh and kneeled down to the pink pony's level. "All right, it's okay, Pinkie." she soothed. "Look, there's been an outbreak of something called Sleep-Transfer-itis. It's been switching everyone's dreams around." Pinkie ceased her wailing, and quickly downgraded to just sniffles and choked sobs. "Really?" "Really really!" Mandy nodded. "Now, why don'tcha go find Applejack? She has your dream. When you two find each other, touch foreheads, 'kay?" Pinkie gave a loud sniffle and used her hoof to wipe away a few more stray tears, standing up and turning towards one of the side hallways by the double-doors. "I'll do that. Thanks, partner." "No prob! Tell me how it went! And stay positive!" The hybrid watched her equine co-worker leave for the left hallway, glad that nothing disastrous came of her wailing and that nothing disastrous came from her complete 180 in mood. Still, it did leave her prone to complaining. "If only finding who has my dream and whose dream I have was so easy." She sighed. "This thing's so overly complicated!" "Tell me about it." Once again, the hybrid's hair and tail went straight up as she was startled by the voice of her boss, standing right behind her. This time, however, it was accompanied with a yowl that sounded similar to a cat's. "O-Oprah?!" "I've asked most every agent present today about their dreams. None of them have had Sleep-Transfer-itis, so it must just be between you and the ponies." The Director exhaled. "Thank goodness. I don't know if we could've handled another widespread outbreak." Mandy couldn't help but give a worried whine. "Are you worried about having another nightmare?" "If I hafta be honest?" Mandy nodded. "Yes. I've never had nightmares that terrifying! And I don't want them again!" A heavy sigh forced its way out of her. "I'm planning on staying over at Momma's tonight. She wants me to make my homemade mac n' cheese for her." "Good. Maybe she can help you if you have another nightmare." "I'm hoping so...who would have such atrocious dreams, anyway?" Oprah simply shrugged in response to that question, uttering a sound that sounded like "I don't know". "Anyway, maybe I can take my mind off of all this with some paperwork." "Are the ponies cured?" "Rarity and Fluttershy are. And Pinkie and Applejack should be cured by now...or, uh, soon, hopefully." Mandy's gaze briefly flitted in the direction of the left hallway where Pinkie had left. "I haven't seen Rainbow Dash or Twilight." "I put them on a difficult case. They should be back soon." "Better late than never, I suppose." Mandy's face then lit up with an idea. "Can you give an order for them to stay here? A-and the other ponies too? Just so maybe some Doctors can monitor their dreams and see if they're cured." "Not a bad idea. I'll do that." Oprah nodded before turning on her heel and walking back up the stairs towards her office. "They should all be around! Somewhere!" Immediately after the Director became out of earshot, Mandy let out a groan, rubbing her forehead in exhaustion. About a half-hour later, two of the latest victims of Sleep-Transfer-itis walked into the bullpen, manes and tails matted and bags under their eyes. "Aww yeah, that was one of our best cases yet!" Twilight gave a tired sigh. "Can't say I disagree, partner." Her gaze drifted to Mandy. "Hi, Mandy." "Hi. There's been an outbreak of Sleep-Transfer-itis here in Headquarters. Everyone's been swapping dreams. Have either of you had any odd ones lately?" "Oh, I already figured mine out." Twilight explained. "It was O'Donnell, in the Tube Lobby. We swapped dreams." "Great! So you're cured?" "Yep!" "Wait, did you say odd dreams?" Rainbow asked. "I've been having those! I'm a cat for some reason, and I keep having this weird urge to hunt mice. Like, there's hardly a time when I'm not hunting!" She winced at the thought. "Ah! So you must have Peaches's dream then, and she has yours!" Mandy cleared her throat. "Touch foreheads." "What?" "You heard me." Rainbow's eyes widened, and her head swiveled to Twilight, who nodded but looked confused since Rainbow was there when she saw her and O'Donnell touch foreheads. Nonetheless, however, the rainbow-maned Pegasus looked wary. "Why do we need to touch foreheads?" "It'll transfer your dreams. Just do it to Peaches." "Uhh...all right." Within a few seconds, she was gone, taking flight and heading down the right hallway. "Do you have Sleep-Transfer-itis too, Mandy?" Twilight asked. "Unfortunately yes. I had a terrible nightmare of me performing surgery on a patient. But I don't know the first thing about surgery! And they tried to force me into doing it!" The hybrid gave a shaky sigh, not wanting to keep on reiterating the story more than she had to. "I'm hoping to stay at Momma's house tonight to figure out the problem. I just want my normal dream back!" Twilight nodded in understanding. As much as she wanted to help Mandy out, she figured she had it under control, and decided to leave the situation be for the time being. "Well, I'll wish you luck. I'm going to go study in the Odd Squad Library a little bit and take a little break." "All right! Have fun, Twi." "Bye." The alicorn headed in the same direction her Pegasus partner went, only keeping her hooves on the ground instead of dangling them in the air. Mandy watched her go, then got back to her paperwork, thoughts beginning to worm their way into her mind. I really do need this resolved. Dr. O said I was the person who could cure everyone. But how can I, when I can't even cure myself? I don't know whose dreams I'm having, or who has my dreams. And I don't want another nightmare. She sighed once again. Staying up isn't really an option either. I'll just fall asleep anyway... Her thoughts were interrupted by Rainbow Dash flying back into the bullpen. "All right, I've got my dream back and Peaches has hers." Mandy could only listlessly stare at her. "Uh, Mandy? You alive in there?" "Huh?!" The hybrid blinked. "Oh. Hehe. Sorry, Dash. I was lost in thought." "Ah, don't worry about it. I was just saying that Peaches and I are both cured now." "Great! Glad to hear it." Rainbow couldn't help that Mandy's tone of voice sounded superficial, but she chose not to comment on it. Instead, she watched as the hybrid eyed the clock. "J-jeez! It's 7:30 already?!" "Yeah. Time flies, huh?" "Apparently so! I have to get to Momma's house?" "Olive? Why?" "I'm sleeping over there tonight. Or, uh, hopefully. I-I mean she's gotta, she's my adoptive mother, I mean sacred hospitality, right?" Rainbow looked a bit concerned at the bout of nervous laughter that slipped from her friend's lips. "Uhh...I guess?" "Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot. Ms. O's gonna give an executive order for you and the other ponies to stay here, just to see if the Sleep-Transfer-itis has gone away for good." "Sure, I can stay here for the night. Can't defy the chief's orders!" "Thanks, Dash." Mandy stood up. "I'm gonna get ready. Lucky that I got most of my paperwork done, with a few stray papers still left to go." I can't let her go on like this! Rainbow's brain screamed at her, and it was that thought that spurred the Pegasus to take action. "You seem a lil' stressed, Mandy. Somethin' buggin' ya?" "I...well, yeah..." Mandy kicked the floor with her shoe. "I kinda had a nightmare because I have Sleep-Transfer-itis, and...I don't know whose dreams I have, but...I don't want another nightmare." "Is that all?" Rainbow chuckled. "Relax! My tip for falling asleep and having awesome dreams is simple: just close your eyes, and think about stuff!" "Uh...I already do close my eyes and think about stuff." "Yeah, but if ya really get into it, you'll conk right out! Works every time for my Wonderbolts dreams!" Mandy wore an incredulous look, but gave a shrug. "'Really get into it', huh? All right, sure, why not. It's worth a shot." "Awesome! I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat, have a good night, Mandy!" And within a few seconds, the Pegasus was already well on her way to the Breakroom, leaving Mandy no room to even say goodbye. Still, she gave a scoff. "The mare's way outta touch..." Five loud knocks at the door startled Olive and nearly made her drop her book. She got up from the couch and raced for the door, only to slip and trip on the carpet. "Ooh, that didn't sound too hot..." Well no duh, Mandy, she wanted to snap, but forced herself to bite back her words. Getting on her feet, she slowly walked the rest of the way to the door, unlocking and opening it and giving an exhale. "Sorry about that. Tripped on the carpet. It happens." "Aw, no prob!" "Come on in." As Mandy made her way inside and closed the door, a sense of warmth and familiarity immediately overtook her, and a small smile made its way across her face. "Thanks for coming, Mandy." Olive said, making her way over to the kitchen. "As I said, Otto's mac and cheese isn't perfect. It, uh..." She scratched her neck. "He just adds some really odd stuff to it." Mandy shrugged. "Eh, that's Otto for ya." "Could you teach me how to make good mac and cheese, maybe?" "Well duh, that's why I'm here!" A bout of unnatural laughter bubbled forth. "Wanna start now? My tummy's rumbling!" "Sure!" And that was how Mandy found herself feeling like she had her own cooking show on daytime television. Through careful instructions, she and Olive were well on their way to making mac and cheese that, while not perfect, was pretty good. "See, the important thing is that you can't let go of the fork." Mandy explained as she used her magic to stir the pot full of uncooked pasta. "It isn't a one-and-done thing. You hafta keep stirring it!" "Ohh...maybe that's why every time I cook pasta, it gets clumped up." "Yeah. It happens. Clumped-up spaghetti's the worst of the bunch!" Olive slid the small bowl full of melted cheese that she had previously set aside across the counter. "I have the cheese sauce we mixed." She snapped her fingers in realization. "Oh, we need bowls!" She moved to the other side of the kitchen and grabbed a ladder to access the pantries, shuffling various dinnerware items around as she tried to find the bowls and muttering to herself how much stuff she had for just one person. Mandy, meanwhile, became lost in thought, mindlessly stirring the bowl with her magic as assurance overtook her. Maybe if I'm with Momma, I won't have any nightmares! Oh, what am I saying? It's inevitable. Sleep-Transfer-itis doesn't seem like an on-and-off kind of disease. But why did Dr. O pick me to cure it? Just 'cause I have a different brain? "Mandy?" The utterance of her name broke her out of her thoughts. "Hmm?" "I, uh, think the macaroni's done." Peering into the pot, Mandy could see that indeed, the noodles had grown a sizable amount, and looked to be al dente. "Oh!" A bout of nervous laughter. "Yes, yes, my bad. Can you get me a strainer?" "Sure, one second." Olive bent down and opened the cabinet directly below her, fishing around for, and eventually hooking out, a large strainer. She placed it in the sink while Mandy poured the pot's contents into it, watching the steam billow from the metal sink as though it was molten lava that had spewed from a volcano and hit land. "Now, add the cheese sauce." The noodles were poured back into the pot, allowing Olive to do as instructed and pour the cheese sauce in. "And now, we stir." It didn't take long for the smell of the cheese mingling with the noodles to hit both the girls' noses. "Smells good." "I can almost taste it!" A few minutes passed before the mixing was complete, and the meal was ready to serve. Olive noted that it certainly looked a lot better than Otto's odd concoctions -- which wasn't too much of a surprise to her, given how good of a cook Mandy was. "Aah-mmm!" Mandy's tail wagged as she took a bite from her bowl and tasted her creation. "It's good, isn't it!" "Delish!" As the two girls ate their dinners in the living room, Olive asked, "Hey, why don't you stay over tonight? It'll be a fun bonding thing. We can play a game or two, tell stories..." It was exactly the invitation Mandy had hoped for. She gasped and nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love that!" "Great! Now, how about we watch a movie? Your pick." As the hybrid swallowed her bite, she took a look at the stack of movies that was neatly organized on Olive's coffee table. She thumbed through them until she got to one in particular, which had a picture of a large, sprawling, green-leafed tree on its cover and a person gazing up at it. "The Tree of Tomorrow. Looks interesting." "That one? All right then." Not even halfway into the movie, Mandy's eyes began to droop. The sounds emanating from the television became nothing more than pure muffled gibberish to her. A soft "mmm" marked her awakening and prevented her face's near-collision with the arm of the couch. "You've been trying to stay up, haven't you?" Mandy's eyes widened, and she swiveled her head towards Olive, giving her a look of concern and sympathy. She gave a sheepish chuckle that she hoped was genuine. "Maybe. This movie's super-intriguing." "To me, not really." Olive shrugged. "But staying up certainly isn't like you, Mandy. What's going on?" Oh pickleferries. "U-um, well...i-it's nothing of your concern, really..." "Are you sure? Your voice sounds a bit...strained. You haven't been wearing yourself out, have you?" "No, no, not at all! It's just that..." Ugh, think think think...how am I supposed to convince Momma I'm fine? If I tell her I'm having nightmares then she'll panic, but if I don't tell her, then who am I supposed to tell? Maybe I can kinda...I dunno, ease into it. With a really really dumb question. Once I do that, then I can divert the subject...stellar social skills! "Did I ever have nightmares?" She could spot Olive's hand close to her shoulder, before the Director jerked it away and waved it dismissively. "Oh, you had them all the time before you transformed. I'd know, too, because it left you a wreck the next morning. That's why you had Fluffy to chase away the bad dreams." Fluffy...? Yes, she remembered. A stuffed leopard toy that Olive just happened to pick up at a local plant nursery while on a case, it became the hybrid's most beloved toy growing up, and she never went anywhere without it. Even after she got a little older, she couldn't bear to part with the toy, and it remained in one of her nightstand drawers, waiting for the call to action when she was upset or wasn't having the best of dreams. Olive's eyes widened as she had mentally tried to find the answer as to why Mandy was asking what was quite an obvious question, then immediately realized. "Oh no. You haven't been having nightmares, have you?" Oh pickleferries! "W-well, it's...mostly controlled by an illness. Um..." Don't you dare say it! "What was the Sleep-Transfer-itis outbreak last year like for you?" "You have Sleep-Transfer-itis?!" Aaaaand there it is. Nice going, dum-dum. Mandy buried her face in her hands and gave a nervous whine, bracing herself for the barrage of words she knew Olive would hurl at her -- how did you get Sleep-Transfer-itis, who did you get it from, why aren't you taking better care of yourself? But instead, Olive sighed and rubbed her forehead. "The outbreak of that illness last year was...hard to handle. The previous Dr. O worked hard to get rid of it. Me, Oprah, Oscar, Otto, we all got it. But it took quite a few days -- and a few awful nights -- to get all of our dreams back. It's amazing that you and the ponies never got it, but...I guess now..." "We've all gotten it. Even Peaches was affected!" Mandy grabbed her tail and hugged it close to her body. "But see...Dr. O entrusted the task of curing everyone to me, a-and Peaches and I worked together to get the ponies' dreams back...but mine is..." "What was your dream?" "My dream?! Momma, it was a nightmare!" Mandy gave a ragged sigh as she reiterated the story to yet another person. "I-I was in a hospital, about to remove some guy's liver, a-and these surgeons were pressuring me to do it even though I had no idea how to perform any kind of surgery! It was terrifying! A-and no matter what I did, I couldn't get out..." All Olive could give as a reaction was a wide stare and a couple blinks. She could feel her heart wrenching inside, just from seeing her adopted daughter go through so much pain because of an illness that she was forced to cure. It made her want to help right then and there, even though she couldn't. "Oh, Mandy...I'm so sorry." She pulled the hybrid into a tight hug, which she gratefully returned. "I just don't wanna have that kind of nightmare again! And that's why I...I was trying to stay up." "Well, if it helps..." Olive broke free of the hug. "Why don't you sleep in my room tonight? I was going to set up stuff on the couch for you, but-" "I think that would help." Mandy gave a small smile. "You got a stuffed animal I could squeeze, too?" "I might have one. But no guarantees. After all, you know I'm too old for them now." Olive grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. "Come on, let's go get ready for bed. And I call dibs on the bathroom first." Both girls got off of the couch and made their way upstairs, a pit of worry settling in Mandy's stomach as she knew that, in spite of her reassuring talk with Olive, it was time for her to face the inevitable, to dive back into the hostile world of Dr. Price and the coldhearted medical staff he had under his control. She feared it. But no matter what she did, no matter what magic she used or what odd anomalies existed, there was no way to avoid it. She had to face it head-on. The hoot of an owl pierced the night sky. Nearly every house on Cypress Way had its lights out. Two girls, sleeping in the same room, were both in different dreamlands. One was softly snoring in her bed, her mind being coddled by the cosmic forces that led it it through a heavenly dreamland filled with all sorts of unusual oddities. At that moment, she was dashing on clouds, with a swarm of adorable and harmless spider-cat kittens following her and eliciting happy mews. She felt as light as air, free from all of her worries and strife for a single night. The other was in her sleeping bag, not loudly snoring and drooling and talking in her sleep like she usually did, but rather, giving soft moans as her mind was gripped in the thralls of a poison -- a poison that traveled through the film that made up her own personal movie and consumed it. It was time for the other one to face her nightmare once again. Only this time, she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Inside of the hospital's administrative offices, she faced Dr. Price. A doctor with an extensive history of practicing in the medical field, well-evidenced by his array of trophies, diplomas, and other such awards and certifications. His green eyes pierced through people in a way that left most of them chilled to the bone. "Dr. Mandy." "U-um, yes? That's me." "Some of the other surgeons have filed a combined negligence and refusal report with me. Is it true that you refused to perform surgery on a patient?" "Yes, it is." "May I ask why?" Mandy cleared her throat. "I did not wish to risk injuring or killing a patient under our care, sir. I-I'm not a doctor. I have no medical knowledge." She closed her eyes. "And I'm resigning." Dr. Price raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?" "I am resigning from my position." A sigh left Mandy's body. "I don't belong here. If I kill a patient it will likely mean this hospital will face lawsuits, and...I can't be responsible for that." "Our hospital has not faced a lawsuit in 31 years, Mandy." Dr. Price narrowed his eyes, his gaze getting more and more intense with every second that passed. "If you quit then it will be the end of healthcare. People will no longer be able to go to doctors for health needs. They will have to care for themselves!" A flurry of concerned murmurs was what Mandy's ears picked up, and she swiveled to find a slew of medical staff behind her -- surgeons, doctors, and nurses most of all. She could hear their judgements and feel their stares, and she couldn't help but shiver slightly. But she did not waver. She clenched her fists. "I'm...not afraid of you." She reached behind her. And, for the first time since she had graduated the Odd Squad Academy, she did not grasp what she was intending to grasp. "M-my hammer! It's gone!" She blinked. "B-b-but...this is a dream..." "This is reality." Dr. Price stood up. "This hospital is mandated and overseen by the city council and the national government. They have passed a rule that states there are to be no resignations of any employee from this facility for whatever reason, as it maintains a 0% firing rate and a 0% resignation rate. If you feel so inclined as to...dishonor this rule, Mandy..." The hybrid could feel her heartbeat quicken as she realized that she didn't have her main weapon to fight with. But once again, she did not waver. "Dishonor nothing." she spat. "I refuse to let anyone die under my care because of my negligence. My resignation will be for the greater good!" Dr. Price said nothing in response. Instead, he slowly raised his hand. The sound of a quick fingersnap. "Put her under sedation." "No." One surgeon and one doctor each stepped forward and grabbed Mandy's forearms, hoisting her up a little ways into the air. The screech that emanated from her was much like that of a cat when threatened. "No! Let me go!" Out of sheer desperation, she attempted to light up her horn, a wave of relief briefly washing over her as she created a hemispherical force field that pushed her opponents back while also allowing her to teleport away in a flash. She teleported to a hallway she didn't recognize, taking a few moments to recollect herself and regain her bearings. Her brief period of calm didn't last for long, however -- a series of rhythmic stomps caught her attention, and her head swiveled to her left to find more medical staff standing in lines of five and advancing towards her, each of their footsteps matching in perfect sync and perfect harmony. "Oh no. They're coming in lines." Her head swiveled to the right, only to be met by the same thing. "And behind me!" She looked up at her horn. "I still have my magic." Her wings spread open and flapped vigorously, allowing her to gain lift. "And I can still fly!" In the heat of the moment, she flew up high and waited until the two approaching armies were close to each other, then let loose a battlecry as she fired a huge magic blast from her horn. She couldn't see the result, and could only hear the zapping and crackling sounds of leftover magic. What met her vision when she did open her eyes, however, was all the medical staff lying on the floor in various degrees of pain, none of them seeming to be dead but some of them seeming to be in immense pain going by the screams and cries they elicited. "I'm sorry. I don't want to kill anyone. You're not a threat. B-but...it was for my own safety." Before she could take off and attempt to find an exit from this deranged asylum that dared to call itself a hospital, the sound of footsteps caught her attention. "Mandy!" She knew that voice. She hated that voice. "No! If you sedate me in a dream then who knows what'll happen?!" She quickly teleported away once again, landing at another hallway with a large window that allowed a bird's-eye look into a city she didn't recognize. Attempting to open the window and failing, she gave a shaky sigh. "Let me out! Please!! I have doctors and nurses and surgeons chasing after me, wanting me to stay, b-but I can't! I don't know the first thing about surgery, or being a doctor!" With tears in her eyes, she took a deep breath and cried out to the unfamiliar sky that she could not reach. "WHOSE DREAM DO I HAVE?!" The echoes that followed made her want to curl up and admit defeat. Waking up on her own volition from this torturous concoction brewed by her mind was something outside of her control, and if this place had more staff than Odd Squad had throughout the course of its history thus far, then she would be caught no matter how hard she tried or how far she ran. But, like a serendipitous lightning bolt, a thought struck her. "Wait. The previous Dr. O, she had Sleep-Transfer-itis, but the new Dr. O...has he had it?" Her eyes shimmered. It was the breakthrough she had been waiting for, a breakthrough that would end her torment and Dr. O's. She banged on the window with her own two fists, not caring what attention she got or what happened to her. "Let me out! I think I got it!" With a loud gasp, her eyes flew open and she bolted upright in her sleeping bag. Almost immediately, her gaze shifted to Olive, who kept snoring away and turned onto her other side as a sign of any reaction to her adoptive daughter's sudden awakening. Feeling her legs shaking, she stood up and quietly exited the bedroom, making sure to close the door behind her and keep her voice low. "I can't go on like this. I have to see him. Now!" She gave a soft exhale. "Here's hoping I remember his street address..." In her mind, she attempted to visualize her location, but could only imagine what Olive's bedroom looked like -- everything meticulously organized and placed, from the bed to the cabinet to every personal item of hers. Regardless, however, she tried teleporting anyway, and disappeared in a bright rainbow-colored flash. She soon arrived in a dark room, only illuminated by the moonlight much like Olive's room was. Right away, she noticed that, in what should have been obvious from the get-go, Dr. O's bedroom was nothing like Olive's at all. Using the tip of her horn as a makeshift flashlight, she looked around, making sure she wouldn't bump into anything. A soft moan broke her concentration, and her head swiveled to the left, where Dr. O was fast asleep in his own bed. "Hmm...could it be...is he dreaming about...?" As she carefully made her way over to him, her ears met the sound of muttering that she couldn't understand. "Huh?" "...out of the meadow..." She gasped. "He has my dream!" And then, within a second, her face fell. "But what will transferring dreams do to him if he's asleep?" All she could do was stare as she tried to figure out whether it was worth the risk. She certainly didn't want to harm Dr. O, but if she touched foreheads with him, the rest of the night would be a breeze for her -- no downing fifteen glasses of Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise to stay awake, no falling face-first onto the sidewalk and falling asleep in the middle of an engaging conversation, and best of all, good dreams. And after all, didn't he say to cure everybody? Surely that would include myself...and him. Giving a determined exhale, she spread her wings and slowly made her way over to Dr. O's bed, hoping that the frequent, hummingbird-like flapping sounds her flight made wouldn't wake him up. As Dr. O gave a small "mmm" and rolled over onto his back, his eyes slowly opened, only to find a large, airborne, blurry figure staring at him. "Hiya! Ya mind if we trade dreams?" She touched foreheads with him, and a "ding" sound could be heard confirming the dream switch. "Thank ye thank ye! Sweet dreams!" With a bright rainbow-colored flash, she was gone -- not that Dr. O cared, of course, as he went back to sleep within seconds, his brain not even bothering to try and comprehend what had happened. She arrived back outside Olive's bedroom, fighting the urge to loudly celebrate and instead settling for a relieved sigh. "Knew I was able to solve it! Ooh, he's gonna be so proud when he wakes up!" Giggling, she entered the room once more and got snug inside of her sleeping bag. A loud yawn escaped her, and she used up the rest of her energy to give a "G'night, Momma!" before falling back asleep. 7:30 in the morning. Birdsong split the sky and brought a nice welcome to the people of Cypress Way. Which, of course, included Olive, who also got the song of a doorbell as her wake-up call. She awoke with a small "mmm", a stretch, and a yawn. Her brown eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlight that poured in her window, and she slowly eased into full consciousness. With her legs swung over the side of the bed, Olive got up and rubbed her eyes, only to promptly trip on something hard and bash her face into the floor. Instead of tossing and turning and moaning and groaning, Mandy had fallen back into her regular sleep habits, loudly snoring and muttering incomprehensible gibberish in her sleep, with her tail thumping on the ground like that of a happy dog's. As Olive looked back, she noted that the hybrid also had a wide-open cat smile stuck on her face, which led her to one conclusion. "Huh. Maybe she managed to find out who had her dreams. Hopefully." The sound of the doorbell echoed through the house again. "Hold on, I'm coming!" She quickly scrambled downstairs and opened the door, only to find a fully-dressed Otto with a donut in his mouth and a bag full of donuts in his hand. "Hi, partner. Did I wake you?" "Yes...but it's okay. I needed to get up anyway." Another yawn managed to escape her. "Oh, you brought donuts?" "Of courshe! I've been to Junio'sh Donutsh sho many timesh that the shtaff know me by name now!" Otto boasted. Olive merely rolled her eyes in a playful manner, wondering if he thought that was his biggest achievement of the day so far. "Come in. And did you bring plain?" "Uh, yeah, of courshe. I'm not a villain." Otto snickered as he stepped inside, making sure to wipe the soles of his sneakers on the welcome mat before taking them off. "Just have a seat on the couch. I have to go get ready." "Okay, but hurry up before all the donutsh are gone!" "Don't you dare." Otto let out a loud and raucous laugh as he took a seat on the couch and finished eating his donut before digging around in the bag for another one. As Olive went through her morning routine, she couldn't help but think of Mandy. It would be wrong to leave her here...but Oprah's going to get upset if she doesn't come into work. Maybe I should bring her. She set the thought aside for now, putting on her red tie and her navy jacket. A distant thump caused Otto's head to swivel towards the stairs, and a few seconds later, Olive came stumbling down. "I-I'm here!" she called, landing at the bottom of the stairs with all the grace of the Noisemaker. "Sorry, I, uh...fell over my guest." "Your guest?" "Yeah, remember? I told you Mandy was coming over?" "Oh yeah! She still sleeping?" "Obviously." The two Directors shared a hearty chuckle. "But I might have to make a pit stop at Oprah's precinct on the way to work. It's been hit with a Sleep-Transfer-itis outbreak." "Sleep-Transfer-itis?! That precinct had an outbreak of that last year!" "I know. But now it's between the ponies, Peaches, and Mandy." "Ohh." Otto took a bite of the donut he had fished out of the bag earlier. "The ponies and Peaches were cured, but Mandy's been plagued by nightmares and hasn't been cured yet. At least as far as I know..." Otto swallowed. "Well, how was she this morning?" "She seemed fine." Olive shrugged. "I guess that means...maybe she cured herself?" She moved her gaze upstairs. "Anyway, let me grab her. It's about time we head to work." "You want help carrying her?" "I've got it." Otto fished another donut out of the bag, a plain one with nothing on it, and held it out to her with nary a word spoken. He put on a knowing smile. "Fine. Breakfast is served, and breakfast will be eaten." "Yay!" Mandy was soon relocated from Olive's bedroom to one of the couches in Oprah's office. Of course, she hadn't woken up, and continued to snore and sleep-talk away, but amusingly, she was still in the pajamas that Olive had lent her. "I'm really sorry, Oprah." Olive said, having explained the situation regarding why Mandy was late for work. "Don't be. Mandy's been very troubled with Sleep-Transfer-itis as of late. If she is cured, then Dr. O will tell us." "Ms. O?" On cue, Dr. O himself poked his head into his boss's office. "So sorry I'm late, but I couldn't help overhearing...and you'll be happy to know that Mandy is cured." The face expressions of the trio had enough happiness in them to power at least thirty Lilliputian cities. "She is?" Oprah asked, not bothering to fight the excitement that crept into her voice. "How can you tell?" Olive tilted her head. "I was having the same dream about meadows that I've had for the past few nights. But in the middle of the night, I was woken up by someone who said...something, and then touched foreheads with me. I couldn't really distinguish who it was, but they left about as quickly as they arrived. When I went back to sleep, I had my usual dream of working as a doctor." Olive's mouth hung open as she tried to formulate a question along the lines of "how did I sleep through that" or "were the nightmares that bad", but nothing came out. "Ms. O, I told Mandy that she would be the one to cure everyone because she is the one who has the most control over her sleep and dreams. And...I think she's done it. She's stomped out the second Sleep-Transfer-itis epidemic." "But how do you know if Mandy's dreaming about meadows?" "If she were having a nightmare, wouldn't she be tossing and turning?" Olive gasped. "I think you might be on to something, partner!" "If you want your suspicions confirmed, then allow me." Dr. O reached into his hammerspace spine and pulled out a tablet and an electrode pad attached to a cord and plug that looked like what one would see on a pair of headphones or earbuds. He placed the cord into the headphone jack and the pad on Mandy's forehead, then got to typing. Within seconds, a holographic screen came up in the view of everyone that showed the current dream of the hybrid -- rolling around in the grass that made up a very expansive meadow, laughing, staring up at the sunny skies and enjoying the feel of a butterfly sitting on her nose. It was quite a change from her previous dream, and the trio couldn't help but smile. "And just as I suspected. Her dreams have been restored!" Sighs of relief filled the room. "Hey, what's that device?" Otto asked. "My tablet?" "No, the wire." "It's a sort of brain scanner. Oona made it for me some time ago. When the electrode pad is placed on the patient's forehead, it allows the person with the tablet to access the patient's brain activity." Otto looked fascinated by the tool, his eyes shimmering as he watched the Odd Squad Doctor take the pad off of Mandy's forehead, disconnect the cord from the tablet, and place it and the tablet itself back in his spine. "I'll take my leave. Have a good day." Olive, Otto, and Oprah left him with a chorus of goodbyes. "I'll let Mandy sleep. She's had a rough couple days, and she could use the rest." Just as Otto was about to throw an addendum into Oprah's comment, Mandy ceased her snooze sounds and woke up. "Mmm..." She let loose a yawn. "Couldja keep it down? I'm tryna sleep..." The sound of peeling caught the hybrid's attention, and she tried in vain to release her arm from the sticky grip of the couch she was laying on. "Nngh..." A louder peeling noise, which Oprah winced at, knowing full well why the couch was so sticky. "Momma, you have one heck of a sticky sleepin' bag..." "Uh, about that..." Otto sheepishly chuckled. "You're in Oprah's office." "Otto?!" Mandy's eyes widened. "Jeez, Momma, if ya wanted t' invite Otto over, you coulda asked me first..." She blinked twice. "Wait, where am I?" Oprah groaned. "Once again, for $400, can we put 'you're in my office' on the board?" Mandy only blinked again. "Mmkay...?" "And I admit, maybe I should get those couches cleaned sometime...way too much juice was spilled on them." With a yank of her arm, Mandy released it from the couch's grip and gave another loud yawn. "Imma probably nap for the whole day...that dream about meadows..." She gave a small happy smile, closing her eyes as she thought back to the dream that she had. "Hey...exactly how did you cure yourself, anyway?" Mandy blinked twice. "...What?" "Y-you know what, never mind." Olive waved a hand. "Go to bed, Mandy." "Ahh, the four words I love to hear." As the hybrid let out another loud yawn, she teleported away, surprisingly not taking the couch cushions with her in the process. "We have to head back to HQ, but we'll stop by later and see how Mandy's doing." Olive said. "Good luck!" Oprah waved as she watched Olive go through her old boss's tube entrance, followed by Otto a few seconds later. Once she was left alone, she gave a sigh and decided to search around her own HQ for cleaning supplies so she could finally clean her couch (and save her skirt). Just as Mandy had said, she had slept for the entire day, not waking up once to go to the bathroom or eat. It was made quite clear to everyone that her two nightmares had sapped a lot of energy from her, and so, she was left alone for the rest of the day. As Rainbow Dash quite literally soared into work the next morning, however, she found Oprah hard at work in the Breakroom, food dishes of all sorts scattered about the table and the boss herself hard at work stirring some kind of batter. "Hey, boss! You're here early." "Ah!" Oprah whirled around and growled. "Agent Rainbow Dash, we have discussed this. Don't you remember what happened the last time you tried to scare me?" Rainbow touched her neck with her hoof. She knew, all right -- she knew all too well. Even worse when Spitfire and a few other Wonderbolts happened to comment on it and recommended that she take a few days off from training to recover. "S-sorry." she said. "Uh, what are you doing?" "I got here early to make food for Mandy. She still hasn't woken up yet, but it's six in the morning. Knowing her, it'll be any minute now." The Pegasus tilted her head, opening her mouth to ask what Oprah was talking about before her eyes widened. "Oh." "Her stomach was growling something fierce, too...I thought it would destroy the entire Headquarters!" Rainbow began to get terrifying flashbacks of the time that actually happened -- indeed, Mandy had been so hungry, and the growls her stomach gave out were so loud, that it caused a couple rooms in Headquarters to collapse to the point that they were completely unusable. That was how everyone learned yet another lesson about the pony-human hybrid: just like any animal, she had to be very well-fed, lest a person, object and/or place pays the price. Oprah took another sip from her juice box. "This juice is the only thing keeping me going. I'm never taking Pinkie Pie's baking skills for granted ever again." A dinging sound from the oven caught her attention, and she quickly took out what appeared to be a casserole of some kind. "Green bean casserole?" Rainbow said, eyeing the dish and starting to feel a little hungry herself despite already having had breakfast. Oprah sighed. "That should be plenty of food for her." "Well, if she doesn't eat it, you could hold a feast?" Rainbow halfheartedly suggested, knowing just as well as her boss that Mandy would gobble everything up within minutes. "Haha. Very funny." Oprah deadpanned. "Just make sure to get your paperwork done. You didn't turn it in yesterday." "Will do!" Oprah nodded before going upstairs and into her office. Sure enough, by the end of the day, Mandy had demolished every single dish on the table. It was a miracle to most anyone how she didn't end up eating the dinnerware itself. She had also gotten a sizable amount of paperwork done, much to Oprah's surprise when she was informed of a wobbling stack awaiting her in the Filing Room. Since the hybrid was feeling a lot better, she decided to go out with Peaches and hunt for the Vallea culprit. "I'm proud of you. You managed to stop the second spread of a disease. That's not something a lot of people can attest to." Peaches said, as the two were walking in a more metropolitan area of the city. "Yeah! I can't believe I was so nervous. It was easier than I thought!" Mandy frowned. "But I really don't like being thrown into the forefront as some kind of magicky curey person thingy." "Magicky what?" "I should throw him off a cliff..." "What?! Who's 'him'?!" "Maybe steal his medical supplies..." "Are you talking about Dr. O?" "Eat everything...in his refrigerator." Mandy stopped walking and gave a happy smile, as if talking about robbery and murder of a person that did little to nothing wrong was completely normal for her. Peaches, on the other hand, only shot her a look of confusion and worry. The pair stood on the sidewalk for a few moments as people and ponies alike passed them by, some bothering to look, others moving along. "Anyway, I'm hungry! Let's go get some mozzie sticks!" With a giddy laugh, Mandy took off running, leaving Peaches to stare at her before her legs finally made the connection to her brain and ran after her. Yeah, she's a weird one for sure. But in a way, I've become endeared to her -- and faster than I thought. Maybe that's a good thing...? The catgirl exhaled. We make a good pair. I'm lucky to have her as a friend. But I wonder if she views me as more than a friend. I wonder if she sees me as...a sister. Yeah. I'd love a sister! Smiling, Peaches continued her chase of Mandy, her heart warming up but also bound by uncertainty as the thought lingered in her head. In a large stretch of meadow-like land, a kitsune with seven tails, each representing a certain element, sat looking at the sky. Her chest became filled with familiarity, warmth, and realization, and she placed a paw to her chest. "Agent Mandy...when you will meet with me is only in the hands of fate. It may be soon. It may be far into the future. But when the time comes..." She stood up. "I hope that you will accept me as your spirit guardian, just as your mother did so long ago."
S1E16: The "Die" in "Diet"In the Bedroom, Rarity watched as Pinkie peered under her bed, raising an eyebrow when she watched the party pony's body slowly slide under it until it was halfway there. Clouds of dust kicked up, and the unicorn had to fight the urge to sneeze. "Honestly, Pinkie Pie..." She shook her head. "I just cannot understand why you don't clean under your bed. There must be so much dust under there!" "Oh, there is!" Pinkie responded. "Sometimes, I like to sniff it to get sneezes out! You know, when they try to come and you always feel like you have to sneeze, but it doesn't come, so you have to go around making weird faces -- it's the worst!" Rarity was certainly not one to question Pinkie's method of relieving the urge to sneeze. "I'm quite sure they have a Dust Room for that, you know." "They have a Dust Room?" Pinkie's back hooves scrabbled along the floor as she laughed and snorted. "Why didn't I think of that?!" "Um, anyway, darling...what exactly are you looking for, again?" "A gadget I have to return to Oona." Clattering ensued as Pinkie's hoof moved around under the bed, shifting various objects around that Rarity couldn't see. "She's been on my case about it for weeks!" "I see. Mm." Rarity's mouth pinched inwards before she spoke again. "Well, I normally don't like to get my hooves dirty, but perhaps I could help you look?" "Oh, that would be great, Rarity!" Pinkie responded, before she emerged from under her bed. "Hmm, doesn't seem to be under here. Let's try Mandy's room next!" "Why Mandy's room?" "Stuff always gets lost in there!" Pinkie waved a hoof before making her way out of the Bedroom. "Don't worry, I'm sure she won't mind." "Y-yes, well, it's...not that..." Rarity trailed off as her friend dipped out of view. A sigh escaped her as she followed suit, closing the door behind her. As the two mares made their way inside, none of them were all too surprised to find Mandy asleep, snoring and sleep-talking away as she became oblivious to the world around her. Strangely, the smell of bacon was also present, though they didn't pay it any mind. They began to poke around as politely and as quietly as they could, not finding any trace of the gadget Pinkie was looking for. A rumbling noise caused Rarity to hit her head on the underside of the cabinet where she was searching, and she rubbed her head as she emerged and backed up. "Odd...I could have sworn I heard the sound of something rumbling just now..." she murmured. She certainly didn't feel hungry, and if Pinkie were hungry, she would most definitely have said something. The noise came again. "There it is again!" "Ouch!" came a yelp from the other side of the room, as Pinkie waved her reddened hoof about. "Something wrong, Rare?" "Shh. Be quiet for just a couple seconds." Neither one of them dared to make so much as a single sound. And then the rumbling noise came forth. "Ohh, that sound!" Pinkie chuckled. "It's just Mandy's stomach." Rarity blinked. "Is that all?" "Yeah! I mean, I'm not hungry. Are you hungry?" "Er, w-well...no, but-" "See?" Pinkie said. "I recognize Mandy's stomach growling when I hear it! Just like how Owen can recognize people by their hiccups, I can recognize people by the growls of their stomachs." Rarity rubbed her forehead. She had to admit, that particular skill of Owen's was one that she would never understand, and the same certainly held true for Pinkie's similar skill -- although, at least for Pinkie, she could chalk it up to "Pinkie being Pinkie". Who knew what was running inside of Owen's head. "It's quite a shame she doesn't wake up when she's starved." Rarity mused, in an attempt to clear her own head. "One would think that with her...insatiable eating habits, she would be awake the moment the smell of food hit her nose." Mandy's face contorted into one of upset right then, and her snoring and sleep-talking ceased to exist as her eyes slowly opened. "Zz' that bac'n I zzmell...?" "And a good morning to you as well, Mandy." Rarity smiled. "There is some bacon on your nightstand, I believe." "I made that!" Rarity shifted to Pinkie, who was peering into a small mousehole. "Yes, Pinkie, we're quite aware." she said dryly. Mandy sat up and eyed the bacon with intrigue. Still, when she only ate one slice that took her a few minutes to eat, it was cause for alarm for Rarity. "You're...not scarfing down your food like you usually do, darling. Is everything all right?" "I'm fine!" Mandy set the plate down and chugged her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. "I'm just not very hungry. Besides, I'm kinda in a rush, anyway." Echoing laughter brought both girls' attentions to Pinkie, who now had her face thrust into the hole and was moving her head around. "You? Not hungry? That's a first!" She laughed. "You're always hungry!" "We heard your stomach growling quite loudly. Are you sure you don't want to eat?" "Positive!" Mandy flung the covers off of her. "I just ate something last night that still isn't agreeing with me. Now, uh...you think you two mares can leave so I can get dressed?" "Oh! Yes, yes, of course, we'll-" "Found it!" Pinkie pulled her face out of the hole and came out with a small hexagonal gadget. "I dunno how it got in there. Thanks for letting me look, partner!" Rarity didn't have the time to even say that she and Pinkie let themselves in, as the party pony was already bouncing away. Sighing once again, she gave Mandy her goodbyes and slipped out the door. The hybrid looked at her plate of untouched food in a forlorn manner, before she slowly got up and trudged over to her wardrobe closet. Pinkie's words about her always being hungry stuck in her brain like glue, and she grit her teeth as pain shot through her stomach once more. Still, she found it fit to ignore the cry for help. She was almost too used to it to let it faze her. Almost. Rolling a pencil about on her desk, Olive glanced at the clock on the wall. 3:30, only a half-hour after she had asked Mandy to stop by her office. Otto's cleanup of the office deterred her attention slightly, but part of her began to worry that Mandy had gotten in trouble and needed help. Sure enough, Mandy came sprinting up the stairs a few seconds later, dressed in a yellow T-shirt and cyan-colored shorts. A red-and-white headband was around her forehead, and her hair and tail were both tied up in two puffs. "Well, look who finally sho-" Olive blinked as she watched Mandy droop down, hands on her knees and panting heavily. "Did...did you run all the way here?" "Yeah..." Mandy took a few swigs of the water bottle she was holding in her hand, a satisfied sigh leaving her as her thirst became quenched. "And why are you in workout clothes?" Otto asked, tucking the duster away on a hook that sat on the far right wall. "Decided to go to Formation Fitness, just to get a workout. Exercise is great for the physical and mental health of a person, y'know!" As Olive opened her mouth to respond, Mandy's stomach growled, causing her to raise an eyebrow out of curiosity. "Clearly I need to stop eating egg rolls." Mandy muttered, setting the water bottle on the table. "I'll be right back!" With her horn illuminated, she was gone in a flash of light. "Well...at least she's here, right, Olive?" Otto chuckled, his smile turning into a frown as his partner didn't respond. "Olive?" "Did Mandy look a little...pale to you?" The question caught Otto off guard, and he blinked. "Kinda. She might be putting on a few pounds. That would explain why she went to Formation Fitness...and why she ran all the way here." Olive gave a soft hum. "Hate to say it, but Mandy has been looking just a bit chubbier than usual. But it doesn't explain why she looks so...sickly." "No big deal, she had some bad food." Otto shrugged. "I've looked worse than that when I've had bad food. Remember when we were forced to eat those egg salad pizzas? How we threw up all over Oprah's carpet?" Olive gave a heavy shudder. "I never want to relive that again for as long as I live." "Yeah, me neither." "I'm back!" Mandy chirped, bounding up the stairs and into the office once again. "Sorry it took me forever and a half. Those egg rolls...blech, I'm not eating those again." She smiled. "Soooooo, what didja need?" "Oh! I, um..." Olive blinked, forcing herself to stay focused on the task at hand. "I wanted your help with Omi, actually. He and I, we just can't seem to come to an agreement." "Omi? Your head chef?" "Yes. He has a habit of intentionally overcooking or undercooking food for agents that he doesn't like. When they complain about it, he just doesn't replace their food and instead tells them to make their own food at home." "Well that's rude!" Olive nodded in agreement. "I tried speaking to him on the matter. Otto as well. He refuses to listen to either one of us." "He threatened to quit!" Otto rubbed his arm and looked at the floor. "And he insulted my meatballs..." "So what do you want me to do?" Mandy asked. "Help him..." Olive rolled her hand about. "...work out his issues. You eat a lot, and you cook and bake and all that. You should be able to work things out with him." Like with Pinkie's comment earlier, Olive's comment stuck in Mandy's brain like glue. How much was "a lot", really? Was it too much? Who was to say. All she knew was that it stung. It really wasn't supposed to, given how often she took insults in stride and even fired back with witty retorts of her own -- but it stung either way. Perhaps it was because Olive had been the one to lay the smackdown this time around. "Mm...I'll see what I can do, but...I'm not makin' any guarantees!" "Oh, thank you so much, Mandy." Olive sighed. "He's down in the Breakroom right now." "Good luck!" Otto waved as Mandy left the office. "You'll need it." "Yeah, thanks." came the slightly-disheartened reply, as she trudged down the stairs and began thinking further about Olive's comment, finding herself unable to push it out of her head. Only one agent was currently in the Breakroom, poking away at a piece of fish that looked like it had been thrown back and forth over a fire several times and haphazardly thrown onto a plate. "Um, Omi?" she said, raising her normally-soft voice. "This fish looks a little...undercooked." "Mm." Omi didn't even flinch, as he continued to clean the refrigerator doors. "Well, perhaps you shouldn't have insulted my choice of fish." "I'm sorry. Can I have something else?" This innocuous question earned her a scoff from Omi. "If you don't like it, then you can make your own fish." "But...but I don't know how!" "You have the World Wide Web at your disposal. I'm sure you can find a few recipes for fried fish. Or if you're really desperate, the Shmumber King is located right in the center of town." By this point, the agent looked close to either having a panic attack or just outright crying. She wasn't sure which one would come first, and she didn't want to find out. "Omi, I didn't have time to bring a lunch today and I'm really busy, I-" "Hey!" The chef swiveled around in a sharp motion. "This isn't a place to discuss your life story with me. Eat, or get out." That did it. The agent got up from the table and began sobbing, her little legs taking her as far as they would go as she abandoned the fish she had refused to eat. "Hey! Omi!" The chef's hazel eyes flicked towards Mandy, who, to his surprised, looked quite frail. Frailer than he had ever seen her before. "Ah, Agent Mandy. Devourer of Odd Squad kitchens across the globe with her incredible appetite and her love of food." He bowed. "Nice to see you again, although I must say, you have put on a bit of weight..." A "tch" sound left the hybrid, followed by a soft whine. "Y-yeah, well...look, I'm not here for casual conversation. We need to talk." "Talk? About what?" Not a minute later, and Mandy had reiterated the details of what Olive and Otto had told her to Omi. "So I insulted Mr. O's meatballs. Big whoop." Omi rolled his eyes. "Half the time he makes them, he eats the meat before it's cooked!" Mandy set aside the fact that Otto doing that was dangerous, filing a note away in the back of her brain for later. "This isn't about his meatballs!" she snapped, before giving a heavy sigh. "Look. Why do you shoo agents away who critique your food? Why do you intentionally mess up dishes for agents you don't like?" "Why do you want to know?" "Because it's wrong!" Mandy jabbed a finger in the direction the other agent had run in. "I know what you did to that agent a minute ago and I saw it with my own two baby-blue eyes! I-" The loud sound of her stomach crying out in hunger stopped her tirade. She grunted and fiercely clutched it, gritting her teeth while sending a message to the organ to stop making so much noise. The harder and louder it growled, the less she found herself able to ignore it, and this fact was well on display to any agent who was watching. Which, of course, included Omi, who raised an eyebrow and gave a soft "hm" of curiosity. He got up from his seat and moved towards one of the spherical refrigerators that hung on the wall, grabbing his rag and resuming his work on cleaning the door. "Seems like you're hungry." He stopped, and turned. "But you're more than just hungry, aren't you?" Mandy's eyes widened. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing." "What?" Omi tucked the rag away in his pocket this time, and grabbed the plate of undercooked haddock that had been pushed aside. "This is the undercooked fried fish I tried to give to that agent. Does it look appetizing to you?" Mandy's mouth began to water. Undercooked it may be, and dangerous it was to safely consume, but to her, it still looked good. Despite this, however, she retained her common sense, and furiously shook her head. "No! That stuff can kill me if I-" Her stomach cried out again, like a pet begging its owner for food. This time, the pain was fierce enough to where she gave a sharp cry of pain in response as she clutched it. Omi's expression was cool and collected. "I will give you this fish to eat, and only this fish to eat. Under one condition." "You're trying to strike a deal with me over raw fish? Are you insane?!" "You tell me what's going on and why you're starving yourself." No...he knows. He knows! Dread was the only thing that Mandy felt. She didn't want anyone to know that she had been starving herself -- although the evidence would have made itself known either way, she had wanted it to remain secret for as long as she could, mainly because she knew what would happen. He's gonna try feeding me a whole bunch of stuff, isn't he? He works in the Food and Beverage department, of course he would, why are you asking such a rhetorical question, Ma- "Ohh, come now, Mandy." Omi said, noticing the petrified look on her face. "Just by looking at you and distinguishing the type of growls your stomach has been giving off, it isn't hard to connect the dots. I didn't get this job by kissing the feet of the previous Mr. O, you know." Mandy tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. "If you confide in me...then I suppose I can tell you the reasoning behind my actions." Omi raised an eyebrow. "So. Do we have a deal?" It was time for a retreat into her own thoughts, now. Okay, so maybe he won't feed me a whole bunch of food. Her gaze flicked to Olive and Otto's office. But what if he tells them? Then they'll stuff me silly like a Thanksgiving turkey, and then...and then... It'll be free reign for them to scold me about how much I eat, and how much weight I've gained. And it'll be free reign for everyone else, too. She looked into Omi's eyes. Cold and collected, but also with a small sense of warmth to them that let her know he wasn't all bad. He reminded her of Oksana, in a way, with her standoffish demeanor but warm passion for her work and for the agents she served. Maybe all Food and Beverage workers were like that -- who knew. She had no experience in the position to speak so confidently on that. Forcing herself to return to reality, she nodded. "All right." Her stomach growled again, causing her to clutch it harder. "I suppose I can tell you. But I have a condition of my own I'd like followed." "Which is?" Mandy leaned in close. "You don't tell another living, breathing soul about this. It stays between us." "Fine by me." Omi nodded. "Perhaps your story will be more interesting than the one that agent tried to give me before. I'll be washing some dishes while you talk." As he got up and moved towards the utility sinks, Mandy took a deep breath, and closed her eyes as the memories began to come back to her. "People have talked about my eating habits since I first got transformed into a pony-human hybrid. How I eat so much and yet I don't gain much weight." Her ears picked up the sound of water running. "I never used to eat this much before I transformed, and I don't know why I love to eat, but...it's long been the topic of conversation among some agents." The first memory that surfaced was one that had taken place around Thanksgiving last year. No big family feast had taken place like the year before, but rather, everyone resolved to mix things up and spend Thanksgiving their own way. For Olive and Otto, that meant doing a small celebration with Mandy. But unfortunately, things did not go quite according to plan. As the Director duo ascended the stairs towards their office and opened the door, their eyes bore witness to a rather hideous sight. Crumbs, napkins and other garbage littered the coffee table and the floor it sat on. Dirty plates were stacked high. A drink or two had spilled on the table, creating a mess. And in the midst of it all sat a Mandy with a distended stomach, a face full of crumbs, and a feeling of sleepiness that anyone who knew her knew too well was the beginning of a food coma. "Mandy..." Olive blinked. "Y-you ate our entire Thanksgiving meal! Including the 30-pound turkey!" "And the five-layer cake we made!" Otto pointed out, his voice carrying an edge of disappointment. "Yeah, and it was a good meal too..." Mandy purred contentedly. "How can any single human being devour an entire feast in the span of five minutes?!" "Took me a little bit to work on the turkey, but I made good work of it!" Mandy chirped in response to Olive, patting her stomach. "That...that was supposed to be a meal for all three of us." Olive hung her head and sighed. "Guess you and I are gonna have to do something small, partner." "I guess I wouldn't mind making something simple, like a pizza..." "In the meantime, Mandy..." Olive placed her hands on her hips. "...we're leaving you to clean up this mess. Honestly, don't you ever think of anything besides food? Can't you have a decent, well-rounded meal like the rest of us?" Olive jabbed a thumb at her partner. "Not even Otto eats the way you do, and you and I both know how much he loves food!" Otto blinked in surprise for a moment, somehow both expecting and not expecting Olive to compare Mandy to him. "Wait until the weight gain settles in. I speak from experience." he remarked, rubbing his own stomach, that of a little pudge. Olive took a deep breath. "Let's just...go and make the pizza. I need to de-stress before I lose my top and do something I'll end up regretting later." Mandy watched the partner pair leave, the brunt of their words finally hitting her in full force. She glanced at the mess she had made, then to her stomach, and back again, before a soft whine and a few tears began bubbling forth. The next memory resurfaced. "Applejack, I didn't eat your pies!" "It had to have been you, Mandy!" the farm pony exclaimed, thrusting a hoof towards her coworker. "You're the only one who's able t' eat multiple pies in one sittin'! I was gone for only five minutes and I come back to an empty wagon!" Mandy's gaze flicked to the wagon in question, completely bare with not even a single crumb on it remaining. "What about Pinkie Pie?! She can eat tons of them!" "She has the day off today!" Before Mandy could fire off a retort, Rarity arrived on the scene. "Applejack, what's going on?" she asked, tilting her head. "Oh, Rarity!" Applejack placed her hooves on the unicorn mare's shoulders. "Rarity, ya gotta help me. Mandy ate all one hundred of my pies!" "The pies you were planning to hand out to the townsfolk at the festival?" "Yup! And she ate every last one of 'em!" Mandy could feel Rarity's gaze boring into her. It was like a knife that pierced her heart. "But I didn't!" she exclaimed. "I already had lunch, and it didn't involve any of her pies!" She could feel tears beginning to pool in her eyes. "Rarity, please, you have to believe me. The townsfolk love Applejack's pies. I know she was planning to hand them out. I would never eat them no matter how hungry I was!" It was quite clear that Rarity was torn. Her gaze moved to Mandy, then to Applejack as she struggled to determine which side she would take. The more she thought about it, though, the more she realized that Applejack might be right -- Mandy might not eat her pies unless she was just that desperate for food and nothing else was available. Her hunger was limitless, and she had a penchant for sometimes eating stuff that wasn't even edible to begin with, to boot. It pained her to have to go against a friend and take another friend's side, but Applejack was the Element of Honesty, known for telling the truth and hardly ever spitting out a lie. "Darling...as much as I'd like to believe you, I have to take Applejack's side here." Mandy's eyes widened. "What?!" "The only other agent who could eat that many pies is Pinkie Pie, and she's not here." "W-w-what if it were other agents who got hungry? A-and then they ran up to the wagon while Applejack was gone and snatched the pies?" This desperate retort got a snort from Applejack, and a pitiful look from Rarity. "It's well past lunchtime. I'd imagine most everyone has eaten." Tears were falling down Mandy's face, now. She took a step back, her legs quivering. "Rarity...y-you really don't think..." "If you want to make it up to my partner, you should apologize and make more pies with her." "There ain't no way in the name of Celestia I'm makin' any more pies with that glutton!" cried Applejack, stamping a hoof down to emphasize her words before giving a mighty huff and turning towards the steel double-doors. "I'm headin' back to th' farm. Least my family has more decency than you!" Mandy slumped to the ground. "If you'd like, darling, I can help you make some more pies and pass them out." "That would be just dandy, partner. Thank you." Applejack smiled at Rarity, before her smile quickly turned into a frown as she shot daggers at Mandy. "And as for you..." Mandy was too shocked to speak, and stared dead-ahead. "Don't even think about takin' any of my apples -- from here or from Equestria! Celestia knows you'll just eat all of 'em straight off the trees!" "APPLEJACK!!" came the ferocious and desperate scream that caused a few heads to turn. From there, Mandy launched into blubbering that was near-unintelligible. "Don't you try and gain my sympathy!" Applejack snapped. "You ate those pies, and you know it!" The pitiful look returned to Rarity's face once again. "C'mon, Rarity. How's about you help me?" "Oh, I would, but I haven't the slightest idea on how to make a pie..." "I'll teach ya!" "Lovely!" Rarity giggled softly. "Let's go." All Mandy could do from there on in was watch them go. She buried her face in her hands and cried like there was no tomorrow. Sorrowful wails escaped her, and some agents stopped to provide their comforts and shoulder her pain. But to her, it wasn't good enough. She remained saddened for the rest of the day, avoiding Applejack and Rarity at all costs. She even swore off apples that day, and vowed to never eat a single food that had been touched by the fruit ever again. "I used to take the comments in stride. I tried to not let them get to me. But it became evident that they were getting to me." "How so?" Mandy lifted her head up. "I'd have this recurring nightmare of agents telling me how I eat so much. How I'm so overweight. How I wasn't like this before I transformed, and wondering what had happened that caused me to develop such a large appetite." She exhaled. "It haunted me for a long time, and...it still does to this day. Because people keep on making comments about my weight. Yelling at me for eating things I shouldn't. Teasing me for gaining a mere couple pounds." Omi picked up a dirty plate. "So what would make you happy again?" "If people could just...not bring up my eating habits so much." Mandy's voice edged into a soft whine. "See, it's one thing to bring it up a couple times, even as a joke, and I'm fine with that! But when it happens all the time..." "All the time?" Omi turned around. "What, you can't go a single meal without someone pointing out your eating?" "Not every single meal...but a lot of them." Mandy sighed. "All these comments, they're weighing me down..." "Hm. That seems to make sense. I would imagine most people's self-esteem would be crushed by such comments." Omi resumed his dishwashing. "So why are you starving yourself, then?" "I don't want to eat if people are just going to make fun of me for it." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "Lately people have been talking about how I put on a couple pounds, and..." "You don't like it." "No." Mandy's eyes began to water. "I just wish people would let me eat and accept me for who I am. Even if I do eat whole Thanksgiving feasts and have a large appetite." She grit her teeth and raised her head. "I’m still a competent agent! Isn’t that enough for them?!" Omi took a moment to digest the information given, working on washing the final plate in the sink. Once it was placed in the drying rack, he turned off the water and turned around to face Mandy once more. "Mandy...you've confided in me. So now, I'm going to confide in you." Mandy blinked slowly. "That was the deal, was it not?" "Well, y-yes. Go ahead." Omi took a seat across from Mandy, and gazed into her slightly glassy and slightly bloodshot eyes. He took a deep breath before he laid his confession out on the table. "The reason I've been doing what I'm doing is because...of Oksana." "Oksana?" "Yes." Omi nodded. "You know her, right? She was Precinct 13579's sole cook?" "Uh-huh." "Oksana and I were good friends before she left." A smile formed on Omi's face. "We would exchange recipes, share cooking tips, and she would even offer her supplies for me to use." "The diamonds? The rose petals? All that stuff?" Mandy had to wonder just how rare the items that Oksana had sought out really were -- talk around Headquarters had led her to believe they were rare, and she made the grueling journey to get them in part because of that. The other part was, of course, because she was dedicated to her job and the agents she served. "Oh, yes." Omi nodded again. "Oksana may be emotionless and stoic on the outside, but she has a heart of gold on the inside." Mandy couldn't help but smile a genuine smile for the first time in a while. "Aww, that's so sweet!" "But." Omi raised a finger. "Despite her efforts to get the supplies, agents would often reject the food because it wasn't 'perfect'. Too undercooked, too overcooked, etcetera." His expression darkened. "Many of them complained, and even though they knew what effort she put in to get what she needed to make good food, they didn't care. So long as they were fed, that was all that mattered in the end." "So what happened?" "She and I sat down and had a conversation. She asked me if the agents at my precinct would often reject my food and ask them to make something else. Now, since I don’t do what she does in traversing far and wide for items and ingredients, I couldn’t quite emphasize with her as much as I wanted to." Omi said. "But when she asked me that question, it made me realize something. How I had agents asking me about Mr. O and his cooking skills, and some especially bitter and cold-hearted ones who wanted him to fire me so he could take my place. It was like a lightbulb had gone off in my brain." Mandy's eyes widened. She couldn't deny that the Food and Beverage department was perfect for Otto, but she just couldn't imagine him as an Odd Squad cook. Maybe it was because he would most definitely eat the food the second it was finished being prepared. Or maybe it was because he had gotten increasingly good as an Investigation agent. "When I expressed my concerns to her, she gave me a suggestion." Omi exhaled. "If agents hated my cooking so much, then they could make their own food. She told me that as an Odd Squad cook, I shouldn’t bow down to the whims of agents -- that it was sort of like giving a child food that they want when they won’t eat their vegetables. You eat what you’re offered and that’s it." Faulty logic, if one asked Mandy. Still, that didn't stop her from sparing at least a few shreds of sympathy. "So I'm guessing agents started to complain?" "Boy, did they ever. Even Mr. and Ms. O spoke to me about it." Omi chuckled. "But I didn't care about the criticism. I brushed my bosses off. And I just kept putting as much passion as I could into my dishes." "You sound passionate." "Oh yes. I've been cooking ever since I was little. It's my favorite thing to do. That's part of the reason why I jumped at the chance to get into the Odd Squad Academy." Mandy tapped her chin. "So what would get you to go back to how you used to offer food to agents?" "To be honest, I feel like the only people who could do something are Mr. and Ms. O themselves." Omi sighed. "If these kids weren't so picky...perhaps they could see how much passion I have." "Maybe you need to offer broader food options." Mandy suggested. "Try three foods every day, served to agents. And in the meantime, I can convince Momma and Otto to have the agents be nicer to you, have them recognize your talent and passion!" "That's not a bad idea." Omi's expression brightened, and he nodded furiously. "You're Ms. O's adopted daughter, no? Perhaps you can try and talk to them." "I'd be happy to!" The loud sound of Mandy's stomach growling cut into the conversation, making itself known for the first time as though wondering if talk time was over and it was feeding time now. She clutched it again and grit her teeth. "Here." Omi got up and went to the fridge, taking out a brown paper bag and rummaging through it until he pulled out a big red Pink Lady apple. "You can have the apple from my lunch." As he set it on the table, Mandy eyed it hungrily. Her mouth instantly began to water, and she very nearly started drooling before she came back to her senses. "A-are you sure?" "I know it's not much, but...consider it thanks. For helping me out. And an apology for, um..." Omi scratched the back of his head. "Insulting you about your weight earlier." Every single muscle inside Mandy was telling her to eat the apple right away and leave no piece, no peel, no drop of juice behind. But she held off just for a few more seconds. "Does this mean you'll be a little more open-minded about giving food to agents?" "If Mr. and Ms. O can help their agents not take my skills for granted, then yes." Omi made a "go on" motion with his hand. "Now go on, eat your apple. I promise no one's looking." That was the only prompt she needed. Mandy eagerly took the apple with her tongue and ate it in one fell swoop, core and stem included. An "mmm" sound left her as she felt her body physically deflate, and a sigh left her when she swallowed. "It's been so long since I've had proper food..." "How many days have you been starving yourself?" "Only a few. But it's not completely 'starving'." Mandy said. "I've been eating little things here and there in secret, so I don't collapse and faint. Like that apple, for example." Omi wrinkled his nose, not finding the heart to tell Mandy that an apple wasn't necessarily a small thing. "Mandy, if I may give you a word of advice?" "Hmm?" "Just like how I want Mr. and Ms. O to recognize what I do...perhaps you should tell everyone about how their comments are hurting you. Make them realize that you are a good agent in spite of your eating habits." Omi tilted his head. "You’re the second-in-command of Precinct 13579, no? They have to listen to you." Mandy blinked. "I mean, I suppose I can, but I don't know if they're willing to listen to me..." "You just have to make your voice heard. Put some passion into it. Like what I do with my cooking." "Passion..." Mandy closed her eyes, thinking for a few moments before a smile formed on her face. "Yeah! I have tons of passion!" She chuckled. "Thanks, Omi." "It's no problem at all." Omi returned the smile eagerly. "I have a feeling we are going to become the best of friends, Mandy. You're always welcome in the Breakroom anytime." "Really?!" "You're a respected agent in Odd Squad. It would be downright criminal of me not to give you some hospitality." "Oh, thank you." Mandy could feel her eyes start to water again. "It means so much to me." "Don't think anything of it." Omi waved his hand dismissively before beginning to walk away. "Now, I'm going on break. You should get back to HQ and tell 'em what you think." Feeling renewed, Mandy hopped out of her seat and began starting for the steel double-doors. "I will! See you later, Omi!" As Omi watched her go, he couldn't help but let his smile grow bigger. His heart, once bitter and cold, now was enveloped in warmth. It was oft a side effect of Mandy's enthusiasm and good cheer, but one would be surprised she even had enthusiasm and good cheer to begin with in her current state -- Omi himself included. "That Mandy...what a sweet kid. I hope she'll be all right." As Mandy arrived back at her own Headquarters, waves of empowerment coursed through her. She never realized how much she needed to hear Omi's words, but she was most definitely grateful for them, and it almost took her mind off of how hungry she was. Key word being "almost". Her stomach growled once more, yet another desperate cry for food the same way baby birds chirped for worms. "Hey, I gave you an apple. At least appreciate that." she said, pounding her stomach to silence it as she walked through the steel double-doors. "Now, time to get back to work and-" "Surprise!" The sudden cry nearly made Mandy jump clear out of her suit and her entire skin. Instead, she stumbled backwards, falling on her rump as she let her jaw drop and stared at the sight that laid before her. All of her friends were smiling, each holding a delectable dish that would make any chef start drooling. Behind them stood a table with a wide array of food that looked like it could feed an entire small town. It was the dream of any hungry person, and under normal circumstances, Mandy would have bowled down every last one of her friends and gone right to town on demolishing every last foodstuff. But these weren't normal circumstances, of course. "We prepared this huuuuuuge feast of food for you!" Pinkie chirped, oblivious to Mandy's shocked expression. "We noticed how pale and thin you've been looking recently, and you told me you weren't feeling well, so we made some stuff that's perfect for bugged tummies!" Olive smiled, holding out several slices of toast on a plate. Deep in the bowels of Mandy's disturbed mind, her vision of the scene twisted. What was a genuinely kindhearted attempt at helping a friend get better became a genuinely coldhearted attempt at force-feeding a victim. Olive's expression, in turn, went from warm to malicious. "But don't eat too much. We don't want you to gain more weight, after all." "Don't even think I pitched in t' help ya!" Applejack marched forward, her plate of apple pie now completely gone. "After you ate my pies, why would I?" "We're just looking out for your health, Mandy." cooed the sweet but poisonous voice of Oprah. And then, everyone began marching forward. "Now eat. Eat. Eat!" they began to chant, the word "eat" resounding through the warped space the more they chanted it. Mandy began moving backwards, although she didn't get very far, and her back immediately made contact with the door. Her eyes were wide, and her hair and tail were both bushed up like that of a cat. She felt her stomach churn away. "No! I don't want to!" "But you must!" came the unisonant cry, as plate after plate was thrust into her face. Her stomach growled once again, this time loud enough that she could have sworn the room shook just a little. Everyone looked around in surprise, the smiles fading from their faces for only a single fleeting moment before they returned. Mouths opened to reveal row after row of teeth, jagged and sharp like a shark's. The choir singsonged. "Now open wiiiide..." Mandy began to hyperventilate, now. "Leave me alone!" "You must!" "Stop!" The smiles faded once again. Everyone leaned back, taking the food with them. Stares of disapproval was the next hivemind emotion to be put on display. "All right then." Oprah huffed. "If she refuses to eat..." She reached behind her back, and pulled out a fork that was nearly bigger than her. A toothy smile accompanied her next words. "Then we'll shove it down her throat." Rainbow seemed thrilled at this prospect as she rubbed her hooves together. "Let's fatten this puppy up!" "Then we can have all the food we want without her in the way!" Rarity declared. Mandy went paler. So pale that her skin looked about as white as a sheet of paper. Anxiety and dread held her heart in a vicegrip. A very, very small part of her realized that this wasn't what was actually going down in reality, but it was nothing but a mere tiny voice in a sea of voices that made up her conscience. All the hybrid could hear was laughter after that. Pure, mocking laughter. She vividly remembered having a nightmare like this, once. A nightmare where everyone was out to get her and make her life miserable. She took pride in the fact that it was just a dream, and in the real world, her friends loved and appreciated her. But this was the real world. Her friends were bullying her, jeers and taunts flying from their poisonous mouths while they chased that dominance high for as long as they could. "S-stop it!" she cried, to no avail as the laughter grew more intense and she covered her eyes. "Mandy, please. Listen to your co-workers. Your friends. Your family. They just want to help." Mandy's head snapped up, and she looked around for the source of the ever-familiar voice. "H-Haruko?" "I will be waiting for you in the Magical Grasslands." Whatever hope she had left completely died in that moment. I thought Haruko was gonna save me from this...this torture! S-she's here...she was here...but now... Oh Haruko, come back! "C'mon, Mandy. Don't you want something to eat?" In contrast to the harsh tones of the others, Peaches' voice and expression was calm, soothing, inviting. She held out some banana bread, freshly cooked and ready to be eaten. For all intents and purposes, she was the only good guy (er, gal) in this situation. But Mandy was too anxious and too weak to be rational like that. Her vision began to blur, leaving the shapes of her friends as complicated smears. "Leave me alone!" came her shrill and cracked cry, before she used what was most likely the last of her magic to teleport as far away as she possibly could. She arrived on the city streets, deep in the heart of downtown Toronto. As she landed on her stomach with an "oof" noise, she tried to process what was around her. People and ponies alike stared at her, but otherwise kept to themselves as they walked by. A boom. And then another boom. And then, the streets became alive with the sounds of panic. Mandy could hear feet and hooves drumming on the ground as everyone began to soar past her. The sound of lasers making impact with various objects and buildings mixed in with the sound of screaming and yelling was hell on her eardrums, but she didn't care. "A loose laser chicken...!" she tried to call out, as she slowly rose to her feet and allowed them to guide her to safety. Her voice was nothing more than a soft rasp, leaving it completely unheard amidst the hysteria. She felt like her limbs were made of gelatin...and thinking about that just made her more prone to start eating them. But even she knew, in spite of her hunger, that she needed her limbs to live. She only tried eating them once or twice before for the occasional random bit, anyway. "No...I'm losing speed..." Her feet moved slower, slower, slower. She could feel her eyes gradually beginning to close, and her stomach growling with more sadness than before. Suddenly, she was brought back to reality when she tripped on something hard. Her body careened forward until she tumbled onto the sidewalk and came to a stop directly in front of a crosswalk sign. "Walk sign is on to cross. Berry Avenue, walk sign is on to cross..." The booming sounds grew closer. In Mandy's blurry vision, a figure consisting mostly of white made itself known. It advanced closer and closer to her, flashes of red emanating from its head as it made small clucks. M-my vision...I can't see anything... Numbness shot through Mandy like a bullet. She could hardly feel a thing, now. Even the pain that had been festering inside of her stomach was starting to go away, little by little. Mustering up what power she had left, she sent it straight to her horn, and fired a thin rainbow-colored laser. A complete and utter miss. I can't...I'm slipping... Her head slumped to the ground. I...don't want to...be fed anymore. But I...I want to live... The sound of distant panicked voices, although so dull she couldn't make them out, stuck in the back of her mind. No...d-don't feed me...please...I want to... Her eyes fully closed, and the world became silent. When Mandy next opened her eyes, she was met with a view that was starting to feel familiar. Too familiar, if one asked her. All she could see were four blobs hovering above her, a white ceiling sitting above them. Mouths were moving, but no sounds came out. Worried expressions were put on, but those seemed to be just mere fronts to fool people. In spite of Mandy's circumstances, however, she was well-aware of one thing. I'm...alive? But how? Only a small dose of feeling rushed back to her body, and it was then that she felt the existence of an oxygen mask on her face. And...needles in her inner arm. No...this can't be. There's...there's no way! She tried to will herself to yank the needles out. She put every ounce of strength she had into it. But it wasn't much, and she could barely feel herself move. They fed me. They fed me, and these... evil things are acting so concerned. Like they aren't even trying to fatten me up! Her body, aching and stiff, tried in vain to lash out. She tried to punch and kick with all her might, thrashing about like an angered wild bull. A hand was placed on her shoulder, forcefully pushing her down. Without even thinking, she opened her mouth and clamped it down. A scream rocketed through her eardrums for all of three seconds before it began dying with a whimper, and then continued dying with words that she couldn't make out. Good. Now I can at least fight 'em off! She tried to smirk, but it looked more like the attempt at a smile of someone numbed up on novocaine. Finally, after a minute or two, she slowly stopped thrashing, the energy she had gained being completely spent. Her body fell still, and her eyes began closing once again. No...don't let me slip away again! I feel weak, but I need to get out of here... It was involuntary. Her mind was plunged into the darkness once more, and she was forced to allow fate to guide her to where she needed to go. "Mandy." Mandy's eyes slowly opened. "Mandy, can you hear me?" Her eyes opened fully. She glanced around the area she was in, trying to collect her bearings. It took her quite a bit to realize exactly where she was, but when she did find out, her heart became filled with joy. "The Magical Grasslands!" she squealed, her head moving back and forth. "Haruko? You here?" "I am here." The majestic kitsune stepped out of seemingly nowhere, her green eyes shimmering with the same warmth, hope and happiness they did before. Mandy cried, although she couldn't feel the tears cascading down her face. "Haruko!!" she cried, lunging for the kitsune and enveloping her in a mighty hug. "Oh, I-I thought you abandoned me back there! I got so scared, and, and I-" "Shhh." Haruko raised a paw to Mandy's mouth. "Come and sit by me, and we will talk." Mandy eagerly did as she was told, sitting on the grass and staring up at the sky, with its endless splash of blue and its clouds that seemed to shape themselves into whatever she wanted them to be. "Mandy." Haruko began. "I can sense your distress. Your hunger. Your suffering." A pause. "I saw your twisted fantasy. How everyone was approaching you, wanting you to eat and trying to force-feed you. But you refused." She glanced at Mandy. "Why did you refuse?" Mandy didn't answer that question. She practiced a tactic of avoidance -- staring at the sky and distracting herself with all the clouds in the air. "You may confide in me. Remember, I am an ally. It is just you and me." Something told her that her tactic would not work any more than it already did. Haruko was much too smart for something like that, and she knew it. Gritting her teeth, she took a moment to compose herself, then took a deep breath before she spoke. "When I first got my wings and tail and horn and all that, I developed a larger appetite. I could eat a small salad and still be hungry for three larger ones. No one knew why this change happened -- a pony-human hybrid is a new and weird species. But even though some people got used to it over time, others kept on bringing it up. Berating me for my eating habits. Yelling at me for eating entire Thanksgiving feasts in one go." She sighed. "At first, the comments didn’t faze me too much. But as time went on, it felt like people were always bringing up my eating habits. I would get stares and comments, and...it nicked away at my self-esteem until the tipping point." Haruko nodded once. "And what was the tipping point?" "Lately people have been saying how I put on a few pounds. Even my own mother has been saying it, and...it spurred me to stop eating." Mandy said. "But I went to visit Omi, the chef who works at my mother’s precinct, and...he gave me some words of advice. About how I should tell everyone about my feelings and how I should put passion into it to make my voice heard." She paused. "But..." "But?" "I’m afraid that...no one’s going to listen to me. No matter how hard I try. They’ll continue to berate me and yell at me and bully me and critique how I eat..." Mandy couldn't finish. She buried her face in her hands, feeling the tears pulled from her eyes make her hands wet in the process. Choked sobs left her as she completely broke down, the comments from all of her friends playing in her head once more. She has been getting a little chubbier... You really can pack it away, huh? Take it easy, there! You don't want to get too fat. She honestly wasn't sure what was worse in that moment -- the comments themselves, or the bringers of the comments. She hadn't been thinking rationally the whole time, and apparently, she wasn't going to start now. Tears continued to fall as she let out sob after sob, wail after wail, and all while Haruko was watching her with that patient gaze of hers. Although she would never show it, the kitsune felt pain deep inside her heart. Pain that Mandy was only a mere eleven years old, and yet she was going through this, suffering from these hurtful comments that wore her self-esteem down to almost nothing. Pain that she had been so distraught over the constant comments about her weight and eating habits that she had resorted to starving herself just to make them stop coming. Pain that all of this had led to her near-death. Finally, after Mandy had calmed down a little, Haruko spoke her next words of wisdom. "But it does not hurt to try." Mandy's head lifted, and promptly swiveled over to her. "Huh?" "It does not hurt to make an effort, Mandy. Try to put Omi's advice to good use." All the hybrid did was blink, half-confused and half-despaired. "From what I understand, eating is a part of who you are. Everyone must eat, but to you, eating is a very special thing. It is not just something you must do to heal your body, mind, and soul. It is a time to bond, to laugh, to share." Mandy listened to her words, slowly digesting each and every one of them. "I would imagine how you eat, and how much you eat, is quite humorous to your friends and family..." Haruko, in one of her rare moments of faltering, paused to try and amend her words. "But it should not be the only thing they notice about you, of course. You have other qualities that make you wonderful and special. I am sure they are well aware of that. They just need a little reminder." Somehow, Mandy doubted that. A "tch" sound forced its way out of her, her gaze growing steely. Haruko placed a paw on her knee. "Be yourself. Express your feelings. They will understand, Mandy." Her gaze grew warm. "Believe in them. Believe in you." Mandy rested her head on her knees, the whistling of the wind providing a blanket of comfort as she retreated into her own mind to think. Maybe Haruko's right. My friends are reasonable people. Er, reasonable...agents? Yeah, that's a better universal term. If I just communicate with them, they're bound to listen! After all, that's what Fluttershy tried to do in regards to my sleep, and they listened then. Who's to say they won't listen to me telling them about their comments and how much they hurt me? I have enough self-advocacy skills to back me up if they try to fight back. Rationality slowly began trickling back into Mandy's brain. For the first time in a while, a genuine smile formed on her face. "I suppose...it doesn't hurt to give it a shot." She stood up with a huff. "Okay! I'll make my voice heard and tell them exactly how I feel!" Silence lingered across the area as she looked around. "Uh, if I can get out of here, that is..." "Just wait." Haruko said. "Your departure from the Magical Grasslands will come in time. And before you go..." Materializing from complete thin air was a hamburger on a plate, three juicy beef patties and three hot buns tall. It looked like the glowed-up food she saw in fast food commercials all the time, and she had to wonder if it was real. "Please, do enjoy this. I realize you are not experiencing this in the real world, but I do hope you appreciate it all the same." Mandy's mouth instantly began to water. Without any hesitation, she scooped up the burger whole with her tongue, sending it into her mouth and straight down her esophagus. A happy squeal left her, even though she couldn't feel hunger nor taste nor a sense of fullness in her current state. It just felt good to eat food again -- the mere action of it was enough to excite her. "Oh thank you, Haruko! I'm feeling so much better now!" "It is not a problem." Haruko's ear flicked. "I believe it is time to go now." Sure enough, Mandy had begun slowly floating, her body ascending to the great blue sky above. She turned her head around, her eyes growing wide with alarm. Haruko held her hand until she was out of reach, watching her slowly disappear into the dark void, the endless...well, limbo between the waking world and the Grasslands. Mandy felt sad that she couldn't enjoy any more of that delicious food, but the hope in her heart still kept her happy for the most part. Yes...I'll tell them everything. I'll pour my feelings out to them. They have to listen to me! They're my friends, and friends always listen to each others' concerns and worries! That same feeling of warmth washed over her, and she slowly closed her eyes, allowing herself to be taken to reality once again. The beeping was annoying. Mandy had been to the Medical Bay more times than she cared to admit, and yet, the beeping sounds would always annoy her. A soft moan very nearly formed into an irritated growl as she slowly opened her eyes. All she could see was the same white ceiling and the same blinding light as before. Nothing really new there. However, there was one thing she noticed right away. She was stronger. Her stomach had finally quieted down, its pleading cries for food having been answered. She wasn't as strong as she normally was, but it was definitely a big improvement over how she felt when she first woke up. How long was I out for? She honestly couldn't tell. For all she knew, it could have been years. Decades, even. Centuries. Outright millennia where guinea pigs ruled the universe. Odd Squad was funny with time travel like that. It could totally happen. The sound of footsteps broke into her thoughts. Her ears swiveled towards the source of the sound. "Mandy! You're awake!" She could hear the voice clear as day. She could see the figure the voice belonged to. It was all so clear to her now. "Dr. O!" she called out, her voice deeper and more raspy than it usually was, much to her surprise as her eyes widened. Her change of voice was but a mere fly compared to the elephant in the room she wanted addressed. "What happened?" "Well, from my understanding..." Dr. O tapped his chin. "Someone brought you in. They said they found you laying unconscious near a crosswalk sign, with a laser chicken about to attack you." Mandy bit her lip. She only barely remembered what had happened after her friends had tried to force-feed her. It was such a blur to her, no doubt a result of the weakness that had overtaken her body. "Who..." "They wished to remain anonymous." Anonymous? Mandy fought the urge to scoff. Honestly, not to brag, but...I'm a legendary Odd Squad agent, they saved me, and they want to remain anonymous? That's insane! "We had to perform intravenous feeding. IV feeding, for short." Dr. O continued. "The shock and hunger you had experienced caused you to fall into a two-week-long coma." Mandy glanced at the needle embedded in the crook of her arm. As with a lot of kids her age, she absolutely despised needles. Before, every time she received a shot, she had to cling on to Olive while she comforted her and pat her head and fed her the same "this won't hurt a bit" bull that Dr. O did. And then she got a lollipop, which took all of her worries away. Of course, she matured, and she wasn't as scared of needles now as she was before. Maybe it was how many times she had landed in the Medical Bay teetering and dancing on the edge of death that eased her fear slightly...? The second part of Dr. O's explanation hit her. "I was out for two weeks?" "Yes. Luckily, your vitals became stable rather quickly after you were fed." Dr. O glanced at the beeping computer by Mandy's bedside and skimmed through the vitals displayed. All of them seemed rather solid. "And it looks like they're plenty stable now. Let me go ahead and remove the IV, okay?" Mandy eyed him as he placed one gentle hand on her arm, and used the other hand to slowly pull out the needle. Her ear flapped in response to the pain as she simultaneously winced. And there's another reason why I hate needles... she thought bitterly to herself, wondering why fate had to make her come here often enough to where she could probably legally declare it her second home. "How do you feel?" Dr. O asked. Angry. Hurt. Tired. Sad. In pain, so much pain. You wanna spin a wheel and see if ya come home with the grand prize? Mandy wanted to snap. But in spite of her sour attitude, one thing stuck out in her mind like a sore thumb, and made her feel a rush of emotions that she couldn't describe very well. I don't feel hungry. All I feel is...emptiness. She stared at the ceiling for a few moments, trying to recall Haruko's words in her mind. All she could really imagine in that moment, though, was the hamburger she had. It was so big and so juicy...it felt so filling and so freeing just to eat it without anyone judging me for it or wondering how many pounds I'm gonna gain from it. I wish I could remake it again. I'd go to Shmumber King or ShmumDonald's or something but they couldn't dream of making that monster of a burger. And if I make one here, someone's bound to notice. Slowly, she got up from her bed. The sensation in her body was so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time, and she wobbled as she tried to find her footing. "Can I be discharged?" "Yes. Just make sure to come back in a week for a followup checkup." Mandy nodded before she made her way out of the Medical Bay, rubbing her head furiously as she struggled to put the pieces of what had happened together in her head. As empty as I feel right now...some good old-fashioned sleep will help me clear my mind. The next day, almost everyone was crammed into Oprah's office. Oprah herself, Olive, Otto, Peaches and the ponies were all mingling in casual conversation as they awaited the arrival of the one who had summoned them. "I'm here!" Rainbow called, soaring into the office and leaving a rainbow streak behind that she could hear at least a few agents react in awe to. "Sorry it took me so long. What's going on?" "Mandy wanted to see all of us to discuss something." Oprah explained. "She said it was, and I quote, 'urgent and important and if you don't come I will personally drag all your butts over to Oprah's office and force you to listen with the aid of a magic spell Agent Twilight taught me.'" Twilight merely shrugged as eyes fell on her. "Maybe it has something to do with the feast we prepared for her." Fluttershy suggested, a worried tone to her voice as her gaze remained fixated on the glass double-doors. "We were all just trying to look out for Mandy's best interests! Oh, the poor thing hasn't eaten in so long, I figured that having a bunch of food set out for her would fill her tummy right up!" Rarity remarked. Ascending the stairs in that very moment was the hybrid of honor herself. She took a deep breath, so deep that she could feel her lungs about to burst from how much air she sucked in and expelled. "It's now or never. Just gotta remember...passion." she muttered to herself, sending a prayer to whoever above that the conversation with the ones she called her friends, the ones she had grouped together as being her family, would go over well. Her foot hit the top step. "Agent Mandy. Glad to see you're feeling better." Her eyes opened, her vision darkened by the sunglasses she had on. "Yeah, we thought you were gonna be blown to bits by a laser chicken!" Pinkie cried out, which earned her a heavy nudge from Peaches. Mandy exhaled. "Well, it's lucky I didn't, huh?" The bitter and rough edges of her tone, lacking any sort of her usual cheeriness, was cause for alarm for everyone in the room. The hybrid really wasn't surprised at the number of worried expressions that were aimed right at her, but perhaps that was because she didn't really care. "Whoa, what's going on with you?" Rainbow asked. The sunglasses, seemingly there just for aesthetic purposes, came off. "Why don't I get right to the point." Mandy remarked, before she took an inhale and spewed out in one single breath, "I don't like the way you all have been obsessing over my eating habits." "Obsessing over your eating habits?" Otto wasted no time. "Why do you think we-" "Because every time you see me eating, you just have to bring it up!" Mandy snapped, her mood doing a sudden 180 as the rage that she had kept at bay for so long made her inch ever closer to the boiling point, word by word and sentence by sentence. More confused expressions, which led her to perform mockeries of, to the others' surprise, no particular characters at all. "'Oh wow, look at how many cakes she's eating!'" Her eyes gained shimmers in them briefly. "'Don't you ever think about anything other than food?'" This one was addressed at Olive specifically, and Mandy made sure she knew it by giving her a glare that could cut through and destroy an entire steel plant. "'Oh, it's amazing how she hasn't put on any weight!'" A "yeah, right" scoff left her. She clenched her fist and ceased the mocking. "Do you think I wanted this to happen? Yes, I have a large appetite. But it came as part of a package deal with my transformation! Do you really think I can help it if I eat so much?! DO YOU THINK YOUR COMMENTS MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER?!" Their visible flinching made her want to put on a sadistic smile that even Todd would have drawn the line at in his villain days. Fluttershy, in particular, looked close to crying, but Mandy paid her no mind. Wanting to dispel her anger, she gave a huff. "It's one thing to bring up my eating habits every once in a while. I'm fine with that, really, I am, but...when it happens all the time, every time I eat, it becomes less of a joke or a 'haha, so funny' moment and it becomes more harmful than you think it is. And I'm sick of it!" Her voice cracked with that last sentence. She hadn't meant for it to crack, but the sadness that lingered in her heart had made it do so without her consent. And with that emotion came tears that slowly began to move forth as she continued. "The reason I looked as pale and sickly as I did was because...I was starving myself. I didn't want to eat if everyone was just going to make stupid comments about it." Mandy's gaze flicked to... "Applejack, remember that time you thought I ate all one hundred of your pies? The ones you were gonna give out to the townsfolk?" And then, to... "Momma, Otto, how about the time I ate your Thanksgiving dinner meant for the three of us because I was starving, and you yelled at me for it? Do you really think that made me feel any better? To be scolded for something I can't help?" Applejack lowered her hat in shame, while Olive and Otto both exchanged guilty and heartbroken looks. None of them felt like responding, instead opting to just listen and wait until Mandy ended her ranting tirade and gave them the floor. "And let's not forget what's been going on recently -- how you all keep on bringing up my gaining a couple pounds. Don't you have any sympathy? E-empathy, even?!" Her gaze moved to Pinkie, the one in the group who was known for her insane eating habits, and then to Oprah, the one in the group who was known for her insane drinking habits. The blue eyes that once signaled innocence now signaled rage and hurt, and both mare and child knew this as they avoided eye contact. "I've been at a healthy weight for years. Even if I do eat a lot, I work it off by fighting oddness and getting good rest and- and flying around all over the place! Seems a lil' nitpicky bringing up my weight in particular, don't you think?" The vibes of pure guilt hanging about in the room was thick enough to be cut with an industrial-grade knife. Mandy waited for what seemed like days as no one seemed to muster up the gall to respond to her. Her expression twisted into an ugly grimace. "Unbelievable. Not one of you can explain yourselves? At least say sorry for what you've been doing?" She scoffed. "I nearly died! If that anonymous person...pony...thingie-whoever hadn't saved me when they did, I would've been prey for a laser chicken. Then you wouldn't have a pwecious target anymore. Wouldn't that pain your hearts just so?" Still no response. Mandy had at least somewhat expected some kind of "don't mock us" clapback or something along those lines, and part of her wanted such a clapback to come along so she could really bring her nastiness out to play on her stage, but nothing came. "Then I guess that's it. I've said what I've needed to with as much passion as I can muster." She turned around and headed for the door, only swiveling her head back once to spit out a final bludgeoning sentence. "There's nothing left to do now but leave you to think about what you've done." Well, I did it, Omi. Haruko. I spoke my true feelings to them with all the passion and spirit I have. And yet, nothing happened. All they want to do is fester and rot in silence and guilt, without even trying to make amends. Thank you for the advice, but... She trailed off. The thought lingered in her mind as she placed her foot on the first stair, and then the other foot on the second one. "Mandy, wait." Her eyes opened. Although she refused to turn around, Olive was in the doorway, arm outstretched in what she had to admit was a rather dramatic fashion. "I...I had no idea...we had no idea you were feeling that way. We thought you could take it. You take almost everything else, you're so resilient." A smile crossed Olive's face, but disappeared in the blink of an eye. "But...to be honest, I think we'd be feeling the same way if someone always commented on our eating habits too. Isn't that right?" Nods met her inquiry, which irked Mandy slightly and made her a little jealous that Olive was easily able to garner a reaction with her spiel and she couldn't. What did Olive have that Mandy didn't? "Me, I'm just happy you're alive. We thought you died out there with that laser chicken about to attack you." Her voice cracked. Mandy raised an eyebrow as tears began to fall. "I...I should have...I should've listened to my own daughter, and...and I should've thought more about your feelings, and..." Mandy watched as the Director slumped to the ground and buried her face right into the palm of her hands. Her body quaked and shivered, and it didn't take much deducing to figure out that she had progressed to outright sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" came the pleading apology, right before a wail came forth that would have been eardrum-splitting if it weren't muffled by hands. Almost immediately, Otto was at his partner's side, rubbing her back in an effort to comfort her as partners did. "I'm sorry too, Mandy." Mandy blinked as her gaze flicked to Oprah, who stood up. "If you don't want us to comment on your eating habits so much, then we won't. Right, agents?" Murmurs of agreement filled the hybrid's ears. She ascended the steps and moved back into the office. "You were acting so much like your usual self just a couple weeks ago, I didn't even notice there was something wrong with you!" Rarity placed a hoof on her chest, a warm smile gracing her lovely face. "Darling, if ever anything is troubling you, anything at all, I am always available to listen." "Don't be afraid to tell us anything that's on your mind!" Otto smiled as well. "That's what we're here for, as your friends." "We're all here for you, cuz." Peaches, now. "Always remember that." Mandy wasn't quite sure to make of this situation. On the one hand, her bitterness slowly began to ebb away, and was replaced by a similar feeling of numbness from when she was in the Medical Bay. The smiles began to warm her heart more on pure instinct than anything else, although she couldn't deny that seeing them made her want to smile too, just because she could. On the other hand, it certainly seemed like everyone was sorry, but time and time again with this ragtag group of children and mares and catgirls that all bore the excuse of "you're just so unpredictable" had shown her that maybe they just couldn't be trusted to handle her with care. From the incident with Natsu to her sleep-flying around town, she didn't really feel comfortable with trusting them with something that, frankly, was just basic common sense. You just don't comment on how people eat their food. You don't comment on their weight, either. The stupidest foal in existence knew that much, but these kids and fully-grown mares -- fully-grown mares! -- didn't. Why would I forgive them for something that should be common sense, I wonder. She reached behind her back and produced a tissue, thrusting it in front of Olive. "Your nose is running. Have a tissue." she plainly remarked, watching as Otto took it and handed it to his partner for her to blow her nose in. A mighty sigh left her as she settled on an acceptable answer. "As much as I'd love to accept all of your apologies...a lot has happened over the past two weeks. I just...need some time to process it all." And with that, her final hurrah was laid on the table. She descended the stairs, fully this time, not bothering to listen to any of her co-workers anymore. Her eyes briefly laid sight to the Breakroom, and for a moment, she contemplated eating something of merit. But her head was aching...no, if she was being honest, her entire body felt like that wannabe villainess who called herself "Mega-Pain Jane" and just complained about body aches all the time, as adults did. So, she trudged on back to her room to get some more sleep, and hopefully clear her head a little bit. Maybe, just maybe, she would meet Haruko again and try to make some sense of all this. Unbeknownst to her, however, Oprah was already on her way down the stairs with a spring in her step, with Peaches' question of "Oprah? Where are you going?" barely even fazing her. The girl dug into the fridge of the Food Storage Room, half of her body being consumed by the appliance as she took dish after dish out, throwing them onto a nearby table and caring very little if their appearances got ruined. "Oprah!" Peaches called as she made her way into the room. "What are you doing?" "Putting out some food for Mandy in case she gets hungry." Peaches blinked. Certainly didn't flinch on that one, huh? she thought, as some kind of a pastry was flung onto the table next. She studied the wide array of food that was already placed on it, fighting the urge to just snatch up a dish for her own dinner later that evening and not have Oprah notice. And then she realized. "Is this all stuff from the feast?" "Well, I can't just let it go to waste." Oprah remarked, pressing her Converses against a shelf as she strained and struggled to pop her body free. When she did, she landed on her back, kicking up a few clouds of dust. Peaches side-eyed her as she got up on two feet once again. By all accounts, she was acting normal. However, Peaches couldn't help but notice the sad and guilty edge to her words. It was abundantly clear that Mandy's words had pierced her right through the heart, but she would be odd-damned if she put on a show of tears that could flood the Mississippi River now. "Hey. Are you...feeling okay?" came the tentative question, as the catgirl tread carefully around Oprah to avoid getting an angry growl in response. "I'm all right. I just need to unwind with a juice box." And out came the kiddie alcohol. Fruit punch was the flavor this time around, with a straw already stuck in it and bearing a bit of juice within its transparent cylindrical shape. Oprah eagerly took a mighty sip, an equally-mighty sigh leaving her as she eyed the drink with a look that Peaches couldn't place. Before the catgirl knew it, she was using the Teleport-inator to zap all the food away. "I-" Oprah was leaving. "W-wait, Oprah, hold on!" Peaches feebly called, giving an irritated huff after a few moments and following her. Later that evening, Twilight and co. returned from spending a night out on the town of Ponyville. All of them were exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to get some good rest. "Oh, thank Celestia. Mandy ate something." Twilight remarked, as she approached the Breakroom table and was pleasantly surprised to find that nothing was on it, not even a single crumb. All that was there was a couple dishes. "Well that's a relief." Fluttershy elevated herself to examine the table from up in the air, a warm smile crossing her maw. "I was really worried about her." The sound of the automatic steel doors opening caught the mares' attention. Six heads swiveled behind them to find Olive and Otto approaching, the former being comforted by the latter. "Oh, hi Olive, hi Otto!" Twilight waved. "Are you two still upset over Mandy?" "'Upset' is a bit of an understatement." Otto rubbed Olive's back. "She was crying into my chest as soon as we got back into HQ." Most anyone could see Olive's reddened and bloodshot eyes, and within them, most anyone could see the absolute hurt she was going through. Perhaps she felt guilt for driving Mandy to nearly die, or perhaps she felt sadness at seeing her daughter at such a horrific point in her life. No one really knew, and Olive didn't look too keen on sharing her thoughts at the moment. "Ohh...I'm so sorry, darling." Rarity moved forward and placed a hoof on the girl's knee. "We know how much you love Mandy." "I miss when she was all perky and happy and energetic, just like me!" Pinkie piped up. "Now she's all frowny-faced..." "I just wish there was a way to make her happy again. To really show how sorry we all are." Twilight's statement was met with resounding murmurs of strong agreement. And then, silence fell. Of course, it wasn't complete silence. With agents and clients alike all milling about in the bullpen, complete silence could never be achieved. But that didn't mean the feeling of culpability and heartache didn't hang over their heads like a huge thick cloud. "Mandy?" Fluttershy's ever-so-soft murmur made heads perk up, and then promptly turn. Standing in the entryway to the right hallway was the hybrid herself. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her hair was a complete and utter mess, and her wings looked to be slightly smaller if one looked closely enough. It looked like she had just rolled out of bed after plucking a few feathers from her wings out of rage and then falling asleep crying -- and not that they would know, but that was exactly what she had done. "Hi." The greeting sounded...small. Alarmingly small. Mare and child knew that regular old Mandy would not settle for just a simple stony "hi". No, the regular old Mandy would settle for a "hiya" or a neat little catchphrase she invented on a whim. "Do all of you...have a minute?" The question sounded small, too. Like a child who asked their parent for permission to go to the bathroom or to eat a cookie from the cookie jar. Peaches in particular opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, not sure whether to answer her cousin's question first or remark on her scruffy appearance. Just as the mares and the two Directors nodded, the sound of someone panting grew closer and closer. "Oprah." Mandy gave a simple polite nod. "Can you...can all of you sit down, please?" Everyone did as they were told, gathering around the Breakroom table to hear what their friend had to say. "Is something wrong?" The question slipped free from Peaches' lips before she could stop herself. She bit her bottom lip, hoping she didn't just throw herself clear into the fire. "No, nothing's wrong, it's just..." Mandy grit and ground her teeth together before a sigh eked through, squeezing through the gaps in her teeth and making a soft whistling sound. "As I said, a lot has happened over the past two weeks. And since you guys are all open to me venting to you, then...I might as well, right?" Pinkie took notice of the smile that graced her partner's face. It definitely wasn't genuine, she knew that much. But she also couldn't place the emotion the smile held within it. If Mandy was giving her a challenge, she was definitely on the losing end. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice everyone else had given their agreement. She, too, chimed in with a single nod. Mandy took a deep breath. "So Momma. Otto." Her dull gaze became fixed on the dynamic duo. "I fixed the issue with Omi, first of all. He wants the agents of your precinct to not be so picky about their food options, to recognize the talents and the passion he has for cooking. I'd suggest you work on that." Otto didn't respond outside of a nod. "Second." Mandy continued. "I visited Haruko again. Like Omi, she gave me advice on what to do in regards to starving myself, and she said that eating is...a part of me. It's who I am. It's more than just a basic human function. It's special to me." She rubbed her arm. "And...like I said, it's fine if you guys poke fun at it every once in a while, but just...don't do it obsessively, 'kay?" Nods and murmurs of agreement filled the area. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Mandy pressed on before she could get even a single sound in. "I don't know why I have to tell you guys something that should be basic common sense. You'll always be my family, but...you honestly suck on the friendship front." Mandy gave a soft breathy chuckle, the unidentified smile making a return before fading away again. "Even you, Twi." Twilight blinked, feeling a blush creep along her cheeks. "We are but children, full of naivete and blind to the cruelties of the world. Such of which we will prolly forever be immune to, drifting in the sea of immortality as we go about our daily lives throwing ourselves on the front line to protect the world we call home, while dealing with our own disgusting vices and our own horrifying sins that make us unique humans and unique equines all around..." Mandy had begun to aimlessly wander at the beginning of her nonsense musings, and it wasn't until she caught the eye of everyone staring at her confusingly that brought her to a stop. "Sorry...got a lil' cynical for a second there. Guess I should try to cheer up, huh?" As if to answer her, her stomach let out a loud grumble. Mandy gave a sigh, reached up to the top of her head, and began to unzip herself from head to toe. It was a rather grotesque display to the untrained eye, but to her friends, it was nothing more than just a simple surprise. The disguise fell away to reveal a Mandy that was much brighter in both personality and color. Her blue eyes held life again, as did her hair, her tail, and her wings. Aside from her thinner-than-usual stature, she looked every bit like the person she had been before all hell broke loose. "Feast food, feast food!" she chanted, pumping a fist into the air. "Giii-mme some feast food!" "In the refrigerator, sugarcube." Applejack's words were all that Mandy needed. Within seconds, the hybrid had half of her body stuck in the fridge that stood tall on the ground, feet waving wildly as she greedily munched on food after food. All the while, everyone watched with warm and grateful smiles on their faces. "Olive? You okay?" Otto asked, noticing his partner and the tears that cascaded down her face. "She's eating again." came the murmur, soft and quiet. "She forgives us." "Of course she does. Mandy tends to hold long grudges against people who hurt her, but she always ends up forgiving them in the end." Otto smiled. "Although she does have a point. We were pretty stupid to start commenting on her eating habits and her weight the way we did. It's rude." The fridge began to rock violently, now. The top part of it, the freezer, was now open for access, although Mandy didn't plan on getting to it until a little later. "You enjoying yourself in there?" Peaches called. "I hope you are. You deserve this feast!" "Shure!" Mandy chirped back, her mouth full of one disgusting meat conglomerate. "And thank you!" "Can I have some?" "Not on your life, shishter!" The fridge tipped over. Olive, immediately forgoing her tears, jumped up on pure instinct and lunged. Mandy landed square on her feet, bent her knees to the point where her legs nearly buckled out from under her, and leapt in one swift movement, turning the fridge right side up and continuing to munch away on whatever food she had found in there. Olive blinked as she laid there on the cold and dirty floor for a few moments, wondering exactly what had transpired and why she was laying on a cold and dirty floor to begin with. She watched Mandy's tail wag furiously and listened to the sounds of a hungry hybrid completely and utterly mauling a refrigerator, slowly getting up and returning to her seat as she watched the show continue to unfold. It seemed like forever before Mandy had finally made her way to the freezer. Her stomach had, to the others' surprise, a very noticeable bulge, and she could certainly feel herself start to grow sluggish and drowsy. Never mind the fact that she had just woken up from sleep -- eating a ton of food absolutely never failed to send her into the after-dinner dip. "I bet ten bits she's gonna eat the entire fridge and then go right to sleep!" Pinkie chirped, raising a hoof and rapidly ringing a service bell that had suddenly appeared in front of her. "And that's ten bits from each of you!" Oprah decided to entertain her energetic equine of an agent. "Pinkie Pie, do some currency exchange calculations, would you?" "Sure!" Pinkie tapped twice on the smartwatch that adorned her wrist -- certainly not a gag exclusive to her; every agent in the Investigation department wore one as part of a push by Odd Squad to keep up with society's technological advancements. She hummed as a picture of a bit and then a picture of a Jackalope Coin popped up next to each other, along with an equation at the bottom that showed a conversion rate of one bit to one Jackalope Penny. It was exactly the rate she thought of, and she tapped the smartwatch twice to close it again just as quickly as she had opened it. "Ten Jackalope Pennies, ma'am! Or ten cents." "Only ten cents?" Oprah chuckled. "You don't want to go higher?" Olive shot her former boss a glare that could send the Shapeshifter packing. "Hmm...okey-dokey! Ten Jackalope Bucks!" "That-a-mare." Olive buried her face into her hands and groaned. The sounds of Mandy eating in the freezer began to slow down with every minute that passed. No one could even make sure if she was done or not by the time she hit the back. Her tail slowly ground to a halt, as did her flailing feet. Once she came to a dead stop, Twilight lit up her horn, allowing her magical aura to encase her friend's body. With immense effort, she pulled Mandy out and turned her over to let her co-workers gaze upon what would be the bad ending of a contestant in an eating contest. The hybrid, with eyes completely closed, had a peaceful smile on her face, her arms tucked by her sides and her hands folded downwards, like that of a T. rex's. Her stomach had grown so big that it was actually peeking out of the suit, a feat that O'Q probably would have admired just for the sake of boasting about how well he designed the suits for durability. "I believe our friend has reached postprandial somnolence." the purple alicorn declared. "Ha!" Pinkie pointed, then rang the service bell repeatedly again. "Ten bits! Er, ten Jackalope Dollars! Pay up!" With collective sighs and groans, everyone laid their $10 bills on the table in front of her. "Ahhh...smell that $90 of postpram...post...somnam..." Pinkie faltered. "W-whatever it's called." "Food coma, Pinkie." "Yes! Thank you, Twilight!" Pinkie took the wad of cash and shoved it into her mane for later usage. Twilight took flight, beginning to head towards the hallway. "I'll go and put this one to bed. She's eaten enough of her share. Now it's time she sleeps it off." As the group watched the alicorn turn the corner with a sleepy Mandy who muttered "Thankzz f' th' feazzt...", they exchanged relieved glances. "Yep, everything's definitely back to normal." Peaches remarked. "Although Oprah, you might wanna restock that fridge." The Director scoffed. "Nonsense! Do you really think I would have a fridge of 13579's entire food supply just so Mandy can eat it all? What an..." She broke out into huffy laughter. "What an absurd notion." "Wha..." "That fridge -- the same one you saw earlier -- is from the Food Storage Room. I helped Olly drag it up here so I could put the food from the feast in it. There was debate about putting a fridge in here when the Breakroom was made, but no one could make it work." Oprah shrugged. "So we had to settle for the spherical wall ones instead." Peaches' brow furrowed. She supposed the wall fridges did add a bit of odd class to an already-odd workplace, although she couldn't deny the space in them was rather small. She wasn't quite sure how a hundred agents, if that, were supposed to fit their lunches. Did a majority of them hit up fast-food places? Or were their other fridges in Headquarters somewhere? Nonetheless, she pushed the question aside for now and settled for a smile. "I see. Good to know." With the fun having ended, everyone got up to return back to their usual activities. Olive, with a mighty sigh, got up and began walking the same way Twilight had gone. "Partner? Where are you going?" Olive stopped and turned. She stared at Otto for a few moments, her now-normal chocolate-brown eyes boring into his own ones, before she cracked her knuckles and gave a soft chuckle. It was clear to her that she knew exactly what she had to do for the rest of the day, and every inch of her shimmered with the prospect of a challenge. A smirk settled on her face. "Someone's gotta make Mandy dinner."
S1E29: Is There a Doctor in the House?Mandy getting hurt wasn't really an uncommon sight. The hybrid was very accident-prone, and by this point she was sure most of her bones had been broken at least once. To put it in perspective, most agents hadn't broken half of the bones she had once over, let alone twice over. She always got confused at the ones who somehow never had any bones broken at all, and bragged about it like everything they had was made of gold. She figured it was just a matter of time before they joined the Broken Bones Club, and the bragging was just them stroking massively inflated egos. Luckily, this time around, she hadn't broken any bones. But she had received some pretty nasty injuries, and the pain was making her lose her second wind. As she limped into the bullpen, a groan rattled in her throat. Pinkie, working at her desk, was quick to notice the new arrival. "Partner?" She got up and galloped over. "What happened to you?" "Got beat up pretty badly by a rogue laser chicken." Mandy winced in pain, but still managed to put on a smile. "Their laser blasts can pierce skin, y'know that?" Pinkie's expression was nothing short of worry as she examined the gaping, bleeding leg wound on her partner's left leg. "You should go see Dr. O!" "I would, but last I heard, he was out." Mandy's head moved from side to side. "And there don't seem to be any other Odd Squad Doctors around, either." She shook her head. "I'll be fine. It's nothing a couple bandages can't handle." "And some painkillers!" Pinkie watched as Mandy's horn lit up, making a roll of gauze suddenly appear and land into the hybrid's hand. As she bent down to wrap the gauze around her leg, she couldn't help but give a cry of pain as the bandage touched her throbbing wound. "Wait, let me help!" Pinkie offered, taking the roll in her hooves and unraveling it. Mandy simply nodded. "Be gentle, 'kay?" "Aww, it stuck to my hoof!" Pinkie whined, as she waved her hoof back and forth in a vain effort to get the gauze off. It took a few minutes before the baker was able to fully patch up her partner's wounds. Though the pain still persisted, it wasn't nearly as bad as it was before, and Mandy was at least able to stand without feeling like she was getting crushed by a multi-ton construction vehicle. "There ya go!" Mandy took the roll from Pinkie's hooves and gave a sigh of relief as she tucked it away behind her back. "Thanks." "So why aren't there any Doctors?" Pinkie asked. "If someone gets hurt then who's gonna help them?" Truth be told, Mandy didn't have a good answer to that question -- she was no Doctor, nor did she work in the Medical department. "I'm not sure..." "Agent Mandy! In my office, now!" "And up I go." Mandy rolled her eyes, though it wasn't out of annoyance so much as it was out of amusement. "Thanks again, Pinkie." "No problem!" Pinkie began to trot back to her desk. "Oh, and make sure to ask Ms. O about the lack of Doctors!" "Will do!" Ascending the staircase that led to Oprah's office wasn't really an easy feat. It seemed like every time Mandy raised her leg to put her foot on a stair, the pain shot through her body like a laser from a gadget. Still, she persevered -- after all, if the pain got really bad, there wasn't any harm in raiding the Medical Bay for some extra-strength painkillers. Or just getting them from Olive, now that she thought about it. "You wanted to see me, Oprah?" Mandy called as her left foot hit the top step, giving a sigh of relief that now all she had to worry about was the flight downwards. "Yes." Oprah watched as Mandy made her way inside, then gestured to her guest. "As you can see, Dr. O is here as well. Dr. O?" Mandy's expression lit up. "Dr. O!" She flung herself at the Head Doctor, or at least flung herself at him as much as she could without reaching a ten on the pain scale. "Oh thank odd! Look, I-I just want some painkillers, please, I'll take anything, it hurts so so bad and-" Dr. O held a finger to Mandy's lips. "Glad to see you too. But I can't just prescribe painkillers without see-" He stopped and had himself a good look at Mandy's covered wounds, where the blood from some of them had seeped into the gauze. "Oh. I see. Those don't look good. Well, in that case, I'll be happy to get you some." Mandy gasped. "When we're done here." Her face fell. She began to pout as she climbed off of him and slunk back to her position behind Oprah's desk. "Anyway..." Dr. O straightened out the uniform that sat under his teal lab coat. "As you might have noticed, I’ve been consistently busy between my Maintenance duties and my Medical duties recently. It seems that business has picked up." Dr. O gave an irritated sigh. "Not unlike the Maintenance department…" "So Dr. O is looking for an assistant to help him out when he's not around." Oprah finished. "We were wondering if you had someone in mind." Almost immediately, Mandy shook her head. She knew of no one who wanted to go into the Medical department and become a Doctor, in Precinct 13579 or otherwise. "Not that I can think of! But..." She tapped her chin. "Maybe you should do an announcement of sorts? Tell agents that you’re looking for an assistant and if they have any recommendations, or want to volunteer, then they can come to you!" Dr. O and Oprah exchanged a look between each other, silently pondering the suggestion. After a minute or two, Dr. O nodded. "That's not a bad idea. Let's do it." "Perfect." The trio made their way out of the office and onto the second floor of the bullpen. As Oprah took her spot on the stool she used to bolster her height so she didn't look like a small child yelling into a golden banister, she cleared her throat. "Attention, agents!" Almost immediately, agents began gathering in the bullpen, muttering inquisitively over what their boss had to say. "Dr. O has an announcement he would like to make." With that, Oprah stepped off of the stool and let Dr. O take the stage. "Uh, yes." He adjusted his lanyard before speaking again. "Recently I have been very busy with both my Maintenance duties and my duties as an Odd Squad Head Doctor, and because of that, I am now opening a spot in the Medical department for someone to become my assistant. If any of you have any recommendations for agents who would like to be my assistant, or would even like to recommend yourself, please stop by my office." This got the crowd excited, as whispers and murmurs were passed around like candy. One of the agents in the crowd who was the most excited was Sweetie Belle, as she stared up at Dr. O with sparkles in her light harlequin eyes. "I'll be naming someone in a week. So please, don't hesitate if you've ever wanted to become an Odd Squad Doctor. Thank you!" Dr. O stepped off of the stool, but his eyes, as well as those of Oprah's and Mandy's, caught Sweetie Belle pushing her way to the crowd. "Dr. O!" she called, giving a few grunts as she kept pardoning herself and giving apologies to the agents she had shunted out of the way. When she finally got to the front, she sighed, then looked up at the trio standing above her. "Dr. O, may I be considered?" Oprah blinked. "You?" As did Mandy. "You?" "Of course, Agent Sweetie Belle." Dr. O nodded. "But I must warn you. Being an Odd Squad Doctor is not an easy task." "I'll do whatever it takes!" "Dr. O, darling!" The sweet and silky, easily recognizable voice followed one mare as she too made her way to the front. She hugged her little sister almost in a protective manner. "Surely you're not going to go through with this?" she asked. "Sweetie Belle is just a young filly!" "Stop intruding, Rarity!" Sweetie snapped, wrestling free of her sister's grasp. "I want a change of pace, and being a Doctor sounds like the perfect job for me!" Rarity's expression twisted into anger, then into frustration. "Hmph! Well, if you so insist." She turned on her heel and began trotting away. "But do not come crawling back to me when you fail." The words were spit with utter venom that pierced Sweetie's heart as she watched her sister leave, though she didn't dare cry in front of her fellow co-workers. Oprah turned away from the crowd to face Mandy and Dr. O. "What's been going on with them?" she asked. "Agent Rarity's been slacking on cases lately, according to Agent Applejack. It's not like her." Mandy heaved a sigh. "Sweetie Belle’s been talking about becoming an Odd Squad Doctor for a couple weeks now. When Rarity got wind of the news, she wouldn’t have it. Since then the two have been arguing nonstop!" "Well, fillies are children, are they not?" Dr. O posed. "And Sweetie Belle is an agent of Odd Squad just like anyone else. So of course I'll consider her for the position." The filly in question hopped up and down. "Yay! Thank you, Dr. O! I'll do my best!" Oprah sighed. "Sweetie’s a very valuable agent. She’s really skilled on the field, although her gadget-handling needs work. If she wants to try her hand- uh, hoof at being an Odd Squad Doctor, then I won’t stop her. What about you, Mandy?" Mandy's tongue partially stuck out straight from her mouth as she thought the proposal over. "You do have a point, boss." Her pony ear flicked. "I'll allow it too!" "All right then." Dr. O nodded. Sensing the meeting was over, the crowd began to slowly disperse, as agents went back to whatever tasks they had been doing beforehand. "Now..." Mandy waggled her eyebrows at the Head Doctor. "About those painkillers..." "Follow me into the Medical Bay." Willingly ignoring Dr. O's disgruntled response, Mandy gave a cry of "Oh, happy yay!" before following him, humming a ditty as she did so. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to help before." he apologized. "I'm not sure where all the Doctors went..." "Aww, don't worry about it! Lucky for you that you're hiring an assistant!" As Dr. O slid the door open and headed towards the cart that sat in the corner, Mandy watched as he rustled through a collection of pill bottles. Pharmacist she was not, but she couldn't help wondering if he would benefit from having an actual pharmacy somewhere. After all, if a Hospital Room could be built, why not a Pharmacy Room? "Now where is it...I could've sworn..." Dr. O's muttering became incomprehensible. "Aha, here they are." He walked back over to Mandy and placed the bottle in her hand. "Take those as directed. It should help alleviate your pain." Mandy glanced at the label. It didn't take her more than two seconds of reading before she popped two pills into her mouth, chewed them, and swallowed them. Surprisingly, they tasted like cherry-flavored gummies. "Aah...thanks, Dr. O!" "Not a problem." The Head Doctor smiled. "Go and rest. I'll have a Doctor check up on those wounds as soon as I find one that's free." "Got it!" Mandy's pony ears only barely missed the sigh Dr. O gave as she headed out of the room. She read the pill bottle over and over again, and by the third time, something became apparent to her. ODDPRAZOZENE Take one (1) pill once daily until pain subsides, with or without food and/or drink. Refills can be provided ONLY at Precinct Head Doctor's discretion. For refill inquiries, please visit the Odd Squad Academy. DO NOT TAKE MORE THAN DIRECTED. Taking excess medication may cause dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, and/or in extreme cases, permanent loss of senses. A churning feeling began swimming in Mandy's stomach as it gurgled. Her vocal pitch dropped by several degrees as only two words could be eked out of her. "Oh no." As Sweetie Belle made her way through the bullpen, she saw her partners, who rushed to meet her. "Hey, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom greeted. "We saw ya earlier!" "Yeah! Are you gonna become an Odd Squad Doctor?" Scootaloo asked, her purple eyes shimmering. Sweetie nodded. "Yup! I'm gonna study all I can and be the best Doctor ever!" "That's great! Maybe you can practice on us when we get hurt!" Apple Bloom rubbed her front leg -- a frequent spot for injuries due to her rambunctious antics. "Riding on my scooter and doing cool tricks is super awesome! But it can hurt sometimes." "Don't worry. You two will be my first patients. Promise!" Sweetie assured. A frown settled on Scootaloo's face as she posed her next question. "How did Rarity handle the news?" Sweetie heaved a sigh. "Not too well." Her tone dropped to one of anger. "She tried to stop me. Again." "She should just leave you alone." "Yeah, you're your own filly, Sweetie Belle." Bloom concurred. "If you wanna be an Odd Squad Doctor, then go be an Odd Squad Doctor!" This lifted the unicorn filly's spirits. She gave a chuckle. "Thanks for the encouragement." Her posture straightened and she turned so that her side faced Bloom and Scootaloo. "All right. I'm off to the Odd Squad Library to study! Meet back up with you later!" "Bye!" Scootaloo waved. "Good luck!" Sweetie galloped down the right-side hallway as fast as her hooves would take her. Bloom sighed. "I wish Rarity and Sweetie would stop fightin'." she said. "They've been doin' it for the past couple weeks and it's really startin' t' get on my nerves." "Me too." Scootaloo nodded in agreement. "But I hope Sweetie gets to be Dr. O's assistant!" "And we'll cheer her on no matter what!" As both fillies high-hoofed each other, they gave an elated cry of, "Cutie Mark Crusaders for life!" A frustrated Rarity made her way through the halls. Although she tried to make her gait ladylike, she couldn't help but stomp in a similar manner as Applejack when she was upset. "That Sweetie Belle! She has been doing just fine as an Investigation agent, and now she wants to become a Doctor?!" The fashionista gave an indignant scoff. "Well, perhaps I can try and convince Mandy to stop her. After all, she is very...persuasive." By sheer coincidence, Rarity's hooves took her straight to Mandy's room, exactly where she needed to go. Not bothering to question it, she used her magic to grip the doorknob and open the door, whereupon she found the room completely empty. "Dare I say, how odd...she's not here." she mused. "Normally she would be taking her afternoon nap around this time..." "Rarity?" The sudden call of her name nearly made the mare jump out of her fur. She turned to her right to find Applejack trotting up to her, a disappointed look in her features. "Hm? Oh, Applejack, it's you." "Why're ya botherin' Mandy?" the farmpony asked in an accusatory tone. "Is this about Sweetie Belle again?" "Yes!" Rarity's eyes held pleading. "Applejack, I simply can't let Sweetie Belle become an Odd Squad Doctor. It's far too dangerous for her!" Applejack's eyes went half-lidded. "Do you know what Doctors have to do?" Rarity continued. "They do...mm...rather icky work. Helpful, indeed, but I simply can’t bear the thought of my poor Sweetie Belle becoming enamored with becoming...mmm, uncouth!" Without missing a beat, Applejack responded with, "Didja ever stop t' think about how Sweetie Belle's her own pony and can do what she wants? She wanted t' join Odd Squad and ya didn’t stop her then." "Because being a part of Odd Squad is a wondrous experience and I thought it would build character!" Applejack's muzzle wrinkled. With what emotion, Rarity couldn't place. The groan she gave, however, cemented it as being something of annoyance, at best. "That is it! I've decided!" Rarity raised a hoof and stamped it onto the ground. "I'm going to make sure Sweetie stays an Investigation agent." "And just what're ya plannin' t' do?" "I'll have her shadow Dr. O. She can see all the disgusting things he does on a daily basis. Perhaps that will discourage her!" "Well count me out." Applejack turned. "I may be your partner, but I ain't gonna help ya in any 'f this. And that's that!" Rarity watched her leave, a pout on her face for only a few seconds before it was replaced with a small smile. "Well then, I'll have to go at it alone." She exhaled. "First thing tomorrow." Nudging her way into Mandy's room, she quickly made a beeline for her nightstand, opening the second drawer and peeking inside. "Ah, I knew Mandy had some paper in here." she muttered, grabbing some in her corona along with a pen before closing the drawer. As she placed the paper on the nightstand, she began to write a note, making sure to do it quickly but not so quickly that her hoofwriting became sloppy. "And done." She set the pen down and giggled. "By the end of the week, Sweetie won't want to do so much as go into the Medical Bay anymore!" With that thought in mind, she left the room, being sure to close the door behind her. Mandy hugged the wall as she walked from the Bathroom to the bullpen. Lucky for her that what came out of both ends -- yes, to her misfortune, it was both -- wasn't all too bad, but she did feel like she needed a shower afterwards, and so, that's just what she did, making sure to clean every inch of her body. What was the name of that stuff? Odd...odd what...? She reached behind her back and pulled out the bottle. Oddprazozene. Yeah, that's a mouthful. Her stomach growled again. She wasn't sure whether she had to relive the horror in Round 2 or if she was just hungry. "Hey, Agent Mandy!" The hybrid blinked, struggling to keep her vision steady as a white blur with purple and pink tufts ran up to her. The voice was unmistakable, at the very least. "Hey, Agent Sweetie Belle." She put away the bottle and waved with her free hand. "Are your wounds doing okay?" Sweetie asked, having noticed that her coworker was wearing bandages. "Yep. Pain's gone away now...for the most part. Just some tummy pain." Mandy managed a weak smile on her paling face. "Um, w-while I have you here...how do you feel about shadowing Dr. O?" This made Sweetie tilt her head. "Shadow him?" "Yeah. Get a first-hoof look at what he does. It might help you..." Mandy lurched. "...in studying to be a Doctor." "That sounds great!" Sweetie said. "But are you sure it wouldn't be bias?" Mandy tried to laugh, but ended up coughing about halfway through her fourth one. "No, silly. You're watching what he does. You're not training under him." She rolled her eyes. "If ya wanted to be biased, you'd be tryna win him over with gifts and stuff." Sweetie tapped her chin. "That's a good point." she mused, before she made eye contact with Mandy. "Is he available right now?" "Last I saw he was...but we should go and check." Mandy's stomach gurgled again. "I need to go see him myself, actually..." "Yeah, about that, are you okay?" Mandy shook her head. "Your back can't support a hundred-plus-pound hybrid, can it?" Sweetie's eyes widened. She blinked, as though realizing that Mandy's question was stupid to ask but still being surprised by it anyway. "No...but I can lean against your legs to help you walk, if that helps?" Mandy simply nodded, and the unicorn filly took her position against her left leg. Together, the pair went down the hall slowly, with Sweetie having to right Mandy quite a few times as the hybrid kept hugging the wall. Eventually, they made it to the Medical Bay, where Sweetie took the liberty of opening the door. "Dr. O? Are you busy?" Sweetie called, watching the Head Doctor clean the half-pipe-shaped cot. "No, but I'm just about to be." Dr. O said without looking up, gesturing to a man with furry arms who gave a sheepish wave. "Did you need something?" "Y-yeah..." Mandy took out the bottle from hammerspace. "This...'zone' you gave me...it, uh...m-made me sick." Dr. O finally looked up from his cleaning. It didn't take a second before his eyes widened. "Whoa. That's...uh..." He struggled to find the right words. "...not good. What, uh...symptoms have you had?" "Diarrhea and vomiting." Mandy's eyes narrowed. "Both ends. At once." "Oh. I'll have to make a note of that." Dr. O bit his lip and turned to his oddness-stricken patient. "Sorry, sir. If you wouldn't mind waiting outside for a few moments?" "Sure." The man made his way past Mandy and Sweetie and stood right outside the Medical Bay. "Close the door, Sweetie Belle." Dr. O instructed. Once the unicorn filly did as he said, he shook off his surprise and got down to work. "Are you still sick, Mandy?" As if on cue, the hybrid's stomach rumbled. She managed a weak nod as her legs began to shake. "All right. That's a long-lasting, fast-acting medication, and it should be fully out of your system in about a week. In the meantime, I want you to rest in bed until your symptoms subside. No going out, whatsoever, for anything. Follow the BRAT diet for food and drink consumption." He walked over to the corner of the Medical Bay, where a small sign sat on the floor. He pointed to each of the food items listed on it in turn. "That's bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Other plain foods, like crackers, will also help you." Reaching behind his back, he pulled out a small bottle full of pink liquid that was easily recognizable. "And here's some Pepto Bermol. I know you can't stand the taste, but I would suggest taking this as directed." His voice peaked on "as directed", as though knowing exactly what Mandy's problem was in taking medication -- which was true. "If your symptoms persist, come see me again." "You sound like a farm...uh..." Sweetie tilted her head in thought. "Those ads for medication. Yeah. You sound like those." She chuckled. "Did you get that, Mandy?" Mandy gave another weak nod. "Oh! One more thing." Dr. O raised an index finger. "Make sure you stay hydrated. Water is, of course, an excellent choice, but nearly any liquid will do. Juices, sodas, all that." He put the Pepto Bermol in front of Sweetie, who took it in her corona, and then he put the sign back in the corner. It was then that Mandy's knees entirely gave out. With Dr. O's back turned, Sweetie could only watch in horror as her coworker slumped to the ground, slowly but surely. "D-Dr. O!" came the terrified squeak. "Mandy? Mandy, hold on, okay?" "What's-" Dr. O turned. His eyes widened and his face tried to pale, but something in him prevented the latter from doing its thing. "Mandy!" He glanced at Sweetie. "Sweetie Belle, we need to get her to bed, now." "I- b- but..." Sweetie peered out of the Medical Bay towards Oprah's office, wondering if she should warn her. Ultimately, though, she decided that helping out Mandy was of a bigger priority -- after all, if Dr. O was here, everything would surely be fine. "She's still breathing. If we can get her to bed, then she should be okay." Dr. O bent down and lifted Mandy up, surprised by just how light she was. He had picked up Mandy more times than he thought he should have throughout his lifetime, but he still got a dose of "wow, she's really light" almost every time. As the pair left the Medical Bay, Dr. O turned his head towards his patient, looking at the situation with worry. "Just hang tight, sir. Once I'm done with this patient in a few minutes, I'll be right with you." The man nodded, and watched as Dr. O and Sweetie lugged Mandy down the stairs and through the bullpen, passing by all sorts of agents who seemed confused as to what was going on. Due to Sweetie's magic not being fully developed yet, it was a struggle for her to lift Mandy into bed. But with the help of Dr. O, she was eventually able to do it. Mandy's breathing was labored. Sweat was dripping down her pale face, and some of her hair became matted with the stuff. For all intents and purposes, she looked like she was sick, and it wasn't all that far from the truth. "Sweetie, can you take her jacket and shoes off?" Dr. O instructed. "Once you're done, administer the Pepto Bermol." Sweetie began realizing something. All of the stuff Dr. O was doing, ordering her to do this and that and the other thing, had to be Medical department training. Even though she hadn't inquired about having him train her, it seemed that he was going ahead and using this medical crisis as a learning opportunity, which was a good thing in her eyes when she discounted the fact that Mandy was the one who was sick. Using her magic, she tore off the hybrid's jacket and shoes, then levitated the bottle of Pepto Bermol in front of her as she took the plastic cup and cap off and began reading the instructions. "One dose every half-hour as needed for diarrhea and nausea." she read aloud. As she squinted, she poured the liquid in the cup until it reached the exact amount of 15 milliliters, then put her front hooves on Mandy's bed to boost her height as she held the cup to her mouth. Dr. O helped to raise Mandy up enough so that she could drink the liquid safely without choking. "All right, give it to her, Sweetie. Pour it into her mouth. Little sips..." Sweetie did as she was told, inching the cup further and further towards Mandy's mouth, inch by inch. To her surprise, the hybrid was swallowing the liquid, though it was clear she needed to cough. The filly took the cup away from her and allowed her to do so, and it was then that the hybrid began hacking. "I know it tastes bad." Sweetie assured. "But you'll feel better if you take all of this! Um..." She tapped her chin. "Oh! How about some water?" "Good idea." Dr. O nodded. "Sweetie, go and get some. I'll finish up here." The filly didn't need to hear any more. Her hooves took her out of Mandy's room and down the halls as fast as she could, tearing past agent after agent until she got to the Breakroom. There, she dug through the stand that held all sorts of assorted snacks, aiming for the bottom-most half-circle bin that contained bottles of water. Barely questioning the convenience of said bin containing water of all things, she grabbed a bottle and rushed back to Dr. O and Mandy. "I got it!" she cried out. "I got the water!" "Good." Dr. O set the Pepto Bermol down on the nightstand. "Give it to Mandy." Sweetie opened the bottle and floated it over to Mandy, who took it in shaky hands. "Here! This will help get the yucky taste out of your mouth!" It was then that the unicorn filly noticed that Mandy's eyes had become glassy. Not by much, granted, but enough to be noticeable to anyone who knew her well and had gazed into her eyes long enough to know what them being full of life and joy and innocence looked like. Sweetie was immediately concerned, of course, but all she could do was watch to see how Mandy felt. The hybrid's stomach gurgled again. She took a few sips of water. "A little more." At Dr. O's urging, Mandy shook her head. "Why not?" Sweetie's voice edged into a whine. "It'll..." Mandy's voice, by contrast, became raspy. "Worsen it." "Worsen what? The nausea? The vomiting? The diarrhea?" Dr. O smiled, shook his head, and held a hand up. "Don't answer that. Any water is better than no water. Keep sipping." A few more sips, and Mandy was satisfied. She handed the bottle back to Dr. O, who took the cap from Sweetie's grasp and screwed it back on. Having nothing to hold on to, Sweetie's magic died down as she stared at Mandy intently. "See if that stays down. If it doesn't, we'll go for another dose." Dr. O placed a comforting hand on Mandy's shoulder. "Don't worry about a thing. Diarrhea and vomiting happens to everyone. This will pass." Sweetie's eyes widened in awe as she watched the Head Doctor provide all sorts of comforting words to his patient. Mentally, she began scribbling down notes, although she figured that "being nice to your patients" was less of a mindblowing fact and more of a given that was just plain common sense. "Sweetie Belle?" The filly blinked as she snapped out of her stupor. "Yeah?" "Go relay the news to Ms. O. Tell her that Mandy's sick. Once you're done with that, call Olive and Otto and relay the news to them." Sweetie nodded and began heading out the door once again. "Oh, by the way..." She turned around. "Thanks for your help. I have to say, with a little more training, you would make a fine assistant." In that moment, she felt like soaring into the air. Maybe doing a victory dance or two. Maybe running around squealing her little head off. But that was the old Sweetie Belle. The new Sweetie Belle was more mature now, and as such, she was above such things. Still, she couldn't help but let the excitement get to her. "Really?" Her eyes shimmered. "Thank you so, so much, Dr. O! I-I mean, you're welcome! I mean...ohh, darn it..." She sighed. "Never mind. I'll go make those calls now." She awkwardly made her way out of the room, mentally slapping herself for her social slip-up in front of someone who could very well end up being her boss-under-a-boss-under-a-boss. She didn't dwell on it for very long, however, as she lit up her horn and encased her badge phone in her corona, opening it to punch in the numbers 6-3. Olive, of course, came in a flash the second she got the news, popping up right behind Sweetie and scaring the filly. As did Otto, who only came with her so he could be the more sane one of the duo and keep his partner in line, while also helping out Mandy. "Sorry for coming up here so suddenly, it's just that when you have a daughter who's horribly sick you wanna provide the best for her as in drop everything and rush right over you know?!" Olive spat out without taking a single breath. Sweetie just stared. "Uhh...hi to you too, Olive. And Otto." She put on a nervous grin. "Mandy's in her room. She just had some Pepto Bermol. I have to go talk to Ms. O, so if you want to go in, go ahead. Just take it easy." The filly watched as Olive quickly darted into the room, with Otto following as he mouthed an "I'm sorry" to his fellow coworker. Sweetie, for her part, simply gave a smile before rushing towards Oprah's office, whereupon she gave her the news that Mandy was sick and told her that she was unable to work until she felt better. Oprah understood completely, and while she was too busy to check on Mandy at the moment, she told Sweetie to give her second-in-command well wishes. By the time Sweetie got back to Mandy's room with a large trash can in her corona, the hybrid was laying down. Her cheeks were a bright red, and she was heaving ragged breaths even in spite of the wet folded-up cloth on her head. "Hand me the trash can." Dr. O ordered. Sweetie did so without a word, and he placed it beside Mandy's bed. "How is she doing?" she asked. "She developed a fever. 101, as it stands. Which isn't a listed side effect of the medication..." Dr. O glanced at Mandy. "...but with how she is, unexpected side effects shouldn't be put out of the question." The hybrid's stomach growled again. Sweetie knew what that growl meant. It was a growl of betrayal, a growl that, in Mandy's words, was like "a tiny mini-me pounding on the walls of my tummy, screaming its head off 'til it's blue in the face and at least five years older." But the filly knew that Mandy wasn't up to eating at the moment, and so, she decided to keep her suggestions of such to herself. "For now, we should let her rest." "Wait!" Sweetie pointed at Mandy's bandaged arm. "What about her wounds? Could you check those?" "Her wounds?" Dr. O looked at where the filly was pointing, then his face lit up with realization. "Oh! Her wounds! Ah, y-yeah, those, um..." He reached for her arm. "Would one of you mind getting me some antiseptic rinse and some bandages?" "I will!" The unisonant cry from both Director and Investigation agent made both human girl and equine filly do double-takes. They glanced at each other for only a moment before the fur (metaphorically) began to fly. "Do you even know where the antiseptic rinse and the bandages are, Sweetie Belle?" "Of course I do!" Sweetie yelled. "I've been helping Dr. O since before you guys came!" "And Mandy is my daughter. I don't need your inexperienced hooves touching her!" Olive fired back. "I'll get the stuff Dr. O needs. You stay here. Keep Otto company or something." Before Sweetie could object, the girl was already striding out of the room. The filly turned to face Dr. O with an indignant huff. Otto shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry, Sweetie. Olive's been like this since Mandy came back from her vacation in the Magical Grasslands. She's been protective of Mandy before, sometimes even overprotective, but...never like this!" "Thanks, Otto. But I didn't expect her to understand the situation anyway." "What situation?" "I'm looking for an assistant to help me out in the Medical Bay because the work in Maintenance has been piling up again." Dr. O explained, as he began undoing Mandy's bandages. "Sweetie Belle offered herself up as a candidate." "Ohhh." Otto nodded in understanding. "So are you helping him out here?" "Unintentionally." Sweetie said. "I was talking to Mandy about me shadowing Dr. O to see what he does and stuff, but when we went to the Medical Bay to ask him about it, she collapsed." Otto's eyes widened. He fixed his gaze on Dr. O. "How'd this happen?" Dr. O gave a sigh as he put the bandages on the floor. "Medication overdose. She took two pills when she was supposed to take one." "And...exactly what did you give her pills for?" "Pain." "For the wounds." Otto nodded again. "Gotcha. What was the medication?" "Oddprazozene." As Sweetie wondered what Otto had to gain from asking all these questions aside from knowledge he could pass on to Olive, the Director's eyes went half-lidded. "She didn't read the label of the bottle all the way through, did she?" "Nope. And if I'm being honest, I wouldn't put it past her." "Ugh, Olive's gonna rip her a new one when she finds out..." Otto muttered under his breath, though it was audible enough for Sweetie to hear. His voice returned to normal on his next words. "Can I help you take those off?" "I'd rather do this myself, but thank you." From there, Otto and Sweetie could only watch as Dr. O took off each individual bandage. In particular, the gash on Mandy's arm was deep, almost like a pool of nothing but the color red. It made Sweetie's stomach turn just looking at it, though she reminded herself that if she was going to be an Odd Squad Doctor, she had to get used to looking at nasty stuff like that. Olive raced in when Dr. O began working on the last bandage, wrapped around the base of Mandy's tail. "I'm back!" she called, raising each hand to show the antiseptic rinse and bandages, as well as a bag of cotton balls just in case. "Oh, Olive. Thank you. Bring the stuff here, if you will." Dr. O gave Olive a smile, and the girl walked over to give it to them. Sweetie could have sworn she shot her a smug smile, the kind of smile Otto described when he talked about her being too overconfident in her decisions. It made her blood boil, and she bared her teeth in retaliation. Dr. O silently began working on cleaning Mandy's wounds. Sweetie decided to watch eagerly, her brain absorbing every action he did. Olive watched too, if only to make sure Dr. O did it right. Five minutes later, he was done. Mandy was all patched up, and the only thing left to take care of was her vomiting and diarrhea. "Mandy?" Dr. O gently shook his patient by the shoulder. "I'm going to give you one last dose of Pepto Bermol, okay? Then we'll leave you alone." "But I'll still be here, just in case you need anyth-" "Then we'll leave you alone." The words from the Head Doctor were sharp and stern. They were also enough to get Olive to shut up, as she adopted a guilty expression that Sweetie wasn't buying for a second. Mandy swallowed, and managed a simple weak nod -- an easy sign that she hadn't fallen asleep yet. "All right. Let me sit you up." Dr. O placed a gentle hand on Mandy's back and slowly but surely lifted her up, the cloth falling in front of her. "Sweetie, get me the Pepto Bermol and pour another full dose, please." The filly did as she was told, sweeping the bottle in her corona and dumping another 15 milliliters out into the small plastic cup that came with it. Once that was done, she floated the cup over to Dr. O. "Here you are. Don't bother lifting it." Dr. O held the cup to Mandy's lips and began pouring it in. She began to drink it in little sips, her hand reaching for the cup in an attempt to try and hold it herself but Dr. O gently pushing it down as a silent reminder not to push herself. She coughed again. Sweetie was quick to reach for the bottled water before Olive could even take a step. "Thank you, Sweetie." Setting the plastic cup on the bed, Dr. O took the bottled water, unscrewed the cap, and held it up to Mandy's lips to allow her to drink it. She did so eagerly, taking more sips, bigger sips this time around. When Mandy was satisfied, she stared at the cloth. "I'll get you a new one." Dr. O picked up the plastic cup and set it on the nightstand, next to the Pepto Bermol that Sweetie had placed there. "You three, keep an eye on Mandy." Agreements were shared among the trio as the Head Doctor walked out. Olive was quick to get right to it. "You unicorns and your magic." She scoffed. "For a filly, you're quick on the draw." "I have good teachers." Olive chuckled derisively. "I'm sure." She made her way over to Mandy, who had flopped back down onto the bed. "Mandy? Are you okay?" "Don't make her speak!" Sweetie snapped. "Can't you see she's not in the mood to talk?" "Be quiet, Belle. The adults are talking." "You're a child!" That retort came from both Otto and Sweetie in unison. Olive willingly ignored it. With great effort, Mandy's horn lit up in an array of colors. From its tip, a wisp of multicolored smoke weaved its way up until it formed a ghostly figure of its owner that floated in midair without the use of wings or a tail. "Hiya!" It waved. "What's up my marshmallow peeps?!" It pointed at Sweetie. "Especially you. You're very 'mallow." Olive's eyes shimmered. "Mandy!" She reached out to touch her adopted daughter, only to be surprised when her hand phased through her. "Can't touch this." it said. "I'm a spooky ghost. All spooky-spoo-spoo. I'm only a projection. I..." It smirked. "...will be Eraser's mind." Stares. "Mandy's mind. I'll be Mandy's mind. Ahem. Waxing lyrical, as it were." Olive stared at the projection with desperation. "What's wrong with you?" "Momma, if I had to answer that question, we'd be here all day." It rolled its eyes. "But I assume you're asking about...that." "Yes!" came the unisonant cry from the trio. The projection sighed. "Long story not-so-short, I got wrecked by a laser chicken and needed painkillers so I didn't feel like a multi-ton truck rammed into me and sent me flying to Michigan." It rubbed the back of its neck. "So Dr. O gave me painkillers. I took two, 'cuz, y'know, I was metaphorically dyin'...but apparently you were only supposed to take one." Its eyes closed. "I'll spare ya the details of what happened next. Just know that, uh...stuff came outta both ends. At once. It was awful." Olive outwardly cringed in disgust. As if to chime in with a piece, the real Mandy's stomach growled with ferocity. "I'd advise ya don't let that get any louder than it already has." the projection said. "We don't want another repeat of The Fall of the Ruins 'Redacted Year." Sweetie's head was spinning. Somehow, this projection of Mandy was even zanier and nonsensical than the original, which was saying quite a lot. She sat down on the floor and rubbed her head with her hoof as a headache began to form. "The...The Fall of..." Olive shook her head. "Sorry, I, uh, don't believe I was present for that. Mind elaborating?" "Simply put, my stomach has the power to bring down an entire ancient ruin. The sheer force of my insides moving and the sheer sound they make when they do -- with the help of getalsis, or whatever it's called -- can cause walls to crack, structures to shift, and floors to split into two." The projection of Mandy closed its eyes. "And before you ask, no, you don't need to run around screaming until your lungs dry up like raisins. Those things happen only when I'm at the 'if I don't eat food within the next five minutes then I will die' level of hunger, and that hardly ever happens 'cuz I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want!" "Even if it's not edible..." "Silence!" Mandy jabbed a finger at Otto. "Don't think I didn't hear that! I may only be a spooky-spoo-spoo but I still have ears." "So what can we give her?" Sweetie asked. "Dr. O said crackers. Can she eat those?" "Crackers? Yeah! I can eat ten boxes of those bad boys!" The projection threw its hands into the air. "But, uh, just gimme a few. I don't have much left in me, but with me, ya never know." Otto glanced to his right and found Olive gone. He, nor Sweetie, needed to guess where she had run off to, and instead, they got to work on helping Mandy snack on her crackers that Sweetie herself had managed to successfully conjure up. "Uh..." Sweetie rubbed her leg. "While you're here, can you...at least tell me if I did a good job?" "You did excell-rific!" the projection chirped. "You'd make a great assistant, Sweetie Belle. With a lil' sleep, I'll be right as running rain!" "Got a clo-" Dr. O's announcement was halted by him coming face-to-face with the ghostly form of Mandy. "Ah. Mandy. I see you're...feeling...better?" He glanced at the whole form of the hybrid, who could only manage to stare at him before she flopped back into bed. "Or not. What's going on, exactly?" "I, dear sir-oh-sir, am Mandy's mind given a conscious form! You can call me..." The projection faltered. "Uh...w-well, how about Candie? Sounds similar enough to Mandy. And to be honest, she already thinks about candy at least five times every day." Dr. O didn't say anything, instead staring at the projection that sat in front of him with a look of confusion. "Ugh, whatever. Just put the cloth on me! I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cold water!" Olive pointed. "Is that supposed to be a reference?" "Maaaaaaaybe?" Candie wiggled her eyebrows. Dr. O, not wanting to get involved in the craziness, walked over to Mandy and put the cold cloth on her forehead. Her body shivered for a few seconds before it ultimately fell still, save for her chest and stomach rising and falling as she breathed. "Oop, my time's comin' to an end." Candie announced, with a flourish of its opaque hand. "Mandy can't dream if I'm not stuffed in her squishy brain!" "You mean spongy?" Candie squinted. "Not funny, Otto." It waved. "I'll be seeing ya guys on the flip side! Or maybe the dip side! The flip-n-dip side!" Before anyone had a chance to open their mouths, the bottom end of Candie's form began snaking towards Mandy's horn, swirling around its indents before the rest of the form followed suit. A bright light shone for only a few moments before it died down. Otto, Olive, Sweetie and Dr. O looked at Mandy. There, on her face, was a warm and pleasant cat smile. Her eyes were closed, and she turned over onto her left side as she began to snore through her nose. The flecks of happiness in Olive's eyes were inching close to diabetes-inducing. "She's finally asleep!" she cried out, which earned her hearty shushes from the other three awake beings present in the room. Dr. O began gathering up his supplies. "Sweetie, can you help me carry some of this stuff up to the Medical Bay?" "Sure thing!" chirped the filly, renewed with motivation and hope from Candie's words as she began taking stuff with her magic. "Well, seems like our work here is done." Otto firmly grabbed Olive's hand. "Let's go back to HQ, Olive." "But..." "Mandy will be fine. I'm sure Dr. O or one of the other Doctors will check up on her as needed." Otto glanced at the Head Doctor. "Right?" "Of course." He glanced at Sweetie. "And by the way, before I forget, Sweetie Belle..." She looked at him. "You're more than welcome to shadow me if you wish. Consider caring for Mandy today your training, on an official measure." Now it was Sweetie's turn to get excited. She was sure her joy meters could surpass Pinkie Pie's in that moment. The puzzle pieces were falling into place for her now. "Oh my Celestia..." she breathed, before she nodded furiously. "Yes! Thank you, Dr. O!" Olive couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Normally she would be happy for Sweetie, but when the patient she was caring for was Mandy, it was a whole different rodeo, and she didn't trust any amateur doctors around her, Odd Squad or otherwise. "And thank you, you two." Dr. O's gaze moved to Olive and Otto as he scooped up the old cloth in his hands. "Admittedly you might not have helped all that much, but any help is better than none." "No problem!" Otto responded with a smile. Olive, remaining silent, managed a weak smile of her own and a single nod. "Dr. O, what should we do with the trash can?" Sweetie asked. "Keep it there. You never know what'll happen with Mandy." Sweetie took all of the things she had gathered out of the room, with Dr. O following suit. Otto followed too, but stopped in the doorway when he felt a lack of a presence next to him. "Olive." No response. "Olive." "What? Can't I be with my own daughter?" "Yes, you can. But not when she's sleeping." Otto turned, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We have work to do back at Headquarters. Our agents are waiting for us." "I just want to make sure she'll be okay." "She'll be fine." Otto reached behind his back and pulled out a small bottle of chocolate milk, which he unscrewed the cap of and then took a sip out of. "We took care of her." Olive stared at him. "You didn't do anything." "Don't play that game with me." A tch made its way out of Olive. "So. Are you going to stay here, or are you going to go back to Headquarters with me?" "I think the answer's obvious." With a sigh, Otto tucked the milk away behind his back for later consumption, stepped towards Olive, picked her up effortlessly, and walked out of the room with the same urgency as if he were carrying groceries home. Olive, being the polite Director she was, did not fight back right away. Instead, she waited until she was out of Mandy's earshot to begin throwing a fit, pounding on Otto's back and screaming at him in protest like she was a littler kid. Mandy, for her part, didn't hear a thing. Her mouth did, however, fall open, allowing the snores to grow more clamorous in volume as Candie led her through dreams of hot dogs and planets. Throughout the day, Dr. O had two Doctors periodically check on Mandy, taking her temperature and gauging her dreams to make sure they were stable (and for research too, as an added bonus). Sure enough, Candie's claim of Mandy needing just a little sleep to get better was true, and even when asleep, both of them could feel strength being restored to the latter's body. Olive, however, couldn't stay away. She had tried feeding Mandy in her sleep, making her drink in her sleep, even bathing her in her sleep, and all she had on her list of accomplishments was the third one, where she figured that Mandy had somehow grown enough so that she no longer was oppositional when being cleaned in her sleep. That, or she was just too tired to fight back. She wasn't sure which one it was. Even so, she checked up on Mandy more periodically than periodically. It seemed like every time an Odd Squad Doctor was in there, Olive was watching them, watching her with unblinking chocolate-brown eyes, unintentionally terrifying them but not enough so that they couldn't do their job effectively. She watched, just to make sure that Mandy wasn't harmed. She watched, just to make sure that Mandy was safe and protected while she slept. It wasn't until the next day that Mandy awoke, at noontime just as her internal clock rang its alarm. Her movie of playing in a large puddle of mud and getting herself dirty from head to toe ended, the credits rolled so that she stopped snoring and talking, and she slowly opened her eyes. A tall figure towered over her, though not by much. Due to her drowsiness, she couldn't tell who or what it was. It was probably a who, though, because it spoke, and whats didn't really speak. "Rise and shine! Good morning!" That was enough to scare Mandy into backing up, whereupon her head collided with the wall and she let out a cry of pain as she clutched it. "Oh crumpets!" the figure cried out. "A-are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you! Shh, shhhhhh, it's okay, I've got you..." The figure squishing Mandy's head against her chest only seemed to make it hurt more. But at the same time, it was also kind of...comforting. Warm. Maternal. Like her dream of being swaddled in Olive's arms as she suckled on a chocolate bar, the warmth overtaking her body and allowing her to fall into a deep, dream-filled, eternal sleep... "Hey, silly!" The figure shook her out of her daydream, then pushed her away from its body. "Don't fall asleep! You just slept for a whole day!" Mandy groaned. The words were just gibberish in a language that was gibberish to her, but she was also complaining because her heat source had been given to her and then had been taken away. Also because she was sure that it was a school day and she really didn't feel like going. The figure reached for the nightstand and grabbed a familiar plastic cup filled with brown liquid that was topped with a funky-shaped straw. A swirly straw, Mandy thought it was called, though she forgot its actual name. It held out the cup and smiled. "Here, drink this! It'll perk you right up." A wafting scent filled Mandy's nasal cavities right then. Buttery, gooey, and hot, slowly approaching warm with every minute that passed. It made her stomach growl, and made her forget all about going to school. "Ah, you're drooling!" The figure pulled out a tissue from...somewhere and dabbed it on Mandy's face. "I guess you want food, huh? That'll help too." It reached for the tray that sat on the nightstand and grabbed a plate of something tall, holding it in front of Mandy. "Here. Some waffles! With extra syrup, just how you like it! Otto and I made them special for you." Mandy, of course, immediately went for it. Slowly but surely, her neck comically stretched towards the plate of waffles and she let her volumetric mouth descend on the stack vertically. Before the figure knew it, she had the entire stack in her mouth, her lips resting on the plate. She stayed that way for about ten seconds. "Uh, Mandy? Unless you're kissing the plate, you can eat the stack." The hybrid didn't need a prompt from the figure, and she wasn't trying to make out with a plate, but she took the stack in her mouth regardless and shoved it all to one side, allowing her cheek to bulge similar to a squirrel's. She chewed it for a minute or two before she swallowed, gave a cry of elation, and let her tail wag. "Oh, you like it! Good." The figure set the plate down on the tray and grabbed the cup. "Here, do you want a drink?" Feebly, Mandy grabbed at the cup. Once it was placed in her grasp, she took a few eager sips, then bigger ones, then she resorted to pouring the rest of the contents into her gaping mouth. With a satisfied "aaaah", she dropped the cup on the floor. As the waffles and the chocolate drink met the acidic contents of her stomach, her vision became clearer and her English comprehension began piecing itself back together. Now she knew who the figure wa- A sensation hit her, right down where it hurt the most. She slid out of bed on her stomach and snaked her way to the door, where her head once again met a hard surface and her vocal cords once again rattled to produce a cry of pain. The figure didn't need to question this latest strange behavior. It got up and opened the door. "I'm sure you know where the Bathroom is." Mandy quickly slithered there as fast as her lithe body would move. A minute or two later, she returned to her room on two feet this time around, rubbing her head with the hand she now had free. She opened her mouth, took an inhale to warm up her voice, and spat out a "Mornin', Momma!" Olive turned to her and smiled. "How are you feeling?" "So much better!" Mandy's tail wagged. "My tummy doesn't feel all gurgly, I feel cool as a cucumber, and...and..." Her face fell, quickly followed by her body as it slumped over. Concerned, Olive reached out a hand. "What's wrong?" "I hafta go to schooooool..." Mandy whined, lifting her body up and throwing herself at Olive. "Momma, I don't wanna go to school! Can'tcha call Headmaster O and tell 'em I still feel sick? Pretty please?" Olive laughed and rubbed Mandy's head. "I hate to tell you, but you don't go to school anymore. You graduated from the Academy ages ago, remember?" This revelation was met with a confused stare that slowly morphed into a happy one. "Ohhhh! Yeah yeah, I did! Ahh, thank odd, 'cuz I really didn't wanna go there today..." "Well, you may not have to go there..." Olive pointed at the open door. "But you still have work." Mandy simply stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry of frustration. "I think Pinkie Pie might be waiting for you in the bullpen. Why don't you go talk to her and see what's up?" "I guess..." "Attagirl!" Olive patted Mandy on the shoulder. "I'll step outside and let you get dressed." A few minutes later, as the pair made their way into the bullpen, alive with its usual hustle and bustle, Mandy pouted. She really didn't feel like doing work either, but at the very least, it was far more enjoyable than going to school. "Mandy." Strangled yelps left both girls, with Mandy's hair and tail sticking straight up and Olive taking a few steps back. Standing in front of them was none other than Rarity, her azure eyes half-lidded as she stared at her coworkers with apathy. "R-Rarity?" Mandy recovered first, smoothing out her hair and thrashing her tail in desperate attempts to restore them to some semblance of normalcy after she had just brushed them. "Jeez, don't scare us like that!" "Well, I tried to talk to you earlier, but you weren't in the room. And then you fell ill." Rarity's tone made it sound like the latter in particular was more of an inconvenience for her than anything else, but held enough "I'm sorry you had to go through that" within it that made Mandy nor Olive question it. "Do you have a minute?" "Sure." "Alone?" Mandy blinked. She turned towards Olive. "Er, Momma, you don't mind...?" "Oh, of course not. I have to get back to HQ anyway." Olive began heading for the automatic doors. "I'll check up on you in a few hours, okay?" "'Kay!" Mandy waved her off, then turned back to Rarity. "What's up, Rare-Rare?" "It's about Sweetie Belle." Rarity moved her head from side to side to make sure her younger sister wasn't around. When she found the coast was clear, she made eye contact with Mandy again. "Don't tell me you're going along with this silly notion of her becoming a Doctor?" "Silly notion?" Rarity waved a dismissive hoof. "Perhaps you are unaware of how dangerous and messy being a Doctor can be -- after all, you've never worked in the position." Mandy's pony ear flicked in confusion. "What-" "Anyway, I want you to convince her to remain an Investigation agent!" Rarity slammed her hoof down onto the ground. "There is no way my Sweetie Belle is becoming a Doctor. They do good work, but they’re so...undignified!" Now it was Mandy's turn to let her eyes go half-lidded. "So what, you expect 'em to wear tuxedos and fancy dresses to work?" The hybrid's deadpan statement fazed Rarity a little. "W-well no!" she hastily attempted to backtrack. "But they could be a little cleaner..." Mandy heaved a sigh. "Rarity, Sweetie is her own filly." She blinked. "Er, child. Whatever." She shook her head furiously. "The point is, she’s allowed to do what she wants. If she wants to be a Doctor then you have no right to stop her." "But I'm her sister! And I have seniority in this precinct!" "Both are true. But both are not excuses!" Mandy didn't bother to point out the subjectivity of the second statement. "In fact, if my memory serves me, Sweetie just got set up for shadowing with Dr. O. She’s going to watch what he does and expand her knowledge further." Unaware that Dr. O had discarded the letter she had written when he had treated Mandy, Rarity recoiled with a dramatic gasp. "How dare you! You...you ruffian!" "Don't talk to me that way!" On and on, both mare and child argued, spitting out counter after counter, sprinkled in with a few insults. "WILL YOU TWO CUT IT OUT?!" The bellow made both of them stop, and turn their gazes towards the upset and frustrated face of their boss. "I'm trying to do important paperwork and I do not want to be bothered, you hear me?!" They stared. Exchanged glances. Continued their staring. Oprah growled, low and loud enough to reach their ears, teeth bared in a snarl. "W-w-we're goin'!" "Yes, yes, right away!" Hastily, Mandy and Rarity made their exits, ducking into the left-side hallway by the North Control Room to continue their conversation. "As I was saying, Rarity..." Mandy began, not being up to arguing anymore. "I support Sweetie becoming an Odd Squad Doctor. There's nothing wrong with her wanting to expand her knowledge of other departments." "But-" "And you two are sisters, aren't you?" Mandy raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you stick up for Sweetie no matter what she does? Like true sisters?" Rarity opened her mouth to fire off a retort that was hopefully complete this time, but ended up closing it. She wanted to tell Mandy that she had no business speaking about sisters when she was technically an only child, but like her, she was in no mood to argue any longer and threw the point in the trash. "I..." "Think about it." Mandy turned. "I'm off to get some food for the Breakroom. Those waffles were good, but they were like eating pebbles. Definitely not filling enough." All Rarity could do was watch her go, a frown on her face as she became deep in thought. She wasn't sure where she went after that, her hooves and the rest of her body running on sheer autopilot. Peaches, returning to the bullpen from having cleaned herself in the comfort and privacy of her own room, shapeshifted back into her humanoid form as she approached her cousin. She had had a lot of time to think ever since said cousin went to the Magical Grasslands, and coupled with a lot of crying sessions, it made her come to a decision. No longer would she look for the culprit who burned her town down. It wasn't that she didn't care for the townsfolk -- for how much they harassed and bullied her, she did have a soft spot for them. But out of spite for King Ashero, she didn't want to play into his hands any longer. Her search efforts had all turned up fruitless, anyhow, and all she really wanted to do was be surrounded by the friends and family she loved. She never wanted to lose them, not now and not ever. If Ashero wanted to find his culprit so badly, he could keep doing what he had been doing in his attempts to capture her and Mandy. "Hey, cuz!" She waved, her smile turning down into a frown when she spotted the bandages covering Mandy. "What happened to you?" Mandy didn't bother to look up from her paperwork. "Laser chicken fight. Nothin' too serious." "The bandages say otherwise." Mandy slammed the pencil down onto the desk and glared at Peaches. The catgirl didn't so much as flinch. "Why so down?" "Sweetie Belle and Rarity have been fighting nonstop over the former wanting to become an Odd Squad Doctor." Mandy's ear flicked. "Rarity doesn’t want her to. She thinks that the job of being a Doctor is too messy." "Well...she's got a point." Peaches shrugged. "Don't they do surgeries and stuff?" "They do surgeries, and they help agents and townsfolk with both odd and non-odd illnesses." Nodding a silent thank-you for the refresher, Peaches continued. "And Rarity's only against it because it involves getting dirty?" Mandy had to take a moment to sit on that one. "Well...I guess she’s probably concerned for Sweetie’s safety too." Her expression brightened. "But Odd Squad isn’t what I’d call a safe place. There’s dangerous stuff around every corner! That’s what makes it exciting!" Peaches playfully rolled her eyes. "For you, maybe." Mandy sighed. "I just wish Rarity would see that Sweetie has a lot of potential. She does do well as an Investigation agent, but there’s no harm in trying other departments." She gasped in realization. "She could even be in both! Like Dr. O!" "What did Oprah say?" "She was fine with it. But Rarity just won't have it." A pause fell over the two girls. Mandy closed her eyes in deep thought. After a minute, she opened them, and gazed at Peaches with ferocity. "Cuz, if I went into the Medical department, how would you feel?" Unexpected as the question was, Peaches didn't need more than a second to answer. "Well, I'd be happy for you, of course. You're part of my family. It'd be wrong if I didn't support you in what you did." She tilted her head. "And what about me?" "I'd support you too!" Mandy began rocking back and forth in her chair. "You're allowed to do what you want. You're your own person." Her pony ears folded down. "If only Rarity saw that about Sweetie Belle." Peaches gave a soft hum of thought. "Why don’t you take Rarity to the Medical building at the Odd Squad Academy tomorrow? She can see what Odd Squad Doctors do and maybe she’ll learn a little something." Slowly but surely, Mandy's expression lit up. A big intake of air flooded into her lungs with one big gasp. "Oh my odd, that's a great idea! Ha, why didn't I think of that before?!" Peaches smirked. "You're welcome." "Thank you!" "You're welcome." "Thank you!" "You're welcome." Peaches gave a chuckle. "Now, don't you have work to do?" "Course I do!" Mandy fiddled with the bandage on her arm. "For one thing, I need to get better. If any more Doctors see me like this they’ll either think I’m a mummy or I direly need surgery." "Uh-huh." The word spilled out with doubt. "Well, I'm going to go for a walk. You want me to bring you some fish if I catch any?" "Sure! If you can cook it." "I'll try my best." As Mandy watched Peaches go, she sighed again before musing aloud. "Tomorrow...I'm gonna make Rarity see that being an Odd Squad Doctor isn't so bad. Maybe then, she and Sweetie will stop arguing!" The next day had Mandy racing into the Odd Squad Boutique, putting a blindfold on Rarity, and marching her around town with hardly a word. If Rarity tried to self-correct herself, Mandy would re-correct her with the aid of magic that surpassed her own by a fairly sizeable margin. "Honestly, Mandy..." Rarity complained. "If you're going to surprise me, then make it quick. I have quite a few orders for clients that I need to fill!" Knowing that Rarity would continue to complain if Mandy took too long, the hybrid resorted to teleportation to get them where they wanted to go, and soon they found themselves on the walkway of the Medical building on the Odd Squad Academy campus. "All righty...aaaaaand take off the blindfold!" Rarity did so, and was immediately met by a sizeable building. It was diamond-shaped in appearance, though not shaped like one of the diamonds in her cutie mark and instead shaped more like if someone slightly rotated a square. It was a lovely shade of dark teal that she could admire, and it blended well with the lighter-colored lab coats of the Odd Squad Doctors that passed to and fro. People and ponies alike, all wearing the same garb, passed by them, coming both to and from the building. "What...is this place?" she breathed. "Medical building on the campus of the Odd Squad Academy." Mandy explained. "This is where all future Odd Squad Doctors go to train. It also serves as a handy-dandy nurse's office!" She blinked. "Or, uh...a hospital, maybe? A regular doctor's office?" Rarity's awe was sapped away in a second. Not by Mandy's rambling tangent so much as the theories that began to form in her mind about why she had taken her here to begin with. "Hm. You don't say." Mandy ceased her tangent and pointed to the entrance and exit doors. "C'mon, let's go inside!" Rarity watched as her hybrid friend bounced her way towards the door, giving greetings to everyone whom she recognized. Hesitantly, she followed, if only out of Mandy's persistence more than anything else. The pair stepped inside, where Rarity could see a front desk that was wide enough to stretch nearly the entirety of the room. Sitting at it were three receptionists, all wearing the same Odd Squad Doctor attire that Dr. O had back at Precinct 13579. Rarity supposed they were scheduling appointments, handling scripts for prescriptions, and doing other things one would normally get taken care of at a doctor's office, but also discussing classes, students, and the like. "As you can see, there are a lot of Doctors here." Mandy gestured to the front area. "And I'm gonna show you what they do." "If this is about Sweetie Belle, I can assure you-" "Agent Mandy?" The voice made both Mandy and Rarity turn around. Approaching them was an illustrious-looking unicorn, who had an orange-yellow coat and a dark orange mane and tail. Her cutie mark was of a bright yellow sun that was sitting above a small puddle of water. Mandy gasped. "Rising Dawn!" She waved the mare over. "Oh, it's so good to see you! I didn't know you became an Odd Squad Doctor!" "Yeah, just last week!" Dawn smiled. "It’s tough, but I’m so happy the Director of Precinct 33291 chose me. Mr. O’s a kind soul, but he’s such a klutz…" She shook her head, and it was then that her green eyes caught the eye of the unicorn who was with Mandy. "And is that Agent Rarity?!" "Yes, it's me, darling." Rarity answered, more out of a reflex than anything else. "It's great to see you!" Dawn leaned a little closer. "You know, I heard you were going to open up a location in Toronto. Has that happened yet?" Rarity, for her part, forced herself to change her tone into something more pleasant. "Not yet. I've been rather...preoccupied as of late." "Well, when you do open it, I'll be one of your first customers! You have my word!" "I was going to show Rarity around the Medical building. See, her sister, Agent Sweetie Belle...she wants to move from the Investigation department to the Medical department. But Rarity…" Mandy's head and eyes shifted to the left, where she saw Rarity turned towards the doors and trotting to the exit in a very typical ladylike fashion. Putting on a rather devious version of her usual cat smile, Mandy extended her tail and let it snake around the mare's stomach and back, then picked her up and plopped her right by her side again, much to her chagrin. Once the deed was done, Mandy's tail returned to its usual length, twitching a few times. "...doesn't approve. She thinks being a Doctor is too messy and dangerous." Rising Dawn, who had watched the act with nothing but indifference as someone who knew Mandy well, put on a small frown. "Well, it’s true that it can get a little messy sometimes. And helping agents and clients who are diseased isn’t exactly the safest task. But it’s super rewarding! You get to save lives, and help those who are sick get better!" "Investigation agents do that exact same thing!" Rarity countered, even though her brain told her that it wasn't true in the slightest. To amend this, she added, "We save lives too!" Dawn shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not sure. I'm not an Investigation agent!" Rarity simply gave an exhale through her nose. "I know Sweetie Belle is your sister, Rarity, but maybe it’s best if you let her choose the path she wants? I don’t know her personally, but she sounds like a responsible pony. Old enough to make her own decisions, maybe!" At this, Rarity jerked her head away with an indignant "Hmph!" "That's what I've been tellin' her." Mandy shook her head. "But she won't listen." "Why does Sweetie Belle want to change departments anyway?" Dawn asked. "The Dr. O of Precinct 13579 needs an assistant. So he’s going to name one in a week and he encouraged anyone with recommendations to come and see him. Sweetie offered herself up, and ever since then, her goal to be a Doctor has really ramped up." Dawn nodded, then fixed her gaze on Rarity. "Have you two tried talking things out? Peacefully?" Rarity bit her lip. "W-well..." "I wouldn't say 'peacefully'." Mandy rolled her eyes. "They've been arguing for the past couple weeks." "Hmm..." Dawn tapped her chin and fell silent for a few moments, a look of disappointment settling on her face. "I wish I could help you out more. I don’t have any siblings. But Rarity, maybe you should support Sweetie in her decision. I bet she would do the same for you if you wanted to go into the Medical department!" Mandy's eyes widened as she remembered her conversation with Peaches from yesterday. As she opened her mouth to reiterate it to Rarity, however, the sound of hoofsteps on a tiled floor made itself known, and she turned to find the unicorn heading for the doors once more. "I...am going back to Headquarters." Rarity's head turned, and she squinted at the hybrid who had brought her to the Medical building to begin with. "This has been a rather lovely experience, Mandy." Mandy's mouth remained open as she watched Rarity go. However, she didn't use her tail, her magic, or any other means to bring the mare back, instead watching as she went from a walk to a trot down the forecourt that lied in front of the building until she became completely out of sight. "Well there went that plan. Ka-blooey. Right in my face." Mandy heaved a sigh. "Thanks for the advice, Rising Dawn." "Aww, it's not a problem!" Dawn waved a hoof. "While you're here, would you like me to take a look at your wounds?" Mandy blinked, as though having forgotten that the wounds were there for a moment. "Ah. Ya noticed, huh?" Dawn giggled. "Nothing gets past this mare's eyes!" She turned. "C'mon, there should be an exam room open." "Great!" Both mare and child began making their way towards the right door that flanked the front desk, catching up on their lives in between questions regarding pain levels and any vaccines Mandy might have missed at her last appointment. As soon as Mandy got back, she went into her room. Although she had to wait 15 minutes for any side effects of the Loraloafen vaccine to kick in, she couldn't help but feel the teeniest-tiniest twinge of lethargy when she got back. She hoped it wouldn't turn into anything severe -- she didn't want to go through that again -- but it did put a tiny chip in her energy that she decided to recover by reading in her room. What didn't help her lethargy, though, was the fact that there were a ton of things weighing on her mind, things that she hoped she could resolve by way of a random chance in the form of a bright-eyed, white-coated filly. "Mandy, Mandy!" The hybrid glanced to her left to find Sweetie Belle in the doorway, a bright expression sitting on her features. "Oh, Sweetie Belle!" She waved. "What's up?" Sweetie raced in. "I just wanted to say thank you so so much for letting me shadow Dr. O. It’s been really helpful! I’m learning a lot!" "Glad you're enjoying it!" Mandy chirped. She set the book down on the table in front of her. "Y'know, if you wanted to know more about being a Doctor...I could take you to the Medical building at the Odd Squad Academy. I know a pony there named Rising Dawn who just became a Doctor last week. She’d probably love to teach you some things!" "Really?!" The voice was almost high-pitched enough to classify as a dog whistle. "I'd love to go!" "All right! Let's go tomorrow. I'll meet you there around...1PM!" "Sounds great! Thank you!" Sweetie breathed a happy sigh. "I really appreciate you doing all this for me." "D'aww, don't mention it! Anything for a friend." As Sweetie turned around and began leaving the room, Mandy extended a hand. "Oh! Um, Sweetie..." The filly glanced at the hybrid. "Before you go, can we..." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "...talk?" "Sure." Sweetie turned back around again. "About what?" "Your sister." Any happiness Sweetie had was sapped out of her right then. Her ears folded downwards, and she put on an upset expression. "Oh. Her." As Mandy got up from her seat, she used her magic to close the door for some privacy. "C'mon up on my bed." Sweetie did so, taking a seat right next to Mandy. The hybrid heaved a sigh, steeling herself for what she considered to be a heavy topic of discussion. "I'm not gonna hold anything back, Sweetie Belle." she said. "I’ve been trying to get Rarity to be more open about you wanting to become an Odd Squad Doctor. But it hasn’t been working." "I hate how she has to intrude on my life all the time!" the filly cried out. "I'm not some little foal, I'm a growing filly! Why can't she realize that?!" Mandy took a moment to let the cry ring into the otherwise-silent air. She flopped onto the bed. "Do you remember when you first came here, to Precinct 13579? How you wanted to be an Odd Squad agent just like your sister?" Sweetie did the same. "Yeah...Rarity told me about Odd Squad and what it’s like. She fights all sorts of dangerous oddities. Laser chickens, blobs, the giant purple worm that spits beach balls...a-and I know it’s dangerous! But-" "You accepted the risk and we let you into Odd Squad anyway." "Yeah!" "Might come as no surprise to you at this point, but Odd Squad isn’t exactly what I’d call the safest organization. Heck, I’ve had surgery done on my heart twice because of how strange this world and its people are." Mandy rubbed the part of her chest where her still-beating heart, and all that was included, lay. "One wrong misstep, one wrong fire of a gadget, one wrong move against a villain...it can lead to an agent’s untimely death." "And that's fine by me." The rough, determined tone made Mandy blink a few times in surprise. "Huh?" "As long as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are by my side, we can do anything!" Sweetie shot a leg up. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Mandy couldn't help but smile at the filly's enthusiasm. "Well, it’s nice that you’re brave. Bravery’s a good virtue to have as an agent!" Her gaze shifted to Sweetie. "It’s also a good virtue to have if you’re a Doctor." A pause lingered in the air for only a moment, punctuated by Mandy beginning to fiddle with her hands. "Look...something's been gnawin' at me the past few days. And I'm pretty sure it's not the Venus flytrap in my tail." Mandy's tail quivered for a few moments. "It’s not that I don’t want you to become a Doctor, and I’ll support you no matter what, but...you’re a really good Investigation agent. Oprah’s been singin' her praises about you ever since you decided to join Odd Squad." She closed her eyes. "You've said you wanted a change of pace, but...maybe you should consider if moving departments is your definition of 'a change of pace'". "But I’m tired of getting the same small cases every day!" Sweetie snapped. "I want to get bigger cases. Things like fighting Hydraclops, laser chickens, and dinosaurs! But every time I ask Ms. O, she tells me I’m not ready yet!" She began gesticulating wildly with her hooves and legs. "I’ve been a part of Odd Squad for months! Why can’t I go on the cases that you and the others get to go on?! It’s not fair!" Although Mandy could barely see it, her eyes began to water. "I thought that becoming a Doctor might get Ms. O to see that I have potential too, but instead she thinks of me as some tiny foal!" "Sweetie, that's not true. Even in spite of Oprah obsessing over you when you first joined Odd Squad." Mandy smiled. "I know her. She does her best to serve this precinct. She sees the potential in every agent. Every agent she meets, she makes them feel special, because she sees what each one of them is capable of." "Well she doesn't see any potential or capability in me!" "Yes she does." Sweetie shot up. "No she doesn't!" "Yes. She does." Mandy's tone was soft, insistent, and firm at the same time. "She saw potential and capability in me, and look where I am." "You're a special case!" "No I'm no-" Before Mandy could finish her retort, she blinked. "Actually yeah, never mind, you make a good point there." Sweetie's declaration was like a cry to the heavens. "I'm going to become an Odd Squad Doctor, no matter what anyone says!" Mandy's response was just as quick. "And what if Dr. O doesn't choose you as his assistant? What if he chooses someone else entirely?" A long pause. Sweetie was reduced to stammering, trying to form a counter and being completely unable to. She stared at her hooves, feeling like steam was pouring from her ears. Luckily -- or perhaps unluckily -- she had Mandy to voice what she herself could not, and she did it in a way that was nothing but smug. "Someone didn't think that far ahead." A scream of frustration left a red-faced Sweetie as she sat up, hopped off of the bed, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Mandy, in response, simply let out a sigh of exhaustion. She had gotten a lot of things off of her chest, but none of them had seemed to help Sweetie and none of them had brought the relief she was so direly hoping for. If anything, it only made the whole situation worse, and for the rest of the day, Mandy had regret churning away in her mind. Any happy mood she still had left had been blasted into the depths of the bad place, and it was most definitely keen on staying there. Day 4 of 7. Mandy was slowly becoming mentally and physically drained. As she lay on the ledge of the fountain that adorned the walkway of the Medical building at the Academy, with her right arm and leg drooped over the side, she let out a heavy sigh, her body quivering down to the last hair in her tail. She mindlessly stared at her reflection in the water for what felt like hours, her brain retreating into the darkest depths of her skull. "Why the long face, Mandy?" The familiar voice made the hybrid perk up and move her head to the right. Walking up to her with one pant leg rolled up and a bandage wrapped around her left leg was the Big O herself, who had on a friendly smile. "Big O!" Mandy blinked in surprise. "What're you doing here?" "Just heading inside the Medical building for a checkup. Got a nasty bite from a Clackreex on my leg a couple weeks ago and the Doctors are going to check to see if it healed." Mandy's eyes drifted to the bandage. "Ouch. Clackreexes are nasty things..." She shook her head. "Though I can't sympathize. I've never been bitten by one." "Lucky you! It hurts." The Big O took a seat next to Mandy. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" "I'm waiting for someone. We're gonna go take a look inside the Medical building." "Oh? And who's that?" "Agent Sweetie Belle. She wants to become an Odd Squad Doctor." Mandy scratched her cheek. "When Dr. O announced an opening for an assistant, she began to...well..." Her tail twitched. "...go for it, I suppose?" "Oh, I've heard about her from Oprah's reports!" The Big O nodded. "She's a good agent. Very skilled on the field. And her gadget-wielding is unlike that of any unicorn I've ever seen before!" Mandy sighed again. "Try telling her that. She and I had an argument yesterday. She thinks that Oprah doesn’t see potential in her because she keeps giving her small cases to do. But..." She gazed into the Big O's eyes. "You and I know Oprah. She sees what each agent is capable of, and uses it to inspire them to go out and kick odd butt." "That's true." "It's just...if I hafta be honest with you..." Mandy curled her body up tighter, wrapping her tail around her right side. "I don’t think Sweetie’s fit to become an Odd Squad Doctor. It’s not where her talent lies. She does best in the Investigation department, but I just can’t get her to realize that. And Rarity, her big sister, is against her becoming a Doctor because it’s dirty and messy and dangerous." She rubbed her head. "It’s just all so much for me to handle…" The Big O didn't speak for a few moments, in order to fully absorb and understand the situation. When she spoke again, it was with warmth and confidence. "Perhaps I'm not the person you should be talking to." "Huh?" "Have you tried talking to Dr. O?" Mandy's mouth hung open. Even after her spat with Sweetie, talking to the Head Doctor had never crossed her mind. "Well...no..." "If you have a talk with him, he might have some advice for you." "That's..." Mandy gasped. Her eyes shone with renewed hope. "A really great idea! Why didn't I think of that?!" She grasped the Big O's hands in her own. "Thank you so much, Big O!" The head honcho laughed. "It's not a problem!" Mandy's badge phone ringing threatened to ruin the happy moment. "Ah, sorry. Lemme take this." she excused, unclipping her badge phone and holding it up to her ear. "Agent 57 speakin', how can I help ya?!" "Mandy?!" came the sound of a familiar Southern drawl that sounded frantic. "I-it's Apple Bloom! We really need your help!" A loud roar threatened to shatter all four of Mandy's eardrums into utter oblivion. The Big O's eyes widened in surprise as she watched the hybrid move her pony ears about and attempt to clean out one of her human ones with a free pinky. "What are you doing?" "I'll explain when ya get here! Just please hurry!" Mandy shot up on her hands and knees. "All right, I-I'm on my way! Stay safe!" A muffled, high-pitched scream could be heard over the phone. It didn't take her a second to realize that it belonged to a certain orange-furred Pegasus filly. "Oh pickleferries." was all she uttered as she snapped the phone shut. "I know that roar anywhere." the Big O began, waiting to speak again until Mandy changed her position so that she was sitting on the fountain. "It's a Thertis." "A what?" "They’re sphinx-like creatures. They used to be extinct a long time ago...or so it’s written in the Odd Squad history books." The Big O idly kicked her feet. "But they’ve made a resurgence in recent years. They’re incredibly dangerous. One swipe from their claws hits you and you start turning into a Thertis! And they have bites that can poison you." To say Mandy fell backwards into the fountain would be a huge understatement. It was more like she thrashed about on the ledge in shock before she did a tandem dive into it back-first, and all completely accidentally. "Mandy!" The Big O peered into the fountain, which had a basin that was just a few feet deeper than most fountains. "You okay?" The hybrid emerged, spitting out a small stream of water and coughing. Every inch of her body was soaking wet. "I've..." Another cough. "...fared better." Although the Big O offered her hand to help Mandy out, she waved it off, opting to slowly climb out herself until she was laying on the ground. "Shield yourself. I'm gonna shake." The Big O blinked in confusion. Mandy got to her feet, and shook her body out like a dog after a bath. Water droplets flew everywhere, and all the Big O could do was shield herself with her hands as she gave a yelp of surprise. When Mandy was done, she sat back down on the ledge and worked on emptying the water out from her shoes. "So how do I defeat this Thertis?" she asked. The Big O began squeezing out water from her sleeves in vain. "Best way would be to use the Shrink-inator on it." She glanced at Mandy. "Or I guess in your case, a shrinking spell." "I don't know any shrinking spells!" Mandy lamented, punctuating her complaint with a sigh. "Thank odd you know about them. I would've been charging into battle unprepared." "If you do manage to shrink it -- what am I saying, of course you will -- capture it and take it to Ocean and Fluttershy back at your Headquarters. They’ll handle it." Mandy put her right shoe on her foot and stood up, wincing at the uncomfortable feeling of her damp socks. "Thanks, Big O. For all the advice." "No problem!" The Big O stood up as well and began to circle the fountain, heading for the doors of the building. "Wish me good luck on my examination." "Good luck! Bye!" Mandy quickly teleported away. The Big O stopped her walking for a minute and turned towards the spot where Mandy had been. A seed of worry began growing in her heart, and she let out a small exhale. "Stay safe, Mandy." Oprah's calm, quiet atmosphere had been just that. It was a rare moment of peace, where agents didn't barge in and hound her with all sorts of requests about paperwork and cases and why Joe from Nantucket didn't understand that he had the wrong number. Unfortunately, that didn't stop any agent that decided to teleport in. Which is exactly what Mandy did, as she landed on Oprah's desk and terrified the girl badly enough to send her toppling backwards in her chair with a mighty yelp. As Oprah rubbed her now-aching back, she opened her eyes to identify who had disturbed her tranquility. "M-Mandy?!" "Oprah. Where did the Crusaders go?" Mandy's voice was low, almost ominous in nature. However, for someone as experienced and rugged as Oprah, Mandy's unusual tone was small fries. "I sent them to Fairway Avenue a while ago to help out a cli- aaaaaah..." She grit her teeth as pain began radiating all over her back, her fingers beginning to twitch. She could only eke out a single word after that. "W-why?" Under normal circumstances, Mandy would have asked if her boss was okay, and then maybe offered her some spare painkillers. But the hybrid had more pressing things on her mind than saving someone she knew would come out okay in the end, however heartless it made her. "Forget it. You're not gonna be of any help, 'specially when you can't even form one sentence!" she snapped, lighting up her horn and teleporting away. Slowly, Oprah got on two feet and glanced outside of her office, hoping to flag down a passing agent. "A-Applejack!" she spit out, waving her hand as frantically as she could. Which, really, wasn't all that frantic, but it was enough to catch the farmpony's attention. "Ms. O? What's wrong with ya?" Applejack took a few steps inside. "Get me..." Oprah swallowed a lump of saliva that was sitting in her throat. "No! Wait..." She moved about as slow as a turtle, not wanting to allow her spine the luxury of popping, because one of the caveats of being over a hundred years old was that once your spine popped, you were over and done with for the rest of the week. Applejack, for her part, patiently waited for her boss to finish her sentence, putting on a look of concern. "Help me with...this chair." Blinking, Applejack trotted over to Oprah's desk, heading behind it and glancing at the tipped-over chair. "Sure thing! Just leave it t' me." All it took on the mare's end was her grabbing the seat of the chair with one hoof and grabbing the back of it with the other, resting on her back hooves, then lifting it up, an action that took less than a minute. "There ya go. Have a seat." Oprah shook her head. "I'm..." She ambled towards the coffee table. "I'm just...I need..." "T' rest?" Applejack finished. Upon receiving a nod from Oprah, she smiled sympathetically. "I see. You just go right on ahead and rest, boss. I'll see if I can find a Doctor for ya." She glanced at the rack of juice boxes that sat to her left. "Ya want a juice box before I head out?" A nod. Applejack, knowing she couldn't reach that rack by standing on her own two hind legs, decided to jump and grab one, beaming when she managed to catch a pineapple-flavored one in her hooves. It wasn't apple-flavored, of course, but she didn't care much about the flavor right now -- not when her boss was suffering. She trotted over to the coffee table and set it down. Right then, a loud pop resounded within the room. Silence fell. Oprah began to quiver and whimper, in a display of what she would have constituted as weakness that Applejack hadn't seen before. The farmpony could swear she saw tears brimming in the Director's eyes, though she wasn't sure. What she was sure she saw, though, was her jaws slowly parting. The agonizing scream was piercing enough to make most any agent in the bullpen stop whatever they were doing and glance worryingly at the office that sat above them, and at the pony who had made a hasty retreat from it and flew into the Medical Bay as fast as her hooves would allow. Within five minutes, a Doctor had set Oprah up with some ice, some painkillers, and some orders to rest and not move unless she was accompanied by a Doctor. They even gave her a call button like what hospital rooms had, much to her chagrin as she kept muttering about how embarrassing this all was, especially since it was in full view of one of her agents -- that is, up until she had asked said agent one question. "Are you free for the rest of the day?" "Sure! I've gotten all my work done. All I need t' do is check up on the farm back in Equestria." And that was how Applejack found herself the not-so-willing servant of one injured Director, a job she would have "until I get better". Her boss's words, not hers. Mandy's teleportation took her right to where Fairway Avenue met Hill Road. Immediately she could hear townsfolk clamoring, screams and yells flying through the air as Torontonians all ran and flew for their lives. Even within the din, though, she was easily able to spot the odd creature that three fillies had decided to fight. Her pony ears drooped. "Oh my chocolate-covered cheesecake." were the only words she could utter as her eyes laid upon the Thertis on the other side of the street. The Thertis looked much like a naked mole rat in appearance, bearing the paws of a snow-white rabbit, the teeth of a shark, the tail of an alligator, and floppy ears that nearly touched the ground that wouldn't be too out of place on a cocker spaniel. On its back were large fairy-like wings that Mandy had to assume were either for decoration or, odd willing, flight, and on its head were a set of sharp horns that looked about as sharp as syringes. As it turned to face Mandy, it let out a loud screech that broke the glass of the windows in the building behind her. The hybrid quickly scrambled out of the way, using her own wings to shield herself from any flying glass shards that got sent her way. "That's a Thertis?!" she cried out, her voice quavering. "I-it's...ginormous!" "Mandy!" The cry of a familiar filly snapped the hybrid out of her shock. Shaking her wings out in a desperate effort to try and dislodge any loose shards, she quickly made a beeline for the other side of the road. "Scootaloo!" she called, sliding up next to the Pegasus filly who hardly had a scratch on her. Her hoof was shoved through a handle of a bulky gadget that the hybrid didn't bother to recognize. "You and Bloom both are gonna have a lot of explainin' to do when this is all over!" "If we get out of this alive!" Mandy didn't have the time to tell Scootaloo that was going to be a definite. "Where are Bloom and Sweetie?" "They're still fighting that thing!" Sure enough, off in the distance were the two fillies themselves, dodging swat after swat from the creature. Apple Bloom raced behind it, screaming in what Mandy could easily identify as blind panic -- she had no idea what she was doing, as it were. "Do either of you have the Shrink-inator?" Mandy asked Scootaloo. "I don't! And neither do Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle!" Mentally, Mandy ran through the inventory in her hammerspace spine. While massive enough that counting every item within it would lead to her death in her hundreds, she was still able to search her memories and recall signing out the Shrink-inator from Oona, or at least her iteration of the gadget. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she glanced at Scootaloo. "Okay, I've got it! I'm goin' in!" she declared. "C'mon and help me!" The filly nodded, chasing after Mandy as she dashed towards the Thertis. It gave a loud roar as it saw the pair approaching, and seemed to grow more irritated when they stopped in front of it. Apple Bloom ceased her panicked screaming, her body flowing with relief when she saw who had come to her and the others' rescue. "Mandy!" "Awright, I dunno what you are or where you came from, but I'm about to make you go extinct." Mandy reached behind her back and yanked out the Shrink-inator. "Again!" With quick reflexes, she pressed the black activation button on top and fired a green laser beam at the Thertis. It shrunk, but not by very much, and the attack seemed to cause the creature pain more than anything else as it gave a piercing roar. "Yeah, that'll show ya!" Mandy taunted, a smirk settling on her face. The Thertis recovered from its bout of pain and leaned in close to the hybrid, giving a shattering screech that made her give a short scream of her own and wince in pain. When she tried to raise her arm to go for another shot, she found her entire body paralyzed. "Mandy!" Sweetie cried, racing to the front of the battlefield. "Sweetie!" In spite of her condition, Mandy tried to move to no avail. "Take this gadget...nngh...and use it on that creature!" The unicorn quickly scooped up the Shrink-inator in her sap-green corona. "Got it!" Just as she was examining the gadget to find its activation button, however, a paw slammed into her body with enough force to send her flying with a piercing terrified scream. Her small body hit the ground once, then twice, then again before it slid on the ground. The glow of her horn flickered and died unceremoniously, the gadget clattering to the ground where it had once been. "Sweetie Belle!!" Mandy's scream was just as piercing and just as terrifying. A series of rapid breaths left her as she desperately tried to move, but while she did so, it was painfully slow. "Apple Bloom, go help Sweetie Belle!" The yellow-coated filly nodded, rushing in the direction where her partner had flown. Scootaloo, placing her entire trust in Mandy, decided to stay put, awaiting her orders and hoping to help her out as one of two agents who were still in commission. "She's probably bleeding..." Mandy shook her head, at a speed that was only slightly slower than her usual. "No, there's no time for that!" Her paralysis wore off fully right then and there, and she made a mad grab for the gadget before the Thertis could step on it and shatter it. It turned its attention to her, growling before letting out a loud roar laced with spittle in between its teeth. "Ha! Your rampaging ends here!" Mandy boasted, only a second before she fired another laser beam. This one lasted much longer, and caused the Thertis to begin shrinking, along with providing it a considerable amount of pain. With four pulses, each separated by two seconds, the creature eventually was turned into something no bigger than a mouse, and the small angry roar it gave was far more cute than menacing. "All right, Mandy!" Scootaloo's wings buzzed as she floated in midair for a few seconds before her hooves touched ground again. Mandy conjured up a magical bubble to place the creature in. "Now you're safe." she murmured, ignoring the protests it gave. "Sweetie Belle! Wake up! Sweetie Belle!!" Apple Bloom's desperate pleas brought Mandy's attention back to the other pressing task at hand. "Is she conscious?" she asked as she rushed up to the injured filly and her partner with Scootaloo in tow. "I-I'm not sure!" Bloom responded, her eyes thick with tears. "Lemme listen." Mandy waved the filly off and knelt down, turning Sweetie over on her back and placing her pony ear on her chest. Her eyes widened in surprise as the sound of a heartbeat made itself known, one that sounded unusually healthy. She lifted her head up and quickly examined her, noting that she had a large amount of bruises and gashes on her. Some gashes, including a few on her head, were actively bleeding. "She's got a pulse. But she needs medical attention, badly." "We should get her to Dr. O's office!" Scootaloo suggested, Bloom shooting her a look of "thanks for stating the obvious". "Even better than that. You two, huddle close to me." Mandy grabbed Sweetie in her arms, while Scootaloo and Bloom each took hold of a forearm. With a bright flash, the group, creature included, was gone, and they materialized again in the Hospital Room. Dr. O, who had been cleaning up the room, set down his medical equipment and his rag, turning around. "Mandy? What's this?" "It's Sweetie Belle." Mandy responded, trying to keep panic from working its way into her tone. "She needs to be treated, stat!" "What happened to her?" "She took a nasty hit from a Thertis." Dr. O blinked. "A what?" "A sphinx-like odd creature. It hit her with its paw." "I see." Dr. O grabbed the filly from Mandy's arms and looked her over, his lips pursed tightly into a frown. "Her injuries look serious. It'll take some time to treat her." "Can we stay and watch?" Bloom asked. Mandy shook her head. "Apple Bloom, that's not a good idea. Let's leave Dr. O be. He'll know what to do." "But Sweetie-" "And you two are gonna tell me exactly what happened once I give this creature to Ocean and Fluttershy!" Mandy began marching out. "Now let's go." As soon as Mandy made the delivery, she ordered Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to explain themselves. "Well, Ms. O assigned us t' this woman’s home on Fairway Avenue, and we were goin’ there, but on the way Sweetie Belle was complainin’ about how we never get any big cases to solve. Then we saw this huge creature across the street, and Sweetie Belle ran towards it. We were gonna go too, but we saw the woman we were s’posed to help callin’ for us, and...we decided t’ ignore her." Apple Bloom rubbed her leg. "So we went off to fight the creature, but I guess we were in over our heads." Scootaloo added, her tone not holding back with its shame. Mandy glanced the two fillies over. "None of you got swiped by its claws or bitten?" "I didn't." "Me neither." Scootaloo gazed deep into her senior's eyes. "We're sorry, Mandy." Mandy heaved a sigh. "I can't believe it. Now Sweetie's dragging you two into her issues." she muttered, running a head through her hair. "Are we in trouble?" Bloom asked. "Can't say for sure. It's not in my job description." Mandy shook her head. "But I know who can tell you if you're in trouble." Neither Bloom nor Scootaloo needed to look at where Mandy was pointing. Exchanging a worried glance, they trudged over there themselves, with the hybrid following suit. "You did what?!" Bloom winced. "We're really sorry, Ms. O." "We promise, this'll never happen again!" Oprah, reclined on the couch with numerous pillows supporting her ice-pack-strapped back, groaned. No one knew whether it was from pain or annoyance. "You three need to know your limits. Do you know why I send you on small cases?" "Because we're too inexperienced?" Bloom tilted her head. "No, not that." Oprah bit back another groan. "Combating small things like blobs is the first stepping stone in fighting the larger and more dangerous oddness that lurks. As the months go by, I’ll give you bigger and bigger cases. It’s all about training, bettering yourselves, and having patience." "Wish Sweetie Belle understood that..." Oprah's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "What are you talking about?" Mandy stiffened. She hadn't expected Oprah to hear her, though her having exceptional hearing wouldn't be putting it past her. "She and I had a little...argument the other day." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "She thinks that because you send her on small cases, you don't see any potential in her." "Oh that's a load of sh- aaah!" Oprah's body seized. She grit her teeth, sucked air through them, and released it in one big sigh as she relaxed her body in an effort to alleviate the pain that shot through her back. A minute later, she was composed again. "That's not true! I see plenty of potential in Sweetie! I know she's a very capable filly." "Glad to hear it, boss." Mandy smiled. "Now say it to her face, when she's better." Oprah growled. "But I can't believe she would be so reckless as to rush into danger like that. I thought she knew better!" She glanced at a worried Bloom and Scootaloo. "Look. I know you two were just trying to help your partner. You did good out there, and it was lucky that Mandy got there in time to save you." "Does this mean we're not punished?" Bloom asked, with just the tiniest bit of hope. Oprah fixed her with a thoughtful gaze, as though wanting to lay out her punishment right in front of her. Ultimately, though, her gaze, along with the rest of her expression, softened considerably. "Yes. You two are good to go." "All right!" Scootaloo did a hoof-pump. "But as for Agent Sweetie Belle..." Oprah's head moved towards the door as much as it would allow. "I'm going to have a long chat with her." "Good. She needs it." Mandy nodded. "And as for the woman you were supposed to help, you're still on that case, so go and help her." Bloom and Scootaloo nodded, and quickly dashed out. Silence fell in the room. "Soooo, uh..." Mandy rocked back and forth on her feet. "What happened to you?" "You. You happened to me." Mandy blinked. "Huh?" "You teleporting onto my desk scared me enough that I fell over, and now I'm out of commission for a week." Oprah snapped. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to go to the Bathroom with a Doctor standing right outside the door? Or have a Doctor escort me to my own home and offer to become a temporary live-in nurse?" A tongue stuck out. A pony ear flicked. And then a cheerful innocent "Nope, and nope." Oprah sighed. "Mandy, when you get to be as old as I am, your physical features may rarely change, but you aging body will actively fight against you." She struggled to adjust her position on the couch. "Even a simple fall can leave you badly injured enough where you can't do anything for weeks." "Okay, but there's no 'when'." Mandy pointed out. "I'm not immortal." That earned her a squint. "I'd strangle you if I wasn't couch-ridden." came the indignant grumble. "I should make you my servant and have you wait on me hand and foot." "But you have assistants for that." Mandy's finger jabbed towards a red button that sat on Oprah's stomach. "And you also have a belly button. Hospitals have that for calling doctors, you know." Oprah's eye twitched. "I made a funny!" "I don't give a rat's butt if you made a pun out of what my umbilical cord used to be attached to or not." Oprah's expression turned into an ugly grimace. "You're missing the point." "Which was?" "Don't. Teleport. Into my office anymore!" The words were practically a scream. "Have some common courtesy! Even Twilight and Rarity trot in through the doors!" "Usually." "...What." "There was that one time where Twilight teleported into your office to share a book she found in the Odd Squad Library. And Rarity did the same thing, but she wanted you to try on this ugly-looking dress." Mandy smiled. "I remember that one fondly. Never did I think a human could puke so much!" Angrily, Oprah grabbed a pillow and placed it under her head. "Assistant?" "Yes, boss?" Mandy's eyes widened at the assistant who had popped out of seemingly nowhere. "Put off all work, hold all calls, and get me a blanket. I'm going to sleep." "Right away!" The assistant rushed off, and returned only half a minute later with a fluffy purple blanket, which she draped over her boss. Said boss began taking her shoes off. "Thank you." she murmured, before snuggling deeper into the couch. Mandy watched the assistant head for the desk. "You shouldn't go to sleep angry, y'know." "Shut up." Oprah's annoyance was punctuated by a yawn. "Leave me alone and let me sleep, okay?" Mandy opened her mouth, as though wanting to point out how she, and other agents, never let her sleep, but closed it. Instead, she resigned to a sigh and a shake of her head. "All righty. The hippochrisee is laughable, but all righty." She turned to leave the room. "Have sweet dreams." When Oprah couldn't hear Mandy's footsteps anymore, her body truly relaxed. Her back was still achy, but the ice that was wrapped around her had- "Hey, do you know where Rarity is?" The high-pitched voice made the ache shoot from about a five to a one hundred right quick, taking Oprah's mood with it. "In her boutique in Headquarters, now shut up and let me sleep already!" "Okay, thanks!" Footsteps retreated again. The doors closed again. And Oprah, pissed off as she was, tried to get to sleep...again. It's going to be a long, long day. Inside the Odd Squad Boutique, Rarity sat at her inspiration desk in the way back, sketching out potential designs for a new line while humming a Soundcheck tune. Naturally, Otto was the one who had gotten the band stuck in her head, and normally she would be mad if their music didn't help her concentrate. With her talent and dedication, her new line of music-themed clothing was going to turn out great. Her ears faintly picked up on the sound of a door opening and a bell ringing. "Hmm? Who is it?" "Hey, it's me!" "Oh, Mandy!" Rarity called. "Is something the matter?" "Um...y-ya could say that!" Mandy twiddled her fingers. "It's about Sweetie Belle." "What about her?" Rarity asked, an ever-so-small pit of dread beginning to form in her gut. Silence. But just as Rarity was about to ask again, Mandy spoke. "She got severely injured in an odd creature attack. By a Thertis. She's being treated in the Hospital Room right now." Rarity gasped. Immediately she flew out of her chair, knocking her sketch paper to the floor as she soared past Mandy and out the door. She only barely heard the hybrid's cry of "Rarity, wait!" as she dodged agents and creatures alike in her journey to the Hospital Room. What she saw when she got there and flung open the door was a rather horrific sight. "Sweet Celestia! Sweetie Belle!" Rarity held a hoof to her mouth upon seeing her sister lying down on her back in the cot, eyes closed and completely motionless. "Wh- i-is she going to be all right?!" "She should be." Mandy said, coming up behind her and peering inside. Rarity grit her teeth together. "Ooh, I knew becoming a Doctor was too dangerous for her! And now look what happened! She nearly died!" "That's not the case, Rarity!" Mandy yelled. "You haven't even heard the whole story!" "Then what is the whole story, Mandy?" Rarity glared at her coworker with icy eyes. "Certainly this was due to her disturbing fascination with becoming an Odd Squad Doctor!" "No, it's not!" That exclamation caused Mandy to leap into the air. Realizing she needed to approach the situation calmly, she took a deep breath and planted her feet on the floor before continuing. "See, Sweetie and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were on their way to a client’s home. According to Apple Bloom, Sweetie was complaining about not getting any big cases, so when a Thertis -- that’s a big sphinx-like creature thought to be extinct -- when that was spotted, Sweetie ran towards it. And so did Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. The three were fighting it on their own and would have been killed if I didn’t help them in time!" Mandy shook her head. "It was never about her wanting to become a Doctor. Sweetie has issues that go far beyond that. Hasn’t she talked to you about believing that Oprah doesn’t see potential in her?" Rarity's eyes widened as the full story was unraveled for her. She rubbed her leg. "Well...now that you mention it, she did bring it up once...but I suppose I was so busy that I tuned her out." "We'll have to see if this experience will make her change her mind about becoming an Odd Squad Doctor." Mandy's tail wagged back and forth slightly. "But I did give her some words of advice." "You did?" Mandy nodded. "She’s good in the Investigation department. It’s where her true talent lies. But she wants a change of pace, and I dunno if changing departments is really what qualifies to her as 'a change of pace'. She wants bigger cases, but...Oprah said it herself. She and her friends are gonna start out with small cases, then as the months pass, get cases that are tougher and tougher to tackle. It’s all about..." Mandy put on a small smile and did jazz hands. "...patience." Rarity couldn't argue with that -- she could attest to the same thing when she became an agent, and the same went for Applejack. She sighed. "I see." She stared into Mandy's eyes with worry. "But what if she gets chosen to be a Doctor?" "We'll have to find that out in a couple days." said Mandy, with a shrug. "I can't make Dr. O pick her, but...for now, you should keep an eye on your sister and make sure she'll turn out okay." "Oh, I hope so!" Mandy spread her wings and began to hover. "I'm gonna go get some work done. I'll be at my desk if you need me." Rarity watched her go, then turned back to the Hospital Room. "Sweetie Belle...please be okay." she murmured, telekinetically closing the door and plodding down the hallways. By the time she had gotten back to the Boutique, she had lost almost all inspiration, and decided to hold off on sketches for her new line until her sister was better -- all except for one she began to draft, which depicted a three-layer purple-and-yellow dress adorned with musical notes. Rarity kept the image in her mind and vowed to begin making it for Sweetie as soon as she felt able to. The next day came and went. Sweetie was improving, though it was clear she had a bit of a ways to go until she was completely healed. Rarity, of course, fretted, and when she went on cases with Applejack, the farmpony could tell she was easily distracted and had to do most of the heavy lifting in her stead. About the only beneficial thing that happened was that Mandy had finally gotten her bandages off, her wounds having nearly healed. And so came the day before Dr. O's big decision. Mandy was, of course, snoring away in bed, oblivious to Rarity slamming her door wide open with a frazzled mane and tail and an equally-frazzled expression. "Mandy!" Rarity rushed to the hybrid's bedside and grabbed ahold of her shoulder with magic. "Mandy darling, wake up! Come quickly!" A snort, and then a sleepy groan. "Zzo tired...leamme alone..." "Mandy, please!" Rarity's voice edged into a whine that wasn't as high-pitched as her usual ones, but was enough to annoy at least someone in the vicinity. "It's about Sweetie Belle! You simply must see her!" Mandy simply turned onto her left side with a moan, pushing Rarity away with her tail before giving a contented sigh. Rarity knew she wasn't there yet, but she was close. Still, she gave an irate growl as she grabbed Mandy's fluffy blanket in her corona and yanked it off of her. "Agent Mandy, it has been at least a couple days!" she snapped. "Come and see my sister! It's the least you could do!" That did it. With a "Wh-hzz-bl-huh?!" Mandy was awake, her head swiveling towards the white blob that stood in her room and her arm flailing wildly at it. "Z-zztand back, intruder! I-I'm armed!" "Mandy! It's me, Rarity!" the white blob assured. "I simply want you to come and see my sister. Can you do that?" Mandy yawned. "Can't I go back t' zzleep...?" "It's 12:30, darling." A groan. Then, a corona encasing a glass full of liquid, followed by one sleepy hybrid drinking it down to the last drop. "Are you coming or not?" Rarity asked, trotting in place as she began to grow impatient. Mandy swung her legs over the side of her bed and stared at the unicorn with half-lidded eyes. "Y' expect me t' change in front 'f ya?" Rarity's eyes widened. "Oh! W-well, certainly not." She nervously laughed and began making her way towards the doorway. "Just meet me at Dr. O's office when you're ready." As Mandy watched her go and closed the door, she let out another yawn and rubbed her head. "Jeez...that mare's got issues..." About fifteen minutes later, Mandy was done with her wakeup routine. She had moved slower than usual due to her body still being achy from the party she attended last night -- and she couldn't deny that it was one of the best parties she had ever been to, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, of course -- but moving slower was better than not moving at all, she supposed. She moved her glittery silver bow about in her hair, adjusting it until it felt right. "At least my bow's in position. Finally." she remarked with a sigh. When she got to the Hospital Room, she found Rarity staring intently through the window on the side of the door. "Hey, Rarity! What's goin' on?" "Ooh, good news!" Rarity said. "Sweetie is finally better!" Mandy's expression lit up. "Thank odd!" She stared through the window as well, watching as Dr. O said something to Sweetie that, for all her sharp hearing, she couldn't pick up on. "What're they talkin' about in there? Looks serious." "I'm not sure." Rarity saw Sweetie hop off of the cot. "Ooh, here she comes!" Both girls backed away as the door slid open, revealing the filly in the flesh. While still having a few bandages plastered to her face and sides, she looked to otherwise be in good health. "Sweetie Belle!" Rarity lunged for her and hugged her tightly. "Oh darling, I'm so happy you're better! How are you feeling?" "Um, Rarity-" "Ah, don't say a thing. I'll treat you to lunch. Your choice!" "Rarity, I-" "And after we have lunch, we can work together on some projects, how about that?" "Rarity!" Sweetie wriggled free from the other unicorn's grasp and forcefully pushed her away. Dr. O emerged. "Sweetie has something she'd like to say." A pause hung in the air. Rarity and Mandy both fell silent, staring at a nervous-looking Sweetie. "Rarity...while I was being treated by Dr. O...I was thinking. About how I want to become a Doctor. About what you and Mandy said to me. About the fight with the creature. And...and…" The filly squeezed her eyes shut. No one said a word for a few moments. "I don't wanna become an Odd Squad Doctor anymore!" The declaration rung through the entire bullpen. Agents looked up for only a moment, but otherwise returned to their tasks and duties. Rarity's eyes widened, as did Mandy's and Dr. O's. "B-b-but Sweetie Belle, you were so passionate! You were studying so hard! What happened?" Rarity asked, in a tone that demonstrated genuine shock rather than anything superficial. "Actually it was Mandy that got me thinking." Sweetie looked at the hybrid. "She said I should consider if going into another department would be a good change of pace for me. And she said I’m doing great as an Investigation agent with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. I turned down her advice at first, but after thinking about it...I realized that she was right." Mandy's head tilted. "I was?" Sweetie made eye contact with Dr. O next, giving him a grateful smile. "Dr. O, thank you for treating me. You and the other Doctors are really great, and I love that you help so many agents here!" She shook her head. "But being a Doctor isn’t for me. My destiny is to be with the other Crusaders, kicking odd butt and helping other people and other ponies, not healing my coworkers." A frown danced on her features. "Is it possible I could be taken out of the running for being your assistant?" Dr. O nodded. "Of course." With that taken care of, Sweetie turned to the other two girls. "Rarity, Mandy, I'm sorry. I should have listened to both of you earlier." "It's all right, darling. So long as you're safe." Rarity looked at the ground. "And...I suppose I should apologize as well. It was wrong of me to try and stop you from achieving your dreams." And then, back at Sweetie, with a smile. "Sisters should support each other, no matter what the endeavor!" Mandy, trying hard not to cry, squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to prevent any tears from falling. When she opened them again, her gaze landed on Sweetie. "Are you doing okay after the attack?" "Yeah. I was in a lot of pain." "She had quite a few broken and bruised bones and some internal bleeding. I would imagine she got hit pretty hard. Regardless, she can’t go on cases until she gets better." Dr. O explained. Rarity put a supportive hoof on her sister's shoulder. "It's for the best, darling. Once you get better, then you can show Ms. O more of your incredible potential!" "Oh yeah!" Mandy perked up. "Speaking of Ms. O, Sweetie...she told me yesterday she wanted to see you." The happiness got sapped out of Sweetie quickly, causing her to give a disheartened "Oh..." "Rarity, why don't you go with her to the office?" Mandy suggested. "I dunno if she's available, but it doesn't hurt to check!" "Of course. Come along." Sweetie watched Rarity take a few hoofsteps, then reluctantly followed, her ears folding downwards out of nervousness. Dr. O gave an exhale. "So. Tomorrow's the day." "Huh?" "When I choose my new assistant." It took a minute for what Dr. O was saying to click in Mandy's head. "Oh! That's tomorrow!" She rubbed the back of her head. "Ha...it's been such a wild week." Her tail began bobbing up and down. "Have you decided who you'll pick?" "Not yet. I'm going to put the candidates through a series of medical knowledge tests. See what they know. Then I'll choose." "Oooooh, sounds exciting! You can count me there!" Mandy faltered. "I-I mean...y'know, I hafta be there, I'm Oprah's second and all...but yeah, I'll be there!" "Glad to hear it." Dr. O's eyes widened. "Oh, I meant to ask you this earlier but I completely forgot. Do you mind being my guinea pig tomorrow?" Mandy's face fell. "Aww, that's the fifteenth time someone’s asked me this year! Bein’ a guinea pig is horrible! They’re cute, but...they’re really not my type of pet…" "No, no. I'm not talking about a guinea pig, like the animal. I'm talking about a test subject. For the assistant choosing." Dr. O explained. "My assistant will need to know how you function both physically and mentally, and what better way to put their knowledge to the test by using you, yourself, in the flesh as a patient?" The clarification made Mandy feel a little better, though not by much. She trusted all the Odd Squad Doctors in regards to her health, because she knew what they were doing. But when it came to an agent in a different department entirely who was willing to be a Doctor...that was a different story. Still, she figured Dr. O wouldn't do anything too drastic, but wanted to make sure. "You're not gonna make me hurt myself, are you?" "No. But we will look through your medical file." Dr. O smiled. "So what do you say?" "Well...you do make a good point...and I guess it could be kinda fun, if you're just makin' 'em do small stuff." Mandy sighed. "All right, I'll do it." "Great! We begin at 10AM tomorrow." Mandy's eyes widened. "Awww, I gotta wake up early?!" she whined, bonking her head against the window and letting her body slump to the ground. Dr. O was, of course, indifferent, his smile never wavering. "If you fall asleep, it'll give the candidates more of a challenge." His expression lit up with an idea, then a second later, returned to normal upon axing said idea. "Ugh. No thanks." Mandy slowly rose to her feet. "The last time I fell asleep in front of a crowd I woke up to a ripe juicy tomato lodged in my mouth while tied above an open fire. That...that was terrible. Never again." Dr. O watched her shudder, his expression changing to one of concern and worry as he wondered just what, exactly, led Mandy to nearly become roasted on an open fire. Ultimately, though, he shoved it to the wayside. Mandy got herself in weird situations; he knew that much. "All right. Well, see you then!" Mandy waved and watched him duck back inside the room, closing the door behind him. She dragged her feet towards the bullpen and watched the life go by, ruffling her hair. "Well this should be fun." she muttered, just before her pony ears perked up and swiveled towards the direction of Oprah's office. Curiosity overtaking her, she went upstairs, ducked behind the jutted-out portion of the wall that sat just before the office, and peered inside, listening to the muffled conversation between Oprah and Sweetie with Rarity as a chaperone. "What you did wasn’t okay, Sweetie Belle. You ignored a client in need and focused on a different odd issue entirely -- one that was out of your control, instead of calling for backup." "I know. I'm sorry." Sweetie apologized. "It won't happen again, I promise!" "It better not." Oprah adjusted her position on the couch. "As punishment, I am putting you off the clock." "Off the clock?" "For a month, you will not be allowed to solve cases, whether alone or with the other Crusaders, under any circumstances. If you disregard this punishment then I won’t hesitate to extend it until you comply. Do you understand?" "Yes. I understand." "In addition, you are officially out of the running for becoming an Odd Squad Doctor and moving to the Medical department. You’ll remain an Investigation agent as you always have been." Sweetie nodded. "That's fair." "Thank odd you or the others weren't killed." Oprah exhaled. "Now go and rest up." "Thank you, Ms. O." The two ponies turned to leave. "Come now, Sweetie." Rarity said. "You may use my bed in the meantime." With nothing else left to see, Mandy descended the stairs and began heading for her desk. When she got there, however, she was interrupted by Apple Bloom and Scootaloo making their way up to her. "Mandy!" Bloom called, waving a hoof. "How's Sweetie Belle? Is she doin' okay?" "I'd say she's doin' fine!" Mandy chirped in response. "She, uh...she's out of Dr. O's office. He ordered her to rest up so her injuries can get better." "What a relief!" Scootaloo remarked, placing a hoof on her chest. "Oh, uh, you two should be aware that she's 'off the clock' as well." Bloom tilted her head. "Whaddya mean?" "Simply put, she can't solve cases, whether by herself or with you two, for a month. Oprah punished her with that." "Sounds pretty harsh. But it'll give her plenty of time t' rest up!" "Yeah! Apple Bloom and I can handle cases for a while." Scootaloo nudged her partner, who gave her a smile. "We just got back from battling a rampaging kiwi!" "With arms and legs and everythin'!" Bloom added. "It was so cool!" "And did you eat it?" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Duh, of course we did! I didn't know kiwis could taste so sweet!" "They ain't better than apples, though." Mandy smiled. "Well, that's good to hear. Don't forget that Dr. O's choosing his new assistant tomorrow. Even if Sweetie's not going to be in the running, you two should come anyway." "Huh? Sweetie's not gonna be a Doctor?" "Nope. Oprah forbid her from becoming an Odd Squad Doctor." Scootaloo seemed disappointed by this news, but ultimately gave a nod. "Fine. I guess we'll come." "Yeah, I wanna see who Dr. O's gonna pick!" Bloom agreed, with a more enthusiastic set of nods. "Apple Bloom! Scootaloo! In my office, now!" As the two fillies said their goodbyes to Mandy and booked it up the stairs, the hybrid turned back to her desk, took a seat, and began to get started on her paperwork. She couldn't deny that she was excited to find out who Dr. O was going to pick, even if she was a test subject for the competition that had to wake up early. That excitement kept her going throughout the day, all the way until bedtime. "May I have your attention, please?" The murmuring among the crowd of agents gathered in the bullpen stopped. A proud Dr. O stood on the seal, surrounded by a raised stage and two booths hidden behind curtains. "Last week, I announced that I was looking for an assistant to help me out in the Medical department. After much consideration, I am proud to announce that I have narrowed the choices down to three candidates, whom are as follows." He cleared his throat. "Agent Orit, from the Science department!" From off to the side walked a Scientist whose brown hair looked like he rolled out of bed without bothering to brush it. However, his smile was rather charming to those that interacted with him. He waved to the applauding crowd before taking a spot on the stage. "Agent Olaila, from the Investigation department!" Next to make her grand appearance was a girl with long strawberry-blonde hair, secured with a red bow at the top. She, too, waved to the applauding crowd before going to stand next to Orit, exchanging a wave with him. "And last but not least, Agent Oswell from the Security department!" It took a few seconds for Oswell to come out, but when he did, he did so with his hands and arms grasped tightly around him. He walked slowly, not bothering to acknowledge the crowd and offering up a nervous lopsided grin before he nervously gave a wave to his other two fellow competitors. As the applause died down, Dr. O turned to face the stage. "Now. I will pose three questions to you. Your job is to answer them correctly. Understand?" The unisonant cry of "Yes!" rung throughout the area. "Then let's begin!" The crowd erupted into excited applause. One could get excited just from being in the hallways, the vibes were intense. A few Doctors brought a large silver table to the stage and set it down. They then reached into their own respective hammerspaces and pulled out all sorts of medical tools and ingredients, from liter jars that were older than old to leaves from some of the precinct's most exotically odd plants to fluids from some of the precinct's most exotically odd creatures, and everything in between. "First of all, I'd like you to mix up the correct antidote for a patient that has been sprayed by the Flapperflorp plant." Dr. O pointed. "Aaaaand go!" Immediately the three contestants got to work. Orit and Oswell stumbled behind the ever-efficient and ever-speedy Olaila, who began measuring out ingredients and mixing them like it was complete second nature to her. The crowd collectively cringed when Oswell managed to break a beaker, with the three Doctors who had performed the setup for the contest shaking their heads and facepalming in disapproval. "I've got it!" Olaila said, holding up her mixture. "One cup of green tea, one cup of Squanzo Bonzo tears, and one cup of bay leaves!" "That is correct!" The crowd applauded, and Olaila blushed with joy as she took a bow. Orit and Oswell, ever the good sports, applauded as well, before they wished each other the best of luck in the next competition. "Now, for the second challenge." Dr. O announced, only barely listening as the Doctors batted cleanup and got things ready for the final competition -- the second one would require no tools whatsoever. "Each of you, pick three diseases from the list shown in front of you." With three separate dings, three scrolls dropped down from the air, dangling in front of the contestants. "Your job is to tell me what treatments are available for those diseases. When I call on you, give your answers. Go!" Each contestant scrolled through the extensive list, which contained a host of diseases of both the odd and normal kinds. The Doctors fixated on Oswell in particular, whose knees were knocking together. Clearly, he wasn't as accustomed to public speaking as Orit and Olaila were, who approached the list with more confidence. "Ooh, this is so exciting!" Pinkie murmured from where she was standing beside Peaches in the crowd, trying to resist trotting in place. "Yeah, I wonder what they're gonna pick." Peaches' tail wagged back and forth as she eyed the contestants with excitement. Dr. O waited for a minute or two, then pointed at the first contestant. "Oswell!" "Y-yes!" "Please state the name of your diseases and what treatments a patient can receive for those diseases." "Um...okay." Oswell took a deep breath and watched as the scroll rolled itself back up and disappeared. "Allergies, like those to pollen and pet hair, can be remedied with...with..." His eyes widened. The crowd looked on nervously, unaware that the Security agent's nervousness was due to their heavy stares. Still, he pressed on. "With allergy medications. Um...s-stomach aches, which can be caused by things like gas or viruses. Depending on the cause of the stomach ache, patients...can take various things, like supplements, and...um…" Another pause. The Doctors exchanged looks. No one knew what emotions the looks had. "Um...t-they...they can...they should chew their food slowly. And vomiting, which can be caused by...u-u-um...motion sickness or food poisoning." "Good." Dr. O nodded and set his sights on the next contestant. "Orit?" "Oh! Uh..." Orit cleared his throat, blinking in surprise as he saw his scroll roll up and disappear. "Uh, I’d like to start off with chicken pox. It’s caused by a virus and the disease can simply progress through your body. Pneumonia, which is caused from standing out in bad weather for too long and inhaling germs and can be treated by taking antibiotics. And float-itis, which can make you float and is treated by eating something heavy to balance your weight, like pound cake." "Good." Dr. O turned to the next contestant. "And finally, Olaila." The girl nodded with confidence and began. "I’d like to start with Lyme disease, which is a tick-borne illness. If you have Lyme disease, the best course of action is to take antibiotics which can come via intravenously or by taking them orally. Next is cellphone tooth, which can be caused by consumption of a badge phone and turns your tooth into a cellphone, and can be cured by making a call on a cellphone the usual way. And finally, measles, otherwise known as rubeola, a highly contagious virus. Um...measles doesn’t really have a tried-and-true treatment, but people can either get vaccinated against measles within 3 days of getting it, or they can get these protein shots. I think they’re called “immune serum globulin” or something like that. If the patient in question is an infant." Silence fell. The crowd, the Doctors, the other contestants, and Dr. O all stared at Olaila with awe. The only word that was uttered from his mouth was a simple "Good!" which got the crowd riled up, cheering and applauding as best they could. "Wow, Olaila's pretty good!" Twilight remarked. Applejack smiled and nodded. "Tell me about it. She's got some whip-smarts, I can tell ya that much." When everyone fell quiet, Dr. O spoke again. "And finally, for the last competition, I have a special guest to help me out. Please give a warm welcome to Agent Mandy, from the Investigation department!" From the steel double-doors came an ever-energetic Mandy, bouncing up to the stage as she took in the crowd's raucous cheers like a sponge to water. She leaped up into the air and did a few spins before gracefully landing on her feet in front of the other contestants and topping it all off with a flourished bow. "Hiya, folks!" "As I'm sure you're all aware, Mandy is a pony-human hybrid, and her body functions a little differently from most humans and most ponies." Dr. O gestured to the three contestants. "I would like for you three to each examine her to the best of your ability. You are free to do whatever you like, as long as it’s nothing drastic. And please, do keep it short." He pointed to the silver table next to the metal chair. "Your tools are located on the table next to Mandy. Olaila and Oswell, please step into the soundproof booths over there. I’ll come get you when it’s your turn." Both contestants nodded and hopped off the stage, each giving the final remaining one a thumbs-up before ducking into the booths and closing the curtains behind them. Mandy took a seat in the metal chair, shivering at how cold it was. "Orit, you're up first." "All right." Orit approached the hybrid and exchanged a smile with her. "Okay, so this is a physical." He glanced at her wings. "Um...great wings you got there. May I feel them?" "Sure!" Mandy chirped, spreading her wings wide. This got a few murmurs from the crowd, particularly from those who weren't all too familiar with the hybrid's wingspan. As Orit gently felt the feathers on her left wing, he tilted his head. "You can fly with these?" "Sure can! They're very durable." "Uh-huh." Orit began to put a little pressure on the wing, glancing at Mandy nervously to make sure he wasn't causing her harm. To his relief, she was as happy as she could be. "And have you been doing wing exercises, by any chance? Building up their strength?" Mandy blinked. "Oh. I, uh...never thought of that, actually." "Why don't you contact Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Twilight about those?" Orit suggested. "They might have some good tips for you." "Will do!" Orit nodded. "All right. For the final thing, I'm going to test your reflexes, okay?" He grabbed a reflex hammer from the side table. "Just relax." He knocked each of Mandy's knees twice, flinching as he saw her feet kick out in the same way they would if she was on a swing. "Can you do it again?" she chirped. "Ah...n-no." Orit gave a nervous laugh as he put the hammer down. "And that's it! You're all set. Feel free to come see me with any questions, okay?" "Yep yep!" The crowd applauded as Orit stepped off of the stage and went towards the booths, glancing back at Dr. O to see who he was going to pick next. "Oswell? Come on up." The Security agent and the Scientist traded places, with the former giving the latter a "good luck" before he slipped into the booth. Nervously, Oswell slid up to the stage, giving a meek wave to the crowd before his eyes fell on Mandy. Every inch of his body locked up. Mandy looked friendly and approachable, but in his eyes, she looked about ready to eat his head off if he took one more step towards her. In his anxiety-ridden mind, he saw her with red irises, sharp teeth, and equine ears curled in such a way to resemble devil's horns. The hybrid frowned and tilted her head. Just as she opened up her mouth to speak, however... "I-I'm sorry! I concede, I concede! I-I-I can't!" Oswell darted off of the stage and went down the hallway, much to the surprise and confusion of the audience as well as Mandy, Dr. O, and the Doctors. "Well that was a thing that happened, huh?" Mandy quipped, like she was a comedienne on stage at a show. "I, uh..." Dr. O glanced at Mandy. "All right, then. We accept Oswell's, uh...resignation." He made his way over to the booths. "Olaila? Why don't you come on out?" The last contestant strode out of the booths, garnering a round of applause from the audience that was less than enthusiastic due to what Oswell had done. The girl didn't flinch, however, and instead made her way over to Mandy. "Hi there, Mandy! How are you feeling today?" Mandy stretched her body out. "If I'm bein' honest, a little tired." She exhaled. "Waking up earlier than usual isn't for me." "I see. And have you been getting enough sleep?" "Yeah!" Mandy chirped. "There are times where I wake up in the middle of the night though, usually from some weird dream I had or if I'm hungry or I need to go to the bathroom, stuff like that, but I'm always able to get right back to sleep after." "Mm." Olaila grabbed a tongue depressor. "Can you open your mouth and give a big 'aah' for me?" Mandy complied. Befitting her tendency to flair things up, her "aah" was in a gorgeous B note that stretched on even long after Olaila removed the tool. "Mandy? You can stop now." The hybrid closed her mouth, leaving her tongue sticking out. "And, uh, pull your tongue back in for me, please." The tongue went back in. "Now, we're almost done, okay? I'm just going to check your heart real quick." Olaila reached for the stethoscope. "Try to relax." As Olaila put the earpieces in and placed the tool's bell on Mandy's chest, her eyes widened in shock. "My...goodness, that's...normal!" She stared at the beaming Mandy. "I had expected it to be faster!" "Really?" Mandy tilted her head. "I feel just fine! It is a little scary being up here and getting checked on with all these lovely folks starin' at me..." She gave a meek wave. "...but I'll live! I've been through so much worse." "You certainly have." Olaila removed the stethoscope and set it down on the table, then reached for a syringe that held nothing in it. "How do you feel about shots?" Upon seeing Mandy's eyes widen, she chuckled. "Not a fan, huh? That's okay. Truth be told, I'm not fond of them, either." She glanced at the Doctors that stood off to the side. "One of you wouldn't happen to have a painting, would you?" The Doctors exchanged shrugs. One of them reached behind their back and pulled out a sizeable painting that took her and the other two Doctors just to hold. "Wonderful. Thank you." Olaila turned back to Mandy. "Look at the painting, okay? This syringe has nothing but air, so don't worry, I'm not injecting some weird virus into you or anything." She began looking at her patient's arm. "Take deep breaths, and relax." Mandy bit her lip, but ultimately forced her body to relax and turn towards the painting. "Three, two, one..." Mandy's hair and tail bushed up, as it usually tended to do whenever she got an injection. She bit back a sharp yelp. "And we're done!" Olaila reached over and grabbed a small square patch of gauze and a bandage, placing the gauze on the spot where she injected Mandy and taping it with the bandage. "There you go, all patched up!" No response. Mandy's gaze was fully fixated on the painting. "Ah, you three can put the painting away now." Olaila waved them off, before moving her hand up and down in front of Mandy's face. "Mandy? I have a reward for you! Don't you want a lollipop?" Still no response. Even though the Doctors were struggling to get it back into hammerspace, Mandy still stared. Olaila rolled her eyes and laughed. "Ah, I see what this is. This is an extra challenge, isn't it?" She winked at Dr. O, who looked just as confused as about half of the crowd. "All right, I accept." Cracking her knuckles, she pulled out a tablet and tapped on it a few times. When she held it up to Mandy's face, a butterfly was flying about on the screen. The hybrid's eyes moved away and became fully fixated on the butterfly, as though it was dragging her in with an alluring trance. All she was missing was the spirals in her eyes for a true hypnotic effect. "That's it. Right this way." Olaila murmured, slowly moving the tablet until Mandy's head was facing the entire crowd. She glanced at the side and found the ON/OFF/SLEEP switch on the tablet, then flicked it to the SLEEP setting. "Hey, where's the butterfly?!" Mandy whined. "Aww, it was so pretty and everything!" The crowd oohed and aahed. Olaila tuned them out. "Mandy? I asked you if you'd like a lollipop, and I'll ask you again. Would you like one, as a reward for being a good patient?" "A lolly? Really?!" Mandy nodded furiously. "Oh, Momma never lets me have lollies anymore! She says I steal too many from the banks." She could feel saliva beginning to build in her mouth. "What flavors ya got?" "Oh, I have every flavor you can think of. I always carry around several lollipops. Sort of as an apology prize for clients I'm unable to help." Olaila reached behind her back. "Name it, and I'll pull it out." "Cherry!" Olaila blinked, having thought Mandy would go for a more exotic flavor. "Okay, well...cherry it is!" She pulled out a small cherry lollipop. "Here you are." "Ooooh!" Mandy began tearing into the food like it was a Christmas present. "Thank you!" Her tail wagged back and forth as she stuck the lollipop into her mouth, happily sucking on it. Olaila turned to face the crowd and bowed. "That concludes my checkup. Thank you." The crowd began applauding. Dr. O did as well, a rather elated look on his face. "Very good, Olaila!" He waited until the noise died down before he cleared his throat and continued, only barely registering Orit emerging from his booth. "Now, I will announce the 'winner', so to speak." He adjusted his lanyard. "The agent who will be my new assistant is..." A drumroll sounded from somewhere. No one needed to guess the identity of the agent in the metal chair who had conjured up a drum set for the suspenseful flair. "...Agent Olaila!" The decision was rather predictable, but that certainly didn't sway the crowd any. Cheers and applause erupted to the point where, if it got any louder, a cinder block or two would be set to come loose. Olaila's eyes widened as she looked at the crowd, then to Dr. O, then to Mandy, then to Orit, who was also applauding her and giving a nod that truly showed how much of a graceful loser he was. "Oh my gosh...I was actually chosen!" she exclaimed. "Hey." Orit walked up to her and held out his hand. "You did a great job. Best of luck to you." "Th-thanks!" Olaila responded, slowly taking the hand and giving it a few firm shakes. "You did great too, Orit. This was fun!" Dr. O was the next to offer his congratulations, with Olaila uttering another round of thanks. Once again, he waited until the cheers and hollers had turned down to murmurs, and then completely died down to nothingness. He gestured to Olaila to speak, giving her a reassuring smile. "Um..." Olaila nervously cleared her throat and tugged on her collar. "Ever since I became an Investigation agent, I started to wonder if my skill lied in solving cases. But through failure after failure, I began to realize that this department wasn’t the right one for me. I tried to see if there were other departments I could fit in, but...none piqued my interest. So when I heard that Dr. O was opening up a spot for a new assistant, I decided to go for it. And I realize that I was never meant to be an Investigation agent. I was meant to be an Odd Squad Doctor." She straightened up and smiled. "I’m proud to have the chance to work alongside Dr. O and heal the agents of Precinct 13579 and the clients that they come across on a daily basis. Thank you." A few agents in the crowd began chanting the new assistant's name amidst a flurry of cheers. Dr. O quieted them down with a hand gesture. "I'd like to extend thanks to Agents Oswell and Orit, as well as everyone else who volunteered. On behalf of the Medical department, I wish you all good luck in your future endeavors!" The crowd applauded once more before agents began to split, heading off in different directions. "Hey!" came a shrill voice, followed by a "Pardon me, 'scuse me, nngh!" as a white filly darted in between agents. Finally, she got to the front of the stage and paused to catch her breath before she flung her head upwards to look at the agent in the position she had once yearned for. "Olaila!" "Hmm? Oh, Agent Sweetie Belle!" "Congrats!" "Thank you!" Olaila hopped off of the stage. "Um..." Sweetie rubbed her leg. "And good job out there. Your story's kinda similar to mine, actually." "It is?" Sweetie nodded. "See, I wanted to become an Odd Squad Doctor because I wasn’t sure where I fit in. And I wanted a change from being an Investigation agent. I thought being a part of the Medical department was a good choice, but...it wasn’t. My talent isn’t healing other agents. It’s solving cases and kicking odd in the butt!" She sighed. "I guess you could say that I had the opposite problem you had." Olaila smiled. "Well, I'm glad you found your place here, Sweetie Belle. And I can see you're a little wounded." "Yeah. I got into a fight with an odd creature a couple days ago. But I'm getting better." Sweetie tenderly touched the bandage on her cheek. "I know I'm supposed to be resting, but I really wanted to see who the new assistant was gonna be. And I think you'll do great!" "I sure hope so! I'm gonna try my best!" Olaila rubbed Sweetie's head. "I hope you try your best too." "You know I will!" The pair exchanged hearty laughter. Sweetie felt the happiest she had felt in quite a while, her heart being lifted with joy like that of a sweet treat made out of whipped chocolate. "Sweetie Belle, darling!" came a familiar silky voice from the right-side hallway. "Come now, let's get you back to bed, all right?" Sweetie turned and gave a sigh. "Gotta go. Hopefully I'll see you around!" "You certainly will. Get better soon!" Olaila watched the filly dart off towards her sister, only becoming faintly aware of a tapping on her shoulder after a while. "Oh, Dr. O!" She smiled. "I assume I need some additional training before I officially switch departments?" "Yes. We start first thing tomorrow. Be prepared and rest up." "Will do!" Olaila gave him a wave as he left, yelping in surprise when she felt her stomach being squeezed and her being hoisted into the air. "Olaila!" The high-pitched voice was unmistakable. "Congrats to you!" "Ah, t-thank you, Mandy!" Olaila coughed. "But maybe you could, um...p-put me down?" "Oh, right. Sorry!" Mandy complied. "So how'd you get so good at treating me?" Olaila gave a bemused smile. "Surely Dr. O told you he was going to have all the candidates look through your medical file?" A pause. Mandy blinked. Let her tail twitch in thought. And then the realization settled in. "Ohhhhh." She nervously laughed. "Forgot about that!" Olaila laughed too, only her laugh was more out of amusement. She rubbed Mandy's head, causing the hybrid's tongue to stick out. "You're a real handful, Mandy. I think I'm gonna really challenge myself when it comes to you and your care." "Yeah you are!" Mandy bounced up and down. "You treating me...it was kinda like how Momma used to treat my wounds and give me checkups and stuff." Her expression turned into one of pure bliss as she landed and began swaying from side to side dreamily. "That same motherly touch...so soothing..." "I've heard that before." Olaila exhaled. "Anyway, I'm gonna head off. I've got training tomorrow, and I'll need to study all I can!" "If you have any questions, ask Oprah!" "Got it." Olaila waved. "See you around!" Mandy gave her enthusiastic goodbye to the new assistant. Inside the Bedroom, Rarity had finished tucking Sweetie into bed and was heading for the door. "Rarity, where are you gonna sleep?" Sweetie's words were a tired slur, and her half-lidded eyes reflected the same feeling. "Don't worry, darling. I'll find something." Rarity murmured. "You just get some rest." "All right." Sweetie's words were punctuated by a yawn as she snuggled deeper into the sheets. Rarity couldn't help but let her smile grow. "Sweet dreams, my little Sweetie Belle." Her words were a mere whisper as she left the room and closed the door behind her, and her heart swelled with joy as she thought to herself just how lucky she was to have such an outgoing and, dare she say, sweet little sister. A few seconds later, she opened the door back up again, and levitated a small purple-and-yellow dress adorned with all sorts of musical notes towards her nightstand, where it would sit until its recipient woke up from her slumber.
